Today in Wheeling History: October 6–J. R. Clifford, West Virginia’s first African-American attorney and former Wheeling resident, passed away (1933).
John Robert "J. R." Clifford was born on September 13, 1848, in Williamsport, Virginia (now Grant County, West Virginia). His parents, Isaac and Mary Clifford, were free blacks who had lived in the region for generations. Clifford attended school in Chicago and later enlisted in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, serving as a corporal. After the war, he moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1870 to operate a writing school¹. He later attended Storer College in Harpers Ferry, graduating in 1878. Clifford became a teacher and principal at a segregated public school in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
In 1882, Clifford founded The Pioneer Press, West Virginia's first African-American newspaper, which he published until 1917. He was also a prominent civil rights advocate and a founding member of the Niagara Movement, the precursor to the NAACP. Clifford's most notable legal achievement was the Carrie Williams v. The Board of Education case, where he successfully argued against school segregation in West Virginia. Clifford continued to practice law until his death on October 6, 1933, at the age of 85. He was initially buried in Berkeley County but was later re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
To learn more: Wikipedia (http://alturl.com/8obqe), West Virginia Encyclopedia (http://alturl.com/p2rjt), J.R. Clifford Project (http://alturl.com/rhfh2), Find a Grave (http://alturl.com/e8aaa)
Photo credits: Find a Grave, National Archives
John Robert "J. R." Clifford was born on September 13, 1848, in Williamsport, Virginia (now Grant County, West Virginia). His parents, Isaac and Mary Clifford, were free blacks who had lived in the region for generations. Clifford attended school in Chicago and later enlisted in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, serving as a corporal. After the war, he moved to Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1870 to operate a writing school¹. He later attended Storer College in Harpers Ferry, graduating in 1878. Clifford became a teacher and principal at a segregated public school in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
In 1882, Clifford founded The Pioneer Press, West Virginia's first African-American newspaper, which he published until 1917. He was also a prominent civil rights advocate and a founding member of the Niagara Movement, the precursor to the NAACP. Clifford's most notable legal achievement was the Carrie Williams v. The Board of Education case, where he successfully argued against school segregation in West Virginia. Clifford continued to practice law until his death on October 6, 1933, at the age of 85. He was initially buried in Berkeley County but was later re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
To learn more: Wikipedia (http://alturl.com/8obqe), West Virginia Encyclopedia (http://alturl.com/p2rjt), J.R. Clifford Project (http://alturl.com/rhfh2), Find a Grave (http://alturl.com/e8aaa)
Photo credits: Find a Grave, National Archives
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