Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography

[Pages 363-364]
Hunter Holmes McGuire, M. D., LL. D. Hunter Holmes McGuire, physician and surgeon, was born in Winchester, Frederick county, Virginia, October 11, 1835. His father was Dr. Hugh Holmes McGuire, also a physician and surgeon, who was a general practitioner of medicine in his community; and his mother's maiden name was Ann Eliza Moss. She was her husband's first cousin, their mothers having been daughters of Colonel Joseph Holmes, an officer of the Continental line and county lieutenant of Frederick county during the war of the American revolution. Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire was named after his great-uncle, Major Andrew Hunter Holmes, an officer of the United States army, who fell at the battle of Mackinaw. The Colonial ancestor of the McGuire family in Virginia was a major in the British army, who came to America from the town of Enniskillen, in the north of Ireland.
Dr. McGuire's academic education was received at the Winchester Academy, where his father had attended school before him. His early medical training was had at the medical college in Winchester, which the elder McGuire, in association with other physicians, had established, and for many years prior to the war between the states was attended by many students. He was graduated from this school in 1854 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. From 1856 to 1858 he filled the chair of anatomy in the Winchester Medical College, going in that year from Winchester to Philadelphia, where he conducted a "Quiz Class" with Drs. Pancoast and Luckett. At the time of the John Brown raid he led a movement among the students which resulted in many of them leaving Philadelphia and coming to Norfolk. Later he went to New Orleans to practice his profession; but upon the breaking out of the war in 1861 he returned to Virginia and enlisted in the Confederate army. Very soon after his enlistment, he was made medical director of the army in the Shenandoah Valley, under "Stonewall" Jackson, and served under Jackson with distinguished ability as medical director until the death of the latter at Chancellorsville. After Chancellorsville, Dr. McGuire served with no less distinction as medical director of the Second Army Corps until the close of the war. While surgeon-general he inaugurated the custom of exchanging medical officers and hence anticipated by several years the action of the general conference.
In 1865 Dr. McGuire settled in Richmond, Virginia, and was elected to the chair of surgery in the Medical College of Virginia, a position which he continued to hold until 1878. In 1883 he founded St. Luke's Home for the Sick, with an attendant training school for nurses, which growing far beyond its original dimensions, was removed in 1899 to a commodious building erected for the purpose, in the western part of the city of Richmond, and which continues to be a very prominent institution in the medical and surgical life of that city. In 1893 Dr. McGuire, in conjunction with other associates, founded in Richmond the University College of Medicine which has been highly successful from its inception, and established in connection with it the Virginia Hospital. Of both college and hospital he became the president and in the college faculty he was also the clinical professor of surgery. He was one of the founders of the Medical Society of Virginia in 1870, and after serving for a number of years as the chairman of the executive committee he became in 1880 its president.
Many honors in the medicine and surgical world were conferred upon him during his career as physician and surgeon. In 1869 he was made president of the Richmond Academy of Medicine. In 1875 he became president of the Association of Medicine Officers of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States. He was president of the Southern Surgical and Gynecological Association in 1889; and in 1893 he became vice-president and in 1896 president of the American Medical Association. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of North Carolina in 1887, and the same degree from Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1888. He published various papers on medical, surgical and cognate subjects in the medical journals, among them an account of the wounding and death of "Stonewall" Jackson, whom he attended He contributed to Ashursts' "International Cyclopaedia of Surgery" (1884)' Pepper's "System of Medicine" (1885-87); and to the American edition of Holmes' "Surgery."
Among Dr. McGuire's most notable achievements was his inauguration jointly with Captain John Cussons, of Glen Allen, Virginia, of the movement in the South against the use in the schools of partisan and mendacious text books dealing with the history of the war between the states, a movement which has finally resulted in the elimination of the many objectionable histories, and their substitution by books in which the southern viewpoint of the history of that tremendous time has been adequately presented.
Dr. McGuire was a Democrat, though neither a politician nor a partisan. His biography has been published in Appleton's "Cylopaedia of American Biography," and a vivid account of his life and career is detailed in the oration delivered by Major Holmes Conrad, late solicitor-general of the United States, upon the occasion of the presentation to the commonwealth of Virginia at Richmond, on January 7, 1904, by the Hunter McGuire Memorial Association, of a bronze statue of Dr. McGuire, which stands in the capitol grounds not far from the statue of "Stonewall" Jackson, which was presented to Virginia by an association of English Gentlemen.
Dr. McGuire married, December 22, 1866, Mary Stuart, daughter of the late Alexander H. H. Stuart, of Staunton, Virginia, a distinguished statesman of his generation in Virginia, and the first secretary of the interior under the administration of President Fillmore. Children of Dr. Hunter Holmes and Mary (Stuart) McGuire: 1. Stuart, born in Staunton, in 1867, a physician, resides in Richmond, Virginia, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. 2. Hugh Holmes, a physician resides in Alexandria, Virginia. 3. Mary Stuart, wife of Dr. William Edward McGuire, of Richmond, Virginia. 4. Frances B., wife of W. G. Davis, of Norfolk, Virginia. 5. Anne Moses, wife of William L. Clay, of Savannah, Georgia. 6. Hunter Holmes, a resident of Farmville, Virginia. 7. Augusta Stuart, deceased. 8. Margaretta Holmes, wife of Rev. R. C. Montague, of Elkins, West Virginia. 9. Margaret Cameron, wife of Arthur Gordon, of Savannah, Georgia. All of the children with the exception of the eldest was born in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. McGuire, the father of these children, died September 19, 1900.

[Pages 364-365]
Judge Charles Woolfolk Coleman was born in Caroline county, Virginia, son of Charles Woolfolk Coleman, of Caroline county, and Mary Graham Coleman, whose maiden name was Mary Graham Gardner, of Smyth county, Virginia. Through his father, he is descended from the Colemans of Caroline county, who for a century and half were distinguished teachers. Through his maternal grandfather, he is descended from the Gardners of New England, and through his maternal grandmother, he is connected with the Edmondsons and Buchanans of Southwest Virginia, who took a prominent part in the revolutionary war, winning especial distinction in the battle of King's Mountain.
Judge Coleman attended the classical school of Mr. E. G. Gwathmey, near Taylorsville, in Hanover county, Virginia, where he was prepared for college. After leaving Mr. Gwathmey's school, he entered Richmond College, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. A. He afterwards did special work at the University of Virginia. After he left college, he devoted himself to teaching. He was for some time head master of Churchland Academy, at Churchland, Norfolk county, Virginia. A large number of the young men trained in this school occupy prominent positions as teachers, lawyers, doctors, and in other professions in Virginia and other states. many of Judge Coleman's friends think that he made a mistake in giving up teaching. After studying law under Professor John B. Minor at the University of Virginia, Judge Coleman was admitted to the bar in 1892. He has always taken a very decided interest in public affairs and has always been a consistent and persistent Democrat. He has, on many occasions, been nominated by the Democratic party in Norfolk county for important public offices. In 1910 he was chosen president of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association. In 1913 he was elected judge of the first judicial circuit, composed of the populous and wealthy county of Norfolk.
In 1891 he was married to Virginia Griffin, a daughter of John T. Griffin, of Norfolk county, Virginia. Judge and Mrs. Coleman have one child, a daughter Julia G.

[Pages 365-366]
Richard Beale Davis belongs to an old Virginia family which participated actively in the struggle for American independence. According to family tradition, three brothers by the name of Davis came from Wales to America before the revolution and settled in Isle of Wight county. One of them subsequently went to Mississippi. William Edwards Davis, born 1783, grandfather of Richard B. Davis, was born in Isle of Wight county, and lived in Gloucester county, Virginia, all his life, dying there in 1857, aged seventy-four years. He was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, Mary (Hoomes) Davis, was a native of Spottsylvania county, and they were the parents of thirteen children. One of these, William Thomas Davis, born February 6, 1817, died July 1888. He was the founder of the Southern Female College of Petersburg, of which he remained president until his death. He was a member of the reserves which were engaged in the defence of Petersburg at the time of the Kautz raid. He married Elizabeth Tayloe Corbin Beale, a native of Westmoreland county, Virginia, who died at Randolph-Macon College, January 21, 1851, aged thirty-six years. They were the parents of six children, namely: Martha Emma, wife of William A. Shepard, is now deceased; William Hoomes, died while a soldier of the Confederate army; Hope Alice, is the wife of O. B. Morgan, residing in Richmond, Virginia; Richard Beale, of further mention; Joseph C., a resident of Danville, Virginia; Elizabeth Tayloe Corbin, widow of T. L. H. Young, lives in Dunn, North Carolina.
Richard Beale Davis was born February 5, 1845, in Norfolk county, Virginia, and has resided in Petersburg since the fall of 1851, when he came with his father to that city. His early education was supplied by Petersburg schools, after which he entered Randolph-Macon College. Before completing his college course he became a Confederate soldier, joining Company E, Twelfth Virginia Regiment, which became a part of Mahone's brigade, which was surrendered at Appomattox. At the battle of Seven Pines Mr. Davis was wounded, and again at the battle of the crater. After the war closed he became a student at the University of Virginia, from which he graduated in 1870 with the degree of B. L. While pursuing his college course he engaged in teaching for two years in order to maintain himself at college. Since 1870 he has engaged in the practice of law with gratifying success. In 1875 he was elected to the Virginia legislature, and was subsequently city attorney, and in 1902 was again a member of the legislature. From 1912 to 1914 he was assistant attorney general of the state. Since 1876 Mr. Davis has been a member of the board of trustees of Randolph-Macon College, and he is now president of the Virginia Normal School Board of the State. His benevolent and sympathetic nature is indicated by his active membership in the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Royal Arch. With his family Mr. Davis is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church.
He married, April 20, 1875, in Petersburg, Nannie Warwick Hall, born in Lynchburg, Virginia, a descendant of the famous family of that name, daughter of Rev. Charles Howard Hall, a famous preacher of his day, who died in 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Davis were the parents of seven children, of whom five are now living, the first Richard Beale, Jr., died in infancy, ad did the last, Rosina Leigh. The eldest of those living is Nannie Hall Davis, now living in New York City, unmarried; Carl Hall, assistant to the general council of the Atlantic Coast Railroad; Robert Beale, secretary of the United States Legation at Port Au Prince, Hayti; John Williams, assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of Illinois; Elizabeth Beale, wife of D. A. Harrison, of Prince George county, Virginia.

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Junius Edward Everette. The Everettes in Southampton county, Virginia, have long been prominent in the public life of the district, those bearing the name having been the incumbents of many of the offices within the gift of the people. The careers that are recorded to the credit of the family name have been full of benefit tot he county and state, its members living uprightly and serving well. Beginning with William Lawrence Everette, continuing through his son, Benjamin Carter Everette, to Junius Edward Everette, opportunity for public service has come to each, the last named, the present mayor of Emporia, Greenville county, Virginia. Junius Edward Everette is well-known in mercantile, political, fraternal and public circles, and for the past eight years, through successive re-election, has given to Emporia an administration efficient and clean cut in every aspect, an administration scorning the gratification of personal ambition and seeking the best service of the town.
(I) William Lawrence Everette, grandfather of Junius Edward Everette, was, under the old judicial system, one of the three magistrates of Southampton county, and was chairman of the courts. He was likewise for a time sheriff of the county, and throughout his life was a popular and universally liked official. He was a member of the Masonic order, secretary of the lodge to which he belonged. William Lawrence Everette married Maria Johnson, and had children: William, a farmer, died in 1861; Benjamin Carter, of whom further; a daughter, who married Dr. Beatman, of Southampton county, Virginia.
(II) Benjamin Carter Everette, son of William Lawrence and Maria (Johnson) Everette, was born in Southampton county, Virginia, in 1819, died in February, 1908. His occupation was that of farmer, a calling he followed during his active years, and throughout the civil war he was a member of the Home Guard and the Virginia State Militia. As a young man he was a justice of the peace, also filling the office of deputy sheriff. He married Ann Mason Sebrell, born in Southampton county, Virginia, died in 1911, aged eighty-four years, daughter of William J. Sebrell, her father sheriff of Southampton county, Virginia. Among the sons of William J. Sebrell were George W., William Nicholas, and J. E. Sebrell, all of whom were soldier in Virginia regiments, Confederate States army during the civil war. Children of Benjamin Carter and Ann Mason (Sebrell) Everette: 1. Joseph Sebrell, born in Southampton county, in 1847; a farmer of that county; he is a member of the Masonic order; married Marguerite Crechton. 2. Benjamin William, born in Southampton county, Virginia, in 1849, died in 1911; magistrate, member of the school board of his native county, and for ten years deputy treasurer of that county; a member of the Masonic order; married Catherine Crechton. 3. John Robert, born in Southampton county, Virginia, in 1854; engaged in business in North Emporia, Virginia, having been for eight years postmaster of Emporia; married Delia Partridge. 4. Junius Edward, of whom further. 5. James Carter, born in Southampton county, Virginia, in 1860; a farmer; married Susie Gray. 6. George Beauregard, born in Southampton county, Virginia, in May, 1862; was postmaster at Joyner, Southampton county, Virginia, and was also railroad and express agent; married Marguerite Dunn.
(III) Junius Edward Everette, son of Benjamin Carter and Ann (Mason) Sebrell Everette, was born in Southampton county, Virginia, February 27, 1857. He was educated in the public and private institutions of the county of his birth. Entering the mercantile business as a retail dealer he was for ten years so engaged in Sussex county, Virginia, and for three or four years followed the same line in Emporia, Virginia. While a resident of Sussex county, Mr. Everette held the office of justice of the peace. Politically a Democrat, he has long been welcomed in the councils of his party throughout the state, and for several years has been a delegate to the Virginia State Democratic Convention. For ten years he was a member of the Democratic Committee of Greenville county, and in 1902 was appointed by the Virginia Constitutional Convention a member of the Board of Registers for a term of two years, three members being appointed from each district. Mr. Everette was placed in the mayor's chair in Emporia in 1906, since which time he has not been removed, each election confirming the former choice of the citizens of Emporia by a wide majority. Mr. Everette was for two years senior deacon of Emporia Lodge, No. 150, Free and Accepted Masons. His religious denomination is the Methodist Episcopal, and in this church he is a member of the official board.
Mr. Everette married, January 15, 1879, Ann Eliza Williams, daughter of Philip T. and Mary Williams, of Sussex county, Virginia. Children: Ula Sebrell; Hadee C., married A. B. Garber, druggist, of Lawrenceville; Annie Elizabeth.

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Goodwin Lee. The early history of this name in England is treated at length elsewhere in this work. A large family of Lees in Virginia is descended from Richard Lee, who was a member of the house of burgesses of Virginia from York county, in 1647. Henry Lee, who was undoubtedly his brother, was a member of the same house in 1652. He was an attorney in York county, appearing of record March 5, 1645, and held various offices of public trust in that county during his life. He was granted two hundred and fifty acres of land by the Crown in 1648, and received a further grant of one hundred and twenty-six acres, September 12, 1652. Both Richard and Henry Lee were justices in 1647, and as early as February 19, 1644, both certified to a document. By his will, probated May 24, 1693, in York county, Henry Lee bequeathed lands to his sons William and Henry, and to several of his servants. His personal effects included "common prayer books and a silver dram cup." To his wife Alice he bequeathed the residue of his estate during her widowhood. The family has continued on the original homestead down to a very recent period, and has intermarried with the Burwells, Higginsons, Ludwells, Lightfoots, and other families of the immediate vicinity. Among the grants to Henry Lee was an Indian settlement known as "Kis Ryuacke," and the original house built thereon by Henry Lee, exceedingly simple and primitive, is still standing. It was built of alternating glazed and red brick, imported from England, the first Lee house built in America. His son William inherited a part of the paternal estate, and was the father of Henry Lee, who had sons Higginson, William and Francis. Francis was the father of William lee. William Lee's wife was of the distinguished family of Ludwells of Virginia. Mr. Lee had a neighbor and warm friend named Martin Baker, and in honor of this friend, he named one of his sons Baker Perkins Lee. He had other sons, Francis Lightfoot, Lewis Burwell and William.
Baker Perkins Lee was born March 2, 1799, in the original Lee house at "Kis Ryacke," on the land granted to his ancestors in 1648, and died in 1867 on his estate, known as "Briarfield," in Elizabeth City county, whither he removed in 1859. Briarfield include one thousand acres, and was purchased for twelve thousand dollars. Mr. Lee was a man of handsome appearance and aristocratic bearing, noted for his bountiful kindnesses and wise counsels. The York county records show that "Baker P. Lee, Gentleman," was justice from 1825 to 1833, when he resigned his seat. In 1850 he and his wife, Francis Wills, deeded various lots in the town of York. In 1880 a tract of two hundred and eight-five acres called "Washington Lodge," inherited by Baker P. Lee, was sold by his heirs-at-law. He suffered very heavy losses in property and slaves as a result of the civil war, and died literally of a broken heart. He married, March 20, 1828, in Yorktown, Frances Wills, born March 12, 1805, in Warwick county, Virginia, daughter of Captain Thomas Wills, of Company Eight, Virginia troops. The Wills family is of Scotch descent.
Baker Perkins Lee Jr. was born March 13, 1830, in York county, and died September 2, 1901, in Hampton, Virginia. He studied under private tutors in his parents' home, afterward at a preparatory school in Delaware, and in the University of Virginia, where he pursued the regular law course, receiving his degree November 14, 1855. He located at Norfolk in the practice of his profession, which soon grew to be a very lucrative one. He also entered the newspaper field, and was editor of a newspaper in that city. At the beginning of the civil war he was among the first to respond to the call from the state. He enlisted as a private and left Hampton in May, 1861, as lieutenant of a company called the "Hampton Grays," which afterward became Company E of the Thirty-second Regiment Virginia Infantry. He did brilliant service from Bull Run to the close of the struggle. He was in the battle of Big Bethel, the fights around Yorktown, and the battle of Williamsburg. Later he was made captain of Company C, and remained in command of the company until the winter of 1862-63, when the Thirty-second Regiment was reorganized and he was made major. In the seven days' fight around Richmond his company was constantly engaged and fought with great daring at Malvern Hill. His regiment was with General Lee in the first Maryland campaign which ended with the battle of Sharpsburg, in which the Thirty-second Regiment lost a great many of its officers and men. Major Lee was frequently in command of his regiment and served with remarkable courage to the end of the war. As soon as peace was restored he went to the eastern shore, and during the dark days of reconstruction gave great service to the state. He was a fluent talker, and his eloquent voice was heard in every village and cross roads in behalf of good government by white men. In 1870 major Lee was nominated for Congress by the Democrats of the second district, which at that time had a Republican majority of three to one. After a hotly contested compaign, the Republican nominee was elected by a small majority. Following this Major Lee moved to Richmond, where, in conjunction with General James McDonnell, he founded the "Industrial South," which soon became a very influential newspaper of the Old Dominion. He was also for some time editor of the Richmond "Enquirer," the leading Democratic journal of the state at that time, and of the Richmond "Whig." He gained distinction as a literary man, and his services were sought by several monthly magazines. Some of the most clever stories of modern times came from his pen. Returning to the practice of law he located at Hampton and was very successful, his opinions valued and highly respected by people of every station of life. For two successive terms he served the state with credit as railroad commissioner, and in 1888 was appointed by President Cleveland collector of customs for the port of Newport News, and served four years. He was then elected to the Virginia legislature and served several times a candidate for Congress and was frequently mentioned for the nomination for governor, but declined to be a candidate. In 1895 he was appointed judge of the circuit court, including Elizabeth City and Warwick counties, to fill an unexpired term. In the following December he was chosen by the legislature to this seat over several competitors. His administration of the office was an impartial one, and his unselfish disposition and courtesy toward the bar won for him the highest encomiums. In private, as well as public life, Judge Lee was above reproach, inconversation always pleasant and genial, he was an example for emulation. He loved the Confederate soldier, and was ever ready to honor any of his former comrades. It is said that he "belonged to the school of old Virginians, a class that is rapidly passing into history." He was a devout communicant of the Episcopal church, being a member of Old St. John's Church in Hampton for many years. One of the leading Virginia papers said in his obituary: "Soldier, lawyer, journalist, jurist, orator and statesman, Judge Lee will be first and longest remembered as a man. His tender and gentle, though striking personality was always predominant and in whatever public capacity he served his people, that public character was forgotten in the contemplation of his private virtues. He was a courtly, Christian gentleman of the old Virginia type, cultured, scholarly by instinct and education, unselfish, lovable, pure of heart and life. He had no enemies and his friends are numbered by thousands. He cherished no resentments, but never forgot a favor done him, and much of his long, useful life was devoted to the service of his friends, of whose esteem he was proud. His loyalty to this section and its people is almost a by-word and no man has died in this section in recent years whose memory will be cherished more tenderly and affectionately than his."
He married in Hampton, November 14, 1855, Mary Esther Simkins, born February 22, 1835, at Tower Hill Estate, Northampton county, Virginia, a famous belle and beauty of tidewater Virginia. Her father, Dr. Jesse Jarvis Simkins, was an eminent physician and surgeon of the eastern shore, Northampton county, and was surgeon in hospitals at Richmond, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina, in the war between the states, 1861-1865. His wife, mother of Mary E. Simkins, was Esther Goffigon. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Lee: 1. Goodwin Lee, mentioned blow. 2. Frances Simkins, married Henry Wise Booker, and resides in Hampton. 3. Richard Henry, unmarried. 4. Frank, married Martha Lowry Jones. 5. Arthur, unmarried. 6. Baker Perkins, married Lulu L. Skinner. 7. Loxley, married Helen Schall.
Goodwin Lee, lawyer and editor, is a conspicuous example of the qualities that have made the Lee family remarkable. He was born September 14, 1863, son of Baker Perkins, 2d, and Mary E. (Simkins) Lee. He was educated by private tutors and in private schools in Charles City county, studied law with his father and was admitted tot he bar. He came to New York City in 1903, and engaged in editorial work. He is now editor of "The Fire engineer." Mr. Lee is pre-eminently a home man, and though he takes the keenest interest in every sort of public movement, even apart from those in which his own editorial work lies, he does not belong to any societies or clubs. He married Susan Wentworth, daughter of James P. and Elvira (Ballard) Carr, the mother being the daughter of General Ballard, a soldier of revolutionary fame.

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Marvin Everette Nuckols. M. D. Dr. Nuckols traces his ancestry through paternal and maternal lines to early emigrants in Virginia from England and Scotland, being connected with the families of Gray, Woodson, Jordan and Morrison. His great-grandfather, Jacob Woodson, was a soldier of the revolution, and many men of eminence in the state are descendants of these emigrants.
Dr. Marvin E. Nuckols was born in Henrico county, Virginia, August 2, 1876, son of Jacob Woodson Nuckols, a farmer of Henrico county, noted for his energy and upright honest life. He married Mildred H. Jordan, daughter of Obadiah and Jane (Morrison) Jordan. Jacob Woodson Nuckols, born July 30, 1836, died September 11, 1910, was a son of Israel and Jane (Woodson) Nuckols.
Marvin E. Nuckols spent his early life on the farm and bore thereon his full share of the farm labor. He built up a strong body ad character in this out-of-order life, that when he was transferred to the busier, more exciting scenes of life were strong bulwarks of defense against insidious attack. He obtained a good education without difficulty, passing through the public schools to Richmond High School, where he was graduated with the class of 1894. He had decided upon the medical profession and after leaving high school entered the University College of Medicine, whence he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, 1897 He was ambulance surgeon at the City Hospital, Richmond, one year, then began private practice in that city, and there continues, a skilled, highly regarded physician and surgeon. From 1898 to 1913 he was a teacher at the University College of Medicine, the last three years of that time professor of operative surgery.
He is a member of several professional societies, Phi Chi fraternity, the Westmoreland Club; is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics a Democrat. His vacations are spent in the open air so far as possible, hunting being the form of sport he most enjoys, and the mode of relaxation most helpful.
Dr. Nuckols married, June 17, 1903, Alice, daughter of George and Edmonia Dawson, granddaughter of Preston and Selina Dawson, and of Edmund C. and Elizabeth Christian, a descendant of Major Edmund Christian, of Creighton, Virginia. Children: Marvin Everette (2) and Edmund Christian.

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Robert Gilliam, of Petersburg, one of the leading attorneys of Virginia, belongs to an old family of this state, which was conspicuous during the days of the revolution. His grandfather, John Gilliam, was a native of Prince George Cavalry during the revolution, being present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. His wife, Hannah (Sampson) Gilliam, came from Perth, Scotland, and they were the parents of a large family. Their son, Robert Gilliam, born September 17, 1796, in New Kent county, Virginia, always resided in Prince George county, he was elected clerk of the court, and died July 5, 1884, in his eighty-eighth year, Up to the time of his death he had lived during the lifetime of every United States president. He married Charlotte Isabella Sanxay, a native of Richmond, who died in the winter of 1904, aged eighty-five years. She was a daughter of Richard D. Sanxay, who was born in England, and was a book merchant of Richmond, living tot he age of eighty-five years. He married Emily Gordon, and they had a large family, of whom are now living: Sophia Gohmert, residing at San Antonio, Texas, and Rosalie Morris, of Petersburg. Robert Gilliam and wife were the parents of eleven children, ten of whom are now living, namely: 1. Mary E., widow of William D. Porter, who was a nephew of Commodore Porter of the United States navy; she resides in Petersburg. 2. Lucy Skelton, widow of George W. Tennent, formerly of the United States navy; afterwards of the Confederate States navy; she lives in the city of Mexico. 3. Emily G., who married Francis E. Hall, and is now deceased. 4. Charlotte Isabella, unmarried, residing in Petersburg. 5. Robert, of further mention. 6. John, a resident of New York City. 7. Eliza, widow of Robert Carter Braxton, residing in Farmville, Virginia. 8. Sophia, widow of David E. Bowden, of Prince George county, Virginia. 9. Ellen, residing, unmarried, in the city of Mexico. 10. Richard Davenport, an attorney of Petersburg. 11. Charles Macalister, manager of the Petersburg Telephone Company.
Robert (2) Gilliam, eldest son of Robert (1) and Charlotte Isabella (Sanxay) Gilliam, was born January 27, 1847, in Prince George county, Virginia, and resided there until 1861, when he moved with his parents to Richmond. He was educated under a governess and at Zimmer's School, at City Point, Virginia, and in Prince George county. He was in his fifteenth year when he came to Richmond, and at once became a messenger in the Confederate treasury department, rising to the position of assistant cashier, receiving at the age of seventeen years a salary of fifty-five hundred dollars in Confederate money. He was one of the most rapid and expert counters of money in the service. After residing for a short time in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1869 he was made clerk of the court of Prince George county, continuing in that office until 1874, when he removed to Petersburg, and soon after, entered upon practice of the law. In 1888 he was elected clerk of the court, and filled that position until February 1, 1915, since which date he has been engaged in the general practice of law at Petersburg, with an office at 420 Mechanics Building. Mr. Gilliam was a member of Company G, Department Battalion forces of local defence; was in engagements near Portsmouth, in which General Dalghren's raid was repelled. Mr. Gilliam is a communicant of the Episcopal church, and is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
He married (first) October 24, 1876, in Petersburg, Sue T. Beckwith, daughter of Dr. T. S. Beckwith, of Petersburg. She died July, 1877, without issue, and he married (second) April 29, 1879, Mary Love Bragg, daughter of Governor Bragg, of North Carolina, who was also a United States senator in 1867, and afterward attorney general of the Confederate States, and died in 1873. Her mother, Isabella (Cuthbert) Bragg, died in 1877. Of the eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gilliam, two died in infancy. The living are: 1. Isabella Cuthbert, wife of Dr. W. H. Crockford, of Petersburg. 2. Robert Jr., born October 6, 1881, a lawyer of that city; graduate Richmond College, class of 1903, B.L. degree; married, November 26, 1912, Grizzelle Mullen, daughter of Judge J. M. Mullen, of Petersburg, Virginia; member of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, past exalted ruler of Lodge No. 237, Petersburg; past worthy president of Fraternal Order of Eagles; member of Order of Moose; member house of delegates of Virginia, 1912; member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, 3. Thomas Bragg, a mechanical engineer, residing in Cincinnati, Ohio. 4. Herbert Bragg, B. A.,B. L., born April 30, 1887; an attorney of Petersburg; member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. 5. Mary Love, wife of William R. Young, of Greenville, Mississippi. 6. Charlotte, a graduate, A. B., of Randolph-Macon Women's College, unmarried.

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Robert Washington Gwathmey, a leading grain broker of New York City, is named for his ancestor Robert Washington, the immigrant to Virginia. The family of Washington has been traced back many generations in England. Mr. Gwathmey is descended from Betty Washington, daughter of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball, and sister of the immortal George Washington, Father of his Country. Betty Washington was born June 22, 1733, at Wakefield, Westmoreland county, Virginia, and married Colonel Fielding Lewis. Their son Howell Lewis, born September 12, 1770, in Woodlawn, Culpeper county, Virginia, was a favorite nephew of General George Washington, from whom he inherited thirteen hundred acres of land on the Kanawha river in Mason, county. After living some years in Richmond, he settled on t his land in 1812, with twelve male and six female slaves and their children. There he died December 26, 1822. He married in Richmond, September 26, 1795, Ellen Hackley Pollard, daughter of Robert Pollard, born December 7, 1776, died January 15, 1859, at the home of her daughter, in Marietta, Ohio. Their third daughter, Frances Fielding Lewis, born February 11, 1805, in Richmond, married, June 27, 1822, Humphrey Brooke Gwathmey. Humphrey Brook Gwathmey, son of Temple and Ann Gwathmey, was born 1793, and resided in Richmond, Virginia, where he died September 22, 1852. He was a cotton merchant at New Orleans, Louisiana, and Savannah, Georgia. Children: William Gaston, born April 2, 1823, in Savannah, died 1852; Ellen Jael, August 26, 1824, at Richmond, died 1870; Humphrey Brooke, June 5, 1826, died in November following; Matilda Cuming, January 6, 1828, in New York; Virginia, December 21, 1830, in New York, married Adam Empie, and now resides at Wilmington, North Carolina; Theodore Francis, May 21, 1832, in Norfolk, served as a private soldier in the civil war in Dreux battalion of the Confederate army, enlisting from New Orleans, Louisiana, he saw service on the peninsula below Richmond, at Port Hudson, Louisiana, at Wilmington, North Carolina, and died February 23, 1883; Temple, born 1834 in Norfolk, died 1840; Fanny Brooke, August 8, 1835, in Norfolk, became the wife of Andrew Ried, of Baltimore, Maryland; Caroline Heth, 1837, in Mobile, Alabama, died 1842, in Richmond; Mary Ann, 1841, in Richmond, died 1849; Emily Carter, 1843, in Norfolk, died 1849; Robert Washington, mentioned below.
Robert Washington Gwathmey was born June 22, 1846, in Richmond, and was educated in private schools of his native city. From October, 1862, to June, 1863, he served as a clerk in the treasury department of the Confederate States of America, at Richmond. He was a private in the Otey battery and served until the close of the war, his first campaign being at East Tennessee under General Longstreet, in 1863-64. From January, 1864, he was in the Army of Northern Virginia, in the vicinity of Richmond and Petersburg. After the close of the war, in 1865, he became a clerk in a mercantile house at Baltimore, and was subsequently in business there on his own account till December, 1884, when he removed to New York City. Since that time he has been continuously engaged in the grain business in New York, with office in the Produce Exchange. Mr. Gwathmey enjoys the esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances. From 1910 to 1912 he was commander of the camp of Confederate veterans in New York City. He possesses those personal qualities which win and hold friends, and is naturally allied with social and other societies of New York City, including the New York Club, the Southern Society, and the Confederate Veterans Camp. His theological views are of liberal character, and he is not allied with any religious organization. Politically he does not give allegiance to any organization, and acts upon his own best judgment.

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George Pinckney Geoghegan. Dr. John Andrew Geoghegan, who prior to 1859 was a prosperous physician, tobacco manufacturer and merchant, of Clarksburg, Mecklenburg county, Virginia, wrote, some time previous to his death in 1896, a short history of the early family in Virginia and Ireland. From this we gather that the family in Ireland was known for many years as the "Horse Leap: Geoghegans of county Kings, Ireland, near Tullamore. Charles Geoghegan, the father of Dr. John Andrew Geoghegan, and grandfather of George Pinckney Geoghegan, of Danville, Virginia, married Ellen Murphy, and had several children, including three sons, Henry William, Charles and John, all of whom came to the United States. John returned to Ireland in 1830, then was back and for the between the two places until his death in Suffield, Connecticut, about 1867. Henry William died near Glade Hill, Franklin county, Virginia, September 5, 1840, in his fifty-three year. Charles Geoghegan had also four daughters: Sally, Eliza, Ellen and Mary Ann. Ellen married John Duggan and came to the United States about 1830, and he for a time was in business with his brother in Richmond, Virginia. From there he moved to Norfolk, Virginia, whence to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he made a large fortune, and had two sons who were prominent business men of New Orleans — Thomas J. and Joseph H. Duggan. Ellen, the mother of these sons, died in 1868.
Charles (2) Geoghegan, one of the three sons of Charles (1) Geoghegan, was born in 1796, died in Clarksville, Mecklenburg county, Virginia, July 2, 1857. He came to this country when young, and lived for a while in New York City, then came to Virginia, where he located in Richmond, making his home with a noted man of wealth and benevolence. On March 13, 1823, he married and was engaged in business in Richmond until 1832, when he moved to Farmville, in Prince Edward county, Virginia, and six years later to Clarksville, on the bend of the Roanoke river, in Mecklenburg county. There he was heavily engaged in tobacco manufacturing until his death in 1857. H is wife, Elizabeth Kendall (Evington) Geoghegan, was born in Manchester, (Richmond), Chesterfield county, Virginia, August 14, 1796, died in Clarksville, March 15, 1878. She was a daughter of Lewis Evington, a soldier of the war of 1812, who died in the service at Norfolk, Virginia. She had two brothers, john Kendall and Edwin Evington, who moved west about 1830; also two sisters, Margaret and Frances, who moved to Tennessee. Children of Charles and Elizabeth Kendall (Evington) Geoghegan: John Andrew, of whom further; Edmund Wallis, died in infancy; Joel Womack, met a tragic death in Danville in 1878; Elizabeth, Frances, Ellen and Virginia, the latter two dying in infancy. The second daughter, Frances, married Joseph A. Tarwater, in 1847, and moved to Warrenton, North Carolina.
Dr. John Andrew Geoghegan, eldest son of Charles (2) and Ellen Kendall (Evington) Geoghegan, was born in Richmond, Virginia, December 23, 1823, died April 16, 1896, in Warren county, North Carolina. He obtained a good education, became his father's assistant in early life, and married at the age of twenty years. After his marriage, he studied medicine and was graduated M. D. from the Philadelphia Medical College, Pennsylvania. After graduation he located in Clarksville, where he had a large medical practice, was engaged in a large tobacco manufacturing business with his father; conducted a prosperous mercantile business in partnership with his brother-in-law, Joseph A. Tarwater; ran a line of boats, jointly with his father, from Clarksville to Weldon, on the Roanoke; operated two small grain farms, and with Mr. Tarwater conducted a blacksmith shop with three forges. Of this period Dr. John A. Geoghegan wrote: "Every hour of my time was employed. We were not rich but what might be called forehanded, enjoying an unlimited credit." In 1854 his first wife died of a congestive chill, the doctor being then absent in Baltimore. She died suddenly and was buried before he received tidings even of her illness. Later he wrote: "After the death of my wife, things seemed to go wrong with us all, resulting in a break or failure in 1856, with a general sell out. We did not own but few slaves, but all our property of every description was sold, except my medical books and instruments."
Dr. Geoghegan was then thirty-one years of age, a widower, with three children, the eldest, Bettie, ten years; "Jack," (John Andrew), five years, and Robert, two years of age. With nothing but his books and instruments he began life anew, practised his profession in Mecklenburg county for a time; married a second wife and in 1857 moved to Jefferson county, Arkansas, near Pine Bluffs. In Arkansas he practiced at Camden, Princeton and Rob Roy, returning east in 1871, locating at Hillsboro, North Carolina. In 1876 he moved with his family to Danville, Virginia; remained two years, then settled in Person county, then in Vance county, North Carolina, thence removed to Warren county, North Carolina, where both he and his second wife died.
Dr. John Andrew Geoghegan married (first) in Richmond, when a little over twenty years of age, Ann, daughter of Robert Jones, formerly of Person county, North Carolina, but who had moved to Kentucky when his daughter Ann was a child of five years, leaving her with her grandparents. They were married May 15, 1844, in Person county, and were happily wedded for then years, her death occurring June 19, 1854, in Clarksville, Virginia. She was the mother of seven children, three of whom, Bettie, Jack and Robert survived her, but are all deceased at the present time (1915). Dr. John Andrew Geoghegan married (second) Mary Louise Fuller, of Franklinton, North Carolina, daughter of Solomon Fuller. The children by this marriage were George Pinkney, William Henry, Sallie Virginia, Barney Joseph, Mary Elizabeth and Kathleen. William Henry and Kathleen, deceased.
George Pinckney Geoghegan, eldest son of Dr. John Andrew and his second wife, Mary Louise (Fuller) Geoghegan, was born in Clarksville, Virginia, June 1, 1859. He was three months old when his parents moved to Arkansas and in all their subsequent removals until 1876, was taken with them living in three states and more towns, during his early life. He attended school in these various towns in Arkansas and North Carolina, until he was fifteen years of age, then in Hillsboro, North Carolina, began business life as a clerk in a general store. After two years he again followed the family fortunei, coming to Danville in 1876, that city ever afterward having been his home. He obtained employment in the tobacco factories of Danville, then for six years was an employe in the job printing office of the "Daily Express," later the Danville "News." He spent the next six years as clerk in a Danville confectionery store. He then entered the public service of the city, spent one and a half years in the office of the collector of taxes; was two years deputy city treasurer, and on the resignation of his chief was elected his successor, serving as city treasurer fourteen years. He was elected for an other term but declined the honor, having decided to engage in private business. He opened a seed and poultry supply house in Danville, which he conducted one and a half years; also acting as manager of the Danville Fair Association, of which he is a director. The office of city treasurer then becoming vacant he accepted the appointment to fill out the unexpired term and at the November election, 1913, was elected to the office for four years, beginning January 1, 1914. His continued re-election to the office of city treasurer speaks louder than words in testimony of his uprightness of character and the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens. Mr. Geoghegan is a Democrat in politics, a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a communicant of the Presbyterian church, which he has served as secretary and treasurer of the Sunday school for twenty-two years.
He married, in Danville, October 18, 1893, Annie Johnson Paylor, born in North Carolina, Marche 17, 1873, daughter of William Paylor, born December 9, 1830, died June 3, 1910, a merchant and a Confederate veteran. His wife, Sarah (Clay) Paylor, born August 21, 1841, in Nottaway county, Virginia, died May 23, 1886, aged forty-five years. Children: George Pinckney (2), born August 18, 1894, now assistant with the firm of James T. Caitlin & Son, insurance; Marie Louise, born April 21, 1896; Aileen Fuller, born September 16, 1898; William Andrew, born December 25, 1900; Susie Clay, October 30, 1903; Annie Paylor, born February 3, 1906; John Temple, born August 26, 1909.