History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 99

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 99

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EORGE A. FRICK. a popular at- torney-at-law of Norfolk. Virginia. is largely interested in the develop- ment of the city and vicinity. being secretary of the Virginia Beach De- velopment Company. with offices at No. 407. in the Citizens' Bank Building.

The Virginia Beach Development Com- pany was formed in 1900. by A. M. Jordan. James S. Groves. C. E. Lent and George A. Frick. Mr. Jordan was elected president ;

Mr. Groves, vice-president and manager ; Mr. Lent. treasurer : and Mr. Frick, secretary and attorney. This company purchased about 1.500 acres of land in Princess Anne County, Virginia, from the Norfolk. Virginia Beach & Southern Railroad Company. This tract was known as Virginia Beach, and being immedi- ately laid out in building lots and otherwise improved. makes a very desirable location for permanent homes. It is located 18 miles from the city of Norfolk .- a 25 minutes ride .- 10 trains being run daily. The climate is all that could be desired. the close proximity of the Gulf Stream makes the winters mild and genial. and as a summer resort it is unequaled by any other place on the Atlantic coast. The ocean breeze tempers the air along the lovely driveways for miles on a hard beach or on a shell road amidst pine trees, where the air is redolent with the perfume of beautiful South- ern Howers and fragrant with the odor of the pines.

As a bathing resort Virginia Beach is un- surpassed along the eastern coast. and unless the winter season proves particularly inclem- ent. salt water bathing is indulged in the year round. The conveniences and accommoda- tions of the Princess Anne Hotel, which is both beautiful and modern in design. together with many available cottages. have done much to popularize the place. and boating. fishing. shooting. golf. etc .. are among the many pastimes which cause the seasons to pass rap- idly in this lovely place. In addition to these. many fine building lots have been sold. and handsome residences have been built therech for permanent homes. The coming season will witness the erection of several more fine. modern cottages. the plans having beer. already drawn. As secretary. Mr. Frick has de- voted much of his time and energy to further- ing the success of this enterprise.

Mr. Frick is a native of Baltimore. Mary- land. where he grew to manhood and attended various schools. He subsequently entered St. John's College at Annapolis, from which he

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graduated in 1880. He was then engaged in teaching for a couple of years, during which time he also studied law. Later he was ad- mitted to the bar, and in 1887 went to Shelby. North Carolina, where he was engaged in the practice of his chosen profession until Novem- ber 11, 1897, when he located in Norfolk, Vir- ginia. After practicing law in that city for a short time he became associated with J. F. Duncan, and together they carried on a general law practice, acting also as corporation law- yers. This firin did a very successful business until 1900, when it was dissolved by mutual consent, and since then Mr. Frick has prac- ticed alone. He is counselor and advisor for several corporations of Norfolk, is attorney for the Chautauqua-by-the-Sea Assembly, and the Atlantic Light & Water Company, which furnishes light and water for Virginia Beach. He is also advisor for the Southern Amuse- ment Company, of Virginia Beach.

Mr. Frick has taken an unusual interest in the welfare and development of Norfolk and is looked upon as one of her most progressive citizens.

EORGE T. POWELL, captain of the tug-boat "Helen," at Newport News, Virginia, is an expert seaman and experienced navigator, having spent many years as a mariner, the first years of his nautical career having been passed on sailing vessels alone.

Mr. Powell was born in Mathews County. Virginia. December 26, 1866, both of his parents being natives of the same county. He is a son of John B. Powell, who has also fol- lowed the life of a mariner. He was a mem- ber of the Baptist Church. His wife, whose maiden name was Bettie Marchant, passed to her rest when George T. was about three years old, leaving five children, as follows: Edward E., of Texas; Napoleon B., of Middlesex County, Virginia ; George T., to whom this biography is devoted; John, who is deceased;

and Jane, the wife of Ellis S. Dunton, of Lan- caster County, Virginia. It is a remarkable coincidence that these sons all followed in the footsteps of their father and chose a life on the water, while the daughter married a man who was also a mariner.

George T. Powell was united in marriage with Josephine Gray, a daughter of Edward and Zura Gray, the ceremony being performed April 28, 1892. Mrs. Powell is a native of Norfolk County. Two children blessed this union, namely: William T., born in May, 1893; and Susan J., born in June, 1895. The family are somewhat divided in religious opinion, the Captain being a Baptist and his wife a Methodist.

Captain Powell obtained his mental train- ing in the public schools of Mathews County, where he studied diligently during his early youth. Six months after leaving school he began his maritime career, first working in the capacity of cook on small sailing vessels and afterward becoming a mate. When but 17 years old he was the proud owner of a sloop, the "Edwin," then used in oyster fishing. which business Captain Powell filled for a period of eight years. In 1884 he took charge of the pungy known as the "Flying Arrow." About a year later he began steamboating, and worked first on the tug "Kate Cannon" as cook, which position he filled for two years and some months. He subsequently served nine months as mate on the "Sam Johnson," captain of the "Maid of the Mist." and later captain of the "Baby." The following six years were spent in the employ of the Cannon firm on Lambert's Point, as captain, after which he served three years with Captain Fitchett, as mate, and 10 months on the tug "Portsmouth," of the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk line. For the past five years Cap- tain Powell has been in the employ of the Chesapeake & Ohio line, at Newport News, as captain of several of its vessels, being at the present time in command of the tugboat "Helen," as before mentioned. .

Very truly gruesos

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Captain Powell is a member of Atlantic Council, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and of Harbor No. 9. Association of Masters & Pilots of Steam Vessels of the United States. He affiliates also with Atlan- tic Lodge, No. 51. I. O. O. F., and Massa- soit Tribe. No. 77, I. O. R. M.

UGH GORDON MILLER. a brilliant young attorney-at-law of Norfolk. Virginia, whose portrait appears on the opposite page, has had a meteoric career in the field of national politics. being well known and frequently entertained in most of the large cities of the United States.

Mr. Miller was born in Norfolk, March 2. 1875. and is a son of M. S. and Fannie Vir- ginia (Harrison) Miller, of North Carolina. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish, and on his mother's side he is descended directly from the Gordon clan of Scotland so celebrated in history. He was a mere youth when he removed to Princess Anne County. Vir- ginia, with his parents, and there resided for several years. He returned to Nor- folk in 1882, after taking a course of study under a private instructor. A few years later he entered the law office of George McIn- tosh and for two years pursued the study of law. While Judge Brooke was on the bench, he appointed Mr. Miller deputy clerk of the courts and assigned him to duty in the Cor- poration Court, where he was given charge of the court proceedings. Judge Hanckel was elected to succeed Judge Brooke, and Mr. Mil- Jer was continued in his old position. March 20. 1896, he was admitted to the bar in Nor- folk, and at once resigned the office of deputy clerk of court and entered upon the active prac- tice of his profession, since which time he has been almost constantly engaged in important litigation. As a trial lawyer he has been espe- cially successful. In 1896, he received the nomination of the Reform party, which was ,

then in power, for the office of city attorney, but declined it. At the November term. 1898, he was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States by special order of the court, being perhaps the youngest advocate who ever appeared before that august tribunal, and in the argument of the Anderson habeas corpus case the United States Supreme Court by unanimous consent extended the usual time allowed an advocate in order that he might concluide his argument in the case. He is also probably the youngest man ever so honored by that body.

Members of the Supreme Court and De- partment of Justice have since pronounced Mr. Miller's argument on that occasion a notable effort. His reputation as an orator goes be- vond local lines, and his name has frequently been mentioned in connection with the Repub- lican nomination for Congress. He has al- ways taken an active part in political affairs, being independent locally and a Republican on national issues. One of Mr. Miller's most notable speeches was made for the Reform ele- ment of the "City Administration," at the Academy of Music in Norfolk on April II, 1900, in a joint debate with Judge East. The speech has since been published in pamphlet form. He stumped the State with Senator Henderson for McKinley and sound money in 1896: also in the Congressional campaign of 1898 and the gubernatorial campaign of 1902. For some time he has been assistant United States attorney. although he keeps his private offices and cares for his general practice. as senior member of the law firm of Miller & Cole- man.

Mr. Miller bears a national reputation as an orator since his celebrated tour of the Northern and Eastern cities for McKinley and Roosevelt in 1900. He was recognized as one of the national stars in that campaign, and. be- sides filling a great many of the most important assignments made by the Republican National Committee spoke jointly on various occasions with Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage;

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Hon. Jacob Gould Schurman of the first Phil- ippine Commission and president of Cornell University ; Hon, James M. Beck, Ist assistant attorney general of the United States; Hon. John K. Richards, solicitor general; Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, Hon. Murat Halstead, Mr. Fairchild, and others of national reputa- tion. This extract from the report of Mr. Mil- ler's first appearance in the metropolis of the United States, is taken from the New York Sun of October 16, 1900:

"Senator Depew was to have been the chief speaker of the Republican mass meeting at Camp Mckinley, 125th street and Seventh ave- nue, last night. The Senator was called to New Haven at noon, however, and in his place the National Committee sent a young lawyer from Norfolk, Virginia, named Hugh Gordon Miller. It was said the young man was a dis- covery of United States Senator Scott. No matter who discovered him, he is the real thing in the way of an orator. He stirred up the audience of 8,000 or 10,000 ine1l and women to a pitch of enthusiasm not often seen in political meetings. It remind- ed one of the reception given to Bourke Cochran's speech when he demolished Bryan in Madison Square Garden four years ago. When the speech was concluded the audi- ence, led by a man with an American flag, surged forward to shake hands with the beard- less youth from Virginia. This interfered with the rest of the speaking, and General Greene, who presided, cut it short. The crowd waited' until the orator left the tent by the stage en- trance in 125th street. There he was almost mobbed. They cheered him and followed him all the way to the elevated station." (Then followed a report of the speech. )

Mr. Miller made 12 speeches in New York City alone, had great audiences always, and was everywhere received with the greatest en- thusiasm. The Speakers' Bureau of the Na- tional Executive Committee gave Mr. Miller great credit for arousing the overconfident voters in that memorable campaign, especially

in the pivotal States of New York and New Jersey. In this, as in the other four campaigns in which Mr. Miller had stumped his native State, he gave his services to his party without charge.

On the 20th of October, 1900, Mr. Miller after a noted speech was carried out of the building down Broadway at Worth street in New York on the shoulders of many of the audience and such Associated Press dispatches as the following have naturally made him cele- brated as an orator :

NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, Oct. 28, 1900.

The Republicans of this city are still talking of a remarkable tribute spontaneously paid to an orator who came to this city as an entire stranger last week. He was Hugh Gordon Miller, of Virginia, who is on the staff of speakers of the national committee. Mr. Miller came here to speak at a rally of the Young Men's Republican Club. He is only 25 years old, and many of the spectators stared in surprise when they saw what a

stripling he was. The young man's eloquence, however, kept his audience on their feet, and once, after a particu- larly effective burst, they rushed forward and swarmed over the platform, cheering. At the close of the meeting the members of the Young Men's Club carried the speaker from the hall on their shoulders. The crowd followed his carriage to the hotel and would not be satis- fied until he had addressed them again.

Not content with this, the Club lined up several hundred strong in front of the hotel at noon, when Mr. Miller took his departure, unhitched the horses from the barouche and dragged the vehicle to the depot, and was hailed by the throng as the next Governor of Virginia and the future President of the United States.

Mr. Miller was the civil aide from Virginia on the grand marshal's staff at the Mckinley Inauguration and enjoyed the friendship of that great statesman. He was one of the repre- sentatives of the city of Norfolk at the Nash- ville Centennial and made a speech for the dele- gation. Through the appointment of Gov. J. Hoge Tyler, he was a delegate to the great industrial convention at Philadelphia in 1901. | He was guest of honor and one of the principal speakers at the great Lincoln Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York in February, 1901, the speech on that notable occasion being afterward published in book form along with those of Senator Hanna, Senator Depew, Whitelaw Reid and others, and was the princi-

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pal speaker of the Middlesex Club in Boston at the Grant Dinner in April, 1901. He was one of the principal speakers at the Editors' & Au- thors' Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the summer of 1901 ; was one of the speakers with Governor. Shaw and others at the great ban- quet in Philadelphia in 1901. and also with General Wheeler at the same place in January, 1902; and has been entertained at banquets in most of the large cities of this country. Mr. Miller's latest speech was in reply to the toast of "Lincoln and Lee" a short while ago, with Governor Murphy and General Grosvenor and others as speakers, at the annual banquet of the original Lincoln Association in New Jer- sey. Mr. Miller's tribute to Lee was eloquent and enthusiastically received everywhere in the North. Mr. Miller has accepted an invitation from the famous Grant Club of Des Moines. Iowa, the most powerful political organization in the West, to be their speaker at the Grant Dinner in April.

Mr. Miller enjoys the confidence of the men who control the affairs of the Nation. It is well known that President Mckinley thought very highly of him personally as well as polit- ically, and it is believed he occupies the same relation with President Roosevelt. He has the warm and unqualified endorsement of the na- tional as well as State organization of his party. and has been frequently suggested of late for United States district attorney, and at Washington for assistant attorney general of the United States. Mr. Miller has never been a candidate for any position outside of his pro- fession, in which he stands high in his State.

C HURMER HOGGARD, who still maintains the homestead in Princess Anne County, Virginia, established by his great-grandfather in 1670, in which numerous of his ancestors were born, is a true representative of the type of Southern gentleman which predominated in ante-bellum days, famed for courtesy of man-

ner and hospitality in entertainment. He is a gentleman of wide acquaintance and his life has been one of great activity.

The Hoggard family is of English extrac- tion, a Thurmer Hoggard having come from that country to Princess Anne County, Vir- ginia, where he purchased several hundred acres of land about 1670. There he built a large and very substantial house of brick, thought to have been brought from England. The house has since stood and is in an excel- lent state of preservation ; the mortar is yet like stone and there is not a crack in the thick walls. The old fireplace and mantels have since been used and remain in their original state. A large, spacious hall runs through the center of the house, and the ceilings are un- usually high. Paintings of the family from an early period down to the present time adorn the walls. Gigantic oaks ornament the yard surrounding this grand old home, and also in- numerable pecan trees. Here Thurmer Hog- gard lived in a stirring period of colonial days. He purchased more land and engaged in the culture of tobacco, a product which in those days was used as a medium of exchange. The minister was paid in tobacco, and the necessaries of life were purchased with it. Ships came over from England with brick aboard for ballast, and returned laden with to- bacco. Thurmer Hoggard lived and died on this old estate. They had the following children : Thurmer, Joseph and Susan, all of whom died young; and Nathaniel, Mary, Susan (2), Diana and Elizabeth, all of whom grew to ma- turity. Each of the children was left an estate, and Nathaniel, the only living son, in- herited the homestead and 500 acres of land. To this he later added, by purchase, about 300 acres on either side, making, all told, 1.000 acres in one body, besides other property owned by him in the county.

Nathaniel Hoggard was a ship-builder and a farmer. He served as an officer in the Revo- lutionary War, and the sword he carried now adorns the wall of the home in which he was

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born and lived. During the war he built two merchant brigs and when the British came they burned them while on the ways and the keels still lie there. The channel of Broad Creek was then about 15 feet deep, while at the pres- ent time it is not more than five feet. Mr. Hoggard owned many slaves and engaged in cotton raising on an extensive scale, giving attention also to other produce. He died a middle-aged man. He married Mary Gard- ner, and their children were as follows: Mar- garet ; Susan; Joseph; Thurmer; John; and Nathaniel.

Thurmer Hoggard, son of Nathaniel and Mary (Gardner) Hoggard, inherited the old homestead, on which he was born about 1785. He assisted his father for a time and was county clerk when the Court House was at Kempsville, and also after its removal to its present situation. He was a vestryman of the Protestant Episcopal Church at the time of his death. He furnished lumber for the Gosport Navy Yard from the forests of Virginia and North Carolina, most of it being hand-hewed. He died in 1835. He married Harriet Hard- ing, by whom he had the following children : Nathaniel: Mary; Harriet; Margaret ; and Thurmer, the subject of this biography.

Thurmer Hoggard, son of Thurmer and Harriet (Harding) Hoggard, was born Jan- vary 14. 1814. in the old home which he in- herited upon the death of his father, and in which he has always lived. He owns and con- ducts a farm of 270 acres of choice land, and has been prominent in the affairs of his com- munity. He served as a magistrate before and after the Confederate War, and was county treasurer one term. He has been a vestryman of the Protestant Episcopal Church since he was 24 years of age, and has in his charge the communion service of solid silver which was used in the first Episcopal service in this vicilt- ity. He uses on his table the silver spoons and plates brought from England by his great- grandfather, and also uses the table, chairs and other furniture, which have been well kept.

He has the Episcopal records of the parish, be- ginning with November 20, 1723. He is pos- sessed of many excellent traits of character and a pleasing personality, and to his many friends his home is always a place of welcome. He married Elizabeth F. Cornick, and they had the following children: Thurmer H .: Horatio C .: Margaret, deceased; Mary ; Thomas J .; and Fanny. His wife and help- meet, who shared the joys and sorrows of his life for so many years, died about 1889. The two daughters and one son, Thurmer H., make their home with their father.

HORATIO C. HOGGARD Was born in 1846 on his father's plantation, and there grew to ma- turity. He erected a residence adjoining the home of his father, in which he has since lived and carried on agricultural pursuits. At the age of 16 years, with the permission of his father, he enlisted in Company I, 15th Vir- ginia Battalion, and served throughout the war. In 1886 he opened a real-estate office in Norfolk, and later admitted his brother. Thomas J., into partnership, and they dealt extensively in city, suburban and State prop- erty until 1901. Then they dissolved partner- ship, and Mr. Hoggard admitted two of his sons. H. C., Jr., and H. P., the firm name re- maining as before. He has also been associ- ated with building and loan associations.

THOMAS J. HOGGARD, who is engaged in the real estate business in Norfolk, was born on the family homestead in Princess Anne County, Virginia, in 1852. He was reared on the plantation and attended the Norfolk Acad- emy. He then became general yardmaster of the Norfolk & Western Railway, and contin- med as such for nine years. In 1886 he re- signed the position and engaged in the real estate business with Horatio C. Hoggard, a partnership which was dissolved in July, 1901, since which time Thomas J. Hoggard has con- tinued alone. He makes large sales, princi- pally to parties residing outside of the city of Norfolk, although he handles considerable city property.

Ja . I Read, ma ,

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D R. JAMES TERRELL REDD. whose portrait accompanies this sketch, was born at the old family seat. "Buena Vista." in Henrico County, Virginia. December 31, 1863. Even as a child. he was noted for his intense devotion to study. his power of mental concentration, and his genius for mathematics.

He took his degree of Master of Arts at Richmond College. where he was afterward professor of mathematics for awhile. Feeling that medicine, and more especially surgery, was his vocation, he entered the Medical College of Virginia, where he graduated in 1895 with the highest honors, winning the alumni medal. He also won the prize on surgery and two others out of a possible six, tying on the fifth. He was also offered a professorship in the college. Dr. Upshur. in delivering the medals, said : "In the 59 years this college has been running. it has never before turned out such a man."

Dr. Redd practiced his profession for a short time in Richmond, and then, having a strong predilection for country life, removed to Churchland, Norfolk County, where he has built up a large practice and won the confidence and affection of the community. He is assisted in his work by his brother and partner. Dr. Paul E. Redd, who graduated at the same time from the same medical college. and who mar- ried. in 1897. Mattic Livesay of Richmond.

Dr. Redd's father was James Taylor Redd. a civil engineer, and for 35 years county sur- veyor of Henrico County. He died April 3. 1898. leaving to his children a heritage of honor, integrity and virtue more precious than gold.

The Redds trace their ancestry, in un- broken line to Sir Rufus de Redde, who came to America with Alexander Spottswood, in 1710. In 1741, he discarded his title and was thereafter known as Rufus Redd. He married Governor Spottswood's niece. Caroline Moore. and founded the Redd family in Virginia. Ed- mund Redd, the grandfather of the subject of

this sketch. married Sophia Burton, whose fa- ther, Thomas Burton, married Clementina Pleasants. The Pleasants line. a fine old Quaker stock, goes back through five genera- tions to John Pleasants, who came from Nor- wich, England, in 1668, and took up enormous grants of land at Curl's Neck, on the James River. James Pleasants, an early governor of Virginia, was of this line. Through the female branches, this line also descends from Sir Tarleton Fleming, second son of the Earl of Wigton, who came to Virginia in 1616, land- ing at Jamestown and settling in New Kent.

Samuel Redd, father of Edmund Redd. above mentioned. married Elizabeth Taylor. whose father, Edmund Taylor, although a mere boy, was a captain in the Revolutionary Army. Edmund Taylor's mother. Anne Lewis, was a daughter of Colonel Charles Lewis, who was mortally wounded while leading the charge at the battle of Point Pleasant. This noted bat- tle. although belonging to "Dunmore's War.' was practically the beginning of the Revolu- tion, and the first blow struck for American liberty. Col. Charles Lewis was a younger brother of the famous and stanch old Indian fighter. Gen. Andrew Lewis. Through the female branches, this line is traced unbroken. by the College of Heraldry, through many noble and several royal personages, to King Alfred the Great of England in 849.

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History of Norfolk County, Virginia : and representative citizens, 1637-1900, Part 99

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