Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography

[Pages 170-173]
Joseph Thomas Lawless. For a page of worthy American record of the Lawless family one needs but to pen a review of the career of Joseph Thomas Lawless, of "Cloncurry," Norfolk county, Virginia, while in the history of Ireland, the homeland, its member are placed for all time as men of purpose, devotees of civil and religious liberty, loyal and constant patriots. While for a volume of this nature more vital interest attaches to the family life in Virginia, the chronicle would be indeed incomplete were not a resume of the preceding generations given. Virginia is indebted to Joseph Thomas Lawless, of the second generation of his line in the United States, for able and faithful services in the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the state government, and as state senator, secretary of state, and judge of the circuit court of the county of Norfolk he has achieved notable personal reputation and has added a brilliant chapter to the annals of his line.
Thomas Joseph Lawless, father of Joseph Thomas Lawless, and the American ancestor of the Virginia line, descended from Walter Lawless, a member of an old Kilkenny family, who by marriage connected his line with that of Rothe and died in Ireland in 1627. His son, Richard, married Margaret Denn, of Grenan, and their son Walter, married Anne Bryan, of Jenkinstown. Walter Lawless, was a captain of "Luttrell's Horse," and his son, Richard (2) who was killed at the siege of limerick in 1691, had a son, Walter (3), great-great-grandfather of Joseph Thomas Lawless, of this chronicle.
Patrick Lawless, brother of Richard (2) Lawless, was reared in Ireland, was an officer in the army of James II., and subsequently settled in Spain. Family history speaks of hm as "The Spaniard," and he rose to distinguished position as a diplomat. His brother, John, was the grandfather of "Honest Jack" Lawless, mentioned elsewhere. Richard (1) Lawless had a son, Thomas, who married a Miss Butler; their son, James Lawless, was the father of Nicholas Lawless, the first Lord Cloncurry, and grandfather of Valentine Browne Lawless, who was intimately associated with the Emmets in the insurrection of 1803. Dr. Mackenzie, in his note to volume two, page 15, Shiel's "Sketches of the Irish Bar," is authority for the statement that it was Valentine Browne Lawless to whom Robert Emmet made allusion in his celebrated speech in reply to Lord Norbury, presiding judge at Emmet's trial: "There are men concerned in this conspiracy who are not only superior to me, but even to your own conception of yourself, my lord." Valentine Browne Lawless was the grandfather of the Hon. Emily Lawless, the authoress, who died in London, England, in October, 1912. Her mother was Elizabeth (Kirwan) Lawless, of Castlehacket, county Galway, daughter of John Kirwan, the geologist.
Lawrence (1) Lawless, son of Walter (3) Lawless, and great-grandfather of Joseph Thomas Lawless, died in Galway, Ireland, aged eighty-three years. he and the other members of his family were close friends and intimates of the Emmets in Dublin, and, as appears in the diary of Thomas Addis Emmet, afterwards attorney-general of the state of New York, a Lawless was with him in France, aiding in the endeavor to enlist the services of Napoleon in the Irish cause. One of the sons of Lawrence (1) Lawless, Lawrence (2) Lawless, was concerned in the insurrection led by Robert Emmet in 1803, but escaped prosecution, being in this respect more fortunate than his cousin. Valentine Browne Lawless, afterward the third Lord Cloncurry, who was arrested and, although never tried, served two years in London Tower.
Thomas Lawless, son of Lawrence (1) Lawless, was a farmer in the land of his birth during his active life. He was a Roman Catholic in religion, and in politics was conspicuously identified with the "Repealers." In the agitation in Ireland for Catholic Emancipation he played a prominent part, joining O'Connell's Catholic Association and the Repeal Association, although on "The Wings" question he opposed O'Connell and with his brothers, Daniel and Lawrence (2), followed the leadership of their kinsman, John (Honest Jack) Lawless in resistance. "The Wings" was the name given by John Lawless, the famous Irish orator, to two sections of the Bentinck bill proposed in the house of commons in 1825, advocating Catholic emancipation. One "Wing" was the proposal to subsidize the Catholic clergy by making them dependent upon the government for support; the other "Wing" was the disfranchisement of the "forty-shilling freeholders," effectuated by raising the qualification to vote to five pounds sterling, the whole proposition coming under the term found in modern parliamentary parlance, "rider." This specious remedy now, receives universal condemnation, and "Honest Jack" Lawless defeated O'Connell, who advocated the bill before the people, and thus so incurred his enmity that when John Lawless became a candidate for the seat from county Meath, under the later law permitting Catholics to hold office, he was opposed and defeated by O'Connell.
Thomas Lawless married, about 1829, Mary Hessian, daughter of Thomas Hessian, who died about the time of the birth of her only child Thomas Joseph Lawless. They were married at Tuam, county Galway, Ireland, his birthplace, Castlehacket, being near that place; and Thomas Lawless died at New Garden, in his native county, aged fifty-seven years.
Thomas Joseph Lawless, os of Thomas and Mary (Hessian) Lawless, was born in Ireland, and there lived until 1852, when he immigrated to the United States, settling at Portsmouth, Virginia. On November 24, 9f the eyar of his arrival he departed in the Japanese expedition of Commodore Matthew Calbrith Perry, having entered the United States naval service, on that date leaving Norfolk, Virginia, as a member of the crew of the flagship "Powhatan," a side-wheeler, then an experiment in naval architecture. He returned from that historic expedition, which opened Japan to the trade of the United States and did much to promote favorable feeling toward this country elsewhere in the Orient, in 1856, and received an honorable discharge from the navy. Subsequently establishing in mercantile dealings, he was thus engaged until old age made imperative his retirement from active participation in business, his career as a merchant confined to Portsmouth, Virginia, where he died in July, 1909. Thomas Joseph Lawless, although never entering public life as an office-holder, inherited a public life as an office-holder, inherited a tendency toward active interest in political and public affairs, and during the reconstruction period lent his able assistance in rescuing his city and the state from negro domination. His religion was the Roman Catholic, and his good works in church activity were many. He was appreciated in the world of trade as a business man of strict principles and unquestioned integrity, and all of his transactions were conducted along simple, direct lines.
Thomas Joseph Lawless married in Portsmouth, Virginia, April 10, 1856, Ellen Nolan, who died in Portsmouth, Virginia, December 14, 1899. She was descended from Thomas Nolan, of Ballinrobe, county Mayo, Ireland, "Gentleman," (in Irish, Tomhas O'hUallachain), who was granted three-quarters of land in the Indenture of Composition of that county in 1585, free from the Composition rent "in respecte of his sufficiencie to act as a Clerke in the said countrie," according to the Patent Rolls, 15 Jac. I., page 1. Ellen was a daughter of Lawrence Nolan, born in Ireland, and Elizabeth (Craddock) Nolan, born in that country in 1795. Her mother's sister, Ellen Craddock, married Edward Goode, and had John, James, Mary and Katherine. Elizabeth (Craddock) Nolan settled in, Virginia, in 1847, and her son James Nolan, was an officer on the ram "Manassas," a ship of the Confederate States navy, and was killed in action, April 26, 1862. One of her grandsons, John Joseph Nolan, is superintendent of the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, of Quincy, Massachusetts, a large and important concern. Children of Thomas Joseph and Ellen (Nolan) Lawless were fifteen in number, but of these all died in infancy with the exception of the following: Mary Ellen, born in Portsmouth, Virginia, May 18, 1870, died there September 9, 1908, and married in that city, February 14, 1899, Lieutenant Frank Rorschach, United States navy, they had two children, Frank Jr., and Lawless; Elizabeth Anne, born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1872, unmarried; Joseph Thomas, of whom further.
Joseph Thomas Lawless, son of Thomas Joseph and Ellen (Nolan) Lawless, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, May 2, 1866, and was splendidly educated in the Webster Military Institute, of Norfolk, Virginia; St. Mary's College, of Belmont, North Carolina, and at Richmond College, Richmond, Virginia. In the first named institution he prepared himself for college entrance, at St. Mary's took his Master's degree in arts, and at Richmond College was graduated a Bachelor of Laws. He had been in practice for but a short time when, in 1889, he entered public life, and in the quarter of a century that has elapsed since that time has been almost continuously in high official position, in 1909 retiring from the bench of the first judicial circuit and returning to private practice. from 1889 to 1893 Mr. v represented the city of Portsmouth and the county of Norfolk in the Virginia state senate, and in the latter year became secretary of state of Virginia, holding that office for four terms of two years each without opposition. His four years in the upper house of the Virginia legislature were valuable training for the places of critical responsibility he afterward filled, and his long and honorable service is but a record of arduous and difficult duty ably performed.
From his appointment in 1908 until his elevation to the circuit court bench in 1909 Mr. Lawless was a member of the military staff of the governor of Virginia, Claude A. Swanson, with the rank of colonel. For five years, from 1909 to 1914, he was judge of the first circuit, and as a jurist duplicated, in thoroughness and excellence, his services in the executive branch of Virginia's government and as a legislator. The records of his court show that he disposed of thirteen hundred chancery, common law and criminal cases during his incumbency on the bench, and was reversed in but four instances, two of which being on questions not raised before his court. This record is said to be unsurpassed in Virginia. Each department of the state government, legislature, executive and judicial, has been graced by his participation in its works, and upon each has he left the deep imprint of his ability and personality, and his return to private practiced gives to Norfolk a lawyer whose intimacy with his profession could not be more close and who pleads his cases with the advantage of a familiar knowledge of the attitude and viewpoint of the judge of the court. The highest degree of legal learning is his, and in public and private life he is known as a gentleman of high purpose, strong determination, and upright conduct. He returns to private pursuits only after having rendered the most distinguished of service in offices which, while closely linked, require widely different qualities in their incumbents.
It is as judge, however, that he is best known. His sense of justice is highly developed, and this faculty, with the natural acumen of his mind, enabled him as a judicial officer to detect injustice and penetrate speciousness of argument as if by intuition. "Obtruding false rules pranked in reason's garb," before his court, was a dangerous and unsuccessful expedient. He was remarkable for the celerity and precision with which he dispatched litigated and administrative business. The trial docket of his court was larger than that of any court in the state. It was always crowded at the beginning of each monthly term. His promptitude and assiduity were such, that when he retired from the bench there remained but a single case undecided. He as, also, distinguished for the accuracy of his learning in the difficult science of common law pleading, as it obtains in the Virginia practice. Not one of his decisions was ever called in question on matters of that nature. His judgment, once pronounced, was generally accepted as a precise statement of the law.
His leisure hours are devoted to literature and music. To his intimates he is known to be an accomplished musician and a poet of rare power and versatility. He excels in the skill with which he writes the Italian and French forms of metrical composition, and this was a sympathetic bond of union between him and his kinswoman, Emily Lawless, as long as that accomplished poetess lived.
While secretary of state Mr. Lawless had his residence in the capitol city, and in Richmond was a member of the Westmoreland and Commonwealth clubs. In Norfolk he belongs to the Virginia Club, and is also a member of the Atlantic Club, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and of the Westover Club, Willoughby Spit, Virginia. His church is the Roman Catholic.
Joseph Thomas Lawless married, at the Cathedral, Virginia, Virginia, Marie C., born in Richmond, Virginia, daughter of Dominic and Catherine (Torpie) Antilotti, her father a merchant until his death. William A. Antilotti, of Athens, Georgia, is the only other living child of Dominic and Catherine (Torpic) Antilotti. Children of Joseph Thomas and Marie c. (Antilotti) Lawless, all unmarried (1914); Gregory Benedict, born in Portsmouth, Virginia, March 21, 1891; Katherine Marie, born in Portsmouth, Virginia, May 10, 1892; Joseph Thomas, Jr., born in Richmond, Virginia, July 29, 1894; Margaret Edward, born in Norfolk, Virginia, March 3, 1903; Lawrence Craddock, born in Norfolk county, Virginia, October 31, 1906; Valentine Browne, born in Norfolk, Virginia, April 19, 1908; Edward Kirwan, born in Norfolk, Virginia, August 10, 1910.

[Pages 173-175]
Walter L. McCorkle. Walter Lisle McCorkle, a well known attorney of New York, was born March 14, 1854, at Lexington, Virginia, son of William Henry and Virginia (Wilson) McCorkle. The family is an old one in America. Persons of the name came to America from the North of Ireland, in the early part of the eighteenth century, and settled in Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. A family of the name settled in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1760, and from this branch Walter L. McCorkle is descended. Many of the family have been distinguished in the revolutionary, Mexican and civil wars. The ancient form of the name in classic Gaelic is MacCorkaill or Mac (Th)orkaill, the letter "t" followed by an aspirate being silent in Gaelic pronunciation. The name is derived from the personal name "Torquil" or"Corcaill," which is often found as applied to warriors and legislators in ancient Gaelic annals, and the full surname has the meaning of "the son or descendant of Corkaill." The references to the family are meagre in ordinary genealogical annals in Ireland and Scotland, but there is another family with a slightly kindred name. Mac Corquodiell (in proper Gaelic, Mac (Th)orcadail, Mac (Th)orcaideil), which has the right to bear armorial insignia, which are thus heraldically described: Ar. a demi stag gu. naissant out of a fesse tortilla of the second and first. Crest: A stag standing at gaze, attired gu. Motto: Vivat rex.
Among those of the early generations of the family was Samuel Eusebius McCorkle, born near Harris' Ferry, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1746, and died in North Carolina, January 21, 1811. In 1756 his father removed to Thyatira, North Carolina, and settled on lands there. Samuel assisted in clearing and cultivating the farm and was afterwards graduated at Princeton in 1772. He studied theology, was licensed by the presbytery of New York in 1774, and after spending two years in Virginia, accepted a call from Thyatira, North Carolina. About 1785 he opened a classical school, which he called Zion-Parnassus, and which continued for ten or twelve years. In 1792 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Dickinson. Dr. McCorkle published sermons, "Discourses on the Terms of Christian Communion," and "Discourses on the great First Principles of Deism and Revelation Contrasted" (1797). Another distinguished member of the family was Lieutenant John W. McCorkle, who fell at the battle of Cowpens in the revolutionary war. He was one of the first trustees of Washington College, Virginia, now Washington and Lee University.
William Henry McCorkle, son of Samuel McCorkle, was a farmer and planter, and held may positions of trust and honor in the state of Virginia.
Walter Lisle McCorkle, was educated at classical preparatory schools in Lexington, and at Washington and Lee University, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1879. While at college, he was president of the Graham-Lee Literary Society. Early in life he was occupied in teaching, and pursued that line of work for several years in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and in Mason county, Kentucky. Returning to Washington and Lee University, he entered the law department, where he received instruction from such eminent professors ad Charles A. Graves and Hon. John Randolph Tucker, with others. Having been admitted to the bar, he began the practice of his profession in Maysville, Kentucky, where he was identified with many important cases, and rapidly gained distinction as a lawyer. In 1881 he removed to New York City, and became associated with the firm of Miller & Peckham, including the Hon. Wheeler H. Peckham, one of the most prominent attorneys of the city, and was subsequently associated with Elliott F. Shepherd, another distinguished attorney of the metropolis. In these associations he acquired valuable experience, and made an extensive acquaintance, which paved the way for his establishment as an independent attorney. He opened an office in the Drexel building, and has since given his attention chiefly to civil law, making a specialty of corporation, real estate and equity matters, and his practice has assumed large proportions. He has acted as counsel for many important business enterprises, including banks, building and loan associations, mining companies, the Produce Exchange, the English House of Tattersalls, and various real estate and industrial enterprises, whose success may be attributed in some measure to his valuable aid. One of the most genial and courteous Virginians to be found in New York, Mr. McCorkle has established lasting and valuable friendships, and is highly esteemed out of the profession, as well as in it. He was one of the founders of the Southern Society of New York, of which he was four years treasurer and president for two terms, and in which he still holds active membership. He was one of the organizers of the Produce Exchange Building and Loan Association, and acted many years as its counsel. He is also a member of the New York of the Bar of the City of New York, of the Society of Virginians of Alexandria, the Society of Kentuckians, and the Sons of the Revolution of the state of Alexandria. He was for a period of four years president of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Any organization which counts Mr. McCorkle among its members may rely upon his earnest and active coöperation in the pursuance of its objects. In politics he adheres to the principles of the Democratic party, and is earnest and forceful in the support of those principles. He has been a contributor to the "Banking Law Journal," and other periodicals, and is equally efficient as a writer as he is as a speaker. Mr. McCorkle is happy in his home life, as well as among his associates abroad, because of the charm of his personal character. He has a handsome residence in West Seventy-fourth street, New York.
He married, in November, 1888, Margaret, daughter of Charles A. Chesebrough. A son born to this marriage in Bronxville, Westchester county, New York, was christened Robert Chesebrough, and is now a member of the senior class in the school of electrical and mechanical engineering, at Lafayette College.

[Page 175]
Christopher Browne Garnett is a member of the distinguished Virginia family of that name, his forebears on both sides of the house having been prominent in county and state, while he, himself, worthily continues their traditions and associations. In the possession of his mother's family, the Brownes of Mathews county, there has been for many years an old plantation typical of "Old Dominion" days. "Poplar Grove," as it is called, is situated at Mathews, Mathews county, Virginia, near Chesapeake bay, so that the Federal gunboats passing down that body of water during the civil war destroyed every building on the place and captured Christopher Browne, our subject's grandfather, who was a member of the secession convention and subsequently a member of the Virginia legislature. It was in this historic and romantic spot that Christopher Browne Garnett was born July 30, 1875, the son of Griffin Taylor and Ellen Douglas (Browne) Garnett. The elder Mr. Garnett was a native of Kalamazoo, Essex county, Virginia, where he was born October 2, 1846. He was a cadet at Newmarket and was there desperately wounded. He later became commonwealth's attorney for Mathews county, was judge of Mathews and Middlesex counties for fifteen years and circuit judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit from 1904 to 1906. To him and his wife were born seven children, of whom six are still living. His death occurred in February, 1910, and his wife now resides in Ginter Park, Richmond.
Christopher Browne Garnett obtained the elementary part of his education at home and at private schools, and later went to the United States at Charlottesville, from which he graduated in 1898 with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, having in the meanwhile been professor of mathematics for two years at Marian Military Institute, Marion, Alabama. After the completion of his course at the university, he taught until 1900 at the Bellevue high school, Bellevue, Virginia and 1901 became dean of the Woman's College of Richmond. In 1902, he took up the practice of law at the Richmond College Law School. Mr. Garnett now holds the position of assistant attorney-general of Virginia and is also town attorney for the town of Ginter Park, a position which he has occupied ever since its incorporation. He is also a member of the law firm of Cabell, Garnett & Cabell. Mr. Garnett was for two years associate editor of the "Virginia Law Register" and was co-editor of Waddey's "Guide to Magistrates." He was the annotator of the criminal code of Virginia (1904). He is a Democrat in politics and is a member of the Lewis Ginter Lodge, No. 317, Free and Accepted Masons, in which organization he held the office of master in 1913. He is a member of the Church of the Disciples of Christ.
Mr. Garnett was married, September 7, 1905, at St. Stephens, King and Queen county, Virginia, to Katherine Ryland, a native of that place, and daughter of John and Lavinia (Brown) Ryland (both deceased). To Mr. and Mrs. Garnett have been born two children: Christopher Browne Garnett Jr., born December 23, 1906, and Griffin Taylor Garnett, born May 29, 1909.

[Pages 175-177]
William M. Murrell. Prominent among the old and highly esteemed families of Virginia is the Murrell family, its connection with the state dating back to its early history, and during the intervening years the members in the various generations have aided in every worthy project calculated to advance the interests of the communities in which they have resided.
(II) Thomas Murrell, son of William Murrell, was one of the first settlers of Virginia, and endured bravely the hardships incident to pioneer life. He married Elizabeth Oliver, who bore him seven children: Mary, Jeffrey, Thomas, Elizabeth, William, of whom further; Drury, Cornelius.
(III) William (2) Murrell, third son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Oliver) Murrell, was born in Goochland county, Virginia, was reared and educated in his native place, and there spent his entire active career. He married Frances Pryor Smith, who bore him eight children: Mary, Thomas, Elizabeth, William, Jeffrey, Judith, Drury, James, of whom further.
(IV) James Murrell, youngest son of William (2) and Frances Murrell, was born in Virginia, received a practical education in the common schools of the day, after which he became a tobacco planter, following this occupation in Lunenburg county, Virginia, where he resided. He married Milly Estes, and they were the parents of one son, James, of whom further.
(V) Major James (2) Murrell, son of James (1) and Milly (Estes_ Murrell, was born on the home place, in Lunenburg county, Virginia, November 27, 1781, died December 25, 1859. He inherited his father's property, and settled at "Seneca Hill," Campbell county, Virginia. He served in the war of 1812, and later was elected major of militia forces of the state, in which capacity he rendered valuable service. He married (first) Obedience Rudd, who died May 16, 1816. He married (second) June 4, 1818, Nancy Cobbs, who died June 11, 1855; she was the daughter of John Cobbs, of Hat Creek, Campbell county, Virginia. Children by first marriage: 1. Louise Rudd, born February 2, 1806, died in 1885-86. 2. Mary Ann Mildred, born September 15, 1807, died June 27, 1820. 3. James W. R., born May 1, 1809, died at Eldorado, Arkansas. 4. Thomas Rudd, born October 29, 1811, died in Arkansas, March 18, 1846; was educated at the University of Virginia and became a successful educator. 5. Rufus Albert, born December 4, 1813, died at "Seneca Hill," May 16, 1880; was a successful educator. 6. Obedience Margaret, born May 12, 1816; married, December 23, 1858, Michael Tribble; died November 12, 1896. Children by second marriage: 7. Sarah Elizabeth, born April 23, 1819, died July 27, 1850. 8. John Cobbs, of whom further. 9. Charles Cobbs, born march 22, 1822; married a Mrs. Robinson, a widow, who bore him four children: Frances, James A., Evelyn. 10. Martha Jane, born March 1, 1824; married, December 30, 1857, Samuel M. Smithson; children: Charles C. S., and Nanie, married Charles Gitt, of Danville, Virginia. 11. Susan Estes, born December 17, 1825; married, December 16, 1842, Charles T. Jones, by whom she had a number of children; removed to Missouri. 12. Evelyn Frances, born March 7, 1828, married G. A. Dinwiddie, and had one son, Thomas P., who married a Miss Garbee. 13. Julia Ann, born July 10, 1830, died January 26, 1878, unmarried, at Rustburg, Virginia. 14. Walter Scott, born September 27, 1833, died January 4. 1849.
(VI) John Cobbs Murrell, son of Major James (2) and Nancy (Cobbs) Murrell, was born at Cole's Ferry, Charlotte county, Virginia, September 6, 1820, died in Campbell county, June 6, 1879. He had the advantage of being educated by his brother, Thomas Rudd Murrell, an accomplished scholar and successful educator. Being well grounded in the classics, his services were solicited as tutor in the family of John Henry, oldest son of Patrick Henry, of "Red Hill," Virginia. He went to "Red Hill" in 1841 and taught the younger members of Mr. Henry's family for a number of years. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar of Campbell county, where he entered upon legal practice, and continued with unvaried success along the same line for the remainder of his life. He served in the capacity of commonwealth attorney from 1865 until his death, a period of almost a decade and a half. He was held in high esteem by his fellow citizens, occupying a prominent position, his advice and counsel being eagerly sought and followed. He married, March, 1850, Cornelia Frances Smithson, born June 10, 1827, died October 10, 1888, daughter of Samuel Jr. and Frances (Triplett) Smithson. Children: 1. Edgar A., born September 16, 1851; married Charlotte Davies; they moved west, and had the following children: Cornelia, married (first) a Mr. Field, (second) a Mr. Funk; William Davies, died unmarried. 2. Walter Triplett, born at Rustburg, Campbell county, Virginia, May 5, 1853; farmer, and resides in Campbell county; married Mary Lee. 3. William M., of whom further. 4. John Cobbs Jr., born February 25, 1861; married a Miss Valentine, of Cumberland, Maryland.
(VII) William M. Murrell, son of John Cobbs and Cornelia Frances (Smithson) Murrell, was born in Rustburg, Campbell county, Virginia, August 20, 1854. He was reared in his native place, and received his literary education at Charles L. C. Minor's Classical and Commercial College at Lynchburg, and Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia, graduating from the latter institution in the class of 1874. He subsequently took a two year course at the law school of the University of Virginia, and was admitted to the bar in 1876 at Rustburg circuit court. He immediately entered upon the active practice of his profession in Rustburg, continuing until 1892, in which year he removed to Lynchburg, opening an office there, though continuing his residence in Campbell county, and at the present time (1914) has an office in the Krise building, Lynchburg, his practice being both extensive and representative, owing to the fact that he possesses all the attributes of a successful lawyer, integrity of character, the judicial instinct, and a rare appreciation of the two sides of every question. Mr. Murrell succeeded his father as commonwealth attorney of Campbell county, holding that office from July 1, 1879, until July 1, 1912, one of the longest known terms in the county, a fact which testified to his efficiency and popularity. He also served one term in the state legislature, 1893 and 1894. He is a Democrat in politics, and a Methodist in religion, being affiliated with the Court Street Methodist Church of Lynchburg.
Mr. Murrell married, November 21, 1883, Flora Scott Withers, daughter of Colonel Robert W. and Blanche (Payne) Withers, the former named having served during the civil war in the Forty-second Virginia Infantry, Confederate Army. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Murrell: 1. Arthur K., born February 13, 1885; married India Price, daughter of Robert and Mary (St. Clair) Price. 2 William M. Jr., born June 30, 1886; unmarried 3. Frances Payne, born January 20, 1888; unmarried. 4. Robert Woodson Withers, born January 10, 1890; married January 3, 1914, Ruth Hancock, daughter of Edwin A. and Eva (Chamblin) Hancock. 5. Dandridge, born August 19, 1893.

[Pages 177-179]
Julian Meade. In addition to the making of a large amount of Virginia history, the Meade family also furnished one of the prominent writers for its preservation, Bishop Meade, who in his "Old Churches" and other works, has rendered a most valuable service.
The American ancestor, Andrew Meade, came from England and founded a family that has ever been prominent in every department of Virginia live. Meades were soldiers in the revolution; were officers serving with General Washington and General Lincoln, and enjoying as well their personal friendship. The war of 1812 also found them in official rank and in the war between the states they were found wearing both the gray and the blue. In the professions they have also ben eminent — medicine, the law and the church claiming many of the name, north and south. In the latter section the principal seat of the family was in and around Richmond, but descendants of the emigrant are found in every section. This particular branch of the family is now represented in Danville, Virginia, by Julian Meade, son Dr. Hodijah Baylies Meade, whose short, though useful and brilliant life, was spent in the practice of his profession, amid the scenes of war, and after peace came to Danville.
Andrew Meade came to Virginia from New York, arriving in that state from England prior to the year 1700. He married, and came to Virginia, settling at the head of navigation on the Nansemond river. He was for many years a member of the house of burgesses, a judge of the courts and senior colonel of Virginia militia. His son David inherited his estate at the death of Andrew Meade in 1745. David Meade married, in 1729, Susanna Everard, and had a son Everard, who was educated at Harrow, England. He served in the revolutionary war, holding the rank of general by commission attached to the staff of General Lincoln. His brother, Richard Kidder Meade, was the father of Bishop Meade, of previous mention. General Everard Meade married Mary, daughter of John Thornton.
Hodijah Meade, son of General Everard and Mary (Thornton) Meade, was an extensive landowner and planter; an officer in the war of 1812-14; a Democrat in politics and a devout churchman. He married Jane, daughter of Thomas Rutherfoord, of Richmond. Children: William Everard, Thomas Rutherfoord, Joseph Peyton, John Rutherfoord, Edward, Benjamin, Edwin, Alexander, Hodijah Baylies, Sallie Rutherfoord, Jane Maria, Edmonia.
Dr. Hodijah Baylies Meade, son of Hodijah and Jane (Rutherfoord) Meade, was born in Amelia county, Virginia, March 2, 1838, died in Danville, Virginia, in 1875. He was a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, the University of Virginia, and the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania about the time of the outbreak of hostilities between the states and at once joined the Confederate army, serving as both field and hospital surgeon under different commanders until the surrender at Appomattox. He spared not himself and his four years of professional service, privation and overwork undermined his constitution and contributed largely to his early demise. After the war ended he located in Danville and there practiced his profession until his death, twelve years later. He was a man of brilliant mind, deep learning, loved his profession and followed it devotedly. He possessed a charming personality and great consideration for others, these being marked characteristics. He married in 1865, Mary Opie, died October 21, 1893, daughter of Hiram Opie, of Staunton, Virginia, who moved from Jefferson county, Virginia, to that city to educate his children. He was a son of Hierone Lindsay Opie, of Jefferson county, Virginia, a direct descendant of Right Rev. David Lindsay, D. D., Bishop of Ross, and American representative of the Church of England in the early part of the seventeenth century. Bishop Lindsay was a descendant of Robert II., of Scotland, through the Princess Catherine, daughter of the king, who married David Lindsay, earl of Crawford. Hanson Lindsay (2) Opie represented Clark and Jefferson counties in the Virginia senate for several years. He met his death by accident while engaged in drilling a company which he was organizing to enter the Confederate army, was thrown from his horse and fatally injured. He married Nannie Locke, of Scotch descent, who bore him four children, one yet living, Dr. Thomas Opie, of Baltimore, Maryland.
Children of Dr. H. B. Meade: Julian, of whom further; Edmund Baylies, born December 3, 1867, no win the real estate and insurance business in Danville; Eugene, born in 1869, died at the age of twenty-six years; Randolph, born in 1871, now a leaf tobacco dealer of Danville.
Julian Meade, eldest son of Dr. Hodijah Baylies and Mary (Opie) Meade, was born in Augusta county, near Staunton, Virginia, November 4, 1865. He was educated in the public schools, and in several private schools of Danville, overcoming all difficulties that rendered it difficult to obtain an education, and finally was graduated in all branches of the law from the University of Virginia class of 1891. The law was his personal preference as a profession and his preparation for practice was most thorough; while he absorbed with interest all branches of study, history, special and general meta-physics were branches he found most helpful in fitting him for his life work. After leaving the university, he at once began practice in Danville, Virginia, and during the time which has since elapsed he has become one of the leading men in his profession in that city. He has a large practice, both corporate and private, in all state and federal courts of his district. He is a member of the law associations of his county and state, and of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Epiphany of Danville. Devoted to his profession, he has formed no ties that would interfere with absolute independence in practice, but has with a public-spirited interest contributed his full share to the upbuilding of his city. His days "off duty" are spent in the sports of forest and stream, hunting and fishing durations. True to the strictest code of ethics of his profession and guided by the principles of truth and honor, Mr. Meade has gained and holds the respect of brethren of the profession, while as a citizen he has been true to the best traditions of his distinguished family. He is connected with the management of both Country clubs of Danville, the Tuscarora Club, and with his entire family communes with the congregation of the Church of the Epiphany, the only Episcopal church in Danville.
Mr. Meade married, September 4, 1895, Bessie Edmunds Bouldin, born in Danville, Virginia, in 1872, daughter of Edwin E. and Lucy Lyne (Edmunds) Bouldin. For nearly half a century, 1865-1912, Edwin E. Bouldin was a prominent lawyer of Danville. During the entire war, 1861-65, he served as captain of the Charlotte County Troop, Ninth Virginia Cavalry, rendering valiant and efficient service. The troop led by Captain Bouldin made the last charge of the war, while the terms of surrender were being considered, and returned from the charge with two brass guns wrested from Sheridan's troopers. At one period the command of the regiment was entrusted to Captain Bouldin, who as its commander acquitted himself with honor. His father was a congressman from Virginia prior to the war. The only child of Julian and Bessie E. (Bouldin) Meade, is Edwin Baylies Meade, born October 30, 1896, now a student in the Danville School for Boys.

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Luther R. Britt. Through the marriage of Exum Britt to a daughter of Benjamin and Eliza (Porter) Riddick, his children trace to Edward III., King of England, who had by his wife, Phillipa,
Prince John, of Gaunt, K. G., duke of Lancaster, who had
Lady Joan, of Beaufort, who married Sir Ralph Neville, K. G., who was grandfather to Richard Nevill, earl of Warwick, the king maker, and King Edward IV. and Richard III. The Nevills were descended from the earl of Northumberland and his wife, Algina, daughter of King Ethelred. Sir Ralph Nevill was first earl of West Moreland. He and his wife had
Sir Edward Nevill, K. G., lord of Abergavenny, who had
Sir George Nevill, Knt., second lord of Abergavenny, who had
Sir George Nevill, K. B. third lord of Abergavenny, who had
Lady Ursula Nevill, who married Sir Warham St. Ledger, who had
Lady Anne or Agnes St. Ledger, who died in 1636, aged eighty-one years. She married Thomas Digges, of Digges Court, in Kent, England, son of Leonard Digges, of Wooton Court, county of Kent, England, son of Jacob Digges, of Barham, who married Philippa, his second wife, the daughter of Engham, of Chart, the celebrated mathematician; Jacob Digges was a son of John Digges, who married Joanna, daughter of Gervasius Clifton, a soldier; John Digges was a son of John Digges, who married Joanna, daughter of Mauritius Brume, a soldier; John Digges was a son of John Digges, who married Juliana, a sister and heiress of Jacob Horne, an armor bearer; John Digges was a son of Roger Digges, who married Albina, daughter and heiress of Robert Norwood, a solder; Roger Digges was a son of Thomas Digges, a clergyman, who married Agnes de Sandrino; Thomas Digges was a son of John, the son of Roger, of Mildenhal, who was called Digges, and who in the reign of Henry III., bought an estate called Bonwitu in Cantuaria, where he was buried. Leonard Digges, aforementioned, was famous for his mathematical learning; he married Bridget, daughter of Thomas Wilford, Esq.; he died in 1574. Thomas Digges, aforementioned, died August 24, 1595. The following is from his tomb, No. 1506, in the north side of the chancel of the Church of St. Mary, Aldermanbury, London, England, translated from the Latin: "Here lieth in an assured hope should rise in Christ, Thomas Digges, Esq., some time Muster-Maser General of the English army in the Low Countries; a man zealously affected to true religion, was discreet, courteous, faithful to his friends and of rare knowledge in geometry, astrology, and other mathematical sciences; who finished his transitory life with a happy end in Anno Dom. 1505 'That the dead might live Christ died'." The following is from the same tomb: "To Agnes, wife to Thomas Digges, Esq., daughter of George Nevil, Lord of Abergaveny, by whom the said Thomas had issue, Dudley, his sonne and Heyre; Leonard, his second sonne, and Margarett and Ursula, besides, William and Mary, who died young."
Sir Dudley Digges, son of Thomas and Lady Anne, or Agnes Digges, was born in 1583, died in 1639. He was master of the rolls in 1619; he erected Chilham castle, made in 1777, shows it to have been a grand place; on the margin of the picture are the family crest (an eagle's claw) and coat-of-arms, viz.: A shield with three storks or herons. Sir Dudley Digges was a member of the London Company for colonizing Virginia. He married Lady Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Kempe, knight of Clantigh, Kent and had
Hon. Edward Digges, born 1620, youngest son, had an interest in the Virginia-London Company, and served as colonial governor of the Virginia colony from March 30, 1655, to March 13, 1658, when he went to England as one of the agents of the colony, and served as a member of the governor's council from November 22, 1654, until his death, March 15, 1675. His tomb was in existence up to the time of the civil war, at his seat, "Belleville," on York river, near Williamsburg, Virginia. He married Elizabeth Braye, who bore his ix sons and seven daughters, of whom,
Dudley Digges, of "Bellefield," born in 1663, died January 27, 1710. He was councilor and auditor of Virginia colony. He married Susannah, daughter of William Cole, of "Denbigh," Warwick county, Virginia. She died December 9, 1708, aged thirty-four years, They had
Hon. Cole Digges, of "Bellefield," born in 1691, died in 1774. He was president of the Virginia council, having been connected with the same for many years. He married and had three sons, to whom he left vast estates, as is shown by his will recorded at Williamsburg, Virginia, then the metropolis of the state. His children were: 1. Mary, who died November 12, 1744, aged twenty-seven years; married Nathaniel Harrison, of "Brandon," Prince George county, Virginia, and was the grandmother of George Evelyn Harrison, of "Lower Brandon," on the James, and William Byrd Harrison, of "Upper Brandon," on the James. 2. Susannah, married, August 23, 1739, Major Benjamin Harrison, son of Nathaniel Harrison, of Wakefield. 3. Colonel Edward, of "Bellefield," died a bachelor. 4. William, of whom further. 5. Dudley, who was a member of the Virginia committee of correspondence with the old colonies about their grievances in 1773, and member of the convention of colonies in 1776; married (first) a Miss Armistead, and (second) a Miss Wormley, of Rosegill, and had children: Cole, Dudley, Mrs. Burwell, a daughter who married a Mr. Stratton, a daughter who married a Mr. Digges, a daughter who married a Mr. Nicholson, and another daughter who married a Nicholson.
William Digges, son of Hon. Cole Digges, was a resident of Fauquier county, Virginia, and member of the great convention of 1776. He married and had children: 1. William, of whom further. 2. Dudley, married Louisa Digges. 3. Thomas, of Fauquier county, Virginia. 4. Edward, of Fauquier, county, Virginia. 5. A daughter, married a Mr. Powell, of Petersburg, Virginia. 6. Daughter, married a Mr. Fitzhugh, of Fauquier county, Virginia.
William Digges, son of William Digges, married his cousin, Elizabeth Digges, and their daughter Frances married William Sumner, and their daughter Eliza Digges Sumner, married Timothy Porter, and their daughter Eliza Porter, married Benjamin Riddick, as mentioned in the first paragraph.
Britton Britt, the ancestor of the Britt family herein recorded, was a wealthy planter and slave holder of the isle of Wight county, Virginia. His wife, Jennie Britt, was one of the noted beauties of her day. Among their children was Exum, of whom further.
Exum Britt, son of Britton and Jennie Britt, married Miranda Joyner, and among their children was Exum, of whom further.
Exum (2) Britt, son of Exum (1) and Miranda Britt, was born February 8, 1831, in Isle of Wight county, Virginia. He was educated at boarding school, and began business life as a clerk. Later he engaged in business for himself as a lumber dealer. He served in the Confederate army as captain in the Sixteenth Virginia Regiment, Mahone's brigade, and after three years' service resigned on account of physical disability. On his return to business life Captain Britt located in Suffolk,, Virginia, and there engaged in business, continuing very successfully until 1903, when he retired. He is a resident of Suffolk at the present time (1914) and, although in his eighty-fourth year, is an ardent devotee of rod and line. He was a member of the Suffolk school board thirty-two years, was for many years chairman, and has ever been a loyal friend of the public school system. He is a member of the official board of the Suffolk Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He is prominent in the Masonic order, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. He has lived an honorable and useful life, and is held in high esteem in the community of which he has so long been a member.
Mr. Britt married (first) in 1855, Eudora Riddick, born in 1834, died in 1865, three days after the birth of her fourth child, Luther R., of whom further. Mr. Britt married (second) Ellen Custine Riddick, sister of his first wife, daughters of Benjamin and Eliza (Porter) Riddick, aforementioned. Children of first marriage: 1. Eliza (Lizzie) Porter, a teacher of mathematics; resides in Suffolk with her father; unmarried. 2. Lee, educated in Suffolk schools, later attended a military school in Fauquier county, Virginia, and pursued a course of study in the law department of the University of Virginia; now a practicing lawyer of Suffolk; married Lula Vanderslice Ivey. 3. Sydney, secretary and treasurer of a coal company in West Virginia. 4. Luther R. of whom further. Children of second marriage: 5. Eudora Custine, a teacher, unmarried. 6. Anna Benton, who became the wife of Alexander Myrick; children: Britt and Theodore. 7. Dudley Digges, a civil and mining engineer, who married Flora Camden Bailey. 8. Thurman, who died at the age of twenty-sis years. 9. Frances Louise. 10. Benjamin Riddick, a student of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, now a civil and mining engineer.