He was a son of Moses J. Phillips and Margaret (Scott) Phillips. He served in the 62nd VA INF, CSA. After the war Claude headed West. He stopped off in St. Joseph, Missouri where he studied commercial law, geology and other sciences. During that period he also had a chance to visit his Uncle, Andrew Jackson Phillips, who had left what is now West Virginia, via horse and buggy, in 1854. The A. J. Phillips family resided briefly in Illinois, and decided to make Scotland County, Missouri their permanent home in 1865. Claude eventually made it all the way to California where he worked briefly in the gold mines. While on the West Coast he thoroughly educated himself in all departments of literature. After his return to West Virginia Claude conducted a geological survey of Roaring Creek. He named the town of Wommelsdorf (known today as Coalton, WV). He was influential in establishing a post office in Roaring Creek District. He wrote to President Cleveland expressing the need for better postal facilities in that part of Randolph County. Mr. Phillips also wrote industrial letters in various, local newspapers. One of his most popular, weekly columns was entitled "Claudes Coalton Correspondance." The column was published in the old Randolph-Enterprise newspaper. His columns usually began with a brief (and occasionally biased) comment on the national politics of the day, but quickly moved to discussions which ranged from the weather, family visitations, hunting exploits, illness, deaths, and even saloon fights. Luckily, many of Claude's letters survive, via microfilm, at WVU in Morgantown.
He was a son of Moses J. Phillips and Margaret (Scott) Phillips. He served in the 62nd VA INF, CSA. After the war Claude headed West. He stopped off in St. Joseph, Missouri where he studied commercial law, geology and other sciences. During that period he also had a chance to visit his Uncle, Andrew Jackson Phillips, who had left what is now West Virginia, via horse and buggy, in 1854. The A. J. Phillips family resided briefly in Illinois, and decided to make Scotland County, Missouri their permanent home in 1865. Claude eventually made it all the way to California where he worked briefly in the gold mines. While on the West Coast he thoroughly educated himself in all departments of literature. After his return to West Virginia Claude conducted a geological survey of Roaring Creek. He named the town of Wommelsdorf (known today as Coalton, WV). He was influential in establishing a post office in Roaring Creek District. He wrote to President Cleveland expressing the need for better postal facilities in that part of Randolph County. Mr. Phillips also wrote industrial letters in various, local newspapers. One of his most popular, weekly columns was entitled "Claudes Coalton Correspondance." The column was published in the old Randolph-Enterprise newspaper. His columns usually began with a brief (and occasionally biased) comment on the national politics of the day, but quickly moved to discussions which ranged from the weather, family visitations, hunting exploits, illness, deaths, and even saloon fights. Luckily, many of Claude's letters survive, via microfilm, at WVU in Morgantown.
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