USA > Delaware > Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II > Part 76
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From the time of Mr. Plunkett's appoint- ment as an officer of the navy to his death, he held many important positions and rendered valuable services to the government. He died October 24th, 1874.
JOHN C. PATTERSON was born in Wil- mington, Del., October 24, 1815, his father and grandfather, John and Robert, having located there in 1793, upon their immigration from Ireland. In 1885 Mr. Patterson gradu- ated from Nassau Hall, Princeton, with the
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degree of Bachelor of Arts. After following various occupations for several years he began the study of law with Edward W. Gilpin, then attorney general of the state, and afterwards chief justice. In 1844 he was admitted to practice in Georgetown, whither he had ac- companied his preceptor, and soon after was admitted at New Castle as a solicitor in the Courts of Chancery. Since the time of his admission he has practiced continually in the courts of the state, residing in Wilmington.
John C. Patterson was city solicitor for Wilmington from 1865 to 1870, and was ap- pointed, by President Hayes, March 27, 1880, United States district attorney for Delaware.
JOHN O'BYRNE was born in Dublin, January 13, 1826. In 1847 he became a member of the Irish Confederation formed by John Mitchell, Thomas Francis Meagher, Charles J. Duffy, John Dillon, and others. This organization was a protest against the peace policy of Daniel O'Connell.
In 1848, when William Smith O'Brien de- termined to raise the standard of insurrection in the south of Ireland, Mr. O'Bryne was one of the young men who started to take the field. The rebellion was abortive, and Mr. O'Bryne, with others, was proscribed, and came to America in September of that year, and be- came engaged for about a year as assistant edi- tor of the Nation. He then removed to Phila- delphia and was engaged in mercantile pur- suits, during which time he commenced the study of law in the office of the Hon. Lewis C. Cassidy, late attorney general of Pennsyl- vania. On December 12, 1855, Mr. O'Byrne was admitted to the bar, and almost from that time met with great success. He practiced law in Philadelphia until 1868, when he re- moved to Delaware and lived upon his farm in Brandywine hundred until 1879, practicing law in the mean time in the Delaware courts; he was known throughout the state as an able advocate and a wise counselor.
Mr. O'Byrne was first assistant district at- torney to the Hon. John MeKeon during the years 1882 and 1883; during a large part of that time Mr. MeKeon being in ill health, Mr. O'Byrne acted as district attorney.
JOHN FISHER, the first ancestor of Hon. George P. Fisher, came to Lewes in 1682. He had two sons, John and Thomas. John, 2, had a son John, and the latter a son Jabez, whose son, General Thomas Fisher, was the father of Hon. George P. Fisher. The first Thomas Fisher is the first of the line from which de- seended Dr. James Fisher, of Camden, father of Mrs. John M. Clayton.
General Thomas Fisher was a prominent man in both Kent and Sussex counties, and was elected sheriff of both these counties twice, the only case of the kind in the state. HIe removed from Lewes to Milford, on the Kent county side, in 1815. IIe afterwards moved to the farm near Frederica, on which Barratt's Chapel stands. After the expiration of his term as sheriff in Kent county, he re- inoved to a farm near Dover. General Thomas Fisher was married three times, his third wife being Nancy, the daughter of Rob- ert and Sally Owens, of Sussex county. Nancy Owens was one of the leading spirits of the carly Methodists on the Peninsula. The Fishers were all Friends, prior to General Fisher, who was an Episcopalian. Of this third marriage there was one son, George P., who was born in Milford, October 13, 1817. He attended the schools of the vicinity until his seventeenth year, when he was sent to St. Mary's College, Baltimore, Md. Remaining here but a year, he entered the sophomore class of Dickinson College, from which he graduated in 1838. After his graduation he entered upon the study of law with the Hon. John M. Clayton, in Dover, at the same time teaching a private school over his preceptor's office. IIe was admitted to the bar April, 1841, at Georgetown, and opened an office in Dover. His ability was soon known, and he quickly surrounded himself with a large and paying clientage. The same day that he was admitted John R. MeFee, of Georgetown, was admitted, making these gentlemen the oldest attorneys on record in the state.
When President Taylor selected Hon. John M. Clayton Secretary of State, Mr. Fisher first entered public life by becoming Clayton's con- fidential clerk. He attracted considerable at- tention in Washington, and President Taylor appointed him to proceed to Brazil and adju- dicate certain claims held by the citizens of this country against Brazil. This work he
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performed, and returning home in 1852, re- ceived the warm commendation of IIon. Elisha Whittlesey for the excellence of his work. He resumed the practice of law in Dover, and in 1855 was appointed by Gover- nor P. F. Causey attorney general of the state for five years, at the end of which time he was made the candidate of both wings of the "Peo- ple's Party" for Congress and was elected at the ensuing election by two hundred and for- ty-seven majority. He was renominated by the Republicans in 1862, but failed of an elec- tion. Mr. Fisher's course had attracted the at- tention of President Lincoln, and in March, 1863, without any previous intimation, he re- ceived the appointment of associate justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Colum- bia. In the year 1870 he resigned this posi- tion for that of United States district attorney for the District of Columbia, which was ten- dered him by President Grant. He continued in this position until the year 1875, conduct- ing the business of the office with signal abil- ity. Ile then returned to Dover and the prac- tice of law. The "Rebellion History of the State" is part of Judge Fisher's life. To him, in a great measure, was due the fact that Dela- ware sent her quota for the defense of the Constitution and laws. Upon the organiza- tion of the First Delaware Cavalry he was made colonel, but resigned to become district judge at the solicitation of President Lincoln, and was the latter's confidential friend and ad- viser in relation to Delaware.
In 1840 he married Miss Eliza A., daugh- ter of Hon. and Rev. T. P. MeColley, of Mil- ford, Del., and of Hettie (Smith) MeColley. Truston Polk McColley was the son of John MeColley, who was the son of Robert Wat- son MeColley, who emigrated to this country from Scotland in 1830.
JACOB MOORE, late of Georgetown, Sussex county, was born at. Laurel, November 21, 1829, son of Louther Taylor Moore, a merchant in Laurel for nearly half a century, and Eliza S., daughter of Isaac Wootten. The mother died in 1863, aged fifty-eight years, and out of twelve children but three lived to maturity, the eldest of these being Jacob.
Jacob Moore entered Union College, Schen-
ectady, in 1846, and was graduated from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1850. He subsequently entered upon the study of law in the office of Judge Edward Wootten, of Georgetown, and after three years of careful preparation was duly admitted to practice in April, 1853. He at once ap- plied himself to his work with great industry and determination, and soon met with success, carning a reputation as a skilful and able prac- titioner and a discreet and careful counselor, which brought him business from all over the state, and from the eastern counties of Mary- land, and insured him a place among the fore- most lawyers of Delaware. He was a close student; often spending whole nights looking up some abstruse question of law, he went into court as well versed in the legal aspects of his cause as he was endowed with the personal magnetism and oratorical power which insure success before the jury.
Ile was active in the Democratic party un- til the firing upon Fort Sumter, when, feeling that his party was in the wrong on the great questions of the day, he affiliated with the Re- publican party, with which he subsequently acted. He made strong Union speeches throughout the state, and contributed largely by his personal zeal and magnetism in holding the state in line and in furnishing her quota of men to the army. Ilis abandonment of the Democratic party was a matter of principle, and involved the sacrifice of many positions of honor and profit which were within his reach. In connection with William Cannon, he commenced the publication of a weekly pa- per called The Union, in Georgetown, doing most of the editorial work himself, and con- ferring a great benefit upon the Republican cause in Southern Delaware. In the summer of 1862 he was a delegate to the State Repub- lican Convention, and, by his oratorical skill and forcible presentation of his cause, succeed- ed in having William Cannon nominated for Governor in the face of considerable opposi- tion-and he was subsequently elected, being one of the few Republican Governors which the state has had.
In 1863 the Sixth Delaware Regiment was organized in Sussex county, largely through Mr. Moore's efforts. He joined it as a private, but was soon elected lieutenant colonel. The regiment was assigned to guard duty on the
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line of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Bal- timore Railroad, and later was stationed at Fort Delaware. Colonel Moore was mustered out at the expiration of his term of service, and on September 3, 1864, was commissioned attorney general of Delaware for the term of five years. An ancestor of his, Hon. Jacob Moore, had previously held the same import- ant office in 1774, nearly one hundred years before. He filled the office with such ability and fidelity that his retirement at the close of his teri was a matter of general regret to the people of the state, and especially to the bench and bar. Chief Justice Gilpin, who had also held the office of attorney general, said of lim: "He has made a good officer, and has tried more important capital cases than were ever tried by any other attorney general in the state: during his teri of office the law of mur- der has been firmly settled."
After the close of his term he resumed his practice at Georgetown, and became the at- torney of the Junction and Breakwater, and Breakwater and Frankford Railroad Com- panies, for the Pennsylvania Rrailroad, the Old Dominion Steamship Company of Now York, and other corporations. He remained in successful practice until his sudden demise, December 13, 1886. He was possessed of an affable and kindly disposition, which made him many friends; by his sterling integrity and high moral principle he commanded the respect of all. He became a member of the Masonic fraternity in 1854, and served as Deputy Grand Master, and Deputy High Priest of the state.
Ile had no aspirations for office in the later years of his life, though often solicited to run, but devoted himself entirely to his profes- sional duties, and to the charms of the family circle. Jacob Moore married, October 23, 1860, Eliza R., daughter of John D. Rodney, ot Georgetown, and had five chldren, of whom only two survived him-Charles Louther, a popular and promising young attorney of Georgetown, and Eleanor Moore. To his widow and children he left a handsome estate, gathered together through years of usefulness and labor, by the exercise of those principles of industry and perseverance which all ad- mire, but few emulate.
JOIN DICKINSON, a distinguished Revolutionary patriot and statesman, was born in Maryland in 1732.
Mr. Dickinson began the study of law in Philadelphia, and after spending three years at the Temple in London, England, entered upon the practice of his profession in Philadel- phia, Pa. In 1764 he was elected a member of the Assembly, and in 1765, of the General Congress. Hle was a delegate from Delaware to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, and although he opposed the Declara- tion of Independence, fearing that the strength of the country was insufficient for the struggle, was the only member of Congress who faced the enemy a few days after the pub- leation of the Declaration. Re-elected to Con- gress in 1776 and again in 1779-80, Mr. Dick- inson signed the Articles of Confederation, as well as the Constitution in 1787. In 1781 he was made President of Delaware, and filled that position for one year. In 1782 he was chosen to the same position for the state of Pennsylvania, and continued in that office un- til 1785. John Dickinson wrote the greater portion of the state papers of the first Con- gress. In 1767 he began to publish his cele- brated "Farmers Letters" against taxation, and in 1801 published his collected writings. Hle died in 1808 at the age of seventy-five years.
JOIIN CLOKE, late of Belmont Hall, near Smyrna, was the eldest son of Ebenezer Cloke, an English gentleman who came to this country some years before the Revolutionary war and settled in the Delaware colony.
Ebenezer Cloke espoused the cause of American independence, fitted out a priva- teer, which he commanded, was taken prisoner by the enemy, and died of ship fever in one of the English prison ships in the port of New York. He had married in this country, Eliza- beth, daughter of John Cook, whose wife was a relative of Governor Thomas Collins, and a sister of the wife of Governor John Clark. When a young lady Mrs. Cloke used to ride on horseback from the old Cook farm to Belmont Hall to assist Governor Collins' daughter to mould bullets for the soldiers of the Revolution.
The children of Elizabeth and Ebenezer (Cook) Cloke are: I. John; II. Ebenezer. The younger, born during the Revolutionary war, never saw his father. In 1821 John Cloke purchased Behuont Hall from Dr. Wil- liam Collins, a descendant of Governor Col-
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lins, who had erected it in 1773. The house is of brick and was built in the most substantial manner, its architecture showing taste much in advance of the date of its erce- tion. It is beautifully situated on a hill and surrounded by a grove of maple, loeust, Nor- way pine and other choice trees. During the Revolution a sentinel stationed in the balcony was shot by a British rifleman. It was head- quarters for the patriots of that part of the state, and when Delaware became a state the first sessions of the legislature were held in its spacious apartments. Mr. John Cloke also purchased the old Cook farm, adjoining Bel- mont Hall, from Dr. Robert Cook, his mother's brother. On this farm her father, John Cook, a highly respected citizen and farmer, spent his life. Mrs. Elizabeth (Cook) Cloke died in 1847, being then past eighty years of age. Mr. John Cloke married, May 5, 1841, Miss Sarah Louisa Piper. Their children are: I. C'arrie Elizabeth, married, in 1862, Mr. J. Iloward Peterson, a merchant of Philadel- phia, who died in 1875; II. Emily F., married Dr. Charles Mahon, of Bridgeton, New Jer- sev. Mrs. S. L. Cloke died in April, 1877. Mr. John Cloke died at a good old age in July, 1866.
JONAS PRESTON FAIRLAMB, who made the first surveys for the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Com- pany, was born at Marcus Hook, Pa., May 22, 1785, son of Nicholas and Hannah (Preston) Fairlamb.
The family is of English descent. The pioneer settler in America, Nicholas Fair- lamb, brought to Philadelphia a certificate from a Monthly Meeting held at Stockton, in Sixth Month 15, 1700. It is recorded at the Race Street Meeting, Philadelphia. It ap- pears that he first settled in Chester township, but eventually removed to Middletown, now in Delaware county, where he purchased two hundred acres of land from Thomas and Philip Taylor, by deed dated May 30, 1704. IIe was a member of Assembly from Chester county in 1705, '11, '12 and '13, and sheriff of the county in 1718.
Nicholas Fairlamb and Catherine Crosby, daughter of Richard and Eleanor Crosby, de- clared their intention of marriage Seventh
Month, 1793, before the Chester Monthly Meeting, and were probably married in the Ninth Month following. Their children were four daughters and two sons, one of the latter dying in infancy. John, the youngest child, married Susanna Engle, Eleventh Month 13, 1742, at Middletown Meeting. He died Feb- rnary 6, 1766, aged fifty years.
John Fairlamb was a justice of the peace and of the courts in 1761, and again in 1764; sheriff of the county from 1762 to '65; also a member of Assembly from 1760 to 1765. His children were: I. Nicholas, born Eighth Month 28, 1743, married Hannah Preston, a sister of Dr. Preston, who built the Preston Retreat at Philadelphia, and had three daugh- ters and one son, Jonas P. Fairlamb; II. Catherine, born Eighth Month 18, 1847, mar- ried Peter Hill; III. Ann, born Second Month 1, 1752, married J. Pedrick first, and J. Penniel as her second husband; IV. Sus- anna, born Second Month 23, 1754, died un- married; V. Eleanor, born Ninth Month 16, 1756, died nmmarried; VI. John, born Third Month 25, 1759, married Susanna Ashbridge; VII. Mary, born Sixth Month 16, 1762, died ummarried; VIII. Frederick, born Second Month 10, 1765, married Mary Pennil; IX. Sammel, born Tenth Month 22, 1794, married Hannah Richardson.
James P. Fairlamb was one of the most widely known civil engineers of his day, and was regarded as a man of unusual ability in his profession. He superintended the first establishment of the water-works in Wilming- ton, and though many predicted that his of- forts would result in a failure, nothing daunt- ed, he, confident in his own conclusions, went energetically to work and completed the en- terprise with perfect success. ITe was a man of positive convictions, and could not easily be moved from his purpose. He died at Wil- mington, at the residence of his son-in-law, Samuel Harlan, on West street, August 16, 1860.
James Preston Fairlamb married Sarah, daughter of Samuel and Ann (Richards) Price, the marriage being performed at the Protestant Episcopal church at Marcus Hook, January 28, 1808. They had twelve children. Mr. Fairlamb died in full communion with St. Andrew's Episcopal church.
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REV. ALEXANDER HUSTON, son of Samuel Huston, was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to Delaware in the early part of the eighteenth century. He graduated at Prince- ton College, New Jersey, in 1760, and re- ceived his license from the Presbytery of Lewes, Delaware, about 1763. In 1764 he was ordained and installed as pastor of Murder- kill and Three Run churches, where he re- mained until his death, January 3 1785. Ile was a most earnest and laborious minister and was greatly beloved. In connection with the historical incidents of the State he bore a con- spicuous part during the Revolutionary war. It was his custom to pray "That the Lord would send plenty of powder and ball to greet their enemies with." One Sabbath, while he was engaged at his church, a detatehment of British soldiers came to his house and left their compliments by boring their bayonets through the panels of his doors, and destroying much of his property.
DR. JAMES SYKES, was born March 27, 1761, in the vicinity of Dover. His father, for whom he was named, held several State offices, was a member of the Privy Council at different periods and took part in the conven- tion which revised the Constitution of the State.
James Sykes, the younger, was educated in Wilmington and Dover, read medicine with Dr. Clayton, an eminent practioner of Bohe- mia Manor, and attended the lectures of Drs. Shippen, Morgan, Kuhn and Rush. He be- gan his professional career at Cambridge, Maryland, where he remained four years, and while there married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Goldsborough. Returning to Dover, Dr. Sykessoon acquired a fine practice in medi- cine and surgery, and became so skilful in the latter branch that Dr. Tilton, surgeon gen- eral of the United States Army, declared him to be unsurpassed as a lithotomist. Dr. Sykes was repeatedly elected to the State Senate, and was executive of that body for fifteen years, after which he was chosen Governor. In 1814 he removed to New York, where he remained for six years, but not meeting with sufficient encouragement, returned to Dover, where he remained until his death, October 18, 1822. After his return from New York,
he admitted his son, Samuel Sykes, as a part- ner. A second son, William Sykes, was the father of General Sykes, a commander in the Army of the Potomac. The only daughter of Dr. Sykes survived her father but a few days, her death being caused by grief at his demise.
JOIIN G. WATMOUGHI, prominent in the War of 1812, was born on the banks of the Brandywine, December 6, 1793.
In the War of 1812 he served as lieutenant of the Second Artillery, and while on active duty on the frontier in 1813-14, received three inusket-balls in his body, the last of which was not extracted until 1835. He was aide-de- camp to General Gaines, at New Orleans, and in the Creek Nation in 1814-15. In 1816 he resigned his commission, and in 1831, was elected a member of Congress from Pennsyl- vania, serving for four years, although suffer- ing constantly from his wounds. In 1835 he was high sheriff of Philadelphia, and in 1841, surveyor of the port. In 1844 he published Scribblings and Sketches, octavo. The latter part of his life was spent in retirement; he died in Philadelphia, November 29, 1861.
COL. SAMUEL CATTS, of Smyrna, was born May 10, 1800, in Camden, Kent county, and died in Smyrna, June 23, 1856.
His ancestors, emigrants from England, settled in Virginia in the latter part of the seventeenth century. When he was quite young, his father died, leaving him to the care and guidance of his mother, a woman of many excellent qualities. At sixteen he went to Wilmington to learn carriage-making-a most important trade in the days when there were no railroads. After serving the usual appren- ticeship, Mr. Catts resolving to continue his education devoted to this purpose his savings and a small legacy left him. For two years he attended the Kennett Square Academy, Ches- ter county, Pa., an institution of learning well known at that time, where, by the exercise of the industry and perseverance which charac- terized him through life, he acquired what was then considered a liberal education.
In 1823 he went to Smyrna, and soon after-
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wards engaged with Benjamin Benson in the manufacture of carriages. This was compara- tively an infant industry in that section. of the country, but, by energy, excellent workman- ship and integrity, they built up a manufac- turing establishment which was one of the most important in the state, and extended their trade all over the peninsula and beyond, as far north as Philadelphia, and as far south as Washington. They employed a large force of skilled workmen, and made every part of the vehicle, even the silver-plating, in their own factory.
In transacting his business Mr. Catts trav- eled over a large section of country, visiting all the important cities, and became well and fa- vorably known. He retired from business in 1844, having amassed a fortune. Ile was for many years a director of the Farmers' Bank at. Dover; a director of an insurance com- pany in New Castle county; and was promi- nent in the Masonic fraternity, being one of the original members of the lodge at Smyrna. When the Delaware railroad was projected, he subscribed liberally to its stock, and in order that Smyrna might receive the greatest bene- fit, earnestly advocated its construction east of the town. Surveys were made to that end, but other influences prevailed, and he died before the completion of the road.
Colonel C'atts was a liberal Whig, a great admirer of Clay, and a devoted partisan, in its higher sense, of Whig principles. He had a thorough understanding of our government, its history and the administration of its affairs, and in the politics of the state exercised a strong and beneficial influence. At one time he was mentioned with favor as United States Senator, and in the caucus of his party, then in power in the legislature, was within one vote of the nomination. He was a Presidential elector on the Whig ticket in 1848, when Gen- cral Taylor was elected; was an aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, on the staff of Gov- ernor Comegys, and also held local municipal office.
Intellectually, Colonel Catts was one of the strong men of Delaware. To a foundation of common sense, which he used with great ad- vantage in the diseerment of men and things, was added an extended knowledge of the best English literature. He had accumulated a fine library; and in his discourse di-played
the taste of a critic and the mind of a philoso- pher. No statement, argument or theory was accepted without investigation, and the appro- val of his own intelligence and conscience, and, though independent in his mode of thinking, he was a Christian, and allowed the widest latitude to others. In social, as well as public, intercourse his manner was engaging and his mental strength at once apparent; and, though he invited friendship, he would not tolerate fa- miliarity.
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