USA > Washington DC > Eminent and representative men of Virginia and the District of Columbia in the nineteenth century. With a concise historical sketch of Virginia > Part 23
USA > Virginia > Eminent and representative men of Virginia and the District of Columbia in the nineteenth century. With a concise historical sketch of Virginia > Part 23
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schools of Washington, and was one of the board that organized the present effi- cient system. He was elected in 1850, without regard to party, a member of the iterate that I have the strongest faith in board of aldermen for the city of Wash- the science of medincine, and that my ington, and was the youngest member that 'confidence in it has increased with age, ever had a seat in that body, but having experience, and observation; and, further, no taste for political life he soon retired, I believe it should be used without hesita- and ever afterward devoted his entire at- tion to the utmost extent of its power." tention to his profession. In June, 1854, Dr. Morgan made no pretentions to that he married Nora, the only daughter of kind of charity which is seen by men, but William Dudley Diggs, of Maryland, a the recipients and his intimate friends know that quietly he did a great deal to relieve suffering outside of his medical descendant of Edward Diggs, one of the colonial governors of Virginia, and by her
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duties. He was popular as a man and practice. The youngest son is Cecil Mor- citizen and beloved as a physician. His gan, who was born in Washington in 1867. popularity led him to be selected for and Educated at Georgetown university in to be proffered many public positions, but the law department of that school in 1888, he limited his connections with such he is now a resident of Macon, Ga., where he is practicing his profession. almost exclusively to those connected in some way with his profession.
HON. MARTIN FERDINAND MORRIS.
Dr. Ethelbert Carroll Morgan, eldest son of Dr. James E. Morgan, was born Few members of the Washington city in Washington, D. C., in February, 1856. bar have acquired as enviable a reputa- He was educated at Gonzaga college, tation in the legal profession as the dis- tinguished jurist and scholarly gentleman, Martin F. Morris, a brief biographical mention of whom is herewith presented. Mr. Morris, in common with many other distinguished men whose names have added luster to the learned professions, is a native of Ireland, the home of the gen- ius, and was born on the third day of December, 1834, the son of John Morris, an intelligent and well-to-do gentleman whose ancestors were among the wealth- ier farming class of the Emerald isle. John Morris inherited from his father a handsome fortune, and for the purpose of increasing it, came to the United States, in 1836, locating in Washington, D. C., where he made judicious investments and where his death occurred in the year 1840. He left a widow and five children, one son and four daughters, all in comfortable circumstances. As will be seen by refer- ence to given dates, Mr. Morris was but a child when brought to the United States, where he graduated in about 1874. He read medicine with his father for a num- ber of years, beginning while quite young, and in 1877 he graduated in medicine at the university of Pennsylvania. He spent two years in Europe attending lectures at the leading colleges on the continent and in London, and also took special courses on the throat and lungs in Paris and Vi- enna. Returning home he engaged in the practice of his specialties and was among the very first specialists in Wash- ington. From 1879 until his death in May, 1891, he pursued his profession, meeting with success and giving promise of be- coming one of the most brilliant special- ists of the country. And this, too, was done under great difficulties, as he had to fight fast failing health for several years - his lungs having been affected with dis- ease which resulted in his untimely death. The second son of Dr. J. E. Morgan is Dr. James Dudley Morgan, who was born in Washington, D. C., July, 1861. He grad- and he grew to manhood in Washington, uated as A. B. at Georgetown university where the best advantages for intellectual in 1881, and in medicine at the same uni- improvement the city afforded were placed versity in 1885. He then went abroad, at his command. It may be said that he devoting most of his time to the medical grew up in an intellectual atmosphere, for schools of Paris and Vienna, taking pri- at a very early age, he became a student vate courses under many of the leading of Georgetown colleg , in which institu- professors. He returned home in 1887 tion he completed the '1 classical course, and entered into general practice, and has graduating with high honor in the class already built up a large and lucrative of 1855. In order to f. her increase his
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M. F. Morris
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scholastic attainments, he entered, in of the day, having been a comprehensive 1877, a college at Worcester, Mass., and intelligent reader both of books and which he attended one year, teaching a men, and his refined culture, courteous part of the time during that period. His manners, and eminent legal attainments easily place him in the front rank of Washington's representative professional men. In religion Mr. Morris adheres to the Roman Catholic faith, and he has ever been active in the promotion of the work of his church. taste and inclination early led him to se- lect the legal profession for a life work, and he first began the preparation for his chosen calling in 1861 by a course of study in Washington city, under the direction of efficient private tutors, and subse- quently completed his reading at Balti- more in 1864, in which city he was DR. OTHO MAGRUDER MUNCASTER. admitted to the bar. He practiced in Baltimore from 1864 to 1867, returning to Washington in the latter year and effect- ing a law partnership with Richard T. Merrick, which continued for about seventeen years or until the death of that gentleman, since which time Mr. Morris has not been identified with any legal firm. In 1870 Mr. Morris aided very ma-
One of the best read and most highly educated physicians of the city of Wash- ington, D. C., is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He comes from a very ancient English family, the Amer- ican branch descending in a direct line from Lord Muncaster, who was presented with a cup, the luck of Muncaster, and knighted by Henry VI for gallantry on terially in the establishment of the the battle field, and whose family seat in Georgetown College Law school, and six England is still occupied by a descendant years later was chosen professor in the of the original peer. James Muncaster, same, which position he still holds. Mr. the great-grandfather of Dr. O. M. Mun- Morris is a man of unassuming deport- caster, was the first of the name to come
ment and has persistently eschewed to America, reaching here in company with Lord Calvert prior to the Revolu- tionary war and settling in Maryland. political preferment throughout his whole career, contenting himself with a strict attention to the duties of his large and His son, Zadoc Muncaster, grandfather of lucrative legal business. President Cleve- the doctor, was born in St. Mary's county, Md., and married Harriet Magruder, a Maryland lady of Scotch extraction. From this union descended Edwin M. Muncaster, who was born in Montgomery county, Md. He was destined for the army, but an affliction of the eyes caused his withdrawal from West Point without graduation, and merchandizing and plant- ing were adopted as his vocation. He married Rachael Robinson, daughter of land, recognizing his high standing as a lawyer and peculiar fitness for the posi- tion, tendered him the chief justiceship of the district supreme court, which Mr. Morris very courteously but firmly de- clined. Personally, few men in Washing- ton are as popular as Mr. Morris. He is not only a finished and profound scholar, but possesses in a marked degree those characteristics which have gained for him the respect and esteem of all with whom William Robinson, of Maryland, and this he has been associated. He is thoroughly union was fruitful in the birth of three conversant with all the leading questions children: Harriet M., wife of Walter M. 22
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Talbott, of Montgomery county, Md., | abled him to accomplish many acts of William E., and Dr. O. M. Muncaster.
Dr. Muncaster was born in Baltimore, Md., October 12, 1843, and was educated at Stanmore, Montgomery county, Md., and Mt. St. Mary's college, Md., acquired his medical education at the university of Maryland and by a special course of study at Long Island college, N. Y. He subsequently visited Europe and studied throat diseases under the celebrated Dr. McKenzie and Dr. Mark Hovel, and dis- eases of the ear under Edward Woakesin England; going over to the continent he attended clinics in Paris, Vienna, Frank- fort and at other points, and returned to America in 1885. He had been in Wash- ington, D. C., prior to his visit to Europe, and here, on his return, he decided to lo- cate. He became popular at once, owing to his extraordinary learning and skill, and now his list of patients is as long, probably, as that of any practitioner in the city. He is highly esteemed among his professional brethren, and is a mem- ber of the Medical association, also of the society of the District of Columbia. Dr. O. M. Muncaster was married to Miss Mary R. Nourse, daughter of Rev. Charles H. Nourse, of Washington, D. C., and has two daughters, Ida R. and Hattie.
SAMUEL NORMENT.
mercy. Mr. Norment was a strong be- liever in the education of the young, which led him to be most munificent in his gifts to institutions of learning. From early youth he was a member of the Methodist church, in whose welfare he took a strong and active interest. His contributions to the various charitable in- stitutions in the city were unstinted, and no worthy cause was allowed to suffer when he could aid it. The free bed at the Garfield hospital which he endowed for the benefit of sick or disabled police- men is but one of his many recent acts of beneficence. He was a prominent mem- ber of Wesley chapel, but later became one of the original trustees of Metro- politan Methodist Episcopal church.
. Mr. Norment's success was due entirely to his own ability, honesty and push. He settled in Washington about 1846, and since then always took the deepest inter- est in the growth and advancement of anything which would tend to the im- provement of that city. He first found employment in the treasury department. His business capabilities and clear head pushed him rapidly to the front, and when during the war he resigned his place he held the highest position in his division. When he left his government work he engaged in the lumber business. For seventeen years his time was devoted to this industry, which he finally left to try his success in banking. Here his skill and foresight aided him, and his prom- inent place in the community at the time of his death proves his ability.
Late in the month of March, 1892, the citizens of Washington city were sur- prised at the announcement of the sudden demise of Samuel Norment. He was a man of sterling worth in every depart- ment of life. Although deeply engaged Mr. Norment held many responsible and important positions. He became the president of the Central National bank upon its organization, April 11, 1878, and in his immediate business he always found time to devote himself to the mani- fold interests of the community. His great wealth and a generous heart en-|he held that position up to the hour of
James Lo. Norris.
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his death. For years he was a regent of cessful in their vocations and worthy Dickinson college, one of the commis- members of society. sioners of police, and a director in the National Bank of the Republic. Other as- sociations and companies in which he was either an active officer or a heavy stock- holder were the Washington Gaslight com- pany, Washington & Georgetown Rail- road company, United States Electric Light company, National Life Maturity company, Washington Loan & Trust company, Kingsley Creamery company, Mutual Fire Insurance company, and the Inland & Seaboard Coasting company.
The youngest of this large family was Hon. John Edmund Norris, the father of the subject of this sketch, a lawyer of dis- tinction and ability, and a politician of prominence. He was born in Loudoun county, Va., October 23, 1816, and edu- cated at Dickinson college, Carlisle, Penn., where he married Eliza Tidings Phillips, daughter of John Phillips, Esq., who was one of the earliest trustees of Dickinson college, when it came into the hands of the Methodists, with which de- nomination both he and his estimable wife, Mary Magdalene Phillips, were identified, and to it devoutly attached. Mary Magdalene Phillips was a daughter of Jacob Harmon, who resided near Gettysburg, Penn., and who held many high offices of trust and honor in that state. Mrs. John Edmund Norris was one of their family of six children, a family connected by blood and affinity JAMES LAWSON NORRIS, with many of the most noted families in patent attorney, comes of an old and honorable English family, dating back to Sir John Norris, who was knighted on the field of ยท Hastings. His ancestors emi- the country, with Robert Morris, one of the signers of the declaration of inde- pendence, with Hon. George Rex of Ohio, associate justice of the supreme court of grated to this country with Cecil Calvert, the state, and finally its chief justice, and and settled in St. Mary's county, Md. many others.
Mr. Norment was twice married, his first wife being a daughter of Rev. Ulysses Ward, a Methodist minister. By his first wife he had three children, all of whom are living. His second wife was a Miss Utermehle, a daughter of the late George W. Utermehle, of Washington. A daughter and son, the children of his second wife, are still living.
His grandfather, Barnett T. Norris, who was born in St. Mary's county, Md., re- moved in 1790 to the vicinity of Water- ford, Loudoun county, Va., and, after settling on a farm, married Miss Barbara
James Lawson Norris is the third son and fourth child of his parents, and was born in Washington, D. C., October 15, 1846. He attended Everett institute, then a noted school of the city, under Ordner of Frederick county, Md. Here Prof. E. W. Farley, after which he went he reared a family of sixteen children. to Dickinson college, Carlisle, Penn., Three of his sons sacrificed their lives in. where he completed his education. While the military service of the country and in college he read law with the well several died in early childhood. The re- known Judge Graham, and subsequently mainder were in the course of years with his own father, the Hon. John scattered in different parts of the country, Edmund Norris, in Washington. During where they have proved themselves suc- his college life Mr. Norris became a
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member of the Belles Lettres society and purchased the property on the corner of of the Zeta chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi F and 5th streets, N. W., opposite the fraternity, and in after years he, in con- government pension building, and erected nection with Mr. Herman Johnson of thereon, in 1880, the large and commo- Carlisle, Penn., and Mr. William Busey, dious building which bears his name. The offices in this building are among the most complete in their plans and appoint- ments for the purpose in the city of Wash- a prominent lawyer of Baltimore, Md., founded the Alpha chapter of the same fraternity at Columbia college in the Dis- trict of Columbia, a chapter which is now ington, and contain an extensive library, one of the most flourishing in the whole collected by its owner through many fraternity. years.
After leaving college he entered the United States patent office, and was placed upon the examining corps in the classess of mechanical engineering, and of electricity and philosophical instru- ments, serving under Chief Examiner Gen. Albin Schoepf and Chief Examiner William B. Taylor. At that time these two classes comprised orders of inven- tions that are now presided over by ten or a dozen chief examiners. The term of service of Mr. Norris in the patent office gave him a knowledge and familiar- ity with the entire business of the depart- ment which was invaluable to him in after life. While on the examining corps Mr. Norris served under Patent Commis- sioners Hon. T. C. Theaker, Hon. Elisha Foote, and Hon. S. S. Fisher.
Determining now to enter upon the profession of patent law practice, he ten- dered his resignation to Commissioner S. S. Fisher and left the public service in 1869 to assume the carving out of his own future, and to take the chances of success in the ever-increasing competition of the patent practice. He established his of- fices in the Brereton building at the corner of F and 7th streets, N. W., Wash- ington, D. C., where he soon acquired a large practice. In 1879, his business had attained such proportions that his offices could no longer accommodate it, when he
Besides giving close attention to his large private business, Mr. Norris has found time for outside matters of the most public spirited and varied kind. He is one of the board of managers of Oak Hill cemetery, director in the Children's hospital, director and vice-president of the National bank of Washington, having on this account resigned as a director in the National Bank of the Republic, where he had served for years. He is likewise a director in the Franklin Insurance com- pany, Mutual Protection Insurance com- pany, and connected with many other financial and charitable institutions. He is also a member of Pentalpha lodge of Masons, Mt. Vernon Royal Arch chapter, and a Knight Templar, being a life mem- ber of Columbia commandery.
On the death of his father in 1887, who for many years had been president of the Jackson Democratic association of the district (next to Tammany, the oldest political organization existing in the United States), he was unanimously elected to fill that high position, and has been each succeeding year re-elected, holding the position at the present time.
On the election of Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Hendricks in 1884, he was made a member of the general inaugural com- mittee, consisting of fifty citizens, and by this committee was elected a member of
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the executive committee and chairman of findings were vigorously assailed by some the fire works committee, on which occa- of the parties in interest, not one was re- sion the press announced the display of versed, but the whole report approved by pyrotechnics to have far exceeded any- the court and by President Harrison, un- thing of the kind ever before witnessed
der the law providing for the establish- in this country. During the campaign of ment of the national park.
Cleveland and Thurman in 1888, he was
In September, 1867, Mr. Norris was selected by the national democratic com- married to Miss Annie Virginia Robinson, the daughter of Col. Israel Robinson, of Martinsburg, W. Va., whose ancestors were among the earlier settlers of that
mittee as its advisory committeeman for the District of Columbia. Mr. Norris was elected by the joint democratic caucus of the senate and of the house of represent- section, owning large estates. Col. Rob- atives, as the 'representative for the Dis- inson was a prominent lawyer, and also edited most ably the l'irginia Republican down to the beginning of the Civil war. trict of Columbia on the democratic congressional committee, and as its treas- urer during the sessions of the 50th, 5Ist He was one of the electors for the state and 52nd congresses. In March, 1892, he of Virginia in the Pierce, Buchanan and was elected a delegate to the national Douglas campaigns. He represented democratic convention at Chicago, which Berkeley county in the state legislature nominated Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Stev- for several terms prior to the Civil war, enson, he voting for both nominees. Mr. and after the declaration of war repre- Norris is the member of the democratic sented Berkeley county, Va., in the leg- national committee for the District of islature and was a member of the Columbia. Under the direction of the Confederate congress, at Richmond, Va., democratic national committee, Mr. Nor- to the time of his death in October, 1863. ris, as national committeeman, organized He was also a prominent Mason and Odd the advisory committee of the democratic Fellow.
The mother of Mrs. Norris was Miss Columbia, and upon his nomination the Catherine Elizabeth Snodgrass, daughter Hon. Martin F. Morris was elected chair- of Col. Robt. V. Snodgrass, a wealthy man, Mr. Norris being made chairman ex-officio.
national committee for the District of
planter of Berkeley county, Va., whose father was an officer in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Norris is by heredity and edu- cation a Christian lady of refinement and hospitality, without affectation or osten- tation, and possesses rare qualities of
In 1891 he was selected, by the justices of the supreme court of the District of Columbia, as one of the three commis- sioners to appraise the lands condemned by the government for the formation of mind and manner. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Norris cemented the affection which from childhood they had evinced for each other.
the National Rock Creek park, Mr. Nor- ris being made chairman. This commis sion determined the value of nearly 2,000 acres of land, under the titles of more The outlines of a man's occupations and finer and more essentiai qualities of his nature, nor do they exhibit him in the than one hundred claimants. How well achievements do not always present the and justly this work was done, can be judged from the fact that although their
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most attractive and interesting features impressed all over it. He possesses in an of his character. To be known as he unusual degree the combination of tact truly is, Mr. Norris must be known in the and judgment in newspaper matters com- private circle of his own family and in the monly called, for lack of a better term, newspaper instinct. Mr. Noyes' career is quite as remarkable as that of the newspa- close neighborhood of his daily life. Here he is seen as a man of most humane and benignant instincts, touched to the per which heedits. He was born in Maine, heart by the misfortunes of others, in manner genial and warm-hearted, in character straightforward and generous, and in all the relations of life fulfilling his duties as a man and a Christian. In ist, which denomination he joined in early life, but for the past twenty-five years he has been identified with the First Presbyterian church, Washington, D. C., of which his wife and two of their daugh- ters are devoted members, and of which church the Rev. Bryon Sunderland, D. D., is pastor. in 1825, and began life on a farm. His strength not being able to stand farm work, he went as a boy to Lewiston, where he worked in a mill, taught school, and engaged in other occupations which his religious faith Mr. Norrisisa Method- furnished the money to support him while he was getting an academical education. His vocation even then manifested itself, for he wrote a number of sketches for Maine papers that attracted considerable attention, and are still remembered by old citizens of the state. Mr. Noyes' health was far from robust, and being obliged to seek a milder climate, he turned his back on his boyhood home and set forth to Washington with such a scanty stock of money that he deemed it prudent to walk the last forty miles, from Baltimore to the capital. He arrived in Washington, friendless, and almost pen- niless. in December, 1847. His first em- ployment was given him by the late Joseph Shillington, for many years a well known bookseller, who at the time men- tioned was the agent in Washington for the Baltimore Sun, and engaged young Noyes as a route agent. In the following year he found employment on a weekly newspaper called the Washington News, and at the same time was engaged in writing letters from Washington to a number of papers in Maine, Boston and Philadelphia. From that time he became CROSBY S. NOYES, one of the most active newspaper men in Washington. His journalistic experi- ences in the capital city cover some of the
Mr. and Mrs. Norris have been blessed with seven children, of whom five are now living, their names being Edith, Grace James, Emma Virginia, James Lawson and Rastus Ransom. Their two eldest children, Addie and Maud, died in infancy and were buried in Oak Hill cemetery, in which beautiful city of the dead peacefully rest the remains of their grandfather, John Edmund Norris; their grandmother, Eliza Tidings Norris; their grandmother, Catharine Elizabeth Robin- son; their great-grandfather, John Phillips; their great-grandmother, Mary Magda- lene Phillips, and many other relatives; their grandfather, Col. Israel Robinson, being buried in Hollywood cemetery, Richmond, Va.
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