Just fifty nine years ago this month Moundsville had for a part of a day as her guest a president-elect of the United States, under remarkable circumstances.
     The story of the visit of General Zachary Taylor, for he it was to whom reference is made, is one of those bits of history preserved by the patriarchal fathers of the community.
     Much of this history is, and much more will be lost through neglect on the part of these old men to tell it and on the part of others to gather up and preserve it and oft-times it is by the merest accident that the thread of the story is uncovered and followed to its end.
     And this is the case in the story of the visit of General Taylor.
     An Echo reporter was walking down Jefferson avenue a few days ago in the company with Dr. Thomas and when opposite the store of G. S. Snodgrass some one remarked that it had been a hotel for a long time.
     "Yes," said Dr. Thomas, "that was a hotel for seventy-five years and General Taylor took dinner there at one time."
     The pursuit of more information was taken up, but the doctor knew no more but said: "See Captain Israel, he can tell you all about it."
     Captain Jacob Israel was accordingly spoken to on the subject and said promptly that he knew all about the affair and that he had hauled the general in his sleigh from Captina to this place. The story is a good one.
     General Taylor accompanied Bailey Payton and his niece and Dr. McCormick and his niece were on board a steamboat enroute from his southern home to Washington. Their way was to Wheeling and from there by stage by way of Cumberland to the capital, but the river was full of ice and the boat, the name which was forgotten by Captain Israel, could go no further and was soon tightly locked in a field of ice, which, while strong enough to stop the boats progress was still too dangerously thin to make walking over it safe.
     In Wheeling all was in readinesss for a big reception to the General, but when the condition of the river was seen it was soon pretty generally thought that the boat would be frozen up. The same idea prevailed here and the Captain hitched his two fine horses to his big double seated sleigh and was soon enroute for Captina.
     Arriving there he found his surmises correct and communiction was established with the boat and General Taylor requested that he be taken off. How this was to be done was a question but Israel was resourceful and fastening several planks together he pushed them over the ice to the boat.
     When he approached and told the General his name he was at once recognized him for Israel has spent some time in the south directly across the river from the Taylor plantation and had become acquainted with the General at that time.
     After a hearty greeting the distinguished party gingerly boarded the ice raft and Captain Israel pushed it across the frozen surface of the river to the shore and soon had his fares aboard the sleigh and started for this city at a clipping pace.
     Along the way was a school house and when the presidential party came past the boys and girls were out to catch a glimpse of them and they sent up a hearty cheer. A number of boys gave chase to the sleigh but soon all dropped behind but one little chap and he ran after the party, for a full half mile.
     Some one espied the lad coming full tilt after the sleigh and the president-elect ordered the driver stop. The panting boy came up and was kindly asked what he wanted.
     "I want to see General Taylor," was the reply.
     "I am General Taylor," remarked the soldier-president;, as he gave the boy a hearty shake of the hand. "Now hurry back to school." The boy, his eyes sparkling with pride started back and the sleigh proceeded on its way.
     The boy was Bernard Duffy, for many years a resident of Bowman's ridge and well known all over this section.
     Arriving here the party stopped at the Latrobe House then conducted by Garrison Jones and now occupied by the Seamon cigar factory. After a sumptuous dinner, to which all done justice, the party was ready to proceed when a funny incident occurred. Captain Israel was ready with his team, when who should drive up but George Wickham, of Wheeling in a fine sleigh drawn by four fine horses. He was chairman of the reception committee and had made haste to meet his guest but was too late.
     Not to be beaten, he approached Israel and asked what he would take for the rental of his team. "One hunded dollars" was the reply.
     "I'll give you $87.50" was the answer and it was accepted and the distinguished party boarded Wickham's sleigh and were whirled off to Wheeling where they were given a reception befitting the dignity of a president-elect.
     But the captain made his mistake. General Taylor had engaged him to take them to Wheeling and he would have gone on had not Israel allowed himself to be dazzled by the big offer of Wickham.
     More than likely, the captain would have taken the president on to the capital and he would have fared well had he done so, but he only laughs at the telling of the story.
     As he was relating this incident Samuel Riggs, another Marshall county octogenarian dropped in as is his wont and was soon an interested listener to the conversation. He laughingly remarked at its conclusion:
     "Yes, I remember the occasion well. I was a boy in the country then and when I heard the news I got on my horse and rode to town but I was too late, for General Taylor had gone."
     Thus is another chapter of the history of Moundsville snatched from the fast passing old timers and reserved for the generations yet to come.

     Yesterday, Captain Jacob Israel rounded out fifteen years more than man's allotted time of three score and ten, for then he celebrated his eighty fifth birthday.
     Captain Israel was born in Iowa in 1824 and when he was six years of age he came here and this has practically been his home ever since.
     Interwoven with his wife and still fresh in his memory are many interesting incidents and much of historical value.
     He was the captain of the first militia company here and his connection with the local military has been told before in these columns.
     He also served in the civil war as first lieutenant of Company M. of the First West Virginia cavalry. He was mustered in with 100 men and served months until the end of the war. He received no wounds but was severely injured by hurting a leader in his neck.
     He also started from Muscatine, Iowa, for the Mexican war but on the way down the Mississippi he became ill with fever and was sent up the Ohio to his home here. This was in 1846 or 47.
     When the Captain came here there wasn't a house south of where Woodburn's store now stands and there were practically no roads where the prison now stands, all was woodland and he lived in a log cabin on the main street of the town which was afterwards used as a cigar factory.
     Among the interesting things the Captain tells of was the holding of a Whig convention held in the woods back of the present prison site. Southgate of Kentucky, was the speaker and he waxed very eloquent.
     In the audience was an old lady who was too deaf to catch his words but she did hear his impassioned eloquence and appeals to support the Whig ticket. She was very devout and thinking Southgate was making an appeal to save souls, she began to shout and as the fervor seized her she leaped to her feet and clapped her hands until her gloves came off. She finally was quieted and the meaning of the meeting explained to her.
     This is probably the only instance where a political speaker was mistaken for a revivalist.
     This meeting the captain says was held here not for the people of the town for they were very few, but for the entire county and much other contiguous territory. There was a big crowd present.
     But this is of the past. For the present the Captain is still very much alive and very vigorous and goes along the streets with head erect and with a springy, youthful step and a keen enjoyment of life. Like Dr. Bruce, who is about the same age, he carries the great weight of many years easily and gracefully.

Captain Jacob E. Israel died at his home at the corner of Tenth street and Jefferson avenue at 8:50 o'clock this forenoon of affliction incidental to old age.

Funeral services will be held at the residence at two o'clock p.m. Thursday followed by interment at Mount Rose cemetery.

He was born on the 14th of February 1824, at Clarksburg, Virginia, and spent most of his long life in what is now the state of West Virginia.

He resided seven years at Burlington, Iowa, but returned to the Flats of Grave Creek and has ever since resided in this city, Mr. Israel was united in marriage with Matilda Parriott, a daughter of James Parriott, who came here from Hampshire county at an early day and was one of the moving spirits of this section of the country.

There were born to this union the following children, vix: James D. now of Pittsburgh, J. Clayton of Clarksburg, Turner of Harrisville, William A. of Fairmont, and Thomas of this city: Mrs. Belle Tuttle of Cameron, Mrs. John Graham of Clarksburg, Mrs. Dollie Higgins of Pittsburgh, Mrs. Jennie Platt and Miss Ella Israel of this city.

His wife preceded him to the grave, but he is survived by all the children, and also thirty grandchildren and ten great grandchildren, all of whom are living.

Mr. Israel was identified with the building up of this city. Being a bricklayer and a contractor, he erected many of the old brick buildings, some of them over sixty years old.

He was construction superintendent of the erection of the penitentiary and captain of the guards under wardens Thomas Shallcross and W. L. Bridges.

Mr. Israel was a soldier of the Civil war and and served as second lieutenant of Company M. First West Virginia Cavalry.

He took a prominent part in politics and was politically a democrat and the first political demonstration in which he engaged was in 1840, when only sixteen years old.

One of the anecdotes that Mr. Israel sometimes related when in a reminiscent mood was when, in the early part of 1849, General Taylor, president-elect, was on his way to Washington, D.C., for inauguration, the steamboat on which he was ascending the Ohio river to Wheeling was frozen up in the ice at Captina, and Mr. Israel with his team accompanied by some citizens of Elizabethtown, went down to the steamer and brought President elect Taylor to this city and he dined at the Hubbs House that still stands on the east side of Jefferson avenue between Second and Third streets. The President-elect traveled from Wheeling to Washington over the National Pike in a stage coach.