Monongalia County, West Virginia Biography of James Clark SANDERS ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , July 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 190 JAMES CLARK SANDERS. To men and women "born to teach," education calls out every degree of enthusiasm and devotion and provides satisfactions that in a measure com- pensate for the poor financial rewards attending the pro- fession. The highly constructive work performed by Mr. Sanders in the educational system of Keyser is the source of the generous esteem paid him and to a degree that many of the more prosperous class financially might envy. Mr. Sanders is a member of an old family of West Vir- ginia, and was born at Maidsville, Monongalia County, January 31, 1872. The founder of the West Virginia branch of the family was John Sanders, who was one of the men sent out by Alexander Hamilton, then secretary of the United States Treasury, to collect the revenue on distilled whisky in the Alleghany region. The refusal of the whisky makers to pay the tax brought on the "whisky rebellion," such as described in every American history. John Sanders eventually settled in Monongalia County, and remained there in business as a stock dealer and drover. However, he is buried at Duck Creek, Delaware. His children were Jeffer- son; John; Susan, wife of Crawford B. Dailey; Mary, who married Michael White; Sarah, who became the wife of John White, a nephew of Michael; and Thomas S. Of these children John Sanders, Jr., grandfather of Pro- fessor Sanders, was born, lived and died in Monongalia County. By his marriage to Elizabeth Houston he had the following children: Hettie, who married Professor A. L. Wade; James, of whom more is said in the following para- graph; Sarah, who married Samuel Hackney; Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Cyrus Courtney, and died at Delphos, Kansas; Mrs. Lucinda Arnett, who recently died in Monongalia County; John, who was a Federal soldier and otherwise lived in Monongalia County; and Melissa, who never mar- ried. The second wife of John Sanders was Sarah Hunt, and they had three children: William and McClellan, now living in Iowa; and Ettie, wife of Dow Ours, living at Kenosha, Wisconsin. James Sanders was born December 27, 1832, and was liberally educated for his day. For a time he was a teacher in Greene County, Pennsylvania, but eventually settled down on a farm. He also conducted a tannery in his section of Monongalia County. He was a man of industry himself, and he taught his children the ways of honest workmanship. His death occurred in February, 1916. His wife was Sarah Miller, who was born in 1839, and died November 30, 1915. Her parents were Amherst and Sarah (Locke) Miller. The Millers came to Monongalia County about 1800 from Con- necticut. The children of James Sanders and wife were: Luther, of Cassville, West Virginia; Harry, of the firm of Sanders & Miller, of Morgantown, West Virginia; Eliza- beth, wife of A. T. Billingslea, of Mount Morris, Pennsyl- vania; John, who died just as he attained manhood; Vir- ginia, who married Professor T. W. Hendricks, of Culpeper, Virginia; James dark, of Keyser; Miss Vinnie, a milliner in Pittsburgh; Lawrence D., deceased, whose wife and family live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Maude, who married Bruce Bailey, a civil engineer, and lives at Fair- mont, West Virginia. James C. Sanders during his early life at the old home- stead in Monongalia County became acquainted with the duties of the farm and also the tanyard. He attended the schools there, and at the age of seventeen qualified as a teacher. His first school was near Mount Morris, in his home community, and his last work as a rural teacher was done in Monongalia County. He did some county normal work in his native county under the direction of former Governor W. E. Glasscock, then county superintendent. In 1890 Mr. Sanders entered West Virginia University, where he majored in chemistry, and graduated A. B. in 1896. A period of more than a quarter of a century has intervened since he left university prepared for more efficient work as a teacher. During the next five years he was principal of the high school at Hedgesville, Berkeley County, West Vir- ginia, and while there he brought the school to the stand- ing of the first grade high school, so that its graduates were admitted to the State University without examination. Dur- ing 1902 03 Mr. Sanders was principal of the graded school in Piedmont, associated with Superintendent W. M. Folk. While there he was offered the vice principalship of the State Preparatory School at Keyser, and his duties in that new position made him a resident of Keyser in 1903. The State Preparatory School is now known as the Potomac State College. He was its vice principal nine years, and resigned when elected superintendent of the city schools of Keyser, succeeding J. W. Stayman. Mr. Sanders has been the official head of the school system at Keyser for ten years. It is possible to note only briefly some of the outstanding features of the school im- provements during this time. When he became superintend- ent the enrollment was about 800 pupils, and it has since doubled. The grade school building has been modernized, the Davis property purchased and on it a new junior high school completed at a cost of $150,000. The high school enrollment has increased from less than 100 to about 250 students. Departments of manual training, domestic science and domestic art have been added, and the high school course revised to conform with the national committee re- quirements for college entrance. The high school is a member of the Southern Association of High Schools, and graduates from it are admitted to all the first class colleges without examination. Mr. Sanders is well known in the educational centers of the state. He has been secretary and treasurer of the State Educational Association of West Virginia for a number of years, was a member of the State Book Board in 1917, and at different times has been a member of the examining board of the state. At Cassville, West Virginia, August 26, 1897, Mr. San- ders married Miss Mary Morris, daughter of Dr. Flora and Emma K. (Kelley) Morris. Her father was reared at Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, practiced the profession of medicine for many years and died at Berwick, Illinois. He was a son of Maj. J. B. Morris, who was a Union officer in the Civil war. The widow of Major Morris is still living, a resident of Morgantown, at the age of ninety six. The widow of Doctor Morris lives in Keyser, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sanders. Doctor Morris and wife had four children: Lena, wife of Harry Bowlby, of Morgantown; Mrs. Mary Sanders, who was born at Mount Morris, Penn- sylvania, March 28, 1879; Emma, wife of Charles Cordry, of Cassville; and James Morris, a civil engineer at Hunting- ton. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders have a family of three sons, named James Morris, John K. and George Thomas. During the period of the great war Mr. Sanders, like other patriotic citizens, assumed a share of additional duties, and rendered some good service as county food ad- ministrator. He was also a member of the County Council of Defense. He is a Master Mason, a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Patriotic Sons of America, belongs to the Keyser Rotary Club, and is a steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church and teacher of the Men's Bible Class.