USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > History of Norfolk County, Virginia and representative citizens, V.2 > Part 5
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ON. JAMES F. CROCKER is a na- tive of Isle of Wight County, Vir- ginia, which he represented in the State Legislature before he moved to Portsmouth, in 1856, and formed. with Colonel D. J. Godwin, the well-known firin of Godwin & Crocker. This firm con- tinued until 1880, when Colenel Godwin was elected judge of the Corporation Court of Nor-
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folk City. Mr. Crocker continued alone in the practice of law until 1896, when he formed, with his nephew, Frank L. Crocker, the law firm of Crocker & Crocker. In 1900, at the in- stance of the bar of Portsmouth and Norfolk, he was unanimously elected by the State Legis- lature to the office of judge of the Court of Hustings for the city of Portsmouth.
YNDHAM ROBERTSON MAYO, ex-mayor of the city of Norfolk, and an extensive manu- facturer, was born in Norfolk. April 4, 1844. He is a descendant of one of the early families of Virginia. the Mayos having emigrated from Southern Eng- land in the latter part of the seventeenth cen- tury to Barbadoes Island, and thence to Vir- ginia. Col. William Mayo, the first in the line in the Old Dominion, was associated with Col. William Byrd in locating the boundary of the Colonies of Virginia and North Carolina. In 1728, during the reign of George II, he also surveyed and laid out the site of the city of Richmond, Virginia.
The father of the subject of this sketch was Peter Poythress Mayo, who was born in Pow- hatan County, Virginia, in 1797, and died in 1857. During his active career he was one of the leading attorneys of Norfolk, and once served as Commonwealth's attorney. His wife, Ann Elizabeth Upshur, was a daughter of Littleton Upshur. a planter of Northamp- ton County, Virginia, and a niece of Judge Abel P. Upshur, who was Secretary of War and of the Navy, under President Tyler.
Mr. Mayo received his primary education in the Norfolk Military Academy. at a private institution in Powhatan county, and at Will- iam Dinwiddie's school. in Albemarle County. In 1850 he received the honor of an appoint- ment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He was enrolled there until the spring of 1861, when upon the secession of
Virginia he resigned from the Academy, en- tered the Confederate service, and was as- signed to the navy. He was detailed to bat- tery duty at Pig Point, opposite Newport News, and subsequently at Drewry's Bluff, in repelling the advance of the Federal fleet up the James River. Later he served upon Con- federate iron-clads at Savannah, Charleston and Wilmington, took part in the defense of Fort Fisher. North Carolina, during both of the Federal bombardments and the assault. and afterward served in the batteries below Wil- mington, until the evacuation of that post. He then joined the Army of Northern Virginia, and during the battle of Sailor's Creek was captured and taken to Tohnson's Island, Ohio. Upon his release at the close of the war, he promptly returned to civil life, and shipped be- fore the mast in the merchant service. Soon after entering the service he was promoted to be mate, and subsequently, to be master. .
In 1874 Mr. Mayo was married to a daugh- ter of Commodore Stephen Decatur, of the United States Navy, at Bolton, Massachusetts. In 1877 he settled at Norfolk, and established steam brick works on the banks of the James River. This has been his principal enterprise. and he is still engaged in manufacturing brick.
He has taken a prominent part in social, business and political life, and has frequently participated in various conventions of the Democratic party. Under the first administra- tion of Mr. Cleveland he served as collector of customs for the port of Norfolk and Ports- mouth, and during the years 1896 and 1897 was mayor of the city of Norfolk.
OHN L. WATSON conducts the lead- ing real-estate and insurance agency in the city of Portsmouth. Virginia, and is prominently identified with many of that city's most prominent and successful enterprises. He was born in Norfolk County, Virginia, in 1863, and is a son of James F. Watson.
HON. WILLIAM NATHANIEL PORTLOCK.
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James F. Watson was born in Norfolk County, Virginia, and is now a resident of North Carolina. He was for some years a mechanic, and then turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. He served four years in the Confederate Army. He is of a very re- tiring disposition. His wife is now deceased. Of the large family of children born to them, John L. Watson is the only one residing in Portsmouth.
John L. Watson attended the public schools and the Portsmouth Academy, and entered upon his business career in 1883, as clerk in the office of the Seaboard & Roanoke Railroad Company. He continued with this company for six years, and in that time did some col- lecting. This led to his establishing a collec- tion and rental agency, the first one in the city. He was located in the early years of the busi- ness at different places on High street, but his office for the past 15 years has been at No. 335 High street. He has formed one or two part- nerships in this time, but they have been of short duration. He has dropped the collection feature of his enterprise, and now devotes his entire time to the insurance and rental busi- ness. He was in the real-estate business for a time, but is now acting only in the capacity of agent. He is interested in. and helped to or- ganize, 16 land companies, and was interested in the Portsmouth Street Railway. At the present writing he is interested in the Ports- mouth Electric & Gas Company. He is treas- urer of the Norfolk, Portsmouth & Newport News Railway Company, and vice-president of the Portsmouth Cotton Manufacturing Com- pany, with which he has been identified since its organization. He is a director of tlie Bank of Portsmouth, and has been secretary of the Home Permanent Building Association of Portsmouth since its organization. He founded the last named institution 13 years ago, in his present office, and during the time of its existence nearly a half million dollars of stock has been matured. Mr. Watson has an extensive business and employs five assistants. ] 32
He is chairman of the local board of improve- ments for the Fifth Ward. in which he resides, which has about four miles of sidewalks ; dur- ing the summer of 1901, $50.000 was spent in this ward. He is a Democrat in politics.
Mr. Watson married Mercer Roche, of Portsmouth, who is of Revolutionary stock. Her father was Thomas A. Roche, captain of a company in a New York regiment during the Confederate War, and while in the South he met the mother of Mrs. Watkins in Norfollk County. After the war, they were married and removed to New York, where Mr. Wat- son's wife was born. She was eight years of age when her father died, and she and her mother returned to Portsmouth. Mr. and. Mrs. Watson have three children, Louise,. Mertie and Ralph.
b ON. WILLIAM NATHANIEL PORTLOCK, a very prominent citi- zen of Norfolk County, Virginia, whose portrait is shown on the op- posite page. ha, served on the bench of Norfolk County since 1892, and at the pres- ent time is a member of the Constitutional Con- vention of Virginia, session of 1901-2. He comes of one of the oldest and most prominent families of Norfolk County, his ancestors hav- ing settled in the county early in the seven- teenth century and having been active partici- pants in the Revolutionary War. The subject of this sketch was born on the farm he now owns, and is a son of Franklin Portlock, grandson of Nathaniel Portlock, and great- grandson of William Portlock. The earliest representative of this family came from Eng- land as far back as 1634, and located near what is well known as the "Portlock Estate," in the vicinity of the city of Norfolk. Nathaniel Portlock, grandfather of our subject; was born on this estate, the title to which has been in the family since early colonial days.
Franklin Portlock, the father, was also
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born on the old homestead in 1826, and died in 1896. At the age of 26 years he married and settled on a near-by tract at Great Bridge and followed agricultural pursuits. He was a public-spirited man and took a large share in advancing the interests of his county. He was always an active worker in the Democratic party and served as school trustee for many years and up to the time of his death. He mar- ried Eugenia Herbert Tatem, a daughter of Dr. William Tatem, an eminent physician who practiced medicine for many years in the city and county of Norfolk. Dr. Tatem served in the Legislature of Virginia for several terms, and was instrumental in the change from the Whig to the Democratic admininstration. Eu- genia H. (Tatem) Portlock, the mother of Jndge Portlock, is still living and enjoys the love and esteem of a large circle of relatives and friends who appreciate the many noble qualities with which she is endowed. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Portlock became the parents of the following children: William Nathaniel; Emily A .; Eugenia T., wife of T. W. Butt: Frank L. : Bessie F., wife of C. L. Young ; and a child, Bettie, who died in infancy.
William Nathaniel Portlock was reared on the farm and was a student for several years at Bethel Military Academy, Fauquier County, Virginia. He was elected clerk of the Circuit Court on July 1, 1877. an office he held for seven years. He was at the same time deputy in the city courts of Portsmouth City for a period of six years, commissioner in chancery, commissioner of accounts, and treasurer of Norfolk County and Portsmouth Ferries. He afterward entered the law department of the WUniversity of Virginia. and thereafter prac- ticed his profession in the city of Norfolk, and soon established a successful career. He has had unusual experience in the courts, and has attained a high degree of success as a counsel- lor. . January 1. 1892, he was elected judge of the County Court of this county, and was, without opposition re-elected to that position in 1898. now serving in that capacity. He has a
comprehensive knowledge of legal principles, and his utter impartiality in decisions has gained for him the confidence and good will of the citizens of the county. June 12, 1901. he took his seat as a member of the Constitu- tional Convention convened at Richmond, Vir- ginia, to which position he was nominated and elected by the people of his native county with- out opposition, his nomination as a delegate to that body having been made in the county con- vention by acclamation. The official census of the State indicates that he represented in the Consitutional Convention a larger constituency than any other member of that body.
Judge Portlock is a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, and has always evinced an interest in its personnel and welfare. He lias, since boyhood, enjoyed the confidence and- esteem of the people of his county, who have conferred upon him many positions of trust and emolument.
RANK L. CROCKER, an attorney of Portsmouth, Norfolk County, Vir- ginia, was born near Lynchburg, Campbell County, Virginia. He is the son of Rev. William A. and Fran- ces K. (Jennings) Crocker.
His father, Rev. William A. Crocker, was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, in 1825, and was for 58 years a minister of the Methodist Church. During the Confederate war he was chaplain in Colonel Hodges' regi- ment, and also established the army intelli- gence office at Richmond, which proved very valuable.
Frank L. Crocker received his collegiate education at Randolph-Macon College. Aslı- land, Virginia, where, in 1886, he received the degree of A. B. After leaving college lie went to Texas, where lie taught school for several years, reading law at the same time. He was admitted to the bar at Dallas, Texas, in 1890. and shortly afterward returned to Virginia,
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and located in Richmond County, where his father was then presiding elder. Subsequently he practiced in the "Northern Neck" of Vir- ginia. At Irvington he became assistant editor of the l'irginia Citisen, and also practiced there about two years. In 1896 he removed to Portsmouth and became associated with Judge James F. Crocker, in the practice of law, un- der the firm name of Crocker & Crocker. He continued in that partnership until the present year, when Judge Crocker became Judge of the Court of Hustings for the city of Portsmouth. Frank L. Crocker has since been engaged in the practice of his profession alone, and is one of the most able men of the bar in Virginia. He is well known in Norfolk County as a man of splendid business ability and good judg- ment.
For the past four years he has been a stew- ard and trustee of Monumental Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Portsmouth, and has been president of the Y. M. C. A. for a number of years. In this capacity he has done much noble work, and his influence has been felt greatly in the community. He is now president of the King's Daughters' Hospital Association, which purposes shortly to erect a new hospital building in the city.
B F. HOWELL, who is now retired from business activities, has taken an active part in the affairs of Ports- mouth, particularly on the School Board, of which he has been a mem- ber for many years. He was born in Nanse- mond County, Virginia, and is a son of E. D. Howell.
E. D. Howell was born and reared in Nan- semond County, Virginia, and was a son of Rev. Edward Howell, a Baptist minister, who preached in Nansemond County, Virginia, and in Gates County, North Carolina, where he died about 1888. Rev. Mr. Howell's father came to this country from Scotland when a young
man, accompanied by two brothers and a sis- . ter, and located in Nansemond County, Vir- ginia. The family became a very prominent - one and was possessed of large means, its members being in the main planters, but their fortunes were destroyed during the Confed- erate War. E. D. Howell, father of B. F., was reared in Nansemond County, Virginia, and was a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity. He married Maria A. Sumner, by whom he had three children, namely: E. S., who resides at Washington, D. C .; Mrs. G. K. Atkinson, whose husband was in the grocery business at Portsmouth for many years; and B. F., the subject of this sketch. E. D. How- ell died about 1857. and Mrs. Howell after- ward married Lemuel W. Williams, who was a master joiner in the Norfolk Navy Yard,. and held a position as foreman for many years. He died of apoplexy in 1873. Three children were born of this union, all of whom are dead. Mrs. Williams died in 1876, at the age of 47 years.
B. F. Howell attended the common schools of Portsmouth and those of Nansemond Conn- ty. During the war and for some years after- ward he lived with his grandfather while at- tending school. He then returned home and entered a printing office at Norfolk. When the Portsmouth Enterprise was started he be- came foreman and proof-reader, a position he held for six or seven years. His health failing. he decided to change his business, and at first conducted a grocery. A few years later he be- gan an installment .paying business alone, and made a great success of it. He bought prop- erty at the corner of High and Washington streets, and erected buildings. He sold out in 1896, and has since lived practically a retired life. He has invested largely in real estate. He recently built a fine new home at No. 19 Dinwiddie street. Mr. Howell has been a member of the School Board for a period of 12 years, and in that time has put forth his ut- most endeavor to improve the school system and increase its facilities .. It is to such men
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as he that the credit should be given for the fact that the schools of Portsmouth are unex- celled in the State of Virginia.
May 10, 1877. Mr. Howell was united in marriage with Ida C. Ames, who was born in May, 1859, and received her education in her native city, Portsmouth, and in college at Murfreesboro. North Carolina. Her father, S. S. Ames, came from Accomac County, Vir- ginia, and was in business at the City Market. in Portsmouth until his retirement in 1887. They have adopted a daughter, Nellie, who is now attending school. Politically, Mr. How- ell has been a lifelong Democrat. He is past chancellor of Atlantic Lodge, No. 24, K. of P .; and for 15 years has been a member of Ports- mouth Company, No. 15, Uniform Rank. and is a lieutenant on the major's staff. Relig- iously, he is a member of the Monumental Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which he is a steward.
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HAARLES G. HUME is city attorney of Portsmouth, Virginia, and has achieved a high degree of success in the practice of the legal profession .. He was born in Portsmouth. Vir- ginia, and is a son of John H. Hume, and grandson of Rev. Thomas Ilume, for many years pastor of the Court Street Baptist Church.
John H. Hume was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and for many years was identified with the banking and industrial interests of the city. He died in 1899, at the age of 55 years. He was joined in marriage with Anna Mr. Black is of Scotch-Irish parentage. atid came to the United States in 1871. He lo- cated in Norfolk County in 1889. and entered the field of business with an energy which has since characterized his career. making a success of every undertaking. In that year he began operating the Atlantic City Mills of Norfolk. and in 18go started the Chesapeake Knitting Peebles, who was born in Petersburg, Vir- ginia, and now resides in Portsmouth. Her . father was president of the South Side Rail- road before and during the early years of the Confederate War. Mr. and Mrs. Hume be- came the parents of eight sons and two dangh- ters, as follows: Anna H., wife of Walter H. Taylor of Norfolk; John H., Jr., of Ports- ; Mills. In 1893 he established the Elizabeth
mouth: Charles G., the subject of this bi- ography ; James, an insurance agent and mem- ber of the firm of Hume & Brother of Ports- mouth ; Marian ; Thomas, who is in the employ of the Seaboard Air Line; Hartwell Heath ; Joseph Stewart; Julian Robert; and Frank Wynne. The, family residence is at the corner of Court and North streets.
Charles G. Hume studied law at the Uni- versity of Virginia, and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Virginia, July 7, 1899. He has always taken an active interest in politics, and served as a member of the City Council until he resigned to accept the office of city attorney, July 1, 1901. succeeding John W. Happer. He has maintained his office in the new Commercial Building since 1899. He. stands well at the bar, and has many friends throughout the county. He is a member of Trinity Chapter, No. 346, Brotherhood of St. Andrew, and is a director in the Business Men's Association of Portsmouth. Religi- ously, the Hume family favor the Episcopal Church, of which the subject of this sketch is a vestryman.
OSTER BLACK, one of the foremost business men of Norfolk County. Virginia, has attained a high degree of success in the business world. As president of the People's Bank of Berkley, he has displayed unusual ability as a financier, as is evidenced by the stable condi- tion of the bank and the position it occupies in comparison with the leading institutions of the kind in this section of the country. . ..
COL. J. R. WADDY.
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Cotton Mills, of which he is now secretary and treasurer, a concern which has from 250 to 300 emplayees. Both mills have been successfully operated since their inception, and their prod- ucts are sold direct to the trade in every State in the Union. He was also the founder of the Merchants' & Planters' Bank of Berkley. A man of intellectual attainments, honesty aud strict integrity, Mr. Black represents the high- est type of citizenship.
JOL. J. R. WADDY, who served with high honor throughout the Confed- erate War. is well known as the post- master of Norfolk. He was born in Northampton County, Virginia. December 24. 1839. and comes of a family which has long been located on Virginian soil.
Colonel Waddy received his educational training in the Virgina Military Institute and was graduated in 1853. He was engaged in teaching school for two years, when on the recommendation of Gov. H. A. Wise and Gen. T. J. Jackson, under whom he was instructed at Lexington, he was appointed 2nd lieutenant in the atlı Regiment, U. S. Artillery. He was promoted to be Ist lieutenant and served in that capacity until the secession of Virginia in 1861, when he resigned his position in the Federal Army. He tendered his services to John Letcher, Governor of Virginia, and Jeff- erson Davis, president of the Confederate States. He was given the rank of Ist lieuten- ant in the Confederate Army, and was then assigned to duty as captain in the Adjutant- General's Department ; he was ordered to duty under General Pemberton, on the south side of the James River, for the purpose of organiz- ing the Ist Brigade, serving around Smith- field, Virginia. He remained tliere until No- vember, 1861, when he was ordered to the Pocotaligo River, South Carolina, as adjutant- general of the Ist District in a department con- manded by Gen. Robert E. Lee. Shortly after-
ward, when General Lee was ordered to Vir- ginia to assume command of the Army of Northern Virginia, the subject of this sketch was ordered to Charleston, South Carolina, as adjutant-general of the department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and remained there until the defeat of General Van Dorn, in Mississippi, when he was ordered to report at Richmond for assignment to duty. He was made adjutant-general of the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, in which sta- tion he continued until the early part of 1864. He was again ordered to report at Richmond for duty under General Beauregard, at Charles- ton, in ordnance and artillery service. During the latter part of May. 1864. when General Beauregard was ordered to Petersburg for command, Colonel Waddy was directed to ac- company him, upon the General's request. He remained with that officer until 1864, when he was ordered to Charleston with General Harris, the latter being in the Engineering Corps. While there he was appointed special commis- sioner for the exchange of 10.000 prisoners. a duty he discharged to the satisfaction of both governments, for which he was promoted to the full rank of colonel of artillery. The Fed- eral commissioner in the exchange of prisoners was Colonel Bennett, of Connecticut. Colonel Waddy remained in Savannah until the night of December 22. 1864, when the Confederate troops evacuated the city and crossed the Sa- vannah River. Gen. W. T. Sherman occupying the city. The Confederate Army was over- taken by Sherman at Durham Station and then marched to Goldsboro. North Carolina. where it was surrendered by Joseph E. Johnston to General Sherman. Colonel Waddy returned to his natal county, where he followed farming a few years, and then went to New York and was engaged in business for himself until 1877. He returned to Virginia and again followed farming for a period of five years, after which he made his advent in Norfolk, where he has since been a prominent figure. He served as inspector-in-chief of export grain for the Nor-
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folk & Western Railway grain elevators until 1898, when he was appointed postmaster of Norfolk.
There is no data within reach relating to the establishment of the Norfolk Post Office. In 1800 Edward Archer was postmaster. His Successors were Andrew M. McConnice, Wal- ter R. Jones, Alexander Galt, Philip I. Cohen, John P. Leigh, Alexander Galt and A. M. Vaughan. The last named was in office at, the commencement of the Intersectional War, and held it under the Confederate gov- ernment until the evacuation of Norfolk by the Confederates, May 10, 1862. Then Trott was put in charge of the office and was succeeded by Warren W. Wing, who was suc- ceeded by E. Whipple. Then again followed Warren W. Wing, who was succeeded in turn by H. B. Nichols, M. P. Rue, J. W. Long and Michael Glennan, who was followed by Capt. F. L. Slade. Captain Slade was followed by W. W. Degge, who was succeeded by W. H. H. Trice. Mr. Trice was succeeded by W. T. Anderson, and Mr. Anderson, on Novem- ber 27, 1898, hy Colonel J. R. Waddy whose appointment was confirmed by the Senate Jan- uary 17 1899.
In 1806 the Post Office was located at No. 31 West Main street. It was afterward located on the south side of Main street, near Church street, where the Saulisbury Building now stands. 'It was then moved to West Main street, in a building occupying the site of the present Citizens" Bank Building, the Post Office adjoining the Custom House lot. It was afterward removed to the Dodd Building on. Main street, opposite Commerce street, then back to its previous quarters, and afterward to the site of the present Ferebee, Jones & Coni- pany Building, corner of Main and Commerce streets, and from there to its present location in the Custom House Building.
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