Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/249

 VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

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Francis Milton Whitehurst. For over forty years an eminent lawyer of the Vir- ginia bar. and for nearly a quarter of a cen- tury a practicing lawj-er of the Norfolk. \'irginia. bar. Mr. Whitehurst was an orna- ment to the profession he embraced, after l-.is return from a Federal military prison, in which he was confined during the last year of the war between the states.

Francis Milton Whitehurst was born in Princess Anne county. Virginia, December I, 1835. died in Norfolk. Virginia, March 2, 1908. He was the son of Colonel William \\"hitehurst, a descendant of Richard White- hurst. one of the early colonists of Tide- water. \'irginia. Colonel Whitehurst mar- ried Amy Lovett, and had issue : Anne. Eliz- abeth. Daniel. IVIargaret. William H.. Jane. Marie Antoinette. Francis Milton. Randolph and .Amy. Francis Milton Whitehurst was early educated in private schools in Princess Anne county, finishing his preparatory studies at Pollard's Private School, in Nor- folk, and Norfolk Academy. In i860 he entered -the law department of the Univer- sity of Virginia, but left the university to enter in the Confederate army, joining Com- pany F, enlisted in Norfolk, and attached to Mahone's brigade. He served continuously during the entire war. He won a lieutenancy for bravery at Chancellorsville, and at the battle of the "Crater," Petersburg, July 30. 1864. was taken prisoner while taking part in the desperate charge made by the Con- federates to recover the position from which they had been driven by the explosion of the mines. He was held a prisoner bv the Fed- eral government until the close of the war. then returned to Princess .Anne county, where he completed his law studies, was ad- mitted to the bar and established in practice. \\'hen the court system of Virginia was re- organized, he was elected by the legislature of \'irginia judge of Princess Anne county court, a position he held six years, then re- signed. Later he was elected commonwealth attorney for Princess Anne county, holding that office until 1884, when he resigned and moved to Norfolk, Virginia. There he formed a law partnership with Floyd Hughes, practicing as Whitehurst & Hughes until his death. He practiced in all state and Federal courts of the district, and con- ducted a large business in all. He was held in high esteem by his professional brethren, while his public spirit and genial person- alitv endeared him to all. He was a member

of the \'irginia State Bar Association and the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Associa- tion. He was a Democrat in politics.

Mr. Whitehurst married. January 21, 1873, Laura E. Styron, daughter of Henry Barus and Susan (Whitehurst) Styron, and grand- daughter of ^lalachi and Susan (Barus) Styron. Malachi Styron was a wealthy lum- berman and heavy dealer in Georgia pine, used in shipbuilding. Henry Barus Styron, his son, was a farmer of Princess Anne county, a man of education, a magistrate of his county, a steward, trustee and pillar of the Methodist E])iscopal church. He served during the war Ijetween the states, as pri- vate in Company F, Sixth Regiment Vir- ginia Infantry, Holmes' brigade, seeing hard service. Children of Francis M. and Laura E. (Styron) Whitehurst: Sue Maud, born October 30. 1873. married, October 27, 1897, Cary Parks Weston, and has a son, Gary Lee, born January 16, 1906; Ethel Frances, born January 7, 1875, married, April 9, 1901, Robert Edmonds, and has a son, Robert (2), 1)orn February 17, 1902; Mabel Styron, born May 25. 1883, married, November 27, 1904, Llo3-d Jordan Dill, and has a daugh- ter, Frances W'., born February 16, 1906. Mrs. Laura E. (Styron) Whitehurst sur- vives her husband, a resident of Norfolk.

William Edward Harwood, M. D. In the life of Dr. William Edward Harwood, of Petersburg, Virginia, there are the elements that make not only for the deepest interest, but which compel admiration and respect. His attainments as a physician are worthy and honorable, but it is not the success that has l)een his in his chosen profession nor the popularity in which he stands among his fel- lows that cause one to read the story of his life with respectful regard and sincere ad- miration. That which induces those feel- ings is that he took up the battle of life maimed by a sacrifice of patriotism, handi- capped by the loss of his right arm, shot away in the defence of the principles upon which were founded the Confederate States of America, and, laboring under this disad- \antage, rose to worthy position in a diffi- cult profession.

Dr. William Edward Harwood is a son of John Dunlap Harwood. whose father came from his home in Scotland and founded his family in Virginia. John Dunlap Har- wood was born on the home farm on the Tames river, and died in 1866. Although his