Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 88

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

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James Wilson was married in Blackbird hundred, New Castle county, March 6, 1876, to Mary A., daughter of John Prior, of Black- bird hundred. Their children are: I. Dora, died in youth; II. William P., salesman at John Wanamaker's, Philadelphia; III. John P., at home. Mr. James Wilson and his fam- ily are members of the M. E. church. Mr. Wilson is a teacher in the Sunday-school.

RICHARD MALONEY, P. O. New Cas- tle, Del., son of John and Emily B. (Powell) Maloney, was born near Dublin, Ireland, March 23, 1842.

John Maloney was born near Dublin, Ire- land, where he was engaged in farming until the famine of 1847 overwhelmed his unfor- tunate country. Thousands perished by star- vation, and thousands more, unable to bear the distress arising from the oppression of English rule and the potato blight, fled for refuge to Australia and America. John Ma- loney and numbers of his countrymen, about eight hundred families in all, left Liverpool in the sailing vessel Silas Greenman, and crossing the wide Atlantic, sought protection under the "Stars and Stripes." A tedious voyage of eight weeks brought him to New York harbor, whence he proceeded with his family to Philadelphia, Pa., and one year later

removed to the farm of George MeCrone in New Castle hundred, New Castle county, Del., where he spent the remainder of his life. John Maloney was married in Ireland, to Emily B. Powell, a native of Ireland, who came with him to America. Their children are: I. Thomas, a hardware merchant, residing at Townsend, Del .; 1I. Richard; III. Daniel B., lumber merchant, builder and contractor; IV. Mary A., died in youth; V. Helen, died in infancy; VI. Agnes, who died on the voy- age to America. M .. John Maloney was a scholar, and possessed great energy and abil- ity; he died at his home in New Castle hun- dred in 1850, and is buried in St. Peter's ceme- tery, New Castle. After her husband's death, Mrs. Maloney was married to Michael Den- ning, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, who died in Peneader hundred, New Castle county. Their children are: James W., a farmer in New Castle hundred; II. Emma C. (Mrs. Charles Wright), deceased; III. Louisa ( Mrs. Daniel B. MeGovern), Chester county, Pa .; IV. Ella C. (Mrs. J. W. McCall), deceased. Mrs. Denning spends her time among herchil- dred and grandchildren, thoroughly enjoying her home in the "land of freedom," and wear- ing lightly the burden of eighty-two years.

Richard Maloney was seven years old when the family came to America. For two years he attended the schools of New Castle county, and at his father's death, which occurred when he was nine years old, he went to live with Mr. Cantwell Clark, with whom he remained three years, working on the farm, and receiv- ing his board and clothing. He afterwards worked on the same terms for three years on the farm of Merritt H. Paxton. When he was fifteen, he hired as farm laborer to II. H. Me- Mullin, in New Castle hundred, receiving board and $6.00 per month. In 1864 he rented the William W. Stewart farm of 200 acres near Glasgow, Pencader hundred. One year afterwards, a severe attack of rheuma- tism obliging him to relinquish farm work, he removed to New Castle and opened a grocery store, in which he was fairly successful. Two years later he removed to Red Lion, Del., where for fifteen years he kept the Red Lion, a hotel noted in all the country around for its good cheer and genial hospitality and conspic- nous for its flaming sign, the traditional red lion. Besides managing the hotel, he opened a store and built up a good business. In 1885

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Mr. Maloney gave up the hotel and returned to country life, renting the Henry M. Silver farm of 160 acres in New Castle hundred, where he raised grain and live stock. In 1895 Mr. Maloney removed to his present home on the J. D. Kelly farma, a place of 133 acres in New Castle hundred, now known as the Centre . farm. Besides raising grain and live stock, in which he is very successful, he devotes much of his time to market gardening, and twice a week attends the farmer's curbstone market at Wilmington, Del. Mr. Maloney 's active in political circles, and is a stanch sup- porter of the Democratic party. In 1877 he was elected assessor of New Castle hundred, and held the office for four years; he was also appointed register of voters for one term. Mr. Maloney has always been interested in educa- tional affairs, and was clerk of the board of school commissioners for nine years.

Richard Maloney was married in 1864, to Elizabeth, daughter of Michael Denning. Their children are: I. Mary A., died aged five years; II. John, a graduate of Goldey's Business College, Wilmington, Del., tele- graph operator and station agent of the L. I. R. R., at Arverne, N. Y .; III. Elizabeth, dressmaker, at home; IV. Daniel B., a black- smith at Red Lion, married Jennie Arm- strong, of New Castle hundred; V. Frank A., on the homestead; VI. Anna, at home; VII. Ida, at home; VIII. Richard, died in infancy; IX. Richard (2), drowned in Christiana Creek, Del., June 10, 1897; X. Grover Cleve- land. Mr. Maloney is highly esteemed in the community; he and his family are members of the Roman Catholic church, and attend St. Peter's church, New Castle.

CHARLES P. BONNEY, No. 1001 W. Eighth St., Wilmington, Del., son of Jona- than and Elizabeth P. (Drew) Bonney, was born in Wilmington, Del., January 17, 1836.

The Bonney family is of French descent. Some of its members came to America in the Mayflower, exchanging the sunny fields of France for freedom on the stern New England coast, where many branches of the family are still living. Jonathan Bonney was born in Massachusetts, where he learned moulding. After his marriage, he removed to Maryland, and established a foundry for machine cast- ings near Baltimore, where he remained for several years. In 1836, he removed to Wil-

mington, Del., and in company with Charles Bush established a foundry on the corner of Second and Lombard Sts. Among his ap- prentices was his nephew, the late G. Lobdell, who organized the Lobdell Car Wheel Works, at Wilmington. The Bonney & Bush Com- pany was the first to make wheel castings, thus introducing an industry which has grown in proportion to the increasing demand for such work, and has offered employment for many operatives. Mr. Bonney began life a poor boy; by perseverance and industry he won for him- self a prominent position. Always upright and conscientious in business, he was justly honored and respected in the community. II: was a Whig, but never sought office. Jona- than Bonney was married in Kingston, Mass., to Elizabeth P., daughter of Stephen Nye Drew, a shipbuilder of Kingston, where his daughter was born. They have ten children, five of whom died in infancy. The remain- ing five are: I. William, deceased; II. Maria, married Robert P. Gillingham, both deceased; III. Joseph T., in the army, resides in Roches- ter, N. Y .; IV. Charles P .; V. James P., died in 1865. Mr. Bonney died at his home in Wilmington, Del., and is now buried in Bran- dywine cemetery, whither his body was re- moved from its first resting place in the ceme- tery of the First Baptist church, Wilmington, Del. Ilis widow died in 1871, at the home of their son, Charles Bonney, and is buried in the same cemetery.

Charles P. Bonney attended the subserip- tion schools of Wilmington, and for a short time the public schools of Philadelphia, Pa. At the age of sixteen, he entered the employ of the Harlan & Hollingsworth Company, shipbuilders, at Wihnington, but two years after, being disabled by an injury in the chest, he was obliged to abandon his trade and retire to the country to recuperate. Much of his time was spent with his cousin, George G. Lob- dell. Ile enlisted in defense of "Old Glory," August 1, 1861, in Company (, First Penn- sylvania Reserves, Col. Roberts, Capt. Dyer, and was assigned to the army of the Potomac. He took part in the Seven-Days' Battle of the Peninsula, Gettysburg, the battle of the Wil- derness, Spottsylvania, and other engagements under General Grant. In 1863, he was made a sergeant, his promotion being the reward of bravery shown at the Bull Run Bridge. At Spottsylvania he had a sunstroke, from the ef-

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fects of which he was confined, for some time, to the hospital in Washington, D. C., and af- terwards in Philadelphia, Pa. He was mus- tered out in 1864, re-enlisted in the same regiment, was transferred to the One Hundred and Sixty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was again mustered out in March, 1865, hav- ing served in defense of his country three years and seven months. Always faithful in the discharge of duty, he was an exemplary soldier; placing his trust in the God of bat- tles, he was always firm and calm in the midst of danger. His genial manner made him a favorite with his comrades. At the close of the war he entered the employ of the Lobdell Car Wheel Company as shipping clerk, and from that position has risen to be overseer of the transportation department, filling the of- fice with characteristic faithfulness. Since 1882 he has held the same position in the company's new plant in New Castle hundred, New Castle county, Del. Mr. Bonney is high- ly estemed for his integrity and business abil- ity. Ile was a member of the G. A. R., and of the Sons of Temperance. He is a Repub- lican, is liberal in his views and has never sought political preferment. Mr. Bonney has never applied for a pension, believing that only those who were disabled either in the dis- charge of their duty or by causes resulting from such service are entitled to compensa- tion from the government. IIe also thinks that such comrades should be given an amount sufficient to enable them to pass the remain- der of their life free from care; a reward rich- ly merited by their gallant defense of the Union.

Charles P. Bonney was married in 1866, in Wilmington, Del., to Lucy V., daughter of William and Mary (White) Rice, who was born in Wilmington. Her father was a far- mer and died at his home in Wilmington. Their children are: I. Maria, at home; II. William, died in youth; III. Charles, a moulder at the Lobdell Works, married Nellie Starr, has four children, two dead, and two, Charles P., Jr., and Harold, living; IV. Helen P., at home. Mr. Charles P. Bonney and his family are members of the Second Baptist church.

HORACE BURR, M. D., Wilmington, New Castle county, Del., son of Noah Platts

and Rebecca (Bulkley) Burr, was born at Haddam, Conn., December 13, 1817.

Noah Platts Burr was a lineal descendant, in the sixth generation, of Benjamin Burr, one of the proprietors and settlers of Hartford, Conn., which was founded in 1635. The Burrs were a sturdy race, independent in thought and action, brave and patriotic. Mr. Burr's grandfather and six great uneles shared the hardships of the Continental army during the long struggle for freedom. All lived to enjoy the fruits except Stephen Burr, the youngest of the number, who was lost in the southern campaign. Mr. Burr relates a char- acteristic anecdote of his great-grandparents, which he heard in his boyhood from the lips of an aged lady.

"In those days," he says "men's as well as women's clothing was made by women who went from house to house remaining in each place until the family supply of winter gar- ments was complete. Great-grandfather Burr had set his foot down firmly against the use of tea in his home, but great-grandmother, hav- ing saved a goodly supply of the fragrant herb, and being very fond of the bey- erage, decided that when the tailoress should make her usual visit, they would take their tea and shortcake early in the afternoon, when the old gentleman was accustomed to attend to his live stock. One day, when the coals had been drawn out on the hearth, and the tea was steeping, great- grandfather's foot was heard at the door. While great-grandmother deftly slipped the shortcake into the drawer of the table, Becca expanded her ample petticoat and squatted down on the hearth over the teapot on the coals, putting her tailor's goose near the fire as if intent upon heating it. The old gentle- man, who was unusually talkative that day, showed no disposition to make a short visit, and began telling stories to amuse them. Meanwhile the tea was boiling and steaming, but the tailoress, although she was having a first class vapor bath, was determined not to let the cat out of the bag, or rather, the steam out of her petticoats. Once great-grandfather paused in his tale, saying: 'Becca, your goose is a great while heating,' but she merely touched it with her wet finger, remarking, 'It does not hiss right.' At last he was obliged to go to fodder the cattle, and the two friends heartily enjoyed the long delayed feast, al-

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BIOGRAPHIICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

though the tea was somewhat overdrawn. Great-grandfather, who never suspected them, was greatly surprised that Becca had so poor an appetite for the regular supper, and teas- ingly remarked that she must be lovesick."

Mr. Burr's maternal ancestors were of Eng- lish descent. His mother, Rebecca Bulkeley, was one of the sixth generation in direct de- scent from the Rev. Peter Bulkeley, D. D., Rector of Odell, in the county of Bedford, England, where he had succeeded his father, Dr. Edward Bulkeley, who was both rector of Odell and prebendary of Litchfield, England. The Rev. Peter Bulkeley was a nonconform- ist, and having been silenced by Archbishop Laud, sold his large estate, emigrated to Amer- ica, joined an association to purchase land from the Indians, and became one of the founders of Concord, Mass. The Bulkeley family was of noble blood, and was prominent in England as early as the eleventh century. In New England, the Emersons, Prescotts and many other prominent literary families trace their descent to the Rev. Peter Bulkeley. This family also furnished many a brave sol- dier to the Continental army. One of them, Joel Bulkeley, great-uncle of Mr. Burr, was an excellent marksman and served as a sharp- shooter; he used to say that the only act of the war which caused him lasting regret, was picking off a fine-looking British officer.

Noah Platts Burr, father of Horace Burr, was a farmer, and owned extensive tracts of timber land from which he furnished all kinds of lumber to the thriving shipyards along the Connecticut River. Ile was, however, an en- thusiastie husbandman and considered farm- ing as by far the most useful and profitable business to which any one could devote his energies. Noah P. Burr was married to Re- becca Bulkeley, of Saybrook, Conn. Their children are: I. Jared; II. ITorace; III. Sarah Elizabeth; IV. Noah; V. Rebecca; VI. James; VII. Edward.

ITorace Burr attended the schools of his native county for a short time. His father carefully considered the future of his sons, de- cided that as his elder son, Jared Burr, who had a delicate constitution and defective sight, would be physically unable to bear active life, he should receive an education and fit himself for one of the learned professions, while Hor- ace should be a farmer and succeed him in the care of the paternal acres. This decision

was irrevocable; the elder lad received every advantage, while to Horace was allotted only the three R's and very little of them, as he was kept continually at work with his father, that he might become an expert farmer and teamster. Country life, however, had no at- tractions for Horace, whose active mind craved knowledge. Having inherited a full share of the determined spirit which charac- terized the family, he decided to obtain for himself what his father had denied. At four- teen he had conquered Daboll's Arithmetic, having committed the rules and worked out every example without receiving assistance from any one. Then helping himself to his brother's grammar, he used it so diligently that the teacher, after examination, placed him in a class for analysis and parsing. Hor- ace next procured a geography, and although he had not time to recite with the class, he made himself thoroughly familiar with the maps and the general description of the coun- tries. The want of books was a great obstacle to his progress; but in the following summer he was employed for a time in an oakum fac- tory, and with the money thus obtained, he purchased mathematical books and instru- ments.

During a part of his seventeenth and eigh- teenth sunnners Mr. Burr was employed in the extensive quarries near Haddam. Here the gneiss, feldspar and red sandstone proved a rich field for geological and mineralogical research. In the winter months of 1834 and 1835, Mr. Burr taught in a school in Had- dam. During all this time his father was en- tirely ignorant of his desires and plans, for the young student was careful to be at home whenever his assistance was required, and io work faithfully at harvesting and haymak- ing. His mother, however, was his confidant, and from her he received both sympathy and encouragement. When he was nineteen, by his mother's advice, he decided to speak plainly with his father. He had then saved about three hundred dollars. Mr. Horace Burr, therefore, told his father that he could not walk in the path marked out for him, that he was determined to carry forward his edu- cation, and that in order to do this successfully he must seeure a position in which he could teach the whole year and have leisure for study; therefore he had decided to start for New Jersey on the following day. In vain

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his father argued and persuaded, promising him a farm and all possible assistance if he would relinquish his plan. Horace was reso- lute, and his father finally told him to take what he had earned away from the farm, but to look for nothing more from the estate.

Pursuing the plan upon which he had de- cided, Mr. Burr secured a subscription school in the suburbs of Trenton, N. J., where he spent a very pleasant year, and made good progress in study. Returning home, he found his father much softened towards him, but as no assistance was offered, he again left home and traveled as far south as Richmond, Va., seeking a suitable position. Finding that it was too late to hope for an engagement that season, Mr. Burr turned homeward, but while stopping at New Castle, Del., whence he ex- pected to take the boat for Philadelphia, Pa., he became acquainted with the principal of the New Castle Academy, who persuaded him to remain in Delaware, and secured for him a po- sition in the public school at Red Lion. The next year, Mr. Burr took charge of a large school near Wilmington, Del., and began reading medicine with Dr. Samuel Higgins, of Wilmington. The following autumn he had made arrangements to continue his medi- cal course in Philadelphia, Pa., when all his plans were suddenly changed. Returning home for a visit, he found that his elder brother, who had abandoned the idea of a professional life and devoted himself to busi- ness, had just completed a new store and would start in a day or two for New York ('ity to purchase goods. On his way to the boat Mr. Jared Burr was waylaid, robbed and murdered. Overwhelmed by the loss of their elder son, Mr. Burr's parents begged him to remain at home for the winter, pursue his studies in Haddam, and prepare to enter the medical department of Yale College in the ensuing autumn, his father promising him all needed assistance. He gladly acceded to their wishes, and was under an excellent pre- ceptor in his native place until he was en- tered as a private pupil under Professor Wil- liam Tully, at the same time attending the regular lectures. Dr. Tully was an enthusias- tie scientist, and a close friendship was soon formed between pupil and teacher that was to last as long as life itself.

Mr. Burr graduated from Yale College in the class of 1842, and immediately began the

practice of his profession in the southern half of Middlesex county, Conn. He was too suc- cessful for his health, and in his twenty-eighth year, when worn out by hard work, he was attacked by scarlet fever. His friend, Dr. Tully, left his business, and for two weeks watched day and night at his bedside. Dr. Burr had intended to spend two years in the medical schools of Europe, and then to open an office in New York City, but as the fever had left him partially paralyzed on the left side and a constant sufferer from neuralgia, he decided to remain at Westbrook. Resum- ing his practice he again overtaxed his strength, and one year after his marriage, was prostrated by typhoid fever. Again his de- voted friend left all to watch over him until he was out of danger. After his recovery, Dr. Burr, while still unable to resume his prae- tice, was elected to the state legislature. Find- ing that his large practice was too great a tax upon his strength, he secured the assist- ance of a young physician, and was finally persuaded to become a partner in a publish- ing house. The company speculated, and failed; its failure swept away every cent of Dr. Burr's earnings. Resuming his practice, which extended over the larger part of three counties, he soon found that his strength was inadequate to the demand, and at the end of fourteen years, having tried in vain to curtail his business, he found that he must have a change or die. After considering various sections of the country, his love for Delaware prevailed and in 1867, he purchased his pres- ent home near Wilmington. The change proved very beneficial, and Dr. Burr soon be- gan to practice in Wilmington. He is now in his eighty-second year, and is still actively en- gaged in the large practice which he has built up by thirty years of skilful professional labor.

In his devotion to science, Dr. Burr has not neglected literature. He is eminent as a lin- guist and has made a valuable collection of European classics which he has bequeathed by will to Trinity College, Hartford, Conn. When a youth of fourteen, Dr. Burr, having read and re-read the life and works of Thomas Jefferson, became so imbued with the doc- trines of that statesman that these early im- pressions have colored his whole political life.

On his thirtieth birthday, December 13, 1847, Horace Burr was married to Louise N.,

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daughter of Joseph E. Hungerford, of East Haddam, Conn., and niece and heiress of Wil- liam Hungerford, of Hartford, Conn., one of the most prominent lawyers of New England, rivalling even Daniel Webster himself. Their children are: I. Ellen Louise, widow of Jo- seph Tatnall, has two children, i. Horace Jo- seph, ii. Louisa Hungerford; II. Anna Eliza- beth, died aged ten years; III. Mary Sophia; IV. Lilian Emeline, married John, son of ex- Governor Ponder, of Milton, Del., has five children, i. Annie Louise, ii. James, iii. Wil- liam Hungerford, iv. Lilian Burr, v. Sarah Elizabeth; V. Clara Amelia; VI. William Hungerford Burr, M. D., of Philadelphia, Pa .; VII. Alice Spencer (Mrs. John W. Shep- ard), of Brooklyn, N. Y., has one child, Fred- erick Burr; VIII. Eliza Hooker (Mrs. Alfred Jones), of Wilmington, Del., has one son, Raymond Burr. Dr. Burr is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. In his native state he was several times a delegate to the Diocesan Convention, and since his removal to Delaware he has been one of the vestrymen of Trinity parish, and for the greater part of the time, has been senior warden. For twen- ty-eight years he has been deputy of the Dio- cesan Convention; for twenty years a member of the standing committee, and with the excep- tion of one year, a delegate since 1880 to the Triennial Convention of the Episcopal church in the United States. Louisa Hungerford Burr died in 1896 and in 1898 Dr. Burr mar- ried Miss Mary Moore, of New Castle, Del.

Dr. Burr was examiner for the state of Con- necticut of the graduating classes in medicine in Yale College for 1861 and 1862 and de- livered the address to the graduating class in 1863. He has written on social and scientific subjects, various articles which have been printed in the press or separately, has translat- ed the records of the Swedish church in Dela- ware, published by the Delaware Historical Society, 772 pp. O. Also for the Penn- sylvania Historical Society the records of the Swedish churches in New Jersey and other manuscript documents. Hle has also translat- ed the History of the Swedish settlements on the Delaware published in Stockholm in 1894, in Swedish, German and Latin and has writ- ten a history of Trinity church from the settle- ment of the Swedes to this day. Since the foregoing was written, Dr. Burr died January 10, 1899.

MeKENDREE DOWNHAM, Middle- town, New Castle county, Del., son of Rev. John and Martha (Onins) Downham, was born near Dover, Del., December 12, 1849.

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 88

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