Southampton-Isle of Wight County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Rawls, Dr. Gavin, 1922 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ GAVIN RAWLS DR. GAVIN RAWLS DIES SUDDENLY AT CARRSVILLE The news of the sudden death of Dr. Gavin Rawls at his home in Carrsville last night, which reached Franklin this morning, has caused universal regret here where Dr. Rawls was widely known and highly esteemed. The announcement of his death coming to us at the hour of going to press, a more comprehensive account of his life and work must necessarily wait until the next issue. Dr. Rawls was one of the best and most useful citizens of his county and of the State. He had been Superintendent of Schools of Isle of Wight County for 36 years, and was prominent in the Baptist Church and in all other meritorious public service. He is survived by his widow, and by four children, Dr. Julian Rawls and Dr. Edward Rawls of Norfolk, Mrs. W.A. Biggs of Baltimore and Miss Edna Rawls of Carrsville. Funeral services will be held from Beaver Dam Baptist Church Saturday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock interment following in the church cemetery. ****************************************************************************** GAVIN RAWLS EDITORIAL BY THE DR. R.H. PITT We print elsewhere in this issue Brother Thorburn Clark's just and admirable tribute to the late Dr. Gavin Rawls. Death came to him while he was still to all outward seeming in full ripened strength with a prospect of years of growing usefulness. Far back in the seventies he was our classmate and friend at Richmond College. In the long stretch of intervening years our association with his has not been as close as we wished it to be. He was a busy man, occupied with his professional and other responsible tasks, devoted to his church and District Association and community but rarely came to our General Association and hardly ever to the Southern Convention. Though deprived of this sort of personal contact with him we always knew that he was there where his duties challenged him, that he was the friend of every good enterprise, that he could be counted on whenever he was needed. Now, alas, he has vanished and the grop of veteran who were comrades in that far off day and have maintained the spirit of comradeship after some fashion ever since, are saddened by his departure. To his family, his friends, his church, his county, we give assurance of our deep sympathy with them in their irreparable loss. We shall not soon look upon his like again. ****************************************************************************** HISTORY OF ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY Doctor Gavin Rawls Doctor Gavin Rawls was born at Carrsville, Virginia on August 11, 1856. His academic training was received at Richmond College, now the University of Richmond. He graduated in medicine at the Medical College of Virginia in 1876. He began the practice of medicine at Carrsville, Virginia, in 1876 and continued to practice in Isle of Wight County until his death on September 28, 1932. [sic; 1922] He was a member of the Medical Society of Virginia. In 1886 he was appointed Superintendent of public schools of Isle of Wight County and served in that office until his death in 1923, [sic; 1922] at the same time practicing medicine in Carrsville. He was a deacon, the treasurer and the clerk of Beaver Dam Baptist Church for a long number of years. He was clerk of the Portsmouth Baptist Association until its division and he was then Clerk of the Blackwater Association for many years and finally in 1912 he declined re-election. The Blackwater Association was formed in 1907. He was at one time the moderator of the Portsmouth Baptist Association. In 1910 Beaver Dam Baptist Church was without a pastor, but the church was very fortunate to have as one of its members, a man filled with the Holy Spirit and devoted to the physical needs of his fellowmen as a profession, but who could and did help bring souls from the disease of sin into the presence of the Great Physician. This man of God, Dr. Gavin Rawls, supplied for the church until a pastor was secured. Mr. W.B. Denson speaks thus of Dr. Rawls: "In looking over the scroll in this room as he searches the notes he sees a blank page on the scroll and investigating he finds that God-Almighty in his wise providence saw fit to call home one of Beaver Dam's most treasured members, one of the community's most useful citizens, and one of God's most devoted servants - I pause as I read his name - Dr. Gavin Rawls. He still lives in the hearts of the people, his influence lives in the life of the church, and the greatest monument ever erected to him has been erected by himself in the community in which he lived so long and loved so well. His memory will ever remain with us and we thank God that he allowed such a man to live in our midst. Returning to our scroll again the writer notes there are no records recorded from June 1922 to April 1923. This may be termed the period of mourning by the church for its great leader that it loved so well. For a period of nearly fifty years he was prominent in the medical, religious, educational and political activities of Isle of Wight County and of the entire State of Virginia. He was united in marriage to Miss Susan A. Norfleet of Franklin Virginia, in March, 1877. Four children were born of ths marriage Doctor Julian L. Rawls, of Norfolk, Virginia. Doctor E.W. Rawls, of Portsmouth, Virginia. Mrs. W.A. Biggs, of Baltimore, Maryland. Miss Edna E. Rawls, of Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Gavin RAWLS, allopathic physician, 35-year Superintendant of Isle of Wight Co. schools, Isle of Wight Co. native, d. 28 Sep 1922, at home, Carrsville, age 66, interred in Beaver Dam Baptist Church Cemetery*, near Franklin, 30 Sep 1922, "The Tidewater News" (Franklin, VA), obit, Sep. 29, 1922, p. 1; "The Religious Herald" (Richmond, VA), editorial, Oct. 19, 1922; "The Smithfield (VA) Times," biographical sketch, Vol. 14, No. 50, Mar. 28, 1935, p. 3, col. 3-5 *His parents, Edward & Caroline W. (PARKER) RAWLS, are also buried there. Beaver Dam list (BD-64 & -63), an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/isleofwight/cemeteries/bvrdam.txt No contemporaneous D.Cert. found. His widow's obit ("Tidewater News," Sep. 21, 1934) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/isleofwight/obits/r420s2ob.txt Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Parker C. Agelasto & Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r420g1ob.txt