Person:Harvey Samples (1)

In 1858, Harvey Samples was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Clay County, VA, under Sheriff Christopher C. Campbell.
In 1866, Harvey was elected Sheriff of Clay County and served a term.
Harvey and his wife Jane, owned and operated a river boat at Queen Shoals. He later sold the boat and built a store at Dulls Creek and lived there until his death.
During the years 1881 to 1883, Harvey was a member of the West Virginia State Senate. The capital of WV was then in Wheeling and Harvey traveled to and from the capitol on the steamboats plying the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. Was a member of the WV 13th State Legislature Senate from 1881-83. Member of House of Delegates 1887.
Harvey and his son, Bratton M. Samples, were partners in timber, milling and merchandising. They owned a large sawmill, a feed grinding mill, and a general store. They also engaged in farming and kept cattle, hogs and poultry. H. Samples and Son sent several large log rafts down the Elk River. They also sent flat boats loaded with saw lumber, barrel staves, barrel hoops, raw furs, chickens, eggs and other produce. The rafts and boats were sold either as logs or as lumber and the voyagers returned in dugout canoes that they had carried along on top of the boats or rafts. When the Charleston, Clendenin and Sutton Railroad was completed around 1894, the riverboating era ended.

References

Harvey 'Buck' Samples