Matthew Lee Beard, Sr.
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Lee Beard, as he was known to his family and friends, was a quiet, kindly man. He owned large acreage of lands and ran a progressive farming business. He was devoted to his family, friends, community, and church. He was especially interested in education for all children and played a major role in building Hillsboro High School.
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References
| Obituary - Matthew Lee Beard, aged 85 years, died Thursday May 12, 1938 after a long illness. On Saturday afternoon his body was buried in the family graveyard on the plantation west of Hillsboro. The funeral was conducted from the home by his pastor, Rev. R. Knight, of the Oak Grove Presbyterian church. Thus is chronicled the passing of one of our most prominent citizens and one of the best men Pocahontas County ever produced. he was a son of the late William T. and Mary McNeel Beard. His brother, Edgar, died many years since. he married Miss Emma Clark, who preceded him January 1, 1919. Their surviving sons are Henry, Assessor of Pocahontas County, and Joel; their daughters, Mrs. J. C. Johnson, Mrs. Eric Clutter, and Miss Leeta. A son, M. L. Jr. died about 16 months ago; another son, Earl met death by drowning in the Blue Hole, near Hillsboro, on January 4, 1924 and their oldest son, Sherman, died when a student in Hampden Sydney College in 1911. In his veins coursed the blood of such pioneer first families as Beard, McNeel, Edminston, Poage, Wallace and Warwick, and it can be truly said his life fulfilled the high traditions of such fine ancestry. Mr. Beard was the largest individual land owner and the heaviest taxpayer of this county. A lasting memorial to his broad vision and public spirit is the Hillsboro High School. Its establishment in no small part was due to his efforts and influence as member and president of the Levels District Board of Education. To the last year of his life he took an active and intelligent interest in public affairs. Only last summer he took a prominent place in the state convention of farmers at Jackson Mill. In religion, Mr. Beard was a member of the church of his fathers, the Presbyterian. He took an active part in the work of The Kingdom, and supported liberally all its causes. As a Ruling Elder he was prominent in the affairs of the congregation and in the courts of his church. While a man of big affairs, taking the place of leader in civil, business, and religious life of the county, I would remember my gentle kinsman is the man of the kindly understanding heart, who met the great of the earth on equal footing, yet deferred to the feelings of a child; whom wealth did not make proud, nor honors spoil, nor personal sorrow and bereavement bitter. |
| Lee Beard (1853-1938) son of
William T. Beard (1826-1903) and
Mary A. McNeel Beard (1851-1919) married Emma C. Clark
(1863-1919) daughter of Sherman Clark and Mary Frances Hill
Clark. They were the parents of eight children (1)
Mary Edgar
(1886-1965) married a Presbyterian Minister who was pastor of the Oak
Grove Presbyterian Church. They had four children (a)
Jacob Lee
Johnson, graduate of Hampden Sydney College AB, Unix of VA, AM now
retired Supt. Of Schools, Winchester VA. He married Jean Upsher.
They are the parents of two children. Jean Kern, a teacher and
Jackson Lee US Naval Academy graduate who married Rebecca: (b)
Mary Emma (1918-1978) a US Government worker for many years (c)
Anna Margaret (1921) graduated from Longworth College, retired
CIA employee, married Lloyd Langford. They have two sons, Robert
Elliot and
Frederick Coart, both students; (c)
Frederick Allen
(1927-1949) (2) William Sherman Allen (1890-1911) graduated from
GMS and died his senior year at Hamden Sydney College (3)
Joel Penick (1892-1966) married Mamie Cackley (1888_ who lives at
Hillsboro. They had two daughters (a)
Mary Frances (1917)
married John Stulting. They have two children,
Richard and
Ann;
(b) Virginia Lee (1921) married Hubert Callison (4)
Henry
Washington (1895-1951) a well known citizen of Hillsboro,
married Lucy McLaughlin. They had two sons: (1)
William Sherman,
AF pilot in WWII and progressive farmer; married Mary Alice
Young. They had three children: Kathryn married James Bloguh,
both graduates of WVU. They have 2 children, Matthew and Mark;
Ellen Lynn, graduate of Ohio State Univ in Veterinary Medicine,
lives in Danville, VA. William Sherman Jr. attended WVU and
lives on the family farm: (b) Robert Lee (1926) married Lois
Knight (1927). Both attended WVU. They have three children,
Nancy married William Ingram, one-son Robert. A Suzanne married
Stephen Cox. One daughter Stacy; Mathew Lee (1935) married
Gloria Sage, both graduates of Marshall College, one daughter
Emily. (5) Eva Margaret (1898-1977) married Eric Clutter
(1902-1971). They had three daughters (a)
Dorothy (1925) marries
Charles Callison. They had two daughters, Carol married Larry
Evans, one son. Paul Joseph; Cynthia a graduate of Penn State
University (b)
Margaret Ann
(1931) married James Reynolds and lives in
Sarasota, FL (c) Linda
(1937) married Thomas Walker. They have
two children, Kathryn and Thomas Wayne Jr. both in college. (6)
Earl Bright (1900-1924) died by drowning (7)
Leeta Emma (1904)
married Arden G. Killingsworth (1893-1972) a son of William
Jefferson Killingsworth. She is a retired Home Economics
teacher. He graduated from Marshall College, was a contractor,
coach, and teacher at Marlinton High School. (8)
Matthew Lee, Jr
(1906-1936) married Elizabeth Clark. One daughter,
Betty Leith
married Clarence N. Dorman. Jr. They have three children;
Donna,
Debra and
Clarence Neal III. Lee Beard, as he was known to his family and friends, was a quite, kindly man. He owned large acreage of lands and ran a progressive farming business. He was devoted to his family, friends, community, and church. He was especially interested in education for all children and played a major role in building Hillsboro High School. |
| Death Record : Matthew Lee Beard |
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Photograph: Matthew Lee Beard Sr. on Horseback — Preserving Pocahontas Archive A photograph of Matthew Lee Beard Sr. on horseback is held in the Preserving Pocahontas digital archive (Pocahontas County Historical Society). Caption: “Mr. Matthew Lee Beard, Sr. on horseback. Born at Mill Point May 23, 1853. Died at Hillsboro May 12, 1938. Parents were William T. and Mary McNeel Beard.” This is the only known individual photograph of Matthew Lee Beard Sr. found in any public archive. To locate the item, browse the archive by tag or contact the archive directly: 📷 Preserving Pocahontas — Browse tag “Matthew Lee Beard” For print reproductions contact: |
Oak Grove Presbyterian Church
From Two Hundred Years and Growing: A History of Oak Grove Presbyterian
Church (1988), which quotes the sessional records memorial: “Matthew
Lee Beard, Sr., was born May 26, 1853, and fell asleep May [1938] at the
age of 84 years, 11 months, and 16 days. He lived a quiet life in this
community. He united with the Oak Grove Church on confession of Faith
August 29, 1892. He was elected a Deacon on the second Sunday of September
1894. He was appointed superintendent of the Sunday School on April 28,
1900. He was elected and ordained an Elder of the Oak Grove Church May 19,
1912.” He served faithfully for twenty-six years as ruling elder.