The Williamson enterprise. [volume] (Williamson, W. Va.) 1907-1911, 1911-03-16
In Memorian Hiram Henley Shumate

of the Williamson Bar, held
in the Court House thereof on
Tuesday, the 14th day of March,
1911, Hon. John B. Wilkinson,
Judge of this Court, was elected
Chairman of the meeting, and
Guy White, the Clerk thereof,
was elected Secretary of the
meeting.
Attention was called to the
fact that Hiram Henley Shumate,
a member af this Bar since the
formation, of this county, has de-
parted this life; and on motion,
Douglas w. Brown, John L.
Stafford and Wells Good ykoontz,
Esq uires, we're appointed COM
mittee to draft a suitable sesolu-
ton or memorial respecting the
death of Mr.. Shumate. The
com mittee, in pursuance of the
appointment, presented and read
to the meeting the following:
For the third time in the his
tory of Mingo County, death has
claimed mem Der of our Bar.
Hiram Henley Shumate depart
ed this life on Saturday, the 4th
day Of February, 1911, at 9
O'Clock in the morning. At the
time of death he was sixty-nine
years and twenty-four days old,
having been born in Raleigh
County, Virginia, on January 10,
1912. He received his Acade-
mic education at Allegheny Col
lege, in Virginia. He was mar
ried to Miss Maggie So uires, of
this State, on the oath Of Decem-
Der, 1867. In his early years he
taught school. This continued
up to about 1875, but he was adj
mitted to the bar in the year
1871.
Mr.. Shumate was a lawyer of
the old school. He had been To-
Gated and had practiced his pro-
fession in Cabell, Wayne, Logan,
Raleigh, Wyoming, Mcdowell
and Mingo Counties, in this
State. He also practiced for
awhile during his early years at
the bar in the State of Kansas.
He was Confederate soldier;
was at one time elected Snperin-
tendent of free schools in Fay
cite County; was Prosecuting
Attorney in Wyoming County,
and later in Mcdowell County.
Mr.. Shumate was what we
know as a general practitioner
equally at home in the criminal
as in the civil branch of the law.
He was especially versed, how
ever, in real estate law, and par
ticipated in many noted cases
of ejectment. He represented
large business interests, and at
one time his profits from the
practice were quite lucrative.
He cared little for money, and
pracriced his profession for the
love Of it, and as duty. He was
essentially a poor mans law
yer; that is to say, he repre-
sented freely persons in strait
ened circumstances, who might
or might not be able to pay him
for his services.
Mr.. Shumate conducted the
initial proceedings looking to the
formation Of Mingo County,
which county was organized un-
der an Act of the. Legislature,
passed in 1895. Prior to that
time Mr.. Shumate had been To-
Gated in Logan County, but after
the formation of Mingo County
he moved here, where he re-
manned until his death. An ex-
animation of the reports of the
Supreme Court of this State will
indicate that he practiced in that
court for nearly forty years.
Mr.. Shumate was possessed Of
an able mind. The distinc tons
which he drew in pleading and in
were very subtle.
Aside from his professional ac-
complishrnents, he was a man of |
erudition along other lines. He
was well informed, especially in
history and literature. He was |
also good land surveyor. Like |
many another lawyer, passed and
gone, he worked hard, lived
well, and died poor" He was a
Master Mason, having been mi
tiated. passed and raised in |
O'Brien Lodge No. 101, at Will
hanson. That fraternity con-
Quoted his funeral. He was
buried in the Williamson Gene
terry.
THEREUpoN, The committee
offered the following resolution:
RESOLVED, That in the death
of Mr.. Shumate we are reminded
of the fact that the members of
this Bar, each in his order, and
according to the will of Almighty
God, must pass from the face of
the living to the dominions of
silence.
That the death of Mr.. Shu-
mate should impress upon our
minds the fact that as officers of
the court and as ministers of
Justice, we should so order our