Leadership develops over generations
Local political history research is often a great distraction from house cleaning after someone has died and the homeplace must be cleared out for new residents. I have had the dubious privilege of doing “research” in several family attics and basements. Any place where old trunks are stored may be a treasure trove of local history.
Most recently I was searching through boxes on Scott Hill where Logan Smith has collected documents belonging to our common ancestor, Cyrus Hall Scott.
Scott built the beautiful house on Scott Hill, and he was the father of Edna S. Kump. When H.G. Kump first asked to court Edna, Senator Scott was not so sure the young lawyer was suitable.
Nevertheless, one year after the Kumps were married, Scott was managing H.G. Kump’s campaign for prosecuting attorney in 1908. Senator Scott had friends all over Randolph County, and he sent Kump out on the train to Harmon where a friend lent him a horse. Then Kump rode to Helvetia and Pickens arriving cold, wet and muddy after a storm.
Older politicians taught Kump that he had to plan in advance, follow ethical policies, and work closely with people who knew more than he knew about the best interests of local people.By 1932 Kump had developed many friends of his own up the hills and down the hollows. Also he had gone out to speak for other candidates who were running for political office in surrounding areas, and these politicians were ready to help campaign.
When Kump ran for governor, Scott was still in Charleston. Scott was in the Legislature when the Republicans introduced the Tax Limitation Law that was on the ballot that November. Scott and Kump recognized that this tax cut would cripple state government at the very time when people desperately needed better roads and schools.
H.G. Kump also had an older brother, Kerr, who had served in the legislature and was serving as Judge in Hampshire County in 1932.
Kumps on South Branch of the Potomac River were always interested in politics, but they never built large houses in Romney or Yellow Springs. H.G. Kump learned the importance of careful money management and banking from his father and brother. Brother Kerr had been employed in agriculture, teaching, insurance, investments, legal practice, and politics over time.
H.G. Kump was the first president of Citizens National Bank in Elkins, and he never approved of unfunded mandates for government programs.
He believed that taxes were the way the people pay their bills; West Virginia had a balanced budget by the end of Governor Kump’s term