William H. F. Dement
William H.F. Dement. During the ten years required to advance himself from the rank of messenger to cashier of the Huntington National Bank, Mr. Dement manifested an unflagging devotion to his work and the ideals of service exemplified by that institution. His influential and useful place in the business community is a reward of merit, a distinction well worth the effort required to achieve it.
Mr. Dement was born in Proctorville, Ohio, June 4, 1889. His paternal ancestry came originally from France and Germany. His grandfather, William Dement, was born in Noble County, Ohio, following the trade of blacksmith in Lawrence County, and died near Wilgus in that state. His great-great-grandfather carried the first mail in a canoe, from Mariette to Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry E. Dement, father of the Huntington banker, was born near Wilgus, in Lawrence County in 1853, grew up there on a farm. became a blacksmith at Bradrick, Ohio, where he married, and since about 1880 has lived at Proctorville. With the development of the automobile he adapted his trade to the requirements of that industry, and for a number of years he has owned and operated a public garage. Since 1919 he has owned a farm and large apple orchard in that section of Ohio. He is a republican. His wife, Cors J. Forgey, is a daughter of James Gorey, a captain on the Mississippi River during the Civil War. She is a granddaughter of Gen. A.F. Fuller of the war of 1812. Mrs. Dement was born at Bradrick, Ohio, in 1860. Of their children, Ruby D., a resident of Huntington is a widow of Charles Heinz, who was a blacksmith; Carl is manager of the home farm at Proctorville; Orla E. is associated in business with his father; Roma is the wife of Charles E. Rose, a millwright at Guyandotte, West Virginia; William H.F. is the fifth child; Velmer is also associated with his father in business; and Valgene is connected with the home farm.
William H.F. Dement graduated from the Proctorville High School in 1907, and soon afterward came to Huntington, graduating from Booth Business College of that city in 1910. Mr. Dement on October 29, 1911, began his service with the Huntington National Bank as a messenger boy. His increasing experience and ability brought him successive promotions, and he did the work of individual bookkeeper, discount bookkeeper and general bookkeeper, was promoted to assistant cashier and on August 1, 1921, was elected cashier, Besides his executive duties with this large and important bank he is interested in the home farm and orchard.
Mr. Dement is a republican, is affiliated with the Proctorville Lodge No. 550, A.F. and A.M., Huntington Lodge No.313, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-State Credit and Adjustment Bureau. Recently, in 1922, he completed one of the excellent homes in a restricted residential section at 51 Ninth Avenue.
The only important interruption to his service with the Huntington National Bank came in the World War. June 14, 1918, he enlisted, was sent to the Training Detachment Public Schools at Hughes High School in Cincinnati, was there two months and was then transferred to the one hundred and fifty-fourth Depot Brigade at Camp Meade, Maryland. On August 14, 1918, he was assigned to Company H of the Seventy-first Infantry in the Lafayette or Eleventh Division and later was transferred and assigned to the personnel office. He received his honorable discharge January 31, 1919, with the rank of Corporal. Mr. Dement is unmarried.
From The History of West Virginia, Old and New, Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume ll