It is said that great men come from the hills. If this statement were doubted, the incredulous would only need to glance over the history of southern Ohio and be convinced. With Somerset as the center, there can be found within a radius of fifty miles, the birth- places of more men of eminence than in any similar area in the United States. Perry county has furnished her quota in this array of celebrities. The men and women who braved the terrors of frontier life, to build for themselves homes in a new land were of a hardy and thrifty character. Their children schooled in this "rough and ready" life, developed the iron nerve and the conservative temper- ment, that makes man master of situations. From the rude homesteads on the hill-side farms. of old Perry, have gone out into the various avenues of life, men, who have been the progressive factors in the building up of many settlements in the great west and southwest. While they may not have attained to such a high eminence as some, yet they have filled their places and deserve no less credit for what they have done. It is with some degree of pride that we claim for Perry county, the birthplace of Stephen Benton Elkins.144
He was born on a farm about three miles southeast of Thornville, in Section 13, Thorn township, September 26, 1841, His early years were spent here. Moving with his parents to Missouri, he partly educated him- self in the public schools. At the age of only nineteen he graduated from the University of the State, with first honors. He then studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1863, joined the Union army, and served in the rank of Captain. Crossing the plains to New Mexico in 1864, he determined to win success in that sparsely settled border country. Seeing that his igno- rance of Spanish would be in the way of his ambition, he set to work and in one year was master of it. His clientage rapidly grew, and his popularity with it. For in less than two years after his arrival, he was elected to the territorial legislature. The next year he was made Attorney-General of the territory. The suc- ceeding year President Johnson appointed him United States District Attorney for New Mexico. While oc- cupying this position it became his duty to see that the law forbidding slavery should be enforced. This he did in such a decisive manner that it gave him greater prestige than ever. In 1869 he went into the banking business, thus beginning his phenomenal career as a financier. Investing his money judiciously in lands and mines, he became immensely wealthy. In 1873 he was elected Delegate to Congress from New Mexico and in 1875 he was re-elected. While in Congress, Mr. Elkins was married to a daughter of Senator Henry G. Davis of West Virginia. In 1878, leaving New Mexico, he went to West Vir- ginia, where he began the development of coal lands. He gave up the active practice of law and devoted his145
time entirely to the management of his business in- terests. While he has become a millionaire, himself, yet he has done an immeasurable amount of good to the people of his adopted state, by causing the invest- ment of capital. In 1891 President Harrison appointed him Secretary of War, and in 1895 he was elected United States Senator, which position he yet holds. He lives in a beautiful country home, "Hallie- hurst," at Elkins, Randolph county, West Virginia. This four story mansion stands on a mountain side of unusual beauty. It commands a magnificent view of the valley beneath and the forest and mountain peaks which frame the scene. In this magnificent home he spends his leisure among his books and friends. In addition to his many business duties he has not failed to drink at learning's fount, to become conversant with the best literature, and to make of himself a cultured gentleman in every respect. He is a man of strong and sturdy build, is more than six feet in height, has firm features, and a large head set firmly on his shoulders. Perry county has no reason to be ashamed of Ste- phen Benton Elkins, lawyer, financier, statesman and gentleman.146