The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-10-30
TIFF PASSING OF
PARD OLIVER.
BY W. P. Wears.

someame during the late mites 'nere
ao' :" CHARLESTON from Richmond
can gentleman whose name WAS was
youus - Oliver. He was youhs
Mll'a hroad scientific education anu
man W s,ssion a civil engineer HIS per,
by y, a,,nsarance was preposfesslhs' VI
soHai aPf 10. hut with neat, compact
neuIu'' and a handsome face, win Tue
phgs"sa tb0ughtful man IN ms Iathel
look Oh 80 He came with the best
dIeahi ,,joIs from some OF the Leading
OF ,,as og The eastern shore, ana was
anna Inio the arlstocratic circles NJ
eolll'' Although sought after, ne was
one, 5svotee of society. While not
not tng II he was somewhat secluded.
shun" sh9rt time his trends discovered
IN q ne time was given principally 70
lh'' ,,,,5,, If certain Inventions connect
w lin The mechanics OF motive power,
eu wa, los IN 1874 that Morse, after many
" ~ scientific troubles over his new
lesa, 'ion the magno- electric telegraph
NV NV, bronrht Il into practical use pc
hIs' washington and Baltimore FOR
lMev ,aars afterwards Balm and others
ten irving TO improve Morse's inVen-
Wer This had given young oliver an
,'. .oi into this newly discovered force
lgars and Instead of trying to work
o ia 18th The line OF others, he was study
sna and experimenting ON an entirely
ariginal line, the application OF TINS new
,arce 40 practical motive power LOT Tue
lU,v, 81 machinery, While thus en-
aged he met the only daughter OF Gol,
TilIIam Venable one OF the WealthIest
,,,anters in the Kanawha valley, who
iRi,,od in n handsome residence built on
he colonial style, and In that hospitabie
manner of the Virginia gentleman OF
that day. For time Ruth Venaoie
caused young oliver to forget the OBJECT
- his study. Many were the days ne
spent at the Venable homestead, walk
ing along the banks of the placid Kama
wha when the pink glow the setting
ann touched the hills with his magic
brush, making all nature glow with us
soft and mellow tlnts, glistening up IN
the brightest light from the mrroeed
surface OF the pellucld stream, casting
the shadows OF the stately trees IN per-
feet outline over the green sward; or
sitting on the cool verandas when the
lights Of evening faded, listening 10 the
mellow voices OF the negro held hands,
which came in sweet, low melody across
the broad acres. and TO the unkling OF
the cow bells as their owners came
slowly homeward, nipplng here ana
there n last mouthfui OF succuient grass.
The shadows OF many an approaching
night came silently on and the sleepy
note OF the nesting bird and the chirp,
Of all insect kind arose on the still
nigbt air as the couple sat in silent hap
nIness In all these watches OF the night,
and in all these sweet wanderings, his
companion was the daughter OF his host,
Miss Venable. II was n case Of mutual
esteem, congenial tastes and kindred
spirits which ripened into love as nat.
urally as tho red and yellow apple
ripens beneath the bright glance of the
sun. So perfect the companionship, so
gradually and insiduously did the feel
ings of friendship ripen into stronger
ties that It was a surprise TO the young
couple when love stepped boldly forth
and swept aside every tie OF friendship,
leaving something infinitely sweeter,
deeper and holier In ats place,
Years rolled slowly on and Oliver paid
homage only to his projected inventions
and to his future wife. So closely did
he pursue his experiments. meeting
with failure after failure that his
friends beanie alarmed as to the state
othis mind and his betrothed as to his
health,
The mutterings which were first
heard In Philadelphia at the ratification
OF the constitution In 1857, and which
had echoed on the stump and at every
meeting OF Congress since was begin
ming to be felt all over the land, Then
came the firing on Fort Sumpter and
the tug of arms that swept backward
and forward over this great nation for
four long years. At the first gun Col
Venable had Joined the southern army
and sent his family to Richmond for
safety. Back and forth the war surged
over the Kanawha valley. Cox, Hayes
Wise, Echols and other commander,
with their armies desolated the land
When sadly Lee laid down his sword
at AppomattoX and the men of tina
s"thin grey line" were so broken
= starved and ragged that they looked
not like the veterans that they were
and peace reigned once more. then the
men in grey. poor and heart sick, re,
turned to their ruined homes TO agar
fight, not the blue but the common
enemy, poverty. Gen. Venable wa.
among them. His ruined home and ne,
elected acres overrun with briars ant
shrubs were his only greeting. Hi
family stayed at Richmond until thost
awful, bitter, cruel and needless days
OF reconstruction were over.
What had Oliver been doing durinl
these years? Working under the stress
OF no funds. no friends and not pressed
tnN NJ NJ htu TO
condition. he had become mildly
crazed over his fruItless efforts. Whei
Ruth Venable returned and learned o
his condition she became a recluse, ant
soon after her remains were buried II
what was left of the old family buria
ground, not then cleared of rs weed
and brlars.
For years afterwards an old maj
with bent figure who called all mel
"Pard" and was called "Pard" in re
turn, roamed the streets OF Charleston
begging for drink or something 10 eat
the butt OF the small boys wit. harm
less. inoffenslve old man. polite ant
gentlemanly "a homeless imbeClll
whose very identity was lost. He grad
ually disappeared from mems memory
800
Less than year ago burial tool
place atthe county innrmary. a burla
such "a one sees only when a pRupeF 4
laid away. with the cold clods rattlnl
on the top Of cheap pine box, throw
by the unsympathetic hands OF thos,
who bury the remains OF man with a
little care as they would a dumb ami
nal.
This was the end OF "Pard" oliver
"Pard" oliver. who had lived 10 be al
old man without the mind to realize tn
very object which lost to him his mind
a wife, his friends. and his very name
hnl boon reRlZed and tho mnllYn nOMe