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Sol N. Sheridan

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Sol N. Sheridan
Born(1858-12-10)December 10, 1858
St. Joseph, Missouri
DiedJanuary 23, 1936(1936-01-23) (aged 77)
Ventura, California
Occupation(s)Historian, newspaperman, author
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Solomon Neill Sheridan Jr. (December 10, 1858 – January 23, 1936) was an American historian, newspaperman, and writer.

Early years

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Sheridan was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1858, the son of Solomon N. Sheridan and Anne Byrne Sheridan. He moved to Ventura, California, with his parents and six siblings in 1873.[1]

Newspaperman

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Sheridan began working in the newspaper business for the Ventura Signal, which was owned by his brother E. M. Sheridan. He next moved to San Francisco and in 1882 became a correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle in Washington, D.C.[1] By 1890, he had moved to Arizona where he helped found The Arizona Republican.[2][3]

In 1898, he was a war correspondent during the Spanish–American War, reporting from Guam and the Philippines as a correspondent for The San Francisco Call and the New York Herald.[4][5] He was aboard the USS Charleston to report on the Spanish surrender at Guam.[3] After the war, he traveled extensively through Asia and the Pacific and became the associate editor of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser in Honolulu.[2]

Political and civic efforts

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Upon his return from Hawaii, Sheridan worked for two years as private secretary to U.S. Senator Frank Putnam Flint. While on Flint's staff, Sheridan served as secretary to the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals (of which Flint was chairman) and traveled to Panama during the construction of the Panama Canal and also along the west coast of Mexico.[2][6]

Sheridan returned to Ventura where he became the secretary of the chamber of commerce, working to develop the Rincon Parkway and a harbor for Ventura. In 1913, he founded and served as curator of the Pioneer Museum at the Ventura County Courthouse.[1][4] He was also the driving force behind the construction of the Maricopa Highway (now California State Route 33) going north from Ventura. The highway, finally completed in 1933, was considered a "crowning achievement" for Sheridan.[3][6]

Author

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Sheridan was also an author. His "History of Ventura County, California" was published in 1926.[7] He also wrote children's books, including "Billy Vanilla: A Story of the Snowbird Country" (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard 1919),[8] "The Typhoon's Secret" (Doubleday, Page & Company 1920),[9] and "The Little Spotted Seal" (Harper & Brothers 1929).[10][11]

Personal life and death

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Sheridan did not marry. He took in three homeless boys, raising and educating them.[1] In January 1936, Sheridan died at age 77 at Ventura's Foster Memorial Hospital.[1][12] He was buried at the Ventura City Cemetery.[13]

Sheridan's papers are maintained at the research library at The Museum of Ventura County.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "City Grieves As Sol Sheridan Dies". Ventura County Star. January 24, 1936. p. 1 – via The Museum of Ventura County (biography file for Sol Sheridan).
  2. ^ a b c Airdrie Pinkerton (1929). "History of Sol N. Sheridan". The Ventura Star – via The Museum of Ventura County (biography file for Sol Sheridan).
  3. ^ a b c "Sol Made -- And Wrote -- Ventura County History". The Ventura County Star-Free Press. October 3, 1964. p. 13 – via The Museum of Ventura County (biography file for Sol Sheridan).
  4. ^ a b "Early museum spurred by Sheridan brothers". The Ventura County Star-Free Press. September 25, 1988. p. 18 – via The Museum of Ventura County (biography file for Sol Sheridan).
  5. ^ "Filipinos Will Cause Trouble: Cannot Understand the Rules of War / Col. Smith Lost His Regiment / Frequent Skirmishes Before the Surrender". The San Francisco Call. August 18, 1898. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "The Sheridan Saga: Completing The Maricipa Road". The Ventura County Star-Free Press. October 10, 1964. p. 13 – via The Museum of Ventura County (biography file for Sol Sheridan).
  7. ^ Sol N. Sheridan (1926). History of Ventura County, California. S.J. Clarke Publishing Company.
  8. ^ Sol N. Sheridan (1919). Billy Vanilla: A Story of the Snowbird Country. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
  9. ^ Sol N. Sheridan (1920). "The Typhoon's Secret". Doubleday, Page & Company.
  10. ^ Sol. N. Sheridan (1929). The Little Spotted Seal. Harper & Brothers.
  11. ^ ""The Little Spotted Seal," by Sol N. Sheridan". The Honolulu Advertiser. September 22, 1929. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Sol Sheridan, Historian and Newspaper Man, Dies". Chicago Tribune. January 25, 1936. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Hundreds Bid Farewell To Sol N. Sheridan". Ventura County Star. January 25, 1936 – via The Museum of Ventura County (biography file for Sol Sheridan).
  14. ^ "Sol N. Sheridan collection". Online Archive of California. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
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