Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 85

Author: Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935, ed. cn
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 848

USA > Virginia > Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V > Part 85

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Judith Beverly Hunter Copeland was the daughter of Colonel John R. and Judith Ann Copeland (nee Hunter). Her father, Colo- nel J. R. Copeland, after the close of the Civil war was instrumental in founding the Farmers' Bank of Nansemond. He was made cashier of the institution, January, 1870, and filled the office until 1884, when he was called to the presidency ; and that posi- tion he held until declining health and ad- vanced years required him to retire from business in 1890. He was the first Demo- cratic mayor of Suffolk, Virginia, who was elected after the Civil war. Judith Ann Hunter (wife of Colonel Copeland) was the daughter of Dr. E. R. Hunter, a practicing physician, and for many years a legislator from Nansemond county. She was the great-great-granddaughter of Sir Edward Bridger.

Tradition tells us that Sir Joseph Bridger with care superintended the building in 1632 of St. Luke's (the Brick Church) in New- port parish, Isle of Wight county, Virginia. He was the father of General Joseph Bridger, councillor of state to Charles the 2nd, "Pay- master General to the British troops in America during Bacon's Rebellion, in the reign of Charles the Second of England."

Joseph E. B. Holladay, the present mayor of the city of Suffolk, received his early and preparatory education in the public and pri- vate schools of Suffolk, Virginia. In 1898 he entered Hampden-Sidney College, apply- ing himself especially to the study of liter- ature. He became a member of the Philan- thropic Literary Society in which he so excelled that he was awarded the Freshman Declamer's Medal in 1899 and Debator's Medal in 1900. He was also a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity.

In the fall of 1901 Mr. Holladay entered the law department of Washington and Lee University, where he continued for two years. Later, 1903, he took a special course in law at the University of Virginia, and in June, 1904, passed the state bar examina- tion and began the practice of his profession, September, 1904, in his native town and has been an active practitioner since.

Mayor Holladay has not only been suc- cessful in his profession and proved himself efficient in the offices of councilman and now as chief executive of his city but he has also become an inventor of note. Early in life he zealously studied the science of elec- tricity, inventing several electrical appa- ratuses and recently produced, after several years of study and experiment, the Detecto, called after his name. This instrument, so acute that it will catch even a whispered sound and convey it several hundred feet, has been accepted by the United States gov- ernment.

On December 5, 1906, Mayor Holladay was married to Margaret Elizabeth Bree- den, a member of the Pee Dee Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and daughter of Captain P. L. and M. E. Breed- en, of Bennettsville, South Carolina.

Albert Littleton Powell, Washington Lee Powell. The most important and influential position in the financial world of Newport News, Virginia, held by the Powell Trust Company is a condition that owes its ex-

102I

VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

istence solely to the industry, application and sure judgment of those who lead the company as president and vice-president, respectively, Albert Littleton Powell and Washington Lee Powell. That the con- struction of a business of such broad lines, the work of twenty years, did not exclude these brothers from other activities, is prov- en by their responsible and leading connec- tions with many of the best known and most highly rated companies and corpora- tions of the locality. Both ex-presidents of the Newport News Chamber of Commerce, as leaders of this body business interests in the city received from their hands valuable assistance and encouragement, and the in- dustrial and commercial standing of New- port News materially strengthened.

The Powells are an ancient family in the Old Dominion, Southampton county having long been its home. It was in this county that James Powell, grandfather of Albert Littleton and Washington Lee Powell, owned a large plantation, cultivated by a vast number of slaves. Littleton Green Powell, son of James Powell, at his father's death inherited this property, widening the activities in agricultural lines and adding stock raising to his interests. The first battles of the Civil war found him a soldier in the Thirteenth Virginia Cavalry, and he remained in the Confederate army until the final surrender. Once during his four years of service was he taken prisoner by the enemy, and was confined on Craney Island. When peace was restored he returned to his plantation, where, although it had suffered from the ravages of war, conditions were little changed, for the slaves he had formerly owned refused to leave the protection of his roof and continued in his kind service as before. Littleton Green Powell married Elizabeth Kirk, of Petersburg, Virginia, and had children : William Augustus, Joshua Harris, George Edward. John James, Sarah Elizabeth, Robert Henry, Albert Littleton, of whom further; Mary Green, Fillmore Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Anna Virginia, Washington Lee. of whom further; Paul Andrew.

Albert Littleton Powell, son of Littleton Green and Elizabeth (Kirk) Powell, was born in Southampton county, Virginia, in 1863. After studies in private and public schools he entered the Suffolk Military Academy, whence he was graduated in the

class of 1886, soon afterward establishing in grocery dealings in Suffolk, Virginia. In this line he remained for four years, and in 1890 becoming a clothing merchant of Roanoke, Virginia, subsequently, for three years, followed real estate and insurance. Disposing of his Virginia business he moved to Indiana, until 1894 continuing in the same calling. In this year Mr. Powell re- turned to Virginia, making his home in Newport News, and forming, in - partner- ship with his brother, the firm of Powell Brothers, real estate and insurance dealer ; and bankers. The rapidly increasing busi- ness of the firm and its immense volume made desirable of the incorporation of its interests, and the firm of Powell Brothers was succeeded by the Powell Trust Com- pany in 1905, its officers being: Albert Littleton Powell, president; Washington Lee Powell, vice-president, and J. E. T. Hunter, secretary and treasurer. The building in which the Powell Trust Com- pany is housed is one of the most hand- some bank buildings in eastern Virginia, a splendid home for a powerful corporation. Mr. A. L. Powell is also president of the Colonial State Bank, president of the Ivyton Corporation, president of the Riverside In- vestment Land Company, and president of the Midway Realty Company. His careful guidance has had its results in the flourish- ing prosperity of these concerns, their suc- cess adding to his reputation as a financier and business man of safe procedure, fore- sight and ability. His business associates rely upon his judgment, heed his admoni- tions, follow his advice, and grant him the privileges of leadership forced by the con- vincing arguments of continued and sub- stantial success. As president of the coun- cil of the city of Newport News Mr. Powell gave his able attention to the many im- portant questions that came before that body, the decisive actions of the council with him as its head productive of great good to the city. He is an ex-president of the Chamber of Commerce and now serves Newport News as chairman of the Munici- pal Boat and Harbor Commission. His tal- ents have been freely devoted to the ad- vancement of his city, and the results of his labors credit his name. Mr. Powell frater- nizes with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a communicant of the

1022

VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

Baptist church, of which denomination his father was a deacon.

He married, October 22, 1907, Agnes Lun- ing, and has children: Hilda Lee, born in 1908; Mary Elizabeth, born in 1910; Dana Augusta, born in 1912.

Washington Lee Powell, son of Littleton Green and Elizabeth (Kirk) Powell, was born in Southampton county, Virginia, in 1873. In his youth he attended private schools, and completed his studies in Roa- noke College, being graduated from that in- stitution in 1890. Five years after his grad- uation he became associated in business with his brother, Albert Littleton Powell, ten years his senior, forming with him the firm of Powell Brothers, which established in Newport News as bankers, and real estate and insurance dealers. Upon the incorpora- tion of this business ten years later Mr. Powell became vice-president of the com- pany that succeeded Powell Brothers, the Powell Trust Company, and continues in that office to the present time. Mr. Powell is also vice-president of the Colonial State Bank, vice-president of the Ivyton Corpora- tion, and vice-president of the Riverside In- vestment Land Company. He is a member of the board of directors of the Newport News Realty Company, and, like his brother Albert L. Powell has held the presidency of the Newport News Chamber of Commerce. In this last named office his thorough fam- iliarity with the industrial and trade con- ditions and his close connection with the financial centers of the city made him a valuable executive, and his administration was one of progress and achievement. Mr. Powell ranks high among the foremost fi- nanciers and business men of Newport News, and shares with his brother the honor for the upbuilding of an institution of such stability and usefulness as the Powell Trust Company. He is a member of the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, and affili- ates with the Baptist church.

Charles Thomas Bland. To the city of Portsmouth, Virginia, the name Bland is a familiar one through the relation thereto of Charles Thomas Bland, commonwealth at- torney of Norfolk county, and his father, George Washington Bland, a veteran of the Civil war and until his death an employee of the city of Portsmouth, while throughout the Old Dominion it ranks with those

known as the foundations of Virginia's greatness. Norfolk county has long been the home of this line of Bland, Thomas Bland, grandfather of Charles Thomas Bland, having resided at Clarion. He was a land and slave owner, at his death be- queathing two slaves to his son, George Washington, of whom further.

In the person of Charles Thomas Bland the family has in Portsmouth a worthy present day representative of the illustrious line, the legal profession the field of his achievement. His present incumbency of the office of commonwealth attorney is the direct result of the reputation he gained in private practice as a learned, fearless and skillful lawyer, and for ten years, as a member of the Virginia house of represen- tatives, he displayed statesmanship and leg- islative talent of the highest order. Ports- mouth has no citizen more justly popular and well-regarded, for his interests are many and into each he enters with enthusi- asm.

George Washington Bland, father of Charles Thomas Bland, was born in Nor- folk county, Virginia, in 1836, and died in December, 1912. He completed his studies in the public schools, and until the outbreak of the war between the states was employed as fireman, then becoming a private in Com- pany D, Ninth Regiment Virginia Volun- teer Infantry, Armistead's brigade, Pickett's division, and Longstreet's corps. He re- mained in the service until the final sur- render, being taken prisoner and confined at Point Lookout, later receiving his parole. At the cessation of hostilities he made his home in Portsmouth, and was in the service of that city until his retirement. He was a Democratic sympathizer, and a communi- cant of the Methodist Episcopal church, a man of quiet life, passed in accordance with principles of uprightness and honor. He married, in January, 1857, Louisa Frances, daughter of Andrew and Virginia Stewart, of Norfolk county, Virginia. Children of George Washington and Louisa Frances (Stewart) Bland : Charles Thomas, of whom further; Theresa, deceased; Sarah, Elizabeth, married (first) Frederick E. Fisher, (second) Thomas Simpson; Brite- marte, married Charles Elwell; George Washington, Jr. ; Leila Lee, married Samuel Etheridge.

Charles Thomas Bland, son of George

1023

VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

Washington and Louisa Frances (Stewart) Bland, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, October 3, 1857, and after finishing his youthful studies in the public schools began the study of law with James G. Stubbs and Hon. William N. Portlock. Well started upon his professional career by the experi- ence gained through association with these gentlemen, Mr. Bland entered the Univer- sity of Virginia, supplying the funds for his tuition through his own labor. Com- pleting a course in this institution, Mr. Bland was admitted to the bar on February 17, 1898. His active practice in his profes- sion was taken up in partnership with John W. H. Porter, the firm name Porter & Bland, Mr. Bland afterward withdrawing from this association and uniting with Richard J. Davis as Bland & Davis. Both of these firms enjoyed successful continu- ance, the latter connection being later sev- ered and Mr. Bland establishing as Charles T. Bland, as he still remains. His private practice assumed wide dimensions, and this he retained while holding a seat in the Vir- ginia house of represenatives, of which he was a member for ten years. During a part of this time he filled the speaker's chair (protempore) and was recognized by his colleagues as a leader. In debate on the floor of the house he supported measures in whose need and justice he believed, and victory was generally upon his side. In committee, as well as before the assembled house, he labored with faithfulness and dili- gence, bringing to the solution of problems of weighty importance a mind finely trained, judgment temperate and unbiased, and a rigid determination to lend his backing only to legislation having as its aim the best good of the people of Virginia. His politi- cal record thus begun is a proud one, and the qualities and attributes that gave worth to his presence in the house of representa- tives have had no less potent an influence upon his administration of the office of commonwealth attorney, to which he was appointed in 1910.

Noteworthy position in professional and political circles does not bound his activ- ities, for his fraternal relations are many and cordial. Leading the long list is his membership in Montauk Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men, of which he is past sachem, and which, in spite of his numer- ous other connections, will ever be his fra-

ternal home. He is a member of the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks, the Junior Order of United American Me- chanics. the Improved Order of Heptasophs, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Order of Owls, of which he is past president, the Order of Buffaloes, in which he is past grand bison of the world, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is past noble grand, and the Knights of Pythias, in which he is past grand chancellor com- mander of the state of Virginia and a mem- ber of the Supreme Lodge. Of his fellow members in these societies he has made loyal friends, from whom he has not allowed the responsibilities and duties of public life nor the demands of private practice to sepa- rate him. Mr. Bland was for twelve years captain of the First Battery of Field Artil- lery of the Virginia National Guard, and is now upon the retired list of that organiza- tion with the rank of captain. For the past thirty years he has been first assistant fore- man of the Portsmouth Fire Department, giving the organization his loyal support. Mr. Bland is one of the most popular gentle- men in public or business life in the city. Popularity he maintains because of a dis- position and nature likeable in every aspect, reflected in a cordial heartiness of manner free and unassumed, while the universal re- spect that is tendered him is based upon admiration for a character clean and strong.

Charles Thomas Bland married, August 6, 1878, Josephine, daughter of William T. and Sarah J. (Thomas) Hyslop, of Ports- mouth, Virginia, and has issue: Charles Thomas, Jr., deceased; Charles Raymond, deceased ; Ethel Maywood, married Charles B. Cross, and has a son, Charles Bland ; \'ir- ginia Louise, married John Warren Mac- Donald; William Marshall; Eularia Fran- ces.

Robert Eden Scott. Robert Eden Scott. of Fauquier county, Virginia, born April 23, 1808, died May 2, 1862.

"His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him, that nature might stand up and say to all the world, This was a man.

Robert Eden Scott, of Fauquier, came of a line of able men of letters so far as his ancestors have been traced on this side of the Atlantic.

1024

VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

The first of his family to arrive in Amer- ica was the Rev. Alexander Scott, a minis- ter of the Church of England, who came from Scotland and became the rector of Overwharton Parish, Stafford county, Vir- ginia. He is said to have acquired con- siderable property and he established his seat in Stafford county upon an estate called "Dipple," where he resided until his death on April 1, 1738, at the age of fifty-three. He lies buried at "Dipple," where his grave, preserved by the descendants of his brother, may still be seen.

Having never married, he invited his younger brother, James Scott, likewise a clergyman of the Established Church, to come over and live with him as his heir, and afterwards the Rev. James Scott became the first rector of Dettingen parish, Prince Wil- liam county, Virginia. In a letter from Wil- liam and Mary College, under date of April 26, 1745, recommending him to this appoint- ment, he is spoken of as a man whose merit had been so long known as that it need not be dwelt upon. He remained as rector of this parish until his death in 1782, after a service of thirty-seven years.

The Rev. James Scott married Sarah, the daughter of Gustavus Brown, of Maryland, by whom he had a number of sons and daughters. Among them, the Rev. John Scott, who succeeded his father as rector of Dettingen.

In his early years Rev. John Scott appears to have been an impulsive, high-spirited man, taking, as it was said of him, "life by storm." At the age of eighteen, resenting what was deemed to be an insult to himself and his father, he challenged to mortal com- bat a somewhat notorious character of that age. His second, his brother-in-law, Mr. Bullitt, in endeavoring to prevent the en- counter, was attacked by the challenged party and slew him in self defense. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Scott went to Scotland and entered Kings College at Aberdeen. While still there as a student he married Elizabeth Gordon, a daughter of one of the professors. Upon the completion of his education and while still abroad, he was ordained a minis- ter of the then Established Church. He re- turned to America at the request of his friend, Sir Robert Eden, then governor of Maryland, to become his chaplain and rec- tor of the parish of Eversham, where he

resided until the war of the Revolution broke out. Being an Englishman, by train- ing and education, he adhered to the Royal cause, and taking an active part in politics, was summoned before the council at Annap- olis and banished a hundred miles from tide- water, taking up his residence on an estate in Fauquier county named in honor of his wife, "Gordonsdale." The lawyer who con- ducted his examination before the council, says Bishop Meade, from whose book the foregoing has been taken, ever afterwards "spoke of him as the most talented man with whom he had ever engaged in contro- versy."

His eldest son was Judge John Scott, of Fauquier, of the circuit court of that county and the old general court of Virginia. He was noted for his strength of character, stern integrity and eminent qualifications as a jurist. He represented his district in the constitutional convention of 1829-30, where he took a most prominent part.

It was said of him by the late John Ran- dolph Tucker, himself an eminent lawyer, in an address before the Richmond Bar Association : "Judge John Scott (with the name and genius of Eldon) was a man of masterful power in mind and character. At the bar he had been a great advocate; in the Convention of 1829-30 he was a prominent leader in its deliberations; a vigorous con- troversial writer, and on the bench he was one of the ablest judges in the country." Judge John Scott married Betsy Blackwell, the daughter of Martin Pickett.

Robert Eden Scott, the eldest son of this marriage, was born at Warrenton, the coun- ty seat of Fauquier, April 23, 1808. He was early sent to the University of Virginia, en- tering in 1825, the first class admitted to that celebrated institution of learning. While there he gave evidence of the high character and capacity for which he became so distinguished in after life. He passed through all his classes with distinction and left the University with a high reputation for learning and ability. Returning to his native county, he was on December 30. 1830, licensed to practice law by John Tayloe Lomax, Richard H. Field and John W. Green, distinguished lawyers of that time. He was soon found in the front rank of his profession when it numbered some of the greatest names that have adorned it in this

1025

VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

state, and at the time of his death he was one of the most distinguished lawyers of Virginia.

He was noted everywhere as a profound student of the science of government, a most able and eloquent advocate, and the demand for his services was not confined to his own state. The only report that we have of his many appearances in the great cases of his time is that known as "The Trial of the Washington Election Rioters." On July I, 1857, when the City of Washington was in what was then known as Washington coun- ty, and its citizens were vested with the right of suffrage, there was in that city a great election riot; the United States ma- rines were called out, who firing into the crowd, killed and wounded many. A num- ber of the alleged rioters were indicted and brought to trial in the September following before Judge Crawford. Philip Barton Key, then United States district attorney, con- ducted the prosecution, and Mr. Scott led the array of the lawyers for the defense. His speech on that occasion was published in "The American," a newspaper published in the City of Washington, and is a model of its kind. Clear, accurate and profound in all its statements of legal propositions, un- answerable in its logical array of facts, courteous and dignified, it presents an elo- quent defense of the accused.

But it was as a statesman and a political leader, when great and grave questions of state were discussed by great men, that he shone preeminent. Among the men of his time he was facile princips, so acclaimed by friend and foe alike. He was a most earn- est advocate of the doctrines promulgated by the old-line Whig party and was its recognized leader in his state, its chosen champion on all great occasions. His de- votion to the Union was of the most ardent character and in the stormy days of 1859, 1860 and 1861, he was its earnest eloquent and prophetic advocate on the hustings and the legislative halls of his state. But great as was his devotion to the Union, his love for his native state was far greater. Al- ways he preferred to serve her and he de- voted to her service his great talents and profound knowledge of law and the science of government.

He served with great distinction in the legislature of Virginia as the representative of his county for a number of years, was a

member of all the constitutional conven- tions called in his time, those of 1850 and 1861. Thereafter he represented his county in the state legislature and his district in the Confederate congress, where he served until his death. In the legislature of 1849 he introduced a bill for the reform of the jury system of the state and supported it in a luminous and profound argument which furnishes a striking illustration of his pow- ers in debate. The changes he advocated were the taking of the burden of the main- tenance of the system from the several coun- ties, and placing it upon the state where it properly belonged; transferring the selec- tion of the jurors from the hands of the sheriffs to the judiciary ; reducing the num- ber of jurors in civil cases from twelve to seven, and finally legalizing the majority verdict, permitting a decision by a majority to be controlling. All of these reforms have since been adopted and are now in force, save the last.

A member of the legislature of 1849, his desk mate, one who came to know him well, writing in the "Richmond Times" of July 21, 1895, thus speaks of him and his work at that time :

At the head of these Whig leaders stood Robert E. Scott of Fauquier, without a peer in intellectual power and fascinating oratory. Singularly enough, Mr. Scott, when he arose to speak, for several min- utes stammered and hesitated as if at a loss for the right word to use or his inability to pronounce it distinctly, and when uttered, it seemed to be shot out by the sudden explosion of constrained energy. Sometimes this embarrassing condition lasted sev- eral minutes, and then suddenly disappeared with an emotional quivering of the voice, as if overcome by an eager desire to plunge into the very core of the subject of the debate. But this hesitancy and jerkiness of utterance passed away with a few rather awkward introductory sentences and then his words flowed out as freely as water from a gushing fountain, and proposition succeeded propo- sition, deduction followed deduction with the energy and irresistible force of a mountain torrent sweep- ing everything before it. I think he was one of the most eloquent man I ever heard and I know he was the most logical. The Whigs although in a hope- less minority in the House, often defeated their adversaries on extremely radical measures and forced them to a modification through Mr. Scott's transcendant ability. * *

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume V, Part 85

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