Barbour County, West Virginia Biography of Benjamin Franklin SHOMO 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 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SHOMO has been the source of a large amount of the business energy and enterprise that have made the town of Junior a good place to live in. He is an interesting example of what an ambitious young man without capital beyond his own earnings and savings can accomplish in the span of a few years. His family has been in West Virginia from the early history of the state. In Colonial times the Shomos came to America from Germany, and the family was estab- lished in West Virginia from the eastern part of the Old Dominion. The grandfather of the Junior business man was Joseph Shomo, probably a native of Barbour County. He was a blacksmith and farmer, and had a shop near Junior on his farm. During the Civil war he was a blacksmith in the service of the Union Army. There have been numerous mechanics in the family, especially blacksmiths and carpenters. George N. Shomo had a limited education, but was a skilled workman and a good citizen. He was a Methodist and a republican. He married Jennie Viquesne, sister of L. N. and Jules A. Viquesne, mentioned elsewhere. His sisters and brothers were Charles, John, Ivy (who became the wife of Stephen Daniels), Irvin V. and Miss Sarah. Frank Shomo, who is known by that brief name in- stead of his full Christian name, was born in Barbour County, August 9, 1877, and is a son of George N. Shomo, a native of the same county. He was reared in Barker District, attended the common schools, and expended his early efforts on the farm. On reaching his majority he learned the trade of barber in Junior, and for several years was proprietor of a shop. This was the business that gave him his first capital, and he used it to take up photography, maintaining his art gallery for a num- ber of years, his son finally succeeding him. At different intervals Mr. Shomo also worked in the coal mines around Junior. He had an ambition to become a coal operator, and finally, with C. W. Sandridge, established the City Grove Coal Company and developed one of the producing mines at Junior. They operated the plant together for some time, and are still interested as owners of the lease and part of the property. Another direction taken by Mr. Shomo'a enterprise was the moving picture business. In 1912, with Walter Bales, he put on the first show at Junior and unrolled the first reel of pictures in the town. The opening night convinced the firm of the popularity of their venture, and Mr. Shomo has continued in the business ever since. The original plant was destroyed by fire in 1914, but was immediately rebuilt. Mr. Shomo is also associated with the Willys Light Plants Agency, for the sale of domes- tie light plants. His son has recently taken a course of practical instruction at Toledo, the home of the business, for the installation of these plants. Mr. Shomo was one of the first stockholders and is a director of the Merchants and Miners Bank of Junior. He has served on the Town Council, and in politics is a republican, casting his first vote for McKinley in 1900. In Barbour County in 1901 Mr. Shomo married Miss Icie M. Row, who was born at what is now the town of Junior, being the youngest of the family of two daughters of Jackson and Mary (Fitzgerald) Row. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Shomo is the son Cecil, who for several years has been an active associate of his father.