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BARBOUR COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
Valerie & Tommy Crook
vfcrook@earthlink.net
July 22, 2000
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 530-531
Barbour
FRANK P. REASE, who is familiarly known by his title of
captain, which he gained in his youth as a captain of a river
boat, has been a prominent figure in connection with civic
and industrial development and progress in West Virginia,
where he is one of the representative and influential citizens
of Belington, Barbour County.
Captain Rease was born near Corning, Steuben County,
New York, October 6, 1862, and is a son of Peter and Lucy
N. (Watrous) Rease, the former of whom was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Susquehanna
County, that state. Peter Rease was born in the year 1808,
and he became a successful merchant at Corning, New York,
where also he conducted a hotel and was engaged in the
manufacturing of lime, his death having there occurred in
June, 1873, and his widow, who was born February 12, 1814,
having died in 1888. Both were earnest communicants of
the Protestant Episcopal Church and he was a democrat in
politics. Of their children the eldest, Morris, who served as
captain of engineers in the Union army in the Civil war,
eventually became chief engineer of the Union Pacific Rail-
road, and he retained this position until his death at St.
Louis, Missouri. Louise married B. N. Wentz, and after his
death became the wife of A. J. Owen, her death having oc-
curred at Wyalusing, Pennsylvania. Henry, a Union soldier
in the Civil war, took part in the historic Red River cam-
paign under General Banks, and died while in service and
is buried at New Orleans. Helen is the wife of William H.
Herrick, of Hollywood, California. Frank P., of this review,
is the youngest of the number.
Capt. Frank Pierce Rease gained his early education in
the public schools of Corning, New York, where he com-
pleted the curriculum of the high school. In connection
with his father's business activities he early became iden-
tified with the operation of canal boats, and he served as
captain of boats plying between Corning, New York, and
Newark, New Jersey, in the transportation of lumber, steel
rails and limestone. He was captain of a boat when but
sixteen years of age, and continued his service until he
was nineteen, when he was made superintendent of the
Corning quarry which supplied stone for the building of
the State Reformatory at Elmyra and for the Beecher
Church in that city. Leaving this position, he became
outside superintendent of mines for the Fallbrook Coal &
Railroad Company at Fallbrook, Pennsylvania, where he re-
mained two years. This was during the reign of the
"Molly Maguires," an unlawful organization which at-
tempted to dictate policies in operating mines and the
members of which became outlaws by the thousands, the
while they terrorized mining communities and shed much
innocent blood. Captain Rease gained the enmity of
this organization and caricature of skull and cross-
bones was placed on the door of his home as a warning.
After leaving Fallbrook he was transferred to Corning
as baggage master and freight agent on the railroad oper-
ated by the same company, and finally became a train
conductor. January 1, 1880, he became general super-
intendent of the Butler Colliery Company at Pittston, Penn-
sylvania, in the service .of which corporation he continued
twelve years. He then, in 1892, came to West Virginia to
assume charge of development work for the United States
Coal & Iron Company in Randolph County, where he opened
the company's first mine and erected its first tipple, at
Harding. He became concerned also in the construction of
the company's service railroad, and soon after the com-
pletion of the Roaring Creek & Charleston Railroad, the
Roaring Creek & Belington line also was constructed, this
work having been done under the auspices of the Berwind,
White Coal Mining Company, which bought out the other
concern. The Belington & Beaver Creek Railroad was next
built, between Belington and Weaver, to open up the coal
owned by Captain Rease himself, the road having been built
by Rease and Weaver. Captain Rease managed the mines
and several railroads until 1901, when the properties were
sold, the railroad lines being absorbed by other railroad
companies.
Captain Rease then turned his attention to other devel-
opment work, including the construction of the Consumers
Heat, Light, Water & Power Company's plant at Beling-
ton. He was the originator of the enterprise for utilizing
the power of the Middle Fork of the Tygart River in the
developing of a system for the supplying of water and elec-
tricity for adjoining cities and towns of this section of the
state. In this connection the Highland Water and Power
Company was organized. They made surveys through Fair-
mont, Grafton and other places, and then sold the con-
trolling interest to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company,
which has failed thus far to institute further development
work. Captain Rease is still interested in mining properties
that are producing coal successfully, and is still Southern
representative of the Berwind, White Coal Mining Company.
He was associated in the establishment of the first banking
institution at Belington, and was president of the Beling-
ton National Bank until its consolidation with the First
National Bank, of which he continues a director. He has
lived at Belington since it was a village of less than 100
population, and has been an Influential force in the devel-
opment and upbuilding of the now thriving little city, of
which he has served several terms as mayor, besides having
been president of the Board of Education. He cast his
first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden, and has since
continued unfaltering allegiance to the democratic party.
He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity.
On the 7th of January, 1873, at Corbettsville, New York,
Captain Rease wedded Miss Anna C. Corbett, who was born
at Corbettsville, that state, April 10, 1852, a daughter of
Ira and Juliette (Bowes) Corbett. Mr. Corbett was born
in Broome County, New York, and was there a successful
farmer and extensive lumber manufacturer. Mrs. Rease
was the sixth in a family of five sons and five daughters,
of whom two sons and four daughters are living at the
time of this writing, in 1922. Captain and Mrs. Rease be-
came the parents of three children: Lena is the wife of
A. H. Woodford, of Belington, and they have three chil-
dren; Adelaide died in young womanhood; and Louanna
is the wife of Rev. A. C. Carty, chaplain at the United
States Navy Yard at Philadelphia, they having one child.
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