The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1, Part 39

Author: National Biographical Publishing Co. 4n
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Baltimore : National Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844

USA > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 39
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 39

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

171

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

County Tipperary. Ile has three children, Glanville Vies- ley, Elizabeth Elsey, and an infant child. Hanty Welles Rusk, a prominent lawyer of Baltimore, and ex- member of the Maryland Legislature, is a brother of Dr. Rusk. Ile has two other brothers, Jacob and Thomas Jefferson Rusk. In manners Dr. Rusk is remarkably courteous and agreeable, for which reason, in conjunction with his ac- knowledged professional attainments, he enjoys a practice second to that of no physician in the eastern section of the city. From the time of his attaining his majority, and for eleven years, Dr. Rusk has been one of the trustees of the Jackson Square Methodist Episcopal Church, and has always taken an active and zealous interest in its welfare and religious work.

ENISON, JOHN MARCUS, an enterprising and sub- stantial citizen of Baltimore, was born June 14, 1828. Ile received his principal education at the Baltimore High School, an institution under a board of trustees, selected from the Presbyterian churches, and in which Thomas D. Baird, late President of the Bal- timore City College, was principal of the mathematical departmem. Ilis father was Marcus Denison, a long- established and very successful merchant of Baltimore. Hle conducted the grocery business for over half a century in one locality, and commanded the highest respect and confidence of the community. Ilis wife was Mary Matilda Roach, daughter of John Roach, a native of Plymouth, England. John's grandfather, John Morgan Denison, was one of those sturdy Presbyterian gentlemen who came to this country during the latter half of the eighteenth cen- tury, and settling in Baltimore, contributed, by their great cheigy and enterprise, in laying the foundation of its com- mercial and manufacturing wealth and prosperity, and its educational and religious welfare. He was from London- derry, heland, whence he came directly to Baltimore, and established, on the wharf, an extensive grocery concern, which toursled until his demise, in ISto. John Marcus is one of nine chikchen, of whom there are but thee sur. vivons, hinself, Mary I., who married John 1. Russell, of Imy, New York, and David Stewart Denison, who graduated at West Point Military Academy, in ISOS, and served in the United States army until 1877, when he re- signed las commission. His was the last cadet nomination made by the late Honorable Henry Winter Davis. The late General A. W. Denison, Postmaster at Baltimore at the time of his death, and who attained great distinction as a brave and gallant officer in the Federal service during the American civil war, way a brother of the subject of this sketch. John Marcus Denison was connected with his father's business from 1844 until $554, when he estali- habed himself in commercial pursuits on his own account. In shoo he embarked in the banking and brokerage husi-

ness, conducting the same with great activity and success until 1869, when he was appointed by his distinguished brother, General Denison, as cashier of the Baltimore Post- office. After the decease of his brother, he acted as post- master for four months, very much against his own inchi- nation, he being anxious, during the period of his occu- pancy of that position, to be reheved from its duties, many important and pressing matters connected with the great railroad enterprises of the country claiming his time and attention. He was one of the purchasing and reorganiz- ing committee of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railroad, now the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Com- pany; as also of the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad, now the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company. He is a director in all the above companies. Mr. Denison is possessed of one of the best analytical and mathematical minds in Baltimore, and his administrative abilities have been exemplified by the admirable and satis- factory manner in which he has acted in the distribution and settlement of the large estate of his father, of which he has been the sole administrator and trustee. He is frank and sociable in his manner; generous in his im- pulses ; is a gentleman of unquestioned probity and integ- rity, and combines all the noble and excellent qualities that distinguished both his paternal and maternal ances- tors. As a capitalist he employs his abundant means in patronizing and encouraging those great enterprises, such as railroads, etc., that add to the wealth and prosperity of the country. In 1855, he married Miss Sophia Williams, daughter of James Williams, of Baltimore. Ilis son by that marriage, Henry Marcus, is now twenty two years of age, and is a very efficient and intelligent assistant of his father. His wife died in 1874, and in 1877 he married Miss S. Augusta Pearce, daughter of John B. Pearce, an extensive farmer of Baltimore County, which he has rep- resented, with marked distinction and credit, in the Legis- lature of Maryland.

EVANS, ALFRED DAVID, Lawyer and Conveyancer, was born in Baltimore, December 8, 1817. His ancestors were of Welsh origin, his great-grand- father, John Evans, removing from Wales and settling in the city of London, England, in 1762. Ile pos- sessed an ample fortune, and was a man of large influence. He had five children, John, Alexander, Amon, William, and Henry, each of whom received a liberal education. A commission in the English army was purchased for John, and Alexander became a captain in the British navy. William studied medicine, and emigrated to America, settling at the head of Elk River, Cecil County, Maryland. Amon remained at home, and Henry joined his brother William in America, where he engaged in agricultural pur-

172

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDI.1.

suits. The latter married a Welsh lady, and was the father of George Evans, the father of the subject of this sketch. Ilis grandfather, Heury Evans, located in Freedom Dis- trict, Baltimore, now Carroll County, where he became a thrifty farmer. He was an aident patriot, and served as a soldier during the Revolution. He was wounded at the battle of Brandywine, under General Maxwell, September 11, 1777, and was taken prisoner. While in prison he was made known to his brother John, then a captain in the British army, who informed his brother Henry that after his emigration to America, his aunt died, leaving him a large fortune, which he might reclaim if he would renounce his allegiance to the " Rebel cause." Henry patriotically declined the tempting proffer with the exclamation : " With me, it is liberty or death." George Evans, the father of Alfred D. Evans, and second son of Ilenry Evans, evinced the same patriotic spirit as his father. When war was de- clared against Great Britain in 1812, he promptly respond- ed to the call for troops, and joined Captain Stephen II. Moore's company of the famous Baltimore Volunteers, . which served with distinction in Canada, and on the North- ern frontier. George Evans was in nearly all the battles in that region, and was noted for his bravery. After the discharge of the Baltimore Volunteers, he returned to Bal- timore just in time to take his place as ensign in Captain Andreon's Company, Fifth Regiment of Maryland, and fought at the battle of North Point, receiving very honor- able mention for coolness and valor. After the termination of the war, and upon the reorganization of the Fifth Regi- ment, George Evans was made First Lieutenant of Inde- pendent Company, of that regiment, and under Captain Iloward, subsequently drilled the regiment, at the request of Colonel Howard, of Revolutionary fame. As a civilian, he conducted a fashionable boot and shoe emporium, under the old Fountain Hotel, on Light Street, Baltimore, on the site now occupied by the Carrollton Hotel. He died in the autumn of 1854. lle was highly esteemed and re- spected by the entire community for his bravery, patriotism, business integrity, and moral worth. Alfred David Evans adopted the business of his father, and for several years conducted successfully a large wholesale and retail estab- lishment on West Pratt Street. In the political campaign of 1857, Mr. Evans distinguished himself as a speaker, and the ability with which he discussed questions of public in- terest caused him frequently to be called upon to address large assemblies. Ilis good judgment, administrative talent, and peculiar fitness for the post, induced the Gover- nor of Maryland to appoint him warden of the Maryland Penitentiary, the duties of which position he entered upon in May, 1858, and discharged with great acceptability for a term of two years. The General Assembly expressed its high appreciation of his services. In the winter of 1860 he was reappointed as warden for another term of two years, and served until May, 1862, when he retired to private life. Governor Hicks, before he retired from office, addressed a

letter to Mr. Evans, in which he speaks of him in the high- est terms of praise, on account of his efficiency as a public officer, and of his urbanity and relations as a private citi- zen, While Mr. Evans was warden of the Penitentimy, he introduced the Sabbath school, and defended it against immerons assaults. His monthly reports to the Directors of the Penitentiary are models of their kind, and suggest how the affairs of that institution might have been more economically administered. Mr. Evans was a decided Union man during the civil war. Ile was the first enroll- ing officer for the Eighth Ward of Baltimore. In 1863 he was made Sergeant-at- Arms for the House of Delegates, and occupied the same position in the Constitutional Con- vention of 1864. In 1866 he was appointed Justice of the Peace, and discharged the duties of that office in a most creditable and satisfactory manner. During the period from 1858 to 1867, he devoted considerable time to the study of law. For several years he has been a member of the temperance organization known as the " Good Tem- plars," an order that embraces sixty-six grand lodges, and about five thousand subordinate lodges, with a membership of over half a million throughout the world, and was twice elected to the office of Grand Worthy Chief Templar. Ile served so satisfactorily that he was elected, almost unani- mously, for a third term. Ile declined the tender of another term. lle is now successfully engaged in the law, collection, and conveyancing business in Baltimore. Mr. Evans is courteous in his manners, and social, generous, and benevolent in his disposition. In 1830, he married Miss Sarah R. Start, daughter of Benjamin II. Start, farmer, of Kent County, Maryland, and niece of Senator Vickers. lle has seven chiklren living.

POWELL, DARIUS CARPENTER, was born in the city of Baltimore, January 23, 1820. Ilis great- grandfather, Charles Howell, was born at Eccles- hall, Staffordshire, England, August, 1696, and was married in 1740, at St. Catharine, near the Tower of London, to Elizabeth Brazier, a descendant of Lord Brazier. Mr. Ilowell's grandfather, John Howell, was born November 18, 1741, and was married at St. Mary Le Bon Church, May 24, 1764, to Elizabeth Wells. John Brazier Ilowell, son of Jolm Howell, and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in London, 1766. Ile emigrated to America in 1793, bringing with him two daughters. Agnes, the eldest, went to the Southern States, and died there, unmarried. Her sister, Eliza, was sent as a missionary to the Western States, where she married Kev. Dr. Fuller, a Presbyterian minister, and died in 1876, leaving three children, now ( 1878) residents of Louisville, Kentucky. After the death of his first wife, John Brazier Howell married, in 1802, Miss Elizabeth Carpenter, then

RuB. Sbolland

173

BIOGRAPHIICAL. CYCLOPEDIA.

a scholar at the Nine Partners Boarding School, conducted by the Society of Friends, in the State of New York. The fnits of that mariage were right children : John Arthur, George, Zopha Curpeuter, Charles, William, Darins Chr penter, Phoebe, Adelia (John, Adelia, and Charles, de ceased). The father of these children was a highly es teemed citizen, an honorable business man, and often preached in the Friends' meeting-house, on Courtland Street, Baltimore. He first started the business of manu- facturing wall paper in Philadelphia. Afterward he be- came associated, in the same business, with Mr. Steele, in Albany, New York, the firm name being Howell & Steele. Selling out to Mr. Steele, he removed to Baltimore, estab- lishing a manufactory on Baltimore Street, and a wall paper store on Gay Street. He was one of the first to engage in that line of business in this country. He re- turned to Philadelphia, in 1821, and again established a manufactory in that city. In his later years, retiring from manufacturing, he studied medicine, for pleasure, in the Electic school, and practiced for a short time before his death, which occurred in the seventy-fourth year of his age. The manufactory was continued, first by John Arthur, George, and Zophar Carpenter, his three eldest sons. Darius Carpenter was educated at a Friends' school, in Philadelphia, and received a good common-school education. At about the age of fifteen, he entered the store with his brother Zophar, and remained as an em- ployee in the store and factory until 1845, when he re- turned to Baltimore and opened a branch store on West Baltimore Street, which he has conducted with remarkable snecess until the present time (1878). He is now the leading dealer in that line in Baltimore. The firm, in- cluding the Philadelphia house, consists of Zophar C. Ilowell, William Howell, and William Wilson, of Phila- delphia, and Darius Carpenter Ilowell, of Baltimore. Others have been associated with them for several years, but are now withdrawn. Their manufactory is the largest in the United States, if not in the world. This immense establishment is on the line of the Philadelphia, Wilming- ton and Baltimore Railroad, in Philadelphia. It is four hundred feet in length, and five stories high. In it are made all grades of wall paper, from brown blanks to the finest gold and bronze, embracing all the latest and most beautiful patterns, including the Eastlake, Morris, and Dresser styles. The product of this establishment, in 1877, amounted to fifty millions of yards, employing about two hundred persons. Paperhangings were originally manu- factured by hand, with wooden blocks, until the year 1853. About that time, Mr. William Howell went to Europe, and purchased a machine in England, which he brought to this country, with experts to run it. This, it is « believed, was the first machine for wall paper in the United States; and now all the grades of wall paper are" made by the most approved machinery. To no firm or family is the progress of this branch of industry in this 23

country attributable more than to that of Ilowell & Brothers. Their papers beautify the walls of a million homes in every part of this country, from the humble eot- tage to the palatial mansion. They had a machine in operation at the late Centennial Exhibition the only one there. Mr. Daiins Carpenter Howell is a mod highly esteemed gentleman in private life, and also as a citizen and business man. He has been a Mason and an Odd Fellow for several years, although not prominently identi- fied with them. IIc was for many years a member of the Society of Friends, but in 1876 he united with the Mount Vernon Methodist Episcopal Church. For a number of years he has been a Director in the Citizens' National Bank, and assisted in the establishment of the Catonsville Passenger Railway. In politics he is a conservative Re- publican. In 1873 he made the tour of Europe with his family. Ile was married, by the Rev. Job Guest, March 17, 1846, to Susan E. Guest, daughter of Samuel Guest, and niece of the officiating clergyman. Six children were the fruit of this union, but death having entered the family circle, they have all passed away, his son Morris, aged twenty-nine, and his daughter, aged nineteen, having died recently, a short time prior to the death of their mother. On April 7, 1877, Mr. Howell was again married, to Catharine E. Ilyatt, daughter of R. Il. Ilyatt, and grand- daughter of C. C. Ilyatt and Captain John Travers. Morris C. Howell, deceased, the eldest son of D. C. Howell, was married in January, 1872, to Miss Mary Werdebaugh, by whom he had two children, Edith and Florence. The widow and the children are all living.

e HOLLAND, COLONEL. JOHN C., President of the Baltimore, Catonsville, and Ellicott Mills Rail- way Company, born in Baltimore, January 24, 1822. Ilis parents were of old Maryland families. During the war of 1812, his father, James Holland, was one of the defenders of Baltimore, serving in Mont- gomery's Artillery, at the battle of North Point. His mother was Nancy Fuller, the oldest daughter of William Fuller, of Baltimore County, who was murdered by his slaves in that county in 1812. John C. was the second son; the eldest died in infancy. Ile has three brothers and one sister still living (1879). He received a limited education in the public schools of Baltimore, and a few terms at a night school while learning his trade. In April, 1836, he was apprenticed to Walter Crook, to learn the paperhanging and upholstery business, and completed his term of service, in 1842 at a time of general business prostration. Being a skilful workman he obtained sufficient employment to enable him to commence business, in 1843, with John G. Wilmot, a former fellow-apprentice. That partnership was dissolved in one year. He then com-

174

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

menced on his own account, and prosecuted his business successfully until 1848, when he entered into a partner- ship with his brother, William Holland, with whom a pros. perous business was conducted until the dissolution of the firm in 1854, John C. retiring on account of impaired health. In 1852 he visited Europe for the purchase of curtain and upholstery goods direct from the manufacturers-many of the purchases being the first of the kind imported directly into Baltimore. On retiring from business he removed to Baltimore County, near Catonsville, where he resided from May, 1854, to November, 1874. In 1845 he made a trip to the West India Islands, thence to the Spanish Main, visiting Laguayra, Caraccas, and Porto Cabello, and, in 1874, to Havana, for the benefit of his health. Although closely attentive to business, Colonel Holland always took a lively interest in public matters. In 1841, the originators of the Washingtonian Temperance movement organized a Junior Washingtonian Temperance Society.in Baltimore, of which he, being then an apprentice at his trade, was elected president, and which he managed successfully until its dissolution. From 1839 to 1842 he was an active member of the Patapsco Fire Company, under the old vol- unteer system, during which time he held positions of honor and usefulness in the Fire Department. In 1845 he became a member of the Independent Blues, one of the oldest companies of the, volunteer citizen soldiery, in which he served as lieutenant, until his resignation, in consequence of removal from the city. Attached to this company was its celebrated military band, under the direction of his brother, Professor Albert Holland, a dis- tinguished musician of the city. He was a member of Washington Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, from 1842 to 1862, the oldest lodge of the order in the United States, and of which he was one of the incorpo- rators. For several years he served as financial secretary and chaplain. In ISH, with other members of the Uni- versalist Church, he organized the Murray Institute, which held its meetings in the lecture-room of the church, corner of Pleasant and Calvert Streets. Its discussions were conducted with great ability and drew together large and intelligent audiences, and at that time was perhaps the only literary institution of the kind where the slavery ques- tion could be publicly discussed in the city of Baltimore. Ilerc it was earnestly debated by zealous pro and anti- slavery advocates, commanding great public interest and attention. It was disbanded at the breaking out of the Re- bellion in 1861. Colonel Holland's ability as its presid- ing officer contributed largely to the popularity and use- fulness of the Institute. Becoming identified with the Demo- cratic party, in his early manhood, he supported Polk and Dallas, in 1844, against Clay and Frelinghuysen, but when the American party was organized, in 1845, he advocated its principles, and was placed on its ticket as a candidate for the House of Delegates. The Whigs having a ticket also in the field, the Democrats carried the election. lu

1854 he removed to Baltimore County, and at once be- came a recognized leader in the American councils, which were then organizing throughout the State. The next year that party nominated him for the House of Delegates, and after an exciting canvass, in which he took a prominent part, the entire ticket was elected in the county. Hlad he taken his seat he would probably have been elected Speaker, but, in December, a few days previous to the convening of the Legislature, he was thrown from his car- riage, suffering a compound fracture of the leg, which con- fined him to his house for six months. He never took his seat in that body, but was, nevertheless, frequently con- sulted by his fellow-delegates from Baltimore County upon questions of public importance. He was subsequently offered a nomination, but declined it. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, Colonel Ilolland took decided ground as an active Union man. He delivered many public addresses at State conventions, and made stirring appeals in behalf of support to the Federal Government, and earnestly urged loyalty to the flag, In September of that year he assisted in raising and organizing the Fifth Regiment of Maryland Volunteers, of which he was commissioned Lieutenant- Colonel. Such was the sympathy with the slaveholding States at that time it was no easy task which he undertook. The regiment was organized as a home guard, for local ser- vice, but in March, 1862, it volunteered to go into general service, and was ordered to Fortress Monroe for duty at that point. At the time the order came the Lieu- tenant-Colonel was sick at his home, but he soon after joined his regiment at Newport News, where it lay inac- tive for several months, during which time he was actively engaged in drilling and organizing his regiment. As field officer of the day, he was on duty the night the Merrimac was destroyed, of which he had a fine view. The following June, he was obliged to return home on ac- count of bilious fever. While on leave of absence for medical treatment, he was assigned to recruiting service in Baltimore, where he was engaged until September of that year. lle was on his way with a large detachment of re- cruits to join his regiment when the battle of Antietam was fought -the only battle in which the regiment was en- gagged while he was attached to it. In October he was again prostrated with fever, and by advice of the regimen- tal surgeons and those of the division, he resigned, much to the regret of the entire regiment, by whom he was held in high esteem. In May, 1863, he was appointed Provost- Marshal and President of the Board of Enrolment for the Fifth Congressional District of Maryland, with Dr. Robert E. Dorsey, as Surgeon, and P. W. Witwright, as Commis- sioner of Draft. The district being large, and composed of the most disloyal counties of the State-bordering on the Potomac River, from the Monocacy to Point Lookout -- made it a hard one to work. But Colonel Holland or- ganized his corps of enrollers and deputy marshals for the various counties of the district, and had them all enrolled,

175

BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

He furnished the full quota of men called for by the gov- ermnent from that district. At the close of the war he turned over to the War Department all property and ac- counts in his possession, and received a final and honor- able discharge, August 15, 1865. In 1863 Colonel Holland was nominated for Congress by the Union party of the Fifth Congressional District of Maryland, as a representa- tive of the extreme administration wing of that party, but the Ilonorable Charles B. Calvert, who then represented the district in Congress, ran as an Independent Conserva- tive Union man, and thus dividing the Union vote caused the election of B. G. Harris, an avowed secessionist. He was again nominated by the Union Convention in Balti- more, in 1864, and again defeated by Mr. Harris, the district having been a large slaveholding one, and strongly Democratic. lle was a delegate to the National Union Convention, in Baltimore, in 1864, to nominate candidates for President and Vice- President. Ile voted for Lincoln for President, but opposed the nomination of Andrew John- son for Vice-President, voting for Hamlin, of Maine, being the only vote Hamlin received from the Maryland delegation. The war being brought to a close, Colonel Holland retired from active participation in political or public affairs, and devoted himself to farming and fruit culture at his country seat near Catonsville. In Novem- ber, 1868, the Baltimore, Catonsville, and Ellicott Mills Railway Company was reorganized by the election of a new Board of Directors, of whom Colonel Holland was one. Ile was unanimously elected President of the com- pany by the board. Upon assuming control the new president found the company heavily incumbered with debt, and paying no dividends. Devoting his entire time to its affairs he soon paid off a mortgage then due, and under execution, relieving the company of its embarrass- ments, and has so successfully administered its affairs that it has been paying handsome dividends since his control. He has been annually elected for ten consecutive years, and now (1879) fills that position. He was also elected President of the Baltimore, Calverton, and l'owhatan Railroad Company, in September, 1874; but after three years' service he resigned, that he might give his whole at- tention to the Catonsville Company. In all the positions which he has held, he has developed decided administra- tive and executive ability, administering trusts in all posi- tions with fidelity and unobtrusive quietness; always re- spectful to associate and superior officers, and kind and courteous to inferiors. In 1874 Colonel Holland again took up his residence in his native city. He has taken but little part in political or public matters since his return, In the Presidential campaign of 1876, he was elected presi- dent of a political organization, but he took no active part in the canvass, save giving his counsel and advice in behalf of the Republican candidates. Ile was also commissioned Colonel of the Second Maryland Regiment of Boys in Blue -- a national semi-military campaign organization. Colonel.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1, Part 39

Author: National Biographical Publishing Co. 4n Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Baltimore : National Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 844

Author: National Biographical Publishing Co. 4n
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Baltimore : National Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844