Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography

[Pages 31-34]
James Winston Watts, Richard Thomas Watts. Brothers in blood, brothers in arms, and brothers in spirit, James Winston and Richard Thomas Watts, eminent citizens of Lynchburg, Virginia, and loyal self-sacrificing sons of Virginia, after lives of honor and usefulness passed from earthly scenes, leaving to posterity the rich legacy of untarnished names.
The Watts family of Virginia are of English or Scotch ancestry, the family being one of the ancient and honorable names of the Kingdom. Arms: Argent an oak tree growing out of a mound in vase vert. Over all on a bar azure, a crescent between two mulletts of the first. Crest: A cubit arm erect issuing from a cloud, in the hand a branch of olive all ppr.
John Watt, of Scotland, was the direct ancestor of the Watts family in America. He was known as a "deacon Covenanter." He took part in the political and military agitation in Scotland in the late sixteenth century, and died in 1601, probably through foul play from his enemies. His wife was Euphame (Porteous) Watt, the daughter of a wealthy Scotch merchant. There is every reason to believe that John Watt, born in 1650, was his grandson. This John Watt inherited the ancestral manor known as "Rose Hill," which was located near the city of Edinburgh. He had issue: 1. Margaret, born about 1672; married Sir Walter Riddell, the fourth baronet of Nova Scotia. 2. Alice, married (first) a Mr. Scott, of Fife, and (second) Lord Galtown. 3. Adam, born in 1678. 4. Robert. 5. John, born in 1682; came to America and died unmarried in Philadelphia in 1707.
Robert Watt came to this country about 1710 and settled in Manhattan, and was the founder of the northern branch of the Watts family. That he was the father of Jacob Watts, of Virginia, is not likely, as his children are recorded, and the name of Jacob does not appear among them. It is however, possible that his brother Adam, may have come to Virginia, and was the father of Jacob Watts.
(I) Descent is traced from Jacob Watts, the first of the family in Virginia of whom there is record in this branch. He was the owner of a large estate containing over eleven hundred acres located on the north fork of the Rivanna, near Piney mountain, Albemarle county, Virginia. He was a prosperous planter and a minister of the early Methodist church of Albemarle county, born in 1731 his long and useful life of ninety years terminating in 1821. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Richard Durrett, of Priddy's creek, Albemarle county; children: William, of further mention; John, Elijah, Fielding, Mildred, married a Mr. Bruce; Mary, married Hezekiah Rodes; Frances, married Joseph Edmondson; Nancy, married Henry Austin; Agnes, married John Huckstep.
(II) William Watts, eldest son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Durrett) Watts, by his first wife, Jane, had issue; James, of further mention; Fannie, born October 26, 1769. By his second wife, Lucy he had issue: Elizabeth, born December 15, 1775; Patsey, April 4, 1776; Washington, September 2, 1777; William, March 25, 1779.
(III) James Watts, son of William and Jane Watts, was born January 25, 1767, died near Liberty, now Bedford City, Virginia, January 25, 1828. He married Elizabeth Hamilton, and had issue: Richard D. of further mention; Sally W., born December 27, 1795; Jane H., May 19, 1798; Eliza M., March 15, 1801, died January 8, 1865, married September 9, 1819, Dabney Poindexter; James, born October 2, 1807; Frances T., January 17, 1813; Paulina Ann, July 31, 1815.
(IV) Richard D. Watts, eldest son of James and Elizabeth (Hamilton) Watts, was born December 18, 1793. He was a resident of Bedford county, Virginia, and a soldier of the war of 1812. He married Isabelle Newell, and had issue: Mary Frances, married George Morgan Jones (whose biography appears elsewhere in this work); Colonel James Winston, of further mention; John Harvey Newell, married Rebecca Hurt, and had issue; Charles R., married Elizabeth McKinney, children: Blair and Charles; Mary Elizabeth, married Harry P. Burks, child, Martha; Richard Thomas, of further mention.
(V) Colonel James Winston Watts, eldest son of Richard D. and Isabelle (Newell) Watts, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, April 19, 1833, died in Lynchburg, Virginia, December 3, 1906. He was well educated in Virginia schools, grew to manhood on the home plantation and early became prominent in local affairs, holding the office of magistrate when barely qualified in point of years. He became one of the prosperous planters of Bedford county and busied himself with private and county affairs until his state called for her loyal sons at the outbreak of hostilities between the states. He entered the Confederate army in April, 1861, as first lieutenant of Company A, Second Regiment Virginia Cavalry, and at once went to the front. In August, 1861, for "meritorious service" he was commissioned captain, serving in that rank until May, 1862. Upon the reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, on the last named date, and attached to General Turner Ashby's brigade, "Stonewall" Jackson's division. He serv ed with distinction as lieutenant-colonel of the Second Virginia Cavalry until, disabled by wounds in the action at Aldie in July, 1863, he was forced to retire for a season. One month later he returned to duty, being assigned to the command of the military post at Bedford City (then known as Liberty), where he continued in command until the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House. He then started to join the army of General Johnston in the south, reached Augusta, Georgia, there reporting to General Frye. Realizing at last that further resistance was useless he gave up his sword, was paroled and returned to his home in Virginia.
The list of battles in which he was engaged reveals a record of which the bravest of soldiers might well be proud. He participated in the early actions of Vienna, Manassas and Flint Hill; then with Jackson in the Valley, fought at Front Royal, Newton, Winchester, Hall Town, Rude's Hill, Strasburg, Cross Keys and Port Republic; took part in the seven days of bloody struggle before Richmond; fought at Cedar Mountain, Bristoe Station, Groveton, and Second Manassas, at Occoquan, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, White Oak Swamp, Brandy Station, Aldie, Winchester (1864) and Lynchburg (1864). He was slightly wounded in an affair at Little Washington, in the Valley campaign; and at Occoquan and Aldie was severely wounded.
During the second battle of Manassas, Colonel Watts led the advance of his regiment (Second Virginia Cavalry) in the charge at the Lewis House, which is conceded by all writers on the Confederate cavalry to have been the most brilliant charge of the war. Here this regiment met a full brigade of Federal cavalry and charged them with such impetuosity that the Confederates cut their way through the first line of the enemy into the very heart of the Federal brigade. Here a desperate hand to hand fight took place before the enemy was repulsed and driven from the field. In this fight Colonel watts received eight sabre wounds.
In May, 1862, when General Jackson was driving General Banks from the Valley of Virginia, Colonel Watts with fifty-three man charged in infantry regiment of Federals while passing through Newton, Fredericks county, scattering them and bringing out one hundred and twenty-five prisoners and several wagons, almost in the face of the main body of the enemy. He led his regiment on that famous raid of General "Jeb" Stuart's into Chambersburg in 1862, bringing back six hundred head of horses as trophies. In December, 1862, near Occoquan, with one squadron, all that could be used of the regiment, he charged a full regiment of Federal cavalry, Pennsylvania troops, driving it more than two miles, completely routing it, killing and wounding thirty men, besides capturing many of their horses. In physique, tall, erect, lithe and well proportioned; in temperament, uniformly courteous, whether obeying authority or exercising it; in action, swift and dexterous, always brave, never rash — he was the ideal soldier.
The was over, his spirit nothing daunted, he at once set about repairing his financial losses. His lands devastated, his labor freed, he decided to enter commercial life, and in 1865 made his home in Lynchburg, uniting with his brother, Richard T. Watts and his brother-in-law, George M. Jones, in forming the copartnership Jones, Watts & Company, with three stores in Lynchburg and branches in Danville, Bedford City, Salem and Roanoke, and for nearly a quarter of a century theirs was the leading hardware house in the western half of the state. In 1887 they sold to Bell, Barker & Jennings and retired from the hardware business, but continued their association, making investmentsin the old firm name. They became interested in several coal mining operations, and at the time of his death Colonel Watts was director in the Gilliam, the Louisville, and the Greenbriar Coal and Coke companies. He was at one time president of the National Exchange Bank, and was at different times a director in this and other banks of Lynchburg. In addition to this he was one of the leading spirits in establishing the Lynchburg Cotton Mill, his labor as well as his capital furnishing an important contribution to its success.
He was always deeply interested in the welfare of the city of his adoption, and did much for its advancement. He was elected to the city council in 1877 and served on many important committees. He was again elected in 1902, but declined to serve on account of his age and the press of other business. For more than twenty years he was a judge of elections in the second ward, and at his death was serving as president of the board of police commissioners. Not only did he give time and labor to the service of the city, but his means as well. Few public or private interests failed of remembrance at his hands, and from him Court Street Church, the Randolph-Macon College at Ashland, the Randolph-Macon Woman's College and the Young Men's Christian Association of Lynchburg, all received generous aid. He was for forty-eight years a steward of the Methodist church, thirty-five years of this term being spent on the board of the Court Street Church, of which he was chairman for fifteen years. About a year before his death, on account of ill health, he resigned, and if it were necessary to seek testimony of his love for the church and the brethren, it could be found in his letter of resignation. As long as his health permitted he taught a class in the Sunday school, and no teacher was ever more faithful.
In the death of Colonel Watts the city of Lynchburg and the commonwealth of Virginia suffered a distinct loss. Few men in the city were so generally beloved and none more highly respected. Men admired and esteemed him, not only for what he accomplished, but for what he was. High-minded, warm-hearted, chivalrous, brave, yet gentle and modest as a woman, and child-like in the candor and simplicity of his nature, he was at once the manliest of men, and the most lovable and companionable. Himself free from guile, his charity in judging others was never-failing. He lived in the open, trusting and trusted, his life known and read of all men.
Colonel Watts married, February 22, 1854, Mary Elizabeth Jones, daughter of Fielding E. and Sarah (Spear) Jones; children: Hubert Bruce, see forward; Jennie, married George P. Watkins; Thomas Ashby, see forward; Maude, married Oliver D. Bachelor, of North Carolina.

(V) Richard Thomas Watts, youngest son of Richard D. and Isabelle (Newell) Watts, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, September 5, 1838, died in Lynchburg, Virginia, September 21, 1910. He was educated at Emory and Henry College, beginning his business career at the age of eighteen years in Salisbury, North Carolina, in association with George M. and A. T. Jones. Later he was a partner of the latter, engaging in mercantile business at Selma, Alabama. When war was imminent between the states he returned to Virginia, and when his state called for men he enlisted in Company A, Second Regiment Virginia Cavalry under Captain W. R. Terry, his brother, James W. Watts, being first lieutenant of the company. He joined the regiment at Manasses Junction, serving in the ranks and as color bearer. For bravery in action he was recommended for promotion by General T. T. Munford, and received it in appointment as adjutant in White's "Commanche" Battalion. At Spottsylvania Court House, Virginia, May 6, 1864, his horse was killed and while dismounted he was captured, sent to Fort Delaware and there held a prisoner of war until hostilities ceased. He then returned to Bedford county, but a little later located in Lynchburg, where he joined with his brother, Colonel James Winston Watts, and his brother-in-law, George M. Jones, in establishing the wholesale and retail hardware house of Jones, Watts & Company. He continued a member of this very successful firm until 1887, when the original partners retired, the business continuing as Bell Barker & Jennings. After retiring from the hardware business he continued his association with his old partners, investing in coal mines and other enterprises, acquiring large financial and industrial interests. He was closely associated with his brother, Colonel James W. Watts, and his brother-in-law, George M. Jones, in the enterprises both in Lynchburg and elsewhere, ranking as one of the leading men of his city. He was vice-president of the Lynchburg Trust and Savings Bank, a director of the Lynchburg Cotton Mill Company, and interested in several private enterprises in the city. He was a member of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and gave liberally in support of charitable, educational and philanthropic institutions.
Mr. Watts married, April 22, 1874, Emma Margaret Hurt, born July 2, 1849, died March 22, 1911, in California. Children: 1. Richard Thomas (2), born March 18, 1876; now one of the leading merchants and business men of Lynchburg, president of Watts Brothers Company, vice president of the Lynchburg Trust and Savings Banks, president of the Board of Trade and interested in many city enterprises; married, June 7, 1911, Gladys, daughter of Charles Edward and Sarah Morris (Langhorne) Heald; children: Sarah Langhorne, born November 22, 1912, and Margaret, November 13, 1913. 2. Dr. Stephen Hurt, born August 6, 1877; now professor of surgery, medical department of University of Virginia. 3. James Own, born October 14, 1881; a coal operator. 4. Robert Crenshaw, born July 1, 1883; United States senator from Mississippi; married Laurie, daughter of Anselm J. and Laura (Rauch) McLaurin; child: Jean, born April 21, 1911. 5. Mary, born February 2, 1889.

[Page 34]
Hubert Bruce Watts. Following closely the example of their honored father, the sons of Colonel James Winston Watts have been throughout their lives honored business men of the city of Lynchburg, Virginia.
Hubert Bruce Watts, eldest son of Colonel James Winston and Mary Elizabeth (Jones) Watts, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, December 6, 1857. When a lad he removed with his parents to Lynchburg, Virginia. After attending the public schools and high school there, he was carefully prepared by private instructors for college. He entered the Virginia Military Institution in 1875 and graduated with honor with the class of 1879. Mr. Watts is a banker, and is connected with all the important enterprises of Lynchburg, and is identified with every movement which has for its object the uplifting of his city, and the moral uplift of his fellow citizens. Mr. Watts married, September 26, 1888, Ida Reeder, daughter of Major Ferdinand Christian and Mary (Lyons) Hutter, and granddaughter of Judge James Lyons, of Richmond.

[Page 34]
Thomas Ashby Watts. Thomas Ashby Watts, youngest son of Colonel James Winston and Mary Elizabeth (Jones) Watts, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, September 9, 1866, his parents at that time, however, residing in Lynchburg, where his honored father was a member of the hardware firm of Jones, Watts & Company. Thomas A. Watts was educated in the public schools of Lynchburg, and after completing the high school course pursued a special course at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York He began business life as cashier in the banking house of P. A. Krise, of Lynchburg, a position he held for five years. He then resigned, his ability as a financier rendering him of value to the Lynchburg Perpetual Loan and building Company, a corporation which he served for nine years as secretary and treasurer. He then became the controlling owner of the company, and under his executive management its usefulness and prosperity have been most marked and satisfactory. He is vice-president of the Greenbriar Lumber Company, vice-president of the Tide Water Banking Company, of Roanoke, Virginia, is interested with his brother, Hubert B. Watts, in West Virginia coal and coke properties as an extensive operator, and has important commercial and financial interests of great local importance besides those mentioned. He is a member of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Watts married Fanny C., daughter of Dr. Leighton and Mary P. (Hurt) Cheatwood, of Lynchburg; children: James Winston (2), born January 19, 1904; Thomas Ashby (2), July 27, 1906; Hubert Bruce (2) June 1, 1910.

[Pages 34-37]
John Nottingham Upshur, M. D. Francis Whittle Upshur, M. D. Through his mother, Sarah Andrews Parker, Dr. Upshur is a direct descendant of Pocahontas and of Robert the Bruce of Scotland, and traces his Virginia ancestry vial a long line of Virginians to Edward Digges (Belfield, York, 1621-26) governor of Virginia, and his wife Elizabeth, believed to have been a sister of Colonel John Page. The line of descent is traced from Governor Digges through his son, Colonel Dudley Digges (Belfield, York, 1665-1710) councillor and auditor general, married Susannah Cole. His son, Colonel Cole Digges (Belfield, York, 1692-1744) president of the council, married Elizabeth Power. His son, Colonel Dudley Digges (York county, 1728-90) burgess and councillor, married Elizabeth Wormley (his name is on a pew in Bruton church). His daughter, Lucy Digges, married John Stratton their daughter, Anne Gertrude Stratton, married Dr. Jacob Parker; their daughter, Sarah ?Andrews Parker, married Dr. George Littleton Upshur.
Their son, John Nottingham Upshur, M. D., married Lucy Tucker Whittle (see forward). Their only son, Francis Whittle Upshur (see forward).
An interesting genealogical study is the tracing back of the line of descent of Governor Edward Digges, through centuries of English history to Alfred the Great, King of England; through a long line of kingly ancestors, English and French, including the Saxon kings, Philip III. and Philip IV. of France, and Kings Henry II., John, Henry III., Edward I., Edward II., and Edward III., of England.
On the Upshur side, Dr. Upshur descends from one of the two traditional brothers, John and Arthur Upshur, who fled from their home in Essex, England, to escape the persecutions of their stepmother. They separated at the Cape of Virginia, John settling in Essex county, Virginia, Arthur, settling in 1637, in the plantation of Accomac, which in 1642 became the county of Northampton. The tombstones of these two men on the eastern shore of Virginia are said to be fairly decipherable yet. A descendant, Thomas Upshur, was later made a free burgess in Virginia.
Another line of maternal descent is from Henry Bagwell, the emigrant, clerk of the court and first clerk of the plantations of Ackawmacke. He married Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Stratton, who at the time of her second marriage had a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Elizabeth. He had sons Thomas and Henry, and one of his grandsons married Elizabeth Eyre, a descendant of Thomas Eyre, the emigrant, who married the eldest daughter of Captain John Savage, by his first wife, Ann Elkington. Captain John was a son of Ensign Thomas Savage, who came over with Captains John Smith and ——— Newport, and was left as hostage with Powhatan for the Indian Namontack, whom Captain Newport took to England with him.
Although the Scarburg line, in connection with the Upshur family, Tabitha Scarburg Hill married Edmund Curtiss; he was brought over from Ireland by his uncle, John Curtiss. She was known on the records of Accomac county as "Madam Hill," as was also her mother during the last years of her life. She was a woman of great business capacity, and managed a large estate with marked ability. This Scarburg ancestor was almost as important a man in his generation as was his son in his day. He was a member of the first court of the plantation of Accomac in 1632, also for several courts following. He was the father of Charles Scarburg.
Colonel Edmund Scarburg, who died in 1671, was the surveyor-general of Virginia, and commander-in-chief of the inhabitants of the eastern Virginia shore, with the rank of Colonel. Henry Eustis, on the Eustis side, was bequeathed a part of the Chincoteague Islands. He married Tabitha Scarburg Curtiss, daughter of Edmund Curtiss, son of Thomas Curtiss, of Ireland, the brother of Major General John Curtiss.
The Thorowgood, another line of maternal descent, of which the emigrant, John Michael Thorowgood, Sr., came to Virginia from Holland and was doubtless of Huguenot descent. Captain Adam Thorowgood, who came to Virginia in 1621, occupied an enviable position among the colonists on account of being a brother of John Thorowgood, of Kensington, who was knighted in 1630, held among other positions that of gentleman of the bed chamber, and stood very high at court. In one of the patents granted Adam Thorowgood, No. 179, it is stated that it was granted at the special recommendation of his majesty and a number of the members of the honorable Privy Council. He was a burgess in 1629, member of the council of state in 1637, and in the same year was presiding justice of Lower Norfolk, moving to the latter locality in 1634 from Hickotan, now Hampton, Virginia.
Dr. George Littleton Upshur, son of a Virginia merchant, was born in Northampton, Virginia, became a noted doctor of medicine, and lost his life in the yellow fever epidemic in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1855. He married Sarah Andrews Parker, a descendant of Governor Edward Digges, as previously stated, daughter of Dr. Jacob Parker, of Accomac county, Virginia, whose wife was Anne Gertrude Stratton, daughter of John and Lucy (Digges) Stratton. Children of Dr. George Littleton Upshur: John Nottingham, of whom further; Sally Parker, married Thomas C. Walston; Henry Littleton, married Alice Kerr; Jacob Parker, died in infancy; Lucy Beverly, died in infancy.
Dr. John Nottingham Upshur, of Richmond, Virginia, second son of Dr. George Littleton and Sarah Andrews (Parker) Upshur, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, February 14, 1848. He was educated under private tutors; Norfolk Military Academy; Virginia Military Institute, of which he was an honor graduate; medical department of the University of Virginia from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine, March 5, 1868. He served in Company C, Virginia Military Institute Cadet Corps, and at the battle of Newmarket, May 15, 1864, was severely wounded. After the war he took up his medical studies and on April 1, 1869, located in Richmond, Virginia, where he has been ever since continuously engaged in the practice of his profession. In the Medical College of Virginia he served as acting Professor of Practice of Medicine, 1882-83-84; professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutica, 1884-94; Clinical Lecturer on Diseases of Women and Children, 1884-1892; Professor of Practice of Medicine, 1894-99. Dr. Upshur is eminent in the medical world and a well known contributor to the medical journals, a recent article on "Gastro-intestinal Therapy" appearing in the "New York Medical Journal" (May 17, 1913). He is a member of many professional societies, including the American Medical, Tri-State Medical, and the State Medical societies; Richmond Academy of Medicine and Surgery, and Southern Medical Association. He is ex-president and honorary fellow of the Richmond Academy of Medicine and Surgery, State Medical Society of Virginia and the Tri-State Medical Association of the Carolinas and Virginia, honorary fellow of the State Medical Society of West Virginia. He is a member of both the York and Scottish Rite Masonry, holding the thirty-second degree in the latter, and the Knight Templar degree in the former. He is also a noble of the Mystic shrine, and past master of Joppa Lodge, No. 40, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is a vestryman of St. James Protestant Episcopal Church and the lay reader. In political faith he is a Democrat; he was also a member of the board of visitors of the Virginia, from which he marched to battle, a lad of sixteen years, and from which he graduated with honor. He holds the rank of lieutenant-colonel and surgeon-general of the Virginia Division, United Confederate Veterans. He is a member of the Beta Tau Pi fraternity.
Dr. Upshur married (first) in St. James Church, Richmond, November 19, 1873, Lucy Tucker Whittle, born June 6, 1849, in Charleston, West Virginia, then Virginia, daughter of Rt. Rev. Francis M. Whittle and Emily Cary Fairfax, his wife. She bore him a son, Francis whittle Upshur, who is mentioned blow. Dr. Upshur married (second) at the residence of Dr. Peterkin, No. 705 East Leigh street, Richmond, December 11, 1879, Elizabeth Spencer Peterkin, born June 17, 1848, at Baltimore, Maryland, daughter of William Spencer Peterkin and Emma Meteer, his wife. Children: William Peterkin, born October 28, 1881, a captain in the United States Marine Corps, married Lucy Munford; Elizabeth Nottingham born December 6, 1883, married George J. Benson, children: Elizabeth Peterkin and Frances Day; Alfred Parker, born September 26, 1885, first lieutenant in the medical corps of the United States army.
Dr. Francis Whittle Upshur, only child of Dr. John Nottingham Upshur and his first wife Lucy Tucker (Whittle) Upshur, was born in Richmond, Virginia, December 4, 1874. He was educated at McGuire's University School, Richmond College, and the Medical College of Virginia of which he is a graduate, class of 1897, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began and continues the practice of medicine in Richmond, and is professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Medical College of Virginia. His fraternities are the Phi Delta Theta (Academic), and Pi Mu (Medical) of which he has held the offices of general secretary, senior councillor, and was one of the founders of the Gamma Chapter. He is also an honorary member of Theta Nu Epsilon. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian. Dr. Upshur is unmarried.

[Pages 37-38]
Beverley Randolph Tucker, M. D. The history of the Tucker family covers a period of three centuries in the western world, and in Virginia dates from the year 1771, when St. George Tucker came from his native island, Bermuda, and entered William and Mary College to complete his education. The family traces through several generations in England, down to Daniel Tucker, who in 1616 was governor of Bermuda. His son, George Tucker, died in Bermuda about 1662. He married Frances, daughter of Sir Henry St. George, from whom came the name St. George, common in the Virginia family. A grandson of George Tucker, Colonel Henry Tucker, born in 1713, died in 1787, married Nancy Butterfield and had issue including St. George Tucker, the founder of the Virginia family, who was a patriot during the revolution, sat as a delegate in the Continental Congress of 1787-88, and was a member of the first two congresses under the Federal constitution, and Henry Tucker, who settled in North Carolina; died in Washington, D. C., in 1828, having served as treasurer of the United States from December 1, 1801.
(I) Judge St. George Tucker, born on the island of Bermuda, July 10, 1752, died in Warminster, Nelson county, Virginia, November 10, 1828. He came to Virginia in 1771, graduated at William and Mary College in 1772, finished a course of law and began practice in the colonial courts. He returned to Bermuda in 1775 but came again to Virginia in January, 1777, and bore arms in defense of the colonies, serving as lieutenant-colonel at Yorktown. On September 3, 1778, he married Frances Bland, widow of John Randolph, and mother of John Randolph, of Roanoke. After the war (1787) he was appointed judge of the general court of Virginia, and in 1789 professor of law at William and Mary, succeeding Chancellor George Wythe. He was appointed in 1804, president judge of the Virginia court of appeals, and in 1813, judge of the United States district court of Virginia. Judge Tucker was also a poet and left several dramas, tragedy and comedy, and several minor poems, some of them gems. He also wrote a volume of political satires, "In Two Parts" (1796). The same year he published "Dissertions on Slavery, with a Proposition for its Gradual Abolition in Virginia;" and later other letters and essays. William and Mary conferred the degree of LL. D. on him in 1790. His second son, Nathaniel Beverly Tucker, generally known as Beverly, was a graduate of William and Mary, judge of the circuit court in Missouri, later returned to Virginia; was professor of law at William and Mary in 1834 until his death in 1851. As a writer he excelled any of his Virginia contemporaries. His most remarkable work is: "The Partisan Leader; A Tale of the Future," published by Edward William Sidney, (2 volumes, New York, 1836). This was printed secretly, bearing the fictitious date 1856, and purported to be a historical novel of the period between 1836 and that year. In its accurate delineations of the events between 1861 and 1865, it seems almost prophetic. He was a voluminous writer and maintained an extensive correspondence with scholars and statesmen.
(II) Henry St. George Tucker, eldest son of Judge St. George Tucker, was born in Williamsburg, Virginia, December 29, 1780, died in Winchester, Virginia, August 28, 1848. He was educated at the college of William and Mary and became a lawyer. settling in Winchester, in 1802. He was a volunteer officer in the war of 1812, served as congressman, 1815 to 1819; state senator 1819 to 1823; chancellor of the state of Virginia, 1824-1831, when he was made president judge of the Virginia court of appeals; resigned in 1841 to become professor of law at the University of Virginia; resigned in 1845 because of ill health. He was tendered the attorney-generalship of the United States by President Jackson, but declined. While chancellor he established a successful private law school in Winchester. William and Mary College conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. in 1837. He published "Commentaries on the Law of Virginia" (2 volumes, 1836-37); "Lectures on Constitutional Law" (1844); "Lectures on Natural Law and Government" (1844). He married in 1807, Ann Evaline, daughter of Moses and Anne (Stephens) Hunter, and had twelve children.
(III) The eighth child of Henry St. George Tucker, Nathaniel Beverley Tucker, was born in Winchester, Virginia, June 8, 1820, died July 15, 1890. He was educated at the University of Virginia, founded the Washington "Sentinel" in 1853, and was elected printer to the United States Senate in December of that year. In 1857 he was appointed consul to Liverpool, remaining until 1861. He was sent by the Confederate government in 1862 to England and France, and in 1863-64 to Canada, to obtain commissary supplies. After the war ended he went to Mexico and was there until Maximilian's brief reign was over, then returned to the United States, residing in Washington, D. C., and Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. He married Jane Ellis.
(IV) John Randolph Tucker son of Nathaniel Beverley and Jane (Ellis) Tucker, was born September 7, 1848, died in Richmond, July 5, 1880, and is buried in Shockoe Hill Cemetery. He was a man of most attractive personality, a lawyer and editor, of brilliant mind and attainments. He was a graduate of Washington and Lee University, and practiced law in Charleston, West Virginia, and as a partner of Hon. John Randolph Tucker, his uncle in Staunton, Virginia, and was also editor of a daily paper in Charleston, West Virginia, and wrote editorials for New York papers. He had many friends who mourned his untimely death and crowded St. Paul's Church to honor his memory on the day of his funeral, July 7, 1880. He married Fannie Booth Crump, daughter of Judge William Wood and Mary Susan (Tabb) Crump.
(V) Beverley Randolph Tucker, of Richmond, Virginia, eldest son of John Randolph and Fannie Booth (Crump) Tucker, was born in Richmond, Virginia, April 26, 1874. He attended Richmond and Virginia schools until eighteen years of age, then began work, acquiring his medical education through his own efforts. He attended the Norwood and high schools of Richmond, and spent two years at the Virginia Military Institute, not being able to afford the full course. In 1893 he was a clerk in Richmond, continuing until 1901, but his fixed preference and ambition was for the medical profession, and when he had solved the financial problems standing between him and his ambition, he entered the Medical College of Virginia, whence he was graduated M. D. with the class of 1905. Afterward, for two and a half years, he took post-graduate work in nervous diseases in Philadelphia, New York and Europe.
He began practice in Richmond as a specialist in nervous diseases at once and so continues, well established and prosperous. His integrity, business ability and pleasing address, have won for him many friends, not only professionally, but outside. In 1909 he became president of the G. L. Hall Optical Company, and in the same year president of the company and editor of the "Old Dominion Journal of Medical and Surgery." He is professor of nervous and mental diseases at the Medical College of Virginia, and president of the Neurological Sanitarium Corporation. All of these organizations are in Richmond. His investigations on Pellagra, and his forthcoming book on "Nervous Children," are directly in the line of public service, as are all his papers on Pellagra in the United States. He is one of the editors of the British Medical Annual for 1914 and wrote the section on Pellagra. He has done original work on pituitary gland diseases of the brain, and has recently completed a sketch on the life of Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, under whom he was trained in Philadelphia. Dr. Tucker has won two prizes for medical essays in the "New York Medical Journal."
Dr. Tucker married, April 3, 1907, Elsie, daughter of Robert and Mary Boyd, grand-daughter of Frances Boyd and William Townes, and a descendant of the Scotch emigrant, Alexander Boyd, who settled in Virginia at an early day. Children of Dr. and Mrs. Tucker: Mary Hannah, Elsie Boyd, and Weir Mitchell Tucker. The family home is at 208 East Franklin street.

[Pages 38-40]
Reauymur Coleman Stearnes, is a member of a well known family, whose home had been in Massachusetts for many years, from the day the good ship "Arabella," landed his paternal ancestor, Charles Stearnes, in Boston harbor, in 1628. Mr. Stearnes is a distinguished member of an unusual family, and has won for himself a reputation as an educator and scientific man of nation-wide familiarity.
(I) Lewis Patrick Stearnes, the paternal grandfather of the Mr. Stearnes of this sketch, was a native of Franklin county, Massachusetts, where he was born November 12, 1801, and died while still a young man, after a successful career as a merchant in Franklin, county, Virginia, his adopted state. In the early part of the nineteenth century he moved south, finding a new and congenial abode among the beautiful mountains of southwest Virginia, where the name was allowed to take on an additional "e" in its orthography. He married Sarah Cabaniss. a native of Franklin county, Virginia, and by her had four children. One of these was Major Orren Darius Stearnes, who died a soldier in the Confederate army, during the civil war, and another, Dr. John Lewis Stearnes, of whom further. Two of the children died in infancy.
(II) Dr. John Lewis Stearnes, the fourth child of Lewis Patrick and Sarah (Cabaniss) Stearnes, was born in Franklin county Virginia, December 15, 1834. He studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and after graduation began the practice of his profession at Dublin, Pulaski county, Virginia. He became one of the leading physicians of that section of the state, and during the civil war was appointed physician of the post at the Dublin camp of instruction, by the confederate government. He later resumed his private practice, and in 1886 moved the scene of his operations to Salem, Virginia, where he still has a flourishing private practice, besides serving as physician to the large Baptist Orphanage located in that town. Dr. Stearnes married Phoebe Ann McDermed, a native of Roanoke county, Virginia, where she was born in 1841, daughter of Daniel and Martha (Rogers) McDermed. Mr. McDermed was also a native of Roanoke county, where his family had resided for many years, and where he was a prominent merchant in ante-bellum days. His wife Martha (Rogers) McDermed, was a native of Ontario, Canada. To Mr. and Mrs. McDermed were born two daughters, Phoebe Ann, now Mrs. Stearnes, and with her husband, a resident of Salem, Virginia; and Mary, who married Dr. John Barbour Baskerville and is living at the home of her son-in-law, J. Howe Kent, Esq., of near Dublin, Virginia. Dr. and Mrs. John Lewis Stearnes had eight children, as follows: 1. James Daniel, a physician of Dublin, Virginia. 2. Orren Lewis, a resident of Salem, Virginia, where he is a director of the Appalachian Power Company and a member of the state legislature. 3. Robley Stillé, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, where he is engaged in the electrical contracting business. 4. Reaumur Coleman, mentioned below. 5. Mary Lewis, now Mrs. J. V. Moore, of Cape Charles, Virginia. 7. Phoebe Rogers, who died at the age of seventeen months. 8. Henry Cabaniss, who died in infancy.
(III) Reaumur Coleman Stearnes, the fourth child of Dr. John Lewis and Phoebe Ann (McDermed) Stearnes, was born April 8, 1866, at Dublin, Virginia. He passed his boyhood in that picturesque locality, and when he reached an age to begin his studies was sent by Dr. Stearnes, his father, to Nysorton Academy, not far from Dublin. Here he obtained the elementary portion of his education, and prepared himself for the more advanced college courses which he had in anticipation. Of an unusually quick mind and a naturally painstaking disposition, he at once began to exhibit those powers which have appeared so conspicuously in after life. Having attracted the favorable notice of his instructors at the academy, and graduated therefrom with high honors, he matriculated at Richmond College, where he pursued with even greater distinction his career as a student. Again he won the honors from all competitors, and finally graduated with the class of 1887, with the degree of Master of Arts, winning the threefold distinction of being Greek medalist, philosophy medalist and class valedictorian. The love of the scholar's life was strong within him and he had determined to devote his life to the profession of teaching. Accordingly he accepted a position as instructor in mathematics and science in the Alleghany Institute at Roanoke, Virginia. He began those duties at the age of twenty-one years, and in the next three years so distinguished himself that the regard of educators in that region began to be fixed upon him most favorably. It soon became apparent that the post of instructor was only a stepping stone for one of the ideas entertained by Mr. Stearnes, who was already possessed of a theory of an educational system which he felt competent to inaugurate. Accordingly, when only twenty-six years old, he was made superintendent of schools in Roanoke county.
It might be supposed that a task of such magnitude and responsibility of supervising ninety schools and inaugurating an entirely new system would have taxed the powers and energy of so young a man, but Mr. Stearnes instead of finding his duties too onerous, added to them the practice of the law, his new profession becoming of great value in connection with the superintendency of the county schools. The year 1892 marked his choice as county superintendent, and 1896 the beginning of his legal practice. He continued these double labors until 1906, and was then made secretary to the state board of education, his office dating from April first of that year. Here his learning and grasp of the situation generally so impressed his colleagues that by their unanimous vote he was elected, January 1, 1913, superintendent of public instruction for the state of Virginia. On February 1, 1914, the people of the state confirmed this choice by electing Mr. Stearnes to the same office for a term of four years, without opposition. Mr. Stearnes has served in every capacity in the public school system of Virginia, pedagogical, legal and administrative, and in all has acquitted himself, not merely with credit but in so able a manner as to win the admiration of the great community which he serves and of educators everywhere. He is now entering upon the duties of the state superintendency with his customary vigor and judgement, and it seems certain that an era of great development, along the lines of the best modern and scientific theories, awaits the schools of the state, under his capable direction. Mr. Stearnes has the advantage, not always possessed by strong men, of having won the intelligent co-operation on the part of his coadjutors on the board of education, and the appreciative support of the people of Virginia, as shown by their unanimous ratification of his appointment to the superintendency. Mr. Stearnes is now a resident of Richmond, where he has a handsome home in Westhampton. He is an active participant in the life of the community in many of its aspects, is a member of the Masonic Order and of the Royal Arcanum, of which he last year was the grand regent. He is also a member of the Westmoreland Club.
Mr. Stearnes married, December 27, 1888, in Richmond, Virginia, Mary Elizabeth Arnold, a native of Charlotte county, Virginia, where she was born December 4, 1865. She is a daughter of the Rev. Joseph D. and Elizabeth (Mosely) Arnold. Mr. Arnold is now a resident of Waynesville, North Carolina, and was for many years a clergyman of the Methodist church, that state, but is now retired from active ministry. His present wife is a sister of Chief Justice Walter Clark, of Raleigh, North Carolina.
To Mr. and Mrs. Stearnes have been born three children, as follows: Bessie Arnold, born August 19, 1890; John Lewis, who died at the age of eighteen months in March, 1893; Reaumur Coleman Jr., born April 8, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Stearnes are members of the Presbyterian church, attending the Second Church of that denomination in Richmond. They are rearing their children in that faith.
Reaumur Coleman Stearnes is a very young man to have achieved the position which he has in the community and state, that taking into consideration the successful nature of the first part of his career and his abilities, together with the unusual degree of support and appreciation with which his efforts have been favored, there seems every reason to predict a brilliant and splendid future for him, a future in which his powers shall have ample scope to carry out the great aims which he has in view for the development of education and the extension of culture throughout his state.