JUDGE CHAPMAN J. STUART
GRAVESITE RESTORED
Last week the gravesite of Chapman J Stuart and his family received a desperately needed restoration at the hands of Leggett Contracting. Judge Stuart’s gravesite was in serious danger of collapse and pending destruction if it did not get these repairs.
I went to check on the progress last Wednesday day and found Ray Leggett and his team, C J Robinson, and Charlie Frey, hard at work. The stones in need of realignment were dug out and removed. The men then replaced the original stones to their proper locations and mortared them in place, guaranteeing years of success for the historic site.
The issue came to pass three years ago, when I met with a gentleman named Carl Hardy at the gravesite of Chapman Johnson Stuart located in the Old Seventh Day Baptist Cemetery (also known as the Pioneer Cemetery) which is the lower section of the Blockhouse Hill Cemeteries (a combination of multiple cemeteries). The site overlooks the town that he so loved, West Union.
Mr. Hardy was the great nephew of Judge Stuart and was doing some research on his family history. To put it mildly, he was appalled at the neglect his great uncle (a WV State figure and Doddridge Countian) had received.
The massive sandstone blocks had tumbled from what had been a robust stone wall that leveled the gravesite which would have otherwise sloped with the terrain of the ground. A small tree had grown up between the gravestone and the stone wall causing it to push the wall away from its original position. The giant monument was in danger of falling down,
possibly upon a visitor to the cemetery.
I questioned to myself how Doddridge County could have allowed such a historic figure’s final resting place to get into this horrible condition. It was then and there that he and I decided to do our best to make sure it was restored to its original condition.
Just who is this historical figure? What did he do that made him a state figure? Why should we care whether it is restored?
I’m glad that you asked. Allow me to offer a brief description that helps to measure the caliber of man. Numerous articles have been written about him, and at the risk of repeating myself and others, I’d like to indulge myself just a little.
Judge Stuart was the son of Edward and Margaret “Peggy” Stuart. He was born in 1820 in what is known today as Highland County, VA. At the age of four, he moved with his parents to Harrison County, VA (Now WV). By the age of 26, he was married to Elizabeth Litle and their first child, William, was born in West Union.
Death was a constant unwelcome guest in Judge Stuart’s marriage and in his life. Coming to call, it frequently brought the type of grief that would break most of us. His seven-year-old son, William, died of scarlet fever in 1853, followed by the death of his two-year-old son, Arthur, that same year with the same dreadful fever. Two years later in 1955, his beautiful daughter, Isabella, who was only one year old died of dysentery. As though that was not enough pain to destroy the strongest of men, only 20 days later, Judge Stuart lost his wife, Elizabeth to dysentery as well. She was only 32 years old.
Judge Stuart then married Mary Stuart in 1858. Mary soon became with child, but death made another appearance – the birth resulted in a stillborn daughter in 1859.
This reign of death left the Judge Stuart with one son, Winfield Scott Stuart, who became a successful local attorney and owner of the well-known landmark mansion, known today as the Stuart Mansion and one daughter by his 1st wife, Anna, who married a physician, Matthew C. Dougherty, from Taylor County. She eventually moved to Knox County, IL, where she died at the age of 83.
His youngest son, Douglas was struck by a train near the east end bridge
in West Union in 1902 and died. He was only 27 years old. Daughter Agnes Virginia lived to the age of 82. Theresa lived to the age of 87, and daughter Elizabeth lived to the age of 94.
Judge Chapman Johnson Stuart died on April 20, 1888 of Bright’s disease and was buried in the gravesite we just restored at the Seventh Day Baptist Cemetery on April 22, 1888. He was 68 years old.
During his life Judge Stuart served as the prosecutor for Doddridge County from 1852-1861. He sat as a member of the 1st Wheeling Convention in 1861. He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1862. He was elected judge of the Circuit Court in 1863 and sat on the bench for 10 years. He served as a State Legislature from 1874-75 and from 1878-1879.
Perhaps the most significant accomplishment in regard to the State of WV was the fact that he chaired the committee that defined the borders of the state of West Virginia when it was formed. Of equal significance, is that he was said to be the motivating force behind the naming of the new state.
At the 1st Constitutional Convention in 1861, there came a heated debate regarding what to name the newly organized counties that refused to secede from the Union. Names offered were Alleghany, Augusta, Columbia, Little Virginia, New Virginia, and Western Virginia.
Judge Stuart was determined to name the new state West Virginia. The following is a speech he gave at the First Constitutional Convention in 1861:
“I am not actuated alone by a wish to conform to the wishes of my constituents, but, from my heart I love the name of Virginia; I love the people and the territory of Virginia; and I am unwilling to array all the wrongs and evils she has done, and look at the dark side of Virginia alone; but I would sometimes look at the brighter side, and that is the side my people look upon. And they are attached to the name; and I will say, sir, that although I am attached to the name of Virginia, I would be as far from wanting to sit under the shadow of Richmond, this day I believe, as my friend from Wood. And I know, sir, it is not the wish of my constituents. It is a familiar name. It is a name I have listened to ever since I have been able to speak – that of West Virginia. It is familiar all over this broad land of our country – West Virginia. Something attaches to the name that ennobles us in the eyes of the country. I intend so far as I am concerned, that we will have it.”
As they say, the rest is history… Judge Stuart accomplished what he intended to do. West Virginia became the 35th state to the Union as proclaimed by President Lincoln. A product of the American Civil War, it remains the only state ever born of a presidential proclamation.
The Doddridge County Historical Society has received $700+ to be used for an information kiosk which will include his photograph, history and the famous speech provided above.
The Doddridge County Historical Society asked the Doddridge County Commission to provide the funds for restoring this important WV State Figure’s final resting place, and they agreed to do that.
However, the Doddridge County Historical Society has not received the funds from the Doddridge County Commission at this time but we are confident that they will fulfill their promise to provide for the cost of this most necessary work. We thank them for caring about Doddridge County’s History.
God Bless and Stay Well
Patricia Richards Harris