Robert Withers
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Robert Enoch Withers (1821 - 1907)

Robert Enoch Withers
Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of , and
Husband of — married 3 Feb 1846 in Lynchburg, Virginia, United Statesmap
Descendants descendants
Father of and
Died at age 86 in Wytheville, Wythe, Virginia, United Statesmap
Problems/Questions
Profile last modified | Created 23 Apr 2016
This page has been accessed 783 times.
Preceded by
John F. Lewis		 Robert E. Withers
US Senator (Class 1)
from Virginia
Seal of the US Senate
1875—1881		 Succeeded by
William Mahone

Biography

Notables Project
Robert Withers is Notable.

Robert was born in 1821, in Lynchburg, Viginia. He is one of 11 children of Robert Walter Withers and Susan Dabney Alexander.

He attended private schools and then graduated from the University of Virginia medical department in 1841. While in college he was inducted into the freemasons and was a leader of the Knights Templar. He then established a medical practice in Campbell County, Virginia (near Lynchburg).

On 3 Feb 1846, in Lynchburg, he married Mary Virginia Royall, daughter of Joseph Edwin Royall and Elizabeth G Watkins. They initially settled in Campbell/Lynchburg area and had 12 children.

In 1858, they moved to Danville, Virginia.
Colonel Robert Withers served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: May 23, 1861
Mustered out: Jul 21, 1864
Side: CSA
Regiment(s): Co. F&S, 18th Regiment, Virginia Infantry

On May 23, 1861, he enlisted as a Colonel in Company F&S of the 18th Regiment, Virginia Infantry. That fall he was assigned to the Fairfax County Hospital. In January 1862 he was commanding the 3rd brigade[1]. He was wounded in three places while leading the charge at the Battle of Gaines Mill[2] June 27, 1862. On December 16, 1862, he was in the CSA General Hospital in Danville with rheumatism[3]. Upon his returning to service, he was sent on detached assignment in February 1863, where he oversaw the Confederate military post at Danville[4]. He retired from service on July 21, 1864[5].

After the war he returned to Lynchburg and established a daily newspaper, the Lynchburg News[6].

Robert Enoch Withers was "the first nominee of the Conservative Party for Governor of Virginia after the War Between the States." [7]. He ultimately withdrew from the race.

He was elected lieutenant governor as a democrat in 1873 and to the US Congress in 1874. In 1880 he lost the bid for reelection to former Civil War general William Mahone of the Readjuster Party.

In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed him as consul to British Hong Kong. He held this post until he resigned in 1889.

When he retired, he went to Wytheville, Virginia where he lived the remainder of his life. During that time, he wrote his memoirs, Autobiography of an Octogenarian[8]. He passed away on 21 Sep 1907, age 86. He is buried at the East End Cemetery.

The inscription on his gravestone reads:

"Robert Enoch Withers, MD
Col 18th VA Reg. of Infantry C.S.A. 1861
Lieut. Gov. of VA, 1874
Senator of the U.S. 1875
Grand Master Knights Templar of the U. S. 1883.
Consul of the U.S. at Hong Kong 1885
Born Sept 18, 1821
Died Sept. 21, 1907
Numbered with Thy Saints in Glory everlasting"

In 2002, a historical marker was placed in Wytheville, Virginia, honoring Robert. The marker reads "Robert Enoch Withers was born in Campbell County on 18 Sept. 1821. After graduation from the medical department at the University of Virginia in 1841, he practiced medicine in Campbell County and Danville until 1861. During the Civil War Withers achieved the rank of colonel in the Confederate army. He served as the lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1874 to 1875 and in the United States Senate from 1875 to 1881. Withers was the U. S. Consul at Hong Kong from 1885 to 1889 and he died nearby at his home, Ingleside, on 21 Sept. 1907."[9]

Children

  1. Elizabeth Royal Withers b. 1846 - d. 1927, m. Elijah Lewis Carter with whom she had 6 children.
  2. Susan Dabney Withers b. 1848 - d. 1924, m. Henry Sinclair Williams with whom she had 9 children.
  3. Alice Chinn Withers b. 1850 - d. 1892, m. Edmond Pendleton Goggin with whom she had 2 children.
  4. Jennett Ann Withers b. 1851 - d. 1945, m1/wid. Henry Cook, m2. Major Waller Massie Boyd Sr. She had no children.
  5. Mary Virginia Withers b. Jan 1853 - d. Jul 1855, age 2
  6. Josephine Withers b. 1854 - d. 1956, m. John Thomas Read with whom she had 3 children. He died in 1892.
  7. Katherine "Kate" Massie Withers b. 1856 - d. 1911, m. George Woodville Smith with whom she had 5 children.
  8. Elizabeth "Betty" Ellison Withers b. 1858 - d. 1918, m. Stephen B. Putney III with whom she had 3 children.
  9. Willie Claire Withers b. 1859 VA - d. 1939 TN, never married.
  10. Virginia Secessia Withers b. 1861 - d. 1939, m. John Young Terry with whom she had 7 children.
  11. Robert Edwin Withers b. 1865 - d. 1952, m. Mary Cloyd Kent with whom he had 2 children.
  12. Mary Thornhill Withers b. Sep 1867 - d. Oct 1874, age 7, from rheumatic/scarlett fever

Sources

  1. ↑ https://www.fold3.com/image/14013707
  2. ↑ https://www.fold3.com/image/14013718
  3. ↑ https://www.fold3.com/image/14013788
  4. ↑ https://www.fold3.com/image/14013736
  5. ↑ https://www.fold3.com/image/14013764
  6. ↑ https://www.lynchburgmuseum.org/blog/2017/7/3/history-through-the-headlines-part-2
  7. ↑ Robert Edwin Withers, Withers family of the County Lancaster, England, and of Stafford County, Virginia, establishing the ancestry of Robert Edwin Withers, (Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Print. Co., 1947), p. ix; digital images, HathiTrust (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005785075 : downloaded 17 November 2018).
  8. ↑ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hx1mfz&seq=11
  9. ↑ https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=208890
  • [1] The Cabells and Their Kin: A Memorial Volume of History, Biography, and Genealogy Alexander Brown January 1, 1895 Houghton, Mifflin & Company: Parents, Sibling page 378
  • Daughter Mary's birth record. "Virginia, Library of Virginia State Archive, Births, Marriages, and Deaths 1853-1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6Z58-6TW8 : Sat Oct 14 02:42:07 UTC 2023), Entry for Mary V. Withers and Ro. E. Withers, 23 Jan 1853.
  • Daughter Willie's birth record. "Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Records, 1853-1896", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:623Z-DSRJ : Wed Nov 15 08:31:36 UTC 2023), Entry for Willie Claire Withers and Robert Enoch Withers, 6 Aug 1859.
  • Daughter Elizabeth's marriage record. "Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:DCMR-VBW2 : Thu Oct 05 23:01:45 UTC 2023), Entry for Elijah L Carter and I M, 10 Aug 1864.
  • Son Robert's birth record. "Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Records, 1853-1896", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:623Z-DS5J : Wed Nov 15 07:35:52 UTC 2023), Entry for Robert Edwin Withers and Robert Enoch Withers, 13 Mar 1865.
  • [2]U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880: National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, DC; U.S. Federal Census Non-population Schedules, Virginia, 1850-1880; NAID: 2791276; Record Group Number: 29; Record Group Title: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007
Name Robart G Wilthes [Robert E Withers]
Enumeration Date 9 Jun 1880
Place Enumeration District 111, Wythe, Virginia, USA
Schedule Type Agriculture
OS Page 5
Line Number 4
  • Son Robert's marriage record. "Virginia, Bureau of Vital Statistics, County Marriage Registers, 1853-1935", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZQ3S-SM3Z : Fri Oct 06 20:42:38 UTC 2023), Entry for Robt E Wishier and Robt E Wishier, 2 Jun 1892.
  • Daughter Virginia's marriage record. "Virginia, Library of Virginia State Archive, Births, Marriages, and Deaths 1853-1900", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:686L-Z26Q : Tue Feb 06 20:06:37 UTC 2024), Entry for John Y Terry and M. P. Logan, 3 Feb 1896.
  • His wife's obit. "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q5QJ-1BRD : Fri Oct 20 16:57:00 UTC 2023), Entry for Mrs Mary Virginia Withers and Col Robert E Withers, 03 Mar 1901.
  • Daughter Susan's death certificate. "Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVR7-BN75 : 16 August 2019), Robert E Withers in entry for Susan Dabney Williams, 27 Jul 1924; from "Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing Martinsville, Henry, Virginia, United States, entry #, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond.
  • Daughter Elizabeth's death certificate. "Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVRW-CV3L : 16 August 2019), Robt E Withers in entry for Elizabeth Royall Carter, 18 Jan 1927; from "Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing Petersburg, Dinwiddie, Virginia, United States, entry #, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond.
  • Daughter Virginia's death certificate. "Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVR4-BFYB : 16 August 2019), Robert Enoch Withers in entry for Virginia Secessia Terry, 09 Sep 1939; from "Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing Roanoke, Roanoke, Virginia, United States, entry #, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond.
  • Daughter Janett's death certificate. "Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVRH-M2CD : 16 August 2019), R E Withers in entry for Janett Ann Boyd, 30 Jan 1945; from "Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing Wytheville, Wythe, Virginia, United States, entry #, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond.
  • Son Robert's death certificate. "Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVY2-TNWY : 16 August 2019), Robert Enoch Withers in entry for Robert Edwin Withers, 29 Dec 1952; from "Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing Wytheville, Wythe, Virginia, United States, entry #, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond.
  • Daughter Josephine's death certificate. "Virginia, Death Certificates, 1912-1987," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVYG-NHG2 : 16 August 2019), Robert Enoch Witherw in entry for Josephine Withers Read, 07 May 1956; from "Virginia, Marriage Records, 1700-1850," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2012); citing Wytheville, Wythe, Virginia, United States, entry #, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond.
  • [3]Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889: Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography; Volume: Vol. VI
Name Robert Enoch Withers
Birth Date 18 Sep 1821
Birth Place Campbell County, Virginia
Occupation Senator




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Robert E. Withers
Robert E. Withers


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Categories: Lynchburg, Virginia | Wytheville, Virginia | East End Cemetery, Wytheville, Virginia | 18th Regiment, Virginia Infantry, United States Civil War | US Senators from Virginia | Virginia, Notables | Notables