Tag: Governor Howard Gore

September 9, 1894: Publicist Sam Mallison Born

Publicist Sam Mallison was born in North Carolina on September 9, 1894. He worked for several small newspapers in the Tar Heel State before becoming city editor of the Clarksburg Telegram in 1916.

He later covered the West Virginia Legislature for the paper and gave a young Salem College student named Jennings Randolph a job as a sportswriter.

In 1924, Mallison went to Washington to serve as private secretary to Clarksburg’s Howard Gore, who’d been appointed assistant secretary of Agriculture. After Gore was elected governor, he named Mallison state auditor. Mallison later served as capital correspondent for Wheeling-based Ogden Newspapers.

In 1937, he was hired as head of public relations for the Benedum-Trees Company—a worldwide collection of oil, pipeline, and refining companies. He worked for the company for 28 years, during which time he wrote The Great Wildcatter, a biography of company founder and Bridgeport native Michael Benedum.

In 1961, Mallison published Let’s Set a Spell, a collection of anecdotes covering subjects ranging from the governor’s office to death row at the penitentiary. Sam Mallison died in Texas in 1979 at age 84.

August 30, 1921: John Wilburn Leads Miners Against Blair Mountain

On August 30, 1921, John Wilburn of Blair assembled between 50 and 75 armed men to attack Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin’s troops, which were entrenched at the pinnacle of Blair Mountain.

The 45-year-old coal miner and Baptist preacher told his followers it was time for him to lay down his Bible, take up his rifle, and fight for the union.

After camping that night, the group, which included two of his sons, ran into Logan Deputy John Gore and two nonunion miners—all three belonging to Chafin’s army. Both sides opened fire. Gore and Chafin’s two other men were shot dead. One of Wilburn’s men, a black miner, was also killed.

Both Wilburn and his son, John, were sentenced to 11 years for murder. However, Governor Ephraim Morgan reduced each of their sentences to five years, and Governor Howard Gore later pardoned the Wilburns after they’d served three years in the state penitentiary. John Wilburn and his son were two of the few people ever convicted for their roles in the Battle of Blair Mountain—the largest armed insurrection in the United States since the Civil War.

John Wilburn Leads Miners Against Blair Mountain: August 30, 1921

On August 30, 1921, John Wilburn of Blair assembled between 50 and 75 armed men to attack Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin’s troops, which were entrenched at the pinnacle of Blair Mountain.

The 45-year-old coal miner and Baptist preacher told his followers it was time for him to lay down his Bible, take up his rifle, and fight for the union.

After camping that night, the group, which included two of his sons, ran into Logan Deputy John Gore and two nonunion miners—all three belonging to Chafin’s army. Both sides opened fire. Gore and Chafin’s two other men were shot dead. One of Wilburn’s men, a black miner, was also killed.

Both Wilburn and his son, John, were sentenced to 11 years for murder. However, Governor Ephraim Morgan reduced each of their sentences to five years, and Governor Howard Gore later pardoned the Wilburns after they’d served three years in the state penitentiary. John Wilburn and his son were two of the few people ever convicted for their roles in the Battle of Blair Mountain—the largest armed insurrection in the United States since the Civil War.

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