Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography

[Pages 40-42]
Decatur Axtell. The traditional story of three brothers of the name of Axtell who emigrated to America in the earliest colonial times appears to have been verified in the history of the family. Nathaniel Axtell, in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1693, "intending to go home," made his will dated 27th of January, 1640, but died in a few weeks, before embarking from Boston, according to Savage, his will indicating he was unmarried. Daniel Axtell, Charleston, South Carolina, one of the landgraves of that colony, whose will was proved in London 2nd of July, 1680, Walter Needham, M. D., being appointed attorney to serve as executor in place of his widow, Rebecca Axtell, executrix, from whom present Carolina and Virginia families contain many descendants through female lines. Thomas Axtell, born Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England, January 26, 1619, emigrated and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay colony, 1642, and died there in 1646, leaving to his wife an estate by will approved by the governor, deputy governor and secretary of the colony.
The name Axtell appears in English records in the year 1535, when John Axstyl, together with others of a monastery belonging to the Augustine Order of Monks in Gatesden, Hertfordshire, England, made over their property to Henry VIII. At St. Peter's Church, Berkhampstead, a town twenty-six miles from London, there is a record of the baptism of John Axtell, son of John, in 1541. The name seems to have been well and creditably established there at that time. Other entries follow to 1614, when there is a series which includes the names of the founders of the family in America.
The direct male line is as follows:
(I) Thomas Axtell, one of the three immigrant brothers born January 26, 1619, as stated above was the son of William Axtell, of Berkhampstead.
(II) Henry Axtell, only son of Thomas and Mary Axtell, was born at Berkhampstead, October 15, 1641, and was brought to Sudbury, Massachusetts Bay colony, in his infancy. He became one of the first proprietors of Middleboro, Massachusetts; married Hannah Merriam, June 14, 1665; was killed by Indians in their attack on Marlboro and Sudbury, April 19-21, 1676, during King Philip's war.
(III) Daniel Axtell, son of Henry and Hannah (Merriam) Axtell, was born November 4, 1673, at Marlboro, Massachusetts Bay colony went to South Carolina in 1695 with Elder William Pratt, where he met his kinswomen, "Lady Axtell," and lived on Ashley river until 1707, when he returned to Massachusetts, having married, May 12, 1702, Thankful Pratt, daughter of Elder Pratt. He was a large land owner and prominent citizen of Berkley, then a part of Taunton, where he died in 1735. William Pratt's father, Thomas Pratt, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, was killed in the Marlboro-Sudbury fight — King Philip's war.
(IV) Ebenezer Axtell, son of Daniel and Thankful (Pratt) Axtell, born at Berkley, Massachusetts, March 24, 1724, was a prominent citizen, frequently holding office; an ensign in the continental army. Married Hannah Hatheway, of Berkley, probably daughter of Colonel John Hatheway, of Berkley, who raised a regiment in 1778.
(V) Thomas Axtell, son of Ebenezer and Hannah (Hatheway) Axtell, was born at Berkley, July 15, 1755. He served as a volunteer in the revolutionary war; married Rebecca French, at Berkley, August 9, 1775, and died in Peru, Massachusetts, February 10, 1816.
(VI) Daniel Axtell, son of Thomas and Rebecca (French) Axtell, was born at Sutton, Massachusetts, February 27, 1787. He was a student of political and religious matters; prominent and active as a member of the Baptist church, as a Whig in politics and although consistently refusing to accept public office, he was also a leader in all beneficial local movements. He married Jane Wellman at Belgrade, Maine, in 1809, whose grandfather, Jacob Wellman, held a commission in the army in 1764. His father, Abraham Wellman, died at the siege of Louisburg in the French war, 1745.
(VII) Almon Axtell, son of Daniel and Jane (Wellman) Axtell, was born September 18, 1811, at Peru, afterward Windsor, Massachusetts. He moved to Lorain county, Ohio, in 1832, with his parents; he was a Democrat and took an active interest in local politics, was influential in public affairs, but refused to hold any political office. He married Sophronia Boynton, daughter of Daniel and Beza (Delano) Boynton, in South Amherst, Lorain county, Ohio, October 20, 1835. She was born November 21, 1813, at Waterville, Maine; was a lineal descendant of William Boynton, leader of a party of Englishmen who settled in Massachusetts during the Cromwellian period. The name Boynton occurs frequently in English records from the time of the conquest; she was maternally descended from the "Mayflower" passengers, John Alden and Priscilla, daughter of William Mullins, Philip Delano and other Pilgrim immigrants, signers of the Compact.
(VIII) Decatur Axtell, son of Almon and Sophronia (Boynton) Axtell, was born February 8, 1848, at Elyria, Lorain county, Ohio. His ancestry in all ascertained lines traces directly to the "Mayflower" Pilgrims and early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts colony. He received his early education in the local schools of his native place, and attended the Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illinois, during the years 1866 and 1867. In 1864 and 1865, the last years of the civil war he served on the engineer corps of the Pacific Railroad of Missouri in the construction of that road through the western counties of that state, Kansas City and Leavenworth, Kansas. During the period from November, 1867, to July, 1880, as assistant engineer, he had charge of the construction of several parts of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, and was chief engineer of the Cairo, Arkansas and Texas Railway, with residence at St. Louis, Missouri. From 1880 to 1889 he was vice-president and also receiver of the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad Company, at Richmond, Virginia, and from 1889 to 1913 was vice-president of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company; also during this interval he was for some years president of the Kanawha & Michigan Railway. At present he is first vice-president of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company and of the Hocking Valley Railway Company. From 1891 to 1911 he served as president of the Virginia Hot Springs z; is now president of the White Sulphur Springs, Inc., and vice-president and director of several other corporations. He has lived in Richmond since July, 1880.
In politics he is a Democrat, but voted for William McKinley, Republican, for president in 1896, on the Free Silver issue. He attends the Protestant Episcopal church, though he is not a communicant. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers; the Ohio Society of New York the Virginia Branch of the Society of Colonial Wars, of the Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the South Carolina Historical Society, the Virginia Historical Society; also of the Westmoreland, Commonwealth and Country clubs of Richmond, Virginia.
He married May Cantrell, daughter of Dr. William Armour and Ellen (Harrell) Cantrell, October 13, 1876, at Little Rock, Arkansas. They have no children. Dr. Cantrell served in the confederate army on General Churchill's staff in the war between the states, and was afterwards physician at the county army post at Little Rock, Arkansas.

[Pages 42-46]
Irving P. Whitehead. All that is known of the Whitehead family of Amherst county prior to 1760 is more or less traditional. This is due in a large measure to the fact that the records of New Kent county were destroyed during the war between the states. It is certain that the family were early settlers in the colony and had interest there as early as 1622 for in that year William Whitehead of London, bequeathed a sum of money to establish a school in Virginia. Only one Whitehead is mentioned by Philip A. Bruce, viz., Thomas Whitehead, whose will is of record year 1660. "The Virginia Heraldica" Volume V. mentions Richard Whitehead, of Gloucester county, to whom was granted a tract of 5,000 acres of land on October 24, 1673. The coat-of-arms of this family are those of Whitehead, Lancashire, England. His son, Philip Whitehead, was a member of the house of burgesses for King William county in 1726. One account of the settlement in Virginia of the Whitehead family is that in the reign of Cromwell three brothers of the name came to Virginia in company with the Spottswoods and Fitzhughs about the time that Spottswood was governor. Another account, and perhaps the most reliable, is that during the reign of Charles II. a grant of land was made to three brothers in eastern Virginia between Jamestown and York river. One of these was John Whitehead, and that John Whitehead, of Amherst, as well as all the family of that name in Virginia, are descended from him.
(I) John Whitehead was born in New Kent county, Virginia, in the year 1735, and came to Amherst county about 1760, bringing with him his young wife, Sarah (Burcher) Whitehead. The deed book of old Amherst, which was cut off from Albemarle in 1761, shows he purchased in 1762 a tract of land of 125 acres on the head waters of Huff creek in what is now the Sardis neighborhood. He was a type of the sturdy timber and made the wilderness a habitable land. During the revolution he was a staunch patriot; was a member of a company raised in Amherst by Colonel William Cabell; served under the Marquis de Lafayette in the Virginia campaign; and was present at the surrender of cornwallis at Yorktown. He married Sarah Burcher, and had issue: 1. Burcher, see forward. 2. Wyatt, removed to Prince Edward county. 3. John, removed to Prince Edward county. 4. Richard, married Pency Camden, daughter of William Camden; moved to Pittsylvania county and became the head of the large and influential family of the name in that county. 5. Cary, died in 1812. 6. Bartholomew, born in 1772. 7. James, removed to Pittsylvania county and later to Georgia. 8. Sarah, married, in 1792, Martin Bibb. 9. Edy, married in 1794, George Campbell. 10. Bettie Ann, married Moses Wright. 11. Rhoda, died unmarried. 12. Nancy, married a Mr. Powell, of Monticello, Georgia. 13. Mary, married John Smith, of Birmingham, Alabama. 14. Susan, married John Stinette. 15. Frankie, married a Mr. Powers, of Frederick county, Virginia. 16. Marble, died young, unmarried. John Whitehead died im April, 1787, and at the September term of court of that year his wife, Sarah, qualified as his administratrix. Sarah (Burcher) Whitehead died in 1792, and Burcher Whitehead qualified as administrator, d. b. n. of John Whitehead.
(II) Burcher Whitehead, son of John and Sarah (Burcher) Whitehead, was born in 1764. He was a substantial citizen and farmer of Amherst county. He married Nancy Camden in 1788. Her father, William Camden, was a man of considerable importance in his day, being associated with Lord Fairfax in numerous business ventures. His home was named "Tudor Hall," and he also owned "Greenway" on the James river. The children of Burcher and Nancy (Camden) Whitehead were: 1. John, see forward. 2. William, moved to Tennessee and became the head of the family of the name in that state. 3. Floyd L., lived in Nelson county, where he engaged in agricultural and mercantile pursuits, and became a man of influence in the community; he married (first) Elizabeth Armstrong, (second) Martha Williams; his children were Mary Elizabeth, who married James Stapples; Alexander, married Lucy Stratton; Kincade, married Annie Stratton; Frances; George, represented Nelson county in the legislature for several terms; Polk, died unmarried; Floyd, married Denie Duke; Sally, married ——— Ballard; Lucy, unmarried; Katherine unmarried; Anna, unmarried. 4. Pency, never married. 5. Elizabeth, married Asa Stratton, of Nelson county, and has issue: Elizabeth, unmarried; Robert Burcher, married (first) Mary Elizabeth Peyton, and had issue: Sibyl, died unmarried; Robert, died in childhood; Alexander; Mary Elizabeth; Lavinia Peyton, married Ben D. Puryear; married (second) Elinor Bruce; Alexander Brown, married Alice V. Roberts; Floyd Whitehead, married Judith Quinn; John Asa, died in infancy. 6. Sibyl, never married. 7. Sarah, never married. 8. Mary, married Robert Cutler, and had issue: Mary, married Robert E. Harris; Rev. Landon A., married Fannie B. Fitzpatrick; Clifton B., married Pauline Estes; Preston, married a Miss Garnett; Ernest, died in infancy; Edward, married a Miss Fitzpatrick.
(III) John (2) Whitehead, son of Burcher and Nancy (Camden) Whitehead, was born in Amherst county, Virginia, in 1789. He was a man of importance in Amherst county filling many positions of honor and trust, among them being that of high sheriff of the county for a number of terms. He engaged in business as a merchant and tobacconist for several years. Later he accepted a position of teller of the Bank of Virginia, moved to Lynchburg, and at the time of his death was a resident of that city. He was a man of deep piety and devoted to church work; there is a tablet to his memory in the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church of Lynchburg, of which he was a member. He married, February 24, 1812, Anna Mahoney, a woman of vigorous and strong personality. She was an Irish woman, the daughter of Dennis Mahoney, who participated in Emmett's rebellion; escaped to America on its collapse and settled in Amherst county. Issue: 1. Robert of Nelson county, who was a striking figure and commanding personality in his day; as a lawyer he was without a superior at the bar; was a forceful speaker, being endowed with a splendid mind and possessing a profound and accurate knowledge of the law; stood in the very front rank of his profession; never aspired to office, but was elected commonwealth attorney of Nelson county, and held that position for nearly forty years until his advancing years made it necessary for him to decline re-election; died at the ripe old age of eighty-five, honored and mourned by a host of friends; married (first) Lucy Gwathney, by whom he had: John B., a prominent physician of Nelson county; Anna, married J. Rector Smoot, of Alexandria; Lucy, unmarried; Margaret, unmarried; Robert Whitehead married (second) Margaret Baldwin, by whom he had: Stuart Baldwin, a prominent lawyer of Nelson county, who married Sue Massie; Katherine, who married Fred Moss; Mary, unmarried; Sarah, unmarried; Frederick B., assistant commissioner of the United States Patent Office. 2. Marcellus, born in Nelson county, graduated in medicine from Jefferson College, and soon thereafter entered upon a practice of his profession at Salisbury, North Carolina; throughout all his long and useful life he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice, and few physicians were more honored and beloved than he; he was a handsome man, possessing a strong intellectual face; he won front rank in his profession, was an advanced thinker, a fluent writer and a bold and vigorous speaker; he married Jennie Coleman, and by her had: Elizabeth, who married Dr. Henderson, of North Carolina; Thomas, died unmarried; Dr. John, prominent physician and surgeon at Salisbury, North Carolina; Dr. Richard H., dean of the medical faculty of the University of Virginia, who married his cousin, Virgilia Whitehead. 3. Sarah, married R. M. Brown, who for years was a leading member of the bar of Amherst county, and a splendid citizen in every way; issue: John Whitehead Brown, who at the outbreak of the war between the states enlisted at the early age of seventeen in Company E, Second Virginia Cavalry, and served with fidelity until his death at Beaver Dam Station; opposite his name on the military rolls is the notation: "A gallant lad;" a comrade has said of him: "He was as high a soldier as ever drew sabre;" Thomas W. Brown, deceased; Sarah Ann Brown, married (first) Nate Gossuch, and had William and Robert; married (second) Colin Stokes, of Covington, Virginia, and had two other children: Richard Stokes, an attorney at Covington, who married a Miss Rhinehardt, and Colin Stokes, of Richmond; Robert M. Brown, attorney-at-law of Texas; Arthur Brown, of Amherst; and Dr. Benjamin Brown, of the United States Marine Hospital service. 4. Thomas, see forward. 5. Edgar, born in Nelson county, Virginia, received a common school education, and entered into the tobacco business; he served during the war between the states as captain of Company E, Second Virginia Cavalry, until the reorganization in 1862, when he retired and was succeeded by his brother Thomas Whitehead, for the remainder of the war being assigned to post duty; after the war he returned to mercantile pursuits with varied success, until his death in 1910; he married Sallie Cabell, of Amherst county, Virginia, and had issue: Dr. Cabell Whitehead, prominent in the opening up and development of Alaska, having been called "Father of Nome City," married Bena Ayers; Robert Whitehead, chemist of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, married a Miss Zauchbaum. 6. Paul Whitehead, D. D., a prominent Methodist divine and scholar, was born in Amherst county, and for many years was a dominant figure in the Virginia Conference Methodist Episcopal church, south, having filled the position of secretary of that body for over fifty years; he was a fluent speaker, soundly versed in the laws, rules and usages of his church, and universally conceded to be the best debater in the conference; he was also an educator of no little prominence, having conducted a female seminary at Murfreesboro, North Carolina, and at Farmville, Virginia, and was a member of the board of trustees of the Randolph-Macon College at Ashland, Virginia, up to the time of his death; children: Janett, died unmarried; Silas, died unmarried; Virgilia, who married Dr. Richard H. Whitehead. 7. Silas, died unmarried.
(IV) Major Thomas Whitehead, son of John (2) and Anna (Mahoney) Whitehead, was born near Lovingston, Nelson county, Virginia, December 27, 1825. From an early age Major Whitehead evinced those traits of character and disposition that made him through so many years one of the most conspicuous and prominent figures in Virginia history and Virginia politics. Possessing a keen and brilliant intellect and a masterly command of varied knowledge, he was able to shine in any circle in which he was placed and to command the attention and admiration of all with whom he came in contact. Not only was Major Whitehead abundantly endowed with unusual intellectual ability, but along with it he had a kindly, charitable heart that made him lenient to the faults of others and sincere in all relations with his fellowmen. Thus at the very outset of his career, he won an enduring place in the affection of the people of his county and state and so established himself in their confidence and esteem that on frequent occasions he was honored by important and responsible public offices. Until after passing his fourteenth year he attended the schools of his native county. while still a mere boy he began his active business life by entering a mercantile and tobacco house, where he remained until he had almost attained his manhood. He then became deputy sheriff of Amherst county, and while holding this position diligently studied law, being admitted to the bar at Amherst court house, in March, 1849. He immediately entered upon active practice of his profession, practicing law in Amherst, Lynchburg and Nelson, and was rapidly winning his way to the front rank, when the war between the states broke out. Filled with the ardent patriotism of a true southerner, Major Whitehead at once proffered his services, and throughout the desperate struggle stood firmly by the cause which he loved, and contributed in many ways to the lasting glory of the Confederate arms. He entered the military service in April, 1861, receiving a commission as lieutenant of cavalry. He was assigned to the Thirtieth Regiment of Virginia volunteers, which later in the year was enrolled as the Second Virginia Cavalry Regiment. At the reorganization in 1862 he was unanimously elected captain of Company E of this command, and with this rank he served until wounded severely at Trevillian Station, June 11, 1864. On account of his resulting disability he was assigned to duty on the board of inquiry at Charlottesville, where he served until the evacuation of Richmond, in the meantime receiving his commission as major. His military services included faithful and gallant duty in many important battles and campaigns, among them the battles of First Manassas, Dranesville, Middleburg, Fredericksburg, Front Royal, two battles at Winchester, Barnesville, the fight in which Ashby fell, Dunkers Church, Port Republic, the Seven Days before Richmond, Cedar Mountain, the two engagements at Harpers Ferry, Stuart's raid in Pennsylvania, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Greenwood and Funkstown, Todd's Tavern, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Yellow Tavern, Beaver Dam, Ashland, Hawe's Shop (where he cut his way through the federal lines with four companies of his command), Wilson's landing, the raid from Raccoon Ford, by Stevensburg, Brandy Station or Beverley's Ford, the Stafford Raid, with fighting at Hartwood church and Falmouth, Kellyville, Second Manassas, Occoquan River, the raid after Averell driving him into West Virginia, and Trevilian station. After this arduous service with the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, he was paroled at Amherst court house, where he resumed the practice of his profession. He had been elected in March, 1865, to the Virginia senate, but under the changed conditions could not take his seat. In 1866 he was elected commonwealth attorney for this county, but was removed by the military authority after about one year's service. In 1869, being again elected, he served his term. In 1872 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress and was elected by a large majority. In his term of service in Congress he served his constituency with marked fidelity and ability and was particularly noted for uprightness of conduct and the strict probity of his convictions in all things political.
Major Whitehead was a Democrat of the most uncompromising type, and in numberless campaigns stumped the state in the interests of its nominees. He was a vigorous, forceful speaker, and the most eloquent and able orators dreaded to meet him. Some of his meetings with men of state and national reputation are historical. At various times he stumped the state almost from end to end for the Democratic nominees and even in his latter years was willing to undergo almost any fatigue to insure their triumph.
While pursuing his profession as a lawyer, Major Whitehead invaded the newspaper field, and also established his reputation for ability as an editor. His first venture was the "Amherst Enterprise," which he conducted until he removed to Lynchburg in 1876 and took charge of the "News." Subsequently he established the "Lynchburg Advance" and "Whitehead's Democrat." In 1887 he was elected commissioner of agriculture, succeeding Colonel Randolph Harrison. At that time the power to fill that position was vested in the legislature, and although he entered the field late, he was elected almost unanimously, the members of the legislature recognizing his signal services to the party and his eminent fitness for the position. Soon after the election the appointative power was placed in the hands of the governor, and he was successively reappointed by Governors lee, McKinney and O'Farrall, serving twelve years in all. Never was there a more suitable appointment than the selection of Major Whitehead to be commissioner of agriculture. Farming was to him a source of ceaseless pleasure, and he was daily engaged in experiments of which he gave the Virginia farmers the benefit through regular reports to the governor and board of agriculture. With a bright and honorable record Major Whitehead left a name that will be stamped upon the annals of Virginia's political history, and in the years to come he will be remembered as one of the old school, a Virginia gentleman and an honest man. Despite the croweded cares and duties of his official life, Major Whitehead devoted time and labor to the cause of religion, and was at all times an earnest and zealous worker in the Methodist Episcopal church, in which faith he received the last summons, July 4, 1901. The Rev. W. J. Young in his address at the funeral of Major Whitehead said of him:

His public career was entirely free from criticism, and we have lost not only a devoted church member, but a citizen honored and honorable, true to every trust. His last hour was one of quietness and peace. He was not afraid to die, not afraid on the field of battle, in political life, in the church or in private life; he never shrank from duty, and he met death without a tremor.

Major Whitehead was twice married. His first wife was Mary Kincade Irving, the daughter of Hon. Joseph K. Irving. She lived less than a year. By this marriage there was no issue. On June 15, 1854, he married Martha Henry Garland, daughter of Hon. Samuel M. Garland, of Amherst, at that time and for many years thereafter the foremost citizen of the county having represented the county in many capacities, among them being a member of the secession convention. Mrs. Whitehead was a woman of many gifts, being a forceful and fluent writer, she was a true helpmeet, rendering her husband valuable assistance in all of his work. Children: 1. John, for several terms a member of the house of delegates of Virginia from Norfolk City; married Eulah Brown, of that city; issue: Grace G. and Florence. 2. Mildred Powell, married John D. Murrell, a well known newspaper man of Richmond, Virginia; they have one son, Dr. Thomas W., prominent physician of Richmond, who married Gertrude Clark. 3. Thomas, an attorney of Amherst, prominent attorney of Amherst, prominent in church and temperance work; married (first) Sarah Evans; issue: Robert, Thomas, Bessie Massie, Mary Louisa; married (second) Sallie Oliver Carter, of Nottoway county; issue: Asa C. and Kate C.. 4. David Garland, successful business man of Richmond, president of the Everett-Waddy Company; married Annie Belle Brown, of Ashland, now deceased. 5. Mary Irving, married Edward Schneider of Bremen, Germany, now deceased; she resides in Richmond. 6. Irving Powell, a well known attorney of Lynchburg; married Martha Winston Walker, of Kentucky, now deceased; children: Edmund Winston and Jane Massie. 7. Martha Garland, married Dr. Stuart Michaux, and resides in Richmond. 8. Sarah Anna Brown, married Henry D. Perkins, editor of the "Ledger-Dispatch" of Norfolk, Virginia; issue: Thomas W., died young, and Martha Garland. 9. Ella Guy, married Dr. Theodore Hough, professor in the University of Virginia. 10. Dr. Robert Camden, married Helen Cowles, of New York they reside in Norfolk, Virginia, and have one son, Henry Cowles.

[Pages 46-47]
William Hartley Craig, M. D. on the paternal side of Scotch, and on the maternal side of English forebears, Dr. William Hartley Craig, of Richmond, Virginia, in his own right is a native-born Virginian, a product of the public schools and medical college of his native city, Virginia. He is a grandson of Samuel Craig, who died in 1880, son of the Scotch emigrant Craig, who first settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He married Miss O'Brien, and left male issue.
(II) Samuel B. Craig, son of Samuel Craig, was a merchant of Manchester (now Richmond), Virginia, a man of great industry and uprightness. He married Elizabeth f. Hartley, daughter of Alfred Hartley, born 1830, died 1904, of English birth, settling in the State of Maine in 1856. His wife Miss Speights, was also born in England, she in Bradford, he in Brighouse.
(III) Dr. William Hartley Craig, son of Samuel B. and Elizabeth F. (Hartley) Craig, was born in Manchester (Richmond), Virginia, March 17, 1883. He was educated in the public schools, finishing his preparatory study at the high school. He became a proficient stenographer, and from 1900 to 1902 was employed as such in the law office of Wyndham R. Meredith. He later entered the Medical College of Virginia, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine from that institution in 1906. He spent the following year in post-graduate work at Philadelphia Polyclinic, and in 1907 became interne at Richmond Memorial Hospital. In 1908 and 1909 he was surgeon for the Crane Creek Coal & Coke Company, and in 1910 began private practice in Richmond, where he is becoming well known as a skillful, reliable and honorable physician. In 1913 he became associate professor in orthopædic surgery at the Medical College of Virginia. He has made special investigations in "tropical diseases" and is yet a hard student and investigator along medical lines, with fixed and steady purpose. He is a member of the Medical Society of Virginia; Richmond Academy of Medicine and Surgery; resident of the Chesterfield County Medical Society; Alumni Society, Medical College of Virginia; Pi Mu, Greek letter medical fraternity; the Masonic order; of the Eastern Star (past patron); Richmond Young Men's Christian Association; a communicant of the Presbyterian church, and a Democrat in politics. His favorite recreations are horseback riding and motoring, forms of recreation he finds most helpful as well as enjoyable. His cheerful manner and kindliness of disposition win him any friends, while his manly upright character holds them always to him.

[Pages 47-48]
Bishop Thomas Campbell Darst. The ecclesiastical career of Rev. Thomas Campbell Darst, bishop of the diocese of Eastern Carolina, has been one of exceptional activity, and he has performed service in several fields. Upon the completion of his course in divinity at the Virginia Seminary he was ordained a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal church, entered the priesthood in the following year, filled different assistant positions and full charges, and on October 8, 1914, was made bishop of the diocese of Eastern Carolina. Bishop Darst is rector of St. James' Parish of Richmond, Virginia, having previously, 1905 to 1909, been identified with St. Mark's Church, of this city, and in Richmond, as in the other places whither his ministry has taken him, is loved and honored as an ecclesiastic of sincerity and purpose, one who lives the creed he champions.
(I) The family of which Bishop Darst is a member has been long resident in Virginia, its early home in Rockbridge county, where was born Benjamin Darst, grandfather of Bishop Darst. Benjamin Darst was owner of large lands, which he devoted to agriculture and stock raising, prospering in his operations and acquiring a generous competence. He was a soldier in the American army in the war of 1812. Benjamin Darst married Elizabeth Welsh, born at the noted Fancy Hill, Rockbridge county, Virginia, then owned by her father, and among their children was Thomas Welsh, of whom further.
(II) Thomas Welsh Darst, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Welsh) Darst, was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in September, 1817, and died in 1882. His active years were passed in farming, and during the war with the states he held the rank of major of militia, while both of h is sons of his first marriage, soldiers in the Confederate States army, met death at the front. Thomas Welsh Darst married (first) Margaret Miller; (second) in 1859, Margaret Glendy, born in Augusta county, Virginia, November 25, 1830, daughter of John Glendy, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, and his wife, Mary Wilson (Larue) Glendy. John Glendy was brought to the United States by his parents in infancy and was reared in Augusta county, Virginia, where he resided until 1835, in that year moving to Pulaski county Virginia, where he farmed on an extensive scale. Other than the two sons who were killed in battle, Thomas Welsh Darst had two children by his first marriage, the others Elizabeth, married W. F. Howard, of Pulaski county, Virginia, and Mary, married John W. Wilson, of Pulaski county, Virginia. Children of Thomas Welsh and Margaret (Glendy) Darst: Gillie Wilson, married D. P. Martin, of Salem, Virginia; James C., a resident of Norfolk, Virginia; Margaret, deceased, married Robert Brown, of Pulaski county, Virginia; Frank M., deceased; Thomas Campbell, of whom further.
(III) Rev. Thomas Campbell Darst, youngest of the five children of Thomas Welsh and Margaret (Glendy) Darst, was born in Pulaski county, Virginia, November 10, 1875, and lived on his father's farm until he was thirteen years of age. The following year, upon the death of his mother, he made his home in Salem, there completing his preparatory education and for two years attending Roanoke College. For the two years following he was engaged in business in West Virginia and New Jersey, then returning to Roanoke College he completed the course he had begun four years before. In 1899 he entered the Virginia Seminary, and was graduated in divinity in the class of 1902, in June of that year becoming a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal church. For one year he was connected with the parish of Fairmount, West Virginia, and in June, 1903, was ordained into the priesthood, being first assigned to Johns and Meade parish in Fauquier and Amherst counties Rev. Darst in 1905 came to St. Mark's Church of Richmond, and there remained for four years, in December, 1909, taking charge of St. Paul's Church, and in May, 1914, upon the death of Dr. Clark, succeeded him as rector. Additional duties and honors came to Rev. Darst in October of the same year (1914) in his elevation to the office of bishop, his diocese, Eastern Carolina, his investment as bishop occurring on October 8. That Rev. Darst will worthily uphold the dignity and honor of his high position and that his consecrated service will be happily rewarded is the sentiment in the minds and hearts of his co-laborers in religious work. Laity and clergy have found him true to every trust, and he is lacking in none of the attributes that comprise the successful minister of the gospel, not the least of which is a life strict in rectitude beyond reproach. Bishop Darst is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, to which he was elected during his student years. His other fraternity associations are the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias.
He married, at "Araby," Fairfax county, Virginia, November 5, 1902, Florence Newton Wise, born in Alexander, Virginia, December 17, 1876, died January 12, 1914, daughter of George Wise, of "Araby," near Alexandria, Virginia, engaged in insurance business. George Wise married Ida, sister of Colonel William Smoot, of Alexander, Virginia. Children of Bishop Thomas Campbell and Florence Newton (Wise) Darst: George Wise, born July 16, 1904; Thomas Campbell Jr., born August 31, 1907; Meade Clark, born March 14, 1910.

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John Campbell Hagan. This branch of the Hagan family in America springs from the O'Hagans of Ireland, the "O" being generally omitted on this side of the Atlantic. The family has been noted for prominence in business, law and literature, in both Ireland and the United States. The grandfather of John Campbell Hagan of Richmond, Virginia, was John Hagan, a farmer and landed proprietor, man of education and resolute character, who was born, lived and died in Ireland. His wife, Ellen (Campbell) Hagan, was of bright intellectual qualities, a lover of the good, beautiful and true, inspiring in her children the same ambitious hopes that the limitation of her Irish home denied fruition.
(II) John (2) Hagan, son of John (1) and Ellen (Campbell) Hagan, was born in Clanoe county Tyrone, Ireland, died at Richmond, Virginia, October 14, 1874. After coming to the United States and settling in Richmond, he engaged in mercantile life. He was a soldier in the Confederacy, serving in Company A. Tenth Virginia Battalion, enlisting as a private and attaining the rank of sergeant. He was a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Roman Catholic church. He married Catherine Downey, born in Richmond, Virginia, who survives him. Children: John Campbell; John Felix; died in infancy; Mary Catharine, died in infancy.
(III) John Campbell Hagan, son of John (2) and Catherine (Downey) Hagan, was born in Richmond, Virginia, December 25, 1857, now an honored financier of his native city. He was educated in the Richmond private schools and at Georgetown University, Washington, D. C., and began his business career in the freight department of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad Company, continuing two years. He spent the next two years with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad at Charlottesville, then accepted an offer from a Massachusetts shoe manufacturing concern and spent twelve years in their employ. He then returned to his native city, where he became financially interested with several manufacturing enterprises, but was not actively connected with any until he engaged in the wholesale leaf tobacco trade as senior partner of the Hagan-Dart Tobacco Company, doing largely an export business. While in this business he became interested in Richmond banking enterprises, later being elected president of the Capital Savings Bank. He continued at the head of that institution until it passed out of existence by merger with the Bank of Commerce and Trusts. Shortly after the merger the Main Street Bank of Richmond was organized and its presidency offered Mr. Hagan. He at first refused, but upon further solicitation from the board of directors he accepted the position of chief executive. A worker all his active years, Mr. Hagan has risen to high position in public regard and justifies the confidence of his many friends. He was sergeant in Company B, Captain Dr. Henry C. Jones, First Virginia Regiment (Walker Light Guards), and is a member of the Old First Regiment Association. He is past state deputy Knights of Columbus; member of the Westmoreland, Commonwealth and Country clubs of Richmond. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and the societies of St. Vincent De Paul and McGill's Catholic Union. His children are also communicants, his wife being a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Mr. Hagan married, in Richmond, September 14, 1887, Alice May Nipe, born in Baltimore, Maryland, in October, 1861, daughter of James W. and Emma (Bennett) Nipe, the former a member of the wholesale grocery firm of Arrington & Nipe. Children: John Morton, graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in the class of 1911, now connected with the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, residing at Ensley, Alabama; Catherine Downey; William Campbell, a student at the Virginia Military Academy; John Campbell (2), a student at McGuire's School, Richmond.

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George Janes Davison, D. D. S. Throughout the connection of this line of Davison, Scotch in origin and originally of New York residence in the United States, with the city of Richmond, Virginia, the profession of dentistry has claimed its members in a direct line through three generations, two of the present representatives of the family in this calling in Richmond being Dr. George Janes Davison and his son, Dorset Allen Davison, father and son associated in practice.
The history of the family in the United States dates from the arrival in this country of Samuel Davison, a native of Scotland, who first located in Rochester, New York where he owned and cultivated land, serving in the American army in the second war with Great Britain. Samuel Davison was an inventor of no mean genius, and in an elaborately equipped machine and workshop wrought out several mechanical appliances of value.
Dr. Ferdinand Davison, son of Samuel Davison, was born in Monroe county, New York in 1822, and died in Richmond in 1897. For forty years he was a dental practitioner in this city, a professional man of standing and reputation. He inherited a large share of his father's inventive talent, and during the war between the states perfected a bullet manufacturing machine that was of value to the Confederate government. Ferdinand Davison married Mary Jeanette Janes, born in Monroe county, New York in 1822, and died in Richmond in 1896, a descendant through her mother of the Whitney family of New York. Three of their ten children survive to this time: Dr. George Janes, of whom further; William Ferdinand, born in 1857, a dentist of Richmond; and Mary Jeanette, born in Richmond, unmarried, practices chiropathy in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. George Janes Davison, son of Dr. Ferdinand and Mary Jeanette (Janes) Davison, was born in Rochester, New York September 19, 1847, and was taken to Bedford county, Virginia, by his parents when but an infant. When he was ten years of age the family residence was changed to Richmond and in this city he attended the public schools. He was little more than a boy when he went to the front as a private in the Confederate army, but in the service he bravely performed a man's work and played a man's part, his brigade known as the Custer Lee, Third Virginia, at the close of the war. The rigors of hard campaigns and the unusual exposure demanded their toll when the conflict was over and the spur of necessity was removed, and Dr. Davison suffered from a severe attack of typhoid fever. He began the study of dentistry under the careful preceptorship of his honored father, the entered the New York College of Dentistry whence he was graduated in 1867. Returning to Richmond, he was associated in practice with his father until the death of the elder Davison, and has since followed his profession in this city. Identified in practice with Dr. Davison is his son, Dorset Allen Davison, who was graduated from the Baltimore College of Dentistry in 1904, fifth in the list of twenty honor men in a class of sixty-eight members. Dr. Dorset Allen Davison at graduation won the first prize for bridge work and the same award for all mechanical dentistry. He has been connected with his father throughout his entire active career, and is the inventor of several well known dental appliances. Father and son are alike able masters of their profession, skilled in all of its departments, and stand among the leaders in dental surgery in Richmond, where the name Davison has ever meant the best in that calling. Dr. George Janes Davison affiliates with several fraternal orders, among them the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
He married, in Richmond, Virginia, June 6, 1869, Virginia C. Pennell, born in Richmond, a member of a Maryland family, and has children: Mary Jeanette, married W. D. Payton, of Fredericksville, Virginia; Laura Elma, married G. K. Pollock, of Richmond, Virginia; Lelia Irene, married G. M. Anderson, of Rockbridge Baths, Virginia; Dorset Allen, previously mentioned, married Nellie R. Turner, of Richmond; Frederick Eugene, unmarried, associated with the Walter Moses Piano Company, of Richmond; George Evans, a draughtsman.