Christian Streit White
Christian Streit White | |
---|---|
President of the West Virginia Fish Commission | |
In office 1885–? | |
Preceded by | Henry B. Miller |
Clerk of Court for Hampshire County | |
In office 1873–1902 | |
Preceded by | James A. Parsons |
Succeeded by | Charles W. Haines |
Clerk of Circuit Court for Hampshire County | |
In office 1873–1876 | |
Preceded by | C. M. Taylor |
Succeeded by | V. M. Poling |
Personal details | |
Born | Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia), United States | March 10, 1839
Died | January 28, 1917 Romney, West Virginia, United States | (aged 77)
Resting place | Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, West Virginia, United States |
Political party | Democratic Party |
Spouse(s) |
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Relations |
|
Children |
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Residence(s) | 332 East Main Street Romney, West Virginia |
Alma mater | Potomac Seminary |
Occupation | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | 23rd Virginia Cavalry |
Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Christian Streit White (March 10, 1839 – January 28, 1917) was an American military officer, lawyer, court clerk, pisciculturist, and politician in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia.
During the
White served as the Clerk of Court for
White was a member of the White political family of Virginia and West Virginia and was the son of
Family and background
Christian Streit White was born on March 10, 1839, in
American Civil War service
On April 19, 1861, following the outbreak of the
Following his recovery and during his convalescence in the winter of 1862 and 1863, White first served as a clerk in the Confederate States Department of the Treasury in Richmond, and he later received a post as head of an entire bureau of the department.[1][3][11] White's father John Baker White also served in the Confederate States Department of the Treasury until his death on October 9, 1862.[12][13] In spring 1863, White had recovered enough from his disability to serve in the cavalry, although he was still unable to serve in the infantry.[1][3]
White resigned from his post as head of a bureau in the Confederate States Department of the Treasury when he received a commission of
White and his company saw combat from early 1864 through the early 1865.[11] During the summer of 1865 alone, White's company participated in 56 battles and skirmishes, including picket fights, with two men killed, 26 men wounded (four of which later died as a result of their wounds), and ten men taken prisoner.[11] By October 1, 1864, White's company had 15 serviceable horses and 70 that were not serviceable.[11] Between 1863 and 1865, White received one severe wound (from June 21, 1864[11]) and two minor wounds from various campaigns.[1][3][4] White felt the effects of these wounds for the remainder of his life.[4] Throughout his military service during the American Civil War, White served under the commands of Stonewall Jackson and Jubal Early.[5]
Following the surrender of General Robert E. Lee on April 9, 1865, White and the remaining part of his company traveled to North Carolina to join Confederate Army forces under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston, but Johnston and his forces had already surrendered before White and his troops could reach them.[3] White and the remnants of his company disbanded without surrendering or being paroled, and White returned to Romney around June 1, 1865.[3][4]
Preservation of Hampshire County land records
White's father, Hampshire County Clerk of Court John Baker White, learned of the advancement of Union Army forces on Romney, and became concerned for the safety of the county's records. His father proceeded to load land registration records ledger books onto wagons and had them transported to Winchester, Virginia, for safekeeping.[16][17] In 1863, when Winchester was no longer a safe location for the storage of Hampshire County's land records and they again risked destruction by Union Army forces,[16][17] Christian Streit White took responsibility for the records and transferred them to Front Royal.[17][18] When Front Royal became endangered by advancing Union Army forces, White had the records moved to Luray Caverns where they remained for several months.[13][17][18] In fall 1864, the county's record books were rescued by White and his company as Union Army troops were in the process of destroying them.[17][18] White's company loaded about 150 record books into a wagon and they were taken to North Carolina where they remained safely for the duration of the war.[13][17][18] Hampshire County's land records survived and were returned to the courthouse following the conclusion of the American Civil War,[13] likely by a soldier returning to the area from North Carolina.[18] Had White's father John Baker White not separated the records and sent the bound volumes away for safekeeping, Hampshire County would have lost all its records during the course of the war, as those that remained in the courthouse were destroyed.[16]
Political career
Clerk of Court for Hampshire County
Following his return from the war to his hometown of Romney in June 1865, White was unable to recommence his practice of law or hold a public office due to the existing state laws of the Constitution of West Virginia which disbarred former Confederate States government and military personnel.[1][3] White's situation was further complicated, as he had not been pardoned or paroled by the United States for his service in the Confederate States Army.[3] White rented a farm in Hampshire County and engaged in successful agricultural pursuits until the disenfranchisement of former Confederates was struck from the state's constitution in 1872.[1][3] In 1872, White was elected to the position of Clerk of Court for Hampshire County and began his term the following year in 1873.[1][3][19][20] During his tenure as Clerk of Court for Hampshire County, White also served one term as Clerk of the Circuit Court between 1873 and 1876,[1][20] but declined to run for a second term in that office.[3] Prior to the American Civil War, White's father John Baker White had also served as the county's Clerk of Court for 47 years between 1815 and 1861.[12][21] White served as Clerk of Court for Hampshire County for 29 years until 1902.[4][13] He and his father served in the position a combined total of 76 years.[13][19] Also following the war, White was elected as a member of the Romney Literary Society.[22]
Hampshire County Democratic Executive Committee
By 1876, White was serving as the chairman of the Hampshire County Democratic Executive Committee. While holding this post, White organized and carried out extensive campaigning for West Virginia Democratic Party membership and political candidates. Through his efforts, the number of registered Democrats in Hampshire County swelled from 449 in the preceding election year to 1,369.[1][3]
During the West Virginia Democratic Party Senatorial Convention held at
White was described by George W. Atkinson in his Prominent Men of West Virginia (1890) as "a consistent, but liberal Democrat"[23] and by historians Roberta R. Munske and Wilmer L. Kerns in their Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1754–2004 (2004) as "a self-proclaimed liberal Democrat."[13] West Virginia historians Hu Maxwell and Howard Llewellyn Swisher in their History of Hampshire County (1897) stated that White was "independent in thought and character and fearless in following his convictions, he has never been a follower of party leaders."[3]
West Virginia Fish Commission
On February 20, 1877, an act entitled "Act to increase the supply of food fishes in the rivers and waters of this State" was passed by the
White embarked upon a search for potential locations for a state fish hatchery, and in the summer of 1877, he purchased the Maguire Springs and 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) near Romney from Charles Harmison of Valley View.[24][28][29] At the Maguire Springs, White "erected and equipped" a fish hatchery costing $700 at his own expense,[28][29] and by 1878, the hatchery was in "successful operation" and 600,000 fishes had been distributed from it.[26] The West Virginia Fish Commission later purchased from White the Maguire Springs and the surrounding 0.75 acres (0.30 ha) for $550.[25][28][29] In 1880, the Maguire Springs hatchery was vastly improved and expanded with the construction of ponds and the erection of a fence around the hatchery facility.[29] In 1885, a residence was constructed at the hatchery for the facility's manager.[29] Following Miller's resignation from the commission, White was appointed as the President of the West Virginia Fish Commission in June 1885.[29] By June 1886, the hatchery ponds at the Maguire Springs were enlarged and in 1891, a hatching house was built along with additions to the manager's residence, all under White's direction.[29] White also personally served as the manager of the Maguire Springs fish hatchery during hiatuses between manager appointments.[29] By 1893, fish populations within the streams of West Virginia became self-sustaining and the hatchery operations at Maguire Springs were discontinued.[25]
In 1877,
Over a decade after his appointment to the commission, White and his colleagues continued to perform their duties of office without pay from the West Virginia Legislature.[28] The legislature continued to authorize $500 annually for the hatching and stocking of fish in West Virginia's streams.[28] White was reappointed as a commissioner by each succeeding Democratic governor.[1][3] For the majority of his tenure serving on the West Virginia Fish Commission, White held the post of the commission's President.[3]
Confederate memorial activities
In spring 1866 while at the residence of his brother Robert White in Romney, White, his brother Robert and his wife, his sister Fannie White, and Bessie Jane Schultze (later White's wife) originated the idea of erecting a monument memorializing the Confederate dead.[32] This discussion led to the first decoration of Confederate graves at Indian Mound Cemetery in Romney on June 1, 1866, and to the subsequent erection of the Confederate Memorial at Indian Mound Cemetery which was dedicated on September 26, 1867.[33]
From its formation until June 1897, White served as the Commander of Camp Hampshire Number 446 of the
Business pursuits
On February 23, 1871, the West Virginia Legislature passed an act incorporating the South Branch Railway Company, responsible for the construction and operation of a branch line connecting Romney with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad main line at Green Spring.[36] White was named by the legislature as one of the commissioners of the South Branch Railway Company, charged with the responsibility of signing up investors to purchase capital stock in the company.[36]
In 1890, White was a shareholder in two corporations operating in Romney.[37] As one of five corporators, White held one share, valued at $130, in the Hampshire Building and Loan Association No. 1, which raised money for the purpose of providing loans for the purchase of property, home improvement or construction, and the liquidation of liens on property.[37] Hampshire Building and Loan Association No. 1 was incorporated by West Virginia Secretary of State Henry S. Walker on March 11, 1890.[37] White was one of six corporators, with two shares ($35 each), of the Romney Manufacturing, Land and Improvement Company, which was created for the acquisition of land near Romney for the establishment of a hotel or summer resort and the development of residential real estate.[38] The Romney Manufacturing, Land and Improvement Company was incorporated by Walker's successor, William A. Ohley, on July 10, 1890.[38]
Later life and death
White continued to serve in public office late into his life, and by 1916, he was serving as a chancery commissioner for Hampshire County along with his son Robert and Joshua Soule Zimmerman.[39] White also continued to operate a law practice with his son Robert in Romney.[4] White died in Hampshire County on January 28, 1917, at the age of 77.[2] He was interred next to his first wife Bessie Jane Schultze and second wife Catharine Steele in the White family plot at Indian Mound Cemetery in Romney.[40]
Personal life
A practicing member of the Presbyterian faith, White was a Mason in the Clinton Lodge of Romney, where he had served as a Master.[3][4][23] He resided at 332 East Main Street in Romney.[41]
Marriage and issue
White was married on July 25, 1867, in Hampshire County to Elizabeth "Bessie" Jane Schultze, the daughter of Dr. Robert Schultze and his wife Elizabeth "Bessie" Armstrong Schultze.
Name | Birth date | Death date | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|
John Baker White[5][44] | August 24, 1868[44] | June 2, 1944[45] | Mary Ann Williamson, married on August 22, 1939[46] |
Following the death of his first wife, Bessie, on June 24, 1869,[3][47] White again married on May 26, 1873, to Catharine Steele.[3][48] Steele was born in Belfast or Dublin and was the daughter of Thomas G. Steele in Fairmont, West Virginia, at the time of her marriage to White.[3][4][48] Steele arrived in the United States at the age of seven and was raised in Fairmont.[4] Steele's father was a native of Dublin and was the first secretary of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows of West Virginia.[4] White and his wife Catharine had four children, two sons and two daughters:[3][4][14]
Name | Birth date | Death date | Spouse |
---|---|---|---|
Louisa Anna White[49] | March 15, 1874[49] | January 10, 1931[50] | Unmarried[50] |
Robert White[51] |
May 28, 1876[51] | August 15, 1935[52] | Mabel Glasscock Fitch, married on January 7, 1903[53] |
Christian Streit White, Jr.[54] | June 10, 1881[54] | December 2, 1956[55] | |
Elizabeth "Bessie" Adelphia White Howard[56] | July 23, 1885[56] | Benjamin Chew Howard, married on October 7, 1913[57] |
White's second wife, Catharine, died in 1911 in Romney[58] and was interred at Indian Mound Cemetery.[40]
Personal possessions
White owned a number of antiques and pieces of furniture of historical interest.
References
Explanatory notes
- ^ Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 325. According to West Virginia historians Hu Maxwell and Howard Llewellyn Swisher in their History of Hampshire County (1897), the West Virginia Fish Commission hatched and distributed the following types and numbers of fish into West Virginia's streams: "In the years 1877–78 about 675,000 salmon, 100,000 trout, 1,200 black bass, most of them large enough to spawn, were distributed. In the years 1879–80 there were distributed 360,000 salmon, 165,000 shad, 600 carp, 2,000 gray bass and 1,400 native fish (black bass, pike, perch, jack and blue catfish), together with large numbers of mill-pond roach, as food for the bass. In 1881 and 1882 the commission put out 18,500 land-locked salmon, 7,000 trout, 2,000 carp, 600 black bass, 125 silver perch, 25 pike perch."
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Atkinson & Gibbens 1890, p. 645.
- ^ a b "Death Record Detail: Christian Streit White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 11, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 743.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Callahan 1923, p. 635.
- ^ a b c d e f Atkinson 1919, p. 438.
- ^ Eisenburg & Utt 2003, p. 5.
- ^ Sprague 1869, p. 48.
- ^ a b Kleese 1996, p. 2.
- ^ a b Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 621.
- ^ a b c d e Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 629.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 630.
- ^ a b Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 741.
- ^ a b c d e f g Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 40.
- ^ a b c Virkus & Marquis 1926, p. 252.
- ^ a b Evans 1899, p. 106.
- ^ a b c Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 370.
- ^ a b c d e f "Guide to the (West) Virginia Court Documents Collection", Marietta College Library, Marietta College, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b c d e Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 371.
- ^ a b Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 369.
- ^ a b Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 278.
- ^ Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 39.
- ^ Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 436.
- ^ a b c d Atkinson & Gibbens 1890, p. 646.
- ^ a b c d e Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 323.
- ^ a b c Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 106.
- ^ a b c West Virginia Senate 1878, p. 27.
- ^ American Fish Cultural Association 1881, p. 55.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lewis 1998, p. 279.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 324.
- ^ a b c d e Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 325.
- ^ United States Fish Commission 1883, p. 310.
- ^ Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 692.
- ^ Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 693.
- ^ a b Confederate Memorial Association & United Confederate Veterans 1896, p. 5.
- ^ a b Confederate Memorial Association & United Confederate Veterans 1896, p. 6.
- ^ a b West Virginia Legislature 1871, p. 121.
- ^ a b c West Virginia Legislature 1891, pp. 1006–1007.
- ^ a b West Virginia Legislature 1891, pp. 1276–1277.
- ^ West Virginia Legislature & West Virginia Senate 1916, p. 69.
- ^ a b c d "Indian Mound Cemetery: Hampshire County's Most Historic Cemetery – List of Interments", HistoricHampshire.org, HistoricHampshire.org, Charles C. Hall, archived from the original on September 16, 2015, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "West Virginia Historic Property Inventory Form Sites Listed in Hampshire County", HistoricHampshire.org, HistoricHampshire.org, Charles C. Hall, archived from the original on May 18, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b "Marriage Record Detail: Christian Streit White". West Virginia Vital Research Records. West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Marriage Record Detail: Christian Streit White". West Virginia Vital Research Records. West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Birth Record Detail: John Baker White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 11, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "Death Record Detail: John Baker White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on February 1, 2014, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "The Virginias", The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, Maryland, August 25, 1940, archived from the original on November 18, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "Death Record Detail: Bessie J. White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 13, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b "Marriage Record Detail: Christian Streit White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 13, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b "Birth Record Detail: Louisa Anna White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 11, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b "Death Record Detail: Louisa Anna White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on February 1, 2014, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b "Birth Record Detail: Robert White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on September 16, 2015, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "Death Record Detail: Robert White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on September 16, 2015, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "Marriage Record Detail: Robert White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on September 16, 2015, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b "Birth Record Detail: Christian Streit White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 11, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "Death Record Detail: Christian Streit White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on February 1, 2014, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b "Birth Record Detail: Bessie A. White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 11, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "Marriage Record Detail: Elizabeth or Bessie A. White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on February 1, 2014, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ "Death Record Detail: Catharine S. White", West Virginia Vital Research Records, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, archived from the original on November 13, 2013, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b c d Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 537.
- ^ a b Maxwell & Swisher 1897, p. 538.
Bibliography
- American Fish Cultural Association (1881). Transactions of the American Fish Cultural Association Tenth Annual Meeting. OCLC 4900935305. Archivedfrom the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- OCLC 8899470.
- OCLC 3886825.
- Callahan, James Morton (1923). History of West Virginia, Old and New, Volume 2. OCLC 373051. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- Confederate Memorial Association; OCLC 028832138. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- Eisenburg, William Edward; Utt, James Howard (2003). This Heritage: The Story of Lutheran Beginnings in the Lower Shenandoah Valley and of Grace Church, Winchester. Lot's Wife Publishing. OCLC 4309489.
- from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- Kleese, Richard B. (1996). 23rd Virginia Cavalry. from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- Lewis, Ronald L. (1998). Transforming the Appalachian Countryside: Railroads, Deforestation, and Social Change in West Virginia, 1880–1920. from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- OL 23304577M.
- Munske, Roberta R.; Kerns, Wilmer L., eds. (2004). Hampshire County, West Virginia, 1754–2004. OCLC 55983178.
- from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- Virkus, Frederick Adams; Marquis, Albert Nelson (1926). The Compendium of American Genealogy: First Families of America; the Standard Genealogical Encyclopedia of the United States, Volume 2. from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- West Virginia Legislature (1871). Acts of the Legislature of West Virginia; At Its Ninth Session, Commencing January 17th, 1871. Charleston, West Virginia: H. S. Walker, Public Printer. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013.
- West Virginia Legislature (1891). Acts of the Legislature of West Virginia at Its Twentieth Regular Session, Commencing January 14, 1891. Charleston, West Virginia: Moses W. Donnally, Public Printer. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- West Virginia Senate (1878). Journal of the Senate of the State of West Virginia, for the Fifteenth Session, 1879. Wheeling, West Virginia: W. J. Johnston, Public Printer. Archived from the original on June 26, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
External links
- Media related to Christian Streit White at Wikimedia Commons