Barbour County, West Virginia Biography of Clifton W. SANDRIDGE This biography was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: The submitter does not have a connection to the subject of this sketch. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 306-307 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.