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

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

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On March 13, 1823, Robert W. Reynolds, was married to Sarah G., daughter of David Marvel, born June 25, 1803. Their six chil- dren, all living at the time of his death, were: I. Luther M., a leading member of the Balti- more bar; II. Elizabeth Carter; III. Sarah G. Culbreth; IV. Frances Clough; V. Thomas G .; VI. Robert J. Mr. Reynolds was a man of fine physique, being six feet and two inches in height, and well proportion- ed, and weighing about two hundred pounds. His death which was deeply mourned, occured February 15, 1863.

MILES MESSICK, farmer, eldest son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Matthews) Messick, of Nanticoke hundred, Sussex county, was born in Broad Creek hundred, September 14, 1815.

Samuel Messick was a farmer in independ- ent circumstances, owning over nine hundred acres of land. He was one of the leading men of Broad Creek hundred. He was born Octo-

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ber 28, 1791, and died April 16, 1841. Sam- uel Messick was marreid to Elizabeth, dangh- ter of Philip and Luranah (Wingate) Mat- thews. Eight of their ten children grew to maturity; 1. Miles; II. John; HI. James; IV. Luranah, married Robert P. Barr, both now deceased; V. Samuel T .; VI. Sarah Elizabeth, married the Rev. William W. Mor- gan; VII. Julia A., widow of John C. Can- non; VIII. Eliza Jane, married the Rev. J. Pastorfield, of the M. E. church, diel in August, 1852.

Covington Messick, father of Samuel Mes- sick, farmer, of Broad Creek hundred, occu- pied the old homestead, containing 600 acres of land, which has been in the possession of the family for over one hundred years. He was born in 1735, and died December 17, 1828. Covington Messick married Hannah Tindal, a woman of great physical strength and vigor. Their nine children who all reached maturity, were: I. Minos T .; II. Lovey, third wife of Adam Short; III. Covington, Jr .; IV. Miles; V. Samuel; VI. Leah, mar- ried John Matthews; VII. Nancy, married Thomas Knowles, and moved to the West; VIII. Betsey, was burned to death in carly womanhood; IX. Holland, married Matthews Penton, removed to a farm near Winchester, Illinois.

Isaac Messick, grandfather of Miles Mes- siek, also a large land owner, lived in Kent county, Del. By his first wife he had three children. By his second wife, Miss Wind- sor, he had three sons and two daughters, all of whom lived to be over sixty years of age. Their names were: I. Covington; II. John; III. Isaac; IV. Bethany; V. Mrs. HIales Spicer. Isaac Messick was the first of the family to settle in Delaware, his carly home was Wieomoco county, Maryland.

Miles Messick attended the public school during the winter season, and worked on his father's farm till he attained his majority. At twenty-three, he attended the academy in Laurel, Del., and for three years managed the farm of his uncle, Kendall M. Lewis, near Laurel. In 1840, he began farming in the lower part of Nanticoke hundred, on land which he purchased of his father, and which was part of the estate of his great-grandfather, Samuel Tindal, whose

whole estate consisted of 1000 acres. In 1855 he purchased the farm, called " Pleasant Plain," to which he removed, December 24, 1867. It consisted at first of 323 acres, to which he added until now it contained over one thousand acres, divided into five farms. By unsparing industry and good management, the land was brought to a high state of cultiva- tion. Neither Mr. Messick nor any of the an- cestors mentioned in this sketch, ever lived for a single day in a rented house, each owned his own rooftree and the soil on which it stood. Like his father and grandfather, Mr. Messick was a Federalist; afterwards became a Whig, and in 1860 identified himself with the Demo- cratic party. When a young man he was ap- pointed constable for two years. In 1864 he was elected, by a large majority, to a seat in the Legislature where he served acceptably for two years. In 1870 he was appointed a member of the board of trustees for the poor of Sussex county, and in 1875 was made treasurer. In 1876 he was re-elected to the Legislature and served the following year. In 1880, he was United States Supervisor of Registration and Election. Mr. Messick has always been a temperate man, and in 1883 joined one of the original Total Abstinence Societies. He was a faithful and efficient worker in the Temperance cause, and purpose, no liquor was sold within ten miles of his home. While in the Legislature he labored to secure a strong temperance law, and was largely instrumentatl in procuring an amend- ment, which is a blessing to Delaware.

Mr. Messick'e high character, intelligence and good judgment, made him influential both in business and politics. His immediate ancestors were devoted Methodists, and in . 1841 he united with that denomination. IIe was for many years a steward of Asbury Church on Laurel cirenit; and for eighteen years was superintendent of the sabbath school of that church.

Miles Messick was married, December 3, 1840, to Sarah Eliza, daughter of William and Lavinia Bell, of Sussex county, Broad Creek hundred. They had six children, all sons: I. died in infancy; HI. Samuel Harrington ; III. William Kendall, born March 22, 1847, died from the effects of an accident, October 4. 1852; IV. Miles Edwin, born September

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15, 1843, died June 23, 1863; V. Willard Irving, born, January 14, 1855, died, August 22, 1876; VI. Albert.

JOIIN EVANS served as a Delegate to the Continental Congress from Delaware, from 1776 to 1777. He was a distinguished citizen, a stanch patriot and a man of sterling integrity of character.

RICHARD THOMAS LOCKWOOD, son of Richard and Mary (Lockwood) Lock- wood, was born February 19, 1838.

After attending the schools of Middletown, Richard T. Lockwood was sent to Burlington college, Burlington, N. J. In 1854, he en- tered the New Jersey Conference Seminary at Pennington, devoting his attention to the mathematical course and particularly to sur- veying. This occupied two of the four years, which he spent in this institution. Desiring to become an engineer, on his return from the Seminary, he placed himself under the instruc- tion of E. Q. Sewell, engineer on the P., W. & B. R. Road, and expected to begin work on the Miss. & St. Joseph's R. R., but he was obliged to remain at home, and began farm- ing on the estate known as Kildee Lawn, near the old parish church of St. Ann. It consists of 160 acres of valuable land being what is known as a "quarter section," and is rectangu- lar in shape, and beautifully located. Mr. Lockwood had at one time as many as 9000 peach trees on this place. Mr. Lockwood and a number of business men, among whom were Gov. Cochran, Dr. H. Ridgly, and Samuel Townsend, attempted to place peaches in the English markets by steamers from Philadel- phia; the fruit to be preserved by refrigera- tion. Mr. Lockwood was selected to act as agent for the shippers to accompany the ex- perimental trip to Liverpool on the steamship Ohio, one of the American line of steamers from Philadelphia. The experiment would have been a success, if the cargo of peaches had not been lost by the want of sufficient ice.

In 1862 Mr. Lockwood enlisted in Com- pany HI, Fifth Delaware Volunteers and was mustered in as lieutenant of the company.

This company consisted of men drilled and uniformed by the generosity of the Union men of Delaware. They served on the Gunpowder river, and were afterward on duty in Balti- more. The company was mustered out at the close of its period of enlistment, in the city of Wilmington. Ile then enlisted in the Seventh Delaware Volunteers, was commissioned Lieutenant by Gov. William Cannon, and served with that command to the close of its term of enlistment. At the close of the war he returned to the pleasures and labors of his farm.

Mr. Lockwood joined Union Lodge, No. 6, F. and A. M., which tradition says is the fourth organized by order of the Grand Lodge of the Province of Pennsylvania. Of this lodge, his father, Richard Lockwood, was Master as far back as the year 1808. He served in all the chairs of the Blue Lodge and became a Knight Templar.

Mr. Lockwood was reared in the Protestant Episcopal church, and was baptized by the venerable Stephen HI. Tyng, D. D.

Richard T. Lockwood was married January 8, 1870, to Mrs. Anna M., widow of William Wygant, Esq., of Pennsylvania, and daughter of Mr. George T. Mellwain, of Philadelphia.

COLONEL JOSHUA CLAYTON, son of the Hon. Thomas Clayton, United States Sen- ator, and Chief Justice of Delaware, was born at Dover, Del., August 2, 1802.

For three years Colonel Clayton was a pupil in the celebrated classical school of Rev. Francis Hindman at Newark. In 1818 he en- tered Princeton College, but, after remaining two and a half years, his health became so seriously impaired by severe study that he was obliged to discontinue his collegiate course. In 1821, he began reading law in his father's office. The following year he spent in the office of Judge Alexander L. Hayes, in Reading, Pa. In 1823 he accompanied the Hon. Caesar A. Rodney, United States Minister to the Argentine Republic, going with him in the capacity of secretary. They went on the old frigate, Congress, by the way of Spain, the coast of Africa, Rio Janiero to Buenos Ayres. Three months after his arri- val, his health failing, Mr. Rodney was sent

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home with dispatches to the government. In 1825, he was admitted to the bar in Dover, where he practiced until 1830, when he re- moved to Bohemia Manor, and settled on the estate known as "Choptank on the Hill." In connneneing operations on this place he con- tracted a debt of $300, which his remarkable success and skill in farming soon enabled him to liquidate. For nearly fifty years Colonel Clayton was one of the most successful agri- culturists of that section of the state. At one time he owned over 21,000 acres of land, 2,400 acres of which he gave to his ten chil- dren. He was especially proud of his large estate because it was the result of his own un- aided efforts. He was commissioned Colonel four times, first by Governor Hazlet, second by Governor Thomas Stockton, third by Gov- ernor William Temple, and a fourth time when war was threatened with England, on account of the dispute concerning the bound- ary of Oregon.

Colonel Clayton was married in 1833 to Lydia, daughter of Richard Clayton, the lady being his first cousin. They had three chil- dren: I. Thomas; II. Henry; III. Richard. Mrs. Lydia Clayton died in January, 1849, and on the 22d of February, 1850, Colonel Clayton married Martha E., daughter of Richard Lockwood, a well-known merchant of Middletown. By this marriage he had eight children, seven of whom are living: I. Adelaide Young; II. MeComb; IHI. Mary W .; IV. Joshua; V. Elizabeth; VI. Eu- gene; VII. Frances.

JAMES HAMAN SHAKESPEARE, son of William M. and Catherine (Haman) Shakespeare, was born at Iron Hill, near New- ark, November 30, 1850.

James II. Shakespeare attended the best schools of Dover, to which place his parents removed .in 1854. In 1865 he entered the Freshman class of Dickinson College, Car- lisle, Pa., and graduated with the degree of A. B., in the class of 1869. Returning to his home in Dover, he was actively engaged with his father in the lumber business till the fall of 1871, when he removed to Philadelphia, logan reading law with James H. Heverin, and was admitted to the bar in 1874. Mr.

Shakespeare proved himself a lawyer of marked ability; his attaiments and natural endowments being of a high order, he was an effective pleader. He was a prominent speaker in the campaign of 1872, advocating the election of Hon. Charles R. Buekalew, Democratie candidate for governor of Penn- sylvania. The increasing demands of his pro- fession, to which he was devoted, induced him to withdraw from polities. James II. Shakespeare was married in Philadelphia, December 14, 1881, to Anna, daughter of James L. and Priscilla (Stytes) Heverin, of Dover.

BENJAMIN BURTON JONES, only child of Zachariah and Sarah (Hopkins) Jones, was born at Burtonsville, November 17, 1828.

Zachariah Jones, shoemaker, was born in Dagsboro hundred, about 1797. About 1826 he married Sarah Hopkins, who died in 1831. On returning from her burial, her little son was taken to the home of his father's unele, Philip Wingate, and never again went to his own home. When his son was six years of age, Zachariah Jones went to the west and was never heard from. Isaac Jones, grand- father of Benjamin B. Jones, a farmer of Dagsboro hundred, married Luranie, dangh- ter of John and Annie (Burton) Wingate. Isaac Jones was very tall and handsome. He died about 1805; his wife died in 1831. They had two children: I. Zachariah; II. Burton Jones, a farmer, of Sussex county, married Levina Prettyman, had fourteen children. Mr. Jones' great-grandfather, Zachariah Jones, came to America from Scotland, about the middle of the last con- tury, and settled in Dagsboro, where he pur- chased land and commenced farming. He had one son, Isaac, and two daughters, Han- nah ( Mrs. Robert-on Mears), and Leah ( Mrs. Philip West).

Benjamin B. Jones attended the common schools in the winter, and in his thirteenth voar went to sea for about six months. After his return he bound himself a carpenter's apprentice, and then had the privilege of at- tending school one month each winter. He worked at his trade, successfully. in Millsboro, for twelve years, and in 1863 rented the Mills-

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boro Mills, consisting of a fouring mill, a saw mill and a carding machine, all run by water. Here he enjoyed uninterrupted snecess. In 1864 he purchased the Doe Bridge Mill, and in 1872, the Millsboro Mills, and in 1868, also, built a planing mill. Mr. Jones won sue- cess by his own unaided efforts, against many obstacles. He was brought up in the doc- trines of the Democratic party, but when the war broke out, joined the Republicans, and with all his power, upheld the Federal gov- ernment. In 1870, he was nominated for the Levy Court, in 1872 for the legislature, and in 1876 for sheriff, but was defeated, each time his party was in the minority. He joined the Odd Fellows in 1855. On Decem- ber 20, 1849, Benjamin Burton Jones was married to Emily Cranfield, of Millsboro. They have had eight children, five of whom are living: I. Sarah Elizabeth (Mrs. David Steel); II. Mary Ellen; III. Jacob; IV. Emna P. (Mrs. Frank Donavan); V. Frank Jones. Their second child, Samuel Jones, died of lockjaw, February 21, 1878, at the age of twenty-seven.

CAPT. WILLIAM TORBERT WAR- RINGTON, farmer, son of James Reed War- rington, was born in Indian River hundred, Sussex county, May 20, 1828.

Mr. Warrington's father, James Reed War- rington, owned five large farms, all of which he cultivated himself; he had also a few slaves, and treated them kindly. He was a prominent Whig, and bore an honorable part ir the war of 1812; his widow receiving a bounty of 160 acres of land. He died March 22, 1846, in his sixty-sixth year. James Reed Warrington married Mary, daughter of James Smith. Four of his seven children sur- vived him: I. Benjamin; II. James Derrick- son; III. Sophia Smith, widow of Thomas Hinds, of Maryland; IV. Captain William T. Warrington. Joseph Warrington, grand- father of William T. Warrington, a promi- nent farmer, died about 1829, aged seventy- three years. His first wife was Mary, daughter of James Reed, who was a son of John Reed, a native of Scotland. They were intelligent, educated men and were Presbyterians, as are many of their descendants. Joseph Warring-

ton was the father of twenty children, seven by his first wife, of whom James Reed was the eldest. His second wife, Ann Jefferson, had thirteen children, ten of whom grew to maturity. Mr. Warrington's great-grand- father, Joseph Warrington, Sr., merchant and farmer, came from Virginia when a young man. At one time his lands extended for tive miles north and south and three miles cast and west. Much of his property was sacri- ficed by his kindness in acting as security; he had also 100 head of cattle drowned by a storm on the beach. He was liberal and popu- lar, and died in 1785, at about sixty years of age, leaving five children.

Capt. W. T. Warrington attended school only nine months. His brothers having left home and his father being an invalid, he was quite young when the care of two farms de- volved upon him. In 1856 his father died, and the home farm, encumbered with the widow's dower, fell to his share. It consisted of 260 acres, to which he added 70 acres. He also owned another tract of 103 acres. He was one of the pioneer fruit-growers of that section, and had 3,400 peach trees, besides apples, pears and small fruits, all of which proved very profitable. The rest of his lands are devoted to grain and sugar cane, from which he also manufactures sorghum in con- siderable quantities. In carly life Capt. War- rington was a Whig; but in 1860 he became an earnest Republican. In October, 1862, he raised Company C, Sixth Delaware Regiment, which he commanded during its term of ser- vice. In August, 1864, he raised and com- manded Company A, Ninth Delaware Vol- unteers, expecting and desiring to go to the front, but was a second time sent to guard prisoners at Fort Delaware. Captain War- rington was a popular officer and a good dis- ciplinarian. Publie spirited and popular, he was often a delegate to party conventions, and was several times nominated for office, but failed of election because his party was in the minority. He joined the M. E. church in 1847, and was for many years Circuit steward, chairman of the board of trustees, Sabbath- school superintendent and a licensed exhor- ter. William T. Warrington was married, March 16, 1846, to Rhoda Ann, daughter of James and Ellen Martin. Eight of their ten children are living: I. James Edward, a

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farmer of Cool Spring; II. William Alford, merchant at Rodney; HI. John Shepherd, a blacksmith; IV. Ella; V. George Benjamin; VI. Frederick Thaddeus; VII. Clement Frame; VIII. Horace Andrew.

HENRY PURVIS CANNON, merchant, son of William and Margaret A. ( Laws) Can- non, was born at Bridgeville, Sussex county, Del., February 27, 1847.

Henry P. Cannon received all the advant- ages which the schools of his native town af- forded, and after three months' study in Car- lisle, Pa., entered Dickinson College in 1866, graduated as 1. B., in 1870, and in 1873 re- ceived the honorary degree of Master of Arts. On leaving college he returned to Bridgeville, and in 1874 formed a partnership with his brother, Philip L. Cannon, under the firm name of II. P. and P. L. Cannon. Besides their agricultural and fruit interests, which were very large, they bought and sold wood, lumber, railroad ties and piling. In the au- tumn of 1875 they opened a store for general merchandize, dry goods, groceries, boots, shoes, etc. To this must be added extensive operations in real estate, generally retaining and improving the lands before selling. No other firm in that locality compared with them in the amount and variety of business trans- acted. The brothers owned, individually and in partnership, about 2,000 acres of land, a large proportion of it highly improved, and the remainder of it covered with timber. Mr. II. P. C'annon is one of the leading members of the M. E. church, with which he united in 1863; for ten years he was a class leader and trustee. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. A stanch Republican, he has served on some of the county committees, and was a delegate to party conventions in the county and state. On January 4, 1872, Henry Purvis C'annon was married to Annie, dangh- ter of W. W. Dale, M. D., of Carlisle, Pa. Their children are: I. Sallie Dale; II. Harry Laws.

RICHARD WHITE CANNON, mer- chant, son of Josiah Cannon, was born at Bridgeville, Sussex county, Del., November 2, 1841.

Josiah Cannon, father of R. W. Cannon, not having received the advantages of an edu- cation in his youth, was so anxious to improve that he attended a school in the village one winter with his elder children, and there learned to read, write and cipher; he after- wards became the leading merchant of his na- tive town. He died in 1843.

When his father died, Richard W. Can- non was only two years old. He received a good English education in the schools of Bridgeville, and for a few months in the win- ter of 1860 attended Taylor's Academy, Wil- mington. From 1858 to 1864, he was a clerk in the store of his brother, William Cannon, afterward Governor Cannon. In November, 1864, having borrowed $1,000, Mr. Cannon opened a store of his own, and was building up a good business, when two months later, everything was destroyed by fire. There was only a small insurance, but without yielding for a moment to discouragement he proceed- ed to Philadelphia, explained his circum- stances to the merchants with whom he dealt, paid his bills, purchased a new stock on credit, and in a week was doing business as prosper- ously as before. In June, 1865, Mr. Cannon formed a partnership with E. W. Layton, the firm bore the name of Cannon & Layton, and was doing a prosperous business, when, in March, 1870, Mr. Cannon sold out his interest. Mr. Cannon was the pioneer druggist of Bridgeville, and was also the first to keep a full general assortment of hardware. He has been well rewarded in a good trade and a prosperous career, but in November, 1872, again lost about two-thirds of his stock by fire. This time he received about $2,000 insurance. Mr. Cannon was the first treasurer of Bridge- ville. It was through his efforts that in 1877 the bill incorporating the town was drawn and passed by the legislature. One of the origin- ators of the plan, he was largely influential in securing the success of the Bridgeville Ceme- tery Company, which was organized in JJanti- ary, 1875, and incorporated in 1878. He was also one of the originators of the Bridge- ville Library Association, and is chairman of the Book Committee. Mr. Cannon was edu- cated in the principles of Democracy, and in 1860 supported Douglas. On the breaking out of the war he took decided grounds for the Union, and acted with the Republican party. In 1876 he joined Union Lodge of Free and

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Accepted Masons, and filled the chair of senior warden of Hiram Lodge, Seaford. In 1876, he united with the M. E. church, of which he was made a trustee. He resigned the office of superintendent of the Sunday- school, after serving efficiently for three years. In 1878 he was made vice-president of the Sussex County Bible Society. Richard White Cannon was married January 19, 1862, to Annie M., daughter of Asa Dawson, of Bridgeville. Their children are: I. Charles Walton; II. Bessie B .; III. Estella Dawson; IV. Richard Oliver.

EDWARD REYNOLDS, merchant, son of John A. and Mary G. ( Moore) Reynolds, was born on his father's farm, near Newark, August 10, 1840.

Edward Reynolds attended the public schools of the vicinity until he was eleven, and spent four years in the Newark Academy. Hle entered Delaware College, graduating in 1859, and received the degree of A. M. from the same institution in 1872. After leaving college he taught for two years in Delaware, and in the Plainfield Academy, near Carlisle, Pa. In 1864, after spending a year in travel- ing in the northwestern states, Canada, Eu- rope, and the West Indies, he became a part- ner with his father and brother in the general mercantile business, in Middletown, the firm assuming the name of John A. Reynolds & Sons. His father retired in 1868, and in Jan- uary, 1872, he also retired, leaving the busi- ness in the hands of his brother, S. M. Rey- nolds. In July of the same year, Mr. Rey- nolds purchased the Middletown Transcript, assimmed the duties of editor, and made it one of the best weekly journals of the Peninsula, proving an able and successful journalist. Ile was, however, induced to join his brother again in mercantile business in Middletown, and retired from the management of the Transcript, in November, 1877. Under the firm name of S. M. Reynolds & Company, they carried on a prosperous business, and in November, 1878, purchased the stock and business of Thomas O. Culbreth, of Dover, of which Mr. Edward Reynolds took charge, un- der the title of E. Reynolds & Co., removing to that town, Mr. S. M. Reynolds continuing the care of the store at Middletown. The

business of the firm in both towns prospered, the enterprise, ability and popularity of both brothers insuring continued success. Mr. Reynolds identified himself with the Demo- eratie party. In the spring of 1868 he be- came a member of the Presbyterian church. Hle was for three years a trustee of the Forest Presbyterian church, in which, in the spring of 1878, he was ordained an elder. Edward Reynolds was married, June 1, 1871, to Je- mima, daughter of Dr. James and Elizabeth (Blackiston) Naudain, of Middletown. Their children are: I. Edith Mary; II. Anna Louisa.

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

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