Col. Bolivar Christian

1825 - 1900  (75 years)

• Name	Bolivar Christian
  Prefix	Col.
  Born	26 Apr 1825	Augusta Co. VA
  Gender	Male
  Died	17 Jul 1900	Staunton, VA
  Buried	Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Middlebrook, Augusta Co. VA
  	Grave location, obituary, and tombstone photo: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22033914
  Notes	CENSUS RECORDS 1850 Census Name: Boliver Christian Age: 24 Birth Year: abt 1826 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1850: District 2, Augusta, Virginia Gender: Male Family Number: 1430 Household Members: Boliver Christian 24 1870 Census Name: Bolivar Christian Age in 1870: 43 Birth Year: abt 1827 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1870: District 1, Virginia Race: White Gender: Male Post Office: Staunton Household Members: Wm H Sale 33 Isabella J Sale 28 Laura Sale 5 Will C Sale 1 Kizie Shepherd 45 Dennis Baptist 40 Jane Baptist 40 Kate Mahoney 35 Mary Welch 21 Lizzie Cambridge 19 Samuel Sterling 60 Jane Sterling 54 Alfred Sowers 67 Bolivar Christian 43 1900 Census Name: Bolivar Christian Age: 74 Birth Date: 1826 Birthplace: Virginia Home in 1900: Staunton Ward 1, Staunton City, Virginia Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Patient, Western State Hospital Marital Status: Married Household Members: Bolivar Christian 74 MILITARY RECORDS Sources: The Virginia Regimental Histories Series Name: Bolivar Christian Occupation: Lawyer Age at Enlistment: 36 Enlistment Date: 19 Aug 1861 Rank at enlistment: Adjutant State Served: Virginia Survived the War: Yes Service Record: Commissioned an officer in Company S, Virginia 52nd Infantry Regiment on 19 Aug 1861.Promoted to Full Lt Col on 15 May 1863. Birth Date: 26 Apr 1825 Death Date: 17 Jul 1900 Death Place: Western State Hospl, Staunton, Virginia COLLEGE INFORMATION Catalogue of the officers and alumni of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, 1749-1888, Board of Trustees, BALTIMORE: JOHN MURPHY & CO. 1888. http://www.archive.org/details/catalogueofofficOOwashrich Class of 1844-1845 1259. Bolivar Christian, A. B,, A. M., Augusta Co.: Lawyer: Lieutenant-Colonel C. S. A. : Member Virginia House of Delegates : Member Virginia Senate: Trustee Washington and Lee University, 1858- On the law faculty Practice and Pleading. 1875 Col. Bolivar Christian 1882- OBITUARY Staunton Spectator and Vindicator; Staunton, VA; 20 July 1900 Col. Bolivar Christian, who in his day was prominent in the affairs of this State, died at the Western State Hospital on Tuesday morning, aged about 75 years. Deceased was a son of John B. and Jane T. Christian, and was born at Greenville. Col. Christian is survived by one sister and one brother, Mr. A.G. Christian, of Mint Spring, and Mrs. W.T. Richardson, of Waynesboro. Col. Christian studied law and in 1849 commenced the practice of his profession in this city, and was elected to the legislature, serving in both branches until the war came on. During the war he was a member of the 52 Regiment serving in the commissary department. After the war he resumed the practices of law, and continued it until his health gave way. The funeral took place Wednesday at Bethel church, the interment being in the cemetery there by the side of his mother, the services at the grave being conducted by Rev. R.A. Lapsley assisted by Rev. Dr. Geo. W. Finley, of Tinkling Spring. The following gentlemen acted as pall-bearers: Thomas D. Ranson, J.N. McFarland, James Bumgardner, Lewis Harman, Wm. F. Smith and J. McD. McCue. Honorary -- Jos. A. Waddell, Dr. T.V.L. Davis, C.G. Merritt and Wm. J. Nelson. BOLIVAR CHRISTIAN MURDER SUSPECT The Asylum Poisonings: Death, Politics, and ?Low Cussedness? in Staunton Bill Bynum, Reference Archivist Out of The Box, Library of Virginia; 19 November 2014, http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/2014/11/19/the-asylum-poisonings-death-politics-and-low-cussedness-in-staunton/ On the morning of 24 February 1883, just after receiving their regular liquid medications, seven male patients lost consciousness. Four died almost immediately, two died in the next three days, and one recovered. An eighth patient vomited and experienced other ill effects, but recovered in a few days. A coroner?s inquest concluded that the victims? cups of medicine must have been poisoned while sitting in an unlocked hall cabinet the previous evening. Other patients, taking the same medicine which had not been left in the cabinet, had no problems. Dr. W.W.S. Butler, head pharmacist at the asylum, testified that no poisons were missing from the dispensary. Autopsies were performed, and University of Virginia chemistry professor John W. Mallet used the latest forensic techniques to analyze three of the victims? stomachs and their contents. Mallet concluded that the poison used was aconitia (also known as aconitine), an extremely toxic extract of the aconite or monkshood plant, and the coroner?s jury agreed. The asylum pharmacy had a bottle of highly diluted ?tincture of aconite,? but Mallet thought it was not strong enough to cause sudden death, and local drug stores did not stock any drugs derived from aconite. The superintendent of the asylum, Dr. Robert S. Hamilton, suspected the poisonings were politically motivated, intended to discredit him and the Readjuster-Republican coalition administration of Governor William E. Cameron. Cameron had made heavy use of his patronage power, including the appointment of a new asylum board of directors who in turn had appointed Hamilton and replaced most of the former staff. To investigate the case, Hamilton, with Cameron?s approval, hired the famed Pinkerton?s National Detective Agency. Two Pinkerton agents interviewed druggists in Richmond, Alexandria, Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia to see which ones had sold aconitia, but found no good leads. F. M. Smiley, a 27-year-old Pinkerton investigator with two medical degrees, went undercover in the asylum for over two months, posing as a patient suffering from ?melancholia? (depression). Soon the case had as many suspects as an Agatha Christie novel. Hamilton?s initial suspects were two melancholia patients: Charles J. Armistead, a former theology student who had once attempted suicide by drug overdose, and Bolivar Christian, a lawyer and former Confederate officer. Both were, in Hamilton?s words, ?sharp, shrewd, highly educated and were also strong adherents of the opposition [Democratic] party and were bitterly opposed to the present management of the Institution.? Armistead was, according to Hamilton, ?a thorough chemist? familiar with drugs. Christian had previously accused Dr. Butler of tampering with his own medicine. Both had access to the hall at the time when the medicine was poisoned. Detective Smiley, playing his part well as a patient who had occasional ?bad spells? but was generally rational, gained the confidence of Armistead, Christian, and a third suspect, a supervisor named Hull who disliked Hamilton and, in the investigator?s opinion, ?would stoop to any low cussedness.? Smiley also heard rumors that Dr. H. S. Crockett, Hamilton?s second-in-command, was ?working his hardest to ruin Dr. Hamilton.? Some people found it suspicious that Crockett?s uncle William B. Byars, who had been under treatment for melancholia at the asylum for three and a half years and who had unusual access to the pharmacy because of his family connection, was discharged three weeks after the poisonings and soon moved to Texas. ?The general opinion is that Dr. C. furnished the ?aconitia? and that his uncle used it? to kill the victims, wrote Smiley. Asylum attendant Duet Andrews, one of the few remaining Democrats on the staff, told the detective that he thought the poisoning ?was done to beat the d[amne]d readjusters and I wouldn?t squeal if I knew? who did it. Smiley suspected Andrews may have conspired with another attendant and with a former attendant, a ?dirty mean scamp? who had been fired but returned to Staunton the day before the poisonings. On the other hand, the Democratic editor of the Staunton Telegram newspaper believed the poisonings were not murders, but accidents caused by Dr. Butler?s carelessness. Pinkerton superintendent R. J. Linden?s final report dismissed the possibility that a patient or staff member could have caused the deaths, concluding only that ?the poisoning resulted from no carelessness or lack of precaution on the part of the faculty, but was evidently? perpetrated by parties outside of the institution, whom it is unnecessary and would also be injudicious to name at this time.? Tantalizingly, Dr. Hamilton said ?I have reason to believe that the detective had other information than that reported, and that he had other information which led him to suspect a certain individual.? For whatever reason, no charges were brought. While the asylum board of directors considered themselves and Hamilton to be vindicated, their political enemies thought otherwise. John N. Opie, Democratic member of the House of Delegates for Augusta County and Staunton, demanded an investigation of ?gross mismanagement? at the asylum. Spurred by the committee report and by other complaints, the General Assembly?s 1883-1884 session passed acts removing the boards of all state hospitals as of 15 April 1884, and putting the choice of new boards in the hands of the Board of Public Works instead of the governor. Soon Hamilton and his entire management team were out the door, and the old administrators from before the 1881 election were back in charge. There was one new staff member: clerk C. J. Armistead, one of the former inmates and suspects! The opponents and supporters of the ousted administrators agreed on only one thing: ?the whole affair is still shrouded in doubt and mystery.? Over 130 years later, the mystery endures.
  Person ID	I31293	Master File
  Last Modified	13 Sep 2015

  
  

  Father	John Brownlee Christian,   b. 01 Sep 1784, Augusta Co. VA ,   d. 09 Jul 1837, Augusta Co., VA  (Age 52 years)
  Mother	Jane Tate FINLEY,   b. 22 Jun 1797, Augusta Co. VA ,   d. 22 May 1854, Augusta Co., VA  (Age 56 years)
  Married	26 Jul 1820	Augusta Co. VA
  	Dodd, Jordan R., et al.. Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850. Bountiful, UT, USA: Precision Indexing Publishers. Name: John B. Christian Gender: Male Spouse Name: Jane Finley Spouse Gender: Female Marriage Date: 26 Jul 1820 County: Augusta State: Virginia
  Notes	John's first wife Isabella Tate was first cousin once removed from his second wife Jane Tate Finley.
  Family ID	F12888	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Margaret Paxton,   b. 1850, New York ,   d. Feb. 1900  (Age 50 years)
  Married	26 May 1875	Loudoun Co. VA
  	Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Name: Bolivar Christian Gender: Male Marital Status: Single Age: 45 Birth Date: 1830 Birth Place: Augusta Co., VA. Marriage Date: 26 May 1875 Marriage Place: Loudoun, Virginia Father: John B. Christian Mother: Jane T. Christian [Jane F.] Spouse: Margaret Paxton Gender: Female Marital Status: Single Age: 25 Birth Date: 1850 Birth Place: New York Father: Chas. R. Paxton Mother: Rachel A. Paxton FHL Film Number: 32374
  Children	1. Charles P. Christian,   b. ca 1876, Virginia ,   d. 25 Jun 1881, Loudoun Co. VA  (Age ~ 5 years)
  Last Modified	13 Sep 2015
  Family ID	F13160	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart