\1RGIXIA BIOGRAPHY
353
cian. He is a member of the Common-
wealth Club ; is a Democrat in politics, and
an attendant of the Episcopal church.
Dr. Leonard married, November 17, 1903, Bessie Bland Philpotts, daughter of Luther O. and Cora Philpotts, paternal granddaugh- ter of John T. and Martha A. Philpotts, and maternal granddaughter of James L. Talley and iMildred Scruggs, and a descendant of the lord of Exeter, through Anne Lamb, who came from Essex county, England, to Virginia, July 20, 1850.
Edward C. Ambler, M. D. Dr. Edward C. Ambler, a physician of Roanoke, Virginia, is a member of one of the old families of that state, and a direct descendant of Colonel Ambler, of the revolutionary army, who was his great-grandfather. His grandfather, John Jaquelin Ambler, was a native of James- town, Virginia, where he was born in 1801. John Jaquelin Ambler, his father, was born September 30, 1830, and received his edu- cation at the Episcopal High School at Lynchburg and at the University of Vir- ginia. During the civil war he enlisted in the army and served in the engineering corps, and upon the close of hostilities he engaged in a mercantile business until his death. He married Laura Beverley Davies, a daughter of Beverley and Laura (Carter) Davies, of Amherst county, Virginia. To them were born five children, as follows: i. Laura Carter, now the wife of L. P. Rodes, city engineer of Lynchburg and half-brother of General Robert E. Rodes, of Lynchburg, Virginia. 2. Mrs. R. E. Gish, of Lynchburg, A^irginia. 3. B. L., unmarried, and a resi- dent of Amherst county, Virginia. 4. John J., a farmer of Amherst county, who mar- ried Jennette Withers Carter, a granddaugh- ter of Colonel Robert Withers. 5. Edward C of whom further.
Dr. Edward C. Ambler was born Febru- ary 13, 1870, in Lynchburg. Virginia. He received the elementary portion of his edu- cation at the high school there, and attended Kenmore University from 1885 to 1889, and finally went to the Medical School of the University of Virginia, from which he grad- uated with the class of 1895, taking the de- gree of Doctor of Medicine. After com- pleting the theoretical part of his studies, he entered as interne, St. Vincent's Hos- pital at Norfolk. Virginia, and later the Hud- son Hospital in New York City, where he
VIA— 23
made a special study of gynecology and the
kindred subjects. Having accomplished the
requisite practical experience in these insti-
tutions, he returned to Virginia and estab-
lished himself in practice in Nelson county
in that state, where he continued success-
fully for six years, finally removing to
Roanoke, where he has since remained in
active practice. During this time he has
done considerable post-graduate work in
New York City, under Dr. Berkeley, a resi-
dent of that place. Dr. Ambler is actively
devoted to his profession and is doing nota-
ble work in it both in his private practice
and in his capacity as a member of the staff
of Roanoke City Hospital. He is also a
member of the Roanoke Academy of Aledi-
cine, of the South Western Virginia Medi-
cal Society and of the Virginia State and
the American Medical Associations. He is
prominent in the Masonic order and is a
member of Lakeland Lodge, No. 190, and
Murray Chapter, No. 22, Royal Arch 2^Ia-
sons.
Dr. Ambler married, October 4, 1898, Fannie Waller Brown, a daughter of John Thompson and Elizabeth (Caldwell) Brown, and to them have been born three children, as follows : Elizabeth Caldwell, born Sep- tember 19, 1900; Edw^ard C, Jr., June 20, 1908; John Thompson Brown, May 20, 1910. Dr. Ambler and his family are members of St. John's Episcopal Church, Roanoke, and Mrs. Ambler is a member of the guild and other church societies.
Henry Smith Rucker. Admitted to the bar in 1898, ]\Ir. Rucker, after practicing in Lexington, Virginia, two years, located in Buena Vista, and in 1906 was appointed to the high position he has since held con- tinuously through election, commonwealth attorney of the city of Buena Vista, Vir- ginia. He is a grandson of William Ballard Rucker, of Bedford county, Virginia, and among Mr. Rucker's treasured possessions is the musket carried by his grand sire dur- ing the war of 1812-14. William Ballard Rucker had sons : Daniel H., of further mention ; William A., who served through- out the war of 1861-65 as a private in a Vir- ginia regiment of infantry ; Addison C, a cavalryman during the same war, serving under Colonel Mosby.
(H) Daniel H. Rucker. son of William Ballard Rucker, was born in Amherst coun-
