Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 37

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1482

USA > Delaware > Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I > Part 37

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Respecting the Danish genealogy con- tained in the Adels Aarbog (Year Book of the Nobles), the Secretary of Royal Archives, Copenhagen, 1895, writes: "Herein, pp. 143- 176, will be found the genealogy of the an- cient Grubbes, their coat of arms and some portraits. More detailed information con- cerning their genealogy is scarcely to be had. But about several famed members of this fam- ily more particular information can be pro- cured from the Danish historical literature and archives. Among the portraits herein published is a fine one of Sigvard or Sivert Grubbe, born 1566, died 1636, because he was one of the famous men during the reign

of Christian IV, and he wrote a diary with important information concerning that king, whom he accompanied in one of his voyages to Norway. The Grubbes are related to Chris- tian IV, in so far as Marie Grubbe, in 1660, married his half-brother, Ulrik Frederik Gyl- denlove. Jacobsen's novel, Marie Grubbe, although a fiction, is founded on historical facts, with historical persons in the principal parts.

"As will be observed in this Adels Aarbog genealogical sketch, the Grubbes are one of the oldest and most famous noble families in Demark. As early as the year 1127, one of them, Gonde Grubbe, was living on his es- tate, called Veringe. Another, Peter Grubbe, of Zealand, in 1276, was one of the king's jus- tices in 1313, knighted in 1322, and appoint- ed Governor, and also Ambassador, in 1328. In 1322, there was a Nicholas Grubbe, one of the noted chiefs of justice in the Zealands. In 1360, John Grubbe, of Terslosse, was liv- ing on his estate of that name; and in the fif- teenth century, another nobleman, named Niels Grubbe, of Foebock, lived in Langeland. The Grubbes own family coat-of-arms is known from the thirteenth century, 1200- 1300. In respect to color, the symbols of the Grubbe coat-of-arms resemble a great many of those of high-standing German families, such as Von Rohr, Von Beust, Von Konigsmarg, and others, the last-named of which lived in Sweden in the fourteenth century. The con- nection between these and the Grubbe family must have been so far back in time that no other token of it has been preserved except the coat-of-arms. From the early ages, the Grubbes have adhered to their coat-of-arms and their noted name, which, by marriages in the course of time, have been adopted by other lines."

Among the records of the Delaware Society of Colonial Wars, and in Vol. 9, American Ancestry, the English genealogy of the fam- ily is traced back to Henry Grubbe, Esq., of Wiltshire, England, who died in 1581. Many of his descendants have, for generations, served with distinction in the army and navy of Great Britain; among them, Major General John Heneage Hunt Grubbe, once command- ing at Quebec, and Major Thomas Hunt Grubbe, wounded under General Packenham at New Orleans, both deceased; also Admiral Sir Walter J. Hunt Grubbe, K. C. B., and his

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cousin, Captain Henry G. Hunt Grubbe, of Eastwell House, Potterne, Devizes, Wiltshire, the present head of the family in England. The ancestry of Judge Grubb is as follows:

1. Henry Grubbe, Esq., member of Parlia- ment for Devizes, Wiltshire, 14 Elizabeth, 1571, died 1581;

II. Thomas, Esq., of Potterne, Devizes, Wiltshire, eldest son of Henry, died February 2, 1617;

III. Thomas, M. A. of Oxford University, rector at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, second son of Thomas, born 1581, at Potterne, Wiltshire;

IV. John, Esq., of Bedfordshire, England, second son of Rev. Thomas, born 1610, died 1667, at Potterne, Wiltshire; a royalist and adherent of the Church of England in Crom- well's time, removed from Wiltshire after the execution of Charles I to the more remote and secure county of Cornwall; married in Corn- wall to IIelen Vivian;

V. John, Esq., of "Grubb's Manor Lands," Grubb's Landing, Del., son of John and ITelen (Vivian) Grubb, born in 1652, in Cornwall, England; having joined with Wil- liam Penn and others in signing the Plan of Government for the Province of West Jersey, he sailed in in the ship Kent from London in 1677, for Burlington, in said province; in 1679, he settled at Upland, now Chester, Pa., where he purchased considerable land, and in 1682, at Grubb's Landing, Del., to which he gave the name it still bears. Here he became owner of "Grubb's Manor Lands," and later acquired other tracts in Delaware and Pennsylvania; was a planter, a colonial justice in 1693, member of the Colonial As- sembly, 1692-1700, etc .; died in 1708, at Mar- eus Hook, Pa., where he, with each of Judge Grubb's succeeding paternal ancestors, lies buried in St. Martin's Protestant Episcopal churchyard; he married Frances Vane, of English lineage, and from their children are descended the Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey families of that name, including Captain Emanuel Grubb, Jr., of the French and Indian War; Colonel Peter Grubb, of the Eighth Pennsylvania Battalion in the Revo- lutionary War, and General Edward Burd Grubb, U. S. Minister to Spain, 1890;

VI. Emanuel, of Stockdale's Plantation, Grubb's Landing, Del., eldest son of John and Frances (Vane) Grubb, was born at Grubb's Landing, July 19, 1682, three

months before William Pem's first arrival in America, and, according to the early colo- nial annals, was reputed to be the first male child born of English parents on both sides, in Penn's province; he was a plauter, and colonial justice of the Courts of Oyer and Terminer, Common Pleas, etc .; he was an active member of the Church of England, and from at least 1725 until his death, which occurred August 9, 1767, was continuously a vestryman of St. Martin's church, Marcus Ilook, Pa .; in this office he was succeeded by his son Emanuel and his grandson James, who, with him, were vestrymen of said church for an unbroken period of over a century (Martin's History of Chester, p. 98); he mar- ried Anne Hedge Koch, granddaughter of Otto Ernest Koch, secretary under the Swed- ish governor, John Printz, at Tinieum, Pa., 1650, and subsequent owner of that island, presiding justice of Upland Court, Pa., 1680; member of Governor Markham's council, etc .; and also granddaughter of Colonel John Fen- wiek, founder and proprietary of Salem, N. J., colony, 1675, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Walter Covert;

VII. Emanuel, Jr., of Stockdales, Del., son of Emanuel and Anne (Hedge) Grubb, born December 10, 1729, died 1799; planter, colo- nial captain during the French and Indian war, etc .; married Anne, daughter of Philip Ford (descendant of Philip Ford, merchant of London) and Anne, his wife;

VIII. James, of Stockdales, Del., son of Emanuel, Jr., and Anne (Ford) Grubb, born June 25, 1768, died April 4, 1827; planter, magistrate, large land owner, etc .; married Sarah, daughter of John and Prudence (Clay- ton) Ford, and granddaughter of William Clayton, presiding justice of Upland Court, Pa., 1681; acting governor, and president of Governor Markham's council, 1682, and of Peun's council, 1684, etc .; also granddaugh- ter of Walter Martin, a member of Penn's Assembly, and the donor of St. Martin's church lands, Marcus Hook, Pa .;

IX. Wellington, of Stockdales, Del., son of James and Sarah ( Ford) Grubb, born Decem- ber 25, 1811, died February 10, 1853; owner of valuable farming timber and city proper- ties, etc. ; married Beulah C., daughter of John Allmand, Esq., and Boulah (Buckley) All- mand, and granddaughter of Captain John Allmand, commissioned 1747, also descend-

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ant of Adam Buckley, a justice of the colonial courts, 1736, and of John Buckley, member of l'enn's Assembly, 1697;

X. Ignatius Cooper, son of Wellington and Beulah C. (Alland) Grubb, born April 12, 1841, at Grubb's Landing, Brandywine hun- dred, New Castle county, Del., in the colonial homestead of his family, called "Stockdales," which had been in the continuous possession of his paternal ancestors from the date of the original Penn conveyance.

That Judge Grubb has inherited sterling intellectual and moral qualities from a worthy ancestry is evidenced by his busy, useful and upright life, and his high social, professional and judicial standing throughout his native state.

In March, 1849, he removed with his par- ents from Grubb's Landing to Wilmington, where he still resides. There he received a careful preliminary education at the Delaware Academy, under the direction of Col. Theo- dore IIyatt, late president of the Pennsylvania Military College, at Chester, Pa., and having completed the classical course pursued at Yale College, he read law under his guardian, Vic- tor DuPont, Esq., a leading lawyer of Wil- mington, and was admitted to the Delaware bar in November, 1862. During his profes- sional career he became conspicuous as a suc- cessful lawyer and public speaker, and also as a sagacious and influential Democratic leader. Ile is a man of scholarly tastes and contem- plative mind, as well as of practical executive ability. He has given much time to public affairs, and has left his impress upon many publie measures and upon the general admin- istrative policy of the state. Although a law- yer's political and public career are apt to at- tract greater notice than his less conspicuous professional life, yet Judge Grubb's legal carcer has, on very notable occasions, won for him a well-earned reputation for legal ability, learning and industry, especially as a Consti- tutional lawyer. Prominent among his suc- cessful efforts have been his able and learned arguments in the Wilmington Ninth Ward and Water Commission cases before the Court of Errors and Appeals, and in other important cases.

To his legal acquirements and judgment is also due the adjustment of the vexing contro- versy, during Governor Cochran's term, re- sweeting the boundary line within the "twelve-

mile circle," which then threatened to result in an armed conflict between the New Jersey and Delaware fishermen. After the boundary commission-having failed to reach any satis- factory conclusion-had been annulled by the legislature, Judge Grubb, then Secretary of State, as Governor Cochran's legal adviser, in a joint conference with the Governor and at- torney general of New Jersey, suggested as the only practicable plan for the determina- tion of the then pending trouble, that the State of New Jersey file a bill in equity in the United States Supreme Court, to have the true boundary line established, and in the meantime have a preliminary injunction laid upon the State of Delaware, restraining its officers, agents, etc., from interfering with the rights of the citizens of New Jersey to fish within said circular boundary, etc .; all of which was done, and is still pending, await- ing the determination of said court.

Conspicuous among Judge Grubb's public actions was his connection with what is known as the "Grubb Representation Amendment" to the state Constitution, devised and advo- vated by him as a temporary compromise of the differences existing between New Castle county and Kent and Sussex counties respect- ing the former's rightful claim to increased representation in the state legislature. The plan, in fis earliest form, was first recom- mended by him in 1873, at a county division meeting at Middletown. The cause of in- creased representation was afterwards urgent- ly advocated by him throughout Governor Cochran's term, but unsuccessfully, as the public sentiment of the state was not then ripe for it. In 1883, upon the inauguration of Governor Stockley, a more favorable senti- ment prevailed. After weeks of consultation with members of the legislature and leading men from all parts of the state, Judge Grubb drafted a scheme which was a modification and development of his original, but less ma- tured, plan of 1873. This desired representa- tion amendment to the Constitution was cor- dially supported by Governor Stockley and the ablest leaders of, his party, in and out of the legislature, and was proposed by more than a three-fourths vote of the General Assembly of 1883 for ratification by the legislature to be elected in 1884. During the campaign of 1884, Judge Grubb was selected by the lead- ers of his party to make the argument before

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the people, in support of his amendment. This he did in a speech of admirable tact and logical force, delivered in the city of Wilmington, and printed and distributed by his party for public information. He had the satisfaction of carrying the election upon this issue, against the most determined and strenuous efforts of his opponents.

Having achieved a triumphant success at " the polls, after having previously secured the unanimous endorsement of the measure by the Democratie state convention of 1884, he con- fidently left the ratification of his amendment and the realization of his own and his coun- ty's hopes to the solid Democratic legislative delegation from his county, and to the Demo- cratie members from Kent and Sussex coun- ties elected under the pledge of their state convention to ratify the same. But, owing to the unfaithfulness of some and the pur- blindness of others, his own successful efforts were rendered futile by the failure of the legislature to ratify the amendment; and thus the nearest approach ever made towards an increase of representation for New Castle county was defeated for lack of but one vote in the House of Representatives of 1885. Though many able men had tried it, Judge Grubb stands foremost among all who had theretofore sought to have justice done his native county, as its most successful advocate.

The most notable of Judge Grubb's achieve- ments, however, have been in relation to the movement for Constitutional reforms through a Constitutional convention. The failure of the legislature in 1885 to ratify his proposed legislative amendment to the State Constitu- tion in behalf of increased representation for New Castle county, and the growing desire for other Constitutional reforms, aroused the people throughout the state, and led to such an agitation and demand, in the political cam- paign of 1886, for a Constitutional conven- tion, that the General Assembly of 1887 felt constrained to provide for a special election, in November of that year, to ascertain the will of the people in respect thereto. The State Constitution, prescribing the requisite vote, provided that "if at any such election the number of votes for a convention shall be equal to a majority of all the citizens in the state, having right to vote for representatives, ascertained by reference to the highest num- ber of votes cast in the state at any one of the

three general elections next preceding the day of voting for a convention, the General As- sembly shall, at its next session, call a con- vention."

The total muuber of votes cast at the gen- eral election of 1882 was 31,202, being the highest number east at any of the three gen- oral elections prior to said special election of 1887. The vote of 1887 in favor of a conven- tion must, therefore, according to the Consti- tution, be equal to a majority of the votes cast in 1882, namely, 15,602 votes. In fact, how- ever, 14,454 votes only were cast for a con- vention, and but 467 against it, at said special election of 1887. The vote for a convention was therefore really 1,148 short of the pre- seribed and requisite constitutional majority. When the General Assembly, at its next ses- sion of 1889, convened in joint meeting of the two Houses to determine the result of the special election, a memorable controversy arose. A majority of the Senate was Demo- cratie, while a majority of the House was Re- publiean. But in the joint meeting to ascer- tain the result of the vote, the Republicans, owing to the larger membership of the House, had the majority of the joint meeting. More- over, some of the Democratic members of the House ardently desired to have a convention called on said vote, if possible, under the C'on- stitution. The Republican party throughout the state was virtually unanimously in favor of calling the convention on this vote. They claimed that the vote for a convention was an overwhelming majority of the votes actually cast at the special election, and therefore that the legislature should obey such expressed will of the people, and provide for the calling of the convention. On this issue the Demo- cratie party was divided. Some of its fore- most leaders vehemently supported the Re- publican view; a few were openly in the nega- tive, vet many more, owing to the prevailing clamor for obedience to the popular will, were but cautiously opposed, or prudently inactive.

At this juncture the demands of the exi- geney and his convictions of public duty en- listed Judge Grubb in a struggle against what he deemed unconstitutional methods, and in behalf of true Constitutional reforms, which continued for eight years, and culminated in the convention and new Constitution of 1897. Throughout this protracted controversy he exhibited a degree of logieal power, steadfast

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courage, political sagacity and masterly lead- ership seldom, if ever, surpassed in Delaware.

When the legislature of 1889 met in joint session to count the vote cast at the special election of 1887, the dominant majority there- in, notwithstanding the lack of the prescribed Constitutional majority for a convention, re- solved that the vote was sufficient, and that an act should be passed in each branch of the General Assembly providing for the election of delegates to a Constitutional convention. Accordingly, such an act was passed by the Republican House and sent to the Democratic Senate for concurrence. Thereupon ensued a display of Constitutional argument, legis- lative strategy and tactical skill, which en- grossed public interest to the end of the ses- sion. Opposed to Judge Grubb, the chosen adviser of the Senate majority, were twoof the ablest members of the Republican party, one its most accomplished debater, the other its most subtle legal reasoner. By his advice the Senate, without a dissenting vote, adopted a report prepared by him, rejecting the said House bill for calling a convention upon the insufficient vote of 1887, and recommending the passage of a Senate bill providing for an- other special election on the third Tuesday of May, the day designated in the Constitution, and in strict conformity therewith in all other respects. By the advice of its able counsel, the House approved an adverse report refusing to concur in the said Senate bill, and adopted a substitute therefor, providing for taking a vote of the people at the next general election upon the question of calling a convention, which was sent to the Senate for concurrence. In reply, the Senate adopted a counter report, rejecting the House substitute, and insisting upon the Senate policy for a special election in strict conformity in all respects with the existing Constitution, on the grounds, as set forth in said Senate report, that the House measures were unauthorized, unconstitutional and revolutionary; that a convention so called would be illegitimate, and its work invalid; and that such a course would prove unwise, and detrimental to the cause of Constitutional refom. But although the majority of the conference committee of the two Houses, in- cluding the Republican Senate member there- of, reported in favor of the Senate measure and policy, yet the House refused to coneur therein, and consequently prevented the Legis-

Jature of 1889 from giving the people an op- portunity, in an unquestionably Constitu- tional mode, of again voting respecting a con- vention. That the arguments and policy pre- sented by Judge Grubb were sound and con- vincing, was shown by his success in securing the co-operation of every Democrat in both Houses, and of Hon. Alden B. Richardson, the Republican member of the Senate confer- ence committee. That he had secured for the supporters of his views the superior strategic position before the people, was unquestionably demonstrated at the next general election.

At the next session of the legislature, in 1891, which was Democratie in both branches, a bill, as proposed by the Senate of 1889, was passed, providing for another special election, in May, 1891, on the question of calling a con- vention. The same legislature also proposed an amendinent to the Constitution, authoriz- ing a vote on the question of calling a con- vention to be taken at a general election, so that it might be ratified by the General _As- sembly of 1893, and be available in case the vote at the special election of 1891 should prove insufficient. This amendment was rati- fied, and, the vote of 1891 being about 500 short of the requisite majority, the legislature of 1893 thereupon provided for a further vote upon the convention question, at the general dlection of 1894. Judge Grubb drew up the acts providing for the special elections of 1891 and 1894, and proved his sincerity and con- sisteney by voting at both in favor of a con- vention, although he foresaw that it would probably, as it did, terminate his life tenure as a member of the state Bench. When the long-sought Constitutional convention was called upon the more than required vote of 1894, and convened in December, 1896, he took a constant and laborious part in aiding its members with needed information and coun- sel throughout its long and arduous six months' session, especially in respect to pro- posed improvements of the judicial system. During the long agitation for a convention, many who were more zealous than wise and well-informed, as he considered, advocated radical changes in the judiciary system, which were unnecessary, and on grounds which were unsound and unwarranted, as he believed. Consequently, when the conven- tion met, there was a wide-spread prejudice against the existing three-judge system, and

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a prevailing disposition to adopt in its stead a one-judge court. To dispel this prejudice, defeat this purpose, and preserve the existing system with such modifications only as would be really wise and necessary, Judge Grubb ex- erted all the powers of his mind and all the energies of his nature, in the supreme effort of his life.

Having been previously invited by the Ilis- torical Society of Delaware to read before it a paper on the colonial and state judiciary of Delaware, he deemed the meeting of the con- vention, in December, 1896, a most opportune occasion for a historical review of the gradual growth and development of the administration of justice in Delaware, for the information of the people and the practical use of their repre- sentatives in convention assembled. Imme- diately after the organization of that body, he read this paper before the Society. Considered all together -- in its instructive historical inter- est, literary merit, consummate tact, subtle comprehension of the character and needs of the people of his state, cogent reasoning and potent influence upon the public and the con- vention, it stands uniquely noteworthy among historical pamphlets. Its effect upon its hear- ers was so impressive that the Society, when he closed, accorded him the unprecedented compliment of ordering the publication and distribution of one thousand pamphlet copies, for public information. As a further mark of public appreciation, it was published in full in the leading newspapers of both political par- ties. It furnished to the convention, the bar, and the people of the state precisely the com- plete and authentic information which was es- sential and indispensable to a wise and correct decision, and for want of which so many had formed erroneous, though honest, views upon the subject. The results were instantaneous and decisive, notwithstanding the subsequent exertions of the ablest members of the con- vention in behalf of the one-judge system. As a member of the convention declared: "Judge Grubb has reversed the popular sentiment and revolutionized the previous views of the bar and the delegates of my county." In the end, the convention rejected the one-judge, and continued, with some modifications, the three- judge system, which, as he argued, has been championed by such eminent jurists as Clay- ton, Ridgely and Read, and maintained in Delaware from her earliest colonial period

with general approval, by successive genera- tions of her leading men and thoughtful citi- zens.

In recognition of Judge Grubb's conspicu- ous services and personal qualifications, nu- merous responsible and honorable appoint- ments have been conferred upon him. In 1867 he was elected clerk of the Delaware House of Representatives. In 1869 he was appointed Deputy Attorney-general by At- forney-general Paynter, who subsequently retired from that office on account of a techni- cal Constitutional disqualification. In 1871, he was elected city solicitor for the city of Wilmington. During 1874 he was prominent and influential in securing the nomination and election of Hon. John P. Cochran as gover- nor of Delaware, and in express recognition of his valued services, he was appointed See- retary of State by Governor Cochran, Janu- ary 19, 1875, and zealously and efficiently filled the office until the close of his term, in 1879. Throughout this period he especially evinced a warm interest in Delaware's credit- able participation in the Centennial Exhibi- tion at Philadelphia; in the improvement and snecess of the public school system of the state, both as Secretary of State and member of the State School Board; in the reduction of taxation and the decrease of the state debt, and in an earnest effort to secure increased representation for New Castle county, as well as in other measures for the welfare of the state and the improvement of its institutions. In February, 1879, he was appointed a mem- ber of the National Democratie Campaign Committee, created to take the place at that time of the Congressional Committee. In June, 1880, he was appointed the member for Delaware of the Democratic National Com- mittee, by the Cincinnati convention, and in July, 1884, was reappointed by the Demo- cratic National Convention at Chicago.

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 37

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa. Number of Pages: 1482

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1482