Henry County, Virginia
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BIOGRAPHIES from the
HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA
By Judith Parks America Hill, Martinsville, Virginia, 1925

Transcribed by Nancy Piper for Genealogy Trails

CHAPTER VIII - BIOGRAPHIES

REV. ROBERT C. ANDERSON
Page 61
Robert Campbell Anderson was born in Campbell county, Virginia, March 16, 1823. He graduated in 1843 with first honors from Hampden Sidney College, and in 1847 from Union Theological Seminary, New York, also licensed the same year by the Presbytery of Hanover. Staying a short time at Appomatox Court House Church, he moved to Henry county, and in 1854organized the first Presbyterian church In the county, now the Martinsville Anderson Memorial church, with three members. He was connected with this church for forty years. He built Cedar Chapel near his home and about the Civil War period, he erected another at Ridgeway, but all later became centered in the Martinsville organization. .
In March 1895, the people of Martinsville held a union meeting of prayer at the Christian church. Mr. Anderson was to close his pastorate of his church (the Presbyterian) the first of April, and had been so faithful, and had lived such an exemplary life, and so full of faith in God's abiding love that it touched the hearts of all members of the churches and everyone united in paying him due respect. Many tributes were paid him and at the close of the services the entire congregation united in singing: "Blessed be the tie that binds."
He was a man of good natural capacity, highly educated and a great theologianl and his sermons were imbued with the evangelistic spirit. Faith was his favorite subject. No man more fully exemplified the power of that faith, "That works by love purified the heart and overcomes the world." Many were believed to have been restored to health through his prayers. In answer to his prayer for feed for his animals, a neighbor drove up with a load for him. "Ah I brother," he exclaimed, "God has sent that In answer to my prayer, and I thank him for it."
On another occasion a fire was sweeping through the heart of the town and everyone was aroused to the very highest pitch, but he just went home and begged for aid and Lo! the wind changed, and the town was saved!
In this age of commercialism, when the ministers generally know the amount of their yearly income in advance, it is wonderful to think of the years of services given without money and without price by this man to the people of Henry county. Few hearts equaled this great soul who spoke the word of God for real love, and always appealed to his congregation. "To keep yourselves unspotted from the world."
On Nov. 8, 1899 his spirit took its flight to rest with the God he served so faithfully and trusted so implicitly.

MISS KATE ANDERSON
Page 61-62
Miss Katherine Virginia Anderson was born Jan. 9, 1857 in this county where she spent her useful and happy life. When nine years of age she joined the Presbyterian church and announced that she would give one tenth of what she made to the Lord's cause, and this she always did.
Nature endowed her with rare gifts of heart and mind. She had a beautiful christian character, and her life was filled with the fruits of the Spirit and abounded In a great variety of good works. She was an artist of acknowledged ability, and painted hundreds of portraits and miniatures that are treasures of the highest works of art.
The income from her labors was contributed to the welfare of those she loved in a most beautiful and beneficial method and the success attained by her people in the professions rightly belongs to her in a great measure. There is no parallel to her life in this sphere of sisterly affection and accomplishment in all the great history of Virginia.
The great service rendered to her family is almost equaled in her great work In her community for the Church and the Sunday schools she loved so well and cared for so devotedly. She was an active leader In the Woman's Auxiliary as well as the Young People's work. There was nothing closer to her heart than the Mission Cotton Mill Sunday School which she conducted for yean at the expense of her health and strength. She was loyal and faithful to her church and pastor, untiring and unlimited In her devotion to her family and friends, and freely gave her life, her strength, and her means that others might be happy in the homes that her labors blessed.
This county has developed many grand women, thousands of the best of God's creation, but it pleased Him to make her a character that ought to be remembered as the highest type of womanhood, Miss Kate Anderson. She died at Orando, Florida, March 8, 1922.

HON. J. M. BARKER
Page 63
The history of the county offers no parallel to Hon. J. M. Barker of Axton who was born about 1840 and who lived in this county all his active life. He belongs to the order of self-made men. He was not given the opportunity for an education, but he learned to work with his hands and use his head to the best purpose.
The Civil War ended to find him possessed of just two things brains and energy. He studied how to grow crops and improve his land at the same time and made money growing tobacco all along. He invested his savings in more land and continued this process till he was one of the largest land owners in the county and one of the biggest growers of tobacco in the state. He made it fine and sold it well and here was the secret of his prosperity.
He was elected Supervisor of his district and soon made Chairman of the Board and this position he held for many years. He and W. G. Burgess, the Supervisor from the Ridgeway District, were two of the ablest members that ever graced that body, and during their administrations, the finances of the county were conducted on a business and satisfactory method for the whole county.
Gov. J. Hoge Tyler appointed him a member of the State Board of Agriculture and his acts were so satisfactory that Gov. A. J. Montague appointed him a second time. His whole services were of a high order and redounded to the welfare of the entire state.
He was hospitable, big hearted, appreciative, and a great citizen and at home he was an ambitious father that gloried in the achievements of his family and friends. When he died the county lost one of its big men by nature, made great by human endeavor.

JOHN R. BROWN
Page 64
John R. Brown of Martinsville, Va., was born Jan. 14, 1842, in Franklin 00., Va. His family is American in all ita branches. He is a descendant of the distinguished families of Rives and Spotswood of Colonial and Revolutionary fame.
Frederick Brown, the founder of the branch in America, of which he is a descendant, reached here from Eng, and in 1745. He was a gallant soldier in the War of the Revolution. The subject of this sketch, at the age of nineteen, entered the Confederate Army, Company D, 24th Virginia Volunteers. .He was married in 1862 to Miss Anne Eliza Vial. Of this union there were ten children.
He came to Martinsville, with his father Frederick Rives Brown in 1882, both having previously built their homes, and at once erected a large place for the manufacture of tobacco under the old firm name of J. R. & F. R. Brown. They also built a splendid and commodious warehouse for the sale of leaf tobacco.
He organized the first bank in Martinsville, known as the Henry County Bank and was engaged in the mercantile business for several years. At that time Martinsville had only two or three stores: Messrs. J. B. Lavinder, Thomas Green Penn and C. A. Hamilton.
He was elected Mayor of Martinsville in 1884. He is a prominent Mason, having been an active member of this order over sixty years and Master of the Lodge soon after moving to Martinsville. He is public-spirited and exceedingly popular, easily making friends, always ready to lend a helping hand in any movement to advance the interest of the town. He became an active leader in politics and a lifelong republican. He was elected to the 60th Congress from the 6th Virginia District, receiving 12,778 votes against 9,614 for Col. George O. Cabell, democrat.
He is now one of Martinsville's oldest and most honored citizens-celebrated his 82nd birthday January 14th, 1924. He has always been a great reader and still takes a lively interest in current events and political news of the day. We predict that he will live to see Martinsville the greatest city in this section of Virginia.

MRS. KATE BRADFIELD BROWN
Page 65
Mrs. Kate Bradfield Brown is a lineal descendant of Mrs. Susan Traylor Bradfield, daughter of J. C. Traylor. She is the daughter of William Robert Bradfield and Willie Florence Pitman. Her father is the youngest son of Mrs. Susan Traylor Bradfield.
Mrs. Brown was educated at La Grange College, La Grange, Ga., the oldest organized, although not the first chartered college for women in the world. Later she received a certificate from the University of Tenn. After teaching three years, she married John S. Brown of Locust Grove, Henry county, Ga., and with her husband she has traveled extensively in the United States and Canada.
Later, she taught for a number of years, holding some of the most responsible positions in Henry and Butts counties, Ga.
For eight years she served as assistant postmaster at Locust Grove, Ga.; was president of Locust Grove Woman's Club, and was the first president of Henry County Federation of Women's Clubs.
She has been very active in church, Sunday school and missionary work, having taught in Sunday school for more than twenty years, served as an officer in the Methodist Church and president of the Missionary Society.
She also was Chairman of some of the Liberty Loan Drives in Henry County, and under her leadership the county went well over the top in subscriptions; also. District Chairman for War Savings Stamp Drive, and worked strenuously in the Red Cross during the World War, receiving a Certificate of Honor signed by Woodrow Wilson for service rendered in the Red Cross.
June 1924, she was elected Superintendent of Henry County schools.

CHARLES BENJAMIN BRYANT
Page 65-66
Col. C. B. Bryant was born in 1842, the son of Rowland Bryant who came from R ockbridge county. He had no college advantages, but was an apt and close student of men. He married Malinda, the daughter of George Waller, in 1865. No issue.
He studied civil engineering and later law. He was admitted to the bar and was fond of chancery practice.
He delighted in military and was made a Colonel of the Virginia Militia. During the Civil War, he was in the Quartermaster Department, being an adjutant in this army before he was elected Clerk of Henry county and Circuit Courts. He held this office during the remainder of the Confederacy. He was an expert penman and the Clerk's office shows his beautiful writing covering a long period. Later he was made Commissioner of Accounts and added to his reputation as a pen artist as well as public accountant.
For a short time he did civil engineering, but was elected Mayor in 1881. He was a very efficient officer, and the town never had a more enthusiastic booster and promoter of expansion. Not possessed of much means himself, he could make plans so plain and plausible to others, that he easily elicited capital in many enterprises that meant for the town's prosperity. There are not many public utilities of his day, you can mention that he did not formulate, project, or boost in some helpful way. No man who knew his work and influence would deny him to have been one of the most useful citizens the town ever had. So accustomed was everybody to demand and accept his services for the public, he was not properly rated during his career.
He was a great advocate of power, inventions, and transportation for the entire county. No one excelled his work in promoting both of the railroads that traverse the county and projected its permanent prosperity. He was the engineer and diplomatic negotiator of the town's water-rights and system, secretary of the Phospho-Lithia Springs Company, and had time to fill the position of Secretary of the Henry County Historical Society.
He was a man of erect carriage, mentally alert, cordial in greeting, conservative in advising, calm in temperament, and a pleasant companion. He was a true patriot, a faithful friend, a good neighbor, and bore an air that was impressive and a wit that rarely failed him. The county as a whole will never have a more loyal and devoted son to labor for the general welfare than Col. Bryant.
He died on Nov. 80, 1915, and was buried in Martinsville, which is, in many of its developments, a monument to his energy and sagacity, among the friends and neighbors he loved so well.

COLONEL JOHN DILLARD
Page 67-69
Colonel John Dillard, the first of the family to settle in this county, was born in Amherst county, Virginia, in 1751. His father was James Dillard who was born in the same county in 1727, married Mary Hunt of Essex (1784-1748), and died in 1794.
James Dillard was an officer in the Colonial Militia. (See Statutes of Henning 1758); a King's Magistrate (See Va. Mag. page 254, 1909) ; High Sheriff of Amherst county (See Deed Book C. Rec. 1771) ; besides other positions of honor and trust.
Naturally, he inherited the love of military from his father, and so he early enlisted in the Continental Army in the early years of the Revolution (See War Department Records). He was wounded at the battle of Princeton and sent home to recuperate. As soon as able physi-cally, he was commissioned Captain of the Committee of Safety of Pittsylvania when this county was included, and was also appointed to gather supplies for the army. This is about the date of his arrival, for the records show that he had a tract of land surveyed in 1778..
We can review his career during this period from Pittsylvania Accounts as follows: Committee of Safety, 1775-6-120, H. D. May 1777-75. Audits Accounts 1779-141. War 28-1777, also from volume 15 of the North Carolina State Records, page 128, is seen where at the Abraham Cresons Camp, Oct. 19, 1780, Virginia officers were asked to join in a council to determine upon measures to be put in execution against insurgents. In response to this we read the records showing the officers that attended this council; viz.
From North Carolina: Martin Armstrong, C. C.; Joseph Williams, Lieut. Col.; William Meridith, Capt. (Surry) : Samuel Henderson, Capt. (Guilford).
From Henry County, Virginia: Abraham Penn, Col.; Peter Hairston, Capt.; John Dillard, Col.; James Poteat, Capt.: James Torrents, Capt.: Samuel Hairston, Capt.; Thomas Bush, Capt.
This discussion by the officers resulted in the issuing of a proclamation urging the tories to join the patriot. and promising to use their influence with the general assembly of North Carolina, to obtain a pardon to those who availed themselves under this opportunity.
In the sketch of Col. George Hairston is found the Fletcher tragedy and the marriage of his widow to Col. Hairston, depicted from the Hairston standpoint. Here is presented the same incident, from the Dillard information, claiming in addition to the family tradition that a lady now living at Mt. Airy, N. C., corroborates the facts, her grandfather being at the time one of Capt. Dillard's soldiers.
Captain Letcher, of Patrick county, a man of wealth and high character, who belonged to General Steven's brigade of those Virginia troops then serving under General Greene, was at home with his wife, whose condition required his presence. One evening after dark, he was called to the door, and shot down while his wife looked on from her bed with her three year old girl. A Tory named John Nickolds was the assassin, and had a camp near by collecting cattle, horses, etc., for the British. William Carter, a soldier on furlough, notified Captain Dillard, and the latter with his company and such volunteers as he could get, overtook Nickolds with his gang of thieves, routed them, and scattered the gang, killing the leader and sent the booty to General Stevens, who wrote a letter, now in the family, thanking him for the supplies for the army, and complimenting him for "bagging that abominable scoundrel, Nickolds." This Nickolds did not belong to the Va. family but perhaps to the N. C. family. There was only one Nickolds of Henry Co. family of military age and he was a patriot.
On the spot where he lies buried we read: "In memory of William Letcher who was assassinated in his own house in the bosom of his family by a Tory of the revolution on the 2nd day of August, 1780, age, 80 years. May the tears of sympathy fall on the tomb of the brave".
The grave evidently was in the yard, or near it, as part of the foundation of the house, is still standing. Letcher's widow married George Hairston, and the little baby girl. Bethenia, when grown, married David Pannill, and in the course of time became the great grand-mother of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart. On a near by hill is the grave of Capt. Archibald Stuart, the father of the latter, and a revolutionary soldier. Captain Stuart conducted a law school in the neighborhood which several Henry .county lawyers attended.
Not alone as a warrior did Col. Dillard serve his country, but in other fields as well. He was a member of the legislature from Henry county the session of 1785-86, and later served as magistrate, besides other offices, showing the esteem in which he was held by his fellow-man,
He was a patriot, brave and true to his country, schooled in the pioneer days to hardship that developed leaders that lead, and accomplished something for country, as well as for his own family, and left a record of achievements worthy of preserving to posterity. He died in 1882.

GENERAL JOHN DILLARD
Page 69-70
General John Dillard was born in this county in 1783, surrounded by the usual blessings of a plantation in those days. He had no peculiar advantages of education, or a large patrimony, but ho had energy and a will that combined with his judgment soon laid the foundation of a competency. Font Hill, his home was six miles east of Martinsville.
He was early honored by the almost unanimous vote of his countymen to a seat in the House of Delegates of Virginia. This was repeated to the entire satisfaction of his constituency, and his official acts were ever in the interest of the State, till the call to arms in the war of 1812. In this he was one of the first to volunteer at the head of a gallant body of men from this county.
It was in the campaign around Norfolk he showed the qualities of leader, by his display of military tactics in the field of action, as well as in caring for his men taken from the hills to the miasmatic country around that be .. sieged city by the sea.
When this strife was over, he returned to his home to care for his neglected private affairs. Then, at the first vacancy, the legislature conferred upon him the rank and office of Brigadier General of militia and this, too, with almost a unanimous vote of that August body.
As a magistrate, often his advice was followed that led to compromise instead of litigation restoration of friendships instead of feuds.
He was at one time sheriff of the county, filling it as carefully, and painstakingly as he did the office of Brigadier General of militia, and at the time of his death, he was a member of the old county court, which adjourned at their January term, when the sad tidings came in testimony of their regard for their deceased brother.

A Richmond paper, when it announced his death said: "He died as he had lived, without fear and without reproach. A soldier and a philosopher through life, he met death unflinchingly, as the portion of all." He died January 9, 1847, as he said: "Death, by far the most important hour of life." This when urging his family to meet him in Heaven.

COL. JEREMIAH GRIGGS
Page 70-71
Jeremiah Griggs, the oldest son of Jeremiah Michael Griggs by his first wife, was born in Henry county, Sept. 26, 1800, and died May 6th, 1871. He early in life took great interest in public affairs and was prominently identified with every movement for the advancement of the county's welfare.
He had only the local advantages of education usual in those days, and never entered college. However, he was a great student of nature and of men. He was quiet and modest in demeanor, but acquired much learning, and had great abilities as displayed in his every undertaking. So unassuming was he that scarcely no one knew he possessed a library however it was learned that after his death he possessed many rare old volumes of English classics.
The public trusted him implicitly and soon called him into public life. In 1841.42, he was a member of the legislature of Virginia from Henry county. Here he demonstrated his abilities as a legislator.
For many years he was a colonel of the Virginia Militia, and although past sixty years of age when the Civil war broke out, he gave generously his worldly goods and his time and talents to the Confederacy. A good portion of his ready cash went for flannel to make shirts for the soldiers. He was at first opposed to leaving the union, but when his native State withdrew, he followed wholeheartedly in the cause. He made many expeditions to the army, helping the soldiers, and his widow, Mrs. Alzira Griggs, has told interestingly of many of these trips to the front and on his return of his having to be disrobed and "deloused" at the late in order not to spread infection within doors of his home.
He was Clerk of the County Court of Henry for years and held the office till his death. His official acts are recorded for all time in his own handwriting here, which were eminently satisfactory to his countrymen.
He was a member of the Baptist church, and a Blue Lodge mason, and served his lodge at Martinsville many years as chaplain. His dying words give a good character sketch of the man,- HI have always done the right as I saw the right, and I die at peace with God and Man."

MARTHA WOODSON HAMILTON (Written By Her Daughters)
Page 71
July 14, 1845, in the home of Rev. and Mrs. W. W. Hill, in Henry Co. Va., a little daughter was born and named Martha Woodson for a sister and a brother of Mrs. Hill. She grew as any normal child, among her brothers and sisters. 'I'hru the days of her childhood and youth the attributes, courage, fortitude and strength, coupled with an every-day sunshiny disposition, were apparent. An incident of her school day life suggests the development of these sterling qualities. While playing in a creek near the little school-house she stepped into a bed of quicksand. When help arrived she was down to her armpits in the treacherous suckhole, With calmness the little heroine watched her rescuers and smiled thru the moments of peril. Courage was ever one of the distinguishing marks of her after life.
As a girl and in her young womanhood she was much sought after socially: an excellent conversationalist; brilliant in repartee, handsome in person; cheerful in disposition, and with a happy laugh that all liked to hear. Public spirited, she never failed to lend a hand to every worthy cause.
At the age of 25, she was married to Samuel Henry Lavinder, in 1870, and to them were born two children Mary Catherine, who died at the age of 22 months, and Jane Hickey.
After a few years of happy wedded life her husband became Ill and the physicians told her the trouble was tubercular, advising her to go at once to Florida with him. .
By the time they had reached the end of the railroad en their journey she was ill with pneumonia, and for several days hovered between life and death. At last the physicians told her husband that there were no hope for her recovery, and that she would be dead by the time he could get a message to their people in Virginia. Over hearing the conversation and so weak that the nurses had to bend to catch the words, she whispered: "Mr. Lavinder may cry all he wants to, and he may send the message but I am not going to die". When speaking of the occurrence later she said: "I went to nurse Mr. Lavinder; not to die".
As soon as she was able they went to a secluded spot on Miami Bay, far from friends and neighbors. Here and later, up and down the St. John's River, they camped, hoping in roughing it in an out-door life to cure her husband.
Many and varied were their experiences, and in after years nothing delighted her children more than to gather around the fireside and hear her tell of them. One of the most thrilling adventures was with a man-eating shark. I She was in the bay one day, when Mr. Lavinder saw a sudden flash of white. He called with a frenzied cry of warning to her, and she swam quickly to shallow water.
A short while later they were lost on the bay in a small row boat, and night coming on they lost all sense of direction. Her husband decided to run close to shore which he could see faintly outlined, and then wade to land. Leaving her in the boat when they had reached shallow water he went ashore. Huge porpoises played about the boat, blowing and leaping out of the water, leaving long streaks of light on the water, until finally it seemed as if she were adrift in a lake of fire. Mr. Lavinder got his bearings and called to her directions, which she followed. Their stay in Florida had reduced their savings until she had barely enough for their return home, which they reached to find deeply involved in debt, and her husband a confirmed invalid.
She had received excellent training in all house-keeping arts from her mother; knowing how to cook and serve with true Southern hospitality. Nature had endowed her with the tact of good management and circumstances had taught her economy; and now both served her well, for she was face to face with a great problem. She faced the situation with a brave resolution. Taking advantage of her training she kept table boarders.
In 1876 her husband passed away leaving his wife and little daughter to win or lose in the battle of life. She opened her house to roomers, and with the help of her father she paid off the indebtedness on her house and land.
Her 2nd marriage was to Charles Atley Hamilton in 1879, and to them four children were born (See Hamilton family).
The home, a large brick structure, was added to and transients invited and a hotel opened whieh was destined to become known farther than nation wide, and it waft st.Id of Mrs. Hamilton as she lay in her last sleep in her beautiful new home: "She has been a blessing to Martinsville, and she is known from Ocean to Ocean and from: the Lakes to the Gulf".
While her husband had assisted her in building "Hotel Hamilton", in the year 18__, he felt called to enter the ministry as an evangelist, and managing the affairs of the Hotel and other business was left entirely to her. Soon the reputation of "The Hamilton " reached be-yond Martinsville; traveling men from near towns and cities made it a point to spend their Sundays and off days there, stating that they found it more of a home than anywhere in their travels.
As the name and fame of the hotel spread more rooms were added and more help secured to give the service that won praise from everyone who visited Martinsville and found rest and enjoyment in the real home life felt wherever Mrs. Hamilton's presence ruled. While being firm with her negro servants she was never unjust. At times she would administer ringing rebukes, but was always considerate of them, and they loved her with an ardent affection. Thirty years of service proved this love of her servants. "Mammy" Sally Joyner, who was indeed mammy to Mrs. Hamilton as well as to the family, remained with her even after she retired from the hotel over thirty years in all, and is still with the family of her youngest son. Laura Smith was cook for over twenty-five years; Jim Preston, porter for about the same time. Mort Smith, head waiter, was allowed to remain and draw full wages long after his days of usefulness were over. He was incapacitated by blindness and old age after serving faithfully for over thirty-five years. These trusty old servants proved their faith and love by their works.
Visitors from all parts of Virginia and from other States paid Mrs. Hamilton high tribute in telling their friends that she was the greatest factor in putting Martinsville on the map with Hotel Hamilton.
The following Incident took place in England. Mr. and Mrs. Keesee, prominent in the business and social life of Martinsville, were at the home of Shakespeare, in Stratford, Eng. Mrs. Keesee had been chatting with an elderly Englishman, and when she registered as from Virginia., U.S. A., this Englishman said to her: "From what part of Virginia"? She replied, "Martinsville", He said: "Oh! I've been there; such a nice hotel you have", "She interposed: "Owned by Mrs. Hamilton",
"Yes, Hamilton Hotel. They had the best fried chicken in the world or rather the best I've ever eaten".
After Mrs. Hamilton's death the hotel property was sold out of the family and was burned Sept. 5, 1925.
While constantly busy with the cares of life she never lost sight of her children and their welfare. She always knew where they were, and took time for their best interests in the home, school, and society: and on Sunday mornings, she saw them ready for the Sabbath school and church, She was a member of all the societies of the church and responded to all calls generously.
Her hotel sample rooms, chairs, tables were always at the disposal of the young people for their church teas, candy-stews, and suppers; the parlors opened to their social gatherings. Her home was ever open to the preachers, and she made it a home for them whenever they wished.
One of her great characteristics was her laugh: its music, its sweetness, and its infection. One lady remarked: "Her laugh is like a tonic". The world about her was made better and happier by it.
She did not have opportunity to go out among her friends and mix socially to a great extent outside her own home, but her acquaintances came to her. In these social intercourses she seemed possessed with a dual personality. She would not lose a word of the conversation; no interruption marred its pleasure, tho at the same time she would be directing the work of her house, giving direction to her servants, etc., her mind taking note of each without interference. She could write a letter without interruption, at the same time conscious of the work going on about her and directing its course: this dual nature of her mind being of great value in her busy life.
When at last her health gave way she retired to a private home accompanied by her daughter, Miss Janie, who was her mainstay until the angel of death "called the weary one to rest". After a lingering illness she died at her home in Martinsville, Va., at 7:15 P. M. Nov. 10, 1916.

WM. JESSE HAMLETT
Page 75
Wm. Jesse Hamlett, born in Prince Edward county, Va., son of Wm. J. Hamlett. Wm. Jesse Hamlett's mother was a sister of Frank Taylor Wootton, of Prince Edward Co., Va. Issue: John Thomas Mar. Miss Puckett, of Wythe Co. Addie md. John Booker, Julia C. md. W. C. Philips, Cornelia M. md. W. H. Schroder. Annie d. Young, so did Geo. T. J. C. md. Miss Brankley, of N. C. Kit's children j James, Roy, Wootton, Henon, Starling, Winnie, Annie, Julian. Col. Hamlett was a merchant, deputy sheriff, teacher and soldier in Civil War.

PATRICK HENRY
Page 75-77
Patrick Henry was born in Hanover county May 29th, 1736, and came to this county in 1779 and settled on Leatherwood. He inherited from his mother's people, the Winstons, the gift of oratory, but his mother's wit came from a long line of ancestors. She was Sarah Winston, and was a fine specimen of Welsh womanhood, vivacious, dramatic in turn, and eloquent in speech.
He was not a studious boy, but loved sports more than books. However, he acquired in some way a great command of English and also Latin by a method hard to explain. By association he formed the habit of pronouncing these words, yearth, nalteral and larning, not according to the standard authorities, therefore Mr. Jefferson critically styled him uneducated. It was a fact, however, that he really acquired much practical learning.
He was anything but a success till he begun the study of law, which he learned after beginning the practice of it. His examiners granted him license because of his special ability of arguing his side of a question. He was a far better student of human nature, and on this element he built his everlasting fame. Assemblies fell under the spell of the music and charm of his voice and he swayed them like the March wind the treetops.
At eighteen, he married Sarah Shelton, a poor girl, and reared a family. She died in 1777, and he married Dorothea Dandridge, granddaughter of Governor Spots. wood, who was much his junior. At his death the baby in his house was four years old, and during his life he never slept at home beyond the sound of the cradle. The music he was accustomed to make on the violin was never as sweet to his ears as the peals of childhood laughter around his fireside.
He was deeply religious, being a member of the Episcopal church and opposed to strong drink. He tried to substitute home made beer for alcohol, and had it served on his table on great occasions. However, he was far ahead of his times, and the people could not be easily changed in habit.
Having bought ten thousand acres of land lying on the eastern and northeastern part of the county on Leatherwood creek, he built his house on a ridge a few miles east of Henry courthouse, and began the practice of law. In the public records here may be seen his papers and one may learn his methods which show the great amount of work done and how neat and finished each was executed by his hands.
The next year, Henry county, in 1780, sent him to the General Assembly where he was the leading spirit not only in State affairs, but those affecting the nation. His position and speeches on the adoption of the Constitution by Virginia is a part of the history of the United States, and it is beyond the scope of this volume to present them here. Suffice it to say, he was ever fearful that his native state would lose her rights under the plan proposed, and he opposed ratification. However, after the amendments were adopted, he became satisfied, and embraced the Constitution.
At Leatherwood he could rest from the strife of the world and Jive in ease on his great estate. Here he wrote to Washington, and other great figures in National affairs, that he wanted to live his life out free from public care. However, the people would not allow it.
He had served three terms as Governor during the Colonial period, but no sooner than Virginia became free, he was elected the first Governor of the first State of a free people, and he left for the State capital at Williamsburg in 1784. He left his daughter on Leatherwood, so called from a tough species of willow that grows on the banks of that stream, and after spending his time as Governor of the State, located in Charlotte county, where he had a beautiful home, and here he died June 6th, 1799.
He left a large family and a still larger estate, and now his descendants number hundreds scattered throughout the United States, but his fame as an orator is worldwide, and his name is among the immortals.

MRS. MARY CATHERINE HILL (BY HER DAUGHTER, ELLA HILL)
Page 77-79
In eighteen and twenty four there came to the home of Alexander Hunter Bassett and his wife, Mary Koger Bassett, a bright little girl who was given the name of her mother and aunt (Mary C. Bassett). She became the idol of the home and her parents and was subject to them: her education was limited on account of scarcity of schools. One of her teachers, Miss Charlotte Grimes was an all round teacher and the good influence she exerted upon her continued with her throughout life.
She was united in marriage to W. W. Hill in eighteen and forty. The young couple commenced housekeeping at once, and she was the home maker. Their means were limited but nothing seemed to discourage her, always saying "It is better further on". She was aided much in the training and educating of her children by Dr. G. W. G. Estes, a teacher in the family. When he was called to another field this duty devolved upon her eldest daughter.
The Civil War found her with nine living children and one dead. These, indeed, were trying days but she was equal to the task. She raised her cotton', picked out the seed with her fingers, carded, spun and wove it into cloth and then made the garments with her fingers with thread spun at home. Of course she had the help of her children in this work.
The soldiers in returning from the war, found in her a friend that would deprive herself of food in order to help them. She had some knowledge of medicine and gave her friends and neighbors the benefit of it, cheering and brightening many homes in this way.
She united with the Methodist Church when she was ten years old. Many years afterwards her parents united with the Church having been, to some extent, awakened by her bright Christian living. The famous camp meetings held at old Mt. Bethel Church had in her a great worker for she kept a tent and the poor and needy as well as many others were her guests. At one of these meetings an infant daughter was very ill, she did not abandon her post but pressed on and the little infant became the famous Hotel Keeper of Martinsville, Va. Mrs. Hill's home was the home of the Methodist itinerant and many of them have been heard to say what a blessing she had been to them. She had a musical voice and lead the singing in her younger days. Her husband preceded her to the Better Land 31 yrs.
Two children were the only ones of the family left in the homestead and one of them was called higher nineteen years later. The remaining daughter and her mother lived alone for twelve years. 'I'his good woman seemed to have for her motto. "Press Onward", for she not only toiled with her hands but, was the guiding spirit of the farm life and it was only when she was compelled by physical infirmities to lay aside work that she did so. Even then she kept her fingers busy knitting for children and grand children until loss of sight denied her even this pleasure. How she missed the reading of the New Testament and Psalms? It was the greatest privation she had. Her hearing was bad also so she rested in bed much of her time and employed her time by singing, praying, quoting Scripture and reciting hymns, often saying "I have had a good time".
Her eldest daughter prevailed upon her to move to Martinsville in the fall of 1921 where she was received with open arms by her son-In-law, O. R. Gregory and his wife. They built her a comfortable home in their yard and rendered her every comfort that love could think of. Three of her daughters were near to help her in every way they could. Rev. W. B. Jett of the Martinsville Church, greatly comforted and cheered her while she was waiting for the summons. "It is enough. Come Home".
Her Christian Spirit continued to develop during her dark hours and every particle of dross seemed to be burned and the gold refined. Her one thought was to help others in life.
After the death of her husband she leaned upon her eldest son S. R. Hill till he was summoned to the Better 14and. She never ceased to feel this deprivation but was submissive to the Divine will. On July 9, 1922, just at sunset her pure spirit took its flight so quietly that the dear ones watching could scarcely tell when it left. Her body was taken to the family Cemetery attended by relatives and friends. Rev. W. B. Jett and Rev. G. E. Powell officiated. The floral offerings were beautiful and they were offered by loving and tender hearts.
She awaits her dearly loved ones over there and they know where to find her.

REV. WILLIAM WIRT HILL (BY HIS DAUGHTER, ELLA HILL)
Page 79-80
The subject of this sketch was born in 1822 In Henry county, the son of John Waddy and Judith Parks Hill. His educational advantages were very meagre, acquiring nothing of English grammar, but became very well versed in Latin. This was learned at the Patrick Henry Academy.
His father died when he was fourteen years of age. His mother survived her husband forty-four years, and was cared for by him all this time. "Mother" was a most sacred name to him.
He sowed some wild oats in youth, but after his marriage to Miss Mary C. Bassett, he was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and in time became a local preacher.
He was an enthusiast on the "Temperance Question", and did his first work on this subject at Temperance Hall, near Mt. Bethel church. "The Cold Water Band" was the society he most delighted in.
He cherished the Sunday School and was very successful in this work. In his younger days, he had regular appointments for preaching and he Is remembered by his friends as a good earnest preacher. He spent much time visiting the sick, the lonely, and the distressed, cheering and comforting them.
Both he and his wife had great ambition to have their children become men and women of culture and refinement. Both lived to watch over them and had the pleasure of seeing them all attain maturity and filling their little "niches" in the world.
In his latter years he devoted his labors mostly to the farm, and took the greatest interest in dairy products. He never desired political office but was interested in the politics of his better days. Clay Webster, and Calhoun, were familiar names in the household, but when politics became corrupt he ceased his work in it.
He had many tried and true friends in the ministry. Among them we recall the Rev. A. D. Betts and Rev. Charles Phillips of the N. C. Conference, and the Revs. D. F. Hodges and J. L. Pribble of the Va. Conference.
He was never robust, but aged fast, and while he was only sixty-nine when he passed away, he appeared very much older.
His last illness continued three years and he suffered much without anodynes, paregoric being given at first, then fluid opium. One day he called a daughter and said: "I have preached temperance all my life and I do not want to se to heaven with a perfumed breath. I am going to quit taking it. Don't let me hurt any one tie me to a tree if necessary, but I must quit it." He did quit by leaving off one drop at a time. He had an unusual strong mind and resolution that served him well at this time.
He was tenderly cared for throughout his last illness by his wife and two of his daughters and many, many friends. One day just before the end, he called one of his daughters and said to her: "I am ready." "Ready for what father?" He replied, "To meet my Savior, Lucy, Johnny, and all the dear ones." On July, 22, 1891, his spirit took its flight to the mansion in the skies.

COL. GEORGE HAIRSTON
Page 80-82

George Hairston was of Scotch descent on his father's side, while his mother came of English stock. He was born in Franklin county, Virginia in 1760, and came to Henry county 20 years later, and bought the Beaver Creek home with 20,000 acres of land. Martinsville stands on a part of this purchase which tradition says was made at ten cents per acre. It was by this investment he laid the permanent foundation of great wealth that stayed with him and his descendants for over a century.
He was brave, patriotic, and farsighted to the limit.
When the Revolutionary war raged we find his name enrolled in the list that went to death or glory. His deeds are a part of the history of this great struggle, and will not be repeated here. He was Captain of a company that marched from Beaver Creek in March 1781 and hurried to General Greene's assistance, and during that month covered themselves. with glory at the battle of Guilford Court House, where the patriot army fought Lord Cornwallis to a standstill.

When the war was over he returned to his plantation and by careful attention gathered great wealth rapidly from his vast estate. However, he responded again to his country's call. In the war of 1812 he was acting Brigadier General in command of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th, Virginia and 85th North Carolina regiments, with the rank of colonel. He saw much service, and was in the engagement that repulsed General Ross who burnned Washington and was killed at Bladensburg.
For the second time he left the field of battle after peace was declared, and resumed the quiet life of a planter, but soon the public called him again, and he served his county as sheriff, and later still, he was elected a member .of the legislature from the county.

This closed his long public career, and from this period he dwelt in peace by his own fireside, which he had most assuredly earned.

He was unmarried when in the war of Independence. A tragedy enacted during this war, changed the whole tenor of his life. Captain Letcher, a friend in the army, came home on a furlough to see his sick wife. He entered his home and had barely put his gun on the rack when he was shot down in the presence of his wife and a 3 year old girl, by a band of Tories lying in wait. George Hairston gathered his band of men pursued and caught the Tories and convicted them before a drumhead court martial, and hanged every one of them. This spot, in Patrick county, is still called "Drumhead".

This baby, in the course of time, became the grandmother of Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, the great Confederate leader. . The widow Letcher, in five months after the death of her husband became the wife of the avenger of her first husband's death, and presided over the great hospitable home on Beaver creek, with true Virginia grace. (This marriage was hastened by the difficulties surrounding Mrs. Letcher, and fear of Tories.) She came from distinguished families herself, for she was a Perkins, a daughter of the pioneer, and her grandmother was a Harden, of the celebrated House of Buccleugh.

Col. Geo. Hairston died at this home on the 5th of March, 1827, and not many years later his good wife followed him; and now, side by side, on Beaver creek, in their narrow home of clay, they wait the Brighter Day.


GEORGE OSBORNE JONES
Page 82-83

Geo. O. Jones was born in 1846, at Ridgeway, where he spent his life. He attended the Joshua Smith School there and became proficient in mathematics. He was 1st Sergeant during the Civil War in a 16 year old company. He early entered the tobacco business. He married Mary Churchill in 1873 and reared eight children to maturity.

Besides manufacturing tobacco thirty years, he was in the mercantile business with Geo. I. Griggs, and when the latter died, the firm of Jones & Griggs was the oldest business house in the county. He also owned a large quantity of land, and did extensive farming on a paying
basis.

He bought the old mineral springs property, later known as the Phospho-Lithia Springs, two miles north of Ridgeway, and developed this popular watering place. In fact, he was the builder of the greater part of his town. Besides scores of dwellings, he built a large tobacco factory, a drug store, warehouse, was the largest contributor to the building of the Methodist church and Ridgeway Institute when organized, as well as a large stock-holder in the Bank of Ridgeway. He was president of the latter for many years.

He was a great believer in the Methodist Church, and supported its institutions liberally. He was active in the Sunday School, and attended whenever possible. His home was always ready for the ministers where they were hospitably entertained.

It was not his nature to refuse aid to his friends, and the needy, and his expenditures this way would have crippled the finances of most business men in the county; but he was, with all his losses, a good financier, and accumulated much property.

He was a model neighbor, a patriotic citizen, and the most indulgent of fathers. In his home he extended a wholesouled welcome that few men knew how to bestow on visitors. In his office he offered every help reasonable to his fellowman, and in his private life he presented to the world a kind heart, and did his best to walk in the way of his Master. He died in Nov. 1922, and was buried at the Ridgeway Cemetery.

AMBROSE JEFFERSON JONES
Page 83-84

The family claim their descent from Welsh stock although it comes through England with Lord Bacon in their line. The Progenitor of the Henry county family, Ambrose J. Jones, came from beyond the Blue Ridge where he was born in 1770. He settled on Beaver creek about 1790, where he married Mary Le Beau, a descendant of French nobility. Here he lived reared a large family and died in 1859. Children of this union were as follows: Joseph Mosby, William, Green, Jackson, Mary, Dolly, Pitsy, and Winnie.
FIRST GENERATION
Mary Jones married Thomas West; Dolly Jones married Leftridge Baker, Pitsy married Seth Barber; Martha married John Burgess; Winnie married Carter Barber. William Jones married Elizabeth Hardy. Issue:

Mary who married Silas N. Self, Abram died during the War Between the States, William Jones married Elizabeth Jones, and John Green married Nannie Wells.

Jackson Jones married Nellie Barber: Issue; James, Charles, and Ruth who married Geo. Dyer.
Joseph Mosby Jones was born in 1812, married Margeret C. Davis, daughter of Peter Davis and a descendant of Lord Baltimore. They settled on Reed Creek and reared a large family where both died, Mr. Jones, in 1886. Their children were: Alonza Thomas, Benjamin Tazwell, Lucy Ann, Sallie, Charles W., Margaret Elfzabeth, Joseph P., and Mary Lou.

SECOND GENERATION
Mary Lou Jones married John Peter Lavinder. No Issue.
Joseph P. Jones was killed at Drury's Bluff in the Civil War in 1865.
Margaret Elizabeth Jones married her cousin, Wm.
Joseph Jones.
Sallie Jones never married.
Lucy Ann Jones married Pinkey G. Davis and reared a large family.
The following three brothers were good business men as evidenced by the Jones Building on the Public Square in Martinsville:

Alonza Thomas Jones was born in 1857. He was called "Babe" until he was old enough to name himself, a distinction worth recording in history. He was devoted to business, but never married.
Benjamin Tazewell Jones was born in 1855, located in Martinsville, and married Sallie L. Pedigo. He was elected Commissioner of the Revenue for the North side of the county, and also, Circuit Court Clerk, and was the Republican nominee for Congress in a Democratic District.
The children of this union were as follows: Mary Baldwin Jones, and Ruth Tazewell Jones, neither married; Cornelia, and Bessie Gray.

Cornellia Jones married A Watts of Jefferson City, Mo. (Bessie Gray Jones married Edwin M. Shultz, of Greenville, Va.

Charlie W. Jones was the eldest son, of Joseph Mosby, born in 1845, and never married. He entered business at Martinsville when it was a village and grew prosperous with each year of its growth. He was in the Civil War in the 24th Virginia Cavalry and saw much service till captured with his cousin, William Joseph Jones, and taken to Point Lookout, Md. His terrible experience here, like thousands of others, is told by him in his, "In Prison At Point Lookout." He was a public spirited and popular citizen, several times Post Master of Martinsville, and nominated for Congress once by his party in convention, but declined. He died in 1919.


DR. BENJAMIN JONES
Page 84-86
Benjamin Jones the great grandson of David Jones, who was the first actual settler of Baltimore, Md., was born April 25th, 1752, in Culpeper County, Virginia When he was nine years of age his father died and the responsibility of the family soon fell upon him, developing those manly qualities that distinguished his after life.

In July 1776, he enlisted as a Culpeper Minute Man His first service was on the Potomac with troops of third regiment under Colonel Taylor. "To watch movement of British fleet under Lord Dunmore." (Howe's History of Virginia, page 448.) The war department record reads: "Soldier in. Continental Establishment, Benjamin Jones, Infantry, Received pay December 21st, 1786." He assisted during the War, Dr. White, a surgeon, and by close observation and practical experience laid the foundation for the practice of medicine, and became a fine physician and surgeon.

Benjamin Jones married Elizabeth de Remi (Reamey) September 7th, 1776, in Prince William County. They were Episcopalians and were married by Devereau Jarrett. She was great grandaughter of a Huguenot refugee, Jean de Remi, of Picardy, France, who came to Charleston, 1690 - his son Pierre later moving to Virginia.

After living two years in Rockingham County, North Carolina, rebuilding the forge and operating Troublesome Iron Works for a company, he moved to this County in 1792, where his wife's brothers, Daniel and Samuel de Remi had previously located. As there were few roads and no bridges the trip was 'made. on pack horses. Mrs. Jones carried her baby in her arms, and guided her horse.

He purchased a large tract of land from Mr. Whitesides, and lodged his family in a cabin, North of Martinsville on Jones Creek. He later built one of the first: weather-boarded, papered, and painted houses in the county. In a park he kept over a hundred deer to amuse his children and grandchildren. A little bell used on a pet deer is owned by descendants.

He was active in politics, and several times represented Henry County in the state legislature. He was a large man physically, measuring six feel eight inches in height, and usually weighed 225 pounds. His feet were on the same liberal scale, and he was familiarly known as "Poplar Foot Jones." He was a friend of the poor and needy, the suffering in every walk of life, a high toned Virginia gentleman of the old school, a patriot proven on the field of battle, and an honor to Henry county.

He died in 1848, aged 91. His remains, with those of his wife and son Remi, rest in Oakwood Cemetery, Martinsville.

Elizabeth Jones his wife was a woman of unusual mind and wonderful constitution. In 1846 when ninety years old she told her grandson, Beverly Jones, of General Washington's taking breakfast with them at Troublesome Iron Works. She said: "In company with General Washington was one Jackson, detestable to all for his pride!' This family tradition was corroborated in 1921 by publication of Washington's Diary by 'Hoskins, of North Carolina. (See Diary page 9 - "In this tour I was accompanied by Major Jackson," page 44. "We breakfasted at Troublesome Iron Works.") Soon after this Mrs. Jones named her infant "George Washington Jones."

She reared six sons and two daughters, lived to sec numerous descendants, and enjoyed perfect health through her entire life. On her last day on earth in 1856, having lived two months over a century, she but wrapped the drapery of her couch about her and lay down to pleasant dreams.


JESSE CRITZ KING
Page 86-87

Of the descendants of the Rev. John King, the pioneer, Jesse C. King was to attain fame and the greatest fortune so quietly that the world took little notice till he passed to yonder world ere the noon-day sun scarcely marked half the measure of the skies in an ordinary life.

He was born in Henry County Jan. 22, 1872. He had only common school advantages and a term at Lexington Ky., but did not graduate there at the College. Business demands were greater than college.

He was at an early age attracted to the chemistry of the manufacture of Carbide, and was with Wilson at Spray, N. C. when Acetylene gas was discovered. He made other discoveries himself along this line and for one he received sixty-thousand dollars. He was enlisted for his talents by the Canadian Carbide Companies in their furnace developments at Meriton, and Shawinigan Falls, Canada, where he spent 27 years. Before his health gave way under the Northern climate, he was considered the greatest authority in America on electrical furnaces and allied subjects.
There was a rich field in Acetylene illumination, and it was in this one he accumulated a quarter of a million of dollars. It was just at this juncture that disease fell upon him and blighted his valuable and distinguished career.

History offers not many parallels to the generosity of this quiet young soul. There was no gift too good for parents, brothers, or sisters, and his contributions to other numerous causes that had claim on him were freely and liberally made. Only a few heard of these gifts because they were made so unostentatiously.

He early joined the Methodist Church, and freely supported its cause and institutions. He not only gave to the Lord's works, but he walked In a Godly way in business as well as in private life. Among his friends he was indeed a Prince, with his fellowman a true Christian, and with all a high example of a blameless life. There was no truer, manlier, or better hearted son ever born in Henry county. He died Feb. 1, 1920, in Flowers' Hospital, N. Y., and was buried in Leaksville, N. C., with those he loved so faithfully.

DOCTOR FRANKLIN KING
Page 87-88

D. F. King was born in 1848. He was a grandson of Rev. John King, and the youngest son of Joseph Seward King and Elizabeth (Lester) King. The mother was a woman of sterling character. Though widowed and moderately- circumstanced, she did well for her children, and this youngest son's devotion to her was marked. He grew up a steady boy, a manly youth, a choice young man.

He and his six brothers volunteered for the Confederate service in the Civil War. He served as Second Lieutenant in the Forty-Second Virginia Regiment, his brother Jesse O. King was Captain in the Tenth Va. Cavalry. Three of his brothers were killed, two others were wounded, but he, having served bravely and faithfully, came back unhurt to take up the battle of life.

Except health and character and the stained uniform he wore, he had nothing with which to begin his career, but with energy and cheerfulness he and his brothers rented a farm and began raising tobacco. Later he moved to Leaksville, N. C., where he made his home until his death in October, 1922. For twenty five years he was engaged in buying and manufacturing tobacco. Later he established the first banking business in the vicinity. He seemed to prosper in everything he undertook, until he became the best known and most influential citizen of the place.
Forty five years he served as deacon in his church, twenty five years as moderator of Pilot Mt. Association.

He was a liberal contributor to religious causes, and with enlarging prosperity he gave in increasing sums. He was a devout believer in the inerrancy of the Bible; therefore ardently opposed the theory of evolution as being contrary to the Scripture account of creation, He was a man of strong convictions, never evaded any issue, and never left anyone to doubt where he stood. He was an ardent foe of every form of unrighteousness, and the friend of morality and progress in civil and religious life. He was a devoted husband and father, a kind neighbor, a patriotic citizen, and one who never turned a deaf ear to the cry of the poor and needy. He lived a glorious life and died a true Christian gentleman.

CLARENCE P. KEARFOTT
Page 88-89

Dr. C. P. Kearfott was born in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1856, but his parents soon moved to Martinsburg W. Va., where he grew up and attended school. He was a pupil of a distinguished educator, John Sellers. He soon took up pharmacy under his kinsman, Dr. J. B. Gorrell, of Culpeper, Va. In 1881 he was graduated from the National College of Pharmacy.

After spending a short time in Danville, he rode into Martinsville on the first passenger train to enter the corporation limits. Here he commenced the drug business under the firm name of Kearfott, Haile, & Co. In less than five years he bought the interest of the other members of the firm, and from this time to his death, he continued a very successful career as an up-to-date druggist.

After a short stay in his new home, he married Rebecca Kratz, and they had six children; viz, Clarence B., J. Conrad, Mary Lucretia, Robert Ryland, Rebecca, and Hugh Smith.

He was the first to begin the use of the telephone, and nurtured the exchange in the rear of his store for several years. It was here the first long line from Ridgeway was connected up, built by two business men of the latter place. Soon it was strong enough to be housed separately in another building.

From the first day of his appearance in the town as a citizen, he took an active and leading part in the upbuilding of the community. By his energy and ability he contributed much to the rapid growth of the place.

He was an active and leading member of the Baptist Church, and his great work here can not be fully estimated in a brief notice in this biographical sketch. However, he gave much of his time and means to further church and religious activities.

He was honored by members of his profession, and appointed by the Governor a member of the Pharmacy Board of Virginia, a position he held perhaps longer than any other druggist in the state.

His high character, and capacity as a business man soon attracted the best people in the business sphere he moved in, and he was early called to assume important positions of trust. For a long term of years he was president of the Peoples Bank, and under his wise management, this institution grew in importance, held the confidence of the business public, and greatly increased in power and wealth.

In the year 1915, his health began to decline, and he sought other climates in search of better health. He made a gallant fight with the great Reaper, but the end came too soon, for on Oct. 19, 1920, he passed away. The town and county mourned together; for a good man, a most valuable citizen, and a Christian gentleman, had gone to the farther shore.


DR. WILLIAM W. MORRIS
Page 89-90

Dr. Morris was born Mar. 2, 1886, and reared in the Mt. Bethel Section of the county, his lifelong home. He graduated from Jefferson Medical College and entered the practice of medicine amidst the rumblings of the approaching struggle to settle the States Rights question.
He was Capt. of the second Company that volunteered from this county and J. T. Morris was Orderly Sergeant of the same and was assigned to the 42 Virginia regiment. He participated in all the glorious history made by this regiment until he was severely wounded at Kearnstown. He had before this married Mary Emeline, the daughter of Rev. Wm. M. Schoolfield, an eminent minister in the western part of Henry.

After the Civil War, he resumed the practice of medicine in which he was continually successful. He was elected School Supt. for twelve years and also sent to the legislature of Virginia in 1883, being a prominent member of the House of Delegates.

During an interval from visiting the sick, when humor, ever present in his jolly nature was at its zenith, he wrote a poem, "The New Song of the Churn", that will always be appreciated by his county people. It was published extensively, and one of the largest papers in the South offered him a salary and a position on its staff of writers to continue his poetical effusions; but as it took some especial excitant for him to successfully woo the Muses, he declined the offer with thanks.
He attended the poor and needy as carefully as those blessed with a large share of worldly possessions.

In the language of his admiring friend, Judge S. G. Whittle together when basking in the sunshine of autumn's golden foliage, "He has worthily worn the White Flower of a blameless life, and in the evening of his days, he enjoys in full measure, the love, confidence, and approbation of his fellowmen".


JOHN HILL MATTHEWS
Page 90-91

J. H. Matthews was born on Meadow Creek in the western part of this county Dec. 7, 1837. His father died when he was seven years old, and his boyhood was spent at his grandfather's, Henry G. Mullins. When old enough to enter high school, he studied at Germanton, N. C. staying with his uncle Robert Matthews, till he finished his education.

When about grown, he returned to live in the place of his nativity and spent the remainder of his life in the county. He married three times (see Matthews and Mullins families).

During the Civil War, he saw some active service, but was a warded a contract to carry the mail, and also assigned the duty of transferring troops between Martinsville and Danville the remainder of the great national tragedy.

For five years he was deputy sheriff and Boon elected Commissioner of the Revenue for a term. In May 1875, he was elected County Court Clerk, and held the office till 1911, giving 86 and a half years of uninterrupted service, not including ten years as a deputy in the same office. His majorities grew at the polls with the years of duty. There never was a country where courtesy and right-doing in every day life, where culture and honor and high purpose were more constantly instilled into the minds of growing children, than in Henry county, Virginia.

He was the most popular official of the county during its history. His hold on the affections of the people was 80 strong that it descended a generation, and his son Thomas C. easily obtained the succession, and has held the same trust for many years.

He had a smile for every caller requesting his official assistance, and willing hands ever ready to serve them promptly and satisfactorily. The whole county mourned sincerely when he died May 5, 1912. His burial was at Martinsville, with the tributes of a Mason by his Lodge of which he had been long a member.

In his public functions of fifty-eight years, it was wonderful how he entwined himself in the hearts of his countrymen, and their devotion marked the highest tribute to his character and the most enduring monument to his memory.


GENERAL JOSEPH MARTIN
Page 91-94

Joseph Martin was born near Charlottsville, Va., in 1740. He was of English descent. He early evinced a strong will as demonstrated by his running away from school. He acquired but a limited education from books but was a great student of nature and of men.

He married, Sarah Lucas, but this did not settle him. This was in Orange county. His besetting sin was gambling, which soon involved him in debt. About the close of the French and Indian war, he spent over six years hunting and trading with the Indians and with valuable furs and the money he made from gambling, he paid off his debts. One of his companions on these trips was Ben Cleveland, a hero of King's Mountain.

Betting and horse-racing were common in those days and some of the best people followed such callings, and it did not attract special attention then. No sketch of Martin would be complete without knowing his record in this field.

In 1763, he went beyond the Mountains and settled Powels Valley. The place is now known as Martin's Station. Three years as overseer for a relative netted him enough to buy "Scuffle Hill' farm on Smith's river below Martinsville, and in 1773, he moved with his family to this plantation.

The following year Dunmore commissioned him Capt. of Militia, however, he served as a Lieut. in Capt. Abram Penn's company against the Shawnee Indians. At New River he was in command of scouts and Col. Preston held Culbertson Bottom with his troops, therefore they were not in the battle of Point Pleasant Oct. 10th, 1774. After being defeated here, the Shawnees agreed to give up their lands south of the Ohio and Martin returned home.

In 1775, he was made Captain of the Committee of Safety for Virginia. Now the English planned to divide the South with the help of the Indians they incited to war. The Cherokees began atrocities along the whole frontier. Mr. Martin had formed an association with Betsy Ward, daughter of Nancy Ward, a half-breed, and closely allied to some of the Indian chiefs. By this medium he was able to gain valuable information.

Eight hundred warriors under Dragon Canoe, attacked Watauga, and were defeated by 176 men, mostly Virginians. Here, the first move to crush or divide the South by the British came to naught.

Martin hurried home and collected 50 men and joined Col. Christian, who was the commander of the Virginia troops. He was put in front, and all Indian towns that refused to surrender were destroyed and the British agents expelled and a treaty of peace was made. (It was when crossing the French Broad river two of Martin's men were too ill to go into the water and he carried them across on his back).

For 12 years, beginning in 1777, he was Superintendent of Cherokee affairs having, been appointed by Patrick Henry, then Governor, and he moved into that Indian nation to counteract the British influence and keep the peace. His pay was 20 shillings a day while among the Indians, and half that when at Williamsburg, the capital. Against the encroaching whites, the Cherokees rose again, and this time North Carolina raised 400 militia, and Martin was appointed major of the battalion; and his successes in this series of engagements raised him into national prominence, and placed him among the heroes of the American Revolution.

The position he occupied for a long term of years was full of danger. However, his association with the Wards always stood him in hand when fighting the Indians, and was a great factor in his escaping unharmed. Whenever he reached this family and their friends he felt safe. Finally in 1783, he was commissioned to treat with the Creeks, Cherokees, and Chickamaugas, and by presents of various colored shirts, powder, lead, and "Dawlas", the warfare was ended.

When the attempt was made to establish a new State to be known as Franklin, the proposed encroachment on the Indians threatened to precipitate another conflict, but at this time Congress, in 1788, forbade all such intrusions. Through the wisdom and good management of Martin the bad feeling between North Carolina and the premature state of "Franklin" was adjusted satisfactorily and the matter died a natural death.

Fifteen years of public' service completed, he returned to private life on his farm. His first wife died in 1782, and he next married Susanna, daughter of Thomas Graves, who lived just across the river above the Double Branches; but not long afterwards, he was called to Georgia to fight against the Indians again, and very soon was elected to the Legislature of that state. His stay South was brief. In 1791, and for 9 years in succession, he was sent to the legislature of Virginia from this county. In this body he was a great supporter of Madison and the resolutions of 1797.

In 1793 he was made a Brigadier General of the 12th
Virginia Militia, and thus became the first soldier from Henry county to attain this distinction. The town of Martinsville, previously known as Henry Courthouse, was named in his honor.

He was physically a large man with prepossessing appearance, bland and courteous in manners with not a lazy bone in him. He had an instinct that drove him to the wild life of the forest and fitted him for that domain in which he was eminently successful. He was bald for many years, but wore chin whiskers that he plaited and wore beneath his shirt. He was fond of fine clothing but stuck to the old style of short trousers, knee-buckles and so on. He, however, was never drunk, lost a tooth, or bled by a lancet.

He sold his Smith river home in 1804, on which he had resided for 80 years, and bought a plantation from Randolph Harrison on Leatherwood, where he spent his declining years. It was here he died in 1808, and was buried near his home with all the honors of a soldier and a mason.

COL. ABRAM PENN
Page 94

Abram Penn was born in Amherst county Dec. 27th, 1748, married Ruth, the daughter of James Stovall, of Amherst county. He was a nephew of John Penn, a signer' of the Declaration of Independence.

He was in the campaign against the Shawnee Indians, and was in command of a company in the battle at Point Pleasant, which resulted in the defeat of the Indians, Oct. 10th, 1774.

Three years later, he enlisted as a Captain in the Continental army from Amherst county. In 1779, after two years of distinguished service he was promoted to Colonel. Soon after this he was granted a furlough and moved to Henry county, settling on Beaver creek, three miles north of Martinsville's present site, which was his home thereafter.

On his return to the army, he was commissioned a Colonel of Militia and sent back to organize a regiment in this sparcely settled region out of which all of Henry and Patrick and a part of Franklin counties were subsequently carved.

During the winter of 1780 and 1781 he organized the first and only organized body of troops that went from this and the adjoining counties. He was in command of this regiment when it marched to General Greene's assistance, and took part in the battles of Guilford Court House and Eutah Springs, etc., and finally was at the Surrender at Yorktown in Oct. 1781.

He was a man of resolute purpose, magnetic, with a vigorous intellect and a commanding presence. When one considers how he gathered up men from this section drilled them into soldiers, and fought them like veterans against the British, he is in a class by himself, and should be forever honored as the highest type of patriot in tlie wilds of the forest primeval.

He died in 1801, and was buried at Poplar Grove in Patrick. To his descendants, he left his sword brought back from Yorktown, and a name that will be cherished by his countrymen through the ages.


CAPTAIN PETER R. REAMEY
Page 95

Capt. Peter R. Reamey was born in Henry County Jan. 12th, 1829. He first married Sallie Waller, and. his second marriage was to Bettie Kezee, of Richmond. He reared a large family in Martinsville, where he died, June 3rd, 1891.

He began his education in his father's school, and was so unusually bright in his studies, that a diary was kept of his rapid progress. This record is still to be observed in a descendant's library. From this diary we learn that at four years of age he had read a "Life of Franklin". At five was studying English and Latin grammar, besides his other school branches.

At seven, he entered Patrick Henry Academy under the late Joe. P. Godfrey, the principal. Here he added Greek, Sacred History and took examination on Caesar and Sallust.

Before he was twelve years old he had finished practically all Latin and most of the Greek offered in the Colleges. After this he was a student at Sullivan's College, at Columbus, Ohio.

He took up medicine and graduated at the Medical College of Virginia in 1850, and immediately began to practice his profession in this county, which he continued through life, with only one interruption.

He trained the first company that went from Henry county to join the Confederate army "The Henry Guards". He was the Capt. of this proud company that left :tune 3rd, 1861. It was assigned to the 24th Va. Regiment under Jubal Early. It fought the battles of Bull Run, and Manassas, and many, many others, too numerous to record in this small volume.

After peace was declared he returned to Martinsville, and resumed the practice of medicine, and wrote much from a memory that was rich in learning and of great depth.

His address to the "Knight's" tournament at Martinsville Va., will always be rated as the most beautiful piece of word painting that ever came from any brain on such an occasion in the South.

He had charming manners, a splendid physique, and a great vocabulary to display a brilliant intellect that soared beyond the heights of average men.


MAJOR JOHN REDD
Page 96-97

Major John Redd was born Oct. 26th, 1766, in Albermale county and came to this county in early youth, and from the very first appearance, he became a great actor in his adopted county's affairs. Think of a boy reared by a widowed mother in humble circumstances by pluck brains and persistency becoming an early defender of his county against the Indians, later rising by real merit to the rank of Major and you say immediately there was an unusual leader of Major and in after life, as he became next to the richest man in these new wilds, you will also admit that he was an eminently successful business man.

It is true he ran away from his home and mother, but when you recall that he left poverty for wealth and renown, you at once pardon his youthful indiscretion.

In his new location he took an humble position on a farm two miles from the county seat and worked at the usual labor on a plantation. He evidently gave satisfaction or else he would not so soon have been able to buy a home for himself. To this he added till he became a great owner of wide acres and attained great power in his community.
He very early responded to the call to war against the Indians and with Joseph Martin, then Col., he made several campaigns against them in Wataugua and Holstein counties out in the frontier.

Before long the War of the Revolution against England aroused his patriotism and he went again on the firing line, but his doings in this arena are a part of the history of the nation and need not be repeated here. He was at Yorktown in that great halo of glory when Lord Cornwallis bowed to the right and might of American victory.

He was elected to the legislature of Virginia and voted on every important question before that body shunning nothing. Here, too, he was a champion of the famous resolutions of 1798 and 1799.

He married Mary the daughter of Col. George Waller of Henry county. Her mother's mother, Elizabeth Winston, was Patrick Henry's cousin. After his marriage he finally settled in the Marrowbone valley in Henry county at "Belleview", and reared a large family of boys and girls. Here he managed his affairs, responded to his country's calls, educated his children and dispensed during the remainder of his days, a period of over 60 years, that rare hospitality that distinguished Virginia from the rest of the world.
Like every great soul, he was in sympathy with the pitiful lot of his slaves and provided in his will for families to be kept together and gave, to his servant Issac, the right to select his own master. When Len Anderson was chosen, both master and servant deserve to be remembered in history. Take these two items together, or just one of them, it proves to the world that he had a kind heart and an admirable character.

After three-quarters of a century of his country's history was finished and life in its fullness came to an end, his ashes were committed to the mother of all on the hill north of the home he loved so well, and there through summer's green, autumn's tints, and winter's snows, the breezes will blow on and on and sing forever his requiem.


MAJOR JESSE MARTIN RICHARDSON
Page 97-98

Maj. Richardson was born in the eastern part of the county May 6, 1887, and grew up like the average boy on the farm without fortune or the prospect of fame; but he inherited from his great grandfather" Gen. Joseph Martin, the love of military and the total absence of fear.

It is easy then to understand what his nature was and his ready response to the call of 1861, to go forth to battle for the right, the sacred cause that appealed to every patriotic heart. He was a lieutenant in one of the first companies that left the county under Capt. S. J. Mullins, and was mustered into the 42nd Virginia Regiment. To rehearse his career would but tell the story of much of the hardest fighting of the War Between the States, too much for this small volume; but his deeds of valor have been told by his comrades around thousands of firesides, and at every reunion in this broad land.

He was four times wounded, but went steadily on to the cannon's mouth as the conflict thickened, was soon promoted to Captain, then to Major, till he fell with his face to the enemy at the great battle of Gettysburg, and died from the wound, at Petersburg, May 6, 1868.

The county has furnished great men that have fittingly filled every office in the Commonwealth, but not one more loyal, brave, or patriotic than Maj. Jesse Richardson.

At the first peal of the bugle's call he answered, "Here", When battle call though danger greatest, he was there, Then for duty, love, glory, not for fear not for gain, "Fed his country's sacred dust with floods of crimson rain."


WILLIAM DAVIS STULTZ
Page 98

Davis Stultz, as he was called by his friends, was born in this county on Leatherwood April 22nd, 1822. He was reared on a farm, and married Frances Harper Marshall, who tradition says was a great, grand-niece of Chief Justice John Marshall of the United States Supreme Court, Jan. 22nd, 1852.

He was one of the builders of the great reputation of the chewing tobacco of the county. His manufacturing plant was at the foot of Nance Mountain, and he conducted it here from 1848 till 1874. He commenced the enterprise in the old school house built by Dennis Marshall, his wife's grand-father. He lived in the house built by the great teacher in 1813, and here all his children were born.

He was a self-made man, and accumulated wealth easily. He built the mill on Smith's river south of Martinsville at a cost of 30,000 dollars, and operated it for several years successfully. In 1875, he moved to the old homestead of Patrick Henry, on Leatherwood, and the next year, on June 16th, he died, and was buried in what was at a former date Mr. Henry's garden.

His wife was born Oct. 22, 1827, and should be recorded in history. She had a remarkable memory, and it was by her that the traditions of her family, as well as other history of that section, were preserved to posterity. She died Oct. 14th, 1902.


N. EMORY SMITH
Page 98-99

Judge N. E. Smith was born Mar. 3. 1868, on the Virginia and North Carolina line, on the side of the latter, but he was reared in this state. He attended school at Oak Ridge Institute, N. C., in addition to his free school instruction under Mrs. M. M. Mullins previously. He married in 1889, Kettie Poole, of Madison, N. C. There was no issue.

After a brief career in the goods business, he studied law. After his home reading, he attended the law school of Washington & Lee University, one session, and graduated. He was admitted to the bar and practiced some at Rocky Mount, but settled at Ridgeway, looking after his practice that grew at rapid strides.

He was elected Henry County judge by the legislature of Virginia in 19-' and filled this office with distinction until the office was abolished under our new state constitution.

Judge Smith was endowed with a wonderful memory. Besides his knowledge of law, he carried the political affairs of the congressional district in his head as easily as the alphabet. While others could scarcely name the candidates at previous conventions of the Democratic party, he often recalled the vote each received at many of these conventions.
He was a Jarge man of the' blond type, handsome, and Intelleetunl. He was dignified in bearing and slow in 'making friends, but never lost one. He was a past master in preventing difficulties between people. It was his pleasure to straighten misunderstandings before they grew into hostile words, or unfriendly acts. He did not carry malice, and labored to restore good feelings between men. He applied this rule in his legal labors, and often effected compromises.
He was a self made man from first to last, accumulated his earthly possessions honestly, and grew in the estimation of his friends continually. He 'made mistakes, but they grew out of the tenderness of his heart because of the great kindness there was in it for those he loved. He died Nov. 14, 1911.


JOHN HUMPHREY TRAYLOR
Page 99-101

For the first seventeen years of my life my home was Traylorsville, Henry county, Virginia. I was the youngest of the four children of the Rev. John Cousins Traylor, and Tabitha Churchill Baily his wife. I have every reason to be grateful for my home life, and also for the civilization under which I was brought up.

There never was a country where courtesy and right doing in every day life, where culture and honor and high purpose were more constantly instilled into the minds of growing children, than in Henry county, Virginia.

When I first remember, Miss Charlotte Grimes lived with us, a teacher of primary grades, who flourished more than quarter of a century in that capacity. I spelled, read, calculated, and printed, when I was only five years old. In allowing me to be precocious, my parents did not exceed the precedent set by Susannah Wesley in the training of her five illustrious sons. Miss Charlotte left us to go and live at Beaver Creek. I am confident I never had a better instructor.

Professor Schoolfield, who was my next tutor, was impressed with our collection of dried flora, and our ability to classify, and our general knowledge of out of door life. He was widely read, and was well posted 88 to county and state affairs, and was an agreeable companion, though often taciturn.

By this time my proud handsome sister, Sarah, was married and lived a way from us. My sister Susan was a pretty girl, with an angelic disposition. I most assuredly had a model brother. He gave me hoops to roll, balls to bounce, and tops to spin. He taught me to climb, drive, ride, swim, hunt, and fish in Smith's river. Ever so often he made a trip to a city and always brought me a present which delighted me. When the time came, he took me to Patrick Henry Academy, introduced me to the teachers and many of the boys, then saw me comfortably placed before saying goodbye, After hours of school, what was my joy to find him on the grounds at recess. I may say here that throughout a long life he was ever my friend, a clean strong-souled, high-minded man, one of nature's noblemen, a credit to his worthy forbears.
Throughout my childhood, one of the homes I most delighted to visit was that of my mother's sister, Susan Mills. It was at once the home of affluence and of delightful and noble influence. I also remember my beautiful Aunt Frances Abingdon, and her attractive Ion, Tom. My sister Susan was two years at a girls' school at Greensborough, N. C. While there she boarded in the home of the Dandridges, dear friends of ours.

My brother, who had been baptized by Bishop Ashbury, had fired me with enthusiasm to take a course in Emory and Henry College, for which our father had given his most earnest endeavor since his appointment to the work by Bishop Ashbury, in 1815. In 1838, the school had achieved the dignity of a college, and my brother took me there the autumn of the following year. Mr. Black, a member of the faculty, for whom Blacksburg was named, donated the last thousand dollars which enabled Emory and Henry to take rank as a College. Alfred, a member of this family, was already a student, and the first Christmas, he, Preston, and I, took a cross country hike to Traylorsville. Enroute, we accepted bountiful hospitality, yet we steadily refused the offer of horses. We reached Traylorsville in hilarious humor, had a great holiday, and were willingly driven in a carriage back to school.

At Patrick Henry Academy, Archibald Stuart's son, Alexander, brother to J. E. B. Stuart, was the leader. At Emory and Henry, Milton French was considered the ablest student.

In 1841, I completed the course at Emory and Henry and moved with my parents to Georgia. Susan had been there a year and physicians declared it unwise for her to return to the rigorous climate of Virginia. The slaves drove us to Georgia in a carriage with high heavy wheels, with wagons and out riders. Much of the way, I rode horseback. All were well and enjoyed the trip. We took immediate possession of our improved lands near LaGrange.

In two years I married Mary Elizabeth Bailey. I say truthfully and barring none, that through half a century, she has been the most faithful and purest minded person I have ever known, just as my mother was the most intellectual, and my father, the 'most tranquil and the most courageous.

Col. Traylor's memoirs are typical of him. He was known as a progressive farmer, Worthy Master of Masons, inspiring Bible Class Leader, wise State Senator, distinguished in appearance, courtly in manners, and charming in conversation. Wherever he went the land was all the better that he lived in it He was of that phase of humanity which Virginia has sent at all eras to brighten and ennoble the earth.
(The comments above are from published articles and letters from John Temple Graves, J. K, Hines, .Judge of the Supreme Court, Atlanta; Pres. Carter of the State Senate; and from the book, "Men of Mark in Ga." E. R. Traylor.)


MRS. J. H. TRAYLOR, NEE MARY ELIZABETH BAILEY
Page 102-104

My native home was "Elmwood" Henry county Va., where I was the youngest child of Charles Cabaniss and Martin Rowland Bailey. There occurred my christening party, at which the Rev. J. C. Traylor officiated. There were elaborate refreshments and innumerable gifts, the costliest from my grandfather Parks Bailey, and from inmates of Beaver Creek, presided over by my mother's foster sister and first cousin, Mrs. Marshall Hairston. Soon after this my parents having lost three children, emmigrated to Georgia in a carriage, outriders, and covered wagons.

In after years my parents, my aunt Elizabeth Hampton Rowland, my two brothers, and the retinue of trained servants, fascinated me with stories of the journey, the hospitality they met with, not the least being that of an Indian chief whose log house looked down upon the Chattahoochie river. We reached the village of Forsythe Georgia, in Oct. 1827.

In a few days my father left, taking with him carpenters and brick-masons he had brought from Va. They went in covered wagons, my father in the saddle with attendant rider, and made their way to this forest where they labored two years before bringing us from Forsythe. Five houses had been built each two stories as roofing was rather difficult to obtain, and there were so many wild animals it was safer to sleep upstairs; only the brute beasts were housed on the ground. The dwelling floors were well supplied with skins of bears, etc. The first ladder steps built in 1827, are now used in this colonial house to connect the second story with the attic. The original residence was kept 14 years after we began living in this.
At a tender age I learned to say Henry county, Virginia, and to realize that we were living as near as possible as we had lived there. Much that was most desirable in the F. F. V's was to be found in those who lavished unceasing care for my pleasure and advancement.

Dr. Porteus Browne, an alumnus of Oxford, England, was establishing a school for girls near Lagrange. My parents and Aunt, Elizabeth Rowland, worked in the interest of this school, frequently entertaining Dr. Browne, who directed my studies for several years before I entered Brown, and where I was enrolled as a pupil for five years. There were pupils from several States, and we all learned to love England.
For a short time my two brothers were at school at LaGrange, but for several years they were students at Oxford Academy, and one year at Emory College; Ignitius Few, President. They were greatly attached to Dr. Alexander Means, head of the Academy, and while at Emory College walked the two miles back to Oxford for divine service.
At Emory my brother Parks died, which was my first great sorrow. The previous year we had been at the closing exercises, had listened to his speech, and had witnessed an enthusiastic conferring of the medal on his effort.
A year previous to this we had visited Pulaski, Tenn., home of 'my grandfather Parks Bailey. It was a large brick house of many rooms. Here for an entire month we were delightfully entertained, eighteen first cousins with several uncles and aunts. We were seriously taught family history, and the superiority of Henry county, Virginia, by Sarah Lewis, the daughter of Charles, for whom the eldest of the party was named, Sarah Lewis Bailey, whose daughter married Henry Washington and whose son. General Samuel Bailey, was Quartermaster of the 11th, Va. Reg., at the age of 57 years. He had been, in his 20's and 80's, several times a commissioned officer in the French and Indian Wars. His son, Parks Bailey, at whose house we were being entertained had taken part in the battle of Yorktown at 18 years of age. The Huguenot Cabaniss family, who intermarried with the Helderness of the English Gentry, would have us know that Henry county, Virginia, was a section of rare natural beauty and resource, populated by noble, admirable, trust-worthy people, who called upon the youths to emulate Patrick Henry, a man so noted for sobriety and faith 1n God, as to give him vision and courage to take often a step in advance of his colleagues. They called him the "Morning Star of the Revolution."

My husband's nephew, Col. John H. Traylor, of Dallas, highly prized a copy' of "The Life of Patrick Henry" by Wirt, presented to his father by Granville Waller, in 1880. Tradition has it that very many of the youths of Henry Co. received a copy of the same from the time it was issued until the omiddle of the 19th Century. Patrick Henry was the first to declare Gen., then Col., Washington was the greatest American, an opinion in which he was followed by the rest of the worth-while world. The proper example is a mighty great force in character building.

Mother and Aunt Elizabeth spoke often of their father, Baldwin Rowland, that he was intelligent, cultured, noble, and wholly charming: that he was eloquent in praise of his mother nee Ruth Norman, she was a tall blond, queenly in bearing, daughter of a Baldwin, descendants of the Counts of Flanders. One of them was the Crusader King of Jerusalem.

The family in America is widely known for its Judges and in its work for higher education. It was a Baldwin who founded the University of Ga., and a considerable number of select schools in the United States as a result of their efforts. This Rowland family descended from an English Duke. A Ducal Coronet is the chief Charge in their Crest. In England, they intermarried with the Stuarts, and very many occupied places close to the crown.

My mother was handsome rather than pretty, brought up never to touch the back of her chair. She was erect and active at seventy years. Her features were noble in design and expression, violet eyes, and a most exquisite complexion. Blessed with a high order of mind, well educated, she had also inherited from her mother a Celtic intuition, which often seemed wisdom from above. I am quite sure her spirit was the loveliest that ever blessed humanity.

Devotedly inscribed, Elizabeth Rowland Traylor.


SUSAN E. TRAYLOR
(BY GRANDAUGHTER PATTERSON)
Page 104-107
My grandmother, Susan E. Traylor, was born in Henry county, Va. in 1820. At the age of thirteen years she was brought by her father to Georgia because it was thought the climate would suit her better.

After attending school in Greensboro, N. C., she married my grandfather, James Bradfield. In after years she lived with my father, and many and interesting are the accounts she gave us of her life as a child. I have heard her speak of her teacher, Miss Charlotte Grimes, of the frolics in the Virginia snows, and of her experience when boarding at Greensboro and her school life there.

My grandfather was a very religious man, and believed that God was on the side of the South in the War between the States, and sold, as much of his property as possible for Confederate money. I remember distinctly a small hair trunk full of this. In after years my grandmother, in answer to advertisement, sent a large package of these bills, but of course, never realized anything from it. The remainder of it was gradually given away and destroyed.

For six months after the Surrender she heard nothing of my grandfather and thought he was among the unknown dead, but one day when looking up the road, she saw him approaching in a very emaciated condition. He had suffered an attack of brain fever and on convalescing found that he had been cared for in the home of a relative.

While he was away in the Army, my grandmother acted as Sunday School Superintendent for the Methodists. I do not suppose it looked so strange in those fiery days as it would now to have a woman in that capacity.

My grandfather and one of his brothers were partners in business and by some unfortunate business transaction of the brother, the business foiled. Rather than protect himself by a bankrupt law, he sold everything he possessed and cleared the business. In this my grandmother fully agreed, and was willing to undergo the hardships which such an action would entail rather than dodge behind a law which seemed to them dishonest.

My grandfather died in a few years, and just before the end came he told my father, William Robert Bradfield, then fourteen years old, that he was leaving his mother and two daughters in his care. "Care for them like a man". Never was a trust more faithfully filled, and her later years were spent in comfort and happiness.

I remember an account she gave of a trip from Texas to Georgia by stage coach. This was in the pioneer days of the West. When they camped for the night, fires were made around the camp to keep the wolves away and during the night they came up close barked and howled their eyes looking very fierce and their teeth showing.

On one occasion we were invited to a party and my father objected very strenuously to our going on account of our youth and the distance. It was at one of my grandmother's friends she called "Sister Hicks". Her sympathy was immediately enlisted in our cause and she went to my father in our behalf. "No mother", he said. "they can not go. I don't want them away at night anyway". "Willie" said grandmother. "Sister Hicks is a dear friend of mine. The children will be safe in her house and you are my baby; and I shall slap you if I choose and order you to send the children to the party". My father laughingly consented and let her have her way after receiving a playful slap in his face.

Her affection for her sister-in-law, Mrs. Mary Bailey Traylor, was beautiful and amusing. She made sometimes, long visits to this sister-in-law, and each would look after the pleasure of the other. For instance on Sunday mornings the family attended Sunday School. They usually stopped by to get some member of a cousin's family to ride with them in the carriage. Aunt Mary was lame on account of a fall, and my grandmother would go in the house for one of the children. She would say to the cousin, "Mattie you go out to the carriage and talk to Sister. You know we must make her happy since she is afflicted this way". And after staying a few minutes with her aunt, Mary would say, "Mattie, 'you go back and stay with Susan, she might be sensitive about your leaving her." This conversation was repeated on every Sunday as long as the visit lasted. A preacher once said of her "Just give me my wife and Aunt Susan Bradfield to pray in .my meetings and I will defy the devil."

She was small of statue, very active, and loved to be well dressed. As long as she lived, she wore white dresses on many occasions. When we would drive up to the church on Sundays some of the men would very gallantly lift her from her buggy and help her up the steps. The whole community took great pleasure and pride of showing "Aunt Susan," as she was lovingly called, every courtesy. She cared for her 'mother, Tabitha Traylor for many years during a very trying period. Her mother was almost blind and rather exacting, but the members of the family say that never an impatient word was spoken by my grandmother. This beautiful attention, I think, accounted for the very tender love which was evidenced by her two brothers, John H., and Robert Traylor.

There were many disappointments, sorrows, and even tragedies in her family, but nothing ever embittered her or shook her faith in the enduring goodness of the Lord. She was the essence of all, it seemed, that was good. On account of an unusually brilliant mind and personal magnetism, with this same piety, she shed a halo of blessings on those lives whom she touched.
She died on Easter Sunday in 1900.
(Signed) M. Bradfield Patterson.


MAJOR GEORGE WALLER
Page 107-108

Maj. George Waller was born in 1734, and settled in this county years before the Revolutionary War. He married Ann Winston Carr in 1760. His plantation was on Smith's river between Beaver creek and Fieldale, and contained several hundred acres.

He was one of the early noted men of this section of the state. He was a great lover of sport, as well as of country, and tradition that is true as written history, relates that on one occasion he and his neighbor Purdie who owned a farm on the river just above his, ran a horserace for a mile up to the latter's farm, on the river when it was frozen solid and covered with a fall of snow, the wager being one barrel of brandy I Who won? The answer was the friends that witnessed the race for they drank the liquor: (Horse-racing, and fighting in the ring were as common those days as Church Dinners for funds are now).

Another time that called out the populace at that period was the Muster Days when the exercises and drills of the local would be soldiers occurred. He was then Major of the Militia and, of course, one of the star performers for the occasions. These drills were the stepping stones to lead to real action when the time came, and that was not so very long for the Revolutionary War soon raged and Maj. Waller heard the call.

To him the order was given by Col. Abram Penn to assemble the only organized body of troops from the then young county of Henry, to go to the assistance of General Green at Guilford Court House. They assembled on March 11th, 1781 at Beaver Creek and hurried to battle field in time to aid in turning Lord Cornwallis back to the South. From this time the Companies of which he was Adjutant merged into the army under Gen. Green where they served till the final victory at Yorktown in Oct. 1781.

He returned from the field of battle and spent the remainder of his life quietly at his home near Waller's Ford. Here he dispensed hospitality reared his family, 'and lived to see his country on safe footing before he died on March 18, 1814. There his ashes lie in the land he loved so well.

HON. C. Y. THOMAS
Page 108-109.

Christopher Y Thomas was born in 183_ and married Mary Ann Reamey in 1858, the daughter of Col. Daniel and Susan Starling Reamey. Issue: Lyne Starling, Mrs. (Hope) H. C. Graveley, Mrs. Faith Parrott, Kate, and
Susie, and Frank W. Thomas, of Topeka Kansas. He died in 18_. His wife survived him almost two generations.

He was Treasurer of the county of Henry without financial delinquency, commonwealth's attorney at a later date, during the civil war, and before this was a member of the Virginia senate.

It was, while a member of the senate, his brother-in-law, Peyton Gravely being a member of the lower House, that he opposed the secession ordinance. He was designated by the confederate government to distribute supplies to needy families in the county.

After the war was over he was appointed military governor of the state of Virginia. However, he could not take conscientiously the "Iron-Clad Oath". Later on he was a member of the constitutional convention that framed that historic document that served the state for 83 years as its fundamental law. It was due to his labors that the free school system was made a prerequisite for readmission to the union.

He was a member of the commission that defined the boundary between Tenn. and Virginia before the
civil war. He represented the fifth District of Virginia in the national congress for a term.

He was an intimate friend of Gen. Grant, and in many ways, was the most trusted man by his administration in
the State. He was a man of splendid intellectual attainments, and had a most perfect control of himself. Neither mob, nor emergency, nor raging wave of public sentiment could influence him in the least; but he kept his balance and acted on his most matured judgment in every circum-stance and position through life.


MRS. DAISY W. WEEMS
Page 109

Mrs. Daisy W. Weems, illustrated in this volume, is a lineal descendant of Parks Bailey, youngest son of Sam Bailey, and his wife Augusta Parks. She is the dau. of C. C. Williams and Ardena Pullen. The latter is the dau. of Sarah Lewis Bailey Pullen, oldest dau. of Parks Bailey.

Mrs. Weems is a highly cultured woman, and has filled many responsible positions in various lines of women's activities in Meridian, Miss. She is a graduate of Wards Seminary, Nashville, Tenn., and has added much to her culture by travel. Not only has she traveled over the states of the union, but has taken Cuba in her route. She has visited Europe, and thus broadened herself mentally.

Mrs. Weems is well known as President of the "Winnie Davis Chapter", U. D. C., of Miss. She organized the Daughters of the Confederacy, and was president of the Miss. Federation of Women's Clubs for 2 yrs. She is an officer in the Chapter "Pushmataha", D. A. R.

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