Jacob E.
Boreman
Boreman, Jacob E., journalist, lawyer, jurist, was born
Aug. 4, 1831, in Middletown, W.Va. In 1861 he was elected city attorney of
Kansas City, Mo.; he assisted in raising troops for the civil war; and in 1862
became a judge of common pleas. He was elected a member of the Kansas state
legislature in 1869. He subsequently purchased an interest in the Kansas City
Bulletin; and became its editor. In 1873 he was appointed an associate justice
of the United States court for the territory of Utah.
[Herringshaw’s National Library of American
Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged
Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909
– Transcribed by AFOFG]
Downs Family
This Downs family were originally
residents of England, the first of the number coming to America being Jeremiah
Downs, who upon coming to this country located in Fayette County,
Pennsylvania, where several generations are descended from
him.
(I) Jeremiah
Downs, the English immigrant, settled in Redstone Township, Fayette County,
Pennsylvania, about the close of the eighteenth century. He was one of the
early settlers, and a prosperous farmer. In the family that he reared was a
son, Jonathan, of whom further.
(II) Jonathan
Downs, son of Jeremiah Downs, was born in Redstone Township, Fayette County,
Pennsylvania. He was reared and educated in his native township, where he
purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty acres of desirable land, and also
worked at his trade of carpentry. He was a Whig, an exemplary citizen, and a
worthy member of the Baptist church. He died September 9, 1844, and was buried
at Uniontown.
He married
Mary, daughter of Peter Miller, a farmer and early settler in Redstone
Township. Children: Lucinda; David, of whom further; Margaret, deceased;
Joseph M.; Alexander C; William B., died at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, during
the early part of 1911 ; Jonathan; Caleb B.; Isaac N., deceased, was a
resident of West Newton, Pennsylvania; Mary.
(III) David Downs, son of
Jonathan Downs, was born in Redstone Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania,
and September 9, 1812, died at Hopwood, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1902. He was
reared on a farm, educated in the subscription schools, and learned the trade
of carpenter. In 1836 he located at Brownsville and engaged in the manufacture
of threshing machines. Two years later he removed to New Geneva, purchased a
lot, erected a dwelling house, and continued in the threshing machine business
until 1863, when he, in company with Mr. James Davenport, a very respectable
merchant of New Geneva, bought the Mellier Flouring Mill in that year, and
operated it with his other business until 1885, when the partnership was
dissolved. He was over fifty years of his life a prudent, economical,
straightforward and successful business man. He was a member of the Sons of
Temperance, and a Republican. He was a substantial member of the Baptist
church at Greensboro, Greene County, of which his wife was also a member. Mr.
Downs later retired from the cares of active business life. He stood high,
wherever known, as an honest business man and Christian gentleman.
He married (first) December 21,
1836, Anna Harford, who died August 15, 1844; married (second) November 2,
1845, Sarah Campbell. She died September 9, 1850, leaving two children: Anna,
now wife of Mathias Hartley, and living in Illinois; Caroline, deceased. He
married (third) March 18, 1852, Ellen (Eleanor) Thompson, born in county Down,
Ireland; two children: Mary, wife of John A. Simpson, D. D., of Alliance,
Ohio; Ashbel F., of whom further. Mrs. Downs died September 6, 1855. He
married (fourth) April 16, 1862, Mary A., daughter of Gideon Way, of
Morgantown, West Virginia; she died in 1890.
(IV) Ashbel
Fairchild Downs, son of David Downs, was born at New Geneva, Fayette County,
Pennsylvania, September 7, 1854. He attended the public schools of his native
county, and at the age of seventeen years entered the State University of West
Virginia, at Morgantown, and was a student there for three years. While at
college he displayed marked ability in literature and oratory, taking three
prizes, the last of which was the regents' prize for the best declaimer.
Afterward he taught several school terms, and in 1876 entered the Philadelphia
School of Elocution and Oratory, and was graduated from there with class
honors in 1877. It may be well to remember that this was the only chartered
school of its kind in the United States. He has given many readings from
Shakespeare and other poets, and has taken high rank as a recitationist. The
late Professor Shoemaker has over his own signature spoken in most unbounded
praise of Mr. Downs' talent as a delineator of the passions. Mr. Downs became
a student at law in the office of the Hon. C. E. Boyle, and was admitted to
the bar of Fayette county in August, 1880, and successfully practiced in the
courts of the county much of the time since. He has always adhered to the long
established doctrines and principles of the Democratic party, and has been
most active and zealous in the support of that organization, particularly in
the way of public addresses, having earned the deserved reputation of being
one of the best political speakers in Western Pennsylvania.
He showed
exceptional moral courage during the great coke strike of 1886, boldly taking
the platform and presenting throughout the region the grievances and demands
of the strikers, while others, with calculating shrewdness, were watching the
direction of the wind. And he is credited with having done more to achieve the
victory won by the workingmen than any other one man, and when the passions of
the hour had subsided his moderation and fairness and his great influence in
preventing disorder were generally acknowledged.
In 1886 Mr. Downs received 2,171
votes at the Democratic primaries for the nomination of district attorney,
receiving the next to the highest vote. The nomination for the same office at
the next election was conceded to him, but he became the candidate on the
regular Democratic ticket in 1887 for county treasurer, and was elected in a
hotly contested campaign, in which most of the candidates on the same ticket
were defeated. He executed the duties of his office with all fidelity to the
state and county, enforcing claims due in a way that to some seemed severe,
but which was demanded by his oath of office. In obedience to that oath, Mr.
Downs knew no fear, favor, sect or party, and those of a domineering,
dictatorial, scheming or greedy spirit found him a rock in their pathway. They
at times vented their spleen and disappointment in harsh criticism, but have
not injured him among honest and right-thinking men.
He displayed a talent for
literary work early in life, which he has since cultivated, and at one time
was offered a place in the list of lecturers, in a leading lyceum bureau. His
book, entitled: "Heroes and Heroic Deeds, or Uncrowned Kings," published by
the Franklin Printing Company of Philadelphia, in addition to new matter,
includes some of his former productions, notably his "Robert Emmett," which
has been highly commended by such men as the Hon. James G. Blaine and the Hon.
Chauncey Black.
He married
Mrs. Fannie (Lewis) Fetty, a native of Morgantown, West Virginia, born October
24, 1842. Children: 1. Ralph Waldo Emerson, born March 3, 1876, at Morgantown;
graduated from the high school the same year as did his brother Harry, both
being pupils at Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He was a soldier in the
Spanish-American war, enlisting with recruits to Company C, Tenth Regiment of
Pennsylvania Volunteers, June, 1898. He took part in the Philippine
insurrection and was wounded in March, 1899, just prior to the occupation of
Malolos by Americans. He continued in service to the end of the war with Spain
and the Insurgents. He was later elected first lieutenant in Company C, Tenth
Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania. He died August 19, 1910. 2. Harry
Rutherford, of whom further. The maternal grandfather, Benjamin Lewis, came
from Canada and located first in New York state; he was born in 1800, died
November 3, 1891, at Hoodsville, Marion county, West Virginia. After leaving
New York he spent most of his time in Morgantown. He married Sara Ann Madera,
of a well-known Morgantown family; she died May 18, 1863.
(V) Harry
Rutherford Downs, son of Ashbel Fairchild and Fannie (Lewis-Fetty) Downs, was
born May 18, 1877, at Morgantown, West Virginia. His education was received at
the public schools of his native place, and when eleven years of age he
accompanied his parents to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where subsequently he
graduated from the high school in 1893. He spent three years in the study of
photography, and in 1896 under the firm name of Downs Brothers established a
photograph gallery in Uniontown. There the two brothers, Harry R. and Ralph W.
E. Downs, continued until 1909. During the years from 1906 to 1908, Harry R.
Downs studied law at the University of West Virginia, graduating in 1908.
March 1, 1909, he located in Clarksburg and opened his law office at No. 320
West Main street. Politically he is a Democrat.
He married, in 1908, Winifred
Winona Minerd, a native of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, born April 19, 1888,
daughter of Charles A. Minerd, a coal operator, and his wife, Sarah J.
(Kincell) Minerd, a native of Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Downs
have had one son, Lewis Minerd, born April 19, 1909, died December 18,
1910.
[Source:
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL OF THE Upper Monongahela Valley, WV Vol. III; By
James Morton Callahan; Edited by Bernard L. Butcher; Publ. 1912; Pgs. 968-972;
Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack]
FISHER FAMILY.
Fred G. Fisher,
son of Captain John (q. v.) and Dorothy F. (Gould) Fisher, was born November
16, 1878. He attended the schools adjacent to his home, thus acquiring a
practical education which qualified him for an active career. He is now
employed as salesman for the Bell Telephone Company. He is a member of
Methodist Protestant church, and a Republican in politics. He married,
September 1, 1904, Lillian McDermott, born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, July 7,
1882, daughter of Thomas and Samantha (Johnson) McDermott. She attended Mt. De
Chantal Academy at Wheeling, West Virginia. Children: Joseph W., born August
24, 1905, died December 31, 1907; Dorothy, born March 17, 1907; Thomas
McDermott, May 2, 1908; Frances, March 14, 1910; Paul F., December 11,
1911.
Thomas McDermott, father of Mrs. Fisher, was
son of John McDermott, who was born in Ireland, lived and died in Canada.
Thomas McDermott was born in Canada, November 11, 1842, of Irish-Catholic
parentage. He came to the United States at the age of sixteen and worked at a
number of various things until the year 1871. He then followed the carpenter
trade until the first oil excitement in Bradford, Pennsylvania. He started
there as a rig-builder and later went to Washington, Pennsylvania, at the
opening of that large oil field. He and his oldest son Joseph were among the
first to open the Greene County, Pennsylvania, oil field. In 1895 they formed
the McDermott Oil Company, with D. H. Courtney and Chauncey Huston as
partners, and another company called the Baltelle Oil Company was started.
Mr. McDermott then moved his family south
with him and settled in Fairmont, West Virginia. He has at this writing
retired from active business but his son carries on the interests of his
father. They now have valuable oil holdings in different states, but the
largest are in West Virginia.
He married, at Riceville, Pennsylvania,
October 26, 1871, Samantha Johnson, born October 28, 1853. They had the
following children:
1. Joseph H., married Louise McLane, and had
Jane McLane and Joseph.
2. John R., married Daisy Pride and had
Ralph T. and Carl W.
3. Samuel N., married (first) Sarah O'Brien,
and had one son, Robert; married (second) Anna Sayers, no children.
4. Thomas, deceased.
5. Mattie, deceased.
6. Lillian, married Fred G. Fisher, above
mentioned.
[Source: GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL OF
THE Upper Monongahela Valley, WV Vol. III; By James Morton Callahan; Edited by
Bernard L. Butcher; Publ. 1912; Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack]
Glascock
Family
This is an
English name, treated in books of English surnames. The latter syllable, found
in a large number of names, such as Hitchcock, Hancock, Babcock, is of
doubtful meaning, but regarded by some as a diminutive suffix. In the present
case this explanation fits well with the existence of a recognized English
surname Glass, about the meaning of which there is, as usual, much variation
among the authorities.
This
is written, with the knowledge of a tradition, in the West Virginia family, and among the Illinois
Glasscocks, of French or German origin. Power's "Sangamon County, Illinois, Biographical
History" states that three
brothers came with Lafayette, fought in the revolution, and settled on the
James river. To one experienced in genealogical study this story bears on its
face indications affording strong presumption of inaccuracy.
The name certainly existed in
Virginia long before the
revolution. Robert Glasscock received two hundred acres in Elizabeth City
county, in 1635. The name
soon became common, and is of frequent occurrence in the early records of
Virginia. The family was
especially prominent in Warwick and Richmond counties.
Rev. H. E. Hayden, in his
valuable "Virginia
Genealogies," says: "Glasscock. An English name of antiquity. If the
threadbare tradition of the 'three brothers' is correct, there is another
family of this name in Virginia,"
etc. It is, of course, possible that there are two Virginia Glasscock families of
diverse origin, but not probable.
It is cause for great regret
that genealogical materials for Virginia families are comparatively scanty, or at
least difficult of access. Here we have a family, among the oldest in Virginia, and of colonial as well
as present prominence, and yet diligent search fails to make anything
approaching a satisfactory family record. New England families have, to a
large extent been fully studied and described; even where books have not been
written, there are records rendering easy of ascertainment the lines of
ancestry of many of their present representatives; Virginia families, of equal distinction and
prominence, still have their histories involved in obscurity. The Glasscock family is well worth
such study as has been given to many New England families; and, if the whole
history could be disclosed,
it would be interesting and worthy.
(I) (perhaps Hezekiah)
Glasscock, the first member of this family about whom we have definite
information, in all probability lived in Virginia. Children, so far as known: John, of whom
further; Hezekiah.
(II) John
Glasscock was a soldier in the revolutionary war. With his brother Hezekiah
and his son Charles he came about 1800 from Fauquier county and settled on Pharaoh's Run, in Marion county, Virginia. Later
they settled on Indian Creek, Monongalia county, on the Benjamin J. Miller farm; at this
place, John Glasscock, his wife, and one daughter are buried. Children: 1.
Charles, of whom further. 2. Juda, married Charles Mellette; one of their
sons, Arthur C, was the first Governor of South Dakota. 3. Leah, married
Mellette. 4. Hezekiah. 5. John; also one other son, and four other
daughters.
(III) Charles, son
of John Glasscock, was born July 20, 1775, and died in February, 1840. In his
young manhood he came with his father and uncle to the present territories of
the state of West Virginia.
Settling on Indian Creek, in Grant district, he was a miller. He is buried at
the Hogue cemetery, Indian Creek. He married Mary, daughter of Andrew and
Elizabeth (Leggett) Arnett, who was born in 1794, and died in 1878. Her
mother, surviving Mr. Andrew Arnett, married (second) Price. Children:
Elizabeth, died in infancy; Andrew, died in infancy; Stephen, deceased; John,
deceased; Malinda, deceased; Minerva, born about 1823, died in 1912, married
Teter Arnett; Hezekiah, deceased; William S., born about 1827; Daniel, of whom
further; Letitia, deceased, married Kerns; Arnett, deceased; Charles,
deceased; Indy B.
(IV)
Daniel, son of Charles and Mary (Arnett) Glasscock, was born at Arnettsville,
Virginia, in 1828, and died
in 1910. He was a farmer. Honest, industrious, frugal, loyal to duty, he was a
good citizen. He early gave his adhesion to the newly formed Republican party.
In religion he was a Methodist. He married (first) in 1855, ___________
Musgrave, who died in 1857; (second) in 1859, Prudence Michael. Children, all
except the first-named by second wife: 1. David. 2. Stephen A. D. 3. William
Ellsworth, married Mary Alice Miller; at this date, in 1912, he is governor of
West Virginia; his wife is
descended in the sixth generation from Colonel John Evans (see sketch in this
work). The line is as follows: (I) Colonel Evans, of Welsh parentage, and a
leader in the early days of the settlement of the Monongahela Valley, married
Anne Martin. (II) Dudley Evans, their son, married Anarah Williams. (III)
Margaret Evans, their daughter, married Jacob Miller. (IV) Dudley Evans
Miller, their son, married Nancy Thorn. (V) William Calvin Miller, their son,
married Martha Ella Amos. (VI) Mary Alice Miller, their daughter, married
Governor William Ellsworth Glasscock. 4. Louverna. 5. Samuel Fuller, of whom
further. 6. James F., deceased. 7. Sarah, married M. H. Brown; he is a
physician, residing at Morgantown. 8. Mary J. 9. Alice. 10. Zana.
(V) Samuel Fuller, son of Daniel
and Prudence (Michael) Glasscock, was born March 13, 1867. He was brought up
on his father's farm, near Arnettsville. His preliminary education was
obtained in the public schools of Monongalia county, in which also he taught for several years.
In 1903 he graduated from the University of West Virginia, receiving the degree of LL. B.
Immediately he commenced the practice of law, as a member of the firm of
Moreland & Glasscock. Several years later he retired from this firm, and
formed a partnership with his brother, the present governor of the state, and
this continued until his brother's election to that office, in 1908. Mr.
Glasscock devotes himself to the general practice of law, and represents
numerous important business concerns. He is general counsel for the Morgantown
& Kingwood Railroad Company, and for the Elkins Coal and Coke Company. He
is a past grand in Monongalia Lodge, No. 10, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church.
Mr. Glasscock
married, in 1908, Mabel C., daughter of Dr. P. B. Reynolds. She is an alumna
of the University of West Virginia,
and her father was for many years a professor of metaphysics in that
institution. No children.
[Source: Genealogical and
personal history of the upper Monongahela valley, West Virginia, under
the editorial supervision of Bernard L. Butcher - Transcribed by Therman
Kellar]
(I) Rev. Morgan
Morgan. The West Virginia Morgans, of Welsh extraction, are
descendants of Rev. Morgan Morgan, Glamorgan County, Wales. He was educated in
London; ordained a clergyman of the Church of England; settled at Christiana,
Delaware, in 1702; removed to Winchester, Virginia, and followed his calling.
Children: Morgan, Anne, Zackquil, Evan, David, Charles, Henry and James. In
1726 Rev. Morgan Morgan crossed into Berkeley County, Virginia, and near
Bunker Hill Post office made the first white settlement in what is now West
Virginia territory, and also built the first church in the state. Later, Rev.
Morgan Morgan's children removed farther west, crossing the Alleghany
Mountains to the Monongahela Valley, and founded Morgantown, West
Virginia.
(II) David Morgan,
born May 12, 1721, at Christiana, Delaware, son of Rev. Morgan Morgan, was a
skilled engineer. He aided George Washington, under commission from the
governor of Virginia, in surveying Mason and Dixon's line; was with Colonel
Washington on other trips, on one of which they discovered the region on the
Monongahela afterwards taken up and settled by the Morgans. He married Sarah
Stevens, a Quaker lady of Pennsylvania. Children: Stephen, Sarah, Zacquille,
Morgan, Katharine.
At the
opening of the revolutionary war, Morgan Morgan, son of David, was captain of
a company of Virginia militia. This company, with Morgan Morgan, together with
the latter's father, David, and Evan and James, brothers of David, and James
Jr., son of the latter James (five Morgans in one small company), entered a
company, in 1777, which served in the revolutionary war, on expeditions in
Pennsylvania, with William Haymond as captain, and Morgan Morgan as
lieutenant, and the other four Morgans as privates. One year later, David
Morgan, in his fifty seventh year, had his deadly encounter on the Monongahela
River with the Indians.* Evan and Zackquil Morgan, brothers of David, saw
service in the revolution at another time, in Captain Brinton's company, when
they made an expedition up the Allegheny River, raided an Indian village
called Muncietown, killing several savages and one or more white desperadoes.
See accounts of this trip, written by Zackquil and Evan, when they were in
their seventies, at the request of the secretary of war. These documents
contain also a brief family history, with dates, etc., and are remarkable for
their diction and the evident educational attainments of these pioneers who,
doubtless, were never inside a schoolhouse, and whose time was mostly taken up
guarding the frontier settlements from Indian depredations. The original
payroll of Captain William Haymond, with the names of the five Morgans
thereon, is in the custody of Colonel Henry Haymond, of Clarksburg, West
Virginia.
(III) Captain Morgan
Morgan was a son of David Morgan, the Indian slayer. He was captain
of a company of Virginia militia, also lieutenant in Captain Haymond's company
of revolutionary soldiers. Children: James, Morgan, David, Jacob, Druscilla,
Elizabeth, Aaron and Achilles.
(IV) Captain James
Morgan, son of Captain Morgan Morgan, was captain in the war of 1812,
in which was also commissioned a major, and during said war was, at one time,
in command of Fort Meigs (now Toledo, Ohio). Children: David, John, James,
Stephen, Alpheus, Sarah, Mary, Salinda, Marcus.
(V) Captain David
Morgan, son of Captain James Morgan, removed from Marion to Randolph
County in 1858. Early in the war of 1861 he raised and became the captain of a
company of Union soldiers, in which company his son, Charles, became a
lieutenant, and another son, David C, a corporal. Captain David was born June
26, 1806, in Marion County; married Pleasant Harris, born October 1, 1808, of
Dutch extraction. Children: 1. Charles, born June 12, 1827; lives near
Buckhannon, West Virginia. 2. Morgan, born January 9, 1829; lives near
Lorentz, West Virginia. 3. Juretta, born September 9, 1830; married Joseph
Garlow. 4. Hilleary, born December 25, 1831; died a child. 5. Aaron, born June
19, 1833; died a child. 6. Littleton T., born January 30, 1835; died a child.
7. Littleton Taswell, born November 22, 1837; lives at Buckhannon. 8. Aarah,
born January 14, 1840; died August, 1899. 9. Sebra, born June 18, 1842;
married Rev. B. B. Brooks; both dead. 10. David Crockett, born February 28,
1844; lives at Buckhannon. 11. James P., born May 22, 1846; lives near
Selbyville, West Virginia. 12. Helen, born December 28, 1848; deceased. 13.
Waitman, born October 23, 1850; died a child. 14. Elmira, born September 16,
1863; died a child. 15. Martha died an infant.
Note: As a
matter of fact, David Morgan never skinned a human being —he was "all in"
after this conflict. In which he lost two Angers, and it would have been a
physical impossibility for him to have denuded the Indian of his Integument.
The Indian was Skinned by refugees of Prickett's Fort, and not by David
Morgan. The skin war tanned, made into a shot pouch, and presented to David as
a souvenir.
(VI) Corporal David Crockett
Morgan, son of Captain David Morgan, was a retired farmer, and a
member of Presbyterian Church. Politically he was always a staunch Republican,
never bolting a primary or convention nor scratching a ticket, until, as he
says, he became convinced that the party had fallen into the hands of a set of
dishonorable men who were politicians not because of any patriotic sense but
merely for the business and the money they could get out of it, since which
time he votes for the best man, regardless of politics. He served clear
through the war of 1861, as a Union soldier, enlisting in his father's
company, at the age of seventeen, and was drawn up in line of battle at
Appomattox, the day General Lee surrendered. His first wife was Evelyn
Phillips. Children: Infant died a child; Loren Boriors and Orlan Bunyan, both
married, have families, and live in Stillwater, Oklahoma. His second wife was
Eliza Jane Phillips, daughter of Richard and Eliza J. (née Perry—Commodore
Perry family) Phillips, of French Creek, West Virginia. Richard and wife, then
children, came to French Creek with their parents, in 1815, from
Massachusetts, overland, making the trip of nearly one thousand miles in carts
drawn by oxen through the forests, following the buffalo trails, and driving
their stock before them. Richard's paternal ancestor, Nicholas Phillips, was
an Englishman, and immigrated to America in 1630, and was one of the
incorporators of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts. When David C. Morgan
married his second wife she was the widow of the late Lieutenant Claudius B.
See, by whom she had three children, namely: Sylvester Bunyan, Claudius
Synnamon, and Julia Agnes, all of whom are married, have families, and live in
Upshur County. By his second wife, Eliza Jane, he had four children: Haze,
Patrick Lawson, Otto, and Clara, all of whom are married and live in West
Virginia.
(VII) Haze Morgan
was named for a distant relative of the same name who was shot in the forehead
and instantly killed, while on the firing line as a Union soldier in the war
of 1861. He was born June 19, 1876, on his father's farm, one mile south of
the noted Raccoon Meeting House Rock, Laurel Fork of French Creek, Upshur
County, West Virginia, son of David C. Morgan. He was educated in public
schools; spent four years at Wesleyan College, Buckhannon; took a degree in
Georgetown University; was five years in one of the legal departments,
Washington, his duties taking him over most of the United States. He resigned
from the government service in 1903 and went to Clarksburg, West Virginia, and
opened up a law office. He is a member of the Presbyterian church of
Clarksburg, in which a relative was the first pastor; in politics is an
independent Republican. He married, at Washington, D. C., September 29, 1897,
Anna G. Jones, born near Smithton, Doddridge county, West Virginia, September
29, 1879, daughter of William H. Jones, a miller by trade, and of
revolutionary stock, who was born April 4, 1851, died August 26, 1896; had but
one other child, Eula B., who was born November 10, 1886, graduated at
Clarksburg high school, and died June 17, 1907. Children of Haze and Anna G.
Morgan: William H., born at Washington, November 13, 1898; Eliza Isabelle,
born at Clarksburg, May 17, 1905; Virginia, born at Clarksburg, September 27,
1907; Anna Mildred, born at Clarksburg, November 6, 1911.
In the
possession of Haze Morgan, Clarksburg, West Virginia, is quite a large piece
of the skin taken from an Indian slain in a combat with David Morgan. It is
accompanied by the affidavit of Josiah P. Smith, who received it more than
sixty years ago from a son of David Morgan, which is as follows:
State Of West
Virginia, County Of Harrison, Ss.:
Josiah P.
Smith, being by me first duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that he
was born on Big Rock Camp, Harrison County, West Virginia, on the 21st day of
December, 1826, being the first white person born on that stream according to
the statement of his parents; that, sometime in about the year 1850, a little
while after affiant attained his majority, he visited a son of the Indian
Fighter, David Morgan, at his house on a branch of Fishing Creek, in Wetzel
County, West Virginia; that, while there, the said son (whose Christian name
affiant has forgotten) exhibited to affiant an old-fashioned shot-pouch, which
had been partly cut away, and stated that said shot-pouch was made of the
tanned skin of an Indian which had been killed by David Morgan, in an
encounter on the Monongahela River, West Virginia, wherein the said David
Morgan fought two Indians; that said shot pouch had been given to him, the
said son, by the said David Morgan, and that he, the said son, was disposing
of it by cutting it up into pieces and distributing it among his friends as
souvenirs; that the said son then and there gave affiant a piece of said
shot-pouch about two inches square; that affiant afterward gave away a piece
of said skin; that the remaining piece has been in the possession of affiant
ever since; and that the piece of skin hereto annexed is a portion of the same
piece of the aforesaid shot-pouch given to affiant by the said son at the time
aforesaid.
(Jurat
Follows). (Signed): Joseph P. Smith.
(V) John Morgan,
son of Captain James Morgan, was born on the old Morgan homestead about 1800,
died February 7, 1854. He was a farmer, and died on the old homestead farm
after having been a successful agriculturist for many years. He married Mary,
daughter of Archie Wilson, a native of Monongalia County; she died in 1863.
The children of John and Mary (Wilson) Morgan were: Cassil, deceased;
Alcindia, deceased; Matilda, deceased; Margaret; Lydia; Oliver Perry,
mentioned below; William, deceased; John; James E., mentioned below. The
parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically the
father was a Whig and later a Republican.
(VI) Oliver Perry,
son of John Morgan, was born in what is now Marion County, West Virginia,
September 14, 1835. He was brought up on the old homestead, where he lived and
labored until he reached man's estate, when he purchased a farm in the
neighborhood and carried on farming and stock raising. During the civil war
period he served in Company A, Sixth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. He
participated in several battles and skirmishes, and was also among the guards
along the frontier. After two years' service he was wounded and honorably
discharged. After the war he resumed farm life and continued there until 1895,
when he engaged in the mercantile business, and later removed to Fairmont,
where he is engaged in the real estate business. Politically he is a supporter
of the Republican party, and in church affiliations is connected with the
Methodist Episcopal denomination.
August 19,
1860, he married Margaret, daughter of Bushrod W. and Sarah (Shaw) Vincent.
The children of this union were: 1. John, a farmer who married and has five
children: Wateman; Lester; Virgil; Bertha C.; and Roy. 2. Francis Lorenzo, a
farmer, married and has two children. 3. Laura E., married James Carpenter,
and they have three children. 4. Mollie, married O. S. Holland, and they have
one child, Pearl. 5. Henry, married Alice Brown, and they have eight children.
6. Lee, married Nettie Vincent, and their children are Oliver and Mary. 7.
Virginia, married Samuel H. Keener, and their children are Clarence, Opal and
Ralph.
(VI) James E., son
of John Morgan, was born on the old Morgan homestead in what is now Marion
county, March 18, 1854. He was reared on his father's farm and educated in the
common schools. He followed farming until the autumn of 1892, and in the
spring of 1893 was appointed a member of the Fairmont police force, and has
held the office of chief of police, water commissioner and street commissioner
for a number of years, to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of the
municipality. In March, 1910, he resigned as street and water commissioner.
Politically Mr. Morgan votes the Republican ticket, and is an attendant at the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
He married,
July 18, 1875, Ella Swisher, a native of Marion county, daughter of Jacob and
Elizabeth Swisher, of Winfield district, Marion county. Children: Mary, born
August 28, 1876, wife of Thomas Howard, and they have two children: James E.;
and Mary E. 2. William Curtis, born February, 1879, died aged sixteen years.
3. Mont E., born August 14, 1881, now an attorney-at-law. 4. Mary Edna, born
April 15, 1884, married Gale Fishback, and they have two children: Annetta,
and Irma. 5. Maud Belle, born June 2, 1887, died September 24, 1888.
(V) Marcus Morgan,
son of Captain James Morgan, was born in 1835. He was brought up on his
father's farm, receiving the ordinary common school education, and was a
justice of the peace eight years; also member of the board of education, and
county commissioner when the present courthouse was erected. He served as a
trustee in the Methodist Episcopal church. During the civil war he served in
Company E, of a volunteer regiment in the federal army. Politically he was a
staunch Republican. He died in 1906, his wife preceding him fourteen years,
she having died in 1894.
He married
(first) Mary Wymer, daughter of Levi Wymer, who came from Virginia; he was a
blacksmith. Their children, four in number, were: Lydia; Della; Levi W.; and
one deceased. He married (second), in 1868, Virginia Wymer, and to them were
born five children: Ephraim F., mentioned below; Pearlie, wife of Elbert
Moran; Mattie, married Marcus Layman; Mary, wife of M. West; Nettie, wife of
Wayne Meredith.
(VI) Hon. Ephraim
F., son of Marcus Morgan, was born in Foxburg, Marion county, West
Virginia, January 16, 1869. He obtained his education in the common schools,
taught nine years, attended the State Normal School at Fairmont, graduated
from the law department of West Virginia University in 1896 and was admitted
to the bar in 1897. He commenced to practice law in the spring of 1898, in
Fairmont, where he built up a large legal practice. He continued until elected
judge of Marion county in 1905 for a term of six years. He is proving himself
an excellent judge. He was president of the board of education for Palatine
independent district for four years; was city solicitor of Fairmont two years.
Politically he is in accord with the general principles of the Republican
party, and in church connection is of the Methodist Episcopal society at
Fairmont. In May, 1898, at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, he
enlisted in Company E, of a West Virginia regiment, serving until February,
1899, when he received an honorable discharge; he acted as quartermaster for
his company. Judge Morgan is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the
Woodmen of the World; also is an honored member of Fairmont Lodge, No. 9,
Masonic fraternity, as well as of the Chapter and Commandery.
He married,
in September, 1903, Alma Bennett, a native of Monongalia county, daughter of
Albert and Isabelle (Robe) Bennett, of English descent. One child has been
born to Judge Morgan and wife, Lucile, who died aged fifteen months.
[Source:
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL OF THE Upper Monongahela Valley, WV Vol. III; By
James Morton Callahan; Edited by Bernard L. Butcher; Publ. 1912; Pgs.
949-956;Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack]
STEPHEN MORGAN FAMILY
(III) Stephen
Morgan, son of David Morgan (q. v.), was born in Berkeley County
(then Virginia), October 14, 1761. In the year 1771 his father, David Morgan,
moved with his family and located in the Upper Monongahela Valley on a farm
six miles north of the site of the present city of Fairmont, West Virginia. On
this farm six years later occurred Morgan's famous encounter with the Indians.
Here Stephen resided until the time of his death, which occurred in 1849. He
was a farmer and surveyor; was for many years a justice of the peace, and
sheriff of the county for two terms; was a member of the Protestant Episcopal
church as was his father and grandfather.
In 1797 he
was married to Sarah Sommerville, daughter of John and Margaret Robinson
Sommerville, of Clarksburg, Virginia. John Sommerville was a son of Joseph and
grandson of John Sr., of Gransha., near Londonderry, Ireland, and was a lineal
descendant of the Scotch barons of that name. He had five sons who came to
this country in 1773, three of whom were Captain William of revolutionary
fame, Alexander, and Joseph. His wife was Elizabeth Alexander, of a
distinguished Scotch family, a descendant on her mother's side from the Scotch
Kirkpatrick’s. The children of Stephen and Sarah (Sommerville) Morgan were:
Henry Sommerville and Charles Stephen Morgan (twins); William S.; Albert;
George Pinkney; Elizabeth, wife of Colonel William Willey; Ann, wife of
Horatio McClean; Ruhama, wife of Notley Carter; Jane, wife of Colonel Austin
Merrill.
(IV) Henry Sommerville
Morgan, the first son of Stephen Morgan, was born June 4, 1799, died
September 26, 1873. He spent his life on his farm near Rivesville. On February
14, 1826, he was married to Mary Lanham, born August 23, 1803, died June 3,
1886, daughter of William and Catherine (Ferguson) Lanham, of Morgantown,
Virginia, a lineal descendant of Alexander Ferguson, of Scotland, who in 1709,
married Annie Lawery, of the Maxwelton House, Scotland. She was also a grand
niece of Edward Livingston, the jurist and minister to France.
Children born
to Henry S. and Mary (Lanham) Morgan were:
1. Louisa M.,
wife of John C. Gallahue, of Fairmont, who had one son, Harry Gallahue.
2. Charles
R., a farmer and surveyor; married Harriet Fairfax Brown, of Kingwood; their
daughter, May F., married C. W. Wolfe, and their children are: Virginia, Karl,
Slidell and Helen Wolfe.
3. Willian
L., physician of Baltimore, Maryland.
4. Edward
Livingston, a farmer and machinist; was twice married, (first) to Ellen
Barnes, and (second) to Elizabeth Welty.
5. Stephen
A., of Baltimore, Maryland; married Louisa V. Huffman; children: Stephana and
Otilia.
[The
above-named four sons served in the Confederate army during the entire
war].
6. Sallie
Morgan, of Fairmont.
7. Henry B.,
mentioned below.
(IV) Henry B. Morgan,
son of Henry Sommerville Morgan, was born July 3, 1847. He received
his education in the Fairmont and Morgantown schools between the years 1858
and 1865. A Jeffersonian in politics, he represented Marion county in the
legislature in 1892; is a local elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, and devotes the greater part of his time to the work of the church. He
has left his farm, which is a part of the land originally granted by patent to
his grandfather, Stephen, and with his sisters resides in Fairmont. He
married, September 18, 1873, Myrtle Merrill; two children were born to them,
Lily Sarah and Eva Myrtle. Lily S., wife of William W. Davis, of Houston,
Texas, has two daughters, Myrtle M. and Beulah K.; they reside at Hillside,
Arizona. Eva M., wedded R. A. Watts, an attorney of Fairmont; they have one
daughter, Sara Morgan Watts.
(IV) Hon. Charles
Stephen, twin brother of Henry S. Morgan, was educated in Morgantown,
Virginia, served in both branches of the Virginia legislature, and was warden
of the penitentiary at Richmond from 1825 to the time of his death in 1859. He
married Alcinda Gibbs Moss, of Virginia. Their children were: Alcinda
Robinson; Captain Charles S. Jr., and Major Stephen E., who both served in the
Confederate army under Lee in Virginia; Virginia, youngest daughter, married
Enders Robinson, of Richmond.
(IV) Hon. William S.
Morgan, third son of Stephen Morgan, was born September 7, 1801. He
was for some years a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, then
represented his county in the legislature of Virginia; was a member of the
twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth congresses of the United States; was a
naturalist of note and was employed by the Smithsonian Institute until near
the time of his death in 1875, at Washington, D. C
He married
Elizabeth Jones. Children: George W., lawyer of Washington, D. C; Robert S.,
journalist and Baptist minister, of North Carolina; Virginia, and
Elizabeth.
(IV) Albert Morgan,
fourth son of Stephen Morgan, was a successful farmer and stock raiser of
Marion county; also a justice of the peace for many years. He married Mary
Prickett. His descendants who survive him are: Charles and Joseph Merrill, of
Rivesville, and Earl Hennen, of Fairmont.
(IV) George
Pinkney, fifth son of Stephen Morgan, was born August 23, 1820. He
spent the early part of his life in Richmond, Virginia. He enlisted in Company
A, Thirty-first Virginia Infantry of the Confederate army. On October 3, 1861,
he was taken prisoner in an engagement on Greenbrier river, and died at Camp
Chase, Ohio, December 30, of the same year.
He married
Catherine Neeson, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, a sister of Judge James Neeson,
of Richmond, Virginia. His children are: Alice; James, deceased; William G.,
and Mary Josephine, who with their mother still reside at their beautiful
country home on that historic old farm which is a part of the land originally
granted by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Stephen, assignee of David
Morgan.
[Source:
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL OF THE Upper Monongahela Valley, WV Vol. III; By
James Morton Callahan; Edited by Bernard L. Butcher; Publ. 1912; Pgs.
956-959;
Transcribed
by Andrea Stawski Pack]
J. Truman Nixon spent part of his early youth in
the State ofOhio, where
he attended country schools and May 23, 1887, graduated from the St. Paris
High School, the following year was spent at Dennison University at Granville, Ohio. His practical preparation for life
consisted in discipline in farm work and as clerk in his father's store and
others at St. Paris, Ohio. In July 1887 he
returned to the old homestead in Taylor County, West Virginia, where he built
his career to prosperity operating a large stock farm, making a specialty of
raising registered Shorthorn cattle and Berkshire hogs, continuing that business until April 15,
1905. He still owns his farm and coal lands in that state and others in
Oklahoma,
In the
meantime he had become actively associated with the coal, oil and gas
business. In 1891 and 1892 he was connected with the Camden coal interests at Monongah, West
Virginia. In 1899 he was employed with the South Penn
Oil Company's land department in West
Virginia and continued with that firm and other
affiliated Standard interests until 1906. From March, 1903, until the
beginning of 1905 he had charge of the land department in Indian Territory for Prairie Oil
& Gas Company.
During 1905
he was employed by the Virginias Railway Company (Standard Interest) in
West Virginia and Virginia in buying lands
for that corporation, and bought what is known as "Oney Gap" (Tunnel) for this
company. In November, 1905, he and associates sold a large coal area in
Barbour County, West Virginia, after which he has
confined his efforts to Illinois and Oklahoma oil and gas fields, spending the entire year of
1906 in the Illinois field. He
became manager of the land department for the Oklahoma Natural Gas Company at
Tulsa, in January, 1907, and now has several
prominent associations with local industrial and financial corporations.
Mr. Nixon
organized the Tulsa Engineering and Supply Company. He is one of the vice
presidents of the Merchants and Planters Bank of Tulsa, a stockholder in the
National Bank of Commerce, a stockholder in the Guarantee Abstract & Title
Company, sole owner of the Indian records, an abstract business dealing
exclusively with work and records of the Department of the Interior which is
the only successful office of the kind conducted within the range of our
knowledge, furnishing abstracts of all departmental leases and enrollment and
allotment records, his business dealing particularly with oil and gas.
Mr. Nixon has
studied and has a comprehensive knowledge of the law but never cared for
practice before the bar, choosing to act in the capacity of councilor, which
coupled with his experience and knowledge of men and affairs, makes him a very
strong man.
Mr. Nixon is
affiliated with the Tulsa Lodge No. 71, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; with
Tulsa Chapter No. 52, Royal Arch Masons; with Tulsa Commandery No. 22, Knights
Templars; with Trinity Council No. 20, Royal and Select Masters; Akdar Temple
of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and Tulsa Chapter No. 133 Eastern Star. He
is also a Knight of Pythias and became a charter member of Black Diamond Lodge
No. 72 at Monongah, West Virginia, when it
was organized in 1892.
Politically
his party affiliations are republican but independent of the party whip and he
is a man who has many staunch friends in every walk of life.
Mr. Nixon was
married August 18, 1892, to Florence B. Jolliffe. Mrs. Nixon was born near
Uniontown, Wetzel County, West Virginia. A
daughter of Amos and Mary Jolliffe, another very old English family that can
boast of an unbroken line for nearly 500 years. Her forefathers coming to
America about
1645. Later we find the male descendants serving in General Washington's army where they acquitted
themselves with credit and distinction. In old England they served their kings
well and were remembered by their rulers with favor. Some evidence is Jolliffe
Coat of Arms, Argent on a pile Azure, three Dexter Gauntlets of the field;
Jolliffe Crest, a cubit arm erect vested and cuffed, the sleeve charged with a
pile Argent, the hand grasping a sword (P. P. D.) Motto: Tout que je puis.
[Source: A
standard history of Oklahoma: Volume 4; By
Joseph Bradfield Thoburn; Pg. 1597; Publ. 1916; Transcribed by Andrea Stawski
Pack.]
Shuman
Family
This family
is of German origin and was among the early settlers in eastern Pennsylvania,
whence John Shuman emigrated from Philadelphia to what is now known as
Minister's run, Marion County, then Monongalia County. He was one of the first
to penetrate the wilds of that section of what is now West Virginia. He had
two brothers, Philip and another, who served in the revolutionary war. He
followed farming as a means of livelihood. He married Elizabeth Smith.
Children: Mary, Rachel, Catherine, Joseph, Benjamin, Jacob, Sophia, David,
Elizabeth, Hannah, Joshua, Jonathan, of whom further.
(II) Jonathan
Shuman, son of John and Elizabeth (Smith) Shuman, was born in 1831, in
Monongalia County, Virginia. He was by occupation a farmer. He married Dorcas
_____, and they had children, including Philip, of whom further. The Shumans
were nearly all of the Methodist religious faith, and in politics, of later
years, Republicans.
(III) Philip
Shuman, son of Jonathan and Dorcas Shuman, was born in Battelle district,
Monongalia County, Virginia, in 1860. He obtained the ordinary common school
education, and followed farming. He took much interest in educational matters
when grown to manhood, and was elected trustee of the public schools. He was
known for his good and upright character. He was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and in politics a Republican. He married (first) a Miss
Minor, (second) Rebecca Ann Darrah, (third) Nancy A. Kennedy. Children of
second wife: Albert, of whom further; Mary Alice, married Simeon Lemley and
their children are Milford and Mildred. The mother of these children died
November 8, 1895. Children of third wife: William A. and Edna May.
(IV) Albert
Shuman, son of Philip and Rebecca Ann (Darrah) Shuman, was born in Battelle
district, Monongalia County, West Virginia, November 3, 1885. He was educated
in the public schools and Fairmont State Normal School, after which he
attended the West Virginia University (law department), graduating in 1910.
The same year of his graduation he was admitted to the bar and commenced to
practice law at Morgantown. Mr. Shuman is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and connected with the Knights of Pythias order. Politically he votes
the Republican ticket. Mr. Shuman, by careful and exacting methods, has
commenced to build a good legal practice at Morgantown. He comes of a
well-known and highly intelligent family whose members have all left their
impress upon the various communities in which they have resided since the long
ago days after the war for independence when the forefathers settled in West
Virginia, as now understood. He married, in December, 1910, Goldie Prudence,
daughter of David S. and Hattie Lemley.
[Source:
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL OF THE Upper Monongahela Valley, WV Vol. III; By
James Morton Callahan; Edited by Bernard L. Butcher; Publ. 1912; Pgs. 960-961;
Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack]
Swager Family
The Swager
family, of which James Truman Swager, an active and enterprising business man
of Clarksburg, is a worthy representative, is of German origin, but there is
nothing definite known of the early members.
(I) George Swager was a
resident of Pennsylvania for many years,
removing from thence about 1850 to Harrison county, West Virginia, where he
spent the remainder of his life. He was a farmer. He was a man of high
character, and won and retained the friendship of his fellow citizens. He
married Rebecca Ann Nair, and among their children was James Truman, of whom
further.
(II) James Truman, son
of George and Rebecca Ann (Nair) Swager, was born in Sardis, Harrison county,
West Virginia, October 21, 1861. He attended the public schools in the
vicinity of his home during the winter months until he was almost twenty years
of age, in the meantime, during the summer months, working on his father's
farm. He then located about one and a half miles from Clarksburg on what is
called the Western Road and engaged in the dairy business with Benjamin Brown
Stout, and this connection continued until the year 1884, they disposing of
their product in the city of Clarksburg. In May, 1884, Mr. Swager engaged in
business on his own account, confectionery and the manufacture of ice cream,
conducting a wholesale trade, which rapidly increased to large proportions,
owing to the excellent quality of his products. In 1901 he erected the Swager
Hotel, located at No. 328 West Pike street, Clarksburg, and conducted the
same, in connection with his other business, until June 1, 1908, when he
leased the hotel. He still continues in his other line of work, being now
(1912) located at No. 214 West Pike street. In addition to this he is serving
in the capacity of president and is a stockholder in the Apollo Parlor
Confectionery Company, which is located west of Fourth street. He possesses
the ability to succeed in whatever he undertakes, and to this he adds
perseverance and determination, therefore he has achieved a large degree of
success in his enterprises. He served as city chancellor for two terms, and
his tenure of office was so satisfactory to all concerned that he was
re-elected to the same office for the term of 1912-13. He is a member of Lodge
No. 482, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Clarksburg, and is one of
the executive committee.
He married, August 25,
1887, Lydia Ann Conley. Children: Arthur Bradshaw, Bessie, Clara, Wilma,
Katherine.
[Source: GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL OF THE Upper
Monongahela Valley, WV Vol. III; By James Morton Callahan; Edited by Bernard
L. Butcher; Publ. 1912; Transcribed by Andrea Stawski
Pack]
