Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 50

Author: Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935, ed. cn
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 848

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Thomas Jones and family experienced much trouble with the Genitoc, a neighbor- ing tribe of Indians, who resented the settle- ment upon their lands. Tradition relates many tales of their skirmishes and escap- ades. On one occasion, Thomas Jones, re- ceived a wound in the thigh from a gun in the hands of an Indian warrior, with whom he was personally acquainted. His wife picked out the bullet and remoulded it. As soon as he recovered he instituted a search for the Indian, and after four months found and killed him with the same bullet. The Jones family has ever been most law abid- ing and peaceful, and furnished many valu- able citizens, but when offended or imposed upon always exacted redress, as indicated by the above incident. Tradition states that Thomas Jones was killed by a vicious ram. It is perhaps needless to state that the fam- ily did not conform to the usages of the

Established English church. Three of his grandsons were soldiers of the revolutionary war. Another grandson, Thomas Jones, lost his thumb by being run over by an ox cart while hauling the materials to build the "Crooked Run Homestead," and was re- jected for military service as unable to handle fire-arms. The sons of the first Thomas were: Thomas, Robert, Reps, Wil- lis, Richard, James and Armstead. The sec- ond son was in the American army at York- town when Lord Cornwallis surrendered, and died soon after. His descendants moved to Georgia and Alabama. An authentic rec- ord of the descendants of the eldest son Thomas has been preserved. The senior Thomas Jones died about 1755, and was suc- ceeded in possession of his lands by his eldest son, Thomas, who also had other tracts in his own right. The family home- stead was in what is now Lunenburg county about ten miles south of Blackstone, and the lands are a part of the estate of the late William Gregory. Soon after the death of the father, the son moved about seven miles east in Brunswick county, near the con- fluence of Crooked Run with the Nottoway river, and the settlement was called Crooked Run. This property has always been owned by a male descendant, being now in the hands of James William Jones, a great- grandson.

Thomas Jones, Jr., born 1720, died in 1785. Name of his wife is not known. He was one of the oldest volunteers in the revolu- tionary war, being past sixty when he re- cruited several companies, and his zeal be- came so inflamed that he enlisted in William Johnston's company, Daniel Morgan's regi- ment, as that regiment passed his home. He told his wife he did not know when he would return and it was nine months before he returned broken in health, and he died soon after. He had two sons and a daugh- ter. The latter married and moved to some point in Virginia or North Carolina, now unknown. One son died without issue, and the other, Stephen, is of further mention.

Stephen Jones, born 1742, inherited the Crooked Run estate, the home of his father, on which he lived until his death, in 1807. The name of the location was changed to Jonesboro, by which name the post office is now known. He married, 1764, Anna Claiborne, of Brunswick county, Virginia, born 1747, died 1812. He was a noted Bap-

Clarence Portudones

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tist clergyman, and the field of his labors is said to have covered a large part of south- ern Virginia. He was wont to visit distant communities, where he organized churches and kept supervision over the work, for in many cases he visited them only once a year. Near his home he constructed a bridge across Nottoway river, which after- wards became public property, and the site is now occupied by a steel suspension struc- ture, still officially known as Stephen Jones' bridge. He had children : I. Reps, married a Miss Hightower, of Amelia, and died in 1838. 2. Paschal. died in 1840, leaving a son, Thomas Paschal. 3. Annie Birch, died unmarried, in 1835. 4. Thomas, married Polly Burge, of Brunswick county, Virginia, and died in 1851; had children: Thomas Fuller, Alexander, Sallie, Peterson, Eliza, Mary and Richard. 5. Armstead, residence unknown. 6. Benjamin Stephen, was three times married, and had eleven children, ten by the first marriage, and one by the second, namely : Jane Emily, Amanda Fitzallen, Prudence Elizabeth, Julia, Richard Wash- ington, Elvira Judson, Benjamin Willis, Mary Turner, Indiana, Maria Whitehead Jeffries, and William. 7. Robert, mentioned below. 8. Jane, married Robert Blackwell, of Lunenburg county, Virginia, and had children : Betsy, John, Robin, Peter and William.

Robert Jones, seventh child of Stephen and Anna (Claiborne) Jones, married Chris- tiana Blackwell, and died in 1842. He had children : Robert Blackwell, of further men- tion below ; Nancy, married Samuel Edmon- son, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Jane, mar- ried (first) James Edmonson, of Brunswick county, Virginia, (second) Dr. Samuel Wright, of the same county.

Robert Blackwell Jones, only son of Rob- ert and Christiana (Blackwell) Jones, mar- ried his first cousin, Betsy Blackwell, of Lunenburg. Children: John Robert, of further mention below; Vespenia Emily, married William Hamlin; Paul Thomas, married Bettie A. Jones; Elizabeth, married Samuel Peace; Minerva, married James William Bailey ; Christiana, married Henry Jones; Edward Branch, died in boyhood ; Benjamin Stephen, married Rebekah Ann Browder; James William, married Loula Frances Brydie ; Susan Harriet, died in girl- hood ; daughter, died in infancy.

John Robert Jones, eldest child of Robert

Blackwell and Betsy (Blackwell) Jones, was born October 19, 1822, in Brunswick county, Virginia, and died February 12, 1901. He was educated under private tutors, became a civil engineer, and devoted some of his time to agriculture. On the last call for troops for the Confederate army, taking men between fifteen and sixty years of age, he enlisted, October 25, 1864, as a private in Company E, Fourteenth Virginia Volun- teers. At the battle of Five Forks he was taken prisoner, and was held in durance at Point Lookout prison until July, 1865. Re- turning to his home, he engaged in civil en- gineering projects, devoting his time to the draining of swamps, and reclaimed thous- ands of acres for agricultural purposes. He was also employed on the construction of the Southside Railroad, but most of his time was devoted to canal work for drain- age purposes. For a period of forty years he served as magistrate, was a deacon of the Baptist church, and steadfastly sustained the Democratic party in political matters. He married, June 23, 1846, Ann Elizabeth Blackwell Manson, born July 5, 1830, died April 4, 1913, surviving her husband more than twelve years. Children: I. Anna, married John R. Shell, and had children : Mary and John; the daughter became the wife of Dr. A. J. Osborne, and the mother of five children. 2. Susan Manson, resides in Lunenburg county, Virginia, unmarried. 3. John Blackwell, married Gertrude Lee Har- ris, and had children : Lena, wife of Mason Maddux; Ashton Crenshaw, married Mar- garet Rucker, and is the father of Ashton and John Jones; Ann Elizabeth, married Leigh E. Barrow, and is the mother of twin daughters, Gertrude and Elizabeth ; William Robert, married Edith Michael; Ella Man- son, married Robert Hawthorne; Martha Harris; Anna Shell, married Sidney Neb- lett; Gertrude; Susie Leigh, now Mrs. George Allen ; Blanche. 4. Robert Samuel, a banker and agriculturist. 5. Reps, de- ceased, (unmarried). 6. Lucy Emily, mar- ried J. P. Haskins, and has five children. 7. Richard Baxter, deceased, unmarried. 8. Benjamin Stephens, married Estella Alle- gree, and has two children. 9. Thomas Ed- ward, died unmarried. 10. Clarence Porter, of further mention below.

Clarence Porter Jones, M. D., was born April 7, 1874, in Lunenburg county, Vir- ginia. He attended a high school and acad-

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emy, received private instruction, and was a student at the University of Virginia. From the University College of Medicine at Rich- mond he received the degree of M. D., and in 1895 engaged in general practice at Wav- erly, Virginia, where he continued one year, and then located in Benson, North Carolina, where he practiced four years. Subsequently he specialized in treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and gained experience in various New York hospitals. In 1903 he studied in London, England, and in 1910 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1901 Dr. Jones located at Newport News, where he has met with remarkable success in the pursuit of his profession, and occupies an especially privileged position, with authority to send patients to all hospitals on the peninsula, a privilege not enjoyed by any other physician. He is consulting aurist and oculist of the National Soldiers' Home at Phoebus, Vir- ginia, the Hampton Normal & Agricultural College, Virginia State School for Colored Deaf and Blind Children, and the Newport News & Hampton Railway. Dr. Jones is a member of the American Medical Associa- tion, Virginia Medical Society, of which he was counsellor for nine years; is secretary and past president of the Sea Board Medical Association, and past president of the War- wick County Medical Society. He is affili- ated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knights Templar degree, being a member of Khedive Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and is past commander of Hampton Com- mandery, Knights Templar. He is com- mander of J. E. B. Stuart Camp, Sons of the Confederacy, and a director of the Young Men's Christian Association. Politically he treads in the footsteps of his forbears, and enjoys high standing in the councils of the Democratic party.

Dr. Jones married, November 16, 1904, Maranda Rucker, daughter of D. H. and Mary Anna (Rucker) Rucker, of Amherst county, Virginia. Children: Clarence Por- ter, Jr., born August 16, 1909; Susie Eliza- beth, May 14, 1914.

Samuel Untermeyer is one of the sons of Virginia of whom that state may well be proud. He was born June 6, 1858, in Lynch- burg, Virginia, son of Isadore and Therese Untermeyer. The father was a wealthy planter in Virginia, and served as lieuten- ant in the Confederate army during the civil

war, dying soon after its close. The family then removed to New York City, where Samuel Untermeyer was reared.

His education was supplied by the public schools of New York City and the College of the City of New York. Having com- pleted the course at the latter institution, he entered Columbia Law School, from which he received the degree of LL. B., in 1878. Being then but twenty years of age he could not be admitted to the bar until the following year, when he at once entered upon the practice of his profession. As a young man he is said to have tried more cases in a single year than any other lawyer of the New York bar. By the time he at- tained the age of twenty-four years Mr. Un- termeyer represented practically all the im- portant brewing interests in the city, acting as counsel for the Local, State and United States Brewers' associations, and previous to this had acted as senior counsel in two of the most celebrated divorce cases of the state, both of which were bitterly contested. One was the suit of Alfred N. Beadleston, head of the brewing firm of Beadleston & Woerz, and the other was the suit of William L. Flanagan against his wife, a well known society woman. In both cases the evidence was gathered from various sections of the continent of Europe. Another important case tried early in Mr. Untermyer's career was the noted one of Betz versus Bauer and Daily, which grew out of a conspiracy be- tween Henry Daily, Jr., then a prominent lawyer of New York, and his client, junior partner of the firm of Betz & Bauer, seeking to defraud the senior partner through notes signed in the name of the firm by the junior, acting under the advice of Daily. A judg- ment of fifty-two thousand dollars was ob- tained against the latter, who was there- after disbarred.

In his busy career, Mr. Untermyer has been identified with many celebrated cases. He defended Asa Bird Gardiner when an at- tempt was made to remove him from the office of district attorney of New York county, and represented the Wertheimers, English art dealers, in a controversy against the Count and Countess de Castellane, se- curing the payment of twenty million francs to the creditors of the Castellane estate, in payment of their accounts in full. In the struggle of James W. Alexander to oust James Hazen Hyde from control of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, Mr. Un-

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termyer was counsel for the latter, and his activities brought on the investigation of the life insurance companies and led to the elimination of the officers and others who had been responsible for irregularities, and to the passage of reform laws in many states. In 1906 he led the fight of the Inter- national Policy Holders' Committee against the old management of the Mutual and New York Life Insurance companies. Another case which attracted widespread attention was the Dodge-Morse controversy, which led to the disbarment and sentence to the penitentiary of Abram H. Hummell, a well know New York lawyer. Mrs. Dodge had secured a divorce from her husband and subsequently married Charles W. Morse, the banker, for whom Mr. Untermyer acted as counsel. Hummell conspired with Dodge to have the divorce set aside, on the ground that he had never been served with process in the divorce suit. They succeeded in this, and Morse was compelled to secure an an- nulment of his marriage because of the ille- gality of the Dodge divorce. Mr. Untermyer secured a restoration of the divorce through court proceedings, and thus reinstated Mrs. Morse as the lawful wife of the banker and Dodge's attorney was punished as above noted.

Mr. Untermyer has organized many of the great brewing, manufacturing, mining, in- dustrial and railway corporations for which he is general counsel. Among these may be named the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, the New York Breweries Com- pany, the New England Brewing Company, United States Brewing Company, General Development Company, New York Butchers' Dressed Meat Company, International Cot- ton Mills Corporation, American Litho- graphic Company, National Enameling & Stamping Company, Lake Superior Iron & Chemical Company, Antafogasta & Bolivia Railway Company, and many others in Eng- land, Germany and this country. He is a director in a multitude of corporations. As counsel for the leading copper and metal companies of the United States, he success- fully carried through the merger of the Utah Copper Company with the Boston Consoli- dated and Nevada Consolidated companies, representing a market value of over one hun- dred million dollars. For this he received the largest fee ever paid to an attorney in this country, seven hundred and seventy- five thousand dollars.

Although among the first to realize the great economic advantages of corporate combination, Mr. Untermyer is a firm oppo- nent of corporate abuses, and it is said that his candidacy for the United States senate in 19II was opposed by many large finan- ciers on that account. His fearless attacks upon corporate abuse and the "confidence game" in finance proves that he possesses the courage of his convictions. His exposure of the financial plan of re-organization of the United States Shipbuilding Company caused the retirement of Charles M. Schwab from the presidency of the United States Steel Corporation and the abandonment of the proposed plan, for which was substi- tuted a scheme which saved millions ot dol- lars to the bond holders.

Mr. Untermyer has figured as counsel for one or another of the interests in nearly all the important corporate reorganizations of the past fifteen years. He represented the English debenture holders and share holders committee of the Pillsbury & Washburn Flour Mills Company in proceedings con- nected with the receivership and proposed reorganization, and was counsel for the re- ceivers of the Seaboard Air Line. He now represents the committee of first mortgage bond holders of the Wabash, Pittsburgh Terminal railway, in the attempt to wrest the control of the Wheeling & Lake Erie railway from the Gould interests. He is counsel for the reorganization committee of the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway Company, now in the hands of receivers, and in which many millions of English capi- tal are invested.

He has consistently upheld the rights of minority stock holders, urging changes in the laws for their protection, and now rep- resents the committee of minority stock- holders of the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Railway Company, in the attempt to compel the Louisville & Nashville to pay dividends on the preferred stock of the for- mer company, which had been earned but diverted. He is also counsel for the com- mittee of stockholders of the Rutland rail- road to prevent the New York Central from diverting traffic in its own interest, and in the further attempt to prevent acquisition by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company of control held by the New York Central in the Rutland railroad. in exchange for control by the Central of the Ontario & Western, now owned by the

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New Haven line. The attempt of the Union Pacific Railway Company to divert profits and evade the payment of dividends to stock holders of the St. Joseph & Grand Island Railway Company is being tested by Mr. Untermyer, as counsel to the committee of stockholders of the latter road.

He has been active in putting forth plans for the enforcement of the Sherman law and in seeking the enactment of more stringent laws for federal regulations of trusts, reform in criminal laws, protection of minority stock holders, and legislation to curb the concentration of wealth through use of cor- porate funds, and these and kindred subjects have been the themes of many public ad- dresses before the National City Federation and the Economic clubs of New York and Boston, and of articles in the "North Amer- ican Review" and elsewhere. Among other essays on these topics may be named "Evils and Remedies in the Administration of Criminal Law;" "Some Needed Legislative Reforms in Corporate Management ;" "Ex- termination vs. Regulation of the Trusts, Which Shall It Be;" "Government Regula- tion of the Trusts with Special Reference to the Sherman Act." In 1912, as chairman of the sub-committee on plan, he submitted to the National Civic Federation a scheme for the regulation of trusts and the establish- ment of an industrial commission similar in its scope and powers over industrial cor- porations to the jurisdiction of the inter- state commerce commission over railroads. This recommendation received widespread, favorable comment.

In December, 1911, Mr. Untermyer de- livered before the Finance Forum in New York an address entitled "Is There A Money Trust," exposing irregular financial condi- tions existing in the country, and pointing out legislation necessary to cure existing abuses. This timely exposé of the evils of our banking and currency system so aroused the country that it was followed immediately by a congressional investigation, looking to remedial legislation. Mr. Untermyer was appointed counsel to the committee on bank- ing and currency of the house of representa- tives, which had this matter in hand and conducted the so-called "money trust in- vestigation." A Democrat, with progressive ideas, he is in favor of a direct election of United States senators and other measures tending to give the people their inherent

political rights, and is an ardent believer in woman suffrage. He is strongly opposed to the recall of judges. In 1904 he was chosen delegate to the Democratic state and national conventions, and was a delegate to the national convention at Baltimore in 1912. He is president of the board of man- agers of the State Industrial Farm Colony of New York, to which office he was ap- pointed by Governor Dix. He is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, New York County Lawyers' Association (of which he is a director, chairman of the committee on legislation, and of the committee on jury lists), American Society of International Law, League for Political Education, Metro- politan Museum of Art. He is a director of the Manhattan and Lotus clubs, and a member of others, including National Demo- cratic, Lawyers', Press, Economic and Auto- mobile Club of America. He is now senior member of the firm of Guggenheimer, Untermyer & Marshall.

A patron of many charities, he does not confine his activities to those of his own race, but is a liberal contributor in many directions. He is a lover of art, and his city and country homes are embellished by collections including the work of both old and modern masters, among them being some of the finest paintings of Whistler, Winslow and other American artists. His country estate, "Greystone," at Yonkers, New York, formerly the home of Samuel J. Tilden, probably has the largest range of private greenhouses in the world, where are grown rare and beautiful flowers that have carried off prizes whenever exhibited. He is rarely to be seen without a baby orchid (the peculiar product of his own green- houses) or a gardenia or carnation in his button-hole. His collie kennels are famous the world over, and he is said to have paid six thousand five hundred dollars for one dog. "The Squire of Tytton," and his prize poultry has won the ribbons at numerous shows.

He married, August 9, 1880, Minnie Carl, of New York.

Raleigh Travers Green. Settlement by the line of Greens of which Raleigh Travers Green, of Culpeper, Virginia, is a member, was made in Culpeper county, Virginia, about 1712 by Robert Green, born in Eng-

Rabigin J. Guen

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land about 1695. He was a son of William Green, a captain in the bodyguard of Wil- liam III., and who married Eleanor Duff. Robert Green and his wife, Eleanor (Duff) Green, were accompanied to America by his uncle, Sir William Duff, who returned to England. Robert and Eleanor (Duff) Green had children: William, Robert, Duff, Colo- nel John, of whom further ; Nicholas, James, Moses.

(III) Colonel John Green, son of Robert and Eleanor (Duff) Green, gained his mili- tary rank through service in the colonial army in the war for independence, perform- ing distinguished service at the battles of Brandywine and Guilford. Some years ago his body, and that of his wife, after resting one hundred and twenty-five years in his native soil of Culpeper, were disinterred and buried in the Arlington Cemetery at Wash- ington. He married Susanna Blackwell, and had children: William, of whom further, and General Moses.

(IV) William Green, son of Colonel John and Susanna (Blackwell) Green, married Lucy, daughter of William and Lucy (Clay- ton) Williams, and had one son, John Wil- liams, of whom further.

(V) John Williams Green, son of William and Lucy (Williams) Green, was born No- vember 9, 1781, died February 4, 1834. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and was also an attorney of note, becoming judge and president of the Virginia court of ap- peals, also member of the Virginia constitu- tional convention held in 1829, of which body William Naylor, of Hampshire county (now West Virginia), the maternal great- grandfather of Raleigh T. Green, was also a member. He married (first) December 24, 1805, Mary Brown, (second) Million Cooke, a granddaughter of George Mason, author of the Virginia bill of rights. Chil- dren of his first marriage: William, D. D .; Raleigh B., Daniel S., Philip. Children of his second marriage: John C., Thomas C., George Mason, James Williams, of whom further.

(VI) James Williams Green, son of John Williams and Million (Cooke) Green, was born in 1824, died in 1881. He was educated for the legal profession, continuing in that calling throughout his active life. At the beginning of the war between the states he organized a military company, equipping it VIR-53

at his own expense, of which he became lieutenant, the organization being attached to the Thirteenth Regiment of Virginia Vol- unteer Infantry as Company E. He later became a major in Kemper's brigade, Pick- ett's division, and served in the Confederate States army until the close of the war. He married Anne Sanford, born in 1832, died in 1912, daughter of Colonel A. W. and Leacy (Naylor) McDonald, her mother a descendant of a Pennsylvania family. Among the sons of Colonel A. W. and Leacy (Nay- lor) McDonald who fought in the army of the Confederacy during the civil war were: Woodrow, killed in the battle of Cold Har- bor ; Captain William, a member of the staff of General T. L. Rosser ; Major Edward H., a member of the Sixth Regiment Virginia Cavalry; and Marshall, an engineer in the Confederate States army, and afterward United States fish commissioner under Presi- dent Cleveland.

(VII) Raleigh Travers Green, son of James Williams and Anne Sanford (Mc- Donald) Green, was born in Culpeper, Cul- peper county, Virginia, June 30, 1872. After obtaining a preliminary education in the public and private schools he entered Georgetown University. He was a student in this institution from 1884 to 1889, in 1893 and 1894 attending the law school of Rich- mond College. Immediately after his admis- sion to the bar he began the practice of law in Richmond and Manchester, Virginia, being for a time connected with the law office of Williams & Boulware, continuing actively in his profession until 1897, the third of his family in direct line to engage in legal pur- suits. While a student in Georgetown Uni- versity Mr. Green had been editor of his class paper, and in 1889 and 1890 had been associated with his brother in the publica- tion of the "Culpeper Exponent," a journal founded by Mr. Green's brother, Angus Mc- Donald Green, in 1881, so that when, in 1897, Mr. Green undertook the management and publication of the "Culpeper Exponent," he returned not only to an occupation in which he had had previous training but to a periodical with which the family name was closely intricated and in whose success- ful continuance he had more than an em- ployee's interest. The "Culpeper Exponent" holds deserved high position as a paper truthful and reliable in all instances, and

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Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 50

Author: Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935, ed. cn Publication date: 1915 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 848

Author: Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935, ed. cn
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 848