USA > Delaware > Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 1 > Part 40
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His age was sixteen years and five months when he obtained his uncle's consent to be- come a clerk in the store of Clement Maston, in Frederica, engaging to stay eight months for the sum of twenty dollars, with the privi- lege of selling confectionery on his own ac- count. He was next with Samuel Townsend, where he had the same privilege. In time he bought out with his savings the tools and stock in trade of a cabinet maker who was re- moving West, and placing journeymen in the shop, he continued clerking as before. The first mahogany side-boards that were sold in Frederica were made under his supervision, and until he became of age he made this a flourishing business, while at the same time he faithfully served his employer, Mr. Townsend,
John A Hall
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with whom he remained till the first of Janu- ary, 1838. He had then completed his twenty- first year, and the same day bought out his employer. He sold his cabinet shop to a man, who, in exchange, built him the house in which he lived for many years afterward ; his specu- lation as a candy boy proving the means, ultimately, of providing him a home. He now launched boldly out into a most prosperous and successful business career, dealing largely in grain, produce, wood. lime, and making a specialty of lumber and all kinds of fertilizers. Finding he had need of vessels to ship his pur- chases, he built one the first year, and has built one or more nearly every year since. He is now the largest vessel owner in Delaware, his vessels ranging in size from eight to twelve hundred tons, and sailing to all parts of the world. In 1861, Mr. Hall took into partner- ship Mr. James B. Anderson, who took charge of the business, Mr. Hall furnishing the capital. He retired from mercantile business in 1867, his son, John W., taking his place. The firm of Anderson and Hall still pursues a course of uninterrupted prosperity. Mr. Hall has for many years been largely and successfully en- gaged in agriculture. He inherited two farms from his father, and one from his uncle, Colonel John Wood, for whom he was named. To these he has added others from time to time, till now he is one the largest land owners in Kent county. Most of these farms he has brought to a high state of cultivation. His last purchase was the old Warren-Mansion farm, which belonged to his wife's grandfather, and which has been in the family for over one hundred years. He was married November 15, 1842, to Miss Caroline, only child of Samuel and Sarah (Sipple) Warren, of Kent county. They have four children, viz : Samuel Warren Hall, residing in Dover ; John Wood Hall, Jr .. of the firm of Anderson and Hall, Frederica, and a large vessel owner ; Sarah Henrietta, wife of Charles C. Lester, a prominent lawyer in Philadelphia, and Caroline Warren Hall, who died, September 9, 1858, in her third year.
The ancestors of Mrs. Hall were of English origin and among the early settlers of Kent county, the family having always been wealthy and prominent. She inherited a large estate in her own right. Her father was born in the year 1800, and died June 15, 1869. He was an excellent man, kind and liberal to the
poor and highly esteemed. He owned a large real and personal estate. The grand-father of Mrs. Hall, Samuel Warren, senior. served a number of times in the Legislature. He had several children, of whom the only one now living is Mrs. Mary Darby, widow of John M. Darby, a nephew of John M. Clayton. Gov- ernor Hall united, March 26, 1846, with the M. E. Church, in which he has been for many years an official member. He was a State director of the Farmers' Bank, at Dover, from 186t, to January, 1879, at which time he was inaugurated Governor of Delaware, and has since been a stock-holder director. He was always interested in politics and was a mem- ber of the old Whig party till it ceased to exist, when he became a Democrat. In 1866 he was elected State Senator, leading the ticket in the county and for four years was a prominent member of that body.
In 1876 he was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention which met in St. Louis, nominating Samuel J. Tilden for Presi- dent. His friends urged his name in the State Convention of 1874 for the gubernatorial office, and he came within three votes of receiving the nomination, notwithstanding it was the turn of New Castle county to furnish the candidate. In 1878 he was the choice of all the counties, was nominated Governor by acclamation, and was elected by an almost unanimous vote. Governor Hall has adminis- tered the affairs of his high office with great firmness and unquestioned integrity, and has gained great popularity by his excellent appointments and patriotic course. A thorough man of business, faithful and conscientious, the State is honored in his wise and able administration.
OBINSON, THOMAS, son of Judge Peter and Arcada (Robinson) Robin - son, was born in the year 1800. He graduated at Princeton College, and studied law in Georgetown, with his father. He became a lawyer of distinction, and was elected to Congress as a Democrat, in 1838. Afterwards he was defeated by George B. Rodney. He died unmarried.
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OUNG, MAJOR NATHANIEL, the subject of this sketch, was born in Sussex county, Del., October 14, 1794, and was the youngest of several chil- dren. His father, Nathaniel Young, son of Robert and Christiana Young, was born Sep- tember 10, 1741, and married Esther Fassit of Snow Hill, Maryland. He was a native of Sussex county, Del., and owned an estate there, upon which he lived until his death, which occurred June 2, 1804, when Major Young was but a child. Having previously lost his mother, who died December 1, 1802, the orphaned boy then went to reside with his eldest brother, Robert Young, who lived in Frederica, Del, and under whose care he remained for several years, until he was placed by his brother with Robert Earp, Esq., of Philadelphia, to learn the mercantile business. Having evinced a desire : to enter the Army, through the influence of his brother-n-law, Joseph Hazlett, who was Governor of Delaware, he was appointed an Ensign in the United States service, and received his commission, October 19, 1813. He was first assigned to duty at Fort Mifflin Pa., but was soon afterward transferred to Canada. He was appointed third Lieutenant, March 8th 1814, and second Lieutenant in the 2d regiment of U. S. Infantry June 2, 1814, and on January 1, 1819 received a commission as Captain of the 7th regiment of U. S. Infantry. Several years of the army life of Major Young were passed in the South, in Louisiana and Mississippi, and also in Arkansas, where he made many warm personal friends, and to his association with whom he ever looked back with great pleasure. He was also stationed for some time at Fort Gibson in the Indian Territory, and was brought into daily contact with the chiefs, and others of the tribes in that neighborhood, of whom he would relate many amusing, and sometimes touching inci- dents. Among his oldest friends in the U. S. service, were Gen. Winfield Scott, Gen Worth, Gen. Samuel Houston and Gen. Zachary Tay- lor. With the two latter he corresponded for years, and had in his possession letters received by him from Gen. Taylor during the Mexican war, and also views of some of the battle fields, and maps showing the operations of our Army in Mexico. Major Young was appointed Major by brevet, on January, 1829, and re-
received his commission of Major of the 3rd regiment of U. S. Infantry, December 25, 1837. During the rebellion in Canada in 1838 he was stationed at Buffalo, N. Y., in command of the troops on the Niagara frontier, Lord Durham being Governor General of Canada. He often recalled incidents connected with this event- ful period, and referred with pleasure to the kindness and courtesy of the English Officers in command of the troops on the Canadian side. Major Young remained in the U. S. Service twenty-five years and one month ; he then resigned his commission, and settled in New Castle, Del. We have inserted a few lines copied from a letter received by him, October 3, 1838 from Adjutant Gen. R. Jones, in accept- ance of his resignation.
"In announcing to you the acceptance of this your voluntary separation from the Army in which you have so long and faithfully served, be assured that there is no Officer of your length of service, more justly entitled to the high consideration of the Department, or to whom any indulgence consistently with the rules of service, would be more cheerfully ac- corded." Major Young received the commis- sion of Major General of State Militia, which office he resigned a few years previous to his death. While stationed in Philadelphia he became conected with the Masonic Order, and received the degree of Master Mason from Concordia Lodge, No. 67. In April, 1835, Major Young was married to Mrs. Elizabeth Maxwell, widow of Dr. John Maxwell of Delaware, and daughter of Judge Thomas Clayton. He survived her sixteen years, and died in New Castle, May 12, 1863. He was a true gentltman of the old school, one whose amiability, kindness of heart, and courtesy of manner, endeared him to all with whom he was associated.
AZZARD, HON. DAVID, late Gover- nor of Delaware, was born in Broadkiln Neck, Sussex county, May 18, 1781. His parents, John and Mary (Houston) Hazzard, were among the earliest Metho- dists in the state. John Hazzard was appointed a Major of State Militia by Governor Joshua Clayton, in 1794, and held the position for seven years. He was first a farmer, and
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removed to Milton in the latter part of the [ a faithful execution of the law, he would often 18th century. Then he became a merchant, and was interested in vessels and vessel build- ing. He had two sons, Governor David and John Hazzard, and also two Daughters ; Ann, who married Rev. Hugh McCurdy of Philadel- phia, and Mary, who first married Rouse Young. and afterwards, Henry P. Fisher, half brother of Judge George P. Fisher of Dover. Governor Hazzard lost his mother when he was quite young. His father afterwards married Miss Hannah Horseman, and had again a third wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Wolf. Mr. John Hazzard died in 1825, at the age of seventy- two years. Coard Hazzard was the first of the name to come to Delaware; probably about 1700, or soon after. The family tradi- tion is that he had emigrated from England to Virginia some years previously. He settled in Sussex county. The name of his wife was Rachel and they were members of the Protes- tant Episcopal church. Their second son, Joseph, born June 4, 1728, and his wife, Mary, were the parents of John, the father of Gover- nor Hazzard, born April 28, 1754, Coard Hazard the eldest son of Joseph and Mary, born January 27, 1750, was the first Sheriff of Sussex county, after the Revolutionary War.
Governor Hazzard united with the M. E. Church, in ISO2, and was ever after a zealous and prominent member. He filled the office of steward for over half a century. He was married July 12, 1803, to Miss Elizabeth Col- lins, born November 23, 1783, daughter of Captain John, and Sarah (Houston) Collins. Mrs. Collins was the daughter of Robert and Priscilla Houston, and was born in 1758. In the war of 1812 Governor Hazzard was an ensign in Captain Peter Wright's Company, and served during the campaign in Delaware, receiving for his services a warrant for govern- ment land. John Ponder, father of Governor Ponder, was in the same company with Gover- nor Hazzard. The latter was appointed Justice of the Peace, while still quite young, and proved an impartial, efficient, and very judi- cious civil officer. In 1829 he was elected Governor of the State. His decision of char- acter came to be well known during his admin- istration. No instance is remembered in which he reversed the decisions of the court and jury in criminal cases, by granting re- prieves and pardons. Yet, while he advocated
open his purse to supply the needs of the families of persons held in durance for crime. He was distinguished all his life for kindness and liberality. Towards his tenants, his neighbors, and the widows and orphans, this was specially shown. He was elected State Senator in 1834. In 1844, the appointment of Associate Judge of the State of Delaware was conferred upon him by Governor Cooper, which office he resigned in 1847. In 1852 he was elected a member of the convention to alter the Constitution of the State, and served his constituents with a vigor unabated by gathering years. His mental faculties re- mained perfect to the close of his life. His intimate knowledge of the leading events in the history of our country, and his memory, were most remarkable. He spoke of presi- dents, cabinets, and acts of congress, naming day and date with more facility than most men could recall the doings of last year. In the last war he was happy in having not less than three grandsons go forth to the service and defence of the country. The briefest out- line of his life and character can only here be given, but he was one the sight of whom brought, involuntarily, to the minds of many, the words, "A prince and a great man in Israel." He came to the ending of his days full of years and honors, July 8, 1864, and was buried with every token of affection and esteem. The funeral services were conducted in the M. E. Church, in Milton, his place of residence. July 13. His wife, with whom he spent over fifty years of happiness, had died nearly ten years before, February 25, 1854. They had four children; Ann, who married Dr. William W. Wolf, a distinguished physi- cian of Milton ; Maria, who married Erasmus D. Wolf, a wholesale merchant of Philadelphia ; John Alexander, now of Milton, and William Asbury Hazzard, Esq., also of Milton.
ISTON, MORRIS, of Liston High Woods and Liston's Point,a well known landmark on the western shore of the Delaware Bay, came to America from England with his brother, John Liston, in the early part of the last century. They each pur- chased 1200 acres of land from the indians.
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John's land was in Thoroughfare Neck. The | of his life. For some years he taught school brothers were both members of the Society of Friends. Morris Liston died in 1756. Both are supposed to have been buried on the high ground known as the Old Burial Ground, near the residence of Robert Derrickson. Morris Liston had four sons ; Morris, Thomas, Eben and Abraham. Abraham settled on what is known as Eleazer David's farm and after his death his six sons sold his land and emigrated to Preston county Va. From them the Liston's of Virginia are descended,but in Delaware the name has become extinct. Eben Liston left children, two of whom were, William, the grandfather of Robert Derrickson, of whom see sketch in this volume, and a daughter who married a Mr. Townsend, grandfather of Samuel Townsend, of "Townsend," on the Delaware railroad. William Liston left two sons, William and Thomas, and two daughters, Ann and Sarah. Sarah married Robert Der- rickson, father of the present Robert, and had eight children. The house built by the emi- grant Morris Liston in 1725, is still standing (1881). It is of brick, and the mortar used was made from shell lime. The house in which Robert Derrickson lives was that of Eben Liston, and was built in 1739. It is a two- story brick house, hip roof, and the original window and door casings are still intact. It was quite a pretentious structure for that day. Its walls are still unbroken, and the old rived oak laths upon which the plaster was put are yet to be seen. These houses, and indeed the entire locality, are of interest to the historian.
ATES, HON. MARTIN WALTHAM, lawyer and Statesman, was born Feb. 24, 1786, in Salisbury, Conn., of an humble but sterling New England family. At eight years of age he removed with his father to Berkshire Co., Mass. It was the purpose of his father to send him to Williams College, but he was unable to accomplish this when the proper time came, and at the age of nineteen the son found it necessary to determine the course of his future life. Well balanced, self reliant and possessed of a good character, he left his New England home, and without means or influence entered upon the real work
in Delaware and Maryland, in the neighbor- hood of the town of Warwick. While teach- ing, he studied medicine and attended the Pennsylvania University, where he roomed with Dr. William Burton, late Governor of Delaware, and between them there sprang up a life-long friendship. Upon leaving the Uni- versity he successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in the town of Smyrna, and while there,in 1811,married a most estimable woman, Mary, daughter of Charles Hillyard, of a well- known Delaware family. The exposure, inci- dent to the life of a physician in that early day, broke down his health. He abandoned the profession, removed to Dover and engaged in mercantile life. By reason of the financial crisis induced by the war of 1812, he failed in business and became involved in debt which, for the time, he was unable to pay. About this time he became an active member of a deba- ting society, in Dover, and displayed such sig- nal ability as to attract the attention of Hon. Thomas Clayton, and Hon. Henry M. Ridgely, by whom he was urged to study law, and Thomas Clayton generously tendered the use of his office and library. The opportunity was, apon reflection, embraced, and he entered into the study of law with an assiduity and throughness rarely excelled. In 1823 he was admitted to the bar, and at once secured a large and lucrative practice for that day and place. For thirty years he was one of the leaders of the bar, and enjoyed perhaps the largest practice of any of the lawyers of Kent County. He was originally a Federalist but on the breaking up of that old party he became a Democrat, and although his party was in the minority in the State during the greater part of his active career, he was a member of the State Legislature in 1826 and of the consti- tutional convention in 1852. In the latter body, he was made chairman of the standing committee on the Judicial Department, and was also a member of those on the legis- lative department, and on future amendments to the Constitution ; and the report of the proceedings shows that he took an active part in the debates. He was in 1832 and 1836 the candidate of his party for Congress, though as a matter of course not elected, the whigs being then and for many years thereafter largely in the ascendency. In 1857 he was
Engby EQ Williams 3, Bro NY
Very Finely Yours Martin ABater
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elected United States Senator, to fill the unex- | pired term of Hon. John M. Clayton. Had misfortune not intervened just as his party had elevated Mr. Bates to the Senate of the United States, in 1857, he would have been as distinguished in the National forum, as he was at the bar of his State. But a fall, from slip- ping upon the ice, produced a very bad frac- ture of the limb and partial paralysis of the side for a time, which caused him so much suf- fering that retirement was necessary. He, therefore, retired in 1859 at the close of the term for which he was elected. In his quiet home, respected and honored by all who knew him, he spent the evening of life in unosten- tatious usefulness and benevolence. From childhood up to thirty-seven years of age it was a continuous and well fought battle with adversity. The stout heart yielded not a whit of its purpose, and failures only taught the way to success. In the school of adversity he had learned " to labor and to wait." The re- sult was that from his thirty-seventh year to his death, his life was a complete success, of which he alone was the architect, for he wrung victory from defeat. These were but the out- croppings of his life, and teach, perhaps nothing more than the lives of many other men, who like him were self-made. It is in the analysis of his life and character that we must seek for instruction and example.
He possessed a clear and discriminating mind, one of great analytic power and richly stored with learning. A marked feature of his knowledge was accuracy of detail. He was a man of strong convictions and of indom- itable will. With him, a conscientious con- viction of the right, not expediency, was the rule of action. This was evidenced in his · political life. He was a Democrat because of his sympathy with the masses and his firm belief in the principle of local self-govern- ment, and he adhered to the party in all its varying fortunes. In the war between Gen- eral Jackson and the United States Bank, when most of the leading men in the State deserted the Hero of New Orleans, and indeed all through the long minority of the party in Delaware, his was the active and controlling mind in its interest, at the capital.
So too in religion ; although nurtured in the discipline of New England Congregationalism, his independent mind seized upon Methodism as
the expression of religious belief and worship congenial to his nature. He joined the Church in 1814, and thenceforth he was thoroughly a Methodist ; his house, his purse and his heart were ever open to the calls of the church.
He was prudent and economical; perhaps, in some measure, the result of early necessity, but his heart was not seared ; on the contrary he was a man of large charity, and reduced benevolence to a system. He gave a tithe of his income yearly to charitable purposes and carried this rule even into the testamentary disposition of his estate.
Possessed of a keen perception of the ludi- crous, a readiness at repartee, and an incisive sarcasm peculiarly his own, he was a ready and pungent debater ; in his hands these quali- ties became trenchant weapons of offense, and often gave him great pain because of an uncon- trolable propensity to use them on friend or foe, and yet few men had really a kinder heart, or more sincerely sorrowed for wounds thus unwittingly made. These qualities he often lamented and in after years greatly controlled.
Conscientiousness was a strongly marked trait of his character. He carried it into all the relations of life. As a man, citizen and a christain, he was prompt, faithful and method- ical. As soon as he secured the means, he discharged, to the last cent, the indebtedness entailed by his failure in mercantile life.
As a lawyer Dr. Bates ranked among the first in the State. He was the cotemporary at the bar of Willard Hall, Henry M. Ridgely, Thomas Clayton, John M. Clayton, Robert Frame, and others whose names are indelibly written in the legal annals of Delaware. Among such men he stood an acknowledged peer. He brought to the practice of his pro- fession a sound and discriminating judgment, untiring industry, strict method, and withal a sympathy so pervading that the interest and cause of his client became his own, and he worked with an ability, energy and zeal that soon gave him the highest standing. His mind was richly stored with legal lore, and his thorough familiarity with pleading and prac- tice, made his forms precedents of great value, and his opinions on these branches authority long after he had retired from active practice.
The private life of Dr. Bates was without blemish; a member of church for fifty-four years, his christian character was so uniform
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and consistent that he commanded the respect and veneration of all who knew him. He filled a large and useful space in the commu- nity in which he lived. His death left a void which still reminds his friends that a great and good man has fallen.
Dr. Bates was no ordinary man. The truth that each man "makes his own stature, builds himself", was never more clearly illustrated than in his life; a life so full of quiet but heroic struggles, of unconquerable will, be- nevolence, and earnest purpose that we shall do well to consider his ways, and seek the at- tainment of the same goal.
A careful review of his life and character leads to the conclusion that while Delaware has had more brilliant men, men who have filled a larger space in the State and National councils than he, she has had few better or more truly great.
On Friday, January 1, 1869, at his residence in Dover, he died at the ripe age of eighty-two years ; and on the next Tuesday his remains were followed to the grave by the Governor. the Legislature in a body, and by a large con- course of mourning relatives and friends, numbering many of the most distinguished men of Delaware, who were gathered together to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of the distinguished man who had passed away. The General Assembly had convened on the morning of his funeral, and immediately upon its organization, passed resolutions of respect to his memory, and ad- journed over the day. His body was buried in the Presbyterian Church yard at Dover, in the midst of many of the friends he knew and loved in life. In the same yard lie the remains of Hon. John M. Clayton, and other men whose names are household words in Dela- ware. They were his peers and competitors in life, and in death they sleep in the same quiet enclosure. Of all the honored dead who sleep so quietly in that yard, it may be doubted if there is one whose life, character, and ex- ample, are more full of instruction and en- couragement than those of the subject of this sketch.
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