USA > Virginia > Men of mark in Virginia, ideals of American life; a collection of biographies of the leading men in the state, Volume III > Part 13
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MARSHALL M'CORMICK
If we had to sum up in a few words the philosophy of Mr. McCormick's life, we could not do it better than in the advice he gives to young Americans. This formula prescribes conduct which is within the reach of all. Any man can be energetic. Any man can be thorough. Any man can be courteous. Any man can be chivalrous towards woman. Any man can be pure and honest. But with all this, a man might reach only moderate success in a profession if he had no natural aptitude for his chosen career. Nature seems to have furnished Mr. McCormick with unusual capacity for the practice of the law. At the University of Virginia he received the instruction of such men as Gildersleeve, Peters and McGuffey. He then studied law in the office of Mr. Richard Parker. His subsequent career seems to show that nature intended him for a successful lawyer; and his name and fame are known to many who have never seen his face or come under the influence of his personality.
His address is Berryville, Clarke County, Virginia.
WILLIAM PROVINCE McGUIRE
M cGUIRE, WILLIAM PROVINCE, M. D., physician and surgeon, was born in Winchester, Virginia, Feb- ruary 19, 1845. His father was Dr. Hugh Holmes McGuire; his mother, Ann Eliza McGuire. Dr. Hugh H. McGuire was a distinguished physician and surgeon. He began the practice of medicine in Winchester in 1822, became a noted surgeon, practiced throughout northern Virginia, and founded a medical school, of which he became president, and which was put into successful operation in 1847 and continued its useful career until 1861. Among other distinguished members of the McGuire family there may be mentioned David Holmes and Judge Holmes, great-uncles, and Dr. Hunter McGuire, of Richmond, brother of our subject.
The earliest American ancestor of the McGuires was Edward, who came from county Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1754, and settled in Winchester, Frederick county, Virginia. For three successive generations, his descendants have stood high in the medical pro- fession.
The early life of Dr. William Province McGuire was spent in Winchester. He had no tasks involving manual labor, and no difficulties in obtaining an education except those caused by the Civil war, which prevented his taking a collegiate course. He feels that the influence of his mother was particularly strong in awakening and maintaining his intellectual, moral and spiritual life. His academic training was received at Winchester academy, Winchester, and Greenwood academy, Albemarle county, Vir- ginia. He then followed a course of professional study for two years at the Medical college of Virginia, and was graduated in 1867 with the degree of M. D., after which he began his active work in Winchester. Dr. McGuire has found the careful study of works on medicine and surgery most helpful in fitting him for his chosen sphere of service.
Dr. McGuire's life has been that of a physician and surgeon, and he is now one of the surgeons of the Winchester Memorial
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WILLIAM PROVINCE M'GUIRE
hospital. He has several times been vice-president of the Medical society of Virginia, and was its president for 1893-1894. For two terms, he was vice-mayor of the city of Winchester.
In political preference, Dr. McGuire is a Democrat; in reli- gious views, an Episcopalian.
On June 17, 1871, Dr. McGuire married Nannie H., daughter of Hon. John Randolph Tucker. They had seven children, six of whom are now (1906) living.
A sketch of Dr. McGuire's life was published in 1896 in " Physicians and Surgeons of America."
Dr. McGuire's address is Number 120 Amherst Street, Win- chester, Virginia.
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PAUL McRAE
M cRAE, PAUL, lawyer, editor and author, was born April 17, 1873, at McRaes, Cumberland county, Vir- ginia. His father, John H. McRae, merchant and United States land agent, was noted for decision and determination. His mother, Emily S. (Turpin) McRae, a refined and cultured wo- man of exalted character and ideals, was a powerful and lasting influence on all sides of his life. She inspired him with his first strong impulse to strive for success and it was by her ad- vice, as well as from personal preference, that he chose the law for a profession. His ancestry is Scotch on the paternal, and English on the maternal side. The American branch of the family was founded by Reverend Christopher McRae, from Scot- land, who settled in Powhatan county, Virginia, in 1748.
He was reared in the country, was healthy, strong and ac- tive, and early developed a fondness for reading and hunting, tastes which he has retained; is a wide reader and a deep student, and finds his most enjoyable and helpful recreation in hunting and in playing lawn tennis. Owing to lack of means, he met some difficulties in acquiring his education, but his natural ability, energy and ambition overcame them. He obtained his primary and preparatory education at the county schools and by private study; then became a student at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, but the necessity for earning money prevented his remaining to graduate. He then taught, for a time, in the public schools of Cumberland county, devoting his spare moments to studying law privately; then entered Richmond college, where he was graduated in constitutional and international law in 1894.
In 1895-96, he was assistant to the editor-in-chief of the " Encyclopedia of Pleading and Practice," published by the Ed- ward Thompson Company, of Northport, New York,-an excep- tional honor for a man of his age, as the work is a standard and is recognized as authority in legal circles. In addition to his editorial work, he wrote several important law articles for the
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encyclopedia. At the conclusion of his editorial work he returned to Virginia, and entered upon the practice of law in Cumberland county ; was commonwealth's attorney for the county in 1902-03, and made an excellent record. In 1905 he was elected a member of the legislature of Virginia.
Few lawyers of his age have attained the reputation in the profession that he enjoys, and his future is most promising, in- deed. He says, with becoming modesty, that his failure to accom- plish more has been due to a lack of systematic and regular study in his profession, and he thinks that, with high ideals, good habits, and constant and systematic endeavor any person with ordinary intelligence may attain true success in life.
He is a member of the Baptist church; of the Lawyers club of Northport, New York; of Phi Delta Theta Greek letter col- lege fraternity ; and is an Odd Fellow and a Mason. In politics he is, and has always been, a Democrat.
His address is McRaes, Cumberland County, Virginia.
JOHN HENRY MACLIN
M ACLIN, JOHN HENRY, farmer, soldier and mer- chant, was born in Brunswick county, Virginia, May 11, 1838. He is the son of John Frederick and Nancy Drewry Maclin. His father was a farmer by occupation, who represented his district in the Virginia state legislature. He was a lineal descendant of John Maclin, who emigrated from Scot- land in 1676, and thus established the family in this country a century before the outbreak of the War of the Revolution.
John Henry Maclin passed his youth in the country; his physical condition, from birth, was excellent, and he grew up with a natural love of agriculture and the freedom of a rural life. The influence of his mother was particularly'strong upon both his intellectual and moral training.
Unlike many other boys of his time, he had no difficulty in obtaining an education. After preliminary tuition which pre- pared him for the higher education, he entered Randolph-Macon college; but on account of his father's failing health left that institution of learning before graduation, in order to take charge of the home and farm.
It was in 1854 that he commenced the actual work of his life, as a farmer, and the choice was dictated by his own personal preference. But in a few years the war came on and Mr. Maclin served as a private in the 13th Virginia cavalry, a term of three years. As a soldier his record was one of devotion to duty, obedience to authority, and courage in the face of danger. The war over, he returned to his native town, and re-engaged in the tilling of the acres bequeathed to him. In 1868 he branched out into the business of a manufacturer of tobacco, in which occupa- tion he has ever since been engaged.
His first vote was cast for a Democrat, and since that time he has never wavered in his allegiance to that party. He is a member of the Baptist church. His social position in his home community leaves nothing to be desired, for he is regarded as a pillar of the church and of society, a prominent citizen in every
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JOHN HENRY MACLIN
respect, yet unobtrusive and modest. Although still engaged in active business, he takes life easily, justly reaping the fruits of a long and eminently honorable career. Each season, during the summer months, he pays a visit to the seashore or mountains, and enjoys this annual vacation with the keen zest of a lover of nature.
On October 4, 1866, Mr. Maclin married Sarah Eliza Hill. Of their four children two are now (1906) living.
His address is Petersburg, Virginia.
WILLIAM CLARKSON MARSHALL
M MARSHALL, WILLIAM CLARKSON, educator, was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, March 12, 1863, and his parents were Jaquelin Ambler Marshall and Rebecca Peyton Marshall. The Marshall family began in Vir- ginia with John Marshall, of the " Oaks," who came to West- moreland county about 1650. Among the representatives of the name especially distinguished were Colonel Thomas Marshall, a gallant soldier of the American Revolution, his son, John Marshall, chief justice of the United States, who easily holds the first place among American judges, and Edward C. Marshall, president of the Orange and Manassas railroad. His father, Jaquelin Ambler Marshall, was a farmer, who served as county magistrate and was noted for his manliness and integrity.
William C. Marshall was strong and healthy, and, being brought up in the country, hunting and reading were his special tastes and interests in childhood and youth. He assisted in milk- ing, and occasionally in work of the garden and the farm. The influence of his mother was particularly strong upon his moral and spiritual life. He obtained his education at the Clifton, Hanover, and Shenandoah academies, and at the University of Virginia, at which last mentioned institution he spent three years from 1881 to 1884. He had a personal preference for the vocation of a teacher and began the work in 1880 in Fauquier county. After his return from the university he was associate principal of Onancock academy from 1884 to 1888, later taught twelve years at the Episcopal Female institute in Winchester (from 1888 to 1900) and for two years was principal of the Chatham Episcopal institute (1900 to 1902). In 1902 he removed to Winchester, Virginia, where he has since been principal of the Episcopal Female institute.
Mr. Marshall is an excellent teacher and disciplinarian, and stands high in the opinion of all his friends. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and has been layreader and Sunday school superintendent. In politics, he is a staunch Demo-
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crat, who has never wavered in his party allegiance. As he expresses it, he was " born, raised and will probably die a Demo- crat." He is sociable and genial in conversation, and is a member of the Chi Phi fraternity and the Royal Arcanum. The books which he has found most useful in life have been the Bible and biographies of noted men and women. The forms of exercise and relaxation which he finds most enjoyable and helpful are walking and reading.
On September 9, 1885, he married Lucy Page Meredith. Three children have been born to them, all of whom are now (1906) living.
His address is Number 135 North Braddock Street, Win- chester, Virginia.
:
Men of Mork Publishing Company Washington, D C.
Very Sincerely, Thornton L. Massu
THORNTON LEMMON MASSIE
M ASSIE, THORNTON LEMMON, lawyer, was born in Nelson county, Virginia, October 1, 1866. His parents were Patrick Cabell Massie and Susan Catherine Massie, who was Susan Catherine Withers.
On his paternal side Mr. Massie is of English descent. The first of his Massie ancestors in America was Peter Massie, who, as is shown by the records in the Virginia land office, patented lands in York county, Virginia, in 1698. He was a surveyor of highways in 1708, and died in New Kent county, December 10, 1719.
Thomas Massie, who was a son of the emigrant Peter Massie, was a vestryman of St. Peter's, New Kent county, in 1708, and died in 1732. He was a member of the Virginia house of bur- gesses for New Kent in 1722 and 1726. He died leaving a son William, who was also a member of the house of burgesses and left a large estate.
His son, Dr. Thomas Massie, was born in 1783. He served in the continental forces in the War of the American Revolution. At the fall of Yorktown, Major Thomas Massie was aide to General Nelson. He was one of the original members of the Order of the Cincinnati, and the certificate of his membership in this organization, signed by General George Washington, is still in the possession of his descendants. He moved from St. Peter's parish in 1780 to Frederick county, Virginia; and thence about 1803 to that part of Amherst county that is now Nelson county, Virginia. His lands lay in the present county of Nelson ; and he died at " Level Green," his residence in that county, February 2, 1834.
His son, Dr. Thomas Massie, was born 1783. He selected the practice of medicine for a profession; and after graduating in Philadelphia, spent four years in Europe in the medical schools of Edinburgh, London and Paris. He settled in Rich- mond, Virginia, and began to practice; but finally removed to Nelson county, where he died at an advanced age in 1864. He
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was a surgeon in the War of 1812; a member of the house of delegates from 1824 to 1827, and again from 1829 to 1830; a member of the Virginia Constitutional convention of 1829-1830; and a trustee of Washington college, Virginia. He was twice married; his first wife being Miss Waller, and his second wife Sallie Cabell, of " Union Hill," who was a member of the distin- guished family of that name in Virginia.
Of the issue of his second marriage was Patrick Cabell Massie, the father of Thornton L. Massie, who was born in Nelson county, and after studying in the preparatory schools of Vir- ginia, completed his education at Yale college, Connecticut. Mr. Patrick C. Massie, as has been above stated, married Susan Catherine Withers, who was a daughter of Dr. Robert W. Withers of Campbell county, Virginia, and a sister of ex-United States Senator Robert E. Withers, of Virginia.
The Cabell descent of Mr. Thornton L. Massie may be found in Dr. Alexander Brown's " The Cabells and their Kin," a memo- rial volume of history, biography and genealogy which covers a wide field of Virginia subjects.
Mr. Thornton L. Massie was educated at home by private tutors, and later at Pantops academy, near Charlottesville, Vir- ginia, from which he entered the academic department of the University of Virginia, and later the law school of that institu- tion. After leaving the University of Virginia, he taught school for two years, and during that time studied law privately. In 1888 he settled at Pulaski, Virginia, where he has since continued in the successful practice of his profession. Mr. Massie is a Democrat who has never changed his party allegiance. He has held no political offices except those of member of the council and attorney for the town of Pulaski; but he has taken an active and prominent part in the politics of his section. He is counsel for a number of private corporations; and is a director and attorney for the Peoples Bank of Pulaski; and for the Bank of Pulaski County, at Dublin, Virginia.
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the Royal Arcanum, and of the Sigma Chi college fraternity.
Mr. Massie is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church,
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THORNTON LEMMON MASSIE
in which he has been a vestryman since he was twenty-two years old.
On June 19, 1889, he married Mary Kent Nicholson; and of their marriage have been born four children, of whom three are now (1906) living.
His address is Pulaski, Virginia.
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SAMUEL ROLFE MILLAR
M ILLAR, SAMUEL ROLFE, Ph. D., farmer and educa- tor, was born May 21, 1857, in Front Royal, Warren county, Virginia. His father, Samuel Richardson Millar, lawyer and captain of Virginia militia, was a man of high character, studious and quiet in disposition. His mother, Susan Beverley (Randolph) Millar (third daughter of General Thomas Beverley Randolph) who died in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1882, was a powerful influence for good in his life. He says of her: "She was a woman of fine mind and character and tinctured with a deep religious enthusiasm. To her teaching and example and loving sympathy I owe whatever of good may be in me."
His blood is Scotch-German. The Virginia family was founded by William Millar, who was one of the first settlers in the Shenandoah Valley, where in 1740 he patented a tract of land near the present town of Front Royal. In July, 1743, he was married to Catherine Du Bois, a native of New Pfalz, New York, and daughter of Louis Du Bois, the patentee. Later he and his sons took part in Indian fights on the Virginia frontier, and one of them, William, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, served as ensign in the seventh company, 4th battalion, Pennsylvania militia, in the Revolutionary war.
He received his primary education at the Front Royal academy, and then went to Griswold college, Davenport, Iowa. In 1876, he went to the University of Heidelberg, Germany, taking a four years' course in constitutional and international law, eco- nomics, and history, graduating Ph. D., in 1880. In 1890-1891, he took the law course at the University of Virginia, where he was lecturer on economics 1890-1893. In 1891-1892 he also lec- tured at Washington and Lee university, and he has given occa- sional lectures at many other colleges. He is proud of the success of Eastern college, Front Royal, Virginia, established 1900, of which he was one of the two founders, and is chairman of its
Men of Markt Publishing Co.
Washington, D. C.
Yours truly Samme Route Millan
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SAMUEL ROLFE MILLAR
board of trustees. He does not believe in the conferring of honor- ary degrees by colleges and has himself refused two.
In 1882, finding it necessary to give his personal attention to large tracts of land he owned in Iowa, in addition to his Vir- ginia holdings, he began farming on an extensive scale in the former state, and for recreation, doing newspaper work, but con- tinued to live in Virginia. In March, 1886, he was appointed by President Cleveland United States consul at Leipsic, Germany. He is such a staunch Democrat that, as soon as the result of the presidential election of 1888 was known, he tendered his resig- nation as consul, to take effect March 4, 1889, the day the new Republican administration began, but he was not relieved of his duties until the September following.
Military matters have always interested him. He was a pri- vate in the Warren light infantry, 2nd Virginia volunteers, in 1882-1884; captain of the same company, 1903-1905; major first battalion, 2nd Virginia voluteers, from May to August 1905, and since then lieutenant-colonel of the same regiment. He is a Mason; Chapter and Knight Templar; also a member of the Beta Theta Pi and of the Phi Delta Phi; and a vestryman of Calvary Protestant Episcopal church, Front Royal, Virginia.
He is fond of hunting and fishing; also of experimenting in farm crops-a natural result of his boyish love of gardening. Though he is more thoroughly fitted for the practice of law than a goodly percentage of successful lawyers, his land interests have kept him a farmer. His favorite subjects of study and reading are history, biography, and economics, and his favorite authors, Mommsen, Bancroft, Prescott, Bluntschli, Roscher, and J. S. Mill. He thinks the sense of duty should be cultivated as much as possible ; that it is noble and manly, and the real basis of edu- cation and success.
Mr. Millar has spent a number of years traveling in Europe, not as the ordinary haphazard tourist goes, but as an educated, investigating student. He has made pedestrian tours through most of the European countries, from Norway to Italy, visiting many out-of-the-way places seldom seen by strangers, and has done much mountain-climbing in the Alps. His experiences have given him an inexhaustible fund of reminiscences, which have
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made him an interesting conversationalist, when in the mood to talk about them.
He was married October 3, 1882, to Bertha Riedel, of Hei- delberg, Germany. Five children have been born to them, all of whom are now (1906) living.
His address is Front Royal, Warren County, Virginia.
4
POLK MILLER
M ILLER, POLK, was born in Prince Edward county, Virginia, August 2, 1844. His father was Giles A. Miller, and his mother, Jane Anthony Webster Miller. Giles Miller was a country gentleman, honored, and loved by his neighbors and friends, and was for several terms a member of the state legislature.
Polk Miller's physical condition in childhood and youth was excellent, his health was perfect, and he could hunt all day. Passing his life in the country, he was never called on to work for his living, but since the war he has regretted that his education in that respect was neglected. Mr. Miller's mother died when he was but ten years old, and he had had only the advantage of the " old field school " when the war broke out and cut short his education.
In 1863, Mr. Miller enlisted as a private soldier in the famous Richmond Howitzers, whose guns were heard on nearly every battle field in Virginia from Big Bethel in '61 to Appomattox in '65; and it is enough to say of his military career that he did his full duty, and was counted worthy to be a member of that immortal band of patriot-heroes. Returning from Appomattox, he did not sit down to mourn over blighted hopes and ruined fortunes, but came to Richmond, and went vigorously to work in a drug store. In that business he has continued ever since, until he is now regarded as one of the best druggists in the city of Richmond, having under his management two large drug stores, of which he is chief owner.
When a boy, Mr. Miller learned to play the banjo, and was very fond of singing, especially the old plantation melodies, and he kept up this practice, to the delight of friends who heard him in the social circle. Some years ago, he gave amateur entertain- ments illustrating negro life in the old South, and so pleased his audiences that he was persuaded to take the platform, and illus- trate " Old Times down South," by his songs and stories delineat- ing the character of Southern negroes and their relations to their
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masters. He has given nearly two thousand five hundred of these entertainments from Maine to Texas and in the West, and large audiences and enthusiastic applause have greeted him everywhere. He has made the reputation of being the best delineator of negro character in the country, and gives, not the fancy sketches frequently heard, but the real old time negro as he lived and moved on southern plantations, in his cabin, and in the " great house " of his master. Mr. Miller's plantation songs and stories are inimitable, and he is on the platform what Thomas Nelson Page and Joel Chandler Harris are in their books. He has done very much to remove Northern prejudice against the slave owner, to teach our Southern youth what manner of men their fathers were, and to show the true character and the true condition of the slaves they owned. In this he has been a public benefactor.
Mr. Miller is thinking of publishing a book which shall give an insight into " the glorious past of the old South," and, if he carries out his purpose, the book will be sure to have many deeply interested readers, as " Polk Miller " and his songs and stories, are widely known and admired all through the country.
He says that he belongs to no fraternity or club, because he " does not believe in social clubs for married men." He has long been an active member of the Presbyterian church, in which he has for some years served as elder.
For years, hunting quail has been the sport and the mode of relaxation which he most enjoys and finds most helpful. In reference to his personal habits, he says: " I use tobacco, which I very much regret, but despise the cigarette, considering its use a death-dealing vice."
ยท His advice to young men is : " Be sober, be industrious, be liberal, both with your money, and in your sentiments and opinions of other people."
Genial, affable, and a fine conversationalist, Mr. Miller is universally popular, and, as he has been a consistent Democrat, he might have had political preferment, but he says that he " would not have any office under the sun," and that his highest ambition is to be the servant of his people as a good druggist and a successful, popular entertainer.
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