Thomas S. Riley House
Noted Wheeling historian, Charles Wingerter provides a lengthy description of Thomas S. Riley (1856-1938). “T.S. Riley, for over thirty years prominent as a member of the bar and in the public affairs of Wheeling, was born in Marshall County, West Virginia (then Virginia), January 8, 1856. His parents were Owen and Mary (Dailey) Riley, both of whom were native of Ireland, but were married in Wheeling.
“His early life was spent on a farm. He attended public schools and afterward taught school a number of terms. His subsequent education was at the Fairmont Normal School, which he attended in 1875 and the West Liberty Normal School, where he was a student in 1876-77, graduating in the latter year. In July 1877 he entered the law office of J. Dallas Ewing at Wheeling, and was admitted to practice October 26, 1878. On April 1, 1879, he had formed a partnership with Mr. Ewing, and has been in active practice from the date of his admission to the bar. On November 21, 1881, Judge Thayer Melvin, having resigned as judge of the first judicial circuit, became a member of the firm, under the name of Ewing, Melvin & Riley. This firm continued until 1894, when Mr. Riley withdrew and Mr. J. W. Ewing took his place. Since that date, Mr. Riley has practiced under his own name, and has large demands on his professional time.
“Mr. Riley was elected chairman of the Democratic state committee in 1887. He was state chairman five years, and has been active in party affairs and in public service in some capacity or other throughout most of the subsequent time. For four years he was a member of the board of regents
of the normal schools. He was elected city solicitor of the city of Wheeling in February 1891, and served two years. At the November election of
1892 his name was on the state ticket for the office of Attorney General of the state, and his election was followed by four years in the office, during which he performed many important legal services for the state. In 1916 he was candidate for Congress, being defeated but succeeding in decreasing the normal majority of the opposition. Mr. Riley has been elected and served three successive terms as city solicitor for the city of Benwood.
“He was married November 11, 1891 to Miss Minnie B. Breinig, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Breinig. She was born in Wheeling. Their three children are Thomas S., James B., and Robert T. The family are communicants of the Catholic church and attend St. Joseph’s Cathedral.”
Recollections of his descendants include:
Thomas Sylvester Riley (originally Thomas Owen Riley) changed his middle name to Sylvester so it didn’t sound like Thomas O’Riley, as that was another clan. He was the first Catholic elected to a state office. Riley built the Riley law building, which still stands at the corner of Chapline and 14th Streets. When in his 70’s, Riley actually laid brick with the workers to show them that he knew how to do this and show them that they should do it correctly.
Thomas S. Riley’s obituary refers to him as “General” Riley and the “Dean of State’s Lawyers.” He was nearly 87 years old at the time of his death. He was praised for his “wise counsel as a lawyer, and for the kindness and wisdom with which he guided young attorneys to success…He exercised a strong influence among the older Democrats of the state and one effect of that influence was seen in the nomination of his son, James B. Riley, for the Supreme Court Judgeship at the Democratic convention at Clarksburg in 1936 and the election of his son to that office a few months later.” The obituary lists him as a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church at the time of his death. It also states that he was a member of the first committee in charge of organization of the Carroll Club and was a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Fort Henry Club, and the Elks. Surviving were his wife, Philomena (Minnie) Breinig Riley, three sons, and five grandchildren. At the time of his death, Riley lived at 10 Park Row in the Woodsdale section of Wheeling.
