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[Pages 251-252]
Rev. Edward Nathan Calisch. The energy and intellectual activity
that is a marked peculiarity of the Jewish race is clearly seen in the Rev. Edward Nathan
Calisch, of Richmond, Virginia. He holds a responsible position, and shows the versatility of his
talents, wielding at the same time a wide-spread influence. The place he has achieved is the
result of an ambition which, even as a boy, drove him to work patiently and untiringly towards
the aims which he had set for himself. The success which has crowned his efforts and placed him
in a position of respect and esteem may justly be said to be mainly due to himself and his own
ability and unflagging energy. He comes of a family of brain-workers. an uncle, N. S. Calisch,
who was the editor of the "Amsterdamischer Courant" was an author and lexicographer, and compiled
a standard English-Dutch and Dutch-English dictionary. A great-uncle, Morris Calisch, was an
artist and poet.
Henry Calisch, father of the Rev. Edward N. Calisch, was born in Amsterdam,
Holland, in 1832, and came to America in the fifties. He was a teacher by occupation and noted
for his literary and linguistic ability. He died about 1875, his death being caused by exposure
suffered at the time of the great Chicago fire of 1871, at which time he was living in Chicago
with his family. Later he returned to Toledo, Ohio, the city in which he had been living. He
married Rebecca Van Norden, born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1846, died in America in 1900. They
had children: Solomon H., a resident of Toledo, Ohio; Edward Nathan, of this sketch; Frances H.,
unmarried, lives with her brother, the rabbi, and is a trained nurse by profession.
Rev. Edward Nathan Calisch was born in Toledo, Ohio, June 23, 1865. After
the disaster of the Chicago fire, and the family had returned to Toledo, he attended local
schools there, and when his father died, at which time he was ten years of age, he worked as a
cash boy for a time with Mandel Brothers of Chicago. He then attended in succession the following
institutions of learning: Hebrew Union College, which conferred upon him his degree as rabbi in
1887; University of Cincinnati, Bachelor of Laws in 1887; University of Virginia, Master of Arts
in 1905, and Doctor of Philosophy in 1908. He commenced his active working life prior to his
graduation, as a teacher in the Sabbath schools in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in Lexington, Kentucky.
After his graduation in August, 1887, he was appointed as rabbi of a congregation in Peoria,
Illinois. He remained in charge of his congregation in Peoria until 1891, in which year he was
called to the congregation in Richmond, Virginia, with which he has since that time been
identified. He is a prominent figure in all movements which have for their object the betterment
of existing conditions, and is well known as a speaker, fluent and influential, in civic causes,
city government, reform movements, etc. Since 1910 he has served as vice-president of the
Richmond branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; he is a member of the
board of governors of the Wednesday Club; in 1914 was appointed a member of the Vice-Commission
of the City of Richmond. The congregation, Beth Ahabah, of which he is the spiritual head, has
gained largely in every direction under his guidance. His fraternal affiliations is as follows:
Jefferson Club; Blue Lodge, Chapter, Scottish Rite, and Shrine of the Masonic order; Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks; member of the executive committe of the Independent
Order of B'nai Brith, an international fraternal organization; chaplain of the Blue Lodge and has
been high priest of the chapter. In political matters, Rev. Calisch holds independent opinions,
although he casts his vote for the Democratic candidates in city and state elections. He has at
times changed his party allegiance, for reasons based upon the characters of the various
candidates. All his life he has been a great lover of outdoor sports, and still finds great
recreation in tennis, swimming, rowing and camp life.
In the world of literature Rev. Calisch has earned wide commendation. From
his facile pen have appeared poems, articles on many subjects, in magazines and the daily press,
but he has worked in a wider and deeper field. He is the author of "A Child's Bible," which was
published in 1889; "The Book of Prayer," 1893; "The Jew in English Literature," 1909, which deals
with what has been accomplished by the Jew in this field during the past century; "Methods of
Teaching Bible History," volume I, published in 1913, volume II, in 1914. In addition, he has
collaborated in the production of the Jewish Encyclopaedia, and in a memorial edition of the
writings of Thomas Jefferson.
Rev. Calisch married, January 22, 1890, Gisela, a daughter of Abraham and
Lena Woolner, and of their five children, Harold Edward, is studying architecture at the
University of Pennsylvania, a member of the class of 1915; A. Woolner, is engaged in the real
estate business; Edward N. the second of the name, is still at school. Rev. Calisch was asked
what suggestion he had to make regarding the future training of young Americans of the present
generation. He replied that into the minds of the young there should be instilled a greater sense
of reverence, more respect for the authority of parents, teachers, and all those holding high
positions in the state and country-at-large.
[Pages 252-253]
Samuel Horace Hawes. The Hawes family of New England and Virginia
is one of the oldest in the United States. Descendants of the first two emigrant ancestors are
numbered by the hundreds, and are scattered from Maine to Florida, and from New York to
California. Hawes is derived from the old Saxon word "Hawe" which means a thorn hedge; and it is
poetically said the "The name is not of German born, but of the fragrant English thorn." From
Hawe came the name Hawleys, Haworths, Hawton, Haughton, Howes and Hawes, the last two being the
most common spelling of the name in this country; however, the name "Hawes" has long been
preserved in that form, both in Great Britain and America.
Richard and Edward Hawes, presumably brothers,
emigrated to New England in 1635, and Edward settled at Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, about
twenty-five miles southwest of Boston. According to the Dedham town records, Edward Hawes married
Eliony Lumber or Lombard, on April 15, 1648, whose family came over about the time of the
Pilgrims in the "Mayflower." The eleventh month, 1659, he was granted three parcels of land at
Dedham; he was a staunch Puritan.
Richard Hawes, aged twenty-nine years, together with his wife, Ann Hawes,
aged twenty-six years, and two children, Ann and Obadiah Hawes, were authorized to be transported
to New England in 1635.The name of Richard Hawes appears in a list of settlers referred to as the
"Second emigration from England," who came over in four vessels from London, one of which was the
ship "Mary and John," that brought the first settlers to Dorchester. It belonged to the Winthrop
fleet, and was the first to arrive; but according to the same chronicle elsewhere stated, Richard
Hawes came in the "Freelove," Captain Gibbs, in 1635, with his wife Ann and two children. He
signed the church covenant in 1636; was granted land in 1637 and again in 1646. He died in 1656,
at Dorchester. Their children were: Ann, two and one half years old, mentioned in the permit to
emigrate; Obadiah, six months old, born in England; Bethiah, born in Dorchester, 27, 5, 1637;
Deliverance, born 11, 4, 1640; Constant, born 17, 5, 1642; Eleazer, killed in the war, April 21,
1676.
The names of Obadiah Hawes and Eleazer Hawes appear in a list of names of
male inhabitants of Dorchester in the year 1700, of persons who had reached the age of twenty-one
years and upwards. In a chronicle dated February 22, 1660, Jeremy Hawes is mentioned as having
been publicly reproved, and on October 19, 1664, the name of Eleazer Hawes, among others, appears
signed to a petition addressed to the governor. Abijah Hawes, born September 11, 1752, at
Wrentham, now Franklin, Massachusetts, died January 10, 1839, at Union, Main; and Matthias Hawes,
born at Franklin, Massachusetts, October 6, 1754, died November 4, 1828, at Union, Main. These
two brothers were the original founders of the Hawes family at Union, Maine, after the
revolutionary war, and were descendants of Edward Hawes, of Dedham, Massachusetts, already
mentioned.
(I) About 1785 there was one John Hawes with a
family of eight in Shenandoah county, Virginia, who may have been the antecedent of the Virginia
branch; but Jesse Hawes, born in Maine and accredited with revolutionary war service is, so far
as now known, the founder of this particular branch of the Hawes family in Virginia. He married
Anna Pierce, and had issue, who lived in Virginia.
(II) Samuel Pierce Hawes, son of Jesse and Anna
(Pierce) Hawes, was born March 30, 1799, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was a merchant in
Virginia, and a member of the Presbyterian church. He married Judith Ann Smith, January 25, 1825,
at Olney, Henrico county, Virginia, and had children, born in Virginia.
(III) Samuel Horace Hawes, son of Samuel Pierce
and Judith Anna (Smith) Hawes, was born June 5, 1838, in Powhatan county, Virginia. He was
educated in private schools of Virginia. He learned the mercantile business in his father's
store, and became a general merchant in Richmond, Virginia. He served as a soldier in the
Confederate States army from April 19, 1861, to June 1, 1865; was lieutenant in the First
Regiment of Virginia Artillery; and participated in nine of the hardest fought battles of the
war; also was captured in 1864, and held a prisoner of war for thirteen months at Fort Delaware.
Mr. Hawes has long been identified with the social and business interests of Richmond. He was a
director of the National State and City Bank of Richmond, Virginia, for ten years; a member of
the Westmoreland Club, of Richmond; and of the Presbyterian church of the same place.
Mr. Hawes married (first) Martha Crane Heath, daughter of Stafford Robert
Wilson and Catherine (Woodruff) Heath, of Newark, New Jersey, October 3, 1867, at Newark, New
Jersey. He married (second) Mrs. Mary (Blair) Fitts, daughter of John and Cornelia (Dickenson)
Blair, September 25, 1902, at Richmond, Virginia. Issue of first marriage: Horace Sterling, born
November 4, 1868, at Richmond, Virginia; Katharine Heath, born September 3, 1875, at Richmond,
Virginia.
[Page 253]
Edward Govan Hill, M. D. Dr. Edward Govan Hill was born in King
William county, Virginia, December 18, 1863, son of Edward C. Hill, born in June, 1837, died in
1906, and his wife, Mary Nelson (Bell) Hill, of Rockbridge county, Virginia. Edward C. Hill, a
graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, class of 1857, and a civil engineer, was the son of
Edward and Elizabeth (Govan) Hill. His wife was Mary Nelson Bell, daughter of John Marshall and
Charlotte (Crawford) Bell.
Dr. Hill was educated at Aberdeen Academy, and was variously engaged until
deciding upon medicine as his profession. He entered the University College of Medicine at
Richmond, whence he was graduated Doctor of Medicine, class of 1900. Since that date he has been
engaged in thye practice of medicine in Richmond. Dr. Hill is the inventor of a system of
refrigeration for railroad freight trains, and a system of temperature and air regulation for
passenger trains. He is a member of the American Medical Association, Richmond Academy of
Medicine and Surgery, and the Medical Society of Virginia. He stands high in the professional
world, and has a well estabished medical practice in Richmond. Dr. Hill married, October 7, 1903,
Bessie H., daughter of Horace K. and Virginia Carolina Reid. Children: Edward Govan (2) and
Virginia.
[Pages 253-254]
Hugh Greenway Russell, D. D. S. Dr. Hugh Greenway Russell, of
Richmond, one of the leading dentists of that city, comes of an old Virginia family, descended
from Isaac Russell, of Winchester. Isaac William Russell, son of Isaac Russell, was born in
February, 1844, at Winchester, and died December 26, 1914, in that town. During the war with the
states he served in the hospital corps of the Confederate army, and after the close of the
struggle settled in Winchester, where he continued as a merchant until the time of his death. He
married Sally Eggleston, a native of Winchester, who survives him, and is now living in that
city, at the age of sixty-six years. Of their four children, three are now living, namely: Emma
Louise, widow of James C. Eastham; Meta Eggleston, wife of James Gray McAllister, of Louisville,
Kentucky; Hugh Greenway, mentioned below.
Dr. Hugh Greenway Russell was born January 19,
1885, in Winchester, and received his early education in the Shenandoah Valley Academy, after
which he entered the University of Virginia, later entered the University College of Medicine of
Richmond, graduating in 1907 with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. He was professor of
dental pathology and therapeutic, University College of Medicine, four years, and professor of
dental surgery two years, Medical College of Virginia. Since that time he has been engaged in the
practice of his profession at Richmond, with that success which is sure to follow careful
preparation and diligent application. Dr. Russell is widely esteemed for his personal qualities,
as well as his professional skill, and has formed and retained many strong friendships. While he
takes his proper place in the social life of the community, he is not identified with any
fraternities except several Greek letter societies affiliated with the University of Virginia.
These are Beta Theta Pi, Lambda Pi and Tilka Society. Dr. Russell married, in Richmond, and his
wife, Lelia (Gordon) Hammond. Dr. and Mrs. Russell have a daughter, Katharine Greenway, born
February 9, 1909.
[Pages 254-255]
Samuel Armstead Anderson. To Samuel A. Anderson is accorded
responsible position among the attorneys of the city of Richmond, where he has proved legal worth
of indisputable merit, and as proof that his reputation possesses more than local aspect to his
recent appointment as one of the revisers of the Code of Virginia, upon which board he was placed
by Governor Stuart. In general practice and in the public service as commonwealth attorney he has
attained prominence and legal station that commend him as a lawyer of wisdom, judgment and skill.
He is a native of Campbell county, Virginia, son of Rev. Robert C. Anderson, who was born in
Prince Edward county, Virginia, in 1823.He married Caroline Armstead, born in Campbell county,
Virginia, daughter of Rev. Samuel and Nannie (Madison) Armstead, her father a minister of the
Presbyterian church, her mother a cousin of President James Madison.
Samuel Armstead Anderson, on of Rev. Robert C. and Caroline
(Armstead(Anderson, was born in Campbell Tennessee, Virginia, in April, 1850. He was educated in
the Hampden-Sidney College, and was afterward for several years a teacher in the public schools
of Henry county, then taking up legal studies in the University of Virginia. At the end of the
term of 1875 Mr. Anderson left this institution without having completed his course, and was
honored by the following statement from John B. minor, then a professor of the university and one
of the most highly regarded lawyers of the state:
[Pages 255-256]
Edmund Addison Rennolds. The name Rennolds appears very early in
the records of Virginia spelled Reynolds. From the traditions of this family it seems to be
independent of those Reynolds so frequently found in the early records of the colony. Cornelius
Reynolds received a grant of 640 acres in New Kent county in 1664. His will, made September 29,
1684, mentions sons William and John. In the Isle of Wight county, Richard Reynolds Sr. received
a grant of 380 acres in 1681. In the same county, in 1713, Richard Reynolds had 200 acres.
William Reynolds' will, made in Richmond, October 22, 1700, proved January 1, 1701, mentions
children: Cornelius, John, William, Elizabeth.
(I) The earliest known member of the family here
under consideration was John Rennolds, who emigrated from England in 1740. He was the father of
Streshley Rennolds, who held the rank of captain in the revolutionary army, serving on
Lafayette's staff. He married Martha Beale, of Essex county, and they were the parents of Robert
B., of further mention.
(II) Dr. Robert B. Rennolds, son of John
Rennolds, after obtaining his degree of M. D. at the University of Pennsylvania, practiced for a
short time in Essex county, then located in the city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he
practiced his profession during the many years of a useful and eventful life, which ended in his
eightieth year. He married Caroline Gordon, born in Fredericksburg. Children: Robert Gordon, of
further mention; Elizabeth, yet residing in Fredericksburg; Emily, married Evans P. Martin, of
South Carolina, whom she survives, a resident of Fredericksburg.
(III) Robert Gordon Rennolds, son of Dr.
Robert B. and Caroline (Gordon) Rennolds, was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1852, died in
Richmond, Virginia, October 13, 1912. His early life was spent in Fredericksburg, where he was
educated and continued in business until about twenty-five years old, then located in the city of
Richmond, where for two years he engaged in mercantile life. He then formed a connection with the
Richmond Stove Company, a well known manufacturing concern established in 1854. He then became
secretary and treasurer of the company, a position he held from about 1886 until his elevation to
the presidency of the company in 1910. During these years the business and importance of the
company wonderfully increased and Mr. Rennolds had risen to the front rank among Richmond's able
and progressive business men. He was interested principally in advancing the interests of the
Richmond Stove Company, but had acquired other important interests and was a director in both the
Old National Bank of Virginia and the First National Bank of Richmond. As an active and
interested citizen of his adopted city, he took a prominent part in municipal affairs and for
several years served as alderman, elected as a Democrat. He died October 13, 1912, at the age of
sixty years, leaving behind him an honored name. He married Nellie Addison, eldest child of
Edmund B. Addison, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work, who survives him, a resident
of Richmond, No. 202 East Franklin street.
Children of Robert Gordon and Nellie (Addison) Rennolds: Edmund Addison of
further mention; Caroline Gordon, married Hiram M. Smith, a lawyer of Richmond; Robert Gordon,
now connected with the Richmond Stove Company; Nellie Addison residing at home with her widowed
mother and brothers, neither of whom are married.
(IV) Edmund Addison Rennolds, eldest son of
Robert Gordon and Nellie (Addison) Rennolds, was born in Richmond, Virginia, November 2, 1885. He
was educated and prepared for college in the private schools of Richmond, Virginia, and Woodberry
Forest School of Orange county, then entered the University of Virginia. He then joined his
father in the Richmond Stove Company. He began as a worker in the mechanical department of the
company, mastering the details of manufacture and shop management, then was advanced to the
recording department, continuing at office work until 1912, when he was made secretary and
treasurer of the company, an office his father filled for nearly a quarter of a century prior to
his election to the presidency. Mr. Rennolds filled the office of secretary and treasurer until
1913, when he was elected president of the company, one of the large and prosperous manufacturing
plants of the south, with branches and connections widely spread, Mr. Rennolds is a most capable
and efficient executive, thoroughly familiar with the shop and office detail and imbued with a
spirit of progressiveness that uses every aid modern science and invention provides. He is a
member of the Protestant Episcopal church, a Democrat, and connected with various business and
social organizations.
[Pages 256-257]
Lawrence Taylor Price, M. D., is a descendant on both the paternal
and maternal sides of Scotch ancestors, who came to the United States, the Prices settling in
Prince Edward county, Virginia, and the Pettigrews settling in Rockbridge county, Virginia, both
taking active part in the development and improvement of their respective communities.
Charles Thomas Price, father of Dr. Lawrence T.
Price, was born in Prince Edward county, Virginia, March 18, 1843, and at the present time (1914)
is a farmer of Botetourt county, Virginia. At the outbreak of actual hostilities between the
states, he was a student in the Virginia Military Institute. He was a participant in the earlier
John Brown raid and hanging, and later was drill master at Richmond. He early enlisted in the
Sixth Virginia Cavalry, commanded by General Stuart, and during the course of the war took part
in one hundred and nineteen engagements with Federal troops. He passed through all the perils of
war safely with the single exception of a wound in the hand, a bullet passing through that
member, but only incapacitating him for a short time. Mr. Price married Emma Backus Pettigrew,
born at Eagle Rock, Virginia, May 8, 1849, of Scotch descent. Children: Nellie W., Margaret
Worthington, Lawrence Taylor, Louise B., Kathleen C., the daughters all residing at home with
their parents.
Dr. Lawrence T. Price was born at Gala, Botetourt county, Virginia, July
28, 1881, at the farm which is still the family home. He was educated under a private tutor until
he was fifteen years of age, and then attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg for
three years. After deciding upon the profession of medicine, he entered the Medical College of
Virginia, at Richmond, whence he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, class of
1903. For a year following his graduation he was interne at the Retreat for the Sick in Richmond,
and in the following year, 1904, he began private practice in Richmond, where he is now well
established, specializing in urinary-genito surgery and venereal diseases. He is also a lecturer
on these diseases at the Medical College of Virginia, and is considered a competent authority.
Dr. Price is a member of the medical fraternities, Pi Mu (Senior Councillor) and T. N. E., and of
the professional societies; American Medical Association, Medical Society of Virginia, Richmond
Academy of Medicine and Surgery, American Urological Association, Tri-State Medical Society,
Southern Medical Society, Military Surgeons of United States. His clubs are the Westmoreland and
Country Club of Virginia. In religious affiliation he is an Episcopalian, and in political faith
a Democrat.
For a period of three years Dr. Price served in the Medical Corps of
Virginia, ranking as captain, in January, 1910, he was elected, commissioned and is serving as
major of the First Battalion, First Virginia Regiment (Richmond Grays). The First Virginia
Volunteer Infantry was organized May 1, 1851, in the city of Richmond, and the regiment, or some
of its companies, has taken part in every military movement in the city and state from that date
up to the present time. Some of the companies were organized at a much earlier date. The Richmond
Grays were organized on June 12, 1844, and under the command of Captain Robert G. Scott
volunteered for service in the war with Mexico, 1846. In 1858 the regiment took part in the
ceremonies incident to the removal of the remains of President Monroe from New York, and
contested honors with the crack Seventh Regiment of New York, which came down as escort on that
occasion. In 1859 the regiment was ordered out to assist in quelling the disturbance created by
John Brown in his raid at Harper's Ferry. After the capture of Brown the regiment was recalled,
but two of the campanies, the Richmond Grays and Company F were detached to attend
the execution of Brown. In April, 1861, when Virginia called upon her sons to rally in her
defense, the First Regiment promptly responded to the call. The Richmond Grays, Company F and the
Richmond Blues, then a part of the First Regiment, being fully equipped, were detached. The
Richmond Grays, being the first company ordered out of Richmond, were sent to Norfolk and
assigned to the Twelfth Virginia Regiment. The regiment participated in the following battles:
first Manassas, Falls Church, Seven Pines, Second Manassas, Chantilly, Fredericksburg, Five
Forks, Gettysburg, Crater, High Bridge, Appomattox. After the close of the war in 1865, the
regiment was out of commission until December, 1871, when it was reorganized with John A. Sloan
as colonel. Colonel Sloan was succeeded by General Bradley T. Johnson, who was succeeded by John
B. Purcell, who was succeeded by Charles J. Anderson, who was succeeded by M. L. Spottswood, who
was succeeded by H. C. Jones. After the war with Spain, the regiment was again reorganized in
October, 1900, under the command of George Wayne Anderson. Colonel Anderson was succeeded by
William J. Perry, August 6, 1906.
The old armory of the First Regiment, which occupied the present location,
as built in 1881, the city of Richmond appropriating moneys for the bare foundation, walls and
roof, the members of the regiment raising sufficient funds to construct the interior. The old
armory, because of its peculiar architecture, was one of the buildings of special interest in the
city. The three stone balls which are at the three corners of the lot are of peculiar interest.
The Sultan of Turkey thought to use cannon larger than any other nation, which he had made, and
these granite balls to be shot from them. A practical demonstration proved that the idea was
worthless as the balls would break to pieces after being fired. About 1870 a Turkish trading
vessel used these balls as ballast and they were thrown out on the banks of the river at the
wharf in Rockets. The gentleman owning the lot upon which the armory is built brought three of
these balls up and erected them on the pedestals where they have remained ever since. In March,
1910, the building was condemned as unsafe for military purposes. The common council of 1912
appropriated $136,000.00 for the erection of a new building to cover the site of the old armory.
Work was begun on January 1, 1913, and the new building was completed in March, 1914. The new
building is Gothic architecture, its very looks portraying it to be a military structure. The
bell on the center tower was a present to the Grace Street Presbyterian Church in July, 1881, by
Mr. David Sutton, at a cost of %3,000.00. The city purchased this bell from the church in 1906,
and put it in the Blues Armory, but because of the tower there being bricked in the bell was
useless. It was removed and erected on completion of this building at its present place. It was
through the personal efforts of Dr. Price that the First Virginia Regiment Armory was
rebuilt.
Dr. Price married, at Richmond, October 28, 1913, Louise Critchfield, born
in that city, November 16, 1887, daughter of George Critchfield, living a retired life at Thelma,
Virginia, his wife being deceased.
[Pages 257-259]
Benjamin Watkins Wilson is of the old Huguenot blood, which has
contributed so many fine old names to the early history of the United States and of the American
colonies before their independence. Of that stern type which preferred death or banishment to
surrendering their personal rights and convictions, the Huguenots made ideal colonists for a new
land where the hardships of the wilderness must be encountered and peril faced. They combined
with their indomitable courage another quality scarcely less desirable, that of culture and
refinement, which pioneer peoples are so apt to lack, for the Huguenots were almost without
exception students and men of thought, the product of a long period of controversy and religious
discussion.
The Wilson family, upon their first arrival in this country, settled in
Pennsylvania, the date of this occurrence being doubtful, however, though of one thing we are
certain that they were pioneers in that region. The taste for a border life, the excitements and
strong romantic environment of the frontier, seems to have run in the Wilson family in quite an
unusual degree, for when the Pennsylvania home began to take on the circumstances of
civilization, they straightway left it and moved to still unsettled parts of Chesterfield county,
Virginia.
(I) Daniel Wilson, the paternal grandfather of
Benjamin Watkins Wilson, of this sketch, was the first member of the family to settle in
Virginia. He was a pioneer of Chesterfield county, and did very valuable work in opening up the
country thereabouts. Daniel Wilson was engaged in this work when the revolution broke out. With
characteristic readiness and hardihood, he turned from reclaiming the wilderness to the scarcely
less perilous or arduous task of destroying the English tyranny, entering the Continental army
and distinguishing himself in the service. In 1810, after the war was over and the United States
had passed from a dream to a reality, Mr. Wilson, finding Virginia no longer offered enough of
the pioneer life for his bold spirit, removed still farther into the great unknown West, making
his home this time in the sparcely inhabitated region of Kentucky. He returned, however, to
Chesterfield county, Virginia, and was there living in 1816, at the time of the birth of his son,
George Nicholas Wilson, of whom there appears an account below. Daniel Wilson married Elizabeth
Blankenship, of Chesterfield county, Virginia, and by her had a family of six children, among
whom was George Nicholas, of whom further.
(II) George Nicholas Wilson, third child of
Daniel and Elizabeth (Blankenship) Wilson, was born in Chesterfield county, Virginia, in 1816. He
passed his childhood in his native place, but later in life removed thence to Richmond, Virginia,
and there engaged in the hardware business. In this enterprise he prospered greatly and became a
man of large substance, and a very prominent figure in the community. His hardware establishment
became very well known and bore so high a reputation for capable and square dealing that at the
time of the civil war the Confederate government employed it to manufacture torpedoes for use in
the navy. It was in connection with this business that the life of a son of Mr. Wilson was lost.
The young man, Bernard Wilson, by name, was engaged in setting one of the torpedoes in the
Potomac river, when the fatal accident occurred. Gorge Nicholas Wilson married Mary Ellen
Watkins, a native of Powhatan county, Virginia, where she was born November 29, 1837. Mrs. Wilson
is the daughter of Dr. Jabez Watkins, of Powhatan county, Virginia. Dr. Watkins married Julia Ann
Taylor, and by her had two children, both of whom are now living. Besides Mrs. Wilson, there is
Nannie, now the widow of George D. Thaxton, a very prominent dry goods merchant of Richmond,
Virginia. Mrs. is descended on her mother's side of the house from Bartholomew Dupuy, a field
marshal of France. To Mr. and Mrs. George Nicholas Wilson were born five children, of whom three
are now living. Children are as follows: Charles Upshaw, deceased; Julia May, now Mrs. Richard M.
Anderson, of Richmond; George Nicholas Jr., a resident of Richmond; Benjamin Watkins, of who
further; Nannie, who died in infancy.
(III) Benjamin Watkins Wilson, fourth child of
George Nicholas and Mary Ellen (Watkins) Wilson, was born June 18, 1877, in Richmond, Virginia.
He received his education in the public schools of that city, and at the age of eighteen years,
having completed his studies, he began his business career. In the year 1904 Mr. Wilson
established his present great business, the "B. W. Wilson Paper Company." At the outset this
concern was of very small dimensions, but through the great business capacity of Mr. Wilson,
coupled with unimpeachable integrity, it has grown from these small beginnings to its present
huge proportions, being now known as one of the largest paper companies in America. Throughout
the trade circles it is recognized as a model establishment, and this reputation is one of its
securest assets. Upon Mr. Wilson's great labors and his executive skill rests the whole great
enterprise, nor could it rest upon a more secure foundation. It is not surprising that with such
a living monument to his ability, Mr. Wilson's skill should have been called into requisition by
other concerns besides his own, and accordingly we find his financial and industrial affiliations
to be very large. He is the president of the Richmond Corrugated Paper Company. But in spite of
his large interests, Mr. Wilson does not confine himself solely to the conduct of these, a policy
by which so many of the great figures in the financial world today narrow themselves until they
become mere money getting mechanisms. On the contrary, Mr. Wilson takes a broadening interest in
the life of the community, generally, and there is no measure for the good of his native city
which finds him unwilling in support. He gives generously of both his time and energy in the
service of his fellow citizens, especially in the department of politics, where in he takes a
keen and intelligent interest. He is a member of the Democratic party and takes an active part in
local politics, and is at present a member of the Ginter Park Council. He is an active member of
all the business men's associations of the city, and is well known in social and Masonic circles.
Mr. Wilson has served for five years in the State Militia, being a member of the Richmond
Howitzers, enlisting at the breaking out of the Spanish war, responding to the call of President
McKinley for volunteers.
Mr. Wilson married November 27, 1901, in Richmond, Lillian Garnett
Tomlinson, a native of that city, where she was born April 6, 1885. Mrs. Wilson was the daughter
of Isaac W. and Mary E. (Wharton) Tomlinson. Mr. Tomlinson was born in Norfolk, Virginia, but
lived all his life in Richmond, where he met his wife, who was born in that city. Mr. Tomlinson's
death occurred in 1899, but Mrs. Tomlinson is still a resident of Richmond. He was for many years
the superintendent of the city pumping houses. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have been born four
children, all of whom are living, as follows: Benjamin Watkins Jr., born November 7, 1902; Loulie
May, born May 30, 1903; Evelyn Adams, born March 21, 1910; Anne Wellford, born March 17, 1914.
[Pages 259-260]
Colonel Alexander Cameron. The entire active career of the late
Colonel Alexander Cameron, of Richmond, Virginia, one of the heads of the enormous and world
renowned Cameron tobacco interests, was distinguished by exceptional business ability and
sagacity. To his remarkably wise and intelligent direction was mainly due much of the success
achieved by them. He ever took a keen personal interest in all of their operations, guiding their
policies, and gaining their accomplishment with shrewd, unerring skill.
Colonel Alexander Cameron was born at
Grantown, Scotland, a son of Alexander and Elisabeth (Grant) Cameron, and came to America with
his parents when a very young lad. His father died while the children of the family were small,
and young Alexander came to Virginia with his mother, located in Petersburg, where he attended
school. At a suitable age he entered business life. He found a position with David Dunlop, a
prosperous tobacco merchant of that city, and with him learned the tobacco business in all its
details. When he left Mr. Dunlop it was to become a partner in the firm of William Cameron &
Brothers, the three member s of the firm being William, George and Alexander Cameron. the
interests of this concern developed rapidly, and soon spread to all parts of this country as well
as abroad. About ten years ago they were sold to the American Tobacco Company. The various
branches were conducted independently, but as an allied concern, and the various branches were
conducted independently, but as an allied concern, and the various heads under which they were
operated were: Alexander Cameron & Company, Cameron & Cameron, and William Cameron & Brother.
Factories warehouses and distributing plants were located in Richmond, Petersburg and other
important cities and the output was shipped to all parts of the world, very important connections
being maintained with Australia. The business affairs of Colonel Cameron made such demands upon
his time, that he was never desirous of entering into the political field, but his opinions on
all public questions were held in high esteem by those best competent to judge of such matters,
and he was appointed a member of the official staff of Governor J. Hoge Tyler, and was an
imposing and commanding figure in his colonel's uniform. While on a visit
to his Orange county home, known as Cameron Lodge, last summer, he became ill, but had recovered
to a certain extent when he returned to his city home. Later, however, his condition became
serious, and he died February 3, 1915. He is survived by his widow and children, and by a
brother, George Cameron, of Petersburg, Virginia, and his sister, Elizabeth Cameron, of
Richmond.
Colonel Cameron married Mary Parke Haxall, famous
for many years as a wartime beauty and bell, and a daughter of R. Barton Haxall, of Rockland,
Orange county, Virginia, and of Richmond. Children: Mary Haxall, Alexander, Barton Haxall, Janet
Gordon, Mrs. Flora M. Zinn, James Blackwood, Ewan Don, all of Richmond, and Mrs. Heron Crosman,
of Haverford, Pennsylvania. The funeral services of Colonel Cameron took place at the Second
Presbyterian Church, which he had long attended, and the remains were interred in the Cameron
section in Hollywood. His pallbearers were the men most eminent in the business and professional
life of the city, and his death caused wide-spread sorrow.
One of the leading papers of the day had this to say of him in the
editorial columns:
Death has removed another prominent figure from the business
and social circles of the city. Alexander Cameron was cast in a mould that made him a potent
force in the one, a quiet unassuming, but helpful and healthy, influence in the other. Coming to
Virginia from Scotland as a lad, and intensely proud of the history of his native land, Mr.
Cameron lived and died no less a Virginian, devoted to her interests and her traditions. Mr.
Cameron was stamped with energy, integrity and faith in the conquering power of exertion. In
character and in temperament he bore the hallmark of these; and by translating them into action
and infusing them into those with whom he was associated, he became one of Petersburg's and
Richmond's greatest industrial builders. Mr. Cameron desired to stand for nothing save what he
was an active, yet self-effacing man in the business affairs of the city, a citizen who
unostentatiously, but cheerfully, answered every call of duty, a simple, modest gentleman. Direct
of speech, open as daylight in all his transactions, he had no patience with any who did not meet
him on that plane, and no tolerance with sycophancy in any form. He admired candor and
combativeness because he believed in them as the highest test and the cornerstone of manhood.
Such admiration was in his blood. Withal, however, no man could be a more genial and more
sympathetic companion or a more dependable friend in response to any and all demands than
Alexander Cameron. Although he never sought public position, Mr. Cameron was a member of the
boards of many charitable organizations, which will sorely miss his wise counsels, earnest
co-labor and liberal support in their work, as will their host of beneficiaries.
[Pages 260-261]
Wilfred Walton Wood, D. D. S. The leaders of the world in any line
are few, the followers many. It requires great sagacity, splendid executive ability, unflagging
energy and unabating zeal in the pursuit of one's purpose, to gain leadership, and the man who
does so is certainly deserving of great credit. Dr. Wilfred Walton Wood, of Richmond, Virginia,
has attained a prestige in the dental profession second to none, and one which would do credit to
a man by far his senior in pint of years. He is a descendant of a family which has been resident
in the state of Virginia for many generations.
Rev. Henry David Wood, grandfather of Dr. Wilfred
W. Wood, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, near Peaks of Otter. He was a Methodist minister
of the Virginia conference, a man highly esteemed by all who knew him. He married, in 1838, Jane
Francis Goodman, daughter of Noton and Polly (Walton) Goodman, of Cumberland county, Virginia,
and they were the parents of three children: Rosalie Emory, who married Willis Brockman; Hennie
Virginia, who married Rev. Thomas H. Campbell; John Fletcher, of whom further.
John Fletcher Wood, father of Dr. William W. Wood,
as born at Sunny Side, Cumberland county, Virginia, May 16, 1841, died in Richmond, Virginia, in
1907. He received his degree of Master of Arts from Emory and Henry College, Emporia Kansas. He
was a lawyer and teacher through the active years of his life, the latter part of which was spent
in Richmond. He served throughout the war between the states under General J. E. B. Stuart,
artillery, until the death of General Stuart, and was then transferred to General Fitzhugh Lee's
cavalry, where he remained until the war ended, and he was twice wounded during the progress of
that momentous struggle. He married, March 20, 1864, Laura Robert Brown, born in Ballsville,
Powhatan county, Virginia, September 25, 1841, daughter of Robert Walton and Elizabeth Allen
(Hobson) Brown. Robert Walton Brown was a son of Daniel and Nancy Hobson (Walton) Brown, both of
whose great-grandfathers were emigrants from England and settled in Virginia. Elizabeth Allen
(Hobson) Brown was a daughter of Benjamin Hobson, who was a son of Josiah and Susannah Hobson,
both of whose ancestors were English emigrants. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Wood: Henry Rodophil,
died at the age of twenty-five years; Rosalie; Lillian Page, who married George W. Gibson, of
Camden, New Jersey; Robert Whitfield; Ruxtan Jeter; Frederick Albert; Wilfred Walton, of whom
further; Willis Emory, died at the age of five years.
Dr. Wilfred Walton Wood was born in Ballsville,
Powhatan county, Virginia, May 7, 1879. During his earlier years his education was acquired in
private schools, and after the age of fourteen years was continued in the schools of Richmond, to
which city his parents removed. He received his professional education in the University College
of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia, which was later merged into the Chesterfield College of
Virginia, Richmond, and so excellent was the character of his work that he was chosen to fill the
chair of crown and bridge work and clinical dentistry at the Medical College of Virginia, dental
department, and continued in charge of that department for a period of seven years. He also for a
considerable period of time rendered efficient service as clinical director. He engaged in the
private practice of his profession in 1900, and his offices are now located in the Chamber of
Commerce Building, where he makes a specialty of oral surgery and anaesthetics. He is a member of
the Richmond City Dental Society, the Virginia State Dental Association, the National Dental
Association, Psi Omega fraternity, and Tau Nu Sigma fraternity, and his religious membership is
with the Centenary Methodist Church.
Dr. Wood married, in Richmond, Virginia, April 25, 1905, Maude Berkley
Robins, born in Richmond, Virginia, daughter of Thomas Coleman and Nannie (King) Robins, who were
the parents of two other children: Mary Anderson and Beulah Coleman Robins. The only child of Dr.
and Mrs. Wood is Dorothy Lucile, born December 11, 1910.