Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/215

 VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

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mouth. Virginia. The greater part of his time during the war was spent in the Caro- linas and Virginia.

Isaac Hammer, son of Henry Hammer, became a farmer and resided in Rockingham county, where he married Elizabeth Keyser, and was succeeded by his son. Joseph C. Hammer, who was born in Rockingham county in 1842, and died in 1909. Upon the outbreak of the war between the states he became a Union sympathizer and later with a great many of his boyhood friends left Virginia and made his way to the Federal lines and enlisted with the Federal troops. After the war he returned to Rockingham county and engaged in farming until the time of his death. He left eight children : Charles A., John N.. Samuel P., Thomas J.. Bernard J.. W'ilmer I., and Annie Mildred.

Charles A. Hammer was born in Rock- ingham county, \'irginia, November 28, 1869. He attended public schools at Elkton, Vir- ginia, and later a normal at McGaheysville. Virginia. He taught school one year, and then became a clerk in a general store. In 1892 he entered the mercantile business for himself in Harrisonburg, the county seat of Rockingham county. In 1895 he entered the office of and studied law under General John E. Roller, and later under the preceptorship of the late Colonel O. B. Roller. In the summer of 1898 he went to the University of Virginia, and there took a special course in law under Professors Lyle and Minor, and that same year was admitted to the bar, but did not begin the practice of law until 1902, serving in the meantime as United States deputy collector in districts within the bounds of Virginia and North Carolina. In 1902 he returned to Harrisonburg and be- gan the practice of law at the Rockingham bar. Since 1905 he has served as referee in bankruptcy. He is a member of the fra- ternal orders of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a Republican in politics.

In 1894 he married Bertha E. Loewner, who was born in Harrisonburg, June 5, 1871, and was a daughter of .Samuel and Augusta Loewner. Of this marriage there are three children : Goldie Elizabeth, born June 30, 1899: Le Warren, born February 14, 1910; Charles A., Jr., born March 3, 1912.

Algernon Sidney Buford. Colonel Al- gernon Sidney Buford, most prominently

and most honorablj' connected with the de- velopment of the Richmond & Danville rail- road, of which he was elected president in 1865. when the road had but one hundred and forty miles of trackage, and of which he continued president for twenty-two years, turning over to his successor in the presi- dency a line of more than three thousand miles ; representative first of Pittsylvania county and later of the city of Richmond in the \'irginia legislature; one of the most active members and for four years presi- dent of the Virginia Agricultural and Me- chanical Society, and chief of the Virginia board of managers of the Columbian exposi- tion at Chicago in 1893 ; is of Virginia par- entage, and has been a Virginian through- out his life, although he was born (January 2. 1826) in Rowan county. North Carolina. His father was William Buford. of Lunen- ];urg county. Virginia, a grandson of Henry Buford. of Culpeper comity, \^irginia, of revolutionary times, and his entire colonial ancestry were strong adherents to the inter- ests of the American colonists. His mother was Mrs. Susan Robertson (Shelton) Bu- ford. of Pittsylvania county. Virginia.

From earliest years, decided strength of character and indications of exceptional ability marked the boy. His primary edu- cation was given him in the school taught by his father, and tmder his father's care at home he acquired a thorough practical knowledge of agriculture. As a young man he "spent much time between the plow handles." and like other thoughtful young men whose early years are passed in the country, he pondered much upon the condi- tions of life in his state and the problem of how to meet those conditions for the welfare of his fellow citizens. Determining to be- come a teacher, he saved his earnings with the purpose of studying at a university, and for two years taught in preparation for a course in law at the University of Virginia. In 1848 he was graduated from a two years' course at that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.

He began the practice of his profession in his mother's native county, Pittsylvania, but his professional circuit included the neigh- boring counties, and while he was still a very voung lawyer, he was called to cross swords in legal combat with some of the leading men of the Virginia bar. \\'iden- ing acquaintance and broadening experience led him to the wish for better opportunities