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 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23
Mr. Griffin ascribes to his attendance in the law courts in youth his ambition to become a lawyer. His success in life he attributes to the influence of home and the benefit of private study, together with the necessity of working. Asked to offer some suggestions to young Americans as to the principles, methods, and habits which in his opinion will contribute most to the strengthening of sound ideals in American life and be most help- ful to young people in attaining true success, he replies: "Let them adhere to the principles that prevailed in Virginia half a century ago, together with the methods and habits of that period so far as may be possible in the changed condition of things. Above all let them resist the demoralizing thought that the main aim in life is to accumulate wealth."
In religion Mr. Griffin is an Episcopalian, and in politics he was a member of the Democratic party till the nomination of W. J. Bryan. Not approving of Mr. Bryan's views on the money question, he voted in that election for William McKinley, and since that time has been independent in politics.
On November 11, 1873, Mr. Griffin married Nanny Roy Hutter, and eight children were born to them, of whom six sur- vive at the present writing (1907).
His address is Bedford City, Bedford County, Virginia.
Men of Mark Publishing Co Washington, D.C
yours Very truly Patrick Hagan
PATRICK HAGAN
H AGAN, PATRICK, lawyer and capitalist, was born in County Tyrone, Province of Ulster, Ireland, in 1830, and came to America in 1847. His father, John Hagan, was a farmer and grocer, a man of general information and of resolute character; his mother, Ellen Campbell Hagan, was a woman of decided intellectual proclivities, and inspired in her children a love for " the good, the beautiful, and the true."
The American branch of the Hagan family sprang from the O'Hagans, of Tullahogue, Ireland, the " O " being generally dropped on this side of the Atlantic. In the trans-Atlantic branch, there are to be found many men distinguished in business, in law, and in literature.
In childhood and youth, Patrick Hagan had fine health and bouyant spirits, and was fond of boyish sports. He was brought up in a village and attended the local schools. He acquired an unusual relish for tales of adventure and historical romances, which greatly stirred his youthful ambition.
Mr. Hagan's parents intended him for the priesthood, but his tastes did not lie in that direction. At seventeen, he asso- ciated himself in the grocery business with his brother, who had settled in Richmond, Virginia. At the same time he entered upon a course of study under a retired priest then living in Rich- mond. Later, he took up the study of law under Joseph Stras, of Jeffersonville, Virginia, one of the most prominent and scholarly lawyers of the state. In 1854, Mr. Hagan began to practice in Tazewell county; in 1855, he settled in Lee county, where he has lived ever since that time.
In 1860, Mr. Hagan formed a law partnership with Mr. Jonathan Richmond; they practiced together until the untimely death of this brilliant man. The death of Mr. Richmond left the office of commonwealth's attorney vacant, and Mr. Hagan became a candidate for the office. His opponent was General Peter C. Johnston, a brother of General Joseph E. Johnston. After a spirited contest, Mr. Hagan was elected; was subse-
154
PATRICK HAGAN
quently reelected twice, the second time, over the same opponent.
By dint of great energy and perseverance, supported by very considerable ability, Mr. Hagan moved steadily on and up in his profession, to a place of proud distinction at the bar. Very early in his practice, he began to give special attention to pleading, and in this branch of the law achieved unusual success, and laid the basis of his wealth and reputation.
The law seemed to be made for him and he for the law, for he became attached to its practice with all the passion with which a sportsman loves his hounds. In his own words, "The excitement of the practice gives a wholesome animation to the system, sharpens the intellect, and when you have gained a case, or made an unexpected point which confuses and bewilders the opposing side, the pleasure is as exhilarating as the discovery of hidden treasure."
One of the highest compliments ever paid a lawyer was paid Colonel Hagan by the late Professor John B. Minor, of the University of Virginia. Said Professor Minor to a law class, in his lecture-room : " For lucidity, law, and concise argument, I would suggest a perusal of the pleadings of Patrick Hagan before the supreme court of Virginia."
As a financier and business man, his career fully equals his success in the law, and he enjoys a large private fortune, most of which was accumulated through fortunate investments in coal and iron lands in Southwestern Virginia, in addition to the income from a large law practice. He was proxy for Lee county in the Cumberland Gap railroad. He has, moreover, been identified with many public enterprises and business projects that have inured to the public good, and placed him among the broad- minded, progressive citizens of the state.
Colonel Hagan is one of the few men in whom the late General B. F. Butler met his match. He made a land deal with General Butler and his associates, involving a sale of some two hundred thousand acres of land. In a thoroughly honorable manner, Hagan, as Butler admitted, got the best of the deal. Butler threatened to sue, and Hagan cordially invited him to do so; but, realizing that there was no real ground on which to base his suit, Butler accepted the situation in a philosophical
155
PATRICK HAGAN
manner. Butler afterwards jocularly related the incident as one of the few times in his life when he did not come out with the best end of the bargain.
Colonel Hagan has throughout his long career been an exceedingly close student, a careful reader, a lover of literature and science, and a fascinating conversationalist. His mind is a rich storehouse of the most extensive and varied information garnered from almost every department of human thought and action-law, politics, religion, history, folk-lore, science, belles- lettres, romance, theology. He has written many papers on various themes, and more particularly articles on the life of Galileo, on the Spanish Inquisition, and on the lives of eminent Irishmen of the past. He is the author of an abridged " History of Ireland from the Invasion by Henry II in 1172."
Colonel Hagan has always affiliated with the Democratic party, and has consistently defended the rights and privileges of the common people against all forms of plutocracy, oligarchy, monopoly and special privileges. His motto has ever been: "A tyrant to the poor is a coward to the great." In religion he is a Roman Catholic.
Colonel Hagan believes in inspiring the youth of the land to seek for national success. "I believe," says he, " that a young man's first step towards success consists in taking measure of his own capacity and adaptability to perform a certain specific work; and then to resolve to do it with all his energy. In conjunction with this, at the very outset of life, he must take into consideration the rights and feelings of his fellowman. He must not jostle him from the road on which he has the right of way, but cultivate his good will instead, not by slavish blandishments, but by a dignified self-respect and manifest fairness."
Colonel Hagan's address is Adamar, Scott County, Virginia.
DANIEL HARMON
H ARMON, DANIEL, lawyer, was born in Alexandria, Virginia, November 7, 1859, and is the son of Daniel and Mary Elizabeth Harmon. His father was in the insurance and banking business in Charlottesville, to which place he moved about 1861, and gave the boy such training in the office as has proved very valuable in his profession.
The Harmons came from England to America, and settled in Maine. Daniel is a family name and has come down through several generations in America. One Daniel served in the Mas- sachusetts Bay militia during the War of the Revolution. He had a son, Daniel. This Daniel's son, Aaron D., moved to Vir- ginia, and settled in Alexandria early in the nineteenth century. Aaron D. had a Daniel, who was the father of the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Harmon received his academic education in the schools of Charlottesville. With that preparation he entered the Uni- versity of Virginia, graduating in 1882, with the degree of B. L. At that time, the gifted John B. Minor was still teaching law in undiminished vigor, and the young law student came under the influence of that noble instructor. In the summer of 1882, Mr. Harmon entered life on his own responsibility. The good moral influences of home, together with private study, and contact with men, have all combined to put him among the most honored citizens and the best lawyers of the state.
In 1891, Governor Charles T, O'Ferrall appointed Mr. Har- mon a member of the board of visitors of the University of Virginia; he was reappointed by Governors J. Hoge Tyler and A. J. Montague. The duties of this position of trust and of honor, Mr. Harmon has discharged with conspicuous fidelity and zeal; and his wisdom and his practical experience of every- day affairs have made him a very useful member of the board.
As a lawyer, Mr. Harmon stands high. Though associated daily with some of the best-known lawyers of the state, he does not suffer by comparison. He stands high at a fine bar. When
157
DANIEL HARMON
important cases are before the Albemarle court, Mr. Harmon is generally found on one side or the other.
In politics, Mr. Harmon is a Democrat. While not a poli- tician, he is deeply interested in the success of the Democratic party. He usually stands by the party, and believes in the rule by majorities. In church preferences, Mr. Harmon is a Pres- byterian. He attends the church of which Reverend George L. Petrie has been pastor for nearly thirty years. At the twenty- fifth aniversary of Dr. Petrie's installation, Mr. Harmon made a touching address on behalf of the officers of the church.
On March 9, 1886, Mr. Harmon married Fannie Murphy. They have had six children, all of whom are now (1906) living. At their home in Charlottesville, Mr. and Mrs. Harmon dispense a gracious hospitality to a large circle of friends and neighbors.
-
JAMES ALBERT HARRISON
H ARRISON, JAMES ALBERT, educator, philologist, and litterateur, was born at Pass Christian, Mississippi, August 21, 1848. His father was Jilson Payne Har- rison ; his mother, Sidney Ann Powell Norton. On his father's side, Professor Harrison is sprung from the well-known Harrison family of Virginia, who have furnished her " signers," presidents, soldiers, and are now furnishing jurists and scholars, to the country. On his mother's side, he is descended from Colonel (Rev.) Charles Mynn Thruston, the famous " fighting parson " of the Revolution. Professor Harrison married September 1, 1885, Lizzie Stuart Letcher, daughter of Hon. John Letcher, war governor of Virginia. They have had three children, one of whom, Letcher, is now (1906)' living.
Jilson P., the father of James A., was a planter, lawyer, and commission merchant, a man of firmness and energy of character. He settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, where his son attended the public schools. From there he entered the University of Vir- ginia, where he spent the sessions of 1866-67 and 1867-68. He paid especial attention to linguistic and literary studies, for which he, early in life, showed a marked aptitude. In 1869 he went to Germany, and studied in the University of Bonn. His favorite studies there were language and art. On his return to America, he accepted a position as professor of Latin and modern languages in the Maryland Military academy. From there, he was called to the same chair at Randolph-Macon college, shortly after its removal from Boydton, Virginia, to Ashland, Virginia. In this chair, Professor Harrison began to attract attention as one of the promising young scholars of the state, and men that knew him intimately predicted the phenomenal success that he has since attained. In 1876, he was elected professor of English and Modern Languages in Washington and Lee university, Lexington, Virginia. He had not long filled that chair before his reputation as a scholar and as an author became extensive, and by the time he reached middle life, he had achieved national
159
JAMES ALBERT HARRISON.
distinction. His department at Washington and Lee university was regarded as one of the great chairs of the country, and young men considered it a high distinction to be known as one of " Harrison's men."
At the centers of learning, his books were in use, and his opinions were greeted as those of " one having authority." From that time on, his reputation has steadily increased, until now his is one of the most significant names in American letters and education. In 1895, the University of Virginia called him to the chair of English and Romance Languages. More recently, by a subdivision of the work in languages, he has been professor of Teutonic philology. In this capacity, he continues to shed lustre upon the University of Virginia, and gives her one of the strong- est chairs of English and Germanic philology in the whole country. Some years ago, both Vanderbilt and Tulane univer- sities tried to secure Professor Harrison's services; but it is likely that no institution in this country could entice him away from his old alma mater.
Besides his regular work as college and university lecturer, Professor Harrison sometimes gives special courses. In 1883, for instance, he delivered, at Johns Hopkins university, a course of ten lectures on Anglo-Saxon poetry.
As an author, Professor Harrison made his début in 1874, with " A Group of Poets and their Haunts." In 1877, he pub- lished " Greek Vignettes;" in 1879, "Spain in Profile;" then " French Syntax;" "History of Spain;" "Story of Greece;" "Autrefois " (collection of Creole tales). These books gave him wide reputation as a litterateur and critic. In 1883, he began to edit the major Anglo-Saxon poems, with the cooperation of scholars in various colleges and universities. The volume with which his own name was especially connected was " Beowulf," in which he had Professor Robert Sharp, of Tulane, as collaborator. This, in various editions, has been used in the leading universities of America, Canada and England, and is familiarly known to all students of our earliest poetry. His Anglo-Saxon dictionary, in which he had Professor W. M. Baskerville, of Vanderbilt, as collaborator, his Anglo-Saxon reader, in which Professor Baskerville, and Professor J. L. Hall,
160
JAMES ALBERT HARRISON
of William and Mary, were joint editors with him-all have extended his usefulness and his fame in the department of early English. Most of this time, he was engaged in lexical work enough to keep an ordinary man busy. His services as associate editor of the "Century " and of the " Standard " dictionaries augmented his fame among scholars and philologists, and brought new lustre to Virginia and her university. Other books we are compelled, for lack of space, to pass over; but we could not by any means fail to speak of the edition of Poe, published in 1902, and now regarded as the standard and authoritative edition. In seventeen volumes, Professor Harrison collected all of the known, and many hitherto unknown poems, tales and criticisms of Poe, and annotated them with illuminating criticisms of his own, making the " Virginia Edition " indispensable to every complete library. His latest work is the " Life of Washington " (1906) just published in G. P. Putnam's Sons "Heroes of the Nation " series.
Many honors have been bestowed upon Professor Harrison. He has been made an L. H. D. by Columbia university; and LL. D. by Randolph-Macon college, Virginia ; Tulane university, New Orleans; and Washington and Lee university. He is a member of the William and Mary chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, which, in a case of a man not connected with that college, is in- tended as a recognition of high literary merit.
In 1904, Professor Harrison was a delegate to the Inter- national congress at St. Louis. He is now universally recognized as one of the most eminent scholars and literati of the country, and the South should be proud that no wealthy institution has been able to entice him beyond the Potomac or the Ohio.
In politics, Professor Harrison is a Democrat; in church preference, an Episcopalian. Sketches of Professor Harrison are found in many current dictionaries of biography; also in " Who's Who," in "Authors at Home," and in the University of Virginia Bulletin for 1896-1897. Professor Harrison's advice to young Americans is to be systematic, patriotic, patient, helpful to others. The Harrison motto, Vincit qui patitur, gives in one phrase the keynote of his life. "Endurance conquers "-'tis true to a large extent ; but when endurance is conjoined with character
161
JAMES ALBERT HARRISON
and with ability of a very high order, the conquest is far more splendid.
Professor Harrison lives " on the lawn," in the house long occupied by the eminent medical Professor Cabell, who died about fifteen years ago. In that famous house, the genial scholar and his accomplished wife dispense a gracious hospitality which makes one ready to believe that " old Virginia hospitality " has been born again under the shadow of Thomas Jefferson's great statue which stands only a few yards off in the rotunda.
His address is University Station, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Vol. 3-Va .- 8
JOHN DUNSCOMBE HORSLEY
H ORSLEY, JOHN DUNSCOMBE, lawyer, ex-judge of the fifth circuit of Virginia, including the city of Lynchburg, president of the First National bank of Lynchburg, director in and general counsel for numerous public and private corporations, was born at Forkfield, Nelson county, Virginia, April 30, 1849. His father, William Andrew Horsley, M. D., was a physician of character, remarkable for his love of his professional work and for his lifelong interest in and enjoy- ment of good literature. His mother was Eliza S. Perkins, of Richmond, Virginia.
Judge Horsley numbers among his earliest ancestors in America : (1) Robert Horsley, of Saint Paul's Parish, Hanover, England, who received a grant of land on the north side of the Rivanna river, September 17, 1731; and (2) Major Andrew Dunscombe, a soldier of the Revolution, distinguished as a financier, who was sent from his native state, New York, by the legislature of that state, after the Revolutionary war, to settle the claim of New York against the state of Virginia. He estab- lished himself at Richmond, and in 1787 was appointed by the executive of Virginia, "commissioner for settling the war accounts between Virginia and the United States." Becoming thoroughly identified with the state of his adoption, he was made mayor of Richmond in 1795. Mayor Dunscombe's father was a Scotch follower of Charles Edward, the Pretender, for whom he fought at Culloden; and, coming to Holland as a refugee, he married there a daughter of an Amsterdam merchant. Mayor Andrew Dunscombe married Philadelphia Hamilton Du Val, a daughter of the Colonel Samuel Du Val who represented Henrico county in the house of burgesses at the sessions of Feb- ruary, 1772, March, 1773, May, 1774, and June, 1775, as well as in the conventions of August, 1774, and June, 1775, and was one of the trustees of the town of Richmond in 1752, and again in 1773; while his wife, Lucy Claiborne, was a lineal descendant of the Colonel William Claiborne (or Cleburne) of Cleburne Hall, Westmoreland, England, who came to Virginia in 1621, and in
. Men of Mark Publishing Co Washington,DC
Jours very July l. wittonly
165
JOHN DUNSCOMBE HORSLEY
1625 was appointed secretary of state and member of the council, remaining a member of that body until 1660, and receiving in 1642 the appointment by the king as treasurer for Virginia, while in 1653 he acted as deputy-governor.
Most of Judge Horsley's early life was passed in the country, and he shared in the training which many boys of that time received through the assignment to them of regular tasks which involved manual labor. In early boyhood a pupil in private schools of Nelson county, at the outbreak of the Civil war he was not yet twelve years of age. In 1864, however, he joined the corps of cadets of the Virginia Military institute; and 1864-65, he served with them in the vicinity of Richmond until the evacuation of that city in April, 1865. After the war, he was a student at Norwood, Nelson county; and, entering the University of Virginia in 1869, he passed two years at that university in the study of law and soon afterward established himself in Nelson county. In 1886, he was elected judge of the fifth circuit of Vir- ginia. Reelected, after serving four months of his second term, he resigned to resume the practice of law; and, forming a part- nership with Captain Charles M. Blackford, he soon became attorney and counselor for various corporations.
February 23, 1879, he married Florence M. Tunstall, daughter of Hon. William Massie, of Nelson county, Virginia. They have four children : Catherine Dunscombe, Bland Massie, Thomas Staples Martin, and Eliza Perkins.
Judge Horsley is president of the First National bank of Lynchburg; director and general counsel of the Lynchburg Trac- tion and Light company; of the Roanoke Railway and Electric company; of the Montgomery Traction company, of Alabama ; and of the Petersburg Gas company, as well as attorney and director for a number of private business corporations.
Affiliated with the Democratic party, he has never changed his party allegiance. He was baptized in the Episcopal church. He is a member of the Virginia Bar association; of the Pied- mont and Oakland clubs, of Lynchburg; of the Shenandoah club, of Roanoke; the Westmoreland club, of Richmond; the Lynchburg boat club; and of the Garland Rhodes camp of United Confederate veterans.
His postoffice address is Lynchburg, Virginia.
HARRY RUTHERFORD HOUSTON
H OUSTON, HARRY RUTHERFORD, journalist, was born at Fincastle, Botetourt county, Virginia, May 20, 1878. His father was Reverend Rutherford Roland Houston, Presbyterian minister, and sometime professor in the Union Theological seminary of Virginia, and his mother was Margaret Steele.
Mr. Houston's ancestry is Scotch-Irish, the first of his paternal line in America having been John Houston, who with his mother, wife, and six children, came from Ireland to America in 1735. He settled first in Pennsylvania, but subse- quently moved south with the southward-moving tide of the Scotch-Irishmen of that period, and took up his residence in Rockbridge county, Virginia. Here the Houston name has flourished; and among the distinguished members of the family may be counted the Rev. Doctor Samuel Houston, who was a pioneer missionary to Greece, and president of the board of trustees of the Union Theological seminary, and General Samuel Houston, soldier, statesman, and patriot, whose fame is linked with the early and heroic history of the republic and common- wealth of Texas.
Mr. Houston grew up in the village of Fincastle, with vigorous health, and from his earliest childhood evinced a bent in the direction of the career which he adopted on arriving at manhood. One of his favorite occupations as a youth was draw- ing and making " pen-newspapers." The long approved regimen of the average Scotch-Irish lad was his. He was brought up to work, and to work hard; not because it was necessary for him to do so, but for the reason that his parents wisely conceived it to be a judicious and proper feature of a boy's education.
He received his preparatory and academic instruction at the hands of his father, who fitted him for college. He attended Hampden-Sidney college, Virginia; from which he was graduated in 1899, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, having, during his career as a student, filled a conspicuous place in the college life.
167
HARRY RUTHERFORD HOUSTON
He was secretary of his class in his first term, 1895-1896; vice- president of his class in his second term; won the freshman declaimer's medal; was associate editor of the " Kaleidoscope," the college annual; won the sophomore-freshman magazine medal; won the senior orator's medal of the Union society; and was editor-in-chief of the magazine in 1898-1899, and of the " Kaleidoscope " the same session, besides achieving a number of other college honors.
After leaving college he taught, during the session of 1899- 1900, a boys' preparatory school at Hampton, Virginia. Since that time he has been actively engaged in the business of journal- ism, for which he has always entertained a personal predilection. He is the editor of the "Hampton Monitor;" and is the owner and at the head of the Houston Printing and Publishing house, of Hampton.
Mr. Houston is a Democrat who has never changed his party allegiance. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha college fraternity; and a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which order he has filled the positions of chancellor, commander, and deputy grand chancellor of district Number 29 of Virginia. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which last named organization he has held the office of exalted ruler of the Hampton lodge. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.