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November 3,1911THE FAYETTE JOURNAL17Alderson, Philip Robert and Frederick Eugene. They residte in Fayetteville.He has - for a number of years been an active member of the West Virginia Bar- Association. Fraternally he is a Mason, a Modern Woodman and a Knight of Pythias, and a member .of the Presbyterian Church. .Mr. Simms as a student always impressed his teachers with his aptness, thoroughness and evident industry. This information in regard to his work as a student was derived by the writer in conversation during the summer with one. of liis former university professors. As a teacher he was recognized as. a leader in educational matters ami was• 4 •fast forging to-the front when he chose to abandon this field and entered the profession of 1lie Saw. Aslt;a lawyer, he is ranked among the best and has been identified with much t)f the important litigation- of Southern West Virginia; Not yet a year' V .has he been judge, but in that time he has gained an enviable reputation for his ability, fairness and judicial capacity,9 * % * * . • • . 0— —T—JUDGE W, R. BENNETT.Thrift, grit, pluck, intelligence and never say die spirit has made more great men from the human product of West Virginia soil than all the school houses and fine spun theories of social reform and lofty training, and Fayette County can justly bqast of having her full quota of this class of citizenship occupying places of responsibility andihonor.Hon. William R. Bennett, at present judge of the circuit court of Fayette County, may truly be said to belong to the product above described. He was born in Fayette County, oil Laurel Creek, August 7th, 1865, his parents being Thomas and Mary Ryan Bennett, He is one of twelve children, five boys and seven girls. At the age of six years he removed to Nicholas County with his parents, and there until early manhood had only the: educational advantages provided by the common schools; but so. determined was this young man to master the opportunities that upon his arrival at the age of eighteen years he was able to procure a teachers! certificate and at once began teaching in Nicholas County. Later he obtained school employment in Fayette County and while , still living in Nicholas was recognized as one of the progressive educators of this county,During his work as a school teacher young Bennett was also “burning the midnight candle,” in the study of law, and in 1893 when he determined to locate at the new and thriving town , of Mont-’ gomery for better or for worse, he had been ad-►mitted to the practice of law, and was equipped, to enter actively into the battles of. his chosen profession. Soon after locating in Montgomery as an. • t 1attorney he entered into a law partnership, with the late James H. Dunbar, himself a Nicholas County product, and soon after the new .firm came to berecognized as one to be reckoned with by the legal luminaries of the Fayette County bar. A three-year partnership of this firm was dissolved when Mr. Dunbar was elected judge of. the criminal court of Fayette County, which position he held 'until his death. In the meantime Attorney Ben-, nett accepted employment as the attorney of the United Mine Workers' organization;- wand looked after the legal end of that, organization in the counties of Fayette, Kanawha, Raleigh and Putnam.Upon the death of judge Dunbar while holding the office of judge of the criminal eoitrt, it is related of Judge Bennett, that he aspired to be the successor of his late law partner, -and as the appointing power rested with the governor of tiie State, he went' to Charleston and laid his desires before the then Governor • Whlf^^vernor White after consideration declined the request and named another. Mr. Bennett informed the chief executive that he thought'he had made a mistake in.giving the appointment to another, under the circumstances, and notified the governor that he would appeal bis case to the people. In the campaign one year later young Bennett became a candidate for the office of judge of the criminal court, was nominated by the Republican party after an interesting contest, and later elected at the polls by a handsome majority. It' was then that Judge Bennett-elect apprised Governor White that on-the appeal in question his'excellency had . been reversed.After serving two years as judge of the criminal court the many friends of judge Bennett solicited him to become a candidate for the still higher judicial position of judge of the eleventh judicial■circuit composed of the Counties of Fayette, Pocahontas and Greenbrier. Finally consenting Judge Bennett entered the lists and was successful in receiving the Republican endorsement, and was elected against tremendous odds in the battle of ballots which followed.This election occurred in 1904, so that Judge Bennett has been on the bench of the. circuit for more than seven years, and will close his first term on January 1, 1913,The legislature of the session of 1911, during a spasm of desire for the creation of more judicial circuits, enacted a measure creating a new judicial circuit composed of the Counties of Greenbrier and Pocahontas, thus leaving Judge Bennett with the remaining County of Fayette ' to compose the eleventh circuit. The tremendous development of the county, however, and the litigation growing outof disputed titles and the usual cases resulting from these conditions, has rendered the duty of an unusually arduous character, and practically the entiretime of the court is occupied in disposition of thecases before him.Judge Bennett believes strongly in educational reform and declares that every boy and girl in the land should have a liberal education, and the while denouncing the debilitating and destructive habits of coffee drinking, tea drinking, use of tobacco in all forms, as well as the intemperate use of alcoholic beverages by the people. He is a strict constructionist of the constitution and statute laws of the State, and declares with some justifiable pride that in politics he never lost a battle, .always being willing to submit the merits of his case to the people as a whole. He. believes in wisdom, honesty, sobriety, industry, economy, cleanliness, truthfulness and love for his neighbors, and strictly adheres to the motto that “he who does not work should not eat,” and that every man should be a producer.Judge Bennett has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Annie Drennan, of Nicholas County, and the marriage occurring in 1888. By this union two children were born, Romeo and Edward, the latter fe6mg a student of the University of Medicine of Baltimore, Maryland. His first wife died in 1891. In 1897 he was again married to Miss Antfie Kuhn, of Marmet, Kanawha County, and by m athis iinion four children were born, viz: W. R. Jr., Thelma, Jacob and Charles Meredith, a very interesting on e-ry ear-old boy.Judge Bennett lives with his family on a farm near Fayetteville which is a model of the efforts of one who Has found time to make a scientific study of- tilling the soil, and making two blades of grass grow-where one formerly grew. He is his own farmer, his own blacksmith, his own carpenter, his own stock raiser, his own architect, his own general manager on the farm, and takes a just pride in the beauty and convenience one sees in the splendid plot of ground which he chose as a place for the education of his hoys in the elements of industry and thrift.Tt is but natural to suppose that Judge Bennett will be a candidate to succeed himself in the campaign of 1912. This much is indicated by his vigorous youth, his former success in the political arena and his firm belief that there are many more years of usefulness and service due to the people who have heretofore been so liberal in their support.County Residence of Hon. W. R. Bennett, near Fayetteville.
Newspaper Details
Fayette Journal
Fayetteville, West Virginia, US
Thu, Nov 02, 1911
Page 54
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
WV, USA 19 Sep 2020
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