Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography

[Pages 201-204]
Captain John Lonsdale Roper. The true value of a man to the community in which he lives is not always apparent, neither is it easy to determine just what the true value is. Reckoned in dollars and cents, some men would be accorded the highest value, and others the lowest rank, yet the first may have simply lived off of his community, grown rich from it, and added nothing save to his own fortune. The latter may never have accumulated a dollar, yet his enterprise, brains, initiative and influence may have developed unthought of resources, opened new fields of enterprise and added immeasurably to the public good. So to the men who create and develop, build and expand, cause capital to work for the good of all, would we award the garland of praise. This record deals with Captain John Lonsdale Roper and his sons, men who have "done things," and whose labors have been so directed that Norfolk has benefitted as well as themselves, and the great resources of hitherto inaccessible localities developed to the great benefit of many communities. They have caused "two blades of grass to grow where but one grew before," and there is good authority for classing such men as "public benefactors."
The Ropers came to Virginia from Pennsylvania, the ancestor, Richard B. Roper, coming from England and settling in Mifflin county, that state. He married Esther Ann Reynolds, of Philadelphia, and gave to his adopted state two sons, William Bryhan and John Lonsdale; also a daughter, Mary Matilda, who married John B. McWilliams, and had a son Arthur. William Bryhan, the eldest son, married Ellen Elderblute and had a son, Lonsdale G., and also two daughters, both deceased. William Bryhan served in the Union army, was an artist and at times indulged in sketching whenever in camp.
John Lonsdale Roper, the youngest son of Richard B. Roper, was born in Greenwood, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1835. His father died when he was an infant in arms, and he grew up in his native village under the guidance of his excellent mother. He attended school until thirteen years of age, then became clerk in a general store. He passed the years of his minority in this manner, gathering little else than valuable business experience. The "gold fever" of 1849 did not pass his locality by, but raged there with as great intensity and deadly effect as elsewhere. He, however, remained at home until twenty-one, then converted what he could into cash and set out for the El Dorado of dreams, California. The party he joined went via the isthmus, and finally arrived at the gold fields. Young Roper had expended his capital in transportation and arrived with little beyond courage and a strong body. He did not succeed as he hoped, but found gold in sufficient quantity to enable his to return to his native state, with a reasonable recompense for the time spent. But the trip was a developing agency and brought out the latent qualities, which years of tranquil life in the Pennsylvania village could not. He returned in 1861 to find his state ablaze with the excitement of war, the states having elected to arbitrate their differences by the sword drawn in mortal combat. He at one enlisted in the Eleventh Regiment, and until March, 1865, was a brave soldier of the Union, following the flag, and sharing the fortunes of the Army of the Potomac through the many battles fought with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He rose step by step from the ranks to captain, by regular promotion for "gallant and meritorious conduct," and was mustered out in 1865 major by brevet.
Captain Roper'S youth had been spent in a great pine and hemlock district of Pennsylvania, and he had become familiar with the values of standing timber. During the war he had been nearly the whole time in Virginia, and had become familiar with the great timber tracts of this state, particularly in the southeastern part and the adjoining part of North Carolina. With his western experience added he could fairly judge of the great value of this forest region, and also that Norfolk was the strategic point at which to center a great manufacturing and export lumber business. In 1865 he moved his residence to Norfolk and began lumbering operations in Princess Anne county, at a point twenty-four miles distant from where the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal entered the North Landing river. He erected a saw mill at that point, equipped with the best circular saw system, having an annual producing capacity of 6,000,000 feet. He specialized in North Carolina pine, a grade of lumber that had not at that time the high reputation it deserved, nor which it has since attained. The lumber he carefully prepared in dry kilns for the market, being a pioneer in the use of dry kilns also. He personally supervised every detail of the purchase of raw material, its conversion into lumber, and its marketing until the business grew to such proportions that this was impossible. Little by little he expanded, larger and larger tracts of timber land were purchased; additional mills for manufacturing lumber were erected; railroads necessary to connect forests and mills were built; mills for the manufacture of related interests were erected along the railroads, canals and rivers, all owned and controlled by the great Roper Company. This continued, with Captain Roper the active head, until the summer of 1905, when he retired from active business, turning over to the succeeding captain above a quarter of a million acres of timber land, owned in fee simple; many lines of railroad, one of thirty miles in length; five large plants, one just outside the city limits of Norfolk, one at Roper, North Carolina, another at Winthrope, North Carolina, another at Winthrope, North Carolina, each equal in size to the Norfolk plant; another plant turning out nothing but Juniper lumber, another making the "Roper Cedar Shingles," and many smaller mills, variously located, the total annual capacity being 50,000,000 feet of manufactured lumber. Nor does this statement properly demonstrate the value of Captain Roper's far-sighted operations. During all these years vast sums had been expended in wages, new industries with which he was unconnected stimulated, and prosperity brought to a large section of country, and to thousands of families. He early adopted a liberal policy in dealing with communities, and with men, and to this he steadily adhered, hence when Roper Company prospered, all prospered, his success not being built upon the fallen fortunes of others, but upon the prosperity of all.
At the time of Captain Roper's retirement from the active management of the Roper Lumber Company, he was interested in many other companies, connections that he retained. He was vice-president of the Virginia Savings Bank and Trust Company; the Lumberman's Main Insurance Company, the Seaboard Fire insurance Company, and others. In politics a Republican, he was for several years a member of the city council and was a member of the chamber of commerce. He is exceedingly prominent in the Masonic order, having attained the highest degree possible in Scottish Rite Masonry, the thirty-third He is past grand commander of the Virginia Grand Commandery of Knights Templar and led in the movement that gave to Norfolk a fine Masonic Temple. He also led in financing the Woman's College of Norfolk, and organized the United Charities, of which he was for years president, furthering the humane work of that excellent institution in every way possible. in religious faith a Methodist, Captain Roper has ever been a strong pillar of support to his church. By an upright life and walk he has done much to quicken the public conscience and advance the best interests of Norfolk — church, charity, library and school. The cause of civic righteousness has profited by the coming of this big-hearted, enterprising man, whose fortune, honestly gained, is being wisely used.
Captain Roper married, in June, 1865, Lydia H. Bowen, of Philadelphia. Five of their six children are living, three sons, of whom further, and two daughters, Margaret B. and Virginia.
George W. Roper, eldest son of Captain John Lonsdale Roper, was born December 29, 1867, in Norfolk. He was early educated under the direction of Robert Gatewood, entered Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston, in 1885, pursuing special courses in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, under private instructors, remaining two and a half years. He then became associated with the Roper Company's lumber interests in North Carolina, and while there built and equipped the Albemarle & Partego Railroad, thirty miles in length. In 8191 he connected officially with the Norfolk & Southern Railroad, later becoming manager of the lumber properties of the Roper Lumber Company. He is now president of the Norfolk Marine Railway Company; president of the North Carolina Timber Corporation; president of the Norfolk Veneer Works; vice-president of the Norfolk Sand and Gravel Company; vice-president of the Southern Supply Company; director of the Virginia Sand and Gravel Company; vice president of the Southern Supply Company; director of the Virginia Marine Bank, and has other interests of lesser importance. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and formerly superintendent of the Sunday school. In politics he is a Republican. His clubs are the Virginia, Norfolk Yacht, Country and Borough. He is public spirited and helpful in advancing the interests of his native city, aiding in the work of the Chamber of Commerce, as member of the traffic committee, and privately is most effective and helpful.
George W. Roper married, November 6, 1901, Isabella Place, daughter of Jedidiah Kilbourne and Emmeline (Place) Hayward, and a granddaughter of James K. Place, the magnate of the coffee trade.
William Bryhan Roper, second son of Captain John Lonsdale Roper, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, June 7, 1870. He was educated at Norfolk Academy, a graduate with the class of 1887, attended Pierce's Business College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, beginning business life as a clerk in the Roper Lumber Company. He was advanced in rank to the secretary's desk in 1899, was elected secretary and treasurer of the company, continuing in this dual capacity until his resignation in 1910, to accept the same offices with the North Carolina Pine Association. He also secretary of the Virginia Sand and Gravel Company; vice-=president of the Southern Supply Company; and otherwise interested in Norfolk enterprises. He is an energetic, public-spirited man of affairs, interested in the welfare of his native city and the cause of civic improvements, serving as a member of the city beautification committee. He is interested in young men and their welfare; is president of the Norfolk Young Men's Christian Association, and is an official member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of all Masonic bodies of the York Rite, is past master of Atlantic Lodge, No. 19, Free and Accepted Masons; companion of Norfolk Chapter; a sir knight of Grice Commandery, and a noble of the Khedive Temple, Mystic Shrine.
William B. Roper married, April 5, 1894, Rose Adelia Bruce. Children: Elizabeth, born November 20, 1899; Lydia Bowen, December 29, 1904; Virginia Bruce, October 1, 1906.
Albert Lonsdale Roper, youngest son of Captain John Lonsdale Roper, was born in Norfolk, May 16, 1879. He prepared at Norfolk Academy, taking an extra year in mathematics, Latin and Greek. He then entered Cornell University, but after one year there entered the University of Virginia, class of 1901. He then read law under the direction of S. S. Lambert and Claggett B. Jones, being admitted to the bar of Virginia in 1903. He began practice in Norfolk as member of the law firm of Roper & Riddlesburger, and so continues. He is counsel for several corporations and practices in all state and Federal courts of the district. He is also vice-president of an Insurance and Realty Company. He is a member of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association, and an official member of the Methodist Episcopal church and interested in the work of all.
Albert L. Roper married, January 22, 1913, Georgiette, daughter of Rev. Leighton Parks. Child, Leighton Parks, born November 26, 1913.

[Page 204]
William Henry Stroud. The "Southampton Democrat," formerly the "Franklin Gazette," of Franklin, Virginia, one of the most influential journals of Southampton county, has for many years been under the ownership and editorship of William Henry Stroud. Mr. Stroud came to this paper, then the "Franklin Gazette," as manager, later purchasing the same and establishing it under its present title. That its favor is widespread and its stronghold fairly impregnable is shown by the fact that it has survived the attacks of five competitive newspapers that have sought to enter the Franklin field, the choice of the citizens of the locality proving conclusively the supremacy of the "Democrat."
Mr. Stroud is a son of James Stroud, born in York county, Virginia, in 1803, died in 1863, who was a stone mason, a trade that he followed actively for many years of his life. He married Jane Ellen Creecy, born in 1839, educated at Eden College, North Carolina, daughter of Robert Creecy, her father a planter on an extensive scale of Beaufort, North Carolina, who married Parthemia Weston.
William Henry Stroud, son of James and Jane Ellen (Creecy) Stroud, was born in Portsmouth, Norfolk county, Virginia, June 18, 1862, and after a course in the public schools of his native place became a student in the academy maintained by W. H. Stokes, at Portsmouth. After completing his studies in Phillips Military Academy, he apprenticed himself to the trade of tailor, later turning to that of printer, having followed the former for one year. After becoming a journeyman printer he was for four years employed in the office of the "Portsmouth Daily Enterprise," and was then until 1886 a printer in various offices in that city and Norfolk, Virginia. In that year Mr. Stroud moved to Franklin, Virginia, to assume charge of the "Franklin Gazette," beginning its management on January 18, 1886. On October 1, of the same year, he purchased all rights in connection with the paper changing its name to the "Southampton Democrat," and continues its publication to the present time. Although the political sympathies of his paper are Democratic, in political discussion, as in all else, its views are fair and expressed in a manner giving no offense to those of different belief. Its departments are varied and give it a wide appeal, while the cleanliness of its journalism and its unbiased viewpoint make it a regular and welcome visitor in the best homes of the county. As previously stated, the "Southampton Democrat" has safely survived the competition instituted by five other papers that vainly strove to gain a foothold in the territory in which the :Democrat's" popularity is greatest, and is now in the most flourishing condition of its career, financially and as regards circulation and influence.
Mr. Stroud is past noble grand of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and fraternizes also with the Woodmen of the World, and Columbian Woodman, being secretary of the latter lodge at Franklin, Virginia. His political party is the Democratic, and he was once a candidate for the Virginia assembly on the ticket of that party in the primary election against three other candidates. Although he did no personal canvassing, nor asked for a single vote, he received a most complimentary vote, as a recognition of his independent disposition, which he maintains on all political subjects. While not a communicant of the Baptist church, his sympathies are with that denomination.
Mr. Stroud married, January 2, 1890, Mary Virginia Smith, born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in March, 1865, daughter of Hugh and Mary V. (Butters) Smith. Mr. and Mrs. Stroud are the parents of: Mary Hazel, born in Portsmouth, Virginia, December 16, 1890, died in August, 1895; Caledonia, born in Franklin, Virginia, October 15, 1892; Lee Hazelwood, born in Franklin, Virginia, July 14, 1897.

[Pages 204-206]
Calder Smith Sherwood. Eldest of the four children of Oscar B. and Elizabeth (Williams) Sherwood, Calder Smith Sherwood, of Portsmouth, Virginia, at the early age of fifteen years became the bread winner of his family, his father's absence in the service of the Confederate states placing that burden upon his youthful shoulders. This he bore with constancy and fidelity until the close of the war restored the head of the family to his place, and Calder Smith Sherwood then began upon the career the narration of which follows. Besides occupying a leading position in the jewelry trade of Portsmouth, Mr. Sherwood is prominent in the financial world, and for ten years was a factor in the municipal government of the city.
(I) Mr. Sherwood is a grandson of Rev. Smith Sherwood, a Baptist minister, who lived in Smithfield, Isle of Wight county, Virginia, where he passed his remaining years. He was known throughout the neighborhood for the gentle kindness of his nature, which led him into deeds of charity and benevolence wherever he found need and want. He married Eleanor, daughter of of Thomas Brooks, and they were the parents of nine children: Oscar B., of whom further; Lucerne, Henrietta, Mary Frances, William, John Hazeltine, Robert Smith.
(II) Oscar B. Sherwood, son of Rev. Smith and Eleanor (Brooks) Sherwood, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1818, died in 1896. He learned the carpentry trade, pursuing this until 1858, when he engaged in the mercantile business until the outbreak of the war between the states, when he became a member of the "Portsmouth Rifles," mustered into the service of the Confederate States army as Company K, Ninth Regiment Virginia Infantry. At the expiration of this conflict he returned to his home in Portsmouth, resuming work at his trade. He was for many years a member of the council of Portsmouth, likewise serving for a long time as secretary of the financial board of the Court Street Baptist Church. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men. Being pleasant and agreeable in manner, he attracted many friends. He married, in 1842, Elizabeth Caroline Williams, born in 1821, died in 1903, daughter of Edward and Catherine (Owens) Williams, and they were the parents of four children: Calder Smith, of whom further; Augustus, born in 1848, deceased; William Oscar, born in 1851, deceased; Ruth Avery, born in 1856.
(III) Calder Smith Sherwood, son of Oscar B. and Elizabeth Caroline (Williams) Sherwood, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1846. The departure of his father for the front in the civil war placed the care of the family upon him as the eldest son, and he became an apprentice in the Portsmouth Navy Yard, there being one of the force of workmen who converted the old "Merrimac" into the iron-clad "Virginia." After the war he became associated with Melville Wood, a northerner, who had taken advantage of the business opportunities in the recovering southern states to open jewelry stores, one in Portsmouth and another in Newbern, Craven county, North Carolina. Mr. Sherwood remained in the Portsmouth establishment owned by Mr. Wood until 1867, and from that time until October, 1868, was connected with William Chapman, of Norfolk, in the establishment of Joseph Freeman. In 1868 he commenced business on his own account, opening a store at the corner of Court and High streets, and subsequently he completed a transaction with Melville Wood by which he became owner of Mr. Wood's Portsmouth business, conducting a successful jewelry business under the name of C. S. Sherwood.
In the forty years between 1868 and 1908 the growth of his business was such as to place it in the front rank among the jewelry establishments in tidewater Virginia, constant public approval bringing success, and at the end of that period the business was incorporated with the following officers; Calder S. Sherwood, president; William E. Gayle, vice-president, he having been connected with the establishment since 1891; Earnest H. Hartsell, secretary; Calder S. Sherwood, Jr., treasurer. Upon the death of Mr. Hartsell, which occurred March 1, 1911, and who had been connected with Mr. Sherwood for nineteen years, bing his son-in-law, having married Mary V. Sherwood, Calder S. Sherwood Jr. assumed the duties of his office and is now secretary and treasurer of the corporation; he has been connected with the above business since 1901. Mr. Sherwood fully realizes that the above named officers contributed greatly to the success of the business, they being men of business acumen, ability and sagacity, each faithful in the performance of his respective duties. The company bearing Mr. Sherwood's name is one of the soundest and most reliable concerns of Portsmouth, and is the longest established. Raising it to the commanding position in its line that it now occupies has been in a particular manner his lifework, and into its organization has been injected much of that stability, honesty, and rugged independence of his own nature, so that, meritorious and strong, it finds in worthy competition a source of ever-increasing strength.
The high standing of Mr. Sherwood in the business world of Portsmouth has made it inevitable that his services should be sought in executive and advisory capacity by other institutions of the locality. He was for three years chairman of the committee of managers of the Norfolk & Portsmouth Ferries; vice-president of the Bank of Portsmouth; former president of the Portsmouth & Deep Creek Turnpike Company, having been connected with it since the building of the road that it owned, and treasurer of the Portsmouth & Norfolk County Building and Loan Association, one of the largest in the state, which office he has held since its organization through election for thirty successive times. In the planning and perfecting of the mammoth arrangements for the Jamestown Exposition he played a part of great importance, being a member of the board of directors, vice-president of the board of governors, and governor of the department of admissions and concessions. During the continuance of this exhibition, as in the months and years preceding its opening, he devoted himself with unflagging energy to his multifarious duties, and that event placed much in history to the credit of Virginia.
For a period of four years Mr. Sherwood filled a position that his father had occupied in previous years on the Portsmouth council, and for six years was city auditor. In his identification with the Court Street Baptist Church in official capacity, that if clerk, he likewise followed in the path of his honored parent, who devoted himself to its service with untiring fidelity. He is a Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of the World, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Knights of Pythias, of which he is past chancellor commander, and the Masonic order, in which he has passed all the chairs in Seaboard Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons, and belongs to Chapter No. 5, Royal Arch Masons.
Mr. Sherwood married, June 12, 1871, Mary Ella, daughter of William E. and Virginia (Billups) Carhart, and they are the parents of four children: Mabel, born in 1872, married, in 1894, William P. Harrell; Mary Virginia, born in 1878, married Earnest H. Hartsell, deceased; Calder Smith Jr., of whom further; Jennie C., born in 1886.
(IV) Calder Smith Sherwood Jr., son of Calder Smith and Mary Ella (Carhart) Sherwood, was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1882.His preparatory education was obtained in institutions of Portsmouth, after which he studied in the University of Virginia, then became associated with his father and learned the jewelry business. Upon the incorporation of the business in 1903, Mr. Sherwood became treasurer of the corporation and, as previously stated, added to his responsibilities in this position the duties of secretary upon the death of Earnest H. Hartsell, the former incumbent of that office. Mr. Sherwood is president of the Portsmouth Young Men's Christian Association, and was a member of the committee in charge of the erection of the new building that houses the association. He is a member of the Baptist church, the Knights of Pythias, and the Masonic order, holding membership in lodge, chapter and commandery, a past master of Seaboard Lodge, No. 56, Free and Accepted Masons. True to the name that he bears, he is a citizen of admirable parts, and is accorded the cordial liking and wholesome respect of his fellows. Mr. Sherwood married, in 1908, Lessie Wallace, and has one son, Calder Smith 3rd., born November, 1911.

[Pages 206-208]
Alfred Leftwich Gray, M. D. This surname is evolved from De Croy, and was first borne by a descendant of Rolf, a Norman chief, who, in the ninth century, invaded France. This descendant received from Robert, Duke of Normandy, the castle and honor of Croy, from which the family assumed the name, later De Gray, and finally Gray. The name came to England with William the Conqueror, where it became Grey, the Scotch branch using the form Gray. Nesbit's Heraldry mentions "Paganus de Gray, equitum signifer to King William" and "Gray, Earl of Kent, chief of the ancient and illustrious house of Gray." From Burke's Peerage it is learned that "the family of Gray is of great antiquity in Northumberland." The earliest record of the ancestors of Dr. Alfred L. Gray, of Richmond, Virginia, is found in the muster roll of James City and Island, 1624, "Thomas Graye, Margaret, his wife, William, their son, aged three years, Jane, their daughter, aged sux years." This Thomas Graye" is believed to have been the direct ancestor of John Gray, father of Colonel William Gray, who located in Goochland county, Virginia, and was the great-grandfather of Dr. Alfred L. Gray. On the maternal side, Dr. Gray's great-great-grandfather was Captain John Leftwich, of Bedford, Virginia, father of Rev. William Leftwich, of Bedford county, father of Rev. James Leftwich, of Bedford, father of Bettie Ann Leftwich, wife of Alphonso A. Gray and mother of Dr. Gray. Colonel William Gray gained his military title in the war of 1812. He was for a time engaged in mercantile business in Richmond, later moved to Goochland county, where he died, possessed of a considerable estate. He married Jane, daughter of General John Guervant.
Dr. William Alfred Gray (from whom Dr. Alfred L. Gray derives his given name) son of Colonel William Gray, was born in Goochland county, Virginia, and became a prominent physician. He was a Whig in politics, later a Democrat, and a communicant of the Baptist church. He married, in 1831, Mary Ann Brooks, of Fluvanna county, Virginia.
Alphonso Alexander Gray, son of Dr. William Alfred Gray, was born May 22, 1835, and became one of the leading lawyers of the state of Virginia, continuing in active practice until his death, November 12, 1908. He was physically unfit for service in the field during the war between the states, but served in the "Home Guard," rendering the cause such assistance as his health permitted. He represented Fluvanna county in the Virginia house of delegates during the reconstruction period following the war; was commonwealth's attorney of the county for several years, and active in local and state politics. He was a ember and vice-president of the Virginia State Bar Association, and was held in highest esteem by his professional brethren. He was a member of the Baptist church, a Democrat in politics, and in all things the upright, high-minded gentleman. He married (first) Sallie Terrill Shepherd, who bore him, May 4, 1865, a daughter, William Blanche, who married F. T. Shepherd, of Texas. He married (second) April 28, 1870, Bettie Ann Leftwich, born January 23, 1842, daughter of Rev. James Leftwich, a minister of the Baptist church, son of Rev. William Leftwich, son of Captain John Leftwich, and officer of the Continental army, son of Colonel William Leftwich, member of the revolutionary committee of Bedford county, Virginia, a direct descendant of Robert de Leftwich, of "Leftwich Hall," Cheshire, England. "Leftwich Hall" was an estate granted by William the Conqueror to Richard de Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook, who came with the Conqueror to England. After three generations the estate passed to Robert de Croxton, who married a third generation descendant of Richard de Vernon. This Robert de Croxton assumed the name Robert de Leftwich from the Leftwich Hall estate. Children of Alphonso A. Gray and his second wife, Bettie Ann (Leftwich) Gray: Alfred Leftwich, of whom further; Ernest Alphonso, born February 14, 1878.
Dr. Alfred Leftwich Gray was born at Palmyra, Fluvanna county, Virginia, October 2, 1873. His early education was obtained under his mother's careful instruction at home, the first school he ever attended being Fluvanna Central High School at Palmyra, where but four sessions were necessary to prepare him for college, so well had he been taught at home. In 1890 he entered the University of Virginia, where he pursued academic study for two and one-half sessions. In 1894 he entered the medical department of the University of Virginia, whence he was graduated M. D. in 1897. He was interne at Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, locating in Richmond in 1898, and there beginning active practice, the years since spent there bringing him recognition as a learned, skillful and honorable physician. His learning and experience have not been absorbed by private patients only, but as instructor, professor and dean of the University College of Medicine, the entire state has profitted. Dr. Gray became connected officially with this institution in 1899 as instructor in anatomy. In 1901 he was elected professor of physiology, which chair he yet fills. In 1902 he was also placed in charge of the Roentgen Ray department of Virginia Hospital, and is now (1914) serving as treasurer of the American Roentgen Ray Society. In 1909 he was elected dean of the University College of Medicine. Upon the merger of the Medical College of Virginia and the University College of Medicine, which went into effect with the beginning of the 1913-14 session, as the Medical College of Virginia, Dean Gray was elected professor of physiology, associate professor of Roentgenology, and chairman of the Medical College of the merged colleges. He continued general private practice until 1908, when he limited his practice to Roentgenology, and is now Roentgenologist to the Virginia Hospital, the Memorial Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, Grace Hospital, and Stuart Circle Hospital, all of Richmond. It is seldom that recognition so satisfactory and honorable comes to a professional man of Dr. Gray's years. The honors that have come to him have been fairly earned, for as student, interne, physician, professor or dean, he has given of his best, with an energy and zeal that have been tireless. There is no element of manhood lacking in his character, and whatever honors the future may bestow they will be earned and as well deserved as those of the past. He is a member of many professional and scientific societies, and is connected with the following college fraternities and organizations: Phi Kappa Sigma, Eli Banana, "Z," O. F. C., "13 Club" (University of Virginia). His other clubs are the Westmoreland, Country of Virginia, and the Richmond Automobile. His church membership is with the Second Baptist Church of Richmond, his wife belonging to Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church. In political faith he is a Democrat.
Dr. Gray married, December 23, 1903, at Charlottesville, Virginia, Alice Lear Clark, Born in Petersburg, Virginia, August 27, 1879, daughter of Lyman Emery and Alice Ann (Lear) Clark, her father auditor and assistant treasurer of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. She has a sister, Ruth Leigh, and a brother, Lyman Emery (2) Clark. Children: Alfred Leftwich (2), born July 11, 1907; ErnestEmery, July 2, 1909.

[Pages 208-209]
Roderick Triplett, lawyer, Portsmouth, Virginia, was born at Gainesville, Prince William county, Virginia, 1874; reared on a farm; educated in the public schools and the College of William and Mary; taught two years in the public schools of his native county; came to Norfolk county, Virginia, 1898, to become principal of one of the graded schools; continued in that capacity, and as principal of the Western Branch High School, until July, 1908, when he resigned to engage in the active practice of law; studied law privately under the direction of H. H. Rumble, Esq., of Norfolk, and at the summer law school of the University of Virginia; has been bail commissioner of Norfolk county since 1904; is one of the commissioners in chancery of the circuit court of Norfolk county; and commissioner of accounts for the circuit court of the city of Portsmouth; in politics, independent; was presidential elector for the second district of Virginia, on the Taft ticket, in 1912.
He is a son of Hayward Foote and Virginia Richardson Triplett, of Gainesville, Prince William county, Virginia; grandson of Hayward Foot Triplett, Sr., of the same county; great-grandson of Dr. William H. Triplett, of Front Royal, Virginia, and great-great-grandson of Colonel Simon Triplett, of the revolutionary army, of Loudoun county, Virginia. His parents being distantly related, he also descended from the same ancestor, Colonel Simon Triplett. His mother was Heriot Virginia (Richardson) Triplett, daughter of Richard A. Richardson, of Fairfax county, who married Heriot Roberdeau, daughter of James M. and Martha Lane Roberdeau, of Fairfax county; the latter being a daughter of James Lane Triplett, a son of Colonel Simon Triplett. James M. Roberdeau, great-grandfather of Roderick Triplett, was the youngest son of General Daniel Roberdeau, of the revolutionary army, and a member of the Continental Congress.
Hayward Foote (1) Triplett, grandfather of Roderick Triplett, married Evelina McLane Lewis, daughter of Francis Montgomery Lewis, of Prince William county, Virginia; his father, Dr. William H. Triplett, of Front Royal, Virginia, married Catherine Foote Alexander, daughter of John Stuart and Catherine Foote Alexander, of Fairfax county; and Colonel Simon Triplett, father of Dr. William H. Triplett, married Martha Lane, daughter of Major James Lane, of Fairfax county.
Hayward Foote (2) Triplett, the father of Roderick Triplett, lived and died at Gainesville, Prince William county, Virginia. He was a merchant for a number of years, and from 1884 until his death, which occurred in 1911, he was engaged in farming. He raised a family of eight children, three of whom were girls, and five were boys, Roderick being the oldest. At the beginning of the civil war, he enlisted under the command of Captain Pelham, was with him when the latter was killed, and was himself severely wounded, causing the loss of his right leg, in an engagement at Blackburn's Ford, Prince William county, in July, 1863.
Roderick Triplett, in 1904, married Lelia Estelle Jackson, daughter of J. Tyler Jackson, of Charlottesville, Virginia. They have four children, all boys.

[Pages 209-210]
Henry Adams Tabb. The Tabb family is one of the oldest in Virginia, and is now represented in many sections of the United States. It was active during the revolution, was prominent in the Episcopal church, and the name is found associated with all the best movements in the history of the Old Dominion.
Humphrey Tabb was in Virginia as early as 1637, and patented land on Harris creek, in Elizabeth City county, in that year. In the following year he patented additional land, and in 1656 nine hundred acres more. In 1651 he had a grant of one thousand acres in Northumberland county, but probably never lived upon it. He was burgess for Elizabeth City in 1652, and died before 1662. In that year the nine hundred acres on Harris creek were re-entered in the name of his son and heir, Thomas Tabb. His wife's name was Joanna, and only one child is known. The son, Thomas Tabb, died before February 17, 1696, as shown by a receipt from his son. His widow Martha became the second wife of Edmund Sweney, who turned over to the son, Thomas Tabb, his father's estate and cattle received from the son's grandmother, Joanna Tabb, as shown by the receipt above named, Thomas Tabb had children: Humphrey, Thomas, John, William, Edward and Elizabeth.
The third son, John Tabb, married Martha, daughter of Richard and Frances (Purefy) Hand, the latter being a daughter of Thomas Purefy, whose father, Captain Thomas Purefy, was justice of Elizabeth City in 1628-29, burgess, 1629-30, councillor, 1631-32. Through his marriage John Tabb received property from the estate of Richard Hand. He is known to have had two sons: Thomas, of Amelia county, and Edward.
Edward Tabb settled in Gloucester county, on his farm Toddsbury. By his wife Lucy he had a son Philip, who married Mary Mason Booth, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Wythe. They had four sons: Thomas Tabb, of Toddsbury; John, of White Marsh; Philip Edward, of Waverly, and Henry Wythe.
Henry Wythe Tabb, of Auburn, the youngest son of Philip and Mary (Booth) Tabb, was born July 3, 1791, at Toddsbury, in Gloucester county. He prepared for college under the tutorship of Jeremiah Evarts (Yale, 1808) at New Haven, Connecticut, and, entering Yale, was graduated in September, 1813. Following this, he pursued the study of medicine during two winters at Philadelphia, and in the spring of 1815, after visiting England and the continent of Europe, returned to England. He left Norfolk for England on the ship "Philip Tabb," owned and commanded by his brother, Philip E. Tabb, being the first passenger from the United States to England after the Treaty of Peace between the two countries. He studied six months at a London hospital. For the succeeding six months he was assistant to Henry Cline Jr., surgeon at St. Thomas Hospital, London, then graduated at the Royal College of Surgeons under Sir Astley Cooper, the most celebrated English surgeon. He visited the medical schools of Edinburg, Dublin, and Paris, and in 1818, settled at Richmond, Virginia, and engaged in practice of surgery and medicine. In 1821 he removed to Auburn, Matthews county, Virginia, where he practiced many years, and also managed his plantations, dying September, 1863, in his seventy-third year. He married (first) in 1821, Hester Van-Bibber, of Matthews county, which was the cause of his settling at Auburn, near her birthplace. She died February, 1823, without issue, and he married (second) in July, 1828, Martha Tompkins, who died September 17, 1842. He married (third) in Brooklyn, New York, October 6, 1846, Ellen A. Foster, born 1829, in Massachusetts, died in 1858. One son and four daughters were born of the second marriage. The son and third daughter died in infancy. The issue of the third marriage was two sons and three daughters; the second son and second daughter died in early youth.
Henry Adams Tabb, only surviving son of Dr. Henry W. Tabb, and his third wife Ellen Foster, was born February 24, 1848, at Auburn, Mathews county, Virginia, and was educated under private tutors and in a private school at Peterville, Maryland. He is a member of the Southern Society and the Virginians of New York City, the Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences, the Civic League and the Confederate Veteran Camp of New York. His home is at Arrochar, Staten Island. He married Jeannie B. Shepard, born on Tabb street, Petersburg, Virginia, daughter of Charles Shepard, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and Mary (Swan) Shepard, his wife, of Petersburg, Virginia. The elder daughter, Cynthia Claxton Tabb, married her cousin, Hon. John N. Tabb, of Newstead, Gloucester county, Virginia. They live on their farm "Showan," and have two sons: Dr. Henry A. Tabb and John H. Tabb, attorney. The younger daughter Susy Vanderpool Tabb, married David P. Sanders; they have one son, Vanbibber Sanders, and live on their farm "Clermont," Gloucester county, Virginia.

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Theodore Jackson Wool. James Harvey Wool. A study of the Wool family in America carries one to the early colonial days when two Wool brothers came from Holland, settling in New York state. Six sons of these emigrants served in the revolutionary was, and in the city of Troy, New York, is a monument to a descendant, General John E. Wool, who served with distinction in the Mexican war. Through their mother, Theodore J. and James H. Wool, of Norfolk, trace to the famous Anneke Jans and Rev. Evardus Bogardus, of early New Amsterdam, and from whom the celebrated Trinity Church property controversy sprang. This line of decent traces through Elmira (Demarest) Wool, daughter of Abraham C. and Elizabeth (Brower) Demarest, who were married June 6, 1818. Elizabeth Brower was a daughter of Abraham and Rebecca (Stevens) Brower, and granddaughter of Uldric Brower and his wife, Nancy (Campbell) Brower. Uldric was a son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Ackerman) Brower, who were married in 1725, and a grandson of Sybrant Brower, who married Sarah Webber, May 22, 1706. Sybrant Brower was a son of Jacob Brower, who married, January 29, 1682, at New Amsterdam, Antia Bogardus, born October 3, 1662, daughter of William Bogardus and Wintie (Sybrant) Bogardus, the latter married August 29, 1659. William was the son of Rev. Evardus Bogardus, who was the second husband of Anneke Jans. Her first husband, Robert Jans. Anneke Jans, whose maiden name was Webber, is said to have been a descendant of William IV. of Holland.
(I) James Wool, the first in this line of whom there is no record, settled in the town of Roxbury, Delaware county, New York, prior to the French and Indian war. He erected a saw and grist mill at Roxbury, but later, becoming alarmed at the threats of the Indians, buried his valuables and moved with his family to Orange county, New York, his then youngest son, Robert, making the journey in a basket, swung over the horses' backs. Later he moved northward, settling in Lansingburg, now Troy, Rensselaer county, New York. There he settled on a farm that was long in the possession of his descendants. He was compelled to leave the farm in 1776 and seek refuge in the town to escape the raiding Indians and Tories. James Wool had six sons, all of whom served in the revolutionary army, one of them, Isaiah, being a captain of artillery. Jeremiah was a member of the committee of safety in New York City. Ellis was taken prisoner and died in the old sugar house prison in New York. John was with Wayne at Stony Point, and also was a prisoner in the old sugar house and there died. He was the father of General John Ellis Wool, of previous mention. James (2) the youngest son, was only fifteen years of age wh en he fought at Bennington. "I was a tall strong lad, and they let me fight." He lived in Lansingburg until his death, about 1854, aged ninety years.
(II) Robert Wool, son of James Wool, was born in Delaware county, New York, but his youth was spent in Orange county, in that state, and there he married. He enlisted in a company formed in Orange county to repel the British in their march up the Hudson to relieve Burgoyne, and in an engagement was taken prisoner. He was confined first on a prison ship in the Hudson, with his brothers, John and Ellis, but after six weeks there they were taken to the old sugar house prison. Here John and Ellis died from the effects of their inhuman treatment — contracting prison fever. Robert, alone, of the brothers survived, and after about a year was released and returned to the army. After the war he married Elizabeth Douglass, in Orange county, and engaged in the manufacture of wooden heels for boots and shoes. He had two sons, Ellis and James, born in Orange county. About the year 1790 he moved to Harpersfield in Delaware county, New York, near the head waters of the Delaware river, where he died about 1826, aged seventy-six years. There his children, Elizabeth, Polly, Robert (2), John and Joseph, were born. Three of his sons, James, Robert and John served in the second war with Great Britain, 1812-14.
(III) Joseph Wool, son of Robert and Elizabeth (Douglass) Wool, was born at Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York, in 1798, died at Tenafly, Bergen county, New Jersey, in 1882. He married, in 1827, and lived on the old homestead farm in Delaware county until 1839, then moved to the town of Harpersfield, thence to Davenport, until 1846 engaging in farming. In the latter year he removed to Rensselaer county, New York, near Spring Valley. In 1852 he removed to Nyack, New York, but after a year returned to Spring Valley, which was his home until 1880. The last twenty years of his life he resided at Tenafly, where he died in 1882. He married, in 1827, in the town of Cartright, Elizabeth Craig, born in the north of Ireland, near Ballybay, Monoghan county. Children: James Craig, of whom further; Robert Given, born October 2, 1832; Jane, born March 9, 1835; Elizabeth Anne, born December 14, 1839; Mary Ellen, born January 14, 1841.
(IV) James Craig Wool, eldest son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Craig) Wool, was born in Delaware county, New York, September 22, 1828, died in 1895. He married, in 1855, and settled in Nyack, New York, which was his home until 1876. In that year he came to Virginia, settling in Petersburg. In 1886 he moved with his family to Briery, Prince Edward county, near Keysville, engaging in farming until his death. James Craig Wool married, December 25, 1855, Elmira Demarest, born August 15, 1828, died 1906, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Brower) Demarest. From this marriage descent is traced to the Dutch families of New Amsterdam, previously noted. The Demarests were of French Huguenot blood, the Browers of Holland ancestry. Children of James Craig Wool: 1. Franklin, born October 19, 1856, died in childhood. 2. John Ellis, born August 15, 1858, in Nyack, New York, educated in public and private schools and at the Union Theological Seminary at Hampden-Sidney, class of 1886, took holy orders and was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian church the year of his graduation; preached his first sermon at Hampden-Sidney on the "Wisdom of Solomon;" his first pastorate was the old Briery church in Prince Edward county, there he remained until 1894; he then became an evangelist for the synod of Virginia, working in the mountains of Virginia until 1904; he then resumed regular ministerial duties; has served three churches and is now pastor of the church at Cornelius, North Carolina; he married, June 27, 1900, Katherine Rachella Kelley, who died May 17, 1901. 3. Abraham Demarest, born February 16, 1861, died November 9, 1886; he married, June 3, 1884, Annie Neville Mays. 4. Theodore Jackson, of whom further. 6. Joseph Warren, born May 26, 1869, died 1896; was educated for the law and was practicing his profession in Charlotte county, Virginia, at the time of his death. Of the five sons of James Craig Wool, who arrived at mature years, four chose professional careers, two becoming lawyers, one a minister, and the fourth a dental surgeon.
(V) Theodore Jackson Wool, son of James Craig and Elmira (Demarest) Wool, was born in Nyack, New York, June 17, 1865. He attended public school there until ten years of age; his parents then brought him to Virginia, where he completed his education at McCabe University School, and Hampden-Sidney College, obtaining his degree Bachelor of Arts from the latter institution, class of 1887. After graduation he taught for two years in Charlotte county, Virginia, being principal in the schools at Keysville and Smithville, when he was elected principal of the Portsmouth, Virginia, school, a position he satisfactorily filled for three years. He decided upon the profession of law and after private courses of study entered the University of Virginia Law School, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Laws in 1893, and admitted to the bar. He began and continues practice in Norfolk and Portsmouth, where he is well established and highly regarded. He has made a specialty of the law of real estate and the law of corporations, confining himself to such cases as come under either of these heads. He has been admitted to all state and Federal courts of the district, and is a frequent pleader in all. He was general counsel for the Jamestown Exposition Company, and represents important business interests in Norfolk and elsewhere. He is a member of the Norfolk and Virginia State Bar Associations; the Chamber of Commerce; belongs to many clubs and organizations, and is a communicant of the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a Democrat and interested in all that pertains to the public good. Mr. Wool has never accepted public office except as a member of the Norfolk Board of Education, public education being one of the many subjects in which he is deeply interested.
He married, June 28, 1892, Esther Todd, of Portsmouth, Virginia. Children: Darius Todd, born October 22, 1893; Esther, June 19, 1895; Theodore Jackson (2), July 26, 1898; John Ellis (2), October 28, 1905; Joseph Craig, November 7, 1908.
(V) Dr. James Harvey Wool, fifth son of James Craig and Elmira (Demarest) Wool, was born in Nyack, New York, February 1, 1867. He attended the public schools of Petersburg, Virginia, his parents moving to that city when he was eight years of age. After his preparatory course he entered McCabe University School, later attended Hampden-Sidney College; then entered the dental department of the University of Maryland, whence he was graduated D. D. S., class of 1892. He began the practice of his profession in Farmville, Virginia, remaining two years. In 1894 he located in Charlotte county, continuing until 1896, then in Pulaski, Virginia, until 1900. In the latter year he established in practice in Norfolk, Virginia, where he continued very successfully alone until November, 1913. He then formed a partnership with Dr. William H. Hamilton and son continues. Dr. Wool is a dental surgeon of high reputation, his practice being crown and bridge work. He is a member of Ruth Lodge, No. 89, Free and Accepted Masons; Norfolk Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Norfolk Council, Royal and Select Masons; Grice Commandery, Knights Templar, and Khedive Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Knights of Pythias. In political faith he is a Democrat, and in religious affiliation a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Norfolk.
Dr. Wool married, May 4, 1892, Marie Hunter Averett. Children: James Averett, born July 13, 1893; Elmira Demarest, born February 9, 1896.