The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1912-12-06

ulfT and IN accordance with the avs
ufon y0u tire asEr.e Do~tor - fster.-
t4rs ani "a testimony present % you
us diploma duly signed and sealed TO-
ments pertslninE Thereto And 7 dire,
that your name mall 30 inscribed among
We - q Honorary alumni OF the West
Colonel Efwards. Ut. Litt. then made
tis address % aceptanre. witch was rro-
nouuced - those Who heard Il. among
wtgm were mauy competent critics %
he the finest u~tt-runce OF IT, Kind ever
heard In West virginia he said
A little less than a century <
there departed from the beauufu!
Housatonic Valley. In Western Mas
sachusetts. n notable company. young
men and women chiefly. sons and
daughters OF New England's greatest
stOck-descendants OF the Pilgrims
and Puritans.
These travellers set out as a well or.
ganized colony. They had great can
Vns-covered wagons. well provided
against the long journey ahead. They
o with their oxen and their
horses. their cattle and their sheep:
they took with them their axe for
telling the forests. their anvils and
their tools for working iron: and
likewise their plows and farming i'm
HANL &aAAAEA Their
trusty rifles. which they well knew
how 10 use. They fetched with them.
also. sometimes their old folks. al.
ways their children A stalwart com.
pany they ere. and they turned not
toward the mighty West. but bent
their way southwark along the foot
hills OF the Alleghenies. and to VIZ
glnia instead Of Illinois.
After many days they halted their
wagons and unyoked their oxen upon
the well watered highlands OF Trans
A~lleghenian Virginia: and the land
looked good unto them. and they said
70 n another. Here We will abide
So they surveyed and settled upon "a
great tract OF wild land. which they
paid for with the cash they brought
in hand. Here they hewed great tim
hers from the forest and builded
themselves therefrom comfortable
homes substantial houses barns
and outbuildings. here they cleared
ont wide acres. whereou the blue
grass sprang up spOnt8neously-and
corn and wheat and oats and rye ri.
pened toyfully beneath the kindly Vir.
ginia sun. Here they founded schools
and raised up churches unto the Lord.
for they were a God-fearing people. al
though they feared not man. Here.
as years went by, they gathered unto
themselves other men and women OF
kindred spirit and equal faith. loving
liberty. honoring God and prizing
above all else education and true
Christian culture. Year by year they
grew into a populous and powerful
community. respected and honored
throughout the commonwealth.
Early Settlers.
In due time these people became an
integral part OF the political. civil and
social organizations Of Trans-Alleghe-
Virginia, that great section OF
the ancient commonwealth wherein
the Whig party found it's strength.
wherein slaves and slavery gained
small foothold. and where. living a
free and open life. the spirit Of r
freedom grew masterful and strong
And here IL was when s~lavery's sui
len pr~etensions brought the glooms
and rro OF civil war upon the
peaceful land that kindling patriotism
first burst into the mighty flame that
at last illumined a nation Il was
here men formed the first loyal regi-
ment in Virginia. II was hero that
heroic sOns proved their descent from
no less glorious sires and made Ia
nous for all time this great county
known as Upshur.
This bringing together Of some OF
the sturdiest stock OF the two great
est communities OF English blood and
speech. Virginia and New England.
and particularly this bringing togeth-
or OF many Of the finest types OF the
men and women Of White and Whig
Virginia. that region OF lofty noun
tains and deep valleys. OF wide bot
tom land and fertile uplands lying