Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 3.djvu/368

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

wealth's attorney of Clarke county for al- most nine years ; was state senator from 1883 to 1887, where his most conspicuous jniblic service was rendered in framing the Anderson-McCormick bill, which was in- tended to put a stop to bribery, fraud and intimidation at elections, and. in some le- ^pects. it was the prog-enitnr uf the election law now in force in Virginia. He was a member of the Democratic national c(jn- vention of 1884, which nominated Grover Cleveland, and also of the St. Louis con- vention of 1904, which nominated Judge Parker. Mr. McCormick married, June 12, 1872, Rosalie Allen Taylor, daughter of Lawrence B. Taylor, a well known lawyer oi" Alexandria, Virginia.

Starke, Ashton, born at Richmond, Vir- ginia, October 19, 1849, ^on of Patrick Henry Starke and Arabella Garland Clark, his wife, traces his ancestry to John Starke, whose residence in \'irginia began in the year 1650, and who received a grant of land four years later. Among his descendants was John Starke, who was appointed, No- vember 8, 1775. a member of the committee oi safety for Hanover county, in which locality the family became prominent, and the line was continued through William Starke, who served as colonel in the Mexi- can war, and who was the father of Patrick H. Starke, a prominent manufacturer of Richmond. He attended the schools of Richmond, and Richmond College, pursuing his studies in the academic and law courses, and upon the completion of his studies he accepted a position with his father, but shortly afterward started upon an independ- ent career. He has also taken an active interest in politics, affiliating with the

Democratic ]:)arty, and served as a member of the general assembly, and served on the committee that made a report on the stale debt and provided the data and the facts upon which the settlement was later made. He has delivered a number of speeches, possessing the power of eloquence and force, and is also a vigorous writer. Mr. Starke married P'lorine Dunlap, whose father was an ofificer in a Georgia regiment.

Turk, Rudolph Samuel, born at Middle- brook, Augusta county, \ irginia, December 6. 1849, son of Rudolph Turk and Annie E. Robertson, his wife, is a descendant, on hoih the paternal and maternal side, of tlie early settlers of the valley of Virginia, among whom was Robert Turk, who obtained from the crown extensive grants of land, a.id in whose honor was named "Turk's Mountain" and "Turk's (iaj)," a public road running ihrough the latter named, although alnio.-^t totally abandoned by travelers at the pres- ent time. He was educated in the country school-; and at a classical school conducted bv Professor John H. Lecky. His studies were interrupted by his service in the Con- federate army, which he joined in 1864, participated in the battle of Piedmont, and served in the army near Lynchburg. Alter the war he became a student at Roar.oke College for two sessions. In 1874 studied law in the University of Virginia, and in 1875 located in Pocahontas count}-. West V'irginia. for the active practice of hir; ))ro- fession and there remained until 1888, when he disposed of his interests and moNcil to W ichita, Kansas, where he entered into business relations with William H. Carlisle, which connection continued until .-Viiril, iSo. the death of his father then necessita-