Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/759

 VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

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with the American youth of today, being, as it uncloulDtedly is. one of the best means of discipline, one of the greatest encouragcrs of self control and endurance, mental and physical, in existence. Me remained en- gaged in farming until he reached the age of seventeen years, and then secured a posi- tion as clerk in a furniture store in Balti- more, Maryland. He remained in this ser- vice for six years, and then determined to embark upon a business venture of his own. For this pur])ose he came to the city of Rich- mond, and there entered into a partnership with Mr. H. R. Pollard. Jr., and under the hrm name of Pollard tS: Hagby engaged in the real estate business there. They have l^een eminently successful and are now the leading concern of the kind in the city. Their business is a very large one and con- ducted in the most modern manner. Mr. Bagby has in the meantime wrought for himself a conspicuous place in the business and financial world of Richmond, and has become associated in a prominent manner with many of the leading concerns in the city. He has been made the president of the Fidelity, Loan and Savings Company of Richmond, and is a director and a large stockholder in the Richmond Bank and Trust Compan}' of that city. He is a staunch member of the Democratic party, and although he takes a keen interest in the political questions of the day, has not so far entered the lists as a candidate of any kind, nor held any office save that as a member of the city school board, which he filled most ef^ciently for a period of six years. He takes a prominent part in the social life of the city, and is a member of Arlington Lodge, No. 149, Free and Accepted Masons, of Essex county. Virginia.

On March 12, 1895, when twenty-five years of age, Mr. Bagby was married in the Leigh Street Baptist Church, to Alma Louise Harwood, a native of Richmond, born December 24, 1875. ^^''S- Bagby is the daughter of John P. and Marie (Wingfield) Harwood, both of Richmond. Mr. Harwood is now deceased, but Mrs. Harwood is still a resident of Richmond. Mrs. Harwood is a member of one of the oldest Virginia families, the Wingfields, the founder of which was one of those hardy souls who founded the settlement of Jamestown, the first permanent colony within the region now occupied by the United States. Mr.

Wingfield was not only one of the first in this particular, but he was cjue of those who. after the eventful \oyage of 1607, found his name included in the famous sealed order given by King James to the hardy adventurers with strict injunctions that it should not be opened until the ar- rival in X'irginia, and which formed the list of His Majesty's first council in X'irgima. To Mr. and Mrs. liagby there have been born iixe children, all living, as follows: Louise Elizabeth, now an attendant at Ilol- lins College, X'irginia ; Phyllis Harwood, b>hn, jr.. Pleasant l(arw(i(j(l. and Pich- ard 1 high.

Mr. Bagby is one of the rising men of Richmond, and indeed, of X'irginia. His very obvious business and financial ability, coupled with his well deserved reputation for unimpeachable integrity and generous, open-handed dealing in all the relations of life, have caused him to be regarded as one of the most substantial business men in the region, and his popularity is not less than his reputation. A Democrat in his outlook on life, a])proachable easily by all sorts and conditions of men, simple in bearing, direct in thought and language, there seems to be every reason for the hope and expectation which his host of friends hold for a brilliant future for him in every dei)artment of public activit}-. Mr. Bagby and his family are members of the I'aptist church, of which his father was a clergyman, and he is a constant attendant of the Leigh Street Bap- tist Church, of wdiich he is a strong sup- port, materially aiding the numerous be- nevolences in connection with it.

William Morgan Smith, M. D. Dr. Smith an eminent physician of Alexandria, X'ir- ginia, and present postmaster of that city, descends from one of the old families of the Shenandoah X^alley. In 1777, General John Smith signed his reports to the governor of Virginia. 'Tn my Stone Hall Hackwood Park," a famous massive stone mansion that became famous during the revolutionary war and was long one of the most attractive homesteads of Frederick county. General John Smith, its owner, was of the Smiths of "Shooters Mill." son of John Smith and Mary (Jaquelin) Smith, and related to many of the "old XTrginia families including that of Washington, Marshall. .Ambler, Jones, Pag-e, Carv. Macon and Carrington. The