USA > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 30
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 30
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( From Baltimore, Past and Present.)
B PARTOL, JAMES LAWRENCE, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, was born June 1 4, 1813, at Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. His father, George Bartol, was a re- spected and successful merchant in that place; his mother he had the misfortune to lose when he was not quite three years old. His early education who received at Havre de Grace, and was chiefly directed to his prepara- tion for the business of a merchant. In 1828, at the age of fifteen, he came to Baltimore, inclined to accept a posi- tion that had been offered him in a mercantile house, but, upon inquiry and reflection, was led to think better of his plaus, and decided to resume and continue his studies. Re-
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turning to his home, he was placed by his father, as a pri- vate pupil, in the family of the Rev. Samuel Martin, D.D., a highly accomplished scholar, who then resided at Chance ford, in York County, Pennsylvania. Here young Bentol remained until t830, and so thoroughly did he profit by the instructions of his preceptor, that he was enabled at the age of seventeen to enter the Junior Class of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, where he graduated two years later, with college honors. In subsequent years, and amid all the engrossing cares and duties of professional life, and of a high judicial station, Judge Bartol has never lost his carly love of classical literature and belles-lettres, but has wisely known how to find time and leisure for both. Apart from the possession of naturally refined and scholarly tastes, which have made at all times the paths of literature both welcome and easy to him, this fortunate result is, no doubt, partly due, in his case, as in that of most men who are similarly able to retain and indulge in later life their fond- ness for classical studies, to the thoroughness and excel- lence of his early training, which he received when under the roof of the learned Dr. Martin. That so many men in this country, even among those who are accounted lib- erally educated, lose, within a very few years after leaving college, the ability to construe tolerably a page of any Greek or Latin author, is quite as often due to the superfi- cial character of the education imparted, as to the occupa- tions of a busy life, which have driven from the mind all recollection of lessons which could never have been more than half-learned, else they would not have been so soon and easily forgotten. After quitting college, Mr. Bartol commenced the study of the law, in the office of Otho Scott, Esq., at Bel Air, in Harford County. Ile was as fortunate in the choice of a legal as he had been previously in the selection of a classical instructor, Mr. Scott was deserv- edly considered in his day to be one of the ablest lawyers in Maryland, and his were the brilliant and palmy days when the fame of Harper, Pinkney, Wirt, and Luther Martin had not yet faded, and when Taney, Johnson, Nel- son, and McMahon were at the height of their great repu- tation. Among these leaders of the bar, Otho Scott held a foremost place, and enjoyed a high repute, both for the ex- tent and soundness of his legal learning, and for the ability and acuteness which he displayed in the conduct of nisi prius cases. While at college, and afterwards, young Bar- tol's health became seriously impaired, so much so that he was compelled to intermit his close application to the study of the law, and undertake a voyage to Cuba, where, and in the balmy climate of Florida, he passed the fall and winter of 1835-36. Hle consequently did not apply for admission to the bar until 1836. In the year following his admission, he settled in Caroline County, and commenced the practice of the profession, which he continued in that and the adjoining counties of the Eastern Shore, for more than seven years. During this period he had frequent op- portunities, had he been so disposed, to enter into political
life ; but his tastes did not incline in that direction, and he kept aloof from the vortex of active politics. A more con- genial labor was that which he undertook in connection with the establishment and organization of the Denton Academy, in the success of which institution, as in the cause of education generally, he manifested the warmest interest. In the spring of 1845, Judge Bartol removed to Baltimore city, still continuing the practice of his profes- sion ; although in 1855, on account of his health, which was still infirm, he fixed his residence a short distance from the city, in Baltimore County. Although at all times a consistent Democrat of the old-fashioned States Rights school, as already remarked, he had never been a politi- cian; and it was, therefore, with feelings of greater sur- prise than gratification, that he received the announcement that without any solicitation, or previous knowledge even on his part, he had been appointed by Governor Ligon to fill the vacancy on the bench of the Court of Appeals, oc- casioned by the resignation of the lon. John Thomson Mason. This was in 1857, and in the fall of the same year, the choice which Governor Ligon had made was rati- fied by the people in the election of Judge Bartol as a member of the Appellate Court, for the judicial district composed of the counties of Alleghany, Washington, Frederick, Carroll, Harford, and Baltimore. His term of service expiring in 1867, and he having, in the meantime, removed to Baltimore city, where he now resides, he was specially elected by the people of Baltimore, a Judge of the Court of Appeals, under the revised Constitution of that year, and was designated by the Governor, by and with the advice of the Senate, Chief Judge of the Court over which he now presides. The judicial character of Judge Bartol's mind appears to have been recognized by the pro- fession even before he had been called to the bench. On the election of the late Judge Constable, under the Consti- tution of 1851, it became necessary that a special judge should be chosen to sit in the trial of the many important causes in Harford County, in which Judge Constable was disqualified. By the unanimous request of the members of the bar of that county, Mr. Bartol was appointed to fill the office, which he did to the entire satisfaction of the bar and the public, holding several terms of the court, and decid -; ing many important causes. He has been frequently called upon to act as arbitrator in controversies which the parties desired to settle 'without the delays and formalities incident to a trial at law. For this delicate and responsible duty, the clearness and fairness of Judge Bartol's mind, his strict impartiality, his calm, judicial temper, and his readi- ness to hear patiently both sides, and to withlfold his own judgment until the case was fully before him, particularly qualified him. Ile has now sat upon the bench of the highest court in the State for thirteen years. Ilis term of service has extended through the most trying period in the history of the country and the State, during all which time no imputation has been cast upon his personal or judicial
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character from any quarter; and he has commanded al- ways the respect and confidence of men of all parties, and of the entire people of the State. Conservative both by nature and habit, he is singularly free from those judicial crotchets and vagaries from which, sometimes, the ablest judges do not escape, and into which the most learned and the cleverest are, perhaps, the most prone to fall. 1Ie brings to the consideration of every case which comes before him a mind remarkably free from undue prejudice or bias. His judicial manner is also singularly fortunate. It is a model of courtesy and blandness. It is true, that judges in an appellate court escape many of the annoy- ances and vexations which try the temper of nisi prius judges. Still there is no judicial station which is without its share of weariness both of flesh and spirit. In the Court of Appeals of Maryland, counsel are usually limited in their speeches to one hour and a half. It is very possi- ble, however, to be both wordy and dull within the limits allowed, but under no infliction of the kind is Judge Bar- tol ever known to betray the slightest discomposure or im- patience. This faculty itself of listening patiently is very desirable in a judge, and when it is accompanied, as in Judge Bartol's case, by a manner unexceptionally kind and genial, it inspires confidence on the part of counsel and suitors, and wins universal regard. To young lawyers, especially, his manner is always particularly reassuring and pleasant, tending to relieve their inexperience and embar- rassment. Judge Bartol's opinions, delivered since he has been upon the bench of the Court of Appeals, are to be found in every volume of the published Maryland Reports, from the teuth to the thirty-first (the last published), inclusive. They are inferior neither in matter nor man- ner to any which those volumes contain, and support the high reputation which the court has always enjoyed for ability, impartiality, and learning. The term for which Judge Bartol is clected, is fixed by the Constitution at fif- teen years, and the age at which, by the same instrument, a judge ceases to be eligible for re-election is seventy years. But Judge Bartol's term will not expire until is82, when he will be within one year of the age at which the Con- stitution would make him ineligible. The personal popu- larity of a judge is not always the best criterion of his fitness for the position; but in Judge Bartol's case, it may be fairly accepted as the just reward of important publie duties faithfully performed. As a man, he is not less re- spected and esteemed than as a judge. Indeed, purity of private life, and of personal character, are so essential to the judicial office, that it is difficult to understand how the two can be separated, or how men can retain that respect for the magistrate which they have lost for the man. In the case of Judge Bartol, there is no occasion to draw the invidious distinction; but the same qualities which dis- tinguish his official career adorn and dignify his private life.
RIDGELY, JAMES LOT, Grand Secretary I. O. O. F., was born in the city of Baltimore, January 27, 1807. His father, Lot Ridgely, an old and re- spected merchant of Baltimore, and his ancestors for a number of generations, were natives of Mary- land. His mother was Mary Williams, of Prince George's County, Maryland. His ancestors came from England about two centuries ago, and settled in the piny woods of Maryland. His unele, Nicholas II. Ridgely, a man of large wealth, was President of the United States Bank of Discount of Illinois, and afterwards President of the State Bank of Illinois. James L. Ridgely pursued his scientific and classical studies at St. Mary's College, Emmettsburg, Maryland. Ile studied law with David Hoffman, Profes- sor of Law in the University of Maryland, and was admit- ted to the Baltimore bar, in 1828. Ile was a member of the Baltimore City Council, in 1834 and 1835; a member of the Maryland House of Delegates in 1838; and a miem- ber of the Constitutional Conventions of 1849 and 1864. Ile was initiated into the order of Odd Fellows in 1829 ; became a member of the Grand Lodge of Maryland in 1830; of the Grand Lodge of the United States in 1831; in the latter he was elected Grand Sire in 1836, and again a few years later, but declined both elections. Since 1842, hav- ing been re-elected biennially, he has been Grand Corre- sponding and Recording Secretary. In the United States and Great Britain the Order now numbers over one million, and its membership is continually inereasing. In 1842, Mr. Ridgely went to Europe as a delegate from the Grand Lodge of the United States, where he spent about six months, during which time he visited England, Ireland, Scotland, and France. . In early life, as a Whig, he took an active part in politics. Now he votes and acts with the Democratic party. In 1852, he became Register of Wills for Baltimore County, and continued to fill that office for twelve years. Since 1855, he has been President of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Under the administra- tion of President Lincoln, he became United States Collec- tor of Internal Revenue, which position he held nutil the election of General Grant. Being deeply interested in edu- cation, he has given to the publie school system, ever sinee its inception, his cordial and efficient support. Ile was several years President of the Baltimore County Board of Education. He has written and published many valuable articles, and has now in preparation for the press a history of American Odd Fellowship, which is quite an elaborate work, containing five hundred and twenty-eight pages. This work has been prepared with great care and research, and is the best textbook for all information pertaining to that Order. Since 1858, he has been a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. In 1828, he married Anna Jane, daughter of Major Jamison, of, Baltimore. She died in 1835. In 1836, he married Esther P., second daughter of Major Jamison, Ile has three children living, two sons und a daughter.
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INKNEY, HON. WILLIAM, was born March 17, 1764, in Annapolis, Maryland. He was the son of Jonathan Pink ney, an Englishman, and received bis education at King William School, while Mr. Brefhard was the principal. At the age of nineteen he attracted the notice of Judge Samuel Chase, who per- snaded him to give up his situation in an apothecary store, in Baltimore, encouraged him in the adoption of the pro- fession of law, and greatly assisted him, pecuniarily and otherwise, in prosecuting his legal studies. As soon as he came to the bar, in 1786, he gave promise of those splendid abilities which afterwards made him one of the most re- nowned lawyers, orators and statesmen of his age. Ile commenced the practice of law in Harford County, Mary- land, and represented that county in the Maryland Conven- tion which ratified, April 28, 1788, the Constitution of the United States. He represented his district in the first Congress of the United States, from March 4, 1789 to March 3, 1791. In 1792, 1793 and 1794, he was one of the Executive Council of Maryland, and was elected its President ; after which he represented his native county in the Legislature of Maryland. In 1796, he was appointed, by President Washington, Commissioner to England, to carry out the provisions of the treaty made by john Jay, and remained in London eight years. While abroad, he assisted Samuel Chase in recovering the Bank of England stock belonging to the State of Maryland. On May 12, 1806, he was appointed, by President Jefferson, Commis- sioner to England, with James Monroe, to settle all differ- ences with Great Britain, and to promote amicable com- mercial relations. Mr. Monroe left England, October 7, 1807, and Mr. l'inkney remained, as Minister Resident, until May 7, 1811. In that year he settled in Baltimore, and was elected to the Senate of Maryland, but declined, in order to accept the position of Attorney-General of the United States, which he held from December 11, 1811, to February 10, 1814. During the war of 1812-1815, he commanded, as Major, a battalion of riflemen, and was wounded, August 24, 1814, at Bladensburg. Ile was a member of the XIVth Congress, from December 4, 1815, to March 7, 1816, when he was commissioned, by Presi- dent Monroe, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo- tentiary to Russia and Naples. Ile remained abroad, in the service of the United States, until February 14, 1818. Upon the death of llon. Alexander Contee llanson, he was elected to the United States Senate, and served from December 21, 1819, until his death, February 25, 1822. Hle married Ann Maria Rodgers, a sister of Commodore John Rodgers, of the United States Navy, and the daughter of John Rodgers, of Ilavre-de-Grace, Maryland. He was the father of ten children, two of whom, Edward Coote and Frederick Pinkney, inherited some of their father's talents. The former was born October 1, 1802, and died April 11, 1828; and the latter, born October 14, 1804, and died June 13, 1873.
FEE, GOVERNOR THOMAS SIM, was born, in the year 1743, in Prince George's County, Maryland, and received a liberal education. On January 13, 1776, he was elected, by the Maryland Convention, Major of the Lower Battalion of Prince George's County. HIe was Governor of Maryland from 1779 to 1783, and represented his State in the Continental Congress in 1783 and 1784. He served, again, as Governor of Maryland from 1792 to 1794. lle died in 1810.
SARLE, HON. RICHARD TILGHMAN, was born June 23, 1767, at the residence of his father, near Cen- treville, Queen Anne's County, Maryland. lle was the seventh child of a family of ten children. Ilis father, Richard Tilghman Earle, was a mer- chant, located on his landed estate, near Centreville, and traded directly with mercantile houses in England. lle was a man of intelligence and prominence, and filled sev- eral positions of trust and honor. Hle was the son of James Earle and Mary Tilghman ; she was the daughter of Richard and . Anna Maria (Lloyd) Tilghman, and a sister of llon. Matthew Tilghman. James Earle was the son of Michael Earle and Ann Carpenter, of Trumpington, Kent County, Maryland, and the grandson of James Earle, the emigrant, who was born in England, July 25, 1631, settled in Maryland, with his wife, Rhoda Earle, Novem- ber 15, 1683, and died September 24, 1684. The family are believed to be of the Craglethorpe family, Lincoln- shire, England. The heraldic bearings of an ancient seal in the possession of the family indicates this origin. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Ann Chamber- laine, daughter of Samuel Chamberlaine, of Talbot Coun- ty, Maryland. The following account of the genealogy of the Chamberlaine family was obtained from Jolm Cham- berlaine, Jr., of Great Southall, Cheshire, England, by Thomas C. Earle, a brother, who visited his relatives in 1795. The Chamberlaines were descended from the Count De Tankerville, of Tankerville Castle, in Normandy, and came into England with William the Conqueror. John De Tankerville, a younger son of that Count, was Lord Chamberlain to llenry 1. Richard De Tankerville, his son, was Lord Chamberlain to King Stephen, and assumed the name of his office as his surname. From this Richard Cham- berlaine, Samuel Chamberlaine was descended, through his father, Thomas Chamberlaine, who died, at Great South- all, Cheshire, England, in April, 1757, at the advanced age of ninety-nine years. Richard Tilghman Earle was educated at Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland, and grad- nated in May, 1787. He studied law with Thomas B. Hands, of Chestertown, and at the end of three years came to the bar. His great diffidence, for a time, im-
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peded his success as a speaker ; but, after many efforts, he overcame it, rose to distinction in his profession, and ac- quired a lucrative practice. On May 20, 1809, he was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of his father-in-law, Judge James Tilghman, one of the Judges of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and Chief Judge of the Second Judicial District, composed of Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot counties. Hle dis- charged the duties of this position with great faithful- ness and ability, for more than twenty-five years, until his failing health compelled him to resign, in 1834, Ile was a man of great energy and force of character; deeply interested in the progress of his State, and took a de- cided and leading part in all measures that promoted the welfare of his county. He was a profound jurist, and an able, upright judge. No man ever held the scales of justice more evenly, or gave his decisions more fearlessly. Hlis sound judgment, in the ordinary every-day business of life, as well as in the weightier matters of the law, was regarded as but little short of infallible. He was a man of a very high type of character; a warm friend, a devoted husband, and an affectionate father ; studying, in all things, the good of his children. Ile was an ornament to the large circle of friends and relatives of which he was the centre. IIc was ever ready to relieve suffering, and the oppressed never failed to find in him a friend. A friend, an ex-judge, writing to his son, said: "I knew your venerable father, when on the bench, a station which no man more adorned than he ; a model in social life, of pro- fessional integrity, of judicial purity and dignity, who en- hanced the position, but whom no place could honor. In Lucan's Pharsalia, these words are applied to Cato : ' Clarum et venerabile nomen ; ' I apply them to him." He died November 22, 1843. Ile had long been an ac- tive, earnest member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and, after a well-spent life, was gathered to his fathers, in the blessed hope of a glorious immortality. He married, December 4, 1801, Mary Tilghman, who was born Feb- ruary 6, 1783, the daughter of Judge James and Elizabeth (Johns) Tilghman. She died December 11, 1836, and had ten children, viz., Elizabeth Ann, who married Philip Henry Feddeman; Mary Maria, who married Philip T. Davidson; Susanna Frisby; Henrietta Maria, who mar- ried Dr. David Stewart ; Hon. James Tilghman, a me- moir of whom is contained in this volume; Richard Tilghman, who was twice married, first, to Catharine Spencer, and subsequently, to her sister, Elizabeth A. Spencer; Samuel Tilghman, who married Mary Brundige ; George, John Charles, and Sarah Catharine, who married Dr. Joseph E. M. Chamberlainc.
YARLE, HON, JAMES TILGHMAN, was born July 30, 1814, at " Winton,' the estate of his father, in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. He was the son of Hon. Richard Tilghman Harle, a sketch of whom is contained in this volume. He was eda- cated at Harvard College ; graduated in the class of 1834, and, after devoting three years to the study of law, under the direction of his father, turned his attention to agricul- tural pursuits, in which he distinguished himself. In 1848-49, with Charles B. Calvert and others, he re-estal)- lished the Maryland Agricultural Society, and laid the foundation of its prosperity and usefulness. He was one of its most active Vice-Presidents for several years, and at its regular meetings, in the discussion of important agri- cultural questions, won a high reputation as an able, well- informed speaker. He was the author of the resolution asking Congress to establish a National Agricultural Col- lege, and to make an appropriation of the public lands for the endowment of an Agricultural College within the limits of each State in the Union. He also advocated the erection of a separate Agricultural Department by the Federal Government. In recognition of his services, he was elected, in 1854, President of the Maryland Agricultural Society, and originated the system of collecting informa- tion concerning the coming crops, which was adopted in other States, and has been followed by the National Agri- cultural Department, at Washington. He was instrumental in securing the charter of the Maryland Agricultural College ; was the first President of its Board of Trus- tees, and served, with Charles B. Calvert, on the commit- tee under whose direction the College building was erected, in 1858. In the stormy and hazardous campaign of 1864, he was nominated, by the Democrats of Queen Anne's County, and elected to the Senate of Maryland; was re- elected in 1866, and also, under the new Constitution, in 1867 and 1871. Ile was, therefore, a member of the Sen- ate of Maryland during the trying sessions of 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1870, 1872, and 1874, and was one of its most useful members. . He was mainly instrumental in securing the passage of the bill calling the Constitutional Conven- tion of May 8, 1867, and giving to the smaller counties an increased representation in that convention. He served as Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate, in the sessions of 1867, 1868, 1870, 1872, and 1874. During the session of 1872, he brought forward the project of a ship canal to connect the waters of the Chesapeake and Dela- ware, and procured the appointment of a joint committee, of which he was chairman, to present the subject to the Federal Government. He was the author of the act of 1872, which established, as a distinct bureau, the Insurance Department. In 1874, he framed and introduced a bill concerning immigration, and supported it by an elaborate argument, which was considered " the speech of the ses- sion," By his last public service to the State, he connected his name honorably with the Centennial Exhibition of
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1876. He married, December 15, 1841, Anne Johns, daughter of Kensey Johns, Jr., Chancellor of Delaware. She died, without issue, October 8, 18.12, and, on Decem- ber 20, 1849, he married Ann Catharine Tilghman, dangh ter of Colonel John Tilghman. She died, November 22, 1876, in the sixty-second year of her age, leaving two children : Mary Elizabeth Earle, and Ann Johns Earle, who married, June 18, 1874, William II. Babcock, and- had a child, Rose Earle Babcock.
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