A Forward-Thinking Legacy: Women's Suffrage

 

 

During the American Civil War, Pocahontas County was a deeply fractured, heavily Confederate-leaning frontier. For local Unionists, survival required navigating a brutal landscape of partisan warfare, bushwhackers, and regular military raids. Captain Samuel Young emerged as one of the most prominent leaders of this mountain Union sentiment, bridging the gap between local guerrilla resistance and the birth of the new state of West Virginia.

1. Organizing the Mountain Scouts & Militia

Because Pocahontas County was isolated and largely controlled by Confederate forces or Southern-sympathizing guerrilla bands (such as the 19th and 20th Virginia Cavalry units operating nearby), local Unionists were frequently forced to flee across Cheat Mountain to Union-held strongholds like Beverly or Elkwater.

Samuel Young played an indispensable role in organizing these displaced pro-Union citizens. Operating as a captain and political organizer, he worked closely with other prominent local Unionists—notably Captain John Sharp—to gather intelligence, form specialized scout detachments, and establish an official Union military presence.

Archival records from the fall of 1863—just around the time of the pivotal Battle of Droop Mountain in Pocahontas County—reveal Young actively coordinating from the state capital. Writing to Captain John Sharp from the Senate Chamber, Young stressed the absolute urgency of immediately organizing an official Pocahontas County militia out of the county's Union refugees. His strategic goal was twofold:

• Security: Provide an organized, armed deterrent to secure the mountain passes and protect Union families from partisan violence.

• Political Power: Guarantee that loyal Union officers would be elected to lead the local commands, cementing a pro-Union power structure for the county's eventual return to civil governance.

2. From the Mountains to the Senate Floor

Young’s leadership in the mountains propelled him into the political arena during the birth of West Virginia. When the state officially broke away from Virginia, Samuel Young was elected to represent the region in the 1st West Virginia Legislature, serving in the State Senate at Wheeling from June to December 1863.

As a senator, Young became a fierce advocate for the fractured, war-torn border counties. He used his legislative platform to secure resources for regional defense, ensuring that state authorities recognized the strategic importance of the partisan warfare playing out in the Allegheny highlands.

3. A Forward-Thinking Legacy: Women's Suffrage

Beyond his wartime logistics and local defense organizing, Samuel Young held remarkably progressive views for a 19th-century mountain minister and politician.

In 1867, long before women’s suffrage gained mainstream traction across the country, Senator Young introduced an unprecedented resolution to the West Virginia Senate calling for the enfranchisement of women. He followed up on February 8, 1869, by introducing a resolution encouraging the U.S. Congress to grant women the right to vote nationally. Though these early efforts were soundly defeated by his contemporaries, Captain Young cemented his name in history as the very first legislator to formally propose women's suffrage in the state of West Virginia—more than fifty years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Historical Note for Researchers:

Original wartime correspondence documenting Captain Young's efforts to raise the Pocahontas County Union militia can be found in the Samuel Young Letters collection housed within the West Virginia University (WVU) Libraries Archival Center.