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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>The Political Graveyard: Putnam County, W.Va.</title> <meta name="description" content="A database of political history and cemeteries, with brief biographical entries for 338,260 U.S. political figures, living and dead, from the 1700s to the present."> <meta name="keywords" content="political biography history genealogy cemeteries politics candidates congress senators legislators governors politicians biographies ancestors mayors birthplace geography elections"> <meta name="author" content="Lawrence Kestenbaum"> <script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-7383562-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'https://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://politicalgraveyard.com/css/ftabmenu.js"> </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/css/ftabmenu.css" /> <script type="text/javascript"> ftabmenu.definemenu("ftabs",7) </script> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFDD" text="#000000" link="#cc0000" alink="#ff0000" vlink="#760000"> <style type="text/css"> p {font-family:georgia,garamond,serif} td {font-family:georgia,garamond,serif} A:link {text-decoration: none} A:visited {text-decoration: none} A:active {text-decoration: none} A:hover {text-decoration: underline} </style> PoliticalGraveyard.com <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/index.html" border=0> <img src="https://politicalgraveyard.com/images/tpgmain6.gif" width=450 height=216 border=0 alt="The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History"></a> Putnam County West Virginia <div id="ftabs" class="basictab"><ul> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/">TPG Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU.html">County</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-votes.html">Votes</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-parties.html">Parties</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-born.html">Born</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-lived.html">Lived</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-died.html">Died</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-buried.html">Buried</a></li> <li><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/search.html">Search</a></li> </ul></div> Cemeteries and Memorial Sites of Politicians in Putnam County <table width=100%><tr><td valign="top"> Index to Locations <li><a href="#cms01331">Walnut Grove Cemetery</a> <li>Hurricane <a href="#cms08684">Hurricane Cemetery</a> <li>Red House <a href="#cms09902">Grandview Cemetery</a> <li>Red House <a href="#cms09335">New Antioch Cemetery</a> <li>Winfield <a href="#cms08972">Winfield Cemetery</a> </ul> <hr> <a name="cms01331">Walnut Grove Cemetery</a> Putnam County, West Virginia <table width=100% align="left" cellpadding=5> <tr><td colspan=2>Politicians buried here:</td></tr> <tr><td width=82 align="right" valign="top"> </td><td valign="top"><img src="rd.gif" width=13 height=13> George William Summers (1804-1868) — also known as George W. Summers — of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/KA-lived.html">Kanawha County</a>, Va. (now W.Va.). Born in Virginia, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1804/index.html">1804</a>. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/lawyer.html">Lawyer</a>; member of Virginia state legislature, 1840; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/VA/ofc/usrep.html">U.S. Representative from Virginia</a>, 1841-45 (19th District 1841-43, 14th District 1843-45); <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/VA/ofc/seccn.html">delegate to Virginia secession convention</a> from Kanawha County, 1861. Slaveowner. Died in <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1868/index.html">1868</a> (age <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/death/age/64.html">about 64 years</a>). Interment at Walnut Grove Cemetery. <table width=100% align="left"><tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">Relatives: Married, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1843/02-07.html">February 7, 1843</a>, to Amacetta Laidley (daughter of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ladislas-lair.html#683.81.86">John Osborn Laidley</a>; sister of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ladislas-lair.html#924.65.37">William Sidney Laidley</a>; aunt of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ladislas-lair.html#654.51.47">John B. Laidley</a>).</td></tr> <tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top"> Political family: <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/families/15202.html">Laidley family</a> of Cabell County, West Virginia.</td></tr> <tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">See also <a href="https://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S001066">congressional biography</a> — <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=410520">Govtrack.us page</a></td></tr> </table> </td></tr> </table> <hr> <a name="cms08684">Hurricane Cemetery</a> Hurricane, Putnam County, West Virginia See also <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1328853&">Findagrave page</a> for this location. <table width=100% align="left" cellpadding=5> <tr><td colspan=2>Politicians buried here:</td></tr> <tr><td width=82 align="right" valign="top"> </td><td valign="top"><img src="rd.gif" width=13 height=13> James Taliaferro Garrett (1865-1962) — also known as J. T. Garrett — of Hurricane, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-lived.html">Putnam County</a>, W.Va. Born in <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-born.html">Putnam County</a>, W.Va., <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1865/10-09.html">October 9, 1865</a>. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/teacher.html">School teacher</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/insurance.html">insurance business</a>; member of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/stsen.html">West Virginia state senate</a> 5th District, 1933-36. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/baptist.html">Baptist</a>. Member, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/sons-am-rev.html">Sons of the American Revolution</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/masons.html">Freemasons</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/oes.html">Order of the Eastern Star</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/shriners.html">Shriners</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/knights-pythias.html">Knights of Pythias</a>. Died in Dallas, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/TX/DA-died.html">Dallas County</a>, Tex., <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1962/05-24.html">May 24, 1962</a> (age <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/death/age/96.html">96 years, 227 days</a>). <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/plcrem.html">Cremated</a>; ashes interred at Hurricane Cemetery. <table width=100% align="left"><tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">Relatives: Son of John H. Garrett and Martha (Hill) Garrett; married, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1896/02-26.html">February 26, 1896</a>, to Emma Ottale Dudding.</td></tr> <tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">See also <a href="https://findagrave.com/memorial/54581081">Find-A-Grave memorial</a></td></tr> </table> </td></tr> </table> <hr> <a name="cms09902">Grandview Cemetery</a> Red House, Putnam County, West Virginia <table width=100% align="left" cellpadding=5> <tr><td colspan=2>Politicians buried here:</td></tr> <tr><td width=82 align="right" valign="top"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/politicalgraveyard/8413558882/"><img src="https://politicalgraveyard.com/thumb/386/83.95.jpg" width=70 height=106 border=0 alt="R. L. Matthews"></a></td><td valign="top"><img src="rd.gif" width=13 height=13> Romulus Lee Matthews (1870-1954) — also known as R. L. Matthews — of Montgomery, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/FA-lived.html">Fayette County</a>, W.Va. Born in Buffalo, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-born.html">Putnam County</a>, W.Va., <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1870/09-28.html">September 28, 1870</a>. Democrat. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/teacher.html">School teacher</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/drugs.html">pharmacist</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/banking.html">banker</a>; member of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/sthse.html">West Virginia state house of delegates</a> from Fayette County, 1929-34, 1937-42, 1945-50; candidate for <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/stsen.html">West Virginia state senate</a> 9th District, 1934. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/protestant.html">Protestant</a>. Member, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/masons.html">Freemasons</a>. Died in Montgomery, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/FA-died.html">Fayette County</a>, W.Va., <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1954/12-16.html">December 16, 1954</a> (age <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/death/age/84.html">84 years, 79 days</a>). Interment at Grandview Cemetery. <table width=100% align="left"><tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">Relatives: Son of Levi Walter Matthews and Prudence Abigail (Williams) Matthews.</td></tr> <tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">See also <a href="https://findagrave.com/memorial/88544460">Find-A-Grave memorial</a></td></tr> <tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">Image source: West Virginia Blue Book 1929</td></tr> </table> </td></tr> </table> <hr> <a name="cms09335">New Antioch Cemetery</a> Red House, Putnam County, West Virginia See also <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=478345&">Findagrave page</a> for this location. <table width=100% align="left" cellpadding=5> <tr><td colspan=2>Politicians buried here:</td></tr> <tr><td width=82 align="right" valign="top"> </td><td valign="top"><img src="rd.gif" width=13 height=13> Robert Lawrence Gibson (1895-1966) — also known as Robert L. Gibson — of Bancroft, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-lived.html">Putnam County</a>, W.Va. Born in <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/KA-born.html">Kanawha County</a>, W.Va., <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1895/06-13.html">June 13, 1895</a>. Democrat. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/merchant.html">Merchant</a>; member of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/sthse.html">West Virginia state house of delegates</a> from Putnam County, 1931-32, 1941-42; defeated, 1928. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/pentecostal.html">Church of God</a>. Member, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/knights-pythias.html">Knights of Pythias</a>; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/group/odd-fellows.html">Odd Fellows</a>. Died in Bancroft, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-died.html">Putnam County</a>, W.Va., <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1966/12-18.html">December 18, 1966</a> (age <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/death/age/71.html">71 years, 188 days</a>). Interment at New Antioch Cemetery. <table width=100% align="left"><tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">Relatives: Son of Richard Gibson and Mary Jane (Landers) Gibson; married, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1914/12-26.html">December 26, 1914</a>, to Fern Shank.</td></tr> <tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">See also <a href="https://findagrave.com/memorial/63947290">Find-A-Grave memorial</a></td></tr> </table> </td></tr> </table> <hr> <a name="cms08972">Winfield Cemetery</a> Winfield, Putnam County, West Virginia See also <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2261729&">Findagrave page</a> for this location. <table width=100% align="left" cellpadding=5> <tr><td colspan=2>Politicians buried here:</td></tr> <tr><td width=82 align="right" valign="top"> </td><td valign="top"><img src="rd.gif" width=13 height=13> William Gray Barnhart (1880-1921) — also known as William G. Barnhart — of Winfield, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-lived.html">Putnam County</a>, W.Va.; Charleston, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/KA-lived.html">Kanawha County</a>, W.Va. Born near Buffalo, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-born.html">Putnam County</a>, Va. (now W.Va.), <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1880/04-15.html">April 15, 1880</a>. Democrat. <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/occ/lawyer.html">Lawyer</a>; member of <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/sthse.html">West Virginia state house of delegates</a> from Putnam County, 1903-04; <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/usatty.html">U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia</a>, 1913-17. Died, from <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/death/infection.html">septicemia</a>, in Charleston, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/KA-died.html">Kanawha County</a>, W.Va., <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1921/12-24.html">December 24, 1921</a> (age <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/death/age/41.html">41 years, 253 days</a>). Interment at Winfield Cemetery. <table width=100% align="left"><tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">Relatives: Son of Lewis Barnhart and Isabel (Hartley) Barnhart; married, <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/chrono/1908/01-01.html">January 1, 1908</a>, to Frances Ellen Goodwin.</td></tr> <tr><td width=20> </td> <td width=26 valign="top"><img src="hand.gif" width=26 height=17></td> <td valign="top">See also <a href="https://findagrave.com/memorial/59440151">Find-A-Grave memorial</a></td></tr> </table> </td></tr> </table> </td> <td width=180 align="center" valign="center"> </td></tr></table> <hr> <table width=100%> <tr><td align="center"> "Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard." Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872</td> <td><a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/"> <img src="https://politicalgraveyard.com/images/tpgsub.gif" width=450 height=71 align="right" border=0 alt="The Political Graveyard"></a></td></tr></table> <table width=100% cellpadding=2> <tr><td colspan=3> <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/index.html">The Political Graveyard</a> is a web site about U.S. political history and cemeteries. Founded in 1996, it is the Internet's most comprehensive free source for American political biography, listing 338,260 politicians, living and dead.</td></tr> <tr><td colspan=3> </td></tr> <tr><td width=32 align="right" valign="top"> </td> <td valign="top"> <img src="rd.gif" width=10 height=10> The coverage of this site includes (1) the President, Vice President, members of Congress, elected state and territorial officeholders in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories; and the chief elected official, typically the mayor, of qualifying municipalities; (2) candidates at election, including primaries, for any of the above; (3) all federal judges and all state appellate judges; (4) certain federal officials, including the federal cabinet, diplomatic chiefs of mission, consuls, U.S. district attorneys, collectors of customs and internal revenue, members of major federal commissions; and political appointee (pre-1969) postmasters of qualifying communities; (5) state and national political party officials, including delegates, alternate delegates, and other participants in national party nominating conventions; (6) Americans who served as "honorary" consuls for other nations before 1950. Note: municipalities or communities "qualify", for Political Graveyard purposes, if they have at least half a million person-years of history, inclusive of predecessor, successor, and merged entities.</td> <td width=100 align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr> <tr><td width=32 align="right" valign="top"> </td> <td valign="top"> <img src="rd.gif" width=10 height=10> The listings are incomplete; development of the database is a continually ongoing project.</td> <td width=100 align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr> <tr><td width=32 align="right" valign="top"> </td> <td valign="top"> <img src="rd.gif" width=10 height=10> Information on this page — and on all other pages of this site — is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. Users are advised to check with other sources before relying on any information here.</td> <td width=100 align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr> <tr><td width=32 align="right" valign="top"> </td> <td valign="top"> <img src="rd.gif" width=10 height=10> The official URL for this page is: <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-buried.html">https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/PU-buried.html</a>.</td> <td width=100 align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr> <tr><td width=32 align="right" valign="top"> </td> <td valign="top"> <img src="rd.gif" width=10 height=10> Links to this or any other Political Graveyard page are welcome, but specific page addresses may sometimes change as the site develops.</td> <td width=100 align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr> <tr><td width=32 align="right" valign="top"> </td> <td valign="top"> <img src="rd.gif" width=10 height=10> If you are searching for a specific named individual, try the <a href="https://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html">alphabetical index of politicians</a>.</td> <td width=100 align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan=3 align="left" valign="top"> Copyright notices: (1) Facts are not subject to copyright; see <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/499_US_340.htm">Feist v. Rural Telephone</a>. (2) Politician portraits displayed on this site are 70-pixel-wide monochrome thumbnail images, which I believe to constitute fair use under applicable copyright law. Where possible, each image is linked to its online source. However, requests from owners of copyrighted images to delete them from this site are honored. (3) Original material, programming, selection and arrangement are © 1996-2025 Lawrence Kestenbaum. (4) This work is also licensed for free non-commercial re-use, with attribution, under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons License</a>.</td></tr> <tr><td colspan=3 align="left" valign="top"> What is a "political graveyard"? See <a href="https://politicaldictionary.com/words/political-graveyard">Political Dictionary</a>; <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=political%20graveyard">Urban Dictionary</a>.</td></tr> <tr><td colspan=3 align="left" valign="top"> Site information: The Political Graveyard is created and maintained by Lawrence Kestenbaum, who is solely responsible for its structure and content. — The mailing address is The Political Graveyard, P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. — This site is hosted by <a href="https://www.hdlmi.com">HDLmi.com</a>. — The Political Graveyard opened on July 1, 1996; the last full revision was done on February 17, 2025. </td></tr> </table> </body> </html>