USA > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 47
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 47
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80
207
BIOGRAPHICAL. CYCLOPEDIA.
TAMS, REV. J. Jurtus, D. D., was born January 14, 1826, on the island of Datha, situated on the sea- coast of South Carolina. Botham Sams, the first of the family, who came to this country from Eng land, was the grantee of a tract of land from the then reigning king. He settled on John's Island, near Charles. ton. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch pur- chased the island of Datha. One of his ancestors married Bridget Barnwell, of Beaufort, South Carolina. His father, Dr. B. Barnwell Sams, commenced business life as a physi- cian, but, after the death of his mother, retired from prac- tice, and devoted his attention to the planting interest. Being wealthy, he employed a tutor for his children while few in number, and spent the most of the year in the coun- try. But, after his family increased, he removed to Beau- fort, that his sons might enjoy greater educational advan- tages. This gentleman was a communicant of the Episcopal Church, and made ample provision for the religious in- struction of his servants. He built a chapel for their use, employed a missionary, and, in his absence, conducted religious service himself. On the death of their father, when Mr. Sams and his brother, Major Horace H. Sams, became owners of the homestead, they continued the ar- rangement their father had made. Their mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Hann Fripp, of St. Helena Island, S. C. Mr. J. J. Sams entered the Beaufort College, in which he pursued his studies for several years, taking on one occasion the second prize in a large class. He then entered the South Carolina College, the presidency of which, before his graduation, passed into the hands of the Hon. William Preston, who had been a prominent politi- cian and able lawyer, and distinguished orator. It was the custom of that college to have for the graduating class a May exhibition and December commencement. Those who were to receive the honors and appointments at the commencement were selected to deliver addresses at the May exhibition. Among those addresses was an oration in Greek, to be delivered by the best Greek scholar ; this was assigned to Mr. Sams. At the commencement the honors and appointments were conferred according to the rank or grade of those who were entitled to receive them. Mr. Sams received a high appointment. After graduating he commenced the study of the law ; but be- coming religiously impressed, he connected himself with the Episcopal Church in Beaufort, and soon after turned his attention to the ministry. He pursued his theological studies at the Seminary in Virginia, near Alexandria; was ordained deacon by the Right Rev. William Meade, D. D., and presbyter by the Right Rev. John Johns, D.D. Ile commenced his ministry in a parish of wealthy and influ- ential South Carolina planters, where his labors were greatly blessed. The Sunday morning services were for the planters and their families, and in the afternoon and at night he held services on the plantations for the ser- vants, as also on two nights of each week. Mr. Sams con-
tinued this practice during the late war, frequently riding for miles through pine forests at night, leaving his family to the care of his own household servants, with whom they We're always safe. These plantation services were gia. taiiously rendered and self imposed. Mr. Savory married Mary Eliza Whittle, daughter of Conway Whittle, Esq., of Norfolk, Virginia. Her mother was Chloe Tyler, daughter of Chancellor Tyler, of the Eastern District of Virginia. Though never courting notoriety as a pastor or preacher, he has always been held in high esteem by those who have been under his care. In the course of his ministry he has had eighteen invitations to different parishes, and has been more than once recalled after having resigned. Wherever he has ministered, the press, both secular and religious, has taken most gracious cognizance of his self-denying and successful labors, and never parted with him without expressions of deep regret. His preaching is strictly ex- temporaneous, earnest, impressive, and unhesitating. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred on him by the College of William and Mary, of Virginia, in the year 1878. He has had four children. Conway Whittle Sams, born January 22, 1862, S. C. ; Julius Stanyarne Sams, born July 14, 1864, S. C., and died November 16, 1876; Mary Lewis Sams, born December 12, 1866, S. C., and Chloe Tyler Sams, born March 3, 1870, S. C.
URCELL, JOHN JAMES, was born in Dublin, Ire- land, November 13, 1817. His father, Matthew Purcell, was a member of a family long promi- nent in the County Wicklow, their principal seat being Staplestown; his mother, Julia, belonged to the ancient family of MeDermott, of the adjoining County Kildare. After attending a private school for several years, in Dublin, Mr. Purcell determined, while still very young, to adopt a seafaring life as a profession, and when an opportunity was offered by his cousin, an officer on the ship, " William Brown," to sail with him for America, in the early antumn of 1828, he gladly availed himself of it, and, sailing from Liverpool, arrived at Baltimore in No- vember of the same year. From this port he made a number of cruises in the ship " Jefferson," Robert Leslie, Captain. Later, he shipped on the brig " Pulaski,", Cap- tain Chase, for the West Indies. As they approached the islands on this voyage a terrible storm was encountered, which resulted in the unfortunate craft being wrecked on the island of St. Bartholomew, after having been driven abont for several days at the mercy of the wind and waves. Among the saved was young Purcell, who, work- ing his way back to Baltimore, was finally induced by an uncle, residing there, to adopt a trade. Accordingly, in the year 1832, when but a little over fifteen years old, he was apprenticed to John Swartz, a house carpenter, in " Old
20S
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
Town," with whom he remained a year, and completed his apprenticeship with Mr. Entler, an up-town builder. During these years his old predilection for the sea never ceased to be felt, and when he began work as a journey- man, it was a matter of prudence rather than choice. On the attainment of his majority he went to Richmond, Vir- ginia, continuing work at his trade, and, after remaining there one year, returned to Baltimore, where he determined to establish himself in business. This he did, meeting with merited success. He has designed and erected many fine private residences and some well-known business houses in Baltimore ; among the latter may be mentioned that of Hamilton Easter & Co., in 1866, with its addition, in 1876, one of the most complete business structures in Baltimore. In 1868 he was elected to the First Branch of the City Conneil of Baltimore from the Thirteenth Ward, and was considered a most energetic and useful member of that body. At the close of his official term, he was appointed by the Mayor, General Superintendent of the new City Hall, then already commenced. This responsible position he held until the completion of the building, in October, 1875, a period of seven years. He superintended all the work, and the furnishing of materials of every description; examined all bills and claims against the building, audit- ing and correcting them; and made a written report each month to the building committee. He was the only one connected with the building who personally knew whether the city received quantity and quality, either of material or work. This position Mr. Purcell filled with honor to him- self and credit to the city. It is stated that he thus saved the city more than half a million dollars, and it may be presumed that he made many enemies among contractors. The work has a national reputation for the beauty of its design, the excellence of its workmanship, and the low cost of its construction. In August, 1877, he revisited his native country, meeting a sister in Dublin whom he had not seen for nearly fifty years. He travelled thoughont Ireland, visited England and Wales, and returned to Bal- timore in October, much improved in health. In October, 1840, he married Sarah Ann Kemp, who died in Decem- ber, 18.45, leaving one child, George K., an architect and builder of Baltimore, who married Mary K. White, and has seven children-Sallie, Joseph, John, George, May, Willie, and Grace. In March, 1848, Mr. Purcell married Rebecca A. Easter, who is still living. The fruits of the second marriage are : Eliza, wife of William II. Patterson; John J., Jr., a builder, and his father's foreman, who married Eleathea Ehrman ; Robert, who married Annie R. Snyder; Julia, Hamilton, Matthew, Lee, and Harry. Mr. Purcell has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for thirty- eight years. He is held in high esteem by the community as perfectly reliable in his business transactions, a good citizen, and one whose advice and conusel is often sought by individuals and corporations on matters pertaining to the improvement and beautifying of the Monumental City.
AILL, NICHOLAS RUFUS, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, March 12, 1838, where he at- tended various educational institutions, including the " Milton Academy," until the twentieth year of his age. After passing creditably through that insti- tution he entered, as a law student, the office of the late David Stewart. Mr. Stewart died four months thereafter, and young Gill then became a student in Harvard Law School, where he remained for two sessions. Returning to Baltimore, he entered the law office of John Stewart, the son of his former preceptor, with whom he remained for a brief period, and in September, 1859, was admitted, on motion of Mr. Stewart, as an attorney at the Baltimore bar. Ile immediately settled down in the practice of his profession, in which he has been successfully engaged to the present time ( 1879), occupying the same office, 32 St. Paul Street ( Bannon Building). The Democratic party of Baltimore, of which Mr. Gill has always been a devoted and able member, has frequently indicated its partiality for and confidence in him, by repeatedly electing him as a member of the City Council from the Fifth Ward. Ile was elected to the First Branch of the same in 1868, and returned the ensuing year. In 1871 he was elected as a member of the Second Branch of the City Council, to represent the Fifth and Sixth wards. His experience in municipal legislation caused him to be elected President of that body, which position he filled most acceptably for two years ; at the expiration of that period Mr. Gill retired as he then thought finally from political life. But in 1876 he was again elected to the First Branch of the City Coun- cil, of which body he was the presiding officer. By virtue of his Presidencies of the two branches of the City Council he frequently acted as Mayor ex-officio of Baltimore, under the administrations of Robert T. Banks, Joshua Vansant, and Ferdinand C. Latrobe. Mr. Gill has never been what might be denominated a politician, and has never sought political preferment, but has simply responded to the calls of those who recognized his qualifications as a city legisla- tor. Mr. Gill's father was the late George W. Gill, who was an extensive farmer and native of Baltimore County. His grandfather, Captain Stephen Gill, was a brave and gallant officer in the war of 1812. The pioneer of the family in Baltimore County was John Gill, who came from England during the latter part of the seventeenth century and settled in that county. Ile was a prominent member and officer of the Episcopal Church. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Miss Rebecca Ensor, daughter of John Ensor, farmer, of Baltimore County. Mr. Gill married in 1861 Miss E. Agnes Gill, daughter of the late Dr. Edward Gill, of that county, between whom and himself there was a remote relationship. He has seven children, six sons and one daughter. As an able, faithful, and conscientious counsel, he stands in high repute at the Baltimore bar, and his personal popularity is shown by his repeated selection by the people to represent them in the city government.
-
209
BIOGRAPHICAL. CYCLOPEDIA.
HERTZER, ABRAM TREGO, M.D., was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, May 16, 1844. In his ninth year his parents removed with him to Baltimore and placed him at the Grinton Academy, Baltimore County, which he attended for six years. In 1859 he went to Bel Air Academy, Harford County, Maryland, where he continued his studies for three years. In 1862 he went to Philadelphia, where he entered as apothecary at the Naval Asylum, which was at that time under the charge of Dr. David Harlan, Surgeon, United States Navy. Whilst at the Asylum he studied medicine in the office of Doctor Lenox Hodges, Professor of Ob- stetrics in the University of Pennsylvania. He remained at the Asylum acquiring practical pharmaceutical and gen- eral medical experience, and also continued his studies with Professor Hodges, until the spring of that year, when, March 6, he was appointed Surgeon Apothecary in the United States Navy, and ordered to duty on board the U. S. Steamer, Mary Sanford, of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, remaining with her during her cruises among the Bahamas, the West Indies, and in the Gulf generally, and returning with her to Philadelphia in the ensuing fall, where he resumed the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Joseph Leidy, Professor of Anatomy in the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, Mr. Shertzer remained in Phila- delphia until the winter of 1866, when he entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis, as apothecary of the first class, occupying that position until November, 1867, when he commenced a regular course of medical studies by ma- triculating at the University of Maryland, and entering as a private student the office of the late Professor Nathan R. Smith. Under the tuition of that eminent surgeon and physician, and by reason of his own talent and application, student Shertzer became particularly efficient in anatomy and surgery, and in the private and university examinations always acquitted himself with great credit. In the spring of 1869 he graduated with honor at that institution. Soon after his graduation Dr. Shertzer was elected as Assistant Surgeon of the Eighth Maryland Regiment, and was also appointed as surgeon in charge of the hospital for disabled soldiers in Baltimore, and entered regularly upon the prac- tice of his profession at the corner of Exeter and Granby streets, in that city, where he continued in its successful prosecution until the breaking out of the Franco-Prussian war, in the spring of 1870. Bismarck having called upon the German Patriotic Aid Society of America for surgeons, the Branch Society of Baltimore appointed a board of ex- aminers, consisting of Drs. Abram B. Arnold, G. Edward Pape, and 1 .. F. Morawetz, to examine such candidates as might appear before them, through notification in the public press. Dr. Shertzer passed a most creditable and successful examination, not only in surgery (the grand es- sential), but in general medicine and in German, a perfect knowledge of the latter language also being indispensable. He was immediately sent to Germany, via New York and
Glasgow, making his way to Coblente on the Rhine, where he had been ordered to report for duty. He remained in the Garrison Hospital at Coblentz, per- for ming, in the most skilful manuel, all the most impor- tant capital operations of an any surgeon, until October 10, 1870, when he was sent to take charge of Ritebahn Hospital, Saarbrucken, on the frontiers of France and Prussia. Whilst there he was sent to Meaux, Metz, and other places in France, to apply the anterior splint of the late Professor Nathan R. Smith, his old preceptor in the Maryland University, he being the only surgeon in the Prussian service who was thoroughly conversant with the applying of that valuable surgical apparatus. For his efficient services, Dr. Shertzer received a gold medal from the hospital commission of Prussia, and also the iron cross, and a silver medal from the Prussian Secretary of War. Hle resigned his position in the Prussian service, May 14, 1871, and after making an extensive tour through Switzer- land, Germany, France, and England, visiting en route the leading hospitals of those countries, he returned to America in the fall of 1871, and re-established himself in the prac- tice of his profession at his old location in Baltimore, in which he has since continued uninterruptedly, and in suc- cessful practice, distinguishing himself by the performance of many difficult surgical operations, with scarcely a single fatal result. Very soon after his return to Baltimore, he was appointed Recruiting Surgeon for the United States Marine Corps, and also Recruiting Surgeon for the army, then operating against the Modoc Indians. Dr. Shertzer's ancestors on the paternal side were, for three generations back, natives of this country, all of them farmers. As the name would imply, they were of German descent, coming from the Rhenish Provinces. The mother of Dr. Shertzer is a daughter of the late William Trego, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, whose father, grandfather, and great-grand- father, bearing the same name, trace their pedigree back to an illustrious progenitor, known as " Peter the Great," of the House of Bourbons, and who was banished from France in 1685, and, coming to America the same year, settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania. From him all the Tregos in the United States descended. In 1875 Dr. Shertzer married Sarah C. Bradbury, daughter of the late Dr. John Tyrrel Bradbury, of North Carolina, who died as United States Consul at St. Paul de Loane, Africa, in 1868.
HOMAS, CHARGES HENRY, M. D., was born in Philadelphia, May 27, 1847. In the fifth year of his age, his parents removed with him to Balti- more, where he attended the public schools about four years, when he returned to Philadelphia, and entered a private school of a very select character, which was under the auspices of the Society of Friends. He attended
210
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
this school until April 19, 1861, memorable as the day when the Massachusetts troops were resisted in their passage through Baltimore, on their way to the national capital. On that day referred to young Thomas summarily left school, without permission of parents or teachers, and attached himself, as drummer boy, to the Nineteenth Penn- sylvania Regiment of Infantry, then mustering in Philadel- phia for three months' service. Though the regiment was stationed on Federal Hill, Baltimore, in which city his parents were residing, he refrained from seeing them, being naturally apprehensive of paternal punishment on account of his running away from school. After serving in that regiment until its disbandment, in August of iso1, Charles re-enlisted in the general service, and was ordered on detached duty in Washington. Whilst bearing dis- patches from General Casey, Inspector General at Wash- ington, to a squad on provost duty at Taneytown, Mary- land, he was wounded in the lower portion of the leg by one of Mosby's guerillas. The injury inflicted was of such a serious character as to necessitate his confinement to the hospital until July of 1863, when he was discharged from the same. On his discharge from the hospital he enlisted as a private in the Third Maryland Cavalry, Colo- nel Tevis, which was ordered to New Orleans, in Decem- ber, 1863, and which accompanied General Banks's forces up the Red River, the objective point being Shreveport. The Federal troops were repulsed in several severe engage- ments, and the company to which young Thomas was attached, which originally numbered ninety eight men, returned to Morganzie's Bend with but five, of whom three were wounded, Thomas being one of the number. Whilst on a scouting expedition he was taken prisoner at Simsport and carried to Evergreen, some forty miles dis- tant from the former place. Whilst being temporarily confined in a corn crib, with a view to his conveyance to Tyler, Texas ( where the chief prison pen was), Thomas managed, with thirteen others, to effect his escape, and, after a series of wonderful adventures and almost incredible exposure and privations, he succeeded in getting back to Morganzie's Bend. The Third Cay- alry Regiment was ordered to New Orleans, where, owing to the disabled condition of the horses, it was dismounted for ninety days and ordered to infantry duty, participating in the capture of Forts Gaines, Morgan, and Powell, at and near the mouth of Mobile Bay, Ala- bama, August, 1864. Thomas was one of a force of three thousand men who were ordered in the rear of Mobile as a feint, and December 30, was again wounded. In Jan- uary of 1865 his regiment was remounted and partici- pated in the capture of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, near Mobile, these capitulating April 13, 1865. Hle re- ceived his final discharge from the service in October, 1865, and in the same month visited his parents in Baltimore, with whom he had had no communication since his entry into military service. On his return home he was ap-
pointed. Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army, and or- dered to Texas with the Twenty fourth United States Regi- ment. lle remained in the national service until July of 1867, when he commenced the study of medicine in the Marine Hospital at Matamoras, Mexico. Whilst ou a temporary visit to Galveston he was seized with yellow fever, and was down with it about forty days, in conse- quence of which he did not return to Matamoras, but went to Vicksburg and entered the Marine Hospital there as a student, continuing as such until July, 1870. Ile then went to Philadelphia, and after attending three full courses of lectures in the Homeopathic College of that city, having been the private pupil of Professor Koch, Professor of Physiology, graduated at that institution in the spring of 1873 with most distinguished honor, standing among the highest in the numerical grades which were established as the tests of superior excellence in examination. After graduating, he established himself in the practice of his profession in the eastern section of Baltimore, which he has continued to prosecute most successfully up to the present time. Dr. Thomas's father is Jacob II. Thomas, of Baltimore, and his grandfather the late Lambert Thomas, long and prominently connected with the cabinet business of that city. The latter was an old and well-known member of the Methodist Church, and intimately identified with its many Christian works and charities. He died in 1833. The doctor's mother was Miss Leah Sander, of a highly respectable Quaker family of Philadelphia. He married, in 1875, Miss Louisa J. Hughes, daughter of the late Hugh Hughes, of Baltimore, the issue of the marriage being one child. Dr. Thomas is the Surgeon of Wilson Post, Grand Army of the Republic, a position which he has occupied for four consecutive years. Ile is a member of the Board of Directors and one of the corporators of the Baltimore Homeopathic Free Dispensary, which he assisted in estab- lishing in 1874. He is a member of the Baltimore Homero. pathie Medical, and Maryland State Homeopathic Medi- cal Societies, in whose scientifie deliberations and diseus- sions he takes an active and prominent part. He is de- voted to his profession, is a close student, and a gentle- man of thorough self-reliance. He may be regarded as a self-made man. His professional skill and pleasant man- ners make him as great a favorite with the members of the medical profession of the allopathie school as with those who practice the doctrines of Hahnemann.
YSCHBACH, REV. E. R., D. D., was born in Chilis- quaque Township, Northumberland County, Penn- sylvania, November 9, 1835. He is the son of David and Elizabeth B. Eschbach. In his early childhood his parents removed to Turbot Township of the same county, and located on what is known as one
ยท
211
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
of the " Paradise Farms." Here he grew up to early manhood, in the midst of beautiful and healthful surround- ings, under the mixture of a Christian home, taking a part in the duties of an agricultural life. When but nine years old his mother died, and he was the eldest of four surviv- ing children, Very early in life he developed a fondness for books and a thirst for the knowledge to be secured through them. Ilis desire was to enter the Christian min- istry, and his conviction, of duty in this direction became stronger as he grew older. His father readily consented to his purpose, and at the age of eighteen years he com- menced his preparatory studies. He graduated at Frank - lin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the class of 1859, and then continued his studies at the Theo- logical Seminary of the Reformed Church, at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and completed them in the summer of 1861. Ile was examined and licensed to preach the Gospel by the Synod of his church, while in aunnal session at Eas- ton, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1861. Before leaving the Theological Seminary, he was unanimously recom- mended by its faculty, to the Rev. Elias Heiner, D. D., pastor of the First Reformed Church of Baltimore, Mary- land, whose declining health made it necessary that he should have an assistant-a position of peculiar difficulty and delicacy-as a suitable person for the place. Ile was induced to visit Baltimore, and was tendered the position, but from convictions of personal disqualification and the excited condition of Baltimore, just at the outbreak of the late civil war, he declined it and accepted a call to the Somerset charge of Somerset County, l'ennsylvania, and entered upon its duties in October, 1861. Ile was ordained to the Christian ministry by a committee of Westmoreland Classis of the Reformed Church, in Somerset, Pennsylva- nia, October 30, 1861. Ile remained there but one year, when, at the urgent request of Rev. Dr. Heiner and his Consistory of Baltimore, and the advice of his former teachers, he accepted the position of Assistant Pastor of the First Reformed Church of Baltimore, Maryland, now a second time tendered him, and entered upon its duties November 1, 1862. The rapidly declining health of Dr. Ileiner at once left all the active work of the congregation to him. On October 20, of the following year, 1863, Dr. Heiner died, and Rev. Eschbach was chosen his successor, January 1, 1864. Ile was married to Mary Susan Doll, of Martinsburg, Virginia, on November 9, of this year. He continued the pastor of this congregation during a trying and critical period of our national as well as ecclesiastical history, and sustained himself well, holding the confrlence, respect, and affection of his people. In the spring of 1874 he was induced to resign this charge and accept the Pas- torate of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Frederick, Maryland, one of the largest and most influential congre- gations in the State. This pastorate became vacant by the death of Rev. D. Zacharias, D. D., who had filled the position for a period of thirty-eight years, As soon
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.