Gadsden-Calhoun County FlArchives Biographies.....Buford, Rivers Henderson 1878 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/flfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 11, 2008, 6:51 pm Author: B. F. Johnson (1909) Rivers Henderson Buford In cities with a limited population where the people are gathered together by common interests and held in a bond of common sympathy, they are better able to judge with unerring instinct of the ability of their fellows for any special line of work which they undertake, as well as to know beyond possibility of error in just what way this work is conducted. Hence, it is an acceped fact that men in professional life who serve more populous communities are less liable to the intimate and almost personal supervision of their acts, their motives and their achievements than is the inevitable portion of the lawyer, the doctor, the preacher, or the teacher in a small town. To the man whose whole life is clean and clear cut as to its every incident, this supervision is often more helpful than hurtful, but if he were for any reason unable to show an untarnished record, he would first of all resent the friendly interest of his patrons and neighbors and would straightway seek other fields for the performance of his professional duties. When, therefore, a man chooses one locality in which to spend his life, and that locality is not over populous, and when he there wins the endorsement and approbation of his fellow townsmen, it is safe to assert that his life and his work well warrant the fullest commendation which can be given it. An instance which strikingly illustrates these points is found in the career of Rivers Henderson Buford, of Quincy, Gadsden county. Mr. Buford has spent his whole life in this section of Florida and has been practicing law ever since he reached maturity. His life has been marked by the fullest measure of success and he has won the trust, confidence and regard of all with whom he has come in contact. The Bufords are identified with the early history of America. The first of the name settling in Virginia during Colonial days, but about 1820 Albert Buford, the grandfather of Rivers H. Buford, left Virginia, and with his four brothers settled in Tennessee. It was in Pulaski of this State, on January 18, 1878, that the subject of this sketch was born. His father was Albert Buford, a civil engineer, and his mother was Mattie Bowling (Rivers) Buford. His grandfather, Dr. R. H. Rivers, of Alabama, was a prominent clergyman, educator, and author, who attained distinction in the life work which he followed. On January 3, 1882, Mr. Buford's father and his family moved to Calhoun county, Fla., from Tennessee, and since that time the family has been thoroughly identified with the development and progress of Florida. Mr. Buford received his early education in the public schools of Calhoun county, but later he attended Giles College, at Pulaski, Tenn., from which institution he was graduated in 1899. The following year, 1900, he was admitted to the bar in Florida and began practicing in Marianna. In 1903 he removed from Marianna to Quincy, and from that time he has remained in Quincy in the performance of his professional duties. His ability as a lawyer and his value as a citizen were both of too obvious a character to be over-looked by the people, and in 1901 he was elected to the State Legislature as a representative of Calhoun county. The people of Quincy have also shown their appreciation of his upright and progressive citizenship and he has served the city as Chairman of its City Council. During his years of political activity he has continued his legal connection in Quincy in partnership with Y. L. Watson, under the firm name of Buford and Watson. He is now Prosecuting Attorney for Gadsden county and City Attorney for the City of Quincy. Mr. Buford has formulated for himself a fixed rule of conduct which, tersely but forcefully expressed, is "Be open, frank, and fair," a precept of which his own life has been a striking example. He has been a close and thoughtful observer of conditions both in the State of Florida and in the nation, and he thinks an urgent need in the State is for a Constitutional Convention to make some changes in the Constitution, which he believes can never be accomplished by legislation. He believes, too, that good roads and the encouragement of immigration will materially increase the happiness and prosperity of the entire country. He is a constant reader of legal works and has found himself often entertained, interested and even helped by diversifying his legal studies with the reading of current fiction. In politics he is a Democrat and is allied with the Masonic order, the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal denomination. Mr. Buford was married in 1904 to Mary Munroe, a daughter of Dr. Thomas F. and Mrs. Martha Harnett (Jones) Munroe, of Quincy. They have had three children, of whom two are now living, Martha Hanze Buford, and Maxine Buford. Additional Comments: Extracted from: FLORIDA EDITION MAKERS OF AMERICA AN HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WORK BY AN ABLE CORPS OF WRITERS VOL. III. Published under the patronage of The Florida Historical Society, Jacksonville, Florida ADVISORY BOARD: HON. W. D. BLOXHAM COL. FRANK HARRIS HON. R. W. DAVIS SEN. H. H. McCREARY HON. F. P. FLEMING W. F. STOVALL C. A. CHOATE, SECRETARY 1909 A. B. CALDWELL ATLANTA, GA. COPYRIGHT 1909 B. F. JOHNSON Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/fl/gadsden/photos/bios/buford63gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/gadsden/bios/buford63gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/flfiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb