General Oley Huntington's First Citizen

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Throughout the 17 years General Jon Hunt Oley lived here,
he was known by his contemporaries as "Huntington's first
Citizen".

Oley was a man of immense personal attraction. Even though
Huntington during his lifetime was dominated by men of
Southern sympathies-many of whom served in the
Confederate Army-John Oley the Union man "was easily the
most commanding figure in the city.

When he died in 1888 all business was supended and it was
said that no other person was as genuinely mourned in the city
up to that time.

Buried in Spring Hill cemetery, Oley's grave is marked by a
granite monument paid for by public subscription. The first
subscriber was Collis P. Huntington.

Born in Utica New York, in 1830, Oley became a member of
the famous 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard as
a young man and at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he
was sent to western Virginia for duty.

In the fall of that year he organized a Federal infantry regi-
ment in the Charleston area and was commissioned as a major.
This unit later became the 7th West Virginia Cavalry and
saw 3 1/2 years service, mostly in the Kanawha and
Shenandoah valleys.

Oley rose through the ranks and finished his "hard days in the
saddle" as a brevet brigadier general. He was known as
"General Oley"  for the rest of his life.

He became Huntington's first recorder and served as such
until his death. The starting salary for this job as $35 a
month, more than the mayor's or city l marshall's salary.

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