Preston County, West Virginia Biography: Cloyd M. CRANE ************************************************************************** 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, , March 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 25-26 CLOYD M. CRANE, representing one of the oldest and best known families of Preston County, has given his best years to commercial work, chiefly as a commercial salesman, and as such he is known all over an extensive territory adjacent to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Mr. Crane lives at Terra Alta and is proprietor of the Highland Cottage, one of the much frequented summer homes of the mountain city. Mr. Crane was born about three miles from Albright, upon the mountain, June 21,1868, son of John Calvin Crane, one of the successful farmers and stockmen of that region. Cloyd M. Crane is a brother of Frank Crane, of Albright, and under his name more of the particulars are given concerning this family in Preston County from the beginning of its settlement. Cloyd M. Crane left the farm at the age of seventeen, after having acquired a public school education, and after teaching a term of country school near Albright he became a clerk at Bruceton Mills for Isaac Armstrong & Son. A short time later he returned to Albright and with James Posten bought a general merchandise store. He continued this business for two years and then established another store at Elkins of the same character. Finally the Albright store was burned, and after disposing of the plant at Elkins Cloyd M. Crane became manager of a company store at Terra Alta. Later he went into Randolph County, where he was store manager for the McClure-Mabie Company, then for their successors, the Whitmer-Lane Lumber Company. It was from this service that Mr. Crane graduated into his career as a commercial salesman on the road. For two years he represented the Piedmont Grocery Company, opening up new territory along the Baltimore & Ohio between Piedmont and Grafton. Dur- ing that time he was under the management of the well known sales manager M. J. Crooks. Leaving that firm Mr. Crane returned to Terra Alta, and from this point travelled on the road for the Pugh & Beaver Grocery Company until their Terra Alta house was sold to the Whittaker Grocery Com- pany, and since then he has been one of the leaders on the sales force of that company. For a number of years Mr. Crane has found both pleasure and profit in the business of accommodating the tourist traffic at Terra Alta. He has a generous home on top of the mountain, where he opened his doors to the friends and acquaintances who sought this beautiful spot for their summer vacations. Highland Cottage was built by William Kolk- horst, but he failed in the enterprize, and Mr. Crane bought the uncompleted property, finished it and at times has en- larged it until the home and surrounding cottages now afford accommodations for seventy-five guests. The season here opens in June and continues until Labor Day. Mr. Crane grew up in a republican home, cast his first presidential ballot for Benjamin Harrison, and has worked for his party without an undue degree of partisanship or exhaust- ing himself as a campaigner. In 1912 he was nominated and elected to the House of Delegates, and in the session beginning in January, 1913, he was under Speaker George and his house colleague was Senator Cobun of Masontown. He was made chairman of one committee, was a member of the labor com- mittee and was particularly interested in securing the election of a man from his section of the state for the United States Senate and also in securing some legislation upon the hotel question, and concerning the prohibition law of the state. Mr. Crane, to the best of his judgment, performed his duties for one term, and that satisfied his aspirations as a legislator. He was reared a Methodist, and is president of the Board of Trustees of the Terra Alta Church. He is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge and Chapter, the Commercial Travelers and several other fraternal orders. In Preston County Mr. Crane married Miss Lona Feather, daughter of Michael E. and Mary (Albright) Feather, both representing some of the prominent family names of Preston County. Her maternal grandfather was Michael Albright. Mrs. Crane was born near Cranesville. one of three children, the other two being Bert C. Feather, of Pittsburgh, and Pearl, wife of Ed Harner, a farmer near Greensburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Crane have two accomplished daughters. Jessie is the wife of Russell L. Smith, of Pittsburgh and has two children, Billie and Barbara Lee. Miss Willard Crane is a graduate of the Pittsburgh College for Women and is a teacher in a private school at Stamford, Connecticut.