History of Wheeling City and Ohio Co. WV - Biographries-2



RAYMOND L. SEABRIGHT, secretary and treasurer of the Ohio Valley Drug 
Company, of Wheeling, West Virginia, has been interested in that company 
since the date of its organization. He was born in Ohio county, West 
Virginia, and is a son of Henry Seabright. 

Henry Seabright was a native of Germany, coming to the United States in 
1842. He was a blacksmith by trade, and for many years worked with Busby & 
Little, carriage maunfacturers. Later he removed to Roney's Point, where 
he carried on blacksmithing very successfully for a number of years. He 
died in 1899 at the advanced age of eighty-four years. He was married in 
1849, and his widow still survives him. A son, Clarence, is continuing the 
blacksmithing business at Roney's Point. Another son, H. A. Seabright, is 
bookkeeper for Jacob Snyder's Sons, of Wheeling. Our subject is the 
youngest son. 

Raymond L. Seabright, the subject of this sketch, engaged with the 
Delaplain Dry Goods Company at the age of seventeen. Later he became a 
member of the John Freidel Company, wholesale dealers in glass and 
queensware. He spent two years in the offices of the Aetna Iron & Steel 
Company, and in July, 1899, the Ohio Valley Drug Company was organized and 
chartered. Business was opened in September, 1899, with L. F. Stifel as 
president, B. Exley as general manager, and Mr. Seabright as secretary and 
treasurer. The store, which is devoted to wholesale business, is located 
at No. 1301 Main street, and occupies a four-story building, with a depth 
of 140 feet. There are employed three traveling salesmen, who cover the 
main part of West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. The 
firm has a fine laboratory, in charge of an excellent chemist. A specialty 
is made of pharmaceutical preparations. A full line of druggists sundries 
is carried. The business is constantly increasiong, the sales being very 
large each year. 

Mr. Seabright was formerly a director of the Wheeling Y.M.C.A. 
organization. He is a member and an officer of the First English 
Evangelical Lutheran church. 



CHARLES FREDERIC ULRICH, A.M., M.D., of Wheeling, whose portrait is 
herewith shown, is one of the oldest practitioners of medicine in the 
state West Virginia. He attained prominence not only in the United States 
but throughout the civilized world by reason of learned discourse before 
the American Congress of Tuberculosis at New York City, a body of which he 
is a member and also vice-president. His views on the treatment of 
patients afflicted with this dread disease are to many minds somewhat 
peculiar, but his conclusions were arrived at after long and mature 
reflection, founded on his experience in practice and years of study. As 
an infant he was afflicted with the disease, and its eradications is 
another point in favor of his competence as an authority on the matter. 
The paper which he read before the above mentioned body caused a great 
deal of comment in medical circles of this country, was published in many 
leading medical journals, and served to set the profession thinking. It 
first appeared in Moody's Medical Magazine, edited by Dr. R. H. Bell, of 
New York City, a particular friend of his. Other articles written by Dr. 
Ulrich setting forth his ideas have been published even in faraway India, 
and were given preference over the writings of eminent English physicians. 

Dr. Ulrich was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1827 and is a son of Charles F. 
Ulrich, who was also born in Saxony, in 1799. Charles F. Ulrich was a 
skilled cabinetmaker and followed that trade at or near Wheeling, West 
Virginia, after coming to this country. He lived for years at Bethany, 
Ohio county, and died there in April 1885. His wife was born in Saxony, 
Germany, in 1797 and died in 1854, at the age of fifty-seven years. They 
were the parents of 12 children, four of whom died in Germany before the 
birth of the subject hereof. Those now living are as follows: Charles 
Frederic; Robert; Lenora; Emma; Richard; and Anna. Robert became a 
contractor and builder in brick and stone masonry, and resided many years 
in Kansas, but returned to Wheeling and died at the home of Dr. Ulrich in 
1888. Lenora died in Wheeling at the age of six years. Emma is the widow 
of Frederic Hofman, a graduate of Bethany College and a minister of the 
Christian church, and resides in Hiram, Ohio. Her daughter Laura recently 
graduated from Hiram College, taking a complete classical course, with the 
addition of modern languages. She had the reputation of being the best and 
strongest of her class, and is a leader in literary circles. She prepared 
for the profession of teaching in the higher branches, but at present is 
teaching in the high school at Garrettsville, Ohio. Richard began teaching 
in the South, was pressed by conscription into the Southern army, and died 
three months later. Anna, who was a music teacher, married J. W. C. Smith, 
formerly in the leather business with his father at Wheeling, but now 
residing at Lafayette, Indiana. 

With kindly assistance from a friend, a contractor at Wheeling, and also 
from the president of Bethany College, Charles Frederic Ulrich was enabled 
to enter that institution in 1841, at the age of fourteen years, and 
graduated therefrom in 1846, before he had reached the age of nineteen 
years. He was urged by the president, who offered to bear his expenses, to 
continue in a theological course and take up the ministry, as he was then 
well versed in the Bible. Owing to the fact that his views were not just 
what he felt a minister's should be, and partly because he felt 
unqualified as an orator, he declined the generous offer and decided to 
engage in teaching. He taught for a period of seventeen years in public 
schools, high schools and colleges in Kentucky and Tennessee, and a short 
time in Ohio. From 1853 until 1856 he filled the chair of professor of 
languages at Burritt College in Tennessee, and also taught some of the 
scientific classes. He was the preceptor in Latin, Greek, French, German 
and physics. Along with his studies and professional work he read medicine 
to a considerable extent, and entered the army in 1864 as assistant 
surgeon. Although not having a diploma, he passed the best examination 
among 200 candidates, and received a commission to serve in the Green 
River Battalion. He served until the close of the war, and then practiced 
medicine for about five years at Cloverport, Breckinridge county, 
Kentucky. He then went to Louisville, attended lectures in the medical 
department of the university, and received his diploma in 1870. He 
practiced at Louisville five years, and then came to Wheeling in 1875, 
where he has since engaged in the regular practice of medicine. For many 
years he made a specialty of obstetrics, in which branch he has excelled. 
In 1888 he built his present pleasant home, in which he resides and has 
his offices. 

Dr. Ulrich first married Ellen M. Lacey, who came of prominent Kentucky 
family, and four children were born to them, as follows: Mrs. Carrie 
Blackman, an artist in water-color and oil painting, who resides at 
Chattanooga, Tennessee, where her husband is traveling passenger agent for 
the Choctaw & Memphis Railroad Company; J. Clarence, a prominent civil 
engineer, who lives with his wife and four children in Denver, Colorado; 
Nellie, wife of R. M. Gilleland, of Bellaire, Ohio, who is proprietor of a 
glue factory, was the promoter of the Benwood & Bellaire Bridge and is the 
founder and president of the South Side Bank of Wheeling; and Claudia, who 
died in Kansas, and who was the wife of Mr. Waterman, a railroad man. The 
Doctor's second wife was Mrs. Wemyss, nee Messenger, of Brooklyn, who died 
in 1885. The Ulrich family are all devoted to education. A nephew of Dr. 
Ulrich, Hugo Bier, is secretary of accounts to the Minister of War of the 
German Empire. Politically Dr. Ulrich is a Republican, and has been a 
member of the first branch of the city council of Wheeling, a member of 
the board of education six years,--two years of the time, serving as 
president,--and a member of the water board for four years. Fraternally he 
is a member of the American Medical Association, the State Medical Society 
and the medical societies of Wheeling and Ohio county, having served as 
president of all but the first mentioned. He is also a member of the 
Academy of Medicine, to which only college-bred men are admitted. He is a 
member of the American Congress of Tuberculosis, being vice-president for 
West Virginia, and is also a member of the Medicolegal Society of New 
York, and honor conferred by the American Tuberculosis Congress. He has 
been surgeon of J. W. Holliday Post. No. 12, G. A. R., of Wheeling, many 
years. Since its organization he has been a member of the German Pioneer 
Society, a social order whose object is the keeping up of the German 
language and customs so far as is compatible with the laws of the United 
States. The order was founded by C. E. Stifel, its first president, and 
Dr. Ulrich has been its president for the past seven years. He is also a 
member and one of the founders of the West Virginia German-American 
League, a branch of the National German-American League, which latter 
society completed its organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 
6, 1901, and elected the Doctor honorary president for West Virgnia. Dr. 
Ulrich visited his native land in 1889, and also made a tour through 
Italy, Switzerland and the larger cities of Germany. He speaks and writes 
the German language as fluently as the English. 



CHARLES J. ELIG, who is president and manager of the Charles J. Elig 
Carriage Company, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was born in Wheeling, a son 
of Adam Elig, who is engaged in the grocery business at Wheeling. 

Mr. Elig was reared and educated in Wheeling, entering upon a business 
career upon leaving school at the age of twenty-three. He has devoted his 
atttention exclusively to carriage manufacturing, and his knowledge of 
that business is complete. 

The Charles J. Elig Carriage Company was established in 1860, by John 
Pfarr, who at that time furnished the Southern market with carriages and 
plantation wagons. Mr. Pfarr continued in the business until 1870, when 
Hock & Shrader became the proprietors, continuing in the business until 
1880. Then the firm became known as John Pfarr & Company, and in 1885 Lotz 
& Elig acted as manager. The present company was incorporated in 1893, 
with Mr. Elig as president and James P. Morgan as secretary. Mr. Elig 
still holds the office of president, while Thomas J. Ball is vice-
president, and H. P. Waltz is secretary and treasurer. 

The present fine six-story building, with a frontage of 33 feet, facing 
Market street, was erected in 1896. About 25 people are employed, and 
there are lumber yards in connection with the plant. Strictly high-grade 
goods are manufactured, a specialty being made by the firm of phaetons, 
depot-wagons and box buggies. The territory for the business is 
practically unlimited. 

Mr. Elig married a daughter of Jacob Zillis, and they have three 
children,--Dorothy; Emma; and Charles J., Jr. The family attend St. John's 
German Independent Protestant church. 



GEORGE K. WHEAT, for many years one of the foremost business men of 
Wheeling, West Virginia, is president of the Suburban Brick Company, which 
was incorporated December 29, 1898, by George O. Robinson, George K. 
Wheat, E. H. Carpenter and E. B. Bowie. A. A. Wheat has since acquired the 
interest of Mr. Robinson, and is treasurer of the company. B. F. Hodgman 
is secretary. The company owns five brick plants, in one of which Mr. 
Wheat was largely interested before the incorporation of the company. The 
office is in the National Exchange Bank Building, and the plants located 
at Mount de Chantal, Martin's Ferry, Bellaire, Georgetown and Moundsville. 
In the plants are employed from 250 to 300 men, and the combined annual 
capacity is 20,000,000 bricks. 

George K. Wheat is a son of James M. and Martha (Brewer) Wheat. James M. 
Wheat was born in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1800, the family having been 
established in the United States some time in the latter part of the 
eighteenth century. The family was prominently identified with the 
business and social interests of the community in which they lived, being 
merchants in Alexandria. James M. Wheat came to Wheeling with his family 
in 1832 in and old style, square, Jersey wagon, drawn by one horse. Here 
he became a window-glass manufacturer, a line of business in which our 
subject was employed when a boy. He married Martha Brewer at Berkeley 
Springs, in what was then Berkeley county, Virginia, now Morgan county, 
West Virginia. Their children were: Joseph Edward; George K; Eliza Salina; 
Hanson Bradley; Jesse S.; Mary Virginia; Adeline Lambert; James Muliken; 
and Lydia Hart. 

George K. Wheat was born at Berkeley Springs, January 25, 1825, and came 
with his parents to Wheeling in July, 1832. He was educated in different 
schools in the city and at Lancasterian Academy, which was taught by 
Professor McBurney on the ground floor of the Fourth Street Methodist 
Episcopal church, and in the school taught by Professors Rutter and Smith 
at Fourteenth and Chapline streets. In 1837, his father, who was a tanner 
by trade, removed his family to Ritchie district, where he established a 
tannery. George K. Wheat engaged in various pursuits until 1844, when he 
entered the employ of J. & T. Hornbrook, dealers in notions, remaining 
with them until 1848. As salary, the first year he received $50, the 
second year $75, and the third year $100. The fourth year he was engaged 
at $500 per year, which was considered a very liberal salary at that day. 
In 1849, the firm dissolved partnership and the stock was sold to the firm 
of Wheat & Chapline, a partnership which existed until 1855, when it was 
terminated by the death of Mr. Chapline. Mr. Wheat then purchased the 
outstanding interest in the firm and continued the business until January 
1, 1889. While in the employ of the Hornbrooks, he made several trips to 
Louisville on flat-boats, carrying merchandise to that point, and 
subsequently made two trips to Cincinnati for the firm of Wheat & 
Chapline. He made the first trip in 1852, disposed of his stock and while 
making arrangements for his return, the steamer "Lake Erie," which had 
been used to tow boats from Rochester, Pennsylvania, to the Pittsburg, 
arrived at Cincinnati with two barges, each loaded with 5,000 bushels of 
coal, the first coal towed down the river by steamboat. Instead of selling 
his flat-boat, as was necessary on his previous trips, he paid the 
captain of the "Lake Erie" $75 to tow his boat back to Wheeling. 

The pottery business, now one of the chief industries of Wheeling, was 
brought to the city through the efforts of Mr. Wheat. The prosperity of 
the industry at East Liverpool, Ohio, struck him forcibly and he became 
interested in it, immediately beginning to lay plans for the establishment 
of a pottery in Wheeling. As a result the Wheeling Pottery Company was 
established in Novermber, 1879, and proved an immense success. The success 
of this experiment prompted others to embark in that line of business, and 
at the present time there are a number of large plants here and many small 
ones, the most important being the Warwick China Company and the Wheeling 
Pottery Company. 

Mr. Wheat is a stock holder in the Benwood Iron Company, the Wheeling Iron 
& Nail Company, of which he is also a director, the Belmont Iron Works, 
and the Wheeling Steel Plant, of which he is a director. He established 
the Wheeling Deposit Bank, which was merged into the First National Bank 
of Wheeling in April, 1864, and was president of both banks. He now has in 
his possession a $10 bank note, bearing his signature and the date of 
1864, which was in circulation until recently, when it was noticed and 
presented to him by a friend. He was a founder and stockholder in the 
Wheeling Fire & Marine Insurance Company, the Franklin Insurance Company 
and the National Insurance Company. He has always been interested in the 
oil business, and was one of the capitalists who sank the well on the 
National Road near the "S" Bridge. He was also interested in the Belmont 
oil fields. 

June 6, 1855, Mr. Wheat married Fanny J. Doane, and they have the 
following children: Henry Lawson; Kate Doane; George K., Jr.; Albert 
Allan; Archie Lawrence; Frank Renick; and Fanny Josephine. He attends the 
Methodist Episcopal church. His present home was originally the 
Northwestern Bank Building, at No. 909 Main street. 



R. H. LIST. Wheeling, West Virginia, has its full quota of vigorous 
intelligent and worthy business men, none of whom is more highly regarded 
or stand higher in business reputation than the subject of this biography. 
Mr. List is a native of Wheeling and one of the oldest druggists in the 
city. He is a son of John and Ann (Waite) List, natives of England. 

John List came to Wheeling at an early date, where he was cashier for the 
old Northwestern Bank. He married Ann Waite, and they had a number of 
children, of whom only three sons and one daughter now survive. Of these, 
D. C. is a resident of Wheeling, and has retired from active life; Mary, 
widow of Robert Morrison, lives in Cincinnati, Ohio; W. Eugene resides in 
Wheeling, and is retired from business. R. H. is the youngest of the 
children living. The parents of this family were members of the Fourth 
Street M. E. church. The father died in 1848, at the age of sixty years; 
the mother passed away when about seventy-six years of age. John List was 
much interested in politics, but never held office of any kind. 

R. H. List attended school in the old academy, first under Father McKay in 
the first ward, and later took instruction at Linsly Institute. After his 
school days were ended he entered the drug business and has continued in 
it ever since, in two localities. His first place of business was with I. 
H. Patterson on Twelfth street. Secondly he was with T. H. Logan & 
Company, and afterward became a member of Logan, List & Company. He has 
always been successful in his business and his is among the oldest houses 
in the city. 

Mr. List has been twice married, his first union being in 1860 with Jennie 
Irwin, a daughter of the late R. S. Irwin, but Mr. List was called upon to 
mourn her death in the August following their marriage. She was a devout 
member of the Presbyterian church. Some years later he contracted a second 
matrimonial alliance, this time with Miss S. M. DeCamp, who was a native 
of West Virginia, and a daughter of the late Jefferson DeCamp. They have 
five children, namely: Julia; J. Heber; Willie; Fannie; and Emma, who died 
in infancy. Julia married J. R. Handlan, a resident of Wheeling, and has 
three children,--John, Joe and Mary. J. Heber died at the early age of 
nineteen years. Willie died at the age of seventeen years. Fannie is still 
living at home. The family attend the Fourth Street M. E. church, of which 
Mr. List is a member. 

Mr. List takes very small interest in politics. In fraternal circles he is 
a Mason, and has taken the intermediate degrees to that of Knight Templar; 
he has held all of the offices in the blue lodge and commandery. He is 
descended from an old Virginia family, has made a good success of his 
business, and is highly respected as a most worthy citizen. 



J. V. L. RODGERS, the leading fire insurance agent of Wheeling, West 
Virginia, has an office at No. 1144 Market street. He has been located in 
Wheeling ever since 1866, after having been mustered out of the 
Confederate army, in which he served with distinction. 

Mr. Rodgers was born at Wellsburg, Brooke county, West Virginia, and was 
reared there. In 1856 he went to Kansas, when there were no rails west of 
the Missouri River. He remained there until the beginning of the Civil 
War. Mr. Rodger's father was a manufacturer of salt and a shipper of 
coal,--he died when our subject was but three years old. Mr. Rodgers has 
one brother in Colorado. 

In 1861, Mr. Rodgers enlisted his services on the side of the South. Mr. 
Rodgers was commissioned as captain in 1861, and later as major, being 
commissioned as a captain in the Forty-second North Carolina Regiment, 
Provisional Army, C. S. A. He was with several departments with Lee's and 
Johnston's armies, and also served on post duty. He was commissioned major 
in 1863. He spent four years and seven days in service, participating in 
many of the engagements of the war. 

Upon locating in Wheeling, which has been his home since 1866, Mr. Rodgers 
engaged as bookkeeper in mercantile establishment of the city. He then 
engaged in life insurance work, later being made secretary of local fire 
insurance company. About 1875 Mr. Rodgers started in business for himself, 
as fire insurance agent for a number of the largest companies. He formerly 
represented life and accident companies also, but in late years he has 
devoted his sole attention to the representation of fire insurance 
companies. He now represents the Royal Exchange, of London; the Commercial 
Union, of Liverpool; the Continental, of New York; the Aetna, of Hartford; 
the Hartford, of Hartford; the Fire Association, of Philadelphia; and the 
National Union, of Pittsburg. Mr. Rodgers represents no companies having 
less than half a million dollars capital, and during his thirty years of 
business has paid all obligations. Mr. Rodgers has a number of able 
assistants in his office and does comparatively no traveling, his 
territory being the Panhandle counties of West Virgnia and the two 
bordering counties in Ohio. 

Mr. Rodgers married an Ohio lady, and three children were born to them. 
Two died in infancy, and Lee M., a bright and promising youth, died at the 
age of seventeen years, his death being due to an accident. Socially, Mr. 
Rodgers is a Mason and has advanced to the rank of Knight Templar. He was 
master of Bates Lodge, No. 33, A.F. & A.M., of Wheeling, for several 
terms. 



JOHN G. COLLINS. Though practically retired from the cares incident to a 
strenuous business life, John G. Collins retains the influence gained by 
reason of fine personal characteristics and unquestioned commercial 
integrity. 

As a representative of one of the oldest and most honored of the families 
of Wheeling, he has been an interested spectator of the city's all around 
development, and has in no small degree contributed toward the solidity of 
the municipality. A native of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, he was born October 
30, 1834, and is a son of William and Martha Collins, the former of whom 
died in Bellaire, at the age of seventy-five years, and the latter passed 
away in 1900, at the age of eighty-six years. William Collins was 
extensively engaged in the wholesale queensware business, and occupied a 
prominent place in the mercantile world of Wheeling. With his wife he was 
a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the exalted views 
of life and work reflected in their home surroundings inspired their 
children to the improvement of their best faculties. 

The family came to Wheeling in the latter "thirties," and of the four sons 
and three daughters but three survive. William H. Collins, a brother of 
John G., lived for many years in South America and followed his trade of 
civil engineer. For several years, also, he was in the Brazilian navy, 
under Dom Pedro. 

The education of John G. Collins was acquired principally in the public 
shcools, although one of his most trustworthy sources of knowledge has 
been a keen power of observation, capable of correctly estimating men and 
events. From boyhood up he has been familiar with the manufacture of 
glass, and when old enough to evince business discretion engaged with his 
father in that line of work. The elder Collins eventually started a brass 
foundry, of which his son became manager, while he himself aurned his 
attention exclusively to the management of the queensware business, in 
which he was engaged until his retirement. 

The first marriage of John G. Collins occurred in 1857, when he was wedded 
to Delia Davis, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of Paul Davis, who 
was a river engineer. Mrs. Collins, who died in 1871, at the age of thirty-
four years, was the mother of six children, of whom four grew to maturity, 
viz: Elvin W., who died June 29, 1901, at the age of forty-four years, and 
who left a wife, Mrs. Alice Virginia (McAdams) Collins, and a son, James 
McAdams Collins, whose sketch appears on another page of this work; 
William, who is in the rolling mill in Wheeling, and has five children,--
Elvin, William, John, Lizzie, and an infant girl; Charles, who is engaged 
in painting in Wheeling; and Myra, who is living in New York and devoting 
her life to the stage. Mrs. Delia (Davis) Collins was a member of the 
Christian church. The second alliance of Mr. Collins occurred in 1877, 
with Mary E. Windle, a native of Sardis, Ohio, and of this union there is 
one child, Homer. 

Mr. and Mrs. Collins are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
contribute generously toward its charities and the maintenance of the 
denomination. Mr. Collins is a member of the I.O.O.F. Although a staunch 
Republican, he has devoted little time to political affairs. His standing 
in the community is an enviable one, and he represents a high type of 
American citizenship. 



JAMES P. MAXWELL, a prominent resident of the city of Wheeling, West 
Virginia, is a member of the firm of Hubbard & Paull, wholesale grocers 
and tea and tobacco specialists. This firm was established as a co-
partnership by Messrs. Hubbard and Paull, Mr. Myron Hubbard being the only 
member of the old firm remaining. Their place of business is at Nos. 1501-
1503 Main street and Nos. 1504-1506 South street. 

James P. Maxwell was born in 1856, on his father's farm 12 miles from 
Wheeling, and at the age of thirteen years, in 1869, moved with family to 
Wheeling. In 1870 he went into the office of I. Warren & Company, oil 
refiners, and held a position with them until 1877. He then worked for the 
grocery firm of Baer & Sons, first as salesman and then as bookkeeper 
until 1881, when he became bookkeeper for Hubbard & Paull. He served as 
such until 1891, when he became a member of the firm. He also has outside 
matters of business and is one of the best business men of the city. 

Mr. Maxwell has been a widower the past eleven years and has three 
daughters and one son: Gertrude; Inez; Edith; and Myron Paul. His 
residence is at No. 22 Virginia street, on the Island. In politics, he is 
a Republican, and has served fourteen years as a member of the second 
branch of the city council. He is a Mason and has attained the rank of 
Knight Templar. He is a Presbyterian. 

Mr. Maxwell is secretary and treasurer of the North Glad Club, of which 
Allen Brock is president. This club was organized under the laws of 
Maryland, and in 1901 was reorganized and incorporated under the laws of 
West Virginia. This organization now owns about 900 acres of land in 
Garrett county, Maryland, on which is a very comfortable club house. This 
tract is used exclusively for sport, such as fishing and hunting, and is 
kept well stocked with trout, pheasants, woodcock, etc. and is in charge 
of a resident gamekeeper. This club was first organized by Messrs. Brock 
and Maxwell, 71 acres being the extent of the first purchase. About 600 
acres are rough and hilly, the remaining 300 acres being glade land, which 
is cleared and produces abundant crop of hay, which very nearly pays the 
running expenses of the club. Fine trout streams flow through the grounds, 
and a dam has been constructed, making a pond of twenty acres. The tract 
is about five miles from Deer Park, Maryland, and conveyances are kept on 
hand to meet the members at the station. There are about 40 members of 
this club, many of them from Wheeling, their names and residences 
following: 

Hon. John T. McGraw - Grafton, W. Va.; Charles R. Durbin - Grafton, W. 
Va.; C. A. Robinson - Wheeling; Joseph Speidel, Sr - Wheeling; Joseph 
Speidel, Jr - Wheeling; Hal Speidel - Wheeling; Allen Garletz - Beckburn, 
Md.; John Waterhouse - Wheeling; James P. Maxwell - Wheeling; William 
Ellingham - Wheeling; C. H. Simpson - Wheeling; Hon. B. B. Dovener - 
Wheeling; B. S. McLure - Wheeling; H. H. Marsh - Wheeling; C. H. Copp - 
Wheeling; A. C. Browning - Deer Park, Md.; Allen Brock - Wheeling; James 
Cummins - Wheeling; Wm. H. McMechen - Wheeling; A. T. Hupp - Wheeling; 
Edward Wagner - Wheeling; William A. Wilson - Wheeling; George Hook - 
Wheeling; George E. Stifel - Wheeling; Anton Reymann - Wheeling; E. C. 
Flaccus - Wheeling; Harry Simpson - Wheeling; A. J. Bonnifield - 
Tunnelton, W.Va.; Joseph McDermott - Morgantown, W.Va.; James Neill - 
Wheeling; H. G. Tinker - Wheeling; James B. Taney - Wheeling; George A. 
House - Wheeling; Clark Hamilton - Wheeling; Arthur G. Hubbard - Wheeling; 
William G. Caldwell - Wheeling; C. R. Hubbard - Wheeling; James R. 
McCourtney - Washington, D.C.; William E. Stone - Wheeling. 



COL. THOMAS O'BRIEN, one of the most progressive business men of the city 
of Wheeling, West Virgina, whose portrait is herewith shown, is president 
of the People's Bank of Wheeling, and is closely identified with many 
important industries of this section of the state. He was born in County 
Cavan, Ireland, in 1830. 

Colonel O'Brien came to American in 1851, and located in Wheeling, West 
Virginia, where he engaged in various humble and laborious capacities. He 
finally obtained a position as laborer and clerk for the Baltimore & Ohio 
Railroad Company, which he held until the Civil War broke out. He 
displayed his patriotism by assisting to raise the first company of 
Virginia volunteers for the Union army, and its services were tendered to 
the federal government for the defense of the national capitol. He was 
made second lieutenant and after four months' service was honorably 
discharged. Colonel O'Brien was given a clerkship in the postoffice at 
Wheeling and held that position until he voted for General McClellen, in 
1864. He next engaged in the real estate and stock brokerage business, in 
which he has since continued. He was appointed surveyor of the port of 
Wheeling during Johnson's administration, and was later appointed colonel 
on Gov. John J. Jacob's staff, which position he occupied acceptably and 
well for a period of six years. He was nominated and elected by the 
Democratic party as treasurer of West Virginia in 1880, which responsible 
office he filled with credit to himself and his constituents until March 
4, 1885. Colonel O'Brien is a councilman for the third and fourth wards of 
Wheeling, and takes deep interest in all that pertains to the welfare of 
the city. He has been a director of the People's Bank of Wheeling since 
1874, and served as vice-president until the resignation of Mr. Reed, 
deceased, as president, when he was elevated to that position. Colonel 
O'Brien was a stockholder and director of the Belmont Nail Company and of 
the Natural Gas Company of West Virginia, and was also president of two 
building and loan associations. He was one of the founders and original 
directors of the West Virginia China Company. He is a member of the board 
of trade. 

Colonel O'Brien was united in marriage, in 1853, with Kate Gillespie, of 
Scotland, and of the 14 children born to them, eight are now living. 



JOHN A. MOORE, one of the prominent young business men of Wheeling, West 
Virginia, is secretary and general manager of the Warwood Tool Company, of 
this city. Mr. Moore is a native of Wheeling, and is a son of James B. and 
Louisa S. (Craig) Moore, who are now retired, and living in Wheeling. 

John Moore, the grandfather of John A. was born in Ohio, came to Wheeling 
about the year 1820, and died here in 1862. He married Sarah Irwin, whose 
grandparents settled in Ohio county, Virginia, about the time of the 
Revolutionary War. Her father, William Irwin, was one of the incorporators 
of Wheeling. John A. Moore has one brother, J. Craig, who is engaged in 
the hardware business with Greer & Laing. 

The plant of the Warwood Tool Company is located on Market street, between 
Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth streets. It is the only manufacturing 
establishment of its kind in Wheeling, and compares favorably with any 
similar manufactory in the country. This business was originally started 
by Henry Warwood in 1854, at Martin's Ferry, Ohio, where a complete line 
of miner's tools were manufactured. The late Daniel L. Heiskell purchased 
the business in 1893, incorporated it under its present name and removed 
it to its present location on this side of the Ohio River. The officers of 
the company are: B. Walker Peterson, president; John A. Moore, secretary 
and general manager; and Samuel Tyler, superintendent. A space of 14,000 
square feet is now occupied to accommodate the business, which has 
quadrupled in volume since the incorporation. The company still makes a 
specialty of manufacturing miners' tools, but the line has been largely 
increased. Sixty people are employed and are under the supervison of Mr. 
Moore. Mr. Moore is a man of much executive ability, and is thoroughly 
competent to care for and manage such a large business. 

Politically, Mr. Moore is a Republican. He is a member and officer of 
Wheeling, Lodge, No. 5, A.F. & A.M., and belongs to the A.O.U.W. He lives 
at Woodsdale. His family have always been members of the Presbyterian 
church. 



GEORGE D. MAXWELL, who is president of the Hicks & Hoge Dry Goods Company, 
and the organizer of that company, is one of the most energetic and 
enterprising young business men of Wheeling, West Virginia. He was born in 
Wheeling in 1869, and was reared in this city, where he attended the 
public schools. 

His first work was with R. J. Smythe, as clerk in the store now known as 
the "Hub." He remained in Mr. Smythe's employ three years, after which he 
engaged in the employ of John S. Naylor & Company, who conducted a dry 
goods store. In 1894 he went to Toledo, Ohio, entered into partnership 
with Ed. C. Shaw and Edward L. Sassaman, and remained there until 1898. In 
1898 Mr. Maxwell again entered the employ of John S. Naylor & Company, and 
in August, 1899, became the organizer of the Hick & Hoge Dry Goods 
Company. 

The Hicks & Hoge Dry Good Company was founded by John E. Boyd, who came 
from Ohio. In 1857 Mr. Boyd sold out to the firm of Joseph Norton, Simpson 
& Company. Mr. Norton acted as bookkeeper of the new firm and Mr. Simpson 
as traveling salesman. The business was conducted at Nos. 14 and 16 Main 
street, which is now Twelfth street. The firm continued until 1861, when 
Mr. Norton sold out to Mr. Wilson and went to Baltimore. The firm 
conducted business as Simpson & Wilson until Mr. Wilson's death, in 1870. 
Mr. Lucius Hoge then became a partner, and the firm was Simpson & Hoge 
until 1890, when Mr. Simpson sold his interest to Mr. Hicks. Messrs. Hicks 
and Hoge carried on the business under the name of Hicks & Hoge until 
1899. The business from that time to the present date has been known as 
the Hicks & Hoge Dry Goods Company. 

In 1899 Mr. Maxwell became president of this company, and has done much to 
bring it to its present position, which is that of the largest dry goods 
house of the kind in Wheeling. Everything in the line of dry goods, 
including notions and carpets, is carried, and the stock occupies a floor 
space of 28,800 square feet, there being six stories in the building. 
Twelve traveling representatives are employed, and they cover a large 
territory, both East and West. This house has long had an enviable 
reputation as one of the oldest and most reliable establishments in 
Wheeling and its vicinity, and a large amount of business is done 
annually. Mr. Maxwell takes deep interest in the business, and is 
thoroughly progressive and up to date in all his methods. 

Mr. Maxwell was united in marriage with Jennie Pfarr, and they have one 
daughter, whose name is Dorothy. Mr. Maxwell has erected a comfortable new 
home on Zane street. He belongs to the Presbyterian church. He is widely 
known in Wheeling, where he has many friends. 



ALBERT DITTMAR, a successful book and stationery dealer at No. 1308 Market 
street, is a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, and is a son of Martin and 
Fredericka (Naher) Dittmar. 

Martin Dittmar came to Wheeling in 1826, from Wurtemberg, Germany, where 
he was born in 1806. He was a cooper by trade, and ran a shop of his own 
until his death in 1881. He was united in marriage with Fredericka Naher, 
and the family lived for forty-three years on Virginia street, on the 
Island. They reared 10 children, all of whom are now living in Wheeling 
except one. Martin Dittmar was a member of the German M. E. church. His 
wife died in 1897, aged eighty-two years. 

Albert Dittmar attended common schools of Wheeling, and entered upon his 
present business at a very early age. He was located first at No. 22 
Twelfth street for twelve years, and was employed by John W. Heiskell. 
Afterward he was employed by Carle Brothers, in 1887,--they having 
established a business the year before. In 1898 Mr. Dittmar concluded to 
go into business for himself, and purchased the store of his employers, 
which he has successfully conducted ever since that time. He handles 
books, stationery, office and school supplies, sporting goods, etc. 

Mr. Dittmar was united in matrimony with May M. Taylor, a daughter of John 
Taylor, of Ohio. Three children have blessed their union, namely: Albert 
Willard, Mary Louise and Russell Edwin. They have a very comfortable 
residence on the Island. They are members of the Thomson M. E. church. Mr. 
Dittmar attends closely to his business and is an upright, dutiful 
citizen. 



GUSTAVUS A. ASCHMAN, M.D., a gentleman who has attained wide prominence 
in the practice of the medical profession, is located at Wheeling, West 
Virginia, and makes a specialty of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and 
throat, in which branches he received special training. He is a man of 
high educational attainments and stands in the foremost ranks of his 
profession. He was born in New York City, April 3, 1860, and is a son of 
Frederick Theodore Aschman. 

Frederick Theodore Aschman was born in Switzerland and died in 1868, at 
the age of thirty-three years. He came to the United States when a boy and 
entered a silk importing house, of which he eventually became the head. He 
married Martha Davis, a daughter of General Davis. The latter was born in 
Michigan in 1789, served in the War of 1812, and also gained distinction 
in the Mexican War,--he died in 1874 at White Plains, New York. Mr. and 
Mrs. Aschman had four children, as follows: Frederick Theodore, born 
September 25, 1858, is a professor of chemistry in the University of 
Pennsylvania; Gustavus A.; Maud S., born December 21, 1864, married Emil 
Schmidt, a designer living in Andover, New Jersey; and Theodore, born in 
July, 1869, who is living in Paris, France. 

Gustavus A. Aschman attended the public schools of New York City, and 
private school at White Plains, New York, and at the age of eighteen years 
went abroad and entered a school at Trogen, Switzerland, a celebrated 
institution at a high altitude in the mountains. There he remained two 
years, and then attended public and high schools a St. Gall, Switzerland, 
a place whose history dates back to the fourth century and renowned for 
its historic cathedrals. In 1879, he went to Geneva, where he entered the 
university and finished his preliminary course in medicine, and received 
the degrees of B. A. and B. Sc. In the spring of 1882, he went to the 
University of Zurch, Switzerland, where he studied medicine until 1884, 
and there received a diploma for the practice of medicine and surgery. He 
subsequently spent two years and a half in attending lectures at the 
celebrated institutions of Vienna, Berlin and London, his specialty being 
diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. In 1886, he returned to the 
United States and became assistant clinical surgeon under Dr. Knapp at the 
New York Aural and Ophthalmic College, continuing there for two years. In 
April, 1890, he located in Wheeling, where he has since been engaged in 
the continuous and successful practice of his profession. His office is in 
Room No. 2, National Exchange Bank Building, and his residence is at No. 
100 Twelfth street. He is a member of the American Medical Association, 
and of the board of regents of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb of West 
Virginia. 

Dr. Aschman on April 23, 1889, married Ida E. Harden, who was born June 
21, 1860, and is a daughter of Percival Harden, a native of Wheeling. They 
are members of St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church, and Dr. Aschman 
is superintendent of the Sunday school and vestryman. He organized and is 
a member of St. Matthews Church choir, which is composed of 50 male 
voices. He is a member of the Order of St. Andrew, A.O.U.W., and is grand 
medical examiner for the Grand Lodge, A.O.U.W., of West Virginia. He was 
secretary and is now president of the State Medical Society of West 
Virginia. He is a member of the Twilight Club and the Arion Association of 
Wheeling. 



J. N. VANCE, who has been prominently identified with the iron and steel 
interests of West Virginia for many years, is a well-known resident of 
Wheeling. He was born and reared in Ohio county, West Virginia, and here 
have his business activities been centered. 

Mr. Vance conducted an iron store in Wheeling until 1861, when the firm of 
Dewey, Vance & Company was organized and began the manufacture of merchant 
bar iron. A plant was erected in the sixth ward, near the hill, and 
another was erected in 1866 near the river. The latter is still standing 
and was used as a nail factory for some years. The firm began operations 
in Benwood in 1872, having erected a first-class blast furnance, 18 by 70 
feet in dimensions. W. H. Russell retired from the firm in 1865, after 
four years connection with the business. William L. Hearne became a member 
of the firm in 1866. It was operated as a private enterprise until 1875, 
when the Riverside Iron Works were incorporated by J. N. Vance, William L. 
Hearne, John D. Culbertson, N. Wilkinson and Frank J. Hearne, being 
chartered under the laws of West Virginia. The officers elected were: J. 
N. Vance, president; N. Wilkinson, secretary; and John D. Culbertson, 
William L. Hearne and N. Wilkinson, directors. The plant was then located 
at Benwood. The nail factory was operated until 1888 and was afterward 
abandoned, all interests being concentrated at Benwood as the Riverside 
Iron Works. Eleven acres were first bought, and now the plant occupies 90 
acres, having ample room for railroad tracks and other necessary 
equipment. A Bessemer steel plant was erected about 1886 and also tube 
works, which enabled them to manufacture all kinds of steel steam, gas and 
water pipes. As the business grew the tube works were enlarged until they 
became one of the largest and finest mills in the country, constituting a 
distinct plant. A large blast furnace is now being completed. They lost 
their identity as the Riverside Iron Works in March, 1899, in a sale to 
the National Tube Company, which in the spring of 1901 became a 
constituent of the United States Steel Corporation. At that time the 
business of the company amounted to $6,000,000 annually, and employed over 
2,000 men. About 2,500 men are now employed. When the business was 
established about 300 men were employed, and in 1866 not to exceed 500. 
The capital stock originally was $15,000, and during the first three years 
of its existence the company leased the old mill, which they then 
purchased. When sold the Riverside Iron Works had a capital stock of $3,
000,000, which had been increased from surplus funds after paying 
quarterly dividends. During the past ten years the company has operated a 
blast furnance at Steubenville, Ohio. Mr. Vance became a director in the 
National Tube Company and continued as such until it became part of the 
United States Steel Corporation, when he resigned. Frank J. Hearne is 
president of the tube department of the Untied States Steel Corporaton, 
John D. Culbertson, treasurer, and E. L. Wiles, general manager of the 
Riverside department of the same corporation. 

Mr. Vance is president of the National Exchange Bank of Wheeling, and is 
also at the head of the Vance Shoe Company. The manufacturing plant of the 
latter concern is located at Pullman, Illinois, and the Chicago end of the 
business is in charge of Mr. J. C. Riheldaffer. Mr. Vance's son, H. E. 
Vance, is president of the Vance Shoe Company, and W. F. Shaffer is 
secretary. Mr. J. N. Vance has many other interests in Wheeling and 
Chicago and in the state of Alabama. As a business man he is shrewd and 
far-sighted, and the wonderful success which has attended his career is 
due solely to his own efforts. A portrait of Mr. Vance accompanies this 
sketch. 



CHARLES H. COPP, is a member of the firm of Copp & Devore, prominent 
merchandise brokers of Wheeling, West Virginia. Mr. Copp has been a 
resident of Wheeling since about 1868, and was quite a small boy when his 
parents moved to this city. 

His father, George H. Copp, was a native of Virginia, and was for a number 
of years a member of the firm of Oglebay, Son & Company, wholesale 
grocers. This business was first conducted under the firm name of Paxton, 
Donald & Oglebay. Later Mr. Donald withdrew and the firm became Paxton & 
Oglebay, and subsequently Oglebay, Son & Company, which conducted a large 
business on Main street, opposite the store of Joseph Speidel. This 
business was closed out or the firm was dissolved about 1888. George H. 
Copp died in 1875, at the early age of forty-four years. His union with 
Virginia C. Bare was blessed with two children,--Charles H. and Carrie 
V., both of whom are still unmarried and reside at home with their mother. 
The family residence is a handsome residence built by George H. Copp on 
the Island, and its members are regular attendants of St. Luke's 
Protestant Episcopal church. 

Charles H. Copp was reared and schooled in the city of Wheeling. His first 
work was as clerk and office boy with Bown & Good, merchandise brokers, of 
Wheeling. In 1880 he was admitted into the firm as a partner, and the firm 
became Bown, Good & Copp, with office on the corner of Fourteenth and Main 
streets. This firm did a prosperous business for some time, and 
subsequently established a branch house at St. Louis, Missouri, under the 
same name and management, Messrs. Bown and Good removing to that city, 
while the Eastern trade was conducted solely by Mr. Copp. In 1889 this 
company was dissolved by mutual consent, and Mr. Copp conducted the 
business alone for two years following. He then entered into partnership 
with J. H. Devore, the firm became Copp & Devore, and as such has 
continued to do business up to the present day. The office remained at the 
corner of Fourteenth and Main streets until 1898, and was then removed to 
its present location in the Reilly Building. The firm is a progressive 
one, and conducts a successful merchandise brokerage business throughout 
West Virginia and as far as Steubenville, Ohio. 

Mr. Copp is a Mason, affiliating with Ohio Lodge, No. 1, A.F. & A.M., and 
Wheeling Commandery, No. 1, K. T. He is also a member of Wheeling Lodge, 
No. 9, Wheeling Encampment, No. 11, I.O.O.F. He ranks high among the 
successful young business men of Ohio county, and his success is well 
deserved. 



ANDREW REITZ, secretary and general manager of the Spears Axle Company, 
one of the largest plants of its kind in this country, is a thorough 
business man and has hosts of friends. He is a native of Wheeling and is a 
son of George and Catherine (Weil) Reitz. His father was born in Germany 
and came to this country when a young man, previous to his marriage with 
Catherine Weil, which took place in Wheeling. He was a stove fitter by 
trade, and departed this life in 1877. The mother of Andrew Reitz is still 
living in Wheeling, at the age of eighty-three years. 

Previous to embarking in the business which now claims his attention, 
Andrew Reitz was a government inspector, located at Wheeling, and served 
in that capacity from 1884 to April, 1889. 

The Spears Axle Company, of which he is now general manager and secretary, 
was organized in 1888, and he was one of its incorporators. The plant was 
erected on the corner of Main and Market streets; the finishing shop is of 
brick, and is 215 feet long by 70 feet wide, with iron trusses and slate 
roof, while the rolling mill and forging department is of frame, 60 by 200 
feet in dimensions. The capacity of the plant is about four or five 
hundred sets of axles daily, and it is the intention of the owners to 
double its capacity in the near future. It is well equipped with machinery 
and also turns out wagon, carriage and buggy axles. Special foremen are 
employed for each department, and about 85 men in all are engaged, most of 
whom are skilled workmen. 

The office is located at the east side of the building. The steel and raw 
material are secured mainly from Wheeling manufacturers and several kinds 
of axles are made, among them the famous "Horse-shoe" brand. The 
trademark of the company is stamped by a steel stamp on the inside of each 
and every axle. Besides assisting in office work, Mr. Reitz attends to 
selling the products of the plant to various manufacturers and heavy 
hardware jobbers, and makes large sales all over the United States. Large 
shipments have been sent to the Pacific Coast. Charles Reitz, a brother of 
Andrew, is superintendent at the same plant and three other brothers also 
find employment there. 



DR. HARRIET B. JONES, who has attained prominence as a practicing 
physician of Wheeling, is a woman of great force of character and has made 
her influence felt in elevating the social and moral tone of the city and 
community. She was born in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, June 3, 1856, and is a 
daughter of John P. Jones. 

John P. Jones was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, June 21, 1832, and came to 
the United States when six years of age with his parents, who located in 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He moved to Ebensburg, where he engaged in 
general merchandising. He was an elder in the Presbysterian church, and in 
politics was a Republican. He moved to West Virginia in 1862 and located 
at Cranberry Summit, now known as Terra Alta. There he was a general 
merchant and lumber dealer. He took an active part in politics, and 
represented Preston county in the state legislature, serving one term in 
the upper branch and two in the lower. He was a very active, enterprising 
and public-spirited man. He was superintendent of his Sunday school 
continuously for twenty-five years. He died September 18, 1900, and lies 
buried at Terra Alta. He married Hannah Rodgers, a daughter of Geroge and 
Catherine Rodgers. She was born September 28, 1832, and died November 28, 
1894. 

At an early age Harriet B. Jones entered seminary at Wheeling and 
graduated there-from on June 3, 1875. She received the advantages of a 
fine musical education. May 1, 1884, she graduated with honors from the 
Women's Medical College at Baltimore, Maryland, as a physician and 
surgeon. She commenced the practice of her profession in Wheeling in 
September, 1885, after spending a few months in travel. In 1887 she was 
elected by the board of trustees as assistant superintendent of the West 
Virginia Hospital for the Insane at Weston, and served with credit for 
three and a half years. She then returned to Wheeling, and has since 
applied herself diligently to the practice of her profession, in which she 
has met with unqualified success. Dr. Jones has been prominent in 
temperance matters, having organized the Society of the White Cross at 
Weston, Virginia, and was president of the W. C. T. U. and the United 
Chautauqua Circles of Wheeling. Ten years ago the Doctor interested 
herself in the welfare of homeless girls, and drafted a bill, which 
through her representative she presented to the state legislature for 
passage. It took six years of constant and persistant personal endeavor 
and lobbying at the state capital to gain her ends. In 1897 she was 
triumphant and had the intense satisfaction of seeing the measure pass 
without a single amendment attached thereto. With the bill was an 
appropriation of $10,000. The construction of the building was begun in 
1899, when a further appropriation of $30,000 was made, and at the last 
sitting a further sum of money was set aside for the same purpose. In May, 
1899, the home was opened and there are now 16 inmates. Soon this 
institution raised by the efforts of Dr. Jones will be ready to 
accommodate 50 inmates. Every session of the legislature finds her on hand 
to secure ample provision for the institution. She lectures occasionally 
on temperance, social purity and literature. She is a member of the First 
Presbyterian church. She belongs to the Women's Club; the State Medical 
Association; the Ohio County Medical Society; and the American Medical 
Association. 



FOUNTAIN BURR RIDGEWAY, M.D., a member of both the county and state 
medical associations, is a gentleman of trained abilities and skilled 
resources, which have brought him into public notice and won for him the 
regard, esteem and respect justly due to a man of his usefulness in the 
community. He is a son of Christian Fountain and Mary Sophia (Burr) 
Ridgeway, both natives of West Virginia. 

Christian Fountain Ridgeway was born in 1827, and died in 1899. He was a 
merchant, enjoyed a prosperous business and was elected in 1880 as sheriff 
of Upshur county, West Virginia, and served until 1884. No Democratic 
candidate has been elected to that office before or since for the past 
forty years. He at last became a farmer and was well-to-do. He was member 
of the Baptist church. He married Mary Sophia Burr, who was born in 
Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 1840, a daughter of John J. Burr and a 
distant relative of the Aaron Burr family. She is still living at 
Buckhannon. Of the six children born to them five grew to maturity, 
namely: Gertrude M., born in Buckhannon in 1862, and died in 1885; Effie 
A., born in 1864, deceased in 1885; Fountain Burr; John R., born in 1868, 
who is engaged in the merchandise business and also takes care of the home 
farm of 500 acres at Buckhannon; and Grace L., born in 1870, who lives 
with her mother. 

Dr. Ridgeway acquired his education in the public schools of Buckhannon, 
completing a course in the high school of that place. He decided to study 
medicine and went into the office of Dr. J. R. Blair and George Edmondson, 
both prominent doctors at Buckhannon, and remained two years studying. He 
then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, 
Maryland, and received his diploma in April, 1891, as a physician and 
surgeon. His first location was on the Island in Wheeling, but he removed 
later to No. 833 Market street, where he is at present. 

In July, 1892, he was united in marriage with Mattie E. Sharp, a daugher 
of William and Martha Sharp, who was born June 11, 1869. She is a member 
of the Fourth Street M. E. church. In politics our subject is a Democrat. 
His high standing everywhere proves his fidelity to his patients and his 
success demonstrates his talents. 



AUGUSTUS POLLACK, of Wheeling, West Virginia, who organized and 
established the famous Crown Stogie factories, which have added to the 
national prominence of the city, is a son of Joseph and Bertha Pollack, of 
Buende, Province of Westphalia. From the date of his birth, July 5, 1830, 
he spent his boyhood days on his parents' estate in the beautiful Weser 
Valley of Prussia. 

After his graduation at the Buende Gymnasium (College) at the age of 
seventeen, he entered the counting-room of Eduard Gerson at Soest. During 
the revolutionary period of 1848 he accepted a position offered by 
Hambleton & Thomas, of Baltimore, Maryland. He embarked at Bremenhaven, 
April 5, 1849, in the London bark "Margaret." Captain Clark commanding, 
and arrived at Baltimore, May 18, 1849. He engaged in business there on 
his own account in 1852 and then, in 1854, through the influence of 
Wheeling friends, he removed it to Wheeling. 

On the 31st of March, 1855, he was united in marriage to Rosalie Weinberg, 
of Baltimore, and assumed, on the completion of the Northwestern Virginia 
Railway, during 1858-59, the establishment of the Adams Express Company's 
business at the different stations of the line, while he erected at 
Grafton, West Virginia, a residence and warehouse. Mr. Pollack removed to 
Wheeling during 1860, after resigning the agency of the Adams Express 
Company and disposing of his Grafton interests, to establish himself in 
the wholesale notion trade. 

Mr. Pollack prosecuted this business successfully until 1871, when he 
organized the first Crown Stogie factory, which, with its branch in East 
Wheeling, employs 275 contented hands and produces annually thirty 
millions of cigars. It may be added that Mr. Pollack's personal management 
has been distinguished by an uninterrupted course of peaceful and 
harmonious progress by a broad disposition of sympathy and voluntary 
advances and compensation of graduated labor. This interest in the welfare 
of labor and approach to its heart has culminated in the creation of ideal 
conditions in his factories, which have aroused throughout the country as 
far as known the most favorable comment. 

Mr. Pollack at the outbreak of the Civil War tendered to the national 
government his buildings at Grafton and received grateful acknowledgement 
of Simon Cameron, then Secretary of War. Mr. Pollack offered his time and 
means in defense of the union, organized the first German volunteer 
company for service in the field and assisted to intensify the loyalty of 
this section. 

He aided in the organization of the German paper, The Patriot, and was 
interested in the directories of the German Bank of Wheeling, the German 
Fire Insurance Company of Wheeling, the Aetna Iron & Nail Company and the 
West Virginia Tobacco Company, which latter concern was rescued from its 
financial embarrassment by Mr. Pollack's decree,--"The obligations of 
honor cannot be outlawed." 

Although an original and enthusiastic Republican, he never sought public 
position, declining the unanimous nomination for the mayoralty of Wheeling 
and with reluctance accepting the unanimous nomination as elector-at-large 
on the Harrison and Morton ticket. His speaches during the 1888 campaign 
were very favorably received by the press and his party. 

Mr. Pollack presided at the first Saengerfest celebrated in Wheeling, July 
20-23, 1885, and presided at the Trades Display in 1887. He was honored in 
the latter year with the arbitration of the contention of the Pittsburg 
and Wheeling glass manufactures and their employees. 

Mr. Pollack is a member of the arbitration committee of the board of 
trade, director of the Linsly Institute and continues the sole management 
of both Crown plants, the products of which, since their introduction 
thirty years ago, have enjoyed everywhere the highest confidence, in 
integrity of character and value, and the open door of American markets is 
the deserved decoration awarded to their author. 

A portrait of Mr. Pollack, it gives us pleasure to announce, appears on a 
foregoing page in proximity to this. 



CHARLES E. DANNENBERG, deputy clerk of the County Court of Ohio county, 
has filled that office with great credit to himself since his appointment 
in January, 1897. 

Mr. Dannenberg was born July 1, 1868, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and is a 
son of Henry and Louisa (Carl) Dannenberg. Our subject has had good mental 
training, being a graduate of the Mountain State Business College. He has 
been very active in politics, and has held a number of offices. He is at 
present secretary of the Alliance Building & Loan Savings Association and 
has faithfully performed the duties of that position since 1892. He was 
elected city clerk in January, 1895, and two years later appointed to his 
present position. Such men as Mr. Dannenberg, who do their duty to the 
best of their ability, are essential to the welfare of any community. 



MAYNE R. DENMAN, representative of the Smith Premier Typewriter Company in 
Eastern Ohio and West Virginia, has his headquarters in Wheeling, at No. 
1511 Market street. He was born at Monticello, New York, April 16, 1867, 
and is a son of David N. and Emma (Whiteman) Denman, both of whom were 
natives of New York state. David N. Denman was born in 1833 and is living 
at Greensburg, Pennsylvania; his wife was born April 15, 1838. 

Mayne R. Denman attended the Greensburg High School, and afterward took a 
course at Dugg's College, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, after which he became 
city editor of The Press, at Greensburg, Pennsylvania. he was at one time 
in the retail shoe business at Birmingham, Alabama, and also at 
Saugerties, New York. For severn years he spent his time traveling as a 
salesman for Whiteman & Denman, of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He finally 
engaged with the Smith Premier Typewriter Company, in his present 
position, and has been successfully indentified with the company for four 
years. His first appearance in Wheeling was in October, 1898, just after 
he was mustered out of service from Company F. 18th Reg. Penn. Vol. Inf. 

June 19, 1901, was the date of our subject's marriage with Meta Roberts, a 
daughter of Capt. J. C. and Elmira A. (Garrett) Robers. Mrs. Denman was 
born at Moundsville, West Virginia, September 2, 1876. Both our subject 
and wife are members of the Thomson M. E. church. Mr. Denman is a 
Republican, and a member of the Order of Americas. He is a man of 
admirable character and habits, and has won many friends since taking up 
his residence in Wheeling. 



DR. JOHN W. MYERS, who has a thorough knowledge of the medical profession, 
has been actively engaged in practice in Wheeling, Ohio county, West 
Virginia, since 1894, and is patronized by many of the leading citizens in 
the city and vicinity. He is a son of August B. and Ernestina (Shubert) 
Myers, natives of Germany, and was born January 15, 1871, in Marshall 
county, West Virginia. 

August B. Myers was born in 1840 and immigrated to the United States in 
1846, locating on a farm in Marshall county, where he still resides. His 
wife, Ernestina Shubert, is deceased,--her death occurred at the age of 
fifty-nine years. They reared six children, namely: William, a millman at 
Bogg's Run; Lena, who married L. C. Bowen, a member of the Wheeling police 
force; Minnie, now the wife of Alonzo Cosser, who is employed as a welder 
in the Riverside Mills; August C., a dairyman of Benwood and Wheeling; 
Harry L., who is studying pharmacy; and John W. 

Mr. Myers obtained his early education in the public schools of Sunnyside, 
Marshall county. In 1891 he graduated from Linsly Institute, and made up 
his mind to become a physician and surgeon; accordingly he went to 
Baltimore, Maryland, and attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
completing his course in 1893, and graduating with honor. The following 
year was spent in the city hospital, and in the spring of 1894 he 
commenced the practice of his profession. For the past five years he has 
been anaesthetizer at Haskins' Hospital. He makes a specialty of diseases 
of the lungs. 

February 12, 1895, our subject married Alice C. Faggert, a daughter of 
William and Catherine (Wagner) Faggert. They have been blessed with two 
children,--Valta G., aged five years, and a baby girl, Ruth. They are 
devoted members of the Wesley M. E. church. 

Mr. Myers belongs to the Shield of Honor, and is a member of the Korn Kob 
Klub. He is a Republican in his political opinions. He is genial and good-
natured and has many friends among his patients. 



THOMAS D. BENNETT, former chief of police of Wheeling, West Virginia, has 
been an active and energetic citizen for many years, serving his city to 
the best of his ability. He is a son of Geroge Washington and Martha 
(Dennison) Bennett, and was born on or near the site of the Masonic 
Temple, on Market street, October 20, 1847. 

George Wasington Bennett was born in 1806 at Winchester, Virginia, and 
lived until 1871. In the early days he wagoned from Baltimore to Wheeling, 
and was one of the early settlers of Wheeling. He was employed in John 
Hamilton & Company's foundry for twenty-seven years, and proved an 
industrious workman. His wife, Martha Dennison, was born near Claysville, 
Pennsylvania, in 1812, and died in 1855. To this union were born nine 
children, namely,--Elizabeth, Mary, James, Susannah, Catherine, Joseph, 
Thomas D., Jane and Della. 

Elizabeth Bennett married William Hamilton, who was afterward killed in 
the battle of the Wilderness,--later she married Samuel Hamilton, a 
brother to her first husband, who is also deceased; she is living on the 
Island. Mary Bennett married James Rigby, now deceased, who was for many 
years a prominent music teacher in Wheeling, and she now resided at 
Sherman, Texas. James is a molder by occupation. Susannah is deceased. 
Catherine became the wife of Nelson Mitchell, foreman of the Fisher & 
Son's stove foundry for many years, and lives on the Island. Joseph served 
through the Civil War, but is now deceased. Jane is now the wife of Philip 
Heilman, a minister of the Lutheran church, and lives at Baltimore, 
Maryland, and Della died in childhood. 

Our subject acquired what education he could until his tenth year, when he 
began work in Hamilton's foundry, subsequently working in Hamilton & 
Company's machine shops, where he remained until seventeen years of age, 
when he enlisted at Wheeling in Company I, Second Regiment Virginia 
Veterans. This was in the fall of 1864; he served his country until the 
close of the war, and was mustered out of service on July 19, 1865. He 
then found employment in the boiling department of the Riverside Iron 
Works until 1881, at which time he was elected chief of police by the 
Republican party, and served two years. Although Wheeling, was Democratic, 
he carried it with a majority of 976 votes. He served until 1883 in this 
office, was re-elected in that year and filled the office until 1885. This 
ended his political career for a short time, and he commenced work in the 
Riverside Mills. In 1891, however, he was elected constable for a term of 
four years, and afterward was re-elected again as chief of police. His 
popularity speaks for work well and faithfully done, and the man himself 
is considered by all an upright and good citizen. 

In August, 1872, Mr. Bennett was united in marriage with Verona Stephens, 
a daughter of Moses and Elza Stephens, natives of England. Mrs. Bennett 
was born in Maryland, in 1853. Seven children have been born to them: 
Harry, born January 27, 1881; Joseph, born in December, 1882; Thomas, born 
in 1884; George W., born in 1886; and Margaret Isabel, born in 1892. 
Jessie is now the wife of Montford McFeeley, an electrician, and lives on 
the Island. 

Mr. Bennett is, fraternally, a member of Wheeling Lodge, No. 5, A.F. & 
A.M.; Black Prince Lodge, No. 19, K. of P.; and of John A. Logan Council, 
No. 95, Jr. O.U.A.M. He is an active Republican, as has been indicated in 
a preceding paragraph. 



GEORGE W. KINSEY, B. S., D. V. S., is a verterinary surgeon of note in 
Wheeling, West Virginia, and is respected by his many acquaintances as a 
dutiful citizen and firm friend. 

Mr. Kinsey was born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, May 12, 1866. The greater 
part of his life was spent there and he came to Wheeling in 1898, only a 
few years ago. After securing a high school education he entered Michigan 
Agricultural College, and graduated with honor in 1890. He afterward took 
a course in the Chicago Veterinary College, and graduated there also. With 
a thorough knowledge of his profession, he commenced practicing at Mount 
Pleasant, Ohio, and made that place his home until 1898. 

His office is at No. 931 Market street, Wheeling, and he enjoys a very 
active practice. His religious views are liberal. 



JOSEPH EDWARD McCAUSLAND, wholesale dealer in coffees, spices, etc., at 
No. 1623 South street, Wheeling, West Virginia, is a very successful, 
energetic and enterprising citizen. He is a son of Geroge and Harriet 
(Schwartz) McCausland, and was born June 11, 1861, in Marshall county, 
West Virginia. 

George McCausland was born in April, 1822, at West Liberty, Ohio county, 
West Virginia, and died in 1897. He was a successful farmer and a member 
of the Episcopal church. He chose for his wife Harriet Schwartz, who was 
born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, in 1826. They reared a family of 
eight children, namely; William; Joseph E., subject; George; Mac; Richard; 
Addison; Jesse; and Harry. William is a farmer on the home place; George 
is also engaged in agricultural pursuits in the Sand Hill district. Mac 
and Richard both died in childhood. Addison has farming interests in 
Marshall county. Jesse is a prominent merchant broker in Wheeling. Harry 
died in 1894. 

Our subject gained an education by attending district school at Sand Hill, 
after which he proceeded to Wheeling, where he entered the wholesale 
grocery of Baer & Sons. He held his position with that firm for nine 
years, and subsequently engaged with the Wheeling Bakery for two years. 
January 28, 1895, he became one of the police force, and served four years 
under Chief Thomas Bennett and eight months under Chief Clemens. He then 
went into business for himself, as a wholesale dealer in coffee, spices, 
etc., and has continued ever since with the greatest success. 

In 1884, Mr. McCausland was united in marriage with Julia R. Davis, who 
was born in 1864, a daughter of Silas R. and Mary (Davis) Davis. To their 
union were born four children: Harrison, born June 7, 1888, died January 
8, 1892; Elsie, born August 21, 1891; Harry, born October 21, 1895; and 
Lucy, born September 21, 1898. The family reside at No. 200 Sixteenth 
street. Mr. and Mrs. McCausland are both active members of the Second 
Presbyterian church. Our subject is a Republican in politics. He is a 
Mason, and a member of the K. of P.; I.O.O.F.; and A.O.U.W. He is a most 
progressive business man and his friends unite in predicting for him a 
succesful business career. 



J. HARVEY DEVORE, a member of the merchandise brokerage firm of Copp & 
Devore, one of the most prominent concerns of the kind in the city of 
Wheeling, West Virginia, has been a resident of this city since 1882. He 
was born in Monroe county, Ohio, in 1858. His father, J. W. Devore, was 
born in Carroll county, Ohio, in 1838, and while still a lad removed with 
his parents to Monroe county, of the same state. He saw three years of 
active service in the Union army during the Civil War, having enlisted as 
a private and having later become a corporal in Company A, 116th Reg., 
Ohio Vol. Inf. His wife attempted to visit her husband, who was then with 
his regiment at Lynchburg, Virginia. Before reaching that point, however, 
she was captured by the Confederates at Harper's Ferry and was carried a 
prisoner to Macon, Georgia, where she was confined for some months. In the 
meantime her husband had obtained a furlough to visit home, and returned 
to find his wife gone, and for some time they lost all trace of each other 
and, very naturally, each thought the other dead. The were finally 
reunited, however, and reared a family of five sons and one daughter,--J. 
Harvey being the eldest child. The beloved father died in 1893, but is 
still survived by his widow, who now resides at Woodsfield, Ohio. 

Capt. Daniel B. Devore, a brother of J. Harvey, has filled many important 
positions, and is now a captain in the 23d Regiment, U. S. Infantry, 
stationed at Fort J. A. Russell, Wyoming. He graduated from West Point in 
1885, was then put on detail duty for some time and subsequently served as 
professor of mathematics for five years in that academy. Later he served 
on the staff of General Alger, who was Secretary of War; in this capacity 
he was sent to Lapland and brought over a shipload of 500 reindeer, which 
were afterward transported to Alaska. 

J. Harvey Devore was educated in his native state, and for a brief time 
followed the profession of teaching. Upon locating in Wheeling he worked 
int he dry goods house of J. S. Rhodes & Company as clerk for one year. In 
1883 Mr. Devore embarked in the business which has been his life work ever 
since. He was first associated with the brokerage firm of Bown & Good, and 
later entered into partnership with Charles H. Copp, whose biography 
appears elsewhere in this volume. 

Mr. Devore was first united in marriage with Ada Swarts, a native of 
Monroe county, Ohio, who died in 1895, leaving four children,--Chauncey 
C., Leland S., Helene V., and Gerald B. Mr. Devore formed a second 
marriage in 1898, when he wedded Alice B. Walters. who is a native of 
Zanesville, Ohio, but at the time of her marriage she was a resident of 
Wheeling. They reside on the Island, at No. 101 South Pennsylvania street, 
and are members of the Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal church. 

Politically, Mr. Devore is a Republican. He affiliates with Franklin 
Lodge, No. 3, I.O.O.F., of Wheeling. Until quite recently Mr. Devore was 
member of Governor Atkinson's staff, with the rank of colonel, and served 
as assistant commissary general. This appointment was a most complete and 
pleasant surprise to Mr. Devore, who had not solicited the place which he 
filled with credit until March, 1901. His worth and popularity are 
unquestioned and he is regarded as one of the solid business men of the 
community. 



JOHN W. KIMMINS, a progressive and highly esteemed business man of 
Wheeling, West Virginia, is the proprietor of a fine grocery store at No. 
109 Sixteenth street, where he carries a fine line of staple and fancy 
groceries and caters to the wants of the general public. 

Mr. Kimmins was born in Ohio county, West Virginia, December 15, 1866, and 
is the youngest child of Alfred and Margaret (Muldoon) Kimmins, both 
natives of Pennsylvania, born, respectively, in the years 1835 and 1837. 
Both are active in religious circles, the father having been elder of the 
Dallas Presbyterian church for more than twenty years. Alfred Kimmins is a 
prominent Republican, and is at the present time supervisor of Middle 
Wheeling Creek Road, and follows the double occupation of farmer and 
miller. The mother of our subject is a daughter of Frank and Jane Muldoon, 
prominent Pennsylvanians, and bore her husband five children, one only 
besides our subject being now living. Those deceased are Frank, Mary and 
Ella. Harry, the only living brother of our subject, is the eldest of the 
family and is a progressive farmer in Ohio county. 

June 18, 1888, the subject of this sketch led to the hymeneal altar 
Pauline Miller, who was born May 13, 1864, a daughter of Fred and Sophia 
Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Kimmins having two sons,--Paul, born in August, 1889, 
and John Jr., born September 23, 1901. 

Our subject obtained the rudiments of an education in the district schools 
of Ohio county, which he attended until twelve years of age. This was 
supplemented by a two years' course in a business college. Upon leaving 
the college he was associated with an uncle at Little Washington for some 
time. In 1890 he came to Wheeling, entering at that time the grocery store 
of Joseph Speidel & Company, remaining in their employ for three years. He 
afterward spent five years with the Atlantic Tea Company, previous to 
embarking in his present successful business. 

Both our subject and his estimable wife are members of the First 
Presbyerian church, and stand high in social circles. In politics, Mr. 
Kimmins throws his influence and vote to the Republican party. He is a 
member of Black Prince Lodge, No. 19, Knights of Pythias, of Wheeling. He 
is careful, conscientious business man, and his present position is 
gratifying to his many friends. 



PETER F. FARRELL, a most highly respected and esteemed citizen of 
Wheeling, West Virginia, has lived in the city since 1857. He was born 
January 19, 1840, and is a son of John and Ann (Donlon) Farrell. 

John Farrell was a very active man during his life, and had quite a 
railroad career. He was born in County Longford, Ireland, in 1800, and 
emigrated to the United States in 1828, proceeding to Washington, D.C., 
on his arrival in this country. He made Washington his home for four or 
five years and then went to Baltimore, Maryland; he was employed on the 
construction train on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and went with it to 
Cumberland, Maryland. He made contracts with the road going west from 
Cumberland to Wheeling, and finished sections 4, 17, 183 and 185, 
comprising four miles. Afterward he left that road and worked on the 
Northwestern Railroad from Grafton to Parkersburg, and finished section 
93, known as "Farrell's Tunnel," and section 103, the last mile into 
Parkersburg. His death too place at Walker, West Virginia, September 13, 
1855. 

John Farrell married Mrs. Ann Donlon, who was born in County Longford, 
Ireland, in 1805. They had six children; among them are Peter F.; William, 
born in 1843, who is now deceased; Matthew, born in 1846, a resident of 
Colorado; and James A., born three years later, a prosperous merchant. The 
boys came to Wheeling in 1857. In political opinions, they are all 
Democrates. 



DR. LEON N. REEFER, prominent among the veterinary surgeons of Wheeling, 
West Virginia, stands the gentleman whose name heads this biography. Aside 
from being resident state secretary of the American Veterinary Association 
and a member of the county board of health, he has been city veterinary 
surgeon for eight years, and has practiced in Wheeling since 1888. He is a 
son of Morris H. and Jeannette (Tichner) Reefer, and was born in 
Meadville, Pennsylvania, July 24, 1868. 

Morris H. Reefer, was born in Austria in 1833, and emigrated to the United 
States in 1850, locating at Buffalo, and shortly afterward went to 
Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the merchandise business very 
profitably, and where he still resides. He married Jeannette Tichner, who 
was born in 1844 in Philadelphia, and who died in 1892. They had five 
children, namely: Lina, born in 1864, who married Samuel Greenwald, a 
wholesale dry good merchant of Philadelphia; Jay, born in 1866, who is a 
broker in Clarksburg; Leon N., our subject; Jules, born in 1870, secretary 
of the Dorcas Mining and Milling Company at Florence, Colorado; and Mae, 
born in 1872, who resides with her parents. 

Mr. Reefer attended the public schools during his youth, his home then 
being at Meadville, and afterward graduated from the University of 
Pennsylvania, in June, 1888, where he completed his course in the 
veterinary department. That fall he located at Wheeling, where he has 
since built up a splendid practice. His office is at No. 1321 Chapline 
street. 

Our subject was married in November, 1889, to Jessie Brinton, a daughter 
of George and Jennie Brinton, born in Wheeling in 1869. They are active 
members of the Fourth Street M. E. church. 

Dr. Reefer is consulting veterinary surgeon for the state board of 
agriculture. In politics he is a Republican. In fraternal circles he is a 
member of the Elks, and of Wheeling Lodge, No. 114, K. of P. Always prompt 
in doing his duty, he is well liked and is known as a most skillful 
surgeon. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON FORGEY, whose portratit is shown on the opposite page, 
has been engaged in business in Wheeling since 1857, and is now serving as 
city receiver, an office to which he was elected by the council of 
Wheeling in 1897. It is a very important office, which was established to 
take the place of the office of city treasurer, all revenues, except those 
from the water works and gas works and the city school taxes, being turned 
over to its incumbent. Mr. Forgey has displayed great ability in the 
discharge of his duties, and has the confidence and respect of every one. 
He was born near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1837, and is a son 
of William Forgey. 

William Forgey was born in Ireland, and came to America about 1811, 
locating near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he took out naturalization 
papers in 1826 and lived until his death, which occurred when the subject 
hereof was four or five years of age. He married Rebecca Thornburg, who 
was born on Chartiers Creek, and died in June, 1852, at the age of sixty-
seven years. Her father owned 1,000 acres of land, which is now subdivided 
and being sold in lots in the town of Thornburg, which is south of 
Carnegie, Pennsylvania. After her husband's death Mrs. Forgey resided at 
Pittsburg until about two months before her death, when she removed to the 
old farm. The subject of this sketch has one brother, Samuel, who lives on 
a farm near Florence, Nebraska, at the age of seventy-five years. He also 
has two sisters living in Pittsburg. After the father's death the family 
lived in Pittsburg and was supported by the three sons. 

Alexander Hamilton Forgey had good educational advantages, and at an early 
age determined upon a commercial life. He learned bookkeeping at the Iron 
City College, Pittsburg, and between 1852 and 1857 attended school at 
Pittsburg and at Cincinnati, Ohio. His brother-in-law, William Hay, moved 
to Wheeling in 1848 and died in 1857,--he was one of the promoters of the 
Belmont Mill, which in 1851 was sold to the Nortons. Then the firm of 
Bailey, Woodward & Company was organized that year, and he also became a 
member of it. This firm was the original promoter of the LaBelle Iron 
Works, organized in 1852, and now one of the leading iron companies of the 
East. The following is a list of the gentlemen active in organizing this 
great company: William Bailey, S. H. Woodward, Henry Wallace, C. B. Doty, 
Holsten Harden, David Spaulding, John McClinton, John Wright, Andrew 
Glass, William Lynch, William Dean, William R. E. Elliott, Noah P. Remick, 
Isaac Freese, Robert S. Irwin, William Hay, James Burke, Dennis D. McCoy, 
William E. Bailey, Richard Savery, Joseph Hersey, father-in-law of the 
subject hereof, and Robert Caswell. 

Mr. Forgey located in Wheeling in 1857, and until 1868 was in the employ 
of David Spaulding & Company, in the LaBelle store, which was then located 
without the limits of the city. This firm had purchased the Jefferson Iron 
Works at Steubenville, and later organized the firm of Spaulding, Woodward 
& Company. In the spring of 1868 Mr. Forgey entered the retail shoe 
business, in which he continued for six or eight years. In 1874 he became 
identified with the wholesale carriage, wagon and hardware business of 
Jacob Snyder, and remained with him as bookkeeper for a period of twenty-
two years. He was elected city receiver in 1897. Fines imposed are turned 
over to him once a month, and he collects for the city cemetery, from 
tenants of public property, and from licenses and insurance taxes. The 
office was created by an act of the legislature of March 3, 1870. 

Mr. Forgey was united in marriage in August, 1861, with Lucinda Hersey, a 
daughter of Joseph Hersey, who died in 1862. The estate held an interest 
in the LaBelle Iron Works until 1868, when it was divided. Mr. Hersey came 
to Wheeling in 1851, and became a prominent business man. None of his 
family lives here, with the exception of Mrs. Forgey. Three children 
blessed this union, namely: Sarah, who is bookkeeper for the C. F. Adams 
Company; Laura, who is at home; and Samuel, who is employed in the 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad freight office. Politically, Mr. Forgey is a 
stanch Republican and voted for Lincoln in 1860. He was opposed to the 
extension of slavery, and Mr. Hersey, who came from Massachusetts, was a 
strong Abolitionist. Fraternally, Mr. Forgey has been an Odd Fellow since 
1859, and belongs to Franklin Lodge, No. 3, of which he is past grand. He 
has been a member of Ohio Lodge, No. 1, A.F. & A.M., since 1867, and 
belongs to Wheeling Union Chapter, No. 1, R. A.M., having taken the Royal 
Arch degree. He is past master of Ohio Lodge, and has a certificate in the 
National Union. He is liberal in religious views. He has a comfortable 
home at No. 53 South Front street, corner of Vermont street, on the 
Island. 



THOMAS HALPIN, one of the prominent and hustling business men of Wheeling, 
West Virginia, is engaged in the retail liquor business, and has been most 
successful. 



JOHN W. MYLES, a well-know resident of Wheeling who has attained 
distinction as an artist, was born in the city, April 8, 1857. He is a son 
of William Myles, a native of Ireland, whose birth occurred June 10, 1835. 
The father was an artist by profession and made a great success of life; 
he crossed the ocean from his native land, arriving in Wheeling in 1851, 
where he was very active during life, and died in 1897. 

John W. Myles was educated at St. Vincent's College in Wheeling, and also 
studied drawing and painting for some time under the best tutors. Fillipo 
Costaggini, the noted artist of Baltimore, Maryland was his first great 
teacher, and Mr. Myles spent three years to advantage under his 
instruction. His next preceptor was Carl Bersch, also prominent among 
artist of Baltimore. His instruction be completed, he returned to 
Wheeling, where he has lived ever since, working diligently at his chosen 
profession. 

January 8, 1884, Mr. Myles was united in marriage with Carrie B. Hubbard, 
who was born in Wheeling, May 8, 1861 and is a daughter of Henry B. 
Hubbard, who is now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Myles have six children: 
Raymund W., Norbert A., Angela E., Lewis D., Mary, and John Hubbard. They 
are members of the Catholic Church, and attend services regularly at St. 
Joseph's Cathedral. Mr. Myers belongs to the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, and in politics is a supporter of Democratic principles. He takes 
great interest in all that tends to benefit his native city, and is 
esteemed as one of her best citizens. As an artist, he is possessed of 
undoubted talent, and his productions are greatly admired by patrons of 
art. 



CHARLES M. NAGLE, known through many states as a ladies' tailor, is 
located at No. 1073 Main street, Wheeling, West Virginia, and has all the 
business he can attend to, besides having made himself a reputation for 
doing the best kind of work, which he supplies to parties in West 
Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and, in fact, all over the Union. He is a 
son of Charles and Catherine Nagle, both of whom are deceased, and is of 
foreign birth. His father led an active life as a merchant for many years 
and died at the advanced age of seventy years. 

Charles M. Nagle was born in September, 1864, in Bohemia. He received his 
early mental training in several places,--last in a business college in 
Wheeling. He arrived in this country in 1893, but his parents never 
crossed the ocean. 

After landing at New York, where he stayed for a short time, Mr. Nagle 
started for Wheeling, and here opened up his business as a ladies' tailor 
in 1894, doing work first at No. 1113 Main street, but later removing to 
No. 1073 Main street. He could easily find places for a score of persons 
in his establishment, but cannot get the operatives. He has worked under 
the best and most wealthy firms in Paris, Vienna and London, as well as 
other large cities, and has the patronage of the best citizens of 
Wheeling. He makes only ladies' wear and gives the best satisfaction. He 
was in Paris during the past year in the interests of his business. 

He chose for his life companion Lena Hoffman, who is of German decent, and 
they reside on the Island. They have one child, Eugene. 

Fraternally, Mr. Nagle is a member of the Uniform Rank of Knights of 
Pythias. He has become a citizen of Wheeling, Ohio county, and helps much 
in advertising the city by doing excellent work, which goes over several 
states. His life has been characterized by industry, energy and 
perseverance, and that it has been one of usefulness and benefit to others 
cannot be denied when a glance is given to his record. 



JAMES NESBITT, one of the worthy and well-to-do pioneer citizens of 
Wheeling, Ohio county, West Virginia, generally known for his enterprise 
and thrift, is a retired blacksmith, living at No. 56 Alley 20. Mr. 
Nesbitt is a native of Ireland, and was born in County Antrim, March 11, 
1823. He is a son of John and Catherine (Montgomery) Nesbitt, who were 
also natives of Ireland. 

James Nesbitt came to America in 1847, landing in New York, where he 
stayed a week and then went to Philadelphia. Leaving Philadelphia, he 
spent a year in Pittsburg, and subsequently came to Wheeling, about 1848. 
Here he worked at blacksmithing, the trade he had learned in his native 
country, which he continued for some time, and did a good business for 
those days. Always very handy with tools, he seemed a born mechanic, and 
soon had the reputation of making anything used in his business, and, if 
necessary, even the tools that were required. 

Mr. Nesbitt was employed in the Riverside Mill for a considerable length 
of time, and held the position of boss there for several years. After 
leading an active life for many years, he at last retired from business in 
1896. He is a stockholder in the Riverside Steel & Nail Works in Benwood. 

The subject of this sketch has never married. He was formerly a member of 
the I.O.O.F. In politics Mr. Nesbitt is an ardent Republican. He has made 
a good success in his financial operations and has retired with a 
competency, and a consciousness of owing no man anything, and of duty well 
done. 



JESSE C. MORRIS, superintendent of The Bradstreet Company at Wheeling, was 
born in the city January 18, 1871. According to precedent, Mr. Morris has 
many years of usefulness before him, for his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth 
(Sutton) Morris, who were born in Wheeling in 1827 and 1829, respectively, 
are still living, and are in possession of the faculties which have placed 
them among the prominent people of the city. Jacob Morris has spent his 
entire life in Wheeling as a contractor and builder. After many years of 
conscientious application to the duties of his occupation he availed 
himself of a much needed rest in 1890, and has since been practically 
retired from business activity. 

Jesse C. Morris was educated at the Fourth Ward public school of Wheeling, 
where he was graduated in the class of 1888. In 1899 he began as a 
reporter for the Bradstreet Company and was promoted to the 
superintendency February 1, 1901. He is a Republican in politics and is 
fraternally associated with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Odd 
Fellows. 



CHARLES F. HYDINGER, who is a member of the firm of Hydinger & Remke, 
retail dealers in groceries, in Wheeling, West Virginia, is a native of 
Wheeling, and was born September 24, 1867. He is a son of Joseph Hydinger. 

Joseph Hydinger, the grandfather of Charles F., was a native of Alsace, 
France, and came to America in the latter part of his life. He settled in 
Wheeling, and lived there until his death. He was a gardener by trade. 

Joseph Hydinger, the father of Charles F., was born in Wheeling, West 
Virginia, in 1839. He also followed the trade of a gardener for a number 
of years. He was engaged in the grocery business later in life, and is now 
retired from active business duties. He married Elizabeth Rits, who was 
born in Germany. At the age of seven years she came to this country with 
her father, Christian Rits. The father and mother of the subject of this 
sketch reared the following children, namely: Elizabeth, who married Frank 
Petterson, and now lives in Wheeling; Charles F.; William D.; Frank D.; 
Minnie; and Bertha. 

Charles F. Hydinger attended the Eighth Ward public school in Wheeling, 
and later went to Frasher's Business College. He then worked in his 
father's grocery store for seven years. In 1896 he engaged in that 
business for himself one year. He then took H. C. Remke into partnership 
with him and located at No. 4306 Jacob street. They have continued in 
business together ever since. This firm carries a full line of groceries, 
and their patronage is very large. The best goods of every line are 
handled by them, and customers are given the promptest attention. Mr. 
Hydinger is a man of unusually good business ability and he has met with 
considerable success. Mr. Hydinger is a member of the German Evangelical 
Lutheran church. 



JOHN WATERHOUSE, who has been one of Wheeling's prominent business men for 
many years, is one of the members of the firm of Waterhouse Brothers, 
which commands an extensive wholesale trade throughout this section of the 
country. He was born in Wheeling, February 5, 1842, and is a son of 
Stephen and Charlotte (Simpson) Waterhouse. 

Stephen Waterhouse was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1812, and came to 
Wheeling in 1839. He married Charlotte Simpson, who was born in Yorkshire, 
England, in 1816, and six sons and four daughters blessed their union, of 
whom two sons and three daughters are now living. 

At the age of fourteen years John Waterhouse became a clerk for Hobbs, 
Brockunier & Company, and remained with that firm for thirteen years. In 
1869 he engaged in the wholesale grocery business with Joseph Speidel, 
with whom he continued for twenty years, withdrawing in 1889 to form a 
partnership with his brother, Stephen Waterhouse. Their place of business 
was opened April 1, 1889, and they have since enjoyed a large and ever 
increasing patronage. Mr. Watherhouse was elected to the second branch of 
the city council of Wheeling from the eighth ward in 1867, and has served 
in that capacity up to the present time. 

Mr. Waterhouse was joined in matrimony with Ellen Shields, a daughter of 
Michael Shields, in Wheeling, November 24, 1864. Of the eight children 
born to them, seven are now living. Politically, Mr. Waterhouse is a 
member of the Democratic party. Socially, he is a member of the B.P.O.E. 
and Knights of Columbus. His portrait accompanies this sketch. 



FRANK STANTON, who is proprietor of the City Book Store, located at No. 
1301 Market street, in Wheeling, West Virginia, which is the largest book 
store in the state, has been engaged in this business since 1873. Mr. 
Stanton was born at Bellefontaine, Logan county, Ohio, in 1852, and is a 
son of Hon. Benjamin Stanton. 

Hon. Benjamin Stanton was a prominent attorney of Wheeling and died here 
in 1872. He practiced law in Wheeling and in Ohio, and was very well 
known. In politics he was very active, and during the war was lieutenant-
governor of Ohio. At Wheeling he served as councilman and in several city 
offices. He married Nancy Davis, who died in 1880. A son, James D. 
Stanton, lives in Wheeling, but is a railway mail clerk, on duty between 
Columbus and Cincinnati. 

Frank Stanton attended Bethany College and partially completed the course 
there. He located in Wheeling in 1867, and entered the book business in 
1873. He and his brother, James D., bought the business of Campbell & 
McDermott, which had been established in 1867. The Stanton brothers 
conducted this concern for two or three years, when James D. Stanton 
withdrew from the firm. It then became known as Stanton & Davenport, and 
under this name business was continued until 1893, when Mr. Davenport 
died. Since that time Mr. Stanton has conducted the business alone. The 
building is 130 feet deep, and an immense stock is carried. A full line of 
books, periodicals, blank books, office supplies, etc., is kept, and Mr. 
Stanton requires the services of six assistants in the store. The store is 
the largest of the kind in West Virginia, and is extensively patronized. 

Mr. Stanton married a daughter of William Day, and to them have been born 
four children, namely: Walter, Benjamin, Mary and Dorothy; all of them are 
at home. The family reside at No. 826 Main street. 

In politics Mr. Stanton is a Republican. He was a member of the board of 
education of Wheeling for six years. Fraternally, he is a member of the 
B.P.O.E. and A.O.U.W. He also belongs to the Twilight Literary Club. The 
family attend the Methodist church. 



GEORGE M. FORD, treasurer and superintendent of the Wheeling Hinge 
Company, Wheeling, West Virginia, has been associated with that company 
for the past twenty-nine years. He was born in Wheeling in 1860, and is a 
son of Thomas Ford. Thomas Ford was born in Scotland, and was a glass 
worker by trade. He settled in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on coming to this 
country, and there worked at his trade. His wife is a native of Wheeling, 
and is still a resident of this city. Her mother died in 1889, at the 
advanced age of ninety years. 

When George M. Ford was but nine years old he began work in the glass 
house, remaining there until he reached the age of twelve years. He then 
entered the employ of the Wheeling Hinge Company as a helper in the 
factory. After some years he was promoted to the shipping room, and has 
worked in all of the departments. In this way he has been able to acquire 
a thorough knowledge of the business. Gradually he worked up until he was 
given charge of the shipping room, and he now has under his charge about 
eight of the foremen from various departments. 

This company manufactures a regular line of heavy door hinges, many 
special hinges and such specialties as fire shovels. From three to four 
thousand gross of the handy fire shovels are sold annually. The frame 
buildings of the factory have been replaced by the substantial brick ones 
which now stand at Nineteenth and Jacob streets. About 70,000 feet of 
floor space are utilized by the plant. The regular line of goods is 
handled through jobbers, and the traveling salesmen employed by this firm 
work the United States from Maine to California. Mr. Ford has worked up in 
this business, and has a complete knowledge of every feature of it. He has 
been highly successful, and is what is termed a self-made man. 

Mr. Ford married Fredricka Fador, who was born in Ohio county, Wheeling, 
and was educated at the Wesleyan Female Institute at Stanton. Two children 
have resulted from this union, namely: Marjorie, born September 7, 1892; 
and George M., born July 29, 1896. Politically, Mr. Ford is a Republican, 
and was elected a member of the board of education in 1898 for a six-years 
term. He has been for twelve years a member of Nelson Lodge, No. 30, A.F. 
& A.M., of which he is past master. He is past high priest of Wheeling 
Union Chapter, No. 1, R. A.M., captain general of Wheeling Commandery, 
No. 1, K. T.; he also holds an office in the Consistory of West Virginia, 
No. 1, A. & A. S. Rite. He is a member of the A.O.U.W. Mr. Ford was reared 
in the Methodist faith, but he and his family are now members of the 
Episcopal church. Mr. Ford has many friends in Wheeling, where he is 
actively interested in all public enterprises.