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The Education Alliance is deeply grateful to be honoring one of West
Virginia’s most recognized couples, Lawson and Jeanne Hamilton from
Lewisburg. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have been happily married for nearly 60
years. Together, they have raised three wonderful children. The couple lost
their oldest daughter much too early in life and they raised her two little
girls. They currently enjoy spending time with their nine grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren.
Mr. Hamilton is a proud graduate of Charleston High School, the last large
class to graduate in the old school before the West Side became a part of
Stonewall Jackson High School in 1941. He attended Morris Harvey College for
two years and with the World War II demand for critical products picking up
in the early 1940’s, Hamilton went to work for a Nitro rubber plant. But not
for long. He was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort Thomas, Kentucky,
for basic training. Hamilton then moved on to California for nine months of
engineering training, then was transferred to Europe. He served three years
in the Army and returned home to form Hamilton Coal Company with his father.
Together, they hired approximately 20 men from the neighborhood to load coal
on hopper cars.
Mrs. Hamilton is a proud graduate of Elkview High School, now a part of
Herbert Hoover High School in Clendenin. She worked for thirteen years at
the Kanawha Manufacturing Company, including Executive Secretary for the
president, Dean Reed. In 1946, Jeanne George and Lawson Hamilton were
married .
They made their home in Charleston, even though Lawson often traveled
throughout the state looking for coal work. They raised three children and
together they became very successful as independent coal operators in the
state. In January 1985, a tabloid called The New West Virginia Review named
Lawson W. Hamilton, Jr. its first “Man of Coal”.
In 1987, the American Mothers Federation honored Jeanne Hamilton with the
Mrs. West Virginia Mother of the Year, a deeply coveted award that is still
very meaningful in her life today. Lawson and Jeanne Hamilton were in the
coal industry for 43 years when they sold most of their operations to Arch
Mineral Corp. This gave them more time to attend festivities and entertain
at their Merry Hill Farms estate in Lewisburg.
Today, they both remain very involved in the scouts and 4-H programs and
they are both active in the Presbytery of West Virginia and in their church,
Old Stone Presbyterian in Lewisburg. They are known throughout West Virginia
for their community spirit and philanthropy. They are being recognized
together for their many charitable and generous acts over their lifetime as
our 2005 Graduates of Distinction.
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