WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 156
Today's Topics:
#1 BIO: SCHMIDIGER, August Joseph, D. [PJSTON@aol.com]
#2 BIO: LUCAS, William A.-Huntington, [PJSTON@aol.com]
#3 BIO: HAMILTON, Thomas S., Rev.-Mer [PJSTON@aol.com]
#4 BIO: TAYLOR, Everett Ray, M.D.-Mon [PJSTON@aol.com]
#5 BIO: HALLER, Morris J.-Monongalia [PJSTON@aol.com]
#6 BIO: HUGHART, Joseph Robert, M.D.- [PJSTON@aol.com]
Administrivia:
To unsubscribe from WV-FOOTSTEPS-D, send a message to
WV-FOOTSTEPS-D-request@rootsweb.com
that contains in the body of the message the command
unsubscribe
and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software
requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too.
To contact the WV-FOOTSTEPS-D list administrator, send mail to
WV-FOOTSTEPS-admin@rootsweb.com.
______________________________X-Message: #1
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 07:25:25 EST
From: PJSTON@aol.com
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-ID: <0.18a2130b.2588e2b5@aol.com>
Subject: BIO: SCHMIDIGER, August Joseph, D.D.S.-Monongalia Co., WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II
pg 197
August Joseph Schmidiger, D. D. S. An accomplished and skillful young dental
surgeon at Morgantown, Doctor Schmidiger grew up in this city, was liberally
educated, and after completing his preparation for his profession in the East
returned here to practice.
He was born at Fostoria, Ohio, August 7, 1893, son of Frank and Alice
(Schorno) Schmidiger. His parents were natives of Switzerland, but were
married in this country. The mother was born in 1873 and died in 1915.
Frank Schmidiger was born in 1862, learned the trade of glass maker in
Switzerland, and on coming to the United States in 1888 was employed for a
time in a glass plant at Cumberland, Maryland, and later went to Ohio. He
was one of the organizers of the Seneca Glass Company at Fostoria. Due to
the exhaustion of the natural gas supply the company in 1900 moved its plant
to Morgantown, West Virginia, where the Seneca Glass Company is one of the
large and conspicuous industries at this time. Frank Schmidiger has been in
the business continually, and now has charge of the company's plant at Starr
City, a suburb of Morgantown.
August Joseph Schmidiger was seven years of age when the family came to
Morgantown. He attended the city schools and in 1907 entered Rock Hill
College at Ellicott City, Maryland, where he took the academic and regular
college work, graduating A. B. in 1914. The following year he entered
Baltimore Dental College at Baltimore, and received his degree in 1918.
About the time he finished his college course Doctor Schmidiger volunteered
for service in the Dental Corps, but he was not called to the colors prior to
the signing of the armistice. In 1919, having returned to Morgantown, he
opened an office for practice, and ranks as one of the most skillful men in
his profession. He is a member of Morgantown Chamber of Commerce, of St.
Francis de Sales Catholic Church and the Psi Omega dental fraternity.
______________________________X-Message: #2
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 07:25:38 EST
From: PJSTON@aol.com
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-ID: <0.ab59230b.2588e2c2@aol.com>
Subject: BIO: LUCAS, William A.-Huntington, WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II
pg 196
William A. Lucas. Among the alert and enterprising men who during the past
several decades have utilized the opportunities offered at Huntington for
business preferment and attained thereby a full measure of success is William
A. Lucas, whose career is typical of modern progress and advancement, and who
as a man of affairs ranks among the contributors to his community's
betterment. Mr. Lucas, who is engaged in the real estate business, was born
at French Camp, Choctaw County, Mississippi, December 6, 1875, and is a son
of John and Margaret (Carter) Lucas.
John Lucas was born in 1836, at Chester, South Carolina. When the war
between the states came on he enlisted under the colors of the confederacy,
his commanding officer being General Longstreet. Under this leadership he
fought throughout the period of the war, establishing a splendid record for
bravery and faithful performance of duty. At the close of the struggle he
moved to Choctaw County, Mississippi, where he passed the rest of his life in
agricultural operations of some extent, and died at French Camp in 1901, when
sixty-four years of age, respected and esteemed by all who knew him. He was
a stalwart democrat in his political convictions, was fraternally affiliated
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and belonged to the Baptist
Church. Mr. Lucas married Miss Margaret Carter, who was born in 1850, at
french Camp, where she died in 1895. Six children were born to this union:
Minnie Lee, the wife of Charles A. Torbert, a banker of Ackerman,
Mississippi; James Walter, M. D., a physician and surgeon of Moorehead,
Mississippi; Hattie, who died at French Camp when but three years of age;
William A., of this review; Edna, who died at the age of three years; and
Margaret, the wife of Porter W. Berry, superintendent of the agricultural
school at Senatobia, Mississippi.
The early education of William A. Lucas was acquired in the public school at
French Camp, following which he pursued a course in the academy there, and
then enrolled as a student at the University of Mississippi, from which he
was graduated as a member of the class of 1898, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. While attending college he was a member of the Phi Delta
Theta Greek letter fraternity. After his graduation Mr. Lucas became an
instructor at Jefferson Military College, Washington, Mississippi, and
remained with that institution for a period of eleven years. In 1909, he
came to Huntington, West Virginia, and embarked in the real estate business,
a field in which he has gained something more than ordinary success. His
offices are situated at Nos. 1204-1205 First National Bank Building, and he
is secretary and treasurer of several land companies and enjoys the full
confidence of his associates in his various ventures. In political matters
Mr. Lucas supports the principles and candidates of the democratic party. He
is a member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, and has been a generous
supporter of worthy civic enterprises.
On June 14, 1905, Mr. Lucas married, at Washington, Adams County,
Mississippi, Miss Fannie Belle Raymond, daughter of Dr. Joseph S. and
Margaret Paxton Raymond, of Rockbridge County, Virginia, both now deceased.
Doctor Raymond was for forty years president of Jefferson College. Mrs.
Lucas is a graduate of a young ladies' seminary. Three children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Lucas: William A., Jr., born May 29, 1906; Margaret
Raymond, born August 3, 1908; and Minnie Lee, born May 3, 1913.
______________________________X-Message: #3
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 12:05:14 EST
From: PJSTON@aol.com
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-ID: <0.b803474f.2589244a@aol.com>
Subject: BIO: HAMILTON, Thomas S., Rev.-Mercer Co, WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II
pg 196
Rev. Thomas S. Hamilton, the able and honored pastor of the Bland Street
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in the City of Bluefield, Mercer County,
was born at Abingdon, Washington county, Virginia, October 17, 1867, and is a
scion of one of the old and influential families of that section of the Old
Dominion state. He is a son of John B. and Anna (Bradley) Hamilton, his
father having been born and reared in Washington County and having there been
engaged in mercantile business at Abingdon for many years. As a lad of
fifteen years, John B. Hamilton ran away from home and followed an infantry
that went forth in defense of the Confederate cause in the Civil war. The
youthful soldier lived up to the full tension of the great conflict,
participated in many engagements, including a number of important battles,
and the bullet which wounded him in one of his hands remained imbedded in the
flesh of the hand until his death in 1905, at the age of fifty-nine years.
His widow attained to the age of seventy-three years and passed to the life
eternal in 1919, both having been devout members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, in which Mr. Hamilton served many years as a steward. John B.
Hamilton was a man of fine mentality and sterling character, was a stalwart
supporter of the principles of the democratic party and was affiliated with
the United Confederate Veterans.
Rev. Thomas S. Hamilton, eldest in a family of five children, received his
preliminary education in the public schools of his native place, thereafter
continued his studies in Emory and Henry College, Virginia, and later took a
law course in historic old University of Virginia. He was admitted to the
bar at Abingdon, judicial center of his native county, and there he continued
in the successful practice of his profession for a period of twelve years.
Mr. Hamilton likewise studied medicine, and thus further broadened his
intellectual ken and practical knowledge-a fortification that has been of
much value to him in the high calling in which he is now serving. Moved by a
fine spirit of Christian stewardship, he finally decided to consecrate his
life to the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which he
had become an earnest member in his youth. He was ordained a clergyman of
the church in 1902, as a member of the Holston Conference in Virginia, and
his first pastoral service was on the Oldtown Circuit of that conference. He
was thus engaged one year, and during the ensuing three years was in similar
service on the Cedar Spring Circuit. He then became pastor of the church at
Wise, Virginia, where he continued his labors two years. For the ensuing
four years he was pastor of Grace Church at Bluefield, West Virginia, and the
next four years found him pastor of Trinity Church in the City of
Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1916 he came again to Bluefield, where he has
since served continuously as pastor of the Bland Street Methodist Church. In
evidence of the high esteem in which he is held in the community and also of
the estimate placed upon him as a citizen and a clergyman, it is interesting
to record that the Bluefield Chamber of Commerce, every leading civic
organization in the city and all of the other churches of Bluefield recently
sent representatives to the annual conference of the Methodist Church with
insistent requests that Mr. Hamilton be returned to his present pastorate, to
which he was duly reassigned. He is a forceful and eloquent pulpit orator
and an able church executive, so that unequivocal success has attended his
work in his various pastoral charges. His fine intellectual and professional
attainments have heightened his influence in connection with civic affairs.
He was one of the leaders in the movement which caused Mercer County to "go
over the top" in the various lines of patriotic contribution during the
nation's participation in the World war, he having been one of the most zealou
s of the four-minute speakers engaged in furthering such war service in the
county and having served on many committees in charge of local campaigns in
support of the Government loan, Red Cross work, etc. Mr. Hamilton was
chairman of the local committee which perfected arrangements for the
evangelistic campaign of Rev. "Billy" Sunday in Bluefield. He is a leader in
community sentiment and action , is a valued member of the Chamber of
Commerce, and of the Rotary Club, in which he holds the office of president
of the local club.
On the 26th of February, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hamilton
and Miss Aldens Clark, daughter of Isaac Lewis Clark, a representative
citizen of Abingdon, Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have three sons and six
daughters. One of the sons, Stokes Hamilton, served with loyalty and
efficiency as a soldier in the United States army at the time of the World
war, and received commission as first lieutenant.
______________________________X-Message: #4
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 12:06:59 EST
From: PJSTON@aol.com
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-ID: <0.49bc0250.258924b3@aol.com>
Subject: BIO: TAYLOR, Everett Ray, M.D.-Monongalia Co., WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II
pg 198
Everett Ray Taylor, M. D., made a definite choice of a medical career as a
young man, and pursued his studies preparatory to that great profession with
practically no interruption until he was qualified by graduation and
experience for his duties as a physician and surgeon. Since 1908 he has been
engaged in a successful practice at Morgantown.
He was born at Dunkard in Greene County, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1883, son of
William R. and Mary Elizabeth (Shelby) Taylor. The first of this branch of
the Taylor family when they came over from England settled in Pennsylvania,
later went to Virginia, and the grandfather of Doctor Taylor, John Evans
Taylor, was born in Old Virginia and founded the family home in Greene
County, Pennsylvania, at the place known as Dunkard, but commonly called
Taylortown in his honor In Greene County he married Sarah Stoker. Doctor
Taylor's father is William R. Taylor, who was born in Greene County and whose
active interests in that county were as a farmer. In 1898 he removed to
Morgantown, and since then has been in the grocery business.
His wife, Mary Elizabeth Shelby, was born in Greene County, daughter of Aaron
Shelby. This family was established in Greene County by Aaron Shelby, who
moved there from Kentucky. He married Harriet Smith, a native of Greene
County. The parents of Doctor Taylor are active members of the First Baptist
Church of Morgantown.
Everett Ray Taylor graduated from the public schools of Greene County in
1897, and after the family moved to Morgantown spent a year in the City High
School and one year in the preparatory department of West Virginia
University, and then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at
Baltimore, where he was graduated M. D. in 1907. Doctor Taylor practiced for
about a year at Bemis, Randolph County, West Virginia, but since September 1,
1908, has had a busy professional career at Morgantown. He is a member of
the Monongalia County and the American Medical associations. Fraternally he
is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Elks and the Phi Chi college
fraternity and the Kiwanis Club. He married Miss Helen Bowie of Morgantown,
daughter of Walter and Mary Elizabeth (Hunt) Bowie, who were natives of
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and are now living at Morgantown. Doctor and
Mrs. Taylor have two daughters: Mary Elizabeth, born January 4, 1906; and
Dorothea, born May 17, 1908.
______________________________X-Message: #5
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 15:28:07 EST
From: PJSTON@aol.com
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-ID: <0.9c306b8c.258953d7@aol.com>
Subject: BIO: HALLER, Morris J.-Monongalia Co., WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II
pg 199
Morris J. Haller. A graduate of West Virginia University and formerly a
successful teacher, Morris J. Haller is a prosperous young business man of
Morgantown, a member of the real estate firm of Haller & Wilson.
He was born in Taylor County, this state, on a farm, November 8, 1892, son of
Flavius Baxter and Amanda (Bailey) Haller. His grandfather, Capt. M. D.
Haller, was killed in action while serving as a commissioned officer in the
Union Army during the Civil war. Flavius B. Haller was only a boy at the
time, having been born in Barbour County, West Virginia, February 2, 1854.
He was reared in Barbour County, but as a young man removed to Taylor County,
where he married and where for some years his energies were devoted to
farming. Later he was a merchant and for twenty-five years was a traveling
salesman through West Virginia. He now lives surrounded with comfort and
plenty on a fine farm in Taylor County. He is a member of the Masonic Order
and a republican in politics. Flavius B. Haller married Amanda Bailey, who
was born in Taylor County February 2, 1863, daughter of Silas P. and Almyra
(Kelley) Bailey. Silas Bailey was born in 1816, and was a very early settler
in Taylor County. Flavius B. Haller is sixty-seven years of age and his
wife, fifty-eight, and as yet death has not broken their family circle. All
their five children are living, and they have sixteen grandchildren. The
oldest of their five children is Earl Stanley, who was born May 13, 1885, a
graduate of the West Virginia Wesleyan Academy, and is now in the creamery
business at Staunton, Virginia. He married Catherine Blair, of Weston, West
Virginia, and their children are Annabelle, Harriet, Earl Stanley, Jr.,
Catherine and Thomas Baxter. Enid Almyra, the second of the children, was
born December 12, 1886, is the wife of H. Ralph Harper, of Clarksburg, West
Virginia, and their children are Mildred Virginia and Haller Thomas. Morton
Quay, born August 30, 1888, is assistant general manager of the Hutchinson
Coal Company at Erie in Harrison County, West Virginia. By his marriage to
Georgia Adaline Bartlett, of Taylor County, he has four children, Robert,
Alma, Margaret and Mary Frances. Sally Mabel Haller, born August 30, 1890,
was married to C. H. Huffman, of Miami, Ohio and they now live at Ziesing in
Harrison County, West Virginia. Their children are Arline and Paul Bailey.
The youngest of the family is Morris J. Haller and his early life was spent
on a farm. He attended the common schools, graduating from the Flemington
High School in 1911, from the Fairmont State Normal in 1913, and for a year
was principal of the Grant Town school. In 1914 he entered West Virginia
University, and received his A. B. degree in 1917. After leaving university
Mr. Haller resumed teaching, and for three years was principal of the
Rivesville High School in Marion County. Seeking a business field that would
give better rewards for his efforts, in the spring of 1920 he took up real
estate and fire insurance at Morgantown, and in January, 1921, organized the
successful firm of Haller & Wilson.
Mr. Haller is a member of Rivesville Lodge No. 99, Knights of Pythias, and is
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. July 26, 1915, he married Verona
C. Clayton, who was born in Gilmer County, West Virginia, daughter of Dr.
Joseph E. and Dora M. (Arnett) Clayton Her father was born in Marion County
and her mother in Monongalia County. Her maternal grandfather, Davis M.
Arnett, of the prominent Arnett family of West Virginia, died in 1920 at the
age of ninety-four. Mr. and Mrs. Haller have three children: Eleanor Jean,
born April 20, 1916; Joseph Baxter, born December 28, 1917; and Morris
Elburn, born January 28, 1919.
______________________________X-Message: #6
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 15:29:43 EST
From: PJSTON@aol.com
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-ID: <0.529a080c.25895437@aol.com>
Subject: BIO: HUGHART, Joseph Robert, M.D.-Monongalia Co., WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II
pg 195 +196
Joseph Robert Hughart, M. D., one of the leading physicians and surgeons of
Morgantown, and health officer for Monongalia County, was born on a farm on
Cooper's Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia, the son of James Madison and
Martha (Rogers) Hughart, and grandson of Joseph Hughart, who was born in a
log fort in Greenbrier County, Virginia, where his parents, with other
settlers, had taken refuge during one of the numerous Indian raids of that
day.
James Madison Hughart was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, in 1820, and
during the war between the states served in the Union Army as a member of
Company A, Seventh Virginia Cavalry, under General Averil, and as such was
captured and confined in Libby Prison for six months. After the close of the
war he married and removed to Kansas, where he homesteaded a tract of land,
but in 1874 returned to West Virginia and settled in Kanawha County, twelve
miles from Charleston. In 1880 he removed to Roane County, this state, where
his death occurred in 1881. His wife, Martha, was born in Nicholas County,
West Virginia, in 1840, and died in 1880. She was a daughter of Robert
Jackson Rogers, a full cousin to Gen. Andrew Jackson. The Rogers family were
Protestants who came from the North of Ireland.
Joseph Robert Hughart was born April 16, 1871, and was reared on the home
farm and obtained his early education in the country schools. At the age of
nineteen years he began to teach school and when he had reached his thirtieth
year he had taught sixteen terms of school, he having secured a first-class
certificate to teach at the beginning. While teaching he applied himself to
the study of medicine, having early determined upon a professional career,
and in 1903 was granted a license to practice by the State Board of Medical
Examiners of West Virginia. He attended the Maryland Medical College at
Baltimore, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine from that institution
in 1904, and at that time entered practice at Burnsville, Braxton County,
West Virginia. In 1913 he went before the State Board and was given another
license, and in 1914 entered practice at Morgantown. Here he has risen
steadily in his calling, and is now accounted one of the leaders therein in
Monongalia County, having a large representative and lucrative practice and
being recognized as a physician whose views accord with the highest and best
professional ethics.
On April 1, 1921, Doctor Hughart was appointed county health officer of
Monongalia County, to fill out an unexpired term, and July 1 of the same year
was reappointed for a full term of four years. He is a member of the
Monongalia County Medical Society and the West Virginia Medical Society,
holds membership in the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce and is a well-known
Mason, belonging to Morgantown Union Lodge No. 4, A. F. and A. M.; Chapter
No. 29, R. A. M., and Commandery No. 16, K. T., the two latter of Sutton,
West Virginia. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal
Church. While he is not a politician, Doctor Hughart takes an interest in
public affairs, particularly those affecting the general civic welfare of his
adopted city, its institutions and its people, and public-spirited movements
and enterprises find in him a generous and willing supporter.
On February 12, 1898, Doctor Hughart was united in marriage with Miss Russia
E. Carper, daughter of Clifton H. and Prussia (Stackhouse) Carper,
agricultural people of Roane County, this state, and to this union there have
come two children: Robert J., born July 14, 1902; and Joseph M., born March
24, 1905.