By Beverly Belcher Woody
The history of Patrick County is filled with stories of hardworking families who raised their children in the mountains, instilling in them the importance of faith, education, and service to others. Many of those children eventually ventured far beyond the familiar hills of home, becoming teachers, physicians, businessmen, and community leaders. Yet no matter how far their journeys took them, their roots remained firmly planted in Patrick County.
Such was the story of Spencer Wilson West and his wife, Ruth Ellen Hylton West, of the Meadows of Dan community. Together, they raised a family whose children would make their marks in education, medicine, industry, and public service.
Spencer Wilson West was born on the 10th of May 1862, the son of Wilson Jackson West and Elizabeth Cockram West of Patrick County. On the 7th of April 1892, Spencer married Miss Ruth Ellen Hylton, daughter of the Reverend Elkanah Bryant Hylton and Amanda Melvina Harmon of Floyd County, Virginia.
Over the next several years, Spencer and Ruth welcomed seven children into their home. As their family grew, so did the opportunities and challenges that accompanied life in the mountains during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Their first child, William Clyde West, was born the following year, in 1893. William Clyde pursued an education at William & Mary that eventually led him into the medical profession. He first married Miss Virginia DeHart, daughter of Charles Davis DeHart and Mary Omohundro Langhorne.
William Clyde also served in the National Guard, holding the rank of first lieutenant with the Medical Department Detachment of the 116th Infantry Regiment.
He went on to become a successful physician in Alexandria, Virginia, where he also served as the city’s health inspector. Although his professional career carried him far from the mountains of Patrick County, William Clyde maintained close ties to his family and the community where he had been raised.
The couple’s second son, Charles “Byrd” West, was born on the 30th of August 1894.
Like his older brother, Byrd valued education, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. On the 14th of December 1917, Byrd enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served as a seaman until his honorable discharge on the 6th of August 1919.
Following his military service, Byrd continued his education at Berea College in Kentucky, where he distinguished himself as both a scholar and a student leader.
Byrd married Miss Bertha Mershon of Erie, Pennsylvania, and devoted his professional life to education. He taught in Patrick County and Henderson, Kentucky, and eventually served as principal of Critz School.
Byrd was particularly passionate about providing children with adequate educational opportunities. In an article published in The Enterprise on April 15, 1926, he questioned how Patrick County children could possibly receive a proper education when many schools operated for only four and a half months each year.
His concerns were well-founded, and his words reflected the convictions of a man who understood that education could open doors that might otherwise remain closed.
Charles Byrd West passed away on the 26th of January 1974.
Spencer and Ruth’s third child, Francis “Frank” West, was born on the 14th of October 1898.
Frank also answered his country’s call during World War I, enlisting in Company I of the 13th Cavalry on the 22nd of March 1918. He served honorably until his discharge on the 5th of September 1919.
Following his military service, Frank pursued a career in medicine, attending the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. While there, he earned the distinction of serving as president of the medical student body, the highest student honor in the Department of Medicine.
Frank married Miss Elsie Marshall of Laurel Fork, Carroll County, Virginia. Elsie was the daughter of the well-known preacher Elder Joel Marshall and his wife, Susan Alice Brim.
After practicing medicine in the Laurel Fork community, Frank eventually established a successful medical practice in the Annapolis, Maryland area.
Sadly, his promising life and career came to a tragic end when he was killed in an automobile accident on the 19th of November 1946. He was only forty-eight years old.
Dr. Frank West was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery, leaving behind his wife, two daughters, and a son.
The fourth child of Spencer and Ruth, Coy Lee West, was born on the 6th of August 1899.
After attending Berea College, Coy left his mountain home in his early twenties and traveled to Detroit, Michigan, where the rapidly growing automobile industry offered exciting opportunities for ambitious young men.
Coy became an automotive engineer with the Hudson Motor Car Company, one of the most prominent automobile manufacturers of the era.
Although he had moved hundreds of miles from Patrick County, Coy found his bride among the young women of his home county.
On the 19th of June 1926, he married Miss Attie Mae DeHart in Detroit, Michigan. Attie was the daughter of William P. DeHart and Lucinda Ellen DeHart of Patrick County.
After spending their working years in Michigan, Coy and Attie returned to the Martinsville area following retirement. Upon their passing, both were laid to rest at Roselawn Burial Park in Martinsville, Virginia.
On the 23rd of August 1902, Spencer and Ruth welcomed their first daughter and fifth child, Clara Mae West.
Like her brother Byrd, Clara chose a career in education. For twelve years, she taught school on the mountain, helping educate the children of the same communities in which she had grown up.
Clara eventually married Charles Frederick Adams and moved to Martinsville, Virginia, where Charles worked as advertising manager for the Martinsville Daily Bulletin.
Clara lived to the remarkable age of ninety-five and was laid to rest at Roselawn Burial Park.
Spencer and Ruth’s sixth child, Nettie Jane West, was born on the 10th of July 1907.
Nettie also pursued higher education, attending Berea College in Kentucky, where she met Edmond Bradford Cooper, a young man from Maine. There is much more about Nettie in the articles below.
The youngest child of Spencer and Ruth West, Lola Cassie West, was born on the 15th of December 1909.
Sadly, little Lola’s life was brief. She passed away just two years later, bringing heartbreak to the West household.
While the surviving West children would grow up and make lives for themselves in different parts of the country, little Lola would forever remain a part of their family’s story.
Throughout the years of raising his family, Spencer West worked diligently to provide for his wife and children. He spent many years employed as a rural mail carrier, a position that would have required traveling on the winding mountain roads in all kinds of weather.
The 1930 United States Census places the West family along the Free Union to Rye Cove Road. That particular detail caught my attention because my friend Tina Puckett has spoken of her grandparents traveling from Vesta to Claudville to attend church, following this same road.
I can almost picture them setting out from Vesta in a horse and buggy, making their way down the mountainside along the narrow, winding road toward Dobyns and Claudville.
Today, we can travel these distances in a fraction of the time, but our ancestors made those journeys without the conveniences we so often take for granted.
Can you imagine traveling those mountain roads in the winter, especially when the weather turned bitterly cold or snow and ice covered the ground?
Our ancestors were certainly a determined and resourceful generation!
The West family experienced both great accomplishments and heartbreaking losses over the years. Spencer and Ruth watched their children pursue education and careers that would have been beyond the reach of many young people of their generation.
They also endured the sorrow of losing their youngest daughter in childhood, and Ruth would not live to see all the later chapters of her children’s lives.
Ruth Ellen Hylton West passed away on the 29th of April 1937, at the age of sixty-four, while staying at the Alexandria home of her son, Dr. William Clyde West, where she had been receiving medical treatment.
Her remains were returned to the family’s home community near Vesta for burial.
Her obituary described her as one of Patrick County’s most dearly loved citizens and praised her useful, happy Christian life and her willingness to minister to others.
It is touching to think that a woman who spent so much of her life caring for her family and neighbors was remembered with such affection.
As I researched the Spencer and Ruth West family, I was especially struck by the number of their children who pursued higher education and dedicated their lives to helping others.
Two sons became physicians, two children devoted themselves to education, another became an automotive engineer, and Nettie became an active and respected member of her community.
Their accomplishments speak volumes about the values instilled in them by their parents and the opportunities they worked so hard to pursue.
Thankfully, The Enterprise preserved quite a few accounts of the West family over the years. These newspaper articles allow us to follow the children from their youthful days attending neighborhood gatherings to their later achievements in education, medicine, and public service.
There is something particularly special about reading those old announcements. They provide a glimpse into the West family’s lives as events were actually unfolding, preserving details that might otherwise have been lost to time.
I have included several of those articles below, allowing the voices of the past to tell parts of the West family’s story in a way that I never could.
After all, that is one of the greatest joys of researching and sharing Patrick County history. Sometimes the most meaningful stories are not found in grand historical events, but in the everyday lives of families whose faith, determination, and love of home helped shape the communities we know today.
The Enterprise — February 27, 1913
Misses Hattie Bertie Gunter gave the young folks a sociable last Saturday afternoon. Among those present were Misses Alice and Josie Gunter, Cora Joyce, Daisy and Maud Underwood, and Messrs Walker, Grover and Murray Agee, Byrd and Frank West, Harve West, John Underwood, Fred Clifton, Carl Vipperman, Bob Cruise, Ither Earls and Homer Gunter. All reported a nice time.
The Enterprise — May 29, 1913
Misses Hattie and Bertie Gunter, Callie Bowling, Messrs. Francis and Byrd West, Lester and Willie Bowling and Abe Smart gave Miss Josie Gunter a surprise party on the night of the 16th, it being her seventeenth birthday. Two hours were spent in playing and singing, after which refreshments were served. All had a jolly time.
The Enterprise — June 18, 1914
“Mr. Clyde West returned to his home on the Meadows of Dan last week from William and Mary.”
The Enterprise — September 17, 1914
“Mr. Clyde West and his younger brother of Meadows of Dan and Mr. Vance Stedman of Stuart, left Tuesday for William and Mary College.”
The Enterprise — July 29, 1915
SLATE SUMMER SCHOOL
This school is located in Dan River District, Patrick County, Va., between Little Dan River and the Premium Orchard Company. It is in charge of Prof. Noah Shockley assisted by Jno. and Clyde West.
It was my privilege to visit the school on July 22, and up to that time 109 had been enrolled, in age from 5 to 45 years. 93 was the largest attendance for any one day. This school is destined to accomplish much permanent good.
Respectfully, S. G. DOBYNS.
Claudville, Va. July 27, 1915.
The Enterprise — August 4, 1921
“Mr. Frank West called on Miss Rosa Hopkins last Sunday.”
The Enterprise — February 28, 1924
Praises Byrd West
From the Berea College, Berea, Kentucky
February 18, 1924
To The Enterprise, Stuart, Virginia.
My dear Sir:
Readers of your paper will be interested to learn of the excellent record which has been made here in Berea College by Byrd West who comes here from your county.
He entered the Academy here in 1916. When the United States joined the Allies in the World War, he enlisted in the Navy and gave two years of service to the country on the fleet. He returned to Berea and entered college in 1920. During his stay here, he taught a number of classes in the Academy and the Foundation School and has rendered other important services for the institution. He is now president of the senior class, is president of the collegiate union, an organization to promote self-government, and has held other important student offices. All this bears evidence of his popularity with fellow students. In scholarship, he stands high.
In matters relating to his student conduct, Byrd West always stands for the best. His influence is most helpful in holding up the ideal of the institution.
Over here at Berea, everyone works. Students work to pay their expenses through school. Last year, the institution paid out in money and credits more than $100,000.00 for student labor to more than 1,900 students who earned sums varying from a few dollars to amounts large enough to pay practically all their expenses are in reach of the poorest fellow. From the fifth grade to the college senior, everyone works at something and gets paid for it. Byrd West works as vigorously as anyone.
The people of his home neighborhood and county have every reason to be proud of the record he has made and of the highest esteem in which he is held here on the campus. We’d like to have more like him.
Yours very truly,
John F. Smith
The Enterprise — April 15, 1926
What’s The Trouble?
What’s the trouble? Many of the schools in Patrick County closed at the end of four and a half months. We know that our children are bright, but they are not brilliant enough to do nine months work in four and a half months time. Unless something is done they are going to reach maturity without sufficient education to meet the competition of life.
We are living in an age of progress. Civil, educational, and industrial life is rushing forward in one overpowering tide, engulfing everything. The boy or girl of today who is not prepared for tomorrow will be left on the abandoned beach of a spent civilization. The world has made more progress during the last century and a half than it had made before since the days of Abraham. The world will likely make more progress during the next fifty years than it has during the last century and a half.
The next fifty years, probably the greatest period in the history of the world, belongs to your children. It is that age you are preparing them for. Four and a half months a year to prepare Patrick County’s girls and boys to meet the greatest age in history! Can we train the minds of these boys and girls to meet the keenest competition the world has known in four and a half months a year?
It can’t be done. Something must be done. What’s the trouble anyway?
C. Byrd West
The Enterprise — May 27, 1926
Patrick County Men Receive High Honor at M. C. Va.
The President of the student body is the highest honor a student in the Department of Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia. Mr. Frank West of Vesta, Va., who is a Senior Medical Student, has successfully held this high and honored position throughout the past college session. Mr. West has been an excellent executive and is admired by the entire faculty and student body.
At a recent student election, Mr. Frank Joyce, a Junior Dental Student was elected Vice-President of the student body for the session 1926-27. This position is the highest honor afforded in the Dental Department at M. C. Va. Mr. Joyce is a very popular young man, from Stuart, and is taking an active part in all phases of college activities. We feel sure that he will ably fill the position to which he has been elected.
The Enterprise — January 26, 1928
“Dr. Frank West of Laurel Fork and Miss Anna Sutphin of Dugspur were in Stuart Saturday night.”
The Enterprise — May 22, 1930
WEST—MARSHALL
The marriage of Miss Elsie Marshall, daughter of Elder and Mrs. J. E. Marshall, to Dr. Frank West, which occurred at Laurel Fork last Thursday, will be of interest to the many friends of the young couple.
Mrs. West is a very attractive and popular young woman, while Dr. West is a promising young physician of the Laurel Fork section.
Dr. and Mrs. West will make their home at Laurel Fork for the present.
The Enterprise — December 4, 1930
Dr. and Mrs. Frank West of Laurel Fork spent a short while Friday evening in Stuart, enroute from Richmond, where they had spent Thanksgiving.
The Berea Citizen — September 8, 1932
FORMER BEREA STUDENTS WED
Miss Nettie Jane West and Mr. Ed Cooper are Married in Virginia
A wedding of much interest was solemnized at the home of Mr. and Mrs. S. W. West, of Meadow of Dan, Patrick County, Virginia, Sunday, August 28th, 1932, when their daughter, Nettie Jane, became the bride of Mr. Edmond Bradford Cooper of Maine.
The ceremony took place in the yard, under the spreading maple trees, and was performed by Rev. M. Guy West, cousin of the bride.
The bride was beautifully gowned in white satin and lace, with a bridal wreath of orange blossoms, and carried a large bouquet of white roses and lilies of the valley. Her only attendant was her sister, Miss Clara Mae West, who wore yellow eyelet embroidery and net and a large picture hat, and carried a bouquet of yellow gladiolas and orchids.
Little Carolyn West of Detroit, Mich., niece of the bride, dressed in lavender organdy, acted as flower girl, carrying a basket of mixed cut flowers.
Mr. Edward Lafferty, from Kentucky, classmate of the bride and groom, was best man to the groom.
The bride was given in marriage by her father, Mr. S. W. West.
Immediately before the ceremony, the bridesmaid sang, “I Love You Truly.” The bridal chorus from Lohengrin was played by Mrs. Irene DeHart West, sister-in-law of the bride.
Following the ceremony a large wedding cake was cut by the bride, following the old custom, and served with other refreshments to the many guests gathered for the event, after which the bride and groom left by automobile for a tour of the Middle West and Canada.
The bride and groom are graduates of Berea College with the class of 1930 and have studied at George Washington University and University of Chicago, respectively.
They will make their home at Orono, Me., where the groom has a teaching position.
The Enterprise — May 6, 1937
MRS. RUTH E. WEST PASSES
This Community was shocked and grieved to learn of the passing of one of Patrick’s most dearly loved citizens, Mrs. Ruth E. West, 64, whose death occurred at Alexandria, Va., on April 29.
Mrs. West, wife of S. W. West of Meadows of Dan, had been in poor health for some time and for the past few months had been at the home of her son, Dr. W. C. West in Alexandria, where she had been receiving treatment, and it was thought would soon be able to return to her home, when she was suddenly stricken.
Her remains were brought to her old home near Vesta for burial. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. A. E. Estell and Eld. J. E. Marshall and occurred by a lovely floral tribute. The body was interred in the Cemetery near the home.
Bearers were: George Lewis, Eugene Cassell, Ben Clifton, Fred Clifton, Kelly Scott, Ben Hylton, Bob Barker, Earle West, Elijah West, Larkin Cockram, Babe Cockram, Posey Boyd, John West, Charlie West, Tump Spangler, Ted Jewel, and Jerry Wood.
Mrs. West was the daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Elkanah Hylton. She had spent a useful, happy, Christian life, ministering to others gladly. Her going leaves a gap which cannot be filled in her community.
The deceased is survived by her husband and the following children:
Dr. W. Clyde West of Alexandria; C. B. West of Henderson, Ky.; Dr. F. B. West of West River, Md.; Coy Lee West of Detroit, Mich.; Mrs. Charles Adams of Martinsville; and Mrs. Nettie Cooper of Auburn, Maine.
The Enterprise — November 21, 1946
DR. FRANK WEST DIES OF INJURIES RECEIVED IN WRECK
Dr. Frank West, former citizen of Patrick, son of S. W. West of Meadows of Dan, died Tuesday, following injuries sustained in an automobile wreck Monday.
Relatives were immediately notified of his critical condition, and later of his death. However no particulars are available at this time, other than that funeral services will be held Thursday and burial made in Arlington Cemetery. It is presumed that the accident occurred near his home in West River, Md., where he had a large practice.
Surviving are his wife, the former Miss Elsie Marshall, two daughters, and one son.
The Enterprise — June 9, 1955
The Critz school is progressing nicely under the principal, Mr. Byrd West.
According to an obituary published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on April 25, 2002, Nettie West Cooper died April 22 at age 94. A Berea College graduate, she and her husband, Edmond, lived in New England and New Jersey before settling in Newark, Delaware, in 1950, where he worked for DuPont. Nettie was active in community organizations, including the YWCA, League of Women Voters and American Association of University Women. She also enjoyed traveling, participating in book clubs, attending theater productions and gardening. She was survived by two sons, Peter and Wilson, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
For questions, comments, or story ideas, you may contact Woody at [email protected] or 276-692-9626.
