Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 73

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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Let the moon shine on thee in thy solitary walks And let the misty mountain winds be free to blow against thee.

Mr. Swinerton married (first) June 17, 1884, Mary R. Stevens, of Greenfield. Mas- sachusetts, a daughter of Henry P. Stevens, of New York City. Mrs. Swinerton's death occurred June 12, 1913. Mr. Swinerton mar- ried (second) September 22, 1914, Annie H. Newton, a daughter of Christopher Newton. of Greenfield, Massachusetts.

David George Wilson, D. D. S. Dr. Wil- son, a North Carolinian by birth, adopted Richmond, Virginia, as his home in 1898, and has since resided there continuously, engaged in a lucrative professional prac- tice. He is a son of the Rev. Edmund H. Wilson, born in Wake county, North Caro- lina, and dying there at the age of sixty years. He was a soldier of the Confed- eracy, was one of the crew of the ironclad Merrimac in her historic fight with the Monitor, serving in the engineering force. He was also a soldier of the Thirty-first Regiment North Carolina Infantry, fought at Point Lookout and was at the battle of Seven Pines. He was once held a prisoner by the Federals, but passed through the perils of war unscathed. He was a man of education and piety, an ordained minister of the Baptist church, and ranked among the able men of that holy calling. He mar- ried and among his children was David George.

Dr. David George Wilson was born in Wake county, North Carolina, March 30, 1870. His father owned and operated a farm in the county, and here the lad grew up. He obtained a good education at Buies Creek Academy and at Business College, afterwards teaching four years in the pub- lic schools of Wake county. He next took a course at Turlington's Institute at Smith- field, North Carolina, coming to Virginia in 1898, and entering the University College of Medicine at Richmond (dental depart- ment), whence he was graduated D. D. S., May I, 1901. He at once began the practice of his profession in Richmond, locating his offices at No. 114 North Fifth street, where he is well established in public favor. He is a member of the Masonic order, Wood- men of the World, Order of the Golden Seal and Royal Arcanum. He is a licensed preacher of the Baptist church, and is chor- ister of the Sunday school of the congre- gation. Dr. Wilson married Jane Pierce Jennings, of Hanover county, Virginia. Three of the children of Dr. Wilson died in infancy. One daughter, Georgia May, is living, born February 20, 1907.

Joseph Thomas Buxton, M. D .; Russell Buxton. The name of Buxton is of English origin, and is found very early in New Eng- land, where Anthony Buxton appears as early as 1637 in the town of Salem, Massa- chusetts, when he received a grant of five

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acres of land. The name does not appear among Virginia indexes, and is first found in the record of a deed to Samuel Buxton, in 1744. James Buxton was a farmer of Northampton county, Virginia, a man of quiet tastes, who sought no public distinc- tion. He was most industrions and highly attached to his home. No record of his wife has been discovered. They had two sons and a daughter, the latter dying in child- hood. The sons were Thomas and Joseph. Thomas, son of James Buxton, born 1800, in Northampton county, was a large planter of cotton and corn, and held many slaves. He was an easy-going citizen, prosperous and popular. He married Mildred Perry, and they had children: John W., William T., James Oliver, Samuel N., Edwin, Doro- thy, Jennie, Martha Mildred and Mary Eliza.

Samuel N. Buxton, fourth son of Thomas and Mildred (Perry) Buxton, was born in 1841, in Northampton county, Virginia. He received his education in the public schools and an academy. At the opening of the war between the states he enlisted as a pri- vate in the Second North Carolina Cavalry, under Captain John W. Randolph. Through- out the four years of the struggle he gave valiant service to his state, and at its close held a captain's commission, and was in command of his regiment. In one of the fights in which his company participated, Captain Buxton crossed swords with a Yan- kee colonel, and came out of the duel with a bad cut, the scar remaining with him until the end of his life. He never knew the name of his opponent. During one year of his service he was held as a prisoner of war. When peace came he settled in Jackson, North Carolina, where he had a farm and was active in politics, filling several county offices, and representing his district in the state legislature. He was a deacon of the Baptist church, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and politically a Democrat ; was widely known in North Carolina, where he was very active in the reconstruction days, and greatly respected. He married, in 1866, Elizabeth Peele. Children: I. Ruth, born 1869; married Dr. J. H. White, and had chil- dren : John Herbert, Elizabeth and Ruth; they reside at Elizabeth City, North Caro- lina, where Dr. White is very successful as a dentist. 2. Elizabeth, married Henry M. Shaw, an attorney at law, and resides at Oxford, North Carolina; children: Henry

M., Ruth, Elizabeth and Edward. 3. Sam- uel Roland, born February 10, 1874; mar- ried, April 16, 1906, Elizabeth Dimmock, born November 10, 1885 ; their children are: Mary Byrd, born February 1, 1907; Nancy Peele, July 17, 1909; Samuel Roland, Au- gust II, 1912. 4. Dr. Joseph T., of further mention below. 5. Russell, of further men- tion below. 6. Mary, married Garland Mid- yette, attorney at law, and resides at Jack- son, North Carolina; their children are: Garland, Samuel, Mildred and Mary. 7. Rennie, married Dr. Claude Williams, and resides at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with children: Claude and Rennie.

Dr. Joseph Thomas Buxton, second son of Samuel N. and Elizabeth (Peele) Bux- ton, was born December 12, 1876, in North- ampton county, North Carolina. After leav- ing high school at Jackson, he entered Wake Forest College, and was subsequently a stu- dent at the universities of North Carolina and Pennsylvania. After graduation from the last named institution he gained experi- ence and further training in the Philadel- phia Hospital, and later the Presbyterian Hospital at Philadelphia. He pursued a post-graduate course in France, England and Scotland, specializing in surgery, and on his return to his native country estab- lished himself in practice at Newport News. Here he met with flattering success, and was enabled to accomplish much for the welfare of the city. Realizing its needs, in 1906 he built a hospital containing fifteen beds, which was named for his mother, the Elizabeth Buxton Hospital. While it is a private institution, it is always open to those in need, and is one of the best equipped in the country at the present day for the hand- ling of emergency cases. The demands upon the institution soon outgrew its capacity, and in 1910 it was doubled in size. The efficiency of this institution was such that its reputation rapidly spread, and its capac- ity was quickly exceeded. In 1915 it was again doubled in capacity, having now sixty beds. It will always stand as a monument to the ability and public spirit of its pro- prietor, while perpetuating the name of his mother. Dr. Buxton is a member of the American Medical Association, the Virginia Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Soci- ety, the D. Hayes Agnew Medical Society, the Blockley Medical Society, the Seaboard Medical Society, and the Rochester Medical

Elizabeth ( Podle) Buiten

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Club of Rochester, Minnesota. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is ever ready to heed the call of suffering, and especially of those in need, and very much of his work is performed without hope or desire for recompense. He is a member of the Baptist church, a Democrat politically, and a genial, whole-souled citizen, whose vir- tues are approached by a wide circle of acquaintances. He married, June 11, 1899, Helen von Lehn, and they are the parents of children : Elizabeth, born 1900; John W., 1902; Joseph Thomas (2), 1904; Russell Field, 1908; Helen, 1911.

Russell Buxton, third son of Samuel N. and Elizabeth ( Peele) Buxton, was born December 5, 1877, in Jackson, North Caro- lina, and received his early education in the public schools of his native town. After one year at the Homers Military School, in Oxford, North Carolina, he embarked in business as proprietor of a retail grocery in Jackson, where he continued two years. Following this he pursued a course in a business college at Norfolk, after which he located in Newport News, in association with J. A. Buxton & Company, dealers in furniture. For three years, from 1900 to 1902, he was engaged in the dry goods busi- ness at Portsmouth, Virginia, and for eleven years he was in the service of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Returning to Newport News he became at once general district manager of the Provident Life and Trust Company. He is a faithful member of the Baptist church, and acts politically with the Democratic party, in which he is popular. His handsome home in Newport News is the abode of hospitality and refined taste. He married, September 21, 1904, Essie Cot- ton Weaver, daughter of Richard and Esther (Cotton) Weaver, of Hertford, Virginia. They are the parents of a son, Russell Bux- ton, born January 17, 1909.

Wesley Harrison Brewer. Captain Wes- ley Brewer is a descendant of an early Mary- land family, which has filled an honorable place in the annals of that state. General Nicholas Brewer, son of John Brewer, eighth adjutant general of Maryland, was born Oc- tober 24, 1808, at Annapolis, Maryland. In 1825 he entered St. John's College of that city, and continued his studies into the fol- lowing year. He subsequently pursued the study of law, was admitted to the bar, and

practiced several years at Annapolis. On March 24, 1858, he was appointed adjutant- general of Maryland, with the rank of colo- nel of artillery, and served nearly to the close of the Civil war, resigning February 4, 1864. He served during the administra- tions of Governors Hicks and Bradford, and was active in equipping and reviewing troops, from 1861 to 1864. He died at Annapolis, March 14, 1874. He had three sons: Nicholas, now connected with the Seaboard Air Line of Savannah, Georgia ; Harry Gaston, is connected with the hydro- graphic office of the United States of Amer- ica ; and Frank Gaston, of further mention.

Frank Gaston Brewer, third son of Gen- eral Nicholas Brewer, was born 1860. in Annapolis, where he attended a military school, after which he was employed in the office of Glenn Brown, an architect, of Washington, D. C. Here he became skilled in drafting, and subsequently took up sur- veying, and was employed in this capacity by the Old Dominion Land Company at Newport News. Following this he entered the service of the Chesapeake & Ohio rail- road at that place, and afterward went into the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry- dock Company as a member of the construc- tion corps. A man of domestic tastes. he mingled little in public affairs but was en- thusiastic and energetic in his professional work, and was esteemed by his associates in every relation of life. He is a Presbyterian in religion, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and acted politically with the Democratic party. He married. in 1884, Laura Potts, born 1868, daughter of Henry and Laura (Ross) Potts, the latter a daughter of Admiral Albert Ross, of the United States navy. Children: Wesley Harrison, mentioned below ; Charles Nich- clas, born 1887; Frank Gaston, 1889; Ruby Ellen, 1894; Laura Helen, 1907.

Wesley Harrison Brewer, son of Frank Gaston and Laura (Potts) Brewer, was born February 8, 1885, in Newport News, where he attended a public school. Early in life he was employed by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, and in 1907 be- came a clerk in the quartermaster's depart- ment of the United States, in which capacity he was sent on a trip to Cuba. On his re- turn in 1909 he pursued a course in a busi- ness college at Washington, D. C., and be- fore the close of that year was appointed

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private secretary to Governor T. T. Knox of the Soldier's Home near Hampton, Vir- ginia. His promptness, energy and meth- odical business arrangements made him of great value to the institution, and his pro- motion was deservedly rapid. He is now in charge of all commissary and subsistence of the institution, with the rank of captain, and is a most efficient and valuable official, where his work is known and appreciated. Captain Brewer is a faithful communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, and is at this time junior deacon of Monitor Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Phoebus. He married, November 7, 1910; Frances Taylor Weymouth, born January 27, 1882, daughter of William James and Mary Ellen (Ashe) Weymouth (see Wey- mouth). Captain and Mrs. Brewer have children : Frances Weymouth, born August 2, 1911; Wesley Harrison, 2nd, March 16, 1913; and Willie Weymouth, born March 15, 1915.

Frederick Pomeroy Palen. The incum- bent of high position upon the executive staff of the Newport News Ship-building Company, Frederick Pomeroy Palen looks back upon a twenty years term of service with that concern, his entire active career. From the rank of draughtman to the office of assistant manager of a plant employing from five to seven thousand persons is a rise in station that could not pass uncom- mented, and makes the story of Mr. Palen's connection with this company an interesting one.

Frederick Pomeroy Palen, son of and -- -) Palen, was born in Jen- ningsville, Pennsylvania, in 1872, the family shortly after his birth moving to Monticello, New York, where he attended the public schools. Preparatory studies completed. he entered Cornell University, at Ithaca, New York, and was graduated in mechanical en- gineering in the class of 1894. Soon after leaving the university he became a draughts- man in the employ of the Newport News Ship-building Company, a concern founded by Collis P. Huntingdon. The two decades that have passed since his entrance into the employ of this company have been years of hard, persistent labor, and in their course Mr. Palen has been connected with many dif- ferent departments of the plant, arriving, through successive promotions, each earned

and deserved, to his present important and responsible office, assistant general man- ager. As previously stated, the Newport News Ship-building Company employs from five to seven thousand persons, the pay-roll of the company averaging seventy thous- and dollars weekly, and in the light of these figures new realization of the tremendous burden borne by its officers is given. Se- lected for his position because of his emi- nent qualifications, Mr. Palen has shown competence and efficiency of high order, and executive force and power that even his past worthy performances in the com- pany's service did not indicate. The abil- ity he has displayed has always been com- mensurate with the importance of the office that he held, and whenever promotion placed upon him heavier burdens or vested in him greater power, his strength was al- ways equal to the added load and his judg- ment wise in directing the use of his in- fluence. He is held in high esteem, not only by his fellows in authority, but by those who compose the body of the company's working force, and has friendly and cordial relations with the employees in all depart- ments of the company. Mr. Palen is past master of Bremond Lodge, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and also fraternizes with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a communicant of the Protestant Epis- copal church, is independent in local politi- cal action, but in matters of national im- port he is a Republican sympathizer. He is a prominent citizen, universally well-re- garded, and is allied with all that is best in civil life.

Mr. Palen married, in 1905, Lina, daugh- ter of George W. Mayo, of Richmond, Vir- ginia, and his wife, Louise (Randolph) Mayo, a granddaughter of Governor Ran- dolph., Mr. and Mrs. Palen are the parents of one son, Frederick Pomeroy, Jr., born May 19, 1914.

William Eyre Gibson Gaillard. William Eyre Gibson Gaillard, has inherited from Huguenot ancestors those sterling qualities of perseverance in adherence to sound prin- ciples as well as in material effort, which are bound to achieve success in life. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of South Carolina, where several of the name are found in the earliest records. They had fled from the persecutions of their na-

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tive land and were forced to endure the greatest hardships and privations in mak- ing a home amid the forests and swamps of South Carolina. The records of that state show an order issued November 2, 1678, for the survey of lands for Richard Gillard (Gaillard). Bartholomew and John Gaillard were in the attempted settlement at James- town, South Carolina, May 22, 1692, when the former issued power of attorney to the latter. On the list of those naturalized, June 3, 1697, number 62 was Peter Gail- lard "né à Cherneux du Poiton," son of Pierre Gaillard and Jacquete Jolain. By his will, made 1710, this Peter Gaillard left five pounds to the church. Another pio- neer of the name was Joachim, son of Jean Gaillard and Marie Gaillard, of Montpelier, in Languedoc, France. James Gaillard, re- siding on the east side of the Santee river in Prince Frederick parish. died 1768. Peter Gaillard, born 1757, introduced the culti- vation of Sea Island cotton after the failure of the indigo industry, and was considered among the greatest benefactors of his state. Among the most distinguished of the name in the state was Theodore Gaillard, an at- torney, who was many years a member of the state legislature and speaker of the house, and was elected, in 1808, a judge of the court at equity. After filling this sta- tion twenty-four years, he resigned and was elevated to the bench of general sessions and common pleas. He died in 1829. An- other was John Gaillard, who was a member of both house and senate in the state legis- lature, and was elected to the United States senate in 1804 to fill an unexpired term. He was three times re-elected; was nine times elected president pro tem., and pre- sided over the deliberations of that body fourteen years. He died in 1826 and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery.

Dr. Edward Samuel Gaillard was born January 16, 1827, in the Charlestown dis- trict of South Carolina, and died in 1885, in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1845, and from the medical college of the same institution in 1854. For the succeeding three years he practiced his profession in Florida, and then settled in New York City. After a trip to Europe, he continued prac- tice in New York City, and in 1860 re- ceived the Fisher Fund Prize for an essay on Ozone. In the spring of 1861, on account

of the outbreak of the Civil war, being loyal to his home state, he removed to Balti- more, and soon after entered the Confeder- ate army, with which he served throughout the Civil war. In May, 1865, he resumed the practice of medicine at Richmond, Vir- ginia, and in the following year established the "Richmond Medical Journal." Two years later he removed to Louisville and continued the publication under the title of "Richmond and Louisville Medical Jour- nal." In July, 1874, he established the "American Medical Weekly," and in June. 1867, was made professor of general path- ology and pathological anatomy in the Med- ical College of Virginia. In the following May he was appointed to the same chair in the Kentucky School of Medicine, at Louis- ville. In 1869 he became professor of prin- ciples and practice of medicine and general pathology in the Louisville Medical School, of which he was the first dean. At the battle of Seven Pines, in May, 1862, he lost his right hand, and subsequently conducted his literary and special work under difficul- ties. He was a member of many medical associations and societies and received a prize for an essay on diphtheria. In 1873, the University of North Carolina conferred on him the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Laws. He also bore the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He married Mary Elizabeth Gibson, born 1848, daughter of Dr. Charles Bell Gibson, of Virginia, and Ellen ( Eyre) Gibson, of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania. Dr. Charles Bell Gibson was a graduate of the University of Virginia, and served as surgeon-general of the Confed- erate army during the Civil war.

William Eyre Gibson Gaillard, son of Dr. Edward Samuel and Mary Elizabeth (Gib- son) Gaillard, was born March 1, 1877, at Louisville, Kentucky, and was educated at Trinity School, New York City. In March, 1893, he entered upon his business career in the office of Stephen Van Rensselaer Cruger & Company, whose business, the management of estates, had been founded in 1796, principally to manage large land grants and develop the holdings of the Pa- troon, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, who obtain- ed extensive grants at Albany from the gov- ernment of Holland in January, 1630. This business was continued under various man- agers without interruption, and the immedi- ate predecessors of the firm with whom Mr.

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Gaillard engaged were Van Rensselaer & Cruger, composed of Philip Van Rensselaer and Stephen Van Rensselaer Cruger, at that tinie comptroller of Trinity Corporation. The office had always confined its activities to estates in its exclusive control and had moved along under policies long previously established. Soon after Mr. Gaillard became connected with the establishment, he in- troduced progressive policies and was ad- mitted to a partnership in 1897, when the firm was known as McVickar & Company, one of the most prominent in the general real estate business. In 1902, with his part- ner, Harry Whitney McVickar, Mr. Gail- lard organized the McVickar Realty Trust Company, with a capital and surplus of one million dollars. Two years later this was merged in the Empire State Trust Com- pany, later the Empire Trust Company, with a capital and surplus of one and one half millions. Mr. Gaillard was vice-presi- dent of the McVickar Company, and the real estate and mortgage business was con- ducted under the style of the McVickar- Gaillard Realty Company, and the insurance by Gaillard & Company. Mr. Gaillard con- tinued as vice-president of the Empire Trust Company until 1908, when he resigned and became vice-president of the New York Real Estate Security Company, which he had organized He is now president and director of the McVickar-Gaillard Realty Company and Gaillard & Company ; a direc- tor of the Empire Trust Company ; vice-pres- ident and director of the Cedartown Knit- ting Company ; a director of the Josephine Knitting Mills Company and of the Wahita Knitting Mills Company. He is a niember of the Real Estate Board of Brokers and Real Estate Auctioneers' Association; of the Merchants' Association; Real Estate Brokers of the State of New York; and Al- lied Real Estate Interests. He is a member of the Virginians, the South Carolinians, and South Carolina Historical Society, and governor of the New York Southern So- ciety. He is identified with many clubs, including the City Midday, Lawyers', Knoll- wood Country, Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket, New York Athletic, City Lunch, Apawamis, Greenwich Country, and Manur- sing Island.

Mr. Gaillard married, February 22, 1906, in New York City, Mary Stamps Bateson,

born April 6, 1883, in St. Louis, Missouri, daughter of Charles E. and Mary (Stamps) Bateson. Her grandfather, Captain Isaac Stamps, of the Confederate army, was killed at the battle of Gettysburg, and is said to have been the one Confederate soldier who reached farthest south during that battle. His wife, who was a Miss Humphrey, was a niece of Jefferson Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Gaillard have a daughter, Mary Stamps Pateson Gaillard, born December 29, 1906, in New York City.

Christian. The immigrant ancestor of this family was "Mr. Thomas Christian" who came from the Isle of Man in the seven- teenth century and settled in Charles City county, Virginia. His oldest son, Thomas, married Rebecca Stith ?; issue: Thomas, Robert, William, James, Constant, Rebecca, Ann, Mourning. James married Amy, daughter of Gideon Macon. of New Kent; issue: Judith, Gideon, Richard, Joel, Wil- liam. William's second wife was Susan Brown; issue: William, Henry, Elizabeth, Mary, Susanna, Turner.

Captain Henry Christian was a sollier in the revolutionary war and served under Major General Marquis de la Fayette. He married Martha Patteson, daughter of Jonathan Patteson; issue: John, Henry Asbury, Samuel Patteson.

Henry Asbury Christian, son of Captain Henry Christian, married (first) Lucy Wood Dunscomb, daughter of Major An- drew Dunscomb, who served in the revolu- tionary war from New York state. Major Dunscomb was subsequently appointed by the government to settle accounts of the United States with Virginia. For this reason he located in Richmond. He was mayor of that city in 1795, and held various other positions of trust and importance. Major Dunscomb's father, Daniel Duns- comb, was knighted on the field of Culloden for gallantry. In New York he was chosen a member of the general committee of safety for town and state; his son Edward was sheriff of New York in 1810, trustee of Columbia College, and one of the founders of the Society of Cincinnati. Daniel Duns- comb and his sons are entombed under the chancel in old Trinity Church, New York. Children of Henry Asbury and Lucy Wood (Dunscomb) Christian: Andrew H., Mar-

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Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 73

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