Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/148

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

lies were prominent families of the state. In 1875 Oliver W. Dudley located in Dan- ville, where he clerked for one year, then until 1884 was engaged in various capacities in the tobacco business. In that year he was admitted a member of the firm of Pem- berton & Penn, of Danville, commission merchants, for the purchase of leaf tobacco, the firm being James G. Penn and Oliver ^^'. Dudley. The firm was incorporated in 1905, and is now composed of Colonel O. W. Dudley, J. P. Penn, and J. G. Penn, sons of J. P. Penn, Sr. Mr. Dudley's career has been a remarkable one and is an inspiring lesson to the young. Coming to Danville practically penniless he has by the exercise of the qualities of industry and integrity made for himself a name honored in this city. He is vice-president of the National Eank of Danville, and one of the largest private owners of real estate in the city, in addition to his holdings in Pemberton & Penn. He is a member of all branches of the • Masonic order, was delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1892, that renominated Grover Cleveland for president ; served on Governor O'Farrell's stafif in 1894-98, with the rank of colonel ; is a member of both the Country clubs and the newly formed Tuscarora Club. In religious faith he is a Methodist, steward for past twenty years, belonging to the Main Street congregation.

Mr. Dudley married, November 21, 1S94, Lucy Estes, born in Danville, June 5, 1874, daughter of Captain Howard Estes, who died in 1896, a farmer and dry goods mer- chant of Danville. Captain Estes was a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, class of 1894, and a captain of the Confed- erate States army. He married Nannie Perkins, who survives him, residing at Dan- ville, with her daughter, Mrs. Dudley. Chil- dren of Oliver W. and Lucy (Estes) Dud- ley : Oliver Witcher (2), born September 12, 1896, now a student at Randolph-Macon College, class of 1917; Howard Estes, born July 21, 1900, now attending Danville School for Boys.

Samuel Hairston. The Hairston home in Pittsyhauia county, Virginia, is one of the delightful remnants of colonial design and architecture of which the Southern states afford many fine specimens. Its present owner and occupant, Samuel Hairston, is

tlie third of his line bearing that name there to make his home, while elsewhere in Pitt- sylvania county and Virginia the name Jiairston has been borne by men of honor and men of valiant service. Situated a short distance from "Oak Hill," the Hair- ston estate, is "Barry Hill," the home of the family of the great-grandmother of Samuel Hairston, Ruth Perkins, a member of another distinguished Virginia family.

Samuel Hairston was born at "Oak Hill," Pittsylvania county, Virginia, and was edu- cated in the Bingham School, of North Carolina, and the Episcopal High School, at .Alexandria, Virginia. Upon attaining his majority he began the administration of hi.s vast estate, the duties of which have since claimed his attention. His business inter- ests are many and varied, and he holds a place upon the directorates of the leading lusiness institutions of Danville, including cotton mills, knitting mills, the First Na- tional Bank, the overall factory, the local street railway company, and the Danville iS: Western Railroad. He is also a stock- holder in the People's National Bank, of Martinsville, and the Bank of Stokes County, at Walnut Cove, North Carolina. Mr. Hairston is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, and on his estate there is a chapel in which, at regular periods, are conducted services according to the ritual of that faith, the services attended by the ten- ants of the Hairston estate, of whom there are about eighty. Mr. Hairston has per- sonal charge of the Sunday school, of which he is superintendent, and has made this one of the most flourishing and beneficial feat- ures of the chapel life.

Samuel Hairston married, in Danville, A'irginia, November 16, 1899, May, born in Salem, Virginia, daughter of James Rufus Joplin, who died in July, 1913, was a veteran of the war between the states, having run away from home when fifteen years of age to enlist in the Confederate army. He was president of the First National Bank, of Danville, Virginia, a prominent figure in the business and financial world of the region.

Floyd Wise Weaver. Although native to Rockingham county, Mr. Weaver has since 1805 been engaged in practice in Luray, formerly as a member of the law firm of Weaver & Leedy, and as clerk of court for Page county, resigning the office of mayor