Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 75

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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Charles Carter Berkeley. Charles Carter Berkeley, an attorney of Newport News, be- longs to one of the most ancient and con- spicuous families of the Old Dominion. The name Berkeley comes from two words-the Danish and old English word "birke," mean- ing birch (one impress left on England by the Danes), and the word "lay" or "lea," meaning meadow, a grassy flat, pasture land, as a lay for cattle. These two words were compounded into the word "birke-ley," or the corruption of same, "Berkeley," meaning birch meadow. In the early days when men had but one name, such as John or Henry, they were more specifically designated by the places at which they dwelt, such as John of the birke-ley, finally contracted into John Berkeley, the name of the place being taken as the family name. And thus, evidently, came the Berkeley family name. In Glou- cestershire, England, near the banks of the Severn river, seventeen and one-half miles by rail southwest of Gloucester, and one hun- dred and one miles west-by-north of London, in the "Vale of Berkeley," which consists of rich meadow pasture land, lies the ancient town of Berkeley, and on an eminence to the southeast is Berkeley Castle, built in the reign of Henry I., out of the ruins of a nunnery which had been in existence some time before the Norman conquest. The castle is to-day one of the most perfect specimens of Norman style in Great Britain. It is said that before the Norman conquest of 1066, the Berkeley family was of some importance in Gloucestershire, a stout and warlike people; that they fought with Har- old at Hastings to the last man of them, and for years afterward resisted William of Normandy, with the other lords of Western England. During the reign of Henry II. this castle was in the possession of Eva Berkeley, all of the men who would have been entitled to the castle having died or been killed in battle during the numerous wars and insurrections, up to 1162, when Robert Fitzhardinge, a descendant of Mau- rice Fitzhardinge, a knight who came to England with William the Conqueror in 1066, married Eva Berkeley, was granted Berkeley Castle by Henry II. (England then

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being under the feudal system) and took the name of Berkeley, from which union came the present Berkeley family. Eva Berke- ley's line no doubt ran back before the year 1000, under the name of Berkeley.

Thomas Berkeley, eighth lord or baron of Berkeley Castle, was in the battle of Poitiers, 1356, where he rode out before the French knights and challenged their best to single combat. They rode him down in numbers and held him for heavy ransom. In 1361 he bought the ancient castle of Beverstone, in Gloucestershire, and gave it to a younger son, whose descendants lived there for eight generations. In 1597 John Berkeley, Esq., then the owner of this estate, and at that time the head of the Beverstone branch of the Berkeley family, and the eighth generation of the same, sold it. In 1618 he came to Virginia to superintend the iron works at Falling Creek, in Chesterfield county, about seven miles south of Man- chester, near where Falling Creek empties into the James river, having a free hand from the company to spend $200,000 in that adventure. He was appointed a member of the council under Governor Yeardley, and was killed at Falling Creek by the In- dians in the massacre of 1622. He had ten children, of whom the sons were: Maurice, Thomas, William, Henry, John. John, the youngest son, who was with him at Fall- ing Creek, is thought to have escaped the massacre. At the time Maurice was in Eng- land, and afterward came to Virginia, with a view of re-establishing the iron works, a plan which he reported as not feasible. Of Maurice nothing more is known, except that he had charge of the salt works for the colony, and had a son, Lieutenant Edward or Edmund Berkeley, who with his wife Jane, and daughter Jane, was living at Neck of Land (between Jamestown Island and the main land), Virginia, in 1620, and who was a member of the house of burgesses in 1625. The iron and salt industries men- tioned here were two of the first three in- dustries of the kind founded in the New World-the other being the glass works. The report which was carried to England by John Harvey in February or March, 1625, stated that Lieutenant Edward Berke- ley was living on Hog Island, in the James river. From this period (1625) there is no mention of the family in records now extant, until twenty-six years later, 1651, when

there was a grant to Henry Berkeley, Esq., of 2400 acres on the north side of Chicka- hominy river, in what was then James City county, but afterwards doubtless in New Kent. "Captain Berkeley's land" on Chick- ahominy is afterwards mentioned in 1655.

The next of the name was Captain Wil- ham Berkeley, who, as appears from Hen- ning, was a member of the Virginia long parliament, the house of burgesses, 1660 to 1675. In the records of Middlesex, in 1673, is mention of a Thomas Berkeley. From good authority it is apparent that Maurice Berkeley, above mentioned, was the grand- father of Edmund Berkeley, of Gloucester. He had a wife Mary, who after his death married John Mann, of Timberneck, Glou- cester county, Virginia, and who is de- scribed on her tombstone as "gentlewoman."

Colonel Edmund Berkeley, the son of Ed- mund and Mary Berkeley, of Gloucester, was living in Gloucester county, in 1694, and in 1702 married Lucy Burwell, a daugh- ter of Major Lewis Burwell, of Carters Creek, Gloucester county, and his first wife, Abigail Smith, niece and heiress of Presi- dent Nathaniel Bacon. They were the an- cestors of all of the Berkeley name in Vir- ginia using this spelling. There is a family using the form Berkley, which claims de- scent from John Berkley, of Falling Creek, which is probably correct. Between 1712 and 1718, Colonel Edmund Berkeley moved to his then splendid estate, "Barn Elms," in Middlesex county, Virginia, where he lived in great elegance and luxury. He was ap- pointed president of the council in 1713 under Governor Alexander Spottswood, without the latter's recommendation, which created friction between him and Governor Spottswood and the lords commissioners of trade. He was appointed county lieutenant of Middlesex in 1715, and died in 1718. He used the Berkeley coat-of-arms, and the crest of the Beverstone branch, a unicorn's head, and was a man of considerable wealth and prominence in the colony.

His eldest and only surviving son, Colo- nel Edmund Berkeley, was born November 26, 1704, and succeeded to his father's estate, was appointed justice of Middlesex in 1725, and served as a member of the house of bur- gesses in 1736 and subsequently. He mar- ried, May 18, 1728, Mary Nelson, of York- town, and their second son and third child was Nelson Berkeley.

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Nelson Berkeley, born May 16, 1733, at "Barn Elms," moved to Hanover county, Virginia, previous to the Revolution, where he acquired an estate called "Airwell," some five thousand acres in extent, and built his home. He was a member of the Hanover committee of safety from 1774 to 1776. He married, March 11. 1758, Elizabeth Worme- ley Carter, of "Sabine Hall," a daughter of Landon Carter. She saved the silver com- munion service of her parish church from Colonel Tarlton and his men by standing in the doorway of the church and defying their entrance.

The third son of Nelson Berkeley was Dr. Carter Berkeley, born February 20, 1768, died November 3, 1839. He was educated at Edinburgh University, Scotland, where he studied eight years, and received the de- gree of Master of Arts, and in 1793 the de- gree of Doctor of Medicine. On his return to his native land he settled at Edgewood, Hanover county, and was appointed jus- tice of Hanover in 1798. He married (first) May 7, 1796, Catherine Spottswood Carter, daughter of Charles Carter, of Shirley, and a sister of Annie Hill Carter, who became the wife of "Light Horse" Harry Lee, and mother of General Robert E. Lee, the dis- tinguished Confederate commander. He married (second) Frances Page Nelson, widow of Thomas Nelson (son of Governor Nelson) and a daughter of Governor John Page, of "Roswell."

Dr. Carter Berkeley's second son, by his first marriage, Dr. Edmund Berkeley, was born March 17, 1801, at "Shirley," and was educated at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia, from which letter institution he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He also pursued a course in medicine at Edinburgh Univer- sity. In 1832 he located at Staunton, Vir- ginia, where he continued actively in prac- tice until his death, April 5, 1851. He mar- ried Mary Randolph Spottswood Brooke, daughter of Judge Francis Taliaferro Brooke, of St. Julien, Stafford county, presi- dent of the supreme court of appeals of Vir- ginia. Her mother was the daughter of Gen- eral Spottswood, who was a grandson of Governor Spottswood, "Knight of the Golden Horseshoe." Mrs. Berkeley's grandmother was Elizabeth Washington, daughter of General Augustine Washington, and a full niece of General George Washington.

Dr. Edmund Berkeley's third-son, Dr. Carter Berkeley, was born October 9, 1837, in Staunton, and studied medicine at the universities of Virginia and Maryland, com- pleting his education and receiving the de- gree of Doctor of Medicine at the latter, after the close of the Civil war. During that struggle he was a soldier of the Confederate army in all three arms of the service, serv- ing with distinction, and during the latter part of the war was first lieutenant of artil- lery. He died March 7, 1905, in Staunton, Virginia. He married (first) in 1867, Jane Love Gilkeson, daughter of William and Marguerite Gilkeson, of "Hill Side," Au- gusta county, Virginia. She died in 1884, and he married (second) in 1888, Jane Hale, of "Rocky Mount," Franklin county, Vir- ginia, who died in 1889, without issue. Chil- dren of the first marriage: I. Edmund Ingles, born November 20, 1869, lives at Shrevesport, Louisiana, unmarried ; served in the Spanish-American war in Cuba, in the Engineers' Corps. 2. Margaret Brooke, born March 14, 1872, died in childhood. 3. Captain Charles C., mentioned below. 4. Major Randolph Carter, born January 9, 1875; major in the United States Marine Corps, with which he served during the Spanish-American war; he married (first) Carrie Phillips, by whom he had one child, James, born July 3, 1907 ; married (second) Bessie Bancroft Russell; in Rear-Admiral Fletcher's report Major Randolph C. Berke- ley received honorable mention for "cool judgment, courage and skill in handling his men" at Vera Cruz. 5. Mary Randolph Spottswood, born August 24, 1880; married R. C. Simpson ; children: Margaret Berke- ley, born January 1, 1913; John Wistar, born September 25, 1914; all living at Glenn Springs, South Carolina. 6. Janet Carter, born March 10, 1882, librarian at Greens- boro, North Carolina. 7. Robert Brooke, born June 1I, 1883, lives in Memphis, Ten- nessee ; married Erna C. Kesselis ; one child, Robert Brooke, born November, 1914.

Captain Charles Carter Berkeley, second son and third child of Dr. Carter and Jane L. (Gilkeson) Berkeley, was born August IS, 1873, in Staunton, Virginia, and was educated at the Virginia Miltary Institute and other Virginia schools. Following the military precepts of his forbears he joined the army of the United States in the war with Spain, at the close of the nineteenth

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century, and became captain of a company of infantry, serving with his regiment in Cuba. He is now engaged in the practice of law at Newport News, Virginia. Since March, 1908, he has been commonwealth's attorney of that city. He married, Novem- ber 20, 1902, Linda Bumgardner, daughter of J. Alexander and Sarah (MacGilvery) Bumgardner, of Bethel, Augusta county, Virginia. Children: Sarah Spottswood. born December 15, 1903 ; Elizabeth Landon, born August 21, 1905; Charles Carter, Oc- tober 15, 1907; Linda McCorkle, born De- cember 27, 1912.

Edwin Clarence Kent. Edwin Clarence Kent belongs to one of the pioneer families of Wythe county, Virginia, who occupied the same homestead for more than a cen- tury. His grandfather. Robert C. Kent, was born on this homestead, and there remained until his death, in middle age. His son, Charles William Kent, born March 1, 1826, on the homestead, was a planter and a sol- dier of the Civil war. He was a member of the Wythe Grays, which served throughout the war. Another son, Robert C. Kent, was heutenant-governor of the state under Gov- ernor O'Ferrell. Of the eleven children of Robert C. Kent, only one is now living, Mrs. Ellen Caldwell, of Wytheville, Virginia. Charles William Kent lived for some time in Montgomery county, Virginia, and re- turned to Wythe county, where he died Au- gust 30, 1887. He married Mary C. White, born February 12, 1835, at Farmington, near Charlottesville, Virginia, daughter of Isaac White and his wife, Mary (Christian) White, who lived to be ninety-four years of age, she being a member of the original Christian family of New Kent county, Vir- ginia. Charles W. Kent and wife were the parents of four children, all still living: George Archer, born December 31. 1862, now residing in Bristol, Virginia: Emily Warren, born March 5. 1866, now resides in Pulaski county, Virginia, unmarried : Ed- win Clarence, of further mention ; Charles William, born August 23, 1871, resides at Ashville, North Carolina.

Edwin Clarence Kent was born January 13, 1868, in Montgomery county, Virginia, and was five years old when his parents re- turned to Wythe county, and five years later moved into the town of Wytheville, where the son was educated, attending

Judge Campbell's School. At seventeen years of age he started out in life as clerk in the general store at Wytheville, where he continued four years, following which he spent a like period in a grocery store in Richmond. In 1893 he settled at Peters- burg, where he became secretary and treas- urer of the Petersburg Furniture Company, in which position he continued four years. In 1897 he embarked in business on his own account, and is now president and treasurer of the Kent Furniture Company, doing a wholesale and retail business at Petersburg. Mr. Kent is now serving his second year as president of the Chamber of Commerce of that city, and is regarded as one of the most substantial and progressive business men of the town. With his family he is affiliated with St. Paul's ( Protestant Episcopal) Church of Petersburg, but is not connected with any other societies. He married, in Richmond, October 18, 1897. Robina G. Finney, a native of Powhatan county, Vir- ginia, daughter of Colonel William Finney, who established the pony express across the plains in 1849, and died in 1911, in Peters- burg. He gained his military rank by gal- lant service in the Confederate army during the Civil war. His wife, Constance (Wil- liams) Finney, survives him, and now re- sides in Powhatan county. She is a descend- ant of the Witherspoon family of South Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Kent are the par- ents of two daughters: Alice, born August 15, 1898, and Constance W., January 23. 1900.

William Travers Lewis. This is one of the old and honored names in Virginia, one of the oldest in English history, and as "Louis" was known in France as early as the eighth century. The Virginia family by intermarriage are closely united with the Washington family, a Lewis having married the only sister of President George Washington, and another became the hus- band of his adopted daughter. Eleanor Park Custis. They are also connected with many other of the historical families of Virginia. and by personal worth and achievement have honored the name of Lewis, and placed it high on the roll of fame. According to tradition, the descent of this family is traced from Kydnor Lewis, of Wales, who married Wentson, daughter of the Lord of Miskin. Twelve generations later came Sir Edmond

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Lewis, knighted by James I. in 1603 and died in 1630, being buried at Edington, county Wiltz, Wales. He married Lady Ann, daughter of the Earl of Dorset, and widow of Robert Jacob Beauchamp. Rob- ert Lewis, the youngest of their four sons, was born in 1607, and came to America in 1635, settling in Gloucester county, Vir- ginia. Over Robert Lewis, "the founder," discussion has raged fiercely. The follow- ing is the genealogy of William Travers Lewis, of Berryville, Virginia, a lineal de- scendant of Robert Lewis, as determined in "Lewis and Kindred Families," published in 1906, and edited by John Meriwether Mc- Allister and Lura Boulton Tandy.

General Robert Lewis was the first of the name in America known to history or gene- alogy. He was a native of Brecon, Wales, and with his wife, Elizabeth, sailed from Gravesend, England, in April, 1635, settling in Gloucester county, Virginia. The state- ment is made that he held a commission in the English army, and that he brought with him a grant from the crown of 33,3331/2 acres of land located in that portion of York, now Gloucester county.

John Lewis was the second of the two sons of General Robert and Elizabeth Lewis, of Brecon, Wales, and Gloucester county, Virginia. He was born about 1640, married Isabella Warner, and built "Warner Hall," a handsome mansion on the Severn in Glou- cester county, Virginia. His wife, Isabella, was a daughter of Captain Augustine War- ner, of the English army, and sister of Speaker Augustine Warner.

John (2) Lewis, grandson of General Robert Lewis and son of John (1) Lewis, was born in 1669, died in 1725, and was known as "Councilor" John Lewis. He married his first cousin, Elizabeth Warner, granddaughter of George Reade, of early fame in Virginia, and great-granddaughter of Nicholas Martian, a justice of York coun- ty, 1632-57. Elizabeth was a daughter of Speaker Augustine and Mildred (Reade) Warner; her father was one of the most eminent of early Virginia public men. The tombstone of Elizabeth (Warner) Lewis states that she was the "loving mother of fourteen children."

John (3) Lewis, of Warner Hall, the eld- est son of "Councilor" John (2) Lewis, was born in 1692. He married Frances Fielding,

and as the eldest son inherited Warner Hall and the historic Bell farm.

Colonel Fielding Lewis, son of John (3) and Frances (Fielding) Lewis, was born in 1725. He was not in field service during the Revolution, being over military age, but was engaged during the struggle in manu- facturing arms for the patriot army. His home was "Kenmore," Fredericksburg, Vir- ginia. Colonel Fielding Lewis married (first) Catherine Washington, daughter of John and Catherine (Whiting) Washing- ton, and first cousin of General George Washington. He married (second) in 1750, Betty, only sister of General George Wash- ington, and second child of Augustine Washington. He had issue by both wives, the line following being that of Lawrence, the ninth child by the second wife.

Lawrence Lewis, son of Colonel Fielding and Betty (Washington) Lewis, was born April 4, 1767. Because he was more inti- mately associated with his uncle, General George Washington, he is said to have been his favorite nephew. He married, Febru- ary 22, 1799, Eleanor Park Custis, grand- daughter of Mrs. Martha Park (Dandridge) Custis, who afterward became Mrs. Martha Washington. In his will General Washing- ton bequeathed his nephew, Lawrence, and his adopted daughter, Eleanor Park (Cus- tis) Lewis, an estate of 2000 acres adjoin- ing Mt. Vernon, and appointed Lawrence one of the executors of his will.

Lorenzo Lewis, only son of Lawrence and Eleanor Park (Custis) Lewis, was born in November, 1803, and died in August, 1847. He married, in 1826, Esther Maria, daughter of John R. Coxe, of Philadelphia, and set- tled on an estate in Clarke county, Virginia. He had six sons.

George Washington Lewis, son of Lo- renzo and Esther Maria (Coxe) Lewis, mar- ried Emily C., daughter of Reverdy John- son, attorney-general, United States sena- tor, minister to England, lawyer, statesman, one of the foremost expounders of Consti- tutional law, and granddaughter of John Johnson, an eminent lawyer, who filled the offices of attorney-general, judge of the court of appeals and chancellor of Maryland. Children of George Washington Lewis: Reverdy Johnson, a farmer; Charles Con- rad, a farmer ; Robert E. Lee, of New York City ; Emily C., married Colonel Edwin A.

Frank W. Christian

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Stevens, of Hoboken, New Jersey; Esther M., married Samuel McCormick ; Ella John- son, married J. Mckay White, of New York ; Maude, married Venton White, of Roanoke, Virginia ; William Travers, of further men- tion.

William Travers Lewis, son of Lorenzo and Emily C. (Johnson) Lewis, was born in Clarke county, Virginia, in March, 1865. He was educated in private schools of Clarke county, Norwood, Nelson county, Cabot school, John Blackburn Academy, Alexandria, then for three years was en- gaged in civil engineering in New York City, but failing health compelled him to leave that city and return to Virginia. Read- ing law under the preceptorship of Major Moore at Berryville, he was admitted to the bar in 1894, and has continued in active legal practice at Berryville until the present date. In 1897 he was elected commonwealth attor- ney of Clarke county, and by continuons re- elections he still holds that office. He has been admitted to all state and federal courts of the district. A Democrat in politics, he has served for many years in council, and is one of the strong men of his party, but not a seeker for office. He is president of the Berryville Ice and Refrigerator Com- pany, vice-president of the First National Bank of Berryville, and has other impor- tant interests. He is a past master of Tread- well Lodge, No. 13, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and in religion is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.

Mr. Lewis married, December 31, 1903, Maria Garnett, born in Clarke county, Vir- ginia, daughter of Dr. J. M. G. and Betty (McGuire) McGuire.

Frank Wood Christian. Born in Rich- mond, a graduate of several schools of the city and professionally educated at the Uni- versity of Virginia, and until his death the foremost member of the Virginia bar, Frank Wood Christian's career reflects great honor upon the city that was his home from his earliest to his latest breath. He was richly endowed with noble qualities of heart and brain that drew men to him, distinguished him as a man and a lawyer and made him the leader of the Richmond bar and of the bar of his state. He enjoyed a reputation with his professional brethren in and out of Virginia to an extent almost unparalled. A feature of his legal practice was the amount

of business which was sent him by the mem- bers of the bar, not only in Virginia, but throughout the country, an endorsement most gratifying to him, as showing the high regard in which he was held by the profes- sion and a fact that added to his eminent reputation. To the younger members of the bar, he was always the interested friend and willing assistant. He took the greatest amount of trouble to set his young friends on the proper course and often his desk was covered with books examined and discussed in order to fully solve the question asked or the information desired. Mr. Christian was a man of intense feeling, but naturally re- served, not easily making friends, particu- larly in the busy days of his latter years, but if you were once his friend you were always his friend, and for friendship's sake he was always willing to overlook faults. It was in his home life that his best qualities were displayed, there being nothing lacking of affection or devotion in his family rela- tions. A loving son and brother, his devo- tion as a father and husband were marked by a beauty and purity of soul, heart and mind that made it almost ideal.

Frank Wood Christian was born in Rich- mond, Virginia, January 8, 1851, died in his native city, January 3, 1908. He was a grad- nate of the city schools and institutions. in- cluding the University School conducted by John M. Strother and Thomas R. Price. The influences of these schools together with those of a mother endowed with marked in- tellectual capacity and Christian loveliness early gave color to that singular blending of mental power and moral force that afterwards so distinguished him as man and lawyer. His career in preparatory schools was mark- ed by continued successes, but lack of means prevented him from pursuing a continuous course through the University of Virginia. In order to obtain funds to return to the University for the law course, he for a time taught school. Although temperamentally unfitted for the confinement of the school room, he never regretted the time so spent and in after life stated that he thought such training especially advantageous to a law- yer, especially one who had to unravel the intricacies of a strongly contested common law case, so as to convince the understand- ing of the average juror. Later he returned to the University of Virginia, whence he won honors and was awarded the degree

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Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 75

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