Charleston W.Va. (WVDN) – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history. To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
March 22, 1922: Physician Mildred Mitchell-Bateman was born in Georgia. She became the first Black woman in West Virginia to hold a high-level state administrative position when, in 1962, Governor Wally Barron appointed her director of the Department of Mental Health.
March 23, 2003: Private Jessica Lynch of Palestine, Wirt County, serving as a supply clerk with the Army’s 507th Maintenance Company, was captured by Iraqi forces after her group was ambushed.
March 24, 1890: Confederate General William Lowther “Mudwall” Jackson died in Louisville. Jackson, who was born in Clarksburg, joined the Confederate Army as a private. After helping to organize an infantry unit, he was promoted to colonel. He served on the staff of his cousin, Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, and was jokingly nicknamed ‘‘Mudwall.’’
March 25, 1878: Attorney General Armistead Abraham “Cousin Abe” Lilly was born at Jumping Branch, Summers County. Lilly appealed the Virginia Debt Suit to the U.S. Supreme Court; when settled, it was estimated that Lilly had saved the state a large sum of money.
March 26, 1851: Upshur County was created from parts of Randolph, Lewis and Barbour counties, with Buckhannon as the county seat.
March 26, 1863: The state’s first constitution was overwhelmingly ratified by the voters, by a majority of 28,321 to 572. The constitution was drafted during the state’s first Constitutional Convention at the federal custom house in Wheeling.
March 26, 1920: Aviator Rose Agnes Rolls Cousins was born. She was the first Black woman to become a solo pilot in the Civilian Pilot Training Program at West Virginia State College (now University). She was prevented from joining the Tuskegee Airmen due to her gender.
March 27, 1826: Laura Jackson Arnold, the younger sister of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, was born in Clarksburg. During the Civil War, she was a staunch Unionist and opened her home to care for sick and injured troops.
March 27, 1917: Statesman Cyrus Roberts Vance was born in Clarksburg. In 1977, President Carter tapped Vance as his secretary of state. Vance was instrumental in negotiating the Camp David Accords and the Panama Canal Treaty.
March 27, 1950: During an eight-hour period, 191 wildfires destroyed 20,122 acres of forestland in Mingo County. Winds as high as 65 m.p.h. were recorded in the town of Sprigg.
March 28, 1870: State officials, with state records and property, boarded the steamboat Mountain Boy, one of six steamboats that moved West Virginia’s capital from Wheeling to Charleston.
March 28, 1941: Musician Charlie McCoy was born in Oak Hill. One of the most significant harmonica players in country music history, his work can also be heard on rock ‘n’ roll albums, including several by Bob Dylan. He was musical director for the Hee Haw TV show.
March 28, 1943: Actress Conchata Ferrell was born in Loudendale, Kanawha County. She appeared in many films and TV shows, earning Emmy nominations for her work on L. A. Law and Two and a Half Men.
March 28, 1945: Clinton M. Hedrick of Pendleton County was killed in action near Wessel, Germany, shortly before the end of World War II in Europe. His actions at Lembeck Castle earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information contact the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301; (304) 346-8500; or visit e-WV at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
