VIRGINIA BIOGRAPH Y
215
About 1 85 1 he became proprietor of a shoe
store and continued in the business until
i860, when he moved his family back to
the Newport News farm, his younger chil-
dren being sent to colleges. He became
totally blind soon after the war. He was a
successful business man, popular among his
associates, and was generous to a fault.
Parker West was a communicant of the
Hampton Baptist Church, and in early life
supported the Whig party in politics.
He married, in 1827. Mary Drummond Bell, born in 1801. died in 1865. and had issue: i. Margaret, born in 1828, died in 1829. 2. Mary E., born in 1831, died in 1898; married W. P. Marrow, and had William
D. and Betty B., married W. B. Vest. Mr. Marrow was a member of a volunteer com- pany. Wythe Rifles, before the war, and served in it as Company A, Thirty-second Virginia Infantry until the surrender. 3. Sarah Jane, born in 1832, died in 1844. 4- William D.. born 1833. died in 1862, having been discharged from his company in 186I/, to serve in the adjutant-general's of^ce in Richmond. 5. Elizabeth R., born 1835, died in 1885. 6. George B., of whom further. 7. Missouri P., born in 1841 ; married Mortimer Smith, and has Emily, who married William
E. Barrett.
George Benjamin W^est. son of Parker and Mary Drummond (Bell) West, was born in Newport News, Virginia, in 1839. He attended both public and private insti- tutions and the Hampton Academy in Hampton and completed his education by a classical course in the University of Vir- ginia. After the war he engaged in farm- ing and mercantile dealing at Newport News, which was then not even a village, only farm lands, and continued some time after the starting of the town in 1880. In 1891 he organized the Citizens and Marine Bank, being made its president, and has filled that high office to this time. Mr. West is a deacon of the Newport News Baptist Church, also holding the position of clerk. He has alwa\s affiliated with the Demo- cratic party in politics. A lifelong friend of advanced education, he renders valuable service to this cause in the capacity of trus- tee of Richmond College and a member of the Baptist Education Commission of Vir- ginia. Mr. West is liberal in his contribu- tions to charitable and beneficent organi- zations, bestowing his gifts without dis-
tinction as to color or creed; and is iden-
tified with all movements advancing the
moral welfare of his city. Backed by a
successful career as a merchant, active head
of a stable and well managed financial in-
stitution, Mr. West is rightly numbered
among the leaders in the business world of
Newport News. Respected and admired for
his material achievements, Mr. West is held
in high regard because of the sincerity and
firmness with which he has remained true
to the principles of honor and uprightness
in every department of life. His true worth
is garbed in a manner of cordial friendliness,
courtesy and consideration, marking his
every word and deed.
Henry Warden. Lee Hill Farm, now owned by Henry Warden, of Fredericks- burg, Virginia, was originally owned by General John Minor and by him occupied many years. In 1905 the estate was pur- chased by Mr. Warden, who, since 1898, has been a resident of Fredericksburg. The general name, "Lee Hill Farm" is applied to the estate as a whole, its sub-divisions being Brent's Mill Farm, The Bend, White Chim- neys, Merry Hill, Sligo and Hazel Hill.
Henry Warden, the fortunate possessor of this beautiful and valuable property, is a son of William G. Warden and a grand- son of John B. Warden, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. John B. Warden was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, but most of his life was spent in Pittsburgh, where he fol- lowed his trade of blacksmith, and became a boiler manufacturer. He was a soldier of the war of 1812 and a man of considerable influence. He married Annie Leeds of the early New Jersey family.
William G. Warden, son of John B. and Annie (Leeds) Warden, was born in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, in 1832, died April 9, 1895. He learned the trade of pattern- maker, later was associated with his father, as junior member of John B. Warden & Son, boiler-makers and engine builders. This was one of the celebrated engine build- ing firms of that day and a very prosperous one. During the early oil excitement in Pennsylvania, William G. Warden was en- gaged in the oil business in Pittsburgh. In 1865 he moved to Philadelphia where he died possessed of a large estate, his later years being devoted to its management. He mar- ried Sarah Wells Bushnell, of Pittsburgh,
