Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II, Part 86

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

USA > Delaware > Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II > Part 86

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Columbus Henry received his primary edu- cation in the public schools of his native coun- ty, and at Blairstown Academy, New Jersey. His early life was devoted to agricultural pur- suits; he however, never manifested any spe- cial interest in the labors of the farm, and in 1868 decided to prepare for the medical pro- fession. For six months, Mr. Henry taught, at the same time reading medicine, and in the fall of 1868, entered the Medical Department of Yale C'ollege. In the fall of 1869 he en- tered the University of Pennsylvania, gradu- ated from that institution in 1871, and imme- diately entered upon the practice of his pro- fession in Newark; in 1873 united with it the buisiness of druggist.

On May 21, 1873, Columbus Henry, M. D., was married to Agnes E. Griffith, daughter of Caleb and Mary E. B. Griffith, and grand- daughter of Joseph Griffith, Esq., of Newark, Del. Their children are: I. Edna, five years old; II. George G.

1315

STATE OF DELAWARE

During the Civil War Dr. Henry was mus- tered into service in Company B, Ninth Regi- ment, Delaware Volunteers, and was mustered out with the Regiment, January 23, 1865. As a member of the Delaware State Medical Society, and of the State Board of Medical Examiners, he exercised his medical talent for the good of his fellow-citizens. He has been an active member of both the Masonic and Odd Fellow's fraternity. He was for several years the president of the Building and Loan Association of Newark, and in all the various publie positions discharged his duties faith- fully and satisfactorily.

IION. HENRY LATTIMER was a repre- sentative in Congress from Delaware from 1794 to 1795. From 1795 until the time of his resignation in 1801, he served as a U. S. Senator. Mr. Lattimer was able and upright, and his services in the National Councils con- ferred distinction on the state which he repre- sented.

AYERS STOCKLY, ex-cashier and president of the Bank of Smyrna, youngest son of Col. Charles and Anne (Taylor) Stock- ly, was born in Accomac county, Virginia March 2, 1800.

The Stockly family is English by de- scent. Several parishes bearing the name still exist in the northern counties of England. About the year 1608, a party of English emi- grants, who had settled at Jamestown, under the leadership of Captain Smith made a voy- age of exploration up the Chesapeake Bay. One of their party, Stockly, attracted by the beauty of the country, settled on the eastern shore of Virginia. It is supposed that he was the founder of the family in America, and his son Charles was, it is said, one of the first Anglo Saxons born on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Among his descendants was a son, Nehemiah, and a grandson, Col. Charles Stockly.

Col. Charles Stockly, father of Avres Stockly, was born about 1757. During the war of the Revolution, he was a lieutenant in the Ninth Regiment of the Virginia line, and acted as paymaster of the regiment, with the

rank of captain. Ile was taken prisoner at the battle of Germantown, and was confined on Long Island and elsewhere, until 1782, when peace was declared. In 1784, Col. Charles Stockly was married to Margaret, daughter of Edmund Allen, of Accomac county, who died soon after the birth of her first child. In 1788 Mr. Stockly married Anne Taylor, also of Accomae county. She died in 1802, leaving six children, of whom Ayres was the youngest. In 1805, Colonel Charles died of an illness contracted while per- forming his duty as magistrate of the county.

Ayres, thus left an orphan, was placed in the care, first, of his grandmother, widow of Nehemiah Stoekly, and afterwards of his brother-in-law, Doctor Thompson Holmes, of Accomac county. His opportunities for edu- cation were limited; he spent two summers at Snow IIill Academy. Fortunately his brother- in-law, Dr. Holmes, possessed a good library, and Ayres was very fond of reading. At eigh- teen he went to Philadelphia, where he se- cured a position as clerk with John B. Cowell. Five years later he removed to Smyrna, Del. In 1823, Mr. Stockly became a member of the firm of Stockly & Rowland, which con- tinued for three years. He then began busi- ness on his own account, and ten years after, sold his establishment, to accept the appoint- ment of cashier of the Bank of Smyrna. The institution, which was then in its infancy, with a paid up capital of little more than $50,000, became, during his cashiership, a wealthy corporation, whose aid was fully given, and whose influence was strongly felt, in all efforts to advance the welfare of the community. This bank was the reliance of the people of a large part of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, as well as of the lower portion of New Castle, and of lower Kent and upper Sussex counties, as there was no bank south of Wilmington, except the Farmers' bank and its branches. In the development of its busi- ness and usefulness, Mr. Stockly was untiring, and when, in 1856, after twenty years ser- vice as cashier, he resigned that post, he bo- came president, retaining that position until his resignation in 1876. During this period Mr. Stockly was also interested in agriculture. In the first half of the present century, the land in some parts of the state became so poor and exhausted that the farmers lost heart and

1316

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

whole sections were depopulated by emigra- tion to the West. Mr. Stockly was the first man to bring lime to Duck Creek and to use is as a fertilizer. The success which attended this first experiment inspired the farmers with new courage. At that early day the state also suffered for want of convenient communica- tion with the commercial centers. A stage line carrying the mail three times a week from Wilmington to Eastville, Virginia, furnished the only mode of travel except private con- veyances, and the sloops trading out of the creek. Seeing this difficulty in the way of prosperity, Mr. Stockly exerted himself ac- tively and efficiently in the formation and subsequent management of a company, which, in 1838 or 39, built and ran the steamboat Kent, plying between Smyrna and Philadel- phia, the first venture of the kind made in this state, south of Delaware City. This enter- prize proving successful, the same company afterwards substituted for the old Kent, the fast steamer Zephyr, and extended her trips below Smyrna, to Dona Creek. A railroad was surveyed to connect with this steamer at Dona Landing, but the plan was soon enlarged to include a railroad through the entire length of the state. Thus the Smyrna Steam- boat Company became the nucleus of the Delaware railroad. Mr. Stockly was one of the incorporators of the Smyrna and Delaware Bay Railroad, and was for some years its sec- retary.

Though interested in public affairs, he usu- ally declined office, but served for one term in the Legislature, in 1830-31, being elected by the Adams party. Mr. Stockly held all the local offices which he would accept, and was several times presidential elector. His life was one of the few remaining links be- tween the early period of primitive habits, un- developed resources, unimproved land, and almost impracticable commercial intercourse. The wonderful improvements have been aided by Mr. Stockly to the extent of his ability.

In 1832 Charles Stockly was married to Margaret, only child of John Offley, and a descendant of Michael Offley. They had two sons: I. John Clark; II. Ayres HI. Stockly, died April 20, 1879. Mrs. Stockly died March 23, 1879, aged eighty.

In 1680 Michael Offley came to this coun- try with Win. Penn, and settled in New Cas-

tle county, where he took up land, the original patents from Wm. Penn and the Duke of York, being still preserved by the family. He married Jane, sister of Governor John Clark, and daughter of Captain William Clark, of the revolutionary army.

LUTHER MARTIN, manufacturer, son of Hugh and Sophia ( Willis) Martin, was born in Seaford, Sussex county, Del., October. 30, 1824. Ilis father, Captain Hugh Martin, a well known and influential citizen of the State, resided at Seaford in the earlier part of his life, was a sea captain, and of whom see sketch in this vilume.

Luther Martin, a namesake of the great Maryland lawyer, was the second son and third child of his parents. His mother was Sophia Willis, of an Old Delaware family. He attended the academy at Seaford, and at the age of ten was sent to the well known school of John Bullock, at Wilmington. Mr. Bullock was an orthodox Friend, a successful teacher, and Mr. Martin retains a strong sense of great obligation to him for the pains taken with his moral and mental training dur- ing the five years spent under his care. After spending one year at the academy near St. Michaels, Talbot county, Maryland, Luther Martin became a clerk in the the firm of Wil- liam L. Hearn & Co., general merchants, Laurel, Del., and continued in their employ until 1841, when he went to Philadelphia. On going to the Quaker City he engaged as bookkeeper. In 1849, he joined the "Ar- gonauts," on their search for the newly dis- covered land of gold on the Pacific coast. Having become a member of the William Penn mining company, he with that company left New York, February 5, 1849, on the steamer Crescent city. This vessel arrived at Chagres on the fourteenth of that month, and the company crossed the isthmus from Gor- gona to Panama. In transporting their bag- gage the party was compelled to cross the is- thmus ten times. Mr. Martin remained on the isthmus until the first day of May, when with his company he went on board the whale ship, Niantic, Captain Cleaveland. There were 350 passengers who paid two hundred dollars each for the trip to San Francisco.

1317

STATE OF DELAWARE

The passage took sixty-five days, the party arriving at the Golden Gate, July 5, 1849. During his journey to California, and after his arrival, Mr. Martin wrote the letters published in the "Methodist Protestant" of Baltimore. These were full of striking incidents, and his manner of narrating them, made the let- ters exceedingly popular and enjoyable. From early life Mr. Martin displayed liter- ary ability of a high order, and though his life was a busy one, he found leisure to be- come acquainted with the best authors, and acquired an extensive knowledge of most sub- jects connected with science, art and theology. Ilis well selected library, and his literary taste made him an intelligent and agreeable companion. When the company arrived at San Francisco they pitched their tents in this Happy Valley, recognized by the name then given. The Niantic served as a store :hip at her anchorage until the wharf was built out to and beyond it; her hull is used as a store on the wharf at San Francisco. The last voyage of the Niantic was that on which she carried the William Penn mining com- pany to California. Leaving San Francisco, Mr. Martin made the trip on the first steamer which ever made the voyage from San Fran- cisco to Sacramento City. This was the side wheel steamer, Senator, which had come around Cape Horn. On the site of the pres- ent city of Sacremento there stood a number of oak trees; the inhabitants were dwellers in tents, and under these trees Mr. Martin joined in worship with the first Protestant congregation ever gathered there. The relig- ious services were conducted by Rev. Dr. Deal, of Baltimore city, a well known Metho- dist preacher. The company with which he was associated began mining operations on the North Fork of the American river. Find- ing human bones scattered about the locality was named "Dead Man's Bar," a name by which it still continues to be known.

After two months of hard work, out of the fifteen or twenty persons who formed the com- pany, Mr. Martin was the only person who had not used spirituous liquors, and also the only one who did not loose a single day from sickness during two months hard work. The company was successful, but his health failing Mr. Martin returned to Sacremento city where he engaged in business for five months.

Ile left San Francisco, December 9, 1849, in the barque Paoli, belonging to Captain Jacob Hugg, of Baltimore, which stopped for a few days in Acapulco for provisions. He returned by the way of Chagres and the Gulf, to New Orleans, thence up the Mississippi to Cincinnati, and arrived at home, March 28, 1850. In May of the same year he began the manufacture of lamp black. Mr. Mar- tin joined the Methodist Protestant church in Laurel, Delaware, in 1839, and on removing to Philadelphia became a member of the church at Eleventh and Wood streets, then under the pastorate of the late eloquent Thomas H. Stockton. He attended the Bap- tist church, of which Rev. Dr. Magoon was pastor. Mr. Martin identified himself with the Democratic party, but had no fondness for political or public life. He, however, served as one of the Directors of Girard Col- lege, Philadelphia, from 1862 to 1865. Al- though his high character and abilities quali- fied him to serve the public, he seemed insen- sible to the calls of party.

May 1, 1845, Luther Martin was married to Miss Emma, daughter of William Roder- field, Esq., of Phialdelphia. Mrs. Martin's father served in the war of 1812, and her grandfather in that of the Revolution. Six of their children have grown to maturity: I. Luther Martin, Jr .; II. Robert Willis Mar- tin; III. Ida (Mrs. W. H. Williams); IV. Sophia (Mrs. R. P. Stelwagen), of Philadel- phia; V. Emma R .; VI. Alice Virginia.

HON. WILLIAM PERRY served as a delegate from Delaware to the Continental Congress from 1785 to 1786. He was an in- telligent, honorable gentleman, greatly re- spected by his many friends.

JOSHUA HOPKINS MARVIL, founder of Marvil's Crate and Basket Factory, Laurel, son of Joseph and Sally Ann (Hopkins) Mar- vil, was born in Little Crock hundred, Sussex county, September 3, 1825.

For more than a century the Marvil family has been prominent in the agricultural inter- ests of Delaware. Their paternal ancestors

1318

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

were of English and their maternal ancestors of French descent and were engaged as farm- ers and sailors.

Joseph Marvil, father of Joshua II. Marvil, was a farmer of limited means, honest, indus- trious, and impressed the habit of industry upon his children. In this he was always as- sisted by his wife, Sally Ann Hopkins, to whom he was married in 1815. Joshua Mar- vil was drowned in 1834, in the forty-sixth year of his age. His widow, who was left with six small children, found that it required all her own energy and the aid of her chil- dren, to maintain the family. For this reason the educational advantages of the family were very limited.

When Joshua Marvil grew old enough to attend school, which was about three miles distant from the farm on which his mother resided, he found the farm work so pressing, that he could only be spared a day now and then. He remained with his mother until he was twenty, and when he hired a man to take his place on the farm, became a mariner, for a year, and afterwards engaged in ship- building. The mechanical genius that had possessed him from boyhood now began to de- velop. Ile studied with commendable zeal and persistence, until he compelled the hidden doors of mechanism to open at his command. So great was his proficiency that in a short time he rose from the position of apprentice to that of master workman, and having won the affection of the firm that employed him, became their trusted and honored foreman. In his twenty-eighth year he established a shop for the manufacture of agricultural im- plements, which he carried on till 1865. Hero also he was successful, adding to it a general superintendence of such mechanical work as was intrusted to him. In the year 1870, he practically began the basket and crate busi- ness, which from that time occupied his atten- tion. With a small hand machine, invented by himself in 1879, he made 25,000 berry bas- kets, and the following yearr substituted steam powerforthe small hand machine, and protect- ed by a patent, he manufactured 600,000 bas- kets and crotes to contain them. The business grew rapidly and in 1875 he put in a larger engine and heavier machinery. By the use of these, with continued improvements, the demand has so increased that he manufactured

annually 2,000,000 fruit baskets of different kinds and capacities, and crates in proportion; and also issued letters of royalty to other houses in different states, for the manufacture of goods of a like character.

Joshua II. Marvil in the latter part of the year 1849 was married to Sarah Ann Sirman, of Sussex county, by whom he had three sons, who are all possessed of the same sterling prin- ciples that marked the lives of their parents. A man of unswerving integrity, of deep con- victions, and of penetrating mind, Mr. Mar- vil seemed somewhat taciturn. He rarely ex- pressed an opinion on any subject until the time to speak had come, and his opinion in- variably commanded respect. An excellent and impartial judge of men, he was rarely de- ceived in his estimates. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and an earnest advocate of all her measures.

HON. DYRE KEARNEY was elected a delegate from Delaware to the Continental Congress and served in that capacity with much credit from 1786 to 1788. He was a man of great ability and enjoyed the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens.

HON. JAMES RUSH LOFLAND, eldest son of James P. and Mary ( Lowber) Lotland, was born in Milford, November 27, 1823.

Ilis father was Dr. James P. Loffand, a leading physician of great skill, was a student of the celebrated Dr. Rush, of Philadelphia. Dr. Loffand served several terms in the state senate, and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Masons of the state of Delaware. He was very successful as a physician, and died greatly respected in August, 1851. Dr. Loffand married Mary, daughter of Peter Lowber, of Kent county.

James R. Loffand attended the Milford Academy then under the care of the Rev. William Backus, afterward a missionary to China. At seventeen he entered Delaware College, Newark, and graduated with great credit in the class of 1844. Soon after his graduation, Mr. Loffand commenced reading law with Robert Frame, of Kent county, who

1319

STATE OF DELAWARE

removed to Wilmington before Mr. Lotland had finished his legal studies. Ile then en- tered the office of Martin W. Bates, of Dover, and was admitted to the bar in 1848. In 1849 he was elected secretary of the senate of Dela- ware and served in that position until 1851. In 1852 he was elected to the state conven- tion, called for the purpose of amending the Constitution, and served as a member of the judiciary committee, taking a prominent part in the proceedings of that body. In 1855 he was appointed secretary of state by the Gov- ernor, P. F. Causey, and served efficiently in that capacity for four years. In 1860 Mr. Lof- land was a strong supporter of the party which nominated Bell and Everett, but on the breaking out of the war, placed himself with all his interests on the side of the Union. sup- ported the administration of President Lin- coln, and used all his personal and social in- fluence against secession. He was appointed in 1862 by Mr. Lincoln one of the board of visitors to the United States Military Acad- emy at West Point, and though the youngest member of that body, was made secretary. In the autumn of 1862, he enlisted as a major of the First Delaware Cavalry, of which Hon. George P. Fisher was the first colonel, but in February, 1863, having been tendered by the President the position of paymaster with the rank of major of United States troops, he ac- cepted the appointment, reported at once to Paymaster General Andrews, and was imme- diately ordered on duty at New Orleans. Major Loffland arrived in that city May 3, 1863, reported to Major Bringham, paymas- ter in charce, and served in the Gulf Depart- ment until August, 1864, when he was re- lieved and ordered to report to the Paymaster General at Washington. After a short leave of absence, Col. Doffand was ordered to Co- lumbus, Ohio, to assist in paying off volun- teers whose term of enlistment had expired. Returning to Washington, his headquarters, he served as paymaster in the army of the James, Potomac and Shenandoah. In September, 1864, he was again ordered to New Orleans and upon his arrival there was sent by the paymaster in charge, to Vicks- burg, Miss., at post-paymaster. For ten months Col. Lofland remained at Vick-burg, engaged in paying off troops who were being mustered out of service. Returning to New

Orleans, he was engaged in paying off the troops in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas until 1867. The war now being ended, Colo- nel Lofland sent in his resignation, and re- turning to Milford, resumed the practice of law and devoted his leisure time to agricult- ure. In 1868 he was a delegate to the Na- tional Republican convention at Chicago, which nominated General Grant for Presi- dent. He also served as chairman of the Dela- ware delegates in the convention of 1872, which nominated General Grant as a candi- date for a second term. In the autumn of 1872, Colonel Lofland was a candidate for Congress on the Republican ticket. Ife was elected and served as a member of the forty- first Congress. Ile was on the cimmittee of the District of Columbia, and represented his constituency so satisfactorily that he was re- nominated by the party, but was not elected. Colonel Lofland was chairman of the Repub- lican delegation to Cincinnati national con- vention in 1876 and voted throughout for James G. Blaine as the Presidential nominee. Ile was also chairman of the delegates from Delaware to the convention at Chicago in 1880, and of the Republican state cenvention in the same year.

On May 27, 1852, Col. Jomes R. Lofland was married to Sallie B., daughter of Joseph Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia; Mrs. Lofland is a native of Kent county. They have one daughter, Mrs. Joseph E. Bluff.

ADOLPHUS BROWN, son of David and Dorothy (Pierce) Brown, was born in 1824, near Portland, Cumberland county, Me. Mr. Brown's father, David Brown, farmer, was an upright man and an honest citizen. He married Miss Dorothy Pierce, who died in 1882. Three children were born to them, of whom Adolphus alone survives. David Brown died aged fiftyseven. Mr. Brown's grandfather, Captain David Brown, com- manded a company in the battle of Concord, April 19, 1775. Mr. Brown's' maternal grandfather was Major Butterick, also a sol- dier in the Revolutionary War, whose de- scendants still reside in Concord, Mass. It is a matter worthy of historical record that the first blood shed in this engagement was shed

1320

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

on the same day of the month as that shed in Baltimore at the beginning of the late war, and that in both cases Massachusetts inen gave their lives for their country. Mr. Brown has in his possession the musket carried by his an- certor in the battle of Concord.

Adolphus Brown grew up on a farm and at- tended the school of his native town six months of the year until he was eleven years of age. After that time only three months of the twelve could be devoted to study. At sixteen he was sent to a private school in Bald- win, Maine, which he attended one term each year for three years. He then taught in the public schools of Maine and Massachusetts until he reached his thirtieth year, when, at the solicitation of Judge Willard Hall, he took charge of public school No. 7, Winning- ton, Del. In 1856 Mr. Brown was employed by the P., W. & B. Railroad and served as General Freight agent of the Delaware di- vision for fourteen censceutive years. In 1870 he went to New Orleans and served as general freight agent on the "N. O. Jackson and Great Northern Railroad," the road be- ing under the management of Col. H. S. Mc- Comb, of Wilmington. For two years he served in the capacity of general agent, and in 1875, assumed the agency of several rail- roads operated in connection with the Old Dominion Steamship Company. In October, 1853, Adolphus Brown was married to Eliza- beth Stewart, of Wilmington. Of their five children three survive: I. Marion; II. Stew- art; III. Herbert.

IION. JOIIN PATTON was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1785 and 1786, and a representative of Congress from Dela- ware, from 1793 to 1794.

JOHN MARTIN APPLETON, farmer, son of John Appleton, was born on the John Atlen farm near Odessa, Del., March 3, 1835. Until he was eighteen John M. Appleton at- tended the best schools of Odessa. He was sent to the New Jersey Conference Academy at Pennington, then under the presidency of the celebrated Rev. J. Townley Crane, D. D. At this excellent school he spent two years,

acquired a good English education, and re- turning to Delaware in 1835, commenced life as a farmer. Hle settled on what has been known for a century as Hangman's farm, two miles south of Odessa, which received its name from the circumstances that soon after the revolutionary war the owner committed sui- cide by hanging. It is good land, under ex- cellent cultivation. Mr. Appleton had at one time two thousand peach trees in bearing; his apple orchard was probably the largest in that part of the state. In 1879 eleven thou- sand baskets of apples were sent to market. The family were Whigs and Mr. Appleton grew up in that faith. For generations they were opposed to slavery and their creed was es- sentially that of the Republican party of to- day. During the War of the Rebellion Mr. Appleton was a strong Union man. He en- listed in the "Home Guard" in place of his father, and spent a few months at Fort Dela- ware. Devoted to his agricultural interests his tastes always inclined him to avoid any- thing like official position. He was always a faithful attendant on religious services, and his house might be called the minister's home, but he made no publie profession till 1876, when he united with the M. E. church at Odessa. John M. Appleton was married, De- cember 29, 1875, by Bishop Levi Scott, to Mary, daughter of Alexander and Mary (Wright) Vail, of Middletown. They have one child, Mary.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. II, Part 86

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