USA > Delaware > Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 1 > Part 41
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
ONWILL, WILLIAM G. A., D. D. S., was born in Camden, Delaware, on the 4th day of October, 1833. He is the son of Dr. William W. Bonwill and Louisa, his wife, nee Baggs. His father was a physician of large pra: tice, a gentleman of the old school, and a man of wonderful mechanical genius, which the son inherited. The latter received only such education as could be ob- tained in the schools in this State, which although comparatively liberal, was not such as his active, inquiring mind demanded. He was never engaged in any active pursuit until about 18 years of age, when he left his home in Camden, Delaware, and for six months had charge of a country school near Burlington, New Jersey. From a child he improved every opportunity for acquiring information, especially in mechanics, for which he had a marvelous talent. He desired to become a physician, but in this aspiration he was discouraged by his father, who, knowing from experience, the hardships and difficulties of a country practi- tioner of medicine, and mistakenly supposing that his boy was of a constitution too delicate to undergo the hardships of his own profession, advised him to adopt some other occupation. From a somewhat singular coincidence, he de- cided to become a dentist, in which selection of a profession he again met the opposition of his father, who failed, however, to divert him from his fixed resolution. Having laid by a small sum of money which he made by teach- ing, and being aided to a limited extent by his father, he commenced the study of dentistry in Camden, New Jersey, April, 1853, and in less than six months his marvelous mechanical genius enabled him to completely master the mechanical part of his profession ; the opera- tive branch, he perfected under the instruction of Doctors Chapin A. Harris and Blandy, of Baltimore, in July, 1854, and in August of the same year he opened an office in Dover, Dela- ware, where he continued to practice his pro- fession with remarkable skill and success for nearly seventeen years. While residing in Dover, following the bent of his genius, he in- vented the first self-binding reaper, in connec- tion with A. B. Richardson, Esq., of that place. A newspaper reporter in the town made public a description of the machine, and before it had been entirely perfected, others had seized upon
Amba Denwill.
235
BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.
that and similar inventions, and rather than incur the delay and expense of protracted litigation, their application for a patent was abandoned. It was when in Dover, also, that he devised the first electro-magnetic mallet for filling teeth, which is universally acknowl- edge to be the most scientific instrument used in dental surgery. For this he was awarded the highest gold medals, and the recognition of its merit is its adoption by first-class dent- ists all over the world.
The dental engine was likewise brought out here simultaneously with that of another in- ventor, though entirely unlike it. It was here too, that he first observed certain phenomena that led to the original discovery of "rapid breathing" as an anasthetic for alleviating pain in all operations of minor surgery, instead of ether, which has received the approbation of the medical press.
When he had practically perfected his dental inventions he determined to seek a wider field for his inventive talent, and accordingly re- moved to Philadelphia in February, 1871, where he at once took rank with the most skillful and accomplished of his profes- sion, having no superior in Philadelphia, if indeed in any other city in the world. It is needless to add that immediately upon his settlement in Philadelphia, though encounter- ing much opposition from professional jealousies and rival inventors, his practice became a con- stantly growing success.
Though literally overwhelmed by the labors of his profession, his inventive energy could not be repressed, and since his removal to Philadelphia, he has found time to give to the world, two other inventions of the very highest utility ; "The Surgical Engine," and "The Artificial Tooth Crown." By the former, every operation necessary to be performed on the human body can be accomplished with almost incredible celerity and unerring accuracy and by it the science of surgery has been stripped of its last relic of barbarism. "The Tooth Crown," makes it possible for any Dentist of even ordinary ability to insert an artificial crown upon the root of a tooth without pain and with perfect firmness, so that the extract- ing of a tooth or the insertion of artificial plates in the mouth may be said to have be- come necessities of the past.
Among his many minor inventions may be
noticed the protective pointed pin in 1354, used upon the under garments of women and children and which has gone into universal use in all countries, and his improvement on kerosene lamps for preventing the fracture of himnies, which has proved to be a blessing to so many thousand families.
Notwithstanding his constant and ceaseless devotion to the arduous labors of his profession, his remarkably temperate, systematic, and philosophic life, has brought him through four- teen hours of labor, daily, into his 48th year with a marvelously youthful, not to say an almost boyish, appearance.
In his 28th year he married Miss A. E. War- ren of Dover, a most estimable lady of brilliant wit and admirable social qualities. They have an interesting family consisting of two daugh- ters and one son.
CKEAN, HON. THOMAS, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania March 19, 1734. He received a liberal education, and adopted the profession of law, in which he attained great eminence. In 1762 he was elected to the Delaware Assembly, and continued in that office for eleven years. He served as a Delegate to the New York Congress in 1765 and was appointed Chief Justice of Pennsylvania the same year ; while in this position he was elected a Delegate from Delaware to the Continental Congress and served from 1774 to 1776, again from 1778 to 1783. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence from this state and of the articles of Confederation ; was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Delaware and served in the Army as Colonel. Mr. McKean was a member of the Convention which formed the Constitution of Delaware in 1876, and is claimed as the author of that instrument. He was also a member of the Convention which formed the Constitution of Pennsylvania in 1790. He was elected Governor of Pennsyl- vania in 1789 and remained in that posi- tion for nine years. He was the only man who served through all the sessions of the Continental Congress, and was President of that body in 1781. He died in Philadelphia June 24, 1817, leaving a high reputation for patriotism and ability.
236
HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
RIFFITH, JOSEPH, was born in 1793, in Pencader hundred, New Castle county, on a farm one mile east of Cooch's bridge. His father, James Griffith, was a farmer and of Welsh descent ; his ancestors landing at New Castle from Wales in 1701 On his mother's side Joseph Griffith was of English extraction. He grew up in his native place, working on the farm in summer and going to school in the winter, till he was sixteen, when he went to Philadelphia and bound himself as an apprentice to learn the house carpentering trade ; at this he served faithfully till he had reached the age of twenty, when he was released by the death of his em- ployer. He then, with four or five other young men, chose a master mechanic, named Henry Lytle, and left the city looking for work as they proceeded through the state ; and stop- ping finally in the Cumberland valley, where they found all that they could do in building large barns. Here, in 1818, he married Agnes Irving, and remained working at his trade till 1822, when his father having died, he returned at the earnest solicitation of his mother, to the home farm in Delaware. He had done well at his trade but now found that the life of a farmer was much better suited to his tastes, as was proved by his success. He found the old farm almost a wilderness of swamp, branch and woods, but went bravely to work, cutting, clearing and ditching ; and having seen in Pennsylvania the benefits of lime and clover, he commenced using these fertilizers, and soon made the old place blossom as the rose. He carted the lime from the Nevin quarries, above Newark, and is believed to be the first who ever brought a load of lime into the neighbor- hood for the above purpose. He became the leading spirit in increasing the productiveness of the land, and nothing delighted him more than to be able, as he said, to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. In 1839 he inherited, on the death of a half-uncle, a small amount of money, with which he bought a farm in Kent county, Maryland, at the head of Sassafras river. . This land originally of good quality, was much worn out. Upon it there was a bed of green sand marl. He at once com- menced seeding down, and on this he used lime and marl, the results of which greatly aston- ished the old inhabitants. He brought his lime
from the Schuylkill, and his vessel load of that fertilizer was the first that was ever discharged on Sassafras river, if not anywhere on the Eastern Shore, south of Cecil county. To him is due the credit of giving the first impetus to the improvement of land, which has since made Kent county, Maryland, famous for her agricultural products. In 1845 he sold the old home farm and moved to Newark, where he resided two years, when, having purchased the Nathan Watson farm, he removed to it and lived there till his death, August 25, 1879. As an agriculturist his life was a success, and he left a very considerable estate to his children and grandchildren. He had a family of seven sons and one daughter, all of whom, with the exception of one son, who was killed at the age of nine years, grew to maturity, viz : Caleb, a farmer, died in 1865, aged thirty-three years ; Wm. J. died about 1872, leaving four children. He was a farmer and had been a member of the Maryland Legislature ; David B., a merchant, died at Easton, Md., in 1871 ; Elizabeth Irving, wife of Wm. K. Lockwood : Robert S .; Irving G., a farmer on Bohemia Manor, and Joseph T. Griffith who died in 1866 in his twenty sixth year. His wife, to whom he was fondly attached, and who was every way worthy of his affection, lived with him fifty-four years from the time of their marriage, departing this life three years prior to his decease. They lived together a long and useful life. In his religious views Mr. Griffith was a primitive Baptist, and a member of the Welsh Tract Baptist Church. In all his views on any subject he was very decided, and in the early part of his life rather intolerant of those who differed from him, but this characteristic mellowed with age, and his spirit in his later days was very childlike and gentle. No one in his neighborhood was more respected, deferred to and honored, but re- tiring in his disposition he could not be in- duced to accept any public position. His life was, in the sight of all, pure, consistent and faithful, and he left to his descendants the priceless legacy of a spotless name.
ITCHELL, HON. NATHANIEL. He served as a delegate from Dela- ware to the Continental Congress from 1786 to 1788. One can but regret that so little is known of those whose hands laid the foundations of our temple of freedom.
,
Engley ZEither & SuaEk MY
gareth Suffit.
237
BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.
EATH, JAMES, the owner of exten- sive tracts of land on Bohemia Manor and in New Castle county, Delaware, a part of which, known as St. Ignatius, was sold by him to Father Mansell the founder of the Jesuit Mission near Warwick. James Heath had taken up and patented this land about the year 1700. This tract at the time of sale was known as St. Inigo and was con- veyed to Father Mansell in 1811. It was in part a portion of Worsell Manor, patented by Col. Saver, and consisted in all of 335 acres : The other part, known as Woodbridge, was sold by D. Mckenzie the patentee, to Darby Nowland, and by his son Dennis there was sold 75 acres, to James Heath, which also went into the hands of the owners of the Jesuit Mission from James Heath, making 335 acres at this time. The name of Nowland is yet among us and a lineal descendant of the first purchaser of this land lives on his fine farm in Appoquinimink hundred. See Nowland in this volume. The tomb of James Heath is still to be seen at Heath's Mansion farm and is in a good state of preservation, on land in the possession of the heirs of Wm. Wilson, about two miles from Warwick and four from Middletown. It bears the following inscrip- tion.
"Here Lyes The Body of Mr. James Heath Who was Born Att Warwick on the 27" Day of July 1658 And Dyed The Ioth Day of Novem: 1731 in The Seventy Fourth year of His Age Reqviescat in Pace"
The Warwick spoken of was Warwick, Eng- land, not Warwick, Cecil county, Md., as that village was founded afterward by his son, Jno. Paul Heath, who died in 1746. His grandson was Daniel Heath, still remembered, and this old name is perpetuated in the tract of land known as "Heath's Range."
John Paul was a large land-owner and was engaged in merchandizing in Warwick. He also owned vessels trading from Sassafras river to the West Indies. He was a zealous Catho- lic and directed in his will that his sons Daniel and James should be educated at St. Omer's and that all his children should be brought up in the Roman Catholic religion.
AVIS, COLONEL GEORGE, late of Smyrna, was born in that place, Jan- uary 1, 1806. He was the fifth son and seventh child of Judge Isaac Davis of whom a portrait and sketch will be found in this volume.
Colonel Davis engaged in business in Smyrna, and was an extensive land owner in this state and in Maryland. He was a promi- nent and valued citizen, and was well known throughout the state. He was a democrat, and strongly attached to his party. Kind hearted and generous to an extreme, his wil- lingness to assist and oblige all who applied to him for assistance greatly reduced, in his later years, his once large means. He married February 6, 1828, Miss Mary J., daughter of Dr. John D. Perkins, of whom also see sketch. His five daughters survived him. He died greatly regretted, April 12, 1877.
OBINSON, PETER, Associate Judge of the Superior Court, and son of Thos. Robinson, the Loyalist, was born in Sussex county, October 14, 1775. He read law with the Hon. Nicholas Ridgely, Chancellor of the State, and upon his admis- sion to the bar, began the practice of his pro- fession in his native county. He became the leader of the bar in his section of the State, and continued to have a lucrative practice until he was appointed Associate Judge of the Superior Court at its organization under the present Constitution in 1832. Before his appointment as judge he took an active part in politics, was the acknowledged leader of his party in Sussex, and was appointed three several times Secretary of State, in 1805, by Governor Nathaniel Mitchell in 1814, by Governor Daniel Rodney, and in 1822, by Gov- ernor Caleb Rodney. He married his cousin, Arcada, daughter of his uncle Peter Robinson; Died in 1836, and left to survive him three children; Thomas Robinson, Jr., Alfred P. Rob- inson and Mary, wife of Hon. Edward Wootten, the present Associate Judge of the Superior Court. Mr. Robinson was a man of ability, of great integrity, and highly respected by both friends and opponents.
238
HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
AULSBURY, HON. GOVE, M. D., late Governor of Delaware, was born in in Mispillion Neck, Kent county, May 29, 1815, and died in Dover on Sunday July 31, 1881. His father, William Saulsbury, was a man of commanding influence, and irre- proachable conduct, being sought after by his fellow citizens, as eminently trustworthy, for positions of honor and responsibility. His mother, Margaret Saulsbury, daughter of Captain Thomas Smith, and sister of Rev. James Smith, a distinguished Methodist Min- ister, and member of the Philadelphia Confer- ence, was conspicuous for her piety, force of character, and mental power. She was the mother of five sons and one daughter. Of the sons, Gove was the third, and with two of his brothers, became distinguished in public life, attaining to a national reputation. The eldest son, James, and the second, William, died, the former, in his thirty-eighth, and the latter in his twenty-fifth year.
Dr. Sauisbury, received instruction in the ordinary branches of education in schools sup- ported by private subscription; the free school system of the State then not having been es- tablished. He subsequently went to Delaware College for a brief period, after which,in 1839,he commenced the study of medicine, and was graduated M. D., in 1842, from the University of Pennsylvania. He located in Dover the same year, and was a practising physician during the remainder of his life.
He became a skillful and successful physi- cian, and had an extensive practice, the hard- ships of which, being heroically endured, de- veloped his physical powers, so that from a spare-built and corporeally frail man, he be- came a man of large proportions and com- manding presence.
He was married, November 1, 1848, to Miss Rosina Jane Smith, of Snow Hill, Md., by whom he had five children, only one of whom, William, the youngest, survives him. Mrs. Saulsbury, was a woman of exemplary piety: she died in 1875, April 29th, aged 47 years. Their daughter, Rosa, was a young lady of rare accomplishments, became devotedly pious, and died November 30, 1876, aged 23 years and 4 days. The other children, Margaret, the eldest ; Olivia Smith, and Gove Jr., all died in early childhood.
Though greatly interested in the affairs of State, and an influential leader of the Demo- cratic party, he resisted all solicitations to hold office until 1862, when he was elected to the State Senate. Of this body he became the Speaker in 1865, and,by virtue of his office, was constituted Governor of the State the same year, a vacancy having been occasioned by the death of Governor William Cannon. In 1866 he was elected to the Governorship by the popular vote, and during the whole period of his official life exhibited the rare abilities, qualities and endowments of a good states- man. By many, including members of the party opposed to him, he has been character- ized as the ablest Governor the State has had since the formation of the Federal Union. His State papers were regarded as able produc- tions, being written with clearness, force and great discretion. As a political leader he pos- sessed unusual ability ; being a man of decision and firmness, and yet possessing personal in- tegrity, nobility of nature, suavity of manner and generosity of soul, he led men as if born to that commanding position. His death is con- sidered by many to be an irreparable loss to his party.
In word and action he was a friend to the cause of education, seeking evermore to raise the standard higher, and to place the school system of the State on a more commanding basis. In the interests of the Wilmington Conference Academy, located at Dover, (a history of which will be found in this volume,) he labored so constantly that by his untiring energy, wise counsel and practical suggest- ions, he lived to see it one of the best institu- tions of learning in the State. He was President of its Board of Trustees from its or- ganization until the time of his death, and did all that he could to promote it and place it on a solid basis, and free it from financial embar- rassment. He was also a Trustee of the Delaware College, located at Newark.
Uniting with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1843, he had her interests at heart, serving in the local offices of the church, and attaining such a character as to be named as one of the American delegates to the Ecumenical Coun- cil of Methodism, recently held in London. In private life he was a man of stainless in- tegrity. He was open, frank, sincere, thought- ful, considerate, warm hearted and generous.
EnjoyCBacher * ie- Bklyn NY
Gove Soulsbury
239
BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.
As a husband and father he was tender, affec- tionate, and full of sympathy ; as a friend to the poor, he won the esteem of his neighbors by reason of his many acts of kindness to them, and as a lover of his friends, many, surviving him, are willing to testify to his sincerity and firmness of attachment. GEO. A. PHOEBUS, D. D.
URTON, GOVERNOR, WILLIAM, M. D., was born October 16, 1789. His father was John Burton, a farmer of Sussex county, who had one other son, John, who was at one time Speaker of the House of Delegates. The elder John Burton married Miss Mary Vaughan, who, after his death, became the wife of Robert Frame, and their son, the celebrated Robert Frame, of the Delaware bar, was accordingly the half brother of Dr. Burton. Governor Burton studied med- icine in the office of the elder Dr. Sudler, of Milford, and graduated M. D. from the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, in the class of 1800. After a short time he settled in Milford in the practice of his profession, and continued, with the exception of four years during which he was sheriff, to attend to the duties of his profession until elected Governor of the State, which occurred in 1858. He was twice married, first to Mrs. Eliza Walcott, the daughter of William Sorden of Kent county. There was one child of this marriage, Wil- liam Sorden Burton, who died in early man- hood. After the death of Mrs. Burton, he, in 1830, was married to Miss Ann C., daugh- ter of Robert and Rhoda (Davis) Hill. Mrs. Burton is the daughter of the sister of Judge Isaac Davis, of whom see sketch and engrav- ing in this book.
Governor and Mrs. Ann C. Burton had one daughter who became the wife of Alfred R. Wootten, at one time Attorney General of the state : see engraving and sketch of him in this volume. After Mr. Wootten's death she mar- ried Clinton Roudebush, Esq., of New York. Governor Burton died August 5, 1866, and is interred in the grave-yard of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the town of Milford. The widow of Governor Burton is a resident of Milford, and enjoys . excellent health, and promises to live many years.
AYNTER, COLONEL SAMUEL,Gov- ernor of Delaware, was born in 1768, on the old family estate at Paynter's Draw- bridge. He spent his life on this estate which became his inheritance on the death of his father, Samuel Paynter, who was an Eng- lishman by birth. Colonel Paynter received his education in the common schools. He be- became a merchant, and in his mature years was active and influential in politics. He was elected Governor of the State on the Federal- ist ticket in 1823. In 1844 he was elected to the House of Representatives on the Demo- cratic ticket. He married Elizabeth Rowland of Sussex county, by whom he had a large family of children. The eldest of these, born in 1801, was Samuel Rowland Paynter, the father of Hon. John Paynter and Edwin Row- land Paynter,lawyers of Georgetown, of whom sketches will be found in this book. Governor Paynter died in 1848, at the ripe age of seventy- seven years.
USTON, REV. ALEXANDER, son of Samuel Huston, was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to Delaware in the early part of the eighteenth century. He graduated at Princeton College, New Jer- sey, in 1760, and received his license from the Presbytery of Lewes, Delaware, about 1763. He was ordained in 1764 and installed as pastor of Murderkill and Three Run churches, where he remained until his death, January 3, 1785. He was a man greatly beloved, and a most earnest and laborious minister. In con- nection with the historical incidents of the State he bore a conspicuous part, and it was his custom during the Revolutionary war 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 detachment of British soldiers came to his house and left their compliments by boring their bayonets through the panels of his doors, and destroying more of his property than was congenial to the feelings of his heart. His granddaughter,now living in Philadelphia is the relict of the late Solomon Townsend, formerly of Delaware, and of whom a sketch will be found in this volume.
240
HISTORY OF DELAWARE.
CCAULLEY, WILLIAM, a retired merchant, Real Estate Broker, Phi- lanthropist, ect., of Wilmington, was born in Cecil county, Md., Feb. 7, 1797. His father was Alexander McCaulley, a lead- ing citizen of Kent county, Maryland, who re- moved to New Castle county, Delaware, while William was yet a child. He secured a good English education at the schools of his vici- nity which he attended until the age of four- teen years. He began his business career at this time as clerk in a general country store at Odessa, where he remained until he reached his twenty-first year. In 1818 he removed to the city of Wilmington, Del., where he en- tered the employ of the late Thomas Lea, Esq., in the capacity of clerk. Mr. Lea was largely engaged in the flour manufacturing business, and the duties of Mr. McCaulley were of such a nature as to employ all his time and attention. In 1820 he formed a partnership with Thomas Lea, and engaged in the busi ness of general merchandising at Brandywine Village, now a part of the city of Wilmington. This business was conducted successfully until 1831, when Mr. McCaully abandoned it. He was elected the same year as a member of the Legislature of Delaware, which position he filled with great credit to himself and ren- dered valuable service to his constituents. He was appointed Magistrate about the same time, and was reappointed to the same office in 1838. He resigned in 1842, and has since, until a very recent period, been engaged in the Real Estate business in Wilmington, and has become one of the largest Real Estate owners in that city.
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.