Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/230

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

there is aiujther family with a slightly kin- dred name. Mac Corquodell (in proper (iaelic. Mac (Th )orcadail, Mac (Th)orcai- deil), which has the right to bear armorial insignia, which are thus heraldically de- scribed : Ar. a demi stag gu. naissant out of a fesse tortilla of the second and first. Crest : A stag standing at gaze, attired gu. Motto: I'irat rex.

Among those of the early generations of the family was Samuel Eusebius McCorkle. born near Harris' Ferry, Lancaster county. Pennsylvania. August 23, 1746, and died in North' Carolina. January 21, 181 1. In 1756 his father removed to Thyatira. North Caro- lina, and settled on lands there. Samuel assisted in clearing and cultivating the farm and was afterwards graduated at Princeton in 1772. He studied theology, was licensed by the presbytery of New York in 1774, and after sj^ending two years in Virginia, ac- cepted a call from Thyatira. North Carolina. .\l)Ut 1785 he opened a classical school. which he called Zion-Parnassus, and wdiich continued for ten or twelve years. In 1792 he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Dickinson. Dr. McCorkle published sermons, "Discourses on the Terms of Chris- tian Communion." and "Discourses on the great I*"irst Principles of Deism and Revela- tion Contrasted" (1797). Another distin- guished member of the family was Lieuten- ant John W. McCorkle, who fell at the battle of Cowpens in the revolutionary war. He was one of the first trustees of Washing- ton College. Virginia, now Washington and Lee University.

William Henry McCorkle. son of Samuel McCorkle. was a farmer and planter, and held many j)ositions of trust and honor in the state of Virginia.

Walter Lisle McCorkle was educated at classical preparatory schools in Lexington, and at Washington and Lee University, from which he received the degree of Bach- elor of Laws in 1879. While at college, he was ])resident of the Graham-Lee Literary Society. F-arly in life he was occupied in teaching, and ])ursued that line of work for several years in Rockbridge countv. Vir- ginia, and in Mason county. Kentuckv. Re- turning to Washington and Lee Universitv. he entered the law department, where he re- ceived instruction from such eminent ])ro- fessors as Charles A. Graves and Hon. John Randolph Tucker, with others. Having

been admitted to the bar, he began the prac- tice of his profession in Maysville, Ken- tucky, where he was identified with many important cases, and rapidly gained distinc- tion as a lawyer. In 1881 he removed to New York City, and became associated with the firm of Miller & Peckham. including the Hon. \\' heeler H. Peckham, one of the most prominent attorneys of the city, and was subsequently associated with Elliott F. Shepherd, another distinguished attorney of the metropolis. In these associations he acquired valuable experience, and made an extensive acquaintance, which paved the way for his establishment as an independ- ent attorney. He opened an office in the Drexel building, and has since given his attention chiefly to civil law, making a spe- cialty of corporation, real estate and equity matters, and his practice has assumed large proportions-. He has acted as counsel for many important business enterprises, includ- ing banks, building and loan associations, mining companies, the Produce Exchange, the English House of Tattersalls, and vari- ous real estate and industrial enterprises, whose success may be attributed in some measure to his valuable aid. One of the most genial and courteous Virginians to be found in New York, Mr. McCorkle has established lasting and valuable friendships, and is highly esteemed out of the profession, as w^ell as in it. He was one of the founders of the Southern Society of New York, of which he was four years treasurer and presi- dent for two terms, and in which he still holds active membership. He was one of the organizers of the Produce Exchange Building and Loan Association, and acted many years as its counsel. He is also a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New^ York, of the Society of Virginians of New York, the Society of Kentuckians, and the Sons of the Revolu- tion of the state of New York. He was for a period of four years president of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Any organization which counts Mr. McCorkle among its mem- bers may rely upon his earnest and active cooperation in the pursuance of its objects. In politics he adheres to the principles of the Democratic party, and is earnest and forceful in the support of those principles. He has been a contributor to the "Banking Law Journal." and other periodicals, and is equally efficient as a writer as he is as a