Garrison Resources
West Virginia Vital Records on line at www.wvculture.org
Quiet Dell Methodist Church on line at http://quietdellumc.us/history.htm
July 9, 1953, Clarksburg, WVA local newspaper
"Timbering
Toughens a Man", Says M.D. Garrison at 90: Friends Pay Him Tributes
M. D. Garrison reached four score and ten years on July 2. It proved a pleasant day for the venerable Mr. Garrison as friends called at his home, 126 Thompson street to extend their well wishes.
Carl Hopkins, the sign man, is a neighbor, and he decorated a very large greeting card which all the people living nearby and others who called at the Garrison home autographed as "The 90-Year Club." There were refreshments, too, and all together a very enjoyable birthday party.
Born in Doddridge
Mr. Garrison was born in 1863 on his father's farm about nine miles from West Union, Doddridge county. This was the Tom's Fork Section and the Garrison place adjoined lands of Frank Maxwell, the father of the late W. Brent Maxwell. From the same area came another well-known Clarksburger, Millard F. Snider, lawyer and lifelong Democrat.
His parents gave their son, born in 1863 - Lincoln was president, the Civil War was on - the name Marcellus. President Lincoln proclaimed on April 20, 1863 that West Virginia would become a state sixty days hence, or on June 20, 1863. And so, the young son came mighty near to being born a Virginian.
Growing up on the well-wooded Doddridge acres, young Marcellus Garrison - he seldom uses the long name, merely M.D. - gained knowledge of timber.
Finally he owned his own mill and was mighty busy back in the days when poplar logs were riding out of the West Virginia hills at a great rate. All through his life Mr. Garrison has cruised, estimated, bought and sold timber. He has virtually lived with the clean, tall poplar, chestnut and white oak.
"You can work hard in bad weather and it doesn't hurt you, if you take care of yourself," says Mr. Garrison as he tells of long, rough tours of timber or working in a mill at 30 below.
Cruising and estimating timber calls for rare talent. You go through the tract with a guide who knows the area - otherwise you might get lost. You mark every tree, examine it as to species, size and so forth and estimate finally the value of the tract, and estimate the board feet of lumber it will produce.
Accurate, Hardy
"I never missed it more than three per cent." says Mr. Garrison. Timber estimators are allowed a five per cent margin of error. Harrison, Barbour, Doddridge, Randolph and Lewis county timber tracts have been cruised by Mr. Garrison and in his day, doubtless, millions of feet of timber estimated.
As late as 1944 he was active in this business. In a period of about two weeks he wore down five younger husky fellows who had taken the job to guide him. Even now at ninety, his outdoor and hearty life has served him well and except for a slight "crick" in the back, he gets around his little garden, goes to the store, and does other light chores.
Rugged Kansas Days
Back in 1884 to 1888 young Garrison was a Kansas farmer, and Kansas was wild and wooly in those days, and there are tall takes to tell about Indians, cowboys and cyclones. Those kids on Thompson street ought to ask Mr. Garrison to tell them about the old days in Kansas.
He came back home in 1888, took as his bride a schoolteacher, Amelia Gregg, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Gregg. Dr. Gregg practiced in Broad Oaks here. Mrs. Garrison has recently been quite ill and sadly enough was not able to join in the July 2 birthday festivities.
The Garrisons have a son and two daughters living, Leland, of Cincinnati; Mrs. Leslie Adams, or Fairmont avenue, Clarksburg, and Mrs. Dessie Ware, of Thompson street. A son Ralph H. is deceased.
On July 2, Mr. Garrison had a couple of gay birthday cakes, greetings, congratulations and gifts galore. It was a great day.
"When I'm a hundred," he said, "Carl Hopkins is going to make me a birthday card twice as big as the one this time!"