West Virginia
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The state of West Virginia is a relatively new creation. It is divided into 55 counties and its capital is Charleston. West Virginia was admitted to the union as the 35th state on 20 June 1863[1]. It was created from the state of Virginia[2].
Because it was created in 1863, anyone born before that in this geographic region will rightly be shown as having been born in Virginia, which should be noted, because it is relevant to some of my ancestors.
West Virginia was the only state in the Union to separate from a Confederate state (Virginia) during the Civil War.[31] In Richmond on April 17, 1861, the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 voted to secede from the Union, but of the 49 delegates from the northwestern corner (which ultimately became West Virginia) only 17 voted in favor of the Ordinance of Secession, while 30 voted against[32] (with two abstentions).[33] Almost immediately after that vote, a mass meeting at Clarksburg recommended that each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in Wheeling on May 13, 1861. When this First Wheeling Convention met, 425 delegates from 25 counties were present, though more than one-third of the delegates were from the northern panhandle area.[34] Soon there was a division of sentiment.
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_date_of_admission_to_the_Union
- ↑ West Virginia was the only state in the Union to separate from a Confederate state (Virginia) during the Civil War.[31] In Richmond on April 17, 1861, the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 voted to secede from the Union, but of the 49 delegates from the northwestern corner (which ultimately became West Virginia) only 17 voted in favor of the Ordinance of Secession, while 30 voted against[32] (with two abstentions).[33] Almost immediately after that vote, a mass meeting at Clarksburg recommended that each county in northwestern Virginia send delegates to a convention to meet in Wheeling on May 13, 1861. When this First Wheeling Convention met, 425 delegates from 25 counties were present, though more than one-third of the delegates were from the northern panhandle area.[34] Soon there was a division of sentiment.