Hu Maxwell
Encyclopedia
Hu Maxwell was a local historian, novelist, editor, poet, and author of several histories of West Virginia
counties.
, USA. His father was Rufus Maxwell, first prosecuting attorney in the county, and his mother was Sarah Jane (Bonnifield) Maxwell, a school teacher. He attended county schools for a few months only and showed an early talent for versification, even before learning to write at age 14 years. His interest in geography lead his father to take him and his brothers to the 1876 Centennial Exposition
in Philadelphia. After four years at the Weston Academy in Lewis County
, he was appointed (1880) a cadet in the U.S. Naval Academy. He reportedly passed his matriculation exams but had a nervous breakdown
owing to over strenuous studying and never entered. (He was said to have been a "loner" and "a sort of recluse", not suited to a career as a naval officer.)
Back in West Virginia he went into the lumber business, edited the Tucker County Pioneer, and wrote two novels, Rich Mountain and Llewellyn. He later taught school and wrote a never-completed manuscript, The Conquest of the Ohio Valley. In 1882 and '83, he toured the southern and southwestern States and Mexico. In 1884, Maxwell published his History of Tucker County, West Virginia at Kingwood, West Virginia
, the first work presenting the early history of the Cheat River
Valley.
Maxwell married Anna H. Humphreys (of Fresno, California) on 8 December 1891 and they had 4 children: Selby Frederick (1894-1971), Marian (b. 1895), Anna (1900-1902), and Alexander Wilson (1905-1975). As a forester
and topographer for the Forest Service
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maxwell prepared several publications dealing with forestry. He was also a frequent camping companion of President Theodore Roosevelt. Over the years, the Maxwell family resided, successively, in Morgantown, West Virginia
; Washington, D.C.
; and Evanston, Illinois
.
In preparation for his more-than-1,000-page work A Tree History of the United States (1923), Maxwell visited every state in the Union at least once and examined 600 of the 680 tree species believed to exist in the country. In 1924 — aged 64 — Maxwell located and traced the old Indian pathway, the Seneca Trail, between Oakland, Maryland
and Elkins, West Virginia
— an immense physical effort of research requiring him to walk 150 miles.
Maxwell died at home in Evanston, Illinois, in 1927. He is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Morgantown, West Virginia
.
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
counties.
Biography
Maxwell was born on a farm near Horse Shoe Run in Tucker County, West VirginiaTucker County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,321 people, 3,052 households, and 2,121 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 4,634 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...
, USA. His father was Rufus Maxwell, first prosecuting attorney in the county, and his mother was Sarah Jane (Bonnifield) Maxwell, a school teacher. He attended county schools for a few months only and showed an early talent for versification, even before learning to write at age 14 years. His interest in geography lead his father to take him and his brothers to the 1876 Centennial Exposition
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
in Philadelphia. After four years at the Weston Academy in Lewis County
Lewis County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,919 people, 6,946 households, and 4,806 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile . There were 7,944 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
, he was appointed (1880) a cadet in the U.S. Naval Academy. He reportedly passed his matriculation exams but had a nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
owing to over strenuous studying and never entered. (He was said to have been a "loner" and "a sort of recluse", not suited to a career as a naval officer.)
Back in West Virginia he went into the lumber business, edited the Tucker County Pioneer, and wrote two novels, Rich Mountain and Llewellyn. He later taught school and wrote a never-completed manuscript, The Conquest of the Ohio Valley. In 1882 and '83, he toured the southern and southwestern States and Mexico. In 1884, Maxwell published his History of Tucker County, West Virginia at Kingwood, West Virginia
Kingwood, West Virginia
Kingwood is a town in and the county seat of Preston County, West Virginia, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh DMA. Kingwood was founded in 1815...
, the first work presenting the early history of the Cheat River
Cheat River
The Cheat River is a tributary of the Monongahela River in eastern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Via the Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed, ultimately draining into the Gulf of Mexico.-Geography:The Cheat is formed at...
Valley.
Maxwell married Anna H. Humphreys (of Fresno, California) on 8 December 1891 and they had 4 children: Selby Frederick (1894-1971), Marian (b. 1895), Anna (1900-1902), and Alexander Wilson (1905-1975). As a forester
Forester
250px|thumb|right|Foresters of [[Southern University of Chile|UACh]] in the [[Valdivian forest]]s of San Pablo de Tregua, ChileA forester is a person who practices forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including timber...
and topographer for the Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maxwell prepared several publications dealing with forestry. He was also a frequent camping companion of President Theodore Roosevelt. Over the years, the Maxwell family resided, successively, in Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
; Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
; and Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
.
In preparation for his more-than-1,000-page work A Tree History of the United States (1923), Maxwell visited every state in the Union at least once and examined 600 of the 680 tree species believed to exist in the country. In 1924 — aged 64 — Maxwell located and traced the old Indian pathway, the Seneca Trail, between Oakland, Maryland
Oakland, Maryland
Oakland is a town in the west-central part of Garrett County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 1,925 according to United States Census 2010 figures, it is the most populated community in Garrett County...
and Elkins, West Virginia
Elkins, West Virginia
Elkins is a city in Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. The community was incorporated in 1890 and named in honor of Stephen Benton Elkins , a U.S. Senator from West Virginia. The population was 7,032 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County...
— an immense physical effort of research requiring him to walk 150 miles.
Maxwell died at home in Evanston, Illinois, in 1927. He is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
.
Books
- Maxwell, Hu (1884), History of Tucker County, West Virginia, From the Earliest Explorations and Settlements to the Present Time, Kingwood, W.Va: Preston Publishing Company. (Reprinted, McClain Printing CompanyMcClain Printing CompanyThe McClain Printing Company is a printing company specializing in books of West Virginia history and lore. The company was incorporated in 1958 in Parsons, West Virginia as an outgrowth of the local weekly newspaper, the Parsons Advocate.-History:...
, Parsons, W.Va.Parsons, West VirginiaThe town of Parsons is the county seat of Tucker County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 1,463 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Parsons is Dorothy Judy and the city administrator is Jason Myers...
, 1971). - Maxwell, Hu (1887), Idyls of the Golden Shore (Volume of poetry)
- Maxwell, Hu (1893), Evans and Sontag, the Famous Bandits of California; Supplemental material by Charles W. Clough.
- Maxwell, Hu, and H.L. Swisher (1897), History of Hampshire County, West Virginia: from its Earliest Settlement to the Present, Morgantown, WV: A. Brown Boughner, (Reprinted, Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Printing Co., 1972)
- Maxwell, Hu (1898), The History of Randolph County, West Virginia, From its Earliest Settlement to the Present, The Acme Publishing Company, Morgantown, W.Va. (Reprinted, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, W.Va., 1961).
- Maxwell, Hu (1899), The History of Barbour County, From its Earliest Exploration and Settlement to the Present Time, The Acme Publishing Company, Morgantown, W.Va. (Reprinted, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, W.Va., 1968).
- Hill, A.F. (1900), The White Rocks, or: The Robber's Den, a Tragedy of the Mountains, Morgantown, WV: Acme Press, Illustrated by H.L. Swisher and Hu Maxwell.
- Fast, Richard Ellsworth and Hu Maxwell (1901), The History and Government of West Virginia, Morgantown, WV: The Acme Publishing Company.
- Maxwell, Hu (1902), Jonathan Fish and His Neighbors, Mogantown, W. Va.: Acme Publishing.
- Miller, Thomas Condit and Hu Maxwell (1913), West Virginia and its People, 3 volumes, Lewis Hist. Pub. Co.
- Cobb, William H., Andrew Price and Hu Maxwell (1921), History of the Mingo Indians, Cumberland, Md.: F.B. Jenvy, printer.
- Maxwell, Hu (1923), A Tree History of the United States.
Articles, monographs and contributions
- Maxwell, Hu (1901), “West Virginia a Century Ago”, The Transallegheny Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, Issue 1, October 1901; pp 234-236.
- Maxwell, Hu (1902), “The Retreat of General Robert S. Garnett”, The Transallegheny Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, Issue 3, April 1902; pp 225-233.
- Maxwell, Hu (1902), “Early Orchards in West Virginia”, The Transallegheny Historical Magazine, Vol. 2, Issue 1; Oct 1902; pg 64.
- Maxwell, Hu (1902), “The Last Survivor of the Battle of Point Pleasant” , The Transallegheny Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, Issue 3, April 1902; pp 234-236.
- Maxwell, Hu (1907), “Part First—State History"; In: Cutright, W.B. (1907), The History of Upshur County, West Virginia, from its Earliest Exploration and Settlement to the Present Time.
- Maxwell, Hu (1909), “Col. Lowther's Cabin”, Illustrated Monthly West Virginian; 2:5 Jan/Feb 1909, pg l5.
- Maxwell, Hu (1910), “The Use and Abuse of Forests by the Virginia Indians”, William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine 19 (October 1910): 73-103.
- Hall, William L. and Hu Maxwell (1911), Uses of Commercial Woods of the United States: II Pines, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office [Forest Service Bulletin 99].
- Maxwell, Hu (1924), "The Seneca Indian Trail"; Article published in The Tucker Democrat (Tucker County, West Virginia, newspaper; defunct since 1954); Reprinted in West Virginia Review; 2:1 Aug 1925, pp 393-395. Reprinted by Randolph County Historical Society: Magazine of History and Biography; 11, 1954; pp 96-101. [Cited in: Fansler, Homer Floyd (1962), History of Tucker County, West Virginia; Parsons, West VirginiaParsons, West VirginiaThe town of Parsons is the county seat of Tucker County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 1,463 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Parsons is Dorothy Judy and the city administrator is Jason Myers...
: McClain Printing CompanyMcClain Printing CompanyThe McClain Printing Company is a printing company specializing in books of West Virginia history and lore. The company was incorporated in 1958 in Parsons, West Virginia as an outgrowth of the local weekly newspaper, the Parsons Advocate.-History:...
, pg 40 (note 73).] - Maxwell, Hu (1925), "Pioneer Sawmills of the Appalachian Region", Amer. Lumberman, 2599: pp 56-57.
Unpublished Manuscripts
- Maxwell, Hu (?date), "The Conquest of the Ohio Valley" (unfinished)
- Maxwell, Hu (?date), "History of Monongalia County" [According to botanist Earl L. Core (In: The Monongalia Story: A Bicentennial History, Vol. I: Prelude (1974), Parsons, W.Va.: McClain Printing Co., n. 43, pg 69.), this "partially printed but unpublished" work includes a Chapter 2 entitled "The Vegetation Found by the Pioneers" (pp 21-55) that "contains a vast amount of early plant lore".]