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[Page 111]
Barbour, John S., Jr., (q.
v.).
[Page 111]
Beale, R. L. T., (q. v.).
[Page 111]
Blair, Jacob Beeson, born at Parkersburg, Wood county, Virginia,
April 11, 1821; he was educated in the public schools, studied law, engaged in practice; was for
several years prosecuting attorney for Ritchie county; was elected from Ritchie county as a
Unionist, to the thirty-seventh congress, serving from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863; was
elected to the succeeding congress from the new state of West Virginia, took his seat December 7,
1863, and served until March 3, 1865; was surveyor-general of Utah; from 1868 to 1873 was
minister to Costa Rica; for twelve years was a member of the supreme court of Wyoming, and for a
number of years occupied the same position in Utah; died at Salt Lake City, Utah, February 12,
1901.
[Page 111]
Booker, George William, born in Patrick county, Virginia, December
5, 1821. He received a common school education, taught school, studied law, and was admitted to
the bar. He served some years as a justice of the peace, and was subsequently presiding justice
of the county court for ten years. He sympathized with the North during the war between the
states. He was elected to the state legislature in 1863. In 1868 he was the Republican candidate
for attorney general, was elected, but resigned the following year, being elected to congress as
a Conservative, and was re-elected. In 1873 he was elected to the state legislature, after two
years retiring from public life and resuming the practice of his profession. He died at
Martinsville, Virginia, June 4, 1883.
[Page 111]
Bowden, George Edwin, born in Williamsburg, Virginia, July 6,
1852; attended a private school; studied law admitted to the bar, but never practiced; elected
bank president in 1874; collector of customs for port of Norfolk from September, 1879, until May,
1885; elected as a Republican to the fiftieth and fifty-first congresses (March 4, 1887-March 3,
1891); again collector of customs for port of Norfolk; clerk of the United States court for the
eastern district of Virginia; died at Norfolk, Virginia, January 22, 1908.
[Pages 111-112]
Bowen, Henry, born at Maiden Springs, Tazewell county, Virginia,
December 26, 1841; attended private school and college; entered the Confederate army in 1862 as a
captain of cavalry and served until 1865; member of state legislature 1869-71; elected as a
Readjuster and Independent Democrat to the forty-eighth and fiftieth congresses (March 4,
1883-March 3, 1885) and (March 4, 1887-March 3, 1889); resumed farming and stock raising in
Tazewell county, Virginia.
[Page 112]
Bowen, Rees T., born at Maiden Springs, TAzewell county, Virginia,
January 10, 1809; attended Abingdon Academy, Virginia; member of the state legislature of
Virginia in 1860 and 1864; magistrate for several years and p residing justice of the county;
elected as a Conservative to the forty-third congress (March 4, 1873-March 3, 1875); died in
Tazewell county, Virginia, August 29, 1879.
[Page 112]
Brady, James Dennis, born at Portsmouth, Virginia, April 3, 1843;
engaged in business; resided in New York at the commencement of the civil war; enlisted as a
private in the Thirty-seventh New York Volunteers, in which regiment served as acting adjutant of
the Sixty-third New York Volunteers; subsequently held the rank of captain, major,
lieutenant-colonel and colonel of that regiment; served in the judge advocate's, adjutant
general's, and inspector general's departments of the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, and
commanded the Sixty-third Regiment when honorably mustered out of service in July, 1865;
appointed collector of internal revenue in June, 1877; delegate from Virginia in the Republican
national convention of 1880, and delegate at large in the Republican national convention of 1884;
elected as a /Republican to the forty-ninth congress (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1887); died at
Petersburg, Virginia, November 30, 1890.
[Page 112]
Braxton, Elliott Muse, born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, October
8, 1823; attended the common schools; studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in
Richmond, Virginia; subsequently removed to Richmond county, , and was elected a state senator in
1851, and was re-elected in 1853; removed to Fredericksburg in 1860, where he raised a company
for the Confederate army, and was its captain; commissioned major, and served on the staff of
Gen. John R. Cooke; member of the common council of Fredericksburg in 1866; elected as a Democrat
to the forty-second congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873); died at Fredericksburg, Virginia,
October 2, 1891.
[Page 112]
Brown, John Robert, born in Franklin county, Virginia, January 14,
1842; attended common school and academy; entered the Confederate army in 1861 as a private in
Company D, Twenty-fourth Virginia Volunteers; in 1870 formed a co-partnership with his father as
manufacturers of tobacco at Shady Grove, and in 1882 moved to Martinsville; elected mayor in
1884; elected as an Independent Republican to the fiftieth congress (March 4, 1887-March 3,
1889).
[Pages 112-113]
Brown, William Guy, born at Kingwood, Preston county, Virginia
(now West Virginia), September 25, 1800; attended the public schools, studied law, and in 1823
began practice in his native town. He was a member of the house of delegates in 1832 and again
1840-43. He was elected as a Democrat to the twenty-ninth and thirtieth congresses (March 4,
1845-March 3, 1849); member of the state constitutional convention of 1850; delegate to
Democratic National Conventions of 1860 at Charleston and Baltimore; member of the Virginia State
Convention of 1861. He was elected to the thirty-seventh congress from Virginia as a Unionist
(March 4, 1861-March 3, 1863), and elected to the thirty-eighth congress from West Virginia; took
his seat December 7, 1863, and served until March 1865. He died at Kingwood, West Virginia, April
19, 1884.
[Page 113]
Browne, Thomas Henry Bayly, born at Accomac, Virginia, February 8,
1844; attended Hanover and Bloomfield academies in Virginia, leaving the latter in May, 1861;
volunteered as a private in Company F, Thirty-ninth Regiment Virginia Infantry; afterwards served
as a private in Chew's battery of the Stuart horse artillery; was surrendered with the Army of
Northern Virginia in April, 1865; was graduated from the law department of the University of
Virginia in 1867; in 1873 elected attorney for Accomac county, presidential elector on the Blaine
ticket in 1884, and elected as a Republican to the fifty-ninth and sixtieth congresses (March 4,
1887-March 3, 1891); died at Accomac, Virginia, August 27, 1892. He was a son of Peter F. Browne
and Sally Cropper Bayly, and was descended from William Browne, of James City county, who died in
1773-1776.
[Page 113]
Buchanan, John Alexander, (q.
v.).
[Page 113]
Cabell, George Craighead, born in Danville, Virginia, January 25,
1836, son of Joseph Cabell and his second wife, Ann Everard Bolling attended the Danville
Academy, and the law school of the University of Virginia in 1857; was admitted to the bar, and
commenced practice in Danville in 1858; edited the Republican, and later the Democratic "Appeal"
in Danville; elected, in September, 1858, commonwealth attorney for Danville, and served until
April 23, 1861, when he volunteered as a private soldier in the Confederate army; commissioned
major in June, 1861, and assigned to the Eighteenth Virginia Infantry; at the close of the war
held the rank of colonel; after the war resumed the practice of law; elected as a Democrat to the
forty-fourth, forty-fifth, forty-sixth, forty-seventh, forty-eighth and forty-ninth congresses
(March 4, 1875-March 3, 1887); resumed the practice of law in Danville, Virginia. His father was
the son of Col. Joseph Cabell and Mary Hopkins, his wife, and grandson of the immigrant Dr.
William Cabell and Elizabeth Burks, his wife.
[Page 113]
Carlile, John S., (q. v.).
[Page 113]
Carlin, Charles Creighton, born in Alexandria, Virginia, April 8,
1866; attended the public schools and was graduated from the National Law University; served for
years as postmaster; presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1904; elected as a Democrat
to the sixtieth congress November 5, 1907, to fill vacancy caused by the death of John F. Rixey;
was re-elected to the sixty-second, sixty-third and sixty-fourth congresses.
[Pages 113-114]
Critcher, John, born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, March 11,
1820; was graduated from the University of Virginia in 1839; studied at the University of France
for three years; studied law and practiced; elected to the state senate and to the state
convention of 1861; lieutenant-colonel of cavalry in the Confederate army; appointed judge of the
eighth judicial circuit of Virginia, but removed by the thirty day resolution of congress;
elected as a conservative to the forty-second congress (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1873); died at
Alexandria, Virginia, September 27, 1901.
[Page 114]
Croxton, Thomas, born at Tappahannock, Essex county, Virginia,
March 15, 1822; attended the primary schools, the Tappahannock and Fleetwood academies, and the
University of Virginia; graduated in law in June, 1842, and practiced; attorney for the
commonwealth from July, 1852, to July, 1865, when he resigned; served on the staff of Gen. George
E. Pickett in the civil war; elector from the first district of Virginia on the Hancock and
English ticket in 1880; elected as a Democrat to the forty-ninth congress (March 4, 1885-March 3,
1887); elected judge of Essex county, Virginia; died at Tappahannock, Virginia, June 3, 1903.
[Page 114]
Daniel, John W., (q. v.).
[Page 114]
Davis, Alexander M., a resident of Independence, Virginia;
presented credentials as a member-elect to the forty-third congress, and served from March 4,
1873, to March 5, 1874, when he was unseated in a contest with Christopher Y. Thomas.
[Page 114]
Dezendorf, John Frederick, born at Lansingburg, New York, August
10, 1834; pursued an academic course; learned the carpenter's trade; studied architecture,
surveying and civil engineering; engaged on railroad and other buildings at Toledo and Cleveland,
Ohio, 1850-1860; mercantile pursuits 1860-1862; moved to Norfolk, Virginia, in 1863, and engaged
in the shipping business until 1866; city and county surveyor of Norfolk city and county 1866-69;
assistant assessor of the United States internal revenue 1869-71; appraiser of merchandise at the
Norfolk custom house 1872-1877; delegate to the national Republican convention in Cincinnati in
1876; defeated as the Republican candidate for congress in 1878; elected to the forty-seventh
congress (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1883); died in Norfolk, Virginia, June 22, 1894.
[Pages 114-115]
Douglas, Beverly Browne, born at Providence Forge, New Kent
county, Virginia, December 21, 1822, son of William Douglas, of Providence Forge, New Kent county
and Elizabeth Christian, his wife. He attended William and Mary College and the University of
Edinburgh. He studied law in the celebrated school of Judge Beverly Tucker, was admitted to the
bar, and practiced in his native county and Norfolk. In 1846 he removed to King William county,
and rapidly rose in his profession, taking a front rank as an able practitioner and eloquent
advocate, being specially gifted before a jury. When the convention to remodel the constitution
of the state was called in 1850, he was chosen a member from four counties. He sat in the state
senate continuously from 1852 until 1865, and for five years of this period was chairman of the
committee on military affairs. He served in the Confederate army, entering as first lieutenant of
"Lee's Rangers," was promoted to captain, and afterward to major of the Fifth Virginia Cavalry,
in which he served until 1863, when he resigned. Always a Democrat, in 1860 he was a presidential
elector on the Breckenridge and Lane ticket, and in 1868 a delegate to the convention which
nominated Seymour and Blair. He was elected to the forty-fourth and forty-fifth congresses, but
took no active part in the house proceedings, his most important service being as chairman of the
select committee to investigate the conduct of the Freedman's Savings Bank. He married a daughter
of Robin Pollard, of King William county. He died December 22, 1878.
[Pages 115-116]
Duke, Richard Thomas Walker, born at Mill Brook, Albemarle county,
Virginia, June 6, 1822, son of Richard Duke and Maria Walker, his wife, daughter of Capt. Thomas
Walker. Richard T. W. Duke attended private schools until 1842, when he entered the Virginia
Military Institute, at Lexington, Virginia, from which he graduated in 1845, second in a class of
twenty. During his last two years he was cadet professor of mathematics, and in conjunction with
the late Gen. Francis Smith, prepared an arithmetic which is still used in that institution.
After graduating he taught in the Richmond Academy with Col. Claude Crozet, during the sessions
of 1845-46, and then taught two years in Lewisburg, Greenbrier county, now West Virginia. In
1849, being recalled to Albemarle county by the death of his father, he entered the University of
Virginia, and graduated in the law school with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in one session. He
then located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and commenced the practice of law, and practiced there
until his death. He was regarded as one of the ablest lawyers at the bar. In 1858 he was elected
commonwealth's attorney for Albemarle county, and held that office until elected to the
forty-first congress in 1870. In 1859, just after the John Brown raid, he organized the
"Albemarle Rifles," a volunteer company of riflemen, which in 1861 was mustered in as Company b,
Nineteenth Virginia Regiment, C. S. A., he being captain of that company up to the
re-organization of the army in 1862. At the reorganization he was elected colonel of the
Forty-sixth Regiment, Wise's brigade, and from May, 1862, to March, 1864, was colonel for that
regiment, spending the winter of 1863-64 in South Carolina with the brigade. In March, 1864, Col
duke resigned his commission as colonel of the Forty-sixth Virginia Regiment, but remained out of
service only thirty days, in the meantime organizing the reserve forces, taking command of a
battalion of reserves at Richmond in 1864. At first the reserves were employed in guarding
prisoners at Belle Isle, but the fall of 1864, and winter of 1864-65 they were under Col. Duke in
the trenches at Fort Harrison. At the evacuation Col. Duke was placed in command of the brigade
of reserves. He was with Gen. Custis Lee's division, captured at Sailor's Creek. He was taken to
Washington, and was in the old capitol prison the night President Lincoln was assassinated. He
and five hundred other prisoners were threatened with burning by the Washington roughs, but the
mob was dispersed, and Col. Duke taken to Johnson's Island Prison, where about 2,500 Confederate
officers were imprisoned. Col. Duke remained a prisoner of war until July 25, 1865, when he was
released. Col. Duke was in the engagement at First Manassas, and was complimented in Gen.
Beauregard's report of
the battle. He was at Malvern Hill, and many other important engagements. While in the army and
at the front he was elected attorney for the commonwealth, but the duties of the office were
performed by Judge E. R. Watson, who kindly volunteered his services, Col. Duke remaining in the
army. In 1870 Col. Duke was nominated again for commonwealth attorney, but, before the election,
was nominated for congress, his Republican opponent being the late Judge Alexander Rives. While
the canvass was in progress, the Hon. Robert Ridgeway, the sitting member, died, and Col. Duke
and Judge Rives were nominated for the vacancy. Col. Duke was elected and served out Ridgeway's
term in the forty-first congress and the full term of the forty-second congress. He was not a
candidate for re-election, but returned to Charlottesville and continued the practice of law. In
1877, during the struggle between the debt paying and readjusting element of the Democratic
party, Col. Duke was prevailed upon to become a candidate for the Virginia legislature, and was
elected to the house as a debt-paying Democrat. On July 26, 1846, Col. Duke was married to Miss
Elizabeth Scott Eskridge, daughter of William S. Eskridge. Col. Duke died in Charlottesville in
July, 1898, after a lingering illness of some seven months.
[Page 116]
Edmunds, Paul Carrington, born in Halifax county, Virginia,
November 1, 1836; trained by a private tutor; attended the University of Virginia and was
graduated in law from William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia; was admitted to the bar;
practiced in Jefferson City, Missouri; returned to Virginia in 1858; engaged in agriculture on
his farm in Halifax county; elected to the senate of Virginia in 1881, and served four terms;
re-elected in 1884; delegate, to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1884; elected
as a Democrat to the fifty-first, fifty-second and fifty-third congresses (March 4, 1889-March 3,
1895); died at Houston, Halifax county, Virginia, March 12, 1899.
[Page 116]
Ellett, Tazewell, born in Richmond, Virginia, January 1, 1856;
attended the private school of John M. Strother until sixteen years old; cadet in the Virginia
Military Institute, and was graduated from that institution in 1876; studied law in the
University of Virginia, and was graduated with the degree of LL. B. in 1878; practiced law in
Richmond; several years a member of the board of visitors of the Virginia Military Institute;
presidential elector in 1888 on the Democratic ticket; elected as a Democrat to the fifty-fourth
congress (March 4, 1895-March 3, 1897); resumed the practice of law in Richmond, Virginia, and
New York City.
[Page 116]
Epes, James Fletcher, born in Nottoway county, Virginia, May 23,
1842; attended the primary and private schools and the University of Virginia; served in the
Confederate army 1861-1865; was graduated from the law department of Washington and Lee
University in 1867; was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Blackstone, Virginia; elected as
a Democrat to the fifty-second and fifty-third congresses (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1895); retired
to his plantation,"The Old Place," in Nottoway county, Virginia.
[Pages 116-117]
Epes, Sydney Parham, born in Nottoway county, Virginia, August 20,
1865; moved with his parents to Kentucky, where he pursued an academic course; returned to
Virginia in 1884 and edited and published a Democratic newspaper for a number of years; member of
the Democratic State Central Committee, and chairman of the fourth congressional district
committee; elected in 1891 a member of the general assembly; register of the land office 1895-97;
presented credentials as a member-elect in the fifty-fifth congress and served from March 4,
1897, until March 3, 1898, when he was succeeded by Robert T. Thorp, who contested his election;
elected to the fifty-sixth congress and served from March 4, 1899, until his death in Washington,
D. C., March 3, 1900.
[Page 117]
Flood, Henry Delaware, born at Appomattox county, Virginia,
September 2, 1865, son of Joel W. Flood, a prominent farmer of the county, who served as major
four years under Lee; attended the schools of Appomattox and Richmond, Washington and Lee
University, and the University of Virginia; began the practice of law on September 15, 1886;
elected to the house of delegates of the general assembly of Virginia in 1887 and re-elected in
1889; elected to the state senate in 1891, and re-elected in 1895 and in 1899. In the senate he
introduced a bill placing the state department of agriculture upon a stronger basis; and the bill
authorizing the attorney-general to bring suit against the state of West Virginia for her pro
rata share of the old state debt; and he was made one of the commissioners elected by the
legislature to carry out the provisions of the bill, and whose labors resulted in the consequent
litigation, just recently ended. Elected attorney for the commonwealth of Appomattox county in
1891, 1895 and 1899; presidential elector on the Cleveland and Stevenson ticket in 1892;
nominated for congress by the Democratic party in 1896 and defeated; elected as a Democrat to the
fifty-seventh, fifty-eighth, fifty-ninth, sixtieth and sixty-first congresses and reelected to
the sixty-second congress (March 4, 1901-March 3, 1911); he is still a member (1915); was author
of resolution admitting Arizona and New Mexico to statehood. He was a member of the
constitutional convention in 1901. His address is Appomattox, Virginia.
[Page 117]
Fulkerson, Abram, born in Washington county, Virginia, May 13,
1834; was graduated from the Virginia Military Institute; studied law, was admitted to the bar,
and practiced; entered the Confederate service in March, 1861, as a captain; promoted to major,
lieutenant-colonel and colonel; elected to the house of delegates of Virginia in 1871-1873, and
to the senate of Virginia in 1877-1879; elected as a Readjuster to the forty-seventh congress
(March 4, 1881-March 3, 1883); resumed the practice of law after leaving congress; died at
Bristol, Virginia, December 17, 1902.
[Pages 117-118]
Gaines, William Embre, born in Charlotte county, Virginia, August
30, 1844; attended the common schools; when the civil war broke out in 1861; enlisted as a
private in Company K, Eighteenth Virginia Regiment (Pickett's Division); re-enlisted in the Army
of the Cape Fear and surrendered with Johnson, near Greensboro, North Carolina, in April, 1865,
having attained the rank of adjutant of Manly's Artillery Battalion; engaged in business in
banking in Burkeville, Virginia; elected as a Republican to the Virginia senate in 1883, and
served three years, when he resigned; delegate in the national convention which nominated Blaine
for the presidency in 1884; mayor of Burkeville several years, and delegate to several state
conventions; elected as Republican to the fiftieth congress (March 4, 1887-March 3, 1889).
[Page 118]
Garrison, George Tankard, born in Accomac county, Virginia,
January 14, 1835; was graduated from Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1853, and from
the law school of the University of Virginia in 1857; was admitted to the bar and practiced law
until the civil war; entered the Confederate service as a private; soon thereafter elected to the
state legislature, and served in that body, first in the house and then in the senate, until the
close of the war; practiced law and engaged in agriculture; elected judge of the eighth Virginia
circuit in 1870, and subsequently judge of the seventeenth circuit; elected as a Democrat to the
forty-seventh congress (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1883); successfully contested the election of
Robert M. Mayo to the forty-seventh congress; died at Accomac Court House, Virginia, November 14,
1889.
[Page 118]
Gibson, James King, born at Abingdon, Virginia, February 18, 1812;
attended the common schools; went to Limestone county, Alabama, in 1833, and engaged in business;
returned to Virginia, and was deputy sheriff of Washington county, 1834-1835; postmaster of
Abingdon, 1838-1849; engaged in farming; elected as a Democrat to the forty-first congress (March
4, 1869-March 3, 1871); died at Abingdon, Virginia, March 30, 1879.
[Pages 118-119]
Glass, Carter, born in Lynchburg, Virginia, January 4, 1858, son
of Maj. Robert H. Glass, a prominent journalist, and Augusta Christian, his wife, of an old and
well-known Virginia family. He attended private and public schools until he was fourteen years
old, when he began learning the printer's trade in the Lynchburg "Republican" office, and was
afterwards employed on the Petersburg "Post," his father being editor of both these papers. From
1877 he was for three years a clerk in the auditor's office of the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio
Railroad. In 1880 he took a position on the staff of the Lynchburg "news," under its owner,
Albert Waddill, laboring as a local reporter and editorial writer. In 1888 he purchased the
"News," valued at $13,000, his sole capital then being sixty dollars, but he was backed by
friends who had confidence in his abilities. He soon brought his paper to a higher plane of
influence, and prospered accordingly, and by 1895 he had added to his newspaper property the
plant of the Lynchburg "Virginian," and the "Evening News." His abilities as a writer are of a
very superior order. In addition to his journalistic work, his public activities have been
notable. He was clerk of the Lynchburg city council for twenty years, from 1881. He was a
delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1892 and 1896, and in 1897 to the Democratic
State Convention in which body he made a notable speech in presenting J. Hoge Tyler as a
candidate for the nomination for governor. In 1809 he was elected to the state senate, and in
1902, before his term had expired, he was elected to the fifty-seventh congress, as a Democrat,
to succeed Peter J. Otey (deceased), and has been returned to his seat each succeeding term, to
the present time. His success in his canvass for the sixty-third congress was notable, in his
defeating the Progressive and Socialist nominees by some six thousand plurality. Probably the
most notable achievement of his congressional career has been his securing the passage through
congress of the present government baking measure. Mr. Glass is a formidable debater, a master of
caustic retort. He married, in 1886, Aurelia Campbell, of Lynchburg, Virginia, and the family
reside in that city.
[Page 119]
Goode, John Jr., (q. v.).
[Page 119]
Harris, John Thomas, born in Albemarle county, Virginia, May 8,
1823; completed academic studies; studied law, was admitted to the bar and began practice in
Harrisonburg, in 1847. He was United States district attorney, 1852-59; presidential elector on
the Buchanan ticket, 1856; elected as a Democrat to the thirty-sixth congress (March 4,
1859-March 3, 1861); member of the state legislature, 1863-65; judge of the twelfth judicial
district, 1866-69; elected as a Democrat to the forty-second, forty-third, forty-fourth,
forty-fifth and forty-sixth congresses (March 4, 1871-March 3, 1881); declined a unanimous
renomination. He was chairman of the Virginia Democratic Convention in 1884; was delegate to
several Democratic National conventions; presidential elector on the Cleveland ticket in 1888;
commissioner to the World's Fair at Chicago. He died at Harrisonburg, Virginia, October 14, 1899.
[Page 119]
Hay, James, born in Millwood, Clarke county, Virginia, January 9,
1856, son of Dr. William Hay, who served in the war between the states, and Emily Lewis, his
wife; attended private schools and the University of Pennsylvania, and was graduated from
Washington and Lee University, Virginia, in law, in June, 1877; moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia,
in 1877, where he practiced until June, 1879; moved to Madison, Virginia, and devoted himself
exclusively to his profession; elected attorney for the commonwealth in 1883, and re-elected in
1887-1891, and 1895; elected to the house of delegates in 1885, and re-elected in 1887 and 1889;
to the state senate in 1893; member of the Democratic state committee for four years, and member
of the Democratic National Convention of 1888; elected as a Democrat to the fifty-fifth, and to
the six succeeding congresses (March 4, 1897-March 3, 1911); chairman of the Democratic caucus of
the house of representatives in the fifty-sixth, fifty-seventh and fifty-eighth congresses;
re-elected to the sixty-second and sixty-third congresses, and is still a member (1915). Mr.
Hay's grandfather was James Hay, who married Elizabeth Burwell, daughter of Nathaniel Burwell, of
Clarke county, formerly of James City county, and his great-grandfather was William Hay, who was
born in Kilsyth, Sterlingshire, Scotland, November 10, 1748, and came to Virginia in 1768.
William Hay, the lawyer, whose named is found in "Randolph's reports," was son of
the emigrant.
[Pages 119-120]
Holland, Edward Everett, born in Nansemond county, Virginia,
February 26, 1861; educated in private schools in the county, at Richmond (Virginia) College, and
University of Virginia; studied law, and admitted to practice; since 1892 president of the
Farmer's Bank of Nansemond; mayor of Suffolk, 1885-1887; commonwealth attorney for Nansemond
county, 1887-1907; state senator, 1907-1911; was elected to the sixty-second, sixty-third and
sixty-fourth congresses. He is still a member (1915).
[Page 120]
Hooper, Benjamin Stephen, born in Buckingham county, Virginia,
March 6, 1835; attended the common schools engaged in mercantile business and the manufacture of
tobacco. He was elected as readjuster to the forty-eighth congress (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1885).
He died at Farmville, Virginia, January 17, 1898.
[Page 120]
Hopkins, Samuel Isaac, born in Prince George county, Maryland,
December 13, 1843; moved in infancy to Anne Arundel county, where he attended the common schools;
while a minor enlisted in Company A, Second Maryland Infantry, and served during the war; wounded
several times; after the war he located in Lynchburg; elected as a Knight of Labor to the
fiftieth congress (March 4, 1887-March 3, 1889); a resident of Lynchburg, Virginia.
[Page 120]
Hunton, Eppa, (q. v.).
[Page 120]
Johnston, Joseph E., (q.
v.).
[Page 120]
Jones, William Atkinson, born at Warsaw, Virginia, March 21, 1849,
son of Thomas Jones, of Richmond county, and Anna Seymour Trowbridge, his wife, she a descendant
of Gen. Joseph Jones, of Dinwiddie county (q. v.). He
entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1864, and served with its corps of cadets in defense
of Richmond, until its evacuation after the war; he attended Coleman's School in Fredericksburg,
and graduated from the law department of the University of Virginia in 1870; admitted to the bar
in July, 1870, and commenced practice in Warsaw, Virginia; commonwealth attorney for several
years; delegate in the Democratic National Conventions of 1880, 1896 and 1900; elected as a
Democrat to the fifty-second congress and to the nine succeeding congresses (March 4, 1891-March
3, 1911); re-elected to the sixty-second, sixty-third and sixty-fourth congresses, and is still
serving. In 1880 he was a delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention which nominated
Gen. Hancock for the presidency, and chairman of the Virginia delegation in that body. He was
also a delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention of 1900, in Kansas City.
[Page 120]
Jorgensen, Joseph, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February
11, 1844; was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania; cadet
surgeon United States army, March 17, 1864-February 3, 1865; acting assistant surgeon, April 10,
1865-September 10, 1865, and June 5, 1867-February 21, 1870; elected to the house of
representatives of Virginia, 1871; appointed postmaster of Petersburg; elected as a Republican to
the forty-fifth, forty-sixth and forty-seventh congresses (March 4, 1877-March 3, 1883);
appointed register of the land office at Walla Walla, Washington, by President
Arthur, February 27, 1883; and served until removed by President Cleveland in 1886; delegate in
the Republican National Convention of 1880; died at Portland, Oregon, January 21, 1888.
[Pages 120-121]
Lamb, John, born in Sussex county, Virginia, June 12, 1840, son of
Lycurgus A. Lamb and Ann E. Christian, his wife, she a lineal descendant of Col. Joseph
Christian, of the revolutionary army. When he was five years old his family removed to Charles
City county. When he was fifteen, his father died, and the care of his mother and her younger
children devolved upon him. He had been well taught by his father, and he now gave his nights to
studying civil engineering. He was thus occupied when the civil war broke out. He enlisted in
Company D, Third Regiment Virginia Cavalry, and as captain commanded it for three years,
receiving one severe wound, and two of minor importance. After the war, he engaged in business,
and at various times was elected sheriff, treasurer, and surveyor of Henrico county. He was
elected as a Democrat to the fifty-fifth congress, in 1897, and has been re-elected to each
succeeding congress until the year 1911. He married, November 20, 1869, Mattie R. Wade, of
Charles City county. His address is Richmond, Virginia.
[Page 121]
Langston, John Mercer, born in Louisa county, Virginia (born a
slave but emancipated when six years old), of mixed descent, December 14, 1829; attended common
schools in Ohio; was graduated from Oberlin College in 1849, and from the theological department
in 1852; studied law in Elyria, Ohio, was admitted to the bar in 1855, and practiced in Ohio
1855-1867; appointed inspector general of the bureau of freedmen, refugees and abandoned lands in
1868; moved to Washington, D. C., and practiced law; dean of the law department of Howard
University; appointed and commissioned by President Grant a member of the board of health of the
District of Columbia in 1871; appointed by President Hayes minister resident and consul general
to Haiti, and charge d'affaires to Santo Domingo; elected vice-president and acting president of
Howard University in 1872; elected president of the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute in
1885; took active part in recruiting colored troops during the civil war; especially the
fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth Massachusetts and Fifth Ohio (colored) regiments; filled several
township offices in Ohio; twice elected a member of the council of Oberlin, and member of the
board of education for twelve years; presented credentials as a member-elect from Virginia to the
fifty-first congress, and was seated after contesting the election of Edward C. Venable,
September 23, 1890; served until March 3, 1891; declined to make a contest in the fifty-second
congress, for which he was the Republican candidate, and declined a renomination to the
fifty-third congress; died in Washington, D. C., November 15, 1897. He wrote a book entitled From
the Plantation to the National Capitol," which is reviewed in William and Mary Quarterly
Historical Magazine III. p. 282. From this it appears that Langston was probably descended from
Gideon Langston, an Indian who attended the Indian School at the college in 1754.
[Pages 121-122]
Lassiter, Francis Rives, born in Petersburg, Virginia, February
18, 1866; son of Dr. Daniel W. Lassiter, of Huguenot descent, and Anna Rives Heath, his wife. He
graduated from several academic schools, and attended the University of Virginia, 1883-84,
graduating from various of its schools, including the law, receiving the B. L. degree; was
admitted to the bar in Suffolk county, Massachusetts, in 1887, and to the Virginia bar in 1888.
He engaged in practice in Petersburg, Virginia; member of the Virginia Democratic state central
committee; elected city attorney of Petersburg in 1888, 1890 and 1892; presidential elector 1892;
appointed United States attorney for the eastern district of Virginia in 1893, and resigned in
1896; appointed supervisor for the twelfth census of the fourth district of Virginia in 1899;
elected as a democrat to the fifty-sixth congress, to fill vacancy caused by the death of Sydney
P. Eppes; re-elected to the fifty-seventh congress, and served from April 28, 1900, to March,
1903; again elected to the sixtieth and sixty-first congresses, and served from March 4, 1907,
until his death at Petersburg, Virginia, October 31. 1909.
[Page 122]
Lawson, John William, born in James City county, Virginia,
September 13, 1837; attended the schools of Williamsburg, William and Mary College, and the
University of Virginia; studied medicine and was graduated from the University of the City of New
York, March 4, 1861; returned to Virginia and enlisted in the Thirty-second Regiment Virginia
Infantry; served on the Peninsula; participated in the battle of Williamsburg and in the series
of battles beginning with Seven Pines; entered the medical department; assistant surgeon in
charge of artillery battalion; promoted to full surgeon March 10, 1864, and served until the
surrender at Appomattox, April 9, 1865; settled in Isle of Wight county, Virginia, December,
1865; practiced medicine for ten years; elected to the house of delegates and re-elected; elected
to the state senate; engaged in farming; elected as a Democrat to the fifty-second congress
(March 4, 1891-March 3, 1893); died in Smithfield, Virginia, February 21, 1905. He was president
of the board of visitors of William and Mary College at the time of his death.
[Page 122]
Lee, William H. F., (q. v.).
[Page 122]
Lester, Posey Green, born in Floyd county, Virginia, March 12,
1850; attended the common schools; engaged in teaching, and studied theology; ordained a minister
in the primitive or old school Baptist church in 1876; traveled and preached in eighteen states;
associate editor of "Zion's Landmark" in 1883; elected as a Democrat to the fifty-first and
fifty-second congresses (March 4, 1889-March 3, 1893); resumed ministerial relations in Floyd,
Virginia
[Page 122]
Libbey, Harry, born at Wakefield, New Hampshire, November 22,
1843; attended the common schools; moved to Hampton, Virginia, and engaged in mercantile
pursuits; appointed one of the presiding justices of Elizabeth City county, Virginia, in 1869;
elected as a Republican to the forty-eighth and forty-ninth congresses (March 4, 1883-March 3,
1887); engaged in the oyster industry; postmaster of Hampton, Virginia.
[Pages 122-123]
McKenney, William Robertson, born in Petersburg, Virginia,
December 2, 1851, son of Robert Anderson McKenney and Virginia Bland Robertson, his wife. He
attended McCabe's University School, Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia, and was
graduated from a number of the departments of the latter institution; taught school for two
years, and in the fall of 1875 entered the law school of said university; was graduated in June,
1876, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice of the city council of Petersburg,
Virginia; elected president of the city council of Petersburg in the spring of 1888 and served
six years; presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1888 and in 1892 a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention in Chicago; served as a member of the Democratic state executive
committee; presented credentials as a Democratic member-elect to the fifty-fourth congress and
served from March 4, 1895, until May 2, 1896, when he was succeeded by Robert T. Thorp, who
successfully contested his election; resumed the practice of law in Petersburg, Virginia, where
he still resides.