Hu Maxwell

Hu Maxwell (22 September 1860, Saint George, West Virginia - 1927) was a local historian, novelist, editor, and author of several histories of West Virginia counties.

Biography

Maxwell was born on a farm near Horse Shoe Run in Tucker County, West Virginia, USA. He attended county schools for a few months only and showed an early talent for versification, even before learning to write at age 14 years. His interest in geography lead his father to take him and his brothers to the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. After four years at the Weston Academy, he was appointed (1880) a cadet in the U.S. Naval Academy. He reportedly passed his matriculation exams but had a nervous breakdown owing to over strenuous studying and never entered.

Back in West Virginia, he went into the lumber business and wrote two novels, "Rich Mountain" and "Llewellyn". He later taught school and wrote a never-completed manuscript, "The Conquest of the Ohio Valley". He toured the southern and southwestern States and Mexico (1882-83) and later resided, successively, in Morgantown, Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.

In 1884, Maxwell published his "History of Tucker County, West Virginia" at Kingwood, West Virginia, the first work presenting the early history of the Cheat River Valley.

As a member of the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Maxwell prepared several publications dealing with forestry.

Maxwell died in 1927.

Maxwell's books and articles

*Maxwell, Hu (1884), "History of Tucker County, West Virginia, From the Earliest Explorations and Settlements to the Present Time", Kingwood, W.Va: Preston Publishing Company. (Reprinted, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, W.Va., 1971).
*Maxwell, Hu, and H.L. Swisher (1897), "History of Hampshire County, West Virginia: from its Earliest Settlement to the Present", Morgantown, WV: A. Brown Boughner, (Reprinted, Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Printing Co., 1972)
*Maxwell, Hu (1898), "The History of Randolph County, West Virginia, From its Earliest Settlement to the Present", The Acme Publishing Company, Morgantown, W.Va. (Reprinted, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, W.Va., 1961).
*Maxwell, Hu (1899), "The History of Barbour County, From its Earliest Exploration and Settlement to the Present Time", The Acme Publishing Company, Morgantown, W.Va. (Reprinted, McClain Printing Company, Parsons, W.Va., 1968).
*Hill, A.F. (1900), "The White Rocks, or: The Robber's Den, a Tragedy of the Mountains", Morgantown, WV: Acme Press, Illustrated by H.L. Swisher and Hu Maxwell.
*Maxwell, Hu (1902), "Jonathan Fish and His Neighbors", Mogantown, W. Va.: Acme Publishing.
*Maxwell, Hu, “The Use and Abuse of Forests by the Virginia Indians”, "William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine" 19 (October 1910): 73-103.
*Fast, Richard Ellsworth and Hu Maxwell, "The History and Government of West Virginia", Morgantown, WV: The Acme Publishing Company.
*Maxwell, Hu, "Evans and Sontag, the Famous Bandits of California"; Supplemental material by Charles W. Clough.
*Miller, Thomas C. and Hu Maxwell (1913), "West Virginia and its People", Lewis Hist. Pub. Co.
*Cobb, William H., Andrew Price and Hu Maxwell (1921), "History of the Mingo Indians", Cumberland, Md.: F.B. Jenvy, printer.

References

*Maxwell, Hu (1884), "History of Tucker County, West Virginia, From the Earliest Explorations and Settlements to the Present Time", Kingwood, W.Va: Preston Publishing Company. (Pages 511 - 531 are a "Biographical Sketch of the Author".)

External links

* [http://findingaids.lib.wvu.edu/w/wvcguide/browse/ Maxwell Family Papers, at West Virginia and Regional History Collection]