Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography

[Pages 241-242]
Greer Baughman, M. D. A native born son of Richmond, a product of her classical and professional colleges, with the added knowledge gained by post-graduate courses in Vienna, Berlin, Dresden and Dublin, Dr. Baughman is giving to the city of his birth and her institutions his best professional service and the energy of his virile manhood. He is a grandson of George Baughman, who opposed secession until his state joined the ranks of the Confederacy, then sen tall his sons into the Confederate army, himself joined the Home Guards, being too old for service in the field, and exhausted his entire fortune in the purchase of bonds issued by the Confederate government.
(II) George Baughman, son of John and Barbara Baughman, was born August 15, 1809, died June 15, 1870. He was born at Yellow Breeches Creek, in the Susquehanna Valley, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Mary Jane Greer, born August 25, 1811, in New Orleans, Louisiana, died April 25, 1898, in Richmond, daughter of George Greer, who died at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1825. George Greer was a member of a Bermuda independent battery and fought in the war of 1812 at North Port and Fort McHenry, September 12 and 13, 1814. He married Mary Hall, born 1781, died 1858, daughter of Caleb and Bridget (Quinn(Hall. George Baughman had issue: George (2), Greer, Charles Christian, of whom further; Emilius, Minnie Amelia, Frank.
(III) Charles Christian Baughman, son of George and Mary Jane (Greer) Baughman, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, August 8, 1842, died March 3, 1908. He was educated in Baltimore, Maryland, and Salem, Virginia, schools and prior to attaining his nineteenth year entered the service of his state as a private soldier. He enlisted, April 21, 1861, in Company F, Richmond Light Infantry, and was transferred the same year to the famous Otey Battery, ranking as corporal. He shared the varying fortunes of the Confederacy until the final surrender, when he at once entered business life in Richmond as a manufacturer of wooden ware in association with Charles Stokes. He next in company with his father and brothers, Greer and Emilius, formed the firm of Baughman Brothers, Stationers and Printers, later reorganized as the Baughman Stationery Company, of which Charles C. Baughman was general manager. He was very active in church work, and for many years was a vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church. He married, February 12, 1873, Williette Harrison Stevens, born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, February 3, 1852, died August 13, 1893, daughter of William Gratton Stevens, born 1819, died 1861, and Margaret Frances (Harrison) Stevens, born April 24, 1819, died June 13, 1858. Margaret Frances Harrison was a daughter of Dr. Peachy Harrison, born April 6, 1777, died April 25, 1848, and Mary (Stuart) Harrison, born September 12, 1783, married 1804, died September 19, 1857. Dr. Peachy Harrison was a son of Colonel Benjamin Harrison, an officer of the revolutionary army from Virginia, born 1741, died 1819, and his wife, Mary (McClure) Harrison, born 1741, died 1815. Colonel Benjamin Harrison was a son of Daniel Harrison, born 1700, died 1770, and Margaret (Craven) Harrison, his wife, who died in 1783. Daniel Harrison, was a son of Thomas and Jane (Delahaye(Harrison, from Maryland, who settled in Prince William county, which he represented between 1744 and 1755 in the house of burgesses. He was granted 2,500 acres of land in 1744 by Governor Gooch where the town of Harrisonburg, Virginia, stands. In May, 1780, the town of Harrisonburg was laid off with fifty acres of this land, probably by his son, Thomas Harrison Jr.
(IV) Greer Baughman, M. D., only child of Charles Christian and Williette Harrison (Stevens) Baughman, was born in Richmond, Virginia, February 19, 1874. His early education was obtained in Richmond private schools, four years being passed at Mr. Thomas H. Norwood's University School. He then entered the academic department of the University of Virginia, where he spent three years. He then began the study of medicine at the Medical College of Virginia, whence he was graduated Doctor of Medicine, class of 1897. He was interne at the City Hospital, Richmond, 1897-98. During the years 1898-99 and 1900 he took post-graduate courses in Vienna, Austria; Berlin, Germany; Dresden, Saxony, and Dublin, Ireland. In addition to private practice and his post-graduate work abroad, Dr. Baughman has also done post-graduate work in the Medical College of Virginia. In 1897 he was made a "Quiz Master" on practice on physiology; was lecturer on hygiene and chief of outdoor obstetrical clinic, Medical College of Virginia, and in charge of gynecological room, Free infirmary; in 1902 and 1903 the same, also was lecturer on Hematology; in 1909 elected professor of histology, pathology and bacteriology, Medical College of Virginia, in 1913 elected associate professor of obstetrics, in 1915 professor of obstetrics, Medical College of Virginia. In 1906 Dr. Baughman was elected a member of the outhern Surgical and Gynecological Association, and in 1913 was elected a fellow of the American Association of Obstetrics and Gynecologists; he is also a member of the American Medical Association, of the Tri-State Medical Association of Virginia and Carolinas and of the Medical Society of Virginia; vice-president of the latter society in 1905; the Southern Medical and Richmond Academy of Medicine and Surgery. In 1913, in association with six others, he founded in Richmond, Virginia, Stuart Circle Hospital, a private hospital with fifty beds. He belongs to the following Greek letter societies: Phi Delta Theta, Theta Nu Epsilon, and Pi Mu, having been senior councillor of Pi Mu for two years, and chairman of the committee of the national convention of Phi Delta Theta for the purpose of establishing the "Honor System." In 1907 Dr. Baughman was elected a member of Virginia Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, and since 1910 has been treasurer of the chapter. His clubs are the Country Club of Virginia, and the Commonwealth of Richmond. He is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, his wife of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Richmond.
Dr. Baughman married, at Washington, D. C., April 6, 1904, Wilhelmina Agnes Reeve, born in that city, July 15, 1879, daughter of Felix Alexander and Wilhelmina Donelson (Maynard) Reeves. Felix A Reeve was colonel of the Eighth Regiment, Tennessee Infantry Volunteers, United States army, during the war between the states, later settling in America, D. C. where he was connected with the government. During President Cleveland's first administration, he was appointed assistant solicitor of the treasury; was made solicitor during President Cleveland's second term, and is now assistant solicitor, having continued as either solicitor or assistant solicitor under each succeeding administration. Children of Colonel Reeve: Dr. Jesse Newman; Captain Horace Maynard, University of Virginia army (deceased); Mary Donelson; Captain Earnest Manning, United States army; Felecia Oliphant; Wilhelmina Agnes, of previous mention; Laura Washburn; Josephine Martin. Children of Dr. Greer and Wilhelmina Agnes (Reeve) Baughman, all born in Richmond, Virginia: Wilhelmina Reeve, May 13, 1905; Margaret Harrison, April 17, 1910; Greer Jr., October 20, 1912.

[Pages 242-243]
Charles R. Robins, M. D. The profession of medicine has claimed many of Richmond's sons and many have gone forth from her colleges to labor in other fields, but Dr. Robins has been one of these sons who has devoted his life and learning to the people with whom he was reared and to the institutions that first sent him forth duly accredited to labor as a practicing physician. Since the year 1900 he has been intimately associated with the Medical College of Virginia, and with the institutions of healing with which the city abounds. His fame as a gynecologist is more than local, and as a member of the faculty of the Medical College of Virginia. His knowledge has been passed to the hundreds of students who later in their chosen locations utilize the learning and skill of their college instructor.
Dr. Charles R. Robins was born in Richmond, Virginia, December 31, 1868, son of William Broadus and Bessie (Mebane) Robins. William B. Robins, born in King William county, Virginia, March 24, 1834, died in Richmond, July 22, 1906. When fourteen years of age he located in Richmond, where he worked at clerical employment until the war, then for a time held an appointment under the Confederate government until the war, then for a time held an appointment under the Confederate government. Later he enlisted in the cavalry branch of the Confederate army and was injured by his horse falling on him when shot during a charge at the battler of Malvern Hill. After the war closed, he was connected with several of the banks of the city as clerk, then engaged in the real estate business. Later he was with the Virginia Fire and Marine Insurance Company, then with the First National Bank, until his retirement from business, several years before his death. He was a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Second Baptist Church of Richmond. He married, September 15, 1859, in the Third Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Bessie Mebane, born April 8, 1837, in Richmond, died there, October 5, 1913, daughter of Alexander and Emmeline (Pleasants(Mebane. Children: Alexander Mebane, born July 2, 1861, died in infancy; Mary Giles, born August 23, 1862, married February 27, 1889, Henry P. Taylor Jr., of Richmond; William Randolph, born August 15, 1866; married Josephine Knox, of Richmond; Charles Russell, of whom further; Albert Sidney, born July 17, 1871, died in infancy; Frank Gordon, born January 18, 1873, married Virginia Ruiz, of Havana, Cuba.
Dr. Charles Russell Robins, after his graduation from Richmond High School, entered business life as a clerk, continuing until his election to the office of secretary and treasurer of the Southern Manufacturing Company, in September, 1890. He spent two years in that capacity, resigning in 1892, having decided to begin the study of medicine. In the latter year he entered the Medical College of Virginia, as a student, and was graduated M. D. in 1894. He was interne at the United States Marine Hospital, Boston Massachusetts, until October 1, 1895, during which time he pursued courses of study at Harvard Medical School. He was then associated in the practice with Dr. George Ben Johnston, of Richmond, Virginia, until October 1, 1900, and since then has been in independent practice. He occupied various positions in the Medical College of Virginia, and in 1906 was elected professor of Gynecology, a branch of medical practice in which he had specialized and been very successful. After the consolidation of the Medical College of Virginia with the University College of Medicine, Dr. Robins was elected professor of gynecology in the combined colleges. In addition to his duties at the college and his private practice, he has founded and been connected with other hospitals of Richmond. From 1904 until the present date, he has been secretary-treasurer of the Memorial Hospital Corporation, and is gynecologist to the Memorial Hospital. He is also chief surgeon on the staff of the Virginia Hospital, and was one of the founders of the Stuart Circle Hospital Corporation, serving as its treasurer. He also was one of the founders and was the first business manager of the "Old Dominion Journal of Medicine and Surgery." The exactions of practice and his many official positions have not kept Dr. Robins from the fulfillment of his obligations as a citizen, nor of the pleasures of social intercourse with his fellow-men. He is a member of the city school board, belongs to the Masonic order, the Westmoreland Club of Richmond, the Hermitage Golf Club and the Country Club of Virginia. He is a member of the Sons of the Revolution and has been secretary of the Virginia Society since 1898. His fraternities are Omega Upsilon Phi and Theta Nu Epsilon. In political faith he is a Democrat, and in religious affiliation a member of the Second Baptist Church, his wife and childrens members of Grace Episcopal Church.
Dr. Robins married, in Trinity Episcopal Church, Staunton, Virginia, October 18, 1899, Evelyn Spotswoode Berkeley, born in Staunton, September 17, 1872, daughter of Captain Francis Brooke Berkeley. Children: Francis Berkeley, born September 17, 1900; Dorothy Randolph, October 6, 1902; Charles Russell Jr., June 28, 1905; Evelyn Spotswoode, September 11, 1906; Bessie Mebane, November 8, 1907; Alexander Spotswoode, December 31, 1910.

[Pages 243-245]
Stephen Taylor Beveridge is a member of one of the splendid old Virginia families which have stood for so long as a type of the strong and gracious, the descendants of those splendid men of the past who, despite their rural lives, proved themselves amply capable of handling the affairs of a nation, who, like Cincinnatus, could abandon the plow for the baton of general without diffidence, who to the culture of the aristocrat added the simplicity of the democrat; the prototype of the American ideal of a gentleman.
The Beveridge family were living in Henrico county, Virginia, in the time of the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, that famous old county, whose name is so intimately connected with the stirring, perilous days, alike of the colonial period and of the revolution. This grandfather was William H. Beveridge, born in that county just mentioned, and as he grew older a farmer there. He was eminently successful in his farming operations and was a prominent figure in the community. He married a Miss Williams, also a native of the region.
John Williams Beveridge, son of William H. and ——— (Williams) Beveridge, was born in Richmond, December 7, 1815, and passed his entire life in that city, dying December 24, 1896. As a young man he entered the grocery business and met with great success. His establishment became one of the leading ones in its line in Richmond, and Mr. Beveridge continued to conduct it for a period of fifty years, and always at its original location on Brook avenue. Mr. Beveridge married (first) Mary Holmes, of Albany, New York, whose death left her husband six children, four of whom are still living. These are Elizabeth A., now Mrs. R. C. Carter; Mary W., now Mrs. Charles H. Thompson; Irving L. and John H.; all residents of Richmond. He married (second) Lucinda Carter, a native of Hanover county, Virginia, where she was born July 15, 1830. She was a daughter of Thomas Francis and Frances (Green) Carter, and a granddaughter of Robert and Keziah Carter, of Hanover county, Virginia, where Robert Carter was among the wealthiest of the residents. His son inherited his wealth and was himself a prosperous farmer in Hanover county. Of the six children born to him and his wife, who was the daughter of Macon Green, of Hanover county, all grew to manhood or womanhood, and were given the advantage of the best possible education. His daughter, Mrs. Beveridge, is now dead. Two of Mr. Beveridge's uncles served in the Confederate army during the civil war, Robert C. Carter, in the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, and Thomas R. Carter in the Fayette Artillery. To Mr. Beveridge and his second wife were born three children, as follows: Stephen Taylor, of whom further; Frank D. and Edith Carter, all of whom are residents of Richmond. Mr. Beveridge married (third) Mrs. Sarah Norvel, of Henrico county, who died in 1892 without issue.
Stephen Taylor Beveridge, eldest son of John Williams and Lucinda (Carter(Beveridge, was born October 16, 1856, in Richmond, Virginia. He received his education in his native city, attending the public schools, from which he graduated with the first class ever graduating from these institutions, that of 1875. Some time later he was instrumental in organizing the alumni of the Richmond High Schools, which has its first object that of procuring an adequate library for the use of the schools. After completing his preparatory courses in the high school, he went to Richmond College, and later matriculated at the Washington and Lee University. From the latter institution he graduated with the class of 1878, and at once proceeded to enter business, securing for himself, in the first place, a position in the house of Charles L. Todd, engaged in the grain business. With Mr. Todd he remained in a clerical capacity for a period of ten years, in the meantime learning the entire business and mastering it down to the smallest details. When the ten years were completed Mr. Beveridge felt himself fully capable of engaging in the business on his own account, and having accumulated a capital sufficient to permit beginning this independent venture he withdrew from his association with Mr. Todd and established his present business, under the firm name of S. T. Beveridge & Company. This was in the year 1887, and since then the concern has undergone a continual development, so that it is now one of the most prominent of its kind in the state of Virginia. The prominence which his great success has given him in the business and financial world of Richmond, and the reputation which he has won for himself for unimpeachable integrity and unusual ability have very naturally caused many leading concerns to desire the benefit of his powers, with the consequent association of his name with their management. He is among other things, the vice-president of the Richmond Bank and Trust Company, a director in the McGraw, Yarbough Company, dealers in plumbers' supplies, and was at one time president of the Richmond Grain Exchange for several years. Mr. Beveridge is a prominent member of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and served for some time on the board of directors of that important body.
In spite of his prominence in business and financial circles, Mr. Beveridge has by no means confined his attention and energy to this department of activity. This temptation, only too often yielded to by the brilliant captains of industry today, with a consequent narrowing of their sympathies, has never been a weakness of Mr. Beveridge, whose interests and sympathies are of too broad and vital a character to suffer themselves to be eclipsed in that fashion. He has always maintained a lively regard for all the aspects of life in his native city and state, and is an active participant in many of its departments. He is a member of the Democratic party and takes a keen interest in all political and social questions agitating the country today, whether they be of national or merely local application.
Mr. Beveridge married, December 23, 1886, in Richmond, Jennie Fox, a native of that place. Mrs. Beveridge was a member of a well known Maryland family, her parents having come thence to Virginia in the year 1861. Her father was Charles James Fox, a native of Baltimore, his father's name appearing upon the well known monument as one of the old defenders of that city. He was a very able engineer, and a prominent builder of boats and ships. His removal to Richmond occurred just at the outbreak of the civil war, and his expert knowledge became at once of double value. His coming to Virginia had been for the purpose of taking charge of the construction of certain war vessels for the Confederacy, and in this capacity and many others his skill was called into requisition during the continuance of hostilities. Among other feats of his was the construction of the celebrated poontoon bridge across the James river at Richmond, for the use of General Johnson's army. There have been no children born to Mr. and Mrs. Beveridge. They are embers of the Episcopal church, and are active in the support of their church and the many benevolences existing in connection therewith.

[Pages 245-247]
Frank Lee Costenbader, D. D. S., M. D. The father of Dr. Frank Lee Costenbader, a prominent dental practitioner of Richmond, Virginia, was William H. Costenbader, a native of Pennsylvania, who founded his line in Virginia, and with the troops from that state, fought in the Confederate cause against the army of the Union, while his brothers were soldiers of the northern forces. Several of his seven children continue their residence in Virginia, loyal to the state of their father's adoption and their birth, Virginians in love for and pride in their home.
William H. Costenbader, son of Henry and Caroline (Koch) Costenbader, was born near Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, and resided there until he was a youth of seventeen years, removing then to Virginia, and settling in Westmoreland county. His calling was that of a millwright, and in Westmoreland county he became the proprietor of a general store and owner and operator of a mill that was formerly the possession of George Washington. The war between the states found him enlisted in Company E, Fifty-fifth Regiment Virginia Volunteer Infantry, at Tappahannock, Virginia. He served under Captains J. B. Jett, Jim Wharton and W. E. Baker; Colonel Mallory, of Tappahannock, brigade, Heath's, Field's and Walker's; A. P. Hill's division; Stonewall Jackson corps; commander-in-chief, Robert E. Lee. In the Confederate service he experienced many of the thrilling adventures and misfortunes that fall to a soldier's lot, being wounded in action, taken prisoner by the enemy, and confined in a Maryland military prison. Poor sanitary conditions, lack of sufficient nourishment, and careless treatment by his captors, resulted in a severe attack of typhoid fever, from which he happily recovered after a long time. A detailed account of his military experience during the war is as follows: In prison at Point Lookout, while loading logs used in building a mess house for the soldiers, he made his escape to the banks of the Potomac. There he found an old canoe and one oar, and with this equipment he paddled across the Potomac river, reaching his family in Westmoreland county, Virginia, safely. He immediately reported to the authorities and at once resumed active service. When his regiment went into the third day's fight at Gettysburg, he was commissioned by his colonel to follow the colors, and should the color bearer fall, see to it that the colors were brought from the field. The color bearer was shot, but this was not observed until the main army had retreated a considerable distance. When Mr. Costenbader made this discovery, he returned to the field of battle alone to get the colors. As the Union soldiers saw him come back alone they commenced to cheer and shout in admiration of his bravery. Later in life, when he recounted this adventure to his sons, he told them that the shouting aroused his anger and he lost all fear. All alone he rammed the colors into the ground, faced the enemy, at whom he fired three times, and then retreated in safety. The enemy had apparently too much admiration for his courage and bravery to shoot him down, which they could have done very easily. During the second day at Gettysburg he, with a few others captured twenty-two Union soldiers. His eldest brother was in General Sherman's army, and was one of the men who, on the destructive march through the south, was considered one of the bravest soldiers in the Union army. His name was Jesse, and he was as sure that the Union army was in the right, as his brother was that the Confederates had right on their side. He, also has passed away. He was one of the stanch Grand Army of the Republic men of the north. His hatred for his brother who was fighting for the southern cause was intense, and he frequently expressed the wish that they might meet face to face in battle. After the war they met — and all differences were forgotten. A complete record of the engagements in which Mr. Costenbader was active is as follows: At Gaines Mill, one day; Mechanicsville, one day; Malvern Hill, one day; Cedar Mountain, one day; Second Manassas, three days; Ox H ill, where he was shot through the right breast, the bullet being extracted from his back; Fredericksburg; Gettysburg, during the three days; Wilderness, two days; Spottsylvania, one day; Hanovertown, where he was again wounded; Funkstown or Falling Waters; and Warrentown Springs. Upon his return to his Westmoreland county home, he resumed his business occupations, with which he was successfully identified until his death in 1903 at the age of sixty-seven years.
Mr. Costenbader married Ella J. Pitts, born in 1848, died about 1895, daughter of William Larkin and Martha Ann (Page) Pitts; granddaughter of Richard Larkin Pitts, who was born in Caroline county, Virginia; and a sister of Elizabeth, Ann, Martha, William, Silas, John, Sarah, Luch, Harriet, Alexander, Larkin and Robert. Mr. and Mrs. Costenbader had children: Benjamin, a resident of Slatington, Pennsylvania; Edwin H., lives at Colonial Beach, Virginia; John H., a dentist, of Norfolk, Virginia; Cora V., married Robert L. Thomas, and lives on the old homestead in Virginia; Vivanna, unmarried, resides in Richmond; Ardelle R., married Claude Wilkins and lives at Maple Grove, Westmoreland county, Virginia; Dr. Frank Lee, of whom further.
Dr. Frank Lee Costenbader, son of William H. and Ella J. (Pitts) Costenbader, was born on the maternal homestead in Westmoreland county, Virginia. His education was obtained in the elementary schools of his native county, and there he attended college, afterward coming to Richmond and entering the University College of Medicine, receiving from that institution in 1901, the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery, and in 1902, that of Doctor of Medicine. For the period of one year after his graduation in medicine, he was the resident physician in St. Luke's Hospital, and in May, 1903, established himself in the practice of dentistry, having made that profession his choice. Dr. Costenbader's professional labors have been heavy ever since he began his preparatory study for his degree in medicine and dentistry, and in active practice he has found great favor in Richmond, to which field he has confined his efforts. His office for the past four years has been at No. 113 East Grace street, where he attends to a large and profitable practice. Dr. Costenbader is fraternally associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic order, affiliating, in the last mentioned organization, with Dove Lodge, No. 51, Free and Accepted Masons. In religious belief he is identified with the Christian church, and a member of the Seventh Street congregation of the denomination.
Dr. Costenbader married, at America, District of Columbia, July 25, 1913, Mary Adelaide Tech Shand, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, November 1, 1874, a daughter of James and Annie (Reid) Shand, and a sister of Ella, Elizabeth C., Robert Napier, Matthew Henry, James P., Harry Elcho, Frederick William West, Hiram Joseph Bennett and Edgar G. James Shand was a commission merchant and real estate appraiser, and was captain in the Halifax Garrison Artillery.

[Pages 247-249]
Langdon Taylor Christian. An old chronicle recites that "Mr. Christian owned all the land on both sides of the Chickahominy river from Windsor Shades to Squirrel Park." However, the domains of Thomas Christian, the emigrant, may not have been as extensive as thus indicated, but it is known that in the region referred to, there were at one time twelve connecting plantations owned and occupied by the Christians; and it seems beyond question that "Mr. Thomas Christian" was the progenitor of the families of New Kent, Charles City, and James City counties, in Virginia. A considerable part of those lands have been continuously in possession of descendants of the first settler, down to the present time in those counties. In recent years a farm called "Cherry Bottom" in Charles City county, on the Chickahominy, a part of an original grant of 1080 acres of land patented to Thomas Christian, October 21, 1687, was owned and occupied by Mrs. Louisa Christian and her husband, Thomas L. Christian. The dwelling house thereon, though evidently of very great age, was still in a good state of preservation about the year 1900, and was probably the home of William Christian, of Goochland county, one of the antecedents of the New Kent branch of the family.
There is a family tradition that Thomas Christian, progenitor of this family in Virginia, was of the Isle of Man family of Christians, or McChristian, as the name was originally spelled. Said tradition has been somewhat confirmed by certain historical evidence brought to light in recent years. It is difficult, however, to connect this family through authentic records with any of the English families of the same name in the Isle of Man and other places, on account of the destruction of the early New Kent county records, and a partial destruction of the Charles City county records. That he was a man of some social distinction is evidenced by the fact the "Mr." was prefixed to his name; but the family did not attain in the eighteenth century that distinction it enjoyed in the nineteenth. Many persons of the name in Virginia and elsewhere in the United States have become prominent in the military and political history of the country.
It is not known when the first Thomas Christian arrived in Virginia, but the land grant records of Virginia show the following patents, to wit: January 5, 1657, to Thomas Christian one hundred acres of land on the north side of James river and the east side of Chickahominy; another patent to him dated December 9, 1662, and a third, October 21, 1687, for 1080 acres in Charles City county, Virginia. Also there are other grants: one dated October 26, 1694, to Mr. Thomas Christian, senior, for 193 acres in Charles City county, south of the Chickahominy swamp. Presumably his sons were: 1. Thomas, of Charles City county, Virginia, who secured patents to lands in 1712 and 1727, in the forks of Beaver Dam Creek, of that part of Henrico county called Goochland. 2. Charles, of Goochland. 2. Charles, of Charles City, who secured grants of land in 1714 and 1727 in the same locality. 3. James, who was granted land in the same vicinity, and bounded by Thomas Christian's land. 4. John, of Charles City in 1724, obtained a grant of land in the same community.
James Christian, presumably the third son of Thomas Christian, the emigrant, was of the parish of St. Peter's, New Kent county. He married Amy, supposed to be the daughter of Gideon Macon, of New Kent county, Virginia. They had children: 1. Judith, baptized May 21, 1711. 2. Richard, of Charles City. 3. Joel, of Charles City, per deed of 1754 in Goochland. 4. William, of Goochland, in deed dated 1752. 5. James of St. Peter's parish, New Kent, who, in 1758, sold Isaac Meanley 130 acres in Goochland, bounded by lands of Joel Christian. 6. Gideon, of whom below.
Gideon Christian, son of James and Amy (Macon) Christian, was born February 5, 1727-28, according to St. Peter's parish register. There is a deed dated 1756 from Gideon Christian of Charles City county for 368 acres of land in Goochland county, patented by James Christian, March 11, 1711 and devised by said James to his son Gideon. His will was proved in Charles City county in 1707. He married Susan Browne, daughter of William Browne and Alice Eaton, and had issue: Eaton, Francis, Patrick, William Allen, Anna, who married Isaac Hill; Alice, Fanny. It seems probable that the above mentioned William Allen Christian may be the ancestor of that branch of the Christian family whose record follows. Gideon Christian, a descendant of the Christian family of Charles City and New Kent counties, Virginia, was born about 1790, probably in Charles City county, Virginia. He was a farmer in New Kent county, Virginia, near the Chickahominy river. He married ——— Apperson, of New Kent county; and had issue, namely: William Edmund, of whom further; Elizabeth, who married Grandison Pearson; Margaret Ann, who married W. A. Stuart; John Henry; Robert James.
William Edmund Christian, son of Gideon and ——— (Apperson) Christian, was born December 5, 1817, in New Kent county, Virginia. He was a farmer, ad Democrat in politics, and a member of the Baptist church in New Kent county. On account of impaired health, he did not take part in active military operations during the civil war. He died in June, 1865, at Milton, in Charles City county, Virginia. He married Annie E. Taylor, daughter of James Taylor, of James City county, Virginia, in 1849, at Williamsburg, Virginia. She was born July 9, 1830, in James City county, Virginia. they had six children: 1. Laura K., born December 23, 1850, in New Kent county, Virginia; married John G. Livezey, Newport News, Virginia, May 11, 1886. 2. Langdon Taylor, of whom further. 3. Ella Louisa, born July 1, 1856, in New Kent county, Virginia, died June 1, 1875. 4. Annie Willis, born January 25, 1858, in New Kent county, Virginia; married William B. Langley, Norfolk, Virginia, April 12, 1892. 5. William Thomas, born October 17, 1860, in Charles City county, Virginia. 6. Gideon L., born October, 1862, in Charles City, Virginia.
Langdon Taylor Christian, son of William Edmund and Annie E. (Taylor) Christian, was born May 26, 1853, in New Kent county, Virginia. His schooling was limited to a few months in a graded school, but he attained a fair education by means of private study at home. He remained on the farm in Charles City county, until he was seventeen years of age. In 1870 he went to Richmond and secured employment in James A. Scott & Company's tobacco factory, where he continued until October, 1872. He then entered the employ of John A. Belvin, furniture dealer and undertaker with whom he remained until the death of his employer in July, 1880, and whom he succeeded in 1880 as a funeral director, which business has been continued unchanged to 1913, in the name of Langdon Taylor Christian.
Langdon Taylor Christian enlisted in Company G, First Virginia Infantry Regiment of Volunteers, in 1872, at nineteen years of age; was transferred to Company B, Walker Light Guard, of the same regiment in 1876, and elected second lieutenant in 1882, but resigned in 1884. In twelve years' service he was absent from company roll call only three times; was made quartermaster of the First Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, and served until 30, 1890, when he was elected captain of his old company, Walker's Light Guard, First Virginia Regiment of Infantry; he was appointed by General A. L. Phillips on his staff as inspector general of the First Brigade, Virginia Volunteers, in February, 1895, with the rank of major; and was retired from service in April, 1898, when the brigade was disbanded with a record of twenty-six years of consecutive military service in the Virginia State Militia.
In politics he is a Democrat, and has long been identified with local and state political affairs; was elected a member of the city council of Richmond, Virginia, in 1888, and served in that capacity for ten years. He was elected to the Virginia state legislature from the city of Richmond in 1900, and served in the long term which lasted through 1904. He is a member of the Broad Street Methodist Episcopal Church of Richmond; is a master Mason and past master of Jappa Lodge, No. 40, and past high priest of Lafayette Royal Arch Chapter; also past eminent commander of the Commandery of St. Andrew, No. 13, nights Templar; also a member and past chancellor of Syracuse Lodge, Knights of Pythias, all of Richmond, Virginia, and has filled many positions of trust in his profession, such as past president of the National Funeral Directors Military Association, and secretary and member of the State Board of Embalming since it was established in 1894.
He married, October 5, 1881, at Richmond, Virginia, Belle R. Brown daughter of John Twiggs and Lovely Virginia (Beverly) Brown. She was born in May, 1855, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and is descended from an old Virginia family. Her father, John Twiggs Brown, was a merchant at Fredericksburg, at the beginning of the civil war; he enlisted in the Ninth Revolution Cavalry, Confederate States army, in 1861; later was transferred to the medical department of the Confederate States army, under Surgeon General Samuel P. Moore, and was charged with securing medical supplies for the army by "running the blockade. Mr. Brown was captured near Ashland, Virginia, in 1864, and confined in Fort Delaware prison for a few months when he was exchanged, and assigned to duty at Howard's Grove Confederate Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, with the rank of captain, in which capacity he continued to the end of the war.
Issue of Belle B. Brown and Langdon Taylor Christian: 1. Josephine Beverley Christian, born March 22, 1884, at Richmond, Virginia; graduated from the Women's College at Richmond; married Clarence Watkins Hendley, of North Carolina, who later became cashier of the Heard National Bank, at Jacksonville, Florida. 2. Langdon Taylor Christian Jr., born August 28, 1893.

[Pages 249-249]
Thomas Christian. Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual, or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial development, it is impossible to clearly determine, yet the study of a successful life is none the less interesting and profitable by reason of the existence of the same uncertainty. A man who measured up to the modern requirements was the late Thomas Christian, in whose death the community lost one of its best known and most highly esteemed citizens, who gave much time and thought to the advancement of the city of Richmond during his younger years.
Thomas Christian was born in Richmond county, August 3, 1845, eldest child of the late William H. and Emeline (Dudley) Christian, who were the parents of these other children: Lizzie; Mary; William H., died September 22, 1905; Charles, died in infancy; Emma, wife of George L. Christian; all those living reside in Richmond, Virginia.
Thomas Christian was educated in private schools of Richmond and at Williams College, Massachusetts, which thoroughly qualified him for the activities of life. For many years he was identified with the commercial and public life of Richmond, and after 1871 he was also engaged in business as a wholesale manufacturer. Scientific pursuits possessed a strong fascination for him, and in the pursuit of several branches of research he won wide distinction both here and abroad. His experiments in the field of photography as well as with the microscope attracted the attention of two continents. An ardent philatelist, he secured a notable collection of stamps, and his collection of Indian implements and relics gathered by himself, was also noteworthy. An outdoor life always appealed to him, and he was well known among the sportsmen and fishermen of the city, who estimated him at his true worth. Mr. Christian was for many years active in the work of the Chamber of Commerce, serving on the James River Improvement Committee never being absent from a meeting, and for a portion of his term of service acted as auditor of the committee. He was also a member of the State Commission of the New Orleans Exposition, and an active factor in the old state fair organization. His interests in life were broad, his work widely extended, and the influence he exerted will be felt for many years, although he has passed to the Great Beyond. He married, October 10, 1878, Ida Kate James, of Detroit, born April 9, 1856, daughter of Captain William V. and Amy U. (Harris) James, who survives him, as does also a daughter, Mrs. Charles G. Taylor Jr., of Ginter Park.
Mr. Christian died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Charles G. Taylor, after a long illness, aged sixty-eight years. Interment was in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond. The demise of Mr. Christian, who was a man of the highest character and standing, a man of unselfish disposition, hospitable, charitable, with a ready sympathy for those in affliction or need, was a great shock to his hosts of friends, who were to be found in all walks of life. Scrupulously honorable in all his dealings with mankind, he bore a reputation for public and private integrity second to none, and he left to posterity that priceless heritage, an honored name.

[Pages 250-251]
Meriwether Lewis Anderson, M. D. Dr. Anderson, through both paternal and maternal lines, is connected with distinguished men, famed in the civil and military history of Virginia from the earliest colonial days to the present. The emigrant ancestors, Scotch, English, Welsh and Irish, date from 1620, when Nicholas Martian came from England, and 1635, when Robert Lewis came from Wales; in 1753, when John Scott from the north of Ireland had land patented to him in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Other ancestors came to Virginia: George Reade from England in 1637; Augustine (1) Warner, from England, date unknown; Nicholas Meriwether, from Wales, date unknown; Raleigh Travers, in 1653; William Thornton, of Yorkshire, England, in 1660; Robert Talliaferro from England; David Anderson, of Scotch ancestry; John Harper, of Philadelphia and Alexandria; Gerard Fowke, of Gunston Hall, Staffordshire, England, to Stafford county, Virginia, 1669; Dr. Gustavus Brown, of Scotland and Maryland; Captain William Daniel a royalist officer, settled in Middlesex county, Virginia; Zachary Lewis, of Wales, in 1694; Rev. John Moncure, of Scotland, settled in Stafford county, Virginia, in 1733; Colonel Joseph Ball, of London; John Waller, of England, and Lieutenant William Lewis of the revolutionary army. All these are found fully recorded in Hayden's "Virginia Genealogies," the "Lewises and Kindred Families," Watson's "A Royal Lineage," "Some Notable Families of America," and Pitman's "Americans of Gentle Birth."
From David Anderson, the Scotchman, sprang Edmund Anderson, a farmer and merchant of Hanover and Albemarle counties, Virginia. His wife, Jane Meriwether (Lewis) Anderson, was a devoted Christian, of wide influence, greatly beloved. She was a daughter of Lieutenant William Lewis, Continental line, and only full sister of Meriwether Lewis, the explorer of Columbia and Missouri rivers.
Their son, Dr. Meriwether Lewis Anderson, born in Virginia, June 23, 1806, was a well beloved country doctor, with a large practice in Albemarle county, having a beautiful country home. "Locust Hill," where his son, Charles Harper Anderson, father of Dr. Meriwether Lewis (2) Anderson, of Richmond, was born. He was a Methodist. His family had left the established church and become Methodist, and Dr. Anderson, rather late in life, joined that church. He gave efficient service in large military hospitals at Charlottesville and the University of Virginia during the Confederate war. He was elected to the Virginia legislature, but served only a few months, dying March 6, 1863, in the midst of the session. He married Lucy S. Harper. He left issue: Meriwether Lewis, unmarried, killed in the battle of Brook Run, near Fisher's Hill, October 8, 1864; Charles Harper, Mary Miller, who married B. R. A. Scott.
Charles Harper Anderson, son of Dr. Meriwether Lewis and Lucy S. (Harper) Anderson, was born at "Locust Hill," Albemarle county, Virginia, June 18, 1848. He was a farmer and merchant of the county, and is noted for gentleness and firmness of character, combined with quixotic honesty. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and a Democrat. He was married at "Bel-air," Spottsylvania county, Virginia, February 15, 1872, by Rev. James P. Smith, of "Stonewall" Jackson's staff, to Sarah Travers Lewis Scott, born at "Bel-air," March 31, 1847. She is the daughter of James McClure and Sarah Travers (Lewis) Scott, and a descendant of John Scott, William McClure, Robert Lewis, Augustine Warner, speaker of the Virginia house of burgesses; Zachary Lewis, John Waller, Captain William Daniel, Joseph Ball, Raleigh Travers, Rev. John Moncure, Peter and Travers Daniel, signers of the protest against the Stamp Act, and other men of note. Children of Charles Harper Anderson: Meriwether Lewis (2), of whom further; Sarah Travers Lewis Scott, born February 1, 1874, married George Gordon; Charles Harper (2), born December 3, 1875; Alfred Scott, born February 14, 1878; Jane Lewis, born and died in 1882; a son, born and died February 18, 1883; Lucy Butler, born 15, 1885, married B. Ernest Ward; Alden Scott, born February 24, 1888.
Dr. Meriwether Lewis (2) Anderson, of Richmond, Virginia, eldest child of Charles Harper and Sarah Travers Lewis (Scott) Anderson, was born at the family home, "Locust Hill," near the old Ivy Station, Albemarle county, Virginia, November 13, 1872. After home tuition until he was thirteen years of age he began attending Fishburne Military School. He remained a home until he was seventeen years of age, assisting his father on the homestead and in his general store. From seventeen to twenty-four years of age he was in the employ of the Adams Express Company as messenger. In 1896 he took a general business course at Smithdeal Business College in Richmond. In 1897 the medical instinct of Dr. Meriwether Lewis (1) Anderson, his grandfather, combined with a line of distinguished physicians on his maternal side, asserted itself and Meriwether Lewis (2) began a medical course at the Medical College of Virginia, in May, 1900, at the age of twenty-seven years, he was a graduated M. D., and spent the next year, until June, 1901, at the Independent Order of Old Dominion Hospital in Richmond. Since that time he has been engaged professionally in Richmond, located at 928 West Grace street, where he is well established in general practice. He was made a Mason on arriving at legal age, and at thirteen years became a member of the Presbyterian church, joining by his own wish and request. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and a Democrat in politics.
Dr. Anderson married, in the First Baptist Church, Richmond, September 23, 1903, Rev. George Cooper officiating, Annie Tatum, born in Richmond, May 22, 1874, daughter of William Henry and Mary (Pearman) Tatum, her father a merchant and veteran of the civil war, serving four years in the First Howitzer Confederate army. Children of Dr. Meriwether L. Anderson: Ann Meriwether, born January 13, 1905; Louisa Maury, born December 21, 1906; Sarah Travers, born January 30, 1908; Meriwether Lewis (3), born March 7, 1911.