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[Page 336]
James, Benjamin, born in Stafford county, Virginia, in April,
1768, died in Laurens district, South Carolina, November 15, 1825. He was educated in Virginia,
and prepared for the law in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was admitted to the bar and
practiced until 1796. He then returned to Stafford county, Virginia, and there practiced until
1808, when he abandoned his profession. He was the author of a "Digest of the Statute and Common
Law of Carolina," published in Columbia in 1814. In 1808 he moved to the Laurens district, South
Carolina, and was elected state senator.
[Page 336]
Ambler, John, born September 25, 1762, son of Edward Ambler, of
James town, Virginia, went to Philadelphia to school, and in 1782 fell heir to Jamestown Island
and all the other great estates of his parents. He served in the legislature at twenty-one and
was the captain of a cavalry troop of James City county,. He removed to Richmond in 1807 and was
made major of the Nineteenth Regiment of Virginia militia, commanding the troops which were sent
to Norfolk at the time of the attack on the Chesapeake; afterwards was made colonel of
the Nineteenth Regiment of state troops and served in the war of 1812. He was one of the jury
that tried Aaron Burr for treason. He died April 8, 1836, and was buried in Shockoe Cemetery,
Richmond.
[Page 336]
Harvie, Jaquelin Burwell, son of Col. John Harvie, a delegate from
Virginia to the continental congress, 1778-1779, was born in Richmond, October 9, 1788. he was
prepared for the navy and served as midshipman; he resigned to assist his mother in the
management of her estate. He was a state senator and major-general of militia for the eastern
district of Virginia. He had large business interests in Richmond in the dock and water works and
the Belle Isle nail factory. He married Mary Marshall, daughter of Chief Justice John Marshall.
[Pages 336-338]
Wirt, William, born at Bladensburg, Prince George county,
Maryland, November 8, 1772, son of Jacob Wirt, a tavern keeper and native of Switzerland. He was
sent to a school at Georgetown, D. C., and then to that of the Rev. James Hunt, in Montgomery
county, Maryland, where he remained until he was nearly fifteen, and made rapid progress. While
acting as a private tutor he kept up his studies and his practice in writing. He was admitted to
the bar in 1792 and opened an office at Culpeper Court House, Virginia. His person and address
were attractive, his abilities shining and precocious; fortune smiled upon him from the start.
After two years in Culpeper, he removed to Albemarle county, where his practice increased. He
married the daughter of Dr. George Gilmer, of "Pen Park," who introduced him to Mr. Jefferson and
the leading men of the state. Being naturally of a vivacious disposition and an agreeable
personality, he was gladly welcomed. He obtained the reputation of a bon vivant among
his professional brethren, and was somewhat wild. Before it was too late Wirt saw the error of
his course and breaking away from the temptations to which he had been exposed settled down to a
sober life and a course of reading, which in great measure supplied the deficiencies of his early
education which, especially in law, was exceedingly meagre for one who had to meet such opponents
at Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. In 1799 he went to Richmond, was presently made clerk of
the house of delegates, and in 1802 chancellor of the eastern district, and moved to
Williamsburg. In 1803 his "Letters of a British Spy" appeared in the Richmond "Argus" and as a
volume, added much to his reputation; the tenth edition (1832) had a sketch of the author by P.
H. Cruse. After six months in Williamsburg he went to Norfolk, where he staid till 1806, when he
returned to Richmond. In 1807, by President Jefferson's appointment, he was a counsel in the
trial of Aaron Burr; one of his speeches, which lasted four hours, was vastly admired and was
among the finest efforts of his life. The speech greatly extended his fame, and is perhaps the
one which has made him best known to succeeding generations, as its florid periods and its
occasional pathos made it a prime favorite for academic declamation, and although it may be said
to be worn to shreds by the constant repetition, it yet has the power to charm even a critical
reader. His essays collected as "The Rainbow," were first printed in 1808 in the Richmond
"Enquirer," as was, two years later, "The Old Bachelor," gathered in two volumes (1812). To the
latter several writers of less fame contributed; J. P. Kennedy called it Wirt's best book, but
other critics were not of that opinion. His "Life of Patrick Henry" (1817) was widely circulated;
it had all the gorgeousness of his earlier oratory. His only experience as a legislator was in
1808. In 1816 he was appointed by President Madison United States district attorney for Virginia,
and in 1817, by President Monroe, United States attorney-general. This post he held with great
repute until 1829, residing at Washington. Judge Story ranked him "among the ablest and most
eloquent of the bar of the supreme court." He took part in many leading cases, among them that of
Dartmouth College, 1819; in this he was not at his best, and the honors went to Webster, who won
the case. His most noted extra legal addresses were that of October 19, 1826, in the
deaths of Jefferson and Adams, and one at Rutgers College in 1830, which was reproduced in
England, Germany and France. In 1829 he removed to Baltimore. In 1831 appeared his letters and
those of J. Q. Adams on the anti-Masonic movement; the next year he was the candidate of that
party for the presidency and received a popular vote of 33,108, and the electoral vote of Vermont
only. Harvard gave him the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1824. He was president of the Maryland
Bible Society, and a devout and consistent Presbyterian. See his life by J. P. Kennedy (2 vols.),
1849. Extracts from his speeches and sketches (e. g. "The Blind Preacher") were long and widely
diffused through the medium of "Readers and Speakers." He married (first) Mildred Gilmer,
daughter of Dr. George Gilmer, of Albemarle county, Virginia; (second) Elizabeth Washington
Gamble, daughter of Colonel Robert Gamble. Mr. Wirt died at Washington, February 18, 1834.
[Page 338]
Doak, John Whitefield, born in Rockbridge county, Virginia,
October 17, 1778, eldest son of Rev. Samuel and Esther H. (Montgomery) Doak. He was educated by
his father, and was graduated in the first class at Washington College in 1796; his only
classmate being James Witherspoon, a relative of the president of Princeton College. Two years
later, at the early age of twenty years, he was licensed to preach by the Abingdon presbytery,
and held various charges through Virginia and Tennessee until he was elected financial agent
for the college in 1808. While traveling in the eastern states in quest of funds for the
institution, he accepted a call from the Presbyterian church of Frankfort, near Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and was duly installed in 1809. After a few years of energetic pastoral work,
however, his health failed, and leaving the pulpit, he applied himself to the study of medicine.
In 1817 he returned to east Tennessee, and upon the resignation of his father in the following
year, was elected to succeed him in the presidency of Washington College. At the same time he
assumed charge of the Salem and Leesburg churches, exerting himself so earnestly as preacher,
instructor and executive, that his feeble constitution speedily succumbed to the ravages of
consumption. His friend, Rev. Stephen Bovell, of Washington county, Virginia, says of him: "His
genius was much above mediocrity, his understanding clear, his invention quick, his judgment
penetrating and accurate, his conception of religious truths sublime, and his manner of
expression elegant, solemn and impressive." Dr. Doak was married, in 1809, to Jane H. Alexander
(a half sister of Dr. Archibald Alexander's father), of Rockbridge county, Virginia and had eight
children; his third son, Rev. Archibald Doak, subsequently succeeding to the presidency of the
college. While on his way to attend a meeting of the Abingdon presbytery, he died suddenly at
Green Spring, Virginia, October 6, 1820.
[Pages 338-339]
Lucas, Robert, born in Shepherdstown, Virginia, April 1, 1781, a
descendant of William Penn, and son of a captain in the colonial army in the revolution. He
resided in Virginia until 1800, then moved to Ohio. He was a major-general of militia, and when
the second war with Great Britain broke out was commissioned, March 14, 1812, captain in the
Nineteenth Regiment, United States Infantry, and lieutenant-colonel for distinguished service,
20, 1813. He resigned from the army in June, 1813, and as brigadier-general of Ohio militia was
engaged in frontier defence from June 25 until September 9 that year. In 1814 he was elected to
the Ohio legislature. In 1832 he presided over the Democratic national convention that nominated
Andrew Jackson for the presidency a second time. In 1832 he was elected governor of Ohio, serving
four years, and in 1838 was appointed the first governor of the territory of Iowa. He died at
Iowa City, Iowa, February 7, 1853.
[Page 339]
Gamble, Elizabeth Washington, born at Richmond, Virginia, January
30, 1785, daughter of Col. Robert Gamble (q. v.). She was
well educated, and early showed a fondness for literature. She was the author of "Fora's
Dictionary" (1829), a quarto remarkable in its day, combining botany with an epistolary guide and
a dictionary of quotations. She married in 1802, William Wirt.
[Page 339]
Johnson, Frank W., born in Virginia, October, 1799. He emigrated
to Texas in 1826, and engaged in surveying land until 1831, when he was elected alcalde of the
jurisdiction of Austin. In 1832 he led an expedition against the Mexican post of Annahuac. The
same year he was appointed chief surveyor of Austin's colony. He entered the army as a volunteer
in 1835, and was appointed adjutant and inspector-general successively by Generals Austin and
Burleson. In December, 1835, he led one of the columns which so gallantly stormed and took the
post and city of San Antonio de Bexar, and on the fall of Colonel Benjamin R. Milam, the command
devolved upon him. In 1836 he made a raid through the country between the Nueces river and the
Rio Grande, but was surprised by the Mexicans, and lost most of his command. This was his last
public service. He died in 1885, on a visit to the famed hot springs, Aguas Calientes, Mexico.
[Page 339]
Ambler, John Jaquelin, eldest son of Col. John Ambler and
Catherine Bush, his wife, daughter of Philip Bush, of Winchester, was born at Williamsburg,
Virginia, March 9, 1801. He was educated at William and Mary College, which he left in 1817;
attended medical lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, and studied law with George Hay, in
Richmond; in 1823-26 he toured Europe. He was a prominent planter. He lived for many years at
"Glen Ambler," in Amherst county,; and afterwards moved to another of his fine estates, "Jaquelin
Hall," in Madison county, where he died November 18, 1854. He married Elizabeth Barbour, daughter
of Judge Philip Pendleton Barbour, of the United States supreme court.
[Pages 339-340]
Harris, Chapman, born in Nelson county, Virginia, in 1802. His
mother was a free negress, and consequently he had no difficulty, when he grew to man's estate,
in emigrating to Indiana. He settled at Madison, and united with the Baptist church of that
place. Before this time he had become actively engaged in the operations of the underground
railroad. The Ohio river being the dividing line between Kentucky and Indiana, fugitive slaves
frequently fled to the northern shore, and were piloted by Harris and his associates through the
city of Madison, and from station to station on the "undergound routes" to Canada. Harris and his
four sons, Elijah, William, George and John, were the principal colored workers on this railroad,
but they had allies in some of the leading white residents of the district. Near the mouth of
Eagle hollow, above Madison, stood a gigantic sycamore tree, the hollow trunk of which Harris
called his depot. At this point, on solid rock, he had placed an iron plate weighing twelve
pounds, on which he used to strike his well-known signal, using as a hammer a great hickory cane
with a spike in the end. When expecting a party of fugitives, messengers were despatched along
the line of the underground road, to put all men on the alert, and as the fugitives landed they
were spirited on to their sought-for haven. He was over six feet high, and a man of great
strength. He died February 10, 1890.
[Page 340]
Irvin, William W., born in Albemarle county, Virginia, in 1778,
son of Rev. William Irvin, a Presbyterian minister, and Elizabeth Holt, his wife. He studied law
and after admission to the bar located in Lancaster, Ohio. He held various local offices
member of the state general assembly, 1806-08; justice of the state supreme court, 1808-15;
representative in the state general assembly, 1825-28, and served as speaker, 1825-26; elected as
a Democrat to the twenty-first and twenty-second congresses (March 4, 1829-March 3, 1833);
defeated for re-election to the twenty-third congress. He died in Lancaster, Ohio, April 19,
1842.
[Pages 340-341]
Page, Hugh Nelson, was born at "North End," Gloucester (now
Mathews) county, Virginia, in September, 1788, youngest child of John Page, of Caroline county,
Virginia, and Elizabeth (called Betty) Burwell, his wife. In September, 1811, he entered the
United States navy as midshipman. In June, 1812, he was ordered to the gunboat squadron at
Norfolk, Virginia, stationed there for harbor protection. In August of the same year he was
assigned to Commodore Chauncey's squadron on Lake Ontario. Later, when volunteers were called for
to serve under Commodore Perry, on Lake Erie, he proferred his services, and was
placed on duty under Lieut. Calkin, on the schooner Tigress. He behaved with gallantry
in the famous battle of Lake Erie, and was wounded in the hand. He was placed in charge of the
prisoners taken, and had the distinguished honor of bearing to gen. Harrison, who was posted at
the mouth of the Sandusky river, Commodore Perry's immortal message, "We have met the enemy, and
they are ours," For his conduct in the engagement, Page was presented with two beautiful swords
one from the United States congress, and one from the state of Virginia. Ordered to the
Niagara, he aided in conveying Gen. Harrison's army to Malden, to attack the British
general Proctor, who, however, retreated before the arrival of the fleet In 1814, Page served
under Commodore Sinclair in the expedition to Detroit, to convey Maj. Crogan's troops to
Mackinaw, and where Crogan was defeated, his men agin going aboard the ships of the fleet. Page
served in the subsequent operations the destruction of a British fort on the Saginaw river, and
the winterquartering at Erie. He was then given leave of absence for three years, and in 1818 was
made lieutenant, and assigned to the John Adams, the flagship of Commodore Perry, under
whom he sailed to South America, and an incident of this voyage was the death of Commodore Perry,
during a stay at Trinidad. In 1834, Lieut. Page, in command of the Boxer, conveyed the
United States chargé d'affaires to Valparaiso, Chile. In 1843 he was ordered to
the Levant, and conveyed Hon. Henry A. Wise, United States minister to Brazil, from
Norfolk, Virginia, to Rio. Thereafter Commander Page cruised in the Pacific until the breaking
out of the Mexican war, when he was ordered to Monterey, which was taken possession of by the
fleet. In October, 1847, he was assigned to the command of the receiving ship Pennsylvania,
at Norfolk, Virginia; in 1849 was promoted to captain, ordered to the command of the
flagship Savannah, in Pacific waters. In 1855 he was retired, with leave-pay. He married
(first) Imogen, daughter of Guy Wheeler, of Nansemond county, Virginia; and (second) Elizabeth
P., daughter of Holt Wilson, of Portsmouth, Virginia. He died at Norfolk, June 3, 1871.
[Page 341]
Pollard, Richard, born in King and Queen county, Virginia, in
1790. In 1811 he graduated at William and Mary College, as Bachelor of Civil Law. He was
appointed captain in the Twentieth Regiment, United States Infantry, April 14, 1812, for the war
with Great Britain; was engaged in the battle of Craney Island, promoted to major, and assigned
to the Twenty-first United States Infantry; resigned at end of the war. He located at Lynchburg,
Virginia, and engaged in a mercantile business, but met with heavy losses on account of
depreciation of real estate, and practiced at the bar as a lawyer. In 1835 he was appointed by
President Jackson as chargé d'affaires for the United States to the republic of
Chili; was reappointed by President Tyler, his diplomatic service extending from 1835 to 1843,
and after his return from his mission, made his home at "Alta Vista," Albemarle county, which
(says his biographer), "his courtly address, distinguished manners and genial hospitality
rendered elegant and charming to all whom he received there." He died in Washington City,
February 19, 1851. He married, March 11, 1796, at "Oakridge," Virginia, Paulina Cabell Rives.
Among their children were: John Pollard, who joined the Texan army, and was killed in battle, in
his twenty-third year; James Rives Pollard, M. D., surgeon of Hampton's Legion, confederate
States army; and Henry Rives Pollard, journalist (q. v.).
[Page 341]
Page, John E., born at "Pagebrook," Clarke county, Virginia, March
11, 1795, son of John Page, of the same place, and Maria H. Byrd, his wife. He was for many years
circuit court judge for the counties of Clarke and Warren, and was holding that office at the
time of his death. In 1863 he removed with his family to Albemarle county, Virginia, and for
about a year resided at "Cobham Park," the country residence of William C. Rives, of Newport,
Rhode Island. He married, in 1823, Emily, daughter of Col. William H. McGuire, of Harper's Ferry,
Virginia, an officer of distinction in the United States army.
[Page 341]
Lee, Edmund Jenings, born at Alexandria, then in the District of
Columbia, May 3, 1797, eldest son of Edmund Jenings Lee and Sarah Lee, his wife. He received his
early education at Rev. Mr. Maffet's school in Fairfax an institution of high repute in
that day and subsequently graduated from Princeton College, the alma mater of his
father. He studied law under his father, and on being admitted to the bar, engaged in practice at
Wheeling, Virginia, where he remained until his marriage, then removing to Shepherdstown, where
he resided the remainder of his life. He was frequently solicited to enter upon a public career,
but steadfastly refused. Like others of his family and friends, he was originally opposed to
secession, but went with his state when she seceded. He was too far advanced in years to enter
the army. During a temporary absence both his own residence and that of his wife, nearby, were
burned by the Federals. He married (first) Eliza, daughter of Capt. Abraham Shepherd, of Berkeley
county; and (second) Henrietta, daughter of Daniel Bedinger, of "Bedford," near Shepherdstown,
Virginia. He died at his home "Leeland," near Shepherdstown, August 10, 1877.
[Page 342]
Page, Francis Nelson, born at "Greenland," Gloucester county,
Virginia, October 28, 1820, eldest son of Mann Page and Judith Nelson, his wife. He was graduated
from the United States Military Academy at West Point, in 1841, was commissioned lieutenant of
infantry, and served in the Florida war. From 1845 to 1847 he was on duty as adjutant. He saw
service in the Mexican war; received brevet of first lieutenant for gallant conduct in defense of
Fort Brown, and of brevet major for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battles of Contreras
and Cherubusco. He distinguished himself in the battle of Chapultepec, in which he was wounded.
In recognition of his excellent conduct throughout the war, the Virginia legislature presented to
him a handsome sword, which, with his pistols, came into the possession of his eldest son,
Francis Nelson Page, Jr. He married, February 25, 1851, Susan, daughter of Col. William Duval, of
Florida. He died at Fort Smith, Arkansas, March 25, 1860, at the early age of forty years.
[Page 342]
Shepherd, Thomas, emigrated from England, and settled first at
Annapolis, Maryland, whence he removed to the neighborhood of Mecklenburg (now Shepherdstown)
Virginia, which town received its last name from his family, he having there acquired a large
tract of land from Lord Fairfax. Thomas Shepherd laid out the town in 1762, and in his will,
executed in 1776, directed the deeding of a lot of two acres "on which the English church stood,"
for church purposes.
[Page 342]
Shepherd, Abraham, son of Thomas Shepherd, the founder of
Shepherdstown, Virginia. He marched in 1775 with a company from Shepherdstown, to join
Washington's army at Boston. At the battle of King's Bridge, in November, 1776, when his superior
officers had been killed or wounded, he commanded the regiment, with credit to himself. Bishop
Meade wrote of him: "Without detracting from the praise due to many others, who have contributed
funds and efforts to the last two churches, we must ascribe the first of them chiefly to the
zeal, perseverance and liberality of that true friend of the church in her darkest days, Abraham
Shepherd." Capt. Shepherd married Eleanor strode, and their daughter, Elizabeth Shepherd, became
the wife of Edmund Jenings Lee. Capt. Shepherd died September 7, 1822, in his sixty-ninth year.
[Pages 342-343]
Custis, John Parke, born at the "White House," on the Pamunkey
river, New Kent county, Virginia, in 1755, son of Daniel Parke Custis and Martha Dandridge, and
stepson of Gen. George Washington. He was tutored by Rev. Jonathan Bucher at Annapolis, and in
May, 1773, was entered at Kings College, New York City. He remained till December, and on
February 3, 1774, married Eleanor, daughter of Benedict Calvert, of "Mt. Airy," Prince George
county, Maryland, a son of Charles Calvert,
sixth Lord Baltimore. Custis had not yet reached his twentieth year at the time of his marriage,
and his bride was only sixteen. Washington had protested against the union, in a note written to
Mr. Calvert, at the same time stating that the young man's estate embraced about 15,000 acres of
land, a good part adjoining the city of Williamsburg, between two and three thousand pounds in
bonds. His protest was unavailing; the marriage took place as above stated, Washington was
readily reconciled. Custis was aide to Washington during the revolution, and while serving at
Yorktown, contracted camp fever and retired to "Eltham" in New Kent county, the home of his
maternal uncle, Burwell Bassett, where he died November 5, 1781. He was a member of the house of
delegates at the time. He left four children: Elizabeth Parke Custis, who married Thomas Law;
Martha Parke Custis, who married Thomas Peter; Eleanor Parke Custis, who married Lawrence Lewis
(Washington's nephew), and George Washington Parke Custis. After Custis' death his widow married
(secondly) Dr. David Stuart, of Prince George county, Maryland.
[Page 343]
Robinson, John, born in York county, Virginia, February 13, 1773,
son of Anthony Robinson and Frances Reade, his wife. In 1787 he went to Richmond and entered the
office of Adam Craig, clerk of the county and of the hustings court of Henrico county, and under
which he served as assistant for many years. He was afterwards an assistant to John Brown, clerk
of the Richmond district court, and succeeded to the office when Mr. Brown when as secretary to
Hon. John Marshall, United States minister to the French Republic. Mr. Robinson continued as
clerk until the district court was abolished in 1809, and was for a time clerk of the committee
for the courts of justice of the Virginia house of delegates, and clerk of the circuit court of
Henrico county. From 1812 to 1827 he was in business with his brother-in-law, William Moncure,
and Frederick Pleasants; and in 1827 resumed his clerkship, which he held until his death, at
Richmond, April 26, 1850. He joined the militia, May 9, 1793, and was made a lieutenant the
following year. In 1798 he published a "Book of Forms," which in 1826 was enlarged and
republished by his son, Conway Robinson, who was his deputy. Hon. Henry Clay, as a youth, was
also in his office as a deputy. He married, in 1801, Agnes Conway, daughter of John Moncure and
Ann Conway, his wife.
[Pages 343-344]
Jouett, John, son of Matthew Jouett, was born in Albemarle county,
Virginia, and kept the Swan Tavern in Charlottesville. On June 3, 1781, he was in the Cuckoo
Tavern at Louisa, when Tarleton's troops swept by, intending to surprise the legislature then
holding its session at Charlottesville. Suspecting their design, Jouett mounted his horse
a very fleet Virginia blood horse and rode on at full speed by a shorter and disused road
and arrived in Charlottesville in time to give notice to the members, who thereupon dispersed to
meet in Staunton. On his way to Charlottesville Jouett stopped at Monticello and gave information
of Tarleton's approach to Governor Jefferson. Without this timely notice it is probable that the
whole government of Virginia would have been captured. After providing for the public safety
Jonett mounted his horse and went leisurely along and was pursued by some of
Tarleton's troopers. He let them come quite close to him, when giving his fleet horse the spur he
was speedily out of sight. He owned considerable land in Albemarle and many lots in
Charlottesville. He kept the Swan Tavern till he died in 1802. He married Mourning, daughter of
Robert Harris, of "Brown's Cove," Albemarle county. His son Matthew was a captain in the
revolutionary army and fell in the battle of Brandywine. His son John succeeded him in conducting
the Swan, but later moved to Kentucky. His son Robert was also a captain in the revolution and
was afterwards a lawyer. He died in 1796, leaving a daughter Alice, who became the wife of James
W. Bouldin, of Charlotte county.
[Page 344]
Hoge, Samuel Davies, born at Shepherdstown, Jefferson county, West
Virginia, probably on April 16, 1792, second son of Rev. Moses Hoge and Elizabeth Poage, his
wife. He was fitted for college by his father and at a classical school taught by his brother
James, and graduated at Hampden-Sidney College in 1810. He had early shown great interest in
religion, and when only nine years of age attended a camp-meeting, where, under the influence of
strong excitement, he "prayed and exhorted with astonishing fervor and effect." He studied
theology under his father, and at the same time was employed as a tutor in the college. On May 8,
1813, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Hanover; in 1813 was installed pastor of the
churches at Culpeper, Madison and Germanna; in 1815 was transferred to the Winchester presbytery,
and was ordained to the ministry and installed
pastor of the Bethesda church at Culpeper, April 15. The church was unable to support him,
however, and in October, 1817, he was dismissed. He was active in the Winchester presbytery, and
represented it in the general assembly in 1816. After the dissolution of his pastoral relations,
Mr. Hoge remained at Hampden-Sidney College, as professor, and for a time was vice-president of
the college. In July, 1820, his father having died, he resigned, and, influenced by his brother
James, removed to Ohio. He was pastor of the Presbyterian churches at Hillsborough and Rocky
Spring, Highland county, until October, 1823, when owing to impaired health he resigned and
became professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in Ohio University, Ohio, preaching
occasionally in the Athens church. His brother James wrote of him: "As a pulpit orator he lacked
only voice and physical strength to have ranked with the first preachers of the age. His style
was pure, simple and energetic, expressing with great exactness the nicest shades of thought, and
his subject matter was always evangelical truth, presented in such a way as to instruct, and at
the same time deeply affect his hearers." As an instructor, he was highly popular. He married at
Hampden-Sidney, Virginia, in February, 1817, Elizabeth Rice, eldest daughter of Rev. Drury Lacy,
"of the silver tongue," and Anne, daughter of William Smith, of Montrose, Powhatan county. She
was a beautiful woman, gifted in many ways; but especially as a singer and conversationalist. Mr.
Hoge died at Athens, Ohio, December 10, 1826; his wife at Gallatin, Tennessee, November 20, 1840.
[Page 345]
Ball, Burgess, born July 28, 1749, son of Jeduthan Ball and
Elizabeth Burgess, his wife. He was a member of the Lancaster county (Virginia) American
Association, and was by it appointed one of the twenty-five "guardians of the county." Early in
the revolutionary war he was a volunteer aide to Washington. By his own preference, he
subsequently accepted a captaincy in the Fifth Virginia Regiment. In 1776 he was unsuccessful in
saving a stranded ship from the British, at Willoughby's Point; was court-martialed for the
seeming negligence, and was honorably acquitted. In 1776, at his own expense, he recruited,
clothed and equipped a regiment for the Continental line, and was subsequently reimbursed. In
1777 he was made lieutenant-colonel of the First Virginia Infantry Regiment. He was in active
service until taken prisoner at Charleston, in 1780, and after being exchanged, busied himself
with fitting out privateers for Virginia waters. After the war, he retired to his homestead,
"Travelers' Rest," near Fredericksburg. Through his boundless generosity and hospitality, he
became impoverished, and late in live became almost a recluse in a rustic cabin. He married Mary
Chichester, who died in 1775. He married (second) Frances Washington. he died in Virginia, March
7, 1800.
[Page 345]
Grinnan, Daniel, Jr., born in Accomac county, Virginia, April 19,
1771, son of Daniel Grinnan, Sr., and Mary Cotton, his wife. The father, born in the same
county,, and lived on a handsome estate lying on Cedar Run, near the present Mitchell's Station,
on the Virginia Midland railroad; he served in the revolutionary war, under General Edward
Stevens, in a Virginia Brigade, in which his oldest son John was a quarter-master; and was at the
battle of Guilford Court House. Daniel Grinnan, Jr., removed to Fredericksburg, about 1792, and
became a clerk for James Somerville, who at his death, about 1798, made Grinnan his executor, and
who succeeded to the business. About 1800, Mr. Grinnan became a member of the firm of Murray,
Grinnan & Mundell, with counting houses and warehouses in Fredericksburg and Norfolk; the firm
had an extensive foreign trade, and were agents for the Argentine Confederation in their war with
Spain. Mr. Grinnan married (first) Eliza Richards Green, daughter of Timothy Green, who in 1787
established the "Virginia Herald," for many years the only newspaper in Fredericksburg. Mr.
Grinnan died March 25, 1830; married (second) Helen Buchan Glassell, daughter of Andrew Glassell,
of "Torthorwald," Madison county, Virginia.
[Pages 345-346]
Lewis, John, born in Spotsylvania county, Virginia, February 25,
1784, son of Col. Zachary Lewis, of the revolutionary army, and Ann Overton Terrell, his wife.
That he was a man of ample knowledge is attested by his record as a teacher of law as well as of
the ordinary branches. He taught the "Llangolen" school, near the North Anna river, not far from
Lewis' store, in Spotsylvania county, where he had among his pupils Gen. R. T. Daniel (who became
attorney-general), and William Green and William Robertson, who became jurists of much ability.
In 1832 he moved to Kentucky, and in 1834 located in Franklin county, that state, where he
settled near his brother Addison, naming his place "Llangolen," after his former Virginia home.
He write a novel, "Young Kate, or the Rescue: a Tale of the Great Kanawha," two volumes,
published by Harper Bros., New York City, and published "Flowers and Weeds of the Old Dominion,"
a compilation of poems by himself, his son, John Moncure Lewis, and Mrs. Gov. Wood and Mrs.
Huldah (Lewis) Scott. He married Jean Wood Daniel. He died in Franklin county, Kentucky, August
15, 1858.