Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 65

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 65

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maker. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels have children: I. Clara A., wife of Gardner Shockley, of Townsend, who is engaged in the creamery business; II. William J., 2, of Wilmington, freight conductor on the B. & O. R. R .; III. George; IV. Mary E. (Mrs. James C. Ginn); V. Elmer, died when eight years old; VI. Howard and VII. Horace (twins), both died young; VIII. Eva ( Mrs. John S. Collins); 1X. Martha, died in infancy. Mr. Daniels is a member of the M. E. church.

HENRY M. DEAKYNE, P. O. Town- send, Del., son of Ward and Martha (Dyot) Deakyne, was born near Townsend, Appoqui- nimink hundred, New Castle county, Del., October 4, 1864.

Ilis father was born in Appoquinimink hun- dred in 1813, and made farming his life occu- pation. In his early life he owned a farm of one hundred aeres in Appoquinimink hun- dred, on which he made many improvements; but after residing on it for several years, he was compelled to sell it in order to meet his obligations as bondsman for delinquent tax- collectors of the hundred. He was of a gen- erous and helpful disposition, and this fact caused his early reverses. Afterward he lived on leased farms in Appoquinimink hun- dred until his death; the last three years were spent on the George Polk farm. He was a popular man and a life-long Democrat, but never sought nor would accept an office. Ward Deakyne married, in Smyrna, Martha Dyot, a native of Kent county, Del., and widow of Tillman Cox. Mr. and Mrs. Dea- kyne had children: I. Henry M .; II. Charles, market gardener, of Wilmington; III. Robert; IV. James; the latter two died when young. Mr. Deakyne died in 1886, and was buried in the Union church grave- yard at Townsend. Ile was a consistent mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Deakyne resides with her son, Henry M. She has a wide circle of warmly attached friends, was an excellent wife, and is a good mother and neighbor. She is an active mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Deakyne had, by her first husband, Tillman Cox, one child, William Cox, farmer, of St. George's hundred, New Castle county, Del.

Henry M. Deakyne attended the public schools, and worked on the farm as a general assistant until the death of his father. Then

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he assumed the management of the large Polk farm of 250 acres, on which he made many improvements. In 1888, he removed to Mrs. Corbett's farm of 300 acres near Tay- lor's Bridge, Appoquinimink hundred, where he raised large quantities of peaches, fed many head of live stock and conducted a dairy - for eight years. Ile was a successful farmer, industrious, and a student of the science of farming; with his gradual accumulations, he purchased the Warren farm of 147 acres near Wilson's Corner, in Appoquinimink hundred. He has improved this tract, and by his energy and practical methods will soon make it one of the most productive in the county; his at- tention is given principally to raising live stock and to his dairy. Mr. Deakyne is hon- orable, temperate and universally respected, and has high standing in his community. He has been clerk of the school board of District 71}, and was a member of the K. G. E., but has allowed his membership to run out. He was formerly a Democrat, but has recently espoused the principles of the Prohibition party, and votes its ticket.

Henry M. Deakyne was married, near Tay- lor's Bridge, Del., to Lillie Gibbons. Mrs. Deakyne was born in Appoquinimink hun- dred. Her father was a soldier in the Civil War and is now dead. Mr. Deakyne is a faithful member and a trustee of the M. E. church.

ALBERT N. SUTTON, J. P., St. George's, New Castle county, Del., was born in that town July 22, 1845, son of James and Abigail B. (Barber) Sutton.

The Sutton family is of English and Scotch descent. John Sutton, great-grandfather of Albert N. Sutton, was a native of England, who came to this country with his brothers, and settled on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. He afterwards removed to Kent county, Del., where he engaged in farming near the city of Dover; there be passed his life, died, and was buried. John Sutton was married May 15, 1753, to Jane Allen; their children were: I. Ann B., born May 13, 1754; II. Samuel B., born September 26, 1758, married Ann Col- bert, who was born July 4, 1767; he died September 10, 1800; III. William B., born March 27, 1761, died in 1805; IV. John, born January 26, 1765, died in infancy; V. John, 2, born September 16, 1767; VI. Al-

len, born August 15, 1771, died in 1790. All the family were members of the Presbyterian church. All having been Lorn in this state in ante-revolutionary days, they are reckoned among its early settlers.

The fifth of this family, John Sutton, 2, was a man of enterprise and ability, having various interests, and was well known through- out the state. He received a fair education, and learned farming in his youth. In early manhood, he removed to Saint George's, where he purchased and cultivated a tract of land. He was also a merchant, the first one in Saint George's, and for a number of years the only one. Another of his enterprises was ship-building. At one time, he owned half of the land on which Saint George's is built; and the land on which the road from that town to Delaware City is laid out, was his gift to the county. John Sutton was a Jeffersonian Democrat. He was a member of the Levy Court of New Castle county, and was one of the trustees of the poor. He figured in state politics as well as in the public affairs of his county, which he represented for a number of terms in the state legislature, one of those terms being spent in the senate. He was actively interested in the war of 1812, and served in the United States army. John Sut- ton, 2, married Margaret Nuttell; their chil- dren are: I. James; II. John, a farmer; III. William, deceased; IV. Samuel, merchant, miller, and justice of the peace of Saint George's; V. Jane, deceased, wife of Dr. Latta; VI. Margaret, deceased, wife of Dr. Gemmil, of Chestertown, Md. John Sutton was a Presbyterian; having been among the founders of the congregation in which he was enrolled, he was ever a faithful promoter of its interests; he served it as trustee for forty years, and for twenty-seven years as elder. He and his wife are buried in the cemetery at Saint George's.

Their eldest son, James Sutton, born in Saint George's in 1795, received his educa- tion in subscription schools, read medicine, studied and took his degree as a physician at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and practiced in his native town. Dr. Sutton opened the first drug store in Saint George's, and conducted it until his death. He was a man of much enterprise and public spirit, al- ways actively interested in the prosperity of his native town, which he aided greatly in

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building up and improving. IIe owned and operated bark, saw and grist mills in Saint George's, and was the first to introduce the manufacture of shell lime into the state. For forty consecutive years he was postmaster of the town; he was also captain of the Light Horse Company of St. George's, and during the construction of the Delaware and Chesa- peake Canal, he frequently did good service in quolling riots. Like his father, he was an extensive slave-owner. Dr. Sutton was al- ways a Democrat. He was four times mar- ried. Ilis first wife was a daughter of the Stewart family; their only child, John Sut- ton, was an engineer, served in the United States Navy, and was in the United States steamship Missouri when it was burned at Gibraltar. He afterwards became Chief En- gineer on a line of steamships plying between San Francisco and Portland, Ore., was wreck- ed on the coast of Oregon while chief en- gineer of the John S. Wright (formerly the U. S. S. Keystone State). The crew were supposed to have been massacred by Indians after reaching the coast in safety. Mrs. (Stewart) Sutton died in Saint George's. The doctor's second wife was Miss Jan- vier; of this marriage there was no issue; she died, and was buried in New Castle, Del. The next marriage was with Abigail B. Bar- ber, who was born at Summit Bridge, Del. The children of Dr. and Mrs. (Barber) Sut- ton are: I. Julia, deceased, was the wife of Thomas Reynolds, brother of Governor Rey- nolds, of Delaware; II. James, deceased, merchant and druggist of Saint George's; III. Albert N .; besides three who died in in- fancy. The mother died in March, 1849, at St. George's, where she is buried. She was . a member of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Sutton was afterwards married to Susan Gos- Jer, a native of Columbia, Pa .; they had two children: I. Frederick G., who is a book- keeper in New York; II. Catherine, who died young.

In every generation, from Revolutionary times downward, activity and public spirit have characterized the Sutton family, and it; members have deservedly enjoyed the ro- speet of the community. The representative whose name stands at the head of this sketch, is the fourth child of James Sutton, M. D. Albert N. Sutton pursued his elementary studies in the public schools of Red Lion hun-

dred, New Castle county, and afterwards studied at the academy at West Chester, Pa., and at the Pennsylvania State Agricultural College, from which he was graduated in 1562. On his return to his native state, he entered the drug store of Dr. A. H. Grim- shaw, of Wilmington, Del. Some time later, he obtained employment in Philadelphia, first in the drug store of Dr. Geegan, and after- wards in that of J. Crawford Dawes. Return- ing in 1864 to Saint George's, Mr. Sutton bought the drug store of Dr. Ranek, and con- ducted the business at that stand for more than twenty-four years. He has also taken an active and useful part in public affairs. He was first appointed justice of the peace by Governor Hall, in 1880, and has filled that office for seventeen years; his last re-appoint- ment was received from Governor Reynolds in 1894. ITis decisions have always been sus- tained by the higher courts, both criminal and civil. Mr. Sutton was appointed postmaster of St. George's by President Cleveland in 1884; that he filled the position satisfactorily is attested by his re-appointment by the same president in 1893. In 1897, he was elected for two years to the state legislature, on the Democratie ticket, receiving the unanimous support of his party. He has acted on various committees, among them a law and order com- mittee, and a committee for revising consti- tutional statutes, of both of which he was chairman. Mr. Sutton was a school commis- sioner for six years, and was elerk of his ward; he was one of the incorporators of Saint George's in 1877, and a member of the town council. In 1898 Mr. Sutton was nominated by his party for state senator in the District in which he resided. The landslide that struck Delaware for the first time in its his- tory, reversed the political ascendancy of his party, and with his party, he was defeated, feeling, however, greatly pleased with having run ahead of his ticket. He is Past Grand Master of National Lodge, No. 32, I. O. O. F .; a charter member of the A. O. U. W., and a member of the Jr. O. U. A. M., Old Glory Council.

Albert N. Sutton was married in Philadel- phia, in 1864, to Susan T .. , daughter of Thomas and Mary (Howell) Laws. Her father was engaged in the shoe business at New Castle, where Mrs. Sutton was born. The children of this marriage are: T. Abbie

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(Mrs. George Bright), of Delaware City, Del .; II. Laurie J., deceased; III. Mary (Mrs. Clarence Poole), of Saint George's; IV. Kitty, died at the age of thirteen; V. Eva; VI. Orlando; VII. Frederick. The family are all members of the Presbyterian church.

FRANK BELVILLE, M. D., Delaware " City, Del., son of John P. and Mary Barr (Belville) Belville, was born in Red Lion hundred, New Castle county, Del., September 21, 1852.

His grandfather, Thomas Belville, was a well known citizen of Odessa, then Cantwell's Bridge, in Saint George's hundred, where he resided throughout his life. Ile took an ac- tive part in public affairs, and in his later years was deputy sheriff of New Castle coun- ty. Thomas Belville was married to Sarah Wood, of New Castle county; they had chil- dren as follows: I. Thomas W .; II. Sarah (Mrs. Isaac V. Clark), widow, of Saint George's; III. Margaret (Mrs. Curtis B. El- lison), deceased; IV. John P. A child, older than any of the above named, died in early infancy. Thomas Belville died in 1890; his wife died in 1897, in Red Lion hundred, and her remains are interred in the burial ground of Drawyer's Presbyterian church; the fam- ily were all members of that denomination.

John P. Belville was born at Odessa, De- cember 6, 1819, and was still very young when his father died. He grew up on the homestead with his mother, and attended the schools of his district. When he became a young man, he purchased the farm belong- ing to Rev. R. B. Belville, and now owned by Dr. McCoy, in Red Lion hundred. This tract, which contained 200 acres, Mr. Belville cultivated for twenty-five years, adding the rearing of live stock to his general agricultural operations. At the end of that time, he turn- ed his attention to mercantile business, and carried on a store at Saint George's for four years; then, withdrawing from active busi- ness, he resided for five years in Delaware City. Mr. Belville, after this, received succes- sively two appointments from the U. S. gov- ernment, the first a clerkship in the Internal Revenue department, at Wilmington, which he held for four years, and the second a po- sition in the Navy department, at Washing- ton, D. C., which he occupied for four years. Since the expiration of the latter terin, he has

lived a life of leisure and retirement. In ad- dition to these national appointments, Mr. Belville has served in the State Senate of Del- aware, to which he was elected in 1862, and also as commissioner in the Levy Court; the former position he filled for four years; the latter one for eight years. Office has been conferred upon Mr. Belville unsought, and the number of responsible positions to which he has been called is ample evidence of the value of his services. As school commissioner, he has lent his aid in the promotion of popular education. Mr. Belville was first a Whig, and afterwards a Republican. During the latter part of the war of the Rebellion, he was first lieutenant in Captain Milligan's independent cavalry company. Hon. John P. Belville was married in Red Lion hundred to Mary B., daughter of Rev. R. B. and Mary Belville; Rev. Mr. Belville was a minister of the Pres- byterian church, to which his daughter and son-in-law also belong; Hon. J. P. Belville is an elder of the congregation at Wilmington. The children of this marriage are: I. Cathe- rine, deceased; II. Robert B., of Philadel- phia, has a position in the office of the Schuyl- kill Valley R. R .; III. Thomas W., of Potts- ville, Pa .; IV. Frank; V. Mary Ann (Mrs. II. C. Taylor), of Wilmington, Del .; VI. John P., Jr., deceased; VII. Allen Leslie, druggist, of New York City. The personal character of Hon. John P. Belville, as well as his public services, has placed him high in the estimation of his fellow-citizens.

Dr. Frank Belville received his primary education at home under a private tutor, and was later a student in the academies of Dela- ware City and Hartsville, Pa .; he was gradu- ated from the latter in 1871. During the suc- ceeding year, he read medicine at Saint George's under the preceptorship of Dr. I. S. Vallandigham, now of Middletown, after which he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in Baltimore, Md., attending lectures there for three years, and received his diploma with honors in the spring of 1875. Thence he went to Philadelphia, and took a special course under J. Ewing Mers, M. D., a member of the faculty of Jefferson Medical College, in order to qualify himself for ser- vice as a surgeon in the U. S. Navy. When this course was completed, however, Dr. Bel- ville's parents and friends urged him to aban- don the idea of entering the navy; in defer-

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ence to their wishes he surrendered his cher- ished purpose, and in 1876 established him- self in Delaware City as a practicing physi- cian and surgeon. There he has remained ever since, extending the territory in which his services are in demand throughout Red Lion hundred, and as far distant as Port Penn, Saint George's hundred. Dr. Belville is a skilled practitioner, of courteous and engag- ing manners. He is an extensive reader, and possesses one of the best selected private li- braries in Delaware City. His name is on the rolls of membership of the American Medical Association and the State Medical Society of Delaware; of the latter he was president in 1895, and is now permanent secretary. Dr. Belville is prominent in the Masonic order, is past master of Jackson Lodge, No. 19, of Delaware City, and was deputy grand master of the state. Politically he is a Democrat.

On October 27, 1880, Dr. Frank Belville was married in Delaware City to Emma Louise, daughter of John and Susan (Rowan) Ash; she was born in Delaware City. Their children are: I. Charles G. Ash; II. Laura Louise.

The Ash family is among the oldest and best families of this section of the Atlantic states; its representatives are found in Dela- ware, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Its pro- genitor in this country was George Ash, a na- tive of Germany, who settled at Elkton, Md., passed his life there as a farmer, and died in the same neighborhood. George Ash, by his first marriage, had several children; his sec- ond matrimonial union was with a lady of the Pusey family, and their children were: I. John; ĮI. Matilda; III. Maria; IV. Louise (Mrs. John Kenkard); all now deceased. John Ash was educated in the schools of Elk- ton, was for several years in mercantile busi- ness, and afterwards held for some years the position of collector at Delaware City for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company. He was the first collector of tolls for the com- pany at Delaware City, and continued to act in that capacity until his death. He was re- spected for his honorable dealings, and his fi- delity to the Canal Company, as well as for the affability of manner which he used to- ward all with whom he came in contact in of- ficial, as in social life. John Ash was first married in Kent county, Del., to Ruth Ann Smithers, a native of that county; their only

child was Amanda, wife of William P. Cald- well, a well known citizen of Philadelphia. Mrs. Ruth A. Ash died in Delaware City, and was buried at the cemetery of Saint George's. The second wife of John Ash, to whom he was married near Wilmington, was Susan, daughter of Captain Henry, and - (Lackey) Rowan. Her father was of English descent, and was captain of a vessel on the Del- aware river; Mrs. Rowan was a lady of Irish ancestry. The children of this marriage are: I. George C., deceased; II. Cornelia (Mrs. Samuel Lamberson), of Central, Ohio, de- ceased, as is her husband also; III. Charles G., deceased, a gentleman whose character presented a rare combination of refined tastes and studious habits, with great aptitude for business; he was clerk and afterwards for twenty-six years collector for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company, was for many years prosperously engaged in the coal and lumber business, was a stockholder and direc- tor of the Delaware City National Bank, and its third president; was a member of the Ma- sonic order, a Democrat, and a man of modest but genial manner, deservedly a favorite in so- ciey; was married, June 27, 1872, to Mary Pennington Fields, died July 15, 1889, an: was interred at the cemetery of Saint Anne's, near Middletown; IV. Emma, died young; V. Laura V., wife of Francis MeIntyre, cashier of the Delaware City Na- tional Bank; VI. Emma Louise (Mrs. Frank Belville), of Delaware City. John Ash died in Delaware City in 1849, and his wife at the home of her daughter, Mrs. McIntyre, in 1883; the remains of both re- pose in the cemetery at Saint George's. Mrs. Ash was kind and beneficent, a friend to many in need, and a faithful member of the Pres- byterian church.

JOHN THOMAS PRICE, Delaware City, Del., son of Thomas C. and Martha J. (Pen- nington) Price, was born in Port Penn, St. George's hundred, New Castle county, Del., October 6, 1842.

The Price family holds rank among the old- est and most prominent settlers in Delaware and Maryland. John S. Price, grandfather of John Thomas Price, was born in Kent county, Md., but came to Delaware and set- tled near Port Penn when a young man. Here he was engaged principally in farming, but

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also carried on a good business as a carpenter and builder. As an investment for his own funds, he built several dwelling houses in Port Pen. He was industrious and honorable and was much esteemed. In his younger days ho was a Whig, but joined the Republican party at its organization, and cast his first presi- dential vote as a member of that political -body for Lincoln. John S. Price married Susan Cleaver, a native of New Jersey. They had thirteen children, of whom ten died young and three reached maturity : I. Thomas C .; II. Anna (Mrs. Andrew Jackson Vander- grift), of St. George's hundred, widow; III. Henry, deceased. John S. Price died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Vandergrift; his wife died at Port Penn. Both were members of the Presbyterian church, and were buried in Hickory Grove graveyard. Mrs. Price was an excellent wife and mother.

Thomas C. Price was born at Port Penn, in October, 1808. He received the educa- tional training afforded by the schools of his vicinity and learned carpentry from his father. That trade he followed nearly all his life time. As a contractor and builder he was well known, and many of the handsomest and most substantial houses in and near Port Penn were erected by him. He also erected the Pres- byterian church in Port Penn. A few years before his death he retired from business, and made his home with his son, John Thomas Price, in Delaware City. He was an ener- getie business man, in good standing, tem- perate in all things, and well informed on all the topics of the day. His political sympa- thies were with the Whig party, until it gave place to the Republican party with which he afterwards cast his ballot. He never held an office, nor would he accept one. ¿ Thomas C. Price married at Port Penn, Martha J., daughter of Aldrich R. and Elizabeth Pen- nington. She was born in Port Penn; her father was a hotel keeper. They had chil- dren: I. Edgar, farmer of Millington, Kent county, Md .; II. William A., postmaster of Delaware City; III. John Thomas: IV. Fran- cis, died in infancy; V. Adelaide, died young; VI. Virginia (Mrs. Martin J. Painter), of Mid- dletown, Del .: VII. Clarence, engineer of Millington, Md. Mr. Price died in Delaware City. He attended the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Price died at the residence of her son in Millington, Md. She was buried in the Hick-

ory Grove Presbyterian churchyard, near Port Penn, where her husband's remains also were interred. Mrs. Price was an estimable woman, and there are many who remember with pleasure her kindness and helpfulness. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, as are the children of the family.

John Thomas Price attended the public schools of Port Penn until he was fourteen years of age, when he began a mercantile life as clerk in the store of Samuel B. Cleaver, brother of Henry Cleaver. Here he remained six years, and in 1862 came to Delaware City to find a wider field for his promising abilities. For one year he held a clerkship in a store, and in January, 1864, obtained the position of clerk and telegraph operator in the office of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Com- pany. Here he remained more than a quar- ter of a century, and after the death of Charles G. Ash, was appointed on September 1, to succeed him as collector of tolls for the company. This position of responsibility he has filled for the past eight years. Attentive to his duties, indefatigable in his efforts to pro- vide the best service for the company and its patrons, he is esteemed and popular. Ile has also held the position of Western Union tele- graph manager in Delaware City since 1890. In these latter duties he is assisted by his son, Harry C. Price, a telegraph operator. Mr. Price is an ardent advocate of temperance, and his life is a model for young men. He is secretary and stockholder of the Delaware City Building and Loan Association; has been a school commissioner for a number of years, and is now secretary of the board; he has served as mayor of his city. He is a member of Patrick Henry Lodge, No. 11, T. O. O. F., and treasurer of Delaware City Conclave, No. 30, T. O. II., of Delaware City. He is a Re- publican.

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 65

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