History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 119

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1054

USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900 > Part 119

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George Sirian was a Grecian by birth. and his parents were massacred by the Turks. When a boy of nine years. at the time of the massacre, he swam from an island to a United States man-of-war. He was taken on board

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and brought to this country by Mr. Randolph, of Richmond, Virginia. For 40 years he was gunner in the United States Navy. He became a gunner under George Marshall, U. S. Navy, who afterward became his father-in-law. Mrs. Elenor E. Sirian is 'still living, active and vigorous, at the age of 82 years.

Our subject and his wife have two children, whose names are: Elizabeth S .; and Marga- ret A. Mr. Gaskins is a member of the Meth- odist Church, while his wife is a member of the Catholic Church.

Mr. Gaskins is a member of the following fraternal associations : Portsmouth Naval Lodge, No. 100, A. F. & A. M .; Atlantic Lodge, No. 24, K. of P .: Grice Lodge, No. 83. I. O. O. F. : Montauk Tribe, No. 55, I. O. R. M .: Peabody Council, No. 106, Jr. O. U. A. M. : Old Dominion Council. No. 293. I. O. H .; Magnolia Camp, No. 4, W. O. W .: Ocean Council. No. 1063. Royal Arcanum; and Friendship Council, Seven Wise Men, of Nor- folk. Virginia.

Mr. Gaskins is a genial and courteous gen- tleman, well and favorably known as one of the leading business men of the city. His por- trait accompanies this sketch, being presented on a foregoing page.

AJ. RICHARD G. BANKS, United States collector of the port of Nor- folk, is a native of Hampton, Vir- ginia, and was born September 3, 1840. He was educated at the Hampton Academy and at Columbia College, and shortly after leaving the latter institution, in May. 1861, was appointed quartermaster of the 50th Regiment. Virginia Infantry, in Gen- eral Floyd's Brigade, with the rank of captain. He served as quartermaster until the battle of Fort Donelson, from which he escaped to Chat- tanooga, where he was put in charge of the military depot of General Kirby Smith and served there about six months. July 1, 1862,

he went with General Smith's command to Lexington, Kentucky, where he was put in charge of the quartermaster's depot for about two months. At the end of that time he was appointed major and went to Mississippi, hav- ing been assigned to General W. W. Loring's staff. In that position he served only a short time, when he was detailed by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to go to Selina. Alabama, and es- tablish a quartermaster's depot. This he ac- complished and was placed in charge of the same, remaining at that point until near the close of the war. He participated in the fol- lowing battles: First battle of Cross Lanes, and Carnifex Ferry, West Virginia; Fort Donelson, Tennessee : Richmond, Kentucky, and in numerous minor engagemets. After the war was over he went to Goochland Coun- ty. Virginia, where he carried on a farm, and, having prepared for the legal profession in the meantime, was admitted to the bar in 1871.

He practiced his profession until the fall of 1879, at which time he was appointed United States inspector of customs and stationed at Norfolk, Virginia. This office he held until 1883, when he resigned in order to take his seat in the State Legislature, to which he was elected that year. Owing to a technicality he was unseated, but at the new election ordered he was triumphantly vindicated, receiving a majority of 900 votes. In 1884 he was made superintendent of the schools at Norfolk and. acted as such until 1886. Two years later he was elected mayor of Norfolk, and held that office until March, 1890, when he resigned to accept the office of United States collector of the port of Norfolk, which office he now holds.

Mr. Banks was married, January 15, 1863, to Miss Nannie M. Argyle, daughter of Thom- as Argyle, a planter of Goochland County, Virginia. They have had one child, who died in infancy.

Richard G. Banks, our subject's father, was born in Essex County. Virginia, in 1802. He was a graduate of the medical department of the University of Maryland, and began the

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.

practice of his profession in 1823. at Hampton, Virginia, where he remained until the breaking out of the war. He was then put in charge of a hospital at Portsmouth, Virginia, and afterward transferred to Richmond, in the same capacity, where he continued until the close of the struggle. He then went to Balti- more, Maryland, where he practiced medicine until his death, in 1870. He was married, in 1821, to Mathilda E. Dewees, daughter of Andrew Dewees, a prominent merchant of Baltimore. They had five sons, as follows : William Wallace, Henry T., Andrew Dewees, E. A. and Richard G. William Wallace was a surgeon in the United States Army, who re- signed after the Mexican War, and was ap- pointed consul to Mexico, where he married the daughter of the Governor of Zacatecas, and where his death occurred in 1859, at the age of 36 years. Henry T. was born in 1827, and is now living in Washington. D. C. Andrew Dewees, born in 1834. was the first editor, in connection with Roger A. Pryor, of the South- side Democrat, published at Petersburg, and was afterward editor of the Cincinnati En- quirer ; in 1857 he was defeated as the Demo- cratic candidate for clerk of the National House of Representatives by General Cullom. In 1858 he was, with General Stedman. elected public printer, and during the Confederate War was adjutant general on the staff of Gen. J. E. Johnston, by whom he was held as a warm and trusted friend. He died in 1881. E. A., who was born in 1838, was a lawyer and was educated at the University of Virginia. He went to Alabama in 1858, locating at Mont- gomery, where he edited the Montgomery Con- federation until the opening of the Confederate War, when he entered the Confederate Army and was made captain and afterward paymaster at New Orleans. After the evacuation of that city by the Confederate forces he was raised to the rank of major and assigned to General Lovell's staff. and then to General Pemberton's, where he served until the close of the war. In company with General Loring he went into

business in New Orleans, and died there in 1868. The youngest son is Richard G., whose namie heads this sketch. The mother of this family died in 1845.

George W. Banks, grandfather of Major Banks, was a native of Essex County, Virginia. He practiced law in his native county during his mature years, was a member of the County Court, and succeeded to the office of high sher- iff ; he was a major in the War of 1812. He married Miss Baughan, and died in 1842. The great-grandfather was also a native of Essex County, and was a planter by occupation. The great-great-grandfather was born in England, and upon coming to America located in Vir- ginia. where he died. The maternal ancestors of Mr. Banks were French ; one of the family was Mr. Dewees, of Philadelphia, a well-known medical writer.

OHN J. BURROUGHS, who is a mem- ber of the firm of Burroughs Broth- ers, attorneys-at-law, at Norfolk, Vir- ginia, was born at Princess Anne Court House. Virginia, April 22, 1841, and is a son of John J. and Ann ( Nim- mo) Burroughs. His father was deputy clerk at Norfolk when a young man, and later re- moved to Princess Anne Court House, Vir- ginia, where he was clerk of courts for 40 years.

John J. Burroughs, the subject of this sketch, was reared and educated in his native county. He attended Prof. William R. Galt's private school, and Lynchburg College. He left college to enlist at Norfolk, Virginia, in "Old Company F." but was transferred to the Western Department. He was soon promoted to the office of lieutenant of artillery and served gallantly to the close of the war. After the war was over Mr. Burroughs decided to take up the profession of law, and accordingly be- gan the study with his brother. Hon. William H. Burroughs. With faithful attention and

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close application to his chosen duties he soon fitted himself for his profession and was admit- ted to the bar in 1866. He had had some exper- ience in his father's office. Mr. Burroughs at once began to practice at Princess Anne Court House, where he remained a short time. He soon decided that a larger field would be pre- ferable, and in January, 1869, removed to Nor- folk where he entered into partnership with his brother, who was then practicing in that city. The firm name was Burroughs Brothers, and remains so to this day. The brothers have practiced together since 1869 with the excep- tion of eight years. during which time William H. Burroughs was judge of the Corporation Court of Norfolk City. The firm has a large general practice and stands foremost among prominent law firms of Norfolk. In 1894 John J. Burroughs was elected police justice, and served as such one term.

Mr. Burroughs was united in marriage with Eliza Moore of Wythe County, Virginia. She died when very young. He married, secondly, M. May Baker, a daughter of Richard H. Baker, of Norfolk, and they have three chil- dren living, namely : Richard Hansford, Hugh May and Benjamin Baker.

Mr. Burroughs is a member of the Bar As- sociation of Virginia: the Pickett-Buchannan Camp, Confederate Veterans; and the A. F. & A. M. He is a man of scholarly attainments, a deep student, and is endowed with all the qualities which go to make a good lawyer.

D LOWENBERG. The history of Norfolk City and vicinity would not be complete without a brief outline of the activities of such a man as the one whose name heads this sketch. David Lowenberg was born in Wurtemberg, Ger- many. October 25. 1839. He was educated in his native city, and came to America in 1855, landing at New York. Soon after he went to Asheville, North Carolina, and lived in Golds- boro for three years, engaged in the general

merchandise trade. In 1860 he went to Green- ville, South Carolina, where lie was engaged in business until the war broke out; he volun- teered as a private in the 16th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry, commanded by Colonel El- liott, with which he served until the fall of 1864. After leaving the army he located in Norfolk, and engaged in business with his brother, J. B. Lowenberg, the partnership con- tinuing until 1872. Then Mr. Jacob Hecht and A. F. Jacobs, brothers-in-law, were taken into the firm, and a wholesale business was es- tablished under the firm name of Lowenberg, Jacobs & Company. This company existed un- til 1879. when Mr. Jacobs withdrew, and Low- enberg Brothers & Company continued the business. Mr. Lowenberg withdrew from the company in 1886, and devoted himself for the next year to crecting a large block of business houses, and establishing the D. Lowenberg Boot & Shoe Company, which is now the larg- est and best store in the city of Norfolk.

Mr. Lowenberg was president of the Tide- water Investment & Trust Company during its existence, and is now president of the Norfolk Knitting & Cotton Manufacturing Company. He erected the Chesapeake Knitting Mills and the Lowenberg Knitting Mills, and is treas- urer of the South Norfolk Development Com- pany, and of the Southwest Virginia Mineral Land Company. He is president of the At- lantic Improvement Company, and of the Vir- ginia Realty Company; treasurer of the Nor- folk Investment Company: a director in the Norfolk National Bank and the Norfolk Bank for Savings & Trusts ; vice-president and gen- eral manager of the Norfolk-Hampton Roads Company; secretary-treasurer and general manager of the Portsmouth Improvement Company ; president of the South Norfolk Belt Line Improvement Company ; secretary and treasurer of the American Contracting Company, and of the Commonwealth Realty Company; and president of the Monticello Realty Company and the Norfolk & Atlantic Terminal Company.

SAMUEL BUCHANAN HUTCHINS.

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Mr. Lowenberg was married March 5. 1865. to Cecelia Hecht, daughter of Rev. Jo- seph Hecht, who was pastor of the Norfolk Street Congregational Church in New York City for 21 years, and later lived in Norfolk. They have four children, named as follows: Minnie D., wife of .A. E. Camp of Norfolk ; and Benjamin. Jacob and Harry L., of Nor- folk.

It can be truly said that Mr. Lowenberg de- votes himself to the best interests of Norfolk, where he is one of most public spirited citi- zens, and is always ready to lead off in any works of public improvement.

HE NORFOLK BANK FOR SAV- INGS & TRUSTS, one of the young- est banking institutions of Norfolk, has been a prominent factor in the commercial affairs of the city. Al- though a savings bank, primarily, it has been particularly successful in handling large estates in a fiduciary capacity. Among its officers and directors are numbered many of the substantial business men of the city, men of prestige in other lines of business,-giving it an advantage which has placed it in the foremost ranks of the banking concerns of Virginia.

The Norfolk Bank for Savings & Trusts was organized in 1893 under a liberal charter granted by the Virginia Legislature, and was opened for business on August 2nd of that year. It was particularly fortunate in having at its head C. G. Ramsay, a man of great abil- ity, who was well known in the circles of finance not only in this country, but in foreign countries as well. Owing to the death of Mr. Ramsay, in February, 1894, C. W. Grandy was elected president and served until 1901, when Caldwell Hardy succeeded him in that office. Mr. Grandy is now vice-president, and W. W. Vicar is cashier. The directors are: J. G. Womble. D. Lowenberg. DeCourcy W. Thom. Henry Kirn, Caldwell Hardy, R. Page Waller,

J. N. Vanghan, R. Lancaster Williams, M. L. T. Davis, Thomas R. Ballentine, C. A. Wood- ard. W. H. White, G. L. Arps. C. Billups. T. 11. Willcox, William M. Whaley, C. W. Grandy, A. P. Thom, W. W. Vicar, Thomas Townsend, G. M. Serpell, C. Brooks Johnston and F. C. Fosburgh. The bank was organized with a capital stock of $250.000, which was later reduced to $100.000. Its policy from the beginning has been a progressively conserva- tive one, following the lines of legitimate bank- ing as practiced by the best institutions of its kind in the country. That this course has met with the approval of the community is attested by the fact that during the eight years of its existence it has been entrusted with over $2 .- 500,000 of the savings of the people, besides having done a large and increasing business in its commercial, trusts and safe deposit de- partmenis. The business of this bank is classi- fied and conducted under four distinct heads, namely: The savings department, the com- mercial department, the trusts department, and the safe deposit department. Separate systems of accounts are kept, so that each department is complete in itself. It acts as trustee, guar- dian, executor and administrator, and has su- perior facilities for handling estates. The ad- vantages of a corporation as trustee, or in other fiduciary relations, lie in its ability, absolute safety, and in the fact that the corporation will outlive the trust. We may say that the won- dlerful success of the Norfolk Bank for Sav- ings & Trusts is due almost wholly to the abil- ity of its officers, and the confidence they have inspired in the people.

AMUEL BUCHANAN HUTCHINS, a well-known contractor and builder of Portsmouth, Norfolk County. Virginia, whose portrait appears herewith, was born in that city in 1855. He is a son of George Hutchins. George Hutchins was employed in the Gos-

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port Navy Yard at Portsmouth, having re- moved to that city when a young man. He was a Democrat and very active in politics. He died in 1857. George Hutchins married Mar- garet F. Taylor. a daughter of Moses Taylor, one of the earliest settlers of South Ports- mouth. Before his death and prior to the breaking out of the Confederate War, Moses Taylor was foreman of the riggers at the Navy Yard. Margaret F. (Taylor) Hutchins died December 18, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. George Hutchins were blessed with 10 children, all of whom are residents of Portsmouth or its vi- cinity. They are as follows: Medora (Lum- ber), of Newport News; Virginia ( Thomas) ; Emily (Myers) ; Alameda ; Samuel Buchanan : R. A., who is city collector of Portsmouth ; George W., who was a contractor, and is now deceased; Mary; Margaret; and Olivia, de- ceased.

Samuel Buchanan Hutchins attended the public schools of Portsmouth, and at the age of 14 years he was apprenticed to John T. West to learn the trade of a house carpenter. With the exception of two years spent as clerk in his brother's grocery, he has continued in that business ever since. He commenced con- tracting for himself 13 years ago, and his work has been mainly the building of houses. He is a fine mechanic, and there is no better con- tractor in Norfolk County. He has become widely known in Portsmouth, and the neigh- boring towns, and his work is always of the highest order. Mr. Hutchins has erected some of the finest homes in Portsmouth, and at pres- ent has under contract the building of the Court Street Baptist Church, and the Central Meth- odist Episcopal Church, South. He has erected many churches and public buildings. In 1901 he built the Port Norfolk Baptist Church. He stands higli as a contractor and is a man of good business ability. He devotes all of his attention to his business, and is always ready to take advantage of the newest ideas to facili- tate his work.

Mr. Hutchins married Ida V. Noel. a

daughter of Capt. Robert Noel. Of nine chil- dren born to this union, four are deceased. Those living are as follows: S. B., Jr., who assists his father ; Lucille ; Alice ; Alameda ; and Christopher. Mr. Hutchins is deeply interested in politics, but has never cared to accept office, having refused a nomination to the City Count- cil. He is a member of the following fraternal organizations : Portsmouth Lodge, No. 16. Knights of Pythias ; the Masonic order ; Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks; Royal Ar- canum: National Union ; and Royal Tribe of Joseph. He is a member of the Fourth Street Baptist Church, which his mother helped to or- ganize.

ON. WILLIAM H. BURROUGHS, who has been prominent on the bench and at the bar of Norfolk County, Virginia, since 1854, was born at Princess Anne Court Ilouse, Virginia, February 20, 1832. He at- tended school there, and was graduated from the William and Mary Military College, at Williamsburg, in 1851. He then taught school in that academy until 1853, when he took up the study of law, and was graduated and ad- mitted to the bar in 1854.

Mr. Burroughs opened practice at Prin- cess Anne Court House, where he remained until 1859, when he went to Jacksboro, Ten- nessce. He practiced law there until the war- broke out, when he enlisted in Churchwell's regiment, known as the Ist Tennessee Regi- ment. He was soon promoted to the position of captain of the '3rd Regiment, Tennessee Ar- tillery, and served in that capacity until the close of the war, in Eastern Tennessee. Ken- tucky and Southwestern Virginia.

In 1866 Mr. Burroughs returned to Prin- cess Anne Court House, Virginia, where he resumed his practice. He removed to Nor- folk in 1869, and entered into partnership with his brother, J. J. Burroughs. In 1870 he was elected judge of the Corporation Court, and

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served in that capacity until January, 1877. when he resumed his general practice, in which he has been so successful. In 1877 he wrote and published a book on "Taxation, Federal and State," and in 1881 he published a book on "Public Securities, including Municipal Bonds." These works have been highly com- mended.

Mr. Burroughs is a member of the Masonic and several other orders. He is well known in legal circles in Norfolk County, and this sec- tion of Virginia, and is a lawyer of much talent. He has a large general practice, having met with more than ordinary success in his profession.

ALDWELL HARDY has been identi- fied with the banking interests of Norfolk, Virginia, for more than 25 years, and his great executive ability has gained recognition far beyond the confines of his own State. He is president of the Norfolk National Bank and the Norfolk Bank for Savings & Trusts, and vice-president of the American Bankers' Association, made up of bankers of the United States. He is one of the city's most highly esteemed and honored capitalists, and has been identified with many commercial enterprises and the general develop- ment of Norfolk.

The Norfolk National Bank is one of the most stable financial institutions of the South. The prestige it enjoys is amply illustrated by the following clipping from "The Banker, Mer- chant and Manufacturer." of Chicago and New York: "Of the several Southern cities visited by your correspondent during the past few months, there is certainly none whose peo- ple have more reason to take pride in their banking institutions than those of Norfolk. Virginia. The banks of this city are not only provided with thoroughly adequate capital, but are also judiciously managed on a broad and at the same time conservative basis. They pro- vide. too, for the merchants and business men

generally, the most ample banking facilities and accommodations. The finances of the banks of Norfolk are managed with circum- spection, economy and ability, and in this re- spect the city has an enviable reputation. One of them whose resources, amount of business and gratifying condition entitles it to consid- eration as one of the strongest and most ably managed institutions of the South is the Nor- folk National Bank, which from the date of its organization has enjoyed a career of unin- terrupted progress and prosperity which well attests the foresight, conservatism and ability which have characterized the guidance of its affairs. The men who have been identified with the management of this bank have always been representative of Norfolk's largest and most important interests, as business men. capitalists and financiers. The Norfolk National Bank has passed through every season of financial stringency which has afflicted the country at large, from the date of its establishment, with stability unshaken and credit unimpaired, and retaining the implicit confidence of all whose names have been inscribed upon its books. It is a well recognized rule among financiers that the volume of deposits in a given bank constitute trustworthy criterion of the confidence reposed by the community in the management of such bank. How high, then, must be the confidence reposed in the management of the Norfolk National, continued under the same guidance for many years, when they are able to report such a line of deposits as $2.750.000. It seems almost needless to say that in respect to the conservatism of its management this bank is not excelled by any contemporary institution of the country; but it may be added that its conservatism has always been tempered by a judicious liberality. Giving no encouragement to ventures of a speculative character, this bank has ever been prompt to support enterprises di- rected along the paths of industrial develop- ment and legitimate commerce. The Norfolk National is a designated United States deposi- tary, carries the accounts of many of the lead-

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ing merchants and manufacturers of Norfolk. and enjoys every facility for transacting all business entrusted to its care, with promptness and at minimum expense. In conclusion we need only say that in inviting correspondence this bank offers inducements to those to whom banking facilities of a superior order are essen- tial, which can not fail to compel favorable consideration."

The building now occupied by the Norfolk National Bank was built in 1850, and for many years was occupied by the Exchange Bank of Virginia, which went into liquidation as the result of the Confederate War. The Norfolk National Bank was organized August 1, 1885. In 1893 they built on to the rear of the building and made many desirable improve- ments throughout. Every facility known to latter day banking has been added and its quar- ters are elaborately furnished. The first floor is entirely given up to the carrying on of the banking business. On the second floor are the directors' room, the clerks' closets and toilet rooms, and also a storage room. A unique and pleasing feature of this institution is to be found on the third floor, consisting of a din- ing room and kitchen, maintained for the ben- efit of employees. An excellent cuisine is pro- vided and a fine dinner is furnished every after- noon at three o'clock. The original officers of this bank were C. G. Ramsay, president ; C. W. Grandy, vice-president; and Caldwell Hardy, cashier. Upon the death of Mr. Ram- say, February 11. 1894. Mr. Grandy became president and Colonel George Tait, vice-pres- ident. On April 1, 1895. Mr. Grandy having cleclined re-election as president, J. G. Womble was elected to that position and Mr. Grandy was re-elected vice-president. Mr. Womble retired from the presidency in 1899, and Cald- well Hardy succeeded to the presidency, A. B. Schwarzkopf, formerly assistant cashier, being inade cashier. The directors of the bank are: C. W. Grandy: M. L. T. Davis, of M. L. T. Davis & Company; W. D. Rountree, of W. D. Rountree & Company ; William H. White ;

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History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 119

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1054

Author: Stewart, William H. (William Henry), 1838-1912
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1054