From "History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and 
Representative Citizens," by Hon. Gibson Lamb Cranmer, 1902. 
Pages 341-344.

Typed by Linda Fluharty.


COL. ROBERT WHITE, one of the most brilliant lawyers ever produced by the 
state of West Virginia, whose portrait is shown on the opposite page, was 
born at Romney, West Virginia, February 7, 1833, and comes of a 
distinguished line of ancestors.  Colonel White is a lineal descendant of 
Robert White, a Scotch surgeon in the British navy, who married a daughter 
of John Hoge, near York, Pennsylvania.
     The Colonel's grandfather, also named Robert White, was a resident of 
Winchester, Virginia, and at the early age of seventeen years became an 
officer in the Colonial army during the American Revolution.  He was 
seriously injured in the battle of Monmouth - a gunshot breaking one of his 
thigh bones.  He also received a blow on the head from a musket in the 
hands of a Hessian soldier, the scar of which he carried through life.  He 
was taken from the battlefield to his home at Winchester, where he was 
confined to his bed for two years, and during this time he took up the 
study of law.  He was admitted to the bar and soon after was made judge of 
his district, and then judge of the General Court of Appeals of Virginia, a 
position he held until his death, at Winchester, in 1830.  He married 
Arabella Baker, a daughter of John Baker, Sr., of Berkeley county, 
Virginia; her mother, Mrs. Judith (Wood) Baker, was a daughter of Peter and 
Susanna (Howard) Wood, and a granddaughter of Henry Howard, of Howard Hall, 
England, of the House of Norfolk.  A brother of Robert White, Alexander 
White, was an eminent statesman of the Revolutionary period, - he was a 
member of the Virginia House of Burgesses at the same time with Patrick 
Henry, and tradition has it that the latter never cast a vote without first 
consulting Mr. White.  He afterward served in the First and Second Congress 
of the United States, and was known as one of the most eloquent speakers of 
his day.
     John B. White, the father of the gentleman whose name heads these 
lines, was clerk of both the circuit and county courts of Hampshire county, 
then in Virginia (from which county Mineral county, West Virginia, was 
formed), from the time he reached his majority until his death at Richmond 
in October, 1862.  He was a man of unimpeachable character, and of high 
standing in the section in which he lived.  He married Frances A. Streit, a 
daughter of Christian Streit, a Lutheran minister and a friend and 
companion of General Muhlenberg of the Colonial army.  Rev. Mr. Streit was 
pastor of a church in Winchester from the close of the Revolutionary War 
until 1830, in which year he died.  Mrs. White died in 1867, having given 
birth to 12 children, among them Christian, who was a captain in the 
Confederate service, and since the war, clerk of the county court of 
Hampshire county, West Virginia; Alexander, who was a lieutenant in the 
Confederate army and died in 1884; and Henry, the youngest of the sons, who 
is living at Romney, West Virginia.
     Col. Robert White obtained his early education in the common schools 
of Virginia.  He then served in the county clerk's office with his father 
about six years, after which he entered upon the study of law in the school 
conducted by Judge Brockenbrough, at Lexington, Virginia.  He was admitted 
to the bar in 1854, and began practice at Romney.  About one year before 
the beginning of the Civil War he became captain of a Virginia uniformed 
volunteer military company, and at the opening of that memorable conflict 
was ordered by the governor of Virginia to report to "Stonewall" Jackson at 
Harper's Ferry.  He served with ability throughout the war, and was 
promoted to be major, then to the position of lieutenant-colonel, and 
finally to be colonel.  He remained in the service until May 14, 1865, saw 
much hard service, and was in many of the most bloody combats that took 
place on Virginia soil.  After the war he returned to Romney and owing to 
his father's death and the fact that he was the eldest of the family, 
virtually, became its head, and at once entered actively on the practice of 
his profession.  He was associated in practice with John J. Jacob until the 
latter was elected governor.  While residing at Romney, Colonel White 
commanded perhaps the largest practice ever had by any lawyer of that 
region of the state.  He devoted his greatest efforts toward developing the 
beautiful South Branch Valley, which had been so desolated by the war.  He 
prepared and secured the passage through the legislature of an act 
establishing the Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind, of West 
Virginia, and through his earnest efforts this institution was located in 
his native town.  He served as one of its directors for many years.  He 
also projected the railroad connecting Romney with the Baltimore & Ohio 
Railroad, and was president of the local company for years.  In 1876 
Colonel White was elected to the office of attorney general of West 
Virginia, and on April 1, 1877, removed to Wheeling, then the capital of 
the state.  When the Colonel left his old home the respect and love of the 
Romney people for himself and family was made evident; people of all 
classes turned out with two brass bands to escort them to the suburbs of 
the town, where an address was delivered by one of the old citizens, and 
the family left their old home with the regrets of the people.  Prior to 
the election of Colonel White to the office of attorney general, the 
railroads had never paid any taxes.  He instituted proceedings to tax all 
the railroads in the state.  The Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company 
obtained an injunction against the levying of the taxes and this led to a 
test case.  Colonel White argued the case in the lower courts, and the 
Supreme Court of West Virginia sustained his views.  The United States 
Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court of his state, and 
since that time the railroads have been compelled to pay thousands of 
dollars into the state treasury, thus greatly benefiting the people of the 
commonwealth and lessening their burdens.  Another case during his 
incumbency of the office of attorney general serves to illustrate his utter 
fearlessness in the discharge of what he considered his duty.  Elihu Gregg 
was convicted in the Circuit Court of Preston county of burning the court 
house and public records of the county, and also of burning the janitress, 
who was asleep in the building; Gregg was sentenced to death.  After 
sentence he escaped to Greene county, Pennsylvania, where he was among his 
friends - his being a prominent family of that region.  requisition was 
made by Governor Mathews, of West Virginia, and Colonel White, as attorney 
general, was requested to appear before Governor Hartranft, of 
Pennsylvania, and argue in favor of the extradition,  He did so, with the 
result that Governor Hartranft issued an order to extradite.  Gregg 
immediately obtained a writ of habeas corpus and was carried before the 
court of Greene county, presided over by Judge Wilson, then of Fayette 
county, Pennsylvania.  Colonel White found an infuriated mob of Gregg's 
friends awaiting his appearance, and the air was full of threats of 
lynching for the attorney who dared to attempt the extradition of Gregg.  
The Colonel was informed of this by a friend, who advised him to leave town 
quietly at once.  To this Colonel White replied he had a duty to perform, 
and would perform it if it were the will of a higher power, and if not he 
could but die in the attempt for right and justice. Accordingly he made his 
way to the court house and by a few well-chosen remarks secured the 
attention of the crowd.  Then in his masterly way he depicted the awful 
crime of a miscreant, and, warming to his subject, was on his feet five 
hours and twenty minutes, the result being that the prisoner was 
extradited.  Another case of particular importance was the test case of 
Kitzmiller vs. Williams, involving Confederate soldiers' belligerent 
rights, which, on the appeal from the Supreme Court of West Virginia, 
Colonel White argued before the United States Supreme Court and secured a 
favorable verdict.  Hundreds of similar cases had been fought, but not 
until this time were the rights of Confederate soldiers recognized.  
Colonel White declined to accept a re-election as attorney general, but has 
since been twice elected to the state legislature, first in 1885 and again 
in 1891.  He was an able, incorruptible and active legislator, and during 
both sessions was chairman of the finance committee and served on other 
important committees.  The legislature of 1891 was one composed largely of 
members of the same political faith as Colonel White.  These members signed 
and presented to the Colonel at the close of the session a testimonial such 
as perhaps no other official in public life ever received in this state, 
and one of which he may justly be proud.  It is as follows:
     "Hon. Robert White.  Sir: - Among the members of the Legislature of 
West Virginia there is a general desire to express to you in some formal 
way their appreciation of the great zeal, ability and untiring industry 
that have marked your course in the legislature this session.  As chairman 
of the Finance Committee of the House, the duties incumbent upon you have 
been exceeding important and exacting, both in the committee room and on 
the floor of the House.  In the performance of these duties you have been 
so zealous, industrious, painstaking and conservative as to attract the 
attention and win the respect and confidence of the entire legislature and 
to deserve the thanks and gratitude not only of your fellow members but of 
the people of the state at large.  Permit us, therefore, to tender to you 
some expression of our appreciation of the benefit to the state derived 
from your earnest labors and to say that we all feel that you have fully 
deserved not only our commendation but a right to the gratitude and respect 
of your fellow citizens throughout the state of West Virginia."
     February 22, 1885, Colonel White was appointed by the governor of West 
Virginia to represent the state at the dedication of the Washington 
Monument at Washington, D. C., and on that day acted as one of the 
assistants to the grand marshal.  He acted as grand marshal on the occasion 
of Admiral Dewey's visit to Wheeling, February 22, 1900, and was remembered 
by the Admiral, who subsequently sent the Colonel his picture with his 
compliments and signature at the top.  He has filled the office of city 
solicitor two terms, and for many years was one of the counsel for the B & 
O Railroad Company.  He has had charge of some of the most important cases 
that have ever come up for trial before the courts of the state.
     Colonel White was married in 1859 to Ellen E. Vass, a daughter of J. 
C. Vass, an official of the old Bank of Virginia, in Richmond.  They had 
six children, only one of whom is living, - Catherine, wife of Chiles M. 
Ferrell, of Richmond.  The others were: James C., who died in infancy; 
Robert, who died after the war; Marshall V., a business man of 
Philadelphia, who died in 1894, at the age of twenty-seven years; and 
Nellie, who died at the age of fourteen years.  Colonel White and his wife 
reside at their comfortable home at No. 125 Fourteenth street.  He has long 
been a ruling elder of the First Presbyterian church of Wheeling, and 
represented the presbytery at the centennial session of the general 
assembly at Philadelphia.  From early manhood he has been a Mason, and has 
been grand master of West Virginia.  On December 14, 1899, the one 
hundredth anniversary of the burial of George Washington, the Masonic 
fraternity of the world gathered at Mount Vernon, and the services held at 
Washington's death, one hundred years before, were as nearly as possible 
reproduced.  Colonel White had command on that occasion and stood by the 
side of President McKinley during the latter's speech. Politically he has 
always been a Democrat.  Of more recent years the Colonel has achieved note 
as a lecturer.  One of his lectures, entitled "The Old Foundation Stands," 
was prepared and delivered in reply to the attack upon the Old Testament by 
Colonel Ingersoll in his lecture, - "The Foundation of Faith." Colonel 
White has a number of times and in different states delivered this lecture 
and has hundreds of testimonials from public men and the press.  The summer 
of 1900 was spent by the Colonel in Europe.  He visited the village of 
Ober-Amergan and prepared an unsurpassed lecture on the "Passion Play of 
Ober-Ammergau," which is well received wherever presented.           

(Linda Cunningham Fluharty)