American novelist, born in Virginia about 1800; died in Savannah, GA, about 1850. He was educated for the medical profession, but became famous as a writer of sketches and historical romances. Among his published works were The Cavaliers of Virginia; or, The Recluse of Jamestown; The Kentuckian in New York; The Knights of the Horseshoe: A Traditionary Tale of the Cocked-Hat Gentry in the Old Dominion; and A Life of Dr. Caldwell. He also published an account of a perilous ascent of the Virginia Natural Bridge.
