Dr. J. Carl Poindexter
May 20, 1911 - July 10, 2001
This page is dedicated to a special cousin Dr. J. Carl Poindexter whom
I admire for several reasons. He learned at an early age the importance
of an education and his thirst for knowledge was never quenched. It was
a lesson which he shared with all whom he met. He was also the keeper of
the Poindexter family history and creator of the family cemetery in
Franklin County, Virginia. He was also fluent in several languages.
In addition to his many other endeavors, he was a champion of justice
for various causes which affected the ordinary people.
Dr. Carl was like a walking dictionary and encyclopedia all rolled into one.
I visited his home many times over the years as his daughter and I were
close and still are. I spent many happy weekends at their home during
the summer and it was there that Patricia taught me to play tennis.
It was on a visit many years later though that I learned the cause of his
lifelong quest for knowledge. He left his home during the Depression years
with very little money and his violin. When he was in line at the book
store at the University and talking with some other students, he made a
mistake in the use of one verb. He said that some of the other students
started making fun of him and calling him a country hick because of it.
He was so embarrassed by the incident that he vowed to never let it happen
again. After that he always carried a dictionary with him everywhere he
went and tried to learn all that he could about anything and everything.
While at the University, he supported himself by his music and scholarships
and became the first Franklin County resident to earn a PhD. in Virginia’s
economics program.
While at the University, Dr.Carl was leader of the Virginia Cavaliers Band
and attained a mastery of many instruments, both brass and woodwinds.
He was a concert violinist who, throughout his university years during
the Depression and for many years later, delighted music lovers in places
ranging from the cafes of Washington D.C. to concert halls. His love of
great music was continuous and he spent many years performing with various
orchestras and bands throughout Virginia, and serenading his neighbors
at his long-time home in Salem.
Dr. Carl was a respected scholar who spent his lifetime teaching and sharing
his love of political economy. His career included posts at the University
of Virginia, Louisiana State University, William and Mary, Roanoke College
and Virginia Western Community College. He was proud of the generations
of students he taught and of their personal accomplishments.
As a lifetime champion of justice for ordinary citizens, he was an activist
in the public policy arena. He was the recipient of various awards and
recognitions for his defense of and support of human and citizens’ rights.
Among the awards granted him was the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Majors
for Justice Award - for excellence in civil rights achievements.
The family cemetery which he created adjacent to the family’s ancestral
home has massive gates and entrance-way columns of granite engraved with
a brief history of the Poindexter family from the thirteenth century on.
It is beautifully landscaped and designed. He was a lover of family and
its history and espoused the view that “one should honor one's ancestors
so they too will be honored.”
Below is the text on the granite columns at the entrance to the
Poindexter family cemetery.
On the left column---
BURIED HERE IS A LINE OF DESCENDANTS OF THE ANCIENT NORMAN GENTRY
NAMED POINGDESTRE OF THE ISLE OF JERSEY WHOSE LINEAGE FROM THE PRESENT
GENERATION BACK TO THE GENERATION OF THE EARLY 1400'S IS OF VERIFIED
UNBROKEN RECORD.
ONE OF THOSE JERSEY FEUDAL LORDS, THOMAS POINGDESTRE, SEIGNEUR OF THE FIEF
ES POINGDESTRE, HAD AN ADVENTUROUS SON, GEORGE)B. 1627), WHO ANGLICIZED
THE SPELLING OF HIS SURNAME, MAKING IT POINDEXTER, AND EMIGRATED TO
VIRGINIA, SETTLING INITALLY AT GLOUCESTER,1657; LATER WAS CO-OWNER OF THE
LAND WHICH BECAME WILLIAMSBURG; WITH NATHANIEL BACON WAS CO-OWNER OF THE
FIRST SHIPS OWNED BY THE COLONISTS; WAS A VESTRYMAN OF BRUTON PARISH
CHURCH, 1679; LATER MOVED TO NEW KENT COUNTY AND THERE BUILT THE FAMOUS
CROSS HOUSE, "CRISS CROSS", C. 1690, WHICH STILL STANDS, REPRESENTING
A UNIQUELY FASCINATING EXAMPLE OF COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE.
ALL OF THE AMERICAN POINDEXTERS DESCENDED FROM THIS GEORGE POINDEXTER,
AMONG THEM BEING LEADING PATRIOTS AND SOLDIERS OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION, PUBLIC SERVANTS SUCH AS GOVERNORS GEORGE POINDEXTER OF
MISSISSIPPI AND JOSEPH POINDEXTER OF HAWAII, SENATOR MILES POINDEXTER
OF WASHINGTON, AND MANY OTHER NOTABLE FIGURES IN THE SAGA OF OUR
COUNTRY.
On the right column----
AMONG THE GRANDSONS OF IMMIGRANT GEORGE POINDEXTER WAS ONE, PHILIP
POINDEXTER, B. 1708 IN NEW KENT COUNTY. HE MIGRATED, C.1750, TO
LUNENBURG COUNTY, LATER PARTLY TRANSFORMED(INCLUDING PHILIP'S LOCALE)
INTO THE NEWER COUNTY OF MECKLENBURG. THERE HE BECAME A CHAMPION OF
THE REVOLUTIONARY CAUSE OF THE COLONISTS. HIS NAME IS ENSHRINED AS ONE
OF THE REVOLUTIONARY SIGNERS OF THE MECKLENBURG PETITION TO THE
VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY.
MEANTIME HE HAD MARRIED SARAH CRYMES, DAUGHTER OF COL. GEORGE CRYMES
(LATER OF REVOLUTIONARY WAR FAME), FROM WHICH MARRIAGE WERE BORN FIVE
CHILDREN, ONE NAMED JOHN POINDEXTER. HE MARRIED NANCY ELIZABETH NEAL
IN LUNENBURG COUNTY, 1792. THEY THEN MIGRATED TO THIS PLACE. THEY AND
SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF THEIR DESCENDANTS ARE BURRIED HERE,
COMPRISING THE MOST CONSECUTIVE GENERATIONS OF THE OLDEST FULLY
DOCUMENTED LINE OF ANY FAMILY BURIED ANYWHERE IN VIRGINIA.
ERECTED 1971
