Roanoke - Virginia Genealogy

Biography of Whitwell Wentworth Coxe

Whitwell W. Coxe, General Solicitor of the Norfolk and Western Railway, was born in Roanoke on April 24, 1884. Son of Joseph W. Coxe and Mary Keahlofer Syester, he earned his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1907. Coxe began his legal career with the firm Robertson, Hall and Woods, later partnering with prominent Roanoke lawyers. He became General Solicitor in 1936. Active in law and politics, Coxe served as president of the Roanoke and Virginia State Bar Associations and held various public offices. He was married twice and had six children.

Biography of William Jackson Jenks

William Jackson Jenks, born March 21, 1870, in Wake County, North Carolina, is a prominent figure in the Norfolk and Western Railway Company, where he currently serves as chairman of the board of directors. Jenks began his career with the company in 1886 as a telegraph operator, advancing through various roles including train dispatcher, superintendent, and general manager. He served as vice-president in charge of operation from 1924 to 1936, then as president for a decade before becoming chairman in 1946. Jenks is also a director of several other companies and organizations and is a member of various clubs and societies in Roanoke, Virginia. He married Sallie C. Baldwin in 1891, and they have one daughter, Virginia Kyle Woods.