FOW Tour - 2243 Chapline Street

Friends of Wheeling toured 2243 Chapline Street on August 4, 2021.

The first reference found to anyone living at this address was in the 1884 Wheeling City Directory, with two sisters, Annie B. Wilson and Mary C. Wilson listed at this address. The Wilson sisters, along with another sister, Mary and brother George, were the children of George Jeffries Wilson (1797-1861) and his wife, Catherine/Katherine Baird Wilson (1812-1871). The property had been left to the Wilson siblings in a will that stipulated that the women could have the property “as long as they remained unmarried.” If they married, the property was to go to their brother, George Baird Wilson (1845-1909), who lived in New Jersey at the time of his death.

The 1900 Ohio County Census lists the three single women, Mary C., Agnes McF., and Annie B. Wilson, at 2243 Chapline Street, along with one female servant. Agnes was listed as City Librarian; earlier City Directory listings indicated that Annie was the librarian at the public library. Agnes McFarquar Wilson died in 1942, age 91; Anne Baird Wilson died the following year, age 89. Their death certificates indicate that they were living at 2243 Chapline Street when they died; both are buried in Greenwood Cemetery. No death record was found for their sister Mary, so she may have married or died out of town.

The house was listed as vacant in the 1944 City Directory, which would have been shortly after the death of Annie. It then transferred to a large group or people, headed by William G. Caldwell, under the will of George Baird Wilson. The Caldwells and Bairds were related by marriage, so it’s possible that the heirs were cousins or some other relations of the Wilsons.

In 1946, the property was purchased for $8000 by Carl J. and Florence B. Fisher. Carl Fisher (born c. 1895) was listed as a Justice of the Peace in an earlier city directory, with the added “Income Tax Consultant” and “Notary” occupations added in later years. In the 1950s, Frederick J. Vaas (salesman for Coca Cola Bottling Company) and his wife Laverne also lived at the same address.

James C. and Gertrude Barnes bought the property in 1963 for $18,500 , but according to city directories, they lived on Knox Lane with their only daughter Pauline until around 1969. James Barnes worked as a C&P Telephone lineman at the time of World War I draft registration and as a railroad electrician at the time of the 1940 census. Both he and his wife were listed as “retired” by the mid 1960s. James Barnes died in mid 1970, age 76, and his wife Gertrude died in 1975, age 79. Their daughter Pauline remained at 2243 Chapline until her death. She is buried in New Martinsville, along with her parents. Her obituary reads:

Pauline C. Barnes, 96, of Wheeling, WV, passed away Monday, July 20, 2020, in Wheeling Hospital. Pauline was born August 11, 1923, in Bridgeport, OH, the only child of James C. and Gertrude A. (Hammel) Barnes. She was a graduate of Bridgeport High School; and attended West Liberty State College. She retired from Western Union, after 29 years, the North American Coal Corp., after 14 years; and was a former employee of Wheeling Downs Racing Association. She was also a former member of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Wheeling.

Pauline Barnes’ will left $100,000 for perpetual care to the cemetery where she and her parents were buried. She also left bequests of $5000 and $10,000 to each of several friends, and another $5000 for the care of her pets. The remainder of her estate was to be divided, with 80% going to the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley and 20% to St. James Lutheran Church.

Virtual Tour of house: youtu.be/npMkUiy9r4Y