PROMINENT PERSONS
i8i
Darling and Temperance Smith, his wife.
He passed his early life in the country, liv-
ing upon a farm, engaged in farm work, and
attending country schools. In his eighteenth
year he engaged with an older brother in
building pleasure boats, and from the begin-
ing he displayed remarkable mechanical
skill. In October, 1866, Mr. Darling went
to Hampton, Virginia, where he built up a
large planing mill business. He also estab-
lished a successful business in fertilizers, pro-
duced from the menhaden fish. He then
took up the enterprise of a street car line
for the cities of Newport News and Hamp-
ton, which he built and equipped with his
own capital ; and he established the largest
oyster-planting business in the United
States. On September 22, 1864, he married
Mary Annie Daulman. Mr. Darling was
connected with the Protestant Episcopal
church, and was a Mason. He died April 28,
1000, at Hampton, Virginia.
Blackford, Charles Minor, born in Fred- ericksburg, Virginia. October 17, 1833, son of William Matthews Blackford, Esq., and Mary Berkeley Minor, daughter of Gen. John Minor, his wife. On both sides of his family he was descended from a long line of distinguished ancestors. His early edu- cation was obtained from his own father, and from private schools of his native place and of Lynchburg, to which his father's family moved in 1846. Being very thor- oughly prepared, he entered the University of Virginia, and graduated in 1855, with the degree of Bachelor of Law. He soon ac- quired a successful practice, and established the reputation of being a man of culture and learning in his profession. Upon the out- break of the civil war he joined the Confed-
erate army, and was promoted to captaincy
of Company B, Second Regiment \'irginia
Cavalry. For a time he served upon the
stafif of Gen. Stonewall Jackson, and at the
request of Gen. Longstreet was made judge
advocate of the military court of his corps.
After the war he returned to Lynchburg,
and formed a partnership with the late
Thomas J. Kirkpatrick, a distinguished law-
yer of that place. . This partnership lasted
until within a few years of Capt. Blackford's
death, and their names may be found asso-
ciated with many of the most important
cases that have ever occurred in the courts
of the commonwealth of Virginia. In addi-
tion to his busy professional life, he found
time do much literary work, including his
"Memoirs of the War," in which he gave a
graphic account of his experience while in
active service. His home in Lynchburg was
noted for its culture and refinement, and
was the scene of much hospitality. He was
honored by the State Bar Association with
its presidency, and his address made before
it was a notable contribution to the litera-
ture of that association. In 1900 he deliv-
ered a striking historical address on "The
Trials and Trial of Jefferson Davis." In
this paper he discussed the constitutional
questions involving the right of secession.
Mr. Blackford was a devoted member of
the Protestant Episcopal Church and had
for many years prior to his death been a
delegate in the diocesan council of that
church. He had also represented the south
ern diocese of Virginia in the general con-
vention of the church. On February 19,
1856, he married Susan Lee Colston, daugh-
ter of Thomas M. Colston, Esq., of Fauquier
county, Virginia.
