Pittsylvania County, VA

Originally from Pittsylvania County, Trey, Terrell, and Tremaine Edmunds played football at Dan River High School and Virginia Tech and currently play in the NFL.

The oldest of the three, Trey graduated from Virginia Tech in three in a half years with an Bachelor's in Communications/Business and Leadership. After graduating from Virginia Tech, Trey attended the University of Maryland where he played football and obtained a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development. In 2017, Trey signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent and joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as a running back in September 2018.

Terrell, the middle of the three, also attended Virginia Tech where he played football, starting as a strong safety and middle line backer from 2015 to 2017. He too graduated from Virginia Tech in three and a half years. After his junior year in 2017, he decided to forgo his senior year in college and enter the 2018 NFL Draft where he was picked by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 28th overall pick. 

During his junior year at Dan River High, Tremaine, the youngest of the three, accumulated 123 tackles, four sacks, and two interceptions. He was nominated for for Virginia's defensive player of  the year. Just as his older brothers did, Tremaine attended Virginia Tech, playing for the team from 2015 to 2017. He too decided to forgo his senior year of college and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Tremaine was picked 16th overall by the Buffalo Bills in the first round. 

Their father, Ferrell Edmunds, also played in the NFL as a tight end for the Dolphins. Their mother Felicia Edmunds competed as a track athlete at Southern Illinois University and became physical education teacher.

A Gretna High School graduate and native of the Java area of Pittsylvania County, Tony Womack played 13 seasons of Major League Baseball (MLB) before retiring in 2006. Known for his defense and ability to steal bases, Womack was named to the 1997 All-Star game and played a key role in the Arizona Diamondbacks winning the 2001 World Series. 

After playing baseball for Guilford College, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Womack in 1991. Six years after he was drafted, Womack was the Pirates’ starting second baseman. After participating in the 1997 All-Star game, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks the following year. He started off playing right field before being moved to shortstop by the Diamondbacks. 

In the 2001 World Series, Womack made some key hits, including a double in the bottom of the ninth inning of game 7 that helped his team defeat the New York Yankees, the winners of the previous three World Series.

He bounced around between several team in the past few years of his career, playing with the Red Sox, Cardinals, and the New York Yankees before the end of his career in 2006.

Womack ranked first in stolen bases in the entire MLB three years in a row, setting a record for the Diamondbacks in 1999. He received the Lou Brock award three years in a row for being the player with the most stolen bases recorded in the National League.

Joe Mantiply, a Tunstall High School graduate, is a Relief Pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is in his fifth season playing Major League Baseball since graduating from Virginia Tech. In 2022, he was selected to play in the 92nd MLB All-Star Game.

Originally drafted out of high school to the New York Mets in 2009, Mantiply decided not to sign and honored his commitment to attend Virginia Tech. He was drafted again in 2012 by the Philadelphia Phillies but decided not to sign for a second time so he could finish his degree. He signed with the Detroit Tigers after being drafted for the third time. He played for the New York Yankees twice before he was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2020. He appeared in 57 games during the 2021 season.

Through his first 29 games of the 2022 season, Mantiply gave up just a single run. He broke a record for left-handed pitchers by going 34 games without walking a batter.

Mantiply is married with two daughters.

Lewis “Lew” Worsham Jr. was a professional golfer born in Pittsylvania County. He won the 1947 U.S. Open in Clayton, Missouri, becoming the First Virginian to ever win the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.

Worsham started off his golf career playing on his high school’s golf team, and eventually turned pro at 18 years old. He attended his first Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour event in 1938 and continued going to events before enlisting in the U.S. Navy at the beginning of World War II. After returning from the war, he won his first PGA Tour. He compiled two tour wins in 1953, one being the World Championship of Golf. When he retired in 1979, Worsham had completed six PGA Tour victories. 

Worsham was named the Sportsperson of the Year in 1953 and was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2017. He passed away on October 19, 1990, in Poquoson, Virginia.

A Pittsylvania County native, Peyton Sellers is a successful NASCAR stock car racer and two-time winner of the national championship of NASCAR’S Weekly Racing Series. 

Sellers grew up in Pittsylvania County and began his racing career with go-karts as a seven-year-old. Even as a young teenager, Sellers was winning in open wheel sprint cars. He then shifted to stock car racing, winning his first Weekly Series championship in 2005 as a rookie at the age of 21. With that win, Sellers became the youngest champion in the history of the series. 

In the years since, Sellers has tallied numerous wins in races at Dominion Raceway and at South Boston Speedway. Sellers has completed several seasons in the Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Surrounded by family, Sellers won the 2021 NASCAR Weekly Series championship again in December of 2021, 16 years after his first victory. In late September of 2022, Sellers won the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

His brother is his crew chief, his dad is his spotter, and his mother films the races. 

Born in the Sutherlin area of Pittsylvania County in year, Donnie Vaden has spent decades working with the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a referee, league-office executive, and now as a consultant with numerous NBA teams and players. 

After graduating from Dan River High School in 1972, Vaden attended Lynchburg College, playing baseball while he was there. Vaden started his refereeing career in Pittsylvania County little league baseball, softball, and basketball, eventually going on to work games in the Virginia High School League (VHSL) and College Basketball in the ACC before his NBA career began. 

Vaden worked as an NBA referee from 1988 until 2003, working games involving superstars and household names like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, and many others. During those 15 years, Vaden worked 854 regular season games and 59 playoff games, including Game 2 of the 2002 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets. After a brief stint as a NASCAR Team Manager, Vaden began working for the NBA League Office in Referee Operations in 2003. He served as the Vice President of Referee Operations and Director of Officials -- essentially overseeing all aspects of NBA officiating -- for five years. He held the same position with the WNBA for 2 years. 

In January of 2018, Vaden launched Don Vaden InterActive Consulting. Often working with Third Side Coaching, Vaden has consulted with several NBA teams (including the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards, Toronto Raptors, Portland Trailblazers, and Orlando Magic). ESPN published an in-depth story in April of 2022 highlighting Vaden's consulting business, calling him "a referee whisperer. As explained in the story, Vaden and his partner "help players and coaches see the game through the eyes of a referee: angles and mechanics, how to minimize foul risks, and on-court applications of that study. They also teach clients how to maintain a respectful dialogue, avoid technical fouls and build positive relationships."

From the Brosville area of Pittsylvania County, Timothy Peters led a distinguished professional stock car racing career that included numerous wins in Late Model Stock Car racing and the NASCAR Truck Series. Peters retired in the fall of 2022 after a 34-year racing career. 

Peters got his start racing as an eight-year-old, starting out racing go-karts. He went on to win ten World Karting Association National Titles. After rapidly advancing through the ranks of the Legends cars, Peters moved up to Late Model Stock Car Racing, winning the Orange County Speedway Track Championships and South Boston Speedway Track Championship in the early 2000s. 

In 2005, Peters shifted to the NASCAR Truck Series, starting out with Bobby Hamilton Racing before switching to Red Horse Racing. Peters made over 250 starts in the Truck Series and won 11 races at tracks including Daytona, Martinsville, Bristol, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Peters also made starts in the NASCAR Cup Series with Ricky Benton Racing, as well as racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Richard Childress Racing.

During its October, 2022 meeting, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution honoring Peters for his accomplishments and congratulating him on his retirement. 

A Pittsylvania County native and Tunstall High School graduate, Eric Blake Owens enjoyed an eight-year career in the MLB in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. 

After graduating from Tunstall High School in 1989, Owens went on to play baseball and football for Ferrum College. In three seasons on the baseball team, Owens set numerous school records, including a career batting average of .430, and was named to the All-America first team in 1991 and 1992. The Cincinnati Reds selected Owens in the fourth round of the 1992 MLB draft. 

Owens played three seasons with the Reds (1995-1998) before bouncing between teams over the next seven years: 

• Milwaukee Brewers (1998) 
• San Diego Padres (1999-2000) 
• Florida Marlins (2001-2002) 
• Anaheim Angels (2003) 

He was especially effective during the 1999 and 2000 seasons with the Padres. During his eight years in the MLB, Owens hit 26 home runs, maintained a .264 batting average, and completed 214 RBI (Runs Batted In). 

Owens spent the next decade working as a coach, manager, and coordinator across a variety of minor league teams. He was also the Assistant Hitting Coach with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2015-2016. 

Born in Chatham in 1943, Bobby Mitchell was a longtime professional golfer who won the 1972 Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tournament of Champions. 

Raised in Danville, Mitchell began working as a caddie at the Danville Golf Club during the 1950s. At the age of 15, Mitchell dropped out of high school and became a professional golfer. He won the Virginia Open in 1965, the Carolinas PGA Championship in 1967, and the PGA Cleveland Open in 1971. 

Mitchell earned his most consequential win in 1972 when he beat Jack Nicklaus, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional golfers of all time, in the Tournament of Champions. Mitchell came from behind and beat Nicklaus on the first extra hole with a birdie. Mitchell also won second place in the 1972 Masters tournament. 

In total, Mitchell played 407 PGA Tour events and finished in the Top 10 more than 30 times. After concluding his professional career Mitchell travelled with Averett University in the summers to teach golf to young people in Finland and coached golf at Averett and Danville Community College. 

Mitchell died in 2018. 

Born in Hurt in 1967, Stacy Compton is a former NASCAR team owner and driver.

Compton started racing go-karts when he was six years old. By NASCAR standards, he was a late bloomer when he decided to make his NASCAR debut at age 29, driving for Dean Monroe beginning in 1996. Eventually, he ended up moving up to the NASCAR Winston racing series where he won 36 races after seven years in late model competition. While racing, he also went into real estate, where he dealt with rental properties and housing developments.

After finishing his last race in 2012, Compton decided to work in the real estate business full time. He now resides in Central Virginia with his wife and two daughters.

A native of the Ringgold area of Pittsylvania County and a graduate of Dan River High School, Gregory L. Robinson served as the Program Director of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope from 2018 to July of 2022. Robinson retired from NASA after more than 30 years working for them in a variety of positions, including Deputy Director at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.

After starting at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in 1989, Robinson was moved to work at the NASA Headquarters in 1999. From 1994 to 2004, he served as the Systems Assurance Manager for the Global Geospace Science project, the Earth Observing System (Aqua) project, and the Aura spacecraft. He also served as the Deputy Chief Engineer for Engineering Policy and Requirements, which made him the primary liaison with the engineering organizations at NASA’s Mission Directorates and field centers. Starting in 2005, he became the Deputy Chief Engineer, where he created NASA’s Engineering Excellence and Engineering Technical Authority. He served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Systems in the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service from May 2011 to June 2012.

When Robinson assumed the Webb Program Director position in 2018, the program was behind schedule and over budget. The New York Times reported that within a few months Robinson brought the efficiency schedule from 55% to 95%. In his interview with Pittsylvania County, Robinson explained that there were several primary areas he focused on to get the project back on track: 

• Improving alignment between a variety of organizations, including the NASA team, the contractor workforce, the White House, and Congress. 
• Creating more detailed, and thorough plans that stretched further into the future. 
• Fostering a culture of transparency where all stakeholders had the same level of information and were kept informed of any changes or updates. 

Robinson retired from NASA after the Webb Telescope, which was launched in December of 2021, began successfully capturing photos in the summer of 2022. 

Prior to attending Virginia Union University on a football scholarship, Robinson graduated from Dan River High School in 1978. He received a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from Virginia Union University and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Howard University. He has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Averett College. He is married with three daughters.

Born in the Dry Fork area of Pittsylvania County in 1932, Charles Frazier Stanley is a well-known pastor, author, and televangelist who has reached millions of people worldwide with radio and television programs and writings. 

Thanks to the example of his father (who died when Stanley was just nine months old) and grandfather, Stanley decided at the age of 14 that he was going to focus his life’s work on Christian ministry. That led him to obtain several degrees: a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Richmond, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Divinity from the Luther Rice Seminary. 

After pastoral stints at several churches across the southeastern United States during the 1950s and 1960s, Stanley became the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta in 1971. While serving as the Pastor there, Stanley also founded In Touch Ministries – an evangelical, radio and television ministry that distributes content across the United States – in 1982. Content from In Touch Ministries is distributed across hundreds of radio and television stations across the Country, and the ministry has a large digital presence as well. Stanley has written more than 70 books over the course of his career. 

After 50 years at First Baptist Church of Atlanta, Stanley stepped down in 2020. Even as he approaches his 90s, Stanley is still active with In Touch Ministries. 

Charles’ son, Andy Stanley, founded North Point Community Church, a megachurch in Georgia that sees well over 30,000 weekly attendees across multiple locations. 

Born in 1952 to a family in the Grit area of Pittsylvania County, Ricky Van Shelton was a successful Country musician who released nine studio albums and had numerous songs charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. 

Growing up in Grit, Shelton's father taught him to sing gospel music. Shelton sang in the choir at the area Pentecostal Holiness Church. While he enjoyed pop and gospel, Shelton discovered Country music and begin singing in his brother’s band as a teenager. After graduating from Gretna High School, Van Shelton moved to Nashville with his girlfriend, where he eventually got a recording contract with CBS. His title track of his first album, Wild-Eyed Dream, moved up to No. 24 on the Country charts. 

Between 1986 and 2006, Shelton released nine studio albums, with many of his singles making and even topping the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. A duet with Dolly Parton, Shelton’s country waltz “Rockin Years” topped the Country Music Charts. The Academy of Country Music named him the 1987 Top New Male Vocalist and the Country Music Association named him the Male Vocalist of the Year in 1989. 

Shelton retired in 2006 so that he could spend more time with his family.

Thelma Brumfield Dunn was born in February of 1900 in the Renan area of Pittsylvania County. Dunn was a medical professional who received national recognition for her cancer research.

Dunn went to schools in Richmond and Lynchburg before attending Cornell University. In 1926 Dunn earned an M.D. from the Department of Medicine at the University of Virginia, where she later returned as a tutor in bacteriology and pathology.

In 1936 Dunn volunteered as a laboratory assistant in the Department of Pathology at the George Washington University School of Medicine, D.C. She joined the National Cancer Institute in 1942, later taking charge of the cancer induction and pathogenesis section of the laboratory of pathology. 

Her work revolved around the development of cancer in laboratory mice. She advanced methods of inducing tumors in the stomachs of laboratory animals to study the behavior or the results of cancer cells, which helped her later propose a method to classify tumors. Her experiments and research with mice also resulted in a wave of improvements to and caution about oral contraceptives.

In 1958 Thelma was nominated as one of the Women of the Year by the American Medical Women’s Association. The following year, she was selected president of the Washington Society of Pathologists and named to the board of the American Association for Cancer Research. She was one of six women who received the Woman’s Award for great contributions in government services and the United States Department of Health and Welfare granted her with a Service Medal.

Dunn died in Lynchburg in 1992 at the age of 92. 

Janis Darlene Martin was born on March 27th, 1940 in the Sutherlin area of Pittsylvania County. She started her career as a part of the WDVA Barndance in Danville and later earned the nickname "Female Elvis" for her dance moves and onstage performance. 

Backed by her own composition “Drugstore Rock ‘n Roll” Martin recorded “Will You Willyum” at the age of 15. The song became her biggest hit, selling 750,000 records and making the country and pop charts. She went on to perform on American Bandstand, the Today Show and Tonight Starring Steve Allen, as well as Jubilee USA. Martin was one of the youngest to ever perform in the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Martin was appointed by the RCA to tour as part of the Jim Reeves Show and continued recording music that concluded being successful on both charts.

After a 10-year pause during the 1960s, Martin resumed performing and recording again in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. 

Martin died from cancer on September 3, 2007.

Born in Chatham in 1957, Claudia Emerson was a respected poet who won a Pulitzer Prize and was named the Poet Laureate of Virginia in 2008. 

A Chatham native, Emerson graduated from Chatham Hall Preparatory School in 1975 before going on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Virginia and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Emerson published eight different poetry collections over a 21-year period and also had three more collections published after her death. Over the years her work appeared in a number of reputable literary journals and publications. In 2006, Emerson won the Pulitzer Prize for her collection entitled Late Wife, a series of poems addressing her former husband, her new husband, and herself. 

Emerson taught at several colleges, including the University of Mary Washington. and spent time as the Siragusa Foundation's Poet-in-Residence at Chatham Hall.

Governor Tim Kaine named Emerson the Poet Laureate of Virginia in 2008. Emerson died of cancer in 2014.

Natives of Chatham and graduates of Chatham High School, sisters Barbara Hall and Karen Hall are television writers and producers who have been involved in numerous shows over the past several decades. 

Karen Hall was born in 1956 and Barbara Hall was born in 1960. Both attended Pittsylvania County Schools and graduated from Chatham High School before going on to college at the College of William and Mary and James Madison University, respectively. Karen also attended the University of Virginia. 

Both moved to Los Angeles to begin their television careers. Karen wrote scripts for the hit TV show M*A*S*H and wrote episodes of shows like Northern Exposure, Judging Amy, and The Good Wife. After starting off working on TV shows like ER, Northern Exposure, and Moonlighting, Barbara went on to write and produce several notable drama and legal television series, including Judging Amy, Joan of Arcadia, and, most recently, Madam Secretary. 

Claude A. Swanson was a career politician from the Swansonville area of Pittsylvania County. During his career, he served Virginia and the United States in many capacities, including: 

Born in the Cascade area of Pittsylvania County in 1898, Luther H. Hodges completed an illustrious political career, which included terms as the Governor of North Carolina and the United States Secretary of Commerce. 

Originally born in Cascade, Hodges’ family moved to what is today the Town of Eden when Hodges was a young child. Much of his adult life was spent in Rockingham County. After spending much of the 1920s and 1930s moving through the ranks of Carolina Cotton, Hodges entered the political realm in the 1940s. 

Multiple consultant positions led him to run for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina in 1952. He was elected, and then he succeeded the Governor’s Office in 1954 when the incumbent governor died. Hodges was formally elected to serve a full term as Governor in 1956. Once he completed his term as the Governor of North Carolina, Hodges was appointed the United States Secretary of Commerce, a position he held until 1965 while serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Hodges also served as the Chairman of the Research and Triangle Park, which was a major facility established while he was governor. 

Hodges died in 1974 in Chapel Hill and is buried in Eden, North Carolina.

Born in Chatham in 1914, Wilbur Clarence “Dan” Daniel had a successful career at the Dan River Mills, served in Virginia and National politics for more than 30 years, and as completed a term as the Commander of the National Legion. 

Daniel attended Mecklenburg Public Schools until he was 15 and spent time working with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Spotsylvania County. Daniel moved back to Danville and began working at the Dan River Mills, also taking adult evening classes to graduate from high school in 1948. At the Mills, he worked his way up from the position of cloth handler to employment manager, eventually becoming the Assistant to the Chairman of the Board. 

Though his military career was cut short due to a collapsed lung, Daniel was an active member of the American Legion, starting in the local chapter and later serving as the State Commander. In 1956 he was the first Virginian to be named the National Commander of the American Legion. 

Daniel began his political career in 1960s when he was elected to represent Danville in the House of Delegates, a post he maintained until 1969. After a brief and unsuccessful bid for governor, Daniel ran to represent the 5th district in the House of Representatives (which included Danville, Martinsville, South Boston, and eleven Virginia counties). Daniel remained in Congress for 19 years, spending much of his focus on strengthening the Country’s military and defense. 

Daniel died of heart disease in Charlottesville in 1988 and was buried in the Highland Burial Park in Danville. Dan Daniel Memorial Park in the City of Danville,  which houses the Danville Otterbots home stadium, the Danville/Pittsylvania County Veterans Memorial, and a variety of other amenities, is named in his honor.

Born in the Tightsqueeze area of Pittsylvania County in 1810, Whitmell P. Tunstall was a lawyer, politician, and champion of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, later becoming the President of the organization.

The youngest of eight children, Tunstall grew up in Pittsylvania County, getting his education at Danville Academy before studying at the University of North Carolina. Tunstall was a lawyer by trade, but he entered State politics in 1836 when he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He later served on the State Senate. 

Tunstall was an early and vocal advocate for the creation of the Richmond and Danville Railroad. After 12 years of Tunstall’s advocacy and pushback from other organizations between 1835 and 1847, the charter was granted in 1847, and Tunstall was unanimously elected president. Tunstall died in 1854, so he did not live to see the completion of the railroad in 1856, but the railroad proved to be a critical link between Richmond and the rest of the Confederacy during the Civil War and grew to eventually include more than 3,000 miles of track by the mid-1890s. Today, Norfolk Southern Railway owns much of the remaining rail line. The Ringgold Rail Trail also runs along this right-of-way. 

The Tunstall Magisterial District and Tunstall Middle and High Schools were named in his honor. There are also two Virginia Historical Markers relating to Tunstall in Pittsylvania County. 

A Pittsylvania County native and graduate of Chatham High School, Charles Hawkins was a longtime Virginia politician who represented Pittsylvania County for more than 25 years. Hawkins was instrumental in the formation of the Virginia Tobacco Commission, a key driver of economic activity for all of Southside Virginia. 

Hawkins grew up in the Chatham area of Pittsylvania County, graduating from Chatham High School before going attending the University of Virginia. Hawkins was elected to serve in the Virginia House of Delegates beginning in 1982, a position he held until 1992 when he was elected to represent the 19th District in the Virginia Senate. He remained in the State Senate until 2008.

Senator Charles Hawkins, along with Delegate Whitt Clement, introduced bipartisan legislation to establish the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission in 1999. In short, the Tobacco Commission was created with funds from national settlements with the four largest tobacco companies in the United States to facilitate economic growth across Southwest and Southside Virginia. Even today, grant funds from the Virginia Tobacco Commission are utilized in economic development projects in Pittsylvania County, Danville, and across the entire southern and southwestern portions of the State. 

In 2008 the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research named its newest building the Charles R. Hawkins Research Center. 

Originally born in Halifax but raised in Hurt, Stanhope Scott Hurt served as the elected Clerk of Court in Pittsylvania County for 63 years. Up until his record was broken in 2021, Hurt held an elected office for longer than any other known person in the United States. Hurt held the position from November of 1873 until the end of 1931.

After the death of his father as a young child, Stanhope Hurt went to live with his brother Major Hurt, who was the Clerk of Court in Pittsylvania County. Stanhope Hurt started working around the Clerk’s office at a young age, eventually riding around the countryside collecting fees and meeting just about everyone in Pittsylvania County. 

He was first elected to the position of Clerk at the age of 23. From his first election until his last, it is said, he “ran scared,” and never ceased to be humble and grateful for the confidence and affection of his County. 

Approximately 63 years after his first election, Hurt retired in 1931. He died 10 days later. With 63 consecutive years as Clerk of Court, it is believed that Hurt held an elected office longer than anyone else in United States history. 

A native of Chatham, William Carrington Thompson led a distinguished political career that concluded with a term on the Virginia Supreme Court in the early 1980s. 

Upon his return to Pittsylvania County, Thompson embarked on a political career that included a brief return to his old position and stints as Commonwealth’s Attorney for Pittsylvania County (1948-1955), in the House of Delegates (1960-1966), and in the Virginia Senate (1967-1972). 

After serving as a judge for the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit (which includes Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Franklin County) for several years, the General Assembly elected Thompson to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1980. He retired after three years of service due to personal reasons. 

Thompson died in his home in Chatham in 2011.

Joseph Whitehead, a former congressman, was born around Mount Airy, Virginia in 1867. He served six years in the Senate and six years as a Representative for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District from 1925-1931. 

Whitehead attended school in Pittsylvania County before studying at Richmond College, now the University of Richmond. He studied law at the University of Virginia before sitting for the bar in 1892. He started practicing law in Chatham after being admitted to the bar. He became the the law partner of Claude A. Swanson.

He represented Virginia as a Senator for the 24th District from 1899-1904. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1925 and was re-elected twice before his political career came to a close in 1931 when his political party didn't nominate him for re-election. 

Whitehead continued to practice law in Chatham, Virginia, following his departure from the House of Representatives. He died in July of 1938 in Chatham.

Walter Coles was born in Halifax County in 1790, but moved to Pittsylvania County when he was seven years old after his father inherited Coles Hill. Like the rest of Walter’s lineage, he was a planter and politician.

Coles served Pittsylvania County and Virginia in the House of Delegates from 1817-1818 and 1833-1834 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1835-1845. While he was in the House of Representatives, he advocated for Pittsylvania County’s main export, tobacco. He served on the select committee that examined high tariffs on American tobacco, advocated for free trade, and opposed excessive taxes on tobacco. 

Before Coles was a legislature, he served in the War of 1812. During his service, he was the Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment Light Dragoons, which fought on the northern front. Later, he was promoted to captain and commanded the 3rd Rifle Regiment.

Coles retired from legislative work to return to his plantation. On November 9, 1857, he died on Coles hill of pneumonia. He is laid to rest in the family cemetery near Chatham.

Born east of Chatham in Pittsylvania County, Rachel Donelson Jackson was the wife of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States. At the age of 61, Rachel died just days before Jackson's inauguration, and thus never served as First Lady. 

"I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than live in that palace in Washington." - Rachel Donelson Jackson

Rachel Jackson was born near the Banister River, about 10 miles east of Chatham. She was the eighth of eleven children born to her parents, Rachel and John Donelson, who was one of the co-founders of Nashville Tennessee. A rocky first marriage that ended when she was 22 caused political fallout for years to come due to an unofficial divorce, which caused Jackson's political opponents to label her a bigamist and adulterer. 

Rachel and Andrew were devoted to one another. She spent most of her time at the Hermitage, their home in Tennessee. They never had biological children but they did adopt several children over the years. 

Rachel died in December of 1828, and the exact cause of her death remains unknown. Even after her death, Jackson remained dedicated to Rachel. He hung a portrait of her in his bedroom and carried a locket with her likeness on it. On her tombstone he had inscribed, “A being so gentle and so virtuous, slander might wound but could not dishonor.”

A Chatham native and the only recipient of the Medal of Honor from Pittsylvania County or the City of Danville, Archer T. Gammon was a U.S. Army soldier who died in World War II. 

Born in 1918 in Chatham, Gammon joined the army from Roanoke in March of 1942. In January of 1945, Gammon was serving as a Staff Sergeant in Company A, 9th Armored Infantry. During a battle in Belgium, Gammon destroyed a German machine gun and killed several more infantrymen before he was eventually killed by a tank. Gammon's daring advance against that tank, which came through hip-deep snow, ultimately "saved his platoon from being decimated," according to his official Medal of Honor citation. 

He received the Metal of Honor posthumously in 1946. 

Gammon is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Danville. The Commonwealth Transportation Board approved a request from the Board of Supervisors in October of 2003 to rename Route 58 East bypassing the City of Danville the Archer T. Gammon Highway.  

Born in the Sonans area of Pittsylvania County in 1921, Clyde East was a decorated fighter pilot who shot down three German planes during D-Day and obtained aerial photos of Soviet missiles in Cuba in the 1960s. 

East was born to a tobacco farming family in Pittsylvania County in 1921. Since the United States was not yet involved in World War II, East enrolled with the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941, running patrol missions in search of Hitler’s U-Boats. He joined the United States U.S. Army Air Force in early 1943 when America joined the war. 

East was only 23 years old on D-Day. Flying on a reconnaissance mission as the flight leader of the Ninth Air Force, East became the first American pilot to shoot down a German plane on D-Day. He took out two more over the course of the day. In the Battle of the Bulge, a German counter offensive in the late fall of 1944, East made some key contributions to the Allied cause, flying reconnaissance missions and bomber raids of enemy infrastructure and convoys. 

During WWII alone East completed 200 combat missions, flew 350 hours of combat time, and shot down 13 enemy planes. But his contributions didn’t end there. East served in the Korean War, flying over a hundred more missions and earning more decorations. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, East served as a wing commander on one of the units that flew over Cuba to get pictures confirming the presence of Soviet Missiles. He retired in 1965 as a U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel.

During the course of his career, East was awarded 43 medals, including the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross. East was entered into the Guiness Book of World Records 1955-56 as having the highest number of repeat awards of combat medals prior to that time. East was inducted into the American Heroes Gallery at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in 2014. 

East died at the age of 93 in 2014. 

Martin Armstrong Martin was an American criminal and civil rights attorney born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Martin was the first African-American trial attorney in the United States Department of Justice. 

After high school, Martin attended Ohio State University and then went on to continue his studies at Howard University Law School. After graduating in 1938, Martin established a private legal practice in Danville. His practice represented the Danville Savings Bank and Black educators in equal salary payment lawsuits.

On May 31, 1943, Martin became the first African-American attorney in the Criminal Trial Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, working under Francis Biddle. In the 1950’s, Martin’s firm also took on many civil rights cases that involved schools.

In 1963, Martin died in his home in Richmond. 

Born in the Motley area of Pittsylvania County in 1893, Elizabeth Simpson went on to become the first African American woman to be elected to the West Virginia Legislature, ultimately serving eight terms in the House of Delegates. 

As part of the Great Migration, Drewry’s family moved to Elkhorn, West Virginia when she was a child. Drewry attended the Bluefield Colored Institute, Wilberforce University, and the University of Cincinnati. During her college years, Drewry worked with her sorority, the National Association of Colored Women, and her church to help needy people through a variety of programs. She was vocal in her support of education for Blacks as a way to move forward in society. Drewry worked as a teacher in the black public school system in McDowell County for nearly 50 years. 

After two unsuccessful campaigns in 1946 and 1948, Drewry was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1950, making her the first African American woman to be elected. While serving as a delegate for the next 13 years, Drewry advocated for civil rights and health reform, among other things. She also uncovered and publicly exposed a bribe she received from the coal industry. 

Drewry died in September of 1979. 

A family full of notable people, the Hurts have made contributions in Pittsylvania County and beyond. 

Frances Hurt
A renowned local historian, Frances Hallam Hurt created the Pittsylvania County Literacy Program and founded the Callands Festival. A native of Texas that moved to Chatham relatively early in her life, Frances Hurt wrote several books on local history of Pittsylvaia County. She was the mother Henry and grandmother of Charles and Robert. 

Henry Hurt
A longtime resident of Chatham, Henry Hurt is a former Editor-at-Large of the Reader’s Digest Magazine, where he also wrote dozens of stories, and author of two best-selling books. Henry is the father of Charles and Robert Hurt. 

Charles Hurt
A well-known journalist and political commentator who has worked for organizations like the New York Post and the Washington Times, Charles Hurt was raised in Chatham Virginia. Charles worked at a variety of newspapers, including the Danville Register & Bee and the Richmond Times-Dispatch and currently works as the Opinion Editor for the Washington Times and a contributor for Fox News. 

Robert Hurt 
Born in New York but raised in Chatham and an attendee of Hargrave Military Academy, Robert Hurt is an attorney and politician who served in the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate before representing Virginia's Fifth District in the U.S. Congress from 2011-2017. He currently is the dean of Liberty University's Helms School of Government. Robert Hurt formerly served on Chatham Town Council and worked as Chief Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Pittsylvania County. 

Not many folks can claim to have worked in the White House under seven U.S. presidents – and have a day named after them, but Arlene Poindexter Davis can count both of those as personal accomplishments.
Ms. Davis had the honor of her birthday, July 11, named for her forever going forward in Pittsylvania County by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors at its June 20, 2023.
Now living in Hurt, Ms. Davis began working in the White House in the Executive Administrative Office in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 3, 1967, under former President Lyndon Johnson.
Ms. Davis went on to serve under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton. She retired on Oct. 1, 1994.
Ms. Davis was hired by the General Services Administration to clean the White House offices and her initial wage was $1.53 an hour. Eventually she became a leader of 39 employees. During her years of service, Ms. Davis had the opportunity to meet each of these Presidents, their First Ladies, the Vice Presidents and various influential Senators and U.S. Representatives.
Davis said she loved working at the White House because each day was interesting, and she was able to see many important people, including Nelson Mandela. Davis said each new administration brought a different feeling into the White House, as well as different decorations, food, traditions and customs.
It is Ms. Davis’ outstanding service to the White House, her countless hours and years of dedication to the United States that led to this recognition by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors. She also received a letter of commendation from Congressman Bob Good, which was entered into the Congressional Record. Good, who represents the Fifth District, also honored Ms. Davis on the floor of the House of Representatives.
State representatives, Sen. Frank Ruff and Delegates Les Adams and Danny Marshall, also provided letters and commendations.