USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 18
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 18
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
436
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
entific societies of Europe. His reception by the leading men of the profession abroad was most cordial and flatter- ing. In Angust of that year the British Medical Associa- tion convened at the old city of Chester, on which occasion Dr. Cox was formally introduced, and delivered an elo. qnent and acceptable discourse. Here he formed the ac- quaintance of many illustrious members of the profession, whose friendship he still retains. As an evidence of the appreciation of the medical men of the Old World of the representative of the New, Dr. Cox was treated with marked attention, and among the honors conferred upon him was that of honorary membership in the British Medical Asso- ciation. After an extended tour across the Continent he returned, late in the year, to his native city. In 1867 the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred.upon him by the Faculty and Trustees of Trinity College, Hartford, Con- necticut. During the following year he was appointed States Commissioner of Pensions, and removed with his family to the National Capital. In 1869, having resigned government office, he was invited to take the Chair of Medical Jurisprudence and Hygiene in Georgetown Medi- cal College. Ilis lectures were regarded by those who heard them as unusually interesting and instructive, indi- cating complete acquaintance with the intricate subjects presented for discussion. In connection with other duties he edited about this time the National Medical Journal, to which he contributed much valuable material. In 1871 Doctor Cox united with Doctors Stephens Smith, Elisha Harris, and others, who assembled at Long Branch, in es- tablishing the American Health Association, and was se- lected as a member of its first Executive Committee. In April of the same year, on the organization by Congress of a Board of Health of the District of Columbia, he was ap- pointed, by the Executive, one of its members, and immedi- ately thereafter elected its President. The zeal and ability . with which he discharged the varied, delicate, and respon- sible duties of this trying position, are clearly indicated by the valuable reports and papers which, from time to time, emanated from his pen. On July 3, 1876, a Congress of Authors was convened in Independence Hall, at Philadel- phia, each of the invited writers having been previously requested to prepare a memoir of some one distinguished in the times of the Revolution. To the doctor was as- signed the life and services of Matthew Tilghman, of Mary- land. The paper was presented and deposited among the archives of the venerable cradle of liberty. In the same year he was elected as one of the Judges of the Centennial Exposition, and constituted Chairman of Group XIV, which embraced the important subjects of heating, light- ing, ventilation, drainage, and other branches in their me- chanical and sanitary relations. His library contains numer- ous diplomas of merit, and certificates of honorary mem- bership in leading literary and scientific societies, foreign and domestic. At the present time Dr. Cox is actively en- gaged in professional pursuits at Washington, prominent in
all useful public enterprises, and especially conspicuous in art and literary institutions. Ile has been a constant con- tributor for many years to medical and scientific journal-, and has also devoted much time to literary pursuits. Asa port he is especially successful in dashing off in the inter. vals of a busy life poems of rare beauty and Imish. Not a few of these have been widely circulated through the press, and translated into foreign languages. As a platform speaker and lecturer he has few superiors. In politics he is a consistent Republican, and in church relations an Episcopalian. He is of medium height, and active in his movements. Socially, he is very popular, being possessed of courtly manners; endowed with a kind and sympathetic nature, he is quick to respond to the appeals of suffering humanity, and his frequent and unostentatious acts of benevolence will he long remembered. Dr. and Mrs. Cox have had eight children, one of whom is a physician in" Southern California.
GRIFFITH, GOLDSBOROUGH S., Merchant and Phil- anthropist, was born November 4, 1814, near Aber- deen, llarford County, Maryland. His parents, James and Sarah Griffith, were married August 11, 1803. They had eight children, of whom only three are living. His father was a volunteer in the United States Army for a very short time, when General Ross, at the head of the British troops, advanced towards Washing- ton and Baltimore in 1814. The exposure of camp life ruined his health, and he died soon after his return home, when the subject of this sketch was but a few months old. Two years after, the widow became the wife of Ilenry Michacl. The issue of that marriage was six children, four of whom remain. The property left by his father, which would have yielded a moderate competency, was not judiciously managed, and it gradually disappeared. The change of circumstances induced the family to remove to Baltimore. At that time Goldsborough was, not more than twelve years of age, but he fully realized the necessity of exertion on the part of himself and brothers. He soon ob- tained a situation and entered upon the active duties of life with all the courage, industry, and perseverance which have marked his course in every undertaking to the present period. For several years he was with A. and J. Bonn, tobacco manufacturers. These gentlemen were so well pleased with his integrity, honesty, and faithful discharge of duty, that they always added a small amount over and above his stipulated weekly dues. They also offered him inducements to remain with them until the age of twenty- one, and promised that at the expiration of that time, they would establish him in business. Their kind offer was not accepted, as the tobacco trade was not congenial to his taste. IIe, however, manifested the deepest gratitude for their generous intentions and interest in his welfare. Mr.
ปี
٠٠
4,37
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
Thomas Spicer, his Sunday school teacher, recommended und introduced him to Mr. Archibald Golder, with whom he learned the paperhanging business. He became such an expert in that line that at the age of wineteen years he was carning hom twenty to forty dollars per week. Mr. Goller granted him many advantages, and when he was twenty years old he offered him a copartnership with his brother Robert Galder, whom he was about to establish in Phila- delphia. Although this opportunity was urged for his ac- ceptance, he could not see his way clear to leave Balti- mare, and therefore declined. His mother had become a contirmed invalid, and needed his presence and influence at home. The support of the family principally devolved upon him, his brothers having left for other States, At the age of twenty-two he selected a partner who thoroughly understood upholstering, of which he had no practical knowledge. They commenced the paperhanging and upholstery business on Baltimore Street, with good credit and five hundred dollars cach, which they had saved, and soon realized three thousand dollars. At the expiration of two years, Mr. Griffith bought out the entire interest of his partner, and conducted the business on his own ac- count. It was afterwards known as a wholesale and retail paperhanging and upholstery establishment, and was con- tinued by him until 1854, when he sold out to his half hrothers, Michael & Brothers. In the meantime he had embarked in other speculations that proved successful. In 1846 he started in the carpet business, his establishment, Nos. 89 and 91 Baltimore Street, being widely known be- cause of its importations from Europe, and selections from the best factories in this country. In view of his frequent absence from home, and many engagements out- side of his business proper, he associated two of his nephews with him, under the title of G. S. Griffith & Co. The firm is composed of himself, G. S. Griffith, Jr., and Thomas Riflle, a nephew by marriage. Mr. Griffith mar- ried, May 30, 1839, Elizabeth, daughter of John Felix and Frances Durst, natives of Switzerland. Her father was born in Canton Glavis, her mother in Canton Basil. They were married in Baltimore, and had twelve children, only three of whom are living. In his marriage relation, Mr Griffith has been very happy, Mrs. Griffith being a lady of education, refinement, and good judgment, has lilled with marked ability every position which they have been called upon to occupy, especially during the late war, at which time she rendered energetic and material aid in the work of the Christian Commission. She has been at all times a ready and willing coadjutor to her husband in every phil- anthropie work. She graduated at Deer Creek Seminary, Harford County, in the closing session of 1837, and was con firmed by Rev. Elias Meiner, D. D., in the First German Re- formed Church in Baltimore, on Good Friday, 1838. Mr. Diirst, Mrs. Griffith's father, was a merchant in Cologne, on the Rhine. The house is still widely known under the tittle of Gebruder Diirst. He was a strong advocate of . L
liberty, and could not endure remaining under the invading rule of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was overrunning Ger- many at the time. He therefore came to America, and his love for his adopted country manifested itself by his par- ticipation in the struggle at North Point, September, 1814, more than two years before he was admitted to the rights and privileges of an American citizen. He died March 5, 1838, in his fifty-second year. Ilis widow survived him twenty years, and died at the age of sixty-four. Mr. Griffith deserves particular mention for his entire freedom from ostentation ; while his manner and style of living de- note good taste, there is no attempt at display or desire to court public favor. No financial success or testimonials of appreciation have led him from the path of Christian humility. His career of philanthropic usefulness began at a very early age; and for the past twenty-five years he has been distinguished as the principal mover in many reforms in Baltimore and other parts of the State. From an au- thentic record we find that Mr. Griffith has contributed sixty thousand dollars during the past fifteen years to pri- vate and public benevolence. He has never charged any society or the State with any expense incurred by travel- ling in the interests of a society, or as a Commissioner of the State. In his church relations he holds a prominent position. Ile is an elder of the First Reformed Church on Calvert Street, and for more than twenty-four years has been a Delegate to the meetings of Synod, and of the Maryland Classis. He is an active member of the Publi- cation Board of that denomination in Philadelphia ; and was elected a Trustee of Franklin Marshall College, at Lancaster, the late James Buchanan, ex-President of the United States, being its chief officer at the time. Hle is also a member of the Board of Home Missions of the Synod of the Potomac, and of the Board of Foreign Mis- sions connected with the General Synod of the Reformed Church of the United States. In the summer of 1856 he attended as an American Representative the Evangelical Alliance at Lubeck, Germany, and in September, 1857, a very important Alliance at Berlin, which occasion the King of Prussia honored with his presence. At its close a special train conveyed the entire delegation on a visit to the palace at Potsdam, where it was entertained with a bountiful collation ; after which the delegates all assembled in a court in front of the palace, a line was formed, the Americans being placed at the head, there being just the numher to represent all the States of the Union. The King and Queen then appeared and moved along the line, his Majesty addressing each nation sepa- rately, to which a suitable response was made by the Presi- dent of the Alliance, Rev. E. Kuntze, pastor of the Gar- nisou Kirche, in which the Conference convened. In the Sunday-school department Mr. Griffith holds an im- portant position, being President of the Maryland Sunday- school Union; and is a member of the Sunday-school Board of the Potomac Synod. He has also been a mem
.
438
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
ber of the Board of Managers of the Maryland Tract Society for twenty-seven years, and long identified with the Young Men's Christian Association and temperance movements. Of the latter he has been a warm advocate from his youth up. Mr. Griffith, in co operation with the late William A. Wisong and R. M. Janney, called the first inceting with a view to the organization of the Children's Aid Society, which was effected September 18, 1860, and . afterwards endowed with one hundred thousand dollars from the estate of the late Henry Watson. This noble charity receives and cares for poor destitute children, sent to it by parents or friends, or committed by magistrates ; and by means of the Ilenry Watson endowment, it has added to the Children's Department a Sewing Machine De- partment, which was organized February 13, 1871, for the purpose of teaching sewing, free of charge, to any poor respectable girl who might apply for instruction. In this department there are twenty-two sewing machines in con- stant operation, most of which have been loaned gratis. Sewing with the ordinary needle is also taught. This branch of the society has proved a most gratifying success, as many young girls who were instructed there are now filling remunerative situations as seamstresses, dressmakers, machine operators, and even nursery governesses. This endowment has also enabled the directors to connect with the others a Girl's Ilome Department, and a Department for Instruction in Cutting and Fitting Garments. Mr. Griffith is a member of the Board of Managers, and is in- tensely interested in its objects and prosperity. Ile has filled numerous positions of honor and trust in other be- nevolent enterprises; such as Commissioner on the part of the city to visit the Industrial School for Girls; Trustee of the Union Protestant Infirmary ; Member of the Board. of Managers of the Boy's llome Society, and also of the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Boys. Of this latter institution he was one of the earliest in se- curing the co-operation of the General Assembly of Mary- land in its establishment, because of the large number of children of this class whom he found in the jails and peni- tentiary. This institution is under excellent management, and accomplishing a work of teform calling for the utmost liberality on the part of the Baltimore City Council and the General Assembly of the State. Ile was one of the official visitors of the jail in 1865, '66 and '67 under IIon. John Lee Chapman, Mayor. In the prison reform movement Mr. Griffith is distinguished and widely known. Ile organized the Maryland Prisoners' Aid Association, April 18, 1869, which was incorporated in March, 1873, and has served as its President from the beginning. He is also one of the Board of Directors of the National Prison Association of New York. Ile received a commission from his Excel- lency Governor William Pinkney Whyte, to represent the State of Maryland at the International Penitentiary Con- gress, held in London, July 3-13, 1872, which was pre- sided over by the Right Honorable Earl of Caernarvon.
The occasion was also honored by the presence of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who gave the for- vign delegates a warm welcome, and to whom they were individually presented. On the following week they were cordially entertained at the residence of the Right Rev- erend Archbishop Manning, who attended the Congress. Mr. Griffith presented to the International Executive Com- mittee a paper on the public and benevolent institutions of Maryland, which he had prepared concisely and with care. It was ordered to be printed in pamplilet form, and was afterwards compiled in the Report of the Congress-a large volume containing eight hundred octavo pages. On Mr. Griffith's return to Baltimore he submitted a report of the proceedings, debates, and conclusions of the Congress, and of his visits to the convict prisons under the system intro- duced by Hon. Sir Walter Crofton. Ile has also attended each of the National Prison Congresses held in 'this country, and on cach occasion was elected one of the vice-presidents. The first convened in Cincinnati, October 12-18, 1870, and was presided over by Governor Hayes of Ohio, now President of the United States. The second was held in Baltimore, January 21-23, 1872. The third met at St. Louis, May 13-16, 1874, and the fourth in New York, June 6-9, 1876. He was appointed by Governor Carroll, one of the commissioners to represent Maryland at the International Prison Congress in Stockholmn, in August, 1878. In his official capacity as President of the Maryland Prisoners' Aid Association, Mr. Griffith has made annual tours of inspection to all the penal and pauper institutions throughout the State, and is, therefore, perfectly familiar with the construction of each and the particular condition of the inmates. Through his earnest efforts a Sunday- school was established in the Penitentiary in January, 1859, under the efficient superintendence of Mr. William A. Wisong, with a faithful corps of teachers. It is regu- larly attended by nearly all the convicts, who feel it a privilege to be present. The singing is a very pleasant and enjoyable feature of its work. With Dr. Charles F. Percivall at the organ, the sacred songs are sung in genu- ine congregational style by the whole school. Mr. Grif- tith never fails to be present at Divine service in the after- noon of every Sabbath when he is in the city, and assumes the duty of securing ministers to officiate on these occa- sions, as the State makes no provision for a moral in- structor or chaplain. At this public service the convicts are encouraged to unite in the singing; and it has been satisfactorily demonstrated that the exercise of this priv- ilege has a most powerful effect in breaking down stub- barn wills; and one here and another there Has been fre- quently seen melted to tears by the loud-swelling chorus of their fellow-convicts in singing praises to God. Mary- land has no law providing for the appointment of inspect- ors or a board of commissioners to thoroughly examine and supervise its penal, pauper, and reformatory insti- tutions. Neither has any provision been made for the
-
439
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
secular, religious, and moral improvement of her criminal and pauper population ; hence the importance of such an institution as the Maryland Prisoners' Aid Association, which is supported entirely by voluntary contributions of our generous citizens. The aim of the Association is to reach the heart and gain the will of the prisoner to co- operate in his own reform, and under the power of the Gospel to develop in his mind a moral sense of his duty to God and to society, and by timely aid place him in a condition where he can, through his own exertion, earn an honest living. Mr. Griffith is now in the sixteenth con- secutive year of his Presidency of the Maryland Sunday- school Union. He has been identified with Sunday-schools as pupil and teacher for fifty years, At the age of four- teen, he entered the Sunday-school of St. Peter's Church, of which Dr. I. P. K. Henshaw, afterwards Bishop of Rhode Island, was then pastor, Mr. William Woodward, Super- intendent of the school, and Mr. Thomas Spicer, his faithful teacher. It was then and there he was first brought to a saving knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. He became a teacher in that school, in which he continued, as also in a mission school, for a number of years, until in the providence of God he was led to take charge of the Normal Bible Class of the First Reformed Church. This class was organized, December 2, 1858, after his return from an extensive tour through Europe, accompanied by Mrs. Griffith. His labors as a Sunday-school teacher were attended with much encour- agement. One hundred and fifty-one of his scholars be- came members of church, while attending his class, fifteen of whom died in the triumphs of faith ; four are ministers of the Gospel. In his early youth, while connected with St. Peter's Sunday-school, he was confirmed by Bishop Stone, and by that rite he became a member of the Prot- estant Episcopal Church. In January 22, 1854, he con- nected himself with the First Reformed Church. At seven- teen years of age he was elected President of St. Peter's Episcopal Sunday-school Temperance Society, which was one of the first organizations of the kind in Baltimore. Mr. Griffith has been for many years Treasurer of the General Board of the Orphans' Home of the Reformed Church, under the control of the General Synod of the United States. The Maryland Sunday-school Union was incorporated by the General Assembly of Maryland, March 9, 1846, the immunities and privileges conferred upon it to inure for the period of thirty years thereafter; but by an enactment approved April 11, 1874, they were con- tinued in force perpetually, subject to the right of the General Assembly to annul, or repeal the same at pleasure. A careful examination of the annual reports of this society most conclusively establishes the fact that the work per- formed by it is the most important and valuable auxiliary in the evangelization of the youth of the State. Indeed in some parts of Maryland, where the people are without the opportunities of secular or religious culture, such an
institution is necessary to prevent the children and youth from growing up as neglected as the heathen. This is especially tutte in the sections where the colored popula tion largely abounds. The number of Sunday schools organized and reorganized during the Presidency of Mr. Griffith is twelve hundred and fifty-seven. The number of teachers secured, cleven thousand seven hundred and twenty-six, and the number of scholars gathered in, eighty-three thousand eight hundred and ninety-two. Total, ninety-five thousand six hundred and eighteen. To carry on this work efficiently requires a large expenditure of money, as well as patient and self-denying toil, and to both of the exigencies Mr. Griffith has addressed himself as a steward of the manifold grace of God. While he has been " in labors more abundant," his cash contribu- tions to the work of the Union have amounted to this time (1879) to eight thousand three hundred and ten dol- lars. Immediately after the breaking out of the late civil war, Mr. Griffith organized, in May, 1861, the Balti- more Christian Association, composed of fifty gentlemen, known to be loyal to the United States Government. Of this Association he was elected President. It was the first association of the kind organized. It also issued the first circular letter calling for books and funds with a view to afford physical and spiritual aid to sick and wounded soldiers, as well as to disseminate religious truths among the military encamped in and around the city. Mr. Grif- fith's attention was first aroused to the necessity of such an association by the riots of April 19, 1861. Realizing the threatening aspect of affairs, he called a meeting of prominent gentlemen at his residence, No. 157 Calvert Street. He stated his apprehensions that a desperate struggle had commenced, which might last for years, and that many hospitals would necessarily be established in the vicinity of Baltimore. He considered that the situation of Maryland and Virginia as border States, would render then prominent places of conflict ; that their fields would be trav- ersed by contending armies, and stained with the blood of thousands. After some discussion and a careful considera- tion of the matter it was unanimously agreed to form such an association; a suitable constitution was drafted and adopted, giving to it the title of Baltimore Christian Association, Mr. Griffith's energetic efficiency and prominent position in this association at once designated him as a suitable man to be elected a member of the United States Christian Com- mission, headquarters in Philadelphia, George H1. Stuart,
President. He was appointed chairman of an auxiliary ' committee in the city of Baltimore, to have the control of
a central department of the work. Ile'was accordingly elected and received his commission, September 2, 1862, Rev. George P. Hlays being selected as Treasurer by Mr. Griffith, and Rev. John N. McGilton, D.D., Secretary. The committee was soon increased to fourteen members. The necessary accommodations for office and storage were granted by Mr. Griffith in his carpet warehouse on Balti-
1
1
-
440
BIOGRAPHICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
.
more Street. The district assigned to the Maryland com- mittee was very extensive, as it embraced the main camps and hospitals at Annapolis, Point Lookout, a part of Dela- ware, York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and along the line of the Baltimore and Obio Railroad. Within this area many of the difficulties of the war were encountered, The agency, therefore, of the Maryland committee was not very limited as to a field of operations. It also became necessary to operate in other localities, such as Fortress Monroe, Gettysburg, and along the line of travel to Rich- mond and Petersburg. Valuable services were rendered in the Shenandoah Valley, and faithful and efficient labor- ers were sent to City Point, and the trenches near Rich- mond and Petersburg. More than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in money, hospital stores, and clothing were raised by the Maryland committee in Maryland and Pennsylvania, including the stores sent from the Commis- sion in Philadelphia. The contributions from Pennsyl- vania were collected by delegates of that State, who had visited Maryland and noted the operations of the Maryland committee. Instead of sending them to headquarters at Philadelphia, they preferred to send them direct to Balti- more. The final meeting of the Maryland committee was held at Mr. Griffith's residence, November 20, 1865. Mrs. Griffith embraced this opportunity of giving a pleasant sur- prise to the committee, by inviting other friends and officers to be present, that the winding up of their hard work might be remembered as a joyful occasion. The evening was passed in a very delightful manner. A large number were assembled; brief speeches and responses were exchanged, delightful music was discoursed by eminent professors, and all present seemed to enjoy the entertainment, under the blessings of peace, which were being happily realized in the country, after such a long and desperate struggle. After partaking of a sumptuous repast, a few friends and citizens took this favorable occasion to present Mr. and Mrs. Griffith with a silver pitcher, goblets, and salver, an elaborate photographic album, containing the likenesses of all the prominent officers and delegates connected with the United States Christian Commission ; both appropriately inscribed as testimonials of appreciation of their distin- guished labors as Christian philanthropists. On the final settlement of the accounts of the Christian Commission there was an unexpended and nnappropriated balance on hand. It was a part of the money collected from Balti. more's citizens. This balance was divided into three parts : one for the benefit of solliers' widows, one for the Soldiers' Home, and the other to establish an asylum for children of deceased Maryland soldiers. To immediately promote the interests of the latter, Mr. Griffith called a meeting of prominent ladics, and on their being convened, urged the necessity of establishing such an asylum, stating that as soon as they were ready to effect such an arrange- ment, the treasurer, Mr. Hays, would pay over the desig- nated amount. The ladies earnestly co-operated in the pro-
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.