Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 79

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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Dr. Rangeley is a member of the Virginia Medical Society and the Montgomery Coun- ty Medical Society, and has prepared and read papers of medical value before both societies. He has kept pace with modern medical discovery and occupies a high posi- tion in the regard of his professional breth- ren. His practice is large and among the many families he visits he is the welcome

friend as well as medical adviser. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a Democrat in politics and a communicant of the Presbyterian church.

Dr. Rangeley married, in 1896, Mamie Jane Childress, born in Montgomery county, Virginia, in 1878, daughter of James S. and Virginia (Smith) Childress. Children, all born in Christiansburg: Walter W., born in 1898; James Smith, born in 1900; Virginia, born in 1902.

Judge Nathaniel Riddick. Bishop Meade in his "Old Churches and Families" recites among the old and leading families in East- ern Virginia in colonial times and immcdi- ately succeeding the revolution, the name Riddick, and on another page gives the name of Willis Riddick as one of the two representatives from Nansemond county at- tending the Virginia convention which be- gan its sessions in the city of Williamsburg on May 6, 1776.

The first mention of the Riddick family in Nansemond county is of James Riddick, who was a member of the Virginia house of burgesses from Nansemond, 1718 to 1722. The original grant on which the Riddick mansion stood was known as "White Marsh," a large estate.

James Riddick had a son, Lemuel Rid- dick, born August 23, 1711, a burgess, 1736 to 1773, and also a delegate to the conven- tion of 1775. There was also a Rev. Lemuel Riddick who resigned the pastorate of the Suffolk Protestant Episcopal Church in 1773, after having served it continuously for forty years. It is believed that Rev. Lemuel and Burgess Lemuel Riddick were the same in- dividual. Lemuel Riddick had three sons: I. Micajah, married Mary Parker and had a son Micajah (2), who married Elizabeth, daughter of James Riddick. a son of Colo- nel Willis Riddick. 2. General Joseph, who for twenty-eight years was state senator from Gates county, North Carolina. 3. Colonel Willis, of further mention.

Colonel Willis Riddick, born 1721, son of Lemuel Riddick, and grandson of James Riddick, was a member of the house of burgesses, 1756 to 1775, and from 1756 until 1773 occupied a seat in that body with his father. Both were delegates to the conven- tion of 1775, and Willis Riddick served in the field under a captain's and colonel's

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commissions. He married Mary Folk. Children : I. Willis, married a Miss Semms, of Hanover county, Virginia, and had two sons: Lemuel and Willis, both of whom died unmarried. 2. Lemuel. 3. James. 4. Anne, of further mention.

Anne Riddick, born August 28, 1752, daughter of Colonel Willis and Mary (Folk) Riddick, married Josiah Riddick, born September 5, 1748. They were the par- ents of two sons, Mills, of further men- tion, and Josiah, and several daughters, all of whom were born at "White Marsh."

Mills Riddick, son of Josiah and Anne (Riddick) Riddick, born April 5, 1780, died in 1844, inherited "White Marsh," and lived there nearly all his life, moving to Suffolk a few years before his death. He married Mary Taylor, born March 20, 1788, died Au- gust, 1875, daughter of Captain Richard Taylor, of the continental navy. Children : Richard H., Josiah, Mills E., Nathaniel, of further mention, Washington Lafayette, Mary Allen, Diana Tabb, Juliana, Maria, Cornelia.

Judge Nathaniel Riddick, son of Mills and Mary (Taylor) Riddick, was born March 19, 1819, died December 29, 1881. Being the son of wealthy parents and of a leading family of Nansemond county, his early training and life was in keeping with that of the gentlemens' son of that day. He was educated under private tutors and at Ran- dolph-Macon College. On attaining his majority he at once became active in county and state politics, his family connection, his ability and winning personality rendering him popular and influential. His entire time was devoted to the public service and he attained a power and influence seldom equalled. He was a member of the Virginia legislature for seventeen years, was presi- dent of the court and judge, always sought for in council when wise leadership was needed and ever deferred to as one of the leading men of his day. He was a vestry- man and warden of the Episcopal church for many years, belonged to the Masonic crder, and in politics was first a Whig, but later when that party went to pieces became a Democrat.

Judge Riddick married, in 1834, Missouri Kilby, born in Suffolk, November 16, 1821, died November 3. 1873. Children: 1. Anna Mary, a resident of Suffolk, Virginia. 2. Mills, died unmarried. 3. John Thompson,

died unmarried. 4. Missouri Taylor, mar- ried Austin C Withers, and has seven chil- dren: Nathaniel R., Missouri K., Robert W., John Thompson, Janet, Anna Chian, Dr. Nathaniel H., died unmarried.

John Breckenridge Catlett, M. D. John Breckenridge Catlett, M. D., a distinguish- ed physician and citizen of Staunton, Vir- ginia, and a member of one of the old fam- ilies of that state, was born in Staunton, April 12, 1866, a son of Nathaniel Pend- leton Catlett, a native of Culpeper, Vir- ginia, where he was born in November, 1822. Dr. Catlett received his education at the schools of his native place, attending at various times the Hughley High School, the Staunton Military Academy and the Duns- more Business College, the last named be- ing founded by J. G. Dunsmore, the well known southern educator, a sketch of whom appears in this work. Having completed this more general portion of his education, Dr. Catlett entered the medical department of the University of Virginia, there to pur- sue the study of his chosen profession. While at Charlottesville, besides making a good record in his studies, he took an active part in the undergraduate life of the institu- tion, especially in the matter of athletics, the University Boat Club forming for him a lively interest. In 1888 he graduated with the class of that year, taking the degree of M. D., and then immediately went to New York City, where he entered as interne in the New York Polyclinic Hospital, taking at the same time a post-graduate course at the Polyclinic Medical College in the same city. Since his return to Staunton, where he has established himself professionally, Dr. Cat- lett has been appointed to many honorable and responsible positions of a public and semi-public professional nature. He is the resident physician to the State Asylum for the deaf, dumb and blind at Staunton, the medical director of the Interstate Insurance Company, and has served the city of Staun- ton as a member of the Board of Health and as city physician. He at present occu- pies the post of coroner for Augusta county, Virginia. He is also a member of a number of medical organizations, such as the Au- gusta County Medical Society, the Virginia State Medical Society, the American and the International Medical Associations. Be- sides his medical affiliations, Dr. Catlett has

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a number of important business interests, but is in essence a professional man, and to this portion of his work gives the major part of his time and attention. He belongs to three orders, the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Dr. Catlett married Elizabeth Mickey, a daughter of Colonel Henry Clay Mickey, a prominent farmer of Albemarle county, Vir- ginia. Mrs. Catlett was educated at the Misses Masons School, Washington, D. C. To Dr. and Mrs. Catlett has been born. 1897, a son, Clay Mickey.

James Van Allen Bickford. James Van Allen Bickford, a real estate operator of Hampton, is descended from one of the most ancient New England families. The American ancestor was John Bickford, born in England about 1612. He first ap- pears of record in this country, July 20, 1645, when he purchased an estate at Oyster River, now Dover, New Hampshire, and he continued to be a taxpayer there until 1672. He was admitted a freeman in 1655. Most of his descendants are the progeny of his eldest son, John, who lived near Dover from 1662 to 1672, was taxed in Dover in 1675, and died before November 8, 1697, when an inventory of his property was made.

Selwyn Eugene Bickford, a descendant of this family, was born in 1830, in Lowell, Massachusetts, and died in 1884. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and when the Civil war commenced he enlisted as a soldier of the Union army, and was made lieutenant. He continued in the military service until the close of the war, after which he engaged in the mercan- tile business at Hampton, Virginia, carrying stocks of dry goods and furniture. He was also, for many years, until his death, clerk of the courts. He was a past master of St. Tamany Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Hampton, a member of the Royal Arch Chapter at Portsmouth, and of the commandery at Hampton. He was a past chancellor commander of the local lodge, Knights of Pythias, a charter member of Wyoming Camp, Improved Or- der of Red Men, and commander of the Grand Army of the Republic post. In re- ligion he adhered to the Episcopal church, and in politics was always a Republican. He

married Caroline Matilda Van Allen, daugh- ter of James Van Allen, of New York state. They had three sons: Selwyn Eugene, of Hampton, James V., of further mention, and Charles, who died in infancy.

James Van Allen Bickford, second son of Selwyn Eugene and Caroline M. (Van Allen ) Bickford, was born December 31, 1876, in Hampton, where most of his life has been passed. He attended public and pri- vate schools, was a student at William and Mary College in 1893, entered Virginia Mili- tary Institute in the following year, and was graduated in 1896 with the degree of Civil Engineer. He was very shortly thereafter employed by the Newport News Shipbuild- ing & Dry Dock Company as draftsman in their shipyard. The development of this section was forseen by Mr. Bickford, and he resolved to participate in the same and gather his proportional share of the emo- luments to be derived. In 1890 he engaged in the real estate business in Hampton, im- mediately achieved success, and soon added the trade in sand, gravel and builder's sup- plies. For the last fourteen years he has been manager of Buckroe Beach, a summer resort maintained by the railroad company. Mr. Bickford is a man of broad mind and keen intellect, genial in disposition, court- eons and affable in manner, and commands the loyal devotion of a great multitude of friend. Mr. Bickford served in the Virginia state militia and was appointed, August 3, 1905, as first lieutenant and adjutant of Third Battalion, Seventy-first Regiment In- fantry of Virginia ; appointed March 1, 1907, aide-de-camp of First Brigade, Virginia Vol- unteers on General Vaughn's staff ; was ap- pointed chief of signal corps, Virginia Vol- unteers, 1912 and still active in state militia. He was appointed by Judge C. W. Robinson commissioner of taxes for the Wythe dis- trict for 1915. He is a member of the Bap- tist church, and of Kappa Alpha, a college fraternity. In politics he differs from the precepts of his forefathers, and is active in the local councils of the Democratic party. Mr. Bickford is very active in the social life of his home town, and is affiliated with most of the fraternities there existing. Mr. Bick- ford is a member of both the Greater Hamp- ton and Business Men's associations. He is a member of Monitor Lodge, No. 57, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Phoebus; of St. John's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons;

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Hampton Commandery, Knights Templar ; Khedive Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a mem- ber of Wyoming Tribe, No. 49, Improved Order of Red Men; a charter member of Hampton Lodge, No. 366, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; a member of Aerie No. 674, Fraternal Order of Eagles ; Kecoughtan Lodge, No. 29, Knights of Py- thias ; Hampton Lodge, No. 125, Junior Or- der United American Mechanics, and Live Oak Camp, Woodmen of the World.

He married (first) in January, 1899, Kath- erine West Tabb, born 1876, died August 30, 1904, daughter of William K. and Cath- erine (West) Tabb, of Baltimore. He mar- ried (second) 1908, Helen Rutherford, daughter of William and Ann Page (West) Rutherford, of Baltimore. There is a son of the first marriage, James Van Allen, Jr., born July 30, 1904, and a daughter of the second, Ann Page, 1908.

Samuel C. Neff, V. S. Samuel C. Neff, V. S., a prominent citizen of Staunton, Virginia, was born in Augusta county, Vir- ginia, the son of a prosperous farmer of that region. Dr. Neff was educated in the local schools and later, in 1898, enter- ed the Ontario Veterinary College, from which he graduated with the class of 1901, taking the degree of V. S. Upon the com- pletion of his studies, he returned to Staun- ton, Virginia, and there established him- self in his profession and since practiced it with a high degree of success. In 1903 he was appointed by Governor Montague, of Virginia, to be president of the State Board of Veterinary Examiners, a position which he still holds through the subsequent ap- pointments of Governors' Claude Swanson and W. H. Mann. He stands at the head of his profession in the state and is promi- nent in the State Veterinary Association, having held all the offices in connection with it. Besides his professional affiliations, Dr. Neff has important business connections, and is a director and member of the execu- tive committee of the Hiner Shade and Spe- cialty Company, and a partner in the W. J. Neff Implement Company of Staunton, Virginia. Dr. Neff's interest in the horse is not confined to the sick animal, however, but he is, on the contrary, greatly interested in racing, and when the Staunton Fair As- sociation organized in 1913, he was chosen

vice-president, director, secretary and super- intendent of its racing department.

Dr. Neff was married in 1903, to Gertrude B. Haller, a native of Augusta county, Vir- ginia, and to them have been born three children, two sons and a daughter.

Henry Thompson Douglas. Henry Thomp- son Douglas, civil engineer, colonel of engi- neers, Confederate States army, and briga- dier-general, United States army, was horn at "Cherry Hall," James City county, Vir- ginia, September 15, 1838. His father was William Robert Christian Douglas, of Kaimes, New Kent county, who was grad- uated with the degree of M. A. from Wil- liam and Mary College, Virginia. His mother was Lucy Ann (Hankins) Doug- las, who was born at "Cherry Hall," James City county, Virginia, the daughter of Wil- liam Hankins of "Cherry Hall." The grand- father of General Henry Thompson Doug- las was William Douglas of Kaimes, and his great-grandfather, Robert Christian, of Providence Forge and Cedar Grove in New Kent county, Virginia. Beverly Brown Douglas, an uncle of General Douglas, was graduated from William and Mary College and attended Harvard College, and with his brothers William and John were students at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. The Virginia Douglases spring from the Scot- tish family of Douglas, which is described by its historians as the most powerful and widely celebrated clan that Scotland ever produced. The name of the family was as- sumed from lands on the small river Doug- las, in Lanarkshire, where William of Douglas was established as early as 1175. As in the case of several other Scottish fami- lies, an attempt has been made to ascribe the family a Norman-French origin, but there is no question that the name, like the family, is Gaelic, being derived from the words "duf-glas" or "du-glas," meaning "dark grey" from the color of the waters. The race of Douglas, greatly celebrated for its romantic career, may well be accounted an historic family, for as Hume, the annal- ist of the house, has it :

So many, so good, as of the Douglases have been, Of one surname was ne'er in Scotland seen.

The family rose into power under King Robert Bruce, of whom "the good lord James of Douglas" was the most distin-

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guished adherent, but suffered a partial eclipse when the ninth earl, James, rebelled against King James II. The earls of Angus however partly restored the ancestral prom- inence of the house, which has always con- tinued to be one of the most important in Scotland. William Douglas, the first of the family who appears on record, was so called, doubtless, from the wild pastoral dale with its river of the name which he possessed. He is found witnessing charters by the king and bishop of Glasgow between 1175 and 1213. He was either the brother or brother-in-law of Sir Freskin of Murray, and had six sons, of whom Archibald or Erken- bald was the heir, and Brice, a monk of Kelso, rose to be prior of Lesmahago (a dependency of Kelso on the outskirts of Douglasdale), and in 1203 was preferred to the bishopric of Murray. He owed this pro- motion, no doubt, to the influence of his kinsmen, the Murrays, and it contributed not a little to the rising fortunes of his house. He was followed beyond the Spey by four brothers, of whom one became sher- iff of Elgin; another became a canon of Murray ; and a third, who had been a monk of Kelso, seems to have became archbishop of Murray. A fourth brother, who had been a parson of Douglas, appears to have be- come Dean of Murray.

The armorial bearings of one branch of the Douglas family are thus heraldically de- scribed: "Arms-Argent a man's heart gules ensigned with an imperial crown pro- per ; on a chief azure three stars of the first," which translated means upon a field of silver a man's heart red, beneath an imperial crown in its proper colors : upon a dividing line upon a blue ground three stars of silver. The original arms of the Douglas family were simply three silver stars on a blue field. The origin of this is unknown. The origin and significance of the crowned heart is better known; it was assumed by the family as a memorial of the fate of the Good Sir James of Douglas, who perished in Spain in 1330, while on a jour- ney to the Holy Land, with the heart of his sovereign, Robert Bruce. The dying king had bequeathed his heart to the Good Sir James, who had been his greatest captain, with the request that he would carry it to Jerusalem and there bury it before the High Altar. It had been stated that Sir James died on his way to the Holy Land and that

he had the heart with him at that time en- cased in a silver box, but Hume the his- torian of the family distinctly states that the errand had been accomplished and that the knight was on his return to Scotland. "He carried with him to Jerusalem the king's heart, embalmed and put in a box of gold which he solemnly buried before the High Altar there, and this is the reason that the Douglas bear the crowned heart in their arms ever since." The name, formerly Douglas, is now spelled in many branches with an additional "s," as Douglass. The family and the name, assuming that all the Douglases belong to the Scotch family, is well known in America, and distinct fam- ilies have attained prominence in Virginia, in New England and in Pennsylvania.

Henry Thompson Douglas received his preliminary education in private schools in New Kent county, and at Williamsburg, Virginia. After leaving school he entered on field work as a civil engineer, continuing till 1861, when he entered the Confederate States army in the Engineer Corps. In 1883 he became connected with the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad as chief engineer and continued as such until 1896. He was engineer commissioner of the city of Balti- more, making a topographical survey of that city. In 1898 he was commissioned briga- dier-general of the United States army, go- ing to Cuba with the Seventh Army Corps, commanded by Major General Fitzhugh Lee. In 1900 he came to New York City and entered the service of the New York Rapid Transit Railroad as engineer, which position he has held ever since.

General Douglas has seen much military service. He entered the service of the Con- federate army as lieutenant of engineers in 1861 on the staff of General John Bankhead Magruder, commanding the Army of the Peninsula. He was chief engineer of A. P. Hill's division of the Army of Northern Virginia during the seven days battles around Richmond, and was promoted cap- tain and major of engineers. He was ap- pointed by General Robert E. Lee a member of a board of engineers, with Lieutenant- Colonels Collins and William Proctor Smith of the Corps of Engineers, his rank being that of a major, assigned to locate the "intermediate" line for the defence of Richmond, Virginia. When the plans were completed and approved by General Lee,

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the line of defence was ordered to be con- structed and Major Douglas was placed in charge of this work where he remained for about a year. Later he was promoted lieu- tenant-colonel of engineers, and assigned as chief engineer of the Trans-Mississippi De- partment under General E. Kirby Smith. He was then promoted colonel of engineers and remained with General Smith until the close of the war. After the return of peace Colonel Douglas went with Colonel Andrew Talcott to Mexico, and was engaged in con- structing the railroad from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, remaining there about two years. Returning to the United States, he assisted in the construction of a railroad from Louisville, Kentucky, to Cincinnati, Ohio. After its completion General Doug- las was made its chief engineer. Afterwards he accepted a position on the Texas Pacific Railroad, later called the Transcontinental Railroad. Subsequently he was a member of the Corps of Engineers with Major Henry D. Whitcomb, which constructed the Chesa- peake & Ohio Railroad, from Huntingdon to Kanawha Falls. He then joined Colonel T. M. R. Talcott on the Richmond & Dan- ville Railroad, and was afterward chief en- gineer and superintendent of the road from Richmond to West Point, Virginia, and chief engineer of the Richmond & Danville Railroad until 1883. General Douglas has written various papers on engineering. He wrote a sketch of the life of General Ma- gruder, and one also of General John B. Hood of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The brothers and sisters of General Doug- las were: I. Dr. William Walter Douglas, of Warsaw, Richmond county, Virginia, who was a graduate of William and Mary Col- lege and of the Richmond Medical College. He served in the Confederate army as a surgeon in General Jackson's and General Stuart's corps. 2. John Beverly, who died when young. 3. James Malcolm, of Balti- more, Maryland, an engineer. 4. Robert Bruce, lawyer, deceased. 5. Elizabeth J., deceased, married Walter Weir, of Man- assas, Virginia. 6. Mary, deceased, mar- ried Edward Spotswood Pollard, of Zoar, King William county, Virginia. 7. Lucy, deceased, who married Colonel James John- son, of King William county, Virginia.

General Douglas found among his papers an interesting bit of paper, evidently torn from a note book, on which was written

in the handwriting of General Robert E. Lee, an order to General Joseph E. John- ston, then commanding the Army of North- ern Virginia, directing Captain Henry Thompson Douglas of the Corps of Engi- neers then on the staff of General Magruder, to report to General Lee at Richmond, Vir- ginia, and endorsed in their own handwrit- ing by Generals Joseph E. Johnston and J. B. Magruder. This paper has been filed in the Confederate Museum at Richmond, Vir- ginia. On reporting to General Lee he was ordered to locate and construct the defences of Chafin's Bluff, on the north side of the James river about half a mile below Drury's Bluff. He constructed these defences, mounting eight guns of the largest calibre, bearing upon the river, and forming a part of the defences of Richmond, Virginia.

Henry T. Douglas married, June 9, 1868, Anne Matilda, born in Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, in 1852, daughter of Edward Rob- bins, of Philadelphia.

Lysander B. Conway, Jr. The arms of Colonel Edwin Conway, a descendant of Edwin Conway, the founder of the family in Virginia, are preserved in his seal to several documents extant in Virginia State Archives and the records of Lancaster county, Vir- ginia. The impression on each is the same: "Sable on a bend argent, cotised ermine a rose gules between two amulets of the last." Crest : "A moor's head side faced proper, banded round the temples argent and azure." Motto: "Fide et Amore.'

Edwin Conway came to Virginia from Worcester county, England, in 1640, and ap- pears in Northampton records in June, 1642, as "Mr. Edwyn Conway, Clarke of this com.' In the first grant of land in his name he is recorded as "Edwyn Conoway of Northamp- ton, Clarke." He became a large land- owner, and by his first wife, Martha Elton- head, whom he married in England, had two sons, Edwin (2) and Eltonhead, from whom the families of Conway, in Virginia, descend. Lieutenant James Conway, great-great- grandfather of Lysander B. Conway, of Danville, Virginia, was an officer of the rev- olution, killed at the battle of Trenton, New Jersey, December 28, 1776. His son, Chris- topher Conway, was the father of James Washington Conway, whose son, Lysander B. Conway, is the father of Lysander B. Conway, Jr.

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Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 79

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