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BARBOUR COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
Valerie & Tommy Crook
vfcrook@trellis.net
November 10, 1999
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume III,
pg. 306-307
Barbour
CLIFTON W. SANDRIDGE. The career of Mr. Sandridge
represents a service of nearly thirty years to the great
West Virginia coal industry. He has been mechanic and
machinist, practical miner, superintendent and operator,
and hardly anything important involved in the problems
of coal mining in this state have escaped his experience.
For a number of years his interests have been centered at
Junior in Barbour County, where he is president of the
Big Chief Coal Company.
Mr. Sandridge was born in Union District, Upshur
County, December 12, 1871. His father John Frederick
Sandridge, who was born at Monterey in the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia in June, 1844, and was eight years
of age when his parents, Lindsay and Lucy (Smith)
Sandridge, moved to Upshur County, where Lindsay
spent the rest of his life on his farm near Buckhannon.
The three sons and two daughters of Lindsay Sandridge
were: Sophie, who married Kinsey Ward and died in
Upshur County; Luther, who was a Union soldier four
years, and died in Upshur County; Jesse, whose life
was spent in that county; John F.; Cornelia, who mar-
ried David Oldaker, and died in Upshur County.
John F. Sandridge had few school advantages when
a boy. He was only seventeen when he became a soldier
of the Confederacy. Thus he differed from his brother
in course of allegiance, and this was one of many
families represented on both sides of the war. He was
in General Lee's army, participated in many of the
historic battles of the Virginia campaigns, but only once
was wounded, by a spent ball which struck his right
shin. The wound, though a minor one, always gave him
trouble and eventually caused his death. After the war
he followed farming and finally retired to Atlantic, West
Virginia, where he died August 5, 1905. In Barbour
County, 1867, he married Miss Almanza Layman, daugh-
ter of Wesley Layman. She died in Upshur County
October 26, 1895, mother of the following children: Rosa,
deceased wife of Jeff D. Kuhn; May, who married George
Stilwell, of Grafton; Lee J., president of the Meriden
Coal Mining Company of Philippi; Clifton Wade, of
Junior; Annie L., wife of B. T. Duckworth, of Barbour
Connty; Willis H., deputy state mine inspector living at
Grafton; Apalona, who married Arthur Hoffman; Grace,
who died in Upshur County, wife of .Fred Wilson; Prank,
superintendent of the Will Lukins Coal Company of Upshur
County; and Bessie, who died in infancy.
Clifton Wade Sandridge lived on the farm with his
parents until he was seventeen years of age, and in
the meantime had attended the free schools a term or so
every year. When he left home his first employment
was in construction work of the grade of the Baltimore
and Ohio branch from Buckhannon up to the Buckhannon
River to Pickens. His salary was $1.35 for ten hours
of work. Following that he worked three years at com-
mon labor around saw mills, part of the time with the
Alexander Lumber Company and then for O. P. Stroh.
After that he returned to the Baltimore and Ohio railroad
as one of its bridge repair force.
This is a brief summary of his practical experience
before he took up the coal mine industry. His first work
in that field was as carpenter for a company operating
at Berryburg, and after a year he became machinist for
the same company, and thus served two years. For
another two years he was machinist for the Meriden Coal
Company. For two years he was superintendent of the
Atlantic and Irona in Preston County for the J. H.
Weaver Coal Company. Returning to the Meriden Coal
Company, he was for two years superintendent of its mine,
and he then left West Virginia and after riding practically
across the continent became superintendent of a mine at
Gebo, Montana, where he remained eighteen months. On
returning East Mr. Sandridge entered the service of the
Davis Colliery Company, now the West Virginia Coal and
Coke Company, but the mine in which he was employed
soon closed and for two following years he was superin-
tendent of the Raleigh Coal and Coke Company at Raleigh.
Since 1899 Mr. Sandridge's working experience has
been in Junior, Barbour County. Here he engaged in
merchandising and for two years or more sold goods.
For eight months he was in the service of Arnold Brothers,
prospecting a tract of land for coal. For three months
he was a practical miner, digging coal for the Davis Coal
and Coke Company. Mr. Sandridge became an independent
coal operator in 1917, associated with B. F. Shomo, under
the name of D. M. Sandridge Coal Company, operating
the City Grove Mine. This mine was an active producer
for about three years. In the meantime Mr. Sandridge
became associated with G. W. Shomo, W. V. McIntyre and
Ed Everhart in opening a new mine, the Big Chief, at
Junior, which has been in active operation since the early
part of 1921.
Mr. Sandridge has been personally interested in some
of the enterprises at Junior requiring co-operation on
the part of all progressive business men and citizens.
His action in assuming the purchase of a block of un-
sold stock assured the success of the move to organize
the Merchants and Miners Bank of Junior, and he is
still a stockholder in that institution, which has grown
and prospered. He served two terms as a member of
the Town Council of Junior, and is affiliated with the
Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows. Mr. Sandridge cast his first presidential vote for
Grover Cleveland in 1892. He and his family are
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for
two years he was president of the Board of Stewards
and is now superintendent of the Sunday School.
May 2, 1900, in Preston County, Mr. Sandridge mar-
ried Miss Dosia May White, who was born near King-
wood, October 6, 1878, second among the six children
of Jacob E. and Margaret (Feather) White, who were
farmers in Preston County, and the daughter grew up
on the farm and was educated in local schools. Her
brothers and sisters were: Ida, Mrs. Walter Mont-
gomery; Alice, wife of Walter Taylor; Sherman; Roy;
Cora, wife of H. C. Daniels. Mr. and Mrs. Sandridge
have four children, Ruth, Charles, Howard and Martha.
Ruth is the wife of Cecil Shomo, and they have one child,
Carroll.
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