Alfred Beckley

Alfred Beckley (May 26, 1802 – May 26, 1888) was the founder of Beckley, West Virginia, and a brigadier general in the Virginia militia during the American Civil War. He named the city of Beckley in honor of his father, John James Beckley, who was the first librarian of the United States Congress. Early life Alfred Beckley was born on May 26, 1802, in Washington, D.C., only child of John James Beckley and Maria (or Mary) Prince. In addition to being the first librarian of the United States Congress, John Beckley was also the mayor of Richmond, Virginia, and a clerk for the United States House of Representatives. John Beckley died in 1807, and the family first moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then in 1814 to Frankfort, Kentucky. Beckley was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, nominated for West Point by William Henry Harrison and President James Monroe; he entered on September 25, 1819, and graduated on July 1, 1823, ninth in a graduating class of 35. This class started with 86 cadets in 1819. He was in the army for 13 years, serving the entire time as an artillery officer in Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, and New York. Life in Western Virginia About 1832, Beckley married Amelia Neville Craig, daughter of Neville B. Craig, editor of the Pittsburgh Gazette. They had six sons and one daughter: John (b. March 26, 1833), Neville Craig (b. December 27, 1834), Henry Martin (b. November 23, 1836), William Gregory (b. July 29, 1839), Isaac Craig (b. March 3, 1841), Alfred Beckley Jr. (b. March 5, 1843), and Emma Jane (b. January 12, 1845).