USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 52
USA > Maryland > The Biographical cyclopedia of representative men of Maryland and District of Columbia Pt. 2 > Part 52
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secede, but protested against the prosecution of the war between the States, in which it refused in any way to par- ticipate. In the winter of 1863 Mr. Mclane was en- gaged as counsel for the Western Pacific Railroad in San Francisco and New York, and in the course of the two following years visited Europe several times in the per- formanee of the duties that attached to that engagement. He was a delegate to the Democratic Convention which met at St. Louis in the summer of 1876 and nominated Samuel J. Tilden as a candidate for the Presidency. In the autumn of 1877 he was elected State Senator for four years from January 1, 1878, and in the important session of that year was one of the leading members. In the fall of 1878 he was elected to the Forty-sixth Congress, which commenced with the special session of 1879, and in which he is still serving. The long experience of Mr. McLane in public affairs and his recognized ability as a leader have placed him in the front rank of the statesmen of his party, and in him Maryland takes a leading position in the great controversies now at issue in the representative halls of the nation.
ENLY, JOHN R., Major-General of Volunteers and the highest commissioned volunteer officer of the State of Maryland during the war, was born in the city of Baltimore in 1822, His father, Edward Kenly, was descended from an English Presbyterian family that came to America in the latter half of the seventeenth century, and settled in what is now Harford County, Maryland. His mother's name was Reese, origi- nally spelled Rhys. The family were members of the So- ciety of Friends. They came from Wales to America in 1749, and settled near Baltimore, where they have since resided. Mr. Edward Kenly was a merchant and manu- facturer in Baltimore. Ilis son. John R., received a good education at private schools, after which he entered his father's counting-house, and remained in his employ until he relinquished business. The son then commenced the study of law with John S. MeCulloh, Esq., the law part- ner of the late Hon, James M. Buchanan, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1845. Ile practiced his profession until the outbreak of the war with Mexico, when he raised a company of volunteers, with which, June 2, 1846, he joined Lieutenant-Colonel William 11. Watson's Battalion of Baltimore Volunteers for twelve months' service. At an early age he had been a private in the well-known " Eagle Artillery" of Baltimore, and was afterwards elected a Lieutenant, which rank he held when com- missioned a Captain in Watson's Battalion. The Battalion sailed from Alexandria on the Potomac River, landing on the Brazos Santiago, near the mouth of the Rio Grande, July 2, 1846, and joining General Taylor's army marched from the
Rio Grande, or Bravo del Norte, to Monterey, the capital of the State of New Leon. Captain Kenly took part in the three days' battles, beginning September 21, which re- sulted in the capture of Monterey. On the fall of Watson he rallied the command and kept it in action until the battle ended for that day. Ile was especially mentioned for his conduct on that occasion in the report made by Captain James E. Stewart, the then commanding officer of the Battalion. The Baltimore Battalion was subsequently brigaded with General Quitman's brigade of Tennesseeans and Georgians. Captain Kenly advanced with the brigade to Victoria, the capital of the State of Tamaulipas, where they drove out the enemy and occupied the city. From thence, after guarding the Tula Pass of the Sierra Madre Mountains, he marched with General Twiggs's division to Tampico. Here the term for which the Battalion had en- listed expired, the command was mustered out of service, --- and Captain Kenly returned to Baltimore, arriving June 27, 1847. Hle, however, soon received a commission as Major in a regiment raised in Maryland and the District of Columbia, and in less than a month again sailed from Bal- timore, with a battalion under his command, for Vera Cruz. From thence he marched with his battalion under Colonel Hughes, who had a well-appointed force, and participated in the affairs at the San Juan, El Paso de Ovejas, and car- ried by assault the fort at the National Bridge over the An- tiqua River. The next service of Major Kenly was in the region known from its insalubrity and heats as the Tierra Caliente, where he remained for several months actively engaged in military operations against the guerillas. Thence he was ordered to Jalapa, where his command was stationed until the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo re- sulted in the proclamation of peace. Taking advantage of the armistice which preceded the formal declaration of peace he visited the city of Mexico, and also all the battle- fields of the Valley of Mexico, in company with and by in- vitation of Major-General Worth. The war being over, he left Vera Cruz with his regiment, June 17, 1848, reached his home in Baltimore July 22, and was honorably dis- charged from the service at Fort Mellenry. He resumed the practice of his profession, and in 1850 was nominated by the Whig party as a candidate for Congress in the Fourth Congressional District of Maryland, but the Democratic candidate was elected. Prior to this he had been nomi- nated by the Whigs of Baltimore as a candidate for the State Legislature, but on this occasion also the Democrats were successful. On January 29, 1850, the following joint resolutions were passed by the General Assembly of Maryland :
(No. 12.) 1
. RESOLUTIONS IN FAVOR OF MAJOR JOHN R. KENLY.
Resolved, by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the thanks of his native State are hereby tendered to Major John R. Kenly, late of Maryland and District of Colum-
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bia volunteers attached to the United States Army, for dis- Unguished gallantry displayed in the field during the recent war with Mexico.
Resolved, That his Excellency, the Governor, be re- quested to transmit to Major Kelly a copy of the foregoing resolution, duly authenticated.
Major Kenly continued the practice of his profession until the breaking out of the civil war in 1861. In April of that year he was busily engaged, with a con- siderable number of the loyal citizens of Baltimore, in forming military companies intended for the support of the Federal Government. His was the central figure in those excited days in the history of Maryland. His services, and those of other loyal men rendered at that critical time, were of the highest importance. It is impossible in a brief sketch like this to go into all the details of that eventful period, with almost every one of which Major Kenly's name was connected. They belong to the history of the war, and are preserved in the im- perishable records of the country. A full account of the events of this time, and of the history of the regiment which Colonel Kenly commanded, is given in the IFis- torical Record of the First Maryland Infantry, published at Washington in 1871 by Camper & Kirkley, members of the regiment. Major Kenly was appointed Colonel by President Lincoln, June 11, 1861, and left Baltimore to join his regiment July 16, after being relieved from duty as Provost-Marshal of Baltimore. In the memorable battle of Front Royal, May 23, 1862, nearly the whole of this regiment, after a long and desperate struggle with overpowering numbers, was captured, and Colonel Kenly fell at the head of his column severely wounded. Being unable to travel, and his wounds being very severe, he was released on parole May 31, and returned to his home in Baltimore. Ile was declared exchanged on August 15. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he hastened to Washington, accompanied by Governor Bradford and a few personal friends, for the purpose of effecting the speedy exchange of both officers and men captured at Front Royal, and who were then suffering all the horrors of Belle Isle and other rebel prisons. He was warmly received by the President and Secretary Stanton, the President emphatically expressing to him his gratitude for the heroic defence he had made of his post. His mission was successful, and by September 17 all the prisoners were released. On August 22, 1862, Colonel Kenly received fram President Lincoln the appointment of Brigadier- General of United States Volunteers, his appointment reading, " For gallant conduct at the battle of Front Royal." General Kenty was assigned by order of Major- General Halleck to the command of the Maryland Brigade, which he had organized in pursuance of orders from the War Department. In September, at the time of General Lee's advance into Maryland, he was placed in
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command of all the troops in Baltimore, excepting those in the forts. At the news of the battle being fought at Antietam, he hastened thither under orders to report to General McClellan, and arrived in time to render impor- tant assistance at Hagerstown. He subsequently com- Handed the defences of Harper's Ferry, and nade a uspid march with his brigade to the relief of the Union troops shut up in Clarksburg, West Virginia. In June, 1863, the Maryland Brigade was assigned to the division of Major- General French, and General Kenly marched with it to join Meade's Army of the Potomac, en route for Gettys- burg. Halting a little beyond the city of Frederick, he received orders to march with the Maryland Brigade and the Seventeenth Indiana Battery to retake Maryland Heights at Harper's Ferry. This was a movement of great importance. General Kenly regained the Heights, surprising the enemy after a forced march. On July 12, 1863, he was assigned to the command of the Third Divi- sion, First Army Corps, and shared the fortunes of the Army of the Potomac until March 25, 1864, when upon the consolidation of the five corps of the army into but three, he was assigned to the command of a Military Dis- trict in the Middle Department, and bade adieu to the Maryland Brigade, which he had now commanded for more than a year and a half, and with the First Regiment, of which he had been in the field for nearly three years. A highly complimentary address, signed by one hundred and five commissioned officers of his late command, was presented to General Kenly, expressing their heartfelt regret at the separation, and conveying to him the assu- rance of their friendship, regard, and respect. In the time intervening to the following September, he commanded the Third Separate Brigade, Eighth Army Corps, a Brigade in the Sixth and Nineteenth Corps, in the Shenandoah Valley and the District of Harper's Ferry ; to June, 1865, the First Separate Brigade, Eighth Army Corps, the Dis- trict of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. On March 13, 1865, he was breveted Major-General of Volunteers, " for gallant and meritorious services during the war." He was honorably mustered out of service at the end of the war, August 24, 1805. The General As- sembly of Maryland passed a resolution, March 10, 1862, "That, without wishing to draw any invtelious distinction, the gratitude of the people of Maryland is eminently due to Colonel John R. Kenly, of the First Maryland Regi- ment, for his early, prompt, and distinguished services in the cause of his country." On December 31, 1865, Ilis Hanor, John Lee Chapman, Mayor, presented to General Kenly a sword in behalf of the Corporate Authorities of the city of Baltimore, " For his distinguished services in defence of the Union during the war of the Rebellion." Since the close of the war General Kenly has devoted himself to his profession. In 1872 he wrote and published an interesting history of the war with Mexico in 1846-47- 48, under the title of Memoirs of a Maryland Volunteer.
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OWNSEND, HON. WILSON, Farmer and Legislator, was born in the city of Baltimore, February 18, 1829. His parents, Matthias B. and Sarah A. Townsend, were natives of Maryland, and both of English descent. Mr. Townsend received a plain English education, and spent his boyhood on his father's farm. He has been engaged in agricultural pursuits for many years. In 1857 he furnished ties for the Philadel- phia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, and for some time acted as agent of the road at Stemmer's Run. Ile has served as Justice of the Peace, and as School Com- missioner of Baltimore County. In 1877 he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates on the Democratic ticket by a majority of over nineteen hundred. Mr. Town- send has been an carnest friend of the temperance cause all his life. He has been an active member of the Order of Freemasons for fifteen years. On October 16, 1856, he married Mary L. Robey, daughter of Walter W. Robey, of Prince George's County, and has three children living.
LEES, HENRY, Leather Manufacturer, was born, April 12, 1813, at Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, of which place his father, Conrad Klees, was also a native. After receiving as good an education as the schools of his native place could furnish, he, at the age of about twenty years, went to England, where he became engaged in the tanning and currying business, which he pursued for about two and a half years, when he came to this country and settled in Baltimore in 1839. Ile arrived with but little money, and worked on a railroad for a month, when he procured work at four dollars a week in the tannery of James Carrigan, with whom he continued for ten years, his industry and faithfulness being rewarded by an increase in his wages during that period. In all this time he was greatly aided by his wife, whom he had wedded shortly after settling in Baltimore. At the expiration of the time above mentioned he found himself in possession of two hundred and fifty dollars. He then invested one hundred dollars in sheepskins, which he tanned after sell- ing the wool. Finding that this was a profitable operation he employed a man to help him, and at the end of the first year had in his employ three workmen, and a thousand dollars in his possession. At the expiration of five years his working force increased to five men, and his capital to six thousand dollars. In 1855 he lost all he had made by an unfortunate purchase in the line of his business, At the end of about a year and a half, however, he was able to liquidate all his debts, and again began to accumulate money. Hle added to his business the tanning of goat- skins, and in 1864 bought a sole leather tannery in Fred- erick County, Maryland, where, besides rail and water facilities, he seenred many other decided advantages over
city tanneries, such as low taxes, abundance and cheapness of bark, cheap labor, etc. The capacity of his tannery is three hundred sides a week, and sixty skilled workmen now find employment under Mr. Klees. In 1865 Mr. Klees associated with him in the business his two sons, John and Henry Klees, Jr., under the firm style of Henry Klees & Sons. John died in 1878, and the present firm is Henry Klees & Son. For twenty-eight years Mr. Klees has prosecuted his business in one locality, No. 15 Saratoga Street. In 1840 he joined the United Brethren Church. In 1844, in connection with Rev. Adam Muller, he or- ganized the German Methodist Church, now situated on Broadway, and from which sprung the six German Metho- dist churches which that city now contains, and which comprise an aggregate membership of over six thousand. Ever since the organization of the Broadway Church Mr. Klees has been officially connected with it, and was the Superintendent of its Sabbath-school for fifteen years. He has six children living, three sons and three daughters, all of whom are married. Mr. Klees is a gentleman of sterling integrity and high moral principle.
ROSS, EDMUND C., Merchant, was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Ilis father, who died in 1835, was William Ross, of the above county, whose father, Adam Ross, came from Ireland in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and set- tled in Pennsylvania. Edmund's mother was Maria Craw- ford, a native of Franklin County. Ilis granduncle, Wil- liam Ross the elder, was a native of Ireland. Ile preceded his brother Adam to America, originally settling at Elk- ridge Landing, Howard County, Maryland, and subse- quently removing to Baltimore, where he established a grocery and variety store at the southeast corner of Market (now Baltimore) Street and Marsh Market Space. This was about the year 1785. In connection with his corner store he conducted another on Market Street, a few doors east of the Space, now known as No. 15 West Baltimore Street, his copartners in the latter establishment being James and Joseph Ross, his nephews. In 1820 William Koss died; aged sixty years, and in 1825 James and Joseph dissolved partnership. After the death of William Ross, the corner store was continued by Benjamin and Adam Ross, until 1830; and about this time a partnership was formed under the firm name of Joseph and Adam Ross, which carried on two stores, one frouting ou Market and one on Marsh Market Space. In 18446 Edmund C. Ross, who was twelve years of age when he went to Baltimore, started the grocery business at the same stand where he is at .present located, No. 15 West Baltimore Street, and has proscented the business at one place for a third of a cen- tury. The warchonse he occupies is quite a venerable structure, the date of its erection being 1807, He has al-
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ways led a quiet, undemonstrative life, devoting himself to his business, and eschewing politics. His uncle, Benja- min Ross, was quite prominent in political life, and repre- sented his ward in the City Council of Baltimore. The establishment of Mr. Edmund C. Ross may be regarded as the oldest of its kind in Baltimore, continued as it has been by the Ross family for three generations, whose pioneer in America founded it nearly a century ago. During all this long period the Rosses have maintained their commercial integrity and honor.
SMITH, HON. WASHINGTON AUGUSTUS, M.D., son of Frederick and Mary A. (Cover) Smith, was born in Jefferson County, Virginia, December 20, 1820. Ilis grandfather, Charles Smith, of Lorraine, at that time a province of France, came over in the French service as sub-lieutenant of Marines under Count Roch- ambeau, and was with the French fleet at Yorktown at the time of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. He returned to France with the fleet, but, in 1785, came again to the United States with his wife, and settled in Virginia, where his son Frederick was born. Young W. A. Smith attended the district school till his seventeenth year, when he spent two years at the Winchester Academy, and in 1839 entered the office of the late Professor John R. W. Durbon, M.D., of Baltimore. In the latter part of the same year he ma- triculated in the Medical Department of the Washington University, taking one course, and after two courses in the University of Maryland he graduated M.D. in the class of 1842, having been for the whole time also a pupil in the office of Dr. Durbon. Ilis desire was to emigrate to Mexico, and through the influence of friends his commission as Surgeon in the Mexican Army was nearly obtained, when difficulties between the two Governments thwarted his plans, and he finally settled on Taylor's Island, Dorchester County, which he has ever since made his home. Here, industri- ous and enthusiastic, he soon won many friends and a good practice, and in 1847 married Jane 1 .. , eldest daughter of the late Samuel K. Travers, one of the most estimable citi- zens of the county, and connected with some of the oldest and best families of the State. In 1848 he purchased a farm on the island, ou which he has since resided, devot- in'g himself in the intervals of political service mnost assidu- ously to his practice and to agriculture, of which he is very fond, and in which he has great success, particularly in his adoption of all the great improvements of the times. In 1849 he was nominated by the Whig party for a seat in the House of Delegates, and was elected without opposi- tion, serving in the session of 1850, made memorable by the passage of the act calling the first Constitutional Convention for remodelling the Constitution of the State. In 1859 he was nominated by the Democratic party for
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the Legislature, but failed of an election by two votes. Ile and his , wife owned fifty-five slaves, and in the stormy scenes of the war their sympathies were with the South, though they did no more than to express their opinions, and Mr. Smith declares that he would not now restore slavery if he could. In 1864 he was elected by a large majority of the Democrats of his county to the Constitutional Convention of that year, which assembled in April and continued in session until September. It was a time of great excitement, and the debates in that body perhaps were never equalled in the councils of the State. By its acts slavery in the State was abolished, the party to which Mr. Smith belonged being in the minority. In Oc- tober of the same year he was nominated by the Demo- crats to the House of Delegates, and was elected by a very large majority, taking his seat in the session of 1865, and again in 1866. In 1867 he was the nomince of the Demo- . cratic party for the State Senate, and received every vote cast in the county for that office. IIc served with great acceptance to his constituents .- In 1871 he was elected by a large majority to the Lower House. The following year he opposed the nomination of Horace Greeley for the Presidency and gave offence to his party. In 1875 he was induced to run on an independent county ticket, and was elected by a large majority to the Legislature of 1876; was also nominated for the Speakership. Ile supported Tilden for the Presidency in 1876. In 1877 he was nominated on the opposition ticket for State Senator, but failed of elec- tion by a few votes. Mr. Smith has been nominally con- nected with the Protestant Episcopal Church for many ycars, and has filled the office of vestryman or warden for the last thirty years. He is now warden of Grace Church on Taylor's Island, and as lay delegate has a number of times represented Dorchester Parish in the Diocesan Con- vention. Ilis wife died in 1863, leaving him three sons and two daughters, who are now grown. Their names are Charles D., Anna F., Samuel F., Mary Virginia, and Breckinridge W. Smith. In 1864 Mr. Smith married Mrs. Martha E. Travers, daughter of the late Benjamin Berry, of Prince George's County.
BERKINS, COLONEL. ISAAC, was born August 5, 1743, in Kent County, Maryland. Ile was the son of Ebenezer and Sarah ( Barney) Perkins, and the grandson of Daniel and Susannah (Starton) . Perkins. He was a distinguished officer of the Revolutionary Army, commencing his military service as Captain in the Fourth Battalion of the " Flying Camp " of 1776. Ile died in 1794. Ilis son, William Perkins, mar- ried . Henrietta Ringgold, daughter of Josias Ringgold, and is now represented by his son, Isaac Perkins, Esq., who married Elizabeth Wroth, danghter of Levi and Martha Wroth, and resides near Chestertown.
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7. 3012 SARY, HON. THOMAS F., Farmer and State Senator, the son of George and Asenath (Morgan) Gary, was born in Caroline County, Maryland, Septem- ber 10, 1821. He attended the common schools of his section till he was sixteen years of age, when he became a clerk in a country store. In this employment he remained two years, after which he was engaged in a mill for another year, and was clerk again for the two years following. At the age of twenty-one he was married to Mrs. Mary Ann Maloney, and entered upon the business of farming. In this he has ever since continued, but has at different times engaged in other kinds of business, in all of which he has been very successful. He has owned and improved a great deal of land, and speculated quite extensively in real estate, and besides his valuable milling and boating interests he conducts a thriving business as a merchant. During the last year he has cleared five hun- dred acres of land. All this enterprise and labor has re- sulted in the accumulation of a very considerable property. He is the owner of twenty-five farms, and pays the heaviest tax of any man in the county. His wife died in 1852, leaving him five children. In 1856 he was again married to Miss Anne G. Kuney, of Sussex County, Dela- ware, and has now seven children living. For many years he has taken a prominent part in the political affairs of his county. In 1850 the new State Constitution made the office of County Clerk elective, and at the first election under that Constitution he was elected to that office, which lic held for six years. In 1864 he was a candidate for the State Senate on the Democratic ticket, but was defeated by the Union candidate. In 1877 he was elected to the Senate by a plurality of one hundred and sixty votes, having been nominated on an Independent ticket against the regular Democratic ticket, the object of which was to break down the old ring that had long dominated the county. The full success of the effort is shown in the election of Senator Gary by so large a majority. A man of untiring energy and industry, shrewd, far-sighted, and enterprising in business, he exerts a large influence through- out the county both in business and political affairs. Ile is not a member of any Church, but his sympathies are with the Society of Friends.
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