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[Page 356]
      Goodrich, John, born in England. At the beginning of the revolution he was an active and enterprising man in Nansemond county, Virginia, owner of large plantations in Isle of Wight and Nansemond counties. He was a merchant, with his sons John, Jr., William and Bartlett, (the latter sometimes erroneously called Bartholomew), trading as John Goodrich & Company, merchants and owner of vessels. In July, 1775, the colonial committee of safety gave him bills of exchange with which to buy powder in the West Indies. This drew upon him the resentment of Lord Dunmore, who had John Goodrich and two of his sons imprisoned, but later released them on parole, under promise to discontinue their activities, and the committee of safety exculpated them. John Goodrich, Jr., later sided with Lord Dunmore, and was charged by the committee of safety with being in command of an armed sloop which had captured a vessel belonging to North Carolina merchants, and also that he had three boats in Dunmore's service, committing depredations. After examining into the case, the convention adopted resolutions declaring that John Goodrich, Jr., was guilty of bearing arms against the colony and of aiding and assisting the enemy; that he should be held prisoner at Charlotteville until further order; and that the committee "should take action in regard to his estate," after allowing reasonable provision for his wife and small children. Later, he was released under bond of £1000, and on taking the oath required of suspected persons. John Goodrich, Sr., went to England, and died at Topsham, Devonshire, in 1785, aged sixty-three years, and where his wife also died.

[Page 356]
      Blanchard, Thomas, a citizen of Norfolk, was a ripe scholar, a fine classic writer and gifted poet. His "Ode on the Death of Washington," written January 1, 1800, was popular at the time.

[Page 356]
      Balfour, George, a native of Elizabeth City county,, was a member of the medical staff of the United States army; made surgeon's mate April 1, 1792, senior surgeon in 1798. In 1804 he retired to private practice in Norfolk. He died September 8, 1823, and was buried at Hampton, Virginia.

[Pages 356-357]
      Dandridge, Alexander Spottswood, born August 1, 1753, son of Captain Nathaniel West Dandridge, of the British navy, and Dorothea, his wife, daughter of Alexander Spotswood, governor of Virginia. In 1775, probably through the influence of his brother-in-law, Patrick Henry, he became associated with the Hendersons, Boones, and others, in the settlement of Kentucky, and was one of the eighteen men who met near the fort at Boonesborough, in May, 1775, to set up a government. News came of the battle of Lexington, however, and most of the men came back to the defence of the colonies. Family letters indicate that Dandridge was for a time attached to Washington's staff; his name does not appear on any staff list, however, and the inference is that he was only temporarily with Washington, he being a cousin of Mrs. Washington. He was made lieutenant in the Fourth Virginia Dragoons, June 13, 1776; captain of Virginia Artillery, November 30,1776; captain of the First Continental Dragoons, March 15, 1777; and resigned April 14, 1780. After the war, he settled in what is now Jefferson county, West Virginia, about eight miles from Martinsburg. he married about June, 1779, Anne, daughter of Gen. Adam Stephen, of "the Bower," Jefferson county, Virginia. He died at his estate, in April, 1785, leaving an only child, Adam Stephen Dandridge. His widow married Moses Hunter, and reared a large family.

[Page 357]
      Stuart, David, son of Rev. William Stuart, was born in King George county, Virginia, August 3, 1753, educated at William and Mary College, and studied medicine at Edinburgh and Paris. He served in the Virginia legislature. He later removed to Alexandria, where he practiced his profession of medicine with great success. He was a Federalist and strong friend of Washington. He married Eleanor Calvert Custis, daughter of Washington's adopted son John Parke Custis. He was father of Charles Calvert Stuart, of Chantilly, Fairfax county, Virginia.

[Page 357]
      Selden, William Boswell, born August 31, 1772, son of Rev. William Selden and Mary Ann Hancock, his wife. He was educated as a physician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in Scotland, settled in Norfolk, Virginia, about 1798, and practiced there many years. He married in 1802, Charlotte Colgate, born in Kent, England, daughter of Robert Colgate, a university graduate and a friend of William Penn. Dr. Selden died June 18, 1849.

[Pages 357-358]
      Selden, Wilson Cary, born in 1761, son of Cary Selden, of "Buckroe," in Elizabeth City county, colonel of Elizabeth City county militia, 1767, and magistrate of the county court, and Elizabeth Jennings, his wife. He was educated as a physician by his brother-in-law, Dr. James McClurg, and 1779 was appointed mate in the Marine Hospital at Hampton. In June of the following year he became surgeon of a Virginia artillery regiment, with which he marched to South Carolina, and was present at the defeat of Gen. Gates. Having been taken with a dangerous illness, he was ordered by medical and other officers of the army to take a sea voyage, and he sailed on a letter-of-marque owned by his brother, and which was captured off the Island of St. Eustatia. He was carried to Antigua, where he was held prisoner until 1782, when he was paroled, but he had not been exchanged when the war terminated. In the records of the War Department in Washington City he is credited with two months' service in the Virginia artillery, on the southern expedition, and three years' service as surgeon in the Virginia state line. In 1790 he bought "Buckroe" from his father; in 1793 was a member of the assembly. He left Hampton, and lived in Gloucester county, and afterwards at "Exeter," in Loudoun county. He married (first) Mary Mason Selden, his first cousin, widow of Mann Page, and daughter of Samuel Selden; (second) Eleanor Love, daughter of Samuel Love, of Salisbury, Fairfax county; and (third) Mary Bowles Armistead, widow of Charles Alexander, and daughter of Bowles and Mary (Fontaine) Armistead. Dr. Selden died at his home, "Exeter," in Loudoun county, March 14, 1835, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.

[Page 358]
      Phripp, Matthew, of Norfolk, Virginia, was a merchant, and at the outset an active supporter of the revolutionary cause. He was twice elected chairman of the Norfolk committee of safety, and was also colonel of the militia there. When Lord Dunmore landed armed men and seized the press of the Norfolk newspaper, Phripp took up arms and made an endeavor to organize a force for resistance, but had little support from the people, and afterwards he would not act as colonel. He would not aid Dunmore in any way, but as he was liable to imprisonment and seizure of his considerable property, he took the oath of allegiance to the British king and left Norfolk, but returned later at the urgent request of his aged and infirm father. When the Virginia forces occupied Norfolk, Col. Woodford sent Phripp to Williamsburg for examination before the convention, but there was delay, and on December 19, 1775, Phripp petitioned that body, asking for a speedy hearing, and convention ordered him to be held in confinement in his room in Williamsburg. Later that body adopted a resolution exonerating him from all blame and released him. He was a prominent Free Mason, past master of St. John's Lodge, at Norfolk, and acted as president of a Masonic convention held in Williamsburg in 1777.

[Page 358]
      Gregory, John, son of James Gregory, lived in Nansemond county, Virginia. He was chairman of the county committee of safety in 1776; and captain in the Fifteenth Virginia Regiment, Continental Line. He is mentioned in the letter of Gen. Lafayette, May 17, 1781, to Col. Josiah Parker, Isle of Wight county, then commanding militia on the lower south side of James river, whom he directs to call on Captain Gregory for needed assistance.

[Page 358]
      Graham, John, born at Dumfries, Prince William county, Virginia, in 1774, brother of George Graham, acting secretary of war under Madison and Monroe. He was graduated at Columbian University in 1790, and emigrated to Kentucky, where he represented Lewis United State in the legislature. President Jefferson sent him to the territory of Orleans as secretary, and he subsequently occupied a similar position in the American legation at Spain. When Madison was secretary of state, Mr. Graham was chief clerk under him. In 1818 he went with a commission to Buenos Ayres, where he obtained political information which he embodied in an exhaustive report, which was printed by the state department. In 1819 he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to the court of Brazil. The climate proved too severe, and he returned to Washington, where he died, August 6, 1820.

[Page 359]
      Gabriel, a negro slave of Thomas Prosser, of Henrico county, was born in 1776. He was tall and strong, and combined in August, 1800, with another slave, Jack Bowler, to attack the town of Richmond. They were incited to this by the news of the success of the slaves in San Domingo. The plot was supposed to embrace one thousand negroes. They were to make their attack at night, when the white people were asleep, kill the while males and divide the women among themselves. They assembled in the country towards the latter part of the month, but a great rain came on, and while it was yet raging, a slave named Pharoah, the property of William Mosby, hastened to Richmond and communicated the secret of the plot to Governor James Monroe. The militia was called out and preparations were made to repel the attack. In the meantime, the negroes, despite the storm began their march to the town and every flash of lightning glanced from the bright scythes with which they were chiefly armed. In attempting to cross an intervening creek, the waters were so high that several were drowned. There they learned of the discovery of their plot, and the whole body broke up and dispersed. Many were arrested, and tried. Gabriel was tried on October 6, 1800, and executed. One of the results of the insurrection was the establishment on regular pay of the public guard at Richmond, consisting of sixty men, a captain, a lieutenant, and an ensign.

[Page 359]
      Summers, Lewis, born in Fairfax county, Virginia, November 9, 1778. He entered upon the duties of active life during the presidency of the elder Adams. With the ardor which distinguished the Virginia youth of that period, he was a warm supporter of Jefferson for the presidency. In 1808 he removed to Ohio, and served several years as representative and senator in the state legislature. In 1814 he settled permanently in Kanawha county, Virginia; was a member of the state legislature, 1817-18; in 1819 was chosen a judge of the general court, of which he was a member for more than twenty-four years; and a judge of the Kanawha judicial circuit. For some time he was a member of the Virginia board of public works and took a deep interest in advancing public improvements. He was one of the most useful member of the state constitutional convention of 1829-30. He died at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia, August 27, 1843. He was father of Hon. George W. Summers (q. v.).

[Page 359]
      Brent, Thomas Ludwell Lee, was born in Virginia, August 9, 1784, son of Col. Daniel Carroll and Ann Fenton (Lee) Brent. On May 8, 1822, he was appointed secretary of legation to Portugal, acted as chargé d'affaires ad interim from June 30, 1824, until he was appointed as such, June 24, 1825, and he filled this post until November 25, 1834, when at his request, he received his passports and returned to the United States.

[Pages 359-360]
      White, Thomas Wyllis, was born at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1788, had few school advantages, but improved his knowledge as a printer; he served some part of his time in Boston, and, while not pretending to be a literary character, wrote a very correct and diplomatic letter, well calculated to obtain what he desired. He set up as printer in Richmond and in 1834 founded the "Southern Literary Messenger," a magazine destined to hold an honorable position not only in the South but in the Union at large. He was aided in the printing by William Macfarlane, his foreman, and John W. Ferguson, one of his typesetters, which last afterwards was a prominent printer of Richmond both before and after the civil war. The first editor was James E. Heath, the efficient first auditor of the state. After living to see the magazine placed on a successful and stable foundation, Mr. White died suddenly, when on a visit to Boston, January 19, 1843.

[Page 360]
      Smith, Thomas, son of Captain Thomas Smith, of Gloucester county, was educated at William and Mary College, 1776-1778; was first secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and its second president; he was a member of the legislature in 1784, and a member of the state convention in 1788, and voted for the Federal Constitution; he was uncle of Thomas Smith (q. v.).

[Page 360]
      Smith, Thomas, son of Rev. Armistead of Kingston parish, Mathews county, Virginia, was born March 5, 1785; was captain of militia and a member of the legislature for Gloucester county in 1834 and other years. He died, unmarried, April 13, 1841.

[Page 360]
      Clay, Clement Comer, born in Halifax county, Virginia, December 17, 1789, son of William Clay and Rebecca Comer, his wife. The father enlisted in the revolutionary army at the age of sixteen, and was in several battles, at the siege of Yorktown, and surrender of Cornwallis. Clement C. Clay went to Tennessee when a child, studied in private schools and was graduated from East Tennessee when a child, studied in private schools and was graduated from East Tennessee University in 1807; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1811 and later he removed to Alabama, took part in the wars with the Creek Indians. He was elected to the Alabama territorial legislature; was a delegate to the first constitutional convention, and chairman of the committee if fifteen which drafted the constitution, and which was adopted as he reported it. After a term as circuit judge, he was elected to the legislature, and chosen speaker. In 1829 he was elected to congress, and secured the passage of an act for the relief of sorely distressed purchasers of public lands in Alabama. In 1835, as a Democrat, he was elected governor. His administration was disturbed by difficulties with the Creek Indians, which he settled; and by the financial panic of 1837. In that year he was elected to the United States Senate, from which he resigned in 1841 on account of the invalidism of his wife. Later he was appointed to make a digest of the laws of Alabama, and he also served a brief time on the supreme court bench of the state. In 1861 he favored secession, his property was taken by the Federals, and he was for some time kept in military custody. He took no further art in public affairs. He married Susanna Claiborne, daughter of John Withers, a native of Dinwiddie county, Virginia. He died at Huntsville, Alabama, September 9, 1866.

[Pages 360-361]
      Cobbs, Robert Lewis, born in Louisa county, Virginia, December 25, 1789, son of Robert Cobbs, revolutionary soldier and member of the legislature, and Anne Poindexter, his wife. He graduated at Hampden-Sidney College with distinction in 1809, and from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1811. He practiced his profession with his brother, Dr. John P. Cobbs, in Amherst county, Virginia. In January, 1813, he rode on horseback across the mountains to join General Jackson at Nashville, Tennessee, and was a surgeon in the army in all the campaigns until the close of the war, at New Orleans. He returned to Nashville and studied law with his relative, Gen. William White, and practiced for twenty-five years. He was a member of the Tennessee constitutional convention of 1834, and subsequently attorney-general. He retired from practice in 1843, and, unmarried, passed the remainder of his life with his sister, Mrs. Sarah White McAllister, in Virginia. He died in 1856, on the presidential election day; his last words were: "I must get up and vote for Fillmmore."

[Page 361]
      Taylor, George Keith, son of Captain Richard Taylor, of Petersburg, clerk of the vestry of Blandford, was born in Prince George county, Virginia, attended William and Mary College in 1793 and studied law and became eminent at the bar. He was a member of the legislature of 1798-99, and a warm defender of the alien and sedition laws. He was a leader of the Federal party, and an ally of John Marshall, whose sister he married. He was a most able advocate at the bar in criminal cases, and as an orator was regarded as little inferior to Patrick Henry. Gilmer said of him: "He was one of the most eminent lawyers of his state, — acute, profound, logical and persuasive; of fine wit, exquisite humor, brilliant fancy, and most amiable disposition." To Mr. Taylor's efforts in the legislature was due Virginia's penitentiary system, and his success in securing an amelioration of the criminal code of the state made him a public benefactor. He died in Petersburg, November 9, 1815. His grandmother, Anne Keith, who married George Walker, gunner of Point Comfort Fort and pilot of James river, was a daughter of George Keith, the celebrated Quaker divine.

[Page 361]
      Dabney, Thomas Gregory Smith, son of Benjamin Dabney and Sarah Smith, daughter of Rev. Thomas Smith of Cople parish, Westmoreland county, Virginia, was born in King and Queen county, Virginia, January 4, 1798; was under the guardianship of his uncle John Augustine Smith, president of William and Mary College; went to school in Elizabeth, New Jersey; attended William and Mary College. In 1835 he moved to Mississippi, where he became a successful cotton planter. He was a strong admirer of Henry Clay, and like other Old Line Whigs of the South were led by that statesman into strong nationalistic views inconsistent with their early states rights professions. But when the war broke out in 1861, he cast his lot with the South, and three of his sons joined the Confederate army. He married (first) Mary Adelaide, daughter of Samuel Tyler, chancellor of the Williamsburg district, Virginia. He married (second) Sophia Hill, daughter of Charles Hill, of King and Queen county. By the last marriage he was father of Virginius Dabney (q. v.), author of "Don Miff," and Susan D. Dabney (who married Rev. Lyell Smedes, of Raleigh, North Carolina), whose work "Memorials of a Southern Planter," depicting the character and life of her father, elicited a letter from Mr. Gladstone of England, in which he said that he found in Mr. Dabney "one of the very noblest of human characters."

[Pages 361-362]
      Conyers, Sarah, resided in Richmond Virginia, and perished in the burning of the Richmond Theatre, December 26, 1811. She was a celebrated beauty, engaged to Lieutenant Gibbon, who perished with her. Her portrait in profile was taken by St. Memin in 1808.

[Page 362]
      Winston, Edmund, son of William Winston, and grandson of Isaac Winston and Mary Dabney, his wife. The father, with Isaac and James Winston, emigrated from Yorkshire, England, in 1704, and settled near Richmond Virginia. Edmund Winston was a first cousin of Patrick Henry, whose widow he married. He was a judge of the general court of Virginia, and a member of the convention of 1788. He died in 1813, at upwards of eighty years of age.

[Page 362]
      Patteson, Charles, of the same lineage as David Patteson, of Chesterfield county, Virginia, (q. v.), was a member of the Buckingham county committee of safety in 1775-76, the convention of 1776, the house of delegates of 1787-88, and of the convention of the latter year.

[Page 362]
      Patteson, David, was a descendant of David Patteson, who received a grant of land in Henrico county (then including Chesterfield county), in 1714. He was colonel commandant of Chesterfield county in 1785, a member of the convention of 1788, and of the house of delegates from 1791 to 1793.

[Page 362]
      Allen, John, son of Col. William Allen, of"Clermont," and a descendant of Major Arthur Allen, who patented lands in Surry county in 1649. He was educated at William and Mary College, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society; a member of the house of delegates in 1784-86-87-88-91; of the council in 1789; and of the convention of 1788. He died before May, 1793. He as half brother of William Allen of "Claremont," Surry county, (born March 7, 1768, died November 2, 1831), who left his large estates to his nephew William Griffin Orgain on his taking the name of William Allen. This the latter did, was the owner of Jamestown Island, and in the war between the states armed and fed a company of troops in the Confederate service at his own expense.

[Page 362]
      Stith, Buckner, of Brunswick county, Virginia, son of Colonel Drury Stith; qualified as a justice of his county, September 27, 1784; took the oath as major of militia September 28, 1789; and as lieutenant-colonel, September 26, 1794. He married Anne Dade, sister of Major Langhorne Dade, of Litchfield, King George county.

[Pages 362-363]
      Goodall, Parke, son of Richard Goodall, of Caroline county,, a British subject whose estate was vested in the son by statute. He was an ensign in the company of Captain Samuel Meredith, of Hanover county, which marched under Patrick Henry (to whom the command was assigned) to Williamsburg in 1775, to demand restitution of the powder removed from the magazine by Lord Dunmore. He was a justice of the peace for Hanover county in 1782; member of the house of delegates 1786-89; member of the convention of 1788; and sheriff in 1809. He was afterwards proprietor of the Indian Queen tavern in Richmond. His daughters, Martha Perkins and Eliza, married respectively Parke and Anthony Street, brothers. A son, Col. Charles Parke Goodall, (married Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac Winston, and died at "Mayfield," Hanover county, October 5, 1855), and a grandson, Dr. Charles Parke Goodall, frequently represented Hanover county in the Virginia assembly.

[Page 363]
      Barron, James, born at Old Point Comfort, Elizabeth City county, Virginia, in October 1740, son of Captain Samuel Barron, who then was commander of Fort George, at that place. Captain Barron removed to Mill Creek. Left fatherless in 1750, the son, the ten years old, was taken in charge by Col. Hunter, his father's friend, then "navy agent victualler," who sent him to sea under Captain Barrington, trading in a ship between London and the James river. In due time young Barron was given command of a small vessel belonging to Col. Hunter, and soon after was made master of a regular ship. American sailors were then habitually derided and treated with arrogance by the British naval officers whom they frequently met at sea, and Captain Barron, in 1774, resenting such treatment, sailed his ship outside Cape Henry, then turned her over to his first mate, to deliver to her owners in England, and returned home. He soon received letters offering him command of a fine ship in the British transport service, but, his patriotism would not allow of his acceptance. He became captain of a company of minutemen, which he headed in skirmishes with the British, at the Edward Cooper place on James river, and at Hampton. Virginia was now providing a navy of her own, and soon had in service some fifty vessels of various descriptions, and Captain Barron cruised with small squadrons, harrassing British commerce. On July 3, 1780, he was given command of the state navy, with the rank of Commodore, also serving at times as a member of the board of war of the young nation. After peace was restored in 1783, he was continued in command of the only two vessels retained in service for the protection of the revenue, and he was so occupied until his death, in 1787. He was father of Commodore James Barron (q. v.).

[Page 363]
      Ruffin, Edmund, born January 2, 1744-45, son of Edmund Ruffin by his first marriage with Mrs. Edmunds, nee Simmons. He was fourth in descent from William Ruffin, who was seated in Isle of Wight county, Virginia, in 1666, and died in 1693. He was a member of the house of delegates, 1777-84-86-87; of the convention of 1788; county lieutenant in 1789; sheriff in 1797. He married Jane, daughter of Sir William Skipwith, baronet, of "Prestwould," Mecklenburg county. He was grandfather of Edmund Ruffin, the distinguished agriculturist (q. v.). He died in 1807.

[Page 363]
      Strother, French, son of James Strother and Margaret French, his wife, was a vestryman and church warden of St. Mark's parish, Culpeper county, Virginia. He was a member of the convention of 1788. He represented his county in the general assembly for nearly thirty years; was a member of the convention of 1776 and of that of 1788 and voted against the proposed Federal Constitution; in 1799 he voted for the resolutions against the alien and sedition laws. He was solicited to oppose James Madison for congress, but James Monro became the candidate and was defeated. He married Lucy, daughter of Robert Coleman.

[Pages 363-364]
      King, Miles, son of Charles King and Elizabeth Tabb, his wife, was born in Elizabeth City county, November 2, 1747. He was a surgeon's mate in the First Virginia Regiment, October 26, 1775, but retired in September, 1778. He was of much assistance to the French fleet and soldiers in 1781, and received their warm commendations; member of the house of delegates 1784, 1791-93-98. He resigned the last year to accept the county clerkship. He was a member of the state convention in 1788, and voted for the Federal Constitution; removed to Norfolk, where he was mayor of the city in 1804, 1810. He married (first) Barbara Jones; married (second) Martha Kerby, daughter of Thomas Kerby. He died in Norfolk, June 19, 1814.

[Page 364]
      Stith, John, born March 24, 1755, son of Captain Buckner Stith, and Susanna ———, his wife; was lieutenant in the revolutionary army, and major, taking part in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. He was taken prisoner at Charlotte, in 1780, was exchanged, and returned to his command. He is usually styled Colonel, probably a brevet rank. He married Ann, daughter of Lawrence Washington, of Chotank, King George county. He died in 1808.

[Page 364]
      Matthews, James M., son of William B. Matthews, clerk of Essex county, Virginia, who died in 1830, and Mary Jameson Garnett Wood, his wife, was born in Essex county. He was educated at William and Mary College, and was a well known lawyer and law writer of Richmond, Virginia. He was reporter of the supreme court of appeals of Virginia, and author of "Civil and Criminal Digest of the Laws of Virginia," and "Guide to Commissioners in Chancery." He married Ellen A. Bagby, of Richmond, sister of the well known Dr. George W. Bagby. He was father of William B. Matthews, late of Washington, author of "Forms of Pleading" and other books, and of the artist George B. Matthews, also of Washington.

[Page 364]
      Mallory, Francis, eldest son of Johnson Mallory and Diana Tabb, his wife, was born in Elizabeth City county, Virginia. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Elizabeth City county militia in June, 1776, and later was promoted to be colonel. After participating in various engagements with the British, he was killed, while commanding a small force of militia in an action with a largely superior force of British troops commanded by Lieut.-Col. Dundas, near Newport News. (See account of this affair in "Virginia Historical Register," vol. iv, 1851, page 24, et seq., and in " Virginia Magazine of History and Biography," xiv, 324, 431, et seq.). He died March 8, 1781.

[Pages 364-365]
      Callis, William Overton, born near "Urbanna," Virginia, March 4, 1756, son of William Callis and Mary Cosby, his wife. His mother was third in descent from William Overton, born December 2, 1638, in England, settled in Hanover county, Virginia, in 1682, married Mary Waters. Callis served in the revolution more than seven years as lieutenant and captain, and at the battle of Monmouth was badly wounded. In 1781 he served as major on the staff of Gen. Thomas Nelson, and was at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He served in the Virginia assembly seventeen years, and voted for the resolutions of 1798-99, and was a member of the convention of 1788. He married (first) a daughter of John Winston, and (second) a daughter of Captain Thomas Price, of Hanover county. He died at "Cuckoo," Louisa county, Virginia, March 14, 1814.

[Page 365]
      Marshall, Humphrey, born in Virginia, about 1756, probably of the Marshall family of Isle of Wight county, in which the name of Humphrey was frequent. In 1783 he was a pioneer to Kentucky, where he was a member of the convention at Danville in 1787, preliminary to the formation of the state constitution; a member of the legislature for many years; and United States senator, 1795-81. He fought a duel with Henry Clay, in which the latter was wounded. He was the author of the first history of Kentucky, published in one volume in 1822, and enlarged to two volumes in 1824. He married, in 1784, Mary Marshall, of Virginia, and was the father of John J. Marshall and the brilliant orator Thomas A. Marshall. He died at the home of the last named, July 1, 1841.

[Page 365]
      Fleet, William, son of William Fleet, of King and Queen county, Virginia, was born December 18, 1757. He was a descendant of Captain Henry Fleet, of colonial fame (q. v.). He was a member of the convention of 1788, and voted for the adoption of the constitution. He married Mrs. Sarah Browne Tomlin, daughter of Barret Browne, of Essex county, Virginia. He died at "Goshen," King and Queen county, April 11, 1833.

[Page 365]
      Walke, Anthony, a descendant of Thomas Walke (q. v.), came to Virginia at an early date. He was a member of the convention of 1788; was a worthy citizen and pious churchman, and built "Old Donation Church," near Norfolk. He married (first) Jane, daughter of Richard Randolph; and (second) Mary Mosely, daughter of Edward Hacket Moseley. He died in 1794.

[Page 365]
      Ivy, William, was born at "Sycamore View," on Tanner's creek, Norfolk county, Virginia, which he inherited from his father. He was brought up to the sea, and built vessels at his own cost. He suffered from British depredations, the houses on both his estates being plundered and burned, and his slaves carried away. He joined the Virginia navy, and September 20, 1776, was second lieutenant on the sloop Scorpion, under Captain Wright Westcott, in which he cruised until January, 1777, when he was made first lieutenant of the Liberty, and later was promoted to captain, and placed on duty to recruit men for the navy. He was subsequently appointed to the command of the Liberty, with which he did good service until late in 1777 or early in 1778, when he died.

[Page 365]
      Guerrant, John, son of John Guerrant and grandson of Pierre Guerrant, who came to Virginia in the French Huguenot emigration in 1700, was born March 23, 1760 He was a member of the house of delegates in 1787-93, and probably later; member of the convention of 1788, of the state council, and for a time its president, and as such lieutenant-governor in 1805. He married May Heath, daughter of Robert and Winifred (Jones) Povall, and had issue

[Pages 365-366]
      Booth, Edwin Gilliam, son of Gilliam Booth and Rebecca Hicks, his wife, was born at "Shenstone," Nottoway county, Virginia, May 11, 1810. As a boy he attended the old Wingfield Academy in Dinwiddie county, named after General Winfield Scott, and after studying a short time at Oxford, North Carolina, he entered the University of North Carolina and graduated at eighteen years of age. He then became a member of the famous law school of Judge Lomax at Fredericksburg, Virginia. He practiced law, and acquired the largest practice in his part of the state. In 1848-49 he served in the Virginia legislature, and was made one of the revisors of the Virginia Code of Laws. Judge R. C. L. Moncure, Judge Robert E. Scott and Hon. John M. Patton were associated with him in the work. He married (first) Sally Tanner Jones, of Nottoway county, Virginia, and several years after her death and burial at "Bothwell," Dinwiddie county, Virginia, he married Henrietta Chauncey, of Philadelphia, and went there to reside. True to his southern sympathies, he spent much money in the relief of Confederate soldiers confined in Northern prison houses. He was the author of a volume of personal reminiscences. He died in Philadelphia, in 1886, and was interred in the Chauncey burying ground at Burlington, New Jersey, by the side of his second wife, where a handsome sarcophagus rests over husband and wife.

[Page 366]
      Parker, John A., was born in Westmoreland county, February 20, 1804. In 1836 he was sent on a mission to Teas by President Jackson, and in 1851 he was librarian of Congress. He was removed in 1853 by John W. Forney, clerk of the house of representatives, in whom at that time was vested the appointment of librarian. The action of Mr. Forney caused indignation, and a resolution to deprive the clerk of his power to appoint the librarian was lost by only four votes. In 1856 he was appointed register of the land office for Nebraska. About this time he was appointed one of the agents of the states to procure a settlement of the accounts between the commonwealth and the United States.

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      Meredith, John Alexander, son of Robert Meredith and Mary Anderson, his wife, was born in New Kent county, March 4, 1814. He was an able lawyer and held the office of judge. He married Sarah Anne Bernard, daughter of William Bernard and Sarah Dykes, his wife, and had three brilliant sons: William Bernard Meredith, who was adjutant on the staff of Gen. Pendleton, C. S. A., and died in 1862; Charles Vivian Meredith (born September 12, 1850), formerly city attorney of Richmond, and Wyndham R. Meredith (born April 6, 1859) — the last two still living in Richmond.

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      Taylor, Tazewell, born in Norfolk, Virginia, January 30, 1810, son of James Taylor and Sarah Newton, his wife. He was educated at Georgetown College and the University of Virginia, receiving from the latter institution the Bachelor of Law degree. He was a distinguished lawyer for forty years, and for a long time was bursar of William and Mary College.

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      Davison, John Smith Bull, born July 2, 1802, eldest son of Major William Davison and Martha Maria Smith, his wife. He was a student at Winchester Academy, and entered William and Mary College, but in his second year there his father died and he was obliged to return home. He attended the law school of Judges Tucker and Holmes, at Winchester, and was admitted to the bar. He was made justice of the peace in 1829, and, with the exception of the civil war period, served as such until his death. From 1849 to 1851 he was high sheriff; represented Frederick county in the legislature, 1836-37, and Warren county, 1842-43 and 1866-67. He was one of the founders of St Thomas' Protestant Episcopal Church, and drew the plans for its church edifice. He married, in 1826, Mary Eltinge Hite, daughter of Major Isaac Hite, of "Belle Grove," and Anne Tunstall Maury, his wife. Soon after his marriage he removed to a farm on the north branch of the Shenandoah river, and named it "The Forest." The farm, comprising about a thousand acres, was given to his wife by her father, at the time of her marriage, and was part of the original "Yost-Hites" grant which was taken up by Major Hite in 1831.