USA > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 54
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 54
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tinguished for his indefatigable business habits, energy of character, and close reasoning in debate. When Mr. Jefferson became President be offered General Smith the office of Secretary of the Navy, which he declined, but consented to perform the duties of the office till some suitable person coukl be selected. For the six months of service which he rendered he refused any com- pensation. As a Brigadier-General of the militia General Smith commanded the Maryland quota of troops, in the Whiskey Insurrection, under General Lee. During the war of 1812 he held the rank of Major-General of militia, and was appointed to the chief command of the forces for the defence of Baltimore. Ilis energy, pru- dence, and bravery were signally manifested on the occa- sion of the attack, made by the British, September 12, 1814, where both their army and fleet were discomfited. The gallant defence of Fort Mellenry on that occasion was immortalized by Francis S. Key, in his stirring lyric, "The Star-Spangled Banner." In the summer of 1835, during a popular commotion in Baltimore, consequent on the failure of a banking institution, supposed to be fraudu- lent, his military services were called into requisition for the last time. The laws were trampled upon by an en- raged mob, the public authorities contemed, and the property of the Mayor and other citizens wantonly de- stroyed. After other efforts had failed to suppress the outbreak, a committee waited on General Smith, then in his eighty-third year, to attempt the pacification of the city. The veteran hero of two wars made his appearance in the streets, carrying the United States fag, rallied the overawed inhabitants, charged the rioters, and restored tranquillity. In October of that year General Smith was chosen Mayor of the city, almost by acclamation, and held the office till near the time of his decease, which took place April 22, 1839, in the cighty-seventh year of his age. The manner of his death was remarkable. He had re- turned from a morning ride, and threw himself upon a sofa for repose, where, soon after, he was found dead by the servant that entered his apartment. Thus full of years and honors he passed peacefully away. Every respect was paid to the memory of the deceased by the resolutions of the City Councils, and different military and civic bodies, and by the adjourument of the courts, and in the public arrangements for his funeral. Cavalry in front, followed by the infantry and artillery, preceded the funeral car, which was drawn by four white horses, and flanked on either side by mounted dragoons. A long line of car- riages followed in procession, in which, besides the friends of the deceased, were the President of the United States and heads of Departments, the Governor of Maryland, the Mayor and members of the Councils, and officers of the corporation of Baltimore, the Society of the Cincinnati, Judges of the different courts, officers of the army and navy, members of Congress and the Legislature, Consuls, and others.
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WANN, Thomas, is a native of Alexandria, Virginia, and was born about the close of the first decade of the nineteenth century. He is a descendant of some of the most distinguished people of his native State. His father was a prominent lawyer of Wash ington, and during the administration of President Monroe, and for some time after, was United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. Thomas was educated in Wash- ington and at the University of Virginia. On leaving the University, he entered his father's office as a student at law, and while still a young man, during the administra- tion of President Jackson, he was sent abroad as Secretary of the United States Commission to Naples. In 1834 Mr. Swann married Miss Sherlock, daughter of an English gen- tleman, and granddaughter of Robert Gilmor, one of the most prominent men in Maryland at that time. Several children were the fruits of this union. One of his daughters married Ferdinand C. Latrobe, present Mayor of Baltimore (1879). Soon after his marriage he removed to Baltimore and established his residence there. Though not a Mary- lander by birth, he immediately took an active interest in the great works of internal improvement then projected and in progress in his adopted State. He was elected a Director in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in 1845, and two years afterwards its President, to fill the va- caney caused by the resignation of the Hon. Louis MeLane. The company was at that time contending with apparently insurmountable difficulties, both natural and financial, the former owing to the rugged and mountainous nature of the country through which it passed, and the latter, to the embarrassed condition of the city and State treasuries. In his election to the presidency, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company manifested its appreciation of the tal- ents and energies of Mr. Swann, at that crisis in its affairs, Ilis continuance in that position imtil the completion of the road to the Ohio River, proved that the choice and the verdict of public opinion in approbation of the choice which greeted his election, was fully justitied. Ile di- rected all his energies to the accomplishment of the work he had undertaken ; and when the road was completed to the Ohio, in 1853, after a disbursement of more than this teen millions of dollars, he resigned his position. In ac cepting his resignation, the Board of Directors passed reso- lutions expressive of their regret, and appointed a com. mittee of three prominent gentlemen to communicate to Mr. Swann the thanks of the Board for his able adminis. tration of the affairs of the company. Perhaps no man ever retired from a public position upon whom so many and such well merited compliments were bestowed. The committee, in their letter communicating to Mr. Swann the resolutions of the Board, said : " We would but imperfectly discharge our duty, if we did not add our individual and personal testimony to the great value of the services which you have rendered the company, whilst surrounded by every species of difficulty, physical, political, and peen.
niary. Man has triumphed over the mountains, whose lofty sanimits and deep chasins appeared to forbid every species of transit. The little streams which meandered through the deep gorges of the Alleghanics seemed to be the only moving things allowed by nature to interrupt her profound silence, until human skill and boldness, under your decisive management, pierced the hills and spanned the ravines. In looking back upon the history of the past four years, we find in every part of it abundant evidences of your intelli- gence, and firmness, and integrity." Charles Ellet, an en- gineer of the highest professional reputation, in urging Philadelphia to complete the Hempfield Railroad, at the tinie when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was being vigorously pushed forward to completion, under the man- agement of Mr. Swann, said : " That company is moving now under an administration such as has never before di- rected its progress. Bold, eloquent, and confident; a gen- tleman of open and unconcealed address; their able and efficient President plans, resolves, and acts. Sustained by an engineer at once skilful, experienced, energetic, and cautious, his action is always direct, and always successful. I know these people, for I have encountered them and meastired their strength." Mr. Swann next accepted the presidency of the Northwestern Virginia Railroad Company, the charter of which had been obtained through his efforts. This road is part of the great air-line from Baltimore to Cincinnati, and is now a section of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It strikes the Ohio River at Parkersburg, and crosses that river on a very magnificent and sub- stantial iron bridge. That road was completed under Mr. Swann's administration. During his incumbency of this presidency, Mr. Swann visited Europe, and spent sev- eral months travelling in England and on the continent. In 1856 he was elected Mayor of Baltimore, and re-elected in 1858. Ile introduced many improvement, which have been of great and lasting benefit. Notably among these are the reorganization of the Fire Department, substituting the paid for the volunteer system, and the splendid steam fire engine for the old hand machine ; and the Police and Fire Main Telegraph, a novel experiment then, but now in common use in all the large cities. The system of water-works, by which Baltimore receives an abundant supply of pure water, is due to his administration, together with the present jail of great size and imposing architec- ture. Through the suggestions of Mayor Swann, the City Commeil granted to companies making application, per. mission to lay tracks and run cars through the streets of Baltimore for the convenience of the citizens. To this privilege was annexed the condition that the company undertaking the enterprise should pay into the city treasury a certain proportion of its gross earnings, which sum was to be appropriated to the purchase and adormment of public parks. It is, therefore, to the administration of Mayor Swann that the public is indebted for Druid Hill Park, the pride of Baltimore and the admiration of stran-
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gers. When the war between the States began in 1861, Mr. Swann, a Virginian by birth, and at one time a large slaveholder, who had emancipated his slaves several years before the war, took strong ground against the secession of the South, and during the entire conflict remained a lirm partisan of the Union. In 1863 he was elected Presi- dent of the First National Bank of Baltimore, holding the position until 1864. During the latter year he was elected by the Union party Governor of Maryland, and on January 1, 1865, he took his seat as successor to Gov- ernor Bradford. On the close of the war he supported the policy of President Lincoln, believing it would effect a speedy restoration of the Union, and on the accession of Mr. Johnson to the Presidency, Mr. Swann strongly advo- cated his plan of reconstruction. In the first year of his governorship he renounced his allegiance to the Re- publican party and joined the Democrats, by whom he was elected United States Senator. Ile did not, however, ac- cept the position, preferring to remain Governor of Mary- land. In November, 1868, Mr. Swann was elected by the Democratic party as Representative of the Third Congres- sional District of Maryland in the Congress of the United States, receiving thirteen thousand and fifty-six votes, against five thousand six hundred and sixty-seven for Mr. King, Republican. In 1870 he was re-elected to the Forty-second Congress, receiving fifteen thousand one hun- dred and thirty-seven votes, against ten thousand four hun- dred and fourteen for W. Booth, Republican. In 1872 he was again elected to the Forty-third Congress, receiving twelve thousand one hundred and forty eight votes, against ten thousand eight hundred and eighty six votes for E. Griswold, Republican. In 187]] he was elected to the Forty-fourth Congress, receiving ten thousand two hun- dred and forty-four votes, against six thousand eight hun- dred and ten for J. R. Cox, Republican. In 1876 he was elected to the Forty-fifth Congress, receiving fifteen thou . sand two hundred and fifty tine votes, against twelve thousand seven hundred and twenty eight for J. 11. But ler, Republican. During the Forty fourth and Forty- fifth Congress A. Swann has been Chairman of the Com mittee on Foreign Affairs, and when his party was in the minority in previous Congresses he was on several of the most important committees. When he addresses the House he is listened to with the deference and attention which is uniformly accorded to the comprehensive views and cor- rect judgment of a legislator and statesman. The powerful influence he wields among his fellow-members, and the weight given to the measures which he originates and advo- cates, afford ample proof of the high estimate entertained of his ability. Governor Swann is a very wealthy man. Hle has a fine establishment on Thirty-eighth Street, near Fifth Avenue, New York, a splendid residence in Wash- ington, a villa at Newport, and a handsome house in Baltimore: Ile also has three fine estates near Leesburg, Virginia.
MAUGHAN, CAPTAIN ROBERT, came to Kent County, Maryland, in 1642, from St. Mary's County, where he had resided, in St. George's Hundred, for at least four years. On April 18, 1647, he was appointed Commander of Kent County by 10 Governor Leonard Calvert, and, " being found very faith- ful and well-deserving," was re-commissioned, August 12, 1648, by the Lord Proprietary. He represented Kent County in the General Assembly of Maryland in 1642, 1649, and 1661. He was a fearless and outspoken advocate of the independence and prerogatives of popular legislative bodies, and on July 18, 1642, made the celebrated motion, the turning-point in the colonial legislative history of Maryland, which is thus recorded : " Robert Vanghan, in the name of the rest, desired that the House might be sep- arated, and the Burgesses to be by themselves, and to have a negative." It was not granted by the Lieutenant-General, but it appears that he finally triumphed, for on April 6, 1650, the Legislature sat in two houses. He was a Privy Councillor in 1649 and 1650. He was one of the Protest- ant majority in the Assembly of 1649 that voted for and passed the famous " Act Concerning Religion." He died in 1668. Ile had three children, Charles, William, and Mary. Ilis daughter, Mary Vaughan, married Major James Ringgold, of Huntingfield, and was the mother of William Ringgold, whose daughter, Susanna, married Benjamin Wiekes, and is now represented by the Wickes family in Chestertown.
HAVER, RALPH, was born in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, September 1, 1805. His parents, Stephen and Martha ( Pack- and) Thayer, were both natives of the same county. flis paternal ancestors emigrated from Yorkshire, England, carly in the seventeenth centmy. In the ma- ternal ancestry were the names of Curtis, Washburn, How . and, and Perkins. Both grandfathers participated in the French and Revolutionary wars, and were at Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Frontenac, and other engagements. They witnessed the fall of young Lord Howe, and afterward eu- gaged in the war for independence. During the latter war, the paternal grandfather served as captain, distinguishing himself by his personal bravery, and received complimen- tary notice from his superiors, The family removed in 1818 to Alleghany County, Maryland, which was then very thinly settled, and almost destitute of schools and churches. From that time the education of young Ralph was mostly self-attamed. He carly developed a passion- ate fondness for reading and the pursuit of knowledge, but the number of books to which he could gain access was very limited. He spent his youth in agriculture, varying the monotony of lan life with occasional ledning and
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hunting, the abundance of game at that time rendering that section the paradise of sportsmen. Young Thayer spent the long winters mostly in study, and as he grew older, in teaching school. After attaining his majority he went to Petersburg, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged until 1837, as salesman and book-keeper. Hle then re- moved to Selbysport, Alleghany County, Maryland, and entered into mercantile business in connection with farm- ing, which he followed until 1863, when he removed to Oakland. But during the interim, from 1848 to 1862, he filled the office of Postmaster at Selbysport, from 1862 to 1866, he was Assessor of Internal Revenue, and in the ses- "sions of 1841, was Delegate to the General Assembly of Maryland. He rendered important service in establishing the school system in that portion of Alleghany County which is now included in Garrett, and was Commissioner of Public Schools from 1865 to 1867, during which time he established thirty-three new schools in the various dis- tricts of the county. He was appointed Deputy Marshal, and took the ninth census in the Western portion of Al- leghany County in 1870, under Marshal E. V. Goldsbor- ough. He was appointed Postmaster at Oakland in 1875, of which office he is still the incumbent. In the Order of Odd Fellows he filled every position from Warden to D. D. G.M. Ilis Lodge was closed at the breaking out of the civil war, and has not since affiliated with any other. In early manhood Mr. Thayer inclined to Universalism, but has now been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for thirty-cight years. He is a Republican of the old Jef- fersonian principles ; was an ardent admirer of Henry Clay, and was identified with the old-line Whig party from its birth to its demise. He was married in April, 1838, to Mary 11., daughter of John Mitchell, of Addison, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Thayer is thoroughly informed on alnost every subject; he converses fluently and well, but with extreme precision. Ile is direct and pointed in manner, exceedingly practical, and highly respected and esteemed by all who know him.
CMASTER, HON. SAMUEL SCHOOLFIELD, was born in Worcester County, Maryland, November II, 1818. llis parents were Samuel and Ann Bayley ( Merrill) Me Master. His grandfather, Rev. Samuel MeMaster, a Presbyterian minister, of Scottish descent, emigrated from Pennsylvania during the last century, and settled in Worcester County, Mary- land. Ile officiated in the churches of his denomination, in that county and Somerset, until his death, which oc- curred in 1811. lle was a man of great excellence of character. The education of Samuel S. MeMaster was obtained by attendance at the schools of the neighborhood,
during the winter months only. At the age of thirteen he became clerk in a country store at Wagram, Accomac County, Virginia, the proprietor of which was the late John U. Dennis, father of the Hon. George R. Dennis, United States Senator, and also of the Hou, James U. Dennis, State Senator for Somerset County, Maryland. Hle remained at Wagram until the spring of 1836, when he determined to seek his fortune in the West. His first pause in his travels was on the banks of the Mississippi, where the city of Dubuque now stands. Penniless and in debt, he found himself in a wild, rough country, and in the midst of a reckless and immoral people. Sunday was a day of frolic, celebrated by horse-racing, rifle-shooting, and house-raising. The day after his arrival he obtained a situation in a drygoods store, and remained about eighteen months. lle then received an offer as clerk in the store of Colonel Samuel Sheppard, of Palmyra, Marion County, Missouri, which he at once accepted. Hle found the society and all his new surroundings much superior to those he had left. He remained in this place until August, 1839, when he visited his old home. llis father having died during his absence, and finding his mother much opposed to his returning West, he deter- mined to settle in his native county, believing that by in- dustry, economy, and fair dealing, he could there make a living and enjoy life as well as in any other portion of our favored land. Accordingly, in October, 1840, he com- menced mercantile business at Cottingham's Ferry, on the Pocomoke River, Worcester County, Maryland, in which he has continued to the present time. Ile has also had a considerable interest in vessels and in farming. From his boyhood, Mr. MeMaster had been warmly attached to the old Whig party, and adhered to it as long as it maintained a separate existence. In 1846 he was nominated and elected on the Whig ticket as a member of the House of Delegates for Worcester County. In 1850 he was elected by the same party, as a delegate from the same county, to the State Constitutional Convention of that year. At this Convention the Constitution was changed, and the Legis- lative sessions were made bi-annual instead of annual; also, the three Judge system was abolished, and the one Judge system substituted. After the extinction of the Whig party, Mr. MeMaster was for a short time a member of the Native American Party, by which he was elected in 1857 to fill the vacancy in the State Senate caused by the resignation of Dr. Hilling R. Pitts. During this session the mauguration of Governor Thomas Holliday Hicks took place. In 1858 Mr. MeMaster was a candidate for the full term of State Senator, but was, defeated by Hon. Feagle Townsend. The entire ticket was also defeated. In 1862 Governor Bradford placed him on his staff with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The Constitutional Con- vention of 1861 inaugurated a general system of free schools for the entire State, and in 1865 Colonel MeMaster was appointed by the State Superintendent of Education,
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a member of the County Board of School Commissioners for Worcester County, which position he held for three years, and declined a reappointment. During the time of his services as County School Commissioner, the High School building at Newtown, now Pocomoke City, was erected, which enterprise received his warm approval and active assistance. In 1867 the people of the State demanded another change in their organic law, and another Convention was called to fame a new Constitution. To that Convention Colonel MeMaster was nominated and elected by the Conservative Democratic party of Worcester County. In the faithful discharge of his duties as a dele- gate, his sole aim and desire was to be of service to the people of his native State, and his course was regarded by all his friends with great satisfaction. Colonel McMaster is now and has been for a number of years, a Conservative Democrat. During the war he warmly espoused the cause of the Union. In his infancy he was baptized in the Presbyterian Church, and carefully trained by his parents in the doctrines and tenets of that faith. But the studies and reflections of his mature years led him to adopt somewhat different teachings, and on October 17, 1858, he became a member by confirmation of the Protestant Episcopal Church, since which time, while warmly regarding all the other Orthodox denominations, he has been a supporter of that faith. On April 28, 1840, he was united in marriage with Ann Eliza, daughter of Isaac S. Johnson, and granddaughter of Grace Cotting- ham, with whom she was residing at the time of her mar- riage. Six children, three sons and three daughters, were the fruits of this union, The eldest daughter is now the wife of C. C. Lloyd; two of the sons, William S. and Francis J., are members of the legal profession, and the other son, Edgar W., is in business with his father. Col- onel MeMaster's wife died November 24, 1863.
LEWART, Couts, eldest som of John Duncan Stewart, was born in Baltimore, Felduary 28, 1851. His mother was Eliza ( Griffith) Stewart. Hle at- tended the private schools of his native city till he was eight years of age, after which, until his fifteenth year, he attended the Academy of Bel Air, in which place he was under the care and guardianship of his grandfather, John Stewart. At the age of fourteen, returning to his home in Baltimore, he entered the hardware store of King & Huppman, where he remained six years, Having an uncle, Anthony Griffith, who went to California in 1849, he had a great desire to join him, and on November 18, 1871, left home for that purpose. Arriving safely, he en- gaged with his uncle in the shipment of pickled salmon to Sidney, Australia. These salmon were taken from the
Sacramento, and from the Rogne River, Oregon. Entering heartily into the business, as was his natme in all that he undertook, he remained until the Sth of the following Angust, when receiving a dispatch informing him that his father had been thrown from his carriage, and very seriously injured, he at once returned home. On his arrival he took an active pari in the extensive livery business owned and conducted by his father, and in 1875 assumed the full charge of it. In August, 1876, Mr. Stewart entered into partnership with Mr. George W. Mowen, formerly of Pitts- burg, Pennsylvania, in the furnishing undertaking busi- ness, in which they have met with remarkable success. Mr. Stewart has invented an ice casket for the preservation of bodies, which is the most perfect and reliable of any in use. lle also is the discoverer of a process of embalming by means of a harmless fluid which he inserts through the femoral artery, and does not mutilate the body in the least. Though he has used it for two years it has never failed in a single instance to accomplish perfectly the end desired. The livery business has now been in the family for three generations, and since its earliest establishment has held its place as the largest and the foremost business of the kind in the city of Baltimore. Mr. Colin Stewart has travelled extensively. Ile maintains the high character for which the family has always been remarked. Ile is a member of the Oriental Lodge of Masons, and of the Society of St. Andrews.
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