WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest				Volume 00 : Issue 106

Today's Topics:
  #1 BIO: JOHN A. WILEN, Berkeley Count   [Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@tre]
  #2 BIO: WILLIAM DEAN, Berkeley County   [Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@tre]
  #3 BIO: CHARLES ROUSH, Berkeley Count   [Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@tre]
  #4 BIO: CHARLES W. FREEMAN, Pocahonta   [Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@tre]
  #5 BIO: J. ROY NADENBOUSCH, Berkeley    [Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@tre]



______________________________X-Message: #1
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 20:39:11 -0400
From: Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@trellis.net>
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000412203911.0094e6c0@trellis.net>
Subject: BIO: JOHN A. WILEN, Berkeley County WV
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 395

JOHN A. WILEN until recently was connected with an
undertaking business which was established at Martins-
burg more than three quarters of a century ago, and it re-
mained continuously under the management and direction
of the Wilen family up to January 1, 1922.

Mr. Wilen was born on the spot where the business es-
tablishment is now located.   His grandfather, Nicholas
Wilen, lived in Philadelphia, from that city removed to
Boonesboro, Maryland, where he was in the hotel business,
and in 1836 came to Martinsburg, West Virginia, where
he died a few years later. He married Margaret Dubal,
who was born near Boonesboro, Maryland, and she likewise
ilicd in middle life.

Their son, William Wilen, was born at Boonesboro, Mary-
land, in 1818, and as a youth he began an apprenticeship
to thee cabinet making trade at Hagerstown, Maryland, and
two years later removed to Baltimore, where he finished pre-
paring for the trade. In 1845 he returned to Martinsburg
and established himself in business. At that time coffins
and practically all furniture were made by hand, and the
cabinet maker occupied a correspondingly important posi-
tion in the business affairs of the community. William
Wilen was an expert in his line and a very thorough busi-
ness man. His establishment was located at the corner of
Queen Street, one door north of East Martin Street, and
he continued in business there the rest of his life. During
the Civil war he was a Union sympathizer, and he was
elected and served as representative from Berkeley County
in the Third State Legislature that met, in 1865. In Mar-
tinsburg, at the age of twenty-one, William Wilen married
Mary Schoppert. Her father, Adam Schoppert, .was born
near Shepherdstown in Jefferson County, West Virginia,
and moved to Martinsburg wlien it was a mere village. He
bought vacant land at the corner of North Queen and Mar-
tin streets, and there established his business as a locksmith.
He continued a resident of that city until his death at the
age of seventy-five. His wife was Mary Craft, who was
horn near Leetown in Jefferson County, and she also lived
to a good old age. William' Wilen and wife had five chil-
dren: Margaret, who married Capt. William Kantner, a
Union soldier; Melinda, who died young; Virginia, who be-
came the wife of George Smith; William H.; and John A.

John A. Wilen during his youth attended the city schools,
and was a mere boy when he began assisting his father.
In 1870 he was made a partner in the business, and in 1880
lie removed to Baltimore, where for ten years he had a part
in the business affairs of that city. On returning to Mar-
tinsburg he and his brother William H. succeeded to the
business of tlieir father, and this partnership was contin-
ued until the deatli of William H. Wilen. Afterward Mr.
Wilen continued tlie undertaking business which was estab-
lished by his father in 1845, having as his active associate
Robert G. Coffman, until he sold January 1, 1922.

In Baltimore, in 1881, Mr. Wilen married Almira Mc-
Cahan, of Frederick County, Maryland. They have a daugh-
ter, Mabel, wife of W. H. Wolfies, of Martinsburg. Mr.
Wilen is an active member of the Lutheran Church, is a
past master of Robert White Lodge No. 67, A. F. and A. M.,
and is a past exalted ruler of Martinsburg Lodge No. 778,
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and also a member
of the State Elks Committee.

______________________________X-Message: #2
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 20:39:49 -0400
From: Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@trellis.net>
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000412203949.008012f0@trellis.net>
Subject: BIO: WILLIAM DEAN, Berkeley County WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 395

WILLIAM DEAN, present sheriff of Berkeley County, has
been a popular resident and business man of Martinsburg
for a number of years and is a member of an old and well-
blown family of the county.

Sheriff Dean was born at Martinsburg. The family resi-
dence for several generations was in Rockingham County,
old Virginia, where his great-grandfather, William Dean,
spent his active career as a farmer and planter. His son,
James Dean, was born in Rockingham County, reared on a
farm, and gave his entire life to agriculture there. He died
when a comparatively young man. His wife, Nancy Minick,
after his death married Ben Sullivan, and they came to
Martinsburg, sojourned at Williamsport, Maryland, dur-
ing the war and then returned to Martinsburg and lived
here the rest of their days. James William Dean, father
of Sheriff Dean, was born on a farm near Newmarket in
Rockingham County in 1848, and was a boy when he ac-
companied his mother to Martinsbnrg. Here he served an
apprenticeship at the trade of boilermaker, and after his
marriage bought a home on South Raleigh Street, between
West King and John streets. This location at that time
was at the very edge of the city, and the corner lot was en-
closed with a rail fence. After completing his apprentice-
ship he entered the service of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail-
way Company, and was in the shops of that railroad com-
pany until his last illness. He died at the age of forty-one.
James W. Dean married Emily Virginia Snodeal, who was
born on West John Street in Martinsburg, was twenty years
of age when she married, and she now occupies the old
Dean home on South Raleigh Street. She is an active mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was her hus-
band. Emily Virginia Snodeal's father was John Snodeal,
who was born on a farm near Martinsburg. His father,
George Snodeal, was a native of Germany, came to America
in Colonial times, and was a pioneer of Berkeley County.
He owned a farm in the western part of the county, and on
leaving the farm located at Martinsburg, where his enter-
prise brought him extensive business connections. He oper-
ated a carriage and blacksmith shop, was in the livery and
grocery business, and continued active in affairs until the
close of his life. He married Polly Malone, of Irish an-
cestry, and who lived to the age of ninety years. Their
son, John Snodeal, learned the blacksmith and carriage
making trade in his father's shop. During the Civil war
he was a Union sympathizer, and after the retreat of Gen-
eral Banks' army he refugeed to Williamsport, Maryland.
He and his three children started out on foot to make this
pilgrimage, and on the way a Government wagon took them
up and conveyed them the greater part of the distance.
In 1865 he returned to Martinsburg, and he conducted a
carriage and blacksmith shop on Winchester Avenue until
his death at the age of sixty-four. He married Caroline
Rhul, who was of English parentage. Her father was a
well educated man and taught a private school for several
years in Martinsburg.

James W. Dean was a member of Jefferson Lodge No. 1,
Knights of Pythias, and was also an Odd Fellow.

William Dean acquired his education in the city schools
of Martinsburg. While still in school he went to work in
the woolen mills, and continued with that industry until
March, 1911. With his brother John he then entered the
men's furnishing goods business and they have one of the
best stores of that character in Berkeley County.

Mr. Dean was elected sheriff of Berkeley County in 1920,
receiving a handsome majority of 1,500. He cast his first
presidential vote for William H. Taft. Mr. Dean is affili-
ated with Equality Lodge No. 44, A. P. and A. M., Leba-
non Chapter No. 2, R. A. M., Palestine Commandery No.
2, K. T., and is also a member of the Junior Order United
American Mechanics and the Modern Woodmen of America.

______________________________X-Message: #3
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 21:14:21 -0400
From: Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@trellis.net>
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000412211421.0094e960@trellis.net>
Subject: BIO: CHARLES ROUSH, Berkeley County WV
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 395-396

CHARLES ROUSH, who owns and occupies one of the at-
tractive homes of his native City of Martinsburg, Berke-
ley County, and who is the owner of valuable farm property
in this county, has the distinction of having been a gallant
young soldier of the Confederacy in the war between the
states. He was born at Martinsburg on the 8th of Decem-
ber, 1838, and on the same farm, now partly included in
Martinsbnrg, his father, George Roush, was born, the lat-
ter's father, Conrad Roush, having been born on the same
old homestead in 1789. Nicholas Roush, father of Conrad,
was born in Germany, where the family name was spelled
Rausch, and, so far as known, he was the only representa-
tive of the family to come to America. He became one of
the pioneers of what is now Berkeley County, West Vir-
ginia, where he was one of the thirty persons to purchase
the first lots in the townsite of Martinsburg. This lot
which he thus acquired from General Stephen, was on the
east side of Raleigh Street, at the corner of West King
Street. He purchased also a large tract of land on the
west side of Raleigh Street and on both sides of King Street.
He erected his house on the corner lot mentioned, and there
he resided until his death. The maiden name of his wife
was Dorothy Reinfeld. Conrad Roush learned the hatter's
trade, and thereafter became a successful hat manufacturer
at Martinsburg, where he continued to be thus engaged until
his death. He married Sarah Randall, who was born in
Frederick County, Virginia, a daughter of John and Re-
becca (Mercer) Randall. John Randall was born in Fred-
erick County, Virginia, and thence went forth as a patriot
soldier in the Revolution. His wife was a daughter of Ed-
ward Mercer, whose will was one of the first recorded in
what is now Berkeley County, West Virginia-
George Roush was reared on the ancestral farm which
was the place of his birth, and was one of the prosperous
young farmers of the county at the time of his death,
when but twenty-four years of age. He married Margaret
Walters, who was born in Berkeley County, in 1816, a
daughter of John and Catherine (Painter) Walters, her fa-
ther having had a large farm on Dry Run, as did also the
father of Mrs. Catherine Walters. Mrs. Roush survived
her husband many years and was seventy-four years of age
at death. Her two children were Charles and George.

The early educational advantages of Charles Roush in-
cluded those of a well conducted academy at Martinsburg,
and he was actively identified with farm enterprise when
the war began. He promptly manifested his loyalty to the
Confederate cause by enlisting in Company B, First Vir-
ginia Cavalry, and with this gallant command he took part
in many engagements, including the battle of Bull Run.
At the battle of Winchester he was wounded, September
28, 1864, but he was not long incapacitated and was with
his regiment at Appomattox at the time of the final sur-
render. He was also wounded at Cannons Landing. His
interest in his old comrades has been vitalized by his affilia-
tion with the United Confederate Veterans. After the war
he resumed his activities on the old home farm, which he
and his only brother inherited and which they eventually
sold to a syndicate that improved the property as an ad-
dition to Martinsburg, many houses and business buildings
being now on the tract. Later Mr. Roush repurchased a
part of the land, and erected his present commodious and
attractive brick house, which is on an elevation on West
King Street, and which commands an excellent view of Mar-
tinsburg and the neighboring mountains. Mr. Roush still
manages his farm property in the county.

March 17, 1874, recorded the marriage of Mr. Roush and
Margaret Virginia Seibert, who was born on a farm on
Tuscarora Creek, four miles west of Martinsburg, in the
year 1852. Her father, William T. Seibert, was born in
1815 near Lebanon, Pennsylvania, as was also his father,
Michael, who came with his family to what is now Berke-
ley County, West Virginia, in the pioneer days, much of
the distance having been covered on horseback through a
virtually trackless wilderness. Michael Seibert obtained a
rather large tract of wild land on Tuscarora Creek, and
with slave labor he improved one of the excellent farms of
the county. Here he died at the age of eighty years, and
his widow, whose maiden name was Mary Tice, died at
the age of eighty-seven. They reared three children, Will-
iam, Henry and Mary, the last mentioned having become the
wife of Henry Small. William T. Seibert as a young man
was given land by his father, who built for him a substan-
tial stone house. He continued his successful activities as
a farmer and slaveholder until his death in 1852, aged
thirty-seven years. He married Margaret Fryett, who was
born in Frederick County, Virginia, a daughter of James
and Margaret Fryette, her father having been a farmer
near Winchester. The young widow of William T. Seibert
eventually became the wife of W. T. Hout, and they passed
the remainder of their lives at Martinsburg. Of the second
marriage were born two children, Rosa Amelia and William
S. Mrs. Roush was the only child of the first marriage,
and she inherited and still retains the old homestead farm
of her paternal grandparents. Brief record is here given
concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Roush: Howard
Seibert met an accidental death when thirty years of age.
George Conrad first married Annie W. Magalis, who is sur-
vived by two sons, Clement and Howard. For his second
wife George C. Roush married Jane Jenkins. Edgar 
continues his residence in Berkeley County. Miss Margaret
remains at the parental home. George Andrew married
Ruth DeHaven, and they have one son, Vernon Lee.

Mr. Roush is a director of the Merchants & Farmers
Bank at Martinsburg. His wife is a charter member of
the local Young Women's Christian Association, besides be-
ing a member of the Epworth League and the Ladies Ail
Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which
all of the family are members, and she is a director of the
King's Daughters Hospital and is vice president of the
local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

______________________________X-Message: #4
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 21:14:52 -0400
From: Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@trellis.net>
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000412211452.007f7df0@trellis.net>
Subject: BIO: CHARLES W. FREEMAN, Pocahontas County WV
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 396

CHARLES W. FREEMAN, of Bramwell, a retired coil
operator, whose former extensive interests are represented
in the Pocahontas Fuel Company, of which he is a director,
has been associated with every phase of the coal industry
in Southern West Virginia, both on the business and the
technical side.

Mr. Freeman was born at Trevorton, Pennsylvania, June
9, 1873, son of John and Isabel (Rutter) Freeman. His
parents were born in England and were brought when young
to Pennsylvania, where their people became coal miners.
John Freeman was born at Clay Cross, England, as a
young man worked in the mines near Trevorton, Pennsyl-
vania, and on moving to West Virginia was for a number
of years superintendent of mines for the Fire Creek Coal
Company in Fayette County. In 1883 he moved into the
Pocahontas District of Mercer County and located at Sim-
mons, where in the latter part of 1883 or the early part of
1884 he made the first shipments of Pocahontas coal from
this section. He was active in the operation known at the
Freeman & Jones Operation, but later became merged with
the Caswell Creek Coal and Coke Company and finally be-
came part of the properties of the Pocahontas Fuel Com-
pany.

Charles W. Freeman acquired his early education in the
common schools of Simmons and Bramwell, took a bnsinea
course at Dunmore College at Staunton, Virginia, and com-
pleted his business education with special training in book-
keeping, general office work and auditing in Packards'
Business School of New York City. He then returned to
Simmons and entered the mines under his father, acquiring
experience in all the various departments of coal oper-
ation, from actual mining to the handling and executive
work of mine foreman, superintendent and general manager.
He was one of the leading operators of that section for
a number of years. When the Caswell Creek Coal & Coke
Company was sold to the Pocahontas Fuel Company, Mr.
Freeman accepted as his share of the proceeds stock in the
Pocahontas Company, and for a number of years has been
one of the directors of this great corporation. Since then he
has acquired other coal properties in Kentucky, including 
the Elkhorn Seam Company at Yager.

Mr. Freeman in 1909, at Lynchburg, Virginia, married
Martha Francis Wheeler. They have four children: Martha
Wheeler, Charles Wesley, Margaret Ann and May Llewellen.
Mr. Freeman and family are members of the Episeopal
Church. He is a Royal Arch and Knight Templar Mason
and Shriner, a life member of the Elks, and belongs to the
Bluefield Country Club, the Shenandoah Club of Roanoke,
Virginia, the Falls Mills Hunting and Fishing Club of
Bluefield, and is a charter member of the new Mercer
County Country Cub. His favorite diversion is golf.

______________________________X-Message: #5
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 22:34:07 -0400
From: Valerie & Tommy Crook <vfcrook@trellis.net>
To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com
Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000412223407.00841ea0@trellis.net>
Subject: BIO: J. ROY NADENBOUSCH, Berkeley County WV
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 396-397

J. ROY NADENBOUSCH. Some of Berkeley County's most
useful citizens in the past century or more have borne the
family name Nadenbousch. Their service has been rendered
as tillers of the soil, business men, public officials and in
several of the professions, particularly the law. Roy Na-
denbousch is in the insurance business at Martinsburg, and
his father, John Nadenbousch, has for many years been one
of the bankers of the city.

One of the first members of this old family in Berkeley
County was Frederick Nadenbousch, who was born October
14, 1778, arid died June 20, 1854. On April 6, 1815, he
married Eleanor Collins, who was born May 4, 1792, and
died May 17, 1871. Their son, Moses Nadenbousch, was
born at Hedgesville in Berkeley County April 5, 1827, and
as a youth learned the trade of wagon maker and car-
penter. From Hedgesville he removed to Martinsburg, and
for many years was a successful building contractor in
that city, where he died at the age of seventy-two. He
married Margaret Ann Wood Harris, who was born July
20, 1833, and died at the age of sixty-two. Their seven
children were named: Moses Preston, William Henry, John
Thomas, Adrian Collins, Lucy May, Cora Belle and Robert
Lee.

John T. Nadenbousch was born in Martinsburg, attended
the public schools there and the J. P. Hynes Seminary, and
at the age of sixteen was appointed deputy sheriff by his
father, filling that office six years. He was then an em-
ploye of the Adams Express Company until 1894. In 1892
the Merchants and Farmers Bank had begun business as
the First State Bank in Martinsburg, and John Naden-
bouseh joined it as assistant cashier in 1894. For some time
le and the cashier did all the clerical work required in the
bank. In 1895 he was elected cashier, and has continued
to fill that post for over a quarter of a century. This bank
was reorganized in November, 1916, with a stock dividend
of 100 per cent. It has a capital of $100,000, surplus and
undivided profits of over $30,000, and deposits for a number
of years have aggregated over $1,000,000. John T. Naden-
bonscli has been one of the direct instruments in the up-
building of this splendid bank. He is a man of prosperous
connections in Berkeley County, owns two farms in Arden
District, and is a member of Equality Lodge No. 44, F.
and A. M. He and his wife are both active in the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, South. At the age of twenty-six he
married Laura E. Goff, a native of Hedgesville and daugh-
ter of James and Mahala (Miller) Goff.

J. Roy Nadenbousch, the only child of his parents, was
horn at Martinsburg and acquired a public school educa-
tion there. Soon after leaving school he became an insur-
ance solicitor, and his work has been continued along these
lines. In 1911 he purchased a half interest in the Frank J.
Trammell Insurance Company, an old established agency at
Martinsburg, and later purchased the remaining interest.
He has developed a very prosperous general service in all
the important branches of insurance.  He also has some
general farming and orchard interests, being especially in-
terested in horticulture.

At the age of twenty-one he married Eva E. Gerling, a
native of Martinsburg, West Virginia, and daughter of
Lonia Gerling. Mr. and Mrs. Nadenbousch have one son,
John Louis. Mr. Nadenbousch is affiliated with Equality
Lodge No. 44, A. F. and A. M., Washington Lodge No. 1,
Knights of Pythias, and Lodge No. 778, Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks. Politically he is a democrat, casting
his first presidential vote for William J. Bryan.