U.S. Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Haddox, Charles Edwin (1864-1908) ------------------------------------------------------------------- History of Ritchie County by Minnie Kendall Lowther Wheeling News Litho. Co., Wheeling W.Va., 1911 Pages 623-626 C. E. Haddox. — Few of the sons of Ritchie county have enjoyed a more enviable public record than that of the late C. E. Haddox. And few have climbed the rugged heights by thornier paths than the ones that his late feet have trod. Charles Edwin Haddox was born near the little town of Smithville, on April 18, 1864, and being deprived of his father's care when but a lad of tender years, he began the battle of life for himself, at the age of fourteen years, by entering the profession of teaching; and, four years later, he was made principal of the Cairo school, and at the age of twenty he was a member of the Board of Teachers' Examiners. At twenty-one, he was elected to the office of County Superintendent, a position which he filled for two consecutive terms. He was President of the Board of Education of Grant district for twelve years; was post-master at Cairo under the administrations of Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley; and was President of the Cairo Bank, the West Virginia Western Telephone Company, and Vice-President of the Oakland Pressed Brick Company for a number of years. In 1901, he was appointed as Warden of the State Prison at Moundsville, an appointment which came without any solicitation on his part, and in 1905 he was re-appointed. After going to Moundsville, he filled many positions of honor and trust outside of his labors within the walls of the prison, which were constant and continuous for the betterment of the condition of the unfortunate fellows-creatures that had been placed under his management. He made a wonderful record as a prison official, one that was recognized all over the country. He introduced many important innovations for the betterment of prisons in general; and was one of the chief advocates of the parole system; in fact, he was to a great extent responsible for its adoption. Making it possible through this system for a man serving his first prison term to be released, and to have the opportunity of redeeming himself among his friends under the guardianship of the state. His reforms at the State Prison were important and marked, and his ideas of management, as set forth in papers that he read on different occasions, were generally accepted. His work was of such a character as to place him in a high rank among the prison officials of the land, and to make him President of the National Prison Association, a position that he held at the time of his death. His whole soul and mind seemed to be centered in the noble work of uplifting the fallen, and at his post he stood as a faithful sentinel until his failing health compelled him to seek rest in a sanatorium at Battle Creek, Michigan, where he, amidst his halucinations, leaped to his death from a third-story window, on February 7, 1908. His remains were brought back to the prison, which was plunged into the deepest mourning; and the funeral, which took place on the afternoon of the tenth, was attended by the largest crowd that had ever been assembled in the little City of Moundsville. Governor W. M. O. Dawson and his staff and many other prominent personages from all over the state were present. And in the Mt. Olivet cemetery his narrow bed was made. He married Miss Ella Carroll, daughter of the late Sanford Carroll, of Cairo, and was the father of two sons, Homer and Harry, who with their mother live at Moundsville. Nearly every newspaper in the State commented favorably on the great work done by Mr. Haddox for the Penitentiary and its inmates. Among the number the following, which is a part of a series of extended comments on his life and work made by the "Wheeling Intelligencer" may be taken as fairly representative: "Often we hear the expression in some form, that a man has made himself a martyr to his work, and often these words are only the sympathetic commendation of sorrowing friends. Of the death of C. E. Haddox, which is recorded in the columns of the "Intelligencer" this morning, it may be truly said, that it was the price paid by a loyal, courageous, and sincere man for his devotion to duty. Mr. Haddox was one of the few great men in West Virginia — a man great in many things — whose modesty to a large extent hid his real worth from all who were not on most intimate terms with him. For seven years he was warden of the State Penitentiary, and in that time completely transformed that institution. His work in prison reform has been recognized by those familiar with it as one of the most brilliant and successful records in the country. But his active interests were by no means confined to the institution of which he was the head. He was a keen student of political economy, and few men, if any, have had more to do with shaping legislation during the past eight years than he has had. His advice was sought by many men on many questions, and his native common sense and clear and logical mind, rendered him one of the safest of counsellors. Personally he was kind, generous and warm-hearted. He made many friends and few enemies. Among the thousands who knew him well there will be few indeed who will not feel a distinct personal loss in his untimely taking off." On February 10, 1908, the House of Representatives of the West Virginia Legislation passed the following Resolutions: "Mr. McCrum offered the following: HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 2, in reference to the public services and death of Charles E. Haddox late warden of the West Virginia Penitentiary." "Whereas, it is with profound sorrow that the members of the Legislature now in extraordinary session assembled, learned of the untimely death of Chas. E. Haddox, late warden of the State Penitentiary, which occurred at Battle Creek, Michigan, on the 7th day of February, nineteen hundred eight; and, Whereas he had occupied the position of warden of the State Penitentiary from the year nineteen hundred one, until the time of his death with marked ability and unswerving fidelity, and by his untiring efforts made that institution one of the best equipped and efficiently managed prisons in the United States, and, Whereas, his reforms in the equipment and government of prisons gave him a world wide reputation, and led to his election as President of the National Prison Congress, which position he held at the time of his death; therefore be it Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, That his public services have been of inestimable value to this state and to the unfortunate men and women whose conditions he sought to better; and that in his demise the country has lost one of its most eminent and learned prison reformers, and the state a public servant of the highest order of integrity and ability." ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access other biographies for Ritchie County, WV by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/wv/ritchie/bios.html -------------------------------------------------------------------