Floridus Stott Crosby (1893-1957)

Portrait from Virginia Democracy, Vol. III, 1940.

  "The Old Dominion State" has fielded a host of new unusual names over the past few days, and none has proven to be more unusual than the man profiled today, Floridus Stott Crosby of Staunton, Virginia! Possessing a first name that sounds as if it could be a chemical on the periodic table of elements, Floridus Crosby was a lawyer and civic leader in Staunton who gained his first taste of political prominence in 1922 when he was appointed as Commonwealth's Attorney for Staunton. In 1937 he succeeded to the post of Judge of the Corporation Court of Staunton, a post similar to that of a municipal judge. After several years on the bench, Crosby won election as Circuit Court Judge for Virginia's 18th judicial circuit, serving until ill health compelled his retirement. The son of John Fletcher Harris (1868-1948) and Janet (Burnett) Crosby, Floridus Stott Crosby was born in Staunton on January 15, 1893.  

  Born into a distinguished Staunton family, Floridus Crosby's father John was for many years auditor statistician for the Virginia State Board of Education, and in 1908 gained lasting repute for formulating "the idea of a city manager form of government", an idea that was later put into service by many American cities. Young Floridus was a student in schools local to Staunton and later enrolled at the Staunton Military Academy, graduating in 1911. For one year Crosby attended the Dunsmore Business College before beginning law studies at the University of Virginia, earning his bachelor of laws degree in 1917.

  Following graduation, Crosby journeyed to Richmond, where he joined the law firm of Munford, Hinton, Williams, and Anderson, where he remained until deciding to join in the ongoing war effort. Though he was rejected for service due to physical disability, Crosby aided the war effort in other capacities, serving on the legal advisory board for Richmond and also participated in Victory Loan drives as a public speaker.

Crosby's middle name was misspelled in the 1911 Staunton Military Academy yearbook.

  Returning to Staunton in 1919, Floridus Crosby partnered with Hugh Kerr in a joint law practice that would continue until 1927. Crosby first entered the political waters of his state in 1920 when he began a near two-decade tenure on the Staunton Democratic Committee and served as its chairman for ten years. In 1922 Crosby was appointed as Commonwealth's Attorney for Staunton, succeeding Carter Braxton, who had died a few days previously. He served out the remainder of Braxton's term and in 1925 was elected to a term of his own in that office. He married in June 1925 to Martha Virginia Bell (1889-1975), with the couple's three-decade union being childless. 

  Through his time as commonwealth's attorney, Floridus Crosby continued to be active in local Democratic politics, being the Staunton-based campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate Claude Swanson in 1922, gubernatorial candidate Harry Flood Byrd in 1925, and in 1933 was affiliated with the campaign of Governor George Peery. In 1928 Crosby resigned from the commonwealth attorney's office to focus on his banking interests, having accepted the post of trust officer with the National Valley Bank. 

   In 1937 Crosby was returned to government service when, a month following the death of sitting Judge Richard Ker, he was appointed as Judge of the Corporation Court of Staunton, a post similar to that of a municipal judge. Initially seated as an interim judge, Crosby was elected by the state house of delegates for a full term of his own the following year. Three years into his service Crosby was tasked to pull judicial "double-duty", as it were, being designated as an acting judge on the state circuit court, filling in for an incapacitated judge Joseph Glasgow. Following Glasgow's death in 1942 Crosby was appointed to fill his vacant seat, and in 1944 was elected to a full eight-year term of his own. Crosby's judgeship saw him as judge of Virginia's 18th circuit, comprising the counties of Augusta, Highland, Rockbridge, and the city of Buena Vista.

From the Highland Recorded, January 30, 1942.

   By 1947 Floridus Crosby was acknowledged as "judge of one of the most exciting circuits in the state", as well as a "man of the highest integrity, with sound knowledge of the law." This sterling character assessment would see him boosted as a potential candidate for the state supreme court of appeals that year, with substantial praise coming from his contemporaries throughout the 18th circuit. With the death of state chief justice Henry W. Holt in recent weeks, many thought Crosby would be a superb replacement, stating:

"No more fitting appointment to the State Court of Appeals could be made by Governor Tuck than that of Judge Floridus S. Crosby of the 18th judicial circuit...Unless the state is going to depart entirely from the custom of keeping the court well balanced between the major geographical divisions, the vacancy caused by the death of Chief Justice Holt should unquestionably go to a Valley man, and Judge Crosby is the most eminently qualified man available."

  Ultimately, Crosby would be passed over for a spot on the state supreme court, the Holt vacancy eventually being filled by Judge Edward Wren Hudgins (1882-1958). Despite this turn of events, Crosby would win a second eight-year term as circuit court judge in 1952 and served until ill health necessitated his retirement in February 1955. Crosby's final years were spent in Staunton, where he died at age 64 on June 18, 1957. Distinguished in the local Y.M.CA and Kiwanis Club chapters, as well as the Staunton Masonic Lodge, Floridus Crosby was survived by his wife Martha. Following her death in 1975, she was interred alongside her husband at the Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton.

From the Staunton News Leader, January 18, 1955.

Cephas Benjamin Moomaw (1849-1915), Cephas Perry Quattlebaum (1851-1929)

Portrait from "The History of Roanoke County", published in 1912.

  What isn't funny about a name like Cephas Moomaw? This funny-named man was a resident of Virginia for the entirety of his life and was regarded as a leading legal figure in the counties of Botetourt and Roanoke, serving as a city solicitor and circuit judge in the latter county. In 1913 Moomaw was elected as Mayor of Roanoke and served in this capacity until his death two years later. 

   One of twelve children born to Joseph and Mary Stover Moomaw, Cephas Benjamin Moomaw was born on October 23, 1849, in Botetourt County, Virginia. He was afforded a fine education in the "private schools" of his native county and on December 24, 1873, married Sarah Elizabeth Mangus (1850-1926), with whom he had four children: Edith Mae (1874-1953), Annie Lillie (died in infancy in 1883), Hugh Mangus (1885-1959) and Joseph Frank (1894-1941).

   Moomaw began reading law in the early 1880s and after being admitted to the bar in 1882 began a law practice in the Botetourt County town of Fincastle. During his residency there he served as a supervisor and county school board member, and in 1887 relocated to Roanoke, Virginia. Soon after his arrival, he launched a law partnership with John W. Woods (1858-1912), whom he would succeed as Mayor upon the latter's death in 1912. This partnership would continue for several years and in 1897 Moomaw entered the office of Roanoke City Solicitor, serving in that post until 1905. 

   In 1905 Moomaw was appointed by then Virginia Governor Andrew J. Montague to a vacancy on the Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia. At the expiration of that term, Moomaw returned to practicing law, operating the firm of C.B. and H.M. Moomaw with his son Hugh Mangus, who would later become a distinguished attorney in his own right.

   On December 23, 1912, Moomaw's former law partner, Judge John William Woods, died at age 54. Woods had been elected as Mayor of Roanoke in September 1912 and served only three months in office before his death. In February 1913 Cephas Moomaw was elected "by the people" to succeed him, and, like Woods, would serve only a short period of time. Several months before his death Moomaw entered into a state of declining health and a day prior to his passing was admitted to a Roanoke hospital, afflicted with gallstones. Moomaw underwent surgery but failed to rally from his illness, dying on October 18, 1915, five days short of his 66th birthday. Following his passing, the former mayor was interred at the Evergreen Burial Park in Roanoke and was survived by his wife Sarah, and three of his children.

Portrait courtesy of Find-A-Grave.

  Recognized as the first mayor of the incorporated city of Conway, South Carolina, Cephas Perry Quattlebaum was a longtime attorney residing in Horry County in that state. Born in Lexington, South Carolina on May 19, 1851, Cephas Perry Quattlebaum was the son of multi-term state representative and senator Paul (1812-1890) and Sarah Caroline (Jones) Quattlebaum. As the son of a prominent local political leader, young Cephas was taught by private tutors and at an early age began reading law under Henry A. Meetze.

  Admitted at age 23 to the South Carolina bar, Quattlebaum removed to the settlement of Conwayborough and in 1874 began a law practice with J. Monroe and W.D. Johnson. In December 1884 Quattlebaum married Janette Taylor McQueen (1852-1927), to whom he was wed for over forty years. The couple would have one son, Paul (1886-1964), who went on to have a political career of his own, serving in the South Carolina Senate from 1935-44.

  The name of C.P. Quattlebaum grew to be a prominent one in Horry County and was a leader in the fight to see Conwayborough incorporated as a city. Upon its incorporation as the city of Conway in 1898, Quattlebaum was selected as its first mayor, serving one term in office. In addition to his service as mayor, Quattlebaum was a leading Mason and member of the Knights of Pythias, attaining high rank in both organizations. Widowed in 1927, Quattlebaum died on July 20, 1929, and was interred alongside his wife at the Lakeside Cemetery in Conway.