14
VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
the civil war prevented his completing a
college course. He continued to reside at
"Rose Dale." When his father entered the
military service he was placed in charge of
affairs at home. After his father's return
to take care of his business, which had been
badly broken up by dishonest employees, the
son entered the military service, serving
from 1862 to 1865 in Bryan's Battery, Thir-
teenth Battalion Virginia Artillery, in which
he was successively gunner and sergeant.
He participated in much fighting, and was
within sight of the national capitol for about
two days. The only engagement of his bat-
tery in which he did not participate was that
of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, when he
was home on sick leave. Following the
war ensued a condition of great distress and
business depression through Virginia, and
both Sergeant McAllister and his father
were active in assisting the needy and in im-
proving the roads and other conditions
about them. Soon after the war Mr. Mc-
Allister became a magistrate, and served
until 1866, when the civil government was
replaced by military rule. This lasted for
about two years, and during this time Mr.
McAllister resided at Maiden. In May,
1866, he returned to "Rose Dale" and soon
after occupied "White Hall," which was
con'structed for him by Mr. McAllister's
father. In the spring of 1866, he pursued a
business course at Bryant and Stratton's
College in Cincinnati, and soon after took
charge of the business aft'airs of the estate
of his father. When the latter died in 1871,
Sergeant McAllister was made manager of
the estate by his father's will, and thus con-
tmued for five years, paying oft' war debts of
more than twenty thousand dollars. By the
division of the estate, A. A. McAllister came
into possession of a tract including the pres-
ent pa])er mill, the Rose Dale tract, and
lands lying on both sides of the creek. In
1884 he rented the mill property in partner-
ship with John W. Bell, and for six years
they o])erated it. after which it was sold.
In 1 891 they purchased the mill from the
new owners, and in 1909 the propertt}-
passed into the hands of a corporation
known as the Covington Roller Mills. In
1876 Mr. McxAlHster became a merchant in
Covington, with a ])artner, and continued to
be interested in it until 1902. In the mean-
time he had purchased an estate of three
hundred acres and another of forty-one
acres, on which the greater part of East
Covington has been built. He also made
extensive purchases of farming lands, and
operated about six hundred acres east of
and near Covington. His total holdings
amounted to 2,282 acres, about the same as
his father's holdings when he located in
Virginia. He platted an addition to Coving-
ton, on which were built attractive homes.
He was instrumental in securing paper and
pulp mills, the largest industry at Coving-
ton, and one of the largest mills of the kind
in the south. He sold the land for the mills
and accompanying buildings at a very low
figure, in order to secure the location of the
industry here, and his public spirit has been
rewarded by the appreciation of his own
property, as well as that of his neighbors.
He has also been instrumental in securing
other industries for Covington, and will
long be remembered as one of the chief
benefactors of the town. He assisted in the
organization of the Covington National
I)ank, of which he was first vice-president,
and the Citizens National Bank, of which he
was vice-president from 1900 until he was
made president in 1908, continuing thus to
1912.
He married, May 10, 1865, Julia Ellen Stratton, who was born in Maiden, Kana- wha county, Virginia, daughter of Joseph Dickinson and Mary Ann (Buster) Strat- ton. The Stratton ancestry has been traced to England through Edward (i) Stratton, of Bermuda Hundred, whose son Edward (2) Stratton, married Martha, daughter of Thomas Shippey. Their son, Edward (3) Stratton, married Ann, daughter of Henry Batte, and they were the parents of Thomas Stratton, who married Elizabeth Elam. Their son, Henry Stratton, was lieutenant in the naval service during the revolution, and married Sarah Hampton. They were the parents of Archibald Stratton, who mar- ried Edna Dickinson, and were the parents of Joseph Dickinson Stratton, who married, October 30, 1832, Mary Ann Buster. Their daughter, Julia Ellen, graduated with honor at the Virginia Female Institute at Staun- ton, Virginia, in 1857, being especially dis- tinguished in \ocal and instrumental music. She won a medal in 1855 for scholarship and deportment, and for music in 1856.
Addams Stratton McAllister, son of Abra- ham Addams and Julia Ellen (Stratton) McAllister, was born February 24, 1875, at
