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William Tecumseh |
William Tecumseh Sherman Everly was
born in 1866, most likely in or near Herring, Preston County, WV, the son of Absalom
and Sarah (Carroll) Everly. He was named after famed Civil War General
William Tecumseh Sherman.
William married Hattie Ann Calvert (1871-1958). They had four children -- Forrest V. "Pete" Everly of Morgantown; Jessie Shaffer of Gap Mills, WV; Nell Phelps of Keller, VA; and Mabel Ruth Spangler of Morgantown.
They were farmers, and lived in the Valley District of Preston County. Hattie was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Kingwood Methodist Church.
Later, the Carrolls moved to Morgantown, where William "had a dairy across the river from West Virginia University," wrote daughter Jessie in the Preston County history. "At first, he carried milk into Morgantown. I remember the one horse milk wagon for delivery, later a mule team and larger wagon." After some time, William moved the family to a larger dairy on the J. Smith farm in the Dorsey community across town, with the family residing in a "big white house with a porch in front extending around the side."
Later still, on a visit in
Preston County, William bought the Joe F. White farm in Long Hollow, and the
family relocated there. In 1916, the Carrolls moved into the county seat of Kingwood,
where William obtained employment "as a miller in the Kingwood Mill on
Tunnelton Street. Later he was town sergeant, and a foreman of Preston roads
until his retirement." The Preston County Journal said he was a
member of the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows and the Methodist church."
William died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 75 on Nov. 17, 1941, and was buried in the Maplewood Cemetery in Kingwood.
Son Forrest V. Everly (1893-1969) married Madalene Braham (1900- ? ). They had
no children, and made their home on Van Voorhis Road in Morgantown. Pete
"was a retired mine foreman and operated a grocery store on the Van Voorhis
Rd. for several years," said the Morgantown Dominion Post. "He
was a member of the Drummond Chapel Methodist Church." Pete passed away at the age of 76
on Christmas Day 1969.
He and Madalene are interred at Maplewood Cemetery in a plot near his parents
and sisters Jessie Shafer and Mabel Spangler.
Daughter Jessie Everly (1895-1983) married
Lewis "Starkey" Shafer (1896-1962) on Thanksgiving Day 1918. She was an early educator in Preston County "even before
she attended high school," said the the Preston County Journal.
Later, after they both obtained degrees from West Virginia University in 1931, she was a
substitute home economics teacher. "During her years in Gap Mills during
World War I, she was a Red Cross volunteer. She worked at Ashford Hospital [seen
at left],
which was The Greenbrier Hotel at White Sulphur Springs... She was a charter
member of the Kingwood Woman's Club and was elected Senior Citizen of the Year
for both Kingwood and Preston County Senior Citizens in 1975-76." She
authored a nearly three-page memoir in the 1979 Preston County history book.
There is a memorial plaque honoring Starkey in the school hall of Gap Mills High
School in Monroe County, WV, where he taught for many years. He also was named
in 1963 as one of Monroe County's "17 "Sports Greats" in the five
categories of hunting, fishing, conservation, leader and promoter. An entire
page was dedicated to him in the Gap Mills High School yearbook of 1963. Starkey
died in 1962, and Jessie followed him to the grave 11 years later, in 1983. they
rest for eternity in Maplewood Cemetery in Kingwood.
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| Graves of the Everly sisters and their spouses at Maplewood Cemetery in Kingwood |
Daughter Mabel
Ruth Everly (1903-1989) married
James Edward Spangler (1901-1991), the son of Bart and Fanny J. (Hawley)
Spangler, on Nov. 27, 1920. They had two children -- Robert K. Spangler
and Jane S. Wade. The Spanglers lived in Morgantown. Said the Preston County
Journal, James "was a retired coal miner, a member of the United Mine
Workers of America and was later employed by the Harmon Brothers Construction
Company of Grafton until age 72." They were members of the Wesley United
Methodist Church, and Mabel was a member of Wesley's Church Circle No. 3 and the
Alpha Phi Mothers' Group. Mabel and James celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary in 1970, and were married for a total of 69 years. Mabel died at the age of 86
in 1989. James outlived her by one year, and passed away at the age of 90 in
1991. They were survived by seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Mabel and James are buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Kingwood.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Mark A. Miner