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“The First 150” Celebrates Their
Spilman Thomas & Battle
Sesquicentennial with a Lesson in History
By Michael
Basile
At Spilman Thomas &
Battle, more than 250
team members across
seven mid-Atlantic offices are pausing
briefly to commemorate and celebrate the
firm’s 150th year of delivering value to its
clients. In both planning the future of the
firm and counseling clients on reaching
their goals, Spilman draws upon the
strength and wisdom of its forbearers.
More than two decades ago, then-partner Charles Stacy began a quest to record
Spilman’s history before it was forgotten. The task was immense: research and
write the history of a firm that began
during the Civil War. Following Stacy’s
passing, the firm turned to author Elizabeth Jill Wilson to finish his quest. With
her completed manuscript in hand, the
firm then worked with its longstanding
partner, Bryan Boyd Creative Group, to
edit, layout and design both the hardcover and paperback versions of the book.
Together, they have produced “The First
150: Spilman Thomas & Battle’s History
of Service,” a comprehensive look at why
and how Spilman was formed. More than
that, Wilson’s research has unearthed remarkable historical passages about the
economic and social progression of the
mid-Atlantic region.
“The First 150” introduces to its readers
some of the unique and intriguing characters who not only helped shape the
history of Spilman but also the history
of the region.
Benjamin Harrison Smith
President Abraham Lincoln appointed
Spilman Co-founder Benjamin Smith as
U.S. attorney. Smith’s work to quiet land
titles in the newly formed state—providing clear titles to land and assuring legal
ownership to purchasers—is credited with
providing the foundation for local and
regional economic development, leading
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west virginia executive
to a period of dramatic growth in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. His contemporaries recognized him as the premier
land lawyer in the region.
“The First 150” is a
comprehensive look
at why and how
Spilman Thomas &
Battle was formed
150 years ago.
Edward Boardman Knight
Reputed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the law, Edward Knight served as
a member of the West Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1872. He was the
primary author of an article governing
property taxes and voting rights; both
issues are credited for the robustness of
voter turnout to approve the constitution
later that year.
George E. Price
George Price litigated many important
cases throughout his career, not least of
which was Maryland v. Virginia. Appointed by then-Governor Brooks Fleming, Price
represented the State of West Virginia in a
boundary dispute with Maryland before
the Supreme Court of the United States.
This 1912 opinion finally fixed the boundaries and markers of West Virginia.
Robert S. Spilman, Sr.
With a legal career spanning nearly
60 years, Robert Spilman, Sr. was what
some considered the go-to lawyer in
West Virginia in the first half of the 20th
century. Perhaps most notably, Spilman
was involved in the famous Red Jacket
case, which pitted the union miners of
Southern West Virginia against nonunion
Red Jacket Consolidated Coal and Coke
Company. The sometimes-violent dispute
sparked the notorious Matewan Massacre
and was at the root of the battle on Blair
Mountain that was quelled by federal
troops in 1921.
Frederick L. Thomas, Sr.
The second-longest-serving member
of the firm, Frederick Thomas, Sr.’s legal
work often involved representing corporations such as DuPont. One labor dispute
in particular was highly publicized and
highly charged: the DuPont Belle Works
Strike. According to the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, Thomas’s representation
of DuPont in this dispute resulted in important developments in labor relations.
Hawthorne D. “Honey” Battle
Honey Battle was a colorful character,
known for having remarkable intelligence,
integrity and wit and providing several of
the more humorous tales in “The First
150.” Following his service in the U.S.
Navy, Battle joined with West Virginia
State Senator J. Hornor Davis in 1946 to
form the combined Kanawha-Charleston
Health Department. He then served as
its first president. This is one of many
leadership positions Battle held throughout
his distinguished career.
Photography by Tracy Toler