A better name for this page would probably be; "Nominees to
be on the Who's Who list."
Prominence like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. I think I will consider the
following individuals to be nominated by myself, and leave further nominees and the
election, to future generations of Waller researchers.
If you feel you know of an individual that should be included on this list, email Ali.
Please remember this is a "work in progress." There is a lot yet to be done. To give you an idea how incomplete it is, Alured and Sir Richard are not yet on the list.
I only published it in this "draft" fashion so other people may begin making suggestions.
Sam Taliaferro Rayburn was born January 6, 1882, in eastern Tennessee (Roane County). He was the eighth of eleven children born to William Marion and Martha Waller Rayburn. His father, an illiterate Confederate veteran, learned to read from his wife at the kitchen table in their log cabin. The family moved to a 40-acre farm in Flag Springs, TX, in 1887 (about 12 miles from Bonham, TX). The Fannin County cotton farm saw few visitors, apparently, since Rayburn is quoted as recalling the experience of the "loneliness that breaks men's hearts". (Politically, he strove to end the isolation of the nation's farmers, for instance insisting that money for FM - farm to market - roads be tied to federal legislation subsidizing highway construction; and one of his great achievements was a bill for rural electrification).
Rayburn become interested in politics perhaps as early as age 12, becoming enthralled by the area's congressman, Joe Bailey, after a rally in Bonham. From 1900 to 1903, Rayburn attended what was then called East Texas Normal College (also known as "Mayo Normal College") in Commerce; the college, now Texas A & M University - Commerce, had moved from its original site in Cooper, TX, several years earlier. Tuition ($4 per month), and room and board ($8 per month) seem like a small amount; nevertheless Rayburn was granted a credit for the college costs by Professor William L. Mayo, founder of the college. Part-time jobs for Rayburn included ringing the college bell signaling the end of classes, sweeping the campus of a nearby elementary school, and milking for farmer W.A. O'Neal (the latter, for $3 per month). He also taught at Greenwood in Hopkins County between his first and second years of college. While at the college, Rayburn pursued his interests in history and biography. He was a member of the Oratorical Association and the Philomathean Literary Society. Rayburn received his diploma in 1903 (at the age of 21), and taught at Dial and Lannius Schools (both in Fannin County).
In 1906, Rayburn ran for and was elected to the Texas state House of Representatives. He was re-elected for two additional terms, and while in Austin he attended law school at UTAustin, passing the bar in 1908. He served as Speaker of the Texas House in 1911.
Rayburn was first elected to the Congress of the United States in 1912, repesenting the 4th district of Texas, and was re-elected 24 consecutive times. He served as chairman of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, and was a major architect of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. He coauthored six important laws: the Railroad Holding Company Act, the Federal Communications Act, the Truth-in-Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act, the Rural Electrification Act, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act (the most bitterly contested of all New Deal Laws).
On September 16, 1940, he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives and held the position until 1961, except for the 80th and 81st congresses when he was minority leader. He served as Speaker for 17 years, longer than anyone else. (The previous record was set by Henry Clay in the first quarter of the 19th century.) He was also chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1948, 1952, and 1956. During his career, he served his country alongside eight Presidents. After he realized he was too ill to continue in Washington, he returned home to Texas. He died November 16, 1961, in Bonham, TX, at the age of 79. His funeral was attended by the current President, John Kennedy; two former presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower; and one future president, Lyndon Johnson.
Sources for some of the information on this page are hard to pin down; they include information from press releases at East Texas State University, as well as clippings from The Dallas Morning News and the Fort-Worth Star Telegram.
Shelburne, as he was known since all references to his government are made accordingly, was a statesman, and like Pitt the Elder, an opponent of the American policy of George III.
He served in Grenville's government as president of the board of trade and in under Pitt (referred to as the Chatham/Grafton ministry) as as secretary of state. (1766-68) a post he resigned dueto opposition to his position on the colonies. After Lord North's government fell in 1782, Shelburne returned as secretary of state under Rockingham. After Rockingham's death Shelburne took over as prime minister. While in office for only seven months, he completed the negotiation of the treaty of Versailles, making peace with the former colonies and bringing an end to the American Revolution. His government was then promptly defeated a Charles James Fox and Lord North coalition.
Shelburne's politcal career was at an end. In 1784, Shelburne was created the Marquess of Lansdowne. He spent his time as patron to reformers.
(Born 1716, died 1786)
Benjamin Waller was a respected and influential lawyer, civil servant, community leader, and land developer. Born in King William County, Virginia, Waller was a student at the College of William and Mary and later studied law using Sir John Randolph's law library. He later imparted some of his legal training to George Wythe.
Due in part to the influence of his patron, Secretary John Carter, Waller received appointments to a number of important and lucrative positions. He served as clerk and burgess for James City County, recorder of Williamsburg, vestryman of Bruto Parish Church, and judge of the Court of Admiralty, to name a few of his many offices.
Waller also was a land developer. He purchased several parcels of land on the east side of Williamsburg and subdivided a portion of the property into smaller lots, many of which were bought by craftsmen who paid 10 pounds for each lot. Purchasers had to agree to build a 16- by 20-foot house with a brick chimney within three years.
Waller married and had 10 children, 6 daughters and 4 sons. His wife, Martha
(Hall), tended to the household, overseeing the children and directing the work of their
several slaves. One of his grandsons, William Waller, married the daughter of U. S.
President John Tyler and lived in Benjamin Waller's house in Williamsburg.
source: Colonial Williamsburg's online Historical Almanack
Waller, Augustus (Volney)
1816 -- 1870 Physiologist,
born near Faversham, Kent, SE England, UK. He discovered the Wallerian degeneration of
nerve fibres, and the related method of tracing nerve fibres.
Waller, Edmund
1606 -- 1687
Poet, born in Coleshill,
Buckinghamshire, SC England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, became an MP in 1621, and was a
member of the Long Parliament in 1640. In 1643 he plunged into a conspiracy (Waller's
plot) against parliament, was arrested, and banished, but returned to England in 1651. His
collected poems were published in 1645.
Waller, Sir William
c. 1598 -- 1688
English soldier, born in Knole, Kent,
SE England, UK. A member of the Long Parliament, he fought in the West Country (1643),
Oxford and Newbury (1644), and Taunton (1645). He suggested reforms on which the New Model
Army was to be based, but resigned command in 1645. By 1647 he was levying troops against
the army, and was imprisoned for Royalist sympathies (1648--51). In 1659 he plotted for a
royalist rising and was again imprisoned. He became a member of the Convention Parliament
(1660), but was unrewarded at the Restoration.
Colonel George Waller (1734-1814) married
Ann Winston Carr, the daughter of Captain William Carr and his first wife Elizabeth
Winston, and moved from his native Stafford County, where he was born in 1734, to what is
now Henry County, but at that time a part of Pittsylvania County, and acquired a large
estate on Smith's River. The town of Fieldale is situated on the Waller Plantation. With
George Waller came his brother-in-law Mordecai Hord, who acquired a like estate, adjoining
the Waller plantation, which he called "Hordsville" and which has for the past
140 years been the home of one branch of the Hairston family.
George Waller's fidelity to public service was soon shown in his being
one of the first Justices of the new County of Henry when that County was formed from
Pittsylvania County in 1777. For many years he was an active member of the Court, Sheriff,
Collector of Public Funds, Exchequer, and filled many honored public offices with courage
and honor.
As major of militia, on the 11th day of March 1781, under an order from
his superior officer, Colonel Abraham Penn, he marched sixteen companies or detachments of
militia, from Henry County, to join General Adam Stevens at Hillsborough, N. C., for
service in the then impeding battle of Guilford Court House fought four days thereafter.
He was afterwards promoted and commissioned a colonel of militia, and as such ordered into
service "to the southward."
Colonel Waller was with General Washington at the surrender of Lord
Cornwallis at Yorktown, after which he returned to his home in Henry County, lived the
life of a gentleman planter, and served his county and state until his death on November
18, 1814.
source: excerpt from address by The Honorable Sam Rayburn
William Waller RUCKER, a Representative from Missouri; born near Covington,
Alleghany County, Va., February 1, 1855; moved with his parents to western Virginia in
1861; attended the common schools; moved to Chariton County, Mo., in 1873; engaged in
teaching in the district schools; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1876 and
commenced practice in Keyresville, Chariton County, Mo.; prosecuting attorney of Chariton
County 1886-1892; judge of the twelfth circuit 1892-1899; elected as a Democrat to the
Fifty-sixth and to the eleven succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1899-March 3, 1923);
unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 to the Sixty-eighth Congress; resumed the
practice of law in Keytesville, Mo.; also engaged in agricultural pursuits; died in
Keytesville, Mo., May 30, 1936; interment in the City Cemetery.
source: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949
Biographies R page 1763
Waller TAYLOR, a Senator from Indiana;
born in Lunenburg County, Va., before 1786; attended the common schools; studied law; was
admitted to the bar and practiced in Virginia; member of the State house of delegates
1800-1802; moved to Vincennes, Ind., in 1804 and continued the practice of law; appointed
chancellor of Indiana Territory in 1807; appointed major in the Territorial militia in
1807; served as aide-de-camp to Gen. William H. Harrison in the War of 1812, and was
promoted to adjutant general in 1814; upon the admission of Indiana as a State into the
Union in 1816 was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate; reelected, and served
from December 11, 1816, to March 3, 1825; died while on a visit to his old home in
Lunenburg County, Va., August 26, 1826; interment in the family burial ground near
Lunenburg, Va.
source: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949
Biographies T page 1902
Littleton Waller TAZEWELL (son of Henry
Tazewell), a Representative and a Senator from Virginia; born in Williamsburg, James City
County, Va., December 17, 1774; was graduated from William and Mary College at
Williamsburg in 1792; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1796 and commenced practice
in James City County; member of the State house of delegates 1796-1800; [p.1903] elected
as a Democrat to the Sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John
Marshall and served from November 26, 1800, to March 3, 1801; moved to Norfolk, Va., in
1802; member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1816; one of the commissioners of
claims under the treaty with Spain ceding Florida in 1820; declined appointment as
Minister to Great Britain; elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused
by the death of John Taylor; reelected, and served from December 7, 1824, to July 16,
1832, when he resigned; delegate to State convention in 1829; elected President pro
tempore of the Senate July 9, 1832; Governor of Virginia from 1834 until his resignation
in 1836; retired from public life; died in Norfolk, Va., May 6, 1860; interment on his
estate on the Eastern Shore of Virginia; reinterment in 1866 in Elmwood Cemetery, Norfolk,
Va.
source: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949
Biographies T page 1903
Edward Waller CLAYPOLE, educator, was
born in Ross, Herefordshire, England, June 1, 1885; son of Edward Angell and Elizabeth
Mary Claypole. He was graduated at the University of London, taking his first degree in
1862 and his second degree in 1864. In 1872 he removed to the United States and in 1873
accepted the chair of natural sciences in Antioch college, Ohio. He resigned in 1881 to
become paleontologist to the Pennsylvania geological survey. In 1883 he was called to the
chair of natural sciences in Buchtel college, and remained there fifteen years. He was
made a fellow of the geological societies of London, Edinburgh and America, of the
American philosophical society, of the American association for the advancement of
science, and of several other learned bodies, and in 1898 was elected professor of natural
science in the Throop polytechnic institute, Pasadena, Cal.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume II C Clayton, Alexander Mosby
Waller, (Thomas Wright) "Fats''
1904 -- 1943 Jazz
musician; born in New York City. Composer of "Ain't Misbehavin',"
"Honeysuckle Rose," and other standards, and a leading exponent of the
"stride" piano style, he began as an organist at the Abyssinian Baptist Church
in Harlem, where his father was pastor. He played New York cabarets and theatres in the
1920s, and though hampered by alcoholism, he achieved wide popularity during the 1930s as
an irrepressible singer, songwriter, and stage and screen personality.
John Parker HAWKINS, soldier, was born in
Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 29, 1830; son of John and Elizabeth (Waller),
grandson of Jameson and Ruth Ann (Threlkeld), great grandson of John and Margaret
(Jameson), great2 grandson of Philemon and Mary (Smith) Hawkins, and probably a descendant
of William Hawkins, a sea captain, a brother of Admiral Sir John Hawkins. He was graduated
at the U.S. military academy in 1852; was brevetted 2d lieutenant in the 6th infantry and
promoted 2d lieutenant, 2d infantry, June 23, 1854, and was promoted 1st lientenant, Oct.
12, 1857. He was brigade quartermaster at Washington, D.C, 1861; declined promotion to the
rank of 1st lieutenant in the 14th U.S. infantry, May 14, 1861; accepted the commission of
staff captain and commissary of subsistence, Aug. 20, 1861, and served in southwest
Missouri and west Tennessee, 1861-62. He was chief commissary on the staff of General
Grant at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, April 6-7, 1862. He joined the volunteer army as
lieutenant-colonel in the commissary department, Nov. 1, 1862, [p.146] serving till April
13, 1863, at which time he was promoted brigadier-general of volunteers and he commanded a
brigade of colored troops in northeastern Louisiana from Aug. 17, 1863, to Feb. 7, 1864.
He commanded a division of colored troops at Vicksburg, Miss., from March, 1864, to
February, 1865; took part in the Mobile campaign, his division being attached to Gen.
Frederick Steele's column, Canby's army. He distinguished himself in the assault at
Blakely, April 9, 1865, that resulted in the capture of Mobile. He was brevetted
major-general of volunteers, June 30, 1865, and was honorably mustered out of the
volunteer service, Feb. 1, 1866. In the regular establishment he was brevetted major,
March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorious services during the siege of Mobile, Ala.; and
lieutenant-colonel, colonel, brigadier-general and major-general, March 13, 1865, for
gallant and meritorious services in the field during the war. He was promoted major in the
commissary department, June 23, 1874; lieutenant-colonel and assistant commissary-general,
Sept. 3, 1889, colonel and assistant commissary-general, March 12, 1892; and
brigadier-general and commissary-general of subsistence, Dec. 22, 1892, and was retired by
operation of law, Sept. 29, 1894.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume V H Hawkins, Micajah Thomas page 146
Alexander Quarles HOLLADAY, educator, was
born in Spottsylvania county, Va., May 8, 1839; son of the Hon. Alexander Richmond and
Patsy Quarles (Poindexter) Holladay, and grandson of Waller and
Huldah Fontaine (Lewis) Holladay, and of Judge William G. and Jane (Quarles) Poindexter.
He prepared for college in the schools of Richmond, Va.; studied at the University of
Virginia. 1857-59, and at the University of Berlin, 1859-61; served as a lieutenant in the
Confederate army, 1861-65; was admitted to the bar in 1870 and practised in partnership
with his father in Richmond, Va., 1870-77. He served in the Virginia senate, 1871-75; was
a teacher in Richmond for some years; was president of the Stonewall Jackson institute,
Abingdon, Va., 1881-84, and president of the Florida Agricultural college, 1885-88. He
organized and formed the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts in 1889,
of which he was president until 1899, when he resigned and became professor emeritus. He
was married, April 17, 1861, to Virginia Randolph Bolling, of Bolling Island, James River,
Va., and had five children: Mary Stuart, who married the Rev. Peyton Harrison Hoge, D.D.
(q.v.); William Waller, who became a civil engineer in
Wilmington, N.C.; Julia Cabell, who married Dr. J. M. Pickell, professor of chemistry at
Shaw university, Raleigh, N.C.; Alexander Randolph, a civil engineer of Richmond, Va., and
Charles Bolling, a bank clerk, also of Richmond. Professor Holladay received the honorary
degree of LL.D. from Davidson college in 1895. He is the author of occasinnal addresses on
educational and literary subjects, and of frequent contributions to the editorial colunms
of leading southern newspapers.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume V H Holladay, Alexander Richmond
Alexander Richmond HOLLADAY,
representative, was born at "Prospect Hill," Va., Sept. 18, 1811; son of Waller and Huldah Fontaine (Lewis) Holladay; grandson of Maj. Lewis and
Elizabeth (Lewis) Littlepage Holladay, and of Col. Zachary and Ann Overton (Terrill)
Lewis; great grandson of Joseph and Elizabeth (Lewis) Holladay, and great2 grandson of
Capt. John Holladay, who settled in Spottsylvania colony, Va., in 1702, a son of John
Holladay, Esq., of Yard House, Middlesex county, England. He prepared for college under
John Lewis, of Llangollen, and entered the University of Virginia in 1832. He was married
in 1837 to Patsy Quarles, daughter of Judge William G. and Jane (Quarles) Poindexter. He
practised law first in Spottsylvania county, which county he represented for several years
in the general assembly of Virginia, from which body be declined an election to the U.S.
senate in 1846. Later he practised in Richmond with his son, Alexander Quarles Holladay;
was a representative in the 31st and 32d congresses, 1849-53, serving as chairman of the
committee on expenditures in the navy department during the 31st congress, and was
president of the Virginia board of public works, 1857-65. He died in Richmond, Va., Jan.
29, 1877.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume V H Holladay, Waller
Waller HOLLADAY, educator, was born in
Oovoomiah, Persia, April 7, 1840; son of the Rev. Albert Lewis and Anne Young (Minor)
Holladay, and grandson of Waller and Huldah Fontaine (Lewis)
Holladay and of James O. and —— (Tomkins) Minor. He was a lineal descendant of
Zachary Lewis, who emigrated from [p.306] Wales to Virginia in 1692, and settled in King
and Queen county, and of Col. John Waller, who came to Virginia
about 1635. His maternal great grandfather, Maj. Lewis Holladay, was a soldier in the
patriot army during the Revolution, and his great3 grandfather, John Holladay, removed
from lower Virginia to Spottsylvania about 1702, and was captain of the Virginia Rangers. Waller Holladay attended private schools in Virginia, and entered the
University of Virginia in 1857, but his studies were impeded by the outbreak of the civil
war. He served through the war under Generals Lee and Jackson, first as private in the
University Volunteers, a company of students of the University of Virginia; later as
sergeant of artillery in Corrington's battery, which was also formed at the university;
then as first lieutenant of artillery on the staff of General Jackson, and later on the
staff of Gen. Robert D. Johnston. At the close of the war he resumed his studies at the
University of Virginia, and was graduated, B.S., C.E., and M.E., in 1872. He was a teacher
of mathematics and physical sciences for several years; conducted a boys' preparatory
school in New York city, 1873-87; was instructor in mathematics at Cooper institute, New
York city, 1873-84, professor of mathematics, 1884-87, and was elected mathematician of
the Equitable Life Assurance society in 1887. He was a member of the American Mathematical
society, the Society for Psychical Research, and the Social Science association. He was
married, June 24, 1873, to Kate Minor Emerson.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume V H Holland, Edward Clifford page 306
Edward Southey JOYNES, educator,
was born in Accomac county, Va., March 2, 1834; son of Thomas R. and Anne Bell (Satchell)
Joynes; grandson of Maj. Levin Joynes, of the Continental army, and a descendant of some
of the earliest English settlers on the eastern shore of Virginia. He entered Delaware
college in 1848, afterward studied in the celebrated Concord academy, Va., and was
graduated from the University of Virginia, A.B., 1852, A.M., 1853. He was assistant
professor of ancient languages in the University of Virginia, 1853-56, and studied in
Berlin, 1856-58. He was married in 1859 to Eliza Waller Vest, of
Williamsburg, Pa. He was professor of Greek in the College of William and Mary, 1858-65;
served in the Confederate war department, 1861-64; taught in Hollis institute, Va.,
1864-65; was professor of modern languages in Washington college, Lexington, Va., 1866-75;
helped to organize and was professor in Vanderbilt university, 1875-78; professor of
English and modern languages and belles-lettres at the University of Tennessee, 1878-82;
professor of English and modern languages in South Carolina college, 1882-88, and in 1888
was made professor of modern languages. He founded and became a trustee of the Winthrop
Normaland Industrial College for Women, Columbia, S.C. He edited the
"Joynes-Otto" series of text-books in French and German (1870-75); "Classic
French Plays" (2 vols., 1870-82), and numerous other textbooks in French and German.
He actively promoted the public-school work of Virginia and Tennessee, 1866-82, and
subsequently that of South Carolina. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from
Delaware college in 1875, and from the College of William and Mary in 1878. He is the
author of: Joynes-Meissner German Grammar (1887); Minimum French Grammar (1893),
and several lectures and addresses on educational topics.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume VI J Joynes, Levin Smith
Francis Andrew MARCH, philologist, was
born in Millbury, Mass, Oct. 25, 1825; son of Andrew and Nancy (Parker) March; grandson of
Tappan and Hannah (Patch) March, and of Arron and Sophia Parker, and a descendant of Hugh
and Judith March. Hugh March, born in 1620, came from England, settled at Newbury, Mass.,
in 1653, and in 1658, at the solicitation of his townsmen, left his farm and set up the
first [p.249] "ordinary" or tavern in Newbury, a famous inn for many years.
Francis studied in the public schools of Worcester, Mass., graduated at Amherst in 1845;
taught academies at Swanzey, N.H., and at Leicester, Mass., 1845-47, and was a tutor at
Amherst, 1847-49. He studied law in New York city, 1849-50, and was admitted to the bar in
1850. On account of ill-health he went to Fredericksburg, Va., where he taught, 1852-55.
He was a tutor in Lafayette college, Easton, Pa., 1855-56, adjunct professor of belles
lettres and English literature, 1856-57, and in 1857 was made professor of the English
language and comparative philology. He was also a lecturer in the law department of
Lafayette college, 1875-77. He was a pioneer in the philological study of the English
classics and the historical study of the English language. He was president of the
American Philological association, 1873-74, and 1895-96; of the Spelling Reform
association from 1876, and of the Modern Language association, 1891-93. He was elected
vice-president of the New Shakspere society established in London in 1874, an honorary
member of the Philological society of London, of the L'Association Fonetique des
Professeurs de Langages vivantes of Paris; a member of the National council of education
in 1883, and of numerous learned societies. He also served as chairman of the commission
of the state of Pennsylvania on amended orthography. He received the degrees LL.D. from
the College of New Jersey in 1870, and from Amherst in 1871; L.H.D. from Columbia in 1887;
D.C.L. from Oxford, England, in 1896, and Litt.D. from Cambridge, England, and from
Princeton in 1896. He married, Aug. 12, 1860, Mildred Stone, daughter of Waller
Peyton Conway of Falmouth, Va., a descendant of the Washington family, and great
granddaughter of Thomas Stone, the signer. Their son, Alden March (born Sept. 29, 1869,
Lafayette, 1890), was news editor of the Philadelphia Press after 1891, and Sunday
editor, 1898-99; and the author of The Conquest of the Philippines and our Other
Island Possessions (1899). Dr. March was the most frequent contributor to the
transactions and proceedings of the American Philological association; contributed
articles on philology to the publications of the United States bureau of education, the
National Educational association, the Modern Language association, the Spelling Reform
association, the "Jahrbuch für romanische und englische Literatur," in Berlin,
and "Englische Studien," Heilsbronn. He also contributed variously to
encyclopædias and periodicals, his writings including articles on jurisprudence and
psychology in the Princeton Review, one of which was reprinted in Edinburgh in
1861. He edited a series of college text-books of the Greek and Latin Christian authors
including: "Latin Hymns" (1874); "Eusebius" (1874);
"Tertullian" (1875); "Athenagoras" (1876); "Justin Martyr"
(1877); superintended the work of the American readers for the Philological society
(England), for the Historical Dictionary of English, published by the University of Oxford
(1884 et seq), and was consulting editor of "A Standard Dictionary of the
English Language," (1893-1900). He is the author of: A Method of Philological
Study of the English Language (1865); Parser and Analyzer for Beginners (1869);
A Comparative Grammar of Anglo-Saxon (1870); Introduction to Anglo-Saxon (1871).
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume VII M. March, John page 249
Page MORRIS, representative, was born in
Lynchburg, Va., June 30, 1853; son of Dr. William S. and Laura Page (Waller)
Morris; grandson of Richard Morris of Hanover, Va., and of Dr. Robert P. Waller
of Williamsburg, Va., and a descendant of Gen. Hugh Mercer (q.v.) He attended a private
school and William and Mary college, and was graduated from the Virginia Military
institute in 1872. He was assistant professor of mathematics at the Virginia Military
institute, 1872-73; professor of mathematics in the Texas Military institute, 1873-75, and
professor of applied mathematics in the Agricultural and Mechanical college of Texas,
1876-79. He was married Feb. 21, 1877, to Elizabeth Statham, of Lynchburg, Va. He studied
law and was admitted to the bar in 1880, and practised in Lynchburg, Va. He was the
unsuccessful candidate for representative in the 49th congress from Virginia in 1884. In
1886 he removed to Duluth, Minn. He was municipal judge of the city of Duluth, 1889-93;
city attorney, 1894-95, and district judge of the 11th judicial district of Minnesota,
1895-96. He was a Republican representative from Minnesota in the 55th, 56th and 57th
congresses, 1897-1903.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume VII M. Morris, Phineas Pemberton
Carr Waller PRITCHETT, educator,
was born in Henry county, Va., Sept. 4, 1823; eldest son of Henry and Martha Myra (Waller) Pritchett; grandson of Joshua and Elizabeth (Cousins) Pritchett
and of Carr and Elizabeth (Martin) Wailer; great-grandson of John Pritchett of Lunenberg
county, Va., and of Gen. Joseph Martin of Henry county, Va. The ancestors of the Pritchett
family come from Wales early in the eighteenth century and settled in Virginia and North
Carolina, the name being spelled both Pritchett and Pritchard in the old court records.
His father removed with his family to Warren county, Mo., in 1835, where Carr attended the
common school, and in 1844 he began to teach in private schools In 1846 he became a
licentiate in the ministry of the Methodist church, and was for many years a member of the
Missouri annual conference. He was married in Pike county, Mo., Oct. 17, 1849, to Bettie
Susan, daughter of Byrd and Sarah Hatcher (Woodson) Smith of Danville, Va.; she died at
Glasgow, Mo., Nov. 27, 1872. He was an instructor in the Howard high school (subsequently
Central college), Fayette, Mo., up to the time of its suspension in 1864; was employed in
the statistical department Of the U.S. sanitary commission in Washington, D.C., 1864-66,
and in 1866 founded the Pritchett School Institute at Glasgow, Mo., of which he was
president until 1873, and which subsequently became Pritchett college against the written
protest of Dr. Pritchett. In 1875 he became the first director of the Morrison Observatory
(connected with the college), which he was enabled to establish through the generosity of
Miss Berenice Morrison. This position he still held in 1903. He received the honorary
degree of A.M. from St. Charles college in 1850, and LL.D. from Central college in 1885.
He was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical society of London, 1879-99, and was made a
member of the Virginia Historical society.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume IIV P Pritchett, Henry Smith
Henry Smith PRITCHETT, educator, was born
in Fayette, Mo., April 16, 1857; son of Carr Waller (q.v.) and
Betty Susan (Smith) Pritchett. He was graduated from Pritchett School Institute, A.B.,
1875, A.M., 1879, and studied under Asaph Hall at the U.S. Naval observatory in 1876. He
was assistant astronomer at the Naval observatory, 1878-80; assistant astronomer in the
Morrison observatory, 1880-81; assistant professor of astronomy at Washington university,
St. Louis, Mo., 1881-82, and full professor, 1882-97. He was the astronomer on the transit
of Venus expedition to New Zealand in 1882; had charge of the government party to observe
the eclipse of the sun in California in 1889; was president of the St. Louis Academy of
Science, 1891-94; engaged in scientific work in Europe, 1894-95, and was appointed
superintendent of the U.S. coast and geodetic survey in 1897, which office he resigned in
1900 to accept the presidency of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. He was
married in June, 1900, to Eva, daughterof Hall and Louise McAllister of San Francisco,
Cal. He [p.420] was appointed superintendent of awards at the Pan-American exposition of
1901. The degree of Ph.D. was conferred on him by the University of Munich in 1894; and
that of LL.D. by Hamilton in 1900; Harvard in 1901; Yale in 1901; the University of
Pennsylvania in 1901, and Johns Hopkins in 1902. He is the author of many valuable papers
on astronomy.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume IIV P Procter, John Robert page 420
Laura Catharine (Redden) SEARING,
author, was born in Somerset, Md., Feb. 9, 1840; a descendant of Edmund Waller,
the poet, and of John Hampden, the patriot. She removed with her parents to St. Louis, and
in 1851, after recovering from a dangerous illness, she was left entirely deaf. She
attended the Missouri Institute for [p.287] Deaf Mutes, and Clark Institute, and engaged
in editorial work as assistant editor of the St. Louis Presbyterian, 1857–58. She
contributed frequently to the St. Louis Republican under the pen name, "Howard
Glyndon," and in 1961 wrote an article protesting against the call for fifty thousand
men, made by Governor Jackson of Missouri, which was so widely copied that the editors of
a Confederate organ in St. Louis published an appeal to the reading public, not to be
influenced by the opinion of an inexperienced girl, to which she replied in "An
Appeal from Judge to Jury." She was Washington correspondent to the Missouri
Republican, 1866–67; went to Europe, February, 1865, as correspondent to the
Republican, and later was employed in the same capacity by the New York Times, remaining
abroad until 1868. She removed to New York, where she was employed on the Mail, and
contributed to the Tribune. She was married in 1876 to Edward W. Searing, a native of
Sherwood, Cayuga county, N.Y., a well known lawyer of New York city. She was greatly
interested in the education of deaf mutes, and in 1886 went to California with a teachers'
convention held at Berkeley in July, 1886. She then settled in Santa Cruz, Cal., where she
was residing in 1903. She is the author of: Idyls of Battle (1864); Notable Men
in the House of Representatives (1864); A Book for Little Boys (1870); Sounds
from Secret Chambers (1874).
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume IX S Searle, Arthur page 287
Waller Redd STAPLES, jurist, was born in
Patrick court-house, Va., Feb. 24, 1826. He was graduated at William and Mary college in
1846; was admitted to the bar in 1848; was a representative in the Virginia legislature,
1853–54; was one of the four commissioners sent to represent Virginia in the
Provisional congress of the Confederate States held at Montgomery, Ala., in 1861, and was
a representative from Virginia in the 1st and 2d C.S. congresses, 1862–65. He was a
judge of the supreme court of Virginia, 1870–82, and was a presidential elector on
the Democratic ticket, 1884. He was one of three commissioners chosen to revise the
Virginia statutes, 1884–86. He died in Richmond, Va., Aug. 20, 1897.
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume IX S Staples, William Read
Waller TAYLOR, senator, was born in
Lunenburg county, Va., before 1786. He received a common school education, was admitted to
the bar, represented his county in the legislature, and in 1805 moved to Vincennes, Ind.
Ter. He was a territorial judge, and when W.H. Harrison, governor of Indiana, put down the
Indian uprising, Judge Taylor served on his staff. He enlisted in the war of 1812, and
when Indiana was admitted to statehood he was elected with James Noble one of the first
U.S. senators, drawing the short term expiring March 3, 1819. He took his seat Dec. 12,
1816, was re-elected for a full term in 1819, and closed his term March 3, 1825. He died
in Lunenburg county, Va., Aug. 26, 1826.[p.110]
source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable
Americans: Volume X T Taylor, William page 110
William Waller HENING, (Henning ?)
lawyer, author. He was a legal writer of Virginia; and the author of The American Pleader
and Lawyer's Guide; The New Virginia Justice; The Statutes of Virginia, 1691-1792; and
Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia and in the Supreme Court of
Chancery for Richmond District. He died in 1828 in Virginia.
source: Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the
Nineteenth Century. Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography page 472
Clarence P. Larson, banker, merchant; born in Independence, Wis., June 6, 1885;
son of O. P. and Lena (Waller). Larson; educated in High School
of Whitehall, Wis., and Business College, Winona, Minn.; married, Whitehall, Wis., Aug.
21, 1909, Louise F. Steig; one son. Assistant cashier of John O. Melley & Co. Bank,
Whitehall, Wis., 1905-06; cashier Bank of Eleva, Wis., 1906-07; president and cashier of
the Bank of Eleva, Wis., since 1907. Also vice-president G. M. Steig Mercantile Co.,
Churches Ferry, N. Dak.; president Larson Sterning Co., Stephen, Minn.; president Eleva
Mercantile Co., Eleva, Wis. Republican; Lutheran. Mason. Address: Eleva.
source: Important Men of 1913, page 297 Ancestry
Col. J. C. Yancey, a prominent attorney
of Batesville, and a man of brilliant attainments, whose words of eloquence have often
been heard in the halls of justice, was born in Orange County, Va., on July 10, 1853. He
is a son of James E. and Mary E. (Waller) Yancey, both natives of
the same county in Virginia, who moved to Jefferson County, Ky., in 1859, and remained at
that place until 1873, when they repaired to Phillips County, Ark., in which place the
father died in 1876, while the mother still survives him, and resides in that county. They
were the parents of six children: Archilles N., Charles C., Elizabeth, Amelia, John C. and
George W. Col. Yancey was reared in Virginia and Kentucky, and received his education from
the schools of both States, his inclination for the law being developed at an early age.
At eighteen years of age he began the study of law, and [p.728] in 1874 was admitted to
the bar in Crittenden County, Ark., where he practiced about one year. He then formed a
partnership with Col. A. Crockett, a grandson of famous Davy Crockett, and moved to
Arkansas County, Ark., to practice. They remained at this place until 1878, when Col.
Yancey came to Batesville, and established a law office, where he practiced alone until
1882, and then formed a partnership with Col. H. S. Coleman, under the firm name of
Coleman & Yancey. In 1885 Col. Yancey was elected to the XXVth General Assembly,
serving one term, and in 1889 was elected mayor of Batesville, an office he holds at the
present time, and fills with distinction. In 1884 he was married to Miss Ella A.
Dunnington, by whom he has had three children: Nona W., Dunnington A. and James C. Col.
Yancey is a man of excellent ability, and one whose oratory at times is grand. His
shrewdness and foresight have won for him many cases, where facts and argument were
needed, and his eloquent addresses to many a jury have given him victory where it needed a
man who could play upon the human heart. He is attorney for the Keystone Mining Company,
and is president of the Telephone Company of Batesville. Also president of the Charcoal
and Chemical Plant, and a principal stockholder in the Bank of Batesville, and also
interested in the Batesville Printing Company, and Oil Trough Telephone Company.
source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northeast Arkansas
SHARP COUNTY–LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY–THE WATER SUPPLY–MINERALS, TIMBER AND
SOIL–PRODUCTS–VALUATION OF PROPERTY–PUBLIC
HIGHWAYS–POPULATION–ERECTION OF THE COUNTY–THE LEGAL CENTER–COUNTY
BUILDINGS–DAYS OF THE PIONEERS–LAW AND EQUITY PRACTICED–THE STRUGGLE OVER
SLAVERY AND SECESSION–VILLAGES LOCATED AND DESCRIBED–SCHOOL
STATISTICS–CHURCH PEOPLE–CATALOGUE OF COUNTY OFFICERS–PERSONAL AND BUSINESS
MEMORANDA–ELECTIONS. page 728