Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 3.djvu/294

 254

VIRGIXIA r.IOGRAPHY

origin, who settled in Frederick county, afterward Shenandoah county, near Tom's Brook, in 1766.

His early education was acquired at the public schools of his native county and at the W'ytheville Male Academy, his spare time being devoted to the performance of the various sorts of labors incident to the cultivation of a farm. He commenced the s'.udy of law in the summer school conduct- ed by Prof. John B. Minor, at the Univer- sity of Virginia, during the years 1890-91, and continued the regular course at this university. 1892-93. being graduated in the last mentioned year with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was a student at the Tulane University of Louisiana, 1894-95, ?nd was graduated with the degree of Bach- elor of Laws in 1895. While engaged in his legal studies, he was also otherwise occu- pied in order to render himself self support- ing, the first of his positions being that of railway postal clerk on the route between Lynchburg, Virginia, and Bristol, Tennes- see. He served as postmaster of Abingdon from March 1, 1890, to March i, 1894. Dur- ing the next ten years he was a member of the Republican district committee, of the ninth congressional district of V'irginia; from January i, 1904, to May i, 1905, he was commonwealth's attorney for Washington county, resigning this office in order to ac- cept that of collector of internal revenue. In April, 1904, he had been elected chairman of the Republican district committee of his district, and resigned this at the same time and for the same reasons. As an author .Mr. Summers has earned considerable praise ; his "History of Southwest \^irginia from 1746 to 1786. and of Washington County, 1777 to 1870," published in 1903, is consid-

ered a valuable contribution to the local his- tory of his section. He resides at Abingdon, Washington county, Virginia. Mr. Sum- mers married, February 24, 1897, .\nnie Katherine Barbee. daughter of .M. .A. Bar- bee, of Giles county, \'irginia.

Sands, Alexander H. G., was born in 1828. son of Thomas Sands, of Williamsburg. In 1838 he entered the grammar school of Wil- liam and Mary College, under Professor Dabney Brown, and continued four years. At the age of ten years he began the study of Latin, and when he left the school he liad read through the ordinary course, had made some proficiency in Greek, and had a limited knowledge of French. He made a distinguished record as a lawyer, and was a law writer of note. He was author of Sands' "Suit in Equity," "Recreation of a Southern Barrister," and some miscellaneous writ- ings. He left an incomplete "History of Legal and Constitutional History of \'ir- ginia." He died in Richmond, in 1887.

Fristoe, Edward T., born in Rappahan- nock county, Virginia, December 16, 1830. He graduated from the \'irginia Military Institute in 1849, "'^s then a teacher for three years, and in 1855 graduated from the University of Virginia. While an under- graduate, he was called to the chair of mathematics in Columbian University, Washington City, where he served until 1S60, when he accepted the professorship of mathematics and astronomy in the L'niver- sity of Missouri. In 1862 he entered the confederate army, as captain and assistant adjutant-general, later being promoted to colonel of cavalry, under Gen. Sterling Price. .After the war he was professor of chemistry in Columbian University; in 1871