Historical Sketch of West Virginia, 1917 This file was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.org/wv/wvfiles.htm Historical Sketch of West Virginia, 1917 Source: West Virginia Legislative Hand Book and Manual and Official Register, 1917, Compiled and Edited by John T. Harris, Clerk of the Senate, The Tribune Printing Co., Charleston, West Va. pgs. 315 - 336 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 315 HISTORICAL SKETCH. Prepared by HENRY S. GREEN, State Historian and Archivist, 1913-'17. The beginnings of any general history of the people of West Virginia must reach well back into colonial days, even though we leave out of the reckoning altogether the story of these Indian tribes that claimed our hills and valleys as their hunting grounds before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, and though we take no account of the mystery of the race of mound builders who are supposed to have dwelt within our borders as the prehistoric predecessors of the Indians. In a historical sketch suit- able for the purposes of this manual, it is the opinion of the writer that little should be attempted except a brief outline of those political move- ments and events which have had a prominent part in creating the conditions by which the West Virginians of today find themselves environed. Those social and political movements and events which transformed the people of colonial Virginia into citizens of the United States are marked on the pages of history by certain great state papers. Likewise another series of movements and events which culminated in the dis- memberment of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the creation of the state of West Virginia is recorded in a remarkable group of state papers. These great public documents, beginning with the Declaration of Inde- pendence and ending with the West Virginia constitution of 1872, with its amendments to date, contain so much that is fundamental in our history and government that they are properly Included in this manual. Each one of them relates to a link in a chain of great events, as that chain has been forged into the history of the United States and of the state of West Virginia. No attempt will be made in this sketch to give a detailed chronicle of those events or to present an adequate historical account of the honorable part played in many of them by West Virginians. Such a work would greatly transcend the limits assigned to this article, in which it is proposed to give a brief outline of certain phases of the state's devlopment, with a somewhat more detailed account of the events and conditions of our historical yesterday and today. Naturally such a work will be largely a compilation of statements of fact which have already been made at various times and places by others. Early Colonial Settlements. White men began to make settlements in the eastern parts of the territory now embraced within the boundaries of West Virginia as early as the second quarter of the eighteenth century. Some of the incidents of those earliest settlements are thus related by Professor Virgil A. Lewis in a sketch prepared for a previous edition of this manual: "In 1725 John Van Metre, an Indian trader from the Hudson river, traversed the lower Shenandoah, Upper Potomac and South Branch Valleys, but the honor of fixing the first home in the state was reserved for another. This was Morgan ap Morgan who, in 1727, reared his cabin on the site of the present village of Bunker Hill, in Mill Creek magis- terial district in Berkeley county. He was a native of Wales who came early in life to Pennsylvania and thence removed to the Shenandoah Valley. He was soon followed by some German people from Pennsylvania, pg. 316 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA whose ancestral home was old Mecklenberg in the Fatherland; they crossed the Potomac at the 'Old Pack Horse Ford' In 1727, and a mile above, on its southern bank, built a little village which they called New Mecklenberg. This is now Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia. In 1730, Isaac Van Metre, son of the explorer received from Governor William Gooch a grant for a large body of land chiefly in what is now Berkeley and Jefferson counties. A part of this he sold to Joist Hite, who, in 1732, brought sixteen families from York, Pennsylvania, all of whom settled in the Lower Shenandoah Valley. The Fairfax Land Grant. "What is known as the 'Fairfax Land Grant' was an important factor in the settlement of West Virginia. In 1861, King Charles II. granted to Lord Hopton and others what has long since been known as the 'North- ern Neck of Virginia,' including all the region lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers in Virginia, and extending west of the Blue Ridge where it embraced all of the West Virginia counties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Mineral, and part of Tucker. The title of this property passed from one to another until it became the property of Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax. He resolved to have its bound- aries ascertained, and, after ten years of effort on his part, his surveyors followed up the Potomac to the first fountain of its north branch, where, on the 17th day of October, 1746, they erected the famous 'Fairfax Stone,' the first monument marking a boundary of real estate in West Virginia. Then he resolved to sell these lands in quantities to suit purchasers, and, in 1747, he sent young George Washington, and his nephew, William Fairfax, to survey and locate these lands. The boy surveyors crossed the Blue ridge; William Lindsey piloted them into the Upper Potomac wilderness; Henry Ashby and Richard Taylor were chainmen, and Robert Ashby, marker. More than three hundred tracts were surveyed and thus it was that the leader of the American armies in the Revolution and the first President of the United States, surveyed the first farms in West Virginia. Later, the 'South Branch Manor', containing 55,000 acres in Hardy county; and the 'Patterson's Creek Manor' of 10,000 acres and the 'Fairfax Manor,' both in Hampshire county, were laid out by other surveyors for Lord Fairfax. Over the Mountains. "In 1742, four years before the planting of the 'Fairfax Stone,' other explorers entered the southern part of the state. This year, John Peter Salley, accompanied by Charles St. Clair, John Howard, and his son Josiah Howard, left his home at the base of the Blue Ridge in Augusta county and proceeding through the Greenbrier Valley, reached New River, which the party descended to Richmond Falls; thence over the mountains to the westward of Coal River, down to its mouth; and thence descended the Great Kanawha to the Ohio. where they arrived May 6th, 1742. "In 1749, Jacob Marlin and Stephen Sewell built a cabin on Marlln's Bottom, at the mouth of Knapp's creek, now in Pocahontas county and were thus the first white settlers on Greenbrier river. Here they were HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 317 found in 1751 by John Lewis and his son Andrew, who this year came over the mountains as the surveyors of the Greenbrier Land Company, which had a grant for 100,000 acres on Greenbrier river. Christopher Gist's Explorations. "The Ohio Company, which was to be prominent in the early settle- ment of West Virginia, without actual results, was formed in 1748. Its stockholders were John Hanbury, Thomas Lee, then Governor of Virginia, Arthur Dodds, Samuel Smith, James Wardrop, Capel Hanbury, Robert Dinwiddie, John Taylor, Presley Thornton, Augustus Washington, Richard Lee, Nathaniel Chapman, Jacob Giles, Thomas Cresap, John. Mercer, James Scott, Robert Carter, George Mason, and the executors of the estate of Lawrence Washington. All were residents of Virginia and Maryland except the Hanburys, who were merchants of London. The King granted the Company 500,000 acres, of which 200,000 were to be largely located in the Northern Pan-Handle of West Virginia. Later, the company desired to obtain a grant for the region between the Great Kanawha and Monongahela rivers. Christopher Gist, an eminent sur- veyor of North Carolina was employed to make exploration of this region. "Gist made his report and a petition went over-sea to 'the King's Most Excellent Majesty,' praying for a grant tor the lands thus explored, and for permission to form a separate government in the region between the Allegheny mountains and the Ohio river. Then began years of waiting and negotiation which finally resulted in the merging of the Ohio and Walpole companies into the Grand Ohio Company, which continued its efforts to found a new government on the Ohio, until they were terminated by the Revolution. This proposed province was to have been called Vandalia; with Samuel Wharton, Governor, and the capital at the mouth of the Great Kanawha—now Point Pleasant in Mason county. Other Early Settlements. "Meantime, exploration and settlement continued. In the year 1750, Doctor Thomas Walker with five companions went from Virginia into the Kentucky wilderness, whence the party journeyed northward; crossed the Big Sandy river, and on the 28th of June of the last mentioned year, reached the mouth of Greenbrier. These were the first white men that traversed that part of West Virginia south of New River. In 1754, the old French and Indian War began; the next year Braddock's army was dis- astrously defeated on the fatal field of Monogahela. Thereafter, many West Virginia pioneers fell victims to savage barbarity, and numbers of those who escaped were tor years shut up in frontier forts. But notwith- standing the storm of barbarian war, brave men pushed on into the wil- derness. In 1756, Thomas Eckarly and his two brothers built cabins on Dunkard's Bottom on Cheat river, now in Preston county. Two years. later, Thomas Decker and others began a settlement at the mouth of Decker's creek, on the Monongahela, where Morgantown now stands. In 1761, several families found homes on Muddy creek and elsewhere in what is now Greenbrier county. But the Indians soon broke up the Dunkard's Bottom and Decker's settlements, and in 1763 massacred the settlers on Muddy creek. In this year the French and Indian War ter- pg. 318 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA minated with the English in possession of the Ohio Valley; and in 1764, General Boquet marched an army into the Ohio wilderness, and in the Muskingum Valley made a treaty with the Indians who there gave up their captives. Ninety of those thus delivered had been carried away from the West Virginia settlements. Ten Years of Peace. "There were now ten years of a nominal peace, during which the settle- ments were widely extended. In 1764, John and Samuel Pringle settled on Buckhannon river, now in Upshur county, and John Simpson built a cabin where Clarksburg now stands. Four years thereafter, Zackwell Morgan and others made a permanent settlement at Morgantown, now in Monogalia county. In 1769, white settlers again returned to the Green- brier Valley, and at the same time James dark and John Judy reaped their cabins on Big Sandy Creek and thus became the pioneer settlers of Preston county. In two years, too, John Wetzel and the Siverts and Calverts found homes in the hill country about the source of Grave creek now in Marshall county. On a bright spring morning, in 1770, Ebenezer Zane stood at the mouth of Wheeling creek and looked upon the pano- rama of hill, island, and river spread out before him. The founder of a future city was then upon Its site, and he and his brothers, Jonathan and Silas, planted the first acre of corn ever grown where the city of Wheel- ing now stands. While they were thus engaged, Joseph Tomlinson built his cabin on the Grave Creek flats, where Moundsville in Marshall county now stands; and a daring frontiersman of the name of Tygart found a home at the mouth of Middle Island creek now in Pleasants county. In 1772, James Booth and John Thomas became the first settlers of Marion county, they having established themselves at Booth's creek in that year. In 1773, James and Thomas Parsons came from the South Branch Valley and fixed their habitations at the Horse-shoe bend of Cheat river, now in Tucker county. The next year Leonard Morris brought his family to the present site of Marmet—old Brownstown—on the Great Kanawha river, and was thus the first permanent settler in Kanawha county. The Dunmore War. "The era of peace now ended; the Indians began hostilities, and the din of preparations for war was heard in the West Virginia settlements. Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, crossed the Blue Ridge, mustered an army in the Lower Shenandoah Valley and marched it to the banks of the Scioto river in the Ohio wilderness. Another army was collected in the Upper Shenandoah Valley and, under General Andrew Lewis, marched by way of the Great Kanawha, and at its mouth, on the 10th day of October, 1774, defeated the warriors of the Confederated Nations of the Ohio wilderness. With Dunmore, there were men from the South Branch of the Potomac, and others from the Greenbrier Valley were with General Lewis. Fort Henry at Wheeling and Fort Randolph at the mouth of the Great Kanawha river were now built and were the most western outposts of civilization. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 319 War of the Revolution. "Then came the Revolution, and West Virginia pioneers were ready. The first body of troops which joined Washington at Boston from the South side of the Potomac, was Colonel Hugh Stevenson's company from Berkeley—now Jefferson—county. West Virginians served in the north and in the south in that struggle, and there are more graves of Revolutionary soldiers in West Virginia than in any other American state,—the thirteen original colonies alone excepted. The struggle for Independence ended, but the Indian wars continued until General Wayne broke the savage power at the battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. This forever put an end to savage warfare on the south side of the Ohio, and West Virginia pioneers were henceforth safe in their cabin homes. "At the close of the year 1800, men were felling the forests on the hills and in the valleys of West Virginia. Homes of thrift and industry gave evidence of long years of settlement in the Eastern Pan-Handle, while from the Allegheny mountains to the Ohio, cabin homes dotted the landscape. Thirteen of the present West Virginia counties then had an existence; Wheeling, Clarksburg, Wellsburg, Parkersburg, Point Pleasant and Charleston were at that time frontier villages, and the people continued to make history." The Beginnings of Discord. The steady streams of pioneer migration toward the Ohio Valley that found their way through the mountain gaps and along the water courses continued to increase the population of the older settlements, to add to the total number of settlements and to extend the area of occupied lands west of the Mountains. While these new settlements were organized as counties and sub- divisions of the state of Virginia, there developed from very early days a clash of economic interests and a divergence of political ideals be- tween the people of the eastern and western sections of the state which culminated in the sixties in the dismemberment of the Old Dominion. The earlier stages of that controversy are graphically portrayed in the following paragraphs quoted from "The Two Virginias" by Granville Davisson Hall, first secretary of state of West Virginia: "As the population increased and spread westward great inequalities in representation grew up. Around Williamsburg, the seat of govern- ment, counties and settlements were subdivided into small precincts, to each of which two members of the House of Delegates were allowed, while no more was allotted to the larger counties farther removed from the executive influence. No more was allowed to all West Augusta. Representation was distributed in double, triple or even quadruple proportions around Williamsburg, to the great dissatisfaction of people farther west. The Earliest Agitation. "In 1816, a large and intelligent population having grown up in the valleys west of the Blue Ridge, a serious agitation for a fairer basis of representation in the Assembly, was started at Winchester. Frederick pg. 320 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA Cook, General Boyd and Edmund Pendleton prepared and sent out cir- culars in May, which gave the first decided impulse to the cause of con- stitutional reform west of the Blue Ridge. These brought together at Winchester, twenty-five to thirty gentlemen, by whom the grievances of Middle and Western Virginia, and means of redress were discussed. "July fourth following, a convention of delegates from thirty-six coun- ties was held at Staunton, who memorialized the Assembly to equalize representation among the free white people of Virginia according to numbers, and to equalize the land tax; to which was added, on motion of a member from Fairfax, to extend the suffrage to all white male citi- zens twenty-one years of age who 'have evidence of common interest with. and attachment to the community' (this being the language of the Bill of Rights). A bill in this form was passed in the House of Dele- gates. In the Senate a motion was made to introduce a representation for slaves. It did not pass the Senate, but a bill was passed to to equat- ize representation in the senatorial districts; and this was the law when the Convention of 1829-30 was called. The Staunton Convention. "Another convention gathered at Staunton, in 1825. More than a hun- dred delegates were present. They had come from all parts of the state,—from the Potomac and Tidewater to the Ohio River,—to demand representation in the House of Delegates based on the white popula- tion; reduction of the number of delegates in the House; enlargement of the right of suffrage; abolishment of the executive council, and the creation of a more responsible executive. Their object was to bring their grievances before the public. They sat with open doors and kept a journal, which was published in all the gazettes of the day and com- municated to the Assembly with a memorial. "As the result of this convention, an act of Assembly was passed sub- mitting (but to freeholders only) the question of calling a convention. The act proposed to base representation on what was called the "Fed- eral Number)—that is, three-fifths of the slaves to be counted in the basis. This was called the 'black basis.' Under discussion, the proposi- tion was made so odious that it was abandoned. It was found if the argument jutified basing representation on any part of the slaves, it justified including them all. "The bill passed based representation in the convention on white population and taxation combined—that is, persons and property. As slaves were property, this element was an offset against free citizens, "The convention was called by a vote of 21,896 in favor, to 16,646 against. In the West, the vote was almost unanimous in favor of the convention; in the East, almost halt of the vote was against it. First Representative Convention. "This was the first constitutional convention ever assembled in Vir- ginia, with the authority of the people behind It; and even then, only a minority of them, for none but freeholders were allowed to vote. It had taken nearly fifty-four years to make this much progress; and even yet, the unlanded white people were denied a share in the selec- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 321 tion of the delegates. Nearly two generations had passed under the iron rule made for them by the ex-burgesses, and the East still resisted the assemblage of any body which might take down the bars that hedged in their landed and slave domination and excluded the free white ele- ment lacking these requisites of Virginia citizenship. "The convention of 1829-30 embraced ninety-six members. In the per- sonal distinction of many of the delegates, the ex-burgesses' gathering in 1776, cannot have equalled this. Ex-President Monroe was a delegate from Loudon county and president of the convention. Ex-President Madi- son was delegate from Orange. Chief Justice Marshall represented the city of Richmond. John Randolph, Benjamin Watkins Leigh, and nu- merous other names scarcely less distinguished in that period, figured in the roll-call. Philip Doddridge, Lewis Summers and Alexander Campbell were among the eminent members from the West. Monroe, Madison, Doddridge, Marshall and Summers constituted the most im- portant committee,—on the executive and legislative departments and on the fundamental principles of government. Yet even this array of heavy metal did not result in battering down the barriers raised by their predecessors in 1776, against participation in the government by the unen- dowed white citizens. Masterly Inactivity. "A masterly inactivity was clearly the plan of those who controlled this convention. The report of the committee named was in favor of basing representation in the House of Delegates on the white popula- tion exclusively. But nothing came of it. In the discussion 'exclusively' was stricken out and the words 'and taxation' substituted. This simply con- tinued the existing basis. On this issue was founded most of the debate which occupied the convention; but it had been fore-ordained that it should result in nothing. "Memorials demanding a more liberal suffrage were presented from eastern as well as western counties. Chief Justice Marshall presented one, appealing to the Bill of Rights and quoting from its declarations as their justification. Philip Doddridge went back to the organization in 1776 and showed that it utterly lacked the authority of the people, having nothing behind it save the initiative of the gentlemen who had been burgesses under the Colony, who simply usurped the functions of the people, without asking their consent. Westerners Angered. "There was in this convention a good deal of restlessness—even anger —among the western members over the unwillingness of the East to let down the bars to a wider suffrage and a fairer basis of representa- tion; and eastern members realized that the seed had already been sown for a division of the state. Ex-President Monroe—true to his an- cient fame as a peacemaker—addressed the convention in an endeavor to pour oil on the angry waters. He deprecated the possibility of a severance of East and West as the greatest calamity which could befall the commonwealth. He admitted frankly that the East, with its larger slave and landed interests to protect might be excused for an unwilling- pg. 322 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA ness to give up the advantages those interests enjoyed under existing limitations en suffrage and legislative representation, or to risk these advantages by granting increased political power to classes unfriendly to the existing discriminations. Mr. Monroe expressed solicitude for the promotion of lines of communication and commerce with the distant West, one crossing the mountains on the line of the Potomac, another from the line of the James River, for national reasons. Like other statesmen of his time, he was afraid there might develop a line of cleavage north and south between the original states and the Mississippi Valley, from lack of commercial facilities between East and West, which would result In a movement for a separate government in the Mississippi region, such as it is believed Burr contemplated when he organized his expedition to the Scuthwest. Such lines, while reaching beyond Vir- ginia, would also promote settlements in western Virginia and strengthen the ties between the outlying region and the tidewater. "But in the matter of a broader suffrage or a fairer basis of represen- tation in the General Assembly, the East had the votes and were un- willing to make the concessions demanded by the West. Freehold Suffrage. "At that period Virginia was the only State which still adhered to a strictly freehold suffrage. She had 143,000 free white male citizens, of whom 100,000 paid taxes to the state; of whom, only 40,000 were freeholders. This minority, with three-fifths representation for their slaves held control cf all State legislation. "The odium attaching to this aristocratic system in Virginia was not confined within her own boundaries. That it was a matter of criticism elsewhere is shown by the incident in the United States House of Rep- resentatives in January, 1805. Mr. Dawson of Virginia had introduced resolutions to retrocede to Maryland and Virginia the territory each had given for the District of Columbia. The advocates of retrocession laid stress upon the hardship imposed upon the people in the District within the lines of the states from which they had been taken because they were deprived of the political representation in local government enjoyed by the citizens of the states from which they had been with- drawn. They were declared to be the veriest 'political slaves.' "Mr. Dennis, of Pennsylvania, replying, remarked that if the citizens of that portion of the District west of the Potomac should be retroceded, it would net relieve them from their political slavery, because a large portion of the people of Virginia were alreddy [sic] denied representation in the state government; and the only effect of giving back this territory to Virginia would be to add to the number of the 'political slaves' already there. New Constitution Adopted. "The constitution submitted by the convention of 1829-30 was adopted by the people. The vote was 41,618 for, and 15,563 against. Within the bounds of what is now West Virginia 8,365 votes were cast against the constitution and only 1,383 in favor of it. Philip Doddridge was espe- cially emphatic and influential in his denunciation of it. Doddridge, who HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 323 died in 1832, was recognized as one of the ablest men in Virginia—or in the United States. "Thus this long-contested vital issue—whether citizenship or property should shape the legislation of the state, and whether the burden of taxation should be borne equitably by all interests—was again referred to the growing future. The Westerners looked hopefully to the growth west of the mountains to strengthen their cause. The Easterners ap- parently were weakening on some points ot the old and bitter controversy, and recognized that in time western growth might vanquish them. "It had taken more than fifty years to get one convention—how far away was the next? In the twenty years that followed, Virginia could not but feel the impulses of national progress all around her, desper- ately as she might resist it for the protection of the semi-barbaric sys- tem of breeding human chattels for the cane and cotton fields of the South; but twenty years brought around provision for a convention to be held in the winter of 1850-51. The whole number of delegates was to be 135, of whom the territory now in West Virginia was allowed thirty- four. The Constitution of 1851. "The convention met in October, 1850, and adjourned to January, to await census data. The foremost and absorbing question when they got to work was, once mere, equality of representation and equal suffrage. The attitude of the western men was firmer than ever, and the feeling on both sides more bitter. "On the 10th of May, the convention was in such temper it could not do business and adjourned over. "In the first West Virginia constitutional convention. Mr. Van Winkle stated, in the hearing of the writer, that in the Virginia convention of 1850-51, of which he had been a member, the western members had reached complete concert of action and determined that if the East would not agree to concede the white basis for the House of Delegates, they would-withdraw in a body from the convention. The crisis seems to have been reached May 10th, when that day's adjournment occurred; for upon reassembling, the East was ready to come to terms. The eastern majority did yield the white basis for the House and made other important concessions, one being the election of governor by the people and another a move in the direction of fairer taxation. The constitution as submitted declared taxation should be 'equal and uniform' except that slaves should be taxed on only $300 value at the rate laid on land, and those under twelve yers [sic] old should not be taxed at all. The West fought hard to keep out this exception, but in vain. "The victory was, after all, a rather barren one for the West; for the East continued in the Senate its representation for three-fifths of its slaves—then numbering near a half million—and thus controlling the Senate, it could effectually check any reformatory legislation which might be attempted by the House. "The constitution was ratified, in a three-days' election, by a vote about seven to one. The only counties giving majorities against it were in the East. pg. 324 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA "This was the end of the struggle in Virginia for democratic govern- ment. For a hundred years, while a colony under the British crown, and seventy-five years as a state in the American Union, Virginia had been an aristocracy denying equal part in the government to the ma- jority of its white citizens. The End Was Not Yet. "And the end was not yet. The ancient wrong, so deeply rooted in the whole history of Virginia, was carried forward for one more decade. with its unequal representation and its discriminative taxes; with a great poulation held as chattels yet used to control the legislative policy of the state; with the growing national issue of universal slavery or dis- union rising like a black storm-cloud in the South and steadily growing in political menace. The Slave-Breeding Industry. "During the greater part of the three-quarters of a century through which Virginia had been an American State she was absorbed in the industry of breeding negro laborers for the planting states around the Gulf and in the domestic traffic of marketing them. If the men who designed the seal prescribed in her first constitution had been gifted with prophetic ken and the true artistic sense, instead of the amazon with spear and sword standing with one foot on the prostrate tyrant and and uttering the legend 'Sic semper tyrannis,' the design would have been a typical 'nigger trader' armed with the tools of his trade—a black- snake whip and 'horse pistol', hand-cuffs and chain—with an auction block and a collection of unhappy chattels in the foreground. "For more than halt the nineteenth century, while the rest of the world was waxing in civilization and humane amelioration, the com- monwealth of Virginia was given over to the system which would have been typified by such a seal; all the while denying equal rights to white citizens who did not approve of nor participate in the profits of breed- ing or trafficking in this human commodity. The Evil That Men Do. "This was 'legitimacy' in old Virginia; rooted away back in the un- speakable cruelty and corruption of English royalty; founded in usur- pation and denial of civil rights; maintained in implacable discrimina- tion; ending in treason and. war to maintain this semi-barbaric anthro- pophagic cult, against the growing protest of the whole enlightened world. "What is to be the future of the African crop planted by Virginia in the states bordering the Atlantic and the Gulf, may well give our wisest statesmen pause. It is a heritage of evil already grown so great as to cast an immense shadow athwart the future. Fixed and inxorable as eternal justice it is, that 'the evil that men do lives after them.' Deliverance With Secession. "The revolt in the mountains of West Virginia against the bargain made by the Richmond convention in 1861 with the emissary of the Mont- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 325 gomery League, to turn over Virginia tor purposes of rebellion to the Southern Confederacy, was a deliverance—as far as it could reach— from the infamous system described and the visible head of that revolt was a deliverer, not a usurper. The restoration with which his name is linked only restored the Virginia municipality as it existed before the rebellion. The division of the commonwealth afterwards was the logical aftermath of the crop of treason and rebellion gathered at Rich- mond. "There is nothing in the long history of Virginia which we can be prouder of than the uprising west of the mountains in 1861—nothing ap- proaching it in patriotism or moral heroism, unless we go back to the rebellion of Nathaniel Bacon, against the incapacity or cowardice of Berkeley, to save the people of the colony from the saveges [sic]. A Freedom Loving People. "There were then west of the Alleghenies a resolute and intelligent people numbering between three and four hundred thousand. Most of them were native to the soil and inured to the hardships long suffered in the West under the harrow of Virginia aristocratic rule. A majority of them were of the freedom-loving Scotch-Irish stock, whose ancestors had been driven from European homes in the eighteenth century; who pouring through the intervals of the Appalachian range in Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas, planted in those regions the rich blood and rugged virtues which have characterized that hardy and virtuous stock wherever it springs. Not much of the Cavalier element, which found congenial conditions in the tidewater region, ever made its way across the mountains in Virginia. Indeed, it was a hundred years after the early settlements in the tidewater before those people had crossed the fifty miles of forest which separated them from the Blue Ridge. The people who settled the Shenandoah Valley and the valleys between that and the Ohio River, whatever else they lacked, had one sterling virtue found in all mountain peoples; they were vigilant to resist en- croachment upon their liberties." The Restored Government. The restoration of the government of which Mr. Hall speaks was ac- complished at Wheeling. W[i]th the adoption at Richmond of the ordi- nance of secession, the state government of Virginia, as one of the United States, fell into a condition of suspended animation. Acting on the fundamental principles of popular sovereignty, as set forth in the Declaration of Independence and in the Bill of Rights of their own state constituion, the people of the western counties, still firm in their allegiance to the government and constitution of the United States; proceeded to restore their state government under the constitution and laws of Virginia. The ordinance of secession was adopted at Rich- mond April 17th, 1861. Five days later, there went out from Clarks- burg a call for a convention to be held at Wheeling, "to consider and de- termine upon such action as the people of Northwestern Virginia should take in the present fearful emergency." That convention assembled May 13th and after three days of debate and deliberation adopted reso- pg. 326 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA lutions, proclaiming loyalty to the federal government and calling for the election of delegates to a second convention to be held June 11th. These delegates were to be chosen June 4th, and it was provided that members elected May 23rd to the general assembly, "who concur in the views of this convention" should be entitled to seats in the convention of June 11th as members thereof. Secession Ordinance Repudiated. The June convention in a "Declaration of Rights" repudiated the ordi- nance of secession and the action of the convention which had adopted it. The declaration repudiated also the "usurped power of the state executive" and declared "that the offices of all who adhere to the said convention and executive, whether legislative, executive or judicial are vacated." On June 19th an ordinance was adopted by the convention providing for the restoration of the state government, the selection of a governor and other officiials. It directed the convening of a session of the legisla- ture at Wheeling July 1st, and made all necessary provision for the regular receipt and disbursement of the public moneys by the officials of the restored government The next day the convention elected Francis H. Pierpont Governor of Virginia, filled the other state offices as di- rected in the ordinances adopted, and adjourned to meet on the first Tuesday of August following. At the general election of May 23rd, 1861, three members of congress had been chosen from districts embracing the western counties, and these members William G. Brown, Jacob B. Blair and Kellian V. Wha- ley, were promptly seated as Virginia r[e]presentatives, their credentials having been furnished by the restored government. On July 9th the legislature in session at Wheeling elected as United States senators for Virginia Waitman T. Willey of Monongalia county and John S. Carlile of Harrison county. They were promptly seated in the United States senate. John S. Carlile was chosen at the general election of May 23rd to represent the llth district of Virginia. He resigned his seat in the House July 9th, 18G1, after ha[v]ing been elected to the United States Senate by the legislature of the restored government of Virginia. Jacob B. Blair of Wood county was chosen to fill the vacancy, a special election having been held on the fourth Thursday of October, 1861. Creating a New State. While some few of the delegates participating in these conventions at Wheeling would, doubtless, have been willing to allow matters to rest with the restoration of the government of Virginia in the hands of men loyal to the federal government at Washington, an overwhelming majority of the members regarded that restoration merely as one of the necessary legal steps for the constitutional formation of a new state in which they might secure absolute assurance of freedom from an irksome domination. Reassembling at Wheeling on the first Tuesday of August, pursuant to adjournment, the convention which had accom- plished the restoration of the government of Virginia proceeded to pass an "ordinance providing for the creation of a new state out of the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 327 territory of this state," and called a special election at which the people of the state should vote on the question of forming a new state and should choose delegates to a constitutional convention to be held in Wheeling in case the new state proposition carried. The election was held October 24th, 1861, and the returns showed 18, 408 votes in favor of the new state and 781 against it. The constitutional convention there- fore met at Wheeling November 26th and drew up the first constitution of the state of West Virginia, adjourning February 18th, 1862. In accord- ance with the ordinance adopted by the convention, the proposed consti- tution was submitted to popular vote and adopted by an overwhelming majority. Governor Pierpont announced the result of the election and called a special session of the legislature. That body met in Wheeling May 6th, 1862, and on the 12th of May passed an act giving its consent to the formation and erection of a new state within the jurisdiction of Virginia. Recognized at Washington. In due time the validity of the proceedings of the various conventions and of the Restored Government of Virginia was recognized by the execu- tive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government, and West Virginia entered upon her existence as one of the family of states, June 20th, 1863. The political history of the state during the war pe- riod and the reconstruction period that followed, with the events that led to the revision of the state constitution in 1872 are thus related in Callahan's Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia in a special article prepared by Hon. George E. Price of Charleston. "The first legislature assembled in Wheeling June 20th, 1863. the day when the state government went into effect. The Senate was composed of twenty members. John M. Phelps of Mason County was elected Presi- dent. The House of Delegates had fifty-one members. Spicer Patrick of Kanawha was elected Speaker. Among the members were Nathan Goff, father of the present United States Senator, Daniel Lamb, of Wheel- ing; J. C. McGrew, of Monongalia; J. M. McWhorter, Lewis Runner, P. G. Van Winkle and Chester D. Hubbard. "There was no division by political parties at this time. All were in favor of the maintenance of the Union, and outside of the measure neces- sary for putting the new government into operation, the legislature was chiefly concerned with measures relating to and growing out of the existing war. It remained in session until December llth, 1863. "This was also true of the legislature cf 1864 and 1865. William E. Stevenson was elected President of the Senate at the session of 1864 over Daniel D. T. Farnsworth. Among the new members of this ses- sion was Edwin Maxwell of Harrison county. The Speaker of the House was Le Roy Kramer. "At the session of 1865 William E. Stevenson was again elected Presi- dent cf the Senate. Among the new members of the House were James H. Ferguson of Cabell and H. C. McWhorter of Kanawha. "At the session ot 1865 an amendment to the constitution was proposed, providing in effect that no person who had participated in the rebellion pg. 328 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA or given aid or comfort to the Confederacy should be deemed a citizen of the state or allowed to vote at any election. This amendment was voted on and afterwards adopted. This brings us to the close of the war. Post-Bellum Problems. "It must not be inferred from what has been said that there was no division of sentiment among the people of the counties now composing the state of West Virginia on the question of secession and the forma- tion of the state of West Virginia. On the contrary, there was a very great division of sentiment, especially in the more Eastern and central counties. Large numbers of the people believed in the doctrine of state rights, and that their first allegiance was to the state of Virginia as between it and the Federal government, and, although there were com- paratively few who were originally in favor of the withdrawal of the state from the Union, yet when the alternative was presented of remain- ing in the Union and furnishing troops to fight against the Southern people who had withdrawn or attempted to withdraw from the Union, or going with the state of Virginia in confederation with the other South- ern states, they chose the latter course and large numbers of men from these counties went into the Confederate Army, and, in many instances, their families followed them through the lines and remained as refugees until the close of the war. A considerable part of the territory of West Virginia was the scene of active military operations during the war, and was held, a large part of the time, by the Confederate Army. Quite a number of raids and expeditions were made into the territory within the Union lines by the confederates, and the same sort of raids and expeditions were made by the Union Army into the territory held by the Confederates. Companies of home guards were formed among the Union men, and within this territory and a large part of the state there was a division of neighbor against neighbor—sometimes between mem- bers of the same family and between the people of one part of the county against those of another part. Men were killed; property was carried away; men were arrested and carried off to prison; armies were piloted by adherents of one side and the other, and advantage was taken of the situation by lawless men to commit violence and outrages of various kinds, and even in the legitimate prosecution of the war property of various kinds and stock and supplies were taken first by one army and then by the other, the Confederates taking from Union men and the Federals from those who adhered to the Southern cause. Those who adhered to the Union considered those that went with the Confed- eracy as traitors to the Federal Government, while those that went with the South considered the Union men that refused to go with the state of Virginia as traitors to their state, each one looking at the question from his own standpoint, and this state of bitterness increased as the war went on, so that at the close of the war there was a very difficult and trying situation to deal with in the State of West Virginia. Those who had remained loyal to the Federal Government and had taken part in the formation of the new state, took the position that those who had gone with the Confederacy should not be allowed to participate in the Government, hold office or vote, or exercise the duties of any public position; that they should not be allowed to bring suits in the courts HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 329 and that they should be responsible for the losses that occurred to the Union men in the way of property carried off and destroyed or personal imprisonment inflicted by the Confederate troops. In return, the Confederate soldiers and their friends and sympathizers claimed that they had accepted the result of the war in good faith; that they were entitled to belligerent rights for whatever had been done during the war; that these had been accorded to them by the terms of the surrender at Appomatox, and that they ought to be allowed to exer- cise all the rights of citizenship. These matters are not mentioned for the purpose of reviving the bitter and unpleasant memories and antag- onisms of the war, but as furnishing an explanation of the political history and events which occurred in the years following immediately after the close of the war. In addition to the adoption of the amend- ment to the constitution above mentioned, which provided in effect that no one who had participated in the rebellion or aided it should be con- sidered a citizen of the state or have a right to vote at any election, statutes were passed requiring attorneys-at-law, teachers in public schools, jurors, voters and all officers to take oath that they had not, since the 20th of June, 1863, borne arms against the United States, or the state of West Virginia, or voluntarily given aid or comfort to per- persons engaged in armed hostility thereto, etc. And the defendant in any suit brought could require the plaintiff to take such oath. The effect of this legislation was to prevent all Confederate soldiers and all per- sons who had aided, counselled, advised or assisted the Confederate cause from exercising any of the rights or functions above mentioned. And a statute was also passed for the protection of the home guards, which provided that no suit should be maintained against any person for acts done in the suppression of the rebellion, and that it should be a sufficient defense to such suit or action to show that such act was done in obedience to the order or by the authority of any civil or mili- tary officer in this state of the re-organized government of Virginia, or the government of the United States, or that said act was done in aid of the purposes and policy of said authorities in retarding, checking and suppressing the rebellion. Chapter 97, Acts 1866. At the same time the courts held that suits might be maintained by loyal persons against those who had been in the Confederate Army for injuries done by said Army to persons or property of loyal citizens, upon the theory that the Confederate Army was an unlawful conspiracy and enterprise; that all persons engaged in it were responsible for what was done whether they actually participated in the act or not, provided they were with the command by which the injury was done. Actions of trespass on the case were brought in many of the counties to recover damages on this theory against returned Confederate soldiers, and many judgments were ob- tained. The Let-Up Party. "At the election held in 1866, in many of the counties candidates were put forward by the Democratic, or what was known as the 'Let-up' Party, and some of the candidates were elected to the legislature, but in the case of Confederate soldiers or sympathizers they were not allowed to pg. 330 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA take their seats because they could not take the test oaths. "At the session of this legislature of 1866, William E. Stevenson, of Wood county, was elected President of the Senate. Among other mem- bers elected were Henry M. Mathews of Greenbrier and John S. Bur- dett. Mathews was not permitted to take his seat because he could not take the test oath. "In his message to the legislature, Governor Boreman, spoke of the bad faith of the late rebels in standing for office and recommended more stringent laws, but he did recommend that suitors' test oaths be modi- fled so as not to apply to any act since the war. Relaxing the Rigors. "An election for state officers was held in the Fall of 1866, Arthur I. Boreman being the candidate of the Republican party, and Benjamin H. Smith of Kanawha for the Democratic or 'Let-up' Party. Governor Bore- man received 23,806 votes and Colonel Smith 17,144 votes, showing the growth of the sentiment in favor of relaxing the rigors of the legislation against the Southern sympathizers. "At the session of 1867, David S. Pinnell was elected Speaker, and William P. Hubbard, Clerk. Wesley Mollohan was a Committee Clerk. This legislature elected Peter G. Van Winkle and Waitman T. Willey United States Senators. "The following members of Congress were elected in 1866: Chester D. Hubbard from the First District. George R. Latham from the Sec- ond District and Kellian V. Whaley from the Third District. "At the session of the legislature of 1868 Henry C. McWhorter was elected Speaker. "In 1869, Solomon S. Fleming was elected Speaker; William E. Ste- venson continuing President of the Senate. "Among the new members in 1869 were E. Willis Wilson of Jefferson, John J. Jacob of Hampshire, William H. H. Flick, of Pendleton in the House; in the Senate, Henry G. Davis of Mineral. At this session D. D. T. Farnsworth was elected President of the Senate, and during the session Governor Arthur I. Boreman was elected to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4th, 1869; the Governorship devolv- ing upon Mr. Farnsworth as President of the Senate for a short time. An election for Governor was held in 1869, and William E. Stevenson was elected. Sentiment Against Test Oaths. "At the session of the legislature of 1869, Governor Stevenson rec- ommended the repeal of the attorneys' and teachers' test oaths, and stated that he thought the wisdom of the further continuance of the suit- ors' test oaths was questionable. He also suggested the amendment of the Constitution so as to restore the privilege of citizenship to those disfranchised. He uses this language: " 'These restrictive measures were adopted during the time of great public peril. They were prompted by that instinct of self-preservation which impels every community to shield itself from present or impend- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 331 ing danger. Under such circumstances prompt and decisive measures were imperatively demanded and those entrusted with authority did not hesitate to resort to them. These disabilities were not, however, in- tended to be perpetual, but only to remain in force until all danger to the public peace was past—until those upon whom they were imposed gave evidence that they accepted in good faith the result of the war, and until the permanency of the state was fixed beyond all ques- tion. These restrictions did not originate in a vindictive spirit, nor' have they been adhered to by any considerable number of persons for unworthy purposes, etc.' "At the session of the legislature of 1870, William M. Welch of Min- eral county was elected Speaker. "Among the new members of the House were John J. Davis, Benjamin H. Smith. Henry Brannon, F. H. Pierpont who had returned from Vir- ginia to Marion county, and George C. Sturgiss. Test Oath Acts Repealed. "At this session bills were passed repealing the attorneys', teachers' and suitors' test oaths, and Mr. Flick, who' was a Northern man and had come into the state after the war, offered an amendment to the consti- tution providing that all male citizens of the state should be entitled to vote, except the usual disqualified classes such as minors, persons of unsound mind, paupers, etc. This amendment was adopted by the legis- lature and submitted to a vote of the people, and was afterwards adopted. By this legislation, the returned Confederate soldiers and those who had aided and sympathized with the Confederate cause were admitted to vote and were relieved of other disabilities. The effect of this was to turn the State over to the Democrats; and at the general State election held in Octo- ber, 1870, John J. Jacob, the Democratic or Let-up candidate for Gov- ernor was elected, receiving 28,093 over William E. Stevenson, Republican candidate, who received 26,683 votes." The Democratic Regime. A part of the aftermath of the war had been the maintenance in West Virginia of the civil disabilities imposed on all citizens of the state who had been in any way associated with the cause of the Confederacy. With the removal of those disabilities and the adoption of the constitution of 1872, political control of the state passed into the hands of Democratic leaders with a reliable and substantial majority of the voters behind them, and that regime remained unbroken during the next two decades. These were years of rapid development of the means of transportation in the state, and that development opened the way for the captains of industry and their followers to come in and possess the land. With the rapid growth of the industries and the population of the state, the rela- tion of numbers between the political parties changed gradually, till in the fall el[e]ction of 1888. the vote on the face of the returns stood 78,714 for Goff, Republican, and 78,604 for Fleming, Democrat. The election was contested, however, and, after a contest lasting nearly a year, Governor Fleming was seated in the gubernatorial chair. With the administration of his successor, Governor MacCorkle. the line of Democratic governors was broken, and in 1896, the political control of the state passed again pg. 332 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA to the Republican party with the election of Governor George W. Atkin- son. A. B. White, Republican, was elected in 1900. He was succeeded by W. M. O. Dawson, Republican, in 1904. William E. Glasscock was was elected in 1908, and Henry D. Hatfield, was the choice of the people of the state in 1912. Republicans at the Helm. During the period of the state's history covering the last two decades there has been a remarkable growth and development of our great indus- tries. Markets have been opened up for the products of our fields and forests and mines, for our coal, oil, gas, salt, lumber and other commodi- ties, and a tremendous tonnage has been developed by the great railway systems that cross our state This industrial development has brought to the front new problems of government, and certain great economic questions relating to taxation and finance, to the control of public ser- vice corporations, to the conservation of our natural resources, to safe- guarding the rights of working men and women, to the development of an adequate educational system, have occupied the thought of each succes- sive administration. An agitation and controversy which raged with more or less disregard and disarrangement of party lines throughout the administrations of Governor White and Governor Dawson greatly modified our method of raising revenue for state purposes and resulted in a much. needed overhauling of our machinery for assessing, levying and collecting taxes. During the administration of Governor Glasscock arose a disastrous conflict between organized labor and organized capital engaged in the great coal industry, and throughout the three administrations preceding the inauguration of Governor Hatfield there had been up for discussion, in West Virginia as throughout the nation, the question of the con- trol of public service corporations by the state through suitable govern- mental agencies. Early in the Hatfield administration a modus vivendi was reached between the warring factions in the coal industry, and since the setlement [sic] of the big strike, the state has enjoyed a period of rest from serious labor controversies. The same period has been signalized by the enactment of a number of important legislative measures relating to social and economic problems and greatly adding to the scope of the state government in its dealing with certain industries and occupations affected with a public interest. New Agencies of Government. The state board of control, the public service commission, the state tax commissioner, the commissioner in charge of the workmen's compen- sation fund, the commissioner of agriculture, the public health service, the state department of mines are all agencies of government which have been newly created or greatly enlarged and thoroughly reorganized during the period beginning with the Dawson administration and ending with the administration of Governor Hatfield. As in the case of the revision of our tax laws, much of this new legislation gave rise to con- troversies within the political parties, as well as between parties, and the consequent disturbance of party lines eventuated in the election of John HISTORICAL SKETCH OF WEST VIRGINIA pg. 333 J. Cornwell, Democrat, to the office of Governor in the campaign of 1916, with a legislature tied on joint ballot as between the two leading parties, the Republicans retaining a majority of ten senators and the Democrats gaining a majority of ten in the house of delegates. Programs of Legislation. The legislature of 1915 dealt with an unusually broad program of legis- lation in the course of its regular and three extraordinary sessions. There were adopted new methods of raising revenues to meet the state's growing needs, and important amendments were enacted to the prohibi- tion law, to the act creating the public service commission and the workmen's compensation fund, to the laws governing the department of mines and the public health service. The same body of lawmakers gave the state a primary election law and a corrupt practices act. It made important changes in the laws providing for the care of insane persons, passed a juvenile court law and inaugurated a new method of handling bills and resolutions in the course of their passage through the two houses of the legislature. Important acts relating to the promotion of the state's agricultural interests and to the protection of the forests, fish and game formed a part of the work of this legislature, and at its third extra- ordinary session, held during the last month of its official life, im- portant changes were made in the laws of the state relating to the tenure of elective and appointive officers. Session of 1917. At its regular session of the current year the legislature enacted a complete revision and codification of the road laws, creating a state road commission and defining the powers and duties thereof. Other measures of general importance enacted at the regular session of 1917 were the drainage district law, additional provisions for the better enforcement of the prohibition amendment, a mothers' pension law, a series of acts enlarging the powers of the department of agriculture, and an act pro- viding for uniform warehouse receipts. Failure of the two houses to agree on the general appropriation bill before the regular session of the legislature expired by limitation was the signal for a call by Governor Hatfield of the first extraordinary session of 1917, in which the deadlock between the two houses on the appropriation bill remained unbroken. The New Administration. The legislature adjourned with the appropriation bill for the present biennium still pending, just prior to the close of Governor Hatfield's term of office, and Governor John J. Cornwell was inaugurated March 4th. Almost immediately the attention of the people of the state be- came centered on questions connected with the great world war, into an active participation in which the government of the United States was finally launched with the act of congress of April 6th. The governor called a second extraordinary session of the legislature to meet May 14th to consider the appropriation bills, certain war measures, and the sub- mission of a budget amendment to the voters of the state. Agreement on the appropiration bills was at last reached by the two houses, pro- pg. 334 GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE vision was made for increased revenues, the submission of the budget amendment to vote of the people was ordered, a state counsel of defense was created and other measures designed to put the state in a condition of preparedness for war were enacted. The second extraordinary session of the legislature adjourned May 26th. Since that date the energies of the state government in all its departments have been largely devoted to the task of getting West Virginia and her citizen soldiery and her industries into condition to do our bit in the great world war that is upon us. THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE. The words "seal" and "coat-of-arms" in the United States have prac- tically the same meaning. When the design is impressed upon state papers or public documents, it is referred to as a "seal," and when it is used for illustrative purposes or on flags, it is usually called a "coat-of-arms." Coat-of-Arms, State of West Virginia. The joint committee on state seal, appointed by the first West Virginia legislature, in 1863, was composed of Peter G. Van Winkle of Wood County, Daniel D. T. Farnsworth of Upshur County, Edwin Maxwell of Harrison County, and Greenbury Slack of Kanawha County. This com- mittee emploped [sic] Mr. Joseph H. Diss Debar, of Doddridge County, to make drawings in compliance with their suggestions. The design agreed upon was finally adopted in Septmber, 1863. GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE pg. 335 The report of the committee designated a seal with an obverse and a reverse side, to be used when the coat-of-arms is made in the form of a medallion. As a matter of fact, the seal used for state purposes shows only the obverse side. The description given by the committee is as follows: "The disc of the Great Seal is to be two and one-half inches in diameter: the obverse to bear the legend 'The State of West Virginia,' the consti- tutional designation of our Republic, which with the motto, 'Montani Semper Liberi'—'Mountaineers always free'—is to be inserted in the circumference. In the center a rock with ivy, emblematic of stability and continuance, and on the face of the rock the inscription, 'June 20, 1863,' the date of our foundation, as if graven with a pen of iron in the rock forever. On the right of the rock a farmer clothed in the traditional hunting garb, peculiar to this region, his right arm resting on the plow handles, and his left supporting a woodman's axe, indicating that while our territory is partly cultivated, it is still in process of being cleared of the original forest. At his right hand a sheaf of wheat and a cornstalk; on the left hand of the rock, a miner, indicated by a pick-axe on his shoulder, with barrels and lumps of mineral at his feet. On his left an anvil, partly seen, on which rests a sledge hammer, typical of the mechanic arts, the whole indicating the principal pursuits and resources of the state. In front of the rock and the hunter, as if just laid down by the latter and ready to be resumed at a moment's notice, two hunters' rifles, crossed and surmounted at the place of contact by the Phrygian cap. or cap of liberty, indicating that our freedom and liberty were won and will be maintained by the force of arms. The reverse of the Great Seal is to be encircled by a wreath composed of laurel and oak leaves, emblematical of valor and strength, with fruits and cereals, productions of the State. For device, a landscape. In the distance, on the left of the disc, a wooded mountain, and on the right a cultivated slope with the log farmhouse peculiar to this region. On the side of the mountain, a representation of the viaduct on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Preston county, one of the great engineering triumphs of the age, with a train of cars about to pass over it. Near the center a factory, in front of which a river with boats, on the bank and to the right of it nearer the foreground, a derrick and a shed, appertaining to the production of salt and petroleum. In the foreground a meadow with cattle and sheep feeding and reposing, the whole indicating the leading characteristics, productions and pursuits of the State at this time. Above the mountain, etc., the sun merging from the clouds, indicating that former obstacles to our prosperity are now disappearing. In the rays of the sun the motto 'Libertas et Fidelitate'—Freedom and Loyalty—indi- cating that our liberty and independence are the result of faithfulness to the Declaration and the National Constitution." Mr. Diss Debar, the designer of the seal and coat-of-arms, was an educated Frenchman who brought a Swiss Colony to Santa Clara, Dod- dridge county, West Virginia. He was appointed by Governor Boreman to act as Commissioner of Immigration, and prepared, compiled and published the first "Hand Book of West Virginia." He was a member of the Legislature of 1864, from Doddridge county. pg. 336 STATE FLOWER AND STATE FLAG THE STATE FLOWER. On the 23rd day of January, 1903, during the administration of Governor Albert Blakeslee White, the legislature of West Virginia adopted the following joint resolution: "WHEREAS, Many of our sister states have adopted some floral emblem; and WHEREAS, Our present chief executive, the governor of the State, and his immediate predecessor, have each recommended the rhododendron, or big laurel, and the pupils of the public schools of the State, under direc- tion of the state superintendent, have voted for this flower; therefore be it Resolved, by the Legislature of West Virginia: That said rhododendron, or big laurel, be and it is hereby designated as the official State flower, to be used as such at all proper times and places " THE STATE FLAG. The Legislature of West Virginia, on the 25th day of February, 1907, during the administration of Governor W. M. O. Dawson, by joint resolu- tion, adopted a State flag of the following design and proportions: "The State flag shall be in length and breadth in proportion the same as the flag of the great American Republic of which West Virginia forms a part; the field thereof shall be of pure white, upon the center of which on the obverse side shall be the great seal or coat-of-arms of the State, beneath which shall appear the legend, 'State of West Virginia,' in a scroll; on the reverse side shall appear a sprig or sprigs of the rhododen- dron maximum, or big laurel, our State flower, having blossoms and leaves; the field of pure white shall be bordered by a band or strip of blue, and this in turn shall be bordered by a strip or fringe of old gold; and said flag shall be regarded and used as the West Virginia State flag on all occasions where a special display of the State's individuality shall become necessary, or be regarded as appropriate."