USA > Virginia > Men of mark in Virginia, ideals of American life; a collection of biographies of the leading men in the state, Volume V > Part 10
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In April, 1862, while Magruder's army was entrenched at Winn's Mill, near Yorktown, McClellen's army of one hundred and twenty thousand men advanced up the Peninsula and con- fronted Magruder's little army of less than ten thousand men stretched across a line from the York to the James of between nine and ten miles. While these two armies were thus confront- ing each other, the reorganization of the Virginia troops took place in the trenches,-a proceeding as remarkable as it was novel in the annals of warfare. Captain Hudnall, who had succeeded Captain Brown on the the promotion of the latter to Major, was then captain of the Second company, and he and all the other commissioned officers of the company were retired by the vote of the non-commissioned officers and privates.
About this time (April 15, 1862), Guigon was commissioned as a captain in the Confederate army and authorized to raise
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a company of artillery. To what extent this was accomplished is not fully known, but it is believed that he was not entirely suc- cessful in this undertaking. He subsequently joined the First company of Richmond howitzers as a private and remained in that company for a short time; but a little later on he was ap- pointed to the office of ordnance sergeant of a battery commanded by his old partner, Captain (afterwards Colonel) Marmaduke Johnson. Subsequent to this appointment and upon Captain Johnson's being made colonel of a battalion of artillery, Captain Guigon became the ordnance officer of the battalion and served in that capacity with the Third corps of the Army of Northern Virginia up to its surrender at Appomattox. "I know the fact," says Judge George L. Christian, who was intimate with him dur- ing most of his life, "that there was no braver or more patriotic soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia than Captain Guigon."
After the surrender of General Lee's army at Appomattox, April 9, 1865, Captain Guigon resumed the practice of the law in Richmond, and in 1870 was elected judge of the hustings court of that city,-being the first elected to hold that office after the war. There was the circuit court presided over by Judge B. R. Wellford, and the chancery court by Judge E. H. Fitzhugh, but it is no disparagement to these distinguished gentlemen to say that in administering the duties of his position Judge Guigon had the more difficult and rugged path to travel. This is the testimony of Judge Wellford, who is better qualified than any other living person to pass upon Judge Guigon's judicial career. Writing to his son he said: "Upon him (Judge Guigon), de- volved the administration of the criminal law in the very heart of the commonwealth, where the debris of two armies and all of the vicious concomitants of camp following and licensed robberies had formed and revelled in a safe harborage. A lax adminis- tration of the criminal law would have prolonged indefinitely the horrors of reconstruction and would have made Richmond the nest of all the criminals of North and South from which the brood of its eggs would have radiated, through every line of transportation, among all the smaller towns and rural districts of the commonwealth. The appliances of governmental influence and the debauchery of prospective office holding and participa-
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tion in the rich spoils of broken banks and the fragments of afore- time fortunes of a downcast but a yet unconquered people, had spent in our state and city courts its recent sheltered power of mischief. But its aftermath confronted your father at the outset of his luminous judicial career. The situation required every element of a high manhood to meet its responsibilities; that your father did meet them to the entire satisfaction of the best ele- ments of our people and with the most beneficial results not less in our own Richmond than throughout the commonwealth, is a now accomplished fact of history, but the pains and labors and wear and tear of body and of mind through which it was accom- plished is outside the pale of newspaper literature."
He held the office of hustings court judge for eight years, and died in harness in the prime of life on February 22, 1878. This lamentable event was the occasion of the largest meeting of the members of the bench and bar of the city of Richmond and its vicinity ever assembled, and the resolutions passed by them express far more than the ordinary stately formalities. They voice the genuine grief of the community and attest what every- body acknowledged, that Guigon had "the principal share in reestablishing, after a war of unparalelled suffering, the founda- tions in Virginia of peace, order and security."
As further indication of the respect and esteem in which Judge Guigon was held by the whole Virginia people, it may be said here that upon his death, John B. Minor, the celebrated pro- fessor of law at the University of Virginia, wrote to his son offer- ing to receive him in the summer law classes free of charge: "I shall hold your father's services to the state and to the profession an ample remuneration for any benefit you may derive. My ac- quaintance with him was casual and very slight, but from his judicial career I had learned to hold him in very high esteem and admiration. I knew not one man in the commonwealth who might not have been better spared, nor have I ever known one whose death has excited such deep, universal and sincere regret."
Judge Guigon founded and established, in 1856, "The Quar- erly Law Journal," and furnished the bulk of matter for this very important law periodical, the first law journal ever pub- lished in the South, which he conducted until shortly before the
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beginning of the Civil war. He was a master Mason and mem- ber of Joppa lodge, No. 40, in the city of Richmond. Before the war he belonged to the Whig party, but when the war terminated he allied himself with the Democratic party of the North, which favored a liberal and practical policy. He was a regular atten- dant of the Monumental Episcopal church in the city of Rich- mond. His favorite outdoor amusements were hunting and fish- ing.
On August 20, 1857, he married Sarah Bates Allen, a daugh- ter of James Allen of the firm of Davenport and Allen in Rich- mond, and formerly of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Two chil- dren were born of this union, Alexander Barclay Guigon, (second), now (1908) a prominent lawyer of Richmond, and Ellen Guigon.
ALEXANDER BARCLAY GUIGON
G J UIGON, ALEXANDER BARCLAY, (second), a promi- nent lawyer of Richmond, son of Judge Guigon whose biography precedes this sketch, was born in Richmond on the 13th of August, 1858. His grandfather, Auguste Guigon, came from France, settled in Richmond, and married Ellen Smithey, who was of English extraction. His mother, Sarah Bates Allen, was the daughter of James Allen of the well known firm of Davenport and Allen, importers and wholesale merchants of Richmond, whose early manhood had been passed in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His family was descended from Puri- tan stock which came to Massachusetts in the Mayflower. He married Miss Martha Russell, of New Bedford, whose family were large ship owners in that city.
In his early boyhood, Mr. Guigon's health was delicate; but in spite of this handicap, he was studious and fond of reading, and devoted to life in the country, spending long vacations chiefly on Virginia farms and at watering places. He attended General Lane's private school in Richmond in his early years; and, after General Lane left Richmond, he concluded his pre- paration for college at the well known school of the late John P. McGuire.
On leaving school he accepted a position as clerk in a ware- house, in order to become familiar with the tobacco trade in which he expected to engage, and for two years he discharged most faithfully the duties of that position. But the work was distasteful to him, and for the next two years he taught school and studied law under the advice and guidance of Professor John B. Minor, the distinguished professor of law of the University of Virginia.
In 1879 he entered the University of Virginia and was graduated from the law course in 1880, having previously taken two summer courses in the study of the law-a profession to which he was drawn by his own decided preference and convic- tion, as well as by early and constant association with lawyers through his father's prominence in that profession.
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In 1881 he began the practice of law in Richmond, establish- ing himself in the office of Mr. Joseph Bryan. After five years of general practice, in 1886 he became associated with William L. Royall, Esquire, representing the Virginian committee of the council of foreign bondholders of London, in the famous state debt litigation, whereby the English bondholders sought to en- force their claims against the state of Virginia. This litigation occupied most of his time and attention until a compromise was reached in 1892, when Mr. Guigon resumed the general practice of the law in Richmond. Since that time he has devoted himself mainly to corporation practice. He has been general council for the Richmond Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals since its organization in 1891; and he prepared and procured the passage (in 1894) of the existing statute on that subject-all his services being rendered, of course, without compensation.
He was counsel for the board of pharmacy of Virginia for ten years from July 1894 and until he was compelled to give up the position because of other demands upon his time. He pre- pared and procured the passage by the legislature of the general statute which until 1907 constituted the pharmacy law of Vir- ginia. He assisted in the organization of the Richmond Tele- phone company and in 1894 became the general counsel of that company which was at that time the most important independent telephone company in the South. He successfully resisted the efforts of the Southern Bell Telephone company to procure a re- newal of its franchise in Richmond, until 1899, when he severed his connection with the independent company.
Among the important cases in which Mr. Guigon has been engaged, were the so-called Lunenburg murder cases (1895-96) (reported in 92 Virginia, under title of "Barnes' Case") ; and the Smithers election cases in 1894. The people of Lunenburg and surrounding counties were so thoroughly convinced that Mary Abernathy, Mary Barnes and Pokey Barnes were guilty of the murder of Mrs. Pollard, that the entire military force of the state was called on to protect the prisoners from the manifest determination to lynch them. Mr. Guigon was associated in these cases with the late G. D. Wise, then a member of congress from Richmond, and the late Judge Henry W. Flournoy, form-
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erly secretary of the commonwealth of Virginia. Having ob- tained a new trial from the court of appeals, they secured the acquittal of the prisoners. At Mr. Guigon's solicitation, and in the absence of his associates, the supreme court of appeals (for the first time in the history of English jurisprudence), entered an order enlarging the writ of error and supersedeas, and pro- viding in the enlarged writ that the prisoners should remain until the further order of the court in the custody of the ser- geant of the city of Richmond. This was done to forestall the demand of the authorities of Lunenburg county for the return of the prisoners to the county jail, where they would have been again in danger of lynching.
The Smithers election cases, tried in 1894, resulted in the in- fliction of fine and imprisonment upon each of the three judges and the two clerks on duty at that precinct at the election in the fall of 1893. Alone and unaided, Mr. Guigon obtained the con- viction and subsequent punishment of the accused officials; and this was the first case in the history of Virginia where electoral officers actually suffered punishment for election offences. Mr. Guigon was appointed special prosecuting attorney for the county of Henrico in these cases, because of the inability of the incum- bent of the office of commonwealth's attorney to act by reason of his interest in the result. He was opposed by four able counsel in the trial of this case, which lasted several weeks. A most stub- born fight was made on every possible legal technicality and Mr. Guigon's successful conduct of the case attracted wide-spread attention throughout the state. The "Richmond Times" of March 17, 1894, commenting upon his appointment for this work says, "Though Mr. Meredith, as we learn, has decided not to prosecute these cases, there is another gentleman, whose experi- ence as a representative of the commonwealth is great, and whose zeal and devotion as a Democrat is unsurpassed, who has con- sented to accept the enviable task of defending the rights of all voters as well as the honor of the Democratic party, and to prose- cute the culprits of Smither's precinct, and his name is Alexander Barclay Guigon." And in its issue of January 13, 1895, the same paper said editorially : "The Times wishes to extend the thanks of this community and of all the honest men of the state, to Mr.
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A. B. Guigon, for the fearless, independent, able and successful way in which he conducted this prosecution, single-handed, from its commencement to its end. The county was fortunate to secure him as its counsel, and he has nobly justified the confidence that was reposed in him."
For the last fifteen years or more, Mr. Guigon has been chiefly engaged in corporation practice in connection with the street car system in Richmond and vicinity. From 1892, for several years he represented Mr. W. F. Jenkins, the inventor of a system of underground conduits for surface trolley railroads. Mr. Guigon was one of the original incorporators of the Rich- mond Traction company, although his connection with that com- pany continued but a short time. In December, 1895, he was retained as assistant counsel for the Richmond Railway and Elec- tric company, which in 1900 became merged with other com- panies under the name of the Richmond Passenger and Power company, and with the addition of still other companies was con- solidated and practically merged into the Virginia Passenger and Power company in 1902. In 1904 all the companies were placed in the hands of receivers, and the receivership has not yet (1908) been terminated. Mr. Guigon still retains his professional con- nection with the various companies and the receivers.
In 1890 he was elected a member of the council of the city of Richmond, and of the school board of Richmond; and he was reelected in 1892, but in October, 1893, he resigned from both these positions, having removed from the ward and district from which he had been elected. Not only the press of the city, but prominent, conservative and public-spirited citizens, as for in- stance, Professor John B. Minor, upon his resignation from the city council publicly commented upon the qualities of "intelli- gence, fidelity and courage"-"the noblest that could be imputed to a public official," which had characterized Mr. Guigon's ser- vices.
For three years, from 1891 to 1894, Mr. Guigon served as captain on the staff of the 1st regiment of cavalry Virginia vol- unteers, at that time the only volunteer cavalry regiment in this country.
On the 10th of February, 1887, Mr. Guigon married Miss
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Kate Empie Sheppard, daughter of the late James Sheppard, and granddaughter of Reverend Adam Empie, D. D., the first rector of St. James Church, Richmond. There is one son of this marriage, Alexander Barclay Guigon (third), who was born in 1887. His mother died when he was eleven years old. On January 7, 1903, Mr. Guigon married Miss Adelaide Watkins, daughter of the late Claiborne Watkins, of Richmond. They have a daughter, Elizabeth, born September 28, 1907.
Mr. Guigon is connected with the Episcopal church.
Mr. Guigon was for many years a Democrat and a strict party man, participating actively in the work of the party as seemed to him necessary in the South for the preservation of society and social institutions. At every election at one of the precincts in Jackson ward in the city of Richmond, where the negro vote was very heavy, he found it necessary to offer persis- tent and continued challenges in order to prevent the polling of a large number of illegal votes; although he was several times arrested, because of his active use of the right of challenge at elections, nothing followed upon the arrests, except a warmer public appreciation of his devotion to what he believed to be his duty as a citizen. Since the adoption of a new constitution has removed the menace of negro domination in politics, he has given up active participation in election matters.
At the University of Virginia, he was a member of the Alpha Chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity. He has been a Mason for many years, and is a member of Temple Lodge, Number 9, of Richmond.
Since 1883, he has been a member of the Westmoreland club. He is also a member of the Country club of Virginia. He is a charter member of the State Bar association, of the Richmond Bar association ; and of this last association he was elected presi- dent in February, 1908. He has also been a member of R. E. Lee Camp No. 1, Sons of Confederate Veterans, since its organi- zation.
To the young men of his state who wish to attain true suc- cess, Mr. Guigon offers these suggestions: "I am convinced that in the following order, high moral character, absolute fearless- ness and disregard of consequences when right, and invariable
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thoroughness in whatever is undertaken, will contribute more than all else to the elevation of our American manhood, and the successful careers of those who possess, or who will acquire, these attributes."
JOHN T. HARRIS
H ARRIS, JOHN T., attorney at law, was born in Har- risonburg, Rockingham county, Virginia, October 11, 1859. His parents were John T. Harris and Virginia M. Miller, his wife. The Harris family in America begins with Robert Harris, who located in Virginia about 1655, and left numerous descendants. Among the most distinguished repre- sentatives may be mentioned William Harris Crawford, of Georgia, secretary of the treasury under James Monroe, who was great-grandson of Robert Harris above mentioned; and John T. Harris, Sr., a lawyer of marked distinction and ability who served as commonwealth's attorney 1852-1859, elector on the Buchanan ticket, 1856; member of congress 1859-1861; member of the Virginia legislature 1863-1865; judge of the circuit court 1866-1869; member of congress 1871-1881; presidential elector on the Cleveland ticket of 1888; and member of the Columbian com- mission 1892-1893.
The subject of this sketch was brought up in Harrisonburg, and was blessed with good health from early childhood. His special tastes were reading and love of outdoor sports. He was fortunate in possessing an excellent mother who exerted much influence upon his character-morally and intellectually. As his father regarded manual training as a most helpful prepa- ration for any pursuit in life, Mr. Harris was required to do a certain amount of such labor. The source of his first strong impulse to win the prizes of life was his father's example and training. He attended the graded schools in Harrisonburg, and, in 1878, matriculated at the University of Virginia, where he was graduated in law with the degree of B. L. He made his own selection of a vocation in life, and on coming to the bar in Harrisonburg, in 1882, threw into his work great interest and enthusiasm. Mr. Harris is heart and soul a lawyer and, unlike his distinguished father, has not cared for political offices. For twenty-four years he has followed the profession zealously and is the counsel for the principal corporations do-
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ing business in Harrisonburg, which is one of the most thriv- ing cities in Virginia. He has, however, served as a member of the board of visitors of the Institution for the deaf and dumb at Staunton, Vrginia, and for seven years he was a mem- ber of the local militia.
He is very fond of reading good books, especially works on American history, and the best poets, such as Tennyson, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Virgil, etc. He has also written a number of interesting monographs, the most important of which are "Lincoln's Ancestors in Virginia," an article published in the "Century Magazine" (1885) ; and a sketch of Judge John Paul, published in the "Virginia Law Register" (1902).
In politics, he is a Democrat, but, in 1896, disapproving of Mr. Bryan's views on the free coinage of silver, he was an elector on the Palmer and Buckner ticket. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and since 1889 has been a vestryman of Emmanuel church in Harrisonburg.
Trout and bass fishing is his favorite form of diversion. Asked for his views on the question of promoting sound ideals in American life, Mr. Harris advises young men to study American history, political and constitutional and, thereby, ob- tain a thorough knowledge of the national, state and local in- stitutions.
On November 28, 1888, he married Elizabeth Randolph, daughter of Peyton Randolph, Esq., sixth in descent from the emigrant, William Randolph, of Turkey Island. They have had four children, all of whom are now (1908) living.
His address is Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Vir- ginia.
WILLIAM ELDRIDGE HATCHER
H ATCHER, WILLIAM ELDRIDGE, D. D., LL. D., was born in Bedford county, Virginia, July 25, 1834. He is the son of Henry and Mary Latham Hatcher. The earliest known ancestor of the family was William Hatcher, be- lieved to be a descendant of the Hatchers of Careby, Lincoln- shire, England, who for many years before 1634 were lords of the manor as recorded in the college of arms. He was a retired British officer. Among the American ancestors of Dr. W. E. Hatcher were William Hatcher, for a number of years a mem- ber of the Virginia house of burgesses, and Jeremiah Hatcher, preacher and patriot, who lived in Chesterfield county and afterwards in Bedford county, where he preached and estab- lished a number of churches.
The early life of William E. Hatcher was spent in the mountains of Virginia. He was regarded as quite a frail lad, and as he manifested an aversion to work on the farm, he was, at the age of fourteen sent to a good classical school where he remained three years.
From boyhood he had a taste for reading, but had a scant supply of books, and his father once said of him to his dis- tinguished cousin, Dr. J. B. Jeter, that William knew every book on the plantation. He has said that he found most help- ful in his life the old books-the Bible, first among them, then Pilgrim's Progress, Addison, Macaulay, Dickens and kindred works.
He taught school from seventeen until he was twenty, and then went from Bedford county to Richmond college, from which he was graduated in 1858 with the degree of B. A. In 1873 Richmond college conferred on him the degree of D. D., and in 1898 Denison university, Ohio, conferred the degree of LL. D. upon him. For these two titles he has cared very little. He often has said he was too busy to enjoy pleasures, but he is fond of friends and travel.
Leaving Richmond college in 1858 he at once entered upon
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the active ministry of the Gospel, taking the following pas- torates in the order and for the periods indicated: Bainbridge Street Baptist church, Manchester, eight years; Franklin Square Baptist church, Baltimore, nearly two years; First Baptist church, Petersburg, six and one-half years; Grace Street Bap- tist church, Richmond, twenty-six years to a day. In all of these pastorates he was eminently successful, but the most re- markable work of his life was accomplished in his last pas- torate. During the first twenty years of this pastorate (the figures for the other six are not at hand) there were over eigh- teen hundred added to the membership, the church raised about two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars for all purposes, ten ministers were sent out, two new churches were organized- daughters of Grace Street-and numbers of members went to reinforce other churches. It also came to pass that in this pastorate two great houses of worship were built and paid for under the leadership of Dr. Hatcher.
He resigned this pastorate to conduct a campaign for the endowment of Richmond college, and his term of service in this work ended in April, 1906.
During all these years Dr. Hatcher has been much in de- mand for lectures, addresses, special sermons, etc. His re- markable variety and versatility of gifts have made him emi- nently acceptable and desirable for services of this kind. It is probable that he has dedicated more houses of worship in Virginia and other states than any living preacher in the South.
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