USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 42
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 42
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70 GUCKENNEY, J. FREEMAN, General Sewing Ma. chine business, Baltimore, was born in York County, Maine, June 9, 1832. Ile is the only child of Henry H. and Olive (Emory) McKenney,
who are still living. Mr. Henry H. McKenney is a skilful machinist. The family is an ancient one, dat- ing back nearly two hundred years, when' three brothers, Abner, John, and one whose name is lost, came from Scot- land, and settled in what is now Maine, but was then a part of the Massachusetts colony. Their numerous de- scendants are scattered over the United States. They are a thrifty, hardy, and enterprising race, large of stature, in- telligent, and long-lived. One of Mr. McKenney's relatives is now living in Maine, over one hundred years of age. On his centennial birthday, which occurred in 1877, he re- ceived over four thousand visitors, four hundred of whom sat at his bountiful table. Ile writes and reads easily without glasses. Mr. McKenney is the fifth in descent from John, the emigrant. His great grandfather served in
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the patriot army during the entire period of the Revolu- tionary war. The subject of this sketch was educated at the excellent public schools of his native State. At the age of seventeen he was apprenticed to a firm engaged in the making of machinery for the manufacture of cotton, after which he served an apprenticeship at gun-making, and also at die-sinking and engraving, the whole of which oc- cupied eight years. This unusual and thorough training added to his natural genius in mechanic arts resulted in making him a most skilful and accomplished artisan. At that time the sewing machine business was in its infancy, and Mr. McKenney was much sought as an expert in put- ting the ideas of the great inventors into practical opera- tion. He made the first models of the Grover and Baker machine for the Patent Office, and was with Singer during the first year of his operations ; indeed, he has devoted his whole time with indefatigable energy, since early in 1852, to the sewing machine business, During the latter part of 1859 he removed to the city of Baltimore, and established himself a few months afterwards as the general agent of the leading machines then made. His skill as a machinist was of great use to him in that early day, and gave him a pre-eminence in the important branch of repairing machines, which he has steadily held to the present time. Besides being a mechanical expert, Mr. MeKenney possesses great energy and force of character and achirable business tact, by which he rapidly won his way to the confidence and esteem of the community, and built up a most successful business. From 1867 to 1873 he had the sole agency for the IIowe machine for Maryland, Virginia, and part of West Virginia. In 1868 he purchased the handsome and valuable property No. 136 West Fayette Street, where he has since conducted his business. He is now the sole rep- resentative of the White and the new Howe machines for Maryland and the District of Columbia. His repair-shops are the most complete of any in the South. Since early in 1876 he has had an office in Washington city, where he has secured a large patronage. During his residence of eighteen years in Baltimore, Mr. MeKenney has probably sold more machines that any other establishment. This is doubtless largely due to his eminently fair dealing and popular business methods. He never employs canvassers, and purchasers thus save that extra expense. Many ma- chines are sold on the instalment plan, but if parties are unable to complete the payments, all the money paid is re- funded by Mr. McKenney, over the usual rent. Thus by an upright and honorable course he has become widely and favorably known.
B RATTAN, HON, ROBERT FRANKLIN, Attorney-at- law, of Princess Anne, Maryland, was born in Somerset, now Wicomico County, May 13, 1845. IIis parents were Joseph and Elizabeth (Venables) Brattan. Ilis father was an agriculturist, and his mother was the daughter of Robert Venables, of Somerset
County, and was a most estimable and intelligent lady. She died in 1866. Joshua Brattan, the grandfather of Hon. Robert Brattan, was of Irish descent. He ocenpied the post of Sheriff of Somerset County, and served in the State Legislature. Young Robert attended the schools of that vicinity until his sixteenth year, when he was sent to Washington College, at Chestertown, Maryland, under the care of Dr. Frank Waters. Ilere he remained for four years, and graduated with the second honor of his class, standing high in all his studies. From September, 1864, till March, 1867, he served as Deputy Register of Wills at Princess Anne, at the same time reading law with the firm of Jones & Irving. The former gentleman, HIon. Isaac D. Jones, was afterwards Attorney-General of the State, and Mr. Irv- ing is at present one of the Associate Judges of the First Judicial District. Mr. Brattan was admitted to the bar in July, 1867. Ile continued to assist in the office of Jones & Irving until January, 1868, when he formed a law part- nership with IIon. James U. Dennis, now State Senator from Somerset County, which still continues. Mr. Brattan is an enthusiast in his profession. IIe has had from the first a full and lucrative practice. As early as 1866, when he was only twenty-one years of age, he served as a mem- ber of the State Convention to send delegates to the National. Peace Convention at Philadelphia, and in 1867 he was a member of the State Convention which nominated Hon. Odin Bowie for Governor of Maryland. His political affiliations have always been with the Democratic party. He was elected in 1869, by a very flattering majority, to the House of Delegates from Somerset County, and was at the time of this service next to the youngest member of that body. In 1873 he was elected to the State Senate to fill the unexpired term of IIon. George R. Dennis, elected to the United States Senate. This was a closely contested elec- tion, and many of the Democratic nominees were defeated, but Mr. Brattan led his ticket, and his election was secured by a satisfactory majority. Ile was by ten years the youngest member of the Senate. He was appointed during his service a member of the Judiciary Committee, and served as Chairman of the Committee on Corporations. Mr. Brattan served as a member of the State Convention of the Democratic party which nominated State officers in 1872. Ile also served in the State Convention of 1876 which nominated the electoral ticket for the State of Maryland. He has been in service frequently as a member of the Congressional Convention of his district, Mr. Brattan is a member of the Board of Trustees in the Presbyterian Church in Princess Annc. Ile is a Knight Templar in the Order of Masons, having passed all the chairs of the subor- dinate lodge, and was, for a number of years, Worshipful Master of Manokin Lodge, No. 106. He is a Trustee of the Board of the Washington Academy, an old and honor- able institution of the county, and at the present time is Treasurer of the Board. Mr. Brattan is held in high regard in the community as a man of talent and unsullied honor.
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BIOGRAPIIICAL CYCLOPEDIA.
LARK, ISAAC DAVIS, Chief Judge of the Orphans' Court of Talbot County, was the third and youngest child of his parents, and was born in Trappe Dis trict, in the above county, in 1835. His father, John Clark, a merchant, settled in that locality in 1813, having removed from Kent County, Delaware. Ile de- ceased in the same place in 1873. Ilis wife was Sarah S., daughter of John Stevens, farmer, of Talbot County. Judge Clark attended the common schools of his neiglibor- hood from his seventh year until 1852, when he entered Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1856 with the third honor in a class of six- teen. Ile delivered the anniversary addresses before the literary societies of the college, the Epsilon Chapter of the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and of the Belles-Lettres. In 1859 he received from his Alma Mater his second degree of Master of Arts. The year following his graduation he was elected to address in Philadelphia the general fraternity of the above society. Returning home from college he there engaged in the general mercantile business, in which he has continued to the present time. In 1866 he was elected a Director in the Easton National Bank of Mary- land, and has been re-elected each succeeding year. In 1875 he was elected one of the Judges of the Orphans' Court on the Republican ticket, and was appointed Presi- dent of the Court by Governor Groome. When Judge Clark and his associates entered upon the duties of this office, the records were found in a sad condition, many of them having lain eight or nine years without proper entry. After three years' service on the part of these gentlemen, everything presents a much more satisfactory appear- ance, and all matters of importance are properly re- corded. Judge Clark has always been a thorough Republi. can, and while not a politician, is deeply interested in the success of his party, believing that in its triumph will be secured the highest and best interests of the nation. Ilis parents were Methodists, and his preferences accord with his early training, but he has not made a religious profes- sion. Ile was married in 1857 to Jane F., daughter of Edward and Mary Ann Armstrong, of Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and has four children, three dangh- ters and one son.
BOSE, CHARLES HENRY, M.D., was born at New Windsor, Carroll County, Maryland, March 27, 1834. His father, Dr. John Rose, was of Hugue- ,not ancestry. He was a native of the Island of Guernsey, England, and came to this country in 1817. Ile was a man of superior moral character and exercised great religious influence. He identified himself, soon after coming to America, with the Methodist Church, and became a Lay preacher therein, continuing at the same time the practice of his profession. His was a useful and
honored life. Ile married Miss Harriet Bemett, of Balti- more, and died in 1874. The great grandfather of the subject of this sketch on the maternal side was Daniel Curtis, who was born in London, England, in 1723, and emigrated to America at the age of eighteen years, settling in Baltimore about 1741 or 1742. Ile held the position of Colonial Justice and High Sheriff under King George the Third, and lived to the advanced age of one hundred years. Ile left a number of children, one of whom, a daughter, married General Lasourd, of the French Army. The late William Curtis, of " My Lady's Manor," Balti- more County, was a son of his. Richard Bennett, of Elk- ton, Cecil County, married one of the daughters, who was the grandmother of Dr. C. H. Rose. At the age of five years Charles Henry commenced to attend school at West minster, Carroll County. His father soon after removing to Baltimore, he was sent to the public schools and private academies of that city. When fourteen years of age he became a clerk in a store, and when seventeen years old commenced reading medicine in his father's office. Ile attended his first course of lectures at the Eclectic Medi- cal Institute, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his second course at the Eclectic Medical College of Philadelphia, from which he graduated. He also received the degrec of M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He commenced the practice of medicine in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1856, remaining there, however, but a short time. In Sep- tember of same year he removed to Talbot County, Mary- land, and settled in Chapel District, where he has been ever since successfully engaged in the practice of his pro- fession. In the fall of 1867 Dr. Rose was elected to the House of Delegates on the Democratic ticket, and served during the following winter. He was an active and influ- ential member of that body, and very faithful and attentive to his duties. He was one of the Committee on Engrossed Bills and Resolutions, and the bill under which the pub- lic schools of the State are now conducted largely engaged his attention. Dr. Rose has been a strong advocate of the Granger movement, more for the educational and moral benefits which it brings to the farmer and his family than even for its great material interests. Ile is a man of more than ordinary culture and ability, and influential in the community through his character and talents. He married, May 7, 1868, Miss Julia E., daughter of James HI. Ridgaway, of Talbot County, and niece of Rev. II. B. Ridgaway, D.D., now of Cincinnati, Ohio. He has four children living.
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DAMS, JOHN CHARLES, Farmer, St. Michael's District, Talbot County, Maryland, was born, Oc- tober 7, 1819, on Kent Island, Queen Anne's County, Maryland. His father, William Hughlett Adams, of Talbot, was a surveyor and school- teacher. His mother was Juliana, daughter of Major
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James Ringgold Blunt, a lady of Christian virtues and more than ordinary talent. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. John was left an orphan at a very early age, and the only property he received was a small share in an uncle's estate. Ilis attendance at school was very limited, and confined to his early boyhood. He, however, acquired a practical knowledge of business. His first employment was as a clerk in the store of Captain Cornelius Comegys, of Greensborough, in which capacity he remained for eighteen months, IIe then commenced farming on his own account in Miles River Neck, Talbot County, pursuing that vocation four years. In 1843 he married Emily Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Bryan. Her mother was a direct descendant of Peter Sluyter, of Wie- werd Friesland, one of the first settlers of Bohemia Manor, Cecil County, Maryland, and a sister of Rev. Thomas Mason Bryan, of the Methodist Protestant Church, now residing in St. Michael's. Mr. Adams engaged in the mercantile business with his father-in-law, remaining therein for three years, when he returned to Talbot County. He subse- quently removed to the estate known as " Ray's Point," near St. Michael's, which afterwards passed into his pos- session. Mr. Adams so thoroughly cultivated the re- sources of his land as to make him recognized as one of the leading farmers of the country. He is a member of the St. Michael's Agricultural Society, and has served as its President. He is a communicant in the Protestant Epis- copal Church, a vestryman, and was a member of the committee, in 1879, to erect a new church of the above denomination at St. Michael's. He is attached to the Order of Freemasons, and occupies the position of Past Master of Burn's Lodge. The management of the Blunt estate in Louisiana, valued at six hundred thousand dol- lars, with an annual income of twenty-five to forty thou- sand dollars, was placed in his hands in 1854. This re- sponsible charge, which he still retains, was placed in his keeping by the heirs without the exaction of any bond. Mr. Adams has never mingled in politics, or had any aspi- rations for political station. He belonged to the old Whig puty, and now votes with the Democratic Conservative p.uty.
G.L ORRIS, REV. RICHARD, was born in the city of Richmond, Virginia, March 26, 1835. His father, Thomas Norris, Esq., born in Lancaster County, Virginia, August 13, 1790, was taken to Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of ten years, and was brought up in the mercantile business by his uncle, William Norris, Hle was one of the volunteer defenders of Baltimore city, was taken prisoner at the battle of North Point, was sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he remained till peace was declared in 1814. Returning to Baltimore he resumed the drygoods business, married February 15, 1824, removed to Richmond, Virginia, in 1829, and thence returned to .
Lancaster County, the place of his birth, in 1844, where he resided until 1856, when he died, at the age of sixty- seven. His mother, Eliza Norris, was born in 1799. She was the daughter of John Ruckle, a merchant and a Meth- odist, of Baltimore. He was a nephew of the celebrated " Barbara Ileck," the prime mover of Methodism in America, who persuaded Philip Embury to the active work of the ministry, and was the first to suggest the building of the old John Street Church in the city of New York. Eliza Ruckle was converted, at the age of fifteen, in the old Light Street Church of Baltimore, and was married in 1824, as above stated. She was a devoted Christian, and an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church till the day of her death, which occurred in December, 1855. Under the religious instruction and pious example of such a Christian mother, Richard Norris, very early in" life, was led to become a Christian. Ile was converted at the old " White Marsh Camp Ground," " Ball's Woods," Lancaster County, Virginia, Angust 24, 1848, being then only thirteen years of age. The next day he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, and from her communion and fellowship he has never departed. Immediately after his conversion, while reading the Memoir of Carvosso, his young heart was impressed with the vast importance of living a life of faith and usefulness in the cause of Christ ; and he even then resolved that, if the Lord would open up his way, he would endeavor to prepare himself to preach the Gospel. But his father not having sufficient means at command to give him a collegiate education, his hopes in this regard were disappointed; and so in 1850, at the age of fifteen, he went to Baltimore, in compliance with his father's wishes, to begin the life of a merchant. Not find- ing, however, a suitable opening in that business, he con- cluded to try the carpenter's trade, and accordingly entered into an agreement with Mr. Sammel Daily, a prominent builder, and an official member of the Fayette Street Church. He first connected himself with the Eutaw Street Church, and subsequently was transferred to the Fayette Street Church, when he became identified with the Franklin Street Sabbath-school. It was not long before he felt con- vinced that he was not called to become a builder, but a minister of the Gospel. Before he had reached his eigh- teenth year he was appointed a class-leader, and was given license to exhort. His employer, unwilling to part with him, tendered him the position of clerk in his establish- ment, and gave him charge of his books and business, with the understanding that he was to be employed but a part of each day. This proffer was accepted, and the oppor- tunity thus secured for study was diligently used in an earnest endeavor to prepare for the work of the Gospel ministry, to which , he believed he was divinely called. Ile was kindly assisted in his studies by his friend, Mr. William Ilank, who was at that time engaged in teaching. He was licensed to preach by the recommendation of the Quarterly Conference of Fayette Street Methodist Epis-
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copal Church. In the spring of 1855 he was received into the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his first appointment was to Berkeley Circuit in Virginia. In 1856 he was appointed to Bloomfield Circuit, Pennsylvania. In 1857 Carlisle Circuit, Pennsyl- vania, was his field of labor. In 1858 he was sent to Caro- line Street Church, Baltimore, to which station he was returned in 1859. Ile was appointed to Emory Church, Baltimore, in 1860; to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, in 1861; to Havre de Grace, Maryland, in 1862 and 1863. In 1864, 1865, and 1866, he was Pastor of Jefferson Street Church, Baltimore. He was appointed to North Balti- more Station in 1867, to which he was returned in 1868, and again in 1869. Jackson Square Church, Baltimore, was his next charge, to which he was reappointed in 1871, and again in 1872. In 1873, 1874, and 1875, he was Pastor of Waugh Church, Washington city, District of Columbia, since which time he has labored with abundant success at Dumbarton Street, Georgetown, District of Co- lumbia, where he is now in the third year of his pastorate. On January 1, 1861, he was married to Miss Sarah A. W. Baker, daughter of William and Susan Baker, of Balti- more city. Eighteen years of his ministry have been spent in the cities of Baltimore, Washington, and Georgetown, and this by no selection on his part or favoritism by the appointing power, but because his peculiar talents and fervid zeal seemed to adapt him to the places he was ap- pointed to fill. He has often had to encounter and struggle with heavy church debts, but which, through his persuasive efforts, were speedily liquidated. In fact, the raising of money for church purposes is one of his special gifts, in which regard few men are his equal, tens of thousands of dollars having been raised through his agency and instru- mentality. Mr. Norris is a talented and successful preacher. Ile ever seeks to adapt his discourse to the spiritual con- dition of his audience. Bold for the truth, fervid and emphatic, he speaks from the heart to the heart, and gen- erally with telling result. He has great power in revivals, and has been instrumental in the conversion of hundreds, perhaps thousands, most of whom are still living witnesses of the power of Christ to heal and to save .- R. 11. B ....
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FAntm NO TUMP, HIERMAN, JR., State Senator, was born, August 8, 1836, at Oakington, a well-known gstate on Chesapeake Bay, in Harford County, inherited by his father as a portion of the family property.
3 Ilis ancestors in the fourth degree, John Stump and Mary, his' wife, were Prussians of wealth and culture, who cmigrated to Maryland about the year 1700. The name of his European ancestors. is said to have been spelled Stumpf. John Stump was a cousin of Baron Friederich von der Trenck (the younger of the two famous kinsmen of that name), who figured conspicuously
during the reign of Frederick the Great. John Stump purchased a large tract of land near the present town of l'erryville, in Cecil County, where he died in 1747, having divided his property, by will, between his only surviving children, John and Henry. In that year, or in the next, Henry Stump removed to the valley of Deer Creek, in Harford County (then part of Baltimore County), where he had purchased a farm. Ile married Rachel l'erkins, by whom he had several children, and many of his descend- ants are still living in Harford and Cecil counties. Hle was the ancestor of the Hon. John H. Price, Ex-Judge of the judicial circuit composed of Baltimore, Cecil, and Harford counties; of the Hon. Henry Stump, formerly Judge of the Criminal Court of Baltimore City, and of the latter's nephew, the Ilon. Frederick Stump, now a Judge of the First Judicial Circuit. John Stump married Han- nah, daughter of William Ilusbands, a descendant, on the female side, of Augustine Ilerman (whence the name of Herman in the Stump family), of Bohemian Manor. In 1796 he too removed to Ilarford County, having sold his own property, and that inherited by his wife, consisting of several farms. Ile died in 1797, leaving three children, Ilannah, who married her cousin, John Stump, son of Henry (above mentioned) ; Herman, who married Eliza- beth Dallam ; and John, grandfather of the subject of this sketch. The son last named was born April 19, 1753, and married October 3, 1779, Cassandra, daughter of Henry Wilson, a Quaker of much influence, who was noted for his patriotic zeal during the Revolution. He was a mem- ber of the Committee of Observation of his native county, and was conspicuous in collecting and forwarding supplies for the relief of the people of Boston during its blockade by the British squadron. He and John Archer, M.B., several of whose descendants subsequently intermarried with the Stump family, were chosen in November, 1776, by popular vote, " Electors of a Senate of Ilarford County." John Stump, after acquiring by his industry and enterprise an estate which was at that time considered immense, died at his residence, " Stafford," near the mouth of Deer Creek, leaving cach of his eight children wealthy. His son, John Wilson, father of Senator Stump, besides being en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, was the head of an extensive commercial firm in Baltimore city, having as his partner llon. James W. Williams, who married his sister, and who, in 1842 and prior, represented in Congress Harford and Cecil counties. Mr. Stump, whilst returning on one of his vessels from France, in 1814, when the British fleet was in Chesapeake Bay, barely escaped, capture, and reached the city of Baltimore in time to participate in its defence as aid to General Stricker. On January 13, 1814, he married Sarah, daughter of Colonel James Biays, a large shipping merchant of Baltimore, who owned many vessels, and aided materially in building up the commerce of the city. Colonel Biays commanded the cavalry at the battle of North Point, and in the official reports of that
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battle was highly commended for his efficiency. The subject of this sketch, after acquiring the requisite educa- tion, partly by private tuition at home and partly in Dela- ware College, studied law with his cousin, Hlou. Henry W. Archer, in Bel Air, where he was admitted to the bar in 1856. Here his abilities were soon recognized, and he rapidly rose in his profession, securing a large share of practice, which in a few years extended to the courts of the adjoining counties and to the Court of Appeals. He has been employed in many celebrated capital cases, in- cluding that of Mrs. E. G. Wharton for the poisoning of General Ketchum, and that of Elizabeth Cairnes for the shooting of Nicholas McComas. Although, during the war of secession, Mr. Stump committed no overt act against the Government, his sympathies were throughout decidedly Southern. He has always felt a deep interest in public affairs, and has exerted himself on all proper occa- sions to advance the principles of the Democratic party. He has not, however, been an aspirant for office, and although his fitness and his abilities were acknowledged by all, he was never before the people until his election in 1877 as State Senator, the position which he now holds with so much credit to himself as well as to his native county. Mr. Stump is above the average height, of large frame, and powerful physique. He resides on his farm near Bel Air, and although a bachelor, has an attractive home, lives in generous style, and is always glad to enter- tain his friends. He takes a lively interest in agriculture, and ever since the cstablishment, five years ago, of the flourishing agricultural society of his native county, he has been one of its officers. He is a member of the Epis- copal Church.
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