Clarence Wayland Watson (May 8, 1864May 24, 1940) was a

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

"baron" from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. Watson organized several coal companies that became the Consolidation Coal and Mining Companies in West Virginia,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

. Watson was president of the company until 1911, then became its chairman. Later in life, he became President of Elk Horn Coal Company and served as trustee of various corporations,

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s, and banks across the

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. Watson was also elected as a Senator from West Virginia to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Stephen B. Elkins, serving from 1911 to 1913. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he served in the

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as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Ordnance Department, and served in France from 1918 to 1919. While in France he received a nomination for re-election to his Senate seat, but lost the election. He lived in Fairmont in Marion County, on his family's homestead, an estate named Fairmont Farms, where he bred horses.

Biography

Politics

A Democrat, he served as

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and p ...

from West Virginia from 1911 to 1913 after Stephen B. Elkins died in office. In March 1918, Watson was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Ordnance Department of the

and served with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alo ...

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until January 1919. In 1918, while overseas, he was once again nominated as a candidate for the U.S. Senate from West Virginia, but lost the election.

Horses

He lived in Fairmont in Marion County, on his family's homestead, an estate named Fairmont Farms, where he bred horses.FAIR FROM HORSES WIN AT BAY SHORE; C.W. Watson's Stable of High Steppers Makes Nearly a Clean Sweep at the Horse Show. MRS. WATSON DRIVES WELL Two Runaways Enliven the Judging at Opening Day -- Long Island Society Musters In Force.
''

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'' His show horses (including the well-regarded Lord Baltimore) won numerous awards both in the United States and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. They also competed in the Bay Shore Horse Show Association at Oakwood Driving Park,

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

Personal life

He was married to Minnie Owings Watson of

Ellicott City, Maryland Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the United ...

, whose portrait hangs in the ballroom of the Governor's Mansion in Charleston, West Virginia. They also maintained residences in

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(where

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now stands) and in

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. He died in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, while tending to Elk Horn Coal Company business, and is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Fairmont.

References

American businesspeople in the coal industry United States Army personnel of World War I Politicians from Fairmont, West Virginia United States Army colonels Democratic Party United States senators from West Virginia 1864 births 1940 deaths West Virginia Democrats Military personnel from West Virginia Businesspeople from Fairmont, West Virginia Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Fairmont, West Virginia) {{WestVirginia-politician-stub