Essex County, VA Biographies

Genealogy Trails logo

Essex County
Biographies

WILLIAM H. BRAY
LIEUTENANT, VIRGINIA INFANTRY.
William H. Bray was born in Essex County, Virginia, in 1839. In his nineteenth year, he was entered as a cadet at the Military Institute by his guardian, Dr. R. Richards, of King William County, and became a member of the third class. Attaining considerable success in his studies, at the end of his first year he stood in the upper half of his class, and received a sergeantcy in the corps. Graduated in July, 1861, after having served with the cadets, as a drill-master, at the Camp of Instruction at Richmond, and was appointed as lieutenant in a Virginia regiment, name not known, with which he served until killed in the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.
(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)

WILLIAM BROCKENBOROUGH
Brockenborough, William, lawyer, jurist, legislator, was born July 10, 1778. He represented Essex County in the Virginia state legislature; and was subsequently a councilor. He was judge of the general court in 1809-34, when he was appointed one of the judges of the court of appeals, an office that he retained until his death. He died Dec. 10, 1838, in Richmond, Va.
[Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by AFOFG]

THOMAS M. BURKE
MAJOR, 55TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY.
Thomas M. Burke, eldest son of James and Susan Burke, was born in Essex County, Virginia, April 20, 1829. Entered the Virginia Military Institute in August, 1848. Resigned after some time, and was engaged in farming in Essex County until the John Brown raid, when he raised a company of infantry, and took part in the military operations during Brown's imprisonment and trial. In command of this company, which subsequently became Co. "F," 55th Virginia, he entered the service. Was stationed at Lowery's Point Battery until April, 1862, when the regiment was ordered to Fredericksburg. Was there promoted major. From Fredericksburg the regiment was ordered to Richmond, and was engaged in the seven days' fight. In the first day's battle Major Burke was wounded in the left arm, and in the seventh and last day, at Frasier's Farm, June 30, 1862, he was killed. An excellent soldier and competent officer, he served from the beginning of hostilities, without intermission, until the day of his death.
(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 Cauthorn, of Essex county, Va., was a school teacher and silversmith. He married a Miss Fisher, by whom he had—Vinson, James, Reuben, Leroy, Godfrey, Amos, and Patsey. James married Leah Allen, and they had—Allen, Carter, James, Jr., Ross, Alfred, Nancy, Henrietta, and Frances. Allen settled in Audrain Co., Mo., and married Elizabeth Harmcn. At his death he left two sons and two daughters. Carter married Elizabeth Calvin, and settled in Audrain county in 1835. They had eleven sons and two daughters. James, Jr., married Frances Calvin, and settled in Audrain county in 1835. They had four sons and five daughters. Ross, Nancy, and Henrietta lived and died in Virginia. Alfred married Emily Brooks, and settled in Audrain county. They had seven sons and five daughters. Frances married William Garrett, who settled in Mexico, Mo. They had three sons and three daughters.
(Source: A History of the Pioneer Families of Missouri: with numerous sketches, by William Smith Bryan, publ. 1876. Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack)

CLARKSON, W. Palmer, attorney and secretary Pioneer Cooperage Co.; born in Essex Co., Va., Feb. 13, 1867; son of James L. and Loulie C. (Turner) Clarkson; graduated from St. Louis High School, 1888; LL.B., St. Louis Law School, 1889; married, St. Louis, Oct. 18, 1897, Marie Soulard Turner (daughter of late Gen. John W. Turner, who was street commissioner of St. Louis for eleven years); children: John Turner, Marie Louise and Palmer. Practiced law in St. Louis from 1889 to Aug., 1902, and during that time was attorney for Missouri Southern Railroad Co., Fidelity and Casualty Insurance Co., Clarkson Saw Mill Co. and other corporations; since Aug., 1902, attorney and secretary of Pioneer Cooperage Co., devoting all his time to this corporation, which operates large factories in St. Louis and Chicago, and numerous stave and heading factories in the South, and also owns large hardwood timber properties in the South. Director Clarkson Lumber Co., Christian Board of Publication, and vice president National Benevolent Association. Democrat. Member Board of Education, City of St. Louis, appointed by Mayor Wells to fill vacancy in board in 1902; elected for term of two years, April, 1905, and elected vice president of board, October, 1905; on Apr. 20, 1909, appointed by Mayor Kreisman to fill unexpired term of John Schroers. Member Christian (Disciples) Church; chairman board Union Avenue Christian Church since 1906. Member Bar Association of St. Louis, also Missouri State Bar Association. Member Virginia Society, Business Men's League, Manufacturers Association, Citizens Industrial Association, National Cooperage Association (president for two years). Clubs: St. Louis, Noonday, City, Bellerive Country. Recreations: golf and tennis. Office: 2212 DeKalb St. Residence: 4243 Maryland Ave.

(Source: The Book of St. Louisans, Publ. 1912. Transcribed by Charlotte Slater)

ROBERT M. T. HUNTER
ROBERT M. T. HUNTER was born April 21, 1809, in Essex County, Virginia; was educated at the University of his Native State, and graduated with distinction. He studied law with Judge Tucker, at Winchester; and, in 1830, was admitted to the bar. He was elected to the Virginia Legislature, in 1834, in which he served three years, and attained a high position. In 1837 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, by the "States Rights Whigs," where he served two terms.
On Mr. Hunter's advent to public office, financial questions of great importance occupied the attention of Congress, and his ability in the discussions placed him in the front rank. On the meeting of the Twenty-Sixth Congress, he was chosen Speaker. He was again a candidate for the Twenty-Eighth Congress, but was defeated. In 1844 he took an active part in the election of Mr. Polk, and was re-elected to Congress in 1845. At this session the Oregon question occupied the attention of the country, and he distinguished himself by a high-toned conservatism. On the Mexican question he advocated a vigorous prosecution of the war. The establishment of the Independent Treasury, the Revenue Tariff of 1846, and the Warehousing system, are much indebted to Mr. Hunter for their success.
The second session of the Twenty-Ninth Congress was marked by a renewal of the Slavery agitation; and his opposition to all the measures of the Free Soil party stamped his character as a leader of the Southern Democracy, and led to his elevation to the United States Senate in 1847. To this body he was elected for three successive terms, serving as Chairman of the Committee on Finance, and as a member of the Committees on the Library, and on the Pacific Railroad.
Mr. Hunter was one of the ablest advocates of the policy of his section; and on all the great questions agitating the country, whether in debate, or as Chairman of the Finance Committee, his conduct was highly approved, not only by his party, but by numerous leading men in all parts of the United States. Besides his efforts in the Senate, Mr. Hunter distinguished himself by various discourses in different parts of the country. One eulogist says: "He adds to the scholastic learning of Everett, the cabinet genius of Hamilton, and the philosophic scope of Madison."
In 1861 he joined his Southern friends in secession, and was expelled from the Senate in July of that year. He was chosen Secretary of State in the Southern Confederacy on the resignation of Robert Toombs, and was afterward a Member of the Confederate Congress. Mr. Hunter was one of the Commissioners appointed to confer with President Lincoln on terms of peace. On his return from Fortress Monroe, where the Conference had been held, he addressed a public meeting in Richmond, and gave vent to his feelings of indignation at the terms demanded, predicting the most direful evils from the consequences of submission; and, expressing real Southern scorn for the "Yankee Congress," he evoked the strongest spirit of resistance.
Since the collapse of the Rebellion, Mr. Hunter's name has been seldom heard at the North, for such seems to be the fate of the most prominent leaders, - men who figured foremost in the affairs of the nation under the old regime, and who filled the trump of fame during the short-lived era of secession,-that the historian finds it difficult to save their subsequent career from total oblivion. Undoubtedly, Mr. Hunter exhibited the talents of a statesman; but, on the basis of slavery, nothing could thrive.
(Source: Biographies of 250 Distinguished National Men by Horatio Bateman. Published 1871 - Submitted by Linda Rodriguez)

Luke Pryor
     Pryor, Luke, lawyer, U. S. senator, representative in congress, was born July 5, 1820, near Huntsville, Madison County, and died August 6, 1900, at Athens; son of Luke and Anne Batte (Lane) Pryor, the former a native of Virginia, who was first married to Martha Scott, sister of Gen. Winfield Scott, and who lived at Petersburg, Va., until after his second marriage in 1808, when he moved to Brunswick and later Nottoway Counties Va., and came to Alabama in 1820, first locating in Madison County, near Huntsville, where he farmed and taught school for a few years, and later moving to Limestone County, where he died in June, 1851; grandson of John and Anne (Bland) Pryor, the former a native of England, who came to America about 1700, and purchased land in Virginia, and of Benjamin and Sylvia (Perry) Lane, natives of Virginia, who lived in Brunswick County, Va.; great-grandson of Samuel and Prudence (Thornton) Pryor, and of Richard and Ann (Poythress) Bland, who lived at Jordan's Point, Va.; great-great-grandson of Col. William Thornton of Gloucester County, Va, Mr. Pryor received his early education at Mooresville, Limestone County, and for a short time was a student at Washington college, near Natchez, Miss. He began the study of law in 1841 under Judge Daniel Coleman, and received a license to practice in the local courts the same year. He entered into a partnership with Robert C Brickell, the late chief justice of the supreme court of Alabama, and continued that association until 1843; was law partner of Col. Egbert Jones for a short time; was appointed with Gen. Leroy Pope Walker as bank attorney at Decatur, 1844; was re-appointed in 1845 with D. C Humphries as attorney for the same bank; resigned that position later in the year, continuing the practice of law in connection with farming at Athens; was elected to the State legislature in 1855, pledged to the work of securing authority to subscribe two hundred thousand dollars to the capital stock of the Tennessee and Alabama central railroad company, at Nashville and Decatur, and secured the bill raising that tax, enacted over the veto of Gov. Winston; entered into a partnership with George S. Houston in 1866, which lasted until 1874, when Mr. Houston was elected governor; continued his practice alone until in December, 1879, when he was appointed by Gov. Cobb to the U. S. senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Houston; served as senator from December 31, 1879, until the legislature met in November, 1880, when he declined to be a candidate to complete the unexpired term; abandoned the law and gave his attention to farming, remaining in quiet life for two years, until in 1883, without his knowledge, he was nominated for representative in congress from the eighth district by acclamation at the convention assembled in Decatur. He was elected and served 1883-1885, declining a second term.
     Married: August 20, 1845, to Isabella Virginia Harris, born January 7, 1826, in Limestone County, who died in June, 1889, daughter of John H. and Frances (Rowzee) Harris, natives of Virginia, who lived in Albemarle County, Va., the former a captain in the War of 1812; granddaughter of Matthew and Elizabeth (Tate) Harris, and of John and Isabella (Miller) Rowzee, of Essex County, Va.; greatgranddaughter of William and Mary (Netherland) Harris; great-great-granddaughter of Matthew and Elizabeth (Lee) Harris. Children: 1. Aurora, Athens, m. Robert A. McClellan, deceased; 2. William Richard, deceased, m. Ida Harris, Harris; 3. Memory, Athens, m. William Shirley Peebles, deceased; 4. Anne Batte Lane, deceased, m. Maclin Sloss, Birmingham; 5. Frances Snow, Athens; 6. Isabella Benjamin, d. in infancy; 7. Mary, m. Thomas Bass Leslie, West Point, Miss.; 8. Harriett Emily, deceased, m. Robert J. Lowe (q. v.). Last residence: Athens.
[History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume 4 By Thomas McAdory Owen, Mrs. Marie (Bankhead) Owen, 1921 – Transcribed by AFOFG]

Colonel Richard Tunstall, a descendant of Edward Tunstall (q. v.), was clerk of King and Queen in 1739 and 1742; burgess for King and Queen in the assembly of 1766-1768; chairman of the committee of safety for that county 1774, and clerk 1777. He married Anne Hill, daughter of Leonard Hill, of Essex, and died previous to 1782. His daughter Hannah married George Brooke of "Pampatike." King and Queen County.
[Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Under The Editorial Supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler, 1915 – Transcribed by AFOFG]

James Hoge Tyler, was born at his father's home, "Blenheim," Caroline County, Virginia, August 11, 1846, son of Hon. George Tyler and Elva (Hoge) Tyler, his wife. The father, oldest son of Henry and Lucy (Coleman) Tyler, owned the "Blenheim" estate and many others, and was known for his hospitality and generosity; he was a member of the Virginia legislature both before and after the civil war. His mother dying at his birth, James Hoge Tyler was brought up by his grandparents, Gen. and Mrs. James Hoge, at their home, "Belle Hampton," in Pulaski county, Virginia. When he was ten years old, his grandmother died, and his grandfather, stricken with paralysis, made him an assistant in his business affairs. To the age of fifteen he was instructed by private tutors and by his grandfather. After the death of Gen. Hoge, in 1861, he joined his father in Caroline county, and was sent to the school of Franklin Minor in Albemarle County. When Virginia seceded, he enlisted as a private in the Confederate army, and served throughout the war with characteristic courage and fidelity. After the surrender, he returned to Pulaski County, and took up farm work, but soon became interested in public-affairs, and wrote frequently for the press urging manufacturing and mining development.

     In 1877 he was elected to the state senate, and proved himself a most efficient legislator. He urged the reduction of state taxes from fifty to forty cents. As a member of the commission which settled the state debt, his influence was potent in effecting a saving of interest. He was a member of the board of public buildings at Blacksburg and Marion, and the labors of that body received special commendation by the governor. He was made rector of the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Polytechnic Institute), but resigned to enter upon his duties as lieutenant-governor, to which office he was elected in 1889. He was a member of the commission to examine into the disputed Virginia-Maryland boundary line, and was elected chairman of the joint committee of the two states. He gave earnest attention to the resources of the state, and in public addresses and letters to the press; he urged displays at the various fairs and expositions. In 1897, by acclamation he was made the Democratic candidate for governor, and was elected by a majority of more than 52,000 votes.

     During his term of office he greatly contributed to the prosperity of the state. By careful economy, the state debt was reduced by more than a million dollars, nor was this done at the expense of any public concern. Besides meeting the additional expense incident to an extra legislative session and a constitutional convention, the public school fund was increased by $21,000, and the literary fund by $68,000, while more than $800,000 remained in the public treasury, and the constitutional convention further reduced the tax rate from forty to thirty cents. He recommended a labor bureau, and the conditional pardon system, and these were established; the agricultural department was placed upon a sound practical basis; and all the state institutions received liberal and sympathetic support. During his term also the Virginia-Tennessee boundary dispute was settled.

     In 1892 he was a delegate to the Pan Presbyterian Alliance at Toronto, Canada; and in 1896 went to Scotland as a representative of the Southern General Assembly at the Alliance meeting in Glasgow. He was a member of the board of trustees of Hamper en-Sidney College, of the Union Theological Board, and of the board of the Synodical Orphans' Home at Lynchburg. Since retiring from the governorship he has resided at East Radford, Virginia, where he has been active in various business enterprises. He was married, in 1868, to Miss Sue Montgomery Hammet. Gov. Tyler is descended from Richard Tyler, who settled in Essex County in the latter part of the seventeenth century (q. v. I, 346). He is a very happy and popular speaker and is distinguished for his genial and affable manners.

[Source: Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography; Edited by Lyon Gardiner Tyler; Publ. 1915; Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack.]