Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography

[Pages 150-151]
Nathaniel Elliott Clement. This is one of the oldest family names in Virginia three centuries having about elapsed since Elizabeth Clement, a widow, came from England in the ship "George" with her four children and servants.
(I) A descendant, Benjamin Clement, married Susannah Hill, and in 1740 sold his lands in Amelia county, Virginia, and located in the Staunton River Valley, erecting a house on a beautiful knoll and there residing until his death, having been one of the earliest settlers in that valley.
(II) Captain Adam Clement, of Campbell county, Virginia, son of Benjamin Clement, was a captain of Bedford county, Virginia, militia during the revolution, and one of the original trustees of the town of Lynchburg.
(III) Dr. George Washington Clement, son of Captain Adam Clement, was born in 1785 in Campbell county, Virginia. He obtained his degree of M. D. from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and became an eminent physician of Franklin and adjoining counties. He married (first) Stella Smith. who bore him nine children. He married (second) Mrs. Sarah Turner Cook, by whom he had five children, two yet living.
(IV) Henry Clay Clement, son of Dr. George Washington Clement, was born January 22, 1840, in Franklin county, Virginia. He became a farmer, owning a plantation upon which he now resides. He served in the Confederate army during the war of 1861-1865, a private of the Sixth Virginia Regiment of Cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart and in the battle at the Yellow Tavern, where his beloved commander received his death wound, Mr. Clement was taken prisoner. During the remainder of the war he was confined in a Federal prison at Elmira, New York. After the war he returned to his farm near Callands where he yet resides. He married, in 1866, Harriett Morrison, born in Henry county, Virginia, died July 29, 1885, daughter of Bushrod Washington Morrison; children, all living except Caroline, who died at age of sixteen years: Captain Henry C., commanding a company of the Twenty-ninth Regiment of Infantry United States regular army; Mary Royall, residing with her brother, Nathaniel Elliott, in Chatham; Bushrod Morrison, of Florida; Nathaniel Elliott, of whom further; James Turner, a lawyer and prominent Democrat, chairman of Pittsylvania county committee; Stephen Preston, associated with the British American Tobacco Company with headquarters in Hankow, China; Lieutenant Samuel A., of the United States navy.
(V) Nathaniel Elliott Clement, son of Henry Clay and Harriet (Morrison) Clement, was born in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, near Callands, November 15, 1872. He obtained his preparatory education in the public schools, attended Roanoke College, one year, then began the study of law, and in June, 1896, after passing the required examination, was admitted to practice at the Virginia bar. He located at Chatham where for two years he practiced alone, then in 1898 formed a partnership with his brother, James Turner Clement, the two brothers comprising the well-known and highly regarded law firm of Clement & Clement. Nathaniel E. Clement is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, superintendent of the Sunday school and a strong pillar of his church, president of the School Trustees Association of Virginia, and greatly interested in the cause of education; he has devoted considerable time to the improvement of the public school system of Pittsylvania county, and is untiring in his efforts to advance their interests. He is a Democrat in politics, and in all that pertains to the public good he may be counted upon for assistance.
Mr. Clement married, June 24, 1902, at Chatham, Martha Maude Carter, born in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, April 12, 1879, daughter of James Carter, of the same county, born April 3, 1842, now living retired at Chatham. for twenty years he was postmaster, owning an extensive plantation before moving to Chatham. He joined the Confederate army at the age of nineteen years and served until the surrender, four years. He was wounded at Malvern Hill, and at Gettysburg, charging with Pickett's men at the latter battle, bearing his regimental colors until shot down, when they were seized by another and carried forward. He recovered from his wounds and again entered the service. He married Betty Pigg, of the same county, born May 29, 1854, now living in Chatham. Their four children are all living in Virginia. Mrs. Clement is a graduate of the Chatham Episcopal Institution, class of 1898, and a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Clement: Elizabeth Lanier, born May 19, 1904; Rutledge Carter, July 29, 1906; Henry Turner, January 29, 1910.

[Pages 151-152]
Armistead Cochran Crump. Dr. Armistead Cochran Crump, a successful physician of New York City, is descended from English ancestors who came from county Kent, England, early in the history of Virginia. William Crump was living in York county, Virginia, in 1660. Six years previous to that time New Kent county was created from part of the territory of York county, and the descendants of William Crump lived for many generations in New Kent county. Unfortunately the records of this county were destroyed by fire about the close of the civil war, and about the same time the family homestead, with the family Bible and its records, were also burned. Robert, Anderson, Josiah and Richard Crump were residents of New Kent county in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The first of these was the father of Fielding Crump, who was a farmer there. Fielding Crump married Peachy Walker, and they had sons: Robert Hill, Thomas Fielding, David and John. Robert Hill Crump, son of Fielding Crump, was born July 21, 1821, in New Kent county, and died June 26, 1904, nearly eighty-three years old. He served as a soldier in the Confederate army; engaged in business as a contractor in Richmond. He was a Baptist in religion, and politically a Democrat. He married Sarah Elizabeth Dobson, born October 9, 1827, died January 14, 1909, daughter of Samuel Edwards and Mary J. Dobson. They had children: James Dobson, mentioned below; Ann Bigger, born October 19, 1849; Peachy Walker, November 30, 1850, died October 3, 1853; Mary Samuella, August 25, 1852, died September 28, 1853; Mary Walker, September 1, 1854; Julia Gavinzel, April 4, 1856; Robert Shields, February 11, 1862.
James Dobson Crump, eldest child of Robert Hill and Sarah E. (Dobson) Crump, was born August 23, 1848, in the city of Richmond, where his home has continued to the present time. He attended a school taught by Mr. Richard Frazin, in Appomattox county, Virginia, and one by Charles P. Bump, in Richmond. When the civil war broke out he was in his thirteenth year, and he left school to take a position in the quartermaster's department of the Confederate States of America, and continued in that position until the close of hostilities. Immediately after the war, he became a salesman in a retail clothing establishment, where he remained a year or two, and then accepted a position in a wholesale grocery house. Here he continued until 1870, when he formed a wholesale shoe firm, in connection with C. E. Wingo and J. S. Ellett, under the firm name of Wingo, Ellett & Crump. In 1890 this establishment was incorporated and Mr. Crump was elected secretary and treasurer. He resigned this position in 1902, to accept the presidency of the B. F. Johnson Publishing Company, of Richmond, which is now engaged in the production of school books. Mr. Crump has developed exceptional business qualifications from a beginning very early in life, and has taken an active place in the conduct of various interests of his native city. He is a director of the National State & City Bank, the Richmond Trust & Savings Company, and the Atlantic Life Insurance Company. He has never desired nor accepted any political favors, but has consistently adhered to the Democratic party in political action. With his family, he is in communion with the Second Baptist Church of Richmond, and he is an active member of the Masonic fraternity, being a past master of Temple Lodge, No. 9, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; a member of St. Andrews Commandery, Knights Templar, and of Dalcho Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Masons of the thirty-second degree. He is affiliated with the principal clubs of Richmond, including the Westmoreland, Business Men's, and Country clubs.
He married, November 4, 1875, in Richmond, Nannie Palmore Armistead, a native of Farmville, Virginia, daughter of William Anderson Armistead, a wholesale grocer of Richmond. Mr. Armistead married Fannie Ann Flippen, and of their children, Mrs. Crump is the only survivor. Mr. and Mrs. Crump are the parents of Dr. Armistead C. Crump, mentioned below, and Lora Crump, born October 6, 1888, a graduate of Hollins College, of Hollins, Virginia.
Dr. Armistead Cochran Crump was born July 29, 1876, in Richmond. He was educated in private schools, the Virginia Military Institute, and the University of Virginia, from which he graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1903. Coming to New York, he became an interne at the Presbyterian Hospital, where he continued two years, and is now a stomach specialist connected with that institution. He has done considerable medical research work, and contributed articles from time to time to the current medical journals. He is a member of the American Medical Association, and the New York State Medical Society. While engrossed in the pursuit of science, Dr. Crump has little time for politics or any other outside interests, but is a Democrat of independent tendencies, He is not identified with clubs or fraternal organizations.

[Pages 152-154]
Rt. Rev. Robert Atkinson Gibson. Son of an eminent divine of the Protestant Episcopal church, and descendant from a long line of pious and noble ancestors, Bishop Gibson, by heredity, environment and disposition, was destined for a brilliant ministerial career. Nor must the influence of a sympathetic godly mother be overlooked in determining what were the contributing causes that led to his choice of a profession and to his rise to the Episcopacy.
Robert Atkinson Gibson, now and since 1897 Bishop of Virginia, was born at Petersburg, July 9, 1846, son of Rev. Churchill J. Gibson, a prominent clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal church. Through maternal and paternal lines Bishop Gibson traces to the early colonial and revolutionary dignitaries and families of Virginia, including Richard Bennett, the Puritan governor of Virginia (1652), Theodorick Bland, Robert Bolling, Peter Poythress, William Randolph and Richard Bland, "The Antiquarian," member of the first Continental Congress and of the Virginia Committee of Safety.
Rev. Churchill J. Gibson, a man of benevolence, humor, cultured refined taste and remarkable piety, was the founder of Grace Protestant Episcopal Church of Petersburg, was its rector fifty years, and is still remembered there with reverence and love. In 1883 he was clerical deputy to the general convention of the church, at a previous date having been almost the unanimous choice of the Episcopal laity of Virginia for assistant bishop. His wife, Lucy Fitzhugh (Atkinson) Gibson, an acomplished, noble woman, "devoutly given to all good works," taught a Bible class in Grace Church Sunday school for fifty years, and the harvest from her teaching Eternity alone will reveal. It was the earnest desire of these godly parents that their son, Robert A., should trad in the footsteps of his father and become a minister, but they did not urge him nor seek to unduly influence him in the choice of a career. But their wishes were easily fulfilled, as the lad became early connected with the church, and but followed the natural bent of his mind. Both lived to see their son an honored clergyman of the church they loved, although the father, born in 1819, died in 1895, two years prior to his son's greatest achievement, his consecration as Bishop of Virginia.
Rt. Rev. Robert Atkinson Gibson began his preparatory education in the Episcopal High School at Alexandria, Virginia, going thence to Mount Laurel Academy in Virginia, and then entering Hampden-Sidney College near Farmville. Here his college life was interrupted by the war between the states. He enlisted in 1864 in the service of his state with the Rockbridge artillery, Fort Virginia artillery, fighting with the Army of Northern Virginia until the final surrender at Appomattox in 1865, and well proving the military side of his nature. Peace restored, he again entered Hampden-Sidney, whence he was graduated A. B. in 1867. During these years of study he had made the close acquaintance of the best English writers; and the works of Macaulay and Carlyle gave him especial pleasure. His natural inclination also turned him toward sacred literature and mental philosophy, Butler's Analogy being a special book of study. After graduation he began his studies in divinity at the Theological Seminary of Virginia, whence he was graduated in the class of 1870. He was ordained deacon on July 24 of the same year by Bishop Whittle in the chapel of the Theological Seminary, and sent forth as a missionary to south-eastern Virginia, where he spent eighteen months in efforts to revive the work of the church in old parishes, and in opening new fields, covering five counties on the south side of the James river. On July 4, 1871, he was ordained priest by Bishop Johns at Petersburg, and from 1872 to 1878 was assistant minister to Rev. Dr. Joshua Peterkin, rector of x St. James Episcopal Church, Richmond, and was in charge of the Moore Memorial Chapel. From 1878 to 1887 he was rector of Trinity Church, Parkersburg, West Virginia, and from 1887 to 1897, was rector of Christ Church, Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1897 his native state reclaimed and restored him to his own people by electing him Bishop Coadjutor of Virginia, to which holy office he was consecrated, November 3, 1897.In 1902, by the death of Rt. Rev. F. M. Whittle, he succeeded him as Bishop of Virginia, and in that high priestly office continues at this date, 1915.
Filled with intense zeal to serve his church and people, Bishop Gibson has been of great usefulness in his efforts to aid in upbuilding and strengthening educational institutions. His alma mater, Hampden-Sidney, and Kenyon College, Ohio, have particularly benefitted by his services as trustee, the latter college shoeing its appreciation of the bishop's high attainments by conferring upon him the degree of D. D. in 1897. In the same year the University of the South conferred the same degree in acknowledgment of his great public spirit usefulness and learning.
Under his inspiring leadership the diocese of Virginia has taken long steps forward, and its spirituality and temporal growth has brought joy and pride to the leader. The good bishop inspires love and confidence in the hearts of his people by his wise counsel, purity of life and deep piety. His qualities of simple, sincere and reverent conduct have endeared him to the public generally, while with the individual he is the embodiment of the Christly doctrine. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." His personal charm is extraordinary and indefinable, but he holds his people to him, and in the rural districts where contact is closer than in the cities, this personal charm is doubly apparent. Yet in Richmond, no large entertainment is completely successful without him, and in social circles he is very popular. Could one sum up Bishop Gibson's attractive personality in one word, it would be best expressed in the word simplicity, in the sense that he makes it his greatest topic: The simplicity of the Gospel of Christ. This thought he lives out daily with men, women and children, and it is not more his great learning, his priestly office, his eloquent sermons and impressive readings, that influence men and women for good than his living out in his own life the simple and beautiful truth of the Gospel. Although his theology is sound, his creed orthodox, his sermons eloquent, persuasive and logical, these are not the forces that draw the hearts of his people to him, but the confidence and love he inspires by his own living of the simple Gospel truths is the magnet that draws and holds his people.
Bishop Gibson married, November 12, 1872, Susan Baldwin Stuart, daughter of Hon. A. H. H. and Frances Cornelia (Baldwin) Stuart, of Staunton, Virginia. Children: Rev. Alex Stuart Gibson, married Esther H. Hall, of Arlington, Virginia; Lucy Fitzhugh, at home; Frances Peyton, born in Richmond, Virginia, married Edmund lee Woodward, and resides in China; Mary, at home; Rev. Churchill J. Gibson, of Luray, Virginia, married Gay Lloyd.

[Pages 154-155]
George Cameron, one of the most prominent tobacco manufacturers of Virginia, is of Scotch extraction, as his name indicates. His grandfather, Alexander Cameron, was s sheep farmer at Grantown, Morryshire, Scotland. His wife's maiden name was Grant. Their son Alexander Cameron, was born at Grantown, where he lived as a farmer and leather merchant, and died in 1839. His wife, Elizabeth (Grant) Cameron, native of the same section, died in Petersburg, Virginia. Of their six children, three are now living, namely: Alexander of Richmond, Virginia; Elizabeth, unmarried; George. The deceased were: William; Sarah, wife of Robert Dunlop, of Petersburg; Jane, wife of George Cameron. The last named died in 1872, and his wife fifteen years later.
George Cameron, son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Grant) Cameron, was born April 23, 1839, in Dreggie, near Grantown, and came to Virginia with his mother at the age of only two years. When he was ten years old he returned to Scotland, for his education. In Petersburg, his elder brothers were engaged in the manufacture of tobacco with the late David Dunlop, and in this way he became interested in that business at the age of fifteen years. Since the early age above mentioned, Mr. Cameron has been most actively identified with the tobacco business, and has come into control of many widely separated depots for handling this product. With great natural ability, and possessed of the traits peculiar to his people, he made rapid progress in business while yet a boy, and in 1862, at the age of twenty-three years, he became a partner in the firm of Cameron & Crawford, and later in the firm of William Cameron & Brother, at Petersburg, Virginia, and the firm of Alexander Cameron & Company, at Richmond. In the pursuit of this industry, business houses were established in Australia in order to readjust business arrangements in that far continent, which had been severely interrupted by the war. Australia and India were among the largest consumers of the tobacco manufactured by the Cameron concern. Upon the return of William Cameron, in 1866, other branches were established, namely: William Cameron & Brother, at Petersburg, Virginia; Alexander Cameron & Company, at Louisville and Henderson, Kentucky; and George Campbell & Company, Liverpool and London. The owners in these concerns were William Cameron, Alexander Cameron, George Cameron, Robert Dunlop, and George Campbell, the last two being husbands of the sisters of Mr. George Cameron. A very extensive business was transacted in the trade of leaf and manufactured tobacco, in Kentucky and Virginia, for export. About 1870, at the solicitation of the governor of Victoria, Australia, the firm of William Cameron & Company, Ltd, was established at Melbourne, under government protection, thus enjoying a rebate of twenty-five cents on each pound of tobacco manufactured in the colony of Victoria. In 1872 the Camerons engaged in business at Sidney, New South Wales, under the firm name of Cameron Brothers & Company, and this was soon followed by a factory at Adelaide, South Australia, and one at Brisbane, Queensland. About seventy-five per cent of the tobacco consumed in the Australian colonies was supplied by these firms. Having achieved phenomenal success in the business world as manager of several large interests, Mr. George Cameron retired from the active course of duties thus involved, and now resides at his beautiful estate "Mount Erin," within the limits of the city of Petersburg, where he finds exercise and relaxation in superintending his greenhouses and ample grounds and farm. Although deeply engrossed in business for many years, Mr. Cameron did not forget his duty to the public, and during the war with the states volunteered for service in the Confederate army, and was taken prisoner in the engagement before Petersburg June 9, 1864. With others he was conveyed to Point Lookout, Maryland, and later transferred to Elmira, New York. There he was paroled and returned to his home, by way of Savannah, Georgia, in October, 1864. Mr. Cameron has long been one of the most active and influential members of the Presbyterian Church South, and while he is not a voter, he has always been a firm supporter of the Democratic party. Since 1866 he has been identified with the Masonic fraternity, whose benevolent principles are an exemplification of his own character.
He married (first) March 13, 1861, Helen Dunn, daughter of Thomas R. Dunn, of Oakhill, Virginia, and his wife, Helen (Spooner) Dunn. She died in 1883, and Mr. Cameron married (second) July 19, 1886, Delia Pegram, a native of Petersburg, daughter of R. G. and Helen (Burrough) Pegram. She is now mistress of his elegant home at Petersburg, which is the abode of hospitality and refined taste. There were six children of the first marriage: Alexander, now deceased; Ella, now widow of Simon D. Gilbert, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; William, now manager of the British Australian Tobacco Company of Australia; George deceased, who was president of the National Bank of Petersburg; Helen, residing unmarried at home. Children of the second marriage: Richard, died at the age of sixteen; Delia P. and Margaret Burroughs, residing with their parents.

[Pages 155-157]
Ernest Linwood Dodson. As proprietor of the Piedmont Tobacco Company, Ernest Linwood is identified with the industry to which, more than to any other, Danville, Virginia, owes its prosperity and reputation. He entered this field after considerable experience in other lines of endeavor and his success in his business has been the reward of careful, wise and conservative dealing. He is also the head of the P. B. Gravely Tobacco Company, a concern established in 1831, and a large and flourishing enterprise of Danville. Mr. Dodson's connection with Virginia is by his business relations, birth and ancestry, his grandfather having been born in Halifax county, coming from that county to Pittsylvania county.
(I) Felix Dodson, grandfather of Ernest Linwood Dodson, was a miller and also cultivated land of which he was the owner. His death occurred in 1877. He fought in the Confederate army throughout the entire four years of the civil war, participating in many of the most noted engagements of that eventful struggle. He married Elizabeth M. Ferguson, of Pittsylvania, where she still (1914) lives. Children of Felix and Elizabeth M. (Ferguson) Dodson: Henry Joel, of whom further; Fannie, died unmarried; Sally, married E. A. Wiles, a farmer of Pittsylvania county; Robert Leonard, a farmer of Pittsylvania county, has held the office of county supervisor, the present representative of his district in the Virginia state legislature; Charles W., engaging in the grocery business in Danville, Virginia; Cornelia, deceased, married Charles Williams, a farmer of Pittsylvania county.
(II) Henry Joel Dodson, son of Felix and Elizabeth M. (Ferguson) Dodson, was born in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, in September, 1851. He was reared to agricultural occupations and has followed this line all of his life. His present home is on the farm five miles from Danville, which he has raised to a high and profitable state of cultivation. He married (first) March 11, 1874, Betty Tabitha, daughter of Bird Thomas Jennings. She died November 30, 1884. He married (second) Lucy Stutz, of Pittsylvania county, Virginia. He married (third) in October, 1912, Alice, widow of Douglas Dyer. Children of first marriage: Ernest Linwood, of whom further; Mattie Elizabeth, married William H. Bennett, a farmer of Pittsylvania county, and has eight children; Maggie, died in infancy; Mary, died in infancy; Henry Oscar, a carpenter of Pittsylvania county, married Alma Spindle, of St. Louis, Missouri, who left him at her death with one child, Arthur; Walter Raymond, married and resides in New York state. Children of second marriage: George Winfred, lives at home; Emma Malinda, married Fletcher Slayton, a farmer, and has two children; Janey Rosalie, a student in the training school of the Danville General Hospital; Alvin Bernice; Edna, died in infancy; Edgar, twin of Edna, lives at home; H. Conrad, Vivian, Elise, Fanny, Ethel, Eva, all of whom reside at home, unmarried. Mr. Dodson's third wife is the mother of five children by her former marriage, their being no children of their union.
Bird Thomas Jennings, father of Betty Tabitha (Jennings) Dodson, was a farmer, passed nearly his entire life in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, his death occurring in Greensboro, North Carolina, when he was ninety years of age. He was married four times, first to a Miss Brightwell, second to a Miss Gardner, third to a Miss Gardner (not related) and fourth to a widow, Mrs. Clark. His children are by his first three marriages: Mary, deceased, married James Ballou, of Halifax county, Virginia; James, deceased, married a Miss Hardy; William, married a Miss White; Thomas, deceased; Jane, deceased, married a Mr. McDaniel; Meredith, a resident of Roanoke, Virginia, married (first) a Miss Smith, (second) a widow, Mrs. Maynard; Betty Tabitha, of previous mention, married Henry Joel Dodson; Patty, deceased, married a Mr. Ferguson; Charles W., married and lives in Greensboro, North Carolina; Whit, died in infancy; John, married a Miss Brown and resides in Charlotte county, Virginia; Sally, married Nathaniel Ferguson, of Danville, Virginia; Eleanor, married Albert Warren, deceased, and lives in Richmond, Virginia; Lulu, married W. W. Clark, of Winston Salem, North Carolina; Robert Hughes, deceased; Cora, married J. E. Sale; Samuel, married and lives in South Carolina; Jessie, unmarried; Nanny, married Thomas Bennett, a farmer of Pittsylvania.
(III) Ernest Linwood Dodson, son of Henry Joel and Betty Tabitha (Jennings) Dodson, was born near Danville, Pittsylvania county, Virginia, on the farm where his father now lives, February 19, 1875. He was reared to farm life and remained at home, assisting in the cultivation of the homestead acres until he was twenty-four years of age, in his youth pursuing his studies in the local schools. Moving to Lynchburg, Virginia, he was for a short time connected with the wholesale grocery trade as a traveling salesman in the employ of S. C. Nowlin Company, in 1899 taking up his residence in Danville. For one year he was engaged in the retail shoe department of W. P. Hodnett's store as clerk, in 1900 becoming a bookkeeper for the W. C. Hurt Tobacco Company, in 1904 being admitted to the firm, the business in the following year being incorporated as the Morotock Tobacco Works, of which Mr. Dodson was vice-president, treasurer and general manager. In 1910 the charter of this corporation was surrendered and Mr. Dodson has since continued in business independently under the name of the Piedmont Tobacco Company. He is sole owner of this concern, which is a strong and responsible one holding a firm position in the tobacco trade of Danville. He is related to other business interests in the city and is vice-president of the Danville Book and Stationery Company. His political belief is Democratic, and he is a member of the Commercial Association, the Tuscarora Club, and both Country clubs.
Mr. Dodson married, June 6, 1907, at Marshalltown, Iowa, Bessie E., born in that place June 16, 1878, daughter of Henry V. and Emma (Broadhead)(Speers. Her father, a veteran of the civil war, died in November, 1912, aged seventy-five years, having been a merchant of Marshalltown and subsequently oil inspector for the state of Iowa. His widow now resides in Marshalltown, aged sixty-three years. Henry V. and Emma (Broadhead) Speers were the parents of: Charles R., a structural iron worker, specializing in bridg-building, of Des Moines, Iowa; John, deceased; Bessie E., of previous mention, married Ernest Linwood Dodson; Harry V. of Marshalltown, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Dodson are the parents of: Elizabeth Speers, born April 23, 1909; Eleanor, born August 9, 1911; Ernest L., Jr., born November 18, 1913.

[Pages 157-158]
Adam Tyree Finch, M. D. The Finch family of Virginia, of which Adam T. v, of Chase City, is a twentieth century representative, springs from Adam Finch, who according to the records of Charlotte county, Virginia, received a grant of several thousand acres of land in that county from the English king. Four generations of the family have been seated in Mecklenburg county, Adam Finch, grandfather of Dr. Adam T. Finch, taught the first school in Chase city. The family have ever been large landowners and planters, men of honor, influence and high standing. Through intermarriages Dr. Finch is connected with the important Goode, Carter and Bacon families of Virginia and with many of the Colonial families of the state. Dr. Adam T. v is a son of Tyree Good Finch, grandson of Adam Finch and great-grandson of Zachariah and Mary A. Finch, all of Mecklenburg county.
(II) Adam Finch, son of Zachariah Finch. was born June 23, 1800, died October 4, 1874. He was a teacher and preacher of the early day, belonging to the Virginia conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is credited with having taught the first school in Chase City. He married, December 24, 1824. Lucy Swepson Goode, born about the year 1800, died June 12, 1859, daughter of William and Mary (Tabb or Tabbs) Goode, a lineal descendant of the "founder" of the Goode family in Virginia. Children: Langston Easley, born October 24, 1825; Richard Henry, April 24, 1827; William Edward, December 21, 1830; Thomas Zachariah, August 29, 1833; George Beverly, February 27, 1837; Tyree Goode, of further mention; Adam Thomas. George Beverly Finch, a captain in Pickett's division of the Confederate army, charged at the head of his company, and though he survived the gallant charge, made by the division at Gettysburg, brought back with him from that field a Federal bullet that was not removed from his body until twenty years afterwards. He was a lawyer and practiced in Mecklenburg county until his death in 1900.
(III) Tyree Goode Finch, next to the youngest of Adam and Lucy S. (Goode) Finch, was born April 27, 1840, died in 1886, a farmer. He served in the quartermaster's department of the Third Regiment Virginia Cavalry, Confederate States army, returning after the war to the farm. He married Mary, daughter of Colonel Little Bacon, a descendant of Nathaniel Bacon, of the house of burgesses. Colonel Bacon married a Miss Carter, of Virginia.
(IV) Dr. Adam Tyree Finch, of Chase City, was born February 19, 1872, sonof Tyree Goode and Mary (Bacon) Finch. He prepared in the public schools of Mecklenburg county, entered Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1889 and was graduated Bachelor Science, clsss of 1893. He decided to become a physician, and in the fall of 1893 entered the medical deparment of the University of Virginia, whence he graduated Doctor of Medicine, class of 1896. He remained at the University as instructor in clinical medicine. In 1908 he became commandant of cadets and professor of physiology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, Montgomery county, Virginia, a post he retained until 1901. During the time between graduation and his locating in private practice in Chase City, Dr. Finch was, in addition to the foregoing, physician at Buffalo Lithia Springs until 1902, retaining that post for one year after locating in Chase City. Since 1902 he has devoted himself entirely to his Chase City practice and has there gained honorable reputation as physician and citizen. He is a member of the American and Virginia State Medical societies, has contributed timely and valuable articles to the medical journals and is the author of "A Hand Book of the University of Virginia." For sixteen years he has been connected with the Virginia National Guard as surgeon and has served as major of the medical corps of Virginia. He is one of the present health officers of the county, and as a member of Chase City council served as chairman of the sanitary water and sewage commission, organized to supervise the construction and building of the present water, light and sewage system of the city. He is modern in his methods of treatment and fully in sympathy with advanced ideas on sanitation and prevention. In political faith he is a Democrat, in religious belief a Methodist, and in fraternal connection, a member of Chase City Lodge, No. 96. Free and accepted Masons.
Dr. Finch married, in 1899, Elizabeth Morton, born in 1880, daughter of Benjamin and Susan (Carrington) Morton, of Clarksville, Virginia. Children: Mary Douglas, Elizabeth Good, Margaret Goode, Adam Tyree (2), William Carrington.

[Pages 158-160]
Edward S. Brown. The Brown family trace their ancestry in England to a remote period. Their coat-of-arms: A field sable, three lions passant argent in bend. Crest: Griffin's head or, dentele. Motto: Laeti completi labores.
Buckingham Browne, the first of the line here under consideration of whom we have definite information, a son of Clement and Mary (Glebe) Browne, was born January 31, 1671-72, died February 1, 1734-35. He was a native of England, from whence he came accompanied by his wife, mother and daughter, August 21, 1703, receiving from the king a large grant of land in Essex county, Virginia, where he settled and spent the remainder of his days. His mother, Mary (Glebe) Browne, was baptized January 4, 1644, died February 8, 1732, daughter of William Glebe. Buckingham Browne married, April 21, 1700, at Radnal Church, Havelstone, England, Elizabeth Mestich, who bore him nine children: Mary, born March 5, 1701; Clement, January 24, 1702, died December 26, 1702; John, December 11, 1708, in Essex county, Virginia, died December 4, 1709; Samuel, December 11, 1710; Elizabeth, December 26, 1712; Sarah, July 23, 1714, died October 9, 1714; Thomas, February 14, 1715-16; Dorothy, December 24, 1721; James, see forward.
(III) James Browne, son of Buckingham and Elizabeth (Mestich) Browne, was born in Essex county, Virginia, September 23, 1726, was baptized in the Parish Church of St. Ann by Senore Garzia, October 13, 1726, died August 6, 1814. He married Mary Spearman, born November 13, 1730, died August 6, 1823, daughter of Job Spearman. Children: William, obrn October 14, 1755; Elizabeth, January 6, 1757, died February 27, 1855; Martha, June 16, 1759, died July 23, 1853; Anna, June 28, 1761, died November 3, 1848; John, March 16, 1764; Thomas, December 4, 1765; Rhoda, June 18, 1769; Daniel, see forward.
(IV) Daniel Browne, son of James and Mary (Spearman) Browne, was born May 26, 1776, died May 28, 1863. His occupation was that of planter, and he followed this line of work first in Cumberland and afterward in Powhatan county, Virginia. He married, November 24, 1808, Nancy Hobson Walton, daughter of Robert and Mary (Hobson) Walton, who were the parents of five other children, namely: William, Thomas, Polly, Aggie, Fanny. Robert Walton, who was a soldier in the revolution, served from the beginning to the end of the war, was a son of Thomas and Martha (Cox) Walton, who were the parents of three other sons, namely: Thomas, George, Josiah. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Browne: 1. Henry J., born October 12, 1811; married 24, 1833, Susan Ann Hobson. 2. Robert Walton, born August 28, 1813; married April 10, 1838, Elizabeth Allen Hobson. 3. Thomas Compton, born December 27, 1815; married December 21, 1837, Martha James Goodman. 4. Edward Smith, see forward. 5. Mary Christina Born November 21, 1819; married March 10, 1842, Harrison Jones. 6. Elizabeth Agnes, born November 13, 1822; married, December 19, 1839, William Thomas Hobson. 7. Martha Ann, born September 13, 1825, died March 22, 1886; married November 24, 1846, Zachariah Grayson Moorman. 8. Daniel Hobson, born September 3, 1828; married (first) October 16, 1851, Sally Anne Hatcher; (second) June 30, 1858, Mildred Minerva Wilkinson: (third) February 18, 1874, Charlotte Virginia Hatcher.
(V) Edward Smith Brown, son of Daniel and Nancy Hobson (Walton) Browne, was born in Cumberland county, Virginia, April 7, 1818, died January 3, 1908, in Lynchburg, Virginia. He came from good stock in every sense of the word, for his parents were more than ordinary people. While leading the quiet simple life of the country gentry of those days, they were of a strong mental caliber, educated, refined, and of high character. In early life Edward S. Brown led the life of a Virginia planter's son, aiding in the affairs of a large farm and family, and attending the best available country schools. He completed his education at the Randolph-Macon College, then ranking among the best institutions of the south, and was among the first graduates along with Bishop McTyeire and was under the tutelage of the Rev. Dr. Landon B. Garland, afterwards for many years, and up to his death, the chancellor of the Vanderbilt University. Throughout the long and useful life of Mr. Brown his thirst for knowledge was unabated and he remained a student to the very end. He was admitted to the bar in the early forties, and he practiced his profession in Cumberland and other counties in Virginia, continuing until near the close of his life, acquiring a reputation for legal ability of a high order, ranking among the leading members of his profession. Enjoying fine social connections, and being a man of steady and industrious habits, noted for his thoroughness and painstaking diligence in all his work, he acquired an extensive practice and the esteem and confidence of his fellowmen. In 1866 Mr. Brown removed to Lynchburg and shortly afterwards formed a partnership with Charles L. Mosby, one of the ablest and most accomplished lawyers in the history of the state. Mr. Mosby being considerably older than Mr. Brown and always in delicate health, the chief labors of the firm devolved wholly upon Mr. Brown, and during the last ten years of this connection, which continued until the death of Mr. Mosby, the senior member of the firm rarely came to the office, and then only on short visits.
The firm, of which William C. Ivey was a partner for a time, stood very high in legal and business circles, and took a leading part in the greater part of the important litigation of Lynchburg and the surrounding country. In the complex and protracted litigation over the will of Samuel Miller, involving about a million and a half dollars, and arousing deep interest throughout the state, the work of the firm was conspicuous. The contest presented many phases of great difficulty and engaged the talents of leading lawyers in this part of the commonwealth, but it is believed that Mr. Brown was as serviceable and influential in that conflict and bor himself with as much honor and ability as the best of them. He was concerned in many other cases of importance and difficulty, particularly in the court of appeals, where it was said to be his rule to carry every case that was not decided exactly to his liking. That dignified and stately forum seemed more congenial to his predilections than the guerilla contests of the inferior courts.
The most prominent traits of Mr. Brown's professional style and characteristics were his thoroughness of preparation, his patient, persistent, tireless work in examining every phase of his cause and every question his mind could suggest as likely to arise. He wanted to read and study the outgiving of every court in Europe and in America that had given an opinion upon the matter in hand. It was not unusual for him to visit Washington and Richmond and spend several days searching the large law libraries of those cities on the hunt for authorities to sustain his contentions, or better, down the position of his adversary. His capacity for labor in his researches was equal to his apparent love of it, and he spared not himself day or night. No drudgery of detail, no forbidding array of facts and figures, no complications of legal principle or conflicting testimony ever dismayed him, or turned him aside from mastering every detail of his cause. This arose largely from his conscientious loyalty to his client and his profound conviction of his duty, and he gave himself without stint to the full performance of every trust confided to him. It must not be thought from his searching after authorities that he followed blindly previous opinion of courts or text-writers. On the contrary he was a man of most independent judgment and held to his own opinions with the utmost tenacity. He was also prominently noted for his strong determination and courage in the face of any difficulty or danger, though he never seemed to lose the calm equanimity of his temper.
The long, hard struggle he made for the recovery of his property in the state of Kansas which had been confiscated by the United States government during the war, illustrated his prominent characteristics. Finding after the close of the war that his valuable properties there had been confiscated as belonging to an alien enemy, that they had been taken and sold in the forms of law, but against its equity, and by considerable hard and dangerous work he might prove that the proceeds had been appropriated by corrupt Federal marshals in collusion with conniving and still more corrupt judges, many of whom still held authority and influence, and knowing that the battle must be waged in a forum strongly prejudiced against him, yet with tireless energy and patient persistence he waged for years the unequal contest amid hostile surroundings until he finally wrung from the despoilers a considerable part of their ill-gotten gains. In the course of the litigation several appeals were taken by him to the Supreme Court of the United States, and arising out of these matters and through Mr. Brown's instrumentality articles of impeachment were presented by the house of representatives against a judge of the United States court in Kansas, charging bribery, corruption and high misdemeanors in office. Mr. Brown was one of the chief witnesses who testified against him, with the result that the judge resigned his office pending the hearing of the charges. In all his professional career, as well as in his business affairs, he loved justice, scorned deception and trickery, and was absolutely without fear of man.
In early life he joined the Methodist church, and after moving to Lynchburg he united with the Court Street Methodist Church, to which he was zealously devoted and a constant attendant to the last. He was especially fond of Bible study, and devoted to teaching it in his Sunday school class, which in his latter days, despite the increasing feebleness of age, he would never consent to give up. He carried on his labors almost to the day of his death, for when he was stricken with his last illness, just a few days before the end, he was in the midst of preparing legal documents and engaged in Biblical research. In this and in all things else he fought a good fight and kept the faith, and his religious life was even as the "path of the just that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." He was a just man who daily walked in his uprightness. His was the life of a Christian gentleman, charitable to all his kind, slow to anger and full of good words. In his family he was amiable, kind-hearted, hospitable and helpful; as a friend he was faithful and sympathetic, and when he went to his reward he left a blessed memory. No man in all Lynchburg was more beloved than he.
Though he always took an intelligent and lively interest in all the public questions of the day and the affairs of his country, yet he had no taste for politics and never sought public office. But recognizing the ability and high character of the man, his county people prior to the civil war elected him to the legislature and he represented them in the house of delegates with the same industry and fidelity which he brought to the discharge of every duty.
Mr. Brown married, in 1845, Jane Margaret Winfree, of Lynchburg, Virginia, daughter of Christopher and Cornelia (Meyer) Winfree, and took her to his home, "Sunny Side," an attractive country seat a few miles below Cumberland Court House. Here they resided for some years, he leading the life of a country lawyer of the olden time in one of the most prosperous and largest slaveholding counties of the state, and in a community of the highest social advantages until after the close of the civil war. Their children were: 1. Cornelia Walton, born April 6, 1846. 2. Mary Virginia, born January 9, 1849; married, November 5, 1867, John Winston Ivey, son of Peter and Sallie (Lawson) Ivey; children: Otelia Walton, born March 2, 1872; Mary Winston, born October 20, 1878. 3. Anne, born October 7, 1856.