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 4
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Judge Christian's address is 412 Madison Street, Lynchburg, Virginia.
GEORGE LLEWELLYN CHRISTIAN
C' HRISTIAN, GEORGE LLEWELLYN, lawyer and banker, president of the Richmond bar association; president of the city council of Richmond, president of the chamber of commerce of Richmond, and president of the National Bank of Virginia, and of the Virginia State Insurance company of Richmond, was born in Charles City county, Vir- ginia, April 13, 1841. He is the son of Edmund Thomas Chris- tian and Mrs. Tabitha Rebecca Christian, who was a daughter of Edmund V. Graves, of Charles City county, Virginia.
After studying in the private academies of Taylorsville and Northwood, in Charles City county, he was a student of law in the University of Virginia in 1864 and 1865; and again in 1870, but before entering upon his law studies, he had served in the Confederate States army, enlisting in 1861 and serving until May 12, 1864, when he was so severely wounded in the engage- ment known as the "Bloody Angle," at Spottsylvania court- house that further active service in the army was impossible.
In 1867 he was admitted to the bar. His practice grew steadily. In 1878 he became judge of the hustings court of Richmond, holding that office until 1883, when he returned to the bar, and has been a successful practitioner since that time.
In addition to his professional work and engagements, he has been prominently identified with the business life and city government of Richmond. He was president of the city council, from 1876 to 1878, when he went on the bench. He was presi- dent of the chamber of commerce, from 1892 to 1895. In 1893 he was chosen president of the National Bank of Virginia. He has been president of the Virginia State Insurance company since 1902.
Deeply interested in preserving the true history of the war, he was chairman of the history committee of the grand camp of Confederate Veterans of Virginia ; and is a member of the history committte of the United Confederate Veterans. As chair- man of the history committee of the Grand Camp of Virginia,
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he has published several pamphlet reports on the causes and his- tory of the Civil war, which have been published in a work called " The Confederate Cause and Conduct in the War between the States."
On April 21, 1869, Mr. Christian married Miss Ida Morris, daughter of Adolphus Morris, of Richmond, Virginia. Some years after her death, he married Miss Emma Christian, daughter of William H. Christian, of Richmond, Virginia.
In politics, Judge Christian is a Democrat; and he has uniformly supported the principles and the nominees of that party. Judge Christian with his late partner, Mr. Frank W. Christian, founded and edited the " Virginia Law Journal " in 1884 which ran through a series of sixteen volumes.
His residence is 515 West Grace Street; and his office is in the Chamber of Commerce, Richmond, Virginia.
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JOSEPH WENTWORTH COXE
C OXE, JOSEPH WENTWORTH, comptroller Norfolk and Western Railroad company, was born in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, December 13, 1853. His father, Charles W. Coxe, was a merchant of Philadelphia.
The Coxe family is of English origin, having come from Eng- land several generations ago.
Joseph W. Coxe's early life was spent in his native city of Philadelphia. He attended the public schools of that city, grad- uating in 1872 from the Central high school with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and receiving the degree of Master of Arts in 1876 from the same school.
After his graduation Mr. Coxe, upon the recommendation of the president of the high school was appointed cashier for a manufacturing firm. His father having died before he graduated from the Philadelphia high school, leaving a very small estate, Mr. Coxe had to rely entirely upon his own exertions and re- sources. In April, 1877, he entered the railway service, since which time he has been consecutively, to April 1, 1879, clerk in the auditor's office of the Empire fast freight line; April 1 to April 21, 1879, in the office of the auditor of freight re- ceipts of the Pennsylvania railroad; April 21, 1879, to March, 1880, auditor and general ticket agent of the Buffalo, Chau- tauqua Lake and Pittsburgh railway; from March, 1880, to September, 1883, auditor and general ticket agent of the Shenan- doah Valley railroad; September, 1883, to April, 1885, auditor of the Shenandoah Valley railroad; April 1, 1885, to March 1, 1902, auditor Norfolk and Western railroad and its successor, the Nor- folk and Western railway; April 1, 1902, to January 31, 1904. general auditor of the Norfolk and Western railway; February 1, 1904, to the present time, comptroller of the Norfolk and Western railroad, and from January 1, 1884, to March 31, 1902, he also filled the position of clearing-house agent of the great Southern Dispatch fast freight line.
In religious preference Mr. Coxe is an Episcopalian. In
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national politics he is a Republican; in local elections he votes the Democratic ticket. Though a very busy man, Mr. Coxe finds time for social relaxation. He is a member of the board of governors of the Roanoke Country club and of the Shenan- doah club of Roanoke city.
On April 26, 1883, Mr. Coxe married Mary K. Syester, of Hagerstown, Maryland. They have had four children, all of whom are now (1908) living.
Mr. Coxe's address is Roanoke, Virginia.
ANGUS CRAWFORD
C RAWFORD, ANGUS, D. D., Protestant Episcopal clergy- man and educator, was born June 5, 1850, in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. His father, Angus Crawford, was a planter. His mother, Isabella Eliza (Laurie) Crawford, was a lineal descendant of one of the Misses Jenkinson who were present at the battle of Prestonpans, 1745 (referred to in the history of Tranent Parish, Scotland). His ancestry is Irish, English and Scotch; his grandfather, Walter Crawford, emigrated with his family, from County Down, Ireland, to Canada, in 1829, and became a colonel of militia and crown land agent. The Craw- fords are kindred to the Crawford-Lindsay family of Scotland, and with the McDonalds of the Clanranald family; his maternal grandfather, P. P. Laurie, went from London, England, where he had been a banker, with his family, to Canada in 1836; the Lauries claim connection with the Lauries of Maxwelton (the family of " Annie Laurie," the famous).
He passed his early life in the country, and received his training at the common and grammar schools of Cobourg. He also studied agriculture with his father, intending to make that his life-work. When about eighteen, he determined to study for the Christian ministry. From 1869 to 1871, he was a student at Queen's college, Kingston, Ontario, going thence to the University of Toronto, where he studied three years and was graduated A. B. in the honor department in 1874, and was silver medalist in natural science. In 1884, the same institution conferred upon him the degree of M. A. In 1874-75, he studied theology at Princeton, New Jersey, going thence to the Divinity school, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1876. In the same year he was ordained to the diaconate of the Protes- tant Episcopal church, and in 1877, to the priesthood. In 1893 Roanoke college, Virginia, conferred upon him the honorary de- gree of D. D.
During the summer of 1876, he had charge (his first) of Holy Trinity chapel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in the fall Vol. 5-Va .- 4
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of the same year became rector of Trinity church, Mount Holly, New Jersey, where he remained about eleven years. Since 1887, he has been professor of Hebrew and Old Testament literature in the Protestant Episcopal Theological seminary, Fairfax county, Virginia; in 1898 was appointed chairman of the faculty, and since 1900 has been dean. He was a delegate from Virginia to the general conventions of the Protestant Episcopal church in San Francisco, in 1901, in Boston, 1904, and in Richmond, 1907. He was editor-in-chief of the "Protestant Episcopal Review " for several years, besides contributing many of its articles. In 1892 he was elected a member of the American Oriental society. He is a member of the Cosmos club, Washington, District of Columbia, and of the Phi Beta Kappa society, of Virginia. In politics he is independent, voting as his judgment dictates at each election.
On May 18, 1880, he was married to Miss Brown of Mount Holly, New Jersey. They have had five children, four of whom are (1908) living.
His address is Theological Seminary, Fairfax County, Vir- ginia.
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SPOTSWOOD DABNEY CRENSHAW
C RENSHAW, S. DABNEY, was born in Richmond, Vir- ginia, August 15, 1854, his parents being William G. Crenshaw and Fanny Elizabeth Graves. He is also a descendant of the Dabneys of Hanover, the Longs, Appersons, Holladays and Harrisons, of Spottsylvania.
His paternal grandfather, Spotswood Dabney Crenshaw, was born in Hanover county, Virginia, but moved to Richmond when a young man and lived there the balance of his life. He had eight children by Winnifred Graves, daughter of Isaac Graves, originally of Spottsylvania county, but who, in 1747 settled in Orange county, Virginia, where he owned large estates and many slaves.
His father, Captain William G. Crenshaw, was born July 7, 1824, and was not only a large land and slave holder in Orange county, but was also the senior member of the firm of Crenshaw and Company, of Richmond, Virginia, prior to the Civil war, which concern did business over nearly the whole world, largely shipping in their own vessels. He organized, equipped and commanded the famous Crenshaw battery, Con- federate States army, during the War between the States. On April 15, 1863, he was detailed from the army to go to England, as the agent of the Confederate States government, to procure war vessels, supplies and ordnance.
Spotswood Dabney Crenshaw, the subject of this sketch, received his early education from private tutors and spent one year at Rugby, England, during several years' residence in that country. He returned to Virginia and went to Hanover academy where he remained five years. In 1873 he entered the University of Virginia, and after graduating in the academic schools of Latin, French and German, he devoted himself to the subject of chemistry and graduated in the schools of general, industrial, analytical, and agricultural chemistry. On leaving the Uni- versity of Virginia in 1876, he went to New York city where he remained in business for five years, then returning to Virginia
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and settling in his native city-Richmond-where he engaged in the manufacture of chemicals, acids, fertilizers and kindred articles and also became interested in mining and farming. He took part in the formation of the Virginia-Carolina Chemical company, and at the present writing, he holds the office of secretary of that company.
He is president of the Sulphur Mining and Railroad com- pany, and of the Bank of Louisa. He is also interested in mining in the West. He has always taken a lively and active interest in farming and horse breeding, in which he is engaged to a very large extent, the family estates in Orange being still owned by the family. He has been president of the Commonwealth club and director of the Richmond chamber of commerce, and is director of the First National bank, and the Bank of Richmond. While at the University of Virginia he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and he belongs to the Westmoreland. Commonwealth and Deep Run Hunt clubs, and many other social organizations.
In 1882 he, in connection with his father and brother, not only inaugurated the mining of pyrites, but also inaugurated the use of it (instead of brimstone) in the United States for the manufacture of sulphuric acid in this country, erecting the first furnace for this purpose at Richmond, Virginia, which resulted in revolutionizing the acid manufacturing in the United States.
On November 7, 1887, he married Miss Anne Warfield Clay, of Lexington, Kentucky, and has four children ; Warfield, Fanny Graves, S. D., Jr., and Clay Crenshaw.
His address is Richmond, Virginia.
WILLIAM WOOD CRUMP
CR RUMP, WILLIAM WOOD, jurist, legislator and advo- cate, was born in Henrico county, Virginia, November 25, 1819, and his parents were Sterling Jamieson Crump and Elizabeth Wood Crump. His father was an importing mer- chant of high integrity in business and courteous deportment. The Crump family in Virginia begins with William Crump, who was living in York county, in 1660. In 1654 New Kent county was cut out of York county, and the descendants of William Crump lived for many generations in New Kent.
His physical condition in childhood and youth was sturdy and strong, and his early years were passed in the city of Rich- mond. His mother was a woman of strong character and doubt- less had much influence upon him intellectually. His special tastes in childhood were those of his maturer years, and he combined the pursuit of literary ends with eager participation in social life. He was especially fond of history and the study of the principles of government. As a boy he attended Dr. Gwathmey's school in Richmond and later was a student at Amherst institute, Amherst, Massachusetts. In 1835 he matri- culated at William and Mary college where he completed his classical education in 1838. He then pursued the study of law under the able tutorship of Professor N. Beverley Tucker, be- tween whom and himself there ever afterwards continued until Judge Tucker's death the closest friendship and mutual ap- preciation and esteem. Graduating at the close of the session he returned to Richmond and, in 1840, began the practice of his profession, and very soon won an enviable position at the bar. His early political predilection had been strengthened and in- tensified by his association with Judge Tucker, who was not only a great law teacher, but a strong political writer; and he en- tered into active public life as a pronounced champion of states rights. At that time Martin Van Buren was the leader of the Democratic party, and the disaffection with his views had driven many of the states rights Democrats into the Whig fold,
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including Judge Tucker, John Tyler and Judge Upshur. The victory of the Whigs, in 1841, was soon after followed by the disruption of its discordant elements, on the question of the United States bank; and states rights Whigs and states rights Democrats acted pretty well along the same lines, during the whole of Tyler's administration. In the year 1844 Judge Crump was a supporter of John C. Calhoun and advocated the annexation of Texas, and to his influence in no small degree was due the ultimate rejection of Martin Van Buren by the Demo- cratic convention and the nomination of James K. Polk as president. Judge Crump was one of the most efficient speakers in the canvass of 1844, and assisted greatly in placing Virginia in the roll of Democratic states which cast their votes for Polk. In the next presidential canvass (of 1848) between Zachary Taylor and Lewis Cass, Judge Crump was no less prominent and effective in supporting the latter as nominee of the Demo- cratic party.
In the spring of 1851 Honorable John S. Caskie resigned the judgeship of the circuit court of Richmond city to accept a nomination to congress, and Judge Crump was elected by the legislature as his successor. He held the office for only a few months, the new constitution of the state terminating the incumbency of all the judges on July 1, 1852. By that con- stitution the election of judge was taken from the legislature and devolved upon the people, and Judge Crump was not a can- didate. The choice of the people fell upon the late Honorable John A. Meredith, his only competitor being Robert C. Stanard, Esq.
After his retirement from the bench, Judge Crump was a prominent figure in the city council of Richmond before the war, and was the father of many ordinances looking to the growth and welfare of the city.
When the war broke out, in 1861, being intensely a Vir- ginian and in the deepest sympathy with her people during all the days of their agonizing trial, he was appointed assistant secretary of the treasury of the Confederate States, and in that capacity rendered most valuable service to the Confederate cause until the collapse of the government.
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He was elected as one of the delegates of the city of Rich- mond to the first general assembly after the war, and, as chairman of one of its most important committees and a participant upon the floor in debate, was one of the most prominent and con- spicious members of that representative body. The passage of the Shellabarger bill remitted the states to the condition of a conquered province, and retired all the members of the legisla- ture to private life. Judge Crump continued thereafter to the close of his life a practitioner of law, out of all office with the exception of a term of service again in the legislature for two or three successive years.
For some years before the war he was a member of the board of visitors of William and Mary college, and continued as such to the day of his death. After the war, feeling as he always did, the most earnest pride and interest in his alma mater, he was among her foremost friends in resuscitating its shattered for- tunes; and for some years presided over the board of visitors as rector of the college.
Judge Crump was ranked during his lifetime as one of the foremost men at the Virginia bar. He was a great advocate, and, though eminent in other branches of the profession, he was preëminently so in the trial of causes before the juries of the country. His skill in the presentation of his client's case, and in the examination and cross-examination of witnesses, was con- ceded to be unsurpassed by that of any of his contemporaries at the bar. His arguments before the jury were always powerful, and sometimes overwhelming. As a criminal advocate, he ap- peared in almost every important cause in Richmond for many years, and when the evidence presented, on the most liberal con- struction, any reasonable doubt of the guilt of his prisoner, he was invariably successful.
The most celebrated case in which Judge Crump was engaged was the defence of President Jefferson Davis when charged with treason, and when Mr. Davis was subsequently released under bond Judge Crump was one of his bondsmen. He was also of counsel in the noted John Randolph will case, which was tried in Petersburg. Of the scores of great criminal cases in which he appeared, the most noted were those of Jeter Phillips, tried
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WILLIAM WOOD CRUMP
in Hanover for the murder of his young wife, and Thomas Jud- son Cluverius, tried in Richmond for the murder of his cousin, Fannie Lillian Madison, who was thrown into the old reservoir.
In his social character few ever surpassed him. He was a fluent conversationalist, and had remarkable descriptive powers, which made his conversation fascinating and delightful. He amassed a fund of information on all subjects, and was full of interesting reminiscences concerning the state and Richmond and men of his earlier days. He hated cant and hypocrisy, and was a true and loyal friend.
In his religious convictions he was attached to the Protestant Episcopal church. His death occurred in Richmond on February 27, 1897, and few men ever received higher tributes of esteem than were awarded to him by the newspapers and the members of the Bar association of the city of Richmond after the event of his demise was known.
Judge Crump was married in early manhood to Miss Mary S. Tabb, daughter of Philip Edward Tabb, Esq., of Waverley, Gloucester county, Virginia, who died some years ago, leaving behind her a saintly memory. He was survived by four chil- dren, all of whom, at the time of his death, were living in Rich- mond, Virginia
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WILLIAM SPENSER CURRELL
C URRELL, WILLIAM SPENSER, professor of Eng- lish in Washington and Lee university, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, May 13, 1858, and his pa- rents were William Currell and Agnes Todd Wilkie. On his paternal side he is of Huguenot ancestry, and on his maternal he is of Scotch-English. While his ancestors did not attain extensive public reputation, they constituted a race of hardy, healthy men and women, who kept their escutcheon clear of any disgrace or dishonor. His father was, during most of his life, a teacher, but at one time he was assistant collector of the port at Charleston. His marked characteristics were patience, fidel- ity, thoroughness, aptness to teach and high sense of honor. His physical condition in youth was not strong, although it improved greatly after his twenty-first year. His early life was passed in a town, and he had no manual labor to perform. He attended his father's schools, King Mountain's Military academy in Yorkville, South Carolina, and Washington and Lee univer- sity. He remained at the last named institution seven years. from 1875 to 1882, taking the degrees of A. B., M. A., and Ph. D. in English.
His first strong impulse to win the prizes of life may be attrib- uted to the teachings of his father, Professor J. A. Harrison of the University of Virginia, and to his own ambition. He began the active work of life as an instructor in French and history in Washington and Lee university. This choice of a profession turned almost entirely on circumstances, for a delayed letter made him a teacher, otherwise he would have been a journalist and writer. After taking his doctorate, he was elected professor of English at Hampden-Sidney college, where he re- mained from 1882 to 1886. He was then elected to the English chair at Davidson college, North Carolina, and continued there for nine years. After this he was for five years professor of modern languages and English language in Washington and Lee university and for the last seven years he has been professor
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WILLIAM SPENSER CURRELL
of English in the same celebrated institution. Professor Cur- rell has lectured very extensively at Chautauqua assemblies, and at educational associations in Virginia and North Carolina, and before various other associations in every Southern state except Florida, Texas and Arkansas.
He has been too busy with teaching and lecturing to write books, but he has contributed many excellent articles to maga- zines. He belongs to the Modern Languages association and other societies. When William Jennings Bryan was nomi- nated on a free silver platform he left the Democratic party and did not return to it for two elections, and he now calls him- self "an Independent Democrat." In religious affiliations he is a Presbyterian, and has been elder in the church since 1897. His favorite form of amusement is golf and social life.
He attributes such failures as he has made to lack of concen- tration, having been "compelled, by force of circumstances, to do too much, or rather too many." As for the best way to pro- mote sound ideals in American life and to attain true success, he advises young men to cherish "unswerving fidelity to truth, ethical and intellectual, faithfulness and promptness in the per- formance of the meanest tasks, oneness of aim and finally true religion." "This advice," he says, "sounds trite, but voices my sincere convictions." Finally, he estimates the influences which have shaped his life in the following order of importance; his father's influence ranks first, scholarship at Washington and Lee university second, private study third, and contact with men in life last; but it was by no means insignificant.
Sketches of his life have appeared in several publications, but the most important is in " Who's Who in America.
On June 28, 1888, he married Sarah Scott Carrington, daugh- ter of Colonel Charles S. Carrington, and granddaughter of Governor James McDowell. They have had eight children, of whom seven are now (1908) living.
His address is Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.
H.v. Darling
JAMES SANDS DARLING
ARLING, JAMES SANDS, of Hampton, Virginia, who during an active and public-spirited business life or- ganized and carried to success three important lines of business effort, in each case pioneering new methods or exploit- ing a new industry, was born in New York city on the 3d of February, 1832. His father, Hamilton Darling, was a builder of boats. His mother was Mrs. Temperance (Smith) Darling.
A healthy and strong boy, he passed his early years in the country, and from eleven to seventeen he lived upon a farm, engaged in farm work, except in the winter months, when he attended country schools. Self-reliance, the ability to use his hands effectively in many kinds of work, and a thorough ac- quaintance with the principles and methods of agriculture resulted from this early life of his upon a farm.
In his eighteenth year he engaged with an older brother in the business of building pleasure boats, and from the beginning of his connection with this business he showed remarkable me- chanical skill. That inherited deftness in the use of the hand, which often goes with several generations of trained mechanics, was his through his father and his grandfather, and he showed not only activity, industry and sterling integrity, but also a strong purpose to attack practical problems in an original way. He was not content to keep on doing ordinary things in the or- dinary way, but was anxious to seek improvement in methods and new lines of effort.
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