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 11
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In the period of his active ministry he has written almost continuously for the public press, as editor or correspondent of various denominational papers. One special form of useful activity in which he has been remarkably skilful and effective is in stimulating and guiding young men in the matter of seeking an education. Within the few years prior to 1906, under his wise and inspiring leadership, Fork Union academy was founded. This school has had a remarkable growth and, though he derives no income therefrom, it is an institution of which Dr. Hatcher is especially proud.
Dr. Hatcher has held a large number of posts of honor and responsibility in the general work of the Baptists, such as
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president of the board of trustees of Richmond college, a mem- ber of the board of trustees of the Southern Baptist Theological seminary, president of the Virginia Baptist Orphanage trustees, and president of the Education Board of the Baptist General association of Virginia. For two years he was president of the Baptist General association of Virginia. He holds high rank in the Southern Baptist convention and often preaches and makes addresses in the North. He enjoyed an intimate ac- quaintance with Mr. Spurgeon, the eminent London preacher.
He has written an excellent biography of Dr. J. B. Jeter, a kinsman and native of the same county and a unique and admirable character, who for many years was the acknowledged leader of Virginia Baptists and whose influence was felt through- out the land. Dr. Hatcher has just published a book on John Jasper, the most extraordinary orator of the negro race, a man of the loftiest Christian character.
Dr. Hatcher was married December 22, 1864, to Miss Vir- ginia O. Snead, of Fluvanna county, Virginia. They have had nine children, five of whom, one son and four daughters, are now (1908) living. The son, Rev. E. B. Hatcher, is secretary of Baptist Missions in Maryland; one of the daughters is mar- ried and lives in Lynchburg; one is a professor in Bryn Mawr college; one is teaching in Fork Union academy, and the youngest is teaching in New York.
Dr. Hatcher's address is Fork Union, Virginia. But it has to be said that the demands upon him on the part of the public were never so heavy as now (1908). Within the past year he has spoken and preached in many states, both North and South. From his youth he has had success in Evangelistic work, but never such a notable success as since his retirement from the pastorate. He preaches three or four times a day with no apparent fatigue.
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WALLER JUDSON HENSON
H ENSON, WALLER JUDSON, lawyer, jurist, was born in Buckingham county, Virginia, on November 18, 1864, son of John Waller and Martha A. (Chambers) Henson. His father was a minister of the Baptist church, of learning and zeal, and a brother of the Rev. P. S. Henson, D. D., the celebrated scholar, preacher, lecturer and writer, at present pastor of Tremont Temple, Boston, Massachusetts.
During his boyhood and youth, Waller Henson was brought up in the country. He was fond of hunting, fishing and all outdoor sports, but especially fond of study. He was reared on a farm, was inured to farm work and early received prac- tical lessons in other wholesome employment. He received par- ticular encouragement from his mother in his educational efforts and cultivated a decided taste for good literature, particularly history, biography and essays. Denied the advantage of a higher education, he has nevertheless been a close student throughout his entire career, and through private study has accomplished more than most persons who have received college degrees.
His first impulse was to be a telegraph operator, and for some time subsequent to February, 1883, he served as an operator for the old R. & A. railroad. In 1887 he entered upon the study of law while still working as a telegraph operator, and in 1888 he attended the summer session of the law department of the University of Virginia, gaining admission to the bar in Sep- tember of that year. He commenced practicing at Pearisburg, Virginia, in January, 1889, and five years later was elected pro- secuting attorney for Giles county, Virginia. He served a term of four years in that capacity, but did not present himself for reelection at the end of his first term. In 1903, he was elected circuit judge of the twenty-second Virginia circuit, at the age of thirty-seven, without opposition. At the time of his nomina- tion, he was the youngest of the twenty-four judges nominated. He is a Democrat, a member of the Missionary Baptist church
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and has always exhibited an unusual interest in the educational and moral upbuilding of the community. Himself a man who has achieved a notable success, both professionally and finan- cially, his words to the young men of the state touching an aim in life are unusually significant. "Decide," says he, "on some business or profession for your life work, and resolve that you will be equal to the best in that profession or line of business. Keep that resolution faithfully. Bend all your energies to that purpose and abstain from anything that will militate against its accomplishment. In other words, have a well considered purpose in life and then stick to it."
On July 4, 1887, Judge Henson married Cornelia A. Du- laney, daughter of David E. and Jennie Dulaney, of Giles county, Virginia. They have three children living in 1908.
The address of Judge Henson is Pearisburg, Giles County, Virginia.
CHARLES HENRY HICKEY
H ICKEY, CHARLES HENRY, was born in Campbell county, Virginia, August 1, 1838, and his parents were Frederick Hickey and Sarah Sanderson Fowler, his wife. His father was a farmer, who, on account of ill health, which made a change of climate desirable, came from Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, to Virginia, about the year 1820. The Hickey family was of Scotch-Irish origin, and the grandfather of the subject of this sketch came from the North of Ireland and settled near Philadelphia.
Charles Henry Hickey attended private schools in Lynch- burg, Virginia, and commenced the active work of life in that city in the dry goods establishment of Payne & Bell. In 1859 he engaged in the shoe business in Danville, Virginia, but soon after the War between the States broke out he became chief clerk in the district commissary department of the Confederate government. After the war he conducted, for eleven years, the hardware business under the firm name of Hickey & Sublett. In 1874 he began the manufacture of tobacco, and in 1879 began the export tobacco business. He is a director in the Union Ex- change bank of Danville, and for two years was its president, a position the duties of which he discharged with much satis- faction. Mr. Hickey has been a successful business man, and no man stands higher in the opinion of the good people of Dan- ville. For two terms he was a school trustee, and he has served both in the board of aldermen of the city and in the common council. In all three situations he confirmed the good opinion which the people entertained of his abilities and purposes. He is a Mason and has served as master of the Roman Eagle lodge, located in Danville, Virginia. In politics he is a Demo- crat, who has stood faithfully by his party, and for forty-four years he has been steward in the Main Street Methodist church of his city.
On January 20, 1869, he married Mamie Jamieson, daughter
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of Rev. James Jamieson, president of Danville Female college. They have had three children, two of whom are now (1908) living.
His address is Danville, Virginia.
JOHN JAMES HICKOK
H ICKOK, JOHN JAMES, of Richmond, Virginia, was born in Maysville, Buckingham county, Virginia, on the 7th of May, 1846. His father, Patrick Henry Hickok, was a farmer and merchant, a man of inflexible honesty and high ideals, who had married Miss Elizabeth M. Pittman.
In his boyhood John James Hickok was of slender physique. His home was in a village. From his earliest years he was ex- ceptionally fond of music and of reading. He attended school with regularity until he was about fourteen. The breaking out of the Civil war interfered with further attendance at school. His former teacher, and six of his school mates were killed in the battle at Rich Mountain, in 1861; and of these six schoolmates, one was his only brother, Charles Henry Hickok.
He himself became a private in Company D of the 20th Virginia cavalry, Lomax's division; and served in the Confed- erate army for about sixteen months.
With reference to reading and study in his early years, Mr. Hickok writes: "The Bible impressed me with my duty; Shakespeare, Bulwer, Scott, Dickens, with the varied sides of humanity ; my own experience has always been a 'book' of ines- timable value to me, and has always been in use by me." The influence of his early home he counts as strongest, in shaping his life; and private study after the hours of work were over he continued through most of the years of his life; while contact with men always had a powerful influence in broadening his ideas, deepening his sympathies and strengthening his convic- tions.
At the close of the war, he began the work of life for him- self as partner in a country store at Cumberland court-house, Virginia. The especial need of doing something to provide for the future, in the troublous times which immediately followed the war, and the especial opportunity which opened to him at Cumberland court-house, were the decisive factors in determining his occupation. In later years he became prominent in the
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tobacco business in Virginia; and still later he was interested in the stock brokerage business.
He had established himself in Richmond some twenty years ago and he became thoroughly identified with many of the in- terests of the capital city of Virginia.
Mr. Hickok was twice married,-first to Miss Mary E. Ober, of Baltimore, Maryland, daughter of Gustavus Ober, of that state. They have had three children, one son and two daughters. Both the daughters are living in 1908. He was married a second time on the 6th of November, 1902, to Miss Belle Hambleton, daughter of John A. Hambleton, Esq., of Baltimore, Maryland.
His experience as a soldier in the Confederate army during the war, led Mr. Hickok to take throughout his life a warm in- terest in the affairs of the Confederate veterans; and he was a member of the Confederate Survivors association of Augusta, Georgia.
He was a member of the Westmoreland club, of Richmond, Virginia.
By religious conviction and early training, Mr. Hickok is identified with the Presbyterian Church, South. By political conviction a Democrat, he has regularly supported the nominees and the principles of that party, never swerving from his party allegiance.
Throughout his life, he has been a follower of Izaak Walton in the " gentle art of angling;" and when asked for his favorite form of sport and exercise, he answered, "I enjoy fishing, in good waters."
To the young men of Virginia, Mr. Hickok commends as the guide to true success in life, " straightforward and undeviating honesty; truthfulness, sobriety, and the ambition to discharge every duty faithfully and well. To my mind, this covers almost all our obligations to God and man."
Since the publication of this series of biographies was com- menced, the many friends of Mr. Hickok have been called upon to mourn his death, (May 10th, 1907.) He is survived by his widow, and two daughters. His home was at 821 West Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia.
JOSEPHUS HOPWOOD
H OPWOOD, JOSEPHUS, educator, was born April 18, 1843, on a farm, in Montgomery county, Kentucky. His father, William Combs Hopwood, farmer and teacher, was known in his county as a popular talker and reader. His mother, Parmelia (Fox) Hopwood, a woman of great energy and force of character, exercised a strong influence upon her son. His descent is English on both sides. The first Hopwood ances- tor came from England and settled in Fairfax county, Virginia, between 1740 and 1760; and the first American Fox ancestor came from England to Loudoun county, Virginia about the same time. Members of both families have been noted for intelligence and industry.
Josephus Hopwood passed his early days in the country, where he did all kinds of farm work. This, he believes, was of great benefit in developing initiative and giving him confidence in himself. He received his primary education in country schools, where his teachers influenced him for good. His preparation for college was by diligent private study covering a period of several years, in more than three of which, during the Civil war, he served as a private in the 7th Illinois cavalry regiment from September 3, 1861, to October 11, 1864; and so thorough was his preparation that, when he entered Abingdon (Illinois) college (now combined with Eureka college of the same state), he was enabled to take his place in class with students who had been there two years. He was graduated from Abingdon college A. B. in June, 1873; and in 1883 the same institution conferred upon him the degree of A. M. He has declined a higher honorary degree tendered him by another college. He took a partial post- graduate course in Kentucky university.
From youth, Mr. Hopwood had planned to found a school in the South, but it was not until he reached the age of twenty- four that he definitely decided to make education his life-work- a decision which he says was "a deliberate choice, with open Bible before me." Since his graduation he has been engaged
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continuously in educational work. The fall after leaving college he was made principal of the Sneedville (Tennessee) academy. Afterwards, in 1875, he became principal of Buffalo institute, near Johnson City, Tennessee, which position he held until 1882. During two years of this time he served as postmaster. He was appointed to this office without solicitation on his part and was removed for political reasons. In 1882 Buffalo institute was changed to Milligan (Tennessee) college, and Mr. Hopwood was made its president. He remained in that position until 1903. In 1896, he was Prohibition candidate for governor of Tennessee; and during the campaign he canvassed the entire state, making one hundred and fifty speeches. In June, 1903, he became presi- dent of the Virginia Christian college, Lynchburg, Virginia.
In addition to his educational work, Mr. Hopwood has been office and assistant editor of "The Pilot," a Prohibition paper published in Nashville, Tennessee; has done some preaching, mostly in pulpits of the Disciples, or Christian church, of which he is a member; delivered many public addresses, mostly in favor of prohibition and Christian citizenship; has been a voluminous contributor to prohibition and denominational publications, and is now (1908) writing two books, one for young teachers, and one for young men.
Speaking from experience, he says that if he had to live his life over, he would try to systematize his time and work more thoroughly. He thinks the young should be taught absolute honesty ; to have clean personal habits; high ideals of wealth, of knowledge, of power, of a good name, of liberty, and of doing good; and that these, although for daily use, are only means to the end of forming a complete Christian manhood with which to serve the race and honor God.
Though he has never taken time for anything that could be classed as sport or amusement, finding his only recreation in a change of work or a quiet walk in the woods, he encourages base- ball, long walks, and indoor physical culture among students of his college.
He was married August 19, 1874, to Sarah Eleanor La Rue, (a member of the well-known La Rue and Hardin families of
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Kentucky) whose constant helpfulness in his educational and literary work he gratefully acknowledges.
His address is Virginia Christian College, Lynchburg, Vir- ginia.
den of Clark Publishing
Washington D .
yours truly ed. Hotchkiss
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JED HOTCHKISS
H OTCHKISS, JED, educator, soldier, civil and mining engineer, was born at Windsor, Broome county, New York, November 30, 1828. His parents were Stiles and Lydia (Beecher) Hotchkiss. The first known ancestor to come to this country was Samuel Hotchkiss, of Scotch ancestry, who settled in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1642. One of his descend- ants emigrated from Connecticut to New York and settled in the Susquehanna Valley, a short distance from the Pennsylvania line, where he bought a large tract of unoccupied land and laid out the village of Windsor.
The childhood and youth of Jed Hotchkiss were passed in the country but near a small village. His health was good and with the exception of an unusual fondness for study his tastes and interests were those of the average boy of his time and surround- ings. In term times he attended the public schools, and, when farther advanced in his studies, the village academy. He was especially interested in botany and geology and in pursuing those studies he traversed a large area and became familiar with the topography of the section around his home. When not in school, or searching for specimens of plants and minerals, he performed the usual tasks required of a boy on a farm.
The active work of life was commenced in the winter of 1846-47 when, with several young men of the vicinity, he went to Lyken's Valley, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where coal mines were then being opened. Here he taught school for one term in a German-speaking community, at the same time studying the geology of the anthracite coal region. At the close of the term he made, in company with another teacher a pedestrian tour of the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, the Piedmont region of Maryland, the Shenandoah and the James River of the Great Valley of Virginia, and portions of Piedmont Virginia. On this trip he crossed the Blue Ridge several times, visited important places, and became familiar with a large section of country, little thinking that by the explorations he was then mak-
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ing he was preparing himself for what was to be an important part of the work of his later years.
While on this tour he became acquainted with Henry Forrer, an iron master, who secured him the position of teacher in the family of his brother, Daniel Forrer, of Mossy Creek, Augusta county, Virginia. Here he commenced teaching in the autumn of 1847. His success was so marked as to lead to an increased demand for his services and Mr. Forrer and other friends founded the Mossy Creek academy which, under the direction of Mr. Hotchkiss, became one of the best schools for boys in the state. Partly on account of the great responsibility involved in the management of such a school and partly because the health of his wife had become impaired, he sold his interest in the institution in 1858 and removed to Stribling Springs, in the same county, where he taught a small school for one year. At the end of this time a brother from New York joined him in the purchase of a large and highly improved farm at Churchville in the same (Augusta) county, and in the autumn he opened the Loch Willow school for boys. He had assistant teachers and his brother at- tended to the farm and to the boarding department of the school.
Until the opening of the Civil war the school was prosperous but when the state of Virginia withdrew from the Union the assistant teacher raised a company of infantry which was joined by several of the Loch Willow pupils. Several others joined a cavalry company and in June the few boys who remained were sent to their homes and Mr. Hotchkiss tendered his services to the army. He had given much of his spare time to exploring and mapping some of the more important valleys and mountain ranges, and his experience, together with his unquestioned ability in this direction, led to his assignment to the position of topo- graphical engineer. His first service was with Colonel Heck, who held the left of General Garnett's line in July 1861. He commenced a map of the region, but McClellan's attack com- pelled a retreat, and on a dark and rainy night Mr. Hotchkiss led his men through woods and swamps and over mountains to a place of safety. All the other commands were captured. In August, he became topographical engineer to General Lee, who was then stationed at Valley Mountain. The exposure, and the severe and long continued duty at this time caused an attack of
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typhoid fever which laid him aside from active work for several weeks, but while convalescing he made the necessary maps for the reports of officers who conducted the Rich Mountain and Tygart's Valley campaigns. In March, 1862, Engineer Hotchkiss was assigned to the staff of General T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson, and was commissioned topographical engineer with the rank of cap- tain. His first assignment was to " Prepare a complete map of the valley, showing every point of offense and defense, from the Potomac to Lexington." His familiarity with the region and his facility in sketching, with his remarkably clear vision, enabled him to perform this difficult feat in a most creditable manner and in a very brief time. For this service he received high praise from General Jackson. Throughout the war his arduous, and often extremely dangerous, duties were faithfully performed. It is recorded that in one night he rode on horseback sixty miles without rest. In many cases he selected the Confederate posi- tions for stationing troops and for numerous important engage- ments he indicated the lines of advance or retreat. His maps, too, were invaluable. General Lee said that he "always had confidence in them," and other officers relied upon them implicitly. After General Jackson's death Mr. Hotchkiss served on the staff of General Ewell with the rank of major. He was with General Ewell on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, and during the remainder of this battle he was stationed on Seminary Ridge to watch and report the progress of the conflict. In 1864 he served with General Early in the campaign against Sheridan, and dur- ing this year he furnished more than one hundred maps which were used by commanding officers of all ranks from General Lee down. When General Lee surrendered at Appomattox Major Hotchkiss was with General Rosser at Lynchburg. He left his maps in what he believed to be a safe place and returned to his home. Soon afterward an informer reported to the Federal government the existence of these maps and they were demanded by order of General Grant. Mr. Hotchkiss went to Washington and, in an interview with General Grant, protested against their confiscation, and offered to make copies of any that were needed. General Grant offered to pay for copies of those which he required for his reports and ordered the originals returned. During the war Major Hotchkiss was often in great peril. At
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the best, his work was difficult and dangerous, and at times it was exceedingly hazardous. Two horses were killed under him, and in the battle of the Wilderness his life was saved by his field glass which intercepted a ball which otherwise would have struck his heart.
In 1865 Major Hotchkiss removed to Staunton, Virginia, where he opened a select school for boys, limiting the number of pupils to fifteen. He remained with this school for two years, when tiring of the confinement and feeling that he could be more useful in another direction, he engaged in civil and mining engi- neering, with a special view of learning and making known more fully the natural resources of the two Virginias. He traversed the mountains and valleys, encountering many difficulties and enduring severe hardships, until he became familiar with the great forest and mineral area of the two states. When General Lee became president of Washington college (now Washington and Lee university) he planned a physicial survey of the South for the purpose of making known its natural resources and at- tracting capital for their development. At his urgent request, Major Hotchkiss took charge of the topographical department, and the production and publication of his maps was well under way when the death of General Lee brought the project to a close. In 1872 and again in 1874 he went to England to make known there the great wealth of the section which he had so carefully explored. For the same purpose he also visited important points in the North and West of his own country, and secured the invest- ment of millions of dollars capital from the United States and Europe in the development of the mines and of the timber re- sources of the two states.
As an author and compiler Mr. Hotchkiss also rendered important services. "The Summary of Virginia," which he prepared for the state in 1875, contained a valuable collection of facts and figures and many helpful maps. He furnished mineral statistics of Virginia for the census of 1879, and from 1880 to 1886 he published " The Virginias," a quarto monthly magazine which contained full and reliable data regarding the material resources of Virginia and West Virginia. He was also a contrib- utor to leading scientific journals in this country and Europe.
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