The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2, Part 35

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

USA > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 35
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 35

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clined on account of pressing business engagements. Since his retirement from active commercial pursuits he has passed a great part of his time in extensive foreign travel, having made several visits to Europe, and travelled through parts of Asia and Africa, and also visiting the most interesting portions of the United States. He married Mary Hollins, daughter of William L. Bowly, and granddaughter of Daniel Bowly, one of the Town Commissioners before Baltimore was incorporated as a city, and for whom Bowly's Wharf was named. The other children were Jane S., of Baltimore County, who married Robert P. Brown, a mer- chant of Baltimore, son of Dr. George Brown, an eminent Irish physician, who came to Baltimore during the yellow fever scourge; Eliza MeKim, who never married; Wil- liam C., who was engaged in agricultural and horticultural pursuits, and was one of the first to import and introduce into Maryland Alderney or Jersey cattle. He was never " married, and died April 20, 1878; Mary L., who married Henry Patterson, son of William Patterson, and brother of Madame Bonaparte ; Anne R., wife of Frederick Har- rison, of Baltimore County, formerly of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Mr. Harrison, who was a graduate of West Point, belonged to the United States Topographical Engineers, and was one of the party to make the first reconnoissance for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1827, and to locate the road from tidewater to Ellicott's Mills in 1828; Thomas J., a member of the firm of William Wilson & Sons, married Maria D' Arcy, who died at Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, England ; Henry R., also a member of the same firm, who married Sallie Skinner, of Talbot County, Maryland; James, who died at the age of eleven years; and Melville, who died at twenty-nine. William Wilson's second son, Thomas Wilson, was born in 1777. Ile married Mary Cruse, of Alexandria, Virginia, and died February 12, 1845. Ilis children were, James Hamilton, who married Margaret M. Marriott, and died in 1853, leaving three children; William Thomas, who married Henrietta D'Arcy, and died in 1852, also leaving three children; Emma, who married Thomas U. Teackle, and died in 1861, leaving a daughter ; Mary Cruse, who married J. McKine Marriott, and died in 1856, leaving four children ; and Franklin Wilson, who married Virginia Appleton, of Portland, Maine, and has been the well-known pastor of several Baptist churches in Balti- more. William Wilson's third son was William Wilson, Jr. He was born in 1779, and married for his first wife, Ann Carsen, of Alexandria, Virginia, by whom he had two daughters, Ann, who never married, and Jane, who married Mr. Sandford. His second wife was Mary Knox, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Knox, President of the old Baltimore College, on Mulberry Street, opposite Cathedral Street, now the University of Maryland. . By this mar- riage he had issue as follows: Isabella, who married Lan- caster Ould, of Baltimore; William K., of St. Louis, who married Miss Wise, of Alexandria, Virginia; Samuel, died at St. Louis; James Thomas, died young, in 1839;

Jaunes Milson.

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Fayette, of St. Louis, now in Baltimore, married Miss Slingluff; Mary E., wife of Charles M. Keyser, of Balti- more ; Martha, married Alexander Kelly, deceased ; Han- nah, second wife of Alexander Kelly; and Lewis, now living in St. Louis, Thomas and William Wilson, Jr., sons of William Wilson, Sr., belonged to the " Inde- pendent Blues," of the Fifth Maryland Regiment, com- manded by Captain Aaron R. Levering. William was a lieutenant of the company, and they were both with the regiment at the battle of Bladensburg, and in the vanguard at the battle of North Point, when the British General Ross was killed. William Wilson, Sr.'s daughter was llannah. She was born about 1781, and died, May, 1854. She married Mr. Peter Levering. Iler only surviving children are Thomas W. Levering, and Louisa S., widow of William W. Lawrason.

MITHI, ROBERT T., Grand Scribe and Past Grand Worthy Patriarch of the Sons of Temperance, was born in the city of Baltimore in 1814. He received his education at private schools and the Baltimore Col- lege, and at the age of fifteen years, entered as clerk the Ellicott Iron Works, on the Patapsco River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. After serving in that capacity for about five years, he returned to Baltimore, where, for some three years, he carried on the business of an account- ant. lle was subsequently engaged for over two years in teaching at Franklin, Baltimore County, in Baltimore city, and other places. During the last-mentioned period he read law, with a view to fitting himself for the convey- ancing business, which he designed to ultimately engage in. After pursuing mercantile business for four or five years, he established himself in the above vocation about the year 1856, and at once entered upon a lucrative busi- ness, enjoying the implicit confidence of members of the bar, and those possessing or representing large property interests. That business he has been steadily and success- fully prosecuting for over twenty-two years. Though diligent in business, Mr. Smith has, from his earliest man- hood, been devoted to the cause of temperance. Indeed, it may be said that no man in the country has been more thoroughly, and for a greater period of time, identified with temperance movements than Mr. Smith, As far back as 1837 he took an active part in the organization and work of the 'Franklin Temperance Society, in Franklin, Balti- more County, of which he was the Secretary, being asso- . ciated with many eminent men, including Rev. Dr. Francis Waters, afterwards Principal of the Baltimore Male High School ; Dr. Christopher C. Cox, subsequently Lieutenant- Governor of Maryland ; Dr. Hand, and Rev. William Stevens. The next temperance organization in which he became an active co-laborer, was the Young Men's Tem-

perance Association of Baltimore. This society was in existence for several years. Upon the introduction of the Order of the Sons of Temperance into Baltimore in 1843, Mr. Smith immediately became one of its most active and carnest members. Ile has held every office in the Order. As an evidence of his efficiency as an officer and the high , esteem in which he was held by his Temperance brethren, it may be stated that he was the first Grand Worthy Pa- triarch of the State of Maryland elected for two years in immediate succession. Mr. Smith took a very active part in the earliest movements for the erection of the Temper- ance Temple on Gay Street, in the city of Baltimore. In 1858 he was elected as one of the Board of Managers of that building by the Grand Division of the Sons of Tem- perance, which position he has held since that time, for twelve years occupying the Chairmanship of the Board. In 1869 he was elected Grand Scribe of the State of Mary- land. Mr. Smith has been prominently identified with all the other Temperance organizations of the State, He has filled all the offices in the Temple of Honor and the Good Templars, and is the chief officer of the Jonadabs, a Tem- perance organization recently formed. He took a very active part in the organization of the Cadets of Temper- ance in 1845, at which time he was elected Superintendent of that Order, and has ever since held that position. He is also a member of the National Division, Sons of Tem- perance of North America, and a prominent and efficient worker in the Gospel Temperance movement. In 1838 he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has ever since been a zealous member. lle has taken a very deep interest in the Sabbath-school work, especially during his connection with the " Strawbridge " Church, For many years he has been an attendant of the old " Whatcoat " Church. Mr. Smith's father was Benjamin Betties Smith, a native of New York. He was for many years a Captain in the Merchants' Service, sailing from Baltimore and other ports. During the war of 1812 he was an officer in the Marine Corps, and served as such in the defence of Baltimore in 1814. Captain Smith married Ann Thompson, daughter of Robert Thompson, a mer- chant of Belfast, Ireland. In 1835 Mr. Smith married Miss Mary E. Ream, daughter of Captain George Ream, who commanded merchant vessels out of the port of Balti- more. They have had eight children, five of whom are living, one son and four daughters. The son, Robert T. Smith, Jr., studied law, was admitted to the Baltimore bar, practiced for two years, and then, through the promptings of duty, abandoned a lucrative practice to enter the min- istry of the Methodist Protestant Church. Mr. Robert T. Smith, Sr., has always led a quiet, unobtrusive life. Hle has carefully avoided polities, and though frequently so- licited to fill publie positions, including membership of the City Council and the State Legislature, has invariably de- clined. Ilis life has been an exemplary one, devoted as it has been to the cause of reform,

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BIOGRAPHIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.

AYLOR, REVEREND HENRY RODLEY, D. D., was born in England, February 27, 1837. Ilis pa- rents, Henry and Mary Naylor, descended from two of the oldest families in the West Riding of Yorkshire, came to America in his infancy, and set- tled in Buffalo, New York. His carly education was ob- tained at the public schools, and he commenced his classical studies, which were, however, interrupted by the death of his father. A few years later he took a full course at the Indiana State University, and received the degree of A.M., after which he engaged in teaching and bookkeeping, to assist in the support of his mother. During the winter of 1857 he was converted at a revival meeting in the old John Street Methodist Church, New York, and after a brief theological preparation entered the Indiana Conference. His first appointment was to a small and poor circuit, but each year he was called to positions of greater responsi- bility. The last three years of the sixteen spent in that State he had charge of the Meridian Street Church, In- dianapolis, the largest in the Conference, which, during his pastorale, was greatly increased in members. In 1872 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Asbury University. In March, 1875, he was transferred by Bishop Wiley to the Fayette Street Church, Baltimore, where he preached for the three years following. It was seldom that the crowds who attended could be comfortably seated. On leaving that church it had, with one exception, the largest membership in the Conference. In March, 1878, Dr. Naylor was appointed by Bishop E. R. Ames to the charge of Metropolitan Church, Washington, District of Columbia, where he is meeting with great success. He is a close student, and devotes himself assiduously to meet the requirements of the large and cultivated congregations who attend upon his preaching. He has spent one year in Europe, which greatly recuperated his physical energies, and added largely to his stores of instruction and entertain- ment. Hle is a member of the Orders of Odd Fellows and Masons, but owing to the pressing demands upon his time has been able to give very little attention to either. He is a Republican and an Abolitionist both by nature and educa- tion. He was married, in October, 1855, to Laura 1., only daughter of Benjamin T. and Jane Adams, of Clarence, Erie County, New York, and has had four children, three of whom are living. Dr. Naylor is one of the most interest- ing, instructive, and popular ministers of his denomination.

RVING, LEVIN THOMAS AIANDY, Judge of the First Judicial Circuit of Maryland, was born April 8, 1828, in Salisbury, Somerset County, Maryland. His father, Dr. Ilandy Harris Irving, was a son of Dr. Levin Irving, and was distinguished in his day as a gentleman of wide culture, and master of two professions,

He studied medicine to please his guardian, and although preferring another science, achieved great celebrity as a practitioner, and was elected to a Professorship in the Medical Department of the University of Maryland, which he declined. To gratify his own taste, after practicing medicine fifteen years, he studied law, and soon took high rank in this profession, at a period when the Somerset bar was greatly distinguished in the State for the ability and eminence of its members. The labor imposed by the practice of two professions (for he was never permitted to relinquish, entirely, the former), was too much for his physical endurance, and he died before he had attained his forty-third year. Judge Irving's mother was Peggy Ker Handy, daughter of William Handy, Esq., of Som- erset County, and granddaughter of Rev. Jacob Ker, who for thirty years was pastor of the Manokin Presbyterian Church in Somerset County. Judge Irving was sent to school when four years of age. Ilis classical studies were begun at the Salisbury Academy, under the direction of the Rev. John II. Dashiell, D. D., who afterwards married a sister of the Judge. llis academic course was completed at Washington Academy near Princess Anne, under the tuition of Matthew Spencer, Esq. At the age of sixteen he went to Princeton College, when he entered the junior class and gradnated with distinction in 1846. Upon his return from Princeton, he entered the law office of his uncle, William W. Ilandy, then an eminent member of the Somerset bar. Ile was admitted to the bar in 1849, im- mediately after his arrival at his majority, and practiced law in Somerset County until 1856, when he removed to Cincinnati and formed a partnership with the Ilon. Eli P. Norton. Having returned to Maryland the following year, to settle his unfinished business, he was prevailed upon to remain and resume the practice of his profession in Som- erset County. In 1858 he settled in Princess Anne, where he still resides. In 1859 he entered into a law partnership with the lion. Isaac D. Jones, late Attorney-General of the State. This firm continued in the full tide of a suc- cessful practice until the fall of 1867, when Mr. Jones was elected Attorney-General of Maryland, and Mr. Irving was elected one of the Associate Judges of the First Jndi- cial Circuit of Maryland, which position he has acceptably filled ever since. Judge Irving, early in life, espoused the principles of the Democratic party, and although never regarded as a partisan politician, he has enjoyed, in a re- markable degree, the confidence of that organization, to which he has always remained steadfast. Although firm · in his convictions as a Democrat, he has never permitted his party predilections to warp his decisions as a judge. Indeed, such is his abhorrence of a partisan judgeship and his fears of showing political bias, that his friends have sometimes thought he leaned in the opposite direction. fle is universally esteemed in his Judicial Circuit, as an able and npright judge. As early in life as his thirteenth year he connected himself with the Church, and is now,

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and has been for many years, an elder in the Presbyterian Church in Princess Anne. He has been a member of the Masonic Order since 1856. He married in 1865 Florence, eldest daughter of Thomas T. Upshur, of Northampton County, Virginia, who is not less distinguished in social circles for her benevolent disposition, refined and graceful manners, and attractive virtues, than is the Judge for the fidelity, integrity and ability with which he discharges the duties of his official position.

ANDY, WILLIAM W. In 1789 William Handy, son of George Handy, and grandson of Colonel Isaac Ilandy (all of Somerset County), married Betsy Ker, daughter of Rev. Jacob Ker, pastor of Manokin and Wicomico Presbyterian churches from 1765 to 1795, when he died. Mr. Ker was of Scotch ' descent, his grandfather, Walter Ker, having been banished from Scotland during the persecution in the reign of James II, and having settled in Monmouth County, New Jersey. William W. Handy, son of William and Betsy Handy, was born February 21, 1802, at " Ilandy Hall," his father's plantation on Wicomico River, near Salisbury. Ile first attended a country school, and when sufficiently advanced in his studies was sent to Washington Academy, an iusti- tution then noted throughout the peninsula for its thorough teachers and course of study. When his academical course was completed he went to Snow Hill to study law with Ilon. Ephraim K. Wilson, a kinsman of his father and mother, and one of the noted lawyers of that day. Hle so impressed his preceptor with the acuteness of his legal perceptions, that he told his parents he would certainly make his mark. His subsequent career fulfilled the pre- diction. Soon after his majority he was admitted to the bar, and before his twenty-second year was completed, he wedded Anne D. Huston, daughter of Dr. John Huston, of Salisbury. He then removed to Princess Anne, the county- seat, to practice law. In a short time thereafter he was fully established, and at thirty five years of age he was the acknowledged leader of the bar, and could measure swords with the ablest in the courts of the counties where he practiced. Ile was exhaustive in research, vigorous in thought, terse, sententious and logical in debate. Before a jury he was almost without a rival. He posssessed the rare faculty of grouping the strong points and facts in such close and compact array, excluding all others, as rarely to lose a verdict. He made his client's case his own, and always labored with such zeal as to command confidence, admiration, and success. Though he has been dead twenty-two years, his influence for good at the bar is still felt. In 1848 he was induced to try Cincinnati as a larger field for his abilities, but the cholera came, and

threatening his family he returned the next year to Som- erset and resumed his practice, which at once returned to him. At the age of fifty he found his health so undermined by excessive labor that he was compelled to withdraw from active practice. He died in 1857. Ilis first wife died in 1832, leaving him three children, two sons, Robert 1). llandy, now a lawyer in Covington, Kentucky; John Il. Ilandy, now practicing law at Baltimore; and a daughter, Anne, who married J. Hopkinson Smith, of Baltimore, and died, 1860. In 1834 he married Sally B. Upshur, daughter of John Upshur, of Northampton County, Vir- ginia. She still lives. Rev. William C. Handy, Presby- terian minister in Schoharie, New York, and a daughter, are the only children of that marriage. He was elected a member of the House of Delegates in 1839, the only public office he ever accepted. Ile was a very effi- cient member of that body, and distinguished himself by his speeches. He was a free-trade and States-rights Dem- ocrat. Ile indorsed Calhoun's nullification doctrines. Ile sustained Gov. Vesey, as Governor, in preserving the State government in Maryland against disorganizers, who held there was an interregnum by failure to elect a Governor by the electoral college. Ile opposed Van Buren, and sus- tained Harrison and Tyler in 1840, but adhered to Tyler and his Democratic doctrines, Ile was a member of the famous free-trade convention in Philadelphia. Ile was a bold and succeesful leader, who always rejected place. He was a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church, a rigid temperance man, and a man of elegant and refined manners, and very commanding appearance.

WILSON, COLONEL EPHRAIM KING, Lawyer and Statesman, was born at the family residence on the Manokin River, near Princess Anne, Som- erset County, Maryland, March 13, 1771. Ilis father, David Wilson, was a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of that county, and the family were then numerous, wealthy, and influential. Ilis mother was Priscilla Winder, the sister of General Levin Winder, once Governor of the State. They were all ardent patriots, and one of the earliest recollections of Colonel Wilson was the capture of his father's house by the Tories during the Rev- olutionary war, and their cruel wounding of his father in the presence of his wife and children. Ile was prepared for college in the schools of his county, and graduated at Princeton in 1790. His father having in the meantime removed to Worcester County, he there studied law, and afterwards practiced his profession, extending his labors into the adjoining counties, His success from the first was unusual ; but his tastes inclined him more to politics, for which he seemed especially fitted by his talents, his courteous and winning manners, his quick and ready sym-

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pathy with the people, and his profuse and generous nature. He represented his county a number of times in the General Assembly ; also held other important State offices, and was twice elected to the National House of Representatives, first in 1826, and again in 1828. In later life he was offered a seat on the bench, but as his profession yielded him a larger income for meeting the increasing expenses of his family, he was compelled to decline the honor. His long continuance in public life could not fail to cripple the resources of one so noted for his liberality, and his em- barrassments were increased by the failure of certain enterprises which his public spirit had led him largely to aid in initiating and fostering. A large woollen factory, in which he was one of the largest stockholders, was, with its contents, entirely destroyed by fire, and a bank which he had largely contributed to start in his county, owing to the mismanagement of others, failed, proving to him a heavy loss. His honorable nature would, in these circum- stances, permit him to take but one course ; he surrendered his property to his creditors, and roused himself to re- newed efforts in the profession which he had somewhat neglected, and though past middle life became the leading lawyer of his day and section. Though he had lost his large estates, and his labors to support his family and educate his children were severe, he always retained the same happy, cheerful disposition, and his usefulness and popularity never abated. Throughout his long life and all the mutations of politics, he was always the favorite of the people, and no man ever wielded a larger influence in his section, or with less fluctuation. Always liked, and never distrusted, characterized by good sense, good humor, high principle, and great moral purity, Colonel Wilson was a true gentleman of the olden time. His appearance was attractive and imposing, his manner at all times indi- cating refinement and good brecding. He was originally a Federalist in politics. In the general disruption which finally came he was the supporter of Mr. Crawford, for whom he was a candidate for Elector ; but after the retire- ment of that gentleman from political life, he became and always continued a warm friend of General Jackson. Colonel Wilson Just married Sally Handy, daughter of Colonel Samuel Handy, of Worcester County. One of her children, Mary Wilson, became the wife of Edward D). Ingraham, a prominent lawyer of Philadelphia. Hle was married a second time to Ann Gunby, daughter of General John Gunby, of the same county. Her danghter, Priscilla Wilson, became the wife of Judge Asa Spence, of

. the Maryland Court of Appeals; another daughter, Anh

Wilson, married Walter P. Snow, once a leading lawyer and highly esteemed citizen of the above county. One of the sons of the last marriage, W. Sydney Wilson, removed to Mississippi, where he ranked among the first lawyers of the State. He enlisted his fortunes with his section in the late war, and after a highly honorable career as a soldier, and attaining the rank of Colonel, was mortally wounded

in the battle of Antietam. Another son, Ephraim K. Wilson, after having represented his district in Congress, is now one of the Associate Judges of the First Judicial Circuit of Maryland. Colonel Wilson died January 2, 1834.

BILSON, HON. EPHRAIM K., was born December 22, 1821, in Snow Hill, Worcester County, Maryland: His father, whose full name he bears, was one of the most accomplished gentle- men and lawyers of his day ; and his son, the sub- ject of this sketch, fully represents his father in both char- acters. His mother, Anne D. Wilson, was a daughter of General John Gunby. When Judge Wilson was but a lad his father died. He attended school at the Academy in- Snow Hill until he was fifteen years old, when he entered a store in Philadelphia as a clerk. He had remained there but a year, when Judge Asa Spence (one of the Judges of the Circuit), who had married his sister, perceiving his promise, generously assumed the expense of his education, and induced him to return to school. He then went to Washington Academy in Somerset County, and thence to Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1840. For about six years after leaving col- lege he taught school, first in Washington Academy, and afterward in the Academy in Snow Hill, during which period he studied law. In the autumn of 1847 he was eleeted a member of the House of Delegates of Maryland for Worcester County. In the spring of 1848 he opened a law office in Snow Hill. His merit soon brought him clients, and for twenty years he practiced with energy and success, increasing all the time in reputation and influence, and enjoying an enviable share of both. To get rid of the excitements of the trial table and courts, which he found affecting his health, in the summer of 1867 he wholly with- drew from the bar and retired to his farm, leaving his re- cently associated partner, John HI. Handy, Esq., now of Baltimore city, in sole possession of a large and lucrative practice. In 1852 he was an Elector on the Pierce and King ticket, and distinguished himself by his speeches in the canvass. Thereafter he became the acknowledged leader of the Democratic party in Worcester County, and exercised a large influence in the councils of the party in the State. After his retirement from the bar he was in- duced to accept the position of Examiner and Treasurer of the School Board of Worcester County. This position he resigned in 1869, after holding it for a year. In 1872 he was called from his retirement by being nominated and elected to Congress. In the House of Representatives he earned a reputation rarely acquired in one term. llis speech on civil rights, and especially the mixed school prop- osition, was considered fully equal if not superior to any delivered on that subject in either branch of the National

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The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2, Part 35

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