John Clifford
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John Robert Clifford (1848 - 1933)

Corporal John Robert "J.R." Clifford
Born in Williamsport, Hardy County, Virginia, USAmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1876 in Harpers Ferry, Jefferson, West Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 85 in Martinsburg, Berkeley, West Virginia, United Statesmap
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Biography

J.R. Clifford, the first African-American attorney admitted to the West Virginia State Bar, won a landmark civil rights and education case before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in 1898, the first ruling in U.S. history to determine that racial discrimination was illegal.[1] Owner and editor of the first African-American newspaper published in West Virginia, he worked with W. E. B. Du Bois to found the Niagara Movement for civil rights in 1905.
Corporal John Clifford served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 7 March 1865
Mustered out: 29 Aug 1865
Side: USA
Regiment(s): Company F, 13th Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery
Notables Project
John Clifford is Notable.
Flag of Virginia
John Clifford lived in Virginia.
John Clifford was a West Virginian.

John Robert "J.R." Clifford, free-born son of Isaac Clifford and Mary Satilpa Kent, was born September 13, 1848, at the home of his maternal grandparents in Williamsport, Hardy County, Virginia, where he was counted with them and his parents on the 1850 census.[2] His mother appears to have died c.1855. By 1860 his father appears to have remarried, and had moved them to their own place in Hardy County.[3] There were no schools for Black children there, so his father sent him to school in Chicago.[4]

In 1863, during the American Civil War, that part of Virginia broke away and became Williamsport, Grant county, part of the new state of West Virginia. In 1865 J.R., claiming to be 18 years of age but actually aged 16, enlisted in Company F of the 13th US Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment at Chicago, Illinois. At the time of his enlistment, he stated his occupation was hostler. He stood 5' 3 1/2" tall,[5] about 2.5 inches shorter than the average white soldier of the time.[6] During the rest of the war he saw service in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Eastern Virginia under General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army.[7] He served until the end of the war, having achieved the rank of corporal, and served afterward as a nurse.[4] After the war he returned to his grandmother's household, where he worked on her farm and was counted on the census in 1870. She was by then a widow, with four children and two other grandsons at home, including his brother David.[8] He then moved on to school in Wheeling, and then to Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

There he married Mary Elizabeth Franklin in 1876. They would have ten children.[4]

He got his degree in 1878, started his family in Martinsburg, and taught at the Sumner School. By 1880 he and Mary had two children.[9] He went on to become principal of Sumner, and studied law.[4]

In 1887 J.R. Clifford became the first African American attorney admitted to the West Virginia State Bar. According to an article in The Herald and Torch Light of Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, dated 28 Apr 1892:

CLIFFORD, J.R. of Martinsburg is the first colored lawyer admitted to practice before the Allegheny county bar and will defend Harry GREEN for the February 21st murder of Charles ROSS at Westernport.

The Pioneer Press was the first African-American newspaper published in West Virginia. J.R. Clifford served as both the owner and editor of the paper, which was published in Martinsburg, starting in 1882.[10]

He won a landmark civil rights and education case before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in 1898, the first ruling in U.S. history to determine that racial discrimination was illegal,[1] and a rare civil rights legal win some fifty years before the federal case of Brown v. Board of Education.[4] The win came two years after he lost his first legal challenge of the state's segregated school system to the court. That decision, Martin v. Board of Education, upheld the state's segregation policy, which was not overturned until the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954.[1]

In 1900 he and Mary were living in Martinsburg, W. Virginia, with all ten of their children, from age 1 to 23. He was 52.[11]

From the West Virginia Archives and History website:

In the area of civil rights, Clifford worked with his friend, W. E. B. Du Bois, to found the Niagara Movement in 1905. The Niagara Movement developed to counter Booker T. Washington's philosophy of working within the existing system to achieve gradual civil rights advancement. For his conservative ideas, Washington had become popular with white politicians of the time and had been invited to the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt. Unlike Washington's followers, participants in the Niagara Movement wanted immediate change. Clifford arranged the organization's second annual meeting in August 1906, held on the grounds of Storer College in Harpers Ferry. Participants walked barefoot to John Brown's Fort in a morning vigil honoring Brown's attempt to evoke a slave uprising in 1859. Clifford broke with the Niagara Movement when it formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. Among other disagreements, he objected to the use of the word "colored" in the organization's title.[1]

By 1910 his occupation was editor, and two children remained at home with him and Mary in Martinsburg;[12] only one remained with them by 1920.[13] In 1930 he and Mary had one granddaughter living with them in Martinsburg. [14]

He died at age 85 in West Virginia in 1933.[15] Originally buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Martinsburg, West Virginia, his remains were reinterred in 1954 at Arlington National Cemetery.[16]

Attorney J.R. Clifford dies

Attorney John R. Clifford, 85, the only colored lawyer in Martinsburg, died in a hospital from a cerebral hemorrhage resulting from a fall at his home October 6th.
Lawyer Clifford was the first colored lawyer to practice law in West Virginia. He began practicing more than forty years ago. In earlier years he was prominent in Knights of Pythias and Masonic circles. He published a weekly newspaper in Martinsburg for several years.[17]

In 2009, Clifford was featured on a postage stamp, part of a series honoring twelve civil rights pioneers.[18]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "J.R. Clifford", West Virginia Archives and History, website.
  2. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8D4-9JV : accessed 17 October 2015), Jno R Clifford in household of Evan Kent, Hardy county, part of, Hardy, Virginia, United States; citing family 1251, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
    Name Sex Age Birthplace
    Evan KentM66Virginia
    Priscilla Kent F 56Virginia
    Betsy Kent F26Virginia
    Rebecca KentF23Virginia
    Mary A KentF20Virginia
    Artemisia Kent F18Virginia
    James Kent M17Virginia
    Hanson KentM14Virginia
    Isaac Clifford M26Virginia
    Satilpa CliffordF34Virginia
    Theodore CliffordM5Virginia
    David Clifford M3Virginia
    Jno R CliffordM 1Virginia
  3. "United States Census, 1860," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M41H-DP8 : accessed 17 October 2015), John R Clifford in household of Isaac Clifford, District No 2, Hardy, Virginia, United States; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing p. 132, household ID 897, NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 805,351.
    Name Sex Age Birthplace
    Isaac CliffordM36Virginia
    Elizabeth CliffordF23Virginia
    Jacob E CliffordM0Virginia
    Mary E CliffordF3Virginia
    Theodore CliffordM15Virginia
    John R CliffordM 10Virginia
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Wikipedia contributors, "J. R. Clifford," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._Clifford (accessed February 5, 2021).
  5. The National Archives, Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served with the United States Colored Troops: Artillery Organizations, Publication Number: M1818, NARA Catalog ID: 300398; Record Group: 94; database and digital images, "Civil War Service Records (CMSR) - Union- Colored Troops Artillery", Fold3, 2010 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 8 February 2021); citing Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Volunteer Organizations During the American Civil War, compiled 1890 - 1912, documenting the period 1861 - 1866.
  6. Millicent Hathaway, "Trends in Height and Weight," USDA, 1959, PDF, p.1/5.
  7. D. Hogue, "John Robert "J.R." Clifford (1848-1933)," Retrieved from BlackPast 10 Sept 2020)
  8. "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZH7-1ZC : accessed 18 October 2015), John Clifford in household of Porcelia Kent, West Virginia, United States; citing p. 39, family 268, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,185.
    Name Sex Age Birthplace
    Porcelia KentF 81Virginia
    Elizabeth KentF46Virginia
    Rebecca KentF43Virginia
    James KentM37Virginia
    David CliffordM23Virginia
    John CliffordM22Virginia
    Henry RedmanM12Virginia
  9. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6RJ-JK7 : 14 November 2020), John Clifford, Berkeley, West Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district ED 11, sheet 208B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,400.
    Name Role Sex Age Birthplace
    John Clifford SelfM29Virginia
    Mary CliffordWifeF20Virginia
    Albert CliffordSon M2West Virginia
    Maud CliffordDaughterF0West Virginia
  10. Friends of Blackwater, "J.R. Clifford," Educational Resources, The J.R. Clifford Project, accessed 13 Oct 2023.
  11. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9C8-Q49 : accessed 18 October 2015), John R Clifford, Martinsburg district Martinsburg town Ward 2, Berkeley, West Virginia, United States; citing sheet 8A, family 162, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,241,755.
    Name Role Sex Age Birthplace
    John R CliffordHeadM52West Virginia
    Mary CliffordWife F41Virginia
    Albert CliffordSonM23West Virginia
    Maud CliffordDaughterF21 West Virginia
    John P CliffordSon M19West Virginia
    Coraline CliffordDaughterF16West Virginia
    Hellen CliffordDaughterF15 West Virginia
    Mary CliffordDaughterF12West Virginia
    William CliffordSonM13West Virginia
    Laurina CliffordDaughterF10West Virginia
    John R CliffordSonM7West Virginia
    Doratha CliffordDaughterF1 West Virginia
  12. "United States Census, 1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPN7-B7G : accessed 18 October 2015), John R Clifford, 1910
    Name Role Sex Age Birthplace
    John R CliffordHeadM62West Virginia
    Mary F CliffordWifeF50 West Virginia
    Albert F CliffordSonM30West Virginia
    Coraline R CliffordDaughterF24West Virginia
    John R Clifford Jr.SonM18West Virginia
  13. "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNLS-9XB : 4 February 2021), John R Clifford, Sr, 1920.
    Name Role Sex Age Birthplace
    John R Clifford, SrHeadM71West Virginia
    Mary F CliffordWifeF61Virginia
    John R Clifford, JrSonM 26West Virginia
  14. "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMCD-2F5 : accessed 5 February 2021), John R Clifford, Martinsburg, Berkeley, West Virginia, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 14, sheet 8A, line 13, family 185, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2526; FHL microfilm 2,342,260.
    Name Role Sex Age Birthplace
    John R CliffordHeadM81West Virginia
    Mary F CliffordWifeF71Virginia
    Mable R CliffordGr-dauF10West Virginia
  15. "West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999," database, FamilySearch: accessed 18 October 2015 , John R. Clifford, 06 Oct 1933; citing Martinsburg, Berkeley, West Virginia, County Records, v 6 p 26, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 831,272, and FHL microfilm 1,953,776.
  16. Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com: accessed 04 February 2021), memorial page for John Robert Clifford (13 Sep 1848–6 Oct 1933), Find A Grave: Memorial #30888810, citing Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by SsjD (contributor 48849350).
  17. Laws, Mrs. C. H. "News Among The Colored People," Hinton Daily News (Hinton, West Virginia), 11 Oct 1933, pg. 8, col. 2; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 8 February 2021).
  18. United States Postal Service, Civil Rights Pioneers Honored on Stamps, Stamps highlight NAACP’s 100th Anniversary, February 21, 2009; Release No. 09-020.

See Also:

  • Connie Park Rice, "Don't Flinch nor Yield an Inch: J. R. Clifford and the Struggle for Equal Rights in West Virginia," in West Virginia History: A Journal of Regional Studies (West Virginia University Press, New Series, Volume 1, Number 2, Fall 2007) pp. 45-68.
  • Wikidata: Item Q6106822 help.gif




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