PRINCETON — Resuming our look at the history of Mercer County, courtesy of Kyle McCormick’s “The Story of Mercer County,” (Charleston Publishing Co. 1957) and the signers of the Declaration of Independence, courtesy of Benson J. Lossing’s book “Lives of the Signers of   the Declaration of Independence,” which is a reprint of the 1848 original kindly provided on loan by Dr. O. J. Bailes, we now return to McCormick’s history of Bluefield.

The event that left the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency in the books of history took place on May 21, 1920, when representatives of the agency became engaged in a shootout with residents of Matewan in Mingo County, after the agency arrested Sid Hatfield, listed in McCormick’s account as chief of police in Matewan. Seven agents, including Thomas Felts’ relatives Albert C. Felts and Lee C. Felts, both of Bluefield, and J.W. Ferguson of Princeton, along with Mayor Cabell Testerman of Matewan and others.

The back story of Matewan was enmeshed in the story of the mine wars, where the United Mine Workers was a young organization trying to organize the miners and meeting opposition from the mine owners. Hatfield was a rarity in those days — an elected official (former McDowell County sheriff) who sympathized with the miners.

Getting back to the story, Hatfield had been arrested by the Baldwin-Felts contingent, and when they arrived at the Norfolk & Western depot, the shooting started, the agents’ weapons were already encased.

According to former West Virginia State Police Superintendent Jackson Arnold, whom McCormick interviewed, Hatfield had decided to join the agency, and the supposed arrest was a cover to transfer him out of town and place him as a mine guard at Beckley. The townspeople thought he was going to be killed and, hence, the gun battle, where the mayor was killed. Hatfield was later gunned down on the McDowell County Courthouse steps by Baldwin-Felts agents.

 According to the late W.E.E. Roepler, of Bluefield, the secretary of the Pocahontas Coal Operators Association, told McCormick that John L. Lewis, president of the UMWA, was a genius in organizing men into an efficient organization and the only other man who could do it was Tom Felts.

Going to the Lossing book, we come upon George Read from Delaware who was born in Cecil Couty, Md. in 1734 as the eldest of six brothers. His grandfather came from Dublin, Ireland and his father emigrated to America from Ireland around 1726.

George went to a school in Chester, Pa. where he proved proficient in Latin and Greek, his father having instructed him before in a good English education.. He was placed

 in the charge of the Reverend Dr. Allison, whom instructed several Founding Fathers and others of influence.

At the age of 17, Read commenced the study of law in the Philadelphia law office of  John Borland. Borland befriended the young man, who was very studious. At the age of 19, Read was admitted to the bar, the beginning of his career in public service. His first act was reliquishing his share of his father’s estate to his brothers.

Read settled in the couty of New Castle, Del. and began a rapid rise in legal prominence, being appointed at the age of 29, Attorney General for the counties of Kent, Sussex and New Castle on the lower Delaware, succeeding John Ross. He soon married a relative of his predecessor.

Read was elected to the Provicial Assembly of Delaware in 1765 and served 11 consectutive one-year-terms there. He was active in drafting a protest ordinance over the Stamp Act, advocated for a general Congress to address the issues and supported and persuaded the people of Delaware to support non-imnportation agreements.

After the British Paliament passed the Boston Port Bill to punish the city for the Boston Tea Party, Read, along with Nicholas Van Dyke, was placed in charge of relief efforts. which he performed with great activity.

In 1774, Read, Caesar Rodney and Thomas M’Kean were appointed to the Continental Congress from Delaware. Read served there in 1775 and 1776 as well, spiltting time between there and his home state during the latter year. In 1777, he found himself acting as President of Delaware after his predecessor was arrested by the British Army. Read, himself, narrowly evaded capture.

Read was an earnest advocate and signer of the Declaration of Independence and was president of the state convention which approved it.

In August 1779, for health reasons, Read resigned from the assembly, but was re-elected the next year. In 1782, he was chosen as a member of  the Judges of the Court of Appeals in Admiralty cases, retaining the office until it was abolished. In 1785, he was appointed by Congress to serve as a judge in the territory dispute between Massachusetts and New York. In 1786, he served as a member of the convention which met at Annapolis to consider and repair the defects of the Articles of Confederation, which led to the 1787 convention which led to the creation of the Constitution.

In 1788, Read was elected a member of the Delaware State Senate and served until 1793, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. He served there until his death in 1798, age 64, of a sudden illness.

See you next time. This makes a good stopping point for this column. To share input on this column, contact me c/o “Mercer . County Memories” at jharvey1@frontiernet.net or delimartman@yahoo.com. You can also reach me c/o “Mercer County Memories” at the Princeton Times, P.O. Box 1199, Princeton, WV, 24740.