USA > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 65
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 1 > Part 65
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country have enjoyed more uniform success within a sim. ilar period. Its annual sales and importations are believed to be equal to those of any establishment of a like charac- ter in the Southern States. It has fifty clerks and sales- men under employment, and is perfect and thorough in its organization. In 1853 James Hodges went to Europe and placed his firm in direct communication with the best British, Irish, and Continental manufacturers, thereby greatly augmenting his business. One of the firm has since paid semi-annual visits to Europe, to make purchases, which has greatly contributed to make Baltimore attrac- tive as a drygoods market. The present elegant ware- house of Hodges Brothers, 23 Ilanover Street, was erected and occupied by them, January, 1857. Mr. Hodges has been conspicuons in the discussion of the leading ques- tions of his day, respecting the wellbeing and prosperity of Baltimore. In a series of able articles, published in the Baltimore American in February, 1856, he earnestly advocated the bill then pending for uniforming the city police. At a meeting of citizens assembled in Monument Square, September 1, 1859, to devise means to check the Jawlessness that had prevailed in Baltimore for four years, under the reign of " Know-Nothingism," Mr. Hodges delivered a most effective speech, which produced a pro- found impression upon those who were seeking political re- form. The ensuing election was fought, on the part of the " Reformers," by the organization effected at that meeting. The ruffianly clubs of Baltimore were reinforced by armed rowdies from Washington. At an early hour of election day the mob took forcible possession of almost every vot- ing-place in the city. In the Fifteenth Ward, Mr. Adam B. Kyle was murdered, and it was afterwards discovered that the ontlaws had resolved upon killing James Hodges and George M, Gill, Mi. Hodges commanded one of the squads, previously organized for protection, and engaged freely in the several fights for equal rights. Under the present municipal system, established through the perse- vering efforts of the Reform party of 1859, the reputation of Baltimore as a city of law and order, will compare fa vorably with any of equal population in the world. Febru- ary, 1860, a large meeting was held at the Maryland Insti. tute to protest against the passage of a bill by the Legisla- ture to empower a party of Philadelphia speculators to create a stock company with a capital of two million dollars, and authority to issue bonds do the amount of one million dollars additional, to lay railroad tracks on certain streets in Baltimore. As the road and equipments would cost only seven hundred thousand dollars, a feeling of in- tense opposition to the scheme sprung up in the commercial and financial circles of the city. Mr. Hodges addressed the meeting and denounced the bill in earnest and scathing terms. The effect of the meeting was fatal to the gigantic imposition, In a series of communications to the Balti- more American, January and February, 1861, Mr. Hodges demonstrated the wisdom, expediency, and propriety of
running the city passenger cars on Sunday. He was com- pelled to argue against a number of controversialists on the Sabbatarian side, but came out a victor in the contest. The cars commenced running on Sundays in May, 1867, and all the good results predicted by Mr. Hodges were realized. During our civil war Mr. Hodges, though a conscientious and patriotic lover of the Union, was yet a sympathizing friend of the South. He opposed the coercive policy of the North, and wrote a series of newspaper articles in defence of Maryland's sympathy with the South, and claimed that the commercial welfare of Baltimore de- pended upon its unbroken connection with the Southern States. During the progress of the war he did all that a Baltimorean could do, under the law, to administer relief to the sufferings of Confederate prisoners, and to the border population of the South. After the war he availed himself of the carliest opportunity, at the banquet given to the delegates to the Odd Fellows' Convention, at the new As- sembly Rooms, August, 1865, to publicly advocate the re- construction of the Union upon the basis of the equality of all citizens before the law, and the equal rights of all the States under the Constitution, In 1868 Mr. Hodges was appointed a delegate, with the late Albert Schumacker, then President of the Board of Trade, to represent that body in the convention which met at Philadelphia to organize the National Board of Trade, and was the author of the proposition submitted to Congress in 1869 by the Executive Council of the National Board of Trade, to es- tablish a new department of the government to be known as the Department of Commerce, to which should be re- ferred all questions connected with the foreign and domes- tie trade and transportation of the country. In 1872-3 Mr. Hodges became deeply interested in the currency question, At the annual banquet of the Shoe and Leather Board of Trade, given at Burnmm's Hotel, January, 1873, he deliv- cred a notable speech on that subject, in which he reviewed our national banking system, pointing out its advantages and defects, and strongly advocating an early resumption of specie payment. In the spring of 1873. 3h. Hodges, be ing urged by many of his fellow citizens, consented to the use of his name as a Democratic candidate for the mayor- alty of Baltimore, subject to the decision of the nominat- ing convention of the party. An influential journal of the day, independent in politics, noticed the first mention of his name in that connection, and earnestly commended him as "a gentleman of culture, a merchant of deservedly high reputation, a publie-spirited citizen, one who can grasp com- preliensively the true interests of this port, and point out the real source of its futme development and prosperity." Mr. Hodges, finding that the requirements of a successful canvass were incompatible with his tastes and sense of manly independence, withdrew from the contest. The same year Mr. Hodges was appointed by Judge Robert Gilmor, as foreman of the Grand Jmy of the Criminal Court of Baltimore. In 1874 he was unanimously nomi
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nated, without notice, and afterwards elected President of the Mercantile Library Association of Baltimore. June, 1875, he was elected a delegate from the Eleventh Ward to the Mayoralty convention that nominated General Fer- dinand C. Latrobe as the Denoperatie candidate for Mayor, and was unanimously elected President of that body. He took an active part in the campaign, delivering earnest and eloquent speeches on municipal, State, and national politics. In 1877 he was made foreman, by Judge William Fell Giles, of the Grand Jury of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. On May 4, the same year, he was unanimously elected by the City Council, one of the Finance Commissioners of Baltimore, his asso- ciates being the Mayor, President ex-officio, and Enoch Pratt. During his occupancy of the above position a five million dollar loan of five per cent. was substituted for the five million dollar six per cent, water loan, which ma- tured in July of 1875, which accomplished a saving to the taxpayers of Baltimore of fifty thousand dollars per annum. Few enterprises have been undertaken in Balti- more, designed to promote its progress and embellishment, which Mr. Hodges has not aided by liberal contributions. In January, 1878, he was chosen Director of the National Union Bank of Maryland. In May of the same year he was commissioned by the President of the United States, on the nomination of Governor John Lee Carroll, Honorary Commissioner to represent the State of Maryland at the International Industrial Exposition at Paris, with Doctor Thomas 11. Buckler as his colleague. He was a member of the Franco-American Commercial Treaty Congress, which met in Paris, August 7, 1878, and with Robert M. Mclane represented the Board of Trade of Baltimore. lle was one of the committee that reported, August 10, 1878, a basis for a treaty of commerce between France and America. He made several speeches in France, in the Congress, and on other public occasions. In the highest mercantile circles at home Mr. Hodges is regarded as a business man of the best standard, intelligent, enterprising, honorable in all his transactions, and admired as the suc- cessful founder of one of the best organized commercial establishments in the United States. Few merchants have done more to elevate the social, moral, and intellectual status of the commercial occupation, and he has availed himself of every fitting opportunity to call the attention of the public to the vast and increasing importance of pro- viding for an advanced commercial education in the schools and colleges of this country. He is frank, affable, and generous in disposition, and ever ready to assist a worthy object. As a citizen he is public-spirited, contrib. uting liberally his time and means to advance the welfare of the community. He is deliberative and cautious in the formation of an opinion, but un hesitating and prompt in the execution of his resolves, having more than ordinary inde- pendence and force of character, accompanied by a readi. ness to take the full responsibility of his convictions of duty.
FROOME, HON. JAMES BLACK, Ex-Governor and United States Senator, son of Colonel John Charles Groome ( whose biography in this volume contains the genealogy of the family), was born in Elkton, Cecil County, Maryland, April 4, 1838. Beside the fortune of birth, he has had such advantages as wealth and social position bestow, and has by an honorable career re- flected credit on his ancestors. Before completing his pre- paratory studies, his close application thereto so affected his eyesight, that he was compelled to abandon his inten- tion of taking a collegiate course, and for several years thereafter to undergo medical treatment. He then entered as a student of law in his father's office, and was admitted to the Cecil bar in the spring of 1861. Ile soon attained to a creditable position and remmerative practice. Like his father, he has the reputation of a high-toned and hon- orable lawyer. Social in his personal intercourse, affable in his manners, courteous and considerate to all, he has always been a general favorite in society, but delayed mat- rimonial alliance until February 29, 1876, when he married Alice I .. Edmondson, daughter of Colonel Horace Leeds Edmondson, of Talbot County, Maryland. Politically, Mr. Groome has always been a zealous and consistent Demo- crat. Ile fully identified himself with that party at the outbreak of the civil war, was active in keeping up and maintaining its organization through all its defeats, until in the fall of 1866, it again secured a majority in Cecil County. In 1867 he was elected a member of the Reform Convention, called to frame a new Constitution for the State. His first speech was on the Usury Laws, and was generally considered, and so pronounced by the press of the State, as an able and masterly effort. From 1867 to 1871, Mr. Groome cvinced no desire for political prefer- ment, but was always active in the canvass of his county for the success of his party. In 1871 he was elected to the House of Delegates. At that session he at once took rank as one of its prominent members. Early in the session an election was held for United States Senator. After a number of ballots had been taken, there were but three of the ten gentlemen voted for that received a larger number of votes than Mr. Groome. He then stated that he was not a candidate, asked privilege to withdraw his name, and declared his preference that the Senatorial con- test should be speedily ended by the success of any promi. nent Eastern Maryland Democrat rather than protracted in the hope that he might be successful. During the session he not only took an active and leading part in the debates of the House, but was an indefatigable worker on the sev- eral committees of which he was a member, especially the Judiciary. At the close of the session, Mr. Groome had made a reputation rarely acquired by so young a man ; a legislator in his first term. He was opposed to the nomi- nation of Horace Greeley for the Presidency, but acting with his party, he accepted a place on the electoral ticket, and entered actively into the canvass, In 1873 he was
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again elected to the Legislature, and was abundant in labors during that session. Ile was chairman of the Judi- ciary Committee, was a member of the Committees on Ways and Meaus, and on Elections. Early in the session an election for United States Senator took place, and Gover- nor William Pinkney Whyte was chosen; Governor Whyte resigned, and it became necessary for the Legislature to fill the vacancy. A large number of prominent gentlemen were named for the place ; but such was the popularity of Mr. Groome, that in the caucus he received sixty-two of the seventy votes cast on the first ballot. In a few days after he was elected Governor by the unanimous vote of his party. Many congratulatory letters were addressed to him by prominent members of the Repubhcan party, among them the IIon. J. A. J. Creswell, a native of Cecil County, a former law student of his father, and an inti- mate associate of Mr. Groome from his carly youth. Mr. Groome was inaugurated Governor of Maryland on Wed- nesday, March 4, 1874. Governor Groome's first official act was so graceful a compliment to an old friend of his father, and does credit alike to his heart as well as his head, that the writer deems it worthy of notice. When Colonel John C. Groome was a candidate for Governor, at a dinner party in Chestertown, some one present inquired of Colonel Groome what would be his action on certain matters in case of his election. The Colonel playfully re- plied, he had decided on but one official act, and that was to make his friend, Mr. George W. Spencer, who sat at the table, an aid on his staff, with the rank of Colonel. Imme- diately Mr. Spencer was congratulated, and thereafter was often awarded that title. Seventeen years after the son was made Governor, and before congratulatory hand- shaking was over after his inauguration, he directed the Adjutant-General to issue a commission to Mr. Spencer, as one of his aids, with rank of Colonel, thus ratifying, as he said, the act of his father. During his official term, a num- ber of speeches and addresses delivered by him added largely to his reputation and acceptability as an orator. Ilis message to the Legislature was conceded to be a credi- table and able state paper. When John Lee Carroll was nominated for Governor of Maryland, Governor Groome gave him his heartiest support and best efforts in the can- vass. After the election Governor Groome was placed in a position of delicacy in the case of the contest over the Attorney-Generalship. Divesting his official position of partisan bias, he met the issue in a frank, manly, and hon- orable manner. Ilis action gave very general satisfaction to men of both parties. During his term of office, he maintained at all times the dignity of his position and in- creased his popularity. The executive mansion at Annap- olis was conducted with true Maryland hospitality, and Governor Groome retired from office universally respected. At the last session of the Legislature he was elected United States Senator from Maryland for the term of six years from the 4th of March, 1879. His competitors were Ilon.
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George R. Dennis, U. S. S., Ex-Governor Philip F. Thomas, Hon. Robert M. McLane, Hon. Montgomery Blair, Ilon. Samuel Hambleton, Judges John M. Robin- son, Joseph A. Wiches, Frederick Stump, and others. Vet with all this array of talent and influence against him, on the tinal ballot in the Democratic caneus, Mr. Groome re- ceived fifty-one of the eighty votes cast. It is rarely the case that so young a man has occupied so many honorable and prominent positions. Not yet forty years of age, he has been a member of the Reform Convention, twice a mem- ber of the Assembly, Governor of the State, and now her representative in the United States Senate, where he will doubtless do credit to himself and his State.
ILL, GEORGE M., Lawyer, was born February 15, 1803, in Baltimore, Maryland. His grandfather, John Gill, was a landed proprietor of Vorkshire, England. Ilis maternal grandfather, Colonel Wil- liam Lowry, a native of Ireland, came to Baltimore at an early period of its history. Ile had many of the best traits of the Irish character, hospitality, frankness, wit, and energy. Ilis ability being known, he became for several years surveyor of the port of Baltimore. Mr. Gill's father, coming from England in the latter part of the eighteenth century, located and married in Alexandria, Virginia, and after a few years settled in Baltimore. He brought from England a sufficient amount of money to enable him to make a comfortable settlement in the New World. As Notary Public in the city of Baltimore for about half a cen- tury, his business, embracing attention to Custom-house matters, insurance adjustments, and various other branches, was quite large, and occupied both his own time and that of a number of clerks. Ile died in Baltimore at the ad- vanced age of ninety-one years. George M. Gill was for- innate in having a father who bestowed much care on his carly training. Ile received a thorough academic educa- tion, graduating at St. Mary's College, Baltimore. He then studied law, and was admitted to the Baltimore bar in 1823, since which time he has continued in active prac- tice with success. He has always been very pronounced in his political views. Formerly he was an old-line Whig, be is now a Democrat. About forty years ago he was a member of the City Council. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867. But during most of his life he has .subordinated polities to business. He has been a Director of the Susquehanna Railroad, the York and Cumberland Railroad, and the Western Maryland Rail. roll. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. In 183o he married Ann W., daughter of Thomas MeElden), of Baltimore. She died in a few years thereafter. He
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then married Ann Mekim, daughter of William 1 .. Bowly, of Baltimore. He has eight chikhien living, seven daugh- leis, five of whom are manied, and one son, John Gill, Jr., a practicing attorney in Baltimore. After completing his preparatory studies Mr. Gill was thrown upon his own resources. This, instead of daunting him, served ouly to arouse his energies, and to bring into more speedy play those traits of industry, perseverance, and astuteness, which have so characterized his professional career. By his exact knowledge of law, clear insight into the probable issues of a snit, sagacious management of his cases, and conscien- tious regard for the best interests of his clients, he built up a high reputation and a large practice. For a number of years he has appeared but little in open court. Real estate investment, the management and settlement of estates, referee matters, and other office business, occupy almost his whole attention. For these his legal skill and practical mind give him peculiar adaptation. Ile is one of the oldest members of the Baltimore bar, and is held in high esteem as a thorough Christian gentleman.
6-0,0 1 POZMAN, JOHN LEEDS, son of John and Lucretia (Leeds) Bozman, was born at " Bellville," the family estate on Oxford Neck, August 25, 1757. Ilis father, in 1731, held the office of Deputy Commissary-General, and his grandfather, Colonel Thomas Bozman, was successively Deputy Surveyor-Gen- eral, lligh Sheriff, Commissioner and Justice of the Peace of the County, and Deputy Commissary-General of the Eastern Shore. The mother of John Leeds Bozman was the daughter of John Leeds, one of the Commissioners and Justices of the Peace for the county of Talbot, and Clerk of the Court, from the year 1738 to the outbreak of the Revolutionary war. When he was but ten years old John I .. Bozman lost his father, and the direction of his education was assumed by his maternal grandfather. His academic education was obtained at the Back Creek Acad- emy, in Somerset County, a school of high reputation in its day. He graduated in 1783 from the University of Pennsylvania, and it having been determined that he should make the profession of the law his calling, he was sent to England and entered as a student at the " Middle Temple," London, his grandfather defraying his expenses. On his return to Maryland he was admitted to the bar and practiced for many years in the various courts of the county and State. From 1789 to 1807 he served as Deputy Attor- ney-General under Luther Martin, his warm friend and associate. Ile did not acquire distinction as an advocate. He devoted much of his time to literary pursuits. Ile contributed to the papers and wrote several pamphlets on political, civil, and social subjects. He had collected the
materials for a history of Maryland, which his health per- mitted him to continue only from the settlement of the State to the year 1660. It was, however, considered of great value on account of the extent of its researches, and was published by the State authorities in 1837, Mr. Boz- man having died in 1823. The influences of his birth and education little inclined him to sympathy with the demo- cratic institutions of our country ; he was essentially an aristocrat, and one of his essays was suppressed on ac- count of tendencies of this nature. In his history he takes no pains to conceal his antipathy to the Puritans, both in England and America, while towards the Roman Catholics he manifests the utmost liberality. Mr. Bozman was a nominal adherent of the Protestant Episcopal Church. HIe advocated colonization, and the retention of the negro in a state of slavery as long as he remained in contact with the white man, but was exceedingly kind and indul -. gent to his own slaves. Ile never married.
ILL, HION. WILLIAM BEANS, Judge and State Sen- ator, was born November 13, 1813, at Woodlawn Homestead, Prince George's County, Maryland, eldest son of Dr. William and Ann (Smith) Ilill. The family came to America with the first I.ord Baltimore, and obtained a patent of the estate now called " Woodlawn," consisting of twelve hundred acres of land, which descended through five Clement Hills to Dr. Wil- liam Hill, and finally to the subject of this sketch, whose home it now is. The first representative of the family signed himself Surveyor-General of the province of Mary- land. Mr. Hill has in his possession an ancient document, dated 1692, which is a commission issued probably to the son of the first Clement Hill, appointing him Surveyor- General of the Western Shore. On his mother's side, his grandfather was Dr. Clement Smith, of Calvert County, who was with Commodore Dale when he was captured by a British man-of-war and imprisoned at Portsmouth, Eng- land. They made their escape by burrowing under the prison walls, and returned to America. His great grand- father, Clement Hill, was for many years Commissioner of the Land Office with his brother-in-law, Mr. Stuart, of Anne Arundel County. His great-grandmother was Miss Carroll, sister of Archbishop Carroll, and married Richard Brent, of Richland, Virginia. Mr. Hill was educated at St. Mary's College, Emmettsburg, Maryland, graduating in 1831, when he returned to his estate, where he has ever since remained. Previons to the war he had one hun- dred and thirty slaves. He was appointed Judge of the Orphans' Court by Governor Pratt, which office he held one year. By a change in the Constitution, the office
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became elective, when Judge Hill was elected by the people for four successive tenus, making a period of sis. teen years. He was elected a fifth time, but resigned his position on account of severe family affliction. Judge Hill held no public position till he was elected to the State Senate in 1877 for a term of four years. He married in 1834 Catharine B., second daughter of Richard Smith, Cashier of the United States Branch Bank of Washington city. Ile has four children hving, William Murdock, who resides in New Orleans, and has a son and a daughter, Ann S., Helen M., wife of Mr. Buchanan Beale, of Washington city, and Richard Smith Hill. His wife died in 1872.
UFFEY, HUGH, Druggist, was born in Philadelphia, € August 23, 1836. Ilis parents were Roger and Eleanor (O'Neill) Duffey. Ilis father was a hatter. The subject of this sketch attended the schools of his native city from his seventh until his fourteenth year. Ile then came to Maryland, where he was apprenticed to Dr. Brilton Evans, of Worton, Kent County, to learn the business of farming. But soon after Dr. Evans removed to Hillsborough, and young Duffey was employed in his office, learning among other thingsthe com- pounding of medicines. Developing in this manner a taste in that direction, he applied himself earnestly to acquire a knowledge of the business, and also spent some time as a clerk in a store. On arriving at a sufficiently mature age, Mr. Duffey taught school for a number of years, and ar- quired a very superior reputation in that profession. In 1865, at the age of twenty-nine years, he commenced the drug business on his own account. By integrity, upright- ness, economy, and close attention to business, he soon placed his affairs on a substantial basis, and is now in in- dependent circumstances. Mr. Duffey united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in his twenty-first year, and attributes to this stop a large share of the prosperity that has attended him. As an eshorter, class leader, and superin- tendent of the Sabbath school, he has served his church with ability and acceptance. As a friend of popular educa- tion he has been active and decided, and has served as trustee of the public school of his town. He has been de- voted to the cause of temperance, giving to it his time and energies since his early manhood. He takes advanced ground in favor of local option ; has served in the county conventions of the State, and is a member of the State. Alliance. Ile is also a Good Templar. Mr. Duffey was married, May 31, 1860, to Catharine, daughter of John Lee, of Hillsborough, Caroline County, and has five children living, of whom three are sons. All that he is he owes in large measure to his own exertions, and wherever known is highly respected for his many exemplary traits of char. acter.
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