Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 5.djvu/588

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

acres of land. The name does not appear among Virginia indexes, and is first found in the record of a deed to Samuel Buxton, in 1744. James Buxton was a farmer of Northampton county, Virginia, a man of quiet tastes, who sought no public distinc- tion. He was most industrious and highly attached to his home. No record of his wife has been discovered. They had two sons and a daughter, the latter dying in child- hood. The sons were Thomas and Joseph. Thomas, son of James Buxton, born 1800, in Northampton county, was a large planter of cotton and corn, and held many slaves. He was an easy-going citizen, prosperous and popular. He married Mildred Perry, and they had children: John W., William T., James Oliver, Samuel N., Edwin, Doro- thy, Jennie, Martha Mildred and Mary Eliza. Samuel N. Buxton, fourth son of Thomas and Mildred (Perry) I'uxton, was born in 1841, in Northampton county, Virginia. He received his education in the public schools and an academy. At the opening of the war between the states he enlisted as a pri- vate in the Second North Carolina Cavalry, under Captain John W. Randolph. Through- out the four years of the struggle he gave valiant service to his state, and at its close held a captain's commission, and was in command of his regiment. In one of the fights in which his company participated, Captain Buxton crossed swords with a Yan- kee colonel, and came out of the duel with a bad cut, the scar remaining with him until the end of his life. He never knew the name of his opponent. During one year of his service he was held as a prisoner of war. When peace came he settled in Jackson, North Carolina, where he had a farm and was active in politics, filling several county offices, and representing his district in the state legislature. He was a deacon of the Baptist church, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and politically a Democrat; was widely known in North Carolina, where he was very active in the reconstruction days, and greatly respected. He married, in 1866, Elizabeth Peele. Children: i. Ruth, born 1869; married Dr. J. H. White, and had chil- dren: John Herbert, Elizabeth and Ruth; they reside at Elizabeth City, North Caro- lina, where Dr. White is very successful as a dentist. 2. Elizabeth, married Henry M. Shaw, an attorney at law, and resides at Oxford, North Carolina ; children : Henry

M., Ruth, Elizabeth and Edward. 3. Sam- uel Roland, born February 10, 1874; mar- ried, .April 16, 1906, Elizabeth Dimmock, born November 10, 1885; their children are: Mary Byrd, born February i, 1907; Nancy Peele, July 17, 1909; Samuel Roland, Au- gust II, 1912. 4. Dr. Joseph T., of further mention below. 5. Russell, of further men- tion below. 6. Mary, married Garland Mid- yette, attorney at law, and resides at Jack- son, North Carolina; their children are: Garland, Samuel, Mildred and Mary. 7. Rennie, married Dr. Claude Williams, and resides at Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with children: Claude and Rennie.

Dr. Joseph Thomas Buxton, second son of Samuel N. and Elizabeth (Peele) Bux- ton, was born December 12, 1876, in North- am{)ton county. North Carolina. After leav- ing high school at Jackson, he entered Wake Forest College, and was subsequently a .'Stu- dent at the universities of North Carolina and Pennsylvania. After graduation from the last named institution he gained experi- ence and further training in the Philadel- phia Hospital, and later the Presbyterian Hospital at Philadelphia. He pursued a post-graduate course in France, England and Scotland, specializing in surgery, and on his return to his native country estab- lished himself in practice at Newport News. Here he met with flattering success, and was enabled to accomplish much for the welfare of the city. Realizing its needs, in 1906 he built a hospital containing fifteen beds, which was named for his mother, the Elizabeth Buxton Hospital. While it is a private institution, it is always open to those ii' need, and is one of the best equipped in the country at the present day for the hand- ling of emergency cases. The demands upon the institution soon outgrew its capacity, and in 1910 it was doubled in size. The efficiencv of this institution was such that its reputation rapidly spread, and its capac- ity was quickly exceeded. In 191 5 it was again doubled in capacity, having now sixty beds. It will always stand as a monument tc the ability and public spirit of its pro- prietor, while perpetuating the name of his mother. Dr. Buxton is a member of the American Medical Association, the Virginia Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Soci- ety, the D. Hayes Agnew Medical Society, the Blockley Medical Society, the Seaboard Medical Society, and the Rochester Medical