Greenbrier County, West Virginia    Biography: John Marion SYDENSTRICKER

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Transcribed and submitted by Valerie Crook, <vfcrook @earthlink.net>, 1998.
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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., 
Chicago and New York, Volume II, pg. 640

   JOHN MARION SYDENSTRICKER, whose death occurred on the 31st of January, 1901, 
was a life long resident of Greenbrier County, and his character was the positive
expression of a strong, noble and loyal nature that made him a man of influence 
in the county and that gained to him the high regard of all who knew him. His age
at the time of his death was sixty-four years and two months, and his sterling 
character and worthy achievement make most imperative his recognition in a tribute
in this history.
   A son of the late Andrew and Frances (Coffman) Sydenstricker, the subject of this
memoir was born on the old family homestead farm in Greenbrier County, the second
in a family of seven sons and two daughters, all of whom with his exception are 
living. The parents provided for their children the best possible educational
advantages, and four of the sons are clergymen of the Presbyterian Church, while
another is a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Of the earlier
phases of the career of Mr. Sydenstricker the following statements have been 
written: "John M. Sydenstricker, though not a college graduate, was yet a well 
educated man, receiving his training in some of the excellent classical schools'
of the county prior to the Civil war, and having been a, student at Frankford in 
1861, when the war broke out. He taught school a number of years, read extensively,
and acquired much literary and general information that was of great service to
him in after years.
   "Upon the outbreak of the war between the states, in 1861, he volunteered in 
Company D, Sixtieth Virginia, Infantry, Confederate States of America, but was
afterward transferred to the Twenty-sixth Virginia (Edgar's) Battalion, in which
he served three years, seeing much hard service in battle and on the march.
Escaping the dangers of the war, he returned to Greenbrier at its close, taught
school for some years, then married and settled down to the active life of a 
farmer, in which he took a most commendable interest, being always an intelligent
leader in every moment for the betterment of his class and the improvement 04 
agricultural and horticultural methods. He studied both from the practical as 
well as the scientific standpoint, and in all meetings of the Grange or other 
organizations of the kind was ever ready with valuable suggestions gathered from
careful study and observation".
   From the same source as the above quotation, a newspaper article that appeared 
at the time of his death, are drawn, with minor changes, the following additional
words of appreciation: "Mr. Sydenstricker held many public positions of more or
less dignity and importance, and the number and character of these positions show
the esteem and confidence in which he was uniformly held. He was elected justice
of the peace in 1872; president of the County Court in 1874; member of the House
of Delegates of the State Legislature in 1880, 1886 and 1890; was a director of 
the Second Hospital for the Insane at Spencer in 1887, was made president of the
board of this institution and served five years; received a Battering vote for 
the democratic nomination for governor of West Virginia in 1892; was commissioned
by the Governor, delegate to the International Farmers Congress, Chicago, in 1893,
to the Farmers National Congress at Parkersburg, West Virginia, in 1894, and to
the National Good Roads Congress, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895; was a member of the
Board of Trustees of the Union Theological Seminary, by appointment of the Virginia
Synod of the Presbyterian Church in 1871; was three times a delegate to the General
Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church, and in 1893 was appointed state 
commissioner of labor by Governor Mac Corkle, holding the office four years. His
instructive reports as labor commissioner were highly valued by the press and 
the people. In the latter years of his life Mr. Sydenstricker was president of 
the Farmers Home Life Insurance Company. He long gave earnest service as an elder
of the Presbyterian Church at Lewisburg, from which his funeral was held.
   "Mr. Sydenstricker was entirely free from anything like ostentation. He was modest,
of a retiring disposition, and inclined to underestimate his own capacity. He was 
never self-assertive, shrank from contention and strife, and, though holding decided
views and opinions, was always modest in asserting them. He was an excellent 
neighbor, kind and helpful to the poor, liberal in his contributions to any good 
cause, active in church work, and interested in all movements, social, political 
or religious, advanced for the good of the people among whom he lived."
   In the year 1866 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Sydenstricker and Mrs. Mary 
Surbaugh, a widow with one daughter, Nannie, both of whom survive him. Mr. and 
Mrs. Sydenstricker became the parents of three sons: John B., who was born 
December 5, 1866, was reared on the old home farm, received excellent educational
advantages and has continued his allegiance to the basic industries of agriculture, 
horticulture and stock-growing in his native county. He has been a vital supporter 
of progressive movements in the advancing of farm industry, and is one of the
representative farmers of Greenbrier County, besides which he is serving; 1922, 
as president of the Greenbrier County Fair Association. His political allegiance 
is given to the democratic party, and he and his family are members of the
Presbyterian Church. October 2, 1889, recorded his marriage with Miss Mary B. 
Farrier, and their four children are Ernest F., John M., Robert E. and Charles 
Thomas. Thomas A., the second son of the subject of this memoir, was born 
June 5, 1868, and is now identified with milling enterprise at Lewisburg. 
August 11, 1891, he wedded Miss Mary B. Clark, of Pocahontas County, where 
they maintained their home until removed to Lewisburg, Mr. Sydenstricker 
having been a farmer in that county thirty years. They have two children: 
Annie Grace (Mrs. George E. Fuller) and Mary Agnes. Edward W., youngest of
the three sons, was born October 27, 1869, has been a successful exponent
of farm enterprise and has been prominently identified also with the raising, 
buying and selling of live stock. He now resides at Lewisburg. December 1, 1919, 
he married Miss Elizabeth Wilson, daughter of Andrew J. and Bettie (Tuckwiller) 
Wilson. He was elected a member of the County Court in 1919, and is serving in 
this capacity at the time of this writing, in the spring of 1922. In the Masonic 
fraternity he has received the Knights Templar degree.