By William “Skip” Deegans
Shown in this circa 1901 photo is Lewisburg’s Charles N. McWhorter (1877-1947) in his West Virginia University varsity football uniform. McWhorter, at 5’8” and 148 lbs., was WVU’s quarterback of the 1901 team. Also, he was third baseman on the baseball team, ran track, and played on the basketball team. McWhorter took a law degree from WVU and returned to Lewisburg where he was a law partner with Samuel Price for many years and was a Lewisburg city councilman. McWhorter married Bessie Belle Laing, daughter of James Laing, a Scotsman and wealthy Lewisburg coal operator.
McWhorter was the son of J. M. And Julia McWhorter. Joseph Marcellus McWhorter (1828-1913) was a Greenbrier County Circuit Court Judge and served in West Virginia’s first Legislature. He was State Auditor from 1865 to 1868.
Photo: Courtesy of the WVU West Virginia & Regional History Center.
Sources: The Greenbrier Independent, The Monticola 1900-1902, The People of the Old Stone Cemetery: The Obituaries by Morgan Donnally Bunn.