MR. BASSEL ILL.
The Daily Telegram., July 14, 1914, pg. 5
John Bassel who has been at Deer Park the last three weeks is very ill there. He has been practically bed fast the last ten days. Numerous friends throughout the state are pained to hear of his illness. Mrs. Bassel and other members of the family are at his bedside.
SOLICITOR GENERAL DAVIS.
The Fairmont West Virginian., August 14, 1914
CLARKSBURG, W. Va., Aug. 14.– Solicitor General John W. Davis is in the city from Washington, D. C., for a short visit with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John J. Davis, in Lee street.
Mr. Davis was greeted by many friends who also congratulated him on his escape with Mrs. Davis from the war zone. Mrs. Davis in now at Deer Park, Md., to visit her father Mr. John Bassel, at the Bassel cottage there.
Their trip across the Atlantic on the steamship Mauretania was a thrilling one and all aboard were delighted when the boat was docked at Halifax.
The Daily Telegram., August 28, 1914, pg. 5
Excerpt–
John Bassel has returned from Deer Park, Md., where he spent the summer and is greatly improved in health.
MR. BASSEL BETTER.
The Daily Telegram., December 14, 1904 pg. 5
The Hon. John Bassel seriously ill in his home on West Main Street is better this afternoon. Improvement in his condition was noticed this morning and he continued to improve throughout the day.
JOHN BASSEL IS TAKEN BY DEATH
Great Master of Law Answers the Last Call of Nature’s Great Law of Life.
GREAT LEGAL CAREER
Of One of West Virginia’s Foremost Lawyers Ended by Visit of Death Messenger.
The Daily Telegram., December 28, 1914
The Honorable John Bassel died at 6:30 o’clock Monday morning at his home on West Main Street. Mr. Bassel had been in declining health for several months and was very low the two weeks prior to his death. A complication of diseases was the immediate cause of his death.
Mr. Bassel is survived by his second wife who was Miss Alice Bean before her marriage to Mr. Bassel a little more than a year ago; a brother, James Bassel, of Weston; two sons and five daughters. The sons are Norval and Edward C. Bassel, both of this city. The daughters are Mrs. John W. Davis, of Washington, D. C.;
Mrs. Miller S. Gallaher, of Charleston; Mrs. Philemon M. Watson, of Indianapolis; and Mrs. W. P. Goff and Miss Cornelia Bassel, of this city. Mr. Bassel’s first wife, the mother of his children, was Mrs. Martha Lewis Bassel, half sister of Judge Charles S. Lewis, of this city, now deceased, and a daughter of Charles Lewis, a prominent pioneer citizen of Clarksburg. She died March 15, 1912. Mr. Bassel and Miss Lewis were married in 1867.
Born near Lost Creek in 1840 Mr. Bassel was 74 years of age. He was a son of Benjamin Bassel, who came to this section from Connecticut and settled at Lost Creek.
John Bassel was a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College at Washington, Pa., and he was admitted to the Clarksburg bar June 8, 1864. He was a member of the constitutional convention in 1872 at Charleston. In the seventies he served a term as prosecuting attorney of Harrison County. For many years and at the time of his death he was assistant counsel for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company for several counties in this part of the state.
As a lawyer Mr. Bassel stood at the head of the profession. He had not only a profound knowledge of law but he was a very able debater and always conducted his cases with admirable effectiveness. He was scholarly and a splendid historian. He possessed a magnetic personality and had one of the most brilliant minds of men of his day.
Mr. Bassel attended services at the First Presbyterian and Christ Episcopal churches.
In point of membership and age, Mr. Bassel was the next oldest lawyer at the Clarksburg bar. The legal fraternity has arranged to hold a meeting at 4 o’clock this evening to take suitable action on his death and to arrange to attend the funeral in a body.
LAWYERS TO MEET
The Daily Telegram., December 28, 1914
Members of the Clarksburg bar met at 4 o’clock this afternoon in the circuit clerk’s office for the purpose of taking action in connection with the death of John Bassel and to make arrangements to attend his funeral.
Mrs. John W. Davis’ Father Dead.
Evening Star (Washington, D. C. )., December 29, 1914, pg. 4
Word has been received here of the death at Clarksburg, W. Va., of John Bassel, father of Mrs. John W. Davis, wife of the solicitor general of the United States, now resident in Washington. Mr. Bassel was one of the foremost lawyers of West Virginia. He was seventy-four years old. He was a member of the state constitutional convention held in 1872 at Charleston. Another daughter is the wife of a son of Senator Nathan Goff.
John Bassel, A Prominent Attorney, Dies
PASSED AWAY EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING AT HIS HOME.
WAS NEXT TO THE OLDEST LAWYER AT HARRISON COUNTY BAR.
The West Virginian., December 29, 1914, pg. 6
CLARKSBURG, Dec. 29.–The Honorable John Bassel died at 6:30 o’clock Monday morning at his home on West Main street. Mr. Bassel had been in declining health for several months and was very low the two weeks prior to his death. A complication of diseases was the immediate cause of his death.
Born near Lost Creek in 1840, Mr. Bassel was 74 years of age. He was a son Benjamin Bassel, who came to this section from Connecticut and settled at Lost Creek.
John Bassel was a graduate of Washington and Jefferson College at Washington, Pa., and he was admitted tot the Clarksburg bar June 8, 1864. He was a member of the constitutional convention in 1872 at Charleston. In the seventies he served a term as prosecuting attorney of Harrison county. For many years and at the time of his death he was assistant counsel for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad company for several counties in that part of the state.
As a lawyer Mr. Bassel stood at the head of the profession. He had not only a profound knowledge of law but he was a very able debater and always conducted his cases with admirable effectiveness. He was scholarly and a splendid historian. He possessed a magnetic personality and had one of the most brilliant minds of the men of his day.
Mr. Bassel attended services at the First Presbyterian and Christ Episcopal churches.
In point of membership and age Mr. Bassel was the next oldest lawyer at the Clarksburg bar. The legal fraternity has arranged to hold a meeting at 4 o’clock this evening to take suitable action on his death and to arrange to attend the funeral in a body.
LAWYERS ACT
In Connection with the Death of the Honorable John Bassel, Prominent Lawyer.
The Daily Telegram., December 29, 1914
A meeting of the Clarksburg Bar Association late Monday afternoon for the purpose of action in connection with the death of the Honorable John Bassel, a member of the organization, John J. Davis presided and S. G. Jackson acted as secretary. The following committees with the first named lawyer chairman was appointed to draft resolutions in memory of Mr. Bassel:
George M. Hoffheimer, John J. Davis, Harvey W. Harmer, Judge Haymond Maxwell, E. G. Smith and J. E. Law
BASSEL FUNERAL
The Daily Telegram., December 30, 1914
As previously announced the funeral of the late John Bassel will be held at the Bassel home on West Main street at 2:30 o’clock tomorrow afternoon. R. S. Douglass, David B. Carper, John B. Hart, J. Carl Vance and C. B. Johnson will be the active pall-bear will be R. T. Lowndes, Col. Henry Haymond, Charles M. Hart, B. M. Despard, Col. David Davidson, Senator Nathan Goff, all of the city; W. W. Brannon, of Weston, and the Hon. A. B. Fleming, of Fairmont.
BASSEL FUNERAL
Held at His Late Home Is Largely Attended by Townsmen and Others.
The Daily Telegram., December 31, 1914
Funeral services were held at 2:30 o’clock Thursday afternoon for the late Honorable John Bassel at the Bassel home on West Main street. They were impressive in their simplicity and conducted by the Rev. C. B. Mitchel of Christ Episcopal church and the Rev. H. T. McClelland of the First Presbyterian church. Interment was at the Odd Fellows cemetery.
The local bar attended in a body and there were many prominent persons from various parts of the state including West Virginia Bar Association representatives officially appointed to attend. There was a large attendance of townsmen, attesting the high esteem in which the decedent was held.
