U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bennett, William R. (1864-1929) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Men of West Virginia, Volume II Biographical Publishing Company George Richmond, Pres.: C. R. Arnold, Sec'y and Treas. Chicago, Illinois, 1903 Pages 707-709 HON. W. R. BENNETT, judge of the Criminal Court of Fayette County, West Virginia, and one of the most prominent citizens of Montgomery, was born in Fayette County, August 7, 1864. He is a son of Thomas and Mary D. (Ryan) Bennett, the former of whom resides in Nicholas County and the latter of whom died in 1899. The Bennett family is an old established one of Virginia, and there the grandfather. Elijah Bennett, was born. He was one of the very early settlers in the western part of Old Dominion, now included in West Virginia, and died in Greenbrier County when his son Thomas was a boy. Thomas Bennett was born in Greenbrier County and removed to Fayette County when about 30 years old. There he married Mary D. Ryan, who was a daughter of Col. William W. and Sally (Hundley) Ryan, both of whom were natives of Albermarle County, Virginia. Early in the "thirties," Colonel Ryan and his family started to move to Ohio, but after crossing the mountains they found such pleasant locations in Fayette County, that they decided to remain there. Consequently Colonel Ryan bought a farm of 100 acres in the woods, near the Gauley River. There he built his house, worked in the summers on his land and taught the country school in the winters and became a successful and well known man. He was a great student and very familiar with the Bible. Both he and his wife were very consistent members of the Methodist Church, people admirable in life and character. Colonel Ryan died at the age of 85 and his wife a short time before, aged 84 years, both in Clay County. Only one of their family of 10 children still survives, Rev. E. W. Ryan, who is a presiding elder in the church at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prior to removing thither, Rev. Mr. Ryan was very prominent both in church and public life, and was a member of the Constitutional Convention that adopted the State Constitution, before he was 21 years of age. The family has long been prominent and has always been opposed to slavery. Judge Bennett is the fourth member of a family of 13 children born to his parents, six surviving. His father moved to Laurel Creek, Nicholas County, in 1868 when our subject was six years of age. Judge Bennett was reared on the farm and attended the common and high schools until the age of 18, when he was qualified to teach and as a teacher in Nicholas and Fayette counties he spent several years. At the age of 22 he married Anna Drennen, of Nicholas County, who died four years later, leaving two sons, — Romeo and Edward, — now aged respectively, 15 and 14 years. On May 4, 1897, Judge Bennett married Anna Kuhn, of Kanawha County, and they have children as follows: W. R., Jr., Mary Thelma, and Elijah Jacob. Judge Bennett was 26 years of age when he turned his attention to the study of the law, and his reading was done while occupied with farm duties. Steady application combined with natural ability and understanding enabled him to prepare himself for examination and this he successfully passed at Huntington, May 16, 1893, and on the same date he was admitted to the West Virginia bar. He then spent four months teaching, at Montgomery, suspending at the time of the Eagle riot, being then employed as counsel for the United Mine Workers of America and was their counsel until he went on the bench. Then he commenced his practice and soon came prominently into notice. On June 7, 1902 the United Mine Workers of America declared a strike. He had been their fair and impartial counselor for some time and when he became a candidate for judge they cast their votes in favor of one they believed their friend and knew to be an honest man, and he not only was nominated for the judgeship but was elected by a large majority, although bitterly opposed by the mountain corporations. His sympathies have always been with the laboring classes and he has many warm friends all through the Kanawha and New River mining regions, and in the vicinity of his home. Judge Bennett may be said to be a self-made man. When he removed to Montgomery 10 years ago, he was called upon to pit his legal ability against old and tried jurists, — graduates of law universities. It has yet to be discovered when he was ever found lacking either in knowledge or judgment. When he gave up his private practice for the bench, it was bringing him an income of $3,000 per year. His course has met with general approval and it is safe to predict that higher honors await Judge Bennett. Fraternally he belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men. Religiously he is a Methodist. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DEATH CERTIFICATE, Cabell County WV, #4168 FULL-NAME: William Ryan Bennett BIRTH-DATE: August 1865 BIRTH-PLACE: Fayette Co., W.Va. DEATH-DATE: March 16, 1929 AGE-AT-DEATH: 63y-7m DEATH-PLACE: Bates Sanetarium, Huntington, Cabell County, WV USUAL-RESIDENCE: Fayetteville, W.Va. MARITAL-STATUS: Married (Annie Bennett) OCCUPATION: Lawyer FATHER: Thomas Bennett (born in Greenbrier Co., W.Va.) MOTHER: Mary Ryan CAUSE-OF-DEATH: Lobar Pneumonia INFORMANT: R. Bennett (of Fayetteville, W.Va.) BURIAL: Fayetteville, W.Va. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tombstone in Bennett Cemetery, Fayetteville, Fayette County, WV William R. Bennett (1865-1929) Letitia Bennett (1866-1949) ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Fayette County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/fayette/bios.html -------------------------------------------------------------------