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 9
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ments to be said at every service, and the deacons faithfully promised to do it.
The range of Major Ginter's interest in affairs generally was uncommonly large, and his information was correspondingly varied and accurate. In some directions, as for instance in French, he was quite a scholar, and in his love of art and in critical appreciation of fine pictures not many men of his city surpassed him. His love of nature was a continual source of de- light to him, and his taste for landscape gardening was little short of inspiration.
Major Ginter never married, but his homes, which for years were the abode of hospitality of the finest type, found graceful mistresses in his sister and her daughters. When he reached the age of seventy his failing strength admonished him that he must cease his business activity. But with him to live was to work, and until his health was so impaired that it was impossible for him to do more, he kept up an active and lively interest in all that was around him, and especially in his extensive improve- ment of land near Richmond.
He went to Europe in 1896 for his health, and escaped the. harassing vexations of the presidential campaign of that year. No man had clearer ideas of financial matters than Major Ginter, and it may be easily inferred that he was not affected by any of the fallacies which prevailed at that time among his political associates. His health continued to decline until, on October 2, 1897, he died at his favorite residence in Henrico county, Vir- ginia, "Westbrook," surrounded by relatives and friends and mourned by all who knew him.
The demonstration at his death was such as is usually ac- corded to a great public official. Letters and telegrams reached Richmond from every quarter of the globe, his best loved city mourned for one of her best loved sons, and with united voice people and press pronounced the highest eulogies on his char- acter.
During his long life he was so thoroughly identified with the city of Richmond, and in so many ways showed his devotion to her welfare and public interest, that in announcing his death, (October 3, 1897), the "Richmond Times" declared that "As a
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business man, public spirited citizen and a philanthropist, he was the most distinguished person of his community;" while the "Richmond Dispatch" affirmed that "Death could not have torn from Richmond a more useful and beloved citizen than was Major Lewis Ginter. He was not merely a rich man; he was a great public benefactor. In business enterprise, in private char- ities, in help extended to struggling youth and in aid to educa- tional and eleemosynary institutions, he showed a noble spirit and princely hand."
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JOHN COWPER GRANBERY
G RANBERY, JOHN COWPER, minister, bishop, theo- logian, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, December 5, 1829. His parents were Richard A. and Ann Leslie Granbery. His father was a coach-painter, and was a modest, industrious and consecrated man.
The earliest American Granbery was John, who came from England early in the eighteenth century, and settled either in Eastern Virginia or in North Carolina, and died in 1733.
John C. Granbery inherited a delicate physique, which de- barred him from some of the pleasures of boyhood. His early years were saddened by the loss of his mother; but this was partially compensated for by the tenderness and the piety of his father.
His early education was obtained at private schools in the city of Norfolk and later at Randolph-Macon college, from which he received the degree of A. M. in 1848. His alma mater afterwards honored him with the degree of D. D. (1869). Im- mediately after leaving college, he entered upon the work of his life. His choice of the ministry as his sphere of effort was the result of a profound conviction that he was divinely called to this work, and this call he has gladly followed. The chief positions held by him have been: first, as pastor (1848-1875), except that from 1859-61 he was chaplain at the University of Virginia, and from 1861-65 he served in the Confederate States army as chaplain and evangelist; second, as professor of home- letics and church polity, and acting professor of moral philo- sophy in Vanderbilt university (1875-82), and, third, as bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1882-1902, in which latter year he resigned active duty because of feeble health. He was also a member of the general conference of his church in the years 1866, 1870, 1874, and 1882, and of the ecumenical con- ference in London, 1901. He has published a Bible dictionary, a volume of sermons, and "Christian Experience a Crowning Evidence."
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Bishop Granbery has been a well known minister of the Gospel throughout Virginia for more than fifty years. He began his public service as a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal conference in the year 1848, soon became a power in the pulpit, and has done yeoman service for the church and the world throughout his life.
He has been twice married. His first wife was Jennie Massie, to whom he was married in 1858; his second, Ella Fayette Winston, whom he married in 1862. He had nine chil- dren, three of whom survived him and are now (1908) living.
On April 1, 1907, Bishop Granbery died suddenly at his home in Ashland, Virginia.
CHARLES ROLLIN GRANDY
G RANDY, CHARLES ROLLIN, M. D., was born in Norfolk, Virginia, April 9, 1871, and he is the eldest son of Cyrus Wiley Grandy and Mary Selden. His paternal ancestor settled at an early date in North Carolina, whence his father, when still a little boy, removed to Norfolk. He is a successful cotton merchant and banker, and was quarter- master, with the rank of major, in the Confederate army. Dr. Grandy's mother is descended from Samuel Selden, an English lawyer, who came to Virginia in the year 1699, and settled in Elizabeth City county. Her father, Dr. William Selden, was a physician, of Norfolk city, who was very prominently known. The subject of this sketch was rather delicate in childhood, but as his father was a man of means, he was not compelled, like many other boys, to do manual labor, and he encountered no great difficulty in obtaining an education. But this has made no difference in Dr. Grandy's case, since, after all, the chief element in any man is his native character, which defies con- ditions. The spirit of work was born with him, and no lessons of actual experience were necessary to inspire him with the purpose to excel. He went to school first at the Norfolk academy, then to Bellevue high school, and finally, in 1889, to the Uni- versity of Virginia, from which he was graduated in 1892 with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine. De- signing to perfect himself in the knowledge of medicine, he spent three years in the City hospital and Hudson Street hos- pital, of New York, thus adding practical experience to the theoretical knowledge acquired at the university. He then spent two years in Germany, doing special pathological work at Freiburg, Frankfort and Berlin, where he gained a compre- hensive knowledge of the scientific methods followed in that country.
In 1898, after full preparation, he began the active work of life in Norfolk as a physician, where he has built up a large practice and won the esteem of the people. Nor has he con-
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tented himself with the ordinary routine work of his profession. Dr. Grandy has contributed numerous articles to medical magazines, and has made many scientific investigations on malarial fever and done considerable microscopic work. He has been active in improving the hygienic conditions of the state. He is the author of the law organizing the present Virginia State board of health, and in January, 1906, he was appointed a member of that body-a position which he still (1908) holds. In addition, he has attempted to get the local state authorities to work against tuberculosis, and has organized in Norfolk an anti-tuberculosis league, of which he is secretary- treasurer. He is also chairman of the Virginia committee of the International Congress on tuberculosis. Dr. Grandy is a man of great energy, and lofty ambition; he is loyal to his friends, and patriotic to his state. He belongs to the Norfolk Medical society, of which he was president in 1900, and holds membership in the Seaboard Medical association, the Medical Society of Virginia, and the American Medical association. He was a member of the jury of awards of the Jamestown Exposi- tion.
On January 16, 1901, he married Mabel Dickman, a daugh- ter of Judge J. F. Dickman, of Cleveland, Ohio, ex-chief justice of the supreme court of that state. They have one daughter, Julia Selden Grandy, and one son, William S. Grandy.
The address of Dr. Grandy is Norfolk, Virginia.
HENRY CLAY GRAVLEY
G RAVELY, HENRY CLAY, was born June 6, 1857, at Leatherwood, Henry county, Virginia.
His paternal ancestors were of English descent. Of two brothers, who came to this country from Hertfordshire, England, before the Revolution, one settled in Culpeper county, and therefrom sprung the branch of the family to which Mr. Gravely belongs. The other brother went farther south. His great-grandfather, Joseph, a soldier in the Revolution, was a member of the company called out from Henry county to serve under General Nathaniel Greene at the battle of Guilford court- house. He was a farmer, and was the father of eight sons, the oldest of whom, Jabez was born in 1776, and was the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He lived to be ninety-six years old, and was proud of having lived under every President up to the administration of General Grant. Several of the older mem- bers fought in the War of 1812. To his grandfather belongs the credit of having been among the first of those who manufactured tobacco in this country, and of having initiated that connection of the Gravely name with fine brands of manufactured and smoking tobaccos which still exist, and for the perfecting and strengthening of which Mr. H. C. Gravely is conspicuously prominent.
Benjamin Franklin Gravely, his father, was born in 1818. Engaged in the manufacture of tobacco, a merchant and a farmer, he was identified with many matters of local public in- terest. His genial and abundant hospitality brought him into contact with an extensive circle of acquaintances at his home in the country, at Leatherwood. In 1845, he married Julia Caroline Thomas, a woman of great personal beauty, and rare charm of manner, and depth of thought. Her family, similarly of Eng- lish origin, paternally, numbered among its members Christopher Y. Thomas, her brother, who, as representative in the Virginia legislature, and national house of representatives, was prominent in Virginia politics after the Civil war. Her skilfull manage-
A. Le. Gravely
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ment of household affairs gave their country home a large repu- tation for elegant hospitality. Mr. B. F. Gravely led an active life, and abounded in energy. He died in 1882, partly as the re- sult of a railway accident sustained several years previously, which appeared to inflict permanent injuries.
Born at a time when school advantages were hampered by the depressed period which preceded the war, Mr. H. C. Gravely's early educational training was not what it would other- wise have been. Fitted at the local schools for entrance at Roa- noke college, at Salem, Virginia, he studied for three or four years in the academic department, without devoting himself to the preparation necessary for a professional or technical career. The serious accident to his father mentioned above, made it necessary for him to leave school and assist in the management of the business, some years before he was called (in 1882) to take charge as a partner, with his brother John Thomas, under the name B. F. Gravely & Sons a short time before the death of his father. In addition to the management of the firm business, the brothers were administrators of Mr. B. F. Gravely's estate, a task which required judgment and a knowledge of business and of law unusual in men as young as they were. Together they continued the old business at Leatherwood, enlarging it, and per- petuating the reputation of the famous brands.
During this time of residence in the country, frequent trips to the large cities, and wide reading on various subjects, from historical and biographical matter to fiction and current periodi- cals, enlarged his general information, and kept him in touch with affairs. Particularly noticeable has always been his fond- ness for mechanics, his skill in the use of tools, and his general mechanical efficiency and information. In business, a remark- able attention to the details, and a familiarity with every phase of the enterprise under his consideration, coupled with untiring energy and firmness, and scrupulous integrity, are his prominent traits.
In 1893, upon the death of his brother, the duties of the busi- ness devolved on him alone, and he continued thus to conduct his affairs, without a partner, until about the time of his retirement from the tobacco business.
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On the 30th of October, 1883, he married Nancy Hope Thomas, the daughter of C. Y. Thomas. They have had six children, of whom all (except one who died in infancy), are liv- ing with him at his home at Martinsville, whither he moved in 1906, after disposing of the ownership of his brands of tobacco. Since that year, he has retired from active business; but he de- votes his time and attention to the management of his private affairs; and he is a director of the First National Bank, at Mar- tinsville, Virginia, and president of the Henry County Tele- phone company.
Mr. Gravely early allied himself with the Presbyterian church, of which he is still a member. Out-of-door-sports, such as fishing and hunting, he enjoys, and reading and music he finds agreeable. He has not seen either military or naval service, and has never been interested in active politics.
To-day, at the age of fifty-one, his health is good, his energy and strength unabated, and his intense interest in current matters unchanged. A life of unaltered temperance has preserved him intact through years of strenuous effort and successful achieve- ment.
Truly N travis
JAMES CONWAY GRAVES
G RAVES, JAMES CONWAY, was born near Barbours- ville in Orange county, Virginia, July 22, 1859, and his parents were William Crittenden Graves and Martha Daniel Hiden. His father was a farmer of character and integrity, whose ancestors came from England about 1750, and settled in Orange county. His physical condition and special tastes in childhood were those of the ordinary country boy, and he had the usual tasks incident to life on a farm. He attended the University of Virginia, and graduated in Latin and French at that institution in 1880, and in chemistry in 1881. He was dis- tinguished in Greek and German, and in English literature.
Since attaining manhood, Mr. Graves has been teacher, farmer, storekeeper, dealer in lumber, et cetera. He was super- visor of Orange county from 1896 to 1900, and member of the house of delegates from 1900 to 1904.
He is a man of pleasant sociable nature, and is a member of both the Masons and the Elks. He is a Democrat who never changed his politics. His favorite sport is hunting both on foot and on horseback.
On July 15, 1890, he married Elsie Collins Barbour, daughter of B. Johnson Barbour of Orange county. They have had six children of whom five are (1908) living.
His postoffice address is Barboursville, Orange County, Vir- ginia.
ROGER GREGORY
G REGORY, ROGER, attorney at law, and the first judge of King William county under the new Virginia state constitution, identified with the life of Richmond through his work in organizing the new law school of Richmond college, and by his thorough and scholarly courses of lectures and instruction in that institution, belongs to a family which has been for several generations identified with the life of the state. He was born in King William county, Virginia, in 1833. He bears the same name as his father, Roger Gregory; and the line of his father's family goes back to the early days of the colony, and by blood and by marriage is connected with many of the most important families of Virginia in each successive genera- tion. The estate upon which is Judge Gregory's present resi- dence has been since 1820 the home of his family; and it it asso- ciated in the minds of many Virginians with memories of the finest hospitality, the most genuine culture and the highest ideals of life in the Old Dominion.
His boyhood was spent in the pleasant surroundings and favorable conditions which characterized the homes of the pros- perous upon Southern plantations in the days before the war. He had the advantage of the best of instruction in his home, and in the best known schools in his part of the state. He studied law two sessions in the University of Virginia; was graduated in 1855 with the degree of B. L., and was admitted to the bar in 1856.
After the war, under the constitution of Virginia 1867-1868, he was the first judge of King William county; and his record upon the bench was marked by a clear-sighted discernment of legal principles, an eminently judicial frame of mind, absolute firmness and integrity, together with great courtesy. These have been the strong characteristics of his professional life.
Leaving the bench in 1873 he took up again the practice of law; and his practice was limited only by the time which he was allowed to take for it from his property interests and by the de-
OF Mark PER Washingher
yours Truly. Roger Gregory-
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mands made upon him by public service. Without the slightest effort upon his own part, and purely because of the general recog- nition of his manifest fitness for the work, he was chosen to plan for and organize the new law school of Richmond college. Un- der his management and direction during sixteen sessions this department of the college took a high rank among the American schools of law; and in a life as active as has been that of Judge Gregory, it would be difficult to name any act which seems more likely to be the enduring monument of his life than is this law school, which, in the thought of all who know of this work, is so directly connected with the name and lectures of Judge Gregory.
For the last few years Judge Gregory has largely confined his activity to the management of his large estate of Elsing Green in King William county, Virginia, and to his various business interests there and in other parts of the state. He has proved himself to be a far seeing man in business, able to forecast the future and wise in planning for enterprises and investments which contribute at once to the welfare of the state and the com- munity, and to the profit of those who engage in and sustain them.
There are few places in Tidewater Virginia which give more evidence of constant and intelligent care than does his home at Elsing Green, where the best traditions of the old time South- ern life are still exemplified.
JOHN THOMAS GRIFFIN
G RIFFIN, JOHN THOMAS, of Portsmouth, Virginia, civil engineer, once president of the Norfolk Storage company, and now president of the Merchants' and Far- mers' Bank of Portsmouth, Virginia, was born at Suffolk, Vir- ginia, on the 5th of February, 1838. His father, Nathaniel Griffin, was a farmer, enthusiastic in his study and love of agriculture, and a man of deep piety and consistent life. His mother was Mrs. Virginia Ann Griffin.
For the first six years, as his health was very delicate, the family lived in the country. He was taught as a boy to work with his hands. Perhaps his delicate health, making it im- possible for him to indulge in most of the active sports of boy- hood, had some influence in fostering his early love of books. Attending the schools within reach of his early home, he fitted himself for college; and in 1859, he received from Columbian college, at Washington, District of Columbia (now George Washington university), the degree of A. B. The same insti- tution conferred upon him the degree of A. M., in 1860. From 1859 to 1861, Mr. Griffin taught in the preparatory department of Columbian college.
Upon the outbreak of the Civil war, he "went with his state" as a civil assistant engineer, in the Confederate States army. After the war he returned to Churchland, and "from necessity" and because there was no other opening in business, he supported himself by farming. In 1866 he was elected county surveyor of Nansemond county. Later in life he served for many years as a justice of the peace in Norfolk county. While living in Norfolk county he became interested in the mercantile life of the city of Portsmouth, Virginia. In 1884 he became president of the Norfolk Storage company. In 1871 he was made president of the Western Branch Bridge company, and since 1885, he has been president of the Merchants' and Farmers' Bank of Portsmouth, Virginia.
In college he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
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On the 7th of October, 1865, Mr. Griffin married Miss Julia Armistead Benn, daughter of Captain Thomas Benn, of Nanse- mond county, Virginia. They have had three children all of whom are living in 1908.
By religious conviction, Mr. Griffin is a member of the Bap- tist church. He estimates the influence of his early home, and of his father and mother, "both of whom were devoted Chris- tians," as the strongest influence for good which his life has known.
Vol. 5-Va .- 9
ALEXANDER BARCLAY GUIGON
G UIGON, ALEXANDER BARCLAY, late judge of the hustings court of the city of Richmond, was born in Richmond, Virginia, February 13, 1831, and his parents were Auguste Guigon and Ellen Smithey. His father was a Frenchman who emigrated about the latter part of the eighteenth century to Richmond where he followed the calling of a teacher. He was a reserved and retiring man, who won the respect of all who knew him. His son, the subject of this sketch, was a child of rather delicate physique, and of studious habits. He was pri- vately educated, was devoted to books, and in early life read Shakespeare and the lesser poets with avidity.
His first contact with public life was as a page in congress, where he formed the acquaintance of many of the distinguished lawyers of the country. This experience exerted a marked in- fluence upon his life, since his companionship with these eminent lights in congress contributed more than anything else to his selection of a profession. He determined to be a lawyer, and after a further attendance on private schools in Richmond, where he received a classical training, he studied law and upon attain- ing his majority entered upon the practice of his profession which he pursued with much success.
Those were the days of hot dispute between the North and South, and the martial spirit was very strong in the South. While practicing law, Mr. Guigon was one of the original com- pany of Richmond howitzers, which was formed by the late George W. Randolph, who subsequently became secretary of war of the Confederate States, and he went to Harper's Ferry with his company at the time of the John Brown invasion in October, 1859.
When the war broke out in April, 1861, the accessions to this company were so large that it became necessary to organize a bat- talion of three companies denominated First, Second and Third companies of Richmond howitzers. These three companies were mustered into the service of the Confederacy on April 21st, 1861,
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and Guigon, who had been a private up to the formation of the three companies, was made the orderly sergeant of the Second, commanded by J. Thompson Brown. A section of this Second company under Brown, was sent to Gloucester Point and fired on the gunboat Yankee on May 20, 1861, thus firing the first gun of the war in Virginia, and Guigon was with that section. He was with the Second company during the Peninsula campaign under General John Bankhead Magruder, was at the battle of Bethel, and between the date of the battle of Bethel (June 10, 1861), and the advance of Mcclellan up the Peninsula (April, 1862), Guigon was, with a short interval of sickness, contin- uously with his company. After the battle of Bethel, and up to the time of the advance of Mcclellan, he and his company were stationed for some time at Bethel Church, and from this point Magruder would frequently send out a scouting expedition with one or two guns down in front of Newport News and Hampton, and although Guigon had no position at the gun by reason of being orderly sergeant, he invariably volunteered to go on these expeditions, and with Captain Ben. Phillips of the Elizabeth City Troop, a noted scout in those days, Guigon always went as far as it was possible to go to the front, and was regarded by all as one of the coolest and bravest soldiers in the Army of the Peninsula.
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