Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 82

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 82

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Until he was sixteen years of age, William J. Hunter attended the public schools of New Castle. He then spent six years at the busi- ness of marble cutting, with Jacob Hermann, four years as apprentice and two as journey- man. He was then employed at the same trade in Wilmington for a short time, after which he returned to his former master, with whom he worked until 1885. At that time, he bought the interest of Mr. Hermann, and has ever since conducted the business on his own account. His son, Henry C., now gives the establishment personal supervision, Mr. William J. Hunter having been appointed postimaster of New Castle by President Cleve- land, on February 14, 1896, Mr. Hunter's birthday. He tills the office with honor to himself, giving general satisfaction. Mr. Hunter has been all his life a Democrat. Be- sides holding various minor offices, he was as- sessor of New Castle hundred for two terms, and was elected tax collector in 1877 and '78, and in '81, '82, '83, and '84. IIe is a mem- ber of the A. O. U. W.

William J. Hunter was married at Ches- ter, Pa., in 1882, to Georgiana, daughter of William Kenton, born in Kent county, Del.

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Their children are: I. Harry C., manager of his father's marble establishment; II. Mary, died at the age of eighteen; III. William C., died aged sixteen years; IV. Anne S., died at the age'of three years. Mrs. ITunter is a member of the M. E. church.

REV. S. BEATTIE WYLIE, New Castle, Del., was born in Belfast, Ireland, June 22, 1865. He is the second of a family of nine, children of the Rev. J. B. and Jane ( MeBride) Wylie, both of whom were natives of Belfast, but of Scotch descent. Rev. J. B. Wylie is a minister of the Presbyterian church in Bel- fast, where he and his wife still reside.

Their son, S. Beattie Wylie, was educated in Belfast, and graduated from Queen's Col- lege in 1881. He then entered a Presbyterian Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated three years later. In 1889, he came to America, entered Princeton Seminary, in New Jersey and received his degree there in the following year. During his time in the Seminary, he was licensed to preach, and he supplied the Deer Creek congregation, of Har- ford county, Md., for thirteen months. He next assisted for more than a year in the Alex- ander church, a mission of Rev. Dr. Hall's church in New York City. In 1892, Mr. Wylie was duly ordained a minister of the Presbyterian church, by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, N. J., after which he was called to the pulpit of the First Presbyterian church of New Castle. Under his acceptable ministry, the congregation has increased, and improvements have been made in the church property.

In August, 1892, Rev. Mr. Wylie returned to his native land, where he married Minnie, daughter of Hugh Pyper, a merchant of Bel- fast, in which city she was born. Their chil- dren are: I. Hugh Grome B .; II. Eliza- beth J.

The church over which Rev. Mr. Wylie exercises faithful pastoral care is the oldest one in New Castle. If it is, as appears most probable, the successor of the Dutch Reform- ed church, organized about the middle of the seventeenth century, and its house of wor- ship occupies the same site as that of the earlier congregation, then it enjoys the honor of an antiquity remarkable in America, the praises of God having ascended from the same spot for about two centuries and a half. Be

this as it may, it is well known that Presby- terian services were held in New Castle at the very opening of the eighteenth century, the Rev. John Wilson, of that communion, having preached in the town before 1703. The first church edifice was built under his auspices; but the congregation increased so rapidly that by the year 1712 it was found necessary to enlarge the building. Rev. Mr. Wilson died soon after, and his charge, which embraced two other congregations, was divided into three, Rev. James Anderson becoming the minister of the New Castle congregation. During his ministry, on September 19, 1716, the Presbytery of New Castle was erected from the Presbytery of Philadelphia, in which it had up to that time been included; its first session was held at New Castle, March 13, 1717. "The home church was represented by Elder David Miller, who served with the Huguenot, Thomas Janvier, in that office, the latter being the first elder." The ordination and installation of Rev. Robert Cross, Mr. Anderson's successor, September 19, 1719, was the first service of that nature in the New Castle church and the new presbytery. The successors of Rev. Mr. Cross, down to the pastorate of Rev. S. B. Wylie, have been: Revs. Gilbert Tennent, Hugh Stevenson, John Dick, Daniel Thane, --- Magaw, Joseph Montgomery, Samuel Barr, John E. Latta, Joshua N. Danforth, William P. Al- richs, John M. Diekey, James Knox, John Decker, John B. Spottswood, and William P. Patterson.

The house of worship is a fine Gothic struc- ture of brown sandstone. The manse was presented to the congregation in 1884 by Samuel L. Cooper. Improvements have been made at a large outlay in both the church and the cemetery, and the entire church property is estimated to be worth fifty thousand dollars. The congregation numbers two hundred, and the Sunday-school one hundred and eighty members.

CAPTAIN AQUILA M. HIZAR, New Castle, Del., son of Thomas and Jane B. (Bullock) Hizar, was born December 20, 1836, at Booth Corner, on the boundary line between Pennsylvania and Delaware.

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

he was the son of a native of Germany, John Hizar, who settled in that state at an early period. Philip Ilizar had an English educa- tion. For a number of years he was a wheel- wright, but he finally removed to Chester county, where, after farming for several years, he died in the township of Birmingham, and „ was buried there, in the Friends' burial ground. Philip Hizar married Ann Hatton, a member of the Society of Friends. Their children were: I. Thomas; II. Gideon; both are long since dead. Philip Hizar was a Democrat. He was beloved by his family, as a good father and a kind husband, and respected in the community as an honorable and useful citizen.

Thomas Hizar, elder son of Philip and Ann (Hatton) Hizar, after obtaining his education in the subscription schools of Chester county, became a wheelwright and blacksmith, and pursued those occupations in Concordville, in the same county. Increasing his establish- ment, he engaged extensively in the manufac- ture of carriages. He was affable and kindly, making friends wherever he was known, Thomas Hizar married Jane B. (Bullock) Smith, widow of Jacob Smith; she was a na- tive of Chester county, born in 1799. Their children are: I. Esther A. (Mrs. Jesse Fuller- ton), of Wilmington, Del .; II. Curtis, died aged 21 years; III. Thomas, deceased, was captain of Company I, First Delaware Volun- teers, in the war of the Rebellion; IV. John, died young; V. Philip, died young; VI. Aquila M. Thomas Hizar, Sr., died in Con- cordville in 1837; his remains were interred in the Friends' burial ground at that place. Mrs. Hizar was married again, to Joseph As- kew and had one child by this marriage, Moses Askew, of Jersey City, N. J. She died at the home of Capt. Ilizar in 1892, and is interred in the Brandywine Cemetery, at Wilmington. She was a member of the P. E. church, a faithful and loving wife and mother, and held in high esteem by all her acquaint- ances.

Being only a year old at the time of his fath- er's death, Aquila M. Hizar was reared in the family of an unele who resided in Chester county; there he attended the public schools, and assisted in the work on his uncle's farm, until he reached the age of sixteen years. He then became an inmate of the home of Thomas Allen, bricklayer, of Wilmington, whose trade

the youth learned, at the same time attending night schools, and during the winter months, the day schools also. He was ambitious and studious, and took advantage of whatever leisure time he enjoyed, to improve his mind and increase his store of knowledge. His ap- prenticeship over, Mr. Hizar continued to work for Mr. Allen as journeyman, until the beginning of the war of the Rebellion.

In April, 1861, he enlisted in the three months' service, among the first who respond- ed to the country's call for defenders. Ile was enrolled in the First Delaware Volunteer Infantry, under Col. Lockwood and Capt. Barr, and performed his duty faithfully at Chesapeake City, Bush River and Gunpowder River; he was mustered out at Wilmington, August 30, 1861. After a short visit to his home, he re-enlisted as first sergeant in Com- pany I, First Delaware Volunteer Infantry, Col. J. W. Andrews, and served for three years. Ile took part in many of the .most noted engagements of the war, notably the second battle of Bull Run, August 29, 1862, the battles of Antie- tam, September 17, 1862, Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Chancellorsville, May 2 and 3, 1863, Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, the Wilderness, May 5 and 6, and Spottsyl- vania C. II., May 8-12, 1864, Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, in both the battles before Pe- tersburg, and in many other engagements which, though reckoned among the minor ones, were still serious and important, includ- ing those of Banks' Ford, Mine Run, Deep Bottom, Farmersville, Milford Junction, Au- burn, North Ann, Prospect Hill, Reams' Sta- tion, and the Po River. Promotion came rapid- ly to Sergeant Ilizar, as the fitting reward of gallant and faithful services; after the field of Fredericksburg, he was commissioned second lieutenant; after the great fight at Chancellorsville, first lieutenant; and at Brandy Station, before Petersburg, he rose to the rank of captain, and was assigned to Company A, of his regiment. On October 8, 1864, Captain Ilizar was mustered out of the service.

Returning home, he removed to New Cas- tle, and began business on his own account as a contractor and builder. In this useful and responsible capacity, he has displayed the same honor and faithfulness that characterized his army service, and has met with abundant

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success, having not only erected many fine private residences, but a number of substan- tial and tasteful public edifices, among which are the halls of the Knights of Pythias and of the Order of Red Men, at New Castle, and St. Peter's R. C. church, in the same city, which he built in 1871. For several years, he conducted a brickyard in New Castle. C'apt. Ilizar erected, as a residence for his family, a fine double briek dwelling, costing over five thousand dollars. In 1877, he was unfortunately afflicted with a stroke of paraly- sis, which made him an invalid for several years, and in consequence of which he still suffers to some extent. Capt. Hizar is a mem- ber of E. S. Watson Post, No. 5, G. A. R., of New Castle; also of the Temperance Society of the same city. He is a Republican; has never sought public office.

Aquila M. Hizar was married January 14, 1864, at New Castle, to Margaret B., daugh- ter of James A. and Mary A. (Cavenangh) Bates, of Philadelphia. They had one child, James W., who died in infancy. Both Cap- tain and Mrs. Hizar are members of the Catholic church, consistent and esteemed.

ELWOOD L. WILSON, New Castle, Del., son of David and Ann (Umbleby) Wilson, was born at Petersburg, Perry county, Pa., October 7, 1846.

The Wilson family is of Scotch-Irish ori- gin. Mr. Wilson's grandfather, Lawrence Wilson, was born in Chester county, where he was for a number of years in business as a hatter. Removing to Wilmington, Del., he continued in the same occupation during the rest of his life; he died in Wilmington, and is buried there, in the Friends' burying-ground. Ile belonged to the Society of Friends, and in politics, was a Whig. The children of Law- rence Wilson, now all deceased, were: I. Jonathan; II. David; III. William; IV. Rachel; V. Mary.

Ilis son, David Wilson, was born in Chester county in 1804, and received there as good an education as the schools of the period af- forded. He was for years engaged in farming. In 1848, he removed to Wihnington. Here he became overseer of the steam saw-mill of Thomas Walter, to which he devoted all the years of activity that remained to him. Re- tiring at length from business cares, he spent his declining years in the home of his son in

New Castle, where he died in 1889, at the advanced age of 86. He had been a constant supporter of the Democratic party until the breaking out of the Rebellion; he then be- came a Republican, and always afterward voted with that party. He never sought any public office. In religion, he was a Friend. HIe was buried in the Brandywine Cemetery, at Wilmington. David Wilson was married in Chester county, to Ann Umbleby, who was born in Yorkshire, England, and came to this country with her parents when she was a child. The children of Mr. and Mrs. David Wilson are: I. Emily, who died in infancy; II. Elizabeth, deceased, was the wife of J. H. Moore, of Chicago, Il .; III. Martha, died unmarried; IV. Amanda, wife of Henry HI. Lewis, both deceased; V. Mary A. (Mrs. W. E. Tuchton), of Wilmington, deceased; VI. Elwood L. Mrs. Wilson died in Wil- mington in 1858; she was a member of the M. E. church, an excellent lady, and much esteemed.

At the age of two years, Elwood L. Wil- son was brought by his parents from his native town to Wilmington, where he received his education in the public schools, supplemented by several terms at St. Mary's College. The opening events of the war of the Rebellion fired his youthful patriotism, and although only fifteen years of age, he enlisted, in Febru- ary, 1862, in Company I, Third Delaware Volunteer Infantry, Col. W. O. Redden, Capt. J. E. Stewart. The young recruit spent three years and six months with his regiment, as a drummer, aiding to inspire his comrades with the martial spirit that animated them on such well-fought fields as Antietam, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. He participated in all their battles, doing his duty faithfully, and was discharged at the close of the war, at Brandywine Springs. Returning to peaceful pursuits, Mr. Wilson studied telegraphy at a commercial college of Wilmington, and was for six months employed as operator in the office of the P., W. & B. R. R. at North East, Md. He was then for four months brakeman on the Delaware R. R., for six months night operator at Salisbury, Md., for several months in the same position at Crisfield, Md., and for ten months at Clayton, Del. After these years of change, he was made station agent and telegraph operator at Bridgeville, Del., where he remained twelve years. In 1881, he

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received the appointment of agent for the same road at New Castle; and in 1887, when the duties of the office were divided, he was placed in charge of the freight department. He is a faithful and trusted employee of the road. Mr. Wilson is a Republican. He was presi- dent of the Board of Education for two years, aud secretary for three years. He is Past Master of the F. & A. M., associated with St. John Lodge, No. 2, and the Blue Lodge, of New Castle.

Elwood L. Wilson was married in Wilming- ton in 1868, to Anna M., daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Brown) Watson, born in Philadel- phia; her mother is English by birth. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are: I. David II., a graduate of the New Castle high school, is a reporter for the Evening Post, Denver, Col .; II. Elwood L., Jr., graduate of the New Castle high school, and of Goldey's Commercial College, Wilmington, is secretary to the passenger and traffic manager of the New York, New Haven and Hartford R. R., at New Haven, Conn .; III. Jolin M., graduate of the New Castle high school, is assistant claim agent of the Anchor Line Department, P. R. R., at Philadelphia; IV. Albert E., graduate of the New Castle high school, and of Goldey's Commercial Col- lege, is bookkeeper for a wholesale coal firm, New Haven, Conn .; V. Elizabeth Umbleby, graduate of the New Castle high school, is student at the State Normal School, West Chester, Pa .; VI. William, at home. Mr. Wilson and his family are members of the M. E. church, of which he is a trustee.

WILLIAM F. LANE, deceased, was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, April 12, 1819.

The ancestral home of the Lane family was England. Having come to this country among the early settlers, they were well established in New England before the Revolution, in which several members of the family took an active and patriotic part.

Mr. Lane's education was begun in the schools of his native town. He prepared for college at Philips Academy, was graduated from Bowdoin College, Maine, and lived in that state until 1850, when he removed to New Castle, Del. Here he established the high school, in which he was for many years a teacher. Among the pupils whom he pre- pared for college were Hon. George Gray,

J. H. Rodney, Esq .; J. J. Black, M. D., and others well known not only in this state, but in various parts of the country, where they hold eminent and responsible positions. Mr. Lane was regarded with much of that pro- found respect always accorded to a conscien- tious and successful educator. In 1868 he relinquished his profession, and entered the position of receiver and teller in the Farmers' Bank of New Castle, which he held for twen- ty-five years, serving most honorably and ef- ficiently. He was genial and popular, and when a candidate for the treasurership of New Castle, at the time of its incorporation, he re- ceived the support that was heartily extended to him by members of all parties. He tilled that office up to the time of his death. Mr. Lane was a gentleman of great culture and re- finement; his character and attainments were warmly appreciated by the citizens of New Castle, with whom his name is still "familiar as a household word." Ile died in New Cas- tle in 1889; his wife and one son survive him.

William F. Lane was married at New Cas- tle in 1854, to Mary B., daughter of Capt. Robert II. and Elizabeth (Peirce) Barr, a na- tive of New Castle. Their only child, Sam- uel L. Lane, was born February 25, 1864, and educated in New Castle, graduating from the high school. He became a student in the Med- ical Department of the University of Penn- sylvania, but on account of ill health, he has not practiced medicine. He received an ap- pointment in the Fishery Commission depart- ment, Washington, D. C., and is now Fish Commissioner for the state of Colorado. He is a "silver Democrat." He was married in 1894, at Saint Louis, Mo., to Miss Broadhead, a native of that city. Mrs. William F. Lane still resides in New Castle. The family are all members of the Episcopal church.

Mrs. Lane's father, Captain Robert II. Barr, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., in 1788. His father was Rev. Samuel Barr, an ordained minister of the Presbyterian church, and a pioneer preacher of that church in Pittsburg. ITis wife, a member of the MeDowell family, was born in Pennsylvania; the MeDowells are of the noted Scotch-Irish stock which is so prominent a factor in Pennsylvania history, and were active on the continental side in the Revolution. Of the ten children of Rev. Sam- nel Barr and his wife, all are deceased except Mrs. Janvier of Washington, D. C., who has.

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STATE OF DELAWARE

passed her ninetieth year. Mr. Barr came with his family to New Castle, where he was min- ister of the Presbyterian church until his death, which occurred in 1825. He was a man of education and culture, and was great- ly respected. Ilis son, Robert II. Barr, was educated in Pittsburg and Philadelphia, and became a sailor early in life. At the age of twenty-four, he was captain of the U. S. war ship Caledonia, and served in the war of 1812. He afterwards sailed to China, and was a mer- chant in the city of Canton for five years. On his return, he took up his residence at New Castle, where he passed the remainder of his life. He was for several years superintendent of the Frenchtown and New Castle R. R., the second railroad in the United States. After the close of that engagement, he lived a life of leisure and retirement. During the war of the Rebellion, although about seventy-five years of age, he tendered his services to the U. S. government, whenever they should be needed; and it was he who, on the U. S. war ship Maryland, transported Gen. MeClellan's troops to the James river. Captain Barr was a resident of New Castle for sixty years; he was a popular man, and well known through- ont the state. He was a stanch Republican. Ile died in 1875, and was buried in the Epis- copal Cemetery at New Castle.

Capt. Robert H. Barr was married at New Castle to Elizabeth, daughter of George Peirce, and sister of the eminent jurist, Judge Peirce of the Court of Common Pleas of Phil- adelphia. She was born at New Castle in 1794. The children of Captain and Mrs. Barr' are as follows: I. Robert, deceased, was in the U. S. Commissary department, Washing- ton, D. C .; II. William, deceased, was a cul- tivator of wine-grapes, in Napa Valley, Cali- fornia; III. Samuel, M. D., U. S. A., of Wash- ington, D. C., was an officer in the U. S. Army; IV. George, retired, resides at New Castle; V. Mary B. (Mrs. William F. Lane). Mrs. Robert Barr also died in New Castle, in 1868. She and her family were members of the Episcopal church, in the cemetery of which she was buried.

HON. WILLIAM McCOY, P. O. New Castle, Del., son of John and Margaret (Welch) McCoy, was born in New Castle hun- dred, New Castle county, April 14, 1831.

John McCoy, grandfather of William B. McCoy, was of Scotch-Irish descent, but was a native of the state of Delaware. His son, John McCoy, 2, was born in 1797, in Red Lion hun- dred, New Castle county, received a common school education, removed to New Castle hun- dred while he was a young man, and was all his life a farmer. He never sought public of- fice, but always warmly supported the Demo- cratic party, maintaining the political prin- ciples of Andrew Jackson. He was an intelli- gent and influential man. John McCoy mar- ried Margaret Welch, of White Clay Creek hundred; their children are: I. William B .; II. Louisa (Mrs. Benjamin Foote), of Wil- mington, Del. Mr. McCoy was a member of the Presbyterian church. He died in 1865, and was buried in the cemetery at Saint George's, as was also his wife, who died in 1866.

The boyhood of William B. MeCoy was spent on the farm in New Castle hundred; there he attended the public schools, and after wards made farming the occupation of his life. Although much of his time and attention have la.tterly been given to public affairs, he still finds time to superintend the cultivation of his land. ITis characteristic industry has never been spent upon material labor alone; he takes pleasure in reading and study, and ha greatly extended his mental acquisitions by his independent efforts. Mr. McCoy was al- ways a Democrat, and is an advocate of "free silver;" in 1896, he was elected to the State Legislature of Delaware, on the Bryan ticket, by a majority of over three hundred. While a member of that body, he served on several committees; was chairman of the Committee on Claims, and a working member of the Com- mittee on Education. He is a popular and re- spected legislator. He has served as supervi- sor of roads, was a school director for twelve years, and tax collector for four years. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. of New Castle

William B. McCoy was married in April, 1869, to Josephine, daughter of Joseph Bar- naby, a farmer of New Castle hundred, where she was born. One of their children died in infancy; the others are: I. John J., at home; II. William B., motorman on the Wilmington and New Castle Electric railway; III. T. Bayard, at home; IV. Clayton; V. Agnes M .; VI. Walter; VII. Warren B .; VIII. Bertha; IX. Mary A., decca-ed; X. Samuel

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S., deceased; XI. Louisa, deceased. Mrs. Mc- Coy died February 4, 1893.

SAMUEL FILE, 607 N. Jackson street, Wilmington, Del., son of Samuel and Mar- garet Ann (Morris) File, was born in Phila., January 20, 1846. IIe is the fourth of the name in direct line of descent; his great- grandfather was Samuel File, a native of Ger- many, who settled in Brandywine hundred, New Castle county, and passed his life there, engaged in farming. Samuel File, 2, son of this emigrant, was reared on his father's farin, learned cooperage in his youth, and continued for years to follow that vocation. He became the owner of several small sailing vesse's, which he used in transporting grain to the Brandywine Mills. He also did some trans- portation by teams; he kept a store in Wil- mington for several years, and built the hotel at Fifteenth and Market streets, in Wilming- ton, which he conducted for some years. IIe was a Jeffersonian Democrat, and a private in the war of 1812. Samuel File, 2, married Jane McKee, their children were: I. Eliza- beth (Mrs. Thos. Peterson), whose husband was a soldier in the war of 1812; II. John; III. Mary (Mrs. Geo. O. Daniel); IV. Samuel, 3; V. William; VI. Joseph. Mr. and Mrs. File attended the Presbyterian church, services being held in the building now used as the hall of the Historical Society. Both died in Wilmington and were interred in the Presbyterian cemetery.

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 82

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