James Albert LENHART

Sources:

The History of West Virginia, Old and New, pg. 224
King's Early Families of Preston County (St. Peter's Cemetery), pg. 56
In Remembrance - Volume 1 (Preston Co., Cemetery Book), pg. 97 Maplewood Cemetery in Kingwood, WV

Notes:

                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II,
page 224

JAMES A. LENHART. The name James A. Lenhart is one that bulks large inthe affairs of Preston County, where during his active life he has been amerchant so long that he is now dean of the Preston County merchants, isa banker at Kingwood, is a former sheriff and in the republican party atleast has a state-wide prominence. Mr. Lenhart was one of the members ofthe commission for the settlement of the West Virginia-Virginia debtcontroversy.

He was born near Valley Point in Pleasant District of Preston County,March 15, 1860, son of Aaron and Catherine (Metzler) Lenhart, natives ofSomerset County, Pennsylvania, whence they removed about 1840 to PrestonCounty, West Virginia. Aaron Lenhart depended upon honest industry as ameans of providing for his family and achieving a home. He was a veteranof the Civil war, enlisting in Company B of the Fourteenth West VirginiaInfantry, and for three years fought for the flag of the Union. He was aprivate, was in many battles, but always escaped wounds and capture. Hedied in 1890. He and his wife had the following children: Henry, ofPortland District, Preston County; Mary, who died as the wife of SamNedrow; Amanda, who died in Preston County, wife of Lewis Cale; JamesAlbert; William L., of Kingwood; Frederick, a farmer in Preston County;and Etta Jane, wife of P.  King, of Kingwood.

James A. Lenhart was thirteen years of age when his mother died, and hesoon afterward left home and lived at Albright, where he continued toattend school until he was eighteen. He was then qualified for teaching acountry district and for some time taught and then attended a term in theFairmont Normal School.  That closed his schooling. One of his chiefambitions as a boy was to secure a college education, but failing toachieve that through lack of money he changed his plans and at Albrightbecame clerk in a mercantile establishment. He was there two years, andthen for ten years conducted a business of his own at Valley Point. Onleaving Valley Point he removed to Kingwood, and is still active as amerchant of that city, and altogether has devoted forty years of his lifeto mercantile business, a longer time than any of his contemporaries. Mr.Lenhart for twenty-five years has been a director and is now the activevice president of the Bank of Kingwood.

He was elected sheriff of the county in 1900, as successor of L. C.Shaffer. He served in that office four years. As a young man becominginterested in political factions he gave his allegiance to the republicanparty, and his first vote for president went for James G. Blame. In 1904he was presidential elector at large, and east his ballot at Charlestonfor Roosevelt.

Governor Hatfield chose Mr. Lenhart as one of the commissioners tonegotiate the long standing questions involved in the Virginia debt withthe commissioners of Old Virginia. This commission was organized atCharleston, where preliminary sessions were held and plans formulated forthe general conference between the commissions of the two states held inthe Willard Hotel at Washington. In the preliminary conferences theredeveloped a great difference of opinion as to West Virginia's just shareof the state debt before the separation of West Virginia.  Some contendedthat West Virginia owed the mother state nothing at all, while Mr.Lenhart was the first to announce as his conviction that West Virginiashould pay substantially the amount previously found by the Master of theUnited States Supreme Court. Only one other member of the commissionshared in Mr. Lenhart's convictions. He announced that he preferred topay the whole debt rather than prolong the struggle and pay the interestaccumulations which would have amounted to $6,000,000 more. Later itdeveloped that the attorneys for the state in making up their briefs forWest Virginia had failed to include items of expense that the state hadincurred, all of which might properly serve as an offset to theobligations, and when this angle of the situation was taken before theSupreme Court it was reopened and the result was that the offset wasallowed, representing a saving to West Virginia of $7,000,000 or$8,000,000. In all these negotiations Mr. Lenhart took an active anduseful part, and his colleagues came to respect not only his integrityand impartial sense of justice, but also the sound business ability thatprompted all his suggestions.

For some sixteen years Mr. Lenhart was a member of the Preston CountyExecutive Committee, and during that time the republican majority in thecounty increased from 1,800 to 2,700. For twenty years he was a member ofall the West Virginia State conventions, and in them he helped nominateamong others Governors Dawson, White, Swisher and Hatfield.

In Preston County in 1880 Mr. Lenhart married Miss Ella King. Her fatherwas Col. William H. King, a California forty-niner who crossed the plainsand returned by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and spent the latter partof his life in the milling business. During the Civil war he was acolonel of the State Militia. Colonel King represented one of the old andprominent families of this section of West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Lenharthave four daughters: Nina; Mrs. Mabel Jackson, a widow with a son,Leslie; Miss Bernice; and Helen, wife of Professor F. H. Yoke, ofPiedmont, West Virginia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~