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 D. MOUNTJOY is proprietor of a meat-market and one of the prominent business
men of Charleston. He was born Aug. 28,
1841, in Anderson County, near Frankfort, Ky.,
and is the son of George and Francis M. (Stout)
Mountjoy, natives of that State. George Mountjoy passed his entire life in Kentucky, engaged in
farming and stock-raising, and his death occurred
there in 1864. His wife died in the autumn of 1886.
They had a family of five children born to them. W. D. Mountjoy was the eldest child, and passed his boyhood and youth on his father’s farm, where he received a practical education. When the country became involved in the Civil War he relinquished all other plans, and enlisted Aug. 13, 1862, in Co. M, 9th Ky. Vol. Cav. He fought bravely at the battle of Perryville. and in the autumn of that year had the misfortune to be taken prisoner in a skirmish on the Cumberland River at Horse-Shoe Bend. He was conveyed to Libby prison at Richmond, and confined there thirty-five days. During his incarceration he was allowed only two pints of bean-soup twice daily, and on this diet he lost thirty pounds of flesh. The cruel treatment of Northern prisoners during that period will ever remain a dark shadow upon the escutcheon of Southern chivalry. After his release, young Mountjoy went to Annapolis, Md., and thence to Camp Chase, where he was exchanged and mustered out, having enlisted for twelve months. After his return to Kentucky, he was drafted, but had suffered so severely through his previous experience that he paid $800 for a substitute. At this time he engaged quite extensively in buying and selling cattle and hogs, shipping his stock to Louisville, Ky. He continued this business several years, and in 1871 invested in land near Terre Haute, Ind., where he was engaged in farming until 1881. He then came to Charleston, and engaged in the grocery business, with T. J. Hutton, under the firm name of Hutton & Co. They continued this partnership two and a half years, when Mr. Mountjoy disposed of his interest in the firm and engaged in his present business. Mr. Mountjoy is a practical judge of stock, and his market is one of the best in the county. In 1864 Mr. Mountjoy was married to Miss Virginia Scott. She is the only child of John and Martha (McCall) Scott, and was born in Kentucky, of which State her parents are natives, and where Mr. Scott is extensively engaged in the mercantile business. Mr. and Mrs. Mountjoy have a family of six children, whose names are as follows: Molly, Martha, Scott, Isabell, Gertie and Virginia. Molly, who married Oscar Kruzan, resides near Terre Haute, Ind., and has one child, George W. Martha married Thomas J. Cragg, and resides in Charleston. In 1886 Mr. Mountjoy was elected to the office of School Director by the Democratic party, of which he is a stanch supporter. In 1864 he became a Mason and holds the office of Junior Deacon in that fraternity. Mr. Mountjoy is one of the liberal-minded and progressive men of the county, and is interested in all measures tending to promote its welfare. His residence is on Jackson street. |
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