Book Review

Over Spring Break I had a chance to read Roanoke, Virginia, 1882-1912: Magic City of the New South by Rand Dotson. (Link is to Amazon). The Roanoke Times published this article about Mr. Dotson and the book when the book was published in December of last year. The book was very well done, and a lot more readable than I was expecting (considering that it was based on a PhD. dissertation). I reviewed the book on Amazon, if you are interested in my impressions. Lawyers are not very prominent in the book, but there are a couple of facts that I need to mention in chronicling the history of our Bar.

Roanoke's First Black Attorney: "Andrew Jackson Oliver, the city's first African-American Attorney, opened a practice in 1890. He and his wife Susan, a graduate of Hampton Institute and a teacher at the Third Ward "colored school," lived on First Street Northwest. Oliver's office, in the white business section of downtown, also housed his real estate and development firm, the Roanoke Building and Land Company." (Dotson at 110).

1890's Lawyer Baseball Team: In a section concerning Roanoke's love for baseball in the 1890s, Dotson mentions that "local lawyers challenged the city's printers to a game." (Dotson at 113).