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[Page 354]
Echols, Edward, born at Union, Monroe county, Virginia (now West
Virginia), October 24, 1854, son of Gen. John Echols (q. v.)
and Mary Jane Caperton, his wife. He obtained his preparatory education in Staunton and
Lexington, Virginia, and from 1869 to 1871 was a student in Washington College (Washington and
Lee University), and then studied law at the University of Virginia. He began to practice in
Staunton, Virginia, and im May, 1880, was elected to the office of commonwealth attorney of that
city, a post he occupied for six years. He was next elected to the house of delegates from
Augusta county, and after representing this county in the lower house of the legislature for six
years he was elected senator from the ninth district. In the eight years of his term he gained
the reputation of being one of the senate's strongest debaters. In 1897 he was the Democratic
nominee for lieutenant-governor, running on the ticket with Hon. J. Hoge Tyler, and was
overwhelmingly elected. After retiring from office at the close of his four-year term as
president of the Virginia Senate he for four years devoted his entire time to his private
interests of importance and magnitude. He was vice-president of the National Valley Bank, of
Staunton, Virginia, and in April, 1905, was elected its president. He died at Staunton in 1915.
He married, June 5, 1895, Margaret Young, of Louisville, Kentucky, and has children.
[Page 355]
McIlwaine, William Baird, born in Petersburg, Virginia, October 4,
1854, son of Robert Dunn McIlwaine and Lucy Atkinson Pryor, his wife, and grandson of Archibald
Graham McIlwaine, a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, who came to the United States in 1818 from
Londonderry, Ireland. He entered Hampden-Sidney College, and graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1873.
He joined his father in his commission business, and spent his nights in the study of law, and on
December 19, 1878, was admitted to the bar. He built up a large practice, and held directorships
in many corporations of importance, and from its organization the presidency of the Petersburg
Telephone Company. He held the offices of councilman, representative in the house of delegates,
and for three successive terms was state senator. In 1897 he was chairman of the senate committee
on courts of justice, and made the speech nominating Thomas S. Martin for the United States
senate in 1899. He married (first) November 7, 1877, Jane Maury Pegram; (second) December 28,
1882, Sarah Joseph Claiborne.
[Pages 355-356]
Wysor, John Chandler, born near Dublin, Virginia, May 12, 1854,
son of George Washington Wysor and Margaret Ann Miller, his wife, is a descendant of a family of
German extraction, the name in that country being spelled Weiser. In 1710 the first known
immigrant of the name settled in the state of Pennsylvania. Subsequently Henry Weiser, who
changed the spelling to its present form, Wysor, removed from Pennsylvania to Virginia, about
1750, and he was enrolled among Morgan's riflemen. His son, Captain Henry Wysor, commanded a
company in the war of 1812, and his son George Washington Wysor, father of Dr. Wysor, was a
farmer. Dr. John C. Wysor was brought up on his father's farm, and attended the schools adjacent
to his home. Later he studied medicine in the office of the family physician, Dr. J. L Stearnes,
and later entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Maryland, which he
attended from 1876 to 1878, graduating in the latter named year with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. He supplemented this knowledge by full or partial courses of lectures and clinics in
the New York Polyclinic, New York City, during the years 1887-88-89, 1895-96. He opened an office
at Christiansburg Depot, Virginia, in May, 1878, but removing in August, same year, to southern
Minnesota, and after a two years' residence there returned to Virginia and located at Radford,
Montgomery county, from whence he removed in February, 1882, to the coal fields in the Kanawha
Valley, West Virginia, where he practiced until the fall of 1897, when he removed to Clifton
Forge, Virginia. He has made a specialty of surgery, being highly successful in abdominal
surgery, and he served as medical adviser and surgeon for a considerable body of railroad men,
also as local surgeon of the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad at Montgomery, West Virginia, from 1890
to 1897, and in the latter named year was made surgeon-at-charge of the Chesapeake & Ohio
Hospital at Clifton Forge. He has also contributed numerous articles to medical journals. He is a
member, and has served for many years as a ruling elder, of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Wysor
married, August 27, 1884, Alice Eugenia Pugh. He resides at Clifton Forge, Virginia.
[Page 356]
Keezell, George Bernard, born in Rockingham county, Virginia, July
20, 1854, son of George Keezell and Amanda Fitz Allen Peale, his wife. George Keezell was of
German ancestry and took an active part in the war of 1812. George Bernard Keezell was a young
child at the outbreak of the civil war, and as all men who were able to serve in the army were on
the battlefield, he was early obliged to perform labors far in advance of his years. However, the
strenuous work he performed at this period in cultivating the farm endowed him with a strong
constitution and powerful physique. He utilized every spare moment to read history and biography,
and standard literature of all kinds, and this supplemented the educational training he acquired
at a collegiate institute in Baltimore, Maryland. At the age of seventeen years he stopped school
and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. He was elected a state senator in 1883, and was one
of the recognized leaders in that body. For more than twenty years he served as a member of the
finance committee of the senate. In 1901-02 he served as a member of the constitutional
convention from Rockingham county; he has served as a member of the state board of fisheries, and
was a member of the committee on renovating and rebuilding the state capitol. Mr. Keezell married
(first) Mary Katherine Hannah, (second) Belle C. Hannah. His address is Keezletown, Rockingham
county, Virginia.
[Page 356]
Mason, John E., born at Edge Hill, Albemarle county, Virginia,
July 11, 1854, son of Charles Mason, of Alto, King George county, Virginia, and Maria Jefferson
Carr Randolph, his wife; and grandson of Thomas Jefferson Randolph and Jane Nicholas, his wife.
Charles Mason was one of the influential citizens of Edge Hill, representing his district in the
state senate. His John E. Mason, was raised on his father's farm, and his education was acquired
at Bethel Military Academy in Fauquier county, Virginia, and at Dale Academy, Madison county,
Virginia, both noted institutions, and later at the University of Virginia, which he entered in
1874, and where he pursued a law course for one year. He graduated from the law school of
Columbian University, Washington, D. C., in the class of 1878, receiving therefrom the degree of
Bachelor of Law. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1878. he located for the active
practice of his profession in King George county, Virginia. He served in the capacity of
commonwealth's attorney of King George county, being elected to that office three times; was also
elected three times to the Virginia house of delegates, serving from 1889 to 1895; became a
member of the Virginia senate, which office he resigned in 1898 to accept the judgeship of the
tenth circuit, and in the reorganization of the judicial districts of the state under the new
constitution, he was elected judge of the fifteenth circuit without opposition. Judge Mason
married, November 24, 1885, Kate Kearney Henry, who bore him three children.
[Page 357]
Moffett, William Walter, born July 19, 1854, son of John Moffett,
descended from henry Moffett, an Englishman, born in 1705, who settled in Virginia. He attended
an "old field" school, and later Rappahannock Academy. He read law under the preceptorship of his
uncle, Horatio G. Moffett. He engaged in practice in Rappahannock county in 1877, and in 1878
established the "Blue Ridge Echo," in association with his cousin, Horatio G. Moffett, Jr., and
remained its editor until 1885. For a number of year he was a member of the
Democratic state committee, beginning in 1883, and in that year was also elected to the house of
delegates. In 1891 he removed to Salem, Roanoke county, and associated himself in partnership
with Hon. A. B. Pugh. He was made judge of Roanoke county court in June, 1893, and occupied the
office almost eleven years. In January, 1906, he was elected circuit judge. His religious
affiliation is with the Baptist denomination; he was president of the Baptist General Association
of Virginia 1903-05, and for a number of years served as moderator of the Valley Association. He
was connected with a number of educational and charitable institutions. He married, February 22,
1883, Jessie Mary Dudley.
[Page 357]
Hughes, Robert Morton, born in Abingdon, Virginia, September 10,
1855, son of the late Judge Robert W. Hughes, for twenty-four years United States district judge
for the eastern district of Virginia, and Eliza M. Johnston, his wife. His paternal ancestors
came to Virginia with the Huguenot emigration about 1700, and settled near Manakintown, above
Richmond Seven members of his family were in company in the revolutionary war. He
was educated at private schools near Abingdon, Virginia, and at William and Mary College, which
he entered in 1870, being graduated therefrom in 1873 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The
same year he entered the University of Virginia, where he remained for four years, and graduated
with the degree of Master of Arts. During the last year of his university course he took the law
course as well as the academic courses necessary to complete his master's degree; and took the
summer law course under Professor John B. Minor, the ensuing summer. In the fall of 1877 he
located at Norfolk, and began the practice of his profession. He was in 1895 elected president of
the Virginia State Bar Association. He is president of the Virginia chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa
Society, and is a member of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association, the Maritime Law
Association, the American Bar Association, and the International Law Association. He is also
rector of the board of visitors of William and Mary College, and member of the state board for
examining applicants to practice law. He is the author of a "Biography of General Joseph E.
Johnston," published by Appleton & Company, in 1893, and also of a work on "Admiralty," published
by the West Publishing Company in 1901. He is a Republican in politics. On February 19, 1879, he
married Mattie L. Smith, of Williamsburg, Virginia, daughter of Sydney Smith, Esq., and has two
children. His address is Norfolk, Virginia.
[Pages 357-358]
Thom, Alfred Pembroke, born in Northampton county, Virginia,
December 15, 1854, son of Dr. William Alexander Thom, and Anne Parker, his wife. His paternal
ancestor, Alexander Thom, settled first in Westmoreland and subsequently removed to Culpeper
county, Virginia, and became the ancestor of a number of distinguished men of that name in
Virginia and Maryland. Dr. Thom was a member of the Confederate army, surgeon and April in the
Army of Northern Virginia. He had charge of the Banner Hospital at Richmond, Virginia, and served
as the chief of staff in many other hospitals. Among the other members of this family who served
in the Confederate army was Dr. William A. Thom's brother, the well known Dr. Joseph Pembroke
Thom, of Baltimore, Maryland, who had been a veteran in the Mexican war, and who was wounded
seven times in the battle of Kernston, as a member of Stonewall Jackson's command. Alfred P. Thom
was educated at private schools of Northampton county, Virginia, and at the school of Dr. Robert
Atkinson, in Baltimore. After one year at Richmond College, Richmond, Virginia, he entered the
University of Virginia in 1872, where he spent four years. After his graduation, in 1876, he
began the practice of the law in Northampton county, Virginia, where he remained for two years,
and then moved to Norfolk, Virginia, and became a member of the firm of Ellis & Thom. This firm
continued business for four years and he then formed a partnership with R. B. Tunstall, Esq.
under the firm name of Tunstall & Thom, which continued for seventeen years, when, by the
introduction into it of William H. White, Esq., it became known as the firm of White, Tunstall &
Thom. Mr. Thom is division counsel for the Southern Railway Company for the state of Virginia,
general counsel for the Atlantic & Danville Railway Company, and various other corporations. He
was a member of the constitutional convention of 1901-02, where he made a reputation as a strong
debater and learned constitutional lawyer. He is a member of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar
Association, the Virginia State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. On September
20, 1881, he married Mrs. Jennie Williamson Baylor (née Tunstall), of Norfolk, Virginia.
His address is Norfolk, Virginia.
[Page 358]
Catlett, Robert, born in Petersburg, Virginia, May 27, 1855, son
of John Robert Catlett and Celine Henry, his wife. On his father's side he is descended from
Colonel John Catlett, who represented Essex county in the Virginia house of burgesses in 1693,
1695, 1700 and 1702. He attended Charlotte Hall, Maryland, and afterwards graduated in the
academic course at the Maryland Agricultural College. In 1876-1877 he took a law course at the
University of Virginia, and soon after entered upon practice in Charlotte county, Virginia. In
1887 he was elected to the house of delegates, and served eight years. In 1904 he served for a
short time as superintendent of schools. Later he was appointed assistant attorney-general of
Virginia. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and grand chancellor of the Knights of
Pythias. He married Jennie Daniel, September 7, 1881.
[Pages 358-359]
Yancey, Robert Davis, born at Lynchburg, Virginia, September 15,
1855, son of William T. Yancey and Lucy E. Davis, his wife. Paternally he is of English descent;
his great-grandfather, Robert Yancey, was a captain in the revolution, and his son, Joel Yancey,
a major in the war of 1812, and a friend of Thomas Jefferson, who lived on the adjoining farm.
Lucy E. Davis was a descendant of Henry Davis, who was a first cousin of Major-General Emmet
Rodes, of the Confederate States army. Robert Davis Yancey attended school in Lynchburg, and then
entered the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, graduated in 1875. He entered the law
department of the University of Virginia in the fall of 1875, studied under Professor John B.
Minor and Stephen O. Southall, graduated in 1877, and began practice in Lynchburg. He was mayor
of the city, 1890-1894; commonwealth's attorney, 1894, six terms of two years each, and in 1906
was again elected for a term of four years. He served many years in the state body of the
National Guard, held many non-commissioned and commissioned posts, for seven years was a captain,
and in 1887-89, under Governors Charles T. O'Ferrall and Fitz Hugh Lee, was colonel in command of
all the state troops, sent to the coal fields to preserve order during the strikes.
[Pages 359-360]
Gordon, Armistead Churchill, born in Albemarle county, Virginia,
December 20, 1855, son of George Loyall Gordon and Mary Long Daniel, his wife. On his father's
side he is descended from John Gordon, who about 1738 came from the North of Ireland to Middlesex
county, Virginia, and engaged largely in the exporting of tobacco. His paternal grandfather was
Gen. William F. Gordon, of Albemarle county, Virginia, who, when in the congress of the United
States, originated the federal independent treasury system; and who, as delegate from Albemarle,
in the Virginia house of delegates, had charge of Mr. Jefferson's bill to establish the
University of Virginia. His maternal ancestors are the Stiths, Randolphs, and Bassets of
Virginia, and the Longs and Daniels of North Carolina; his mother's great-grandfather, Col.
Nicholas Long, of Halifax, North Carolina, having been commissary-general of that state during
the revolutionary war, and his mother's father, Judge Joseph J. Daniel, having been for years on
the supreme court of that state. His paternal ancestor, Col. Reuben Lindsay, of Albemarle county,
Virginia, served with the Marquis de Lafayette during the revolutionary war. His father was
killed in action at the battle of Malvern Hill, one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war.
His early education was obtained at the private school of Warrenton North Carolina, known as
Dugger's Academy. He afterwards was taught in the Charlottesville Institute by Major Horace W.
Jones, from which he entered the University of Virginia in 1873, where he remained for two
sessions studying the academic branches. After leaving the University he taught a private school
in Charlottesville for several years, during which time he read law, taking three summer courses
at the University of Virginia under Professor John B. Minor. In the fall of 1879 he began the
practice of his profession in Staunton, Virginia. He was mayor of the city of Staunton,
commonwealth's attorney for the city of Staunton and the county of Augusta, city attorney of
Staunton, president of the Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the city and county Democratic
committees, and member of the board of visitors of the university, of which board he is at this
time the rector; was a member of the board of visitors of William and Mary College and chairman
of the state library board of Virginia; also a member of the New Spalding Club of Aberdeen
University, Scotland. Though actively engaged in his profession, he was always a devoted student
of literature, and contributed largely to the literature of the time in the way of books,
magazine articles and addresses. Among these may be mentioned a book of Confederate poems
entitled "For Truth and Freedom," a volume of ballads which he was edited called "The Gay
Gordons," and a volume of stories privately printed, "Envion and Other Tales." In connection with
Thomas Nelson Page he published a volume of dialect poems "Befo' the War." He also published a
volume on finance, "Congressional Currency." He delivered addresses before the Scotch-Irish
Society of America, the West Virginia State Bar Association, the Phi Beta Kappa Society of
William and Mary College, of which society he was a member, and other societies. On October 17,
1883, he married Maria Breckinridge Catlett, of Staunton, Virginia.
[Page 360]
Crump, Beverley Tucker, born in Richmond, Virginia, June 10, 1854,
son of the late Judge William W. Crump. His early education was obtained at Professor Charles
Morris' private school in Hanover county, and at the school of Mr. John M. Strother in the city
of Richmond. In 1870 he entered the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia, and
graduated at the head of his class in July, 1873. In 1874 he went to Europe, and attended the
University of Berlin three semesters, and the University of Goettingen two semesters. Having
taken full course of Roman law in the above universities he matriculated as a law student in
University of Virginia in 1877, and graduated in June, 1878. He began the practice of his
profession in the city of Richmond in the fall of 1878, being associated with his father, under
the style of W. W. & B. T. Crump, which partnership continued until the death of Judge Crump in
February, 1897, after which time he practiced alone. He was engaged largely in corporation
practice. In July, 1902, he was elected by the legislature of Virginia to the judgeship of the
tenth judicial circuit, to succeed Judge Beverly R. Wellford, and in the fall of the same year,
before taking office, he was appointed by the governor of Virginia one of the three members of
the state corporation commission, created under the new constitution, and upon the organization
of the commission was made chairman. He has been a member of the board of aldermen of the city of
Richmond, and also of the legislature of Virginia, from 1892 to 1894. On October 15, 1884, he
married Henrietta O. Tayloe, of Mt. Airy, Richmond county, Virginia, and had four children. His
address is Richmond, Virginia.
[Pages 360-361]
Page, Thomas Jefferson, born at Shelby, Gloucester county,
Virginia, January 4, 1808, son of Mann Page, who was the eldest son of John Page, member of
Congress and three times governor of Virginia. His maternal grandfather was Thomas Nelson, a
signer of the Declaration of Independence. In recognition of the services of Gen. Nelson to the
United States, his daughter, the widowed Mrs. Page, was offered appointments to the Military
Academy for her two sons. Her youngest son, Thomas, preferred the navy, and was appointed
midshipman on the school-ship at Norfolk, there being no naval academy at that time. He was soon
ordered to the flagship Eric, bound for the West Indies; and, although the youngest
midshipman aboard, he was for a short time during the cruise absolute commander of the flagship.
All the officers being ill with yellow fever, young Page, with the assistance of another
midshipman, brought the ship safely home to Norfolk, and was highly commended for his skill. He
was for several years connected with the coast survey; became a lieutenant in 1839. He was
assigned to duty in the China seas, then infested with pirates, and,,in command of the
Dolphin, rendered gallant service by the capture of one of their largest junks. In 1851
Captain Page was given command of the Water Witch, and sent on an exploring expedition
to the La Plata country, with full diplomatic powers to form commercial treaties with the South
American states in that region. The first part of the expedition consumed three years. His report
gave great satisfaction to the government, and was translated into many languages. After a
mission to Paraguay, he returned to Washington just before the civil war. Upon the secession of
Virginia he resigned his commission in the United States navy, and in 1862 was sent to England by
the Confederate government, to take command of an ironclad, then being constructed on the Mersey,
to be used in keeping open the Confederate ports. The ship, however, was seized by the British
government, and Captain Page assumed command of the Stonewall, an ironclad built in
France. When he reached Havana, on his way home, he received tidings of Lee's surrender, and
consigned his ship to the Spanish authorities. Captain Page then made his home in Buenos Ayres,
where he enjoyed a high reputation ans was associated for some years with ex-President Uzquiza in
extensive cattle and sheep farming. He was sent by the Argentine government to England to
superintend the construction of two ironclads and two gunboats, which formed the nucleus of the
Argentine navy. His declining years were passed in Italy, where he took up his residence about
1880. Captain Page was married in Washington, November 8, 1839, to Benjamina, daughter of
Benjamin Price, of Welsh descent, and had eight children. He died in Rome, October 26, 1899.
[Pages 361-362]
Selden, William, born at Norfolk, Virginia, August 15, 1808, son
of Dr. William Boswell and Charlotte (Colgate) Selden, and a descendant of Samuel Selden, a
lawyer, who came to America in 1699, and settled in Virginia on land granted to his wife, Rebecca
Yeo. Their son, also a lawyer, was deputy king's attorney and sheriff in Lancaster county,
Virginia; and his son, William, was Dr. Selden's grandfather. William Selden was educated in the
schools of his native city and at the University of Virginia, and made his professional studies
at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was graduated in 1830. He continued advanced work in
medicine in London and Paris for several years, and after his return to America began practice in
his native city. He devoted particular attention to internal diseases and enjoyed an exceptional
reputation as diagnostician throughout the South. His wide experience in matters of public
health, particularly in regard to the yellow fever, led to his appointment by congress in 1878 on
the commission of experts to investigate the nature and cause of that disease, but he was
prevented from serving by failing health. He was for several years also a member of the town
council and board of health of Norfolk. Early in his career he was offered professorships at the
universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania. His declination was deeply regretted, since it was
felt that with his wide and profound knowledge of many subjects he would have been an invaluable
adjunct to any institution of learning. Unfortunately, Dr. Selden wrote very little, most of his
productions being short articles published in the medical magazines. His two best known are:
"History of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1855 in Norfolk," and his paper "On Fractures of the
Neck of the Femur." In the latter paper he reported some of the earliest cases of bony union as a
result of the now recognized method of treatment. Although deeply deploring the necessity for
secession he was loyal to his state, and accepted appointment as surgeon in the Confederate
service in the hospitals at Liberty, Virginia. Dr. Selden was married to Lucinda, daughter of Dr.
Daniel Wilson, of Louisville, Kentucky, by whom he had nine children. He died in Norfolk,
Virginia, November 7, 1887.
[Pages 362-363]
McGill, John, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 4,
1809, son of James and Lavinia (Dougherty) McGill, who were natives of Ireland. His parents
subsequently removed to Kentucky, where they located at Bardstown. John was placed at school in
St. Joseph's College and was graduated at that institution in 1828. He subsequently studied law,
but afterwards deciding to devote himself to the priesthood entered St. Thomas' Seminary at
Bardstown for his theological studies, completing them at St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore. Mr.
McGill was ordained on June 13, 1835, by Bishop David, at Bardstown, Kentucky. He was first made
assistant pastor of St. Peter's Church, Lexington, and was afterwards appointed assistant to the
Rev. Martin J. Spalding at Louisville. In 1838 he was sent to Europe to escort Bishop Flaget
home, returning in 1839. In addition to his duties as assistant to Dr. Spalding he was also given
editorial charge of the "Catholic Advocate." It was through the columns of this paper that he
became widely known as a dogmatic writer. He also delivered a series of dogmatic lectures, which
subsequently became identified with the religious history of Louisville. During his residence
there he published two religious works, "The True Church" and the "Life of Calvin." In 1830, when
the see of Richmond was divided, Father McGill was appointed bishop of Richmond. He was
consecrated at Bardstown on November 10, 1830, by Most Rev. Peter Richard Kenrick, archbishop of
St. Louis, assisted by Bishops Spalding and Miles. Bishop McGill at once assumed charge of the
diocese, which was not only poor in numbers but in resources of every kind an in a greatly
embarrassed condition, which made the prospects of his episcopate both arduous and discouraging.
He entered upon them with a zeal and energy that could not but forecast success. Bishop McGill at
once set about improving the condition of his diocese and began building churches and schools,
and offered inducements to religious communities to establish themselves in his see. He erected
and dedicated churches at Richmond, Norfolk, Fortress Monroe, Fredericksburg, Fairfax Station and
Warrenton. There were in his diocese eleven thousand Roman Catholics; to this number he made
large additions by converts who through his argumentative reasoning and eloquent sermons were
brought into the church. Besides the convents and academies he established he started fourteen
parochial schools. Bishop McGill's diocese suffered greatly during the civil war and his projects
for its advancement were materially crippled. He was three times called to Rome by Pope Pius IX.;
in 1854, on the occasion of the definition of the dogma of the immaculata conception; in 1867, at
the centenary of the martyrdom of SS. Peter and Paul, and again on the assembly of the Vatican
council. In 1866, in the council of the American bishop's, he took a prominent part. In fact,
Bishop McGill's commanding presence and intellect made him a conspicuous figure wherever he went.
During the civil war he established a hospital at Richmond for the wounded soldiers and devoted
himself to their care. Bishop McGill was preëminently charitable, and no applicant was ever
turned away. Like many other gifted men he was simple in his character, tastes and habits. "He
was a man of learning in theology, canon and civil law, the classics and English literature. His
tall figure, serious aspect, modest demeanor, close logic and gesticulation added to the forces
of his sermons. He was not one whose services to religion were confined to his own diocese, or to
any locality. He was called on to preach in various cities in America and Europe, and whether it
was in Richmond, Charleston, Baltimore, Louisville, Paris or Rome, the impression he always made
was profound and lasting." His health became impaired while attending the Vatican council and he
subsequently lost the use of one of his eyes. His death, however, was caused by cancer of the
stomach. He died in Richmond, Virginia, January 14, 1872.
[Pages 363-364]
McClelland, Mary Greenway, born in the village of Norwood, Nelson
county, Virginia. ON the maternal side she was a descendant of Frederic Christian Graf, who was
born in the principality of Waldeck, Germany, and was for many years consul of the free city of
Hamburg. Her uncle, Frederic Boller Graf, was at one time Dutch consul, and for a number of years
represented Norway and Sweden. Both were residents of Baltimore, Maryland, and there her mother
was born and grew to womanhood. On the paternal side she is descended from William Cabell, of
"Union Hill." Her grandfather, Thomas Stanhope McClelland, was one of the Adams county
McClellands of Pennsylvania. He settled in Virginia in the early part of the present century, and
married Miss Cabell, of Union Hill. Miss McClelland passed the most of her life on a plantation
among the Virginia Hills, in a very beautiful home, the land on which it is situated being part
of the original tract granted Dr. William Cabell, of Warminster, England, a surgeon in the
British navy, who settled in the James river valley, in 1723. Her first work, "Oblivion," was
published in 1885, and was quickly followed by "Princess." Since then she published five novels,
four novelettes, and numerous short stories, and her writing became so popular that she had to
decline offers from rival publishers. She died August 2, 1895.
[Pages 363-364]
Whitehead, William Riddick, born at Suffolk, Virginia, 15, 1831.
The name was distinguished in England by William Whitehead, the poet laureate. His father,
William Boykin Whitehead, born in Southampton county, Virginia, was a large sugar planter in
Louisiana, and was married to Emeline F. Riddick, a descendant of Col. Willis Riddick, of
revolutionary fame. William Riddick Whitehead was graduated at the Virginia Military Institute,
Lexington, Virginia, in 1851; studied medicine for one year at the University of Virginia, and
received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. After a year;
further study in Paris he obtained, through Prince Gortchakoff, Russian ambassador at Vienna, an
appointment to the Russian army, then fighting in the Crimea. He was ordered to Odessa, and later
to Sebastopol, obtaining extensive experience in army surgery under Pirogoff, the great Russian
surgeon. At the close of the war he was decorated by the Czar with the cross of the Imperial
Order of St. Stanislaus. In 1860 he received the degree in medicine from the faculty of Paris,
and upon his return to America was chosen professor of clinical medicine in the New York Medical
College. Immediately after the fall of Sumter he returned to the South, and became surgeon in the
Forty-fourth Virginia Infantry. He was successively regimental surgeon, senior surgeon of
brigade, acting sturgeon of division, and, during the last year of the war, president of the
board in South Carolina for the examination of conscripts and disabled soldiers. He tended Gen.
"Stonewall" Jackson on the battlefield, when wounded at Chancellorsville. He was taken prisoner
by the Federal army after the battle of Gettysburg, and was subsequently detained in Fort
McHenry. He escaped, made his way through New York and Canada to Bermuda, whence he embarked on a
blockade runner, and returned to Richmond. After the war he began practice in New York City, and
remained there until 1872, when he removed to Denver, Colorado. In 1874 he was elected a member
of the common council, and was chairman of the committee on health. He initiated the movement
toward the establishment of the city's present system of sewerage. He was president of the Denver
and also of the Colorado State Medical societies, was instrumental in founding the medical
schools of the University of Denver and the University of Colorado, and was an active member of
the American Medical Congress and the American Orthopædic Association. His contributions to
medical and other journals on subjects connected with his profession have been numerous and
varied. In 1863 he was married to Eliza F., a daughter of Col. Thomas G. Benton, who was a cousin
of Thomas H. Benton, the famous senator from Missouri.