USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > History of Norfolk County, Virginia and representative citizens, V.2 > Part 1
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.
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
ארוף
Gc 975.501 N76sa v. 2 1628664
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02375 9282
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historyofnorfolk02stew
HISTORY C 1
OF
NORFOLK COUNTY, VIRGINIA,
AND
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS,
EDITED AND COMPILED BY
COL. WILLIAM H. STEWART.
"The Truth in Love."
"History is Philosophy Teaching by Examples."
1637-1900. v.2.
-
PUBLISHED BY BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY. GEORGE RICHMOND, PRES .; S. HARMER NEFF. SECY. ; C. R. ARNOLD, TREAS. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.
1902
1028664
521-22
523
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
during which period he built up an extensive practice in that locality. About. that time Dr. Grimes decided to seek a broader field for his labors and, December 2, 1886, he removed to Norfolk, in his native county, where he has since resided. His patronage has assumed large proportions, many of the leading citizens of the city being numbered among his patients. Such splendid results of his efforts have been attained only by assiduously attending to pro- fessional duties.
January 1, ISS4, Dr. Grimes formed a matrimonial alliance with Hannah M. Brown. a native of Smithfield, Virginia. This union resulted in the birth of three children, viz. : Hazel Purcell, Lucille Carney and Jessie Will- ard. June 27, 1897, Dr. Grimes was called upon to bear the loss of his beloved companion, who passed into the realms of the unknown in the 28th year of her life, her birth having taken place July 4. 1869. She was very active in church work, being a member of the Baptist Church, in which faith her husband was also reared, his mother having been a very devout and religious woman. Dr. Grimes is popular and is held in high esteem by his fellow citi- zens.
ERBERT M. NASH, M. D., a distin- guished physician and surgeon of Norfolk, Virginia, whose portrait 's herewith shown. is a native of Norfolk, in the immediate vicinity of which the Nash family has resided for more than two centuries. Among the first houses erected on the original plat of the city, about 1680, was one by Thomas Nash and one by Thomas Walke. In connection with this fact, it is an interesting coincidence that the only surviving surgeons of the Confederate Army residing in the city are Dr. Herbert M. Nash and Dr. Frank A. Walke.
It was a Thomas Nash. a native of Wales, who was the first of this family in Virginia; with his wife, Anne, he settled in Lower Nor-
folk County, in 1665. The name was trans- mitted with filial respect, and his grandson, Thomas Nash, was for many years a vestry- man of St. Bride's Parish, Norfolk County, a position in the Colony of Virginia held by gen- tlemen only, and, including as it did. the func- tions of a-magistrate, it was one of responsi- bility. The grandfather of Dr. Herbert M. Nash, the fourth Thomas in descent, took part in the battle of Great Bridge ( 10 miles from Norfolk ) December 9. 1775, and was severely wounded. This battle, in which the troops of North Carolina and Virginia, under Colonel Woodford, repulsed the British troops of Lord Dunmore, slaying the commander of the at- tacking force, Captain Fordyce, and killing and wounding between 100 and 200 men, was the first decisive battle of the war, compared to which the affairs at Concord and Lexington were insignificant. Continuing in service, Cap- tain Thomas Nash was captured in a hazardous enterprise toward the end of the war and was confined in a prison-ship until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. when he was released. During the last war with Great Britain, 1812- 1814, he .constructed the gunboats that, with the U. S. S. "Constellation" and the State troops on Craney Island, near the meuth of the Elizabeth River, signally defeated Admiral Cockburn's combined land and water attack upon that post. June 22, 1813. One of his sons, Abner Nash. served with the artillery in that action.
Dr. Thomas Nash. father of Dr. Herbert M., was noted for his suave manners, his guile- less disposition and his unaffected Christian demeanor. He honored the loftiest ideals of his calling by devoting himself fearlessly, al- though in broken health, to the care of the afflicted during the terrible yellow fever scourge of 1855, and met his death calmly and honor- ably in the discharge of duty. His wife. the mother of the subject of this sketch. was Lydia Adela Herbert. The Herberts settled in Lower Norfolk about 1650. and were generally men of affairs and extensive landowners. Her
-
524
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
father was sent to England in his youth, where he studied the higher mathematics and scien- tific ship-building. This industry he success- fully conducted near Norfolk for some years, converting the timber from his own lands into the material for ships, for which the port was celebrated in the busy, earlier years of the past century.
Dr. Herbert M. Nash, whose lineage has thus been briefly mentioned. was born in 1831. After obtaining an academic education in the schools of Norfolk,-particularly the classical school of James D. Johnson, and the Norfolk Military Academy .- he repaired to the Uni- versity of Virginia, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine June 29, 1852. After some time spent in the study of clinical medicine and surgery in New York City, he began the practice of his profession in Norfolk in the fall of 1853. Two years later he was called upon to face the appalling epidemic of yellow fever that. destroyed a third of the peo- ple who remained in the city. including those nearest and dearest to him. He did his duty, fighting the unseen, deadly foe with a steadi- ness which was subsequently again manifested in his ministrations to the wounded on the battle-field. He is now the only survivor of the medical men who were on duty in Norfolk in 1855. In 1861, immediately after the se- cession of Virginia from the Union and its adherence to the Confederate States, he was commissioned as assistant surgeon in the State forces and subsequently transferred to the Pro- visional Army, Confederate States. He was stationed at Craney Island until that post was evacuated in May, 1862. Here he witnessed the naval battle of March 9, 1862, in which the Confederate States iron-clad steamer "Vir- ginia" destroyed the "Cumberland" and "Con- gress," and the scattering of the remaining United States naval ships from Hampton Roads. He also saw the battle of the next day between the "Virginia" and the "Monitor.' the latter finally withdrawing into shallow wat- er, out of the reach of the "Virginia," which
ship, being of heavier draught, could not again force the "Monitor" into close quarters. Nor did the latter ever subsequently accept the chal- lenges of the "Virginia" for another combat. In the evening of the day of this battle Dr. Nash attended to the wounded of the Confed- erate States gunboat "Raleigh," Captain W. H. Parker, which was engaged in the fight. Dr. Nash was with his command at the battle of Seven Pines and later, in the Seven Days' fighting around Richmond, ending at Malvern Hill, and in the retreat of McClellan's army to the protection of his ships at Harrison's Land- ing, on the James River. He was detailed to care for the wounded in the skirmishes along the Rappahannock after the battle of Cedar Mountain, and only rejoined Lee's army after the battle of Antietam. Promoted to be sur- geon, he was now ordered to the 61st Regi- ment, Virginia Infantry, and was with it at the battles of Fredericksburg. Chancellorsville, Salem Church and Gettysburg. Afterward. ordered to the artillery of Hill's Corps, he was present with it at the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Hanover Junction, Cold Harbor and, after Grant's change of base, Petersburg. During the siege of Petersburg he was placed in charge of the medical depart- ment of the artillery of Hill's (3d) Army Corps, as its chief surgeon, and reorganized some of its field hospitals. He was with his command when the army retired from Peters- burg after its lines were broken, and was cap- tured after being disabled in a cavalry dash near Appomattox Court House, but was pa- roled with the Army of Northern Virginia the next day after its surrender, May 9. 1865. Dr. Nash's brother, Thomas Nash. was an offi- cer of artillery and ordnance in the Confederate States Army.
Resuming the practice of his profession in Norfolk, after the close of the war between the States, his indefatigable devotion to pro- fessional work, regardless of fatigue or ex- posure, soon secured for him merited distinc- tion. He was for some years the quarantine
·
525
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
medical officer of the District of Elizabeth River, an unsolicited appointment made by the Governor of Virginia in view of Dr. Nash's familiarity with the subject of infectious fe- vers. This position he was forced to resign be- cause of the demands of his practice.
Dr. Nash was for some time president of the Norfolk Board of Health, and systema- tized its operations. He was for several terms the president of the Norfolk Medical Society, of which he was one of the original members. He has for many years been a member of the American Medical Assocation, American Pub- lic Association, Southern Surgical and Gyne- cological Association, a member, and ex-vice- president, of the Medical Examining Board of Virginia, and ex-president and honorary mem- ber of the State Medical Society. He was the pioneer in his city in gynecological work, a branch of surgery that has occupied no little amount of his time.
His contributions to medical literature have been made principally in the city and State societies. He is visiting physician of Hospital St. Vincent de Paul, and consulting surgeon to the Norfolk Protestant Hospital.
.
In 1867 Dr. Nash was married to Mary A. Parker, daughter of Nicholas Wilson Parker, Esq., who, under the old regime in Virginia had long been a member of the old Corpora- tion Courts, of which the justices served with- Offt remuneration, and their decisions were sel- dom reversed. Her grandfather, Copeland Parker, held a position in the customs depart- ment of the first union of the States, and sub- sequently was surveyor of the ports of Smith- field and Norfolk. Her great-grandfather, Nicholas Parker, resided at his seat, Maccles- field, Isle of Wight County, Virginia, which he inherited and which subsequently became the property of his eldest son, Colonel Josiah Parker, who was a distinguished officer of the Virginia line in the Revolution, and the first member of Congress from his district, under the present Constitution of the United States. Another brother of her grandfather, Nicholas,
was a lieutenant in the Virginia line, and died at Leesburg while enroute to join Washing- ton's army at the North. The Parker family held a prominent position in England before the settlement of some of its members in Vir- ginia. Dr. and Mrs. Nash have two daughters. Elizabeth Parker and Mary Louisa. Dr. Nash is, both by hereditary proclivity and convic- tion an adherent of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and has been for years a vestryman of old St. Paul's Church, erected in 1739. Dr. Nash is president of the Board of Quarantine Commissioners for the District of Elizabeth River, which office he has held since the death of William H. Peters.
HOMAS VANDERBERRY has been successfully carrying on the business of a truck farmer, or market gar- dener, on the land which constitutes his homestead, at Lambert's Point, Norfolk County, Virginia, where he established his business many years ago. Mr. Vander- berry was born at Lambert's Point, February 28, 1831, and is a son of Edward and Mary (Garrison) Vanderberry. The former turned his attention to farming during his early man- hood and continued that vocation during all his active life. He died at the advanced age of 85 years. He and his wife were natives of Virginia, the latter, like his son, Thomas, hav- ing been born at Lambert's Point. Mrs. Van- derberry lived to attain the age of 80 years. and was the mother of nine children, of whom three survive. namely: Martha, W. J. and Thomas, both sons following agricultural pur- suits.
Thomas Vanderberry was reared on his fatlier's farm and early in life decided to de- vote his attention to market gardening. He is an expert in his line of business and his years of experience and practical work have given him a clear insight into the business and thoroughly qualified him to make it a success.
526
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
He was united in marriage with Mary Frances Davis, who was born at Lambert's Point March 31, 1840.
Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vanderberry, three daughters and two sons, namely: Indiana, who died at the age of 16 years and eight days ; Louisiana. who married L. W. Shumadine, a prosperous merchant in Norfolk: Nettie Frances, who married Frank Robinson. a truck farmer of some prominence at Lambert's Point: and Thomas L. and Len- wood Beal, who live at home.
In politics Mr. Vanderberry favors the Democratic party and takes a lively interest in both local and national affairs, as should all true citizens. The family worship at the Chris- tian Church, of which they are devout mem- bers.
SAAC W. MILLER. This enterprising, wide-awake citizen of Lambert's Point, Virginia, has acquired a considerable reputation as a successful agriculturist and market gardener in Norfolk Coun- ty. He was born in 1857. upon the same farm which is his home, and which has been the scene of his lifelong labors.
Cater Miller, his father, was a native of . North Carolina, and mainly followed farm- ing. He is now living in retirement and en- joying the fruits of an industrious and well- spent life, untroubled by thoughts of the fu- ture. Isaac W. Miller's mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Vanderberry, is a daughter of Edward Vanderberry, who, like the major- ity of his neighbors, followed truck farming in the vicinity of Lambert's Point, where Mrs. Miller was born. Five children were born to her and her husband. namely: Emma; Isaac W .; J. T. : Adeline ; and C. F. The last named follows truck gardening in the vicinity of . Isaac W. Emma is the widow of the late Henry Cooper. Adeline married H. J. Robin- son, and resides on a farm near the homeplace.
Isaac W. Miller received his mental train-
ing in the public schools, which he attended while working mornings and evenings on his father's farm. When grown to manhood he naturally followed the same work as his father. In 1898 he was joined in marriage with Emily S. Styron, a daughter of W. D. Styron, of Norfolk. Mrs. Miller is one of a family of five children, the others being-George, now de- ceased : Florence, who married Albert J. Shu- madine, a prosperous market gardener at Lam- bert's Point : and Loulie and Mary, yet unmar- ried. Mary makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Miller, who now have three little ones of their own. The eldest of these is a son, who bears the name of Isaac W., Jr. The second is a daughter called Ethel Vernice, and the third is an infant, yet unnamed. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. They are highly es- teemed in their neighborhood and are entitled to be classed among its best citizens.
Politically Mr. Miller is a Republican. He is greatly respected for his straightforward business methods and excellent personal traits of character.
APT. ISAIAH BARKER, a gentle- man of wide acquaintance in Nor- folk, Virginia, and its vicinity, is manager of the Norfolk branch of the extensive oyster industry con- trolled by the firm of R. R. Higgins & Com- pany. He was born in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, December 31, 1841, and is a son of Isaiah and Betsey ( Higgins) Barker, his mother being an aunt of R. R. and A. Hig- gins, who form the firm of R. R. Higgins & Company.
Captain Barker received his educational training in the schools of Wellfleet, Cape Cod. Massachusetts, and at the age of 1 I years took to a seafaring life. He rose from the lowest ranks to be a captain, and as such continued for a period of 17 years.
The business of R. R. Higgins & Company
1
.
HON. LEGH RICHMOND WATTS.
529
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
was established in 1828 in the city of Boston, where the members of the firm now reside. The main business is at Boston, with branches at Drownville, Rhode Island: Wellfleet, Massa- chusetts; and Norfolk, Virginia. The Nor- folk branch was established in 1879, and in that year Captain Barker became manager of it. Under capable management this branch has met with remarkable success. They raise a fine quality of oysters and have 12 regular oyster boats for carrying on operations. They employ from 100 to 125 men and their busi- ness is done at the wharf of Nottingham & Wrenn. The product of this company is first sent to Boston, Massachusetts, and thence dis- tributed to different. cities throughout the United States and Canada. The oysters are in good demand because of their excellent qual- ity and flavor. Captain Barker is a man of recognized ability and is esteemed as one of the most substantial business men and most worthy citizens of Norfolk.
December 15, 1863. Captain Barker was joined in matrimony with Lizzie D. Atwood. a native of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, and a daughter of Daniel Atwood, of Wellfleet. Fra- ternally Captain Barker is a member of Adams Lodge, A. F. & A. M., which is next to the old- est lodge in Massachusetts; and of Joseph Warren Chapter, R. A. M .. of Provincetown, Cape Cod. Religiously he is a member of the Freemason Street Baptist Church, of Norfolk.
ON. LEGH RICHMOND WATTS, prominent as lawyer, banker and man of business, a portrait of whom ac- companies this sketch, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, December 12, 1843, and is a son of Dr. Edward and Ann (Maupin ) Watts, and grandson of Col. Demp- sey Watts.
Dr. Edward Watts was born in Portsmouth in 1807, and was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1837 he married Ann
Maupin, a daughter of Dr. George W. Mau- pin, who was a surgeon in the United States Army. Dr. Watts died in 1849, leaving three children, namely: Mrs. G. M. Holladay, re- lict of the late James G. Holladay ; Dr. Edward M., who died in June, 1890; and Legh R. The paternal ancestors were English and the maternal were French Huguenots.
Legh R. Watts attended the schools of Portsmouth and Norfolk, including the Vir- ginia Collegiate Institute, which was under the preceptorship of Prof. N. B. Webster, and the 'Norfolk Academy, under Professor William R. Galt. Near the beginning of the Confed- erate War he enlisted as a private in the Sig- nal Corps, but was discharged from military service in 1862. because of physical disability. After the evacuation of Portsmouth he ran the blockade and escaped from the city. He re-entered the Confederate Army and was as- signed to duty as assistant to Major George W. Grice, chief of the Forage Department of South 'Carolina, Georgia and Florida, with head- quarters in Columbia. South Carolina. The responsibility of this department is apparent. for upon it depended the subsistence of Gen- eral Lee's Army. He continued at Columbia until the capture of the city by General Sher- man and then removed to Chester, South Car- olina. Mr. Watts surrendered with General Johnston's army and received his parole at Greensboro. In the fall of 1865, he entered the law department of the University of Vir- ginia, and at the same pursued a number of academic studies. He graduated in the acade- mic school in 1865. and from the department of law in 1867, with the degree of B. L. Immedi- ately thereafter he returned home and entered upon the practice of his profession, becoming identified with the firm of Holladay & Gayle, with which he continued until his election as judge of the County Court by the General . \s- sembly of Virgania. He was re-elected for a second term of six years, receiving no opposi- tion. He continued in that capacity until Feb- ruary. 1880, when he resumed his practice.
530
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
much to the regret of the bar of Norfolk County. He was reversed by the Appellate Court on appeal in only two cases. The dig- nity maintained in his court, his careful and impartial adjudication of all matters brought before him, and his profound knowledge of. the law all combined to make him one of the most popular of judges. In 1884 he formed a partnership, which still continues, with G. Hat- ton, the firm name becoming Watts & Hatton. In 1883 he was elected president of the Bank of Portsmouth, one of the oldest and most prosperous institutions in Virginia, and he has since served as such. He has been vice-presi- dent. from Virginia, of the American Bankers' Association, vice-president of the Virginia State Bar Association, and president of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association. He has given much attention in recent years to the practice of corporation law and is counsel for many of the corporations and large busi- ness firms of Portsmouth and vicinity. In 1884 he was made counsel of the Seaboard & Roancke Railroad Company, the parent com- pany of the Seaboard System. Subsequently. in 1890, he was made general counsel of the Seaboard Air Line System, extending from Portsmouth, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia, and in this position he had charge of the fa- mous litigation instituted by Thomas F. Ryan, the New York millionaire, to secure control of its properties. This litigation continued. under his direction from 1896 to 1901. In Jan- uary. 1899. John Skelton Williams, of Rich- mond, Virginia, and his associates, purchased a controlling interest in the Seaboard Air Line System, which was subsequently consolidated with the 'Georgia & Alabama Railway and the Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad and other roads, forming what is known as the Sea- board Air Line Railway, a road with a mileage of about 2,600 miles. In December, 1900, he was appointed general counsel of this system, which extends from Portsmouth and Rich- mond. Virginia, to Tampa, Florida.
.
Although he has never accepted any office
i
!
that was not interwoven with his profession, he has taken an active part in the political af- fairs of the State. During 1880 he was an ; elector on the Democratic ticket and partici- pated actively in the campaign against Ma- hone, and although the latter had an independ- ent electoral ticket in the field. supposed to be in favor of the election of General Hancock, the regular ticket was elected by a large ma- jority, Judge Watts receiving the highest vote cast. In 1883 he was selected by Hon. John S. Barbour, chairman of the Democratic State Committee, as one of the executive committee, and continued in service during all the me- morable campaigns of that great leader. He was president of the Democratic State Con- vention in 1884, which elected delegates to the Democratic National Convention of that year. He was for some years a member of the Coun- cil of Portsmouth, and was president of that body for eight years. He was appointed a member of the State Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, by Governor Fitzhugh Lee. and was reappointed by Governor Charles T. O'Ferrall. He has also served on the board of directors of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum. In 1889 he was elected supreme regent of the Royal Arcanum, and was elected for a second term in 1890.
Judge Watts was joined in marriage No- vember 26, 1868, with Mattie Peters, a daugh- ter of William H. Peters, Esq .. of Portsmouthi, and they are the parents of six children.
D R. H. ROLFE DUPUY. a physician and surgeon of unusual ability and skill, located at No. 42 Olney Road. has been a general practitioner in Norfolk, Virginia, since 1887. and has received a fair share of patronage during his many years of practice. He was born No- vember 21. 1845, in Prince Edward County, Virginia, being a son of the late Dr. J. W. and Paulina Pocahontas ( Eldridge ) Dupuy,
531
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
and boasts of being a direct descendant of Po- cahontas. on the maternal side, the Eldridge family being an old and prominent one in Vir- ginia.
Dr. J. W. Dupuy was a native of Prince Edward County, Virginia, and was quite a prominent man of his day. He was a physi- cian in whom the public had unbounded con- fidence and he enjoyed an extensive and well- paying practice for many years, giving his un- divided attention to his profession. He was greatly beloved as a citizen as well, and for years was associated in his profession with Dr. J. P. Mettaur, of the same county. He was not only well-read and abreast of the times, but was a frequent contributor to medical journals. He and his wife were member of the Presby- terian Church. His death occurred in 1854 and he was 54 years old at the time of his de- mise. His companion survived until she at- tained the age of 84 years, when she, too, crossed to the other shore. This esteemed cou- ple reared a family of nine children, six of whom are living.
Dr. H. Rolfe Dupuy attended the public schools during his youth and afterward took a more comprehensive course in the academies of his native county. When but 18 years old he went to war and served in the medical depart- ment of the Confederate Army, mainly in hos- pital work. One year later the war closed and the subject of this sketch was present at the surrender at Appomattox.
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.