200 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. is heard the weird shriek of the rushing train, as with swift wings it flies along the ringing rail. The gayly decorated coach, drawn by a spanking team of four matched horses, driven by a knight of the whip, swelling with pride, and handling the " ribbons " with the skill of a master, is but a fast fleeting memory. " We mourn, bereft of the post-horn deft, Blown by that famous driver, For we only hear when the cars draw near, A screech down by the river." CHAPTER X II. MASON AND DIXON'S LINE. MASON AND DIXON'S LINE was based upon an agreement entered into on the 4th of July, 1760, between Lord Baltimore, of the province of Maryland, and Thomas Richard Penn, of the province of Pennsylvania, and the three lower counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, on the Delaware — on account of the very long litigations and contests which had subsisted between these provinces from the year 1683. These parties mutually agreed, among other things, to appoint a sufficient number of discreet and proper persons, not more than seven on each side, to be their respective commissioners, with full power to the said seven persons, or any three or more of them, for the actual running, marking and laying out of the said part of the circle (as mentioned in the charter from Charles II. to William Penn), and the said before mentioned lines, The commissioners were to fix upon their time of commencing said line not later than the following October, and proceed with all fairness, candor and dispatch; marking said line with stones and posts on both sides, and complete the same before the 25th of December, 1763, so that no disputes may hereafter arise concerning the same. James Hamilton (governor), Richard Peters, Rev. Dr. John Ewing, William Allen (chief justice) , William Coleman, Thomas Willing and Benjamin Chew, were appointed commissioners on the part of the Penns. Horatio Sharpe (governor) , J. Ridout, John Leeds, John Barclay, George Stewart, Dan of St. Thomas Janifer, and J. Beale Boardley on behalf of Lord Baltimore. The board of commissioners met at New Castle, in November, 1760, and each province selected its own surveyors. The Pennsylvania surveyors were John Lukens and Archibald McClain. Those of Maryland were John F. A. Priggs and Jonathan Hall. The commissioners and surveyors agreed that the peninsular lines from Henlopen to the Chesapeake, made under a OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 201 decree of Lord Hardwicke in 1750, was correct, hence if they fixed the court house at New Castle as the center of the circle, and the surveyors proceeded on this data to measure and mark the lines, James Veach, Esq., in his history of Mason and Dixon's line, says: " Three years were diligently devoted to finding the bearings of the western line of Delaware, so as to make it a tangent to the circle, at the end of a twelve mile radius. The instruments and appliances employed seem to have been those commonly used by surveyors. The proprietors residing in or near London, grew weary of this slow progress, which, perhaps, they set down to the incompetency of the artists. To this groundless suspicion we owe the supercedure and the introduction of the new Mason and Dixon, who have immortalized their memory in the name of the principal line which had yet to be run.17 In August, 1763, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, of London, England, were selected by Lord Baltimore and the Penns to complete their lines, as per agreement, made on the 4th of July, 1760, and arrived at Philadelphia in November, for that purpose, furnished, says Mr. Veech, with instruction and the most approved instruments, among them a four foot zenith sector. They go to work at once, erect an observatory on Cedar street, Philadelphia, to facilitate the ascertainment of its latitude, which building they used by January, 1764, and it has been pronounced the first building erected in America for astronomical observations. They then go to New Castle, adopt the radius as measured by their predecessors, and after numerous tracings of the tangent line, adopt also this tangent point, from which they say they could not make the tangent line pass one inch to the eastward or westward. They therefore cause that line and point to be marked, and adjourn to Philadelphia to find the southern limit of Cedar or South street. This they make to be 39̊ 56' 29", while the latitude of the state has been marked as 39○ 56' 29", they then proceed to extend that latitude sufficiently far to the west to be due north of the tangent point, thence they measure down south fifteen miles to the latitude of the great due west line, and run its parallel for a short distance, then they go to the tangent point and run due north to that latitude, and at the point of intersection, in a deep ravine, near a spring, they cause to be planted the corner-stone, at which begins the celebrated " Mason and Dixon's line. The graphic description of Mr. Veech continues: " Having ascertained the latitude of this line to be 39̊ 43' 32" (although more accurate observations make it 39̊ 43' 26". 8, consequently it is a little over nineteen miles south 40̊ as now located) they, under instructions, run it parallel to the Susquehanna, twenty-three miles; and having verified the latitude there, they return to the tangent point, from which they run the north line to the fifteen mile corner and that part of the circle which it cuts off to the west, and which by agreement was to go to New Castle county. This little bow or arc is about a mile and a half long and its middle width 116 feet. From the upper end where the three states join, to the fifteen mile point where 202 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. the great Mason and Dixon's line begins, is a little over three and a half miles, and from the fifteen mile corner due west to the circle is a little over three quarters of a mile. This was the only part of the circle which Mason and Dixon run, Lord Baltimore having no concern in the residue; Penn, however, had it run and marked with " four good notches," by Isaac Taylor and Thomas Pierson in 1700 and 1701. Where it cuts the circle is the corner of three dominions, an important point, and therefore they cause it to be well ascertained and well marked. This brings them to the end of 1764." They resumed their labors in June, 1765. If to extend this parallel did not require so great skill as did the nice adjustments of the other lines and instructions, it summoned its performers to greater endurance. A tented army penetrates the forest, but their purposes are peaceful and they move merrily. Besides the surveyors and their assistants, there are claim-bearers, rod-men, axe-men, commissioners, cooks and baggage carriers, with numerous servants and laborers. By the 27th of October they came to the North (Cove or Kittatiny) Mountain, ninety-five miles from the Susquehanna, and where the temporary line of 1739 terminated. After taking Capt. Shelby with them to its summit, to show them the course of the Potomac, and point out the Allegheny mountains, the surveyors returned to the settlements to pass the winter and to get their appointment renewed. Early in 1768 they are again at their pests, and by the 4th of June they are on the top of the Little Allegheny mountain, the first west of Will's creek. They have now carried the line 160 miles from the beginning. The Indians into whose ungranted territory they had deeply penetrated, grew restive and threatening. They forbid any further advance, and they had to be obeyed. The agents of the proprietors now find that there are other lords of the soil whose favor must be propitiated. The Six Indian nations were the lords paramount of the territory yet to be traversed. Td obtain their consent to the consummation of the line, the governors of Pennsylvania and Maryland, in the winter of 1766-7, at an expense of more than £500, procured, under the agency of Sir William Johnston, a convocation of the tribes of that powerful confederacy. The application was successful, and early in June, 1767, an escort of fourteen warriors, with an interpreter and chief deputed by the Iroquois council, met the surveyors and their camp at the summit of the great Allegheny to escort them down into the valley of the Ohio. Safety being thus secured, the extension of the line was pushed on vigorously in the summer of 1767. Soon the host of red and white men led by the London surveyors, came to the western limit of Maryland, "the meridian of the first fountain of the Potomac," and why they did not stop there is a mystery, for there their functions terminated. But they passed by it unheeded because unknown, resolved to reach the utmost limit of Penn's "five degrees of longitude" from the Delaware, for so were they instructed. By the 24th they came to the crossing of Braddock's road. The escort now became restless. The Mohawk chief and his nephew leave. The Shawnees and Delawares, OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 203 tenants of the hunting grounds, grow terrific. On the 27th of September, when camped on the Monongahela river, 233 miles from the Delaware river, twenty-six of the laborers deserted, and but fifteen axemen are left. Being so near the goal, the surveyors (for none of the commissioners were with them) evinced their courage by coolly sending back to Fort Cumberland for aid, and in the meantime they pushed on. At length they came to where the line crosses the Warrior branch of the old Catawba war path, at the second crossing of the Dunkard creek, a little west of Mount Morris, Green county, and there the Indian escort say to them: " that they were instructed by their chiefs in council, not to let the line be run westward of that path." Their commands were peremptory, and there for fifteen years MASON AND DIXON'S LINE IS STAYED. Mason and Dixon, with their pack-horse train and attendants, returned to the east without molestation, and reported to the commissioners, who approved their conduct, and on the 27th of December, 1767, granted to them an honorable discharge, and agreed to pay them an additional price for a map or plan of their work. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. CITY OF WHEELING. James R. Acker, an old and honored citizen of Wheeling, W. Va., and a prominent grocer and flour and feed merchant, was born in Wheeling, November 22, 1830. He is the son of David and Hannah Acker, the former of whom died when James was three years old, and the latter died in ]851. The home of our subject has been in Wheeling all his life. He received a common school education, and during his youth was employed as a nail feeder. At nineteen years of age he entered the employ of Isaac Blanchard, for whom he clerked in a grocery store ten years, and in June, 1859, engaged in the grocery and flour and feed business at No. 115 Sixteenth street, where he has continued ever since—a period of thirty years. He has built up an honorable reputation, and he is widely known as a successful and reliable merchant. Mr. Acker was married in 1857 to Miss Kate Keller, who died in 1867, leaving three children: Millard, Agnes and Minnie, all of whom are still living. In May, 1868, Mr. Acker was married to Miss Emma S. Hobson, who has borne him two children: Alice B. and Homer B., the former of whom died, aged nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Acker are members of the First Presbyterian church. Mr. Acker has been a member of the I. 0. 0. F. since 1856, and in politics is a democrat. He has served two terms as a member of the city council, and for the past ten years has been a member of the board of education. Before the office was abolished he served one term as overseer of the poor. Mr. Acker is one of Wheeling's best citizens, and he is very highly respected by all who know him. Gregory Ackerman, M. D., one of the prominent physicians of Wheeling, has had an extensive practice in this city during the past 204 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. decade, which has embraced the period of his residence. He was born in Prussia, September 8, 1852, near the city of Fulda, where he received his early education, and completed his studies preliminary to his professional reading. Deciding to pursue the practice of medicine, he entered upon the study, and continued it mainly in the universities of Zurich and of Berne, in Switzerland, at the latter of- which institutions he was graduated in 1879. He began his practice in Germany, and three months later, was appointed physician for the North German Lloyd line of steamers,, and was stationed at Bremen. In the fall of 1880, he came to the United States, and made his home at Wheeling, where he has since resided. As a surgeon, he has few compeers in this region, and as a general practitioner, has the confidence of the community in a remarkable degree. He is a member of the Ohio Medical society. Dr. Ackerman was married in 1882, to. Mary Elizabeth Coevilia, daughter of Laurence Sikler, deceased, formerly of Wheeling. George Adams, of Wheeling, W. Va., is a descendant of a family of that name who crossed from England about the year 1695, and made their home in Somerset county, Md., in which county the par-ens of Mr. Adams were both born. They afterward became residents of Baltimore, and there the father died in 1846. George, the subject of this mention, was born at Baltimore in 1834, and in the schools of that city received his early education, which was supplemented by study at Newton university, a high grade classical institute presided over by Dr. H. W. Heath. After leaving school he entered the employment of a large shipping and commission house. He was engaged in this house in 1852 when he came to Wheeling as its representative, to take charge of a large pork packing establishment under its control. In 1857 Mr. Adams, deciding to remain at Wheeling, engaged in the wholesale grocery and commission business, establishing a house of his own, which met with pronounced success. In the same year in which this business was founded he was married to Mary, daughter of Samuel McClellan, an old and highly respected merchant of Wheeling. Mr. Adams continued in the mercantile business until 1864, when he organized the First National bank of Wheeling, of which he was elected cashier. He served as cashier and manager of that establishment until 1874, when he resigned to enter the wholesale boot and shoe trade with J. N. Vance, he and partner succeeding in the' well established business founded by their father-in-law in 1837. In the latter part of 1876 Mr. Adams resumed his position as cashier, the bank having in the meantime been changed in title and organization from the First National to the Bank of the Ohio Valley. He held this position in the bank until the early part of 188o, when he resigned, in order to travel with his son, who was in feeble health. He was thus occupied for about three years, and since his return to Wheeling he has not been actively engaged in business affairs, though his interests are extensive in various enterprises in and about Wheeling. Though of southern birth and training Mr. Adams was during the civil war a firm supporter of the Union and unfaltering in loyalty. OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 205 He was in Baltimore on April 19, 1861, and on account of the excitement and the anti-union sentiment then manifested, removed his mother and family to St. Clairsville, Ohio, where the aged lady, who was born in 1808, still resides, in full possession of her, faculties. By his first marriage Mr. Adams had three children, of whom there is one survivor, the wife of Philip Taylor Allen, of Staunton, Va. The first wife of Mr. Adams died in 1870, and in 1874 he was married to her sister, Jane W. McClellan. The family of Alderson, which in more ways than one has been conspicuous in the early history of West Virginia, and of which Major J. C. Alderson, of Wheeling, is a descendant, originated in Yorkshire, England. During the sixteenth century John Alderson was a Baptist minister at Yorkshire, and his son John, then a young man, became enamoured of a young lady who for some reason was not acceptable to his parents, and in order to break off the relations of the young couple, the son was given £200 with which to travel on the continent. He did not leave England, however, on his contemplated travels, but in the course of time found himself on the coast at Liverpool without money and friends. Falling in with a man by the name of Curtise, who was preparing to sail to America, the young and penniless Alderson was induced to embark with his new found friend. This man Curtise was the first settler of the territory which now comprises the state of New Jersey. Nine years after coming to America young Alderson married a daughter of Curtise, and later followed in the foot-steps of his father and became a minister of the Baptist church. He then, for the first time in ten. years, wrote home, much to the delight of his parents, who thought him dead. His father at once wrote him a congratulatory letter upon his being alive and well, and being a Baptist minister, sending him three large volumes of ecclesiastical -works of great value which had been in the family for many years, and which were to be-handed down from gen eration to generation of his descendants who became clergymen of the Baptist faith, which books are now in the possession of J. C. Alderson, who, while not a minister, is the surviving son of his father, Rev. L. A. Alderson. Rev. John Alderson, the great grandfather of Major Alderson, built the first church in the valley of Virginia, at Lynnville, just above Harrisburg, which was called the Lynnville Baptist church. In the same neighborhood settled the grandfather of President Lincoln, who was then known as Linkhorn. Rev. Alderson was imprisoned some time about 1750 or 1760 in the old Faircastle jail, Bortetourt county, Va., for preaching the gospel and uniting people in marriage contrary to the laws of the church of England. He was the first of the Alderson family to come west of the Allegheny mountains, and brought the first wagon across the mountains in I n0, making the journey from Faircastle to Alderson's Ferry, opposite what is now the town of Alderson, on Green Brier.river, Green Brier county, Va., in that year. This journey consumed eighteen months. In 1772 he built the first church west of the Alleghenies, which was known as the Green Brier Baptist church, and the beautiful white chapel which 206 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. stands on the above site is the third erected on the old foundation. The settlement of that portion of what is now West Virginia was sparse indeed, and the Indians were very hostile. In planting corn the old minister was compelled to carry his musket for protection, and he preached the gospel throughout that country on Sundays, often taking two or three members of his church and going from twenty-five to thirty miles to preach to half a dozen people. His son Joseph, grandfather of J. C. Alderson, was a leading character in Green Brier county, being known as 'Squire Joseph Alderson, and while he was not a minister he was a zealous Christian worker, and for over forty years he was moderator and presiding officer of every Baptist association held in that county. He gave freely of his means for the erection of churches and the support of the same, and it was often said of him, "That as long as Squire Alderson would build the churches, pay the preachers and feed the congregations we will have preaching." He represented Green Brier county in the Virginia legislature several consecutive sessions, and sunk the first salt well in the Kanawha valley, above Charleston. His death occurred in 1845, and he left a handsome estate to his son, Rev. L. A. Alderson, father of Major Alderson, who was born in Green Brier county in 1812. He graduated from the Ohio university at Athens in 1832, in a class of forty-five, with first honors. After leaving college he fitted himself for the ministry, studying with Rev. Dr. Jones, at Williamsburg, Va., preaching his first sermon in the old Powder Horn church, the historical building in which Gen. Washington placed his powder to keep it dry during the revolution. Subsequently he was the pastor of the Grace Street Baptist church, in Richmond, Va., removing from that city to the Alderson plantation in Green Brier county, taking charge of the same and filling the pulpits of four' different churches on alternate Sabbaths. As a farmer, he was successful, tilling 1,500 acres of land, and he was the first to introduce the wheat drill into that section of the country. In 1853-54 he organized the Green Brier Agricultural society, and was president of the same until 1858, when he removed to Atchison City, Kas., and built almost entirely out of his own purse the first Baptist church erected in the territory of Kansas, and also aided in building half a dozen others in northeastern Kansas. He gave fifty good years of his life and a large portion of his fortune to the Baptist church and its work, both at home and in foreign lands. He rarely ever accepted a salary for his services aspastor, and when he did it was devoted to foreign missions. In 1838 he was married to Eliza Floyd, daughter of Capt. John Coleman, of Amherst county, Va. The ceremony was performed at " Locust Grove," the Coleman plantation, in July of that year, and it was on this plantation that Maj. J. C. Alderson was born, October 29, 1839. Rev. L. A. Alderson died at Atchison, Kas., May 19, 1882. His widow survives. Maj. Alderson was reared on the Alderson plantation, and until his sixteenth year, was educated by private teachers in his father's family, subsequently he attended the Lewisburg academy, then taught by Prof. Custer. In 1858 he went OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 207 with the family to Kansas, returning to Virginia in the spring of 1859, having spent several months in Kansas and Missouri. He then entered Allegheny college, where he was in the graduating class at the beginning of the late war. He was the first one of the 150 students and the third citizen in the county to volunteer in the Confederate army. He became a member of the Green Brier cavalry, one of the finest bodies of men and horses in the army, so pronounced by Gov. Litcher, of Virginia. This company was disbanded in the winter of 1861-1862, and immediately nearly every member of the same organized individual companies of their own. Maj. Alderson organized a company, and was offered its captaincy, but declined and accepted the first lieutenantcy, being attached, with his company, first to the Eighth, and then the Fourteenth Virginia cavalry, commanded by Maj. Gen. J. W. Sweeney, of Wheeling, until Jnne 12,1863, when that officer was terribly wounded at the battle of Opaqua, he receiving thirteen shots in his body, three of which passed entirely through him, his wounds rendering him unfit for further service the balance of the war. Maj. Alderson was after this given command of Company A, as captain. His captain succeeding to command of battalion. During the winter of 1863-4 Maj. Alderson had command of the battalion, though he was not commissioned major. He participated in many fierce engagements, in three of which he lost over half of his command in each, and in two of which his command fought hand to hand with the enemy with sabers for almost half an hour. Maj. Alderson carried the order which opened the battle of Gettysburg on the Confederate side, on July I, 1864, having on that day been detached on Gen. Rhodes' staff, whose division opened that celebrated battle. On the raids into Pennsylvania preceding and following the battle of Gettysburg, Maj. Alderson commanded and led the advance, and covered the retreat of the army. His battalion was in Tennessee when they were ordered to join the army of the Potomac prior to the battle of Gettysburg, and while en route reached Lexington, Va., the same night the body of Gen. "Stonewall " Jackson arrived there for burial, and he was requested by Col. Smith, in command of the military institute, at Lexington, to delay his march long enough to attend the funeral of Jackson the following day, and his command was the only body of soldiers who fired over the grave of the dead hero. On the Pennsylvania raids Maj. Alderson was in the saddle for twenty-eight days and nights without over two or three hours rest at any one time, fighting every day and often at night. On Hunter's Raid, at Lynchburg, Va., in June, 1864, he lost his general, William E. Jones, at the battle of Piedmont. He fought Du Fay for ten days at Waynesboro, just below Stanton, and that general slipped away on the second night and crossed the Blue Ridge into Amherst county, Va., but the confederates crossed at another gap and got ahead of Du Fay on Sunday morning, June 12th. Gen. Imboden took command, in connection with his own and the command of Gen. W. L. Jackson, and the following morning, before daylight, Maj. Alderson asked permission to lead the advance, as he was acquainted 208 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. with the country, which request Gen. Imboden granted with pleasure, at the same time giving instructions to the effect that when he met the enemy to select a good position to bring on a general engagement. About 8 o'clock that morning the major met Du Fay's advance, commanded by Maj. Ringold of the first New York cavalry, and capturing the advance, he selected a commanding position for a general engagement, which he held unsupported until surrounded and compelled to surrender, all of which occurred in sight of his superior officer, Gen. Imboden, who made no attempt, to prevent the catastrophe, but instead retreated, when had he advanced as he agreed, the enemy's command would have been captured. The last of June, 1864, Maj. Alderson was brought to Wheeling as a prisoner, and on July 3d, following, was taken to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he remained until February 28, 1865. In October, 1864, he, with others, were placed under retaliation for the treatment of Federal officers confined at Andersonville prison, they being placed on one-third rations, and not permitted to buy or receive anything from the outside. The major was offered, but declined, a parole at the hands of President Lincoln, but in February, 1865, his father, through friends in congress, secured a special exchange, and he again started for the Confederate front to join his command, and with his command was within a few miles of Gen. Lee when he surrendered. The major and his command cut their way out on the morning of Lee's surrender. The major was paroled by Gen. Ohley at Lewisburg about one month after Lee's surrender, and the following fall he went to Kansas. He was express messenger on one of the first coaches sent out from Atchison to. Denver over the Smoky Hill route, and the following winter he was placed in charge of the middle division of the road, extending from Fort Ellsworth, Kan., to Fort Wallace, Col., a distance of 250 miles through the heart of the Indian and buffalo country. The Cheyennes and Rapahoes made almost weekly raids upon the road, killing men and passengers, burning stations and wagon trains and coaches, carrying off goods and driving off the stock. They absolutely destroyed 175 miles of the major's division three different times during one winter. A carpenter in the major's employ resembled him so closely that the Indians killed him, taking him for the major, and placed a board over his grave with his name upon it. So fierce were the attacks of the Indians that the major and his men were forced to corrall the wagons and coaches and fight them for days at a time. Altogether he was in charge of the road for two years, during which time he had many encounters with the Indians; he and a party were caught in a northwestern storm when the thermometer fell to thirty-five degrees below zero, and the party was in the snow storm for about five days, the last four days and nights being spent without food. The major then settled near Atchison on Alderson Grove, which he had purchased from his father, on this there were planted 4,000 cottonwood trees, and it was the finest grove and plantation in Kansas. At the Centennial in 1876, one of these cottonwood trees was exhibited which measured twenty-four OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 209 inches in diameter. This magnificent grove could be seen for fifty miles in almost any direction, and the example set by the major was followed by almost every farmer in Kansas. Rev. Alderson planted about 2,000 walnut trees on his plantation, and they measured from 8 to 12 inches in diameter. For two years Major Alderson operated this plantation, and then engaged in the insurance business at Atchison, and in December, 1869, he located in Wheeling, where he has since resided, and has been engaged in the insurance and real estate business ever since. In 1882, in connection with Rev. C. P. Masden and Rev. Ed. W. Ryan, he founded Mountain Lake Park, a religious and literary retreat in Garrett county, Md., on the B. & O. railroad. The major also owns large quantities of land in the southern part of West Virginia in connection with J. F. Paull, of Wheeling. Major Alderson has always been in politics, but only in the interests of his friends, as he has never sought an office. Gen. Mathew appointed him a director of the West Virginia penitentiary, which position he held for eight or nine years, having been reappointed by Gov. Jackson. Gov. Wilson appointed him commissioner to the centennial in 1876 for West Virginia, and also to the centennial of the Ohio valley in 1888, and as such secured Judge G. L. Cranmer to deliver the lecture on West Virginia. He was appointed a commissioner from West Virginia to the centennial of the inauguration of Washington in New York, and was honored with the appointment as a member of the staff of the commanding officer of that occasion to represent West Virginia. Major Alderson was married February 26, 1874, to Miss May Price, daughter of ex-Governor and ex-United States Senator Price, of Lewisburg, W. Va. Guy R. C. Allen, Jr., an able and successful member of the Wheeling bar, was born in Morgantown, Va., now West Virginia, May 26, 1854, the son of Guy R. C. and Delia (Lowry) Allen. The mother was a daughter of Joseph and Harriet Lowry. The father was a very prominent lawyer, having practiced in Morgantown for many years. He was admitted to the bar in Preston county, Va. The subject of this biography was educated in the public schools and at the Morgantown university. He remained in the university for two years, and at the end of that period, having been forced to give up his collegiate course by circumstances beyond his control, he began the study of law. He was graduated from the law department of the university of Virginia in the class of 1878, and in the fall of that year came to Wheeling, and began the practice of his chosen profession. May 12, 1886, he was joined in marriage to Miss Annie V. Glass, of Wheeling. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are consistent members of the Fourth. Street Methodist Episcopal church, of Wheeling. Mr. Allen is a well-read, discreet lawyer, and has built up a large and growing practice in the comparatively short time of his residence here. If his life and health be spared he will doubtless become one of the m0st eminent lawyers in the state. Although he has never taken any active part in politics, Mr. Allen is a firm and loyal supporter of the democratic party. 14—A. 210 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. J. W. Amick, of the extensive wholesale and retail boot and shoe establishment -of J. W. Amick & Co., Wheeling, is a son of M. W. Amick, now retired, who was one of the prominent citizens of Wheeling during his active career. The latter is the son of Jacob Amick, a pioneer of this city, who was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1790. He served in the war of 1812, and in 1815, became one of the pioneers of the city of Wheeling. He engaged in brick manufacture, and was also for many years one of the leading ice dealers, becoming quite prominent and well-known. He died May 24, 1858, and his widow, Elizabeth Withro, to whom he was married at Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, died in December, 1864. Seven children were born to them, of whom four, one son and three daughters, survive. M. W. Amick, the sur viving son, was born at Wheeling in 1832. He succeeded his father in the ice business and continued the same until 1870, when he retired from that and all other active business. He was married in 1857, to Laura H. Maybury, daughter of Rev. W. R. Maybury, one of the first Baptist ministers of the city. The latter, a native of Baltimore, born in 1812, died at Wheeling, March 23, 1871, and his wife died January 24, 1872, in the fifty-fourth year of her age. Of their seven children, two daughters and one son survive. J. W. Amick, with mention of whom this sketch began, is one of the leading young merchants of Wheeling. His establishment at Nos. 1143 and 1145 Main street, is the leading wholesale and retail boot and shoe house in the city. The retail department occupies one floor of one of these buildings, and the wholesale department the basement floor of one, and the second and third floors of both. Seven salesmen are usually employed in the store, and three agents are kept upon the road. Mr. Amick was born in this city March 4, 1858, and was reared and educated in the city.. In 1871 he began his connection with the boot and shoe trade as a. clerk, and four years later he formed a partnership with W. H. Foster, under the firm name of Foster & Amick, and they successfully conducted the establishment until 1880, when Mr. Amick became the pro prietor by purchase of the whole business. This he conducted alone until January 1, 1887, when Harry L. Bond, his brother-in-law, was admitted as a partner, and the firm of J. W. Amick & Co., was formed. The business hitherto had been exclusively retail, but the new firm added the wholesale department at once. Mr. Amick is an active member of the Baptist church of Wheeling, and superintendent of its Sunday-school. He devotes much attention to the welfare of the Y. M. C. A. of which he is vice president. William A. Anderson, superintendent of the public schools of the city of Wheeling, was born near West Liberty, Ohio county, where his grandfather, James Anderson, settled at an early day. The latter, a native of Strabane, county Tyrone, Ireland, was an officer in the ranks of the United Irish in the insurrection against England in 1798, and in the following year fled to America to escape arrest. He landed in New York and a year later his family landed at Norfolk, Va., and they were united through the efforts of the Masonic fraternity. They settled on a farm between West Liberty and Short creek, on the OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 211 Brooke and Ohio county line, a part of which he improved and on it made his home. He died there, leaving three children: Thomas, Lydia (afterward Mrs. John Creighton), and Jane (afterward Mrs. William Henderson). The latter removed to Morgan county, Ohio, and reared a large family. Thomas, who was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, was a cooper by trade, and also, in connection with his father, carried on a brewery for many years on the old homestead, manufacturing his own barrels and kegs. Later in life he engaged in farming until his death July 10, 1869. He married Catherine Wheatley, daughter of Isaac Wheatley, formerly of New Jersey, a blacksmith by trade, a pioneer of Westown, Penn., and later a resident of Buffalo creek, in Brooke county, and finally of the vicinity of Bellaire, Ohio. Thomas Anderson reared eight children: Mary, wife of James Brown; James; Robert, killed at battle of Piedmont, Va., July 5, 1864, being a member of Company K, Twelfth West Virginia; Jane A., now wife of James Brown; William H.; Anna E., wife of Mordecai Nelson; Rebecca, wife of John Richardson, and Emma S. All of these, except James, were teachers in early life. William H. Anderson was educated at the West Liberty academy, and then taught for six years in a country school. From 1868 to 1870 he had charge of the public schools of Bethany as principal. In January of the latter year he had charge of the Wellsburg schools, but resigned, and in August engaged in merchandise at Bethany, and followed that business for three years. At the end of that period he sold out and returned to his profession, taking charge of the schools at Bethany for two years, and then of the Wellsburg schools for three years. 1879 he removed to Wheeling and became principal of the Union school, a position he held for six years. On July 17, 1885, he was elected superintendent of the Wheeling schools, to fill an unexpired term, and his services in this capacity have been so satisfactory that he has since been twice re-elected for terms of two years each. Mr. Anderson was married at Chicago, August 20, 1874, to Mattie C., daughter of John Carle, of Wellsburg, W. Va., and they have three children: John Carle, Frank Ray, and Marie Virginia. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Christian church, and of the Masonic order, and in politics is a republican. Jacob Arbenz, head of the firm of Arbenz & Co., extensive furniture dealers and undertakers at No. 1115 Main street, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, February 22, 1828. He was given a good education and served a three years' apprenticeship at cabinet-making, before coming to the United States in 1849. He came from New York, directly to Wheeling, and soon afterward went to work at his trade with Ebbert & Ritter, with whom he remained about three months. He subsequently was engaged with John Clemmens, and then, in 1851, opened a small shop of his own on Main street, for the repairing and manufacturing of furniture. He has continued in business from that time to this, increasing his business and stock each year, until he now has one of the largest furniture houses of the city, and a well-equipped undertaking department. In 1863, he took into partnership, his brother-in-law, Henry Zimmerman, the firm becom- 212 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. ing known as Arbenz & Co. This partner died in 1879. In 1863, they started a large furniture factory, which was operated until January I, 1888, when they removed the same to Chillicothe, Ohio, and formed the Arbenz Furniture company, a joint stock concern, of which Mr. Arbenz is president. He is also a stockholder in the German bank, in the Jefferson Insurance company and the Dollar Savings bank. The church to which he belongs is the German Lutheran. Mr. Arbenz, than whom no one is more widely or favorably known in the city, came here a poor man, but by close application to business, and honest and fair dealing, has succeeded in building up a large business, as well as achieving an honorable reputation. In church he Ns been active nearly all his life, and has filled numerous official church positions. He was married in 1853, to Catherine Zimmerman, who was born in Wurtemberg, and they have had eight children, four of whom are living: Fred C., general manager and secretary of the Arbenz Furniture company, of Chillicothe; Henry J., professor of music at Wheeling; John P., in business with his father; and Herman. George Arkle, a justice of the peace of Wheeling, was born at that city, January 28, 1846. His parents, George and Dorothea (Dodds) Arkle, natives of England, came to Wheeling more than fifty years ago, and here the father did business as a coal operator for several years. He reared a family of six children: Isabel, wife of Philo Kimberly; Thomas,. deceased; Mary, wife of John W. Lowe; Ralph; Dorothea J., deceased, wife of Cepheus Davis, and George. The latter was reared and educated in his native city, and began his business career as a clerk in a grocery store. At the age of seventeen years he embarked in business on his own account, in connection with the coal trade, and was so occupied for four years. He then accepted the position of superintendent with the Wheeling Omnibus company, and was engaged in that capacity for several years. Then, entering the business of general contracting, he followed that pursuit for a considerable period, up to 1886. In the meantime, in 1883, he had been appointed justice of the peace for Clay district, and has held that office continuously since that date, being elected in 1884, and reelected in 1888 for a term of four years. 'The duties of this office Mr. Arkle has discharged with fidelity and discretion, and he is highly esteemed, both as an official and a private citizen. He is a member of the First Presbyterian church, of the Knights of Honor, and of the A. O. U. W. and National Union. In politics he is a democrat. Mr. Arkle was married in 1867 to Mary R. Smith, a native of Missouri, and daughter of John Smith, formerly of Washington county, Penn. To this union two children have been born, Harry G., and May Dodds. Joseph A. Arkle, a member of the city council of Wheeling, and justice of the peace, and a well-known citizen, was born in Burlington, Belmont county, Ohio, June 28, 1841. He is the son of Robert A. Arkle, a native of England, who came to America in 1833, and was married February 7, 1837, to Anastasia Scott, who was born in Ireland. They settled in Wheeling, in 1845, and here the father still OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 213 lives, having been in the grocery business for many years, but now retired. He had six children: Mary J. V., wife of John Cook; Joseph A.; Anna, wife of Oliver Morris; Robert V., Martha, wife of Edward Plues, and Ellen. Joseph A. Arkle was reared in Wheeling, and received his education in public and private schools of the city. On March 2, 1863, he enlisted in Company I, Third United States cavalry, and remained in active service during the war in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventh army corps. After the war, serving in New Mexico, he was wounded in the shoulder July 9, 1867, in an engagement with the Navajoe Indians, near Ft. Sumner, N. M. After his discharge March 2, 1867, he returned to Wheeling and embarked in the grocery business in 1877, in whith he is still engaged. In 1887 he also became identified with the pension and real estate business, in which he is prominent. Mr. Arkle is a leading member of the G. A. R., and at present is commander of post No. 53, of Wheeling. On September 19, 1869, at Parkersburg, W. Va., Mr. Arkle was married to Mary E., daughter of William and Anna (Heck) Hawkins, of Marion county, W. Va., and by this union has six children living: Mary, wife of John Monahan; Ellen, Albert, Rose, Regina and John. He and family are members of the Catholic church, of the Immaculate Conception in the Eighth ward, of which he has been financial secretary and treasurer constantly since January, 1879. The Hon. W. W. Arnett, the distinguished criminal lawyer of West Virginia, was born in Marion county, W. Va., October 26, 1843. He is the son of Ulysses N. Arnett, who was a native of Monongahela county, W. Va. The latter was a member of the Virginia legislature from 1846 to 1856, and was a member of the constitutional convention in 1872; was a member, and president of the state senate immediately following the organization of the state in 1872. This eminent man's death occurred in 1880, in his sixty-first year. His wife was Elizabeth (Cunningham) Arnett, who was born in Monongahela county, W. Va. To these parents two sons and two daughters were born, one of the daughters is now deceased. The Arnett family is of French-English descent, the family name being French. The Hon. W. W. Arnett was reared in Fairmont, W. Va., and was graduated from Allegheny college with the degrees of A. B. and A. M., in the class of 1860. He began the study of law with Judge Haymond when but thirteen years of age. December 12, 1860, he was admitted to the bar. In April, 1861, he entered the Thirty-first Virginia infantry as a private. Subsequently he was appointed lieutenant-colonel, with the command of a battalion of seven companies, which afterward formed the principal part of the Twenty-fifth regiment of Virginia. Shortly after he was assigned to the command of Col. Talliren's regiment (Twenty-third Virginia infantry), consisting of 1,300 men, as lieutenant-colonel. The valiant soldier was made colonel of the Twentieth cavalry regiment in June, 1863, and served in this distinguished position until the close of the war. Col. Arnett fought in the Second Battle of Manassas, was engaged in the defense of Richmond, and also participated in the battles of Winchester, Cross Keys, Malvern Hill, and many other 214 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. noted engagements too numerous to mention. After the close of the war he returned to Fairmont and began the practice of his chosen profession, but was cut off by the Lawyer's Test Oath. In the early part of 1866 he went to Shenandoah valley, locating at Berryville, the county seat of Clark county, and while there gained an enviable reputation as a lawyer. One of the great cases which helped to make him famous as a criminal lawyer was one in which he was assistant counsel for a man who had killed a Union soldier, and the man was cleared by Col. Arnett's remarkable ability and eloquence. Col. Arnett was nominated by acclamation in 1868, for the Virginia legislature, and was easily elected. He was present in the state house when it collapsed, causing the death of 170 people. He had been elected to the legislature while in the army but refused to serve, preferring to fight, rather than to legislate for his cause. In 1872 he went to St. Louis, Mo., and practiced in that city for three years, at the expiration of which time he came to Wheeling, W. Va. While in St. Louis Col. Arnett won many notable cases, among which was the celebrated case of the State vs. Julia Fort Meyer, who was on trial for her life, charged with arson and murder. His removal from Missouri, where he was rapidly rising to the very front ranks of the bar, was caused by his desire to be near his aged father. Miss Sallie Stephenson became his wife in the year 1867. Four sons have been born to this union. Mrs. Arnett is the daughter of the Hon. Adam Stephenson, who was at one time one of the most eminent men of Virginia, having been a member of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1850, and for twenty-eight years clerk of the circuit and county courts of Highland county. Col. Arnett has ever been actuated by the loftiest motives, both in his private and public life. Despite the honors that have come to him, few men bear themselves with more dignity and modesty than he. A brave soldier, a wise statesman, a great lawyer and a Christian gentleman. Among the prominent self-made men of West Virginia, is the Hon. George W. Atkinson, the subject of this sketch. His parents — both Virginians— were of German-English origin, their ancestors having come to this country and settled in Pennsylvania before the beginning of the present century. From there they drifted over into the Old Dominion, and became residents of the Great Kanawha valley. In that historic fertile valley, the subject of this sketch was born June 29, 1846. The first sixteen years of his life were spent upon a farm, and in attending the public and private schools of the neighborhood near Charleston, Kanawha county, where he resided. After the breaking out of the late civil war, his father abandoned farming, removed to Charleston, and became a merchant, and for a year or two the son was a salesman in his father's dry goods establishment. During this period he studied book-keeping and became an expert in that line of work. Being naturally ambitious, and always an earnest student, he was sent to the Ohio Wesleyan university, at Delaware, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated B. A. with the class of 1870. Subsequently he received the degree of M. A. in OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 215 cursu from his alma mater. Indiana Asbury university, in 1876, also confferred upon him the same degree pro merito. He took the prescribed course of study for post graduates at Mt. Union college, Ohio, and received the degree of Ph. D., pro merit̊, and in May, 1890, he received the degree of LL D., from the university of Nashville, also from U. S. Grant university, Chattanooga, Tenn. After his return from c0llege, he taught school for some time; studied law for two years; attended law lectures at Columbian university, and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He was six years postmaster at Charleston; was several years editor of the West Virginia journal, a large and influential weekly newspaper; was four years a special agent of the United States treasury, which necessitated his traveling all over the United States; was one full term United States marshal for the district of West Virginia. In 1877 he moved to Wheeling, and after his term as marshal expired in 1885, he resumed the practice of his profession, and was not long in building up a large and profitable clientage. Mr. Atkinson has always been a republican, and for many years has been quite active in his party's councils. He was eight years chairman of the state executive committee; is a superior platform speaker, and possesses many elements of solid popularity. He was elected to the Fifty-first congress, where he is now serving. He is also an author of considerable celebrity, having written several miscellaneous books, which have received merited praise, and have had a large sale. P. J. Altmeyer, of Wheeling, now in the furniture and undertaking business at N0. 5505 Jacob street, has been occupied during the greater part of his life in the nail industry, being one of the most skillful of the artisans to whom the prosperity of the city is so largely indebted. Mr. Altmeyer was born in Pennsylvania in 1847, the son of John Altmeyer, a native of France, and his wife, Lizzie, who was born in Germany. During the infancy of the subject of this sketch the parents removed to Wheeling, and the father found employment at the Belmont mill, rising to the position of shipper of nails at that establishment. Subsequently the family removed to Benwood, having their home where the Riverside iron plant now stands, and thence they moved to Steubenville, where their home was for five years. Returning subsequently to Benwood, they removed thence to Wheeling, resided in the Fifth ward some time, and then removed to the vineyard on Chapline hill, where the father died in 1873. The mother died in Benwood two years later. These parents had a large family of children, ten of whom survive. They were devout Catholics, and members of the cathedral, and later of St. Alphonsus church. The subject of this mention at the age of six years began work in nail mills, and from that time until 1889, followed nailing as his occupation. Such was the efficiency that he soon acquired that he was for ten years continuously employed at the Top mill, and subsequently for ten consecutive years at the Benwood mill, working up to the most important job in the establishment, the charge of the big spike mill. During the strike he ran the spike job at Brilliant, Ohio. Subsequently 216 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. Mr. Altmeyer took a well-earned vacation, and devoted it to a visit to California, where he spent about six weeks in the Pacific Nail works at Oakland, giving an illustration there of the way work was done in West Virginia. While there he cut the first steel nail cut in California, and operated a spike and four self-feeders at the same time. Few nail men have a more successful career than Mr. Altmeyer, and he has the additional distinction of never having been discharged, not ever having an unpleasant word with any of his superintendents. From this business Mr. Altmeyer retired in September, 1889, and embarked in the undertaking and furniture, where he is having good success. Mr. Altmeyer was married in 1874, to Mary Dimmy, by whom he has three children, and he and family are members of the Catholic church. Henry Milton Babcock, of Wheeling, has been connected with the iron industry of the city for many years, and enjoys the distinction of being the oldest nail factory manager in this vicinity. Mr. Babcock was born at Taunton, Mass., April 28, 1834, the son of Milton Babcock, a native of Attleborogh, Mass., and his wife, Lydia Bowen, of the same place. The father is now a resident of New Bedford, Mass., but the mother is deceased. Mr. Babcock first became connected with the iron industry in 1849, when he became an employe of the Parker mills iron and nail works, at Wareham, Mass., and learned the trade of nailer. He was in the employment of the same company at Providence, R. I., until 1867, when he removed to Wheeling, and entered the Riverside Iron works. Two years later he was selected by O. C. Dewey, general manager of the nail department, and from that date, now a period of twenty-one .years, he has filled that position with rare fidelity and efficiency. Mr. Babcock was married in 1856, to Marietta S. King, of Massachusetts, who died at Wheeling, in 1881. In the following year he was united to Susan Fisher, of Wheeling, and to this union five children have been born, of whom three survive. He and wife are members of the North Street Methodist Episcopal church. Conrad Bachman, of Wheeling, has since 1869 been engaged in the retail grocery trade at that city, and has been prosperous in business. He was born in Baden, Germany, November 17, 1835, the son of Jacob and Susanna (Ganzhorn) Bachman, both of whom died at his native place in 1852. In the spring of the following year Conrad accompanied his brother, Peter Bachman, who is also a resident of Wheeling, to America, and made his home during the first year after his arrival at Pittsburgh. During the next year he began his residence at Wheeling. From the fall of 1853 until the summer of 1863, he was occupied on the river boats, holding the position of cook when he abandoned that occupation. He then went into the employment of Anderson & Maier, proprietors of a boat store, and he continued with their successors, Booth, Battelle & Co., until 1867. He then decided to go into business for himself, and first opened a store at Tiltonville, Ohio, which he conducted for two years, after which he returned to 'Wheeling and continued the grocery trade in which he had embarked at No. 2127 Chapline street. In 1871 he removed to OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 217 2201 Eoff street, his present place of business. He is active and enterprising and has a large and profitable trade. Mr. Bachman was married January 29, 1860, to Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Benjamin Valentine, of Washington county, Ohio. They have had eleven children: Abigail, Tena (died, aged nineteen years), Philip, Henry, Frank, Anna, Elizabeth, Susannah, Howard W., Chester A., and Walter C. Mrs. Bachman is a devout member of the Chapline Street Methodist Episcopal church. Simon Baer, deceased, the subject of this sketch, was one of Wheeling's most prominent and extensive wholesalers, and was the founder of the mammoth house of Simon Baer's Sons, which is decidedly the largest wholesale grocery and coffee-roasting establishment in West Virginia, doing a larger volume of business than any grocery house in the state and equaling that of the larger houses of Pittsburgh and other cities west of the Allegheney mountains. Simon Baer was born in Stebbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, in 1813, emigrated to the United States in 1866, and died in Wheeling in 1884. Upon his arrival in this city in 1866, Mr. Baer at once engaged in business, purchasing the wholesale grocery house of Simon Harkheimer, his brother-in-law. He continued in business by himself, meeting with success, until 1876, when he admitted his son Benjamin into the business, the firm name becoming that of Simon Baer & Son. In 1880, Marcus and Bernhart, two other sons, were admitted, and the firm name became Simon Baer & Sons. Upon the death 0f Benjamin Baer in 1884, the above firm was dissolved, Mr. Simon Baer retiring from business, immediately the firm of Simon Baer's Sons was formed by Henry, Marcus and Bernhard Baer, and to this firm Ernest Baer was admitted in 1889. During all the years this house has been before the public it has prospered, and the business has increased in volume from year to year, until it is now the acme of success. Their business extends all over West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, Maryland and eastern Ohio, and the annual amount of business reaches $1,500,000. They are the proprietors of the celebrated " Pan Handle " house for the roasting of coffee, having a large establishment for that exclusive purpose. Simon Baer was married at Freudenthal, Wurtemberg, Germany, to Caroline Horkheimer, who was a sister to Simon Horkheimer, deceased, one of Wheeling's leading merchants and manufacturers. Her death occurred in this city in 1876. To their union six sons and six daughters were born, nine of whom survive. All members of the firm of Simom Baer's Sons were born in Stebbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, as follows: Henry Baer was born in 1843, and was married at Wheeling in 1867, to Miss Henrietta Horkheimer, sister to Henry, Morris and Bernhard Horkheimer, well-known business men of this city, they composing the firm of Horkheimer Bros., wood dealers. Mr. Baer is prominent in business affairs, as vice president of Standard Insurance company, director in Mutual Savings bank, stockholder in Hobbs Glass house, stockholder in Central Oil company, and director and one of the vice presidents of the Chamber of Commerce. Marcus Baer was born in 1854, and 218 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. was married at Wheeling on January 9, 1889, to Miss Serelda Swa-bacher, a daughter of William Swabacher. Bernhard Baer was born in 1857, and was married at Wheeling in 1881, to Miss Sallie Levy, daughter of Daid Levy. Ernest Baer was born in 1862, and was married at Wheeling in 1887, to Miss Lillian Gutman, daughter of David Gutman, of the firm of M. Gutman & Co., extensive wholesale and retail clothiers of this city. Jacob Beiswanger —Among the old and well-known German citizens of the Eighth ward of Wheeling is Jacob Beiswanger, who for about thirty years was engaged in the butcher business. Mr. Beiswanger was born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, July 12, 1824. He was raised by a butcher in his native town and learned that trade, which he followed until coming to America. He escaped going into the army by drawing the lucky number when the time came for recruiting from his neighborhood. He was married in the old country in 1849 t0 Rosina Harpfer, and to them several children were born while in Germany. In 1854 he emigrated to the United States, bringing his family with him. He came direct to Wheeling when he got into this country, and has since resided here. Being without much money he was unable to go at once at butchering, and so worked around for several years at 0ne thing and another, and then began butchering, opening a shop and butchering on a very small scale. About 1860 he began operations on a larger scale, getting a wagon and supplying customers at their doors. From that time on he was regularly in the business until about 1886, when he quit business and retired from active life. He met with success and accumulated considerable money and real estate. He is a member of Stephonis Lutheran church. His first wife died April 15, 1870. Eight children were born to this union, all of whom are living. In May; 1871, he was again married, to Elizabeth Boedke, and to this union seven children have been born, six of wh0m survive. John M. Bell, a venerable and respected citizen of Wheeling, has passed his life in the region to which these volumes are devoted. Born in Jefferson county, Ohio, May 7, 1814, he was taken by his parents to Beaver county, Penn., when three years old, but returned to Jefferson county at the age of fourteen. He is the fourth of ten children born to Robert and Prudence (Donnell) Bell, the former of whom was a native of Ireland. Both parents are now deceased. When eighteen years old John M. Bell engaged in teaching, and followed that profession in all twelve or fourteen years. He taught several terms in Ohio, a few of them at Steubenville, and then bought the Jefferson. seminary, at Wellsburg, W. Va., of which he was principal and proprietor about five years. At the end of that time he engaged in mercantile pursuits, at Wellsburg first, and afterward at New Martinsville, W. Va., remaining at the latter place sixteen years. In 1865 he removed to Moundsville, where he was engaged in business sixteen years, and during that period served on the city council, and during one term was mayor of the city. At his previous place of residence he held the office of justice of the peace several years. Mr. Bell removed to Wheeling in 1882, and since 1883, has been the proprietor OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 219 of a first class bakery at No. 1114 Market street. Mr. Bell has been influential and highly esteemed in each of the communities in which he has lived. Though at an advanced age, he bears his years well, as longevity is the characteristic of his family, his grandmother having lived to be one hundred and five years old, and his maternal grandmother surviving to the age of one hundred and seven years. Mr. Bell was married December 3, 1835, to Agnes Melissa Walker, who was born in Greencastle, Penn., the daughter of James and Jane Walker. She died December 24, 1874, leaving one child. September 14, 1875, he was married to Minnie C. Wallace, daughter of Joseph and Nancy Wallace, and by this marriage he had one child, Grace E. V., who was born September 3, 1880. Mrs. Bell is a member of the Presbyterian church, her husband of the Christian church, In politics Mr. Bell was a republican, voting for Henry Clay, and W. H. Harrison, and he has been a republican since the organization of that party. Joseph A Bell, general manager of Logan’s drug store at Wheeling, one of the most important business establishments of that city, is a native of Pulaski township, Lawrence county, Penn. He is one of the third generation of his family in this country. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Bell, a native of Ireland, was a pioneer of Columbiana county, Ohio. His son, Hugh, the father of the subject of this mention, married Ann J. McMillan, daughter of the Rev. Dr. McMillan, a gentleman of Scotch descent, who was one of the pioneers of the Western Reserve of Ohio, and was a clergyman of that section for many years, connected with the Presbyterian church, of which all his brothers were also clergymen. Joseph A. Bell was born February 14, 1845, and was reared in Mercer county, Penn., where he received an education in the common schools, until the age of fourteen years, when he was thrown on his own resources. He then became an apprentice at the trade of harness making, and in that became proficient by the time of the outbreak.of the civil war. On May 26, 1862, he enlisted under the second three months, call, in Company B, of an Ohio regiment, and served out his time, receiving an honorable discharge. Four months later, May 2, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth regiment Ohio National Guard, for one hundred days, service, and was honorably discharged August 27, 1864. He then became a book-keeper for a house in Youngstown, Ohio, but soon afterward came to Wheeling, where he was book-keeper for George W. Taylor until 1867. He then removed to St. Paul, Minn., and was there engaged in the dry goods business until 1869, when he returned to Wheeling, and became book-keeper for Logan, List & Co., and held that position, through various changes of the firm until March 15, 1887, when he became a partner under the firm style of Logan & Co. Dr. Logan died in October 1, 1888, and on the first of the following February the company was reorganized under the name of the Logan Drug company, of which Mr. Bell was chosen general manager: As a citizen he occupies a high place in the estimation of the community, and in business he is enterprising and successful. He is a member of 220 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. the First Presbyterian church, of the Young Men’s Christian association, and of the Grand Army, and in politics is a republican. He was married in April, 1867, to Clara, daughter of James Hassan, of Cecil county, Md., who died in 1869. In 1877 he wedded Emma Hassan, sister of his deceased wife. Albert Beltz, a leading merchant taylor of Wheeling, is a native of Hesse, Germany, born April 26, 1851. In his native land he learned the trade of a tailor, and at that was there engaged until 1871, when he emigrated to the United States. He came directly to Wheeling,. whither relatives had preceded him, and at that city he worked at his trade as a journeyman until 1880, when he formed a partnership. with Christian Roepke, with whom he was associated in the proprietorship of a tailoring establishment for two years. At the end of that time he bought his partner,s interest and has since then conducted the business alone. In 1886 he completed a handsome store and dwelling on Sixteenth street, and removed to the same, where he has since done business. In 1884 Mr. Beltz was married to Nothbunga Spiegel, who was born in Hesse, Germany, and to their union six children have been born. He and wife are members of the St. Alphonsus Catholic church. Alexander Beltz, an enterprising citizen of Wheeling, was born in Buchenberg, Hesse, Germany, April 25, 1861, the son of Andrew and Mary Beltz. He was reared and educated in his native land, where he remained until 1882, when he emigrated to America, and located at Wheeling, where he learned the trade of a cooper in the shop of his brother, who was in business. In the fall of 1887, he purchased his brother,s interest in the business, and formed a partnership with J. H. Springer, forming the firm of Springer & Beltz, which did business for two years. On August 4, 1886, Mr. Beltz became the sole proprietor of the business, which he has since conducted with much success, doing all kinds of cooperage, and being the leading manufacturer of tight cooperage in the city. He is a worthy and highly respected citizen. Mr. Beltz was married January 20, 1884, to Mary, daughter of Albert and Magdalena (Vagel) Schlag, of this city, by whom he has two children living, Albert and Mary. He and wife are members of the Catholic church. Beltz, Flading & Co., a well-known firm of Wheeling, is extensively engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds and other builders, supplies, as proprietors of. the Excelsior planing mill, and also have a large trade in lumber, The factory is 70x120 feet in area, and includes three floors and a basement. John Beltz, senior member of this firm, was born in Somerset county, Penn. August 4, 1837. His father, Peter Beltz, a native of the city of Fulda, Germany, came to United States in 1837, and while he and family were on the way from Baltimore to Wheeling, by the old National road, the subject of this mention was born. Peter Beltz was one of the pioneer German citizens of Wheeling, and for a number of years followed his occupation of blacksmithing; a good citizen, highly esteemed by the community. In 1848 he removed to a farm on Peter,s run, near Triadelphia, where OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 221 he followed his trade in connection with farming. He is still living, in his eighty-third year. John Beltz was reared in Wheeling, and received his education in the common schools. When about nineteen years of age he learned the trade of cabinet-making, at which he worked until the beginning of the late war, during which he was for a time in the quartermaster,s service as a carpenter. After the war he became a member of the firm of Saulsbury, Flading & Co. pro- prietors of a planing mill. This firm continued for two years. Co., 1867, the firm of Beltz & Flading was established, which has since then been changed to Beltz, Flading & Co., the members being John Beltz, John Flading and M. F. Giesey. Mr. Beltz is prominent and public spirited as a citizen, and has served the city two terms of two years each, beginning in 1876, as councilman. He was married in 1878 to Regenia Granner. the step-daughter of Lawrence Harwell, and they have five children. S. O. Burdats, a member of the Reymann Brewing company, of Wheeling, fills the position of general traveling agent for that corporation, and is widely known throughout the region covered by these volumes. Mr. Burdats was born in central Hungary, in 1842. He removed to Vienna in youth, and found employment as a traveling agent and as a commercial clerk, and gained valuable experience. In 1863 he emigrated to New York, and after clerking for some time in a wholesale store, enlisted in 1864, in the First West Virginia cavalry, Company A, with which he served until the close of the war. He then made his home at Wheeling, where he has since resided. He was engaged as a clerk in various establishments until 1876, when he accepted a clerkship with A. Reymann. Subsequently he was made collector and traveling agent, and in 1882, he was admitted with William H. Grimm, to the business. Since the latter date he has held the position above mentioned. Mr. Burdats is an estimable citizen, is a member of the A. O. U. W., and Sheridan post, G. A. R., and he and wife are members of the St. John’s Lutheran church. He was married in 1864, to Elizabeth, daughter of Christian Glassner, of Wheeling, and they have had five children, of whom a son and a daughter survive. J. E. Belleville, M. D., of Wheeling, occupies a place among the young physicians of that city which is creditable to his talents and education. He was born at Hartsville, Bucks county, Penn., in 1858, and was reared and educated in the Keystone state. After receiving the advantages of the common schools he entered Lafayette college, at Easton, in the fall of 1875, and was there graduated in the spring of 1879, with the degree of A. B. In 1881 he received the degree of A. M. from the same college. He then read medicine during one year with Dr. F. W. Boyer, at Pottsville. Penn., and subsequently entered Jefferson Medical college, at Philadelphia, at which he was graduated in 1882, after pursuing a two years, course. He then spent one year at the Boston University School of Medicine, as resident physician at the dispensary, taking the degree of M. D. Dr. Belle- 222 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. ville came to Wheeling July 17, 1883, and began his practice here, which has been quite successful. Charles H. Berry, born at Boston, Mass., March 4, 1827, died at Wheeling, February 4, 1889, was one of the prominent business men of the latter city. Of it he became a resident when a small boy, coming in company with his parents, John Berry, a native of England, and his wife, Alice M. Cook, of Boston, Mass. Throughout his business career, Mr. Berry was engaged as a rope merchant, and was successful in his enterprises. He was a member of the Knights of Honor, aad was in politics a republican. He was twice married, first in October, 1856, to Grace McMechen, who died June 20, 1857, and second to Agnes McMechen, a sister of his first wife, on November 3, 1859. The latter survives. She and her sister were daughters of William McMechen, a native of Marshall county, born March 2, 1807, the son of Benjamin McMechen, a highly respected citizen of the early times, who lived just below Bellwood, until his death, April 2, 1855. He was the son of William McMechen, a native of Wilmington, Dela., who emigrated to Western Virginia in 1777. William McMechen, the father of Mrs. Berry, died September 22, 1888. His wife, Mary Blake, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, July 3, 1812, and died at Wheeling, July 3, 1855, accompanied her parents, James and Grace Blake, to America, when she was five years old. By her marriage, Mrs. Agnes Berry has had four children: Charles Henry, Alice Virginia, Jesse Curtis and Frank McMechen Berry, of whom the third died in his eighteenthyear. Alice Vir- ginia was married October 26, 1882, to William D. Cushing, an architect by profession, who was born at Wheeling, in August, 1858, the son of Daniel Cushing, an old citizen who died in 1888. William D. was a member of the Masonic fraternity and the I. 0. 0. F., and the time of his death, which occurred March 26, 1885, was paymaster of the Belmont Iron works. He left two children, Mamie P., born November 27, 1883, and William C., born December 5, 1885. Louis Bertschy, junior member of the firm of Frew & Bertschy, was born in Wheeling, March 25, 1857, the son of Michael Bertschy, a native of France, who was reared in France and came to the United States in 1854, locating at Wheeling, W. Va. Michael Bertschy’s death occurred in April, 1889, he having reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years. His widow is Barbara (Schenk) Bertschy, who was born in Germany in 1823. She is now residing in Wheeling. The son attended the public schools of Wheeling. After leaving school he entered the furniture house of John Arbenz, in November, 1869. Remaining with Mr. Arbenz until 1877, he then became connected with Hubbard & McBurnie, with whom he remained for two years, at the expiration of which time he returned to Mr. Arbenz. While with the latter, Mr. Bertschy saw that a demand existed for a skilled embalmer, there being no one in the city competent to perform this difficult task. Determining to fit himself for this very important work, he went to Cincinnati in July, 1882, and took a thorough course of instruction in embalming, receiving a certificate for proficiency in the OHIO COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA - 223 art. In 1885 the firm of Frew & Bertschy was formed, and this house has since carried on a very extensive business in furniture, carpets and undertaking. Mr. Bertschy is undoubtedly the most skillful embalmer in the state. He is a member of the Zion Lutheran Benevolent society and also of Alpha lodge, K. of H. Miss Mary Williams, of Wheeling, became his wife in the year 1886, and one son has been born to them. Henry Bieberson is one of the well-known citizens of Wheeling, and is a director in the German Insurance company, the West Virginia Fair association and was one of the incorporators of Wheeling Park, and a stockholder in various other corporations, is prominently associated with enterprises of great importance and general interest. He is one of the trustees of the home for the aged, and one of the directors of the Wheeling & Elm Grove railroad. He is a native of Hanover, Germany, born August 19, 1848. In 1865, accompanied by a sister and an aunt, he came to the United States, and settled at Bridgeport, whence about a year and a half later, he removed to Wheeling, which has since been his home. He engaged in various occupations until 1874, and then embarked in business as the proprietor of a restaurant at No. 1429 South street, near the Baltimore & Ohio depot. As has been noted, Mr. Bieberson has invested largely in enterprises which tend to the advancement of the city, and in addition to those already named, various other corporations, among them the Belmont, La Belle and Benwood. Iron works, and the Central Glass company count Mr. Bieberson among their stockholders. He is also one of the proprietors and a director of the Nickle Plate Glass works of Fostoria, Ohio. For several years Mr, Bieberson has been a prominent member of the Liquor Dealers, & Brewers, Protective association, of which he has served as president and as secretary. He is a member of Germania lodge, No. 7, K. of P., of the various turner and singing societies, and of St. John,s Reformed church. Mr. Bieberson was married in 1873, to Frederika Schumacher, of Wheeling, and they have two sons and three daughters. Richard Black, of Wheeling, a member of the well-known firm of R. H. Black & Bro., marble and granite works, was born at Cannons-burgh, Washington county, Penn., December 15, 1846. He is a son William and Eleanor (Manifold) Black, worthy citizens of that place.. Mr. Black was reared on a farm, receiving in his youth a common school education, and followed the occupation of farming until the year 1880. He then removed to Wheeling and embarked in his present business, in company with his brothers, R. H. Black & Co. The business has prospered under their management; they have a large and rapidly increasing custom, and occupy an honorable position among the business men of the city. Mr. Black was married in 1874, to Anna F., daughter of Robert White, of Cannonsburg, and to this union four children have been born: Nannie, William, Mary and Emma. J. W. Blatchley, of Wheeling, well-known as a furniture dealer, and valued as a citizen, established himself in business in this city in 224 - HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. 1888, having had many years of previous experience elsewhere. Mr. Blatchley is a native of Greene county, Penn., born November I I, 1846. After receiving his education in the schools of his native county, he left home at the age of twenty-one years, and went to Louisiana, Pike county, Mo., where he learned the trade of carpentry, as well as attended high school and learned book-keeping. A year later he returned to Pennsylvania, and for seven years followed his trade, also engaging in contracting. He then learned the trade of cabinet-making at Waynesburgh, Penn., and subsequently engaged in the furniture business at that place. From Waynesburgh he went to Jefferson, Penn., in the spring of 1876, and after w0rking at his trade for about a year and a half, purchased the furniture of his employer. Subsequently he removed to Camer0n, W. Va., and re-entered the furniture business, at which he was engaged there successfully until his removal to Wheeling. At the latter city he succeeded William Zink, purchasing the establishment of the latter, and has maintained a large trade in the goods usually found in a well-equipped furniture establishment, besides conducting an undertaking department, which is perfectly equipped. Mr. Blatchley was married in Greene county, January 1, 1869, to Barbara A. Zimmers, and twelve children have been born to them, of whom eleven survive. Mr. Blatchley is a member of Cameron lodge, I. O. O. F., and of council No. 1, Junior Order of American Mechanics, of Wheeling; also a member of the Shield of Honor. Among the prominent young German citizens and business men of Wheeling, is J. A. Blum, a junior member of the firm of T. T. Hutti,son & Co., wholesale dealers in saddlery, hardware and and carriage trimmings, at No. 1425 Main and No. 1500 South street. Mr. Blum was born in Wheeling, January 20, 1861, and is the son of Adam Blum. Adam Blum was born in Germany in 1827, and his wife, who was Evaline Renner, was born in Maryland about 1833. In 1847 Adam Blum came-to America on account of the German revolution, and came to Wheeling, where he has since resided. He has been in the hotel business during his residence in Wheeling, and is still engaged in that business on the corner of Main and Twenty-first streets. He and wife are members of St. Alphonsus Catholic church, and are among the well-known and highly respected German citizens of Wheeling. To their union seven children have been born, only three of whom survive: Christian, of the firm of Kenney & Blum, ale brewers of the city; J. A., and one sister, now Mrs. Ge0rge P. Staurer; William J., another son who died on January 10, 1890, was one of the most popular young men of Wheeling, and was identified with the retail dry goods business, having for nine years been connected with the firm of G. E. Stifel & Co. J. A. Blum was reared in Wheeling, and attended the parish school of St. Alphonsus church, then entered the public school, and completed his education by taking a course in a commercial school. When but fourteen years of age he entered the establishment of which he is a member, and from that time has continued with the same house, working his way up from the position