Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/212

698 prevented his success as a public advocate. He acquired a considerable fortune from the practice of his profession, but this was swept away by the losses of slaves and property during the war of 1861-65. He died July 7, 1863, and is buried in Mt. Hebron Cemetery, Winchester. He married Frances (Fanny) L. M. Jones, of Frederick county, born October 15, 1808, daughter of William Strother Jones, and granddaughter of Colonel Strother Jones, an officer of the Continental army. She was the great-grand-daughter of Gabriel Jones, who is credited with being the first practicing lawyer in the valley of Virginia. His home was in Rockingham county, but he owned a farm and at one time maintained a law office in Frederick county and attended Frederick courts, Gabriel Jones, "the Valley lawyer," married, as her second husband, Margaret Strother, the eldest daughter and child of William and Margaret (Watts) Strother, of Stafford county. Their son, Colonel Strother Jones, was educated at William and Mary College, was commissioned captain in the Colonial army, resigned in 1774 to marry Mary Frances Thornton, of "Fall Hill," near Fredericksburg, daughter of Francis Thornton, who traced his pedigree to the duke of Ormond. Captain Jones was commissioned colonel of the Virginia militia and at the age of thirty-two years died at the family home, "Vaucluse," in Frederick county. His son, William Strother Jones, was born October 7, 1783, died at "Vaucluse" in 1845. He was educated at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was a gentleman of unbounded hospitality, strikingly handsome and a splendid horseman. He was a member of the Episcopal church, a Federalist in politics, later a Whig. He cultivated the family estate and spent his life master of "Vaucluse." He married Anna Maria Marshall, a descendant of John Marshall, of the "Forest."

David W. Barton had six sons, all of whom served in the Confederate army. Two of his sons, Marshall and David, were killed in battle, and one, Strother, lost a leg at the battle of Mine Run, dying in 1868. Marshall was killed at Winchester at the rout of Banks, May 25, 1862; David at the second battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, his body never being recovered. Both were lieutenants in the Newtown artillery, one succeeding the other. Strother was first lieutenant of Company F, Second Regiment Virginia Infantry. Other sons were: Robert Thomas, of further mention; Randolph, a lawyer, and Boiling, a physician of Baltimore. David W. Barton also had four daughters: Maria L., married Colonel Thomas Marshall, of Oak Hill; Jane Gary, married Rev. Charles H. Shield, of Norfolk, Virginia; Martha W., married (first) Dr. John M. Baldwin, (second) Rev. Charles H. Shield; Fannie L., died unmarried.

Robert Thomas Barton, son of David W. and Frances (Fanny) L. M. (Jones) Barton, was born in Winchester, November 24, 1842. He was educated in private schools, Winchester and Bloomfield academies. He prepared for the study of law and after the required examination was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1865, after a service of several years in the Confederate army, one of six brothers to offer themselves for military service at the beginning of the war, two of these giving up their lives on the field of battle. Robert T. Barton enlisted in the First Virginia Brigade, commanded until his death by General Thomas J. Jackson ("Stonewall"). After the war he was admitted to the bar, began practice in Winchester, where he yet continues. He was senior member of the highly rated legal firm, Barton & Boyd, established in 1869 and continuing until 1910. Mr. Barton is a member of the State Bar Association, of which he is an ex-president. He has been admitted to all state and Federal courts of the district, and for more than two-score years has been a familiar and prominent figure in the legal world, not only as a learned and successful practitioner but as the author of standard law works. In 1878 he published "Barton's Law Practice," and in 1909 "Virginia—Colonial Decisions." His practice, always a large one, has always been conducted on the highest plane of legal ethics, while his research and literary ability has enriched the legal literature of his profession. While the law has ever been to him a jealous mistress, he has given considerable of his time and a great deal of his interest to the public service and to public affairs. He served his district in the Virginia legislature from 1883 to 1885, and from 1899 to 1903 he was mayor of Winchester. In 1902 he was elected president of the Farmers' and Merchants' National Bank of Winchester, and still continues the honored head of this solid and conservative financial institution. He is a Democrat in politics, but during the "free silver" heresy remained true to the