William Alfred Hedrick

According to his son, Ralph, William was born on the old Fry Farm near Ronceverte and spent his early years working on the farm. At about age 22 he entered Dunsmore Business College in Staunton VA where he completed the course of study and graduated with honors June 18, 1891. He had a flair for solving problems and was very fond of mathematics. He married Laura Shepard on August 22, 1895. Their children were Carl, Forest, Roy, Ida, Ralph, Hazel, and Grace. He was very interested in public schools and served as a member of The Board of Education of Fort Spring District. At Mount Vernon Methodist Church he served as trustee, steward, class leader, and superintendent of the church school. He attended the WV Annual Conference of the Methodist Church as a lay member for many years. In addition to farming, he also owned a sawmill and engaged in the lumber business; and some of the lumber was used in construction of the tipple at the nearby Acme Stone and Lime Company, also known as Snowflake. He was a good sawyer but often employed a man to run the saw mill. Uncle Will, as he was known to the family, lived on a farm on the Greenbrier River south of Fort Spring WV. The home in which he lived was built by his brother, Mark, who was a carpenter. The farm eventually was home to one of his sons, Roy and family. Will died an untimely death in the hospital at Ronceverte WV from injuries sustained when he fell from a cherry tree.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: May 19 2021, 23:55:35 UTC