Dr. James Whann McSHERRY Biography - Berkeley County GenWeb
Berkeley County, West Virginia Biography of Dr. James Whann McSHERRY


         Dr. James Whann McSHERRY was born in Martinsburg on December 7, 1833, and was the oldest physician in Berkeley County (as of 1928), the oldest living member of the West Virginia Medical Association, and the oldest banker in West Virginia. He was educated at the Martinsburg Academy, St. Mary�s College of Baltimore, Maryland, and a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He was a soldier in the Civil War, captain of Company B, 36th Virginia Regiment Infantry Volunteers, in the Confederate service, and was appointed Captain by Governor Henry A. Wise.

         After the war ended, Dr. McSherry returned to Martinsburg, but wasn�t allowed to practice because he was a �rebel.� He moved to Baltimore and remained there until 1869, when he returned to Martinsburg following the passage of the �Flick Amendment� which allowed all those who served in the Southern cause to take the oath of allegiance to the U.S. Government. Dr. McSherry was elected Mayor of Martinsburg two terms and was a member of the City Council. He married the daughter of Charles James Faulkner, Virginia Faulkner, June 3, 1876. He was a banker connected with the Old National Bank, but when the Citizens National Bank was organized he was elected president of that institution. He helped to organize the bank with a capital stock of $100,000.

         Dr. McSherry�s father was a lawyer and lived at "Wizard Clipp,� Jefferson County, West Virginia. Richard McSherry, born July 28, 1747, was a soldier and physician in the War of 1812 and was a relative of Dr. J. Whann McSherry.


    Submitted by Marilyn Gouge and extracted from History of Berkeley County, West Virginia, 1928

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