John Jacob Cornwell (July 11, 1867 – September 8, 1953) was a
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
politician from
Romney in
Hampshire County, West Virginia. Cornwell served as the
15th Governor of the US state of
West Virginia. Cornwell also served in the
West Virginia Senate as a
state senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
(1899–1905).
Background
John Jacob Cornwell was born on a farm near the community of
Pennsboro in
Ritchie County
Ritchie County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,444. Its county seat is Harrisville. The county was created in 1843 by the Virginia General Assembly and named for Richmond newspap ...
into a family of Welsh origin whose ancestor Peter Cornwell, born in
Wales in 163
settled in the
Virginia Colony. When John J. Cornwell was three years old in 1870, his family moved to
Hampshire County in West Virginia's
Eastern Panhandle. Cornwell attended
Shepherd University in
Shepherdstown at the age of sixteen and became a school teacher upon graduating in Hampshire County.
In 1890, Cornwell and his brother,
William B. Cornwell
William Benjamin Cornwell (November 25, 1864 – April 8, 1926) was an American lawyer, businessperson, newspaper editor and publisher, and railroad and lumber, timber executive in the U.S. state of West Virginia. He was an older brother of writ ...
, acquired the Romney ''Hampshire Review'' and assumed the roles of publishers and editors of the newspaper. In 1892, he married
Edna Brady.
["West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007.] In 1897, Cornwell and his brother bought out the competing paper, the
South Branch Intelligencer
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
, adding its name and 1829 founding date to the Review's masthead.
Political Office
Cornwell was admitted to the bar in 1898 and served as a state senator from 1899 to 1905. Cornwell was defeated in his first gubernatorial bid by
William Mercer Owens Dawson in 1904, but was elected governor in 1916, took office in March 1917, and served until 1921. In 1917, Cornwell became the only Democrat to serve as governor in a thirty-six-year span between 1897 and 1933. In fact, Cornwell was the only Democrat elected to a statewide office in 1916.
One month after Cornwell took office as governor, the United States entered World War I and due in part to his efforts, the state of West Virginia had one of the highest percentages of volunteers of any state. Also during his term, the state reached an agreement on a public debt figure owed to
Virginia since West Virginia's statehood in 1863. Cornwell advocated strengthening the mining code, the creation of a state board of education, and the establishment of the West Virginia Department of Public Safety, now officially known as the
West Virginia State Police. He supported woman's suffrage, adding it to the agenda for a special session of the legislature in February 1920. West Virginia became the 34th state to ratify the federal constitutional amendment for women's right to vote.
Cornwell's term was not unblemished, however, and was marked by growing labor unrest in the coal industry of southern West Virginia. Cornwell discouraged an armed miners' march in 1919 by assuring them he would address the miners' grievances. His failure to handle the situation led to increased violence, including the infamous shootout between miners and coal company guards in
Matewan,
Mingo County
Mingo County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,568. Its county seat and largest city is Williamson. Created in 1895, Mingo is West Virginia's newest county, named for the historic ...
.
After leaving office in 1921, John J. Cornwell served as a director and general counsel for the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
Company.
Death
Upon retirement, he lived at his home on Main Street in Romney. Cornwell contracted
pneumonia in the summer of 1953 and died at Cumberland Memorial Hospital in
Cumberland, Maryland on September 8, 1953. He is interred with his wife and son in Romney's
Indian Mound Cemetery. Cornwell descendants continue to run the Hampshire Review today.
John J. Cornwell Elementary School in
Levels
Level or levels may refer to:
Engineering
*Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights
*Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical
*Canal pound or level
*Regr ...
is named for him because of his background in and strong support of education in the state of West Virginia.
References
External links
Biography of John J. CornwellThe Hampshire Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwell, John Jacob
1867 births
1953 deaths
19th-century American lawyers
20th-century American lawyers
American bank presidents
American newspaper publishers (people)
American people of Welsh descent
American railway entrepreneurs
Burials at Indian Mound Cemetery
Cornwell family
Deaths from pneumonia in Maryland
Editors of West Virginia newspapers
Democratic Party governors of West Virginia
People from Ritchie County, West Virginia
People from Romney, West Virginia
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad people
Shepherd University alumni
West Virginia lawyers
Democratic Party West Virginia state senators
Schoolteachers from West Virginia
19th-century American politicians
20th-century American politicians
Members of the Odd Fellows