Born near Brandonville, Virginia, to James McGrew and his wife Isabella Clark McGrew, young James McGrew attended common schools as a child. His ancestors had lived in Preston County since the American Revolutionary war, and his father fought in the War of 1812. He married Persis Hagans. Their children who survived to adulthood included William Clark McGrew , Sarah Martha McGrew Heermans and Rev. George Harrison McGrew.
Career
As an adult, McGrew was a merchant and banker in Kingwood, Virginia. Preston County, Virginia voters elected McGrew and Congressman William Gay Brown, Sr. as their delegates to the Virginia Secession Convention in 1861, where both were Unconditional Unionists and voted against secession on both April 4 and April 17. The Wheeling Convention was held in May 13–15, led by Preston County's William B. Zinn. On June 29, 1861, after Virginia voters approved secession, other delegates expelled them from the convention, and replaced them with secessionist Preston County lawyers Robert E. Cowen and Charles J. P. Cresap. Nonetheless, Kingwood voters elected McGrew as their mayor, and voters of Preston and surrounding counties elected him to represent them in the newly created West Virginia House of Delegates alongside Zinn after West Virginia was admitted to the Union. McGrew served in both positions from 1863 to 1865. McGrew also was managing director of the West Virginia Insane Hospital for four years during and after the American Civil War. In 1868, voters elected McGrew as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1869 to 1873. He was again mayor of Kingwood, West Virginia in 1879 and 1880 and afterwards resumed banking in Kingwood from 1886 until his death.
Death and legacy
McGrew survived his wife by nearly two decades and lived to see his sons begin their careers in public service. He died in Kingwood on September 18, 1910, and was interred in Maplewood Cemetery. In 1989, the James Clark McGrew Society was formed to foster understanding of this founder of West Virginia. The house which he built in 1841 was restored and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. Now owned by Preston County, the James Clark McGrew House hosts various activities.
