Spanish consulate in Clarksburg, West virginia
Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 12:13 pm
For more than 10 years, I have been trying to document the existence of the Spanish consulate that was established in Clarksburg, WV, to assist immigrants in the surrounding communities. At last I have a lead, thanks to David Houchin of the Carksburg Harrison Public Library. He writes:
"The city directories for the years 1910 to 1924 show only one consular listing, in 1921:
'Spanish Vice Consul, B Merendino consul, 701 Goff bldg'
Biagio Merendino was an attorney, born in Sicily in 1876, naturalized in New York in 1905 and practicing law in the criminal court in Clarksburg since about 1915, initially in partnership with W. Frank Stout, with whom he also worked in real estate.
How Mr. Merendino came to hold a consular post in 1921 and, more importantly, whether he held it in other years I don't know at this point, but in any case he was the only attorney in Clarksburg of Mediterranean origins and so the likely candidate."
"The city directories for the years 1910 to 1924 show only one consular listing, in 1921:
'Spanish Vice Consul, B Merendino consul, 701 Goff bldg'
Biagio Merendino was an attorney, born in Sicily in 1876, naturalized in New York in 1905 and practicing law in the criminal court in Clarksburg since about 1915, initially in partnership with W. Frank Stout, with whom he also worked in real estate.
How Mr. Merendino came to hold a consular post in 1921 and, more importantly, whether he held it in other years I don't know at this point, but in any case he was the only attorney in Clarksburg of Mediterranean origins and so the likely candidate."