A History of the Buxton Family in Hampton Roads
In 1899 a twenty four year old physician named Dr. Joseph T. Buxton arrived in Newport News determined to shape the history of the Virginia Peninsula. After several years as Chief Surgeon at Newport News General, Dr. Buxton built Elizabeth Buxton Hospital (named for his beloved mother) in 1906 on Chesapeake Avenue overlooking the harbor. Buxton Hospital would eventually become the largest privately owned and managed hospital in the country and one of the most important institutions in Hampton Roads.
When Dr. Buxton died unexpectedly in 1940, his son Dr. Russell Buxton was called home from the Cleveland Clinic to run the family hospital. Dr. Russell Buxton was not only the hospital’s chief administrator, but he also managed his own successful surgical practice. This became especially important during World War II when both his services and those of the hospital were essential to the community. In 1953, Dr. Russell Buxton sold the hospital to the Bernadine Sisters who renamed it Mary Immaculate Hospital. Although he continued to serve as Chief of Staff for Mary Immaculate Hospital for many years, he also held prominent staff positions at Riverside Hospital, Hampton General, Kecoughtan Veterans Hospital and Langley Air Force Base.
Like his father, Dr. Russell Buxton loved the Peninsula and remained civic minded throughout his adult life. He was a member of the Newport News City Council and instrumental in the consolidation of Warwick and Newport News in 1958. That same year, he helped found Hampton Roads Academy and was Chairman of its first Board of Trustees as well as an Emeritus Trustee at his death. Over the years, Dr. Russell Buxton served as President of the Medical Society of Virginia, the Newport News Medical Society and the Tri-State Medical Associate.
Although the Drs. Joseph and Russell Buxton have passed, the family’s commitment to serving the Peninsula is alive and well. In 1978, Dr. Russell Buxton’s son, Joseph T. “Chip” Buxton, established what would become one of the first boutique estate planning and elder law firm’s on the Peninsula. He is the past President of the Virginia Association of Elder Law Attorneys, the Peninsula Estate Planning Council and the local chapter of the Federal Bar Association. As one of less than 500 Certified Elder Law Attorneys in the nation (by the National Elder Law Foundation, Tucson, Arizona) Chip has been conducting educational seminars and promoting financial stewardship within the community for over 20 years.
Today, Chip Buxton and his son, Wake Buxton, operate TrustBuilders Law Group (Buxton & Buxton, PC), a Virginia law firm dedicated exclusively to assisting families with the preservation and transfer of wealth. Ironically, many of the firm’s nearly six thousand past and current clients were either born or treated at the old Buxton Hospital and now need help with such things as avoiding probate, minimizing taxes and protecting assets from Medicaid and other threats. As much as Chip and Wake Buxton are proud of their own family legacy, they are even more passionate about helping clients build and maintain their own.
For a name you can trust, contact TrustBuilders Law Group today!
