Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 72

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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Mr. Cumming married, in Hampton, Vir- ginia, October 14, 1891, Grace Darling, born May 28, 1870, in Hampton, died there, April 4, 1913. Children: Grace Darling, James Sands Darling, Mary Frances, Frank Darl- ing. Daniel Randolph, Hamilton, William McLean.

George Conquest Anthony, D. D. S. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of an English father, through his mother, Eliza Jane Arnold (Conquest) Anthony, Dr. An- thony traces descent to old Virginia fami- lies, also of English descent. One of his ancestors. William Whittington, whose name appears on records preserved in the British Museum, was a captain of horse in the English Army of Virginia in 1664. An- other ancestor, Bartholomew Mears, served as a gunner on the Accomac Galley in war

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of 1776, the vessel under command of Cap- tain Underhill. Other forbears were Charles Copes and Joseph Conquest, all residents of Accomac county, Virginia.

Captain William Whittington, of the Eng- lish army serving in the colony of Virginia, left a son, Southy. Southy and Ann Whit- tington had a son, Arthur, a planter of Ac- comac county. Arthur Whittington had a daughter, Mary Wishart Whittington, who married Jonathan Mears. Their daughter, Elizabeth Anne Mears, born in Accomac county, Virginia, September 9, 1828, mar- ried George Conquest, born August 25, 1814, son of Joseph Conquest, of Accomac county. Jonathan Mears was the son of Bartholo- mew Mears, born in Guilford, Virginia, March 12, 1757, son of Jonathan Mears. Bartholomew Mears, a gunner of the revo- lution, married Elizabeth Copes, born in Accomac county, November 22, 1769, daughter of Charles Copes. This Copes family of Virginia descends from the ancient Cope family of Wiltshire, England, which traces to John Cope, born in 1397, twice high sheriff and five times knight of the shire in parliament. The name is properly Cope, but the Accomac county and many of the Philadelphia branch write the name with an additional "s." George and Eliza- beth Anne (Mears) Conquest had a daugh- ter, Eliza Jane Arnold Conquest, born in Philadelphia, March 20, 1850, who married Samuel Anthony, they the parents of George Conquest Anthony, D. D. S., of Philadel- phia.

The career of Samuel Anthony was one full of interest. He was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1845, died at his home, No. 5926 Master street, Philadelphia, March 21, 19II, son of John Anthony, born in 1801, a lace maker. When little more than a babe he was brought to the United States, the family settling in Germantown, Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the public schools and when still in his teens enlisted in a Union regiment recruited in Germantown, his first term being for ninety days. When his regiment was mustered out at the expiration of that time Mr. An- thony enlisted in the navy, serving until the war closed, rising to the rank of chief en- gineer, and winning commendation for his bravery. A few years after returning from naval service he became chief engineer at Girard College, Philadelphia, and for over

forty years, until his death, held that posi- tion. He was a member of Anna M. Ross Post, No. 94, Grand Army of the Republic; Washington Lodge, No. 59, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Harmony Chapter, No. 52, Royal Arch Masons; Philadelphia Com- mandery, Knights Templar; and General Harrison Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Eliza Jane Arnold Conquest, born in Philadelphia, daughter of George and Elizabeth Ann (Mears) Con- quest, of Accomac county, Virginia, and a descendant of early Virginia families as heretofore stated. Children: George Con- quest, of further mention, and Irwin Whit- tington, A. B. and A. M., graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1911.

Dr. George Conquest Anthony, eldest son of Samuel and Eliza Jane Arnold (Con- quest) Anthony, was born in Philadelphia, March 18, 1872. He was educated in the public schools and when required to choose a calling chose the profession of dentistry. He entered the dental department of the University of Pennsylvania, and after a full course was graduated D. D. S., class of 1890. After receiving his degree he at once began practice in Philadelphia, where he is now located, with offices at No. 1535 Chestnut street. He stands high in his profession and has won public favor to a most satisfactory degree. He is an honored ex-president of the Pennsylvania Association of Dental Surgeons, and is one of the progressive, alert men of the profession. Dr. Anthony possesses a deep bass voice and for a num- ber of years has been the bass soloist of St. Stephen's (Protestant Episcopal) Church choir and choir master of Edgehill (Pres- byterian) Church. He is a member of St. Stephen's parish ; of the Society of Arts and Letters, serving on the program committee ; Washington Lodge, No. 59, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; a charter member of the Musical Art Club, also charter member of the Organists and Choir Masters Club of Philadelphia. In political faith he is a Dem- ocrat.

Dr. Anthony married, June 3, 1895, Cor- rinne, daughter of Jacob Weist. Child, Audrey Eugenie Anthony, born in Philadel- phia, February 5, 1900.

James Hinton Graves. James Hinton Graves, one of the most active and progres- sive citizens of Newport News, descends

Travel

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from English ancestry and a family which has long been identified with Virginia. His great-grandfather, William Graves, was born ir. England, and came to Virginia as a boy. He engaged in farming at Mill Creek, Eliza- beth City county, was a soldier of the revo- lutionary war, and after its close became a member of the Order of the Cincinnati. He married Euphan Armistead, of Black River, Virginia, and they were the parents of Wil- liam A. Graves, a prominent citizen and ship- builder at Norfolk, Virginia. He was edu- cated in the public schools and William and Mary College, graduated in the law, but soon after engaged in shipbuilding. He was a cap- tain of militia, served as a soldier in the war of 1812, was long a justice of the peace, a steward of the Methodist church and a sup- porter of the Whig party in political affairs. His first wife was a member of the old Vir- ginia family of Pullen, and he married (sec- ond) Agnes (Branham) Brown, a widow. Children of the first marriage were: Robert Armistead, William Armistead and Armi- stead. Those of the second marriage were: Lucy F., Euphan, Sarah A., wife of J. C. Deming, and Charles Mallory.

Charles Mallory Graves, youngest child of William A. and Agnes (Branham- Brown) Graves, was born February 1, 1842, in Norfolk, was a student at Norfolk Acad- emy, and finished his education under the instruction of private tutors. He enlisted in 1861 in the Norfolk Blues, a light artillery company, which rendered able and distin- guished service throughout the Civil war. In April, 1861, he was wounded, taken pris- oner, and confined at Point Lookout. After his release he engaged in business as a hard- ware merchant, a member of the firm of E. P. Tabb & Company, and was later inter- ested in the printing business. For thirteen years, from 1874 to 1887. he was commis- sioner of revenue. In early life he was a Whig in politics, but later espoused the principles of the Democratic party. He is a member of Buchanan Camp of Confeder- ate Veterans. He married, September 28, 1870, Eugenia Hinton, daughter of James W. Hinton, of Elizabeth City, North Caro- lina, and his wife, Susan S. (Pool) Hinton. of North Carolina. Children: I. Susan Hinton, born 1871 : married, 1895, Rowland H. Walker, and has children: Dorothy, born 1899, and Rowland H., 1910. 2. James Hinton, of further mention. 3. Charles Mal-

lory (2), born 1876; was educated in the public schools and Norfolk Academy, and became bookkeeper and subsequently as- sistant cashier of the People's Bank & Trust Company. 4. Eugene Lee, born August 23, 1879; was educated in the public schools and Hemingway Grammar School, and be- gan his business life as office boy in the office of the Atlantic Coast Lines; after three years in this service he pursued fur- ther courses at school, and subsequently became city ticket agent of the same com- pany ; in 1896 he embarked in the printing business on his own account, as a member of the corporation known as Eugene L. Graves, Incorporated; in 1911 he became president of this organization. He is an active member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Ruth Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Norfolk Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. He is a member of the Colonial Avenue Methodist Church, and a staunch supporter of Democratic policies in public affairs. He married, 1904, Elizabeth Roberts, daughter of Leonard Pascal and Ruth (Jordan) Roberts. Children: Leon- ard Roberts, born 1907; Eugene Lee, 1910; Elizabeth, 1913.

James Hinton Graves, eldest son of Charles Mallory and Eugenia (Hinton) Graves, was born May 6, 1874, in Norfolk, and received such education as the public schools of his native city afforded. Early in January, 1889, he entered the office of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, at Norfolk, as office boy. Here his energetic and faithful service and rapid grasp of af- fairs earned him rapid promotion, until, in 1914, he was sent to Newport News as chief clerk of the freight department. At this time he was but twenty years of age, but liad outgrown boyish ways, had given strict attention to details, and soon again won pro- motion. In 1904 he was made agent at that point, and served in this capacity until March, 1912, when he was promoted to gen- eral agent, which office he has filled to this time. Mr. Graves is a quiet, unassuming man, but a deep thinker, who quickly grasps any situation which comes before him, and rapidly clears away all obstacles. Most of the freight which reaches tide water in Virginia is handled under his di- rection, and his clear-headed activities have been of great value to his employers. In one month in 1914 were loaded under his

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charge forty-two ships, with more than eleven and one-half millions of bushels of grain and other sorts of freight in propor- tion. Under his skillful management this transfer of freight has been operated with the greatest possible economy of time and space, and to Mr. Graves is due much credit for his worthy system in managing. He is a man of easy and pleasing manners, never excited, and has full command of himself at all times. He is a director in the Colonial State Bank, and Wythe District Improve- ment Society. He is a steward of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, a member of Bremond Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Politically he sustains the prin- ciples and policies of the Democratic party. He married, in 1899, Martha P. Grandy, daughter of James P. and Alice (Pendle- ton) Grandy, of Norfolk, Virginia. Chil- dren : Marjorie, born 1901 ; James Hinton, born 1904; Eugene Rawlings, born 1906; died in 1907: Martha Pendleton, born 1908; Charles Mallory third, born 1912. .

Albert Howe. Albert Howe, of Hampton, Virginia, is descended from an old New Eng- land family. Abraham How, the immigrant ancestor of this family, born in England, set- tled early in Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay. Soon after 1636 he located in the adjacent town of Dorchester, where his descendants have been numerous. It seems likely from the place of residence, the given names of children and the intimate connection between their families, that he was brother of James How, also of Roxbury. The descendants of these two pioneers settled in Ipswich, Glou- cester, Marblehead, Dedham, Milton and other points along the sea coast. The early records of Dorchester show that Abraham "had leave granted to live in the house he built, although more than a mile from the meeting house." The settlers had to pro- vide, for reasons of mutual protection against danger and for the sake of public worship, that the houses should be built in villages. He was admitted a freeman, May 2, 1638 ; was a member of Mr. John Eliot's church, and in 1645 one of the signers of the Roxbury Latin School. How's wife died at Roxbury in 1645, and he married (second) Sarah - -. His will was dated May 26, and proved November 2, 1676, shortly after his death. He bequeathed to children Abraham, Israel, Isaac, Hester and

Deborah; to daughter Sarah's children, Jo- seph, Isaac and Sarah. He was a weaver by trade, and sold a lot of land in Milton, March 16, 1668-69, to Robert Babcock. (Suffolk deeds vii, 280). Children: Abraham, bap- tized September 25, 1653, a weaver; Eliza- beth, died before her father; Sarah, whose children were mentioned in her father's will; Isaac, mentioned below ; Deborah, born Sep- tember 4, 1641 ; Israel, July 7, 1644, had wife Sarah, settled in Boston and Dorchester ; Esther, married (first) Henry Mason, and (second) John Sears.

Isaac How, son of Abraham How, was born in Roxbury or Boston, June 24, 1639, baptized March 30, 1656, and died in Dor- chester, September 15, 1714. He lived in Dorchester after the Narragansett war and perhaps earlier, and left a will. His wife Hannah died at Dorchester, December 20, 1728. Children, born at Dorchester: Isaac, mentioned below; Abraham, born April 7, 1680, married, August 10, 1725, Hannah Wheeler; Samuel, born June 17, 1685, re- sided in Dorchester; Hannah, born March 18, 1688-89.

Isaac (2) How, eldest child of Isaac (I) and Hannah How, born at Dorchester, July 7, 1678, died August 26, 1760. He married, .November 26, 1702, Submit Bird, born May 13, 1678, died October 2, 1760, daughter of Thomas and Thankful (Atherton) Bird. .Children, born at Dorchester: Thomas, Sep- tember 23, 1703; Mary, November 29, 1704; Submit, April 10, 1707; Thomas (2), Octo- ber 12, 1709; Samuel, mentioned below ; Isaac, June 16, 1715 ; Joseph, March 27, 1716- J7; Josiah, December 16, 1718; Sarah, May 18, 1722.

Samuel How, second son of Isaac (2) and Submit (Bird) How, was born July 22, 171I, in Dorchester, where he lived, and died Sep- tember 16, 1780. He married there, De- cember 2, 1736, Elizabeth Clapp, born Au- gust, 1718, died August 6, 1764, daughter of Ebenezer and Hannah (Clapp) Clapp.

Isaac (3) How, one of the younger sons of Samuel and Elizabeth (Clapp) How, was born June 26, 1755, in Dorchester. He mar- ried, November 7, 1776, Sarah Wiswell, born October 24, 1755, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Hall) Wiswell, of Dorchester.

Isaac E. Howe, son of Isaac (3) and Sarah (Wiswell) How, was born June 17, 1777, in Dorchester, was a farmer and brickmaker of that town. He married Frances Randall,

albert- Howe

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and two of their children are recorded in Dorchester, namely : Eliza, born January 4, 1800, and Enos, mentioned below. Their other children were: Isaac Ambrose. born November 20, 1804. died July 29, 1830; Har- vey, born May 22, 1807, died April 21, 1875 ; Sarah Frances, born December 3, 1813, died December 6, 1813; Benjamin, a twin, died same as sister, Sarah F.

Enos Howe, son of Isaac E. and Frances (Randall) Howe, was born January 4, 1803, in Dorchester, and died October 28, 1892. He married (first ) December 24, 1829, Mary Tolman, who was born December 13, 1808, died September 30, 1849. He married (sec- ond) November 1, 1854, Bersheba H. (Grif- fith) Brown, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, born 1809, died June 26, 1870. Children, all of the first marriage: Mary Emeline, Ellen Maria, Albert, Catherine Frances Stone, Isaac and . Clara.

Albert Howe, eldest son of Enos and Mary (Tolman) Howe, was born December 14, 1836, in Dorchester, where he grew up, and was educated in the public schools, subse- quently serving an apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter. Early in life he located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he was employed at his trade, and when the call came for three months' men for the Union army, in 1861, he enlisted and was made a corporal of Company K, Eighth Massachu- setts Infantry. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he reënlisted in Com- pany A, Forty-ninth Massachusetts Volun- teers, and was made first sergeant. At the battle of Donaldson he was captured and kept sometime as a prisoner. As there was no provision for the care of prisoners, he was set free and returned to Pittsfield, where he again resumed work at his trade. On account of impaired health, as the result of exposure in the army, he was compelled to abandon this for a time, and in 1863 came to Old Point Comfort, where he was employed in the assistant quartermaster's department. Upon the establishment of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, he was employed in the erection of the first build- ing. under General Armstrong. The insti- tution was at that time under the manage- ment of the American Missionary Associa- tion of New York. Mr. Howe was among the first assistants, and has been associated with the school down to the present time. In 1870, when a farm was purchased, and

the school chartered with a board of trustees, Mr. Howe was made superintendent and manager of the farm. Subsequently he was superintendent of industries, and is now, at the age of seventy-eight years, superintend- ent of roads and grounds. He is an attend- ant of the Church of Christ, whose building is located on the school grounds.

He married, November 8, 1865, Lydia French Dresser, born December 28, 1843, died February 1. 1896. They had children : 1. Harriette Wilder, born December 3, 1867. 2. Harry Dresser, born January 12, 1872, on the Hampton school grounds ; he is a gradu- ate of Cornell University and of the medical department of the University of Pennsyl- vania; after graduation, for one and one- half years, he was an interne at Blockley Hospital in Philadelphia, after which he located at Hampton, Virginia, where he is engaged in general practice; he is a most daring and successful surgeon, and dean of the staff of Dixie Hospital, Hampton ; he is identified with numerous medical associa- tions, and is a communicant of Christ Church ; he married. November 8, 1898, Eliz- abeth Wingate, and they have a daughter, Elizabeth Wingate Howe, born May 19, 1904.

John Robinson Swinerton. Lives that truly count in a community as obvious in- fluences for good are rare enough, and it is not by any means the case that the most conspicuous are the most potent in their effects. The mere interest in good things possessed by some men shining, not bril- liantly perhaps. but with a clear flame through all their acts, is likely to give more light and prove of more service in the final analysis than the illumination of more strik- ing achievement which, meteor like. startles us only to be forgotten the instant its bright course is run. Such it pleases and is whole- some for us to think, and such, if it ever be true, is true in the case of the distinguished and cultivated gentleman whose name heads this brief article.

John Robinson Swinerton, although a Virginian by right of long residence, is not so either by birth or parentage, coming, as he does from an old New England family which took the adventurous voyage to the American colonies and settled in the region of Salem and Danvers, Massachusetts, somewhere about the year 1628. From that

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time down to the present the Swinertons have made Massachusetts their home, the Mr. Swinerton of this sketch being the only exception, so that a large proportion even of his associations are with that more north- ern clime. The immediate branch of the family to which Mr. Swinerton belongs did indeed move still farther north in the time of his grandfather, John Swinerton, a shoe- maker by trade, who took up his abode in Newfield, Maine. He was a diligent, God- fearing man who took care of his family and made the interests of everyone his own. He married Lydia Dwinell, January 19, 1781, and was the father of several children, among whom was John Langdon Swiner- ton, the father of Mr. Swinerton, of New- port News.

John Langdon Swinerton's birth occurred in Newfield, Maine, June 28, 1805, and it was in that little town that he spent his childish years. He was the recipient of an excellent education, the preparatory portion being obtained in the public schools of his native place, after which he took a course in Bowdoin College, from which he gradu- ated with the class of 1829. He then entered the profession of teaching, going at different times to Danvers, Peabody and Salem, Mas- sachusetts, and to Milton, New Hampshire. He was a member of the Congregational church, and a man of strong domestic in- stincts, as was his father before him. He married, April 25, 1832, Anna A. Robinson, born June 15, 1803, a daughter of Ebenezer and Anna (Avery) Robinson, of Wakefield, New Hampshire, where he died November 17, 1849. To Mr. and Mrs. John Langdon Swinerton, whose deaths both occurred in 1882, there were born three children, as fol- lows: Charles E., born August 12, 1834, died August 3, 1903, resided in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and married Abbie C. Went- worth, who bore him one son, Charles A. Swinerton ; Ann Frances, born January 12, 1838, married Albert F. Wentworth, and be- came the mother of two children, Millie R. and Flora R .; John Robinson, of whom fur- ther.

John Robinson Swinerton was born De- cember 16, 1840, during the time that his parents were living in Milton, New Hamp- shire. He attended the public schools of his native town and later went to the Exeter Academy, where he completed his studies, graduating therefrom with the class of 1860.

He early displayed a strong bent for a stu- dent's life, which never has waned and which to-day he is able to indulge freely. He was, however, gifted with a clear prac- tical sense, not always the possession of stu- dents, and turned to a business career with the best prospects for success, prospects which were amply fulfilled. His first ven- ture was a commercial one, when in 1865 he formed with his brother a partnership under the firm name of Charles E. Swinerton & Company to deal in grain. The enterprise was successful, but in 1870, with a strong desire for a more extended field for his activities, John R. Swinerton went to New York City and there engaged in the hotel business. It was in 1883 that Mr. Swiner- ton first came to Newport News, Virginia, and he at once opened the Warwick Hotel. It was entirely virgin soil so far as the hotel business was concerned, the place having been discovered, as it were, by Col- lis P. Huntingdon, there being not even the most primitive accommodations for trav- elers to spend the night there. These con- ditions were altered by the appearance of Mr. Swinerton upon the scene and the open- ing of the Warwick Hotel. The business proved very successful and Mr. Swinerton continued it until the year 1900, when he retired with a very substantial fortune. Though no longer under his management "The Warwick" still does a large business and is one of the old standbys among trav- elers, being noted for its excellent service. Mr. Swinerton became a prominent figure in the business and financial world of that region and was more or less directly inter- ested in many important institutions. He is to-day the vice-president and a director of the First National Bank of Newport News, and a prominent member of the Chamber of Commerce. He is also connected with many other organizations quite without the realm of business, having identified himself closely, during his residence there, with the general life of the place. He is a lifelong member of the Democratic party, and while never seeking public office of any sort, has always done his share in the arena of local politics. His religious reliefs are extremely sincere and play an important part in the conduct of his life and he has been an earnest worker for the advancement of the Presbyterian church, of which he has always been a mem- ber. He is also associated with the Young

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Men's Christian Association and the charity known as "Sailor's Rest." For many years he has been affiliated with the Masonic order, and has always retained his member- ship in Unity Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Wakefield, New Hampshire.

For the past fifteen years, ever since the retirement of Mr. Swinerton from the hotel business, he has been in a position to in- dulge certain tastes, unusual, but not the less creditable on that account, in one, the better part of whose life has been devoted to business activities, and the practical affairs of the world. For many years, in- deed, he has taken an intense interest in botanical subjects generally, and made a pro- found study of the various American repre- sentatives of the great class of cryptogams, especially those orders embraced in the popular term, ferns. During the compara- tive leisure enjoyed by him of late years he has done much collecting and is now the possessor of an herbarium containing a large selection of ferns and flowering plants from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New England and Canada. He is an hon- ored member of several learned societies, such as the American Fern Society and the Luther Burbank Society of California. This taste for botany is, perhaps, but the strong- est manifestation of an universal fondness for nature in all her aspects, as exhibited in him in his tastes for the wholesome outdoor sports of hunting and fishing, as well as for all open-air occupations. Such tastes are perhaps the surest pledge of a wholesome, normal nature, such a nature as Mr. Swin- erton has displayed in every relation of his life. The fundamental virtues are fostered, simplicity, candor and a tranquil mind are called to life and developed by intimate con- tact with our universal mother, and he can- not stray very far along the paths leading to our modern psychological Gehenna who does not fail to heed the adjuration to,

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Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 72

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