USA > Washington DC > Eminent and representative men of Virginia and the District of Columbia in the nineteenth century. With a concise historical sketch of Virginia > Part 63
USA > Virginia > Eminent and representative men of Virginia and the District of Columbia in the nineteenth century. With a concise historical sketch of Virginia > Part 63
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
575
PERSONAL SKETCHES- STATE OF VIRGINIA.
graduating therefrom in the spring of REV. DR. HENDERSON SUTER
1859. He opened an office in Petersburg was born in Washington, D. C., July 31, in the early part of 1860, in which city, 1828. He was educated in Georgetown with the exception of the years during and the Theological seminary near the civil war, he has ever since practiced. Alexandria, Va. In 1856 he was ordained In the spring of 1861, on the day follow- deacon, and priest the following year. ing the battle of first Manassas, he His first charge was Mission chapel entered the service of the Confederate in Georgetown for one year, and army as an assistant surgeon. He served he then went to Berryville, Clarke county. in various surgical capacities until July, Va., and remained there until 1866; then 1863, when he was examined and pro- he went to Halifax county for one year, moted to the rank of surgeon and was thence to Lynchburg, where he tarried ordered to Wilmington, N. C., as surgeon two years, when, his health failing, he
and medical purveyor. Upon the fall of Wilmington in February, 1865, he joined Gen. Johnston's army and surrendered with him at Greensboro, in the latter part of April, 1865. He then resumed his medical practice at Petersburg. For several months during the year 1872 he pursued special studies bearing upon his profession in several of the leading hos- pitals of New York city. He is the local surgeon of the Petersburg & Weldon railroad and of the Norfolk & Western railroad; he is a member of the Peters- burg Medical faculty and of the Medical society of Virginia. For five years he served as a member of the medical ex- amining board of the state of Virginia, being one of the charter members; he is
went back to Clarke county and took charge of Wickliffe parish, where he re- mained two years. He then went to Bed- ford city, Va., and at the end of eight years went to Alexandria, there taking charge of Christ church, where he has ever since remained. He received the degree of D. D. from Washington and Lee university. He is one of the trustees of the Theological seminary and high school of Virginia, a member of the stand- ing committee and secretary of the Education society in Virginia. He was at one time examiner in Hebrew and Greek in the Theological seminary of Virginia.
June 6, 1854, Mr. Suter was married to Miss Minerva Davidson, daughter of a member of the Petersburg board of John Davidson of Georgetown, D. C., and seven children have been born to them whose names are Dr. Henderson Suter, of Georgetown; John Davidson Suter of Lynchburg; Mary Davidson, William States army; Alexander Suter, Frank Suter and Frances Read Suter. Dr. Suter's father, Alexander Suter, was born in Maryland in 1783. He carried on the . mercantile trade in Georgetown in early
health. In politics he is a democrat. Dr. Stockdell belongs to the Episcopal church, the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Honor, the Royal Arcanum, the Amer- ican Legion of Honor and the Order of Norwood, assistant surgeon in the United Chosen Friends. He is now supervising medical examiner for Virginia of the order of Knights of Honor. Dr. Stock- dell was married in 1876 at Alexandria, Va., to Miss Kate Marburg McPherson of Charles county, Md. They have five life, and subsequently, for many years, children living, four of whom are sons.
was clerk and cashier in the Farmers' &
576
PERSONAL SKETCHES - STATE OF VIRGINIA.
Mechanics' bank in Georgetown. He was a military officer in the war of 1812. He was twice married; first to Miss Maria Fletcher, by whom he had one son, Alexander Fletcher, who was assistant surgeon in the United States army, and died in the city of Mexico, December 15, 1847, of typhoid fever. He left one son, Charles Russell Degan Suter, now of the United Statesarmy. The father's second wife was Miss Susan, daughter of Rev. Robert Read of Montgomery county, Md. The issue of this marriage was six chil- dren, of whom four came to maturity, as follows: Thomas, Maria, deceased in 1889; Sarah, and Rev. Dr. Henderson Suter. Dr. Suter's father died August 16, 1849, and his mother August 30, 1875. The grandfather, John Suter, was a native of Scotland and came to America in his young manhood, settling first at Dum- fries, near Alexandria, Va., afterwards moving into Maryland, where he kept " Suter's Tavern," in which Gen. Washing- ton was frequently entertained. The maternal grandfather, , Rev. Thomas Read, who was born on Gwynn's Island opposite Gloucester county, Va., was an Episcopal clergyman ordained in Eng- land by Richard Terrick, bishop of Lon- don, at his palace of Fulham, in the county of Middlesex, September 19, 1773, and was ordained to the priesthood by the same bishop at the same place September 21, 1773. He was ordained for "the province of Maryland." The Rev. Thomas Read married the daughter of Col. Zadok Magruder, one of the early settlers of Montgomery county, Md. Dr. Henderson Suter was the officiating clergyman at the dedication of the Wash- ington monument, D. C., and, as a youth, was present at the laying of its corner stone.
MINTON WRIGHT TALBOT.
This lawyer is descended from the old and numerous family of that name in Virginia, and the founder of the Ameri- can house was lineally descended from the Earl of Shrewsbury. The founder came to this country early in 1600, and settled in the south and southwest por-' tions of the Old Dominion. Minton Wright Talbot was born in Norfolk county, June 1, 1868. He was educated primarily at Norfolk, and finished his ed- ucation at the university of Virginia, where he graduated with the degrees of M. A., B. A., and B. Ph. In 1890, after going through the law department, he took the degree of B. L., and at once commenced and still continues the prac- tice of his chosen profession in Norfolk. The father of Mr. Talbot was William Henry Talbot, born in Norfolk in 1824. He was educated at the university of Vir- ginia, and afterward studied law with W. W. Sharp, the well-known lawyer of Nor- folk, and was admitted to practice in 1847. He shortly afterward made a trip to Eu- rope, where he remained a couple of years, and after his return devoted his attention to farming, which he carried on until his death in 1884. He married Eliza- beth Minton Wright in 1863. She was the daughter of Dr. David M. Wright, and to her union with Mr. Talbot were born six children, of whom five survive. They are Diana, Thomas, Minton W., Elizabeth W., and Mary C. The grand- father of Minton W., Thomas Talbot, was born in Norfolk in 1780. He also studied law, but did not practice, being engaged largely in farming and in the lumber business. He married Diana Tal- bot, the daughter of Kedar Talbot, of Norfolk city, and reared a family of seven children, of whom four grew to maturity
577
PERSONAL SKETCHES -STATE OF VIRGINIA.
as follows: Mary D., deceased wife of served as such until the close of the war. Capt. W. J. Chapman; Sarah F., wife of He was paroled on April 27, 1865, and- Oscar F. Baxter; William H., deceased, and Virginia, deceased wife of Abraham F. Leonard, deceased. He was for years
shortly thereafter returned to Norfolk. He accepted a position of clerk from 1866 to 1877 when he established the a member of the county court, and died wholesale grocery house of Washing- in 1865. The great-grandfather of Min- ton Taylor & Co., which he still conducts. ton Wright Talbot was Solomon Butt Mr. Taylor is president of the Savings Talbot, who was a farmer and largeslave bank of Norfolk, is a director of the and land owner. He married Mary Tabb. Marine bank, treasurer of the chamber of The great-great-grandfather of Mr. Tal- bot was Thomas Talbot, a native of Nor- folk. He married Miss Mary Butt, and was an extensive shipbuilder and owned several large tracts of land and hundreds commerce, and served two terms as a police commissioner of the city. He is now quartermaster general of the grand camp of Confederate veterans, depart- ment of Virginia, third lieutenant com- of slaves. His death occurred in 1777. mander of Pickett-Buchanan Camp, C. The great-great-great-grandfather was John Talbot, a large planter and slave "Lee Camp Soldiers Home," Richmond, V., a member of the board of visitors of Va., and captain and commissary of sub- sistance, Fourth regiment Virginia vol- unteers.
holder of Norfolk. He died in 1755. It will thus be seen that the Talbots are among the oldest and most highly re- spected of Virginia's families, and the lineage presents a record singularly free from the slightest suspicion of anything dishonorable. It is to such people that the old commonwealth is largely indebted for its honorable standing in the sister- hood of states, and its renown abroad.
WASHINGTON TAYLOR,
wholesale grocer, was born in Norfolk, Va., February 22, 1848, and received his education at the Norfolk Military academy, leaving that institution in 1862. Mr. Taylor entered the Confederate service that year, at the age of fifteen, enlisting in the month of August, and was made courier to Col. William Pannill, provost marshal at Petersburg, and in in 1877; Eliza Calvert, wife of George Chamberlaine, of Norfolk; Eloise W., deceased wife of Dr. J. J. Goodwyn of Columbia, S. C .; Calvert, died in 1860; Sallie Pope, wife of Lafayette Harman-
Mr. Taylor was married on November 12, 1879, to Emily Herman Whitehead, daughter of John B. Whitehead of Nor- folk. To them have been born three children, as follows: Washington Taylor, Jr., John B. W. Taylor and Emily White- head Taylor.
The father of Mr. Taylor, John Carr Calvert Taylor, was born in Norfolk in 1809, and received his education in his native city. He went into the mercantile business in the same place when a young man and carried it on until his death in 1852. He married in 1833, Eloise Will- iamson Jones of Petersburg, who bore him seven children as follows: Richard, paymaster Confederate States navy, died
July, 1863, was made chief clerk at Jack- son hospital, near Richmond, Va. In March, 1864, he was appointed lieutenant and adjutant of a battalion of local troops commanded by Major Harry C. Scott, and son of Norfolk; Washington, of Norfolk,
578
PERSONAL SKETCHES -STATE OF VIRGINIA.
and Virginia Robertson, wife of Richard ing in that capacity until June 19, 1888, W. Waldrop of Norfolk.
Richard Taylor, the paternal grand- father, was born in 1768. He carried on the mercantile business in early manhood, and in the latter part of his life engaged in the insurance business. He married Elizabeth Calvert, daughter of John Cal- vert, of Norfolk county, and reared a family of ten children, only one of whom now survives, Alexina, wife of General Richard L. Page of Norfolk. The de- ceased are. as follows: Richard; Mary Eliza, wife of Walter F. Jones of Nor- folk, who is also deceased; Margaret Walke, William Carr, Cornelius Calvert, Walter Herron, John Carr Calvert, Vir- ginia, wife of Joseph Robertson, also de- ceased, and Laura Taylor.
JOHN STRODE BARBOUR THOMPSON
was born in Culpeper county, Va., June 10, 1858, and was educated in the schools of that county. In 1871-2-3 he was page in the house of representatives. He went into the railroad office at Culpeper in 1873, and also had a position in the bank of Culpeper until 1878, when he moved to Alexandria and acted as secretary to Major Randolph, general superintendent of the Virginia Midland railroad, acting as such until 1879, when he engaged as a clerk in the auditing department of the Long Island railroad, New York. He served there until January, 1880, and then turned and again served as secretary to Major Randolph until August, 1880. He then took the position as secretary to Senator John S. Barbour, who was presi- dent of the Virginia Midland railroad, and remained with him until June, 1883. At that time he was made assistant gen- eral freight and passenger agent of that railroad, and located at Alexandria, act-
when he was appointed superintendent, which position he now holds. He has been alderman of Alexandria one term and councilman two terms. Mr. Thomp- son was married February 5, 1884, to Mary Thornton Marye, daughter of Col. Morton Marye, now (1891) state auditor of Virginia. Mr. Thompson is the son of George Gardner Thompson, who was born in Richmond, March 15, 1824, and was educated at. William and Mary col- lege, where he received the degree of B. L. He setttled in Culpeper county, took up the occupation of a farmer, and remained there until the war broke out, when he enlisted in the Brandy Station Rifles and went with them to Harper's Ferry. Mr. Thompson entered the com- pany as a private, but left it as quarter- master with the rank of captain. He served in the army of northern Virginia under Gen. R. E. Lee. After the war he returned to Culpeper county and, for most of the time since, has been con- nected with the Virginia Midland rail- road. He was married in 1850 to Miss Eliza, daughter of John S. Barbour, of Culpeper county, and sister to United States Senator John S. Barbour. Fifteen children were born to this union, eight of whom died in infancy. The names of those who came to maturity are: Lelia, Anna G., wife of Rev. James G. Minnigerode of Richmond; J. S. B., Richard C., a lawyer of Richmond; Eliza B., George G., Jr., now with the R. & D. R. R., and Ruth Thompson. Mr. Thompson's mother died August 1, 1887. His grandfather's name was Garland Thompson, who was born in Hanover county in 1776. He was a merchant in Richmond the greater part of his life. He married Miss Mitchell and they had
579
PERSONAL SKETCHES - STATE OF VIRGINIA.
six children, named as follows: James, pital, having held this position at deceased; Philip M., Julia, deceased; irregular intervals for six years. He is a Isabelle, who married Thomas Sully, of member of the Virginia Medical society Richmond; William M., deceased, and and of the Baptist church. Dr. Trevilian George Gardner Thompson. The grand- was married, June 6, 1866, to Virginia C. father died in 1831.
Parrish, daughter of Royall Parrish, form- erly a leading merchant of Richmond.
DR. JOHN G. TREVILIAN,
REV. BEVERLY DANDRIDGE TUCKER,
the well known physician and surgeon of Richmond, was born in Goochland present rector of St. Paul's church, was county, April 1, 1840, son of Col. John M. born in Richmond, Va., November 9, 1846. The Tuckers belong to one of the old Virginia families, and a glance at the family history reveals a long line of names country. The oldest of the name of which we have record was George Tucker, who was born in Milton, Kent county, England, in the first half of the sixteenth century. He married Mary, daughter of John Hunter, of Gaunte, England. Their son, George Tucker, was also born in Milton, but came to this country, going first to Virginia, but about 1616 he re- moved to Bermuda, where he obtained a royal grant of the Grove property and became a leading member of the War- wick party in the Virginia company. He was twice married; first to Elizabeth Stanghton, by whom he had one child, George Tucker; the second time he mar- ried Mary Darrell. George Tucker, the son of George and Elizabeth Stanghton Tucker, and his son, George, was born in Bermuda; Henry, the son of the last named George Tucker, was born in Port Royal, where he became a wealthy planter. In 1683 he married Nancy Butterfield, who lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and eight years. Col. Henry Tucker " of the Grove " was their son and was born and lived in Bermuda all his life. He had six children, four of whom rose to prominence in the world: Henry, Trevilian, himself one of the old residents of that county, who served as a colonel in the state militia, and was a gentleman Virginian planter of the old school. He illustrious in the annals of both state and died in 1872. The last named was the son of John Trevilian, also a Virginian by birth, whose father immigrated to Amer- ica from Wales. The mother of Dr. Trevilian was Mary A. C. Argyle of Richmond. She died in October, 1879. Dr. Trevilian spent his early life in the county of his nativity. He was educated at Hampden-Sidney college and at the age of eighteen years entered the med- ical department of the university of Vir- ginia. He then took an additional course at the Medical college of Virginia, where he graduated in the early spring of 1861. He at once entered the military service of the Confederate government as an assistant surgeon, and did good service in that capacity in the hospitals of Rich- mond for one year, when he was pro- moted to full surgeon and served on the staff of Gen. G. H. Stewart until the end of the war, having, however, been made a prisoner at Warrenton the year pre- vious, but was held only a short time. From Appomattox he returned to Gooch- land, where he practiced medicine until 1874 when he located in Richmond, where he still practices and where he is at pres- ont surgeon of the Richmond city hos-
59
580
PERSONAL SKETCHES - STATE OF VIRGINIA.
erley Tucker, of Missouri. Henry St. George was president of the court of appeals of Virginia, professor of law in the university of Virginia, author of ·
who held the highly responsible position | his own brother, Judge Nathaniel Bev- of president of the honorable East India company; Nathaniel, who settled in Hull, England, was the author of the poem, " Bermudian;" Thomas Tudor, the first treasurer of the United States, holding several law books and a large number of lectures on constitutional law. His wife, Ann Evelina Hunter, was the grand- daughter of Gen. Adam Stephens, a veteran of the Revolutionary war. Their son, Nathaniel Beverley, was born in Winchester, Va., in 1820, and received his education at the university of Virginia. At an early age he went to Washington, D. C., where during the administration of Pierce he edited the Sentinel, and was printer to the senate. In 1857 President Buchanan sent him as consul to Liver- pool, Eng. When the Civil war broke out, holding the commission of colonel, he was agent for the Confederate states in France and afterward in Canada. Dur- ing the reign of Maximilian he was in Mexico as correspondent of the London Standard. In the retreat from · Vera Cruz to Mexico he was the guest, and on the staff of Gen. Bazaine. He returned from Mexico to Canada, where he re- mained until 1869, when he removed to Washington, D. C., and practiced before the court of claims until his death in 1890. His sister Ann married Dr. A. Magill, and their child, Mary Tucker Magill, is the author of " The Holcombes" and the school history of Virginia. His brother, Dr. D. H. Tucker, was professor of medi- cine and married Elizabeth, daughter of Geo. M. Dallas, vice-president of the United States. Another brother, John Randolph Tucker, was attorney-general of Virginia, and is now professor of law at Washington-Lee college. He was six- teen years a member of congress, and his son St. George succeeded him and still that office up to the time of his death in 1828, thirty-two years in all; St. George, born at Port Royal in 1752 and educated at William and Mary college. He was adopted and brought up by his maternal grandfather, who was royal governor of Bermuda, but, in spite of this fact, when the Revolution broke out he joined the continental army. He rose to the rank of colonel, and his commission, signed by Gen. George Washington, is now in possession of the family. He was a lawyer as well as a soldier, and an author as well as a lawyer. He was pro- fessor at law at William and Mary college, president of the court of appeals of Vir- ginia; district judge of the United States for the eastern district of Virginia; re- viser of the laws of Virginia, author of "Commentaries on Blackstone," and numerous other works. He married, first, Frances Bland, widow of John Ran- dolph and mother of John Randolph of Roanoke. Their son, Henry St. George, was the grandfather of Rev. Beverly D. Tucker. His second wife was Lelia, widow of George Carter of Lancaster, Va., and daughter of Sir Peyton Skipwith of Prest Wold, Mecklenburg county, Va. Henry St. George the son of St. George and Frances Tucker, was born in Will- iamsburg, Va., December, 29, 1780. Like his father he was educated at William and Mary college. He represented Vir- ginia several times in the United States congress and at one time had two rela- tives in the house with him: John Ran- dolph of Roanoke, his half brother, and
581
PERSONAL SKETCHES-STATE OF VIRGINIA.
holds his seat. Still another brother was later, in 1875, was ordained priest. His clerk of the Virginia senate and house of first charge was Lunenburg parish, Rich- delegates, author of "Handford;" a mond county, Va., where he was located " Tale of Bacon's Rebellion," and numer- from 1873 to 1882, leaving there to become ous other works in prose and verse. He rector of St. Paul's parish, Norfolk, Va., which position he still occupies. July 22, 1873, he married Anna Maria Washing- ton, daughter of Col. John Augustine Washington, of Mount Vernon, and of Eleanor Love Selden, daughter of Dr. Wilson Carey Selden. Col. Washington was the great-grandson of John Augus- tine Washington, full brother of Gen. George Washington, and inherited the Mount Vernon estates from his father, er was born at Mount Vernon November 17, 1851. In 1859 Col. Washington sold the Mount Vernon mansion and grounds, reserving the farm, to the Ladies' Mount Vernon association. During the Civil war he was on the staff of Gen. Robert E. Lee, and was killed at Rich Mountain in September, 1861. Mrs. Tucker is also a lineal descendant of Richard Henry Lee. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have twelve chil- dren, as follows: Henry St. George, Eleanor Selden, Jane Ellis, Lila Wash- ington, Maria Washington, Beverley Dan- dridge, Augustine Washington, John Ran- dolph, Richard Blackburn, Herbert Nash, Lawrence Fontaine and Ellis Nimmo. Rev. Beverly D. Tucker has written and published a number of poems, chiefly on religious topics and memorial verse of the late war, all of which have met with gen- eral admiration and commendation.
held the commission of lieutenant-colonel in the Seventeenth Virginia regiment in the Confederate army. Nathaniel Bev- erley Tucker, in 1840, married Jane Shel- ton Ellis. They had eight children, but only five of them grew to maturity: James Ellis, present United States appraiser at San Francisco, Cal .; John Randolph, speaker's clerk to the late Samuel J. Randall when speaker of the house of representatives; Charles Ellis of Memphis, John Augustine Washington. Mrs. Tuck- Tennessee, and the Rev. Beverley D. Tucker. Beverley Dandridge Tucker has an education of such a broad char- acter that it can be attributed to no one place of learning. The foundation of his general education was laid in England and Switzerland, his classical training at the university of Toronto, Canada, and his ecclesiastical learning at Alexandria, Va. He was in Switzerland when the war broke out, but came home in January, 1863, and joined, as a private, the famous Otay battery of the Thirteenth Virginia battalion, and served with that battery in the army of northern Virginia until the surrender at Appomattox. At the close of the war he went to Toronto, Canada, and attended the university there for one year; leaving this, he went to Win- chester, Va., where he remained five years teaching the modern languages. While there he studied law in Judge Parker's school. After fully prepar- EDWARD VIRGINIUS VALENTINE, ing himself for the profession of law he felt a call to go into the ministry and
the sculptor, was born at Richmond, Va., November 12, 1838. His father was the entered the Alexandria Theological sem- late Mann S. Valentine, a prominent mer- inary. He was ordained deacon in the chant of that city. He belongs to a Episcopal church in 1873, and two years family, all the members of the present
582
PERSONAL SKETCHES -STATE OF VIRGINIA.
generation of which have shown a decided |where he received private instructions penchant for art, literature and science. from Boaniuti, and after making a tour One of his brothers, the late Prof. Will- of the art galleries of Italy, he went iam Winston Valentine, was well known to Germany in the hope of entering and esteemed for his accomplishments as the studio of Rietschel. That artist a linguist, and for his researches in the had died, however, while Valentine field of philology. Several members of was lingering in the Alps, and the young his family are also known in this country Virginian's next step was to apply for ad- and in Europe in connection with inter- mission in the studio of Kiss, then the esting archæological investigations.
most celebrated of the living German
In his youth, young Edward V. Valen- sculptors. At first, Prof. Kiss positively tine was surrounded by everything calcu- declined the proposition, being greatly lated to develop the art instinct, and averse to receiving pupils. But his ob- displayed early a decided talent for sculp- jections were overcome, and the end was ture, but his art proclivities were never- that he received young Valentine not only theless not suffered to interfere with that as a pupil but as a friend, in the develop- solid foundation of education which ment of whose genius he displayed to the should underlie all art. While keeping time of his death a father's interest. Dur- in view his chosen course, young Valen- ing his early days with Kiss, the Civil war tine combined with other studies a course in America broke out, and the ability to of lectures on anatomy, which he at- tended at the Medical college of Virginia when he was scarcely more than a boy.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.