The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2, Part 13

Author: National Biographical Publishing Co. 4n
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Baltimore : National Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 802

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USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 13

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TO DOWELL, WILLIAM JAMES, M.D., was born in Baltimore, February 23, 1854. lle attended various schools in his native city, at Oxford, Chester County, Pennsylvania, and other places, but received his principal education at the Balli. more City College. In 1809 he entered into mercantile life, in which he remained until 1872, when he commenced the study of medicine, matriculating at the University of Maryland in the fall of that year. He graduated therefrom in the spring of 1874, and immediately after receiving his diploma was appointed Attending Physician at the Dispen- sary of the Baltimore Infirmary. After occupying that position for a year he received the appointment of Attend- ing Surgeon at the Baltimore Eye and Ear Infirmary. He served as such until 1877, when he was appointed Attend- ing Physician to the Presbyterian Eye and Ear Hospital, on East Baltimore Street, which responsible professional position he now occupies. He is a member of the Medico- Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, the Medical and Surgical Society of Baltimore, and the Clinical Society of that city. Ile has contributed several valuable articles on diseases of the eye and ear to leading medical journals. Among them may be mentioned one entitled " Phlyctenular Ophthalmia," published in the Virginia Medical Monthly, as read by him before the Medical and Surgical Society of Baltimore; one, in the same journal, on " Bone Deposit in Place of Lens;" and one on " Oyster Shuckers' Corneitis," his observations on the latter being thoroughly original, and in reference to an ocular condition not hitherto recognized. In January, 1878, Dr. McDowell was elected President of the Medical and Surgical Society of Baltimore for one year, an honor which had never before been accorded to one of his age. In April of that year he was appointed Chief of Clinic to the Chair of Eye and Ear Diseases in the University of Mary- land, which position he occupies at the present time. He makes a specialty of the above diseases, and has success- fully performed all the important and difficult operations upon the eye and car, notably among the former being the successful removal of cataract from the eye of a patient who had attained the advanced age of ninety-seven years. Di. MeDowell's father is Dr. William S. Me Dowell, Doc- tor of Dental Surgery, who is a native of Philadelphia, but has been for many years a resident of Baltimore. His grandfather, John McDowell, was a commander in the United States Navy in the war of 1812. He was captured during the war, and confined in Dartmoor prison, Eng- land, until the cessation of hostilities. His great-grand- father was an officer in the American Revolutionary ser- vice, and commanded the Scottish Grenadiers. He was wounded at the battle of Germantown. The progenitors of the McDowells were of Scotch birth, and came to America about the middle of the last century, settling in Philadelphia. Although yet a young man, Dr. MeDowell enjoys the reputation of a skilful and successful medical practitioner, occupying a high rank in the special depart.

ment of medicine and surgery to which he has particularly directed his study and attention.

WOOTERS, JAMES MARION, Farmer, of Chapel Dis- trict, Talbot County, Maryland, was born January I, 1845. His father was a well-known and re- spected farmer of that county. He died in his six- stieth year. His mother is still living. His parents were anxious to give him the advantage of a good cdluca- tion, and after attending the district school through his earlier years, they sent him in 1861 to the West River Clas- sical Institute, where he remained till 1863, when they placed him under the care of the Rev. Dr. Bevan, of Ilills- boro. Here he made good progress in the classics. IIe afterwards attended school for one term at Trappe, Mary- land. In 1864 he took charge of a school in Severn Dis- trict, Anne Arundel County, and taught for one year, at the end of which time he returned to his native county and assumed the care of a school in Chapel District. During the same year Mr. Wooters was united in marriage with Laura J., daughter of James and Caroline Barton, of Caro- line County. He soon after engaged in agriculture, in which he has been very successful. His valuable farm of three hundred and ninety-six acres, near Cordova, is in a desirable locality, and is kept in fine condition. Ilis clder brother, Charles K. Wooters, is also a well-known farmer of Chapel District. Mr. Wooters is an enterprising and highly respected citizen. He has three children.

BEE, JOHN THOMAS, was born in Baltimore in 1841. After going through the various grades of the pub- lic schools he entered St. Vincent's Academy, Bal- timore, in which institution he pursued his studies for four years, and there completed his education. At the age of seventeen years he became engaged in the printing establishment of the late James Lucas, serving therein two years, at the expiration of which time he went to Washington, District of Columbia, and acted as Assis- tant Wagon-Master, United States Army, in Chief Wagon- Master Roe's division. After being thus engaged for about eighteen months he returned to Baltimore, where he pur- chased teams and contracted with the United States Gov- ernment, and also with commission merchants, for the hauling of various kinds of produce. Hle pursued that business with great success for six years, and then, in 1868, entered into negotiation with Nicholas Seitz, of York County, Pennsylvania, for utilizing the peach for distilla- tion into peach brandy. Subsequently he became a party

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to a contract with E. Shaeffer, of Glenn Rock, Pennsyl- vania, for the same purpose. In 1872 Mr. Lee formed a copartnership with George Waidle, under the present firm name of Waidle & Lee, lor conducting the peach distil- levy business, adding thereto the distillation of apple brandy in 1874. The fruit distillery of Messrs. Waidle & Lee, which is located at the corner of Jenkins and Point Lane, Baltimore County, is one of the most extensive in Mary- land, and the amount of peach and apple brandy distilled by it during the working months of each ycar exceeds that of the other distilleries of the State combined. The bran- dies are from the fruits themselves, without any " doctor- ing " or adulteration, and are therefore highly esteemed for their purity and excellent flavor. This superior excellence in their brandies is attained by a new and ingenious pro- cess of distillation recently invented by them. Messrs. Waidle & Lee have a very heavy trade with the South and West, the greater bulk being in Ohio. The principal cities they ship to are Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Angusta, and Charleston, and in all these commu- nities their productions meet with greater favor and de- mand than those of any other of a similar kind in the United States. The firm has a grain distillery at Shrews- bury, Pennsylvania, which was well-known as Ruby's distillery, G. W. Ruby, the former proprietor, having pro- duced a superior brand of whiskey, which Messrs. Waidle & Lee have improved. John T. Lee's father was Thomas Lee, a native and highly respectable citizen of St. Mary's County, where his ancestors for many generations were born. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Mary O'Neal, daughter of Luke O'Neal, a descendant of a highly honored family of Antrim, Ircland. Mr. Lee married Miss Scott, daughter of Andrew Scott, of an old Scottish family, and long resident of Baltimore. Mr. Lee has been for many years a very active and decided member of the Dem- ocratic Conservative party. Ile served in the Democratic City Convention of Baltimore for six consecutive years, and has been a member of various other important bodies of that party. Ile has also been a prominent member of leading Catholic societies. Ile has been a very extensive traveller, and his mind is well stored with general infor- mation. IIc is a prompt, energetic, and thorough business man, faithful in the discharge of all his obligations, and highly esteemed in the community.

12 ILLISS, JOSEPH ALBERT, M.D., of Baltimore, was born near Salisbury, Somerset, now Wicomico County, Maryland, December 31, 1840. IIe is the second son of Judge James and Lcah Eleanor (Wright) Gilliss, both from the oldest and most respectable families of that county. The Gilliss family, of Scotch origin, can be traced back to the year 1660.

Ilis mother is of English descent. His father learned in carly life the ship-carpenter's trade, but has lived for nearly thirty years on his line farm, and during most of that time has held important public offices. From a Jus- tice of the Peace he has risen to be Chief Judge of the (iphans' Court, holding that position since 1875. IIc is a man of great probity of character, remarkable energy, and great political influence, and has accumulated consid- crable property. IIe was brought up in the Episcopal Church, but is now a Baptist. . His son, Joseph A., was sent to the best country schools of that locality, but after reaching the age of nineteen, supported himself; and his further education was due entirely to his own industry and energy. An indefatigable student and worker, he taught school for five years in Maryland and Delaware, and was Principal of a school in Quantico, Maryland. Persevering, at the same time in his studies, he took private lessons for a considerable period in the languages. He had originally intended to enter the legal profession, and spent eighteen months in reading law, but his studies having been inter- rupted by a serious illness, he was persuaded by his friends to prepare for the medical profession. He accordingly pursued a preparatory course for a year in the office of Drs. S. P. Dennis and Marion Slemons, and matriculated at the Washington University of Medicine in 1868, receiving the degree of M.D. in February, 1870. Also, to further per- fect himself in his chosen profession, he pursued for some time a post-graduate course at the University of Maryland, and other medical schools. In July, 1870, he settled in Baltimore, where he has since remained, meeting with success, and now holds a prominent position among the professional men of that city. He has been four times appointed Vaccine Physician for the Thirteenth and Four- teenth wards, each appointment being for one ycar. Hle is a general practitioner, and his practice is large and lu- crative. Dr. Gilliss is a member of the Medical and Chirur- gical faculty of Maryland, also of the Baltimore Medical Society and others. Ile is held in high estecm by his pro- fessional brethren, and throughout the community. IIe was united in marriage, December 20, .1870, with Miss Georgin Hardesty, of Anne Arundel County. Their only child, James Edgar Gilliss, was born March 18, 1873, and died June 23, 1874. Dr. Gilliss is a member of the society of Odd Fellows, and has travelled extensively through the United States. His office is at No. 50 North Eutaw Street.

ROBERTSON, WILLIAM W., M.D., youngest son of Dr. James B. and Eleanor ( Williams) Robert- son, was born in Calvert County, Maryland, Au- gust 7, 1845. On his father's side he is of Scotch descent, while his mother's ancestors were English. ITis father is the first consin of George Robertson Dennis,

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now United States Senator from Maryland. He was born in White Haven, Somerset County, but after his marriage resided in Calvert County, on one of the most beautiful and valuable estates on Chesapeake Bay, His wife was a daughter of Major Williams, of Washington County, and a relative of General Otho Williams of Revolutionary fame. The education of their son, William W., was care- fully conducted at Charlotte Hall Academy, and complet- ing his classical studies at Georgetown College, he gradu- ated .A. B., in 1801. He then entered upon the study of medicine in the city of Baltimore, his instructors being the eminent physicians Drs. MeSherry and Van Bibber of that city, and after attending two full courses of lectures at the University of Maryland, he graduated M.D., in 1864. lle commenced the duties of his profession as physician in charge of several of the large coal mining companies in Alleghany County, removing at the expiration of one year to Salisbury, Wicomico County, where he practiced suc- cessfully till 1867. While residing in that place, in 1866, he was united in marriage with Miss P. F. Acworth, daughter of the late Train Acworth, a gentleman of great promi- nence and wealth in the same county. The following year Dr. Robertson removed to Baltimore, locating at No. 19 South Eutaw Street, where he has built up a large and lucra- tive practice. About that time he turned his attention to diseases of the nervous system, which he has since made a specialty. His success in this department has been very great. Several remarkable eures effected under his treat- ment have been reported in the medical journals of the country, and have secured for him a wide reputation. Many of his remedies are his own discoveries, and have proved very effective in the treatment of this class of dis- orders, to which he now gives his sole attention. Dr. Rob- ertson is a close student, and thorough in his investigations into the seience of medicine, particularly in his depart- ment. Hle is a man of fine presence, and possesses a strong and active mind. He has two children, William Acworth, and James Claggett Robertson. In his religious faith he is an Episcopalian, and in politics a Democrat.

HOMAS, JOSEPH, founder of the firm of Joseph Thomas & Son, manufacturers of building mate- rials, church, bank, and office furniture, Balti- more, Maryland, was born in 1787 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Ilis parents were Jacob and Mary Thomas. The ancestors of the family came from Wales about the time of the landing of William Penn in 1682. They had purchased land while in Wales, from the agents of William Penn, paying at the rate of one hundred pounds for five thousand acres. The Welsh emi- grants were very numerous, and expected to form a barony, speaking their own language and having their own laws and customs, thus making a " New Wales," as they in-

tended to mame the settlement. King Charles, however, named it Pennsylvania, after William Penn. The Thomas family, like many of the Welsh emigrants, were Baptists. All the school advantages young Thomas received were enjoyed previous to his sixteenth year, at which time he went to Wilmington, Delaware, and served an apprentice- ship at cabinet-making. About the year 1810 he came to Baltimore, where he was employed by a prominent cabinet- maker. Ile was one of the old defenders, and marched at the age of twenty-five with his company to North Point to defend the city. He was also a member of the " P'rop- erty Guards," a fire company of that period, and a mem- ber of the Franklin Beneficial Society. In 1820 he pur- chased a foot turning-lathe, and in the basement of his dwelling commenced what soon became the leading wood- turning business of the city. The growth of his trade caused him to purchase the property fronting on Lexing- ton, Park, and Clay streets, where he built a factory, to which additions were made from time to time. llis son Joseph was taken into business with him, and subse- quently his other son, Jacob B., and son-in-law, John L. Lawton, were added to the firm. Mr. Thomas married, April 22, 1813, Miss Mary, daughter of Richard and Margaret Burton, by whom he had one child, now Mrs. Mary J. Bauer. That wife having died he married her sister Eleanor, May 7, 1816. They had nine children, but four of whom are living : namely, Jacob B., Henrietta M., wife of John L. Lawton, Elizabeth A., wife of Wil- liam M. Mentzel, and Ellen L., wife of Thomas C. Burton. Ilis son Joseph, above mentioned, died in April, 1864. Mr. Thomas died March 16, 1848, in the sixty- first year of his age, leaving behind him the reputation of a man faithful to his God and honorable in all his trans- actions with his fellow-men, His widow survived him twenty-six years. Ile had been a member of the First Baptist Church, but afterwards united with the Disciples of Christ, of which body he remained a zealous member to the close of his life. The business he left is still con- ducted under the old firm name of Joseph Thomas & Son, by his son, Jacob B. Thomas, and son-in-law, John L. Lawton. The great fire of 1873, which originated on their premises, destroying the factory and warehouse, led them to the immediate purchase of the extensive build- ings on Leadenhall Street, then fully equipped with ma- chinery, and in operation ; so that within a few days they were ready to fill orders for everything in their line of business. Their trade extends throughout the State, the District of Columbia, and adjacent Southern States. They employ about one hundred persons. Their house has had a favorable reputation for half a century, and has con- tributed its due proportion to the development of the manufacturing interests of Baltimore, The integrity of these gentlemen is unimpeachable, and they worthily rep- resent the business to which they have been so thoroughly educated. Mr. Jacob B. Thomas was born in Baltimore,

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March 9, 1828. He married Miss Elizabeth A., daughter of Ralph Norwood, Esq., of Hyattstown, Montgomery County, Maryland, January 27, 1852. He assisted in the organization of the Maryland Institute, being one of its first life members, and also of the Young Men's Christian Association. Ile has been for many years a member and officer in the Church of the Disciples of Christ, and takes a lively interest in all objects of truc benevolence. In 1868-9 he made a pleasant trip to Europe, Palestine, and Egypt, in company with his Pastor, Rev. Alfred N. Gil- bert, now of Cincinnati, Ohio. When quite young Mr. Thomas united with the Sons of Temperance, and has ever since adhered to the principles of that society. He is delicate in his appearance, but full of life and energy. Modest and retiring in his disposition, he is yet one of the most extensive manufacturers in Baltimore, and prominent and efficient in his church and Sabbath-school.

BORRELL, J. WILLIAM, M.D., the eldest son of Abraham and Ann ( Lyder) Correll, was born in Winchester, Virginia, August 26, 1826. Ilis father was a successful business man. During the latter part of his life he was a merchant in Baltimore. He had twelve children, cleven sons and one daughter, of whom only four sons are now living. The family is of English descent; four brothers, George, Abraham, Lewis, and Christopher, came to America just after the Revolu- tion, one settled in Jersey City, New Jersey, one in Lan- caster, Pennsylvania, and two in Delaware. Lewis Cor- rell, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, set- tled in Jersey City, near which place he owned a ferry, which was called Correll's Ferry. The education of Dr. Correll was owing more to his own determined efforts than to any advantages he received. Ile attended the academy of his native place, and in 1850 commenced his profes- sional studies, receiving in due time a certificate from his preceptor, and commenced to practice. Desirons of more thorough preparation for his life work, he afterwards en- tered the Virginia Medical College, from which he gradu- ated M.D., in 1859. The following year he removed to North Carolina, where he met with good success, and re- mained till 1865, when he came to Baltimore, where he has since resided, and become one of the leading and most prominent physicians of that city. The demands of his large practice closely tax his time and strength. Gyna- cology and the diseases of women and children he makes a specialty, and in these he is very successful and has all the calls to which he can attend. In addition to this he studies continuously and hard, reaching constantly after broader and higher attainments, both in medicine and sei- ence. He is fond of investigating all scientific questions, and his reading embraces a wide range of subjects. To

| his patients he gives close and careful attention, and by his faithfulness and reliability in his profession has well merited the popularity he enjoys. His standing in the community and among his professional brethren is also deservedly high. To dentition, as related to health, he has given much attention, and was, in 1877, elected an honorary member of the Dental Association of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Ile is a member of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, and was, in 1878, a representative from that Society to the General Medical Association held in Buffalo, New York, in June of that year. He took a prominent part in the deliberations of that body, and his services were highly appreciated. Dr. Correll has been elected a member of the East Baltimore Medical Association, and has held other responsible positions in the city. He was married in 1850 to Miss Lulu Latham, of Chester, Virginia, and has" had four children. Of these only two are living, his daughter Mollie, and his son, Dr. Thomas A. Correll, a physician of four years' standing and of fine promise. IIe graduated from the Maryland University in 1875.

UDSBURY, COLONEL JOSEPH M., son of Peter and Clarissa (Weaver) Sudsbury, was born in Nym- phenburg, Bavaria, March 17, 1827. Ilis father was all his life in the service of the Bavarian Gov- ernment, being first an officer in the army. After engaging in two campaigns against Napoleon he retired and took a civil office, which he held the remainder of his life. He died in 1854 at the age of sixty-five. Ilis an- cestors had been proprietors in Lower Bavaria for at least four hundred years. The Von Sudsburys belonged to the lower nobility, and consequently were able to secure a mili- tary education for the young Joseph M. Ilis mother's fam- ily who were from Austria, were also influential in ob- taining for him a free education in the Austrian Military School, from which he graduated, at the age of seventeen, and joined the Austrian Army. . But though brought up a Catholic, and under the repressive influence of a most despotic government, he was born with an intense love of liberty, and a hatred of every arbitrary rule. The cause of the struggling Poles enlisted all his sympathies, and at the age of nineteen he joined with them in the fight for freedom. When they failed, he had of course to fly for his life, and gaining the soil of France, he joined the French Army, which he accompanied the same year to Africa against the Arabs. In that country he' remained three years; he then went to Ilolland. Soon after he joined the insurrection of 1849 of Baden against the monarchy, in its effort to become a republic. The thirty-six thousand revo- lutionists were driven back and took refuge in Switzer- land. Here he lived two years, and in 1851 came to

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America. Settling first in New York, he learned the carving business, which he has ever since made a means of livelihood, and in which he is still engaged. In 1854 he removed to Baltimore. On the breaking out of the civil war, carly in 1861, he joined the Union Army, entering the Second Maryland Regiment as a private, but was mustered in as Captain of Company K. Very soon he was trans- ferred to the Third Regiment, and promoted to the Lieu- tenant-Colonelcy, and in four months afterward was made Colonel, his commission dating September 1, 1862. He was engaged in the battle of Cedar Mountain, the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, the first battle of the Wil- derness, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. Following the last-named his corps was transferred to Rosecrans's command and ordered to Chattanooga. Their time hav- ing expired the whole regiment re-enlisted and came home on a thirty days' furlough. They were then assigned to the Ninth Corps under Burnside, and were in action in the second battle of the Wilderness under Grant, Spott- sylvania Court-house, South Anna, Cold Harbor, and be- fore Petersburg. The regiment having been badly cut up, at Colonel Sudsbury's request, it was consolidated into a battalion, and he with most of his officers returned home. Ile has nobly and bravely served our country, and is en- titled to her lasting gratitude. He was married in 1855 to Miss Mary Kankin, of Baltimore, and has five children, Joseph A., William P., Randolph E., Louis, and Mary.

HALAND, DOCTOR THOMAS HENRY, was born December 1, 1811, in Kent County, Maryland. He was the son of John and Sarah Ann (Con- stable) Whaland, and the grandson of John and Margaret (Constable) Whaland. He was a stu- dent of Washington College, near Chestertown, when that venerable institution was destroyed by fire, January 11, 1827, and subsequently pursued his studies under the direc- tion of Reverend Timothy Clowes, D.D). After his father's death, in November, 1828, he took charge of and conducted the grist and fulling mill, near Chestertown, known as " Whaland's Mill." He studied medicine under the supervision of the late Professor Nathan R. Smith, M.D., and attended lectures at the Maryland University in 1836-1837. Afterwards he matriculated in the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, and was graduated in March, 1839. Immediately after his graduation he com- menced the practice of his profession in Chestertown and its vicinity, and acquired an extensive practice, which he still retains, sharing it with his second son. While a student in Baltimore he frequently met and was well acquainted with the elder Booth and Edgar Allan Poe. Hle married, December 26, 1829, Eliza Grace Camp, daughter of William and Grace Camp, of Kent County, Maryland, and had eleven children, of whom the fol-

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2, Part 13

Author: National Biographical Publishing Co. 4n Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Baltimore : National Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 802

Author: National Biographical Publishing Co. 4n
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Baltimore : National Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 802