Biography of William Barrick

WILLIAM BARRICK. A finer example of the West Vir-
ginia mountaineer type, of perfect physical manhood, with
a physical and moral courage that has never been daunted,
resourceful, skillful, at all times adequate for his per-
formance and duties, it would be difficult to conceive than
that illustrated by William Barrick, manager of the Tide-
water Coal & Coke Company of Vivian.

Mr. Barrick has lived in and around mines, and has done
the practical work of the miner and the mining official since
he was a boy. He was born in Mineral County, West Vir-
ginia, September 25, 1874, son of George G. and Nannie
W. (Matthews) Barrick, the former a native of West Vir-
ginia and the latter of Richmond, Virginia. George G.
Barrick was likewise a coal miner and one of the first in
West Virginia, becoming associated with the Davis Coal
& Coke Company. William Barrick acquired a common
school education in Mineral County. At the age of fifteen
he went to work with his father around the mines, and did a
varied routine of duties, cleaning up around the track, car
oiler, and in other capacities until he was made a regular
miner. Then came advancement through all the grades of
promotion in and around a coal mine, and he is master of
practically every detail of mining technique. By 1897 he
was mine foreman for the Thomas Mine in Tucker County
and of the Davis Coal and Coke Company, serving in this
capacity four years. Subsequently he was foreman for the
Oakland Coal & Coke Company in Preston County. His
next work was at Weaver, where he was foreman of the
No. 1 Mine of the Maryland Smokeless Coal & Coke Com-
pany, and on being promoted to general mine foreman had
six mines under his direction. When the Davis Coal & Coke
Companies bought these properties he remained with the
corporation as superintendent of mines. On leaving Weaver
Mr. Barrick accepted an invitation to take charge of some
coal operations at Baton, New Mexico, and on returning
East spent about four years at Lowmoor, Virginia, and then
joined the Berwind White Coal & Mining Company, the
largest operators in West Virginia, as superintendent of
operations. He was with this concern nine years, and in
that time he opened and developed five coal properties in
addition to those being operated when he joined the com-
pany. Since 1918 Mr. Barrick has been located at Vivian
in McDoweIl County as superintendent of mines for the
Houston Colliery Corporation and the King and Tidewater
Coal & Coke Companies. Mr. Barrick, his associates say, is
the only real native born West Virginian who has reached
his high responsibilities in the coal industry as a result of
his own unaided efforts. He has with him his two sons,
and they resemble him in many particulars.

Mr. Barrick stands six feet one inch high, weighs about
200 pounds, and his carriage and appearance reveal him
the perfect athlete he is. As a boy he was a great hunter,
a perfect shot with the rifle, and his owns sons have emu-
lated his skill in these directions.

In 1896, at Thomas, West Virginia, Mr. Barrick mar-
ried Mary Prances Conner, daughter of John and Minerva
Conner. Her father was a farmer and carpenter. The six
children of Mr. and Mrs. Barrick are William R., George
M., Willard Virginia, Joseph Benjamin, Travis Earl and
Frances Adelaide, while another daughter, Ruth, died at the
age of ten months. William married Miss Ellen Straughan,
of Bluefield, daughter of James A. Straughan, superintend-
ent of coal mines at Hellier, Kentucky. William Barrick
was a member of the Students Army Training Corps at
Morgantown during the World war, and had orders for over-
seas duty when the armistice was signed. The son George
attended the Greenbrier Military Institute and took a min-
ing course at West Virginia University and was given a
first class certificate as mine foreman and mine rescue
and first aid. The son Joseph is a student in the Virginia
School of Technology. Travis is attending Emery and
Henry College of Virginia. The family are members of
the Baptist Church and Mr. Barrick is a Royal Arch Mason
and Odd Fellow. Mr. Barrick is the sort of man to at-
tract attention and admiration everywhere, but particularly
when he is observed at his post of duty. A brief acquaint-
ance reveals the fact that he is one of the best educated
men in this section of the state. This is largely due to the
habit of reading which he derived as a boy from his mother,
who was a school teacher and who influenced his choice of
good books. Mr. Barrick's main hobby is baseball, and
wherever he has had his duties in mining circles he has or-
ganized and maintained a ball club, and some of the teams
with which he played and managed established a fine rec-
ord in the different coal mining sections of West Virginia.


The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., 
Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 23

Submitted by Valerie F. Crook <vfcrook@trellis.net>

****************************************************************

USGENWEB NOTICE:  These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in
any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or
persons.  Persons or organizations desiring to use this material,
must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal
representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb
archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied
for personal use only.

****************************************************************