W. Rice Barksdale

W. Rice Barksdale
Barksdale, ca. 1906
Member of the Charlottesville City Council
Electoral District	First Ward
Preceded by	Richard Thomas Walker Duke Jr.
Succeeded by	Marshall Timberlake
Biographical Information
Date of birth	November 8, 1859 "Pleasant Hill", Albemerle County
Date of death	May 4, 1939 Red Hill, Albemarle County
Spouse	Lucy Rachel Walters Barksdale
Children	4
Profession	Estimator and Superintendent of the Charlottesville Lumber Company
Religion	Methodist

William Rice Barksdale (known as W. Rice Barksdale, November 8, 1859 – May 4, 1939), was a member of the Charlottesville City Council.

Barksdale was initially elected by City Council in April 1906 from the First Ward to fill the vacated seat of Judge R.T.W. Duke, but city attorney George Perkins informed Council on May 10, 1906 that he was not qualified due to failure to pay his capitation tax, also known as a poll tax, for the spring 1906 election. He paid his tax on May 5, 1906 to become an eligible voter in the fall election, making him eligible beginning in June. Council elected him to the position on June 14, 1906.

Barksdale served on the council until 1916 when he as succeeded by Marshall Timberlake. During his tenure on the council, he served as vice-president and later as president of the council.

Barksdale was vice president and general manager of the Charlottesville Lumber Company. He was the first president of the local Chamber of Commerce, a charter member of the Charlottesville Fire Department, a lieutenant in the Monticello Guard, a steward of the First Methodist Church and an active member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

He was a member of the Barksdale family, a prominent family from Albemarle and City of Charlottesville dating back to the early 1700s. In the period from the end of the war, to the incorporation of the City of Charlottesville in 1888, land owners like the Barksdales, Hawkinses, Dices, and Frys continued to subdivide their holdings and lots, selling them to both white and African-American families.

While on a construction job in Salem City, he met and later married Lucie Rachel Walters on December 24, 1890. Their daughter, Ruby Frances Barksdale Hamm (1895 – 1965), married Strother F. Hamm (1890 – 1965). Mr. Hamm became a member of the council after the 1948 election.