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BRAXTON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
Valerie & Tommy Crook
vfcrook@trellis.net
November 10, 1999
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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. 313
Braxton
C. B. CHRISMAN. Recognized as one of the thriving com-
munities of Braxton County, Burnsville has been for many
years accepted as one of the commercial centers of this sec-
tion. Its geographical location and trade advantages make
it a desirable market, and its growth and development along
this and kindred lines have been largely due to the efforts
of business men who have devoted themselves to its ad-
vancement. These men have also contributed to progress
in encouraging the development of the large agricultural
territory contiguous to this community. Among the ener-
getic business men who have thus taken advantage of the
opportunities offered and who while advancing their own
interests have also assisted their community is C. B. Chris-
man, manager of the Kanawha Grocery Company of Burns-
ville.
Mr. Chrisman was born September 20, 1876, in Gilmer
County, West Virginia, and is a son of Ballard and Fannie
(Stalnaker) Chrisman. Ballard Chrisman was born in
June, 1847, in Virginia, a son of FIoyd and Margaret
(Neal) Chrisman, who brought their family to West Vir-
ginia at an early date and settled in Greenbrier County.
Later they moved to Gihner County and took up their
residence ten miles from Glenville. There Floyd Chrisman
spent the remainder of his long and useful life in the pur-
suits of agriculture, and died when in advanced age, with
the respect and esteem of his neighbors and acquaintances.
He was a highly religious man, a faithful member of the
Presbyterian Church, and one of the organizers of the con-
gregation of that denomination at Button. In political mat-
ters he was a stanch democrat.
Ballard Chrisman was a child when taken to Greenbrier
County, and there grew up on a farm. His education was
somewhat neglected, but he had the ambition that led him
to educate himself, and so well did he do this that he was
able to instruct others and was engaged in teaching for
several years. After his marriage he settled on a farm in
Gihner County, and there his subsequent life has been spent
in the pursuits of the soil. He has made a success of his
operations and still resides on the old place, although he is
now retired from active pursuits, having reached the ripe
old age of seventy-five years. He is a democrat in his
political belief, and his religious connection is with the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His first wife died in
1876, leaving one child, C. B., of this record. Later Mr.
Chrisman married again, and by his second union had five
children.
C. B. Chrisman was an infant when his mother died and
he was taken into the home of his paternal grandmother,
who cared for him until his father married again,-when he
went to the home of his father and stepmother. After at-
tending the common schools of his native community he
pursued a course at the Glenville Normal School, and then
entered upon his career as a teacher in the rural districts.
He was thus engaged when the United States declared war
against Spain, and he enlisted in Company L, Second Regi-
ment, West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, with which he
went first to Charleston and then to Middletown. This
regiment was not called into active service, and at the close
of hostilities Mr. Chrisman received his honorable discharge
and went to Flatwoods, West Virginia, where he secured
employment as clerk in a general store. After being thus
employed for some time and learning the details of the
business, he, in 1901, came to Burnsville and engaged in the
mercantile business. Later he went to Erbacon, West Vir-
ginia, for three years, and then returned to Burnsville and
became associated with the Burnsville Grocery Company of
which he later became president. In March, 1921, he be-
came general manager of the Kanawha Grocery Company, a
large and prominent concern, which is incorporated with the
following officers: Dr. D. P. Kessler, president; C. F.
Engle, vice president; and F. D. Lemon, secretary-treasurer.
Mr. Chrisman is a man of superior business ability and one
who has won and held the confidence and esteeem of his
business associates.
In April, 1902, Mr. Chrisman married Miss Georgie Ann
strong, a product of the public schools, and to this union
there have been born three bright and interesting children:
Mabel, Fred and Bonnie, all of whom are attending school.
Mr. Chrisman belongs to Burnsville Lodge No. 87, A. F.
and A. M., of which he is a past and the present master and
a member of the Grand Lodge; Sutton Chapter No. 29, R.
A. M.; Sutton Commandery No. 16, K. T.; Lodge of Per-
fection, Clarksburg, and Consistory at Wheeling, being a
thirty-second degree Mason. In politics he is a democrat.
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