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Updated Aug. 29, 2018
SHOEBOX 

Note: Articles about Old Jack (slave owned by the Huddleston family), Dicy Lewis, Napolean Morris, John Jones, the Rev. Richard Jones and Matt Jordan have been moved to a new page: Old newspaper articles about former slaves, slavery, created 28 Aug 2011. 

School and church items of interest have been moved to the new Churches and schools, preachers and teachers page, created 06 June 2012.

Random stuff
Most of the people mentioned aren't directly connected to my family. But I think the articles or photos are worthy of note and want to share: 

  • Susan Warner & The Warner Family. “Miss Susan Warner was born at Whatley [Whately], Mass., Aug. 4, 1820, and died at Beckwith in Fayette County [W.Va.] on Oct. 23, 1924. She cast the first Republican woman’s vote ever cast in Fayette County.” (Source: “A potpourri of early area historical notes,” Shirley Donnelly: Yesterday and Today, A Keepsake III, Page 50, 1983, Beckley Newspapers Inc., Beckley, W.Va. The article was originally published May 31, 1957, in the Post-Herald and included in this compilation of some of Rev. Donnelly’s columns.) 
  • John Peter Sarandon’s dog is lost. A 1949 Bug Dust column (second item) tells about a boy’s attempts to find his lost dog. According to his 2008 obituary, Mr. Sarandon was born in 1936 in Beckley, W.Va., a son of “well-known restaurateur Chris Sarandon and his wife Cliffie.” “His schooling years in Beckley were interrupted at times by a boyhood running-away-from-home adventure to Florida and two stints at military school, one at Greenbrier Military School in Lewisburg. After graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1954 and spending one year at Marshall University, his adventures extended to a two-year enlistment in the Army as a paratrooper in Germany. He then completed his B.A. in business at Marshall and struck out for Los Angeles, where he spent the next 40 years as the owner of several successful businesses.” He died in 2008 in Florida. His brother Chris Sarandon, also born in Beckley, is an actor. According to Wikipedia, the family was Greek and their surname was originally Sarondonethes. Cliffie's birth name was Cardullias.
  • The Cow Question, Raleigh Herald, Beckley, W.Va., 17 June 1909, Page 4. Editorial presents the pros and cons of having a town cow. 
  • Eccles, W.Va., mine disaster -- Rescuing Victims From No. 5, The Raleigh Herald, Beckley, W.Va., 01 May 1914, Page 1, includes list of men. Social note about Nora Cadle, Raleigh Herald, Beckley, W.Va., 04 Dec 1914, Page 5, that mentions she lost family in the disaster. Eccles Pays Huge Compensation, Raleigh Herald, 14 Aug 1914, Page 7. The article says the European War could delay claims to family members who live in foreign countries. I also have a 10 May 1965 column, Beckley Post-Herald, Page 4, by Shirley Donnelly, 183 Men Killed In 1914 Blast At Eccles, that has information about Leonard Rhodes and his family (Rhodes/Rodes) and mentions the 1926 blast at Eccles which killed 19 miners.  West Virginia Coal Miners discussion board message with a list of men who died in the 1914 disaster.
  • Watch Party, Raleigh Herald, Beckley, W.Va., 03 Jan 1907, Page 1. Miss Blanch Kent of Kanawha St., Beckley, W.Va., has a New Year’s Eve party – a “watch party.” Surnames of guests are: Bumgardner, Conway, Davis, Early, Ellison, Harper, McCreery, Scott, Sweeney, Williams and Wray.
  • Tiny Baby Holds Attention Here, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va., Bluefield, Va., news section, 10 Aug 1926, Page 5. Article about the birth of Paul McAlister by C-section, the death of his mother Mrs. L.C. McAlister a few days later, and Paul's adoption by Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Presley. FOLLOWUP: Paul McAlister Presley, 71, died 13 Feb 1998 in a Chesapeake, Va., hospital. Mr. Presley and wife Willie Mae Via had two children. He had retired after 40 years with the Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad, and was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Carmen. (Thank you, Bill, for the additional information.) 
  • The killing of Lelia Cockram: Girl Butchered Without Warning In Patrick, The Daily News-Record, Harrisonburg, Va., 18 Sept 1914, Page 4.  Girl's Slayer Convicted, The Daily News-Record, Harrisonburg, Va., 19 Oct 1914, Page 2. Her parents were John Jefferson Cockram (14 Aug 1856/1 Dec 1939) and Louisa Elizabeth “Lutie” Helms (25 Feb 1864/30 Jun 1944) of Patrick County, Va. (Courtesy of the Hermes Family Tree, Ancestry.com) She was a descendant of Isham Cockram, son of Edward Cockram Sr. and wife Mary. Cochran family - Page 1. 
  • Death of well known citizen, Austin Jeter Hatcher, Egeria, W.Va. Raleigh Herald, 21 Feb 1913.  Voting's a Real Privilege to Her, Sarah Catherine Walker Hatcher (widow of Austin J.), 95, who hadn't missed an election since women got the vote, walks in the rain to vote for Clowney Harvey. The Sunday Register, Beckley, W.Va., 30 Aug 1942, Page 4. Sarah Walter was a daughter of Christian Walker and wife Mahalia Mangress. She was born 27 Jan 1847 and died 22 Sep 1943 in Egeria, Raleigh County, W.Va. Austin and Sarah were buried in the Walker Hatcher Cemetery in Egeria. (The Hatchers' granddaughter Sarah Justice married my great uncle Ethiel Vest. See the Vest page. And Clowney Harvey is the son of Adam Harvey and wife Electra Gadd. See the Gadd page.) 
  • Dead at 102 (Massie Wimmer, Mercer County, W.Va.) Raleigh Herald,14 March 1907. 

“The Bent Mountain Murder – Harry Taylor’s Crime and Trial” by George B. Martin (plus news articles).
– The author was George B. Martin Sr. (21 Nov 1848/06 July 1928), a son of Adam Martin and wife Rebecca Scott. (Go to Gadd page 2, the Gadd and Martin families, for more information about George.) The five-page booklet tells the tale of murder in Hinton, W.Va., and seems to be campaign literature for A.B. Bruce against “wet” candidates Smith and Bailey. There is a handwritten date – 12/24/1903. Names mentioned: Esom Snider, A.C. Wiley, Angelo Kessinger*, Pat Murphy, A.T. Maupin, Dr. Will Peck, Judge Wood, Sheriff Sentz, H.M. Shumate, I.J. Ellison, George Damewood, Hale & Pendleton, Anderson & McGrath.

Who killed Alfred Cochran? 1928 mystery 
Alfred Cochran and wife Martha of Marmet, Kanawha County, W.Va., get off a C&O train at the Spring Hill stop. Mr. Cochran takes a short cut by crawling under a train. Mrs. Cochran is afraid to follow. Mr. Cochran is “shot by a man who first blinded him with a flashlight.” Mrs. Cochran tells of seeing two men including a “strange, tall man, wearing an overcoat and cap” who warns, as Mr. Cochran starts to crawl under the train, “Better not try that, buddy.” Mr. Cochran injuries will prove fatal. 
Wounded Man Dies, Inquest Is Started – 03 Apr 1928, Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail.
Cochran Dies of Bullet Wound – 03 Apr 1928, Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette.
Inquest Fails To Name Killer At Spring Hill – Three Railroad Officers Give Alibis – 05 Apor 1928, Charleston Gazette.

Treasures
These are genealogical items that I've tucked away in various shoeboxs and treasures that others have contributed.

1905 flyer, 748 Men in the West Virginia Penitentiary! Where do they come from? Issued by State Supt. W.Va. Anti-Saloon League Theodore Alvord, State Supt. W.Va. Anti-Saloon League Parkersburg, W.Va., 1905. (Added 15 Oct 2010)

G.C. Murphy receipt (Jan. 29, 1936) -- Raleigh County residents Earl George Smith of Abraham, W.Va., and Golda Mae Vest of White Oak Mountain, W.Va., were married on Dec. 26, 1934. They lived with family for a while. These purchases were made when they first "went to housekeeping" and moved into their own home. G.C. Murphy was a variety store or dime store. (G.C. Murphy Memories.) The couple bought: two breadpans, 20 cents and 15 cents, a washpan, 10 cents, a teakettle, 79 cents, a coffee percolator, 98 cents, and a rolling pin, 20 cents. The total was $2.42 plus five cents tax = $2.47. 

News clip from southern West Virginia newspaper – Mrs. Smith clipped and kept this newspaper article. She circled December because she and husband Earl were married Dec. 26, 1934. The clip isn’t dated and doesn’t say which paper (Beckley or Hinton). The article says, in part:

DAN CUPID ACTIVE IN COUNTY IN 1934; 12-YEAR RECORD SET  
Total Of 207 Couples Issued Marriage Licenses In1934 by County Clerk Harold Price
Further evidence that the depression is on its way out was given this morning by (Summers) County Clerk Harold E. Price when he reported that the number of marriage licenses issued during 1934 topped the total of 1933, when a record of eleven years standing was shattered. Wedding bells chimed for 207 Summers county couples during the past twelve months, as compared with an even 200 for 1933.

The first license of 1934 was issued to George L. Young, of East Beckley and Martha L. Cox, Hinton. The couple was married on January 2 by the Rev. H.P. Hackney. The last license in 1934 was issued to Cornelia Mosley and Evelyn Jones, both colored, of Hinton…

The most profitable month for the clerk was, strangely, not June but December when 24 licenses were entered…