Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 62

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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of visitors of the Virginia Polytechnic In- stitute, is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Protestant Epis- copal church, and is interested in the work of all. His fraternity is Phi Delta Phi.

Mr. Kline married, November 18, 1909, Jessie, daughter of Gervis Francis and Au- gusta (Hailman) Mayers, of Stephens City. Child, Frances Carr, born in Richmond, Vir- ginia, July 25, 19II.

Reuben Conway Macon. The Virginia history of the progenitors of Reuben Con- way Macon, of Orange, Virginia, leads to early days in the province and to connec- tion with the noted families, Madison, Con- way, and with many others. Colonel James Madison, of "Montpellier," Orange county, Virginia, son of Ambrose and Frances (Tay- lor) Madison, grandson of John Madison and great-grandson of John Madison, who on January 4, 1653, patented six hundred acres of land in Gloucester county, Virginia, married Eleanor Rose Conway, born in Car- oline county, Virginia, January 9, 1631, daughter of Francis Conway, son of Edwin Conway, who came from England to Vir- ginia in 1640.

This Colonel James Madison owned an estate of five hundred acres in Orange coun- ty, called "Montpellier." There all but one of his children were born. His eldest son, James Madison, after a distinguished career as scholar and statesman, was elected fourth president of the United States. Sarah Cat- lett, the second sister of President Madison, married Thomas Macon, of Orange. James Madison Macon, named for his illustrious uncle, was born at "Montpellier," the presi- dent's ancestral home.

The early history of these families teem -with men of colonial and revolutionary im- portance as soldiers and statesmen. They were large landowners, and while profes- sional and public men abounded there were always many in each generation who were agriculturists. The Macon family came to Virginia in the seventeenth century, and on June 24, 1703, there was a suit pending in York county, Virginia, between Nathaniel West and Martha, his wife, executrix of Gideon Macon, "late of New Kent County deceased," and Richard Packe, of London, merchant. Gideon Macon's daughter Mar- tha married Orlanda Jones and was the

William Sharp

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

grandmother of Martha Custis, wife of President Washington, her tomb being at the old Macon place on "Prospect Hill."

Still another of the noblest families of Virginia, with which Mr. Macon is con- nected, is the Barbour family, through his great-grandfather, Colonel G. F. Barbour, an officer of the revolution serving from Vir- ginia. These names, Madison, Conway, Macon, are among the most honored of Vir- ginia names and are equally honored in the nation.

James Madison Macon was born at "Montpellier" ( President Madison's home), July 3, 1791, died in 1871, a planter and man of high character. He married Lucetta Todd Newman, born in Orange county, Vir- ginia, January 9. 1799, died in 1879. Chil- dren : I. Thomas Newman. 2. Lucy C. E., married Dr. John Knox, of Richmond, Vir- ginia. 3. Sarah Frances, married (first) John Goss, of Athens, Georgia; married (second) Thomas Hill, of Culpeper, Vir- ginia. 4. Edgar B., served in the Sixth Vir- ginia Infantry during the war between the states under General Mahone, and as recruit- ing officer at Norfolk; after the war he taught school, rose to eminence in public life, served as state senator and is now liv- ing a retired life. 5. James M. 6. Reuben Conway, of whom further.

Reuben Conway Macon, son of James Madison and Lucetta Todd (Newman) Macon, was born in Orange county, Vir- ginia, May 14, 1838. He was educated in Orange county private schools and Howard Academy, preparing for the profession of civil engineer. He was for two years in the employ of the Southern railroad at Char- lottesville and Lynchburg, Virginia, his service terminating with his enlistment in Company F, Thirteenth Regiment Virginia Infantry, as a private. At the reorganiza- tion of the army in April, 1862, he was elected lieutenant. He served in the ranks until May 6, 1862, when he was shot in battle, a ball passing through his thigh. After recovering he returned to his regi- ment and was promoted to the rank of regi- mental adjutant. He rendered efficient serv- ice, was a valiant soldier, and when the war ended returned to Orange county, and as an agriculturist has since been one of the important forces in the upbuilding and pros- perity of Orange county. He resides in Orange, where in addition to the manage-

ment of his farm properties he conducts a successful real estate business. Although ncaring his eightieth year, he is vigorous and progressive, keeping step with modern progress and in good citizenship is worthy of the honored name he bears. He is a vestryman of St. Thomas Protestant Epis- copal Church, of Orange. a true friend and supporter of the church in all its branches. In political faith he is a Democrat, but has never sought nor desired public office.

Mr. Macon married, November 2. 1865, Emma C. Rieley, born in Frederick county, Virginia, in 1847, daughter of James P. and Catherine (Brent) Rieley. Children: I. Emma B., married Jacob Stair, of York, Pennsylvania ; two children: Jacob Jr., and Virginia G. 2. Rev. Clifton, married Janet Bruce ; two children : Margaret and Emma. 3. Kate Conway, married Frank Paulson ; two children : Charles H. and Daniel McK. 4. James Conway, married Frances Armi- stead ; one son, James Conway, Jr. 5. Lati- mer Small, married Amelia Slayle; three children: Latimer Small, Jr., Jacob S. and Mary T. 6. J. Rieley. 7. Evelyn Madison, married (first) Henry D. Atwood, deceased, by whom she had one child, Henry M. At- wood ; married (second ) Henry P. Talcott, no issue.

William Sharp. William Sharp, for many years a prominent citizen of Norfolk, was a son of Colonel William W. Sharp, born Jan- uary 21, 1801, and his wife, Mary (Wil- loughby) Sharp. Colonel William W. Sharp was a magistrate and for thirty years clerk of the courts at Norfolk county. He was also a faithful member of the Episcopal church, in which he long served as vestry- man. The name of Sharp has been identi- fied 'with Virginia history from an early period, but little seems to have been done in preserving any connected history of the family. In 1775 John Sharp had two hun- dred and three acres of land and two slaves, and mention of the name is found as early as 1661.

William Sharp was born March 16, 1829, in Norfolk, Virginia, died there October 4, 1910, at the age of eighty-one years. He attended a private school in Norfolk, where he obtained an excellent education. Pos- sessing a desire to enter the United States navy at his father's suggestion, he went to Washington and called upon President

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Tyler, through whom he obtained the ap- pointment in the United States naval serv- ice, entering the service as a midshipman during the Mexican war. He entered the United States Military Academy at Annap- olis, Maryland, and graduated in the noted class of 1841. Before entering the academy he made a cruise with Commodore Charles Skinner to the coast of Africa. He was sub- sequently employed in the coast survey. Then a long cruise in the Mediterranean. Then a three years' cruise in the Pacific. In the Con- federate naval service, he was engaged first in drilling troops at the naval hospital, and was stationed for months at Drury's Bluff. Then with Captain John B. Tucker on gun- boat Patrick Henry, in the fight in Hamp- ton Roads between the Merrimac and Moni- tor. The last two years of the war he was at Charleston, South Carolina. He was an officer on the vessel which brought Kossuth, the noted Polish patriot, to this country. After the close of the war he engaged in teaching, and for many years following 1865 was principal of one of the Norfolk schools, after which he retired from active life. He was an earnest adherent of the Protestant Episcopal church, a man of generous im- pulses, devoting much of his time and re- sources to the relief of sufferers during the war. With domestic tastes, and a desire for study, he did not ally himself with any of the civic organizations, and devoted himself to his home and family.

He married, December 20, 1855, Eliza Darragh Williams, born June 13, 1832, daughter of John and Martha Julia (Armi- stead) Williams. John Williams was a son of Walter and Henrietta (Wheeler) Wil- liams, and appears among the lists of slave owners in Princess Anne county in 1830-33- 40-44. Martha J. Armistead was the daughter of Theodorick Bland and Martha Julia (New- ton) Armistead. The Armistead family is a very old one in Virginia, but the parentage of Theodorick Bland Armistead has not been discovered. He is supposed to have been a son of Robert Armistead, but there are mul- titudes of that name found in Virginia. The family descended from Anthony Armistead, who lived in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, Eng- land, where he was licensed in 1608 to marry Frances Thompson. Their son, William Armistead, was baptized August 3, 1610, in All Saints' Church, the only church in the parish of Kirk Deighton, and came to Vir-

ginia about 1635. In 1636 he received a patent for four hundred and fifty acres of land in Elizabeth City county, and later had a grant in Gloucester county. He died be- fore 1660. His wife's name was Anne, and they had children: William, died before 1660; John, ancestor of President Harrison ; Anthony, ancestor of President Tyler ; Fran- ces, and probably Ralph. The Bland fam- ily is also a very ancient one in Virginia, de- scending from Theodorick Bland, who was early in Berkeley county, Virginia. His son, Richard, born August II, 1665, in Berkeley county, died April 6, 1720. He married (first) Mary, daughter of Colonel Thomas Swan, and (second) in 1701, Elizabeth, daughter of William Randolph, of Turkey Island. She died January 22, 1720. Of their five children, the youngest, Theodorick, was born 1719, married, in 1739, Frances, daugh- ter of Drury Bolling. They were the par- ents of Colonel Theodorick Bland, M. D., statesman, soldier and poet, born March 21, 1742. He was captain and later colonel in the revolution; was a member of the pro- vincial congress in 1780 and 1783; was op- posed to the constitution adopted by the state, but was later elected a member of congress under that constitution. The Isle of Wight county records show in 1678 that John Bland, a merchant of London, gave power to his wife Sarah, then in Virginia, to settle his accounts there. His four sons started for Virginia, one dying on the voy- age. This was probably Theodorick Bland, of Berkeley and "Weston, as his widow is mentioned in the power of attorney given by John Bland in 1678. Thomas Bland came to Virginia about 1654, and married Ann, daughter of Richard Bennett; had a son Theodorick, who died in 1702, leaving a son Theodorick. Undoubtedly Theodorick Bland Armistead was descended from one of these.

William and Eliza Darragh (Williams) Sharp had four children : 1. John Williams, born October 10, 1856, died 1878. 2. Julia Willoughby, born July 20, 1861; married Colonel Willoughby Walke, and had chil- dren: Julia Willoughby Walke, married Captain James Totten, and had Willoughby and John ; Margaret Darragh, married Lieu- tenant Robert Garrett ; Willoughby, died at the age of seven years. 3. William Wil- loughby, born February 9, 1863 ; is a broker in New York City ; he married, June 1, 1896,

William W. Sharp

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Dora Adams Hopkins, and has children: William Willoughby Jr., Dorothy Newton, Eliza Darragh. 4. John Newton, born Sep- tember 9, 1865, died 1900.

Emmett J. Riddick. The first mention found of the Riddick family is concerning James Riddick, who was burgess for Nanse- mond county, Virginia, from 1718 to 1722, a large landowner and the founder of an important family. Lemuel Riddick was a burgess from 1736 to 1773, and also a dele- gate to the state convention of 1775. Rev. Samuel Riddick resigned the rectorship of the Protestant Episcopal church, of Suffolk, Virginia, in 1773, after having served con- tinnously for forty years. General Joseph Riddick was a state senator from Gates county, North Carolina, for twenty-eight years. Colonel Willis Riddick was burgess from Nansemond from 1756 to 1775, and delegate to the state conventions of 1775 and 1776. In the line of Emmett J. Riddick, of Suffolk, Virginia, Mills has been a fav- ored name, his father, Mills J., being the fifth in direct line to bear the name, each an eldest son and inheriting the homestead on which Mills J. Riddick yet resides. All were prosperous planters and men of high standing. All of the children of Mills J. Rid- dick, who was born in 1848, and married, in 1878, to Ella Lee Franklin, born in 1854, were born on the homestead. He is a Democrat in political belief, and prior to his marriage was a communicant of the Protestant Epis- copal church, now belonging to the Meth- odist Episcopal. Children: Mary, died in infancy ; Emmett J., of whom further ; Effie J., born in 1883, married, in 1906, James Britton, and has Virginia Riddick, born in 1908, and John Riddick, born in 1909; Julia A., born in 1885; Gertrude E., born in 1888, married in 1909, John B. Pruden; Arthur E., born in 1896; Mills A., born in 1901.

Emmett J. Riddick, eldest son and second child of Mills J. and Ella Lee (Franklin) Riddick, was born in 1881. He completed his preparation for the business of life in the Suffolk Business College after preparatory studies in public and private schools. In 1900 Mr. Riddick formed a connection with The Shoop-Withers Company, dealers in hay. grain and feed, and was there employed until 1909, when this firm was succeeded by the Cooper Riddick Company, Inc., of which

Mr. Riddick was president. In 1913 he re- signed this office to accept the general man- agership of the company, and as general manager is in active control of its several departments. The company deals exten- sively in the lines previously mentioned, its business covering a wide field, and its rating is high in the locality. Mr. Riddick gives his entire time and attention to its interests, and the company has profited from his zeal- ous safeguarding of its welfare. The Demo- cratic party is his political choice, and he affiliates with the Protestant Episcopal church.

Emmett J. Riddick married, in 1909, Ur- sula P. Williams, daughter of Norman C. and Virginia (Pruden ) Williams, and grand- daughter of Rev. Milton Williams, a minis- ter of the Methodist Episcopal church. Chil- dren of Emmett J. and Ursula P. (Williams) Riddick: Emmett J., Jr., born in 1911, and Virginia Williams, born in 1914.

Edward Thomas Parham. A descendant of one of the old plantation and slave own- ing families of Brunswick county, Virginia, Edward T. Parham, until eighteen years of age, remained at the old homestead on which his grandfather, Lewis Edward Par- ham, lived and died, and which, until very recently, was owned in the Parham family. He is a son of William James Parham and a grandson of Lewis Edward Parham. The latter a wealthy planter and slave owner of Brunswick county, where he was born, mar- ried Catherine Mason Branch, and there both died, he aged fifty-six years, she aged eighty years. Of their seven children two are yet living : Dr. Marvin Dibrell Parham, a practicing physician of Dinwiddie county, Virginia, aged seventy-two years; Mrs. Ann W. Goodrich, a widow living in Peters- burg, Virginia, aged sixty-nine years.

William James Parham, son of Lewis Ed- ward Parham, was born in Brunswick coun- ty, Virginia, in 1830, and died there in 1872. He was a farmer, held several county offices, and a veteran of the Confederacy, serving all through the war, 1861-1865, in Mahone's brigade and seeing hard service. He mar- ried Rosa A. Spencer, born in Brunswick county, and there died in 1861, aged twenty- six, leaving an only child, Edward Thomas, who was twelve months old when deprived of a mother's love and care.

VIR-57

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Edward Thomas Parham was born at his father's farm, the old Parham homestead of Lewis E. Parham, in Brunswick county, Virginia, March 30, 1860. Left motherless when an infant he was well cared for by others and remained at the home farm at- tending the local school and assisting in farm labors until eighteen years of age, his father dying when he was twelve. From eighteen until attaining legal age, he repre- sented the nursery business, later operating a nursery for himself. For the following five years he was a merchant and farmer in the same county. In 1888 he began his long connection with the insurance business, starting in Norfolk, Virginia, as representa- tive of the Life Insurance Company of Vir- ginia. . He continued in Norfolk until 1890, then located in Danville, where he estab- lished his present agency. The company he represents, The Life Insurance Company of Virginia, is the oldest and largest Southern life insurance company, its home office in Richmond, being officered by Southern men and receiving strong support from Southern insurers. As general agent and manager of the Danville district Mr. Parham has built up a large business for his company, its growth and expansion under his management having been remarkable. He is well known in the business world, is a director of the Virginia National Bank, director of the New Acme Company, director of the Union Building and Loan Association, and has other busi- ness interests. He is a member of the Ma- sonic order, belonging to Roman Eagle Lodge, Euclid Chapter and Commandery No. 7 ; is a Knight of Pythias, and a trustee, member of the Tuscarora Club, member of the Country Club, member of Main street Methodist Episcopal Church, serving on the board of stewards, librarian of the Sunday school and a valued worker. In political faith he is a Democrat.

Mr. Parham married, in Dinwiddie coun- ty, Virginia, June 10, 1884, Martha Harriet Prince, born in Sussex county, Virginia, daughter of George William Prince, who at the time of his death, in 1865, was holding the office of clerk of court, Sussex county, an office he had held for several years. He married Harriet S. Alfriend, who survives him, aged seventy-five, residing with her daughter, Martha H., in Danville. Children : Grace Alfriend, born June 4, 1886, married Richard J. Carter, of Danville, chief clerk of

the Southern railroad ; Edward Prince, born October 22, 1895, now a student at Wash- ington and Lee University, class of 1918.

Joseph Graham. The Grahams of Pu- laski county, Virginia, of whom Joseph Gra- ham, sheriff of the county, is representative in the present day, descends from Scotch- Irish ancestry, Graham being one of the old and honored Scotch clans.

Joseph Graham is a grandson of Joseph Graham, a farmer of Pulaski county, Vir- ginia, and son of Dr. Joseph D. Graham, a graduate Doctor of Medicine of the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, born in 1834, died May 1, 1898. Dr. Graham practiced his profes- sion in Pulaski county until the war broke out between the states, when he enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Regiment Virginia Infan- try, Confederate States army. At the first battle of Manassas he was wounded in the shoulder, but after his recovery returned to the army, serving until the surrender of General Lee. After the war he returned to the practice of his profession and also con- ducted farming operations. Dr. Graham married Mary Elizabeth Curin, born in 1844, who yet survives him, daughter of L. A. Curin. Her brother, James Curin, served in the Pulaski Guards and lost his life, while in the Confederate service. Two brothers of Dr. Graham, Robert and Calvin, both served in the Confederate army in Virginia regiments.

Joseph Graham, son of Dr. Joseph D. and Mary Elizabeth (Curin) Graham, was born in Pulaski county, Virginia, December 9, 1870. His father, an honored physician of Pulaski, gave him the advantage of the pri- vate and public schools of the city, but when his school years were ended, the young man chose agriculture as his business and has ever been a farmer, modern, progressive and prosperous. On March 5, 1906, a vacancy occurring in the sheriff's office, Mr. Graham was appointed to fill out the unex- pired term, which expired in 1907. His ad- ministration of the affairs of the sheriff's office was so satisfactory to all having deal- ings with that office, that he was elected by the people to serve a full term of four years. When that term expired in 1911, he was again chosen to succeed himself and yet holds the office, his term expiring January 1, 1916. Sheriff Graham is a member of lodge and chapter of the Masonic order,

William Hard

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

member the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to Pulaski Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is a Democrat in politics.

He married Bertha Lucy Graham (his cousin), born in Mercer county, West Vir- ginia, March 20, 1873, daughter of Thomp- son and Ella (Grill) Graham. Children : Mary Ellen, born in Pulaski county, Vir- ginia, in 1891; Lucy Jane, November 8, 1892: Joseph Thompson, February 29, 1896; Virginia Burton, December 18, 1897; Eliza- beth G., April 29, 1899; Nellie M., March 18, 1901 ; Nellie Gertrude, June 30, 1902.

George Raymond Ratcliffe. For ten years connected with National Bank of Manassas and since 1903 cashier of the People's Na- tional Bank, Mr. Ratcliffe has gained an enviable reputation in the financial circle of his district and won the friendship of the patrons of the bank by his unfailing cour- tesy, exactness and upright dealing. He is the only son of George Marcellus Ratcliffe, born in Prince William county, Virginia, April 9, 1845, a merchant of Dumfries in his native county. He married Mary C., daugh- ter of William F. Dowell, a Confederate sol- dier, who died in a Federal prison. George M. Ratcliffe had two brothers, Henry, first lieutenant of a Prince William company in the Confederate army, and James E., a pri- vate. Children of George M. and Mary C. Ratcliffe: George Raymond, see forward ; Annie J., married Henry Clay Speak ; Ella Cornelia, married Robert A. Waters.

George Raymond Ratcliffe was born in Prince William county. Virginia, April 12, 1870. He was educated in Dumfries (Vir- ginia) public schools, then entered William and Mary College, attending the sessions of 1889 and 1890. He then took a special course in Spencerian Business College, at Washington, D. C., completing a full course, and receiving a diploma. He then taught in the public schools of Prince Wil- liam county for five years, then entered the employ of the National Bank of Manassas, as a clerk. He possessed the necessary qualifications for a successful banker and was advanced rapidly until in 1903 he was elected cashier of the People's National Bank, a responsible position that he most -ably fills. He was a member of the execu-

tive council of the Virginia Bankers' Asso- ciation, elected for three years in 1911, is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is an active, prominent member of the Masonic order; member and treasurer of Manasseh Lodge, No. 182, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Manassas, Virginia; Manassas Chapter, No. 59, Royal Arch Masons, Manassas, Virginia; Old Dominion Com- mandery. Knights Templar (Alexandria, Virginia) ; Acca Temple. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine ( Richmond) ; and of Alex- andria Lodge of Perfection (fourteenth de- gree), Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite ( Alexandria, Virginia) ; also a member of Robert F. Lee Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Dumfries, Virginia.

Mr. Ratcliffe married, September 3, 1902, Lillian, daughter of Andrew Jackson and Mary Elizabeth (Donaghe) Silling, born in Fauquier county, Virginia, February 21, 1875; children: Raymond Jackson, born March 26, 1911; Rose Silling, August 5, 1912.

William Ward. The Wards of Norfolk, Virginia, herein recorded, descend from Wil- liam (1) Ward, born in Ireland, later of New York City, and Norfolk, Virginia. He came to the United States after his mar- riage, and in the home of Miss Julia R. Ward, in Norfolk, is an old hall clock that he brought with him. He was a man of means, and the owner of a large amount of land in Brooklyn and New York. Among his holdings was a part of the present Brooklyn navy yard site, Ward's Island in the East river, and the old site of Niblo's Garden, once the most famous playhouse in New York City. This Niblo at one time was a cook in the Ward family, and when William Ward came to Norfolk he deeded to Mr. Niblo a piece of property on Broad- way that he deemed of little value. There Mr. Niblo started his resort that later be- came famous as Niblo's Garden. William Ward came to Norfolk. Virginia, shortly after 1800, when he engaged in trade with the West Indies and added materially to his fortune. He married the daughter of an English bishop of county Armagh, Ireland, who bore him three sons and three daugh- ters: George, Anthony, William (2), Mary, Jane, Ann.

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Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 62

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