Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II, Part 70

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1500

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ALLAN W. HARTING, Wilmington, Del., son of Cyrus and Elizabeth (Woodall) Harting, was born in Wilmington, Del., July 11, 1854.

Ilis paternal grandfather was a native of Germany, and came to this country about the beginning of the present century. He settled in Lancaster county, Pa., and resided there nearly all his life. He was a farmer. Ilis son, Cyrus Harting, was born in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1830. He attended the schools of that city, and when a young man removed to Philadelphia. There he learned coach-paint- ing and at this trade he was employed throughout his life. In his latter years he came to Wilmington and made his home here. Cyrus Harting married Elizabeth Woodall, and had children: I. Allan W .; II. Charles, of Philadelphia; III. Frank, died young; IV. Walter, died in childhood. Mr. Harting died in Wilmington, in October, in 1871, aged forty-one years; his widow resides in Wil- mington.

Allan W. Harting received his rudiment- ary education in the public schools of Wil- mington, and when he had completed his studies, learned sign and decorative painting, and for the past twenty-one years has con- ducted a successful business of his own in these lines. He is regarded as one of the foremost painters and decorators in Wilming- ton. Mr. Ilarting is a member of Lafayette Lodge, F. & A. M .; St. John's Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M .; St. John's Commandery, No. 1, K. of P .; St. George's Castle, K. G. E., and

of the I. O. II. In his political views, Mr. Ilarting is independent.

On April 10, 1876, in Philadelphia, Allan W. Harting was married to Martha E., daughter of Henry Canary, of Wilmington. Their children are: I. Clifton D .; II. Allan W. W .; III. Marian; IV. Frank C. Mr. Harting attends St. Paul's M. E. church.

C. MARION LEITCHI, Wilmington, Del., son of Henry M. and Ann Elizabeth (Tucker) Leiteh, was born November 20, 1843, in Anne Arundel county, Md.

Henry M. Leitch was a native of Charles county, Md., born in 1811. He was a Whig in politics. His wife, Ann Elizabeth (Tucker) Leitch, was born in Ann Arundel county, Md .; their children are: I. C. Mar- ion; II. William HI .; III. Catherine (Mrs. Joseph O. Fowler), of Anne Arundel county. Mr. and Mrs. Leitch were members of the M. E. church; Mrs. Leitch died in 1851; her hus- band survived her until 1876.

C. Marion Leitch began active business life as a contractor and builder, with which oceu- pation he was engaged until 1868, when he was appointed Chief Deputy Collector and C'ashier of Internal Revenue for the district of Maryland, with offices at Baltimore, Md., and Wilmington, Del. He had served the U. S. government during the war of the Re- bellion, as constructor of hospitals and pon- toon bridges, in which he was employed from 1862 through 1864. As Internal Revenue collector, his term of service extended through the administrations of Presidents Grant, Hayes, Garfield and Harrison; many millions of dollars of public money passed through his hands, and he was several times complimented for his efficiency and fidelity as an official. In May, 1897, Mr. Leitch was, by a popular vote, elected president of the City Council of Wilmington, for a term of two years; he was a member of the board of Public Education for the term of 1895-'96. Mr. Leitch is a member of Lafayette Lodge, Washington, D. C. He is actively interested in any scheme for the promotion of the public welfare. In politics, he supports the Repub- lican party.

On November 3, 1868, C. Marion Leitch was married, in Baltimore, Md., to Emma, daughter of James and Emily E. Foster. Mr.

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Foster was a ship-builder of Baltimore, where Mrs. Leitch was born. She died November 3, 1882, leaving one child, Norma Watts Leitch. Mr. Leitch has been since early life a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a steward of the Asbury M. E. church, Wilmington, Del.

JAMES BARTON LONGACRE, the distinguished engraver, was a descendant of the early Swedish settlers on the Delaware. Ile was born in Delaware county, Pa., Ang- ust 11, 1794, served his apprenticeship as his- torical and portrait engraver with Murray of Philadelphia, and from 1819 to 1831 Was en- gaged in illustrating some of the best works issuing from the American press. From 1834 to 1839, with James Herring, of New York, he published four volumes of the "Na- tional Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans," which he afterward completed alone, many of the portraits being from Mr. Longacre's drawings from life. During the last twenty-five years of his life he was en- graver at the United States Mint, all the new coins issued during that period were made by Mr. Longacre from his original designs. Ile was commissioned by the Chilian govern- ment to superintend the remodeling of the coinage of that country. This work was com- pleted a year before his death. James B. Longaere died in Philadelphia, January 1, 1869.

HENRY FISHER, M. D., was probably the first physician of eminence in the territory now known as Delaware. He came to this country from Waterford, Ireland, in 1725. The vessel in which he was a passenger an- choring in the roads of Lewes and he, with sev- eral other gentlemen, went ashore for recrea- tion. Dr. Fisher was so much pleased with the town and its surroundings that he von- cluded to settle there, and accordingly sent for his wife to come over. She soon reached New Castle, and journeyed thence to Lewes on horseback. Dr. Fisher obtained at once an extensive and Merative practice, and was fre- quently called into Kent county, Maryland, for consultation in serious cases. He stood unrivaled in his profession, and was the only

regularly educated medical practitioner in Sussex during his life. William Penn, hear- ing of his reputation, solicited him repeatedly to go to Philadelphia, but Dr. Fisher de- clined, preferring to remain at his home in Lewes. His residence was patterned after the English country-seats, and on account of its elegant construction and beauty, his neigh- bors called it "a paradise." Dr. Fisher died in 1748, leaving a widow, two daughters and a son. The latter, Henry Fisher, was after- wards a prominent citizen, and rendered val- uable service to the merchants of Philadel- phia. He was also an important aid to the government during the Revolutionary War, using his pilot and whale-boats as a medium of obtaining information which proved inval- uable to the Continental forces.

REV. THOMAS P. REVELLE, Dover, Del., son of George R. and Mary E. (Ford) Revelle, was born May 16, 1869, in the vil- lage of Manokin, Md., formerly called Re- velle's Neck.

As indicated by the name, the Revelle fam- ily is of French origin. Randall Revelle, great-great-grandfather of Rev. T. P. Re- velle, came from England with Lord Balti- more; his first home in America was on the Eastern Shore, in Virginia. On May 2, 1662, he settled at Manokin, having received a grant of land from Lord Baltimore, who also commissioned him to grant lands to others who would take an oath of allegiance to that leader. The tract of land settled by Randall Revelle is known as Revelle's Neck. On his death, the land passed to his son, Randall Re- ville, 2.

Randall Revelle, 2, enlisted in the Conti- mental army in 1777, and fought in several engagements, receiving special commenda- tion for his gallant conduct in the battle of Cowpens. He held the rank of sergeant. Af- ter being honorably discharged in 1780, he returned to his Manokin farm, which he culti- vated during his whole life, before and after the war. The children of Randall Revelle and his wife Amelia were: I. Ballard; II. Charles; III. David; IN. Hettie. Randall Revelle died when his youngest son, David, was but four years old. The widowed mother

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wished her eldest son, Ballard, to learn a trade; he refused, and when she insisted, he ran away, and went to sea; he was never af- terwards heard of at home. Mrs. Revelle did not long survive her husband, and at her death, David was taken by his unele, Joshua Brown. This unele took him to Norfolk, Va., where he remained until he became a man. Having been separated from the rest of the family at so tender an age, he retained but little recollection of them, and had no idea of the value of the property upon which he had a claim as co-heir. Ilis brother Charles bought his claim for a small sum, and David Revelle built a home in Fairmont, Md. Het- tie died unmarried, and the property, which had all come into the possession of Charles Revelle, was squandered by him, and event- vally passed out of the hands of the Revelle family.

David Revelle married Avis Ann Ford; their children were: I. Henrietta, died young; II. George Rogers; III. David James, married Miss Parks; IV. Nancy E. (Mrs. White); V. John II., married Miss Ford: VI. Caroline (Mrs.

Green); VII. Margaret (Mrs.

Tull) ;

VIII. Daniel,

married

Miss

Dove. Of the eight children of David Re- velle, those now living are John, Margaret, David and Daniel. The mother, Mrs. Annie Revelle, died at the age of fifty-five, and her husband at the age of eighty-five years. IIe was all his life a sailor, and was in one or two minor engagements with the British during the war of 1812.

Their second child, George Rogers Revelle, was also a sailor in early life, but having ac- cumulated considerable property by trading ventures, he abandoned the sea, and retired to a tract of land which he had purchased, near the old Revelle settlement. George R. Revelle was twice married; his first wife was Martha White, and their family numbered ten or eleven children, of whom those now liv- ing are: I. Emma; II. Anna; III. Edmund; IV. Elizabeth; V. Alexandria. After Mrs. Martha Revello's death, Mr. Revelle married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William Ford, of Fairmount, Md. They had ten children; those now living are: I. Caroline; II. Rev. Thomas Plummer; III. Joseph Oliver; IV. George Henry; V. William Rogers; VI.

Chevalier De Torney; VII. Mary Elizabeth. Rev. George Henry Revelle and William R. Revelle are graduates of the Western Mary- land College; the former is now pastor of the M. P. church at Manasquan, N. J., and the latter is teaching school in Somerset county, Md. C. De Torney Revelle is preparing for a course at the Dental College; and the youngest of the family, Mary, belongs to the class of '98 at Western Maryland College; she is a student of medicine. For some years be- fore his death in 1892, at the age of seventy- four, George Rogers Revelle was engaged in mercantile business at Revelle's Neck. He was a man of much publie spirit, always ac- tively interested in the welfare and improve- ment of the town. He adhered to the Repub- lican party, and was elected county commis- sioner for several terms, besides holding va- rious other offices. Mrs. George R. Revelle still resides on the homestead.

Thomas Plummer Revelle attended the public schools of Jamestown, Md., until he was fifteen years old, when he entered the academy at Fairmount. During his school days, he was deeply interested in the study of law and of politics. Having been graduated from the academy at the age of eighteen, he became clerk in his father's store, and was or- cupied there until he reached the age of twenty. He then became a student at West- ern Maryland College, and was graduated at the end of a four years' course, in 1893, with the degree of 1. B. Hle then became assis- tant pastor of the M. P. church at Buckeyes- town, Md., where he remained a year and a half. In April, 1895, he became pastor of the M. P. church at Dover. This church has prospered under his faithful ministry, if we may judge from the fact that its membership has nearly doubled in numbers within three years, and that it has cleared off an indebted- ness of $1,500. Mr. Revelle actively sup- ports the Prohibition party. He is at present chaplain of the senate of Delaware. Like his father, he is publie spirited, and gluth uses his time, means and influence for the good of the community or of the state. He is a mem- ber of the Junior Order U. A. M., of the K. of P., and of the I. O. R. M.

ANTHONY COHEE, P. O. Magnolia, Kent county, Del., son of Govesy and Anna

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(Wooters) Cohee, was born in Federalsburgh, Caroline county, Md., January 11, 1839.

Mr. Cohee's father, Govesy Colice, was a native of Maryland. He was a sailor, and captain of a coasting vessel, but afterwards abandoned the sea, and turned his attention to farming. Govesy Cohee was married to Anna Wooters, of Caroline county, Md. Their children are: I. William; II. James Henry; III. Levin; IV. John; V. Anthony; VI. Mitchell, deceased. Mr. Cohee died near Preston, Caroline county, Md.

Anthony Cohee grew up on his father's farm, and remained in Maryland, working for his father, until he was twenty-three. In 1862 Mr. Cohee removed to Delaware and for some time was employed as a day-laborer. After his marriage, Mr. Cohee began farming on rented land. Two years afterwards he re- moved to his present home in South Murder- kill hundred, Kent county. This farm, which was his wife's dower, was a part of the old homestead, and had been the home of the Warrens for generations. The original tract, consisting of several hundred aeres, was pur- chased by Susanna (Luff) Warren. She be- queathed it to her three children, Elizabeth, George L., and Nathaniel. The third inher- ited by Elizabeth, has become the Cohee homestead. Mr. Cohee, a man of decided character and firm convictions, is independent in politics, but has always voted the Demo- cratie ticket.

Anthony Cohee was married in South Mur- derkill hundred, Kent county, Del., to Ann Warren, daughter of William B. and Eliza- beth ( Warren) Harrington. Their children are: I. One who died in infancy, unnamed; II. Elizabeth, married the Rev. Martin Luther Cohee, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, who died at the home of his father-in-law, June 30, 1890, has two chil- dren, i. Susan HI., ii. Estella Lucas; III. An- nic L. ( Mrs. Walter Comper), of South Mur- derkill hundred; IV. Sarah (Mrs. Lorenzo Jarrett), of Viola, Del .; V. William HI., of Frederica, Del .; VI. Susanna (Mrs. Alfred Warrington), of Delaware. Mr. Cohee at- tends Divine service at Barrett's M. E. chapel, of which congregation his wife was a devout member for twenty-five years. She died January 12, 1897.

Mrs. Cohee's parents, William B. and Eliz- aboth (Warren) Warrington, are both de-

ceased. Their children are: I. Warren, de- ceased; II. Ann Warren ( Mrs. Anthony Co- hee), born in South Murderkill hundred, August 20, 1835; III. Alexander L., of Fred- erica, Del .; IV. John W., resides near Fred- erica; V. Ann E. (Mrs. James Lord) , of Frederica, Del.

CHARLES KIMMEY, first cashier of the First National Bank of Dover, was the son of Charles Kimmey, merchant and miller, and Hannah Mason, and was born in Marsh Hope Neck, Northwest Fork hundred, Sussex county, Delaware, on August 25, 1809.

About 1813, his father removed to Dover, Del., where he lived until his death. Charles Kimmey received as good an education as was possible in a country village, which then boasted of a teacher who grounded him thor- oughly in English, Latin and French. Hay- ing a talent for languages, he taught himself to read and write German, Spanish, Italian, Greek and Hebrew. Being a diligent reader he collected during his long life one of the finest private libraries in the state. At the age of eighteen years, he entered the law of- fice of Martin W. Bates, Esy., of Dover, and was admitted to the bar in 1831 but never practiced before the courts. In 1836 Mr. Kimmey started for Indiana, bearing letters from John M. Clayton and others to Henry Clay, Thomas Ewing and prominent men in the west. While in Cincinnati he met John Randell, Jr., who engaged him to go south as assistant engineer on the railroad then build- ing from Savannah to Macon, Ga.

He remained south during 1836-37, and part of 1838. Returning to Delaware, he en- gaged in political life under Hon. John M. Clayton, and in 1842 was appointed prothon- otary of Kent county, and clerk of the Court of Errors and Appeals. This office he filled until 1846, when he resigned to enter the Farmers' Bank as teller, which position he re- tained until the fall of 1865. Hle then re- signed, to assume the position of cashier of the First National Bank of Dover. In 1868, he was called to the position of cashier of the Farmers' Bank at New Castle, Delaware, which he resigned in 1881, and lived retired until his death, May 7, 1886. Mr. Kimmey was identified with many prominent men in social and political life, and his reminiscences

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

were very interesting. Having a very reten- tive memory, and living so long at the centre of the social and political life of Delaware, he was often called upon to settle disputes as to men and affairs.

COLONEL DAVID HALL, who com- manded the celebrated "Delaware Line" in the Revolution, was born in Lewes, January 4, 1752, the second son of David and Mary (Kollock) Ilall. ,

This family, which has become very numer- ous in its connections, is descended from Na- thaniel Hall, who came from Connecticut and settled in or near Lewes, about 1700. He was noted for his feats of bravery and strength, and was called "the Indian fighter." Nathaniel Hall had two sons, the younger of whom, Peter, left no heirs. The elder was David, the father of Colonel David Hall. He was a farmer and had a large dairy, his land extending from Hall's pond to a marsh called Hall's Island. He built the Academy, now the Wiltbank house. David Hall had six children: I. Dr. Joseph Hall, the father of Dr. Henry Fisher Hall and grandfather of Dr. David HIall of Lewes; II. David, 2; III. Simon, died unmarried; IV. Peter, who left a family; V. Jane, married three times but died without issue; VI. Mary, wife of Rev. J. P. Wilson.

Col. David Hall studied law, and was prac- tieing in Lewes when the Continental Con- gress called upon Delaware for troops. IIe was one of the first to espouse the cause of American Independence, and by his social po- sition, ability and ardent patriotism, did much to counterbalance Tory influence in Sussex. Ile enlisted first as a private, and in the spring of 1776 raised a company of which he was commissioned captain and which became a part of Col. Haslet's regiment. On the first of August they left for New York, where they joined Washington. Captain Hall was conspicuous for bravery in the battles of Long Island and White Plains, and was one of the fighting officers who gained for the Delaware troops laurels of imperishable renown.

In November, he commenced recruiting the Delaware battalion of 800 men called for by Congress, September 16, 1776, to serve, dur- ing the war. The first company to join it,

Captain John Patten's, was mustered in No- vember 30, and the sceond company, Captain Robert Kirkwood's, December 1, 1776. This regiment gradually absorbed most of Col. Hlaslet's regiment, which, at the battle of Princeton, where the gallant Haslet fell, con- sisted of less than one hundred men. Col. Hall appears to have been a natural military leader and organizer, drawing men around him by the magnetic force of his genius and ability, and imparting to them his own ardor. The men he trained were the bravest in the revolution, and all but a few laid down their lives for their country. David Hall's regi- ment of Continentals was filled by the follow- ing spring, and he was commissioned its col- onel, April 5, 1777. The records give scanty details of the next three years, but it is known that they took part in the battles of Brandy- wine, Germantown, and Monmouth, shared the sufferings and privations of Washington at Valley Forge, and all the campaigns of '77, '78, '79. They gained a national reputa- tion as the "Delaware line," and the "flower of the Revolutionary army."

Colonel Hall and his regiment were sent by Washington to Green Run, Worcester coun- ty, Md., from which place they brought to Wilmington, in wagons, the gold sent over by France, as a loan to the United States. In the battle of Brandywine they covered the re- treat of Washington's army, at which time Colonel Hall was severely wounded. Brave, unflinching, he endured everything for his country. Sleeping on the ground at night, he would find in the morning his hair frozen to the earth, and would be obliged to cut it away with his sword before he could raise his head from his icy pillow. At one time, the men sat on their horses six nights in suc- cession waiting an expected attack. Hunger, insufficient clothing and consequent sickness added to their distress. When the regiment was ordered, April 13, 1780, to South Caro- lina, then the theatre of war, Col. Hall was at home sick with camp fever.

After the war he resumed the practice of his profession in Lewes. In 1802 he was elected governor on the Democratie ticket, even carrying Sussex, which was strongly Federal. Hle filled the office with great credit and honor till 1805. Soon after, he was made one of the Judges of Delaware under the con-

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STATE OF DELAWARE

stitution of 1792, which position he adorned by his learning, ability and integrity. He was a friend and counselor of Rodney, Read, Me- Kean and other leading patriots. When in the army, he slept in the same tent with Washington, and after corresponded with him. The picture of Washington, which has ever since hung in the State House at Dover, was presented to the State by Gov. Ilall.

David Hall married Catherine Tingley of New York, and had one son, Joseph, who died just as he commenced the practice of law. Their daughters were: Elizabeth, who mar- ried Dr. John White, and had four sons and four daughters: Mary, who married, first Dr. Robert Houston, and had one daughter and two sons, and, secondly, David Walker, by whom she had two daughters and four sons. Jane, the third daughter, married ex-Gover- nor John Cullins, and had three sons and three daughters; Catherine, married David Paynter, and had three daughters and two sons, one of whom, John Paynter, was cap- tain of a company of Pennsylvania troops in the Civil War; Lydia, the fifth daughter, mar- ried Dr. Edward Huffington of Middleford, and had one son and two daughters: Martha, married James Tull, of Milton, and died in 1864. Governor Hall died September 18, 1817, in Lewes, in his sixty-sixth year. Ile was a member of the Order of Cincinnati, of the Masonic Fraternity, and for many years a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church. He was a man of great strength of character, of strong will, and uncompromising loyalty to duty, public and private.

V. F. DANNER, P. O. Dover, Del., son of Hiram II. and (Stevens) Danner, was born in Macungie, Lehigh county, Pa., July 10, 1861.

ITis paternal grandfather was a native of Lehigh county, of English descent, a farmer and miller. He retired from those occupa- tions a few years before his death, and for the rest of his life resided in Macungie, Pa. The maternal grandfather of V. F. Danner was Jacob Stevens, a native of Lehigh county, whose life was spent on a farm. He married Sophia Yeager. Both died in Lehigh county.

Iliram W. Danner was born in Lehigh

county in 1839, and resided for a number of years in Kent county, Del. In early life he devoted his energies to the cultivation of a farm. Afterward, for eight or nine years, he owned a hotel onmibus line in Macungie, l'a. Disposing of this, he invested his capi- tal in a wholesale liquor house for a few years, and was then engaged, for a short time, in buying and selling cattle. Ile married -Stevens, daughter of Leander Stevens, who was born in Lehigh county in February, 1845. Their children are: I. V. F .; II. Al- fred M., married Sarah A. Kerbin, of Do- ver, has one child, Madeline; III. Ella S., at home.

V. F. Danner attended the public schools in Macungie until he was sixteen years old, when his parents removed to Dover, and in the later place completed his studies in the local schools and at Villa Nova academy. IIe assisted his father in his business for a year, and in 1886 formed a partnership with his brother Alfred M. Danner, for the sale of hardware and agricultural implements. In 1890, they abandoned the hardware branch and substituted a line of carriages and ferti- lizers. In February, 1897, Alfred M. Dan- ner withdrew from the firm to become a trav- eling salesman for the Deering Harvester Co., and V. F. Danner has since conducted the busness himself. Mr. Danner is a Repub- lican, but has never taken an active part in polities. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. V. F. Danner was married in 1887, to Jen- nie Griffith, of Dover. They had three chil- dren: I. Frank A .; II. Ellis V .; III. Leander A. Mrs. Jennie (Griffith) Danner died in 1893. In August, 1896, Mr. Dan- ner married Mary Boone, of Dover. Though not a member of any church, he is a regular attendant at Divine service.

REV. THOMAS F. WALDRON, P. O. Dover, Del., son of Thomas Waldron, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, December 8, 1867.

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II, Part 70

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa. Number of Pages: 1500

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1500