USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 21
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 21
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years. At the age of thirteen years young Woodward was apprenticed on board a merchant ship, and passed through all the grades, from cabin-boy to commander and owner. In 1802 he entered the port of Baltimore, and there met Miss Hannah Wooley, of Harford County. This acquaintance continued and resulted in their marriage on December 4, 1803. This caused Captain Abrahams to make Baltimore his home, where he continued to reside until 1818. Having lost his ship " Adrianna," bound from London to Baltimore, loaded with iron (he being sole owner of ship and cargo), by the vessel springing aleak when near the end of the voyage, he determined to aban- don the sea, purchased and removed to a farm in Cecil County, on the Susquehanna River, known as " Lucky Mistake," and resided there until 1827, when he removed to Port Deposit, where, on December 16, 1827, he departed this life, aged sixty-two years. Hc had long been auf ex- emplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife and a large family of children survived him. She was a daughter of Isaac Wooley, an Englishman, who settled at Bell's Ferry (now Lapidum), Harford County, prior to the Revolution. A sister of Mrs. Abrahams married Colonel John Creswell, of Cecil County. He was a large landholder and a prominent citizen. The children of Captain Woodward and Hannalı (Wooley) Abrahams, are Joseph W., merchant, Port Deposit, who married Ma- ria Reynolds, and left children ; John James, shipbuilder, Baltimore, who married Caroline Grimes, and has chil- dren ; Tabitha S., who married Prof. P. G. Buckingham, of Baltimore, and has children; Charles HI. Mariner, who married Mary Graff, and left children; Caroline F., who married Theodore B. Knight, and has one child (now Mrs. R. K. lawley) ; Edmund F., unmarried ; Elizabeth C., who married Thomas Bennett, druggist, and has one child. Woodward, the fourth son, born in Baltimore, Oc- tober 2, 1814, was married by the Rev. James Sewell, on April 30, 1844, to Margaret Elizabeth Littig, daughter of Frederick Shaffer Littig, and his wife Hannah Williams Pitt, who were married by the Rev. B. Waugh, January 16, 1820. It is a noteworthy fact, that at the time of the birth of Mrs. Abrahams, she had four great-grand, and four grandparents, then living. Iler father was of Ger- man descent. Philip Littig, the progenitor of the family in America, settled in Baltimore early in the eighteenth century. Before leaving his native land he invested a part of his means in a church organ. On his arrival in Baltimore he disposed of it to Zion Independent German Church on Gay Street for ten acres of land in that city, lying between Gougle Street and thepriver, much of which his heirs still own. He married Elizabeth Margaret, daughter of George Frederick Brown; they had two sons, Philip and George. These brothers married sisters, Ke- ziah and Rachel, daughters of Caleb and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Bosley. . George Littig and Rachel Bosley were married by the Rev. Joseph Wyatt, October 10, 1796.
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They had ten children. Mr. Littig's grandmother, Eliza- beth Margaret Brown Littig, sinvived her husband ( Philip Littig), and on April 29, 1787, married Frederick Shaffer, of Baltimore city. He was the son of John Jacob and Rosena Shaffer, of Immenhousen, Germany, where Fred- eriek was born, September 24, 1759. Emigrated to Phila- delphia in 1773, and in 1785 removed to Baltimore, Ile died, March 17, 1844, aged eighty-five years. Ilis wife, long a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ex- emplary for her piety and good works. During her life she reared, clothed, and educated forty-three orphan children. She died suddenly, while engaged in private prayer, January 19, 1828, aged eighty-two years. She had lived in Balti- more since 1752, and was perhaps the then oldest resi- dent of that city. When Frederick Shaffer Littig was a mere infant, his grandfather, Frederick Shaffer, took him to his home and there reared and educated him. Between the grandfather and his namesake there ever existed the strongest attachment, and in 1844, when Mr. Shaffer died, having previously made a request of his adopted grand- son that he would more fully take his name, Mr. Littig, in grateful remembrance of and affectionate regard for his life-long friend, complied with his wishes, and by an act of the Legislature of Maryland, transposed his name from Frederick Shaffer Littig to Frederick Littig Shaffer. Also the names of his family, thus perpetuating the name and memory of his loved and venerated benefactor. The chil- dren of George and Rachel (Bosley) Littig were Philip, who married two sisters, Jane and Maria Dorsey ; Eliza - beth, who married John Scott (see biography of Mr. Scott in this volume); Luther, married Louisa Emily Gittings; Mary Brown, married Dr. Abraham Jessop, and after his death married Benjamin Mathews; Frances Ann, married John Harrison ; Joshua Wells, removed to Texas and married there; Frederick Shaffer, the father of Mrs. Woodward Abrahams, married Hannah Williams Pitt ; she was the daughter of William and Ann Faris Pitt ; he was the son of John Pitt, of Bermuda, and his wife Ann, of New York; she was the daughter of William Faris, of London, and his wife Priscilla Woodward, of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. His versatility of talent rendered him notable as a mechanic, artist, and musician. He resided in Annapolis, and was highly esteemed in the palmy days of that city. Mr. Littig survived his first wife, who died July 23, 1837, aged thirty-six years. They had six children, Margaret Elizabeth, wife of Woodward Abrahams ; Ann Maria, married William II. Strau; Rachel, married Cap- tain Theodore Corner; Hannah Ann, married James Glendy Ramsay ; Frederick Shaffer, married Georgianna Louder- man ; William Pitt, married Martha Louisa Lamdin. On October 9, 1838, Mr. Littig was married by Rev. Henry Furlong to Catharine Smith, of Florida. They had cight children : Julia Bates, married James Scott ; Mary Catha- rine, died in infancy ; Louisa Emily, married Charles Amos. These three were born prior to Mr. Littig's adop-
tion of the surname of Shaffer. After which were born, Ilelen Littig, who died in infancy ; Isabel Littig, who married Harry Markley, of Frederick City ; James Littig, died in infancy ; Laura Littig, married James G. Gunn, of California; and a second James Littig, who died in infancy. Mr. Shaffer had advantages in both educational and busi- ness training. In 1822 he removed to Annapolis and en- gaged in merchandising. Afterwards returned to Balti- more, and was actively engaged in business enterprises of various kinds ; in all of which he was prompt and reliable. He filled many important official positions, among which may be named, Treasurer of the Fell's Point Savings Insti- tution ; member of the City Council, of the Appcal Tax Court, of the Water Board ; a Director of the Fireman's In- surance Company, and Commissioner of Finance; in all of which he faithfully guarded the interest of his trust. Ilis own large , business and property interests and public duties heavily taxed his mind and time, but he never al- lowed them to interfere with attending to the many re- ligious, benevolent, and social interests in which he loved to be employed. In early life he connected himself with the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school, and as long as health permitted he was an earnest worker in the Sunday-school cause. He made profession of religion and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1840, from which time until his death he was abundant in labors, and his name was a household word in the churches. The mantle of his pious mother and grandmother had fallen on him. Mainly through the influence, exertions and liber- ality of Mr. Shaffer was built the Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church, and the same may be said of Shaffer Chapel. He died, October 1, 1871, aged seventy-six years, leaving a widow and ten surviving children, thirty grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Abra- hams and his wife have had born to them nine children, three of whom, Lucy Adelaide, Herbert Ilawley, and Georgie Littig are deceased ; their surviving children are : HI, Kate, who married Thomas P. Strau, of R. K. Hawley & Co., their only child, Margaret Abrahams Strau, died in infancy. Mary Lucy, married A. Roszel Catheart, Vice- President of the American Fireman's Insurance Company of Baltimore. Have had two children : Woodward Abra- hams, deceased, and Georgie Abrahams Cathcart. Willie Woodward, married Eve Sanderson, and has had two children : Kate, deceased, and Margaret E. L. Abrahams. This son is a member of the firm of Cochran & Co. Mar- garet Shaffer, married Joseph Sumner Parker, of New Or- leans. He is Vice-President of the Leibrandt & McDowell Stove Company. They have had three children : James Abrahams, deceased, Grace Woodward Abrahams, and Frank Abrahams Parker. Fanny Corner, married William D. Jamison. Marion McParlin, the youngest, on com- pleting her education, in company of lady friends, chape- roned by Mrs. Elizabeth D. Vail, and in charge of C. C. Falton, Esq., of the Baltimore American, sailed for
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Europe on April 10, 1878, and made a tour of the con- tinent, visiting London, Paris, Marseilles, Genoa, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Florence, Vienna, Munich, Cologne, Brus- sels, Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork, and other places of interest, and returned home on September 10, after an absence of five months. While at Rome she purchased for her father an illuminated statue of the Veiled Cupid by Rozzetta, a work of rare beauty and high achievement of art. By a new process the artist has given the flesh tint to the marble, and to the eyes a bright, natural expression, making it both beautiful and life-like. After the death of Captain Abrahanis, the family removed to Baltimore city. Young Woodward was then about thirteen years of age. He had received such meagre education as the county schools of that day afforded. His taste for literature prompted him to learn the printer's art, as combining the means of support and the opportunity to cultivate his mind. He followed this vocation for five years, when, on the rec- ommendation of his employer, John D. Toy, he accepted the position of superintendent of the printing establishment of Edward Ruffin, of Petersburg, Virginia. So gratifying to his employer was Mr. Abrahams' management that Mr. Ruffin proposed to him a permanent business engagement, but his affection for his mother and a desire for a wider field for enterprise, returned him to Baltimore. Hle then as- sociated himself with James Young, as editor and pub- lisher of a weekly paper, called the Eastern Express, and after three years of success they enlarged their paper under the name of The Kaleidoscope. Mr. Abrahamns sold out his interest to Mr. Young and engaged in the lum- ber business with William H. Strau, at Port Deposit and in Baltimore city. Mr. Strau, failing in health, sold his interest to F. Littig Shaffer, and the firm became Abrahams & Shaffer, and continued in successful operation until its dissolution in 1855. At this time the icc business in Bal- timore employed about twenty wagons and as many hands. The consumption was about one thousand tons per annum. The deliveries were made between May and September, and confined mainly to private families and hotels. Mr. Abrahams investigated this business and became satisfied that it was capable of large extension and would become a leading branch of trade. Ile formed a copartnership with T. J. Cochran, the originator, and at that time the principal man engaged in the marketing of ice. Mr. Abra- hams' capital and enterprise added, soon enlarged the busi- ness of Cochran & Co. They built storage houses at Stemmer's Run, and on the Susquehanna, and procured supplies from the North. Some idea of the growth of this trade may be had from the fact that in twenty-five years it has increased from a consumption of one thousand tons per year to one hundred thousand tons per year, and about one- half of this business is done by the Messrs. Cochran & Co. In 1867 Mr. T. J. Cochran died, and his interest having been purchased by his brother, James E. Cochuran, the firm name was continued. They have since introduced their
sons, George F. Cochran and Willie W. Abrahams, into the firm, and Cochran & Co. will likely continue, for many years to come, a recognized power in the trade of Baltimore city. Mr. Abrahams is noted for his public spirit as well as for his business enterprise. Ile was one of the most active members and one of the Building Committee of the Maryland Institute, and for seventeen consecutive years one of its Board of Managers. For the last seven years he has been President of " The Benjamin C. Howard Masonic Mutual Association of Baltimore," is Vice-President of the Merchants' and Traders' Banking Association, a Trustee of the Baltimore Female College, and Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of the Masonic Order of Maryland. He was a liberal patron of the Protestant In- fant Asylum, and by his efforts did much to secure the " Nursery and Child's Hospital " property, Franklin and Schroder streets. In more private ways he dispenses aid with a generous hand to deserving objects. Denomina- tionally a Methodist, by the training of a godly father and a widowed mother of fervent and deep religious ex- perience, his preference is decided for that church, though catholic in feeling towards other denominations. Mr. Abrahams has frequently been solicited to become a can- didate for eivil office, and assured of the support of men of both political parties, but he has ever regarded the private station as the post of independence and honor, and has invariably declined. In 1837 he joined the 1. O. of O. F., and has continued his membership ever since. Ile is a prominent member of the institution of Freemasonry. In 1864 he had been entered, passed, and raised to the sub- lime degree of a Master Mason. He passed through the Chapter degrees and was made a Royal Arch Mason in 1865. The ever-increasing beauty of Cryptic Masonry allured him to higher and higher ascent of the mystic lad- der, and through the Templar, and the degrees of the An- cient and Accepted Scottish Rite to " Knight Commander Court of Honor 33," the highest post attainable in the Order. Hle is also a member of the "Royal Order of Scotland." Mr. Abrahams is fortunate in having all his children residents of Baltimore city, and it is a pleasant feature in the domestic arrangement of the family that they have a weekly reunion at the paternal home, No. 245 Lin- den Avenue. With ample means, gencrous expenditures, and cultivated taste, he has profusely adorned his dwelling with works of art. Among the many may be mentioned the statue of the Veiled Cupid by Rozzetta. Other statuary, by Cazenova, Mazzinni, Meldolla, Ferrata, and Leon Claviei ; paintings by Horace Vernet, Meyerheim, Weindmeyer, Von Schneider, Oragon Wilson, DeHlas, Quartley, Sontag, Wagner, and H. Bolton Jones. In tracing the orphan, from his apprenticeship to his present position of business and usefulness, it may be said of him that in boyhood he opened his book of life, and thus far has not left in it a blank page. Mr. Abrahams is tall, well proportioned, of vigorous constitution, active habits, has never indulged in
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stimulants of any kind, is of even temperament and buoyant spirits, and bids fair to attain to the venerable old age ar- rived at by many of his ancestors. In concluding this sketch the writer, who has enjoyed a personal acquaintance with Mr. Abrahams for forty years, cannot refrain from ex- pressing the pleasure he has derived in the preparation of this biography, because he has personal knowledge of that whereof he has written.
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GIGROUP BOALE, JAMES CAREY, President of the Merchants' Exchange, Baltimore, was born in that city May 25, 1825. He was educated at Haverford College, of the Society of Friends, near Philadelphia, and re- ceived a thorough business training in the counting- room of the Wethereds, large cloth manufacturers of Bal- timore, which city has always been his home. He engaged in the shipping business on the wharf on his own account in 1847, but being unsuccessful, left it in 1852 for the marine insurance business, in which he has since continued, having from the first been connected with the best com- panies in this country and Great Britain. In 1858 he was appointed agent for Lloyd's Insurance upon the death of the late Granville S. Oldfield, who had held the office for many years previously. Since that period Mr. Coale has been intrusted with the agencies of nearly all the boards of marine underwriters in this country and in Europe. In his native city he has been associated with a number of private enterprises, banks, etc., either as Director or in other official position, but has never held any public office. He is now President of the Merchants' Exchange. In politics he was originally a Whig, and gave his first vote for llenry Clay, with whom he corresponded, and to whom he was greatly attached. In 1856 he joined the anti- slavery movement, and has ever since been a Republican. lle is a member of the Society of Friends, with whom his family have been identified for many generations. George Fox, in Journal of his Travels in America in 1672, speaks of having " stopped to-night at the house of our friend, William Coale, at Deer Creek," Harford County, Mary- land, " where we had a precious visit ;" the family having prior to this period settled in that locality. They were from England. Mr. Coale's father and his maternal grand- father, James Carey, were merchants of Baltimore, he being named for the latter, who was one of the earliest shipowners and traders of the city with foreign ports, and was the President of the first marine insurance company established in Baltimore in 1776. Mrs. James Carey was the daughter of John Ellicott, one of the three brothers who built Ellicott's Mills, on the Patapsco River, and whose grandfather, Andrew Ellicott, came to this country from Cornwall, England, in the year 1700. Mr. Coale married, in 1847, a daughter of the late George Bailey, for many years the leading wholesale drug merchant of Baltimore.
FREENE, HONORABLE THOMAS, the second Proprie- tary Governor of Maryland, came to Maryland at an early period, and was Privy Councillor in 1639. On June 9, 1646 he was appointed Governor by Hon. Leonard Calvert, and held the office for more than two years. The most interesting event during his guberna- torial term was the application, to the General Assembly of 1647-8, of Miss Margaret Brent "to have a vote in the Ilouse for herself, and another . as his lordship's attorney. This was refused peremptorily by Governor Greene, and the lady protested in form against all the proceedings of that Assembly, unless she might be present and vote as aforesaid." On August 6, 1648, he was succeeded by the appointment of William Stone, and on August 12, 1648, he was appointed, being the first one named in the commis- sion, one of the Council, by Lord Baltimore. On Septem- ber 20, 1649, Governor Stone appointed him to be Lieu- tenant-General of Maryland. During his temporary ab- sence, Greene took advantage of his opportunity, and, in defiance of the Parliament and Government of Great Britain, November 15, 1649, issued a proclamation, setting forth that " Charles, the most renowned Prince of Wales, the undoubted rightful heir to all his father's dominions, is hereby proclaimed King Charles the Second of England, etc." He was married several times, and left four sons, Thomas, Leonard, Robert, and Francis, whose descendants resided in Charles County, Maryland.
JILGHMAN, HONORABLE MATTHIEW, was born February 17, 1718, at the Hermitage, Queen Anne's County, Maryland. He was the youngest . son of Richard and Anna Maria ( Lloyd) Tilghman, and the grandson of Dr. Richard Tilghman, one of the petitioners to have justice done upon Charles the First. He was adopted by his cousin, Matthew Tilghman Ward, and received from him a large landed estate, Bayside, in Tal - bot County, Maryland. He was a member of the Legisla- ture of Maryland from 1751 to the outbreak of the Revolu- tion. Ile was President of the Maryland Conventions held in Annapolis, which convened on the following dates : June 22, 1774, November 21, 1774, April 24, 1775, December 7, 1775, June 21, 1776, and August 14, 1776. In 1774 he was appointed a "Deputy to the Continental Congress, and was continued a member of Congress, by successive re-elections, until 1777. On the day the Declara- tion of Independence was passed, he was detained in An- napolis, by the Convention of Maryland, over which he was presiding. When it was signed, William Paca, Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, were the only members of the Maryland Delegation present. Mat- thew Tilghman, Thomas Johnson and Robert Alexander were absent. In December, 1774, he was appointed one of
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the Committee of Correspondence for the Province of Maryland, and served with laborious zeal in the cause of freedom, After the organization of the State Government, he served in the Senate of Maryland until the infirmities of age compelled him, in 1783, to retire to private life. He died May 4, 1790. Hle married Anna Lloyd, daughter of James and Ann (Grundy) Lloyd, and had the following children : Matthew Ward; Richard, born January 28, 1746, who married first, Margaret Tilghman, and secondly, Mary Tilghman, and died May 28, 1805; Lloyd, who mar- ried Henrietta Maria Tilghman ; Margaret, who married Charles Carroll, barrister; and Anna Maria, who married Colonel Tench Tilghman.
B ELL, ALEXANDER, was born at Blackadder-Mains, Parish of Edwin, County of Berwick, Scotland. On this farm, his father, William Bell, a man of sterling integrity and of truc Christian character, lived for over forty years. Both his father and mother were natives of Maincliffe, on the south bank of the Twced, the line between England and Scotland. His maternal ancestry can be traced back for five generations, and all natives of Scotland. Mr. Bell received his early education in the free schools of Allington, Scotland. When about seventeen years of age he was apprenticed to a grocer in Berwick, and after remaining three years he re- turned home and managed his father's farm for several years. Ile came to the United States on a visit to a brother, when he was about twenty-seven years of age. Ile spent a year in this country and then returned to Scot- land. After the lapse of another year he came again to America, and engaged in railroad engineering, which he continued for several years. About 1848 he went to Baltimore and engaged in the malt business, which he conducted alone for several years. He then admitted George Dwiddle, the son of an Albany, New York, banker, as a partner. This partnership was dissolved at the expi- ration of three years. Mr. Bell then associated with him as partners the brothers N. and 1 .. Straup, under the firm name of N. Straup, Brother & Bell. Since the formation of that connection their business has increased to large proportions. They have a large malt-house on North and Saratoga streets, Baltimore, and another in Erie, Pennsyl- vania, and a brewery just beyond the Baltimore city limits. In the Baltimore house abont ninety thousand bushels of malt are made aumnally, and in the Erie house about one hundred thousand bushels. The capacity of the brewery is equal to forty thousand barrels. Mr. Bell is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore. Since taking up his residence in that city he has visited his native land several times, his last visit being made in 1872. In 1857 he married Margaret, daughter of John Boyd, a
native of Ayrshire, Scotland, who had carried on the maltster business in Baltimore for many years. They have three children, Alexander, William, and Margaret, the oldest, Alexander, being about eighteen years of age.
CCOLLISTER, CHARLES, of the Second District, Queen Anne's County, was born in that county, on what is known as Lord Baltimore's Manor, April 12, 1805. His father, Charles McCollister; came to that place in early life from Sussex County, Delaware, and married Margaret, daughter of Benjamin Chairs, a descendant of one of the earliest set- tlers of this portion of the Province of Maryland. She 'was among the early Methodists of the Eastern Shore, having joined that Church when very young, and was a woman of intelligence and piety. Her death took place in 1808, when her son was but three years old. His father also dying four years later, he was brought up by his mother's sister, Mrs. Ilarriet Bruscup. He attended the district school of his native locality till his twelfth year, when, upon the removal of his aunt to Centreville, his education was continued four years longer in the academy of that town. In 1821 he went to Philadelphia, and engaged as an apprentice with Benjamin Wiley, car- penter and builder, with whom he served four years, after which he worked with him as journeyman until his twenty- fifth year. His half-brother, John Chairs, dying in 1827, left him an estate in his native county, called the " Ilermi- tage," two and a half miles south of Church Ilill, con- taining two hundred and seventeen acres. Of this estate he took charge in 1829, and from that time devoted himself to agriculture. The " Hermitage," where he has now re- sided for fifty years, is a very valuable and highly im- proved property. Mr. McCollister served a number of years as a Magistrate, being appointed to that office by Governor Grayson, and was for four years one of the Judges of the Orphans' Court of Queen Anne's County. In 1860 he was elected a member of the House of Dele- gates from his county, on the Union ticket, and served in the session of that year. He was an uncompromising Union man, and gave all his influence to the support of measures to avert the threatened disintegration of the States. In 1868 Mr. McCollister was elected a Director of the Queen Anne's and Kent Railroad, in which capacity he continued to serve until it passed into the hands of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Com- pany in 1874. The integrity and uprightness of his char- acter, both in public and private life, has at all times given him the fullest respect and confidence of the community. Ilis first wife was Evalina, daughter of Dr. Andrew Hall, of Millington, Kent County. She died in 1835, leaving him two children, one of whom followed ber when in her
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