Son of Michael Hager and Martha
Husband of Ruth Adkins
(daughter of
Adelphia Adkins & Joshua Adkins, Sr)
Father of
1. Alfred Allen Hager
2. Martha Hager
3. Montgomery A. Hager
4. Hezekiah Hager
5. Elizabeth Anna Hager
6. Enoch Adam Hager
7. Chloe B. Hager
8. John Wesley "Boy" Hager
9. Mary Delia Hager∼From the Boone County West Virginia History, 1990
by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Robert Hager
The Rev. Robert Hager was born 1810 in Cabell County, VA, the son of Michael and Martha Hager. He died in 1879 on Rock Castle Creek near Inez, KY. Robert married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Sr. and Adelphia Adkins.
He was one of our earliest and best known Methodist Ministers. He rode circuit over southern West Virginia (then Virginia), Ohio, and northern Kentucky. These trips to visit and establish churches were made by horseback over poor roads or no roads at all, during rain, sleet, snow and beautiful sunshine. He helped establish many churches in the above mentioned areas, married many couples, and helped bury their dead. We owe a great deal to these old ministers of the Gospel.
Robert Hager helped organize our State Government. His name is mentioned as a member of the Wheeling Constitutional Convention of 1861. He strongly supported the abolition of slavery and believed that all men were created equal. On June 20, 1863, Robert Hager, then 53, was listed as a delegate and again in 1864. In 1865, the Rev. Benjamin served as delegate from Boone County. In 1866, 1867, and 1868, the Rev. Robert Hager served as State Senator from this district. His pet project was a better education for the children of West Virginia.
Children of Robert and Ruth Hager were: Martha who m. William P. Lovejoy; Alfred Allen who m. lst Mahala Toney, 2nd Victoria Copley, 3rd Helen Delong; Elizabeth who m. Evermont Bias; Montgomery who m. Arminta Garrettson; Enoch who m. Nancy Jane Lucas; Chloe who m. Obediah Hager; John W. who m. lst Martha E. Hager, 2nd Frances Workman, 3rd Rebecca Bias, 4th Unknown, 5th Elizabeth Linville Sutphin; Mary who m. lst Robert H. Thompson, 2nd John D. Wood.
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager; Boone County West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Michael was the father of the Rev. Robert Hager, a Circuit Riding Methodist Minister, member of the Wheeling Convention and member of both the State Senate and House of Delegates. Robert told the members of the Wheeling Convention that the Union Men in Boone County did not have the courage to vote for secession because of threats and in fear of a drunken secession mob at the Court House. He stated that if the Union men would have had the courage to vote, the vote would have been defeated.
Submitted by: Bonita Hager Rollins, Hewett, WV; Boone County, West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Boone County and the Civil War
"The North and South had been in dispute for many years over the question of slavery. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860 and thus proved that those against slavery held the upper hand.
In April 1861 a convention was held in Richmond, Virginia and approved a secession ordinance. Most of the delegates west of the mountain opposed secession, thus the 1st Wheeling convention was held on May 13, 1861.
At the 2nd Wheeling Convention on June 11, 1861, Virginia had already joined the Confederate States of America, but delegates from 39 western counties pledged their loyalty to the United States of America. Boone County was represented at this convention by the Rev. Robert Hager, a Methodist Minister, from Six Mile on Spruce Fork and a ardent supporter of freedom. This Convention denied the right of their State to secede and declared vacant all the government offices of those who supported the Richmond Government. West Virginia was well on its way to becoming a state.
On June 20th a new government was organized by the delegates and recognized by the President and Congress. Francis H. Pierpont was elected Governor of the restored Government of Virginia just two years before the new state of West Virginia entered the Union on 20 June 1863."
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager
From the 5th Annual Hager Reunion Program
The following is a copy of a letter written by Robert Hager, when he was a member of the Legislature, and when the State Capitol was at Wheeling, West Virginia, and was writting to his son E. A. Hager:
Wheeling, Dec. 15th, 1868
Dear Son:
Yours of the 31st was gladly received; It found me well. I was glad to hear from you, and that all was well and doing well.
I received a letter from Alfred today; he said much about hunting. I expect the deer will all be killed before I get home.
We are getting along fine; I think we will get done the Code by the 20th Inst. If I can know when we will get through, I will write for a horse, if I know in time for a letter to get home in time for them to bring a horse to Brownstown.
I don't expect to write but one more letter, and that will be to Gomery, and that will be tomorrow, or next day, as I would get home before a letter wrote after that time.
I do not want you to get mad and eat up all the venison before I come home. Tell Nan to take good care of her boy, I expect he will be big enough to plow by spring; then you can hoe the corn and that will save her from that.
I will close for the present; it is almost nine o'clock, and is half a mile to the post office.
Yours as ever
Robert Hager
E. A. Hager
Nancy Hager
Cabell County Annals and Families by George Seldon Wallace, 1935
VI: THE FATEFUL YEARS 1860-1871
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=beca6000&id=I32562
Biographies of West Virginia statehood leaders were prepared by Marshall University Humanities Program graduate students enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Historical Studies" class at Marshall's South Charleston campus.
By Kelly L. Pruett
Robert Hagar
Robert Hagar (January 1, 1810-October 19, I878), delegate from Boone County, was born on Sixmile Creek in Boone County, when it was yet a part of Kanawha and Cabell counties. Hagar's family was of German origin. According to tradition its founders resided for a time in bucks County, Pennsylvania, before moving about 1790 to present Giles County, Virginia.
About 1807 three brothers, James, Michael, and Phillip, moved to present Boone County, West Virginia, where Robert, subject of this sketch, became one of the largest individual resident land owners in present West Virginia south of the Great Kanawha River. He was a Whig and a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church. About 1831 he married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Adkins, of Boone County. She bore him eleven children, two of whom, Montgomery and Enoch A., served in the Federal army in the War of Secession.
A circuit rider of wide contacts, the Rev. Hagar was a power in an area predominately confederate. He opposed secession and though designated inegularly, accepted membership in the Convention to make a constitution for the "State of Kanawha." As a constitution maker his chief interest was in free public schools which he believed would in time enable the new State to "catch up" with civilization. From 1863 to 1869, except the 1865 session, he was continuously associated with the West Virginia legislature, first as a delegate (1863-1864), Then senator (1866-1867), again as a delegate (1868), and finally as doorkeeper of the Senate for its 1869 session. In 1869 he gave his lands to his children and moved to Kentucky, where he died and is buried on Middle Fork of Rockcastle Creek about four miles from Inez, Martin County.
Sources:
Data gathered by Sigfus Olafson of Madison, West Virginia, who had access to Robert Hagar's Family Bible and to the records of Boone County.
Ambler, Charles H., Francis Haney Atwood and William B. Mathews, editors, Debates and Proceedings of the First Constitutional Convention of West Virginia (lS6l-1563),
pp. 7 2-7 3, Huntington: Gentry Brothers Printers.
Husband of Ruth Adkins
(daughter of
Adelphia Adkins & Joshua Adkins, Sr)
Father of
1. Alfred Allen Hager
2. Martha Hager
3. Montgomery A. Hager
4. Hezekiah Hager
5. Elizabeth Anna Hager
6. Enoch Adam Hager
7. Chloe B. Hager
8. John Wesley "Boy" Hager
9. Mary Delia Hager∼From the Boone County West Virginia History, 1990
by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Robert Hager
The Rev. Robert Hager was born 1810 in Cabell County, VA, the son of Michael and Martha Hager. He died in 1879 on Rock Castle Creek near Inez, KY. Robert married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Sr. and Adelphia Adkins.
He was one of our earliest and best known Methodist Ministers. He rode circuit over southern West Virginia (then Virginia), Ohio, and northern Kentucky. These trips to visit and establish churches were made by horseback over poor roads or no roads at all, during rain, sleet, snow and beautiful sunshine. He helped establish many churches in the above mentioned areas, married many couples, and helped bury their dead. We owe a great deal to these old ministers of the Gospel.
Robert Hager helped organize our State Government. His name is mentioned as a member of the Wheeling Constitutional Convention of 1861. He strongly supported the abolition of slavery and believed that all men were created equal. On June 20, 1863, Robert Hager, then 53, was listed as a delegate and again in 1864. In 1865, the Rev. Benjamin served as delegate from Boone County. In 1866, 1867, and 1868, the Rev. Robert Hager served as State Senator from this district. His pet project was a better education for the children of West Virginia.
Children of Robert and Ruth Hager were: Martha who m. William P. Lovejoy; Alfred Allen who m. lst Mahala Toney, 2nd Victoria Copley, 3rd Helen Delong; Elizabeth who m. Evermont Bias; Montgomery who m. Arminta Garrettson; Enoch who m. Nancy Jane Lucas; Chloe who m. Obediah Hager; John W. who m. lst Martha E. Hager, 2nd Frances Workman, 3rd Rebecca Bias, 4th Unknown, 5th Elizabeth Linville Sutphin; Mary who m. lst Robert H. Thompson, 2nd John D. Wood.
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager; Boone County West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Michael was the father of the Rev. Robert Hager, a Circuit Riding Methodist Minister, member of the Wheeling Convention and member of both the State Senate and House of Delegates. Robert told the members of the Wheeling Convention that the Union Men in Boone County did not have the courage to vote for secession because of threats and in fear of a drunken secession mob at the Court House. He stated that if the Union men would have had the courage to vote, the vote would have been defeated.
Submitted by: Bonita Hager Rollins, Hewett, WV; Boone County, West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Boone County and the Civil War
"The North and South had been in dispute for many years over the question of slavery. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860 and thus proved that those against slavery held the upper hand.
In April 1861 a convention was held in Richmond, Virginia and approved a secession ordinance. Most of the delegates west of the mountain opposed secession, thus the 1st Wheeling convention was held on May 13, 1861.
At the 2nd Wheeling Convention on June 11, 1861, Virginia had already joined the Confederate States of America, but delegates from 39 western counties pledged their loyalty to the United States of America. Boone County was represented at this convention by the Rev. Robert Hager, a Methodist Minister, from Six Mile on Spruce Fork and a ardent supporter of freedom. This Convention denied the right of their State to secede and declared vacant all the government offices of those who supported the Richmond Government. West Virginia was well on its way to becoming a state.
On June 20th a new government was organized by the delegates and recognized by the President and Congress. Francis H. Pierpont was elected Governor of the restored Government of Virginia just two years before the new state of West Virginia entered the Union on 20 June 1863."
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager
From the 5th Annual Hager Reunion Program
The following is a copy of a letter written by Robert Hager, when he was a member of the Legislature, and when the State Capitol was at Wheeling, West Virginia, and was writting to his son E. A. Hager:
Wheeling, Dec. 15th, 1868
Dear Son:
Yours of the 31st was gladly received; It found me well. I was glad to hear from you, and that all was well and doing well.
I received a letter from Alfred today; he said much about hunting. I expect the deer will all be killed before I get home.
We are getting along fine; I think we will get done the Code by the 20th Inst. If I can know when we will get through, I will write for a horse, if I know in time for a letter to get home in time for them to bring a horse to Brownstown.
I don't expect to write but one more letter, and that will be to Gomery, and that will be tomorrow, or next day, as I would get home before a letter wrote after that time.
I do not want you to get mad and eat up all the venison before I come home. Tell Nan to take good care of her boy, I expect he will be big enough to plow by spring; then you can hoe the corn and that will save her from that.
I will close for the present; it is almost nine o'clock, and is half a mile to the post office.
Yours as ever
Robert Hager
E. A. Hager
Nancy Hager
Cabell County Annals and Families by George Seldon Wallace, 1935
VI: THE FATEFUL YEARS 1860-1871
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=beca6000&id=I32562
Biographies of West Virginia statehood leaders were prepared by Marshall University Humanities Program graduate students enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Historical Studies" class at Marshall's South Charleston campus.
By Kelly L. Pruett
Robert Hagar
Robert Hagar (January 1, 1810-October 19, I878), delegate from Boone County, was born on Sixmile Creek in Boone County, when it was yet a part of Kanawha and Cabell counties. Hagar's family was of German origin. According to tradition its founders resided for a time in bucks County, Pennsylvania, before moving about 1790 to present Giles County, Virginia.
About 1807 three brothers, James, Michael, and Phillip, moved to present Boone County, West Virginia, where Robert, subject of this sketch, became one of the largest individual resident land owners in present West Virginia south of the Great Kanawha River. He was a Whig and a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church. About 1831 he married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Adkins, of Boone County. She bore him eleven children, two of whom, Montgomery and Enoch A., served in the Federal army in the War of Secession.
A circuit rider of wide contacts, the Rev. Hagar was a power in an area predominately confederate. He opposed secession and though designated inegularly, accepted membership in the Convention to make a constitution for the "State of Kanawha." As a constitution maker his chief interest was in free public schools which he believed would in time enable the new State to "catch up" with civilization. From 1863 to 1869, except the 1865 session, he was continuously associated with the West Virginia legislature, first as a delegate (1863-1864), Then senator (1866-1867), again as a delegate (1868), and finally as doorkeeper of the Senate for its 1869 session. In 1869 he gave his lands to his children and moved to Kentucky, where he died and is buried on Middle Fork of Rockcastle Creek about four miles from Inez, Martin County.
Sources:
Data gathered by Sigfus Olafson of Madison, West Virginia, who had access to Robert Hagar's Family Bible and to the records of Boone County.
Ambler, Charles H., Francis Haney Atwood and William B. Mathews, editors, Debates and Proceedings of the First Constitutional Convention of West Virginia (lS6l-1563),
pp. 7 2-7 3, Huntington: Gentry Brothers Printers.
Son of Michael Hager and Martha
Husband of Ruth Adkins
(daughter of
Adelphia Adkins & Joshua Adkins, Sr)
Father of
1. Alfred Allen Hager
2. Martha Hager
3. Montgomery A. Hager
4. Hezekiah Hager
5. Elizabeth Anna Hager
6. Enoch Adam Hager
7. Chloe B. Hager
8. John Wesley "Boy" Hager
9. Mary Delia Hager∼From the Boone County West Virginia History, 1990
by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Robert Hager
The Rev. Robert Hager was born 1810 in Cabell County, VA, the son of Michael and Martha Hager. He died in 1879 on Rock Castle Creek near Inez, KY. Robert married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Sr. and Adelphia Adkins.
He was one of our earliest and best known Methodist Ministers. He rode circuit over southern West Virginia (then Virginia), Ohio, and northern Kentucky. These trips to visit and establish churches were made by horseback over poor roads or no roads at all, during rain, sleet, snow and beautiful sunshine. He helped establish many churches in the above mentioned areas, married many couples, and helped bury their dead. We owe a great deal to these old ministers of the Gospel.
Robert Hager helped organize our State Government. His name is mentioned as a member of the Wheeling Constitutional Convention of 1861. He strongly supported the abolition of slavery and believed that all men were created equal. On June 20, 1863, Robert Hager, then 53, was listed as a delegate and again in 1864. In 1865, the Rev. Benjamin served as delegate from Boone County. In 1866, 1867, and 1868, the Rev. Robert Hager served as State Senator from this district. His pet project was a better education for the children of West Virginia.
Children of Robert and Ruth Hager were: Martha who m. William P. Lovejoy; Alfred Allen who m. lst Mahala Toney, 2nd Victoria Copley, 3rd Helen Delong; Elizabeth who m. Evermont Bias; Montgomery who m. Arminta Garrettson; Enoch who m. Nancy Jane Lucas; Chloe who m. Obediah Hager; John W. who m. lst Martha E. Hager, 2nd Frances Workman, 3rd Rebecca Bias, 4th Unknown, 5th Elizabeth Linville Sutphin; Mary who m. lst Robert H. Thompson, 2nd John D. Wood.
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager; Boone County West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Michael was the father of the Rev. Robert Hager, a Circuit Riding Methodist Minister, member of the Wheeling Convention and member of both the State Senate and House of Delegates. Robert told the members of the Wheeling Convention that the Union Men in Boone County did not have the courage to vote for secession because of threats and in fear of a drunken secession mob at the Court House. He stated that if the Union men would have had the courage to vote, the vote would have been defeated.
Submitted by: Bonita Hager Rollins, Hewett, WV; Boone County, West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Boone County and the Civil War
"The North and South had been in dispute for many years over the question of slavery. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860 and thus proved that those against slavery held the upper hand.
In April 1861 a convention was held in Richmond, Virginia and approved a secession ordinance. Most of the delegates west of the mountain opposed secession, thus the 1st Wheeling convention was held on May 13, 1861.
At the 2nd Wheeling Convention on June 11, 1861, Virginia had already joined the Confederate States of America, but delegates from 39 western counties pledged their loyalty to the United States of America. Boone County was represented at this convention by the Rev. Robert Hager, a Methodist Minister, from Six Mile on Spruce Fork and a ardent supporter of freedom. This Convention denied the right of their State to secede and declared vacant all the government offices of those who supported the Richmond Government. West Virginia was well on its way to becoming a state.
On June 20th a new government was organized by the delegates and recognized by the President and Congress. Francis H. Pierpont was elected Governor of the restored Government of Virginia just two years before the new state of West Virginia entered the Union on 20 June 1863."
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager
From the 5th Annual Hager Reunion Program
The following is a copy of a letter written by Robert Hager, when he was a member of the Legislature, and when the State Capitol was at Wheeling, West Virginia, and was writting to his son E. A. Hager:
Wheeling, Dec. 15th, 1868
Dear Son:
Yours of the 31st was gladly received; It found me well. I was glad to hear from you, and that all was well and doing well.
I received a letter from Alfred today; he said much about hunting. I expect the deer will all be killed before I get home.
We are getting along fine; I think we will get done the Code by the 20th Inst. If I can know when we will get through, I will write for a horse, if I know in time for a letter to get home in time for them to bring a horse to Brownstown.
I don't expect to write but one more letter, and that will be to Gomery, and that will be tomorrow, or next day, as I would get home before a letter wrote after that time.
I do not want you to get mad and eat up all the venison before I come home. Tell Nan to take good care of her boy, I expect he will be big enough to plow by spring; then you can hoe the corn and that will save her from that.
I will close for the present; it is almost nine o'clock, and is half a mile to the post office.
Yours as ever
Robert Hager
E. A. Hager
Nancy Hager
Cabell County Annals and Families by George Seldon Wallace, 1935
VI: THE FATEFUL YEARS 1860-1871
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=beca6000&id=I32562
Biographies of West Virginia statehood leaders were prepared by Marshall University Humanities Program graduate students enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Historical Studies" class at Marshall's South Charleston campus.
By Kelly L. Pruett
Robert Hagar
Robert Hagar (January 1, 1810-October 19, I878), delegate from Boone County, was born on Sixmile Creek in Boone County, when it was yet a part of Kanawha and Cabell counties. Hagar's family was of German origin. According to tradition its founders resided for a time in bucks County, Pennsylvania, before moving about 1790 to present Giles County, Virginia.
About 1807 three brothers, James, Michael, and Phillip, moved to present Boone County, West Virginia, where Robert, subject of this sketch, became one of the largest individual resident land owners in present West Virginia south of the Great Kanawha River. He was a Whig and a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church. About 1831 he married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Adkins, of Boone County. She bore him eleven children, two of whom, Montgomery and Enoch A., served in the Federal army in the War of Secession.
A circuit rider of wide contacts, the Rev. Hagar was a power in an area predominately confederate. He opposed secession and though designated inegularly, accepted membership in the Convention to make a constitution for the "State of Kanawha." As a constitution maker his chief interest was in free public schools which he believed would in time enable the new State to "catch up" with civilization. From 1863 to 1869, except the 1865 session, he was continuously associated with the West Virginia legislature, first as a delegate (1863-1864), Then senator (1866-1867), again as a delegate (1868), and finally as doorkeeper of the Senate for its 1869 session. In 1869 he gave his lands to his children and moved to Kentucky, where he died and is buried on Middle Fork of Rockcastle Creek about four miles from Inez, Martin County.
Sources:
Data gathered by Sigfus Olafson of Madison, West Virginia, who had access to Robert Hagar's Family Bible and to the records of Boone County.
Ambler, Charles H., Francis Haney Atwood and William B. Mathews, editors, Debates and Proceedings of the First Constitutional Convention of West Virginia (lS6l-1563),
pp. 7 2-7 3, Huntington: Gentry Brothers Printers.
Husband of Ruth Adkins
(daughter of
Adelphia Adkins & Joshua Adkins, Sr)
Father of
1. Alfred Allen Hager
2. Martha Hager
3. Montgomery A. Hager
4. Hezekiah Hager
5. Elizabeth Anna Hager
6. Enoch Adam Hager
7. Chloe B. Hager
8. John Wesley "Boy" Hager
9. Mary Delia Hager∼From the Boone County West Virginia History, 1990
by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Robert Hager
The Rev. Robert Hager was born 1810 in Cabell County, VA, the son of Michael and Martha Hager. He died in 1879 on Rock Castle Creek near Inez, KY. Robert married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Sr. and Adelphia Adkins.
He was one of our earliest and best known Methodist Ministers. He rode circuit over southern West Virginia (then Virginia), Ohio, and northern Kentucky. These trips to visit and establish churches were made by horseback over poor roads or no roads at all, during rain, sleet, snow and beautiful sunshine. He helped establish many churches in the above mentioned areas, married many couples, and helped bury their dead. We owe a great deal to these old ministers of the Gospel.
Robert Hager helped organize our State Government. His name is mentioned as a member of the Wheeling Constitutional Convention of 1861. He strongly supported the abolition of slavery and believed that all men were created equal. On June 20, 1863, Robert Hager, then 53, was listed as a delegate and again in 1864. In 1865, the Rev. Benjamin served as delegate from Boone County. In 1866, 1867, and 1868, the Rev. Robert Hager served as State Senator from this district. His pet project was a better education for the children of West Virginia.
Children of Robert and Ruth Hager were: Martha who m. William P. Lovejoy; Alfred Allen who m. lst Mahala Toney, 2nd Victoria Copley, 3rd Helen Delong; Elizabeth who m. Evermont Bias; Montgomery who m. Arminta Garrettson; Enoch who m. Nancy Jane Lucas; Chloe who m. Obediah Hager; John W. who m. lst Martha E. Hager, 2nd Frances Workman, 3rd Rebecca Bias, 4th Unknown, 5th Elizabeth Linville Sutphin; Mary who m. lst Robert H. Thompson, 2nd John D. Wood.
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager; Boone County West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Michael was the father of the Rev. Robert Hager, a Circuit Riding Methodist Minister, member of the Wheeling Convention and member of both the State Senate and House of Delegates. Robert told the members of the Wheeling Convention that the Union Men in Boone County did not have the courage to vote for secession because of threats and in fear of a drunken secession mob at the Court House. He stated that if the Union men would have had the courage to vote, the vote would have been defeated.
Submitted by: Bonita Hager Rollins, Hewett, WV; Boone County, West Virginia History, 1990 published by the Boone County Genealogical Society, Inc.
Boone County and the Civil War
"The North and South had been in dispute for many years over the question of slavery. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860 and thus proved that those against slavery held the upper hand.
In April 1861 a convention was held in Richmond, Virginia and approved a secession ordinance. Most of the delegates west of the mountain opposed secession, thus the 1st Wheeling convention was held on May 13, 1861.
At the 2nd Wheeling Convention on June 11, 1861, Virginia had already joined the Confederate States of America, but delegates from 39 western counties pledged their loyalty to the United States of America. Boone County was represented at this convention by the Rev. Robert Hager, a Methodist Minister, from Six Mile on Spruce Fork and a ardent supporter of freedom. This Convention denied the right of their State to secede and declared vacant all the government offices of those who supported the Richmond Government. West Virginia was well on its way to becoming a state.
On June 20th a new government was organized by the delegates and recognized by the President and Congress. Francis H. Pierpont was elected Governor of the restored Government of Virginia just two years before the new state of West Virginia entered the Union on 20 June 1863."
Submitted by: Janet Barker Hager
From the 5th Annual Hager Reunion Program
The following is a copy of a letter written by Robert Hager, when he was a member of the Legislature, and when the State Capitol was at Wheeling, West Virginia, and was writting to his son E. A. Hager:
Wheeling, Dec. 15th, 1868
Dear Son:
Yours of the 31st was gladly received; It found me well. I was glad to hear from you, and that all was well and doing well.
I received a letter from Alfred today; he said much about hunting. I expect the deer will all be killed before I get home.
We are getting along fine; I think we will get done the Code by the 20th Inst. If I can know when we will get through, I will write for a horse, if I know in time for a letter to get home in time for them to bring a horse to Brownstown.
I don't expect to write but one more letter, and that will be to Gomery, and that will be tomorrow, or next day, as I would get home before a letter wrote after that time.
I do not want you to get mad and eat up all the venison before I come home. Tell Nan to take good care of her boy, I expect he will be big enough to plow by spring; then you can hoe the corn and that will save her from that.
I will close for the present; it is almost nine o'clock, and is half a mile to the post office.
Yours as ever
Robert Hager
E. A. Hager
Nancy Hager
Cabell County Annals and Families by George Seldon Wallace, 1935
VI: THE FATEFUL YEARS 1860-1871
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=beca6000&id=I32562
Biographies of West Virginia statehood leaders were prepared by Marshall University Humanities Program graduate students enrolled in Dr. Billy Joe Peyton's Fall 2010 "Historical Studies" class at Marshall's South Charleston campus.
By Kelly L. Pruett
Robert Hagar
Robert Hagar (January 1, 1810-October 19, I878), delegate from Boone County, was born on Sixmile Creek in Boone County, when it was yet a part of Kanawha and Cabell counties. Hagar's family was of German origin. According to tradition its founders resided for a time in bucks County, Pennsylvania, before moving about 1790 to present Giles County, Virginia.
About 1807 three brothers, James, Michael, and Phillip, moved to present Boone County, West Virginia, where Robert, subject of this sketch, became one of the largest individual resident land owners in present West Virginia south of the Great Kanawha River. He was a Whig and a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church. About 1831 he married Ruth Adkins, daughter of Joshua Adkins, of Boone County. She bore him eleven children, two of whom, Montgomery and Enoch A., served in the Federal army in the War of Secession.
A circuit rider of wide contacts, the Rev. Hagar was a power in an area predominately confederate. He opposed secession and though designated inegularly, accepted membership in the Convention to make a constitution for the "State of Kanawha." As a constitution maker his chief interest was in free public schools which he believed would in time enable the new State to "catch up" with civilization. From 1863 to 1869, except the 1865 session, he was continuously associated with the West Virginia legislature, first as a delegate (1863-1864), Then senator (1866-1867), again as a delegate (1868), and finally as doorkeeper of the Senate for its 1869 session. In 1869 he gave his lands to his children and moved to Kentucky, where he died and is buried on Middle Fork of Rockcastle Creek about four miles from Inez, Martin County.
Sources:
Data gathered by Sigfus Olafson of Madison, West Virginia, who had access to Robert Hagar's Family Bible and to the records of Boone County.
Ambler, Charles H., Francis Haney Atwood and William B. Mathews, editors, Debates and Proceedings of the First Constitutional Convention of West Virginia (lS6l-1563),
pp. 7 2-7 3, Huntington: Gentry Brothers Printers.
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