Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/358

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

was the author of several works of consider- able reputation, among them a "History of Norfolk County," "A Pair of Blankets," "The Spirit of the South" and "The Story of Virginia."

He was a citizen of excellent parts, and the seventy-four years of his life, which ended February 9, 191 2, were filled with useful endeavor and activity. At the bar he won important place through the exer- cise of brilliant legal talents, and when these were devoted to the public service he be- came a public official whose peer could not be obtained. The channels of his life were wide, but he possessed a personality of suf- ficient breadth and strength to fill them all, whether they be professional, public, busi- ness, or private in nature. His was a life that, rich in itself and associations, sought to enrich the lives of others, and his deeds of beneficence and charity would, if enu- merated, fill a much greater space than the list of his labors directed toward his per- sonal benefit.

William Henry Stewart married (first) October 30, 1873, Annie Wright, born July 30, 1848, died November 28, 1883, daughter of John S. and Stella L. H. (Armistead) Stubbs. Mr. Stewart married (second) September 20, 1888, Sallie Watson, daughter of Colonel Benjamin H. and Maria Louisa (Minor) Magruder. Her mother was a daughter of Dr. James and Polly (W^atson) Minor, granddaughter of Garrett Minor, of Sunning Hill, Louisa county, Virginia, and Mary (Terrill-Overton) Minor, her grand- father a member of the committee of safety for Louisa county in 1775, and of the Vir- ginia Legislature soon after the revolution. P>y his first marriage Air. Stewart had one son, Robert Armistead, who holds the de- grees of A. M. and Ph. D. from the Univer- sity of X^irginia. now professor in Richmond College.

(IV) Robert Edward Bruce Stewart, son of William Charles and Catharine Matilda (Garrett) Stewart, was born in Wallaceton, Virginia, June 20, 1863. and after there at- tending the ])ublic schools was a student in the Suffolk Alilitary Academy, and the Vir- ginia Military Institute, at Lexington, Vir- ginia. When his education was completed he returned to Wallaceton. and there farmed until 1893. in July of that year receiving an appointment from President Cleveland as clerk to the captain of the Portsmouth Navy

Yard. His relation with this naval station now covers a period of twenty-one years, his present rank that of chief clerk, and from his close familiarity with all depart- ments of the yard he has written a history thereof that presents the life of the station m an exact and interesting narrative. Be- sides Air. Stewart has taken a keen interest in the development of this section and has written many industrial and literary articles for newspapers and magazines, calling at- tention to the many advantages of the Tide- water section for agricultural purposes, etc.

Mr. Stewart owns a farm in Norfolk county, the cultivation of which he directs, and realizes from this fertile land a lucrative source of income. A Democrat in politics, party afifairs throughout the county have e\'er held his interested attention, and he was for a number of years a member of the county Democratic committee. During the sessions of 1891 and 1892 he held a seat in the Virginia Legislature, ably discharging his duties in this capacity. He is identified with the Methodist Episcopal church, and belongs to the Improved Order of Hepta- sophs and the Mystic Circle.

Mr. Stewart has a wide acquaintance in the vicinity of his residence, and the number of his friends is almost as great, for he is of genial, agreeable nature, asking only in his fellows the open treatment he unfail- ingly accords.

He married Lucy Lee, daughter of Leroy M. and Marion (Hunter) West, and has children : Nannie Elizabeth and Robert Ed- ward Bruce Jr.

Mrs. Stewart's father was a gallant Con- federate soldier, surrendered at Appomat- tox. He married Marion Hunter, daughter of Jacob Hunter, who was a son of Josiah Wilson Llunter, who was a son of Jacob Hunter, who was a member of the Princess Anne county committee of safety, 1775, in the revolutionary war; (see James' Anti- quary, No. I, part 2).

William Elwood Broaddus, D. D. S. The

name Broaddus, originally Broadhurst, al- though of Anglo-Saxon origin, was, tradi- tion says, brought to Virginia by a Welsh- man. The American ancestor of the Vir- ginia family was Edmund Broaddus, who settled prior to 1715 on Gwynn's Island in the Piankitank river, near the junction with the Rappahannock. In 1715 he moved to