Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 38

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

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In 1884, owing to impaired health, with a view to temporary partial rest from his ardu- ous professional and political labors, he ac- cepted the office of Register of Wills for New Castle county, to which he was appointed by Governor Stockley. While holding this office, he was also appointed by Governor Stockley, May 25, 1886, to the position of Associate Judge for the state of Dela- ware, resident in New Castle county, vice HIon. William G. Whiteley, deceased; and in

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March, 1893, the office of Chief Justice of Delaware was tendered to him by Governor Reynolds, on the decease of Chief Justice Al- fred P. Robinson, which he declined, being then unwilling to ineur the increased physical strain of its more exacting duties. He there- fore continued to hold the office of Associate Judge until June 10, 1897, when it was abolished, and his life tenure therein, in com- mon with that of the other state judges, an- nulled by the provisions of the new Constitu- tion of that year. Two days thereafter, June 12, 1897, he was appointed by Governor Tun- nell to the new office of Associate Judge-at- Large of the Supreme Court, etc., of the state, which position he now holds.

When Judge Grubb first sat upon the bench, twelve years ago, his venerable and distinguished associates were Chancellor Saulsbury, Chief Justice Comegys, and Judges Wootten and Houston, who have all passed away, leaving him the sole surviving link be- tween the judges of the older order and the new. IIe is a bachelor, the only unmarried man now upon the state Bench, about five feet seven inches in height, with a sinewy and well- knit frame, and endowed with exceptional mental and bodily energy and activity. He has an intellectual countenance, a cultured manner, and a general expression of quiet de- termination and steadfastness of purpose. In discharging his judicial duties, he is habitu- ally exact, energetic and diligent. Upon the Bench he is invariably dignified and impartial, and at all times considerate, courteous and obliging. IIe is a man of positive character, deliberate judgment, and resolute courage'in maintaining his convictions. He possesses very superior analytical and logical powers, combined with a rare capacity for unremitting mental concentration and thorough investiga- tion. Although somewhat inclined by his analytical habits toward technical refinements, vet his natural judgment is so practical that his deliberate judicial conclusions have sel- dom proved erroneous.

With his natural endowments, legal ac- quirements, and practical knowledge of pub- lie affairs, it soon became evident to the bar and people of Delaware that Judge Grubb was destined to become a potent factor upon the state Bench. Very early in his judicial career, he delivered opinions, especially in the late Court of Errors and Appeals, which attracted

universal attention, and won for him a fore- most place upon the Bench, in the judgment of the ablest lawyers of the state. Through- out his twelve years of judicial service, he has unquestionably maintained the reputation he so early won. During that period, he has de- termined some most notable cases, and been signally tested by very grave and trying emer- gencies. Conspicuous among his judicial de- liverances in the Court of Errors and Appeals was his memorable opinion in the case of Friezlieben vs. the Levy Court of New Castle county, in which he sustained the constitu- tionality of the assessment and collection laws of 1873. The administration of these laws by the Democratic officials during a period of seventeen years in a partisan and arbitrary manner, which wrongfully disfranchised many voters of the Republican party, as al- leged by the latter, had at length induced them to submit the question of the constitutionality of said laws for judicial decision. Party feel- ing being deeply moved on the subject on both sides, the duty of the Court was both difficult and embarrassing The bitter controversy had continued so long, and the partisan in- terests at stake were so great, that an adverse decision would necessarily be unsatisfactory to the unsuccessful side. The leading argu- ment against the laws was a notable one for legal acumen and logical power. It was gen- erally considered unanswerable, and therefore its learned author, Hon. E. G. Bradford, now United States District Judge, and his party confidently expected the Court would declare the said legislative acts to be unconstitutional. But after mature consideration, the Court sus- tained the laws, one judge only dissenting. Two opinions were written concurring in the decision, but on different grounds in certain essential respects. Regarding the concurring opinion written by Judge Grubb, the able edi- tor of the leading Republican journal of the state wrote:

"We are amazed at the ingenuity and bold- ness of the opinion delivered by Judge Grubb. Hle meets in form almost every question raised in that matter, and construets or envolves an elaborate and subtle intention on the part of the legislature in devising and enacting the laws in question, which is as ingenious as it is novel. *

* * ITe is the first man who has ever brought together a coherent explana- tion of the possible public purposes of the

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

legislation of 1873, and although we cannot agree with it, we do admire his fertility of resource, his intellectual penetration and sub- tlety, and his abundant recognition of the need of supporting publie acts on public grounds. There is no doubt that he delivered the opinion of the court, and generally it is so conceded; although it is a fact, whether con- ceded or not. We appreciate the way in which he does things, although we do not like the things done."

Judge Grubb, as a trial judge, is quick to discern and decide the vital questions in the cause, and very successful in presenting the case with precision and clearness to the jury. Among the notable cases in which he has pre- sided and charged the juries, or prominently participated, are, in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, the murder cases of the State vs. Lodge, State vs. Miller et al., and State vs. Brown and Swan, attendants at the State IIos- pital at Farnhurst; and in the Superior Court, the Lycoming Insurance Company cases, the Cummins will case, and the mandamus casos against MeCoy and other members of the Board of Canvass of Kent county, in 1896.

For more than a year, during the long ill- ness of Chief Justice Comegys, Judge Grubb acted, under the Constitution, as presiding judge of the Court of Oyer and Terminer throughout the state, and of the other courts in Kent and Sussex counties, with marked ability and success. From 1886 to June 10, 1897, he almost continuously presided in lieu of the chancellor in the Orphans' Court of New Castle county, and disposed of the vari- ous and important business therein; and also, as resident judge, discharged many other mis- cellaneous judicial duties. During this long period but one of his Orphans' Court decisions was ever appealed from, and none reversed. In the Court of Errors and Appeals his view has been the prevailing one, except in one in- stance, where his dissenting opinion was ap- proved by leading law journals of the country. In the Superior Court, during the same period, his view of the law has been concurred in by the entire court, or a majority thereof, in every judgment save one-the mandamus de- cision against the Kent county Board of Can- vass in December, 1896 -- where his dissent- ing opinion was sustained, and the majority of the court below unanimously reversed by the Court of Errors and Appeals.

Although a life-long Democrat, and, until his elevation to the Bench, a zealously active party leader, Judge Grubb has never permit- ted partisanship to affect his social relations, influence his judicial actions, or pervert his sense of public duty as a private citizen. Where he has found the law to be plainly in favor of his party in any case before the court, he has impartially declared it to be so, despite intemperate criticism, relying upon the sound- ness of his reasoning for his ultimate vindica- tion. Where he has believed his party to be wrong, he has unflinchingly done the right, regardless of other considerations. Upon the resignation of Judge Houston, and also upon the death of Chief Justice Robinson, he ac- tively urged the appointment, by the Demo- cratic governor, of a Republican to fill the vacancy, because he sincerely believed thatthe state judiciary should not be wholly composed of members of his own, or any one party; al- though in then doing so he antagonized the appointment of personal and political friends, as well as the overwhelming sentiment of his party. It is noteworthy that this principle so earnestly advocated by him in 1893, has since been adopted by the convention, and incor- porated in the new Constitution. Again, after the Democratic Board of Canvass in Kent county, in 1896, had given certificates to the Democratic candidates for the constitu- tional convention, and when the courts, for want of time before the convention met to or- ganize, could not definitely determine between them and the opposing candidates, Judge Grubb, as a private citizen, was largely instru- mental in originating and securing the com- promise by which one-half of each party's can- didates was admitted to the convention, and whereby a revolutionary situation was averted and a practically non-partisan convention or- ganized and subsequently conducted to the close of its remarkable and valuable public services. In referring to this feature of his career, at the time of his appointment to the Bench in 1886, a leading Republican journal published this tribute:

"As an ardent Democrat, he has taken a zealous interest in the conduct and success of his party, and has been prominent as a po- litical writer, speaker and party leader. Yet, active and carnest as has been his political career for more than twenty years, he has never descended to the base methods and cor-

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rupting practices of partisan politics, but has, on the contrary, possessed a character of hon- esty, candor and courage which is unsullied and unimpeached. As a public official, he has, with exceptional ability, integrity, cour- tesy and success, fulfilled his duties and the expectations of his friends. Notably during his four years' term as Secretary of State, did he evince a public spirit far above the nature and habits of the mere partisan."

In addition to his professional, political and judicial labors, Judge Grubb has given liberal aid to religious and charitable institutions, and has taken an active interest in historical and other associations. He is a member and director of the Historical Society of Delaware; member of the Delaware Society, and Deputy Governor-general of the General Society of Colonial Wars; member of Council of the American Bar Association; member of the American Geological Society; vestryman of Old Swedes' Trinity P. E. Church, Winning- ton, Del .; member of the Diocesan Church Club of Delaware, etc., etc. During his vaca- tions, for many years, he has sought health, information and liberal culture in home and foreign travel, and has visited many of the most interesting portions of Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as of America; including Ja- pan, China, India, Egypt, Mexico, California, British America, Norway, Western and Southern Europe, ete. With health restored, physical energies renewed, and mind re- freshed and broadened by such wise and wholesome means, Judge Grubb enters upon his duties under the new Constitution with the prospect of many years of continued use- fulness to his State and credit to himself.

EDGAR M. HOOPES, Wilmington, Del., was born in Minerva, Ohio, October 25, 1856, and at an early age took to the newspaper busi- ness as a duck takes to water. His first effort in this direction was as local correspondent for the Cleveland, O., Leader, the Canton, O., Repository, and the Alliance, O., Review. Having a natural liking for the business, he decided to adopt it as a profession, and was next employed in the business office of the Chicago, Ill., Times.

It was while he was thus engaged that he was offered and accepted the position of ad- vertising manager of the Wilmington, Del., Morning News, which position he held at the

time the News Publishing Company bought out the paper, and improved it greatly in many ways. Mr. Hoopes became a stockholder in the paper at the earnest request of Mr. Isaac Henderson, the former manager and part owner of the New York Evening Post, and the principal owner, with Mr. Sperry, of the Morning News, and was soon made the busi- ness manager of the paper, which position he holds to-day. Under Mr. Hoopes's manage- ment the paper has become a good paying property, and the leading Republican news- paper of the state. An extended acquaint- ance with the general advertisers of the East has made him quite a power in this direction, and his laurels have been won by fair dealing, and strict attention to every detail of his extended business affairs. His success is wholly due to this fact, as well as to his push and energy.

In the summer of 1887 Mr. Hoopes was made business manager of the Philadelphia News as well, which position he filled cred- itably for nearly two years, dividing his time between that paper and his own. He left the News to assume a position as assistant ad- vertising manager of the Philadelphia Press, where he remained for some two years, when he resigned, in order that he might more effectually push the interests of his own paper, and also the advertising interests of a list of leading daily papers in the South, to which he was then sending a great deal of Northern business. During the time he was employed on the Press he also looked after the inter- ests of his own paper successfully.

Mr. Hoopes is now devoting his whole time to his Wilmington paper, and the list of papers for which he works up special business. This list embraces some of the best and lead- ing papers of the country.

WILLIAM IT. HEALD, Esq., Wilming- ton, Del., son of Charles HI. and Mary E. (Talley) Heald, was born in Wilmington, Au- gust 27, 1863.

The Heald family is of English descent on the paternal side, and its members have for vears belonged to the Society of Friends. Charles H. Heald, father of William H. Heald, was born in Philadelphia, October 1, 1833, son of Eli and Eliza A. ITcald.

Charles II. Heald received his education in the schools of Wilmington and at the

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

academy at Charlottesville, N. Y., and after- ward learned shipbuilding in Wilmington, the birthplace of so many ocean-going vessels. IIe has resided there all his life, and has devoted all his attention to the construction of vessels. IIe has been a director of the Pusey & Jones Company, shipbuilders, from the date of its . incorporation. He married Mary E., daugh- ter of Iliram W. and Margaret E. Talley. They have two children: I. William H .; II. Josephine.

William H. Heald attended the public schools of Wilmington and was graduated from the high school in 1880. In that year he entered the Sophomore class of Delaware College, and was graduated therefrom in 1883, being the valedictorian of his class. IIe im- mediately began the study of law in the office of IIon. Charles B. Lore, the present chief justice of the State of Delaware. There he mastered the elementary principles of law and then entered the law school of Columbia Uni- versity. In the spring of 1888 he completed his studies in that institution, received the de- gree of L.L. B., and began the practice of his profession in Washington, D. C. Before the end of the year he was appointed National Bank Examiner, and was placed in charge of the National Banks in Montana, Oregon, Idaho and Washington. This office he held until 1895. In 1897 he returned to Wil- mington, and has practiced in the courts there since then. Mr. Heald has always been a very active Republican, and is at present secretary of the Republican State committee, and Vice- President of the Young Men's Republican Club.

CHARLES W. DIGGANS, Wilmington, Del., son of William and Elizabeth (Rum- bold) Diggans, was born in Caroline county, Md., March 5, 1852.

William Diggans was born in France in the year 1800. After attaining manhood he came to the United States and settled in Maryland. Subsequently he removed to Brandywine hun- dred, New Castle county, Del., and made his home there for ten years. At the end of that period he returned to Maryland and was en- gaged in farming and milling in Caroline county for the remainder of his life. Wil- liam Diggans married Elizabeth, daughter of John and E- - Rumbold, born in Caro- line county, Md. Their children were: I.

Hester (Mrs. Edward Morris), of Caroline county, Md., widow; II. Harriet (Mrs. Isaac Melvin), of Caroline county, Md., widow; III. Louisa (Mrs. Henry Sparks); IV. William II .; V. Charles W .; VI. Samuel E .; and two who died in childhood. William Diggans died in 1859; his widow in 1891, aged sev- enty-eight years.

Charles W. Diggans spent the first sixteen years of his life in Caroline county, Md., where he was educated in the public schools. In 1871 he entered the service of the Phila- delphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company, and was for twenty-one years its efficient agent at Queen Anne and Easton, Md. Ile also dealt extensively in grain, etc., and for four years was the largest shipper of grain and coal in Maryland, outside of Bal- timore. In June, 1892, Mr. Diggans removed to Wilmington, and has since been very suc- cessfully engaged in the 'commission busi- ness. In credit and reputation, he is of high standing among business men of the city. Mr. Diggans is a progressive citizen, and al- ways alert to promote the interests of Wil- mington. For six years of his residence in Caroline county, Md., he served as a justice of the peace. He is a member of Nelson Lodge, No. 39, I. O. O. F., of Caroline county, Md .; of Industry Lodge, No. 2, A. O. U. W .; and of Wilmington Conclave, No. 22, I. O. H., of Wilmington.

On January 11, 1876, in Caroline county, Md., Charles W. Diggans was married to Emma A., daughter of William E. and Emily (Kent) Mason, of Queen Anne county, Md. Their children are: I. Charles H .; II. Earl C .; III. Howard E., deceased. Mr. Diggans is a member of the Union M. E. church and a class leader in that denomination.

JOHN J. GALLAGHER, Wilmington, Del., son of George M. and Elizabeth (Wat- son) Gallagher, was born in Wilmington, Del., August 12, 1842.

His great-grandfather, John Gallagher, was a native of Ireland. He married Susanna McElwee, who came to this country more than a century ago. He died in 1808. They had two children, John and Alice Anne, who married Evan C. Stotsenburg, iron founder of Wilmington, Del. His son, John, grand- father of John J. Gallagher, was born in Mif- flinburg, Pa., in 1795, and settled in Wil-

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mington in 1819. He was an iron founder. Ile married Margaret, daughter of Christo- pher Stotsenberg. She was born in White- maish, Pa., March 8, 1795, died February 6, 1865. Their children were: I. George M .; II. John, 3, died young; was lieutenant in the Third and Seventh Delaware Regiments, in the war of the Rebellion; III. Alice (Mrs. Hugh Roberts), of Norristown, Pa., widow; IV. William J., married Sarah Rhoades, of Phoenixville, Pa., died August 10, 1864; V. Charles H., a captain in the war of the Re- bellion, married Rebecca Wilson, died Febru- ary 10, 1898. John Gallagher, 2, died in Wilmington, October 2, 1825.

George M. Gallagher, eldest son of John, 2, and Margaret (Stotsenberg) Gallagher, was born in Philadelphia, November 19, 1817. In that city he spent his boyhood, and afterwards learned the iron foundry business in Wil- mington, Del. He worked at this trade in Philadelphia and Wilmington until 1887, the last twenty-two years of this time as foreman of the foundry of the Betts Machine Com- pany, of Wilmington. Since 1887 he has lived a retired life. He married Elizabeth, daughter of George and Julia Ann (Picker- ing) Watson. Mrs. Gallagher was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England, November 25, 1819. Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher had children: I. John J .; II. Julia A. P .; III. George W., died young; IV. Francis E., in business with his brother John J., in Wilmington, married Beulah. Emma Talley; V. Rev. William II., rector of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church of East Saginaw, Mich., married Anne Dunkin Dill, of Albany, N. Y .; VI. Enoch, died young; VII. Elizabeth, died in infancy.

George Watson, maternal grandfather of John J. Gallagher, was born and married in England. He came to America about 1821 and settled in Philadelphia, where he resided until his death. His wife was Julia Ann, daughter of Michael Pickering, of Yorkshire, England. They had eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. All are dead except Mrs. George M. Gallagher .. One son lived to be eighty-nine years old, and two daughters and one son lived over eighty-one years. Mr. Watson died September 5, 1875, having at- tained the remarkable age of one hundred and three years.

John J. Gallagher was taken by his par- 14

ents to Philadelphia when only three years old, and remained there until 1853, when the family returned to Wilmington. He was educated in the public schools of both cities. In 1857 he entered the pharmacy of W. B. Kinsey as a clerk. In 1862 he established a pharmaceutical store on his own account, and has conducted it to the present time. Mr. Gallagher is a member of Hope Lodge, No. 21, and Reynolds Encampment, No. 3, I. O. O. F., and is a past grand master and past grand representative of that order; a member of Wilmington Lodge, No. 1, A. O. U. W., and a past grand master and past supreme rep- resentative of that order; member of Wil- mington Conclave, No. 22, I. O. H., and member of Wilmington Senate, No. 102, K. A. E. O., and a member of Wilmington Lodge, No. 307, B. P. O. E.

In politics, Mr. Gallagher is a Republican, and was elected a Levy Court commissioner in November, 1892, and re-elected in 1896, a fact which demonstrates his ability and popu- larity.

Mr. Gallagher is unmarried and resides at home with his parents. The members of the family attend St. Andrew's P. E. church.

WILLIAM REILLY, Wilmington, Del., son of John and Elizabeth (McCloskey) Reilly, was born in Liverpool, England, Au- gust 25, 1839.

His parents were natives of Ireland. His father was born in County Monaghan, Jan- uary 1, 1800. Mrs. Reilly was born in County C'avan. Both spent their early years in Ire- land, where Mr. Reilly learned wagon-mak- ing. After their marriage they removed to Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and subsequent- ly to Liverpool. In the latter city Mr. Reilly worked for twenty years as a wheelwright for the contractors in the construction of the great docks which have made its harbor cele- brated. In 1852, John Reilly came to Amer- ica, and two years later his family followed him. His first home was in the district of Port Richmond, Philadelphia, where he was engaged in wagon-making. In 1857 he re- moved to Missouri and settled in Bollinger County, on land purchased from the United States government. In that far western country Mr. Reilly and his family were among the pioneers; they cleared the land, built a home for themselves, and were en-

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gaged in the cultivation of the soil until 1861, when the Civil War came upon the country: The Bollinger County officials and the promi- nent citizens espoused the cause of the Con- federacy, and hastened to enroll themselves in its army. John Reilly, on the contrary, was a stanch upholder of the Union; and his sons, - Philip A., John A. and William espoused the same cause. For this loyalty to their adopted country, they were persecuted by their neighbors who had joined Jeff. Thomp- son's guerrilla band, and many times was their home raided at night. Mr. Reilly and his family were comparative strangers, with none to extend help or even sympathy, and were finally forced to abandon their farm and re- move to Cairo, Ill. In that city John Reilly secured employment at his trade until the close of the war. In 1865 he found it safe to return to his farm and lived there, improv- ing his acres, until 1873; he then returned to Philadelphia, and resided with his daughter until his death.

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 38

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