Graham G. Lacy

Graham Gordon Lacy was born August 8, 1858, at Ellwood, his father's summer home in Spottsylvania County, Virginia. He was the second son of Major James Horace Lacy and Miss Bettie Chur. chill Jones.

Graham Lacy was a Virginian through and through. His great-great-great-grandfather, Thomas Lacy of Thornhill, Yorkshire, England, born 1685, came to Virginia about 1710 and there married Ann Burnley.

Their son, William Lacy (1713-1775), a farmer of Chesterfield County, married Elizabeth Rice.

Their son, the Reverend Drury Lacy (1758–1815), was a Presbyterian minister. When he was ten years old his mother died, and he lost his left hand in a gun explosion. Thereafter he wore a silver hook in place of the hand. Having a strong and rich voice, he was noted for his preaching and was called 'the man with a silver hook and a silver voice. Ordained in 1788, he was president of Hampden-Sydney College from 1789 to 1797. In 1809 he was moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. He married Ann Scott of Powhatan County.

Their son, the Reverend William Sterling Lacy (1791-1880), followed his father as a Presbyterian minister. He married Sally Campbell Graham of Lexington, Virginia, whose uncle, William Graham, was founder and principal of Liberty Hall Academy. After the Revolution, George Washington turned over to this school the £ 10,000 voted to him by the Continental Congress for his war services. In recognition of the gift as an endowment, the name was changed to Washington College. After Robert E. Lee had served as president, it became Washington and Lee. In 1821 the Reverend W. S. Lacy was sent to St. Louis, later to Somerville, Tennessee, and finally to Eldorado, Arkansas, where he died.

Their son, James Horace Lacy, the father of Graham Gordon Lacy, was born June 10, 1823, at St. Charles, Missouri, where his parents were visiting relatives. He completed his education at Washington College, Lexington, Virginia (now Washington and Lee), graduating in the class of 1843. Trained for the law, he practiced for a short time. He was married October 19, 1843, at Ellwood in northwest Spottsylvania County, Virginia, to Miss Bettie Churchill Jones. Bettie Churchill Jones, the mother of Graham Gordon Lacy, was the daughter of William Jones II and Miss Lucy Gordon. William Jones II and his older brother, Churchill Jones, were born in Middlesex County, in Tidewater, the sons of William Jones I and Millicent Blackburn. Their father died when they were young and their guardian was William Churchill of Wilton, Middlesex County, a descendant of the Marlborough Churchill family of England. When William II was twenty-one, in 1771, the two brothers went 'out West about a hundred miles with two other young men and took up residence at The Wilderness Tavern, in Spottsylvania County. They bought land from Alexander Spottswood, the grandson of Governor Spottswood, who had received large land grants from the British Crown. The two Jones brothers then went back to Middlesex County to claim as their brides the daughters of their guardian. Churchill Jones married Judith Churchill and built “Woodville. William Jones II married Betty Churchill and purchased "Ellwood' from "Light Horse' Henry Lee, father of Robert E. Lee.

The two Jones brothers were very close and agreed on most things until the American Revolution. William was loyal to the King-a Tory; while Churchill joined the American Army, became a major, and fought with William Washington in South Carolina. (For his Revolutionary services he received a grant of 6000 acres of land in western Virginia, which later became Kentucky. This land he gave to his cousins, the Blackburns. One of their descendants became governor of Kentucky, another, U.S. senator.) William Jones remained at home during the Revolution and was at Ellwood' when the Marquis de Lafayette brought his troops through the place on his way to join George Washington at Yorktown. The French troops cut a road through the forest which is still known as “The Marquis Road. William Jones' first wife died and he married Miss Lucy Gordon, who gave him one child, Bettie Churchill Jones (named for the first wife), who became the mother of Graham Gordon Lacy.

'Major Jones, as Churchill Jones became known, was a gifted man of business. He was a large landowner, engaged in timber operations, and had many slaves. After the Revolution, he purchased the 2500 acre “Chatham' estate lying across the Rappahannock River from the city of Fredericksburg from William H. Fitzhugh (1741-1809). This land was an original royal grant to one of the Lee family. William H. Fitzhugh's father acquired the estate from his wife, one of the Lees, He had been a classmate at Eton in England with William Pitt, who became first Earl of Chatham, and in admiration he had named his American estate for him. The beautiful house was built in 1768 partly of bricks made in England, and the terraces in front sloped down to the river. In colonial days the gentry stopped at these great houses in their travels, and the Fitzhugh hospitality had made 'Chatham' a great resting place. George Washington had grown up not far away; his mother lived in Fredericksburg; he was a frequent visitor. It was at Chatham that Washington first met the young widow Martha Dandridge Custis, who became his wife. John Randolph of Roanoke was often there. Martha Washington's grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, married here the daughter of Colonel William Fitzhugh, and later, their daughter, Mary Ann Randolph Custis, was here wooed and won by Lieutenant Robert E. Lee, U.S. Army.

After Major Jones purchased "Chatham' he made it his home in winter, returning to 'Woodville' in the Wilderness area in summer. He died at "Chatham' in 1822, at the age of ninety-six, leaving his large estate to his brother, William Jones, the grandfather of Graham Gordon Lacy. In 1824, when the Marquis de Lafayette visited the United States, he came to 'Ellwood, after an interval of forty-three years, and recognized William Jones. James Madison was often a visitor to "Ellwood when he was a young man. Bettie Churchill Jones (afterward Mrs. J. Horace Lacy) remembered being taken as a little girl to "Montpelier' and seeing Madison lying on a sofa in his silk robe, and seeing Dolly, his wife, in her accustomed turban.

After William Jones inherited "Chatham from his brother, he continued the life there and at Ellwood until his death in 1845, at the age of ninety-five. The two places were inherited by his wife and daughter, who in 1848 was married to J. Horace Lacy. They became the parents of Graham Gordon Lacy whose earliest recollections were of the life at Chatham. A visitor in those expansive days before the war wrote of it:

“I vividly recall the generous yet well-ordered life which prevailed at that time under the benign auspices of the beautiful Mrs. J. Horace Lacy, with her noble husband. I remember the huge wood fires in every room and the delicious Virginia food. Each of us in the house was supplied with a body servant who was charged with the duty of seeing that we were thoroughly comfortable. Every night the family and guests would gather around the huge log fire and discuss the issues of the day.'

When the Civil War came on, J. Horace Lacy joined the Confederate Army as a lieutenant and on the battlefield of Seven Pines was promoted to major. Fredericksburg lay halfway between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, the two warring capitals, so the fighting came that way. It was necessary for Bettie Churchill Lacy and her children to move farther west. They first went to “Greenwood, about two miles from Ellwood' but the fighting came near again. On one occasion they climbed a hill to observe a battle in the valley below. One cannonball knocked down a fence about a hundred feet from them so they retreated. That night their house was taken over as a hospital for the wounded and they spent the night in the cellar of a neighboring place. They were able to get food but manufactured goods were impossible to obtain. The boys went barefoot, and clothes were made either of homespun or the uniforms of the soldiers who had fallen. At this time Graham Lacy was about five years old, so his memories of the excitement were vivid.

Major J. Horace Lacy was able to make a trip to see his family although he planned to make it a brief visit as the federal troops were nearby. Against his better judgment, the family insisted that he stay with them to enjoy his birthday dinner. While they were eating, the house was surrounded by the soldiers. Major Lacy attempted to escape by the back door, but in leaping down a terrace he sprained an ankle and was unable to walk. He was captured on June 10, 1862, his thirty-ninth birthday, taken to Washington, D.C., and confined in the basement of the Capitol Building. After three months he was exchanged and returned to Confederate service.

During the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, General Burnside and Major General Irwin McDowell made Chatham the federal headquarters. In accounts of the battle it is referred to as 'the Lacy house. General Lee was on the other side of the river and Major Lacy nearby. He trained his binoculars on "Chatham' and couldsee the federal officers standing about it. He approached General Lee requesting permission to shell the house. Lee refused: "No-I courted my dear wife under those trees and I love “Chatham” better than any place in the world, except Arlington. I hope to see you and your family back in your old home. General McDowell took good care of the place as long as he was there, but afterwards General King was in charge and it suffered serious damage. It was made into a hospital and many dead were buried on the grounds. Miss Clara Barton, later founder of the American Red Cross, and Walt Whitman were there caring for the wounded. Abraham Lincoln and his Cabinet visited “Chatham' after the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 was fought near Ellwood. On the staff of General Stonewall Jackson was a young lieutenant, James Powers Smith, who was later to marry the older sister of Graham Lacy. During the battle, General Jackson was unfortunately hit by the fire of his own men. While attempting to reach the field hospital, he, Lieutenant Smith, and another aide came under federal artillery fire. The two younger men pulled him down to the ground and shielded his body with their own. His arm was amputated, and he died a week later of pneumonia. When General Lee heard what had happened, he said, “General Jackson lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm.’ Jackson's chaplain, the Reverend Beverly Tucker Lacy (brother of Major J. Horace Lacy), took Jackson's amputated arm and buried it in the Lacy family burying ground at Ellwood.' Graham Lacy has a piece of uniform cloth stained with Stonewall's blood.

The Battle of the Wilderness was also fought near "Ellwood' in May 1864. Graham Lacy could remember that, after the war, going hunting with his older brother, they would find the woods strewn with human bones,

One of Major Horace Lacy's vivid recollections of the war years was an evening early in 1865 when he met on the street in Richmond Mr. R. M. T. Hunter, secretary of state of the Confederacy. Hunter had just returned from the conference called by President Lincoln on board a warship at Hampton Roads. Lincoln and William H. Seward, his secretary of state, were the hosts, and Messrs. Hunter, Stephens, and Campbell had been sent by President Jefferson Davis to represent the Confederacy. Hunter was very depressed and with his family away wanted someone to talk to. He invited Lacy to join him for dinner. He told Lacy of the details of the meeting which Lacy later wrote out for his family. The three Confederates were conducted through the federal lines to Fortress Monroe and to the warship. Lincoln and Seward greeted them cordially and proposed that all join in dinner before discussing any business. Afterwards, Lincoln said:

“I want to end this bloodshed. I am willing to use all the power of my Administration to secure from Congress four hundred million dollars of United States bonds to compensate the slave owners for the loss of their property. All I ask is that the Union be restored to the condition existing before the War. Write “UNION” at the top of the page and you can fill in all the details. What say you, gentlemen, in the interest of Peace and Humanity?”

Judge Campbell replied that the terms for peace were more generous than had been anticipated, but that the Confederate commissioners had been instructed by President Jefferson Davis that recognition of the independence of the Confederate States was a sine qua non. Then, replied Lincoln, 'our conference is at an end because I made UNION the sine qua non. So the fighting must go on, this question can only be settled by the sword, and may God defend the right.” After the war, the Horace Lacy family returned to "Chatham. It was in deplorable condition, most of the trees had been cut down, the wooden paneling ripped out for firewood, the doors and windows gone. There was much repair work to be done. General Lee had thoughtfully removed their furniture from Ellwood when it was used for a Confederate hospital, and when it was being returned by boat it sank and was under water for several months. However, they were able to recover it and found it little damaged. The South was impoverished and many of the fallen Confederate soldiers were improperly buried. Ladies' memorial associations were organized in the Southern states and Major Lacy was called upon because of his ability as a speaker to travel through the Northern cities and raise money for the Confederate cemeteries. He was very successful in this one term. It was written of him:

'Major Lacy was well known in Fredericksburg. All admired the strong, solid figure and the fine old face traced with lines of gentility. He was the perfect picture of kindly manliness.

It was after the war that Washington Irving visited 'Chatham. In 1872 Chatham was sold and Major and Mrs. Lacy moved into a house in Fredericksburg.

When Graham G. Lacy had finished his schooling at Fredericksburg, he was sent to Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia. There he met James H. McCord of St. Joseph, Missouri, a classmate and fellow-member of the ATO Fraternity. Both graduated with honors in the class of 1879. Lacy had a cousin, Judge John A. Lacy of Sedalia, Missouri, who invited him to "read law in his office. There he was admitted to the Bar and was invited by his friend, James H. McCord, to spend Christmas with the McCord family in St. Joseph. He liked the community and decided to open his own law office there. He arrived in St. Joseph in the spring of 1882, became a partner in the law firm of Lancaster, Thomas & Lacy, and established his living quarters in a boarding house not far from the Presbyterian Church. Living in the same house was Dr. James W. Heddens, the coroner. When the outlaw Jesse James was shot on April 2, 1882, the boarding house got its information firsthand. Graham Lacy met the two daughters of Mr. Thomas E. Tootle, originally a merchant, but later a banker. On November II, 1886, Graham Lacy was married to Miss Ellen Bell Tootle.

In July 1889 Thomas E. Tootle, John S. Lemon, James McCord, and Samuel M. Nave organized the private banking firm of Tootle, Lemon & Company. Graham Lacy was asked if he cared to leave the law to join the new business. He accepted and was made assistant cashier of the new bank, succeeding to the post of cashier in eighteen months. In 1898 he was admitted to partnership and, when the Bank was nationalized in 1902 as the Tootle, Lemon National Bank, he became a vice-president. After the Lemon interests sold out, the name was changed to Tootle-Lacy National Bank and Graham Lacy became chairman of the board. When the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was being framed, Mr. Lacy was one of fifteen bankers called into conference by Senator Carter Glass, sponsor of the act. After it was adopted Mr. Lacy was called upon to address numerous meetings of bankers in the Mid-West to explain it. He was a director in many business organizations, including the St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad, the St. Joseph & Savannah Interurban Company, the Missouri Valley Trust Company, and the Aunt Jemima Mills Company. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati.

For Graham Lacy his family came first; but after that it was hard to tell the priorities among his great interests: the Bank, his library, or the First Presbyterian Church. He served as an officer of the church without interruption for over fifty years. He was always chairman of the pulpit committee, which meant that he picked the ministers, and thus gave to the Church a great part of its atmosphere and tradition. He also contributed generously of his time and energy to the affairs of the Presbyterian Chapel in Florence Addition of South Saint Joseph, as teacher and superintendent of the Sunday School on Sunday afternoons, and later as preacher at the Sunday evening church services.

Mr. and Mrs. Graham Lacy in 1903 built their own beautiful home at 2912 Frederick Boulevard. An outstanding feature of the house was the large library for Mr. Lacy's books. There were six daughters and one son. Of those, Mrs. George Eckel, Miss Ellen Lacy, and Mr. Graham Lacy are now living in St. Joseph. Mrs. George E. Porter died a few years ago. Mr. Lacy's parents never visited the house, both dying in Fredericksburg-his father in 1906 and his mother in 1907. Mrs. Lacy's mother died in 1904 and her father, Mr. Thomas E. Tootle, came to live with the Lacy family until his death in 1908.

Graham G. Lacy lived to within two months of his ninety-fourth birthday, dying at his home on June 14, 1952. His wife, Mrs. Ellen Tootle Lacy, died a year later on August 1, 1953, at the age of eighty-eight.