Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 3.06 History, Politics, Government and Crime
Presentation #1 Title
Attorneys Helped Create a New Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Morgantown’s earliest attorneys worked to create a “New Appalachia.” In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, they dealt with the “known realities” of a confused system of land transactions and the political institutions of new governments at the Commonwealth and federal levels, while “imagining the possibilities” of a community with schools, churches, and other institutions to meet the needs of the residents of Monongalia County and nearby western Virginia. We focus on William McCleery and his nephew Mathew Gay; Alpheus Wilson, his father Thomas, and his brothers Eugenius, Edgar, and Norval; and Thomas P Ray. McCleery was a land agent for eastern Virginians, although he also had his own extensive land grants. After the death of his wife in 1798, he invited Gay, to help him manage his land holdings. Gay then had his own prominent career. Thomas Wilson was admitted to the bar in Staunton and moved to Morgantown, where he practiced law until his death. His sons Alpheus, Eugenius, Edgar, and Norval all studied the law, with Eugenius and Edgar having the most distinguished careers. These men’s law books provide the most tangible evidence of their careers. The inscriptions in the books, plus wills and estate inventories, opened the door to this community of lawyers, giving voice to their lives and shedding light on their contributions in the development of their town. In addition to secondary sources, we used deeds, court records, and the McCleery scrapbooks in this study.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Barb Howe taught history and women's studies at West Virginia University. Her teaching, service, and research have long focused on the extensive use of sources found in courthouses, especially those found in their dusty vaults.
Presentation #2 Title
From Hand to Hand: Early Virginia Lawyers and the Value of a Book
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Stewart Plein is the Rare Books Curator for West Virginia University.
Attorneys Helped Create a New Appalachia
Drinko Library 138
Morgantown’s earliest attorneys worked to create a “New Appalachia.” In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, they dealt with the “known realities” of a confused system of land transactions and the political institutions of new governments at the Commonwealth and federal levels, while “imagining the possibilities” of a community with schools, churches, and other institutions to meet the needs of the residents of Monongalia County and nearby western Virginia. We focus on William McCleery and his nephew Mathew Gay; Alpheus Wilson, his father Thomas, and his brothers Eugenius, Edgar, and Norval; and Thomas P Ray. McCleery was a land agent for eastern Virginians, although he also had his own extensive land grants. After the death of his wife in 1798, he invited Gay, to help him manage his land holdings. Gay then had his own prominent career. Thomas Wilson was admitted to the bar in Staunton and moved to Morgantown, where he practiced law until his death. His sons Alpheus, Eugenius, Edgar, and Norval all studied the law, with Eugenius and Edgar having the most distinguished careers. These men’s law books provide the most tangible evidence of their careers. The inscriptions in the books, plus wills and estate inventories, opened the door to this community of lawyers, giving voice to their lives and shedding light on their contributions in the development of their town. In addition to secondary sources, we used deeds, court records, and the McCleery scrapbooks in this study.
