Beverley B. Munford Explained

Birth Name:Beverley Bland Munford
Birth Date:10 September 1856
Birth Place:Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Death Place:Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Resting Place:Hollywood Cemetery
State Senate:Virginia
District:35th
Term Start:December 1, 1897
Term End:December 4, 1901
Alongside:Conway R. Sands
Preceded:William Lovenstein
Succeeded:George Wayne Anderson
Office1:Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Richmond City
Term Start1:December 2, 1891
Term End1:December 6, 1893
Alongside1:John Jackson,
George B. Steel, & J. Taylor Stratton
Predecessor1:Thomas Byrne
Successor1:Thomas Byrne
Office2:Member of the Virginia House of Delegates for Pittsylvania and Danville
Term Start2:December 7, 1881
Term End2:December 8, 1887
Party:Democratic
Alma Mater:College of William & Mary
University of Virginia

Beverley Bland Munford (September 10, 1856 – May 31, 1910) was an American lawyer, politician, social reformer, speaker, and author in Richmond, Virginia. He served eight years in the Virginia House of Delegates and four years in the Virginia Senate.[1] He wrote a book about the causes of the American Civil War.[2]

Early life and family

Childhood and education

Beverley Bland Munford was the son of Colonel John Dunborrow Munford and the grandson of William Munford, author of "Munford's Reports" and a translator of Homer's Illiad. Beverley Bland Munford's childhood was spent on a farm near Williamsburg.

He entered the College of William and Mary in 1873 and graduated in 1877. At the age of nineteen he accepted a clerkship in the office of Judge J. D. Coles, going on to complete his study of law at the University of Virginia under John B. Minor. After being admitted to the bar, he began his practice by opening an office at Pittsylvania Courthouse.

Marriage

On November 22, 1893, Munford married activist and educational reformer Mary-Cooke Branch Munford. Their marriage was affectionate and congenial. They loved books and music and were described by their nephew Walter Russell Bowie as sharing liberal and forward-looking impulses.[3] They had a daughter Mary Safford, born 1895 and a son, Beverly Bland Munford Jr., born 1899.[4] His grandson, B. B. Munford III, was an executive at the Richmond investment firm Davenport & Co.[5]

Career

Beverley Munford was a member of the Richmond Education Association[6] which Mary-Cooke Munford helped found.[7] He served as a member of the board of visitors of the College of William and Mary and of the Hampton Normal School.[8] Munford served on the board of directors of the Virginia Historical Society and was a vestryman at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

He was a partner with Waller Redd Staples at the law firm Staples & Munford. At the time of his death he was a senior member with Munford, Hunton, Williams and Anderson.

After a long illness, Munford died at his home in Henrico County, Virginia.

Extant documents include a letter he wrote to John Allen Watts June 18, 1874 about his commencement speaking engagements and activities at Fincastle.[9] James Branch Cabell's From the Hidden Way was dedicated to Munford.[10]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The shield and diamond . pikearchive.org. 14 March 2024.
  2. Web site: New Light on Civil War. Webb City Register. Webb City, Jasper, Missouri. 15 Oct 1909. 7. Newspapers.com. 9 March 2019.
  3. Book: Bowie, Walter Russell. Sunrise in the South; the life of Mary-Cooke Branch Munford. William Byrd Press, Inc.. 1942. Richmond, Va.. 46. 2027/uva.x000374298?urlappend=%3Bseq=71.
  4. Web site: Woman's Who's who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada. John William. Leonard. February 28, 1914. American Commonwealth Company. Google Books.
  5. Web site: Beverley "B.B" Munford III, retired executive VP at Davenport & Co., dies at 89. John. Ramsey. Jun 4, 2016. Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  6. Book: Cutler, William W.. Parents and Schools: The 150-Year Struggle for Control in American Education. May 1, 2015. University of Chicago Press. 9780226307930. Google Books.
  7. Web site: Munford, Mary-Cooke Branch (1865–1938) – Encyclopedia Virginia. 2021-04-13. en-US.
  8. News: July 1, 1910. Munford's Brilliant Career Brought to Close by Death. Times-Dispatch. April 13, 2021.
  9. Web site: Letter from Beverly Bland Munford to John Allen Watts - June 18, 1874. hswv.pastperfectonline.com.
  10. Web site: FHW-A1. www.silverstallion.karkeeweb.com.
  11. Web site: Munford, Beverley B. 1856-1910 (Beverley Bland) [WorldCat Identities]].