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West Virginia Women's Suffrage Trail

Zone 3 of 10: Clarksburg

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Alma McWhorter West was a West Virginia suffragist who was chair of the Harrison County Equal Suffrage Organization and a member of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association. She was a board member of the West Virginia League of Women Voters and unsuccessfully ran for House of Delegates in 1942. 


Alma McWhorter West (West Virginia State Archives)

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146 and 150 E Main Street (Photo by Ralph Pederson, 1985)

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The Clarksburg Daily Telegram, October 9, 1912

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The Clarksburg Daily Telegram, August 20, 1913

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The Fairmont West Virginian, September 25, 1915

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The Clarksburg Daily Telegram, May 27, 1916

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Spirit of Jefferson, September 9, 1916

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The Clarksburg Daily Telegram, October 3, 1916

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Clarksburg Daily Telegram, October 27, 1916

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The Clarksburg Daily Telegram, October 28, 1916

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The Clarksburg Daily Telegram, October 31, 1916

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146 and 150 E Main Street (Photo by Ralph Pederson, 1985)

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Clarksburg City Directory, 1911

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Clarksburg City Directory, 1921.

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Clarksburg City Directory, 1935

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Clarksburg City Directory, 1949

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Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia, July 1916.

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Alma McWhorter was born to John M. and Mary Davisson McWhorter on September 9, 1878. She attended West Virginia Wesleyan College and taught for a few years after graduation. She married Olandus West on November 29, 1906.

Alma McWhorter West was active in many social organizations in Harrison County, including the Woman’s Club, the American Red Cross, the YMCA, and fundraising during the World Wars. West was also very involved in the West Virginia Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and in 1915 was the WCTU superintendent for suffrage work.

West was a member of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association and was chair of the Harrison County Equal Suffrage Organization. In 1920, she was a member of the state committee for ratification and was present at the legislative sessions for ratification. Later that year, at the charter meeting of the West Virginia League of Women Voters Alma M. West was chosen to be on the first board of the organization.

In 1932, Alma West was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention representing West Virginia and in 1942 she unsuccessfully ran for the WV House of Delegates. In 1934 West was the president of the West Virginia Federation of Women’s Clubs.

Alma McWhorter West died May 14, 1951 and was interred at the Elkview Masonic Cemetery in Clarksburg. 

“Chapter Seven: West Virginia Women Prepare to Vote.” Fighting the Long Fight: West Virginia Women and the Right to Vote. A West Virginia Archives and History Online Exhibit. Accessed July 1, 2022. http://archive.wvculture.org/history/exhibitsonline/suffrage/suffrage7.html.

Crayton, Sarah, and Evan Mercado. “Biography of Alma McWhorter West, 1878-1951.” Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890-1920. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1011147320.

“Female Politicians in West Virginia, W-Z.” PoliticalGraveyard. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/female.W-Z.html.

Ida Husted Harper, ed. The History of Woman Suffrage, In Six Volumes: Volume VI, 1900-1920. National American Woman Suffrage Association. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://books.google.com/books?id=GHrkxi3apVoC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.

West Virginia, U,S,, Marriages Index, 1785-1971. Accessed through Ancestry.com, July 1, 2022.

The daily telegram. [volume], August 29, 1911, Page PAGE FIVE, Image 5. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1911-08-29/ed-1/seq-5/.

“West Virginia State House of Delegates, 1940s.” PoliticaGraveyard. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/WV/ofc/sthse1940s.html.

“Women in the West Virginia Woman Suffrage Movement.” Fighting the Long Fight: West Virginia Women and the Right to Vote. A West Virginia Archives and History Online Exhibit. Accessed July 1, 2022. http://archive.wvculture.org/history/exhibitsonline/suffrage/suffragewomen.html.

1920, 1930, 1940 U.S. Census. Accessed through Ancestry, July 1, 2022.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

"Alma McWhorter West, Sc2014-019, West Virginia State Archives." Fighting the Long Fight: West Virginia Women and the Right to Vote. A West Virginia Archives and History Online Exhibit. Accessed July 1, 2022. http://archive.wvculture.org/history/exhibitsonline/suffrage/suffrage72.html.

"North SIde East Main Looking Northeast - 146 and 150 E. Main visible." Quality Hill Historic District. National Park Service. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/e023ed22-c116-4635-ac53-8609b3a7c4d4.

The daily telegram. [volume], October 09, 1912, Image 1. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1912-10-09/ed-1/seq-1/.

The daily telegram. [volume], August 20, 1913, Image 1. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1913-08-20/ed-1/seq-1/.

The West Virginian. [volume], September 25, 1915, Page PAGE 10, Image 10. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86072054/1915-09-25/ed-1/seq-10/.

The daily telegram. [volume], May 27, 1916, Image 15. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1916-05-27/ed-1/seq-15/.

Spirit of Jefferson. [volume], September 19, 1916, Image 4. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026788/1916-09-19/ed-1/seq-4/.

The daily telegram. [volume], October 03, 1916, Page PAGE SEVEN, Image 21. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1916-10-03/ed-1/seq-21/.

The daily telegram. [volume], October 27, 1916, Page PAGE FOUR, Image 12. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1916-10-27/ed-1/seq-12/.

The daily telegram. [volume], October 28, 1916, Image 1. Chronicling America. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1916-10-28/ed-1/seq-1/.

The daily telegram. [volume], October 31, 1916, Image 9. Chronicling America. July 1, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85059715/1916-10-31/ed-1/seq-9/.

"North SIde East Main Looking Northeast - 146 and 150 E. Main visible." Quality Hill Historic District. National Park Service. Accessed July 1, 2022. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/e023ed22-c116-4635-ac53-8609b3a7c4d4.

Clarksburg, West Virginia, City Directory, 1911. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed July 1, 2022.

Clarksburg, West Virginia, City Directory, 1921. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed July 1, 2022.

Clarksburg, West Virginia, City Directory, 1935. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed July 1, 2022.

Clarksburg, West Virginia, City Directory, 1949. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Accessed July 1, 2022.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia. Sanborn Map Company, Jul, 1916. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn09397_007/. Accessed July 1, 2022.