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 15
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Colonel Murphy has been twice married. His first wife was Jane McCabe, who died some years ago; his second wife was Mary Louise O'Conner, of Charleston, South Carolina, whom he married in 1903. By his first wife he had the following children, in the order named: Nellie J., Edward F., Madeline McCabe, Alice E., John, Jr., George D., and Robert E., all of whom are living (1906).
His address is Richmond, Virginia.
JAMES MASTIN NEAL
N EAL, JAMES MASTIN, tobacconist, was born January 3, 1845, in Danville, Pittsylvania county, Virginia; and his parents were Thomas David Neal and Louisa Franklin, daughter of Colonel Samuel Carter, of Halifax county. His father was born in 1812, and was, for many years, prominent in the affairs of Danville. He was a pioneer in the tobacco trade in that city, and a man of great energy and public spirit. He was a member of the city council of Danville from the time of its incorporation as a city, to the year 1861, and served as director in the Richmond and Danville railroad.
His son, the subject of this sketch, was a boy of excellent health, in whom the talent for business was early developed. While he never had manual labor to do to any great extent, he was never afraid of work of any kind.
He attended Cedar Grove academy, in Pittsylvania county, until the beginning of 1861, when he enlisted, at the age of six- teen years, in Company B, 18th Virginia infantry, with which he served in the battles of Manassas, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, and the Seven Days before Richmond. He was detailed as a courier, attached to the headquarters of General Pickett, in March, 1862, and he was with that gallant officer throughout the rest of hostilities, except during six months in the year 1863. Because of injuries received by a fall from his horse, he was ordered by the Secretary of War to attend the Virginia Military institute as a cadet; and at the battle of Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865, he was captured by some of General Custer's men, and was kept imprisoned in Point Lookout until June 12, 1865.
At the close of the war he engaged for a short while in the tobacco business in New York, but after his marriage to Rose P. Allen, in 1866, he gave up his Northern enterprise and once more became a resident of his native state and city. He chose the tobacco business as his occupation because it was the progressive business of the time. In connection with his father he was the first to introduce the present system of selling tobacco in parcels
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upon the floor of the warehouses. This custom now prevails all over the United States where tobacco to any extent is bought and sold. He founded the planters' warehouse system, and con- tinued in the sale of tobacco until the year 1894, when he was appointed by President Cleveland postmaster of the city and served four years. He is at present (1906) an insurance, real estate and general agent.
There have been few, if any, public enterprises successfully launched in Danville which Colonel Neal has not prominently supported. He served in the city council for twelve years, and to him was largely due the erection of the reservoir to supply the city with water, and the system of sewerage.
His influence was great in securing the issue of bonds for repaving the streets of the city, and it was he who made the first move towards having in Danville the tobacco fair which was in its success so creditable to the city. He was for many years president of the chamber of commerce, and since 1884 he has been a director in that branch of the Southern Railway company formerly known as the Richmond and Danville Railway com- pany, and later as the West Point terminal.
In politics Colonel Neal is a Democrat who has stood by the flag of his party, and never deserted it. To every object with which he is in any way connected he brings the enthusiasm of his nature. He is an Odd Fellow and therefore it is not surprising that, while he was master of Bethesda lodge, the handsome Odd Fellow's hall on Main street was erected. For more than twenty years he has been a vestryman in the Episcopal church, and he was, therefore, an active worker in the movement which resulted in the erection of the new Episcopal church building in Danville. He is fond of music and the fine arts, and, in 1887, he took a leading part in forming the organization from which has resulted the Danville academy of music, costing $35,000. He was a gallant Confederate soldier, and he is now inspector general of Confederate veterans, fifth district of Virginia.
Colonel Neal finds relaxation in billiards and in witnessing baseball games. He is, as we have seen, an Odd Fellow, having been a member since 1866, and having served for several terms as noble grand. He is also a Blue Lodge Mason and a Knight Templar.
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When asked to offer some suggestions, derived from his long experience and observation, as to the principles, methods and habits which, in his opinion, will contribute most to the strength- ening of sound ideals in our American life and will best help young people to attain true success, he replied: "System, perseverance, and due attention to whatever profession or busi- ness engaged in will ultimately bring success."
He married in Danville, November 1, 1866, Rose P. Allen, daughter of Orin N. and Susan Freeman Allen. The former was born in New York in 1812 and died June 20, 1875. The latter was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, and died in 1898. Colonel Neal and his wife have had two children, a boy and a girl, the former of whom is now (1906) living.
The address of Colonel Neal is Danville, Virginia.
Men of Mark Publishing Co Washington, DC
M. Nettleton.
EDWARD MANOAH NETTLETON
N ETTLETON, EDWARD MANOAH, farmer, manu- facturer, banker, and man of affairs, was born May 8, 1846, on a farm in the township of Ashtabula, county of the same name, Ohio, son of Harvey J. and Jane E. Nettleton. He is descended from old New England stock, and his grand- father, Joshua Nettleton, moved from the state of Connecticut to the Western Reserve before his father was born. Consequently his father was likewise of Western birth. His father's character- istics were those of strict honesty, industry, inflexible will and. thrift. These qualities were transmitted in unstinted measure to the son, who also acquired his father's fondness for good stock and cattle and the pleasures of country life.
The elder Nettleton conducted a large dairy farm near a town of four thousand population, and Edward was early introduced to the routine of farm and dairy work. He received a good education in the schools of the county, and after his sixteenth year developed a robust constitution. He was fired by the spirit of independence, and the ambition to do something in the world; and when he reached his majority he purchased a team from his father and started out in life for himself in northern Minnesota. Here he spent a number of severe winter months freighting miners' supplies on sleds, sleeping out of doors, and suffering other privations and hardships that would soon have overtaxed the will power of the average young man. Subsequently, he passed two years farming in Kansas, and then removed to Virginia, where he practically started life anew, amid new conditions and single-handed, in the lumbering business.
When he arrived in Virginia, his chief capital was health, honesty, determination to succeed, and industry. With these he made wonderful progress, and they have since brought him prominence in business, and a standing for integrity, liberality, and public spirit second to no man in his community. From small beginnings, his lumber business increased in value and extent, and soon led him out into a great diversity of other Vol. 3-Va .- 14
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interests-business, farming, manufacturing, and banking. He is at present (1906) the proprietor of a thoroughly equipped planing mill at Covington; is president of the Alleghany Milling company ; vice-president and a director of the Covington National bank; and has been identified with every notable enterprise, public or private, of his community. For sixteen years he has been supervisor of the Covington district, Alleghany county, fourteen years of which he served as chairman of the board, having been elected continuously since 1887. The public roads, splendid bridges, and the finances of Alleghany county attest his public spirit, foresight and excellent judgment as a public servant. " In his administration of public affairs," says Judge George K. Anderson, " Mr. Nettleton has been as far from a demagogue as any man I ever knew. I don't believe he ever asked a man to vote for him during the seven consecutive terms; his neighbors and friends, regardless of party, placed him on the board of supervisors of the county."
In speaking further of his characteristics as a man, Judge Anderson says : " He is a self-made man in the truest sense, and I testify that he made a good job of it. He has amassed a goodly fortune in this world's goods, and his liberality toward those in need strongly evidences that selfishness is not his strong point. No man, in need, has ever applied to him for help and was denied.
" Another important thing to be observed in connection with this man's career is the success of his children in life. His three sons are all splendid business men, evidence enough that they have had the guiding hand of a parent of judgment, integrity, firmness, thrift and foresight to direct them in their boyhood days. This alone would be reward enough, if his influence extended no further."
Mr. Nettleton has been a lifelong Republican in political affiliation, but in no sense an offensive partisan. He has been a potent worker for the common good. His religious preference is for the Episcopal church, which he regularly attends and in which he exerts a wholesome influence. He is fond of travel, horses and the chase, and there is no more enthusiastic member of the Jackson River Hunt club, then he. His watchwords
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throughout life have been industry, economy, determination and foresight.
He has been twice married: first, on February 15, 1871, to Mary A. Blakeslee, daughter of Hobart and Ann Blakeslee, of Saybrook, Ohio, who died during the nineties. Four children were born to this union, all of whom are now (1906) living. His second wife was Mrs. Lula Hope, daughter of John M. and Sarah R. Kraft, to whom he was married on February 25, 1897. One child was born to this union but died in infancy.
His address is Covington, Alleghany County, Virginia.
EDWARD WEST NICHOLS
N ICHOLS, EDWARD WEST, mathematician and educa- tor, was born in the city of Petersburg, Prince George county, Virginia, on June 27, 1858. His father was James E. Nichols, a prominent business man of Petersburg, and president of the Petersburg Gas company; and his mother was Ann Wynn.
His ancestors were English; and before coming to America were seated at Stratford, England.
Colonel Nichols spent his early life in the city of Petersburg, and received his preparatory education at the famous university school conducted there by Captain William Gordon McCabe. Thence he went to the Virginia Military institute at Lexington, Virginia, from which he was graduated in 1878 with distin- guished honors. Subsequently, he took a post-graduate course in engineering at the Virginia Military institute; and studied law privately and at the University of Virginia.
In 1878 he began the active work of life as assistant pro- fessor of mathematics in the Virginia Military institute, and held the position until 1881, when he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law. In 1882, however, he was elected to the professorship of engineering in the faculty of the Virginia Military institute; and thereupon abandoned the profession of law in order to return to that of teaching. He held the chair of engineering in the Virginia Military institute from 1882 to 1890, when he was elected professor of mathematics in the same institu- tion, a position which he has held continuously up to the present time (1906).
For the past five years Colonel Nichols, in colaboration with P. H. Dudley, C. E., Ph. D., inspecting engineer of the New York Central and Hudson River railroad and American reporter for the International Railway congress, has been engaged in the study of the problems presented to the congress by the railway engineers of the world, with a view of improving the " means of transport " in American Railway systems.
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EDWARD WEST NICHOLS
The general problem of the proper correlation between " roll- ing stock and permanent way," with the subsidiary problems of " locomotive design," "wheel load effects," "rail weight and section," " rail joints with their connections," " ties," " ballasts," and so on, have occupied and are now occupying the best talent of scientists at home and abroad. By practical railroad officials these problems are recognized as all important from the economic point of view. Problems of such magnitude and of such sur- passing interest to one of our greatest industries involve in their investigations the broadest theoretic and scientific attainments. That Colonel Nichols should have been selected to make these investigations is doubtless a source of no little gratification to him as well as to his friends.
He is a colonel of engineers in the military organization of the state by virtue of his position in the Military institute. He is the author of an " Analytic Geometry " published in 1893, which is used as a text book in the highest institutions of learning in more than twenty-five states of the Union; and of a " Differ- ential and Integral Calculus," published in 1901, which is a work of equal importance, and has received the finest commendation at the hands of eminent teachers of the higher mathematics throughout the country.
Colonel Nichols is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
He has been twice married. His first wife, whom he married on October 28, 1886, was Edmonia L. Waddell; and his second wife, whom he married on November 14, 1905, was Evelyn Junkin Rust.
His biography has been published in "Who's Who in America " (A. N. Marquis and Company, Chicago, 1905).
Colonel Nichols' address is Lexington, Rockbridge County, Virginia.
CAMM PATTESON
P ATTESON, CAMM, state senator, was born in Amherst county, Virginia, February 21, 1840. His father was David Patteson; his mother, Elizabeth Camm. David Patteson was a physician of high standing, and is said to have been a pioneer in the use of nitric acid in typhoid fever. He was noted also for his literary tastes, and imparted these to his son. On the moral and spiritual side, Senator Patteson owes much to his mother, who was a woman of high moral and spiritual attain- ments. The boy was sent to good academies, where he acquired the fundamentals of education. At the same time, he was fond of reading, and became familiar with the works of Scott, Dickens, Thackeray, Cooper, Bulwer, Macaulay, and other standard authors. With the mind thus well trained, he entered the University of Virginia, where he took a diploma in moral philo- sophy and the B. L. degree. Just as he was ready to begin the practice of law with such unusual preparation, the tocsin of war called the young men of the South to sustain their respective states in the contest for local self-government, and Camm Patteson laid down his law books and his encyclopaedias, and took up the musket. In the spring of 1861 he entered the Con- federate army as a volunteer, and soon became captain of Com- pany D, 56th Virginia regiment of infantry. To the defence of his state, he devoted the four years from 1861 to 1865. The war over, he settled down to the practice of law. From then till now, Captain Patteson has been a successful practitioner. He is a familiar figure at several of the county court houses within reasonable distance of his home, and often has important cases in the supreme court of appeals. His principal object in life is to make a good lawyer, and to that end he bends his energies. Other successes are incidental and secondary with him. Captain Patteson is, in the best sense of the word, ambitious. He has always wished to do something, to be something in life, and not to be lost in the crowd. His advice to young men is to work, work hard, work systematically, work towards some definite aim
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in life. This concentration, energy, vim, purpose, if accom- panied with health, sobriety, temperance, will, he thinks, bring assured success.
To go into many details as to Captain Patteson's success as a lawyer, would be rather beyond the scope of this article. We must pass on, to speak of him as a public man, a legislator, a leader of thought. He has served twice with great credit in the house of delegates of Virginia, and is now the honored senator from the eighteenth senatorial district. He has several times represented his people in Democratic National conventions. The cause of education he has promoted by serving eight years on the board of visitors of the University of Virginia, a service which took a good deal of his time and for which he received no monetary compensation. This public duty, Captain Patteson gladly performed, esteeming himself honored to be entrusted with a share of the responsibility of carrying on this noble insti- tution.
Probably, Captain Patteson's greatest public service has been in protecting the people from trusts and corporations. Not that he is opposed to organized capital. Not that he is an enemy of all corporations. Such is not the case. He is friendly to capital organizations, provided they do not ride rough-shod over the people, and infringe upon the rights of individuals. He believes, that, in all departments of life, organization is one of the best implements of civilization, one of the best signs of advancing civilization. With equal firmness does he believe, however, that capital should not be permitted to encroach upon the rights of the citizen, and that government should protect the citizen from all undue encroachment on the part of capital. To this object, no little of Captain Patteson's energy and ability has been directed; and the public archives of the state will show that he is a friend of the people as against the corporations. At the recent session of the Virginia legislature Captain Camm Patteson was the author of the bill practically abolishing " Demurrers to Evidence," which was enacted into a law. This pleading, in the opinion of Captain Patteson, had long given to corporations many opportunities to deprive the people of their rights by tak- ing from the juries the decision of questions of "Negligence,"
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and giving them to the courts. The fight before the legislature on this bill was long and vigorous, and resulted in the triumphant abolition of this hoary engine of oppression.
Another public service of Captain Patteson's is his part in the legislation touching trustees and fiduciaries. Virginia has always attempted to deal fairly by wards, minors, and infants.
In her constitutions and her laws, she has thrown protecting care around these helpless classes. In the last year or two, how- ever, she has shown even greater solicitude in this matter than before. The last legislature, in enacting the new constitution into law, was very careful of the rights of all who need trustees, committees, and guardians. Among the most active workers along this line, was Senator Patteson. It was in part due to his activity that examiners of records were appointed, and that it was made not only their duty but their own personal advantage to watch over estates, trust funds, and all matters of a fiduciary nature.
Senator Patteson's district is composed of the counties of Buckingham, Appomattox, Fluvanna, and Charlotte.
In the midst of his " strenuous " life as lawyer and legislator, Captain Patteson has found time to write for the periodical press. His articles have been published in a number of well- known journals. In recent years, he has been an ardent cham- pion of " free silver," and has written vigorously in support of his opinions. To the legal journals, he has contributed papers based upon his long and successful career at the bar. In lighter vein also, he has used his pen, having published in 1900 a novel entitled, " The Young Bachelor." At this time, he is contem- plating a history of Virginia.
Captain Patteson comes of fine Virginia stock. On his father's side, he is descended from John Patteson, who figured prominently in the early Virginia conventions. John's son was a soldier in the War of 1812. On the maternal side, Captain Patteson is a great-grandson of the famous Commissary Camm, president of William and Mary college, and progenitor of the well-known Camm family of Virginia. A commissary in colonial days, when there were no bishops in Virginia, was the repre- sentative of the bishops of London. He could not confirm nor
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ordain, nor consecrate buildings; but he could attend to many of the minutiae of the Episcopal office on its more secular side. The Rev. Doctor Camm was at various times rector of Bruton church, Williamsburg, and of York-Hampton parish, just adja- cent to Bruton parish. While in the latter, he was married under circumstances especially romantic; but the board of visitors of the college not caring for romance, resolved, at their next meeting, that hereafter any professor that married would thereby forfeit his professorship, as he could not move out of the college and take a wife without neglecting his duties.
March 3, 1863, Captain Patteson was married to Mary Elizabeth Mills. They have had six children, of whom five are now (1906) living.
His postoffice address is Howardsville, Virginia.
JAMES DUNLOP PAXTON
P AXTON, JAMES DUNLOP, D. D., Presbyterian clergy- man, was born July 26, 1860, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. His father, William M. Paxton, D. D., LL. D., Presby- terian clergyman and educator, was, for many years, one of the most prominent and able Presbyterians of the country. Among the important positions filled by him during his long and emi- nent career were the pastorate of the First Presbyterian church, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; First Presbyterian church, New York city, and a professorship in Princeton Theological seminary. He was noted for polished oratory, and as a universally recog- nized authority on doctrines of his church. His mother, Caroline S. (Denny) Paxton, was well fitted by education and disposition to fill the exacting duties of a wife of a minister and mother of a minister-to-be.
His family is Scotch-Irish, the American founders of which settled about 1770, in Pennsylvania, in Adams county, near Pitts- burg. That the family was intensely patriotic is shown by the fact that nine of its members, including those eminent and gallant soldiers, General O'Hara and Major Ebenezer Denny, fought in the ranks of the American army during the War of the Revo- lution.
James D. Paxton passed his early life in New York city, where he was prepared for college in private schools. In 1880 he was graduated A. B. and A. M. by Princeton university; and was graduated by Princeton Theological seminary in 1883. The University of Wooster conferred upon him the degree of D. D. in 1900. He entered upon his first pastorate, that of the East Avenue Presbyterian church, Schenectady, New York, in Febru- ary, 1884, and remained there until 1889. He then spent some time in travel. From 1891 to 1897 he was pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had, for some time previous to 1897, been deeply interested in the lives of American students abroad, beset on every side by temptations and far from the natural restraints of home and family, and
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he spent a portion of that year and of the next in Paris, France, as a preacher to students, doing work that was highly commended for its marked good results. In 1899, he became pastor of the House of Hope, St. Paul, Minnesota, and continued in that ca- pacity until 1902. In 1904, he assumed his present (1906) charge, the First Presbyterian church, Lynchburg, Virginia, where he is regarded as one of the leading clergymen and as a useful and public-spirited citizen, always ready to lend a help- ing hand where needed, both in public and in private.
He inherited not a few of the traits of his distinguished father. He chose the ministry as his life work from personal preference, though heredity was doubtless a potent influence in developing that preference. In intellectual attainments Doctor Paxton is excelled by few ministers of any denomination, and his pastoral record furnishes abundant proof of his spiritual power. As a man he is approachable, genial, and everywhere well liked.
He married May 22, 1883, Helen J. Paxton, daughter of J. Wilson Paxton and Margaret Smith Paxton, of St. Paul, Min- nesota.
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