The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-08-24
Our Tyler Co. Correspondence.

ptut' -COImhuUu Ol lu0 COu1ty GOV
ernment-M Stealy Fdmily.-7h
s1obdcco Trade. q E1f --1T Fsr
MDDLRBoUREE, TYLER Co., W. Va. y
4 .9 y August 2lst, 1874. 4
Editors Of the IntOlllGoueer.
Alter ten mile horseback ride from
Slstersville, over one Of the very best
county roads, find myself at the county
seat OF Tyler, and In the very heart Of
one OF the finest sections OF country In the
state. The ride here Is through q rich
agricultural section, and yet the lands oil
which Tyler feels justly proud lie farther
on towards Harrison. But through these
lands have not been. / have only look.
ed upon them from the hill side as they
lay spread out before me, dressed 10 their
beautiful verdure. And could you look
upon their rich bottom lands, upon the
rough hill sides, and go up 10 the very
mountain top and find the steady hus-
bandmen ever busy, clearing, planting
and harvesting, you would say as cay.
THE PEOPLE OF TYLER ARE A THRIFTY
PEOPLE,
Along the road Travelled l saw many
fields on tho top Of the high hills, from
which the wood has not yet been cleared
planted In tobacco. They merely trim
out the underbrush, girdle the larger trees
and put In the crop. Further on we will
have word more about the tobacco in
terests Of Tyler. But now something Of
Middlebourne and her people. As said
belnie we are ten miles from Sistersyllle
and within stones throw oi Middle Is
land, q creek that should be called river,
lor as we look upon 1t We find 1t more OF
stream than many that Nre called rivers;
but then the people Of Tyler are modest
people and not given 10 exaggeration
This stream heads in Harrison and flows
down nearly parallel with the Ohio river
until at st. Marys It empties into 1t. For
pike fishing 1t Is the finest stream in the
State. The natives here do not as q gen
eral thing fish with hook and line, and
particularly at this time Of the year. Then
they climb the trees along the stream near
some rifils and shoot the pike with rife
and bali as they run up the riffls. This
stream is great tsvoriIe with many
WHEELING FIsuRnMRN.
They often come in parties to Sistersville,
bring their skif over TO this point, and
float and fish and hunt and float lszily
along until they find themselves in the
Ohio ct 81. Msrys. Others come here, or
near here, and camp out and fish and for.
age around for few weeks pleasure
Such q party comprising among its mum.
Der s. L. Brice, John DeVine, w. 81
Sheib and some others, remained for two
weeks and grew fat aud lazy.
THE sTRALRY FAMILY.
The Tyler county government was
formed In 1915. One Of the men who
was in 1t Of the beginning is now here
Shortly after the county organization Mr.
James Stealey, native OF Clarksburg,
Harrison county, came here and bought
large farm, comprising the ground upon
which Aiddlebourne Is now built. Mr.
Stealey was poor man, comparatively
speaking, but he was a hard working,
energetic man. He started a tan yard,
the old vats Of which can still be seen in
the yards, Of some of the citizens, and
opened store. He prospered, and, 10
use the expression ofs Tyler county man,
"the time soon came when he carried
Tyler county In his breeches pockets" I"
But this must not be taken in Ben But.
ler sense, for he was never hard or dis
honest man. He made his fortune by
hard work and economy, but 10 him never
was imputed dishonest act. How many
sons were born unto Mr. Stealey We can
not say, but we know of three, each Of
whom has been given comfortable for
tune and started in business in Middle
bourne. But the old gentleman has only
recently retired, having given over his
business 10 his youngest son only a few
weeks since. And now the old man is
uneasy and restless without some busi-
ness on his hands, for although past the
allotted age OF man, he is yet strong and
vigorous, and his intellect still clear and
bright
30, you see, were you to take away
from Middlebourne the Stealeys, you
woald take away pretty good alice, In
q mercantile way you would clean II out
pretty thoroughly, for their three stores
are the largest there. But Mr.. Thomas
j. Stealy does not give much attention
to the store; his attention is given almost
entirely 10 the tobacco trade-an industry
which, 1t may be said, has been iathered
by him in Tyler. We have just left him,
and our head Is full OF statistics; so be-
fore we get muddled We will tell you q
little something about the tobacco busi-
ness, and more particularly as related TO
Tyler county,
, TYLER COUNTY TOBACCO TRADE.
When Mir. Stesley commenced buying
tobacco in 1859 the gross product ol Tyler
county was about 8 900 pounds, or 5 hogs
heads, per annum; and this had 10 be
put upon the marketin an uncertain way
as 1t was neither Ohio nor Virginia to-
bscco Now the Ohio and West Virginia
tobaccos are rated the same, and are
called mixed tobacco. In quality they
do not compare with the Maryland, Ken,
lucky, or Virginia tobaccos. The lower
grades Of Ohio and West Virginia are
principally used by the French Govern
ment, and the better grades go 10 Austria
England, and the German country along
the Rhine. Some lew Of the finest hogs
; heads are sold at home, and in cases oI
/, IalluIe VI CTOpst bH tnl8 year, mucn
Of 1t Is used as substitute fol
, Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky
tobacco. The crop Of West Virgins
for 1873, the last OF which ls Just now be
ing made ready for market, amounted L
$4,000 hogsheads, Ohio 1000, and West.
ern crop $4,000 The crop OF 1874 viii
amount TO q trife less than one-tourth O
those figures. OF the product OF Yves
Virginia ior 1873, Mr.. Stealey handled, IL
| Tyler and Peasants, 69O00 pounds, o.
t 750 hoashesds, requiring q cool invest
!. ment Of $50 ,000 AS said above, the Wes
Virginia crop Is used principally By
, France, being bought under contract b.
t Messrs Boninger Brothers, Of Baltimore
, But there issome red tape about the TO-
B bacco business in Maryland. They hAvl