This post, about Henry Boose Clemens (1843-1923), will serve as the second supplement (after Dr. B.H. Stillyard) to our livestream video. Additional supplements will be posted soon.
Rising from Slavery
Library of Congress
Sherrard Clemens was born in Wheeling in 1820, became a lawyer, and was elected to U.S. Congress in 1852 and 1856.
Clemens attended the First Wheeling Convention in 1861 but opposed both secession and separation from Virginia. He infamously referred to Abraham Lincoln “a cross between a sandhill crane and an Andalusian jackass.” He was also involved in an infamous duel with the son of Virginia’s Governor Wise.
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). Library of Congress.
The first name may seem familiar. The town of Sherrard in Marshall County is named after him.
The surname may also seem familiar: he was a cousin to a man named Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.
But none of that is why he is being mentioned here. He’s mentioned here because he was also a slave owner. And one of his slaves was a man named Henry Boose (or “Boz”), who also took the surname Clemens. Henry and his mother, Emily, were willed to Sherrard by his father, Dr. James W. Clemens (who allegedly faked the Grave Creek Tablet). [1]
Henry Boose Clemens was born into slavery in Wheeling, Virginia in 1843.
Passage from the 1846 will of James W. ClemensIn this 1860 Ohio County “Slave Schedule,” Sherrard Clemens is listed as “owning” a 13 year old male “mulatto,” which is consistent with Henry Boose’s age.
An Accomplished Family
This ad from the 1878 Callin’s City Directory says Clemens had been working as a barber in Wheeling “since 1862.”
After the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, Henry Boose Clemens was a free man, and started working as a barber in Wheeling. [2] He was described as “picturesque” and “one of the most highly respected colored residents of the Wheeling district.” [3]
On November 28, 1872, he married Moundsville resident Elizabeth Annie Lock [4], whose grandmother, former slave Mrs. Mary Kent was once “owned” by Moses and Lydia Shepherd, and was thought to have been an eyewitness to the siege of Fort Henry. [5] She was said to be the oldest woman in West Virginia (and possibly the nation) when she died in 1890 at age 114. According to the newspaper account, her longevity may have been attributable to the facts that she smoked a pipe every morning, never wore “specs,” and never rode a railroad car. [6]
Denton Lock had also been a barber in Wheeling before the war. [8]
This view of the 1880 census shows Boose Clemens, a barber, living at 1121 Eoff St., married to a Cela with a daughter Mamie. Their race is marked “mulatto.”
According to the 1880 census, Henry and wife “Cela” lived at 1121 Eoff Street with a daughter named “Mammie.” They were all categorized as mixed race, or “mulatto.” [9] Ten years later in 1890, the Wheeling Register reported the adoption, by Clemens and his wife, of an infant child aged between 3 and 4 years, under the name Hazel Jones Clemens. The child had been in their care for 17 months and was previously at Cleveland Protestant Orphan Asylum, her father listed as deceased while her mother’s whereabouts unknown. [10]
A Republican Leader
Soon after being freed from slavery, Henry became active in Republican politics, helping to organize Wheeling’s annual Emancipation Day celebrations. In 1871, he served as an officer, along with Alexander Turner, father of Wheeling’s first black police officer, to organize the “Jubilee of Freedom” when the “colored citizens” of Wheeling celebrated “the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment,” which prohibited “the abridgment of the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” and had been ratified by the state March 3, 1869 in the First State Capitol building on Eoff Street. [11]
1882 City Council election results.
In 1882, Henry Boose Clemens ran for city council in the Second Ward. “The colored troops made an effort for their candidate, HB Clemens” The Wheeling Intelligencer mocked,” but he was slaughtered…” [12] In 1895, as a member of the Simpson AME Church, Clemens helped plan a memorial for Frederick Douglass, meeting with the likes of William Alexander Turner and Dr. B.H. Stillyard. Clemens also participated in a mock trial. [13] In 1900, Clemens served as Marshal of the 13th “Colored Men’s Division” for the Dewey Day Parade celebrating Admiral George Dewey’s heroism in the Spanish American War in 1898. [14] And in 1903, Clemens served as Chief Marshal of the “Colored Odd Fellows” Thanksgiving Day parade, marching in front of the Wheeling City Band. [15] He ran for city council again in 1900, and 1911 for “First Branch in the Second Ward,” but, despite an excellent chance to secure the nomination and election” as a “popular Republican leader among the colored voters of his war,” withdrew “prompted by his desire for perfect harmony among the Republicans of the Second Ward.” [16]
A Ready Tongue for Wit
Clemens’s primary occupation was as a barber, in which capacity he worked at the McLure Hotel, Washington Hall, the Grand Opera building, and the Schmulbach building all on Market Street. [17] It is likely that Clemens, due to Jim Crow, was limited to catering to a white clientele. Nevertheless, barbershops evolved into centers of social interaction and access. [18] One wonders how many politicians and big-shots he must have interacted with at these locations, and how much he must have overheard as a trusted barber. In any event, this insider access might account for how he also came work as a bailiff at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of WV. [19]
Image courtesy the Library of Congress
Clemens’s popularity as a barber is born out by this passage in his obituary, a rather prominently placed one for a lowly barber: “[Clemens had] a ready tongue for wit and almost every word he uttered was filled with humor. Many were the men who enjoyed the time occupied for a shave and a haircut listening his talk. Many men recall the boyhood days when father used to take them to Boose Clemens’s barber shop for a haircut and Boose never seemed to grow weary in spreading a touch of cheerfulness among all, white and colored, whom he met.” [20]
For men of the dusty and dirty 19th Century, it seems, a trip to the barbershop was a welcome respite and one of those rare earthly pleasures. This was evidenced by a remarkable advertisement for the Metropolitan Shaving Saloon, located in Washington Hall, and operated by Clemens and his partner “Lewis” published in 1879:
“LEWIS & CLEMENS,
Metropolitan Shaving Saloon, No. 5 Washington Hall Building.
Page 1 of Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Tuesday, December 15th, 1885
There is probably nothing in a man’s necessities that he is so particular about as his shaving; and this can readily be made a trial or a great pleasure. To have your face manipulated, when the hirsute appendage is being removed, by cool, soft, deft fingers, every movement gentle, every stroke of the keen, well kept razor, almost unfelt, gliding over the face with a soothing, refreshing sensation. You are perfectly clean and smooth before you are aware of it — then the dextrous, experienced hands busy themselves arranging your hair so softly and neatly that you awake as it were from a pleasant, delightful dream when your barber calls “next.” This is pleasure unalloyed. No where in Wheeling can this pleasure be obtained to so much perfection as at the shaving parlors of Lewis & Clemens. They have made it their aim, and with success, to render their saloon the most popular in the city. Employing none but the very best and most experienced hands, keeping everything about them neat and clean, making their place of business inviting with its elegantly furnished apartments, they have justly assumed a position at the head of the tonsorial fraternity in Wheeling. Their bathing rooms are fitted up with the most modern and approved appliances, well furnished and appointed, everything ready at a moment’s notice for a delightful bath. In the hair-cutting department of their business they certainly cannot be excelled, both Boose and Tom being experts with the scissors. We gladly recommend to both citizen and stranger, in want of the services of a barber, the clean and elegant saloon of Lewis & Clemens.” [21]
Clemens bought out Lewis in 1899 [22] and later partnered with Austin L. Jackson in a shop at the Schmulbach Building. [23]
Henry Boose Clemens died on New Year’s Day, 1923 at his daughter’s home in Detroit, Michigan. He is buried next to his wife at Mt. Wood Cemetery. [24]
Headstone of H.B. Clemens at Mt. Cavalry Cemetery.
We Need Your Help
If you happen to be a descendant of Henry B. Clemens or know people who have information and photos and are willing to share, please contact us. Our goal is to create and keep as a complete a record as we can of the accomplishments of Mr. Clemens and other key personalities from Wheeling’s past. And, largely because of the lingering effects of segregation, the history of Wheeling’s black community has been neglected.
End Notes
[1] Last will and testament of Dr. James W. Clemens. Ohio County, Virginia. Oct. 25, 1846. [database on-line]. AncestryLibrary.com; for more on Sherrard Clemens, see this article by Christina Fisanick: https://weelunk.com/wheeling-leaves-its-mark-on-twain/.
[2] Despite this claim in Clemens’s obituary, the Emancipation Proclamation actually only applied to states in rebellion, meaning it specifically did not apply to the counties that would become the new state of West Virginia. Is it possible that Sherrard Clemens manumitted Henry in reaction to the Proclamation? Clemens himself claimed in the Callin’s advertisement seen in this post that he started working as a barber in Wheeling in 1862. Another possibility, as pointed out in the comments section by George Carenbauer, is the February 3, 1865 West Virginia law “abolishing slavery immediately within the state. At the same time, the Legislature ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which became effective in December 1865 when it was ratified by a sufficient number of states…Clemens was likely emancipated on February 3, 1865, by the state law abolishing slavery in West Virginia.” More research is warranted on the precise date of freedom for Henry B. Clemens.
[3] Wheeling Intelligencer, Tuesday, January 2nd, 1923, p. 9.
[9] Clemens, H. B. 1880 United States Federal Census, Ohio County, West Virginia, population schedule, 2nd Ward, City of Wheeling, p. 13 , dwelling 118, family 161. [database on-line]. AncestryLibrary.com.
[10] Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Wednesday, January 8th, 1890, p. 4.
[11] Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Thursday, May 25th, 1871, p. 4.
[12] Wheeling Sunday Register, December 31, 1882, p. 1.
[19] Wheeling Intelligencer, Tuesday, January 2nd, 1923, p. 9.
[20] Ibid.
[21] The Industries of Wheeling Historical, descriptive and biographical review of the commercial and manufacturing advantages of Wheeling. Published: Wheeling, W. Va., Land & Brown, 1879.
[22] Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, November 09, 1899, p. 3.
[24] Wheeling Intelligencer, Tuesday, January 2nd, 1923, p. 9.
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About Author
Seán Duffy
Seán Patrick Duffy is the programming coordinator at the Ohio County Public Library and the Executive Director of the Wheeling Academy of Law and Science (WALS) Foundation at the First State Capitol in Wheeling, where he manages the Reuther-Wheeling Library and Labor History Archive. He earned a BA in History and an MBA from Wheeling Jesuit University, and a JD from the American University. He is the author of three books on local history: The Wheeling Family: A Celebration of Immigrants & Their Neighborhoods (2008), Wheeling: Then & Now with Paul Rinkes (2010), and The Wheeling Family, Volume 2: More Immigrants, Migrants & Neighborhoods (2012). He also edited and co-authored Legendary Locals of Wheeling (2013) with Brent Carney and numerous local contributors. Seán was named a History Hero by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History in 2010 and is a member of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation Board.
It is unlikely that Henry Boose Clemens was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, as it explicitly exempted the 48 counties (including Ohio county) that were to become the state of West Virginia, meaning that enslaved persons in Wheeling were not freed by the Proclamation. Neither was Clemens freed by the Willey Amendment to the bill that admitted West Virginia and which provided for the gradual emancipation of the enslaved in the new state, as the first people who would have been freed under the Amendment would not have been until 1867. Instead, Clemens was most likely emancipated by a bill enacted by the West Virginia Legislature on February 3, 1865, abolishing slavery immediately within the state. At the same time, the Legislature ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which became effective in December 1865 when it was ratified by a sufficient number of states. In short, Clemens was likely emancipated on February 3, 1865, by the state law abolishing slavery in West Virginia.
George, thank you for the information. yes, I wrote about the fact that the EP did not free slaves in West Virginia in my history of race relations in Wheeling called “Wheeling’s 20th Man.” See: http://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/wheelings-20th-man-250-years-of-race-relations-in-the-northernmost-southern-city-of-the-southernmost-northern-state. I was reporting here what the newspaper claimed in his obit, but should have included an endnote clarifying this. It’s also possible that Sherrard Clemens manumitted him upon passage of the EP or seeing the writing on the wall regarding the Wiley Amendment and future state actions. We just don’t know. We do know from the Callin’s City Directory advertisement that Clemens himself claimed to have “commenced his [barber] business in Wheeling in 1862.” That’s even earlier than the final EP. I will check our early city directories to see if Clemens was listed prior to 1865. Otherwise, you may be correct. I will also add this important endnote. Thanks again.
I was previously unfamiliar with either Sherrard Clemens or Henry Boose Clemens.
Interestingly enough, Sherrard’s cousin was also famously/infamously involved with a dueling challenge in Nevada.
Thanks for the inclusion of H. B. Clemens and Dr. Stillyard being involved in planning a memorial service for Frederick Douglass. Dare I speculate it would have been very likely H. B. Clemens heard Mr. Douglass speak in Wheeling during his two visits and/or was part of the welcoming / hospitality committee? Mr. Douglass knew many barbers, as it was a service profession – similar to catering, coach / hack driving (cab driving of the 1800s), seamstressing – open to Black Americans before and after Emancipation.
Appreciate the great local history articles on the Archiving Wheeling project and site. Wonderful work uplifting local history.
Ah — so if H. B. Clemens had his barbershop in a retail space at the original Washington Hall and the new Washington Hall / Opera House / Academy of Music at present-day 12th & Market Street than it is very possible he heard Douglass speak in 1867 and 1884 as he spoke at that location. This my interpretation and historical speculation rather than hard conclusion but it makes for an interesting look at local history.
Thank you Archiving Wheeling for this great article!
After the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, Henry Boose Clemens was a free man, and started working as a barber in Wheeling. [2] He was described as “picturesque” and “one of the most highly respected colored residents of the Wheeling district.” [3]
Clemens’s popularity as a barber is born out by this passage in his obituary, a rather prominently placed one for a lowly barber: “[Clemens had] a ready tongue for wit and almost every word he uttered was filled with humor. Many were the men who enjoyed the time occupied for a shave and a haircut listening his talk. Many men recall the boyhood days when father used to take them to Boose Clemens’s barber shop for a haircut and Boose never seemed to grow weary in spreading a touch of cheerfulness among all, white and colored, whom he met.” [20]
Great article. Cant wait for in person lectures
It is unlikely that Henry Boose Clemens was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, as it explicitly exempted the 48 counties (including Ohio county) that were to become the state of West Virginia, meaning that enslaved persons in Wheeling were not freed by the Proclamation. Neither was Clemens freed by the Willey Amendment to the bill that admitted West Virginia and which provided for the gradual emancipation of the enslaved in the new state, as the first people who would have been freed under the Amendment would not have been until 1867. Instead, Clemens was most likely emancipated by a bill enacted by the West Virginia Legislature on February 3, 1865, abolishing slavery immediately within the state. At the same time, the Legislature ratified the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which became effective in December 1865 when it was ratified by a sufficient number of states. In short, Clemens was likely emancipated on February 3, 1865, by the state law abolishing slavery in West Virginia.
George, thank you for the information. yes, I wrote about the fact that the EP did not free slaves in West Virginia in my history of race relations in Wheeling called “Wheeling’s 20th Man.” See: http://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/wheelings-20th-man-250-years-of-race-relations-in-the-northernmost-southern-city-of-the-southernmost-northern-state. I was reporting here what the newspaper claimed in his obit, but should have included an endnote clarifying this. It’s also possible that Sherrard Clemens manumitted him upon passage of the EP or seeing the writing on the wall regarding the Wiley Amendment and future state actions. We just don’t know. We do know from the Callin’s City Directory advertisement that Clemens himself claimed to have “commenced his [barber] business in Wheeling in 1862.” That’s even earlier than the final EP. I will check our early city directories to see if Clemens was listed prior to 1865. Otherwise, you may be correct. I will also add this important endnote. Thanks again.
Fascinating and wonderful article.
I was previously unfamiliar with either Sherrard Clemens or Henry Boose Clemens.
Interestingly enough, Sherrard’s cousin was also famously/infamously involved with a dueling challenge in Nevada.
Thanks for the inclusion of H. B. Clemens and Dr. Stillyard being involved in planning a memorial service for Frederick Douglass. Dare I speculate it would have been very likely H. B. Clemens heard Mr. Douglass speak in Wheeling during his two visits and/or was part of the welcoming / hospitality committee? Mr. Douglass knew many barbers, as it was a service profession – similar to catering, coach / hack driving (cab driving of the 1800s), seamstressing – open to Black Americans before and after Emancipation.
Appreciate the great local history articles on the Archiving Wheeling project and site. Wonderful work uplifting local history.
Thank you!
John M
Ah — so if H. B. Clemens had his barbershop in a retail space at the original Washington Hall and the new Washington Hall / Opera House / Academy of Music at present-day 12th & Market Street than it is very possible he heard Douglass speak in 1867 and 1884 as he spoke at that location. This my interpretation and historical speculation rather than hard conclusion but it makes for an interesting look at local history.
Thank you Archiving Wheeling for this great article!
JM