John
Joseph Albright
Albright,
John Joseph, manufacturer and banker of 730 Ferry st., Buffalo, N. Y., was
born Jan. 18. 1848, in Buchanan, Va. He is president of the Ontario Power
company.
[Herringshaw's American Blue-Book of Biography By Thomas William
Herringshaw, 1914 – Transcribed by AFOFG]
James T. Allen, M. D.
James T. Allen was born in Botetourt County, Virginia, July 16, 1833. He lived with his parents until he was sixteen years old, then attended the Presbyterian High School for one year, and was a student one year at Princeton College, New Jersey. In 1851 he began reading medicine under Dr. Matthew Wallace, of Pocahontas County, Virginia, and continued under his preceptorship until 1853. During the winter of 1854 and 1855 he attended medical lectures at the Virginia Medical College, at Richmond. He came to Missouri in the spring of 1855 and settled at Auberry Grove, now Jamesport, and the following winter attended the McDowell Medical College, of St. Louis, graduating in the spring of 1856, when he returned to Auberry Grove and began the practice of medicine. In the spring of 1S57 he, in conjunction with James Gillilan, laid out Jamesport, they giving the town that name after themselves, each bearing the name, James. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in General Slack's brigade, and served four years in the medical department on detail. After the war he returned home and soon after settled on a farm near Jamesport and pursued farming in connection with his practice until 1871, when he established himself in the drug business at Jamesport, still continuing the practice of medicine. He retired from the drug business in the fall of 1874, and removed to Gallatin and established his present practice.
Dr. Allen was united in the marriage bonds to Miss Harriet A. Wynn, of Daviess County, November 10, 1858. By this union they have five children, namely: Capitola, Sydney, Olivia, Wynn, and Harry. He was made a Master Mason in Gallatin in 1856, and is the founder of Jamesport Lodge No. 201; was the first master, and held the position for four years.
The History of Daviess County, Missouri; Publ. by KANSAS CITY, MO.: BIEDSALL & DEAN. 1882; Transcribed by Andrea Pack.
John James Allen
(1797—1871)
ALLEN, John James, (brother
of Robert Allen), a Representative from Virginia; born in Woodstock,
Shenandoah County, Va., September 25, 1797; attended Dickinson College,
Carlisle, Pa., in 1811 and 1812, and Washington College (now Washington and
Lee University), Lexington, Va., in 1814 and 1815; studied law; was admitted
to the bar in 1819 and commenced practice at Campbell Courthouse; moved to
Clarksburg, Harrison County, Va., and continued practice; member of the State
senate 1828-1830; Commonwealth attorney for Harrison, Lewis, and Preston
Counties in 1834, serving while a Member of Congress; elected as an
Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress (March 4, 1833-March 3, 1835);
unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1834 to the Twenty-fourth Congress;
judge of the seventeenth circuit court of Virginia 1836-1840; judge of the
State supreme court of appeals 1840-1865, serving as presiding justice
1852-1865; president of the executive council in 1861; author of the
"Botetourt resolutions" of 1861; retired to private life and engaged in the
management of his large estate; died at Beaverdam, near Fincastle, Botetourt
County, Va., September 18, 1871; interment in the family burying ground in
Lauderdale Cemetery, near his estate in Botetourt County,
Va.
Source: Biographical Directory of the
United States Congress, 1771-Present. Submitted by Anna Newell
Judge John J.
Allen
Judge Allen for many years was one of the most distinguished lawyers
and jurists of Western Virginia. He was born at Woodstock, Shenandoah County,
Virginia, September 25, 1797. His father, Judge
James Allen, was also an able lawyer and jurist
and was eminent in his day and generation. The subject of this brief sketch was
educated at Washington College, Lexington, Virginia, and
Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He read law under the
guidance of his father and was admitted to the
practice in the courts of the Valley of Virginia.
In 1819 he located at Clarksburg in the western part of the State and began the practice of his profession in Harrison
and adjoining counties. Being thoroughly equipped
he was not long in forging to the front and
securing employment in important litigations of those early days.
Indeed by ability and learning he very soon found
employment on one side or the other in most big law suits in the three or four
counties in which he practiced. Late in the twenties he formed a partnership
with Gideon D. Camden, also a lawyer of prominence at Clarksburg, which
continued for eight or ten years, until Mr. Allen in 1836 was appointed a
Judge of the Circuit Court of Virginia, when he
retired from the firm.
In 1827 Judge Allen
was elected to the State Senate, and while a
member of that body he introduced a bill, which afterwards became a law, for
the settlement of land titles, in trans-Allegheny, Virginia. In 1834 he was elected Commonwealth's Attorney
for the counties of Harrison, Lewis and Preston.
At the same time he was a member of the 23d Congress, serving from 1833 to
1835. In all of the public positions he held he was faithful, honorable and able. He married in 1824. Although he was extremely
reserved while in public life, he was gentle, affectionate and communicative in his social relations with his
family and friends, and
was firm and sincere in his religious
convictions. He was appointed a Circuit Judge in 1836, and removed his residence to Botetourt County, and was promoted to the Supreme Court of Appeals in
December, 1840. He died at Fincastle in 1871. He was an ardent secessionist at
the beginning of the war, and retired from active
life in 1865. He was a member of the Supreme Court for a quarter of a century,
and his opinions show him to be a man of vast
erudition. He was, beyond question, an able and
just Judge, and his private and public life were above reproach.
[Bench and Bar
of West Virginia by George Wesley Atkinson, 1919 - Transcribed by
AFOFG]
Jacob Ammen
Jacob Ammen, brigadier-general
was born in Botetourt county, Va., Jan. 7, 1808. In 1831 he was graduated at
West Point and was then, until Aug. 31, 1832, assistant instructor on
mathematics and military tactics. He then spent some time on duty in
Charleston harbor during the trouble over the nullification acts of South
Carolina, and, returning to West Point, resumed his work as instructor. In
Nov., 1837, he resigned from the army to accept a professorship in mathematics
in Bacon college, Georgetown, Ky. He continued to teach in various
institutions, until 1855, and was then until 1861, a civil engineer at Ripley,
O. On April 18, 1861, he became captain of the 12th Ohio volunteers, and
shortly afterward was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, in which capacity he
participated in the West Virginia campaign under Gen. McClellan. On July 16,
1862, after the campaigns in Tennessee and Mississippi, he was promoted to
brigadier-general of volunteers, and had charge of camps of instruction in
Ohio and Illinois until Dec. 16, 1863. From the following April, until Jan.
14, 1865, when he resigned, he was in command of the district of eastern
Tennessee.
(Source: The Union Army, Vol. VIII. Published 1908.
Submitted by Linda Rodriguez)
James Breckinridge
CAPTAIN, CO. "C," 2D VIRGINIA CAVALRY.
James Breckinridge, son of
Colonel Carey, and Emma G. Breckinridge, was born on the 1st of September,
1837. Having received an appointment as cadet in the State Military Institute,
he reported for duty during the encampment of 1854, and began his studies as a
member of the fourth class in September of that year. Graduating in 1858,
during the following session he studied law at the University of Virginia, and
was just preparing to enter upon the practice of his profession when the war
intervened. Volunteering immediately, he was commissioned in the Virginia
State line, and assigned to Cocke's brigade as aid-de-camp. Resigning this
commission in July, 1861, he enlisted in a cavalry company from his county,
named Co. "C," 2d Virginia, at the organization. He was appointed orderly
sergeant of this company, and, upon the first vacancy occurring, was promoted
to a lieutenancy. In this capacity he participated in the cavalry service
during the first year of the war, and at the reorganization, in 1862, he was
elected captain of his company.
Early in the spring of this year
Captain Breckinridge was married to Miss Fanny Burwell, of Liberty. Her
subsequent history we give in a few words, copied from the "University
Memorial:"
"In August, 1862, Captain Breckinridge's
command remained for a time near Gordonsville, and his wife spent a few days
with him at the house of his uncle, Dr. Gilmer. Immediately upon her return
home she was stricken down by typhoid fever, and died while he was engaged
with Pope's army and unable even to hear of her illness. It was to him a
crushing blow; but through God's mercy it led him to his Saviour, for so He
killeth and so He maketh alive. And so after a time the young soldier was able
to regard as his home the heaven to which he believed his Christian wife had
been translated. From that time he had little interest in life except to serve
his country, which he did fearlessly and faithfully. "
No events of special interest
mark his career from this period to the close of his life at Five Forks. "No
friendly eye witnessed his death, but he had been heard to say he would never
surrender, and when last seen on the retreat he was surrounded by the enemy
and fighting desperately. His fate is veiled by the clouds that hung in dark
column over the way from Petersburg to Appomattox Court-House."
To give a fuller idea of the
soldierly qualities of the subject of this memoir, we quote from a letter of
General Munford, who was formerly colonel of the 2d Virginia cavalry: "In
person Captain Breckinridge was a splendid specimen of a cavalry officer: tall
and graceful, with a form indicative of great strength; handsome, gentle, and
modest; his voice always pleasant in conversation; a horseman by nature; and a
master of his pistol and sabre. When the bugle blew 'To horse’ he would mount
with an ease to himself and horse that was rarely equalled; and when he drew
his weapons in action his eye was as piercing as his aim was true, and woe to
him he encountered. With the noblest courage, yet free from recklessness, he
would dash forward, inspiring his men to follow. When hard pressed, as he
frequently was, in covering a retreat or opening the way for an advance, he
was the same quiet, modest gentleman as in camp. Ever present in the thickest
of the fight, his trusty carbineers needed not to be admonished by him, his
example was so constantly before them. Serving with him four years, amid all
the trials, fatigues, and wants of the cavalry service, I knew him thoroughly.
He believed the cause right, and counted no sacrifice too dear to accomplish
the end. I never heard him speak of himself. No one ever heard him complain of
anything. When the men and horses were nearly starved, he did not murmur,
unless he believed it was from neglect; then he was prompt to demand redress.
When last I saw him, at the battle of Five Forks, in Dinwiddie County, the day
of the evacuation of Petersburg, he was doing his utmost to check 'Warren's
Corps/ which was flanking Ransom's Division. With a flush on his manly brow,
he never looked more the soldier. Alas, like his elder brother, he sleeps in
an unknown soldier's grave. 'But, like the wounded eagle, he died with his
plumage ruffled to the last, an eagle yet, with unblanching eye.' His name and
noble bearing will ever linger in the memories of his old comrades in arms,
whether they live in the humble mountaineer's cabin or in the stately mansion.
And their little ones will often hear of his gallant deeds whenever the
members of his old regiment meet together around the fireside or social table,
and fight their battles over again.
"No officer in his division was
more distinguished for gallantry. None of his rank ever did more hard service
than he, as the captain commanding the sharpshooters of the regiment. Yet we
find an author, who writes fiction for history, charging him with neglect of
duty. It is presumed when history is written facts are given. The Federal
officers give him credit for a gallant defense. His old comrades feel that had
some of the Bomb-proof Ring, who manufactured commissions at the War
Department for political and other purposes, been present at Kelly's Ford on
the 17th of March, 1863, a commission commensurate with his deserts would have
been given him, as far more worthy really than the majority of those on whom
they were in the habit of bestowing them. On page 268 of McCabe's 'Life of
General R. E. Lee, we read,—
"'The campaign opened by a reconnoissance of six regiments of Federal cavalry
and a battery of artillery under General Averill. The object of this
expedition was to cut Lee's communications at Gordonsville, and ascertain his
strength and position. On the morning of the 16th of March a telegram from
General R. E. Lee's headquarters informed General Stuart that a column of
Federal cavalry was in motion, and advised him to look out for it along the
upper Rappahannock. A small force was stationed at Kelly's Ford, to protect
the crossing, and General Fitz. Lee's Brigade was ordered to hold itself in
readiness to meet the enemy. In consequence of the neglect of the picket,
General Averill forced a passage of the river at Kelly's Ford on the morning
of the 17th of March, capturing the picket-guard, and, pushing on, soon
encountered Fitz. Lee's Brigade, which was drawn up to receive it. A severe
engagement ensued, during which the Federal cavalry displayed more efficiency
than they had shown during the war.' Let us examine closely what is here said.
We know that Averill's Brigade was then composed of the 1st and 5th United
States Regular Cavalry, the 3d and 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, 1st Rhode Island
and 4th New York Cavalry, and 6th New York Battery of six guns. The regiments
were full at the 'opening of the campaign,' numbering ___ four thousand five
hundred men, who were 'displaying more than usual efficiency.' The ‘small
force who guarded the crossing’ numbered sixteen carbineers, and a reserve of
about the same number of sabres, and was commanded by Captain James
Breckinridge, 2d Virginia Cavalry. The enemy moved from their camp on the 16th
and at light on the 17th of March moved upon the ford, defended by this noble
and devoted little band. We know also that Fitz. Lee's Brigade was encamped
between Brandy Station and Culpeper Court-House, four and a half miles away by
the shortest line from the point where Averill found them 'drawn up to receive
him' The brigade was in camp, had to be notified, and then move four and a
half miles to arrive at the point where they gave him battle. Now, how long
were sixteen carbineers expected to hold an open ford against four thousand
five hundred efficient troops ? I ask if all were not capturedt if they made
any defense, whose fault was it? Yet we know that double that number of men
and horses were killed by this picket-guard before an inch of ground was
yielded. And not until the enemy brought their artillery to bear upon them
could they move them, though charge after charge was attempted. Every inch of
ground was disputed until the brigade came to their rescue. A braver defense
was never made by any officer against such odds. General Stuart himself did
not arrive on the field until General Fitz. Lee had fought the battle, which
lasted all day. Averill retired, not much wiser as to General Lee's position,
but terribly worsted in men and horses. To us it was a costly fight. Yet how
cruel the charge made against the hero of Kelly's Ford 1 Let it recoil upon
the author, be he who he may."
The following account of the
battle of Kelly's Ford will make clearer the point made in the foregoing
letter. It is from the pen of another comrade :
"In March, 1863, the Northern
army lay about in Stafford County, near Fredericksburg. The Stafford raid of
Fitz. Lee had stirred up the animosity of this host, and we anticipated that
they would return our visit.
"Kelly's Ford was the natural route for a visit to Culpeper Court-House or
Gordonsville; and we proceeded to intrench our picket at Kelly's Mill, and to
obstruct the ford, so that, if possible, the picket might be able to hold an
advance sufficiently long to give our cavalry brigade time for preparation to
receive the invaders.
"We cut
a ditch on this side, opposite the entrance to the ford on the Fauquier side,
fastened a telegraph wire—about breast high—to the trees fronting the
ditch. Above and below the simple track of the ford we fastened telegraph
wires, so as to force the attacking party to come squarely on in front of the
ditch.
"On the morning of the
17th of March, 1863, Captain James Breckinridge, of Botetourt, with part of
his squadron of the 2d (Co.'s ' C and ' D'), commanded the picket at Kelly's
Ford. He had sixteen riflemen in the ditch, and his reserve with the horses on
the hills, within rifle-shot of the ford. At daylight we received word that
the picket was attacked, and we moved with eight hundred men to its support,
and arrived near the place to meet the enemy and join battle.
"I have not space to give an
account of that strange day's fighting, in which eight hundred men and three
pieces of artillery defeated and drove across the river four thousand five
hundred men with five pieces of artillery. I propose to describe the picket
fight of a gallant brother captain, who was killed in the last battle of the
lost cause,—the gallant life of a splendid man wasted in a series of fights in
which we had no chance. Whether the fighting from Petersburg to Appomattox,—a
handful of tried and gallant patriots, wasted and starving, against an
overwhelming host, richly caparisoned for war,—was proper, was judicious, was
statesmanlike,—whether it should have been avoided, or peace made in Hampton
Roads,—whether the civil government, the military, or the people were to
blame, I stop not to inquire. Mean men and skulkers lay the blame on others.
We thought we were right; thought we were fighting right; thought the
government was doing its best. We blamed no one then but the 'dodgers and
bomb-proofs.' We blame no one now. 'God is wise.' Had we died on the
battle-field we should have blamed no one. Jeff. Davis did not make us
fight,—we put him forward. General Lee did not force us to the field,—he was
the leader of our choice. Force could not have started the revolution, or
formed the Confederacy, and force could not have held it twenty-four hours.
"Three thousand men,—headed by a
fine regiment commanded by a brave Dutchman,—advanced on the ford, and were
met by sixteen deadly rifles, sweeping the ford. Again and again was that
column dashed into the fire, and horse and rider were 'in one red burial
blent.’ The major reached the wire, when Breckinridge's pistol sent a ball
through his shoulder, and he retreated to the other side. The rifles from the
hill gave some assistance. The artillery opened on the ditch, and for some
time a shower of shells almost covered it. Captain Breckinridge and his men
lay close; and, when the enemy's bugle sounded the charge, the sixteen men
stood to their carbines; and as the column swept into the ford, the deadly
rifles emptied the saddles, and filled the ford with men and horses. For more
than three hours was this fight continued. The enemy was furious, and our
ammunition was failing. The enemy were charging to the wire, and their bodies
were covering the sand. The carbine ammunition was exhausted. The pistols were
being used, but there was no time for reloading. Captain Breckinridge sent out
one man to have the horses ready; and, in the face of the enemy, regained his
horses, and skirmished in front of the advancing column, losing but two
men.
"When the enemy got to
old Mr. Kelly's at the mill, they called him out and asked of the strength of
our force. The old man proudly told them that sixteen men held the ford, with
a reserve of about the same number. The colonel turned to his men, cursed
them, and told them that it was a disgrace to their army that a brave captain
with a company had held three thousand men in check for three hours. Botetourt
and Franklin may well be proud of the men who that day expected death,
kneeling in that ditch, and destroying all the letters from dear ones at home
to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy.
"The Parkers and Hollands, of
Franklin, and the Breckinridges and Brughs, of Botetourt, shed as brave blood
on the bosom of our old mother as ever ran in 'cavalier veins/ They thought
that they fought for liberty.
“’They walked in the
paths their fathers had trod,
Let them pass with their
swords to the presence of God.'"
(Source:
Biographical sketches of the Graduates and Eleves of the Virginia Military
Institute who fell during the war between the States, by Chas. D. Walker.
Published 1875. Transcribed and submitted to Genealogy Trails by Linda
Rodriguez)
James Breckinridge (1763-1833), (brother of John
Breckinridge, great-great-great-uncle of John Bayne Breckinridge, and cousin
of John Brown of Virginia and Kentucky, James Brown, and Francis Preston), a
Representative from Virginia; born near Fincastle, Botetourt County, Va.,
March 7, 1763; studied under private tutors; during the Revolutionary War
served in Colonel Preston’s rifle regiment under General Greene; attended
Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), Lexington, Va., and
was graduated from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va., in
1785; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced in Fincastle; member
of the State house of delegates 1789-1802, 1806-1808, 1819-1821 and 1823-1824;
took a special interest in the construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio
Canal; elected as a Federalist to the Eleventh and to the three succeeding
Congresses (March 4, 1809-March 3, 1817); was an associate of Thomas Jefferson
in the establishment of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.;
served as brigadier general in the War of 1812; resumed the practice of law;
died at his country home, “Grove Hill,” Botetourt County, Va., May 13, 1833;
interment in the family burial plot on his estate near Fincastle, Va.
(Source: Biographical Directory of the US Congress
1774-Present)
Maurice Anthony Breckinridge , lawyer, Tulsa;
was born at Fincastle., Va., February 26, 1880; son of G. W. and Anne Anthony
(Hammer) Breckenridge. Attended the public schools of Botetourt county. Va.
and received degree of LL. B. at Washington-Lee University at Lexington, Va.,
where he was graduated in 1902. Is a Democrat, and was the first county
attorney of Tulsa county after statehood. He was elected the first judge of
the Superior Court of Tulsa county, and has held the position from the date of
organization of that court to the present time. He was married to Julia B.
Robertson in 1906, and has two children, William R., 9; and Anne Anthony,
7.
(Source: Men of Affairs and Representative
Institutions of Oklahoma 1916. Submitted by Vicki Hartman)
Peachy Gilmer Breckinridge
ACTING CAPTAIN CO. "B," 2D VIRGINIA CAVALRY.
Peachy Gilmer Breckinridge, son
of Carey and Emma Gilmer Breckinridge, of Botetourt County, Virginia, was born
on the 15th of September, 1835. His character was a combination of strong
qualities, prominent among which was his courage, both physical and moral. It
has, indeed, been said of him, that he never experienced the sensation of
fear; but if he did, he seemed not to lose the power of self-possession, even
in his youth, and under the most critical circumstances. While a boy, he was
one day skating with his schoolmates, when the ice broke, and he went down
beyond his depth. He rose to the surface; but with each effort to extricate
himself the ice gave way. One of his companions who was very fond of him was
hastening to his assistance, when Gilmer shouted to him to go back or he would
certainly be drowned. Reaching, at length, a point where the ice was firmer,
he climbed out without help.
His affection for his mother and respect for her wishes was another marked
characteristic. When about eighteen, the age at which so many young men think
it an evidence of their manhood to disregard the injunctions of their parents,
Gilmer was visiting some friends who played cards for amusement; they wished
him to join them, but he declined, saying that he did not know how. They urged
him to learn, and, when he refused, demanded his reason. He simply replied,
"My mother does not wish me to play."
In 1853 he entered the Virginia
Military Institute, and there received the education which eminently fitted
him for the service his country afterwards demanded at his hands. His first
year at the Institute was marked by a determination to resist the tyranny
always exercised by older cadets over the " plebs." Few young men have ever
succeeded in their efforts to withstand the combinations of the advanced
classes; indeed, the submission of the plebeians is a custom so time-honored
that few of them ever think of attempting to violate it. If it is a custom
"more honored in the breach than in the observance," Gilmer Breckinridge paid
it the highest respect: he never surrendered to his seniors.
He next pursued a course at
William and Mary College, and in 1857 entered the University of Virginia as a
law student. The following summer he joined the Pacific Railroad Exploring
Expedition, under Lieutenant Beale, of the United States army. One of his
adventures during this trip came near costing him his life. The party was
halting for several days on the Canadian River, when one morning he took his
gun and went out in search of game. In the excitement of hunting he lost his
bearings, and was not able to return to camp. For three days he wandered
about, bewildered and without food, in a country filled with hostile Indians
and wild beasts. On the morning of the third day he struck the trail, and,
after walking a few miles, saw an Indian running towards him, yelling loudly;
others soon appeared, rapidly approaching, and making the air ring with their
shouts from every direction; but he was pleasantly relieved at finding they
were hunters, sent out in search of him.
On his return from California,
he commenced the practice of law, and was rapidly rising in his profession
when the war broke out. In 1860 he was married to Miss Julia Anthony.
When the State Convention was
called to consider the question of secession, he was nominated by the
Fincastle paper as a candidate for that body. He was strongly opposed to the
disruption of the government, and upon his acceptance of the nomination he
issued an address to the people of Craig and Botetourt Counties, stating
clearly his political views. The following extracts from that address serve to
show at once his devotion to the Union, his strong, sarcastic method of
argumentation, and his stern moral courage, for which he was conspicuous,
illustrated in this case by his bold opposition to the popular feeling:
"But admitting that slavery is
in danger, and that disunion is the only remedy, let us see whether slavery is
worth the Union. We must treat slaves as we would other property, and give it
its value in dollars and cents. We must lay aside that romantic attachment for
this peculiar property which would lead us to sacrifice everything else, and
leave us in the possession of it without being able to enjoy it. If we
separate from the North, it will be on account of the bad feeling existing
between us, so that there will be no hope of our being on terms of friendship
hereafter. This, then, would compel us to keep a standing army on our northern
frontier. Now, if the Legislature of Virginia allowed the hanging, not the
trial or board, of seven men, who had been caught by the United States
marines, to cost the State two hundred and twenty thousand dollars, how much
would it cost to keep up an army of twenty thousand men? But as we may, after
the next general election, be blessed with a legislature which will have no
ambition to hang abolitionists with military honors, I may state that it is
calculated that to support twenty thousand men costs six million dollars a
year. Now, would the slaves of Virginia be worth that much more out of the
Union than they would be in it ? . . .
"We are advised to secede, but
no one has said what we are to do afterwards. We would have to establish a new
government; but would it be a confederacy, a consolidated republic, or a
monarchy? The party in whose hands the Union is dropping to pieces is the
party which will have to make the new government. Now, is it likely that men
who were unable to manage a government already made, and said to be the best
in the world, could make a better ? It is easier to pull down a government
than it is to put up a better. . . .
"While I intend to battle for
the Union so long as we continue in it, when Virginia decides to withdraw from
it, and calls for volunteers to defend her from invasion, I do not expect to
be found far behind those who are now crying out so boldly for blood, except
it be in retreat. He who raises his hand against the Constitution of the
United States, which he is sworn to defend, will not be a reliable man even in
a slave confederacy. Why is this disunion movement made? Why is slavery in
danger? Demagogues, North and South, have fired the hearts of brother against
brother. We forget that 'a house divided against itself must fall.' We forget
that, in destroying the Union, we but incite the hostility of foreign foes.
Has every spark of patriotism died out in the souls of the people? If exiled
in a foreign land, would the heart turn back to Virginia, or South Carolina,
or New York, or to any one State as the cherished home of its pride? No; we
would remember only that we were Americans. We would pine for the land whose
goddess sits triumphant on her throne,—her foot upon the neck of tyrants, her
ensign welcoming beneath its shelter the oppressed of distant nations. Away
with your Palmetto flags! Let the banner under which Washington fought wave
over every blow that I strike in battle; and if I die the death of a soldier,
let me be wrapped in the ‘Star-spangled Banner’!"
Gilmer Breckinridge was not
elected to the convention; but, when Virginia seceded, and called for troops
to defend her borders, true to the words that he had uttered, he was among the
first to answer her summons. He at once raised and equipped a company of
infantry, and led it to the front. When the 28th Virginia Regiment was
organized, his command became a part of it.
At the reorganization of the
army, Captain Breckinridge was not re-elected; but, like Jubal Early, he went
into service not as a secessionist, but as a Union man, fighting for the
rights of his old mother, Virginia. Accordingly, unmoved by this act of
injustice, which stung to the quick so many of our best officers, he joined
the State line, under General Floyd, recruited a company for it, and was
promoted to a majority. When, at length, the State line was disbanded, he did
not hesitate concerning his duty. In May, 1863, stepping down into the ranks,
he enlisted in his brother's (Captain James Breckinridge) company of the 2d
Cavalry. In this capacity, and as color-sergeant, he served—and by his
faithful service honored his position—until the 24th of May, 1864, when he was
assigned to the command of Company "B" of the same regiment. On that day
occurred the attack on Kennon's Landing, and there he yielded up his life. The
following statement of an officer engaged in that assault gives an account of
Gilmer Breckinridge's death:
"We dismounted, made the assault, and were repulsed. Major Breckinridge was
wounded in the arm. We then changed our position and charged again through
some obstructions of fallen trees and sharpened limbs. Major Breckinridge
pushed on, working his way through the obstructions under a very heavy fire,
and got within about fifty feet of the parapet, with only a few men around
him, when he was seen to fall."
It was impossible to bring him
from the field, and so he sleeps in an unknown grave. His regimental
commander, Colonel Thomas T. Munford, thus spoke of him in a letter to his
parents:
"Your noble son had
won the admiration of all the officers and men of my regiment Throwing aside
pride at loss of rank, he came forward as a private to defend his country, His
gallant bearing as the color-sergeant, his uniform, buoyant spirits under all
circumstances, frequently volunteering when not called upon to go into a
fight, had caused me to mention him in my reports, and he had been recommended
for promotion, and assigned to the command of Company 'B’ as all the officers
of that company were absent, wounded. It was at the head of his company he
fell, striking for all that was dear to him. Virginia has made many
sacrifices, but no nobler patriot has fallen than your noble son."
The Breckinridge brothers
yielded up their lives on different and distant fields, and found their
resting-places none can tell when and how. But they were one in faith. Gilmer
had long been a devoted Christian and a consistent member of the Episcopal
Church; and James had learned to kiss the hand that afflicted him. And so they
too triumphed in death, and, springing heavenward, left their names to their
countrymen, their graves to their God.—From University Memorial.
(Source: Biographical sketches of the Graduates and
Eleves of the Virginia Military Institute who fell during the war between the
States, by Chas. D. Walker. Published 1875. Submitted to Genealogy Trails by
Linda Rodriguez)
Captain Edward Cordington Carrington, of Botetourt County,
Virginia. His father was General Edward C. Carrington, of Halifax County,
Virginia, to whom his State presented a sword for gallantry in the War of
1812. His great-grandfather was Judge Paul Carrington, Jr., a son of Judge
Paul Carrington of the first Court of Appeals, of Virginia. His mother was
Eliza Henry Preston, daughter of General Francis Preston, of Abingdon,
Virginia; and his maternal grandmother was Sallie Campbell, daughter of
General William Campbell, of Kings Mountain fame, and his wife, Bettie Henry,
sister of Patrick Henry.
Carrington entered the
Institute in July, 1841, and resigned July 6, 1843. When scarcely twenty-one
years of age, he was elected captain of Company A, First Virginia Regiment
which served in the Mexican War with great credit. On his return from the war,
the Virginia Legislature presented him a sword for services in Mexico. He
became editor of the Valley Whig, in Fincastle, Virginia. He was sent to the
Legislature, and was probably the only Whig elected from Botetourt County in
forty years. When twenty-eight years old, he removed to Washington City, and
began the practice of law. He was one of the revisers of the District Code,
and soon won a national reputation from being engaged in many important
cases.
He was made captain of the Washington Light
Infantry, one of the most celebrated organizations in the country. He was
later made brigadier-general of the District Militia; and, at the commencement
of the War between the States, he declared himself for the Union. He came to
Virginia, and made many speeches, while the Virginia Convention was in
session. He declared if his State would remain in the Union, he would share
her fate, but in no event would he consent to the destruction of the Union.
General Scott and Attorney-General Bates recommended him for the position of
United States District Attorney for the District of Columbia. President
Lincoln promptly issued his commission, and he held the position for nearly
ten years, under Lincoln, Johnson and Grant.
He died, as he had lived, an
earnest Christian, in the year 1892. [It is interesting to note that two
brothers of General Carrington served gallantly in the Confederate Army,
namely, the superb Major James McDowell Carrington (V. M. I.), of the
Artillery Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, and the noble Captain
William Campbell Preston Carrington, of Company A, First Missouri Infantry,
who was killed in battle at Baker’s Creek, Mississippi, having previously been
wounded twice.]
(Source: The Military History of the Virginia Military
Institute from 1839-1861, by: Jennings C. Wise, Publ: 1915. Transcribed by:
Helen Coughlin)
Easley Family
John
Chaffin Easley. Member of a Virginia family of honorable record, John Chaffin
Easley, vice-president and secretary of R. B. Chaffin & Company,
Incorporated, of Richmond, Virginia, descends in a line connected with
numerous other distinguished Virginia names. John S. Easley, grandfather of
John Chaffin Easley, a native of Halifax county, Virginia, was a soldier in
the American army in the second war with Great Britain, and died in West
Virginia, aged seventy-eight years. John S. Easley married Agnes Clark White,
born in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, and had seven children, two of whom are
living at the present time. Isaac Howson. of West Virginia, and Edwin
Hamilton, of Brooklyn, New York.
(II) Dr. William D. Easley, son of John S. and Agnes
Clark (White) Easley, was born in Giles county, Virginia, December 19, 1831,
died in West Virginia. He was educated for the medical profession and was
engaged in practice throughout his active years, his death occurring while
conducting such pursuits in West Virginia. He was a gentleman of loyal and
patriotic nature, and the realization of war between the states found him
enlisted for service in the Amelia
County Volunteers. Dr. William D. Easley married Ann Elizabeth, born in
Amelia county, Virginia,
October 17, 1841, died May 29, 1907, daughter of John Booker and Susan Adeline
(Willson) Chaffin. Her parents were natives of Amelia county, and there John Booker Chaffin was
an extensive planter, owning more than one hundred slaves. John Booker and
Susan Adeline Chaffin had three children who grew to maturity: Ann Elizabeth,
of previous mention, married Dr. William D. Easley, Richard B., and Martha
Giles. Of the eight children of Dr. William D. Easley, three died in infancy,
and a fourth, Richard Booker, died June 24, 1904. The others are: John
Chaffin. of whom further; Edwin Hamilton, of Blue Field. West Virginia; Agnes
E., married Matthew Louden West, deceased, of Richmond, Virginia; Susie E.,
married Joseph Cary Eggleston, of Amelia Court House, Virginia.
(Ill) John Chaffin Easley, son of Dr. William D. and Ann
Elizabeth (Chaffin) Easley, was born in Amelia county, Virginia, October 15, 1862, and
when he was a lad of eleven years accompanied his parents to Brooklyn, New
York. In this place his education, begun in Virginia, was continued, and soon
after his return to his native state, Richmond becoming the family home, he
became associated with the firm in which he now holds high official position,
R. B. Chaffin & Company. Remaining with the company through its period of
continuous growth and expansion to its present vast dimensions, better
preparation for the responsible duties that are his could not have been
obtained. R. B. Chaffin & Company, Incorporated, bearing the name of Mr.
Easley's one maternal uncle, advertise as brokers and dealers in real estate,
and in its line is one of the largest concerns in the state. The office of the
company is at Main and Twelfth streets. Richmond, and here Mr. Easley can
usually be found busily engaged in the direction of some of the details of the
large business, upon which no one's grasp is more sure and comprehensive. As
vice-president and.secretary he plays an important part in the formation of
the policy and methods of the company, and gives of the best of his labors
toward its successful continuance. Mr. Easley's able counsel has been
frequently of value to the First National Bank of Richmond, which he serves as
a director, and he holds the same position in connection with the Richmond
Chamber of Commerce. His fraternal order is the Masonic, and in this society
he is a member of lodge, chapter, commandery and shrine. A life-long Democrat,
he is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church. His club is the
Westmoreland.
Mr. Easley married, at
Fincastle, Virginia.
February 3, 1892, Lucy Gilmer, born at Grove Hill, Botetourt county, Virginia. December 20.
1868, daughter of Colonel Cary and Virginia (Calwell) Breckenridge. Her mother was a
native of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, formerly owned by the Calwell family, an
old Southern line, and Colonel Cary Breckenridge was born at the family
homestead. Grove Hill, in Botetourt county, Virginia, as were his father and
grandfather. Colonel Breckenridge, now living, aged seventy-five years, was a
colonel of cavalry in the Confederate army, serving through all four years of
the war. Children of John Chaffin and Lucy Gilmer (Breckenridge) Easley: Cary Breckenridge, born June
13, 1893, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, class of 1914, now a
student in engineering at Boston Technical Institute; Richard Booker, born
June 2, 1895, for two years attended Virginia Military Institute, now studying for the
medical profession.
[Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, under the editorial
supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler, 1915 - Transcribed by Therman
Kellar]
Charles Morton Holloway
Man of Great
Enterprise. Descendant of English ancestors seated in Botetourt County,
Virginia, in the seventeenth century, Charles Morton Holloway, in the course
of a long and active life of almost eighty-six years, wrote a worthy chapter
in the American history of the family. Early in his career, before steam
railways were built throughout the country, he was attracted by the
transportation possibilities of the inland waterways, and in later years
became commodore of several fleets of river vessels. Gradually his interests
broadened into many departments of business and industry. Until his retirement
in 1912, he held place among the most prominent and influential citizens of
Cincinnati, Ohio, the city he had made his home and the center of his
country-wide operations. The record which follows gives in greater detail the
story of his noteworthy achievements, and mention of his forebears. His
branch of the English family of Holloway was settled in Botetourt County,
Virginia, prior to 1700, a great-grandfather, John Holloway, being a vestryman
in Williamsburg Church in 1674.
Anne's War, his services being
recognized by military honors. John Holloway, grandfather of Charles
Morton Holloway, was an educator, associated with the early Presbyterian
schools of Virginia. His wife was a daughter of Captain Joseph Haynes, who was
born on August 3, 1742, died August 3, 1815. Captain Joseph Haynes was engaged
in the battle of Point Pleasant, called the initiatory battle of the American
Revolution because the British Colonial Governor of Virginia had incited the
Shawnee Indians against the American Colonists. So in that battle on October
10, 1774, our Colonial Patriots shed their first blood for American Liberty.
An imposing monument on the spot now commemorates their valor. This regiment
of Augusta troops, under command of Colonel Charles Lewis, was noted for its
stalwart members, none of whom was less than six feet in height, the majority
measuring six feet, two inches. Captain Haynes held his official rank in the
Revolutionary army in the War for Independence. Joseph Haynes Holloway, father
of Charles Morton Holloway, was born on April 6, 1774, and died May 14, 1849.
He passed his life as a gentleman farmer in Virginia. He married Mary Shelpman
Henton. Eleven children were born of this union.
Charles Morton Holloway was born
in Mason County, Virginia, August 5, 1830, and died in New York City, April
24, 1916. He obtained his education under the instruction of tutors in his
native State, and as a youth of eighteen years sought adventure by following
the Ohio and Mississippi river traffic. At the age of twenty-one years, he
became pilot of a steamer runnier between Pittsburgh and tor of the
Cincinnati, Portsmouth Big Sandy and Pomeroy Packet Company, commanding one of
the company's best boats, the first steamer, "Fleetwood." Later he became the
controlling factor in several lines of steamers operating on the central and
southern rivers, and the commodore of their fleets. In 1870, Commodore
Holloway severed all active connection with inland water traffic to devote his
energy to the wholesale salt business, making a great success in this field,
and continuing therein until the formation of the Salt Trust in 1899.
Commodore Holloway, or Captain
Holloway as he was better known to his friends, acquired many interests in
Cincinnati, his adopted city. He was a director in several National banks, and
for twenty-five years was a director and member of the finance committee of
the Lincoln National Bank. He was a leading member of the Chamber of Commerce
and Merchants Exchange. In 1873 he was elected vice-president of these
organizations, and in 1874 and 1875 was elected their president. He was deeply
concerned in the work of the Chamber and frequently represented the Cincinnati
body in the National Board of Trade. He was repeatedly appointed by various
governors of Ohio as delegate to the National Waterways Congress at
Washington. His real estate holdings in Cincinnati were large and valuable,
and he also held extensive areas in California, Utah, Virginia and Washington,
D. C.
Always a loyal
Democrat, he was elected to the presidency of the Board of Police
Commissioners in Cincinnati. Also a member of the Park Commission Board. His
appointment by a Republican governor of Ohio as one of five commissioners
integrity, and he served faithfully until the completion of this valuable work
in 1912. The improvement of rivers and harbors, particularly in the South and
West, was a subject on which he was thoroughly and accurately informed. He was
a strong advocate of this kind of government work, and often presented this
cause before official Washington. Of commanding presence, but with the innate
suavity of his Virginian forebears, he was an impressive speaker whose voice
carried conviction wherever he was an envoy. During the administration of
President Grover Cleveland, Captain Holloway was offered the postmastership of
Cincinnati, but declined the office. He was elected the first president at the
formation of the Provident Savings Bank and Trust Company in Cincinnati, but
was unable to serve.
Captain
Holloway though occupied with the serious things in life, found time to enjoy
many pleasures, among others, music (he played the violin himself), bridge
whist, motoring, yachting and fine horses, and he was a great lover of
Shakespeare, and could quote by the page from his favorite dramas. He made
frequent trips to California, and in 1888 cruised extensively along the
Alaskan coast with his son, Charles M., Jr. He also enjoyed foreign travel,
and in 1889, when abroad with his family to see the Paris Exposition, he took
the "cure" at Carlsbad, where he was made toastmaster of the American Banquet,
celebrating the Fourth of July that year. His clubs were the Cincinnati
Commercial, Queen City, Latonia Jockey, Avondale Country, Cuvier Press,
Business Men's, Piccadilly and the Avondale Whist, of which he was
president.
On February 8, 1858 Captain Holloway
married daughter of Dr. Henry Hampton, a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, and
cousin of the famous General Wade Hampton. Her father was a merchant, land and
slave owner of Cabell County, Virginia, his twenty-five hundred acre
plantation being originally a Colonial grant. In 1908 Captain and Mrs.
Holloway celebrated their golden wedding at "East view," for thirty-six years
their family estate in Avondale, Cincinnati.
When Captain Holloway retired
from active business life, he and Mrs. Holloway spent much of their time in
New York and Bayshore, Long Island, with their daughter, Evangelyn (Mrs.
William Phillips Deppé) who is their youngest and only surviving one of five
children. There are two grandchildren, George Clarence Holloway, Jr., and
Dorothy Holloway, children of George Clarence Holloway. Those deceased are:
Charles M., Jr., Addie Teressa, George Clarence and John Kyle, the latter
being the seventh authentic John Holloway in the family line.
The demise of Commodore Holloway
brought a sense of keen personal loss to all who knew him. He was ever ready
to assist old friends or relatives less fortunate in life than himself. He was
a conscientious Mason, and his funeral services were held at the Scottish Rite
Cathedral, Cincinnati, where the rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Avondale,
also officiated. The interment was in the family plot in beautiful Spring
Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati.
American Biography; A new
cyclopedia, Volume 7; By William Richard Cutter, Publ. 1920; Transcribed by
Andrea Pack.
Capt. Leonard
F. Lucado
Was
born in Buckingham county, Virginia, on the 28th of August, 1832. The Lucado
family has been settled inVirginia for three generations, and the father of
Leonard F., Edwin Lncudo, was a soldier of the war of 1812, a member of a
Virginia regiment. The mother of Capt.
Lucado was Lucy Fredwell. His parents are now deceased. December 23, 1860,
Rev. G. W. Langhorne officiating, he married Belle V. Pettigrew, who was born
in Botetourt county, Virginia, on March 14, 1846. The children of Capt. Lucado
are two sons, Garland F.
and Albert W., the former now taking the military course at the Virginia
Military Institute, Lexington. Capt. Lucado
entered the Confederate States Army on April 24, 1861, in Company G, 11th
Virginia Infantry. He was commissioned captain of commissary department in the
field. August 8, 1861, and a little later assigned to Gen. Longstreet's
brigade head-quarters as regimental commissary. While so assigned he was at
the battles of Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Frazier’s Farm (where he was
wounded), second Manassas,
Boonsboro, Sharpsburg,
Antietam, Gettysburg,
Drainsville, Cold
Harbor. After June 12, 1864, he was with Gen. Early, and at all
the battles in which his troops engaged until after Cedar Creek battle, among
them Hanover Junction, where Capt. Lucado was again wounded. He surrendered at
Appomattox C. H., having been in constant service through the war, and one of
the original Home Guards. His brother William F. served in the 2d Virginia
Cavalry, from 1863 to the close of the war. Capt. Lucado is engaged in t he
wholesale grocery business, which he has followed for a number of years. He
has been two years a member of the Lynch burg city council.
Source: Virginia and
Virginians:
History of Volume 2; by Robert Alonzo Brock, Virgil Anson Lewis;
publ. 1888;
transcribed by Andrea
Pack pgs. 556 to 595
Dr. Silas McDonald; was one of the strong and
forcible characters of early Missouri, and his career was one marked by the
vicissitudes of an active life and varied and interesting experiences. He
represented an old and prominent family which was founded here by his
great-grandfather, Bryan McDonald, who was born in Glencoe, Scotland, and on
coming to America located at Newcastle, Delaware. The progenitor married a
Miss Robinson, and their fifth child was Joseph McDonald, who was born at
Newcastle, Delaware, March 4, 1722, and subsequently went to Virginia, where
he spent his last days in farming. He married Elizabeth Ogle, and among their
children was Alexander McDonald, the father of Dr. Silas McDonald, and who was
born in Botetourt County, Virginia, in 1763. In young manhood he went to
Kentucky, becoming a pioneer of Washington County. When Joseph McDonald
started for Virginia his father advised him that when selecting land to find a
stream and then to travel up to the source thereof, there securing his
property. This advice was also given to Alexander McDonald and was followed by
him, he securing a tract of land by purchase and developing and cultivating it
by slave labor. There both he and his wife died at advanced ages. They reared
a family of twelve children, among who was Silas, who was born on the home
farm near Macksville, Washington County, Kentucky April 19, 1812.
Dr. Silas McDonald received his
early education in the neighborhood schools of his native locality and early
displayed a predilection for medicine, commencing the study of that science
with Doctor Tomlinson, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and subsequently attending
lectures at Transylvania College, Lexington. In 1836 he made his way to
Missouri by way of the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers to St. Charles,
where he purchased a horse and saddle and went to Fayette. At that point he
met Doctor Talbot, a distinguished physician and surgeon of early days and
father of Bishop Talbot, who had come from Virginia. After practicing two
years Doctor McDonald returned to Kentucky and further pursued his studies at
the Cincinnati Medical College, and when he graduated from that institution in
1837 returned to Missouri. Arriving at St. Louis, he bought a horse and saddle
and journeyed across the states of Missouri and Arkansas and on into Texas
with a view of locating there, but not being favorably impressed with the
country decided to return to Missouri. At Liberty he met a company of cavalry
which had been called out to suppress the depredations of a colony of Mormons,
and which had captured Joseph Smith. There was no physician with this party,
and Doctor McDonald was induced to join the troops and to care for the sick
and wounded, but soon afterward the Mormons left the locality and hostilities
ceased. The Doctor then started for the "Platte Purchase." At that time all
this section was a wilderness, owned by the Government, and the few white
settlers were exercising their rights of "squatter sovereignty." He took the
advice given by his grandfather and great-grandfather, and, coming to what is
now Buchanan County, found Bee Creek, went to the source thereof and there
preempted a tract of land near the present site of Wallace, on which he built
a log cabin to which he brought his bride.
He was the first physician in
the county, and practiced his profession here, also superintending the
cultivation of his 320 acres of land which he had purchased when it came into
the market, riding to Plattsburg and carrying the silver money in his
saddle-bags. He also planted peach and apple orchards, built and operated the
first steam saw and grist mill in the county, gave the lumber to build the
first schoolhouse, and also donated the land upon which it was built, raised
the first crop of hemp in that section and established a rope walk, where he
manufactured rope. In the spring of 1850 Doctor McDonald moved to St. Joseph,
then a flourishing village, and built a house on the southeast corner of Jule
and Third streets. In 1855 he purchased twenty acres of land at North St.
Joseph, where he erected a commodious residence and set aside about ten acres
of his land for a park, which contained numerous massive oaks of venerable
age, as well as cedars that he and his wife had gathered on the Missouri
Bluffs near Jefferson City. He planted a two and a half acre vineyard and a
large variety of fruits, and all in all he made his property an ideal country
home.
In 1856 Doctor McDonald
formed a partnership firm, under the name of McDonald, Sterling & Loving,
and engaged in the wholesale drug business on Fourth Street, between Felix and
Edmund streets, this firm being succeeded in 1858 by that of McDonald, Pennock
& Brittain, which continued the business until the store and contents were
destroyed by fire during the time of the war. The insurance had been cancelled
by the insurance company, and Doctor McDonald found himself $9,000 in debt.
Fortunately he had quite a stock of drugs in a warehouse, awaiting delivery,
with a lot of hams, bacons, preserved fruits, etc., took these # drugs to
Denver. Accompanied by his eldest son, who had just graduated from college, he
went to the Colorado City by team and there disposed of his entire stock at
almost fabulous prices. After selling their goods father and son started on
the overland journey to California by way of the stage line, but on the trip
the stage driver became intoxicated, the stage was overturned while traveling
over some rough country, and Doctor McDonald arm was broken. A nephew, who was
an attorney in San Francisco, interviewed the officials of the stage company
with such success that he secured $5,000 damages and transportation. home for
the doctor and his son.
Upon
his return to St. Joseph Doctor McDonald opened a store on the south side of
Felix Street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, and in addition to handling
drugs continued in the active practice of his profession. During this time he
erected his home, at No. 519 North Seventh Street, and there lived retired
until his death, November 8, 1901, when ninety years of age. He retained his
strong mentality to the last, and up to a short time before his death was
frequently seen caring for his beloved fruits and flowers in his garden. A
remarkable man in many ways, his career was one of usefulness to the
communities in which he made his home, and always and everywhere he was held
in the highest respect and esteem by those with whom he came in contact.
On October 30, 1839, Doctor
McDonald was married to Miss Sarah Donnell, who was born in 1818, near
Greensboro, North Carolina, daughter of Robert Donnell, a native of the Old
North State. He was a son of Daniel Donnell, and the latter, a son of Robin
Donnell, a native of Ireland, who on coming to America settled in Donegal,
Pennsylvania. Subsequently he moved from that point to near Guilford
Courthouse, North Carolina, from whence his sons, Daniel and Robin, Jr.,
enlisted for service in the American army during the Revolutionary war. Major
Daniel Donnell was a farmer in North Carolina, operating his land with slave
labor. He married May Irving, and both spent their last days on the family
home. Their son, Robert, was reared and married in North Carolina, and there
reared his own children. As they reached maturity they went West and located
in Missouri and in 1836 he and his wife and two daughters who were still at
home came to this state with teams. They had five wagons, in which were packed
the household effects, and a carriage, in which the family rode, and they were
accompanied by twenty young slaves whose parents had preceded them. Mr.
Donnell and his family arrived in Clinton County, Missouri, November 1, 1836,
but remained there only two months, as the Mormons were troublesome, and
accordingly the little party of immigrants moved on to what is now Buchanan
County. There Mr. Donnell purchased a squatter's claim to a tract of
Government land near the present site of the Village of Wallace, and when this
property came into market purchased it from the Government. Here he improved
an excellent farm and continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until
the time of his death. Mr. Donnell married Sarah Moore, who survived him and
died at the home of Dr. and Mrs. McDonald, having been the mother of six
children.
Mrs. Sarah McDonald
was educated at a seminary in North Carolina, and at home was taught the
useful occupations of carding, spinning, weaving, knitting and sewing, so that
when she was married she had a large amount of bed and table linen which had
been spun and woven by her own hands. Dr. and Mrs. McDonald passed almost
sixty-two years of happy wedded life together, she surviving him until
September 19, 1906, when she passed away at the age of eighty-eight years.
Seven children were born to them: Martha, Daniel, Joan, Mehitable, William,
Silas, Jr., and Alexander H. Martha became the wife of C. B. France, of St.
Joseph; Joan married R. D. Gilkey, of that city; Mehitable married Ernest
Lindsay, also of that city; Daniel graduated from Bellevue Medical School, New
York City, and became associated with his father in the practice of medicine
and in the drug business, and is now deceased; William H. is a resident of St.
Joseph.
Alexander H. McDonald
was educated in the Columbia University, and for some years was assistant
cashier of a St. Joseph Bank. He made his home with his father and mother,
being their companion in their old age, and still resides at the old home
place, his only business being looking after the affairs of the estate. He was
reared in the faith of the First Presbyterian Church, of which his parents
were members for many years, and he has taken an active part in its work. He
is Avell regarded among the residents of St. Joseph, and through his integrity
and honorable dealing has won the reputation of being eminently worthy of the
honored name he bears.
A
History of northwest Missouri, Volume 2; edited by Walter Williams;
published 1915; Transcribed by Andrea Stawski
Pack
George P. Pitzer
George P. Pitzer was born in Botetourt County, Va.,
November 20, 1820, and is the son of Davison and Amanda Pitzer; he attended
two terms of school in his native State, but at the age of ten was taken by
his father (who had for many years been County Sheriff in Virginia), to
Fayette County, Ohio, where he began his first lessons in farming ; however,
he availed himself of every advantage offered by the frontier schools and
succeeded in acquiring a very fair education. When the great rush was made for
the Reserve, George joined the tide, and September 20, 1847, reached Harrison
Township, where he bought the tract of eighty acres, on which he is still
living, and to which he has added until he now owns a finely improved farm of
265 acres, lying south of Alto. In the spring of 1848, he married Clarinda
Snodgrass, of this township, and to this union six children have been
born—Francis M., Marcella, John, Mary, Ida and Mattie. Mr. Pitzer, some twenty
years ago, served as one of the first Assessors of the township, and since
then has very acceptably served two terms as Assessor and two terms as
Township Trustee ; he has also filled the office of County Commissioner the
past seven years. From an early day he has been a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and he is also a member of the I. 0. 0. F. of Alto.
[Source: Counties of Howard and Tipton Indiana Historical
and Biographies]
Frances
Preston
Son of Colonel Wm.
Preston, of Smithfield. Was born at Greenfield (now Botetourt county) on the
2a day of August, 1765. Graduated at William and Mary College and studied law
under Chancellor Wythe. Settled in Abingdon and began the practice of law, and
was for many years recognized as one of the ablest lawyers in this section of
the State. Col. Francis Preston married Sarah Buchanan Campbell, daughter of
General William Campbell, on the 10th January, 1793. Elected a member of
Congress in the same year, and served till the year 1797. After retiring from
Congress he settled at the Salt works. In the year 1810 he removed to
Abingdon.
Elected to the
General Assembly from Washington county. Was commissioned a colonel, and
marched with his regiment to Norfolk in 1814. He was elected brigadier-general
of militia by the General Assembly of Virginia in 1820. He died at the home of
Wm. C. Preston, in South Carolina, on the 26th day of May, 1836, and his
remains were interred at Aspinvale, near Seven-Mile Ford. He left a family of
children, all of whom became distinguished, viz., United States Senator Wm. C.
Preston, of South Carolina; General John S. Preston, of South Carolina; Thomas
L. Preston, University of Virginia; Mrs. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina; Mrs.
Robert J. Breckenridge, of Kentucky; Mrs. General Carrington, of Albemarle
county; Mrs. John B. Floyd, of Washington county; Mrs. James McDowell, of
Virginia; Mrs. John M. Preston, of Abingdon.*
Source: History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786:
Washington County, 1777-1870; Published 1903; By Lewis Preston Summers; Transcribed by
Andrea Stawski Pack
George S. Price
PRIVATE, CO. "C," 2D VIRGINIA CAVALRY.
George S. Price, son of Mrs. E. Price, was born in
Fincastle, Virginia, in 1851. In September, 1829, became a cadet at the
Military Institute. Remained here until the corps was ordered into service at
Richmond, in April, 1861. Performed the duties of drill-master until after the
corps was disbanded, when he was appointed adjutant at Battery No. 9, on the
Brooke Turnpike, in the immediate vicinity of Richmond. After holding this
position for several months, he resigned, and entered Co. "C," 2d Virginia
Cavalry, Wickham's Brigade, Fitz. Lee's Division, as a private. Was killed the
next year at Hartswood Church, in Stafford County, in a charge. His remains,
gotten by his brother under a flag of truce at Fredericksburg, were interred
at Fincastle.
(Source: Biographical sketches
of the Graduates and Eleves of the Virginia Military Institute who fell during
the war between the States, by Chas. D. Walker. Published 1875. Transcribed
and submitted to Genealogy Trails by Linda Rodriguez)
J. Alexander
Rodefer
Born at Abingdon, on December 10, 1839, is a son of William Rodefer, of
Abingdon, formerly of Shenandoah and Botetourt counties, Virginia, who was a
contractor and carpenter from 1827 to the opening of the war, and was post
quartermaster at Abingdon during the war. The mother of J. Alex, was Ara,
daughter of John Butt, Esq., of Berkeley county, (then) Virginia.
Before the war J. Alex. Rodefer was captain of militia and deputy
postmaster. In the spring of 1861 he joined Company D, 1st Virginia Cavalry, with which he served until
transferred to Company B, 37th infantry
regiment, from which he was discharged in 1863. After that served as chief
clerk in the conscription office of his district. He is a carpenter and farmer
by occupation; is an A. F. & A. M., Abingdon Lodge, No. 48, past master
and "member of the Grand Lodge.
At Lynchburg, Virginia. October 12, 1864, he married Anna Lee Johnson,
who was born in Hanover county, Virginia, March 10,1845. Their children were
born in the order named: Lula F., William E., Francis R., John W., T. Preston,
Sallie F., Robert W. Mrs. Rodefer is a daughter of William H. Johnson, of
Hanover county and of Lynchburg, her mother Louisa A., daughter of William
Taylor of Caroline county, Virginia.
[Source: Virginia and
Virginians:
History of Volume 2; by Robert Alonzo Brock, Virgil Anson Lewis; publ.
1888; Pgs.722-764; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack]
Private Reuben G. Ross, of Botetourt County,
Virginia, matriculated 1845. He was born in Tennessee, but his father, Reuben
Ross, originally of Montgomery County, Virginia, removed to Fincastle, from
which place the son was entered at the Institute. His mother was Frances
Miller, of Fincastle. The Mexican War occuring (occurring)the next year, he
volunteered as a member of his cousin’s Captain Caldwell’s company. He served
through the campaign. Afterwards he became a civil engineer, and was employed
in building the railroad from Petersburg to Lynchburg. Later, he married an
heiress, and removed to St. Charles, Missouri, where he engaged very
successfully in a woolen factory. He served in neither Army during the
Confederate War. After the War, his prosperity waned, and when he died, about
1880, he left only a moderate estate.
Colonel Norborne
Berkley, his classmate, said: “Old “Reub’ was the bass of our quartet. The
last thing I recollect of him, his 200 pounds and Matt Cullen’s 100 pounds
were flying down the hill in front of Barracks on the toboggan, and when they
went into the sunken road at the foot of the hill, Dr. Estill, the surgeon,
was sent for in a hurry.”
(Source: The Military History
of the Virginia Military Institute from 1839-1861, by: Jennings C. Wise, Publ:
1915. Transcribed by: Helen Coughlin)
Francis
Smith
Born in County Monahan, Ireland, on September 30,1815, is a son of
Andrew Smith, who came from Ireland to Virginia about 1816, settled in
Fluvanna county, removed in 1832 to Botetourt county, and died there aged
sixty-nine years. His mother was Phebe, daughter of John McEntire, Esq., of
County Monahan, born in Ireland, came to Virginia with her husband. Francis
Smith married at Holston Springs, Scott county. Virginia, September 20, 1842,
Eliza B. Grim, who was born at Abingdon, September 9,1824. Ten children were
born to them: Susan, Wm. Andrew, Charles H., David, D. F., Emma, Milton H.,
Mary C., Robert E. Lee, Paul N. Wm. Andrew was killed by accident while at
home during the late war. David, Emma and Milton arc now deceased.
The wife of Mr. Smith is of the Grim and Nulton families, both of
German extraction, and long settled in Virginia. Her father was William Grim,
of Abingdon, formerly of Winchester, where most of the Grim family reside, and
who served under Gen. Harrison in the war of and was present at Detroit at
Hull’s surrender. Her mother Nulton of Winchester.
Mr. Smith is a farmer, contractor and builder of Abingdon. He was
assistant commissary of subsistence with Captain Alderson at Abingdon during
the war, and the last two years of the war was a member of the advisory
board.
[Source: Virginia and
Virginians:
History of Volume 2; by Robert Alonzo Brock, Virgil Anson Lewis; publ.
1888; Pgs.722-764; Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Andrea Stawski Pack]
Alexander Smyth
Alexander Smyth was born on
the Island of Rothlin, Ireland, in 1705. Immigrated to the United States in
1775, and located in Botetourt county, Virginia. Received an academic
education. Studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1789, and commenced
practice at Abingdon. Removed in 1792 to Wythe county. Was a member of the
State House of Representatives in 1792, 1796, 1800, 1804-1808. Was appointed
by President Jefferson colonel of a United States rifle regiment, which he
commanded at the Southwest until 1811, when he was ordered to Washington to
prepare a discipline for the army. Was appointed inspector-general in 1812 and
ordered to the Canadian frontier, where he failed in an invasion of Canada and
left the army. Resumed his practice. Was appointed a member of the State Board
of Public Works. Was again elected to the State House of Representatives. Was
elected a representative from Virginia in the Fifteenth Congress, receiving
1,443 votes, against 711 votes for Estill. Was re-elected to the Sixteenth,
Seventeenth and Eighteenth Congresses, serving from December 1st, 1817, to
March 3d, 1825.
Was again
elected to the Twentieth Congress, receiving 2,604 votes, against 991 vote’s
tor Sharp, and was re-elected to the Twenty-first Congress, serving from
December 3d, 1827, to April 17, 1830, when he died at Washington city.
He published "Regulations of United States Infantry" and
"Remarks on the Apocalypse."
General Smyth had four children—Harold, Alexander, Malvina and Frances.
Malvina married Captain John P. Matthews, who was for many years clerk of
Wythe County Court and a member of the State Constitutional Convention
1829-1830. Frances married Captain James H. Piper, who at one time represented
the Wythe district in the State Senate. Colonel Piper had the distinction of
climbing the Natural Bridge in Virginia. Three of his sons-in-law were
Governors, one of South Carolina and two of Virginia
Source: History of
southwest Virginia, 1746-1786: Washington County, 1777-1870; Published
1903;
By Lewis
Preston Summers; Transcribed by Andrea Stawski
Pack
N. Claiborne Wilson
MAJOR, 28TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY.
Nathaniel Claiborne Wilson was
born at Fincastle, Botetourt County, Virginia, on the 12th of September, 1839.
His father was Colonel George W. Wilson, of Botetourt; his mother, Mrs. Susan
M. Wilson, was the daughter of the late Hon. N. H. Claiborne, of Franklin
County, Virginia. He entered the Virginia Military Institute on the 3d of
August, 1857; remained during two sessions, and then entered the Law School of
the University of Virginia; graduating in 1860, he obtained a license, and
commenced the practice of his profession in the fall of that year, at
Newcastle, Craig County. In April, 1861, he organized and was elected captain
of the Craig Rifles. At the first call for Virginia troops, he marched his
company to Lynchburg, and thence to Richmond. From the latter city his company
was ordered to Manassas Junction, and was here incorporated in the 28th
Virginia Infantry. At the battle of Manassas, July 21, 1861, Captain Wilson's
company came in contact with the regiment of Colonel Wilcox, of the Federal
army, and succeeded in wounding and capturing Wilcox. In the melee seven of
the Craig Rifles were wounded. At the reorganization of the army, in 1862,
Captain Wilson was elected major of the 28th Virginia. At the battle of Seven
Pines, Major Wilson received a slight wound in the face, but was kept from
duty only a few days. Participating in the battles around Richmond, in the
storming of the enemy's works at Gaines's Mill, he was shot through the thigh
by a Minie-ball. So severe was this wound, that he was kept from his command
for several months, being prevented by it from being present at the second
battle of Manassas, or in the first Maryland campaign,—the only service in
which his regiment participated without his presence until the glorious and
desperate charge of Pickett's Division, in which he met his death. As soon as
he recovered from the wound received at Gaines's Mill, Major Wilson reported
for duty at Richmond, and, being still lame, was assigned to duty by the War
Department at Camp Lee; but he preferred active service, and rejoined his
command, which in a short while was ordered to North Carolina. During this
campaign Major Wilson commanded his regiment After the siege of Washington,
North Carolina, the 28th was ordered to Hanover Junction, Virginia, where it
remained until ordered to proceed with the army into Maryland and
Pennsylvania, in July, 1863. On the morning of the 3d of July, when other
brigades had faltered in the attempt to storm a position of the enomy at
Gettysburg, held with one hundred and twenty pieces of artillery by the flower
of the Northern army, Pickett's three Virginia brigades were drawn up in front
of it, and the order to advance given. In that advance of fifteen hundred
yards, perhaps the grandest charge of modern times, many of Virginia's noblest
sons went down. Major Wilson was of this number. Acting as lieutenant-colonel
of his regiment, when the command " Forward!" was given, he stepped in front
of the left wing of his command, and called to his men, "Now, boys, put your
trust in God, and follow me" Keeping in advance, he led the charge, until
one-third of the field had been crossed, then fell, pierced by a grape-shot.
Taken immediately to the division hospital, he died in fifteen or twenty
minutes; his last words, "Tell my mother I died a true soldier, and I hope a
true Christian" spoken to his friend, the chaplain of his regiment, in that
interval. His body was wrapped in his army blanket and buried near the fatal
field, his comrades being unable to procure a coffin. Before his death he had
asked to be buried in the old burying-ground at home. As soon as it was
possible after the war, his remains were disinterred, and borne to the
resting-place of his fathers.
Major Wilson had been a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South for some years previous to his
death, and strong was his trust in God. In his diary, found on his person
after death, was found the following, the last sentence he ever wrote:
"July 3. In line of battle, expecting to move forward
every minute. With our trust in God, we fear not an earthly enemy. God be with
us.
As a fitting conclusion
to this sketch, we extract the following paragraphs from a letter of the Rev.
P. Tinsley, chaplain of the 28th: "Major Wilson exhibited in every relation
the utmost purity and rectitude of character, and his deportment, both in his
official actions and in social and private life, were entirely consistent with
the Christian hope that he expressed to me as well as to the men who bore him
from the field. For some time previous to his death he had manifested an
increased interest in religion, as was evident from his Scripture reading and
his attendance upon religious service. There was no reasonable labor or
sacrifice that the officers and men of his regiment would not have suffered in
his behalf, so strongly had his many virtues—and especially his gallantry on
every field and his heroic courage—attached us to him.
"He died calmly. His features
were not distorted, but as placid and natural as if quietly sleeping in
bivouac, with his comrades around him. After using every effort to procure a
coffin, it became necessary to bury him in his military overcoat, with his
army blanket for his coffin and his shroud."
(Source: Biographical sketches of the Graduates and
Eleves of the Virginia Military Institute who fell during the war between the
States, by Chas. D. Walker. Published 1875. Transcribed and submitted to
Genealogy Trails by Linda Rodriguez)
Richard Lee Simpson, D. D. S.
Dr. Richard Lee Simpson, the
noted dental surgeon of Richmond, Virginia, who has achieved a reputation
which would do honor to a man greatly his senior in point of years, is still a
comparatively young man. He is, however, one of that class of men who know the
value of time, and never allow a minute to pass unused. This was a trait which
characterized him from early youth, and its cultivation has enabled him to
accomplish seemingly impossible amounts of work.
J.
Charlton Simpson, his father, was of Scotch-Irish descent, a builder by
occupation, and made an especial study of mathematics and mechanics. He
married Sarah Elizabeth Backensto, who was of Spanish descent, and died at an
early age. Mrs. J. F. Hickok took charge of Dr. Simpson after the death of his
mother, and to her loving care and training Dr. Simpson gives credit for any
success which he has attained.
Richard Lee Simpson, D. D. S.,
was born in Fincastle, Botetourt county, Virginia, April 21, 1873. His
education was acquired at public and private schools in his native town, and
this he supplemented by home study and diligent reading, being more fond of
books than of sports which would take him from them. Drawing, wood-carving and
the invention of little mechanical devices also absorbed much of his time and
attention during his boyhood days. In 1889 he became a student at the
preparatory school, Montvale, Virginia, conducted by Professor Charles B.
Tate, being graduated from this in 1891, and receiving a scholarship which
enabled him to attend the Washington and Lee University, at Lexington,
Virginia, 1891 and 1892, and there he distinguished himself by his work in the
Latin and Physiological departments. He next taught school for one year at
Laymantown, Virginia, and from 1893 to 1896 studied in the dental department
of the University of Maryland, at Baltimore. In the seven prize contests open
to him at this institution he carried off three first prizes and three second
prizes, one of them being for the highest class standing in a class of
fifty-four members.
Immediately after his graduation Dr. Simpson established himself in the
practice of his profession in Fincastle, at the same time continuing his
studies along this line in an earnest and practical manner. By means of
papers, clinics, and discussions before various dental associations in the
United States and Canada, he aroused and stimulated interest in dental
problems. Many of his papers have been published and have had a wide
circulation, and are regarded as authoritative. One of them was translated and
published in a French magazine, in Paris, and one at Rio De Janiero, Brazil.
In 1903 Dr. Simpson was elected a member of the Virginia State Board of Dental
Examiners, and filled that office until 1905, when he was chosen professor of
dental surgery, crown and bridge work, in the University College of Medicine,
at Richmond, now the Medical College of Virginia, and at the present time
(1915) is filling the chair of clinical dentistry. Dr. Simpson was
instrumental in re-organizing the University College of Medicine School of
Dentistry, and when this was consolidated with the Medical College of Virginia
in 1913, he was elected chairman (dean) of the School of Dentistry, and
continues to hold that office. At the centennial of Maryland University in
1907, the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred on Dr. Simpson by
that institution. He has devoted much time and study to experimental tests of
the physical properties of dental metals, and the physical laws which govern
dental structures, both artificial and natural. In the line of invention Dr.
Simpson has also done notable work, among the most important of his inventions
being the following: A composite crown pin; a system of chisels and pluggers;
a gold casting device; a system of crowning teeth, known as Simpson's hood
abutment; a method for making anatomically banded crowns (the hat brim
method); a method for overcoming the spheroiding of molten gold; a method for
making anatomically perfect shell crowns; and a method for making accurate
saddle-bridges. His lectures and clinics have been given in Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Ohio, Missouri, Canada.
Dr. Simpson was ordained a
deacon in the Presbyterian church in Fincastle in 1897, serving in this office
until 1905, when he removed to Richmond, and is now an elder in the Second
Presbyterian Church in that city, and a member of the state committee of the
Layman's Missionary Movement. In political matters he is a Democrat. He is a
member of the Masonic fraternity; the Xi Psi Phi fraternity; Richmond City
Dental Society; Virginia State Dental Association, of which he was president,
having been active in the interests of this organization from the time he
commenced the practice of dentistry; National Dental Association; Virginia
Chemists' Club; an honorary member of the North Carolina Dental Society; was
one of the organizers of the Southwest Virginia Dental Society, and its first
secretary and treasurer; member of the American Institute of Dental Teachers,
and National Association of Dental Faculties. He is a staunch advocate of high
standards of education and practice in his profession.
Dr. Simpson married, February
28, 1901, Gulielma Walker, daughter of Dr. William T. and Fannie (Holladay)
Walker, of Lynchburg.
(Source: "Encyclopedia of Virginia Biographies" - Vol.
IV. Transcriber: Chris Davis)
