Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 10

Author:
Publication date: 1972
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 776

USA > Delaware > Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2 > Part 10

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).

--- -

336

HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

Carmalt, daughter of James and Sarah (Perry) | Clayton. In 1862 he removed to Wilming- Howell of Philadelphia. They have three 'ton, and in 1867 returned to his farm children living ; Mary, Edith and Anna Belle. at Pierson's Corner, where he now resides. Mr. Rash is agent of Mr. William McCaulley of Wilmington and has charge of his ten farms intelligent and influential. He was very active

ASH, MOSES. Farmer, of Pierson's Corner, was born December 7, 1810, in in Kent county. He is a large, energetic man, West Dover hundred, in which place his father, Joseph Rash, was a large in the old Whig party and at all times inter- land owner. He died in 1836, at the jested in its success. At the breaking out of age of 82 years. His wife was Elizabeth, | daughter of Joseph Davis, of Kent county. She died in 1844, in the 75th year of her age. They were both members of the M. E. Church.

the war in 1861 he took decided ground against secession and was a devout supporter of the Union. He offered himself as a soldier for the support of his country's flag but his age being The father of Joseph was John Rash, a large greater than the service allowed he was com- pelled to remain at home, but was in heart and sympathy with those who served in the field. He is now a strong Republican and has been frequently elected as a Delegate to state Conventions. He joined the M. E church in 1845 and has held both the position of leader

owner of real estate, who resided near Wyoming. He married Miss Micah Wilson, and had four sons and four daughters : Daniel, who went to North Carolina, where he died at the advanced age of 109 years ; Andrew, who lived to be 87 years of age; Joseph, named above; Martin, who also reached his 87th and steward, but stands withdrawn from its year; Hester, who married William Green; communion. Mr. Rash has been twice married; first, July 28, 1831, to Miss Maria, daughter of Meyers and Sally (Barber) Casson, by whom he had eight children, five of whom are still living ; viz : Meyers, Sarah, wife of Jas. Kersey, Maria, wife of Blanchard Smith, Eugene and Pennel. He was again united in marriage August 17, 1854, to Miss Mary C., daughter of John Lawrence; eight children were also born of this marriage, and are all living; Josephine, William H., Charles W., George B., Lawrence, Addison, Kate and Hattie Rash. Letitia, who married Isaac Beer; Patuma, who married Eben Walls, and Angela, who married William Whitby ; each of the daughters left children. This family is one of the most ancient in the State, and deeds are in existence showing their posses- sion of lands in Kent county over two hun- dred years. The subject of this sketch had few opportunities of early education, a teacher being employed for perhaps two months in the winter for the neighborhood. At the age of 22 years he began farming on the lands of his father, at Pierson's Corner, where he resided for three years, and in 1836 went to Middle- town, where he remained one year. In 1837 he removed to Dover, where he resided for six years, being engaged in the livery busi- ness. He served as Constable of the district for one year, and as Deputy Sheriff for two years. In 1843 he removed to a farm near Pierson's Corner, which he inherited from his father, and in 1845 purchased the farm where he now resides, an estate of 115 acres of excellent land. He first raised grain, and in

SEMPLE, JAMES D. W., M. D., of Kenton, was born in Templeville, Queen Anne's county, Maryland, Aug. 10, 1851. and is now the only surviving child of James and Ann (Graham) Temple. The last named was the third wife of Mr. Temple, a successful farmer, and a man widely known and highly respected. He died in Feb- ruary, 1852, at the age of forty five years. His children by his first wife were, John T .; Wil- liam E., of whom a sketch is published in " Representative men of Maryland and District 1843 began cultivating fruit for the market. He of Columbia, 1879," and Lucy wife of John W. is now the owner of 225 acres of land, which Temple, of whom also, a sketch is found in the is divided into two farms. In 1849 he erected |above work. By his second wife his children his present residence. In 1879 he built a store were Benjamin L. and George C .; the latter died in 1880. The Temples were an old his- toric family, among the earliest settlers of the and granary at Pierson's Cross Roads of which his son has charge. In 1857 he removed to Philadelphia but after one year returned to Eastern Shore. Templeville derives from them

Very Respectfully. Henry C. Conrad

337

BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

its name; also, Governor Temple, of Delaware, | as a majority of the Board were opposed to him was of that family. Dr. Temple attended the public schools of his native village till he was sixteen years of age, after which he spent three years at a boarding school in West Not- tingham, Cecil county, Md .. where he was pre- pared for the medical college. In 1870 he entered the Jefferson Medical College at Phila- delphia, from which he graduated in the spring of 1874. He at once settled in Kenton, where he has grown into a large and lucrative prac- tice, and is very highly esteemed in the com- munity. He is a member of the Democratic party, but does not take an active part in public affairs. Dr. Temple was married, Octo- ber 24, 1877. to Miss Laura, daughter of John and Margaret (Bailey) Lee. A sketch of Mr. Lee will be found in this volume.

ONRAD, HENRY C., Lawyer and President of the City Council of Wil- mington, was born in Bridesburg, April 25. 1852. His parents, Aaron and Sarah W. (Pennypacker) Conrad, were both natives of Pennsylvania. A sketch of his father will be found in this volume. When very young he had the misfortune to lose his mother, and in 1856 removed with his father to Wilmington, where he has since resided. He received his education in the public schools of that city, and studied law in the office of Anthony Higgins, Esq. In 1873 he graduated at the Harvard law school, and was admitted to the bar in November, 1874. In the campaign of that year he took an active part as an out-spoken Republican, miking speeches throughout the State. In the campaign of 1876 he also bore a conspicu- ous part, and was of great service to his party. In May, of that year, he was made actuary or superintendent of the colored schools of the State of Delaware, and has held that position to the present time. In the advancement of these schools he has taken great pride, their efficiency and flourishing condition giving abundant proof of his care, and wise and excellent management. In 1878 he filled an unexpired term in the Wilmington Board of Education, and in May, 1879, was elected a member of that body. To this posi- tion he was re-elected in May, 1881, and for a second time was made president of the Board; the distinction being more particularly marked

in politics. In all these positions he has been conspicuously useful, and has enjoyed public confidence and regard in a high degree. In the spring of 1880, Mr. Conrad, in partnership with Mr. Emerson, purchased The Morning Herald, a Democratic newspaper, of Wilming- ton, and established in its place The Morning Neces. With the change of name and ownership the paper also underwent a change of politics, and became devoted to the interests of the Republican party, which it has ably and zealously advocated to the present time. Soon after the purchase Mr. Emerson retired from the firm, and his place was filled by Mr. Isaac R. Pennypacker. As a lively, wide-awake morning paper, the News filled a niche that had been waiting for it, tak- ing rank from the first, with the longer estab- lished journals, and became exceedingly pop- ular throughout the towns of the State and Peninsula. To its success, Mr. Conrad devoted himself. and had the satisfaction of seeing it received with great and increasing favor. In the winter of 1882, it was purchased by the News Publishing Company, with Watson R. Sperry, late managing editor of the New York Evening Post, as editor-in-chief. Mr. Conrad, then renewed his law practice. On the 3d of June, 1882, the Republicans achieved a victory in the city of Wilmington, which, for the pre- vious ten years, had been under Democratic rule, and Mr. Conrad was elected President of the City Council. The occasion was one of great rejoicing, his great personal popularity having a sensibly ameliorating effect on the opposing party. Mr. Conrad is a man of fine presence, and the truth, honor and thorough reliability of his character is manifest in his countenance and bearing. He has commenced life under the fairest auspices, and every step is attended with that favor that in sacred writ is declared rather to be chosen "than great riches." He is an active member of Grace M. E. church.

AYLOR, JAMES, TOMKINS, Farmer and Member of the Levy Court of New Castle county, was born on the farm where he now resides, July 23, 1836, being the seventh and youngest child of Isaiah and Catherine (Garvin) Taylor. His father, also a farmer, was born in Thoroughfare Neck, New Castle county, March 28, 1793.

338

HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

of the Methodist Church in Townsend. He was married in 1875 to Miss Sarah Rebecca, daughter of Captain John Smith, residing near Centreville, Queen Anne's county, and sister of Rev. John E. Smith, of the Wilmington Annual Conference.

He had but three months' schooling, but was | efficient member of that body. He is a trustee a man of good judgment, great energy and industry, and more than average ability. He was for many years a steward and class-leader in the Methodist Church. He died July 13, 1870. His marriage took place in 1820. His wife was born in Kent county, but her father, William Garvin, came from the city of Cork. He was a Presbyterian, and resided on a strip of country known as the "Alley," near Mur- phy's Mills, Kent county. The six elder chil- dren of Isaiah Taylor and his wife were, William, who died at the age of nine years ; Mary Ann, died at the age of three years ; Sarah Jane, and John Henry, died in infancy ; Catherine Maria, who became the wife of Peter S. Deakyne, and died in 1860, her only surviving child being Joseph Fletcher Dea- kyne; and Wilhelmina, who married George Davis Collins, near Smyrna, and died in 1860, leaving five children. The father of Isaiah Taylor was Kendall Taylor, who was born and spent his life in Thoroughfare Neck. He died there in 1796, when Isaiah, who was his only child, was three years of age. He was the son of Isaiah Allen Taylor, a farmer, who was also born, and lived, and died, in Thoroughfare Neck. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, a man of intelligence and prominence in his time. He married a Miss Francis, of an English family of New Castle county, relatives of the Rothwells. He died in the latter part of the last century, at the age of eighty-five. Mr. James T. Taylor attended the schools of the " Levels, " and for about six months the

WIGGETT, COL. WILLIAM YARD- LEY, Postmaster at Wilmington, was born in Seaford, March 15, 1841, being the third son of William Hinds and Hen- rietta Maria (Hurst) Swiggett. William H. Swiggett was a man of considerable local reputation. He taught school in his youth, and was in public life for many years, holding various positions in the county. He was Recorder of Deeds for Sussex county, clerk in the Register's office for twelve years, and Assistant Provost Marshal. He was a staunch Whig, and one of the first to join the ranks of the new Republican party. He died in 1875 when in his sixty-third year. His wife, as Miss Hurst, was an accomplished young lady of Dorchester county, Md. She was a sister of the late John Hurst, of Baltimore, and the present Bishop Hurst, of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, is her nephew. She died at the early age of thirty-two years, leaving a family of five children. These are now Captain Sam- uel A. Swiggett, a merchant at Ottumway, Iowa; Francis C., merchant tailor at Aller- ton, Iowa ; Anne E., wife of Robert H. Ford, of Washington, D. C .; Col. William Y., the subject of this sketch, and Ashland B. Swig- Middletown Academy. At eighteen years of gett, of Washington. All these sons bravely age he went for one year to the Conference Academy at Pennington, New Jersey, and on the late war ; the eldest was captain of the his return assisted his father in his store, and superintended the farm. The store was given

served their country in the Union army during Thirty-Sixth Iowa : an excellent and coura- geous officer. He was a prisoner. for eighteen up in 1867, having been carried on ten years. | months at Camp Ford, Texas. His brother At his father's death, being the only surviving Ashland, was wounded seven times in the bat- tle of Antietam. Mr. William H. Swiggett was again married, in 1856 to Miss Ellen A. Harris. She died in 1860, leaving him two children, who are now both residents of Iowa ; Mary B., wife of Cassius M. Green, and Cor- nelia M., wife of Edwin Goodwin. The grand- Aaron Swiggett, who married Miss Nancy Hinds, daughter of William Hinds, of Kent child, he came in possession of the landed estate, which he has kept under excellent cul- tivation. The home farm contains 187 acres of valuable land, and he has also thirty acres of woodland. He has about 2,500 peach trees which have been a paying interest, and devotes the remainder of the farm to cereals. father of the subject of this sketch was Major Mr. Taylor has always been a Democrat in politics and influential in that party. In 1878 he was elected a member of the Levy Court county, and niece of General Thomas Hinds, of of New Castle county for four years, and is an Mississippi. He settled in Seaford, engaging in

---

339

BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

the merchant and shipping business, and accum- ulated a considerable fortune. He was a major in the war of 1812, and was in the battle of Lewes. The coat he wore in that fight is still in the fam- ily. He died in 1828 when about forty years of age. He had two sons, William Hinds and Levin Swigget ; and three daughters, Eliza Ann, who married Major W. Allen, of Seaford, and died in 1873, leaving seven children ; Cor- nelia, who died unmarried in 1864, and Sarah J., widow of Capt. Orlando R. Martin, who died in 1860, leaving one child, Walter E. Martin. The father of Aaron Swiggett, and the first American ancestor of the family was William Swiggett, who was born in Sweden about 1750, and coming to America when a young man settled in Caroline county, Md. He married Miss Shaftesbury, and had two sons Levin and Aaron, and three daughters. He was a farmer in.good circumstances, and lived to the good old age of eighty-five years, dying in 1835. The parents of Col. William Y. Swiggett re- moved to Georgetown when he was five years of age, and he attended the school and academy at that place till he was seventeen. He then went to Iowa, where he remained one year, and returning in 1859 entered the office of the Georgetown Messenger, to learn the printing trade. At this business he continued till the breaking out of the rebellion in 1861, when he was one of the first to enroll himself for the defense of his country's flag, and en- listed as a private in company G, First Dela- ware volunteers, for three months. He was soon elected Second Lieutenant by that com- pany, in which rank he served during the term, guarding the railroad from Wilmington to Baltimore. On being mustered out he assisted in reorganizing the regiment for the three years service and was mustered in as First Lieutenant of company C. Two months he spent at home, in recruiting, after which he joined the regiment at Camp Hamilton, For- tress Monroe, and shared its fortunes till the battle of Antietam, in which he was severely wounded in the hip by a musket ball, and was borne from the field. After two months in the hospital he rejoined his regiment, and on the 20th of January was promoted to the rank of Captain, receiving his commission January 23, 1862, the day following his mar- riage. He was at that time at home on leave of absence, but soon afterwards rejoined his

regiment at Gettysburg. He was, however, unable to participate in the battle or to endure the hardships of the field. He was transferred to the veteran Reserve Corps, Oct. 1, 1863, and employed in the lighter duties of the service. He was first commissioned as First Lieutenant, and on the 10th of December was promoted to a Captaincy, and was stationed at Meridian Hill, near Washington, serving in this capacity until April 6, 1864, when he was mustered out of service under general orders. He returned home, and during the following summer as- sisted in raising the Ninth Delaware Regiment. When it was organized he was commissioned Major, his commission bearing date, Sep- tember 12, 1864. He was still suffering greatly from his- wounds, which had not yet closed, but he went with the regiment to Fort Dela- ware, guarding rebel prisoners. On the 4th of January, 1865, he was commissioned Lieu- tenant Colonel of his regiment, which was the same month mustered out of service by gen- eral orders from the War Department. Colonel Swiggett holds eight military commissions, beginning with a Second Lieutenancy and as- cending to that of Lieutenant Colonel In September of the last named year he was ap- pointed Mail Agent on the Delaware railroad, and removed his residence to Wilmington. He filled this position in an efficient manner till May, 1882, when having been appointed Postmaster of that city by President Arthur, he was on the fifteenth of that month con- firmed by the United States Senate. He en- tered upon the new task assigned him with the same zeal and devotion to duty that has characterized him in the different positions he filled in the army, and the one he so recently resigned in civil life. He is an active Republi- can, a member of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic, and was one of the originators of DuPont Post, No. 2, of Wilmington, in which he has held all the chairs of honor. He has been As- sistant Quartermaster General of the Depart- ment of Delaware, and is a member of the National Council of Administration. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He joined the M. E. Church in February, 1869, and is a trustee of St. Paul's Church. He was mar- ried, January 22, 1863, to Miss Charlotte E. D. Cannon of Georgetown, daughter of Joseph K. and Hannah (Dunning) Cannon. They have only one child, Miss Maria Swiggett.

340

HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

6 ILLIAMS, JONATHAN KNIGHT, Farmer, one mile north-west of Odessa, was born in Cheltenham township, Montgomery county, Pa., May 25, 1828. His father, John Jarrett Williams, a farmer, born in 1782, married Lydia, daughter of Jonathan Knight, and had five children ; four of whom survive : Mary K. ; Thomas, a farmer on the old homestead ; Jonathan K., the subject of this sketch, and John Jay Williams, a farmer of St. Augustine, Cecil county, Maryland. John Jarrett Williams was a Friend, but married out of the Society, and was disciplined ; still he always adhered to that faith. He died in November, 1851, in his sixty-ninth year. His father, Anthony Williams, was a rigid member of the Society of Friends. The English tried to force him into the ranks of the British army during the Revolutionary war; he was severely threat- ened and the heaviest pressure was brought to bear upon him, but he did not yield. He married Rachel Jarrett, of a numerous and highly respected family in that county. She was also a Friend. The Williams family were of Welsh descent, among the early settlers of Pennsylvania, and have been in all their generations, an industrious, thriving and highly respected people. The subject of this sketch attended the common schools till . the age of fifteen, when he was sent for four winters to boarding schools of the Friends' So- ciety at Clermont and at Byberry, and after- wards attended for one session the Friends Academy at Alexandria, Va., receiving at these schools a good mathematical and English edu- cation. He was then engaged on the home farm till the spring of 1852, when he removed toDela- ware and settled on the farm which has now been his home for nearly thirty years. It con- sists of 300 acres of tillable land which is mainly devoted to wheat and corn, though he has also a great deal of fruit, and at one time had ten thousand peach trees in bearing. Mr. Williams also bought in 1871 the Mapleton estate, and in 1876 the Foard farm, on the road from Middletown to Odessa. He pays considerable attention to stock, raising horses, cattle, etc , and keeps all his lands in a good state of cultivation. He is enterprising and intelligent, and highly regarded in the com- munity. He is a Republican in politics, and was a staunch friend of the Union during the

| war. He is a prominent and influential mem ber of the Methodist Church in Odessa, with which he united in 1868, and in which he is both trustee and steward. Mr. Williams was married in September, 1853, to Miss Fannie, daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Fox) Shall- cross, of Philadelphia, and sister of Serick Shallcross. They have had eight children : Lydia, who married Mr. Leonard Aspril, of Odessa ; John J., died in 1856, at the age of fifteen months ; Margaret Shallcross ; Mary Knight; Adaline Evans, died in 1865, in her fifth year; John Jay, died in 1863, aged one year; Fannie Shallcross, and Bessie C.Williams.

AN BURKALOW, MOSES SIPPLE, Merchant of Magnolia, was born in North Murderkill hundred, January 19, 1831. His father, John Van Burkalow,a farmer,

was a most excellent man. He was a

patriot, and served his country during the Rev- loution, entering the American army at the age of eighteen, and served to the close of the war, a period of four years. He was four times married, but had no children by his first and second marriages. By his third wife, Mary Turley, he had several children, and in 1829 he married Miss Ruth, daughter of Moses Sipple of Kent county, and sister of the late Caleb H. Sipple, of Dover. By her he had four children ; Moses Sipple; Hannah Ann, deceased ; Hettie S., widow of Joseph Hare- grove, of Seaford, and Eliza H., wife of Thomas E. Cottingham. John Van Burkalow died in 1842, at the age of eighty-four. He had been for sixty years a member of the Methodist Church. His father came from the north of England. about the middle of the sev- enteenth century, and settled in New Castle county. Mr. Van Burkalow attended the good common schools of his neighborhood till he was seventeen years of age, after which he was engaged in farming for ten years. In 1851 he purchased a farm in the suburbs of Camden, which he sold in 1856, and bought " the Cy- press," a farm of 130 acres, two miles from Magnolia, on the Camden road. Here he lived but one year, and in 1858 sold the land and entered into mercantile pursuits in Mag- nolia, in which he has since been engaged. Besides merchandise proper, he has also dealt to a considerable extent in grain, produce, wood, bark, lumber and coal, which he has

Eng ayaSs:n27 - 2 4 - 4

2 A. C.hour glass.

BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

341

mostly shipped in his own vessels to and from | a member of the Legislature of Maryland, and Magnolia to the large cities of the North. He

has also dealt extensively in real estate ; buy-

ing and selling farms in his vicinity. His store in Magnolia is now conducted under the firm name of William M. Prouse & Co., Mr. Prouse being his son-in-law, and Mr. VanBurk- alow having for some time been gradually with- drawing from active business. In politics he is a conservative Democrat and was a strong Union man during the war. In the fall of 1880 he was elected to the Legislature, and was active and prominent in the session of 1881. He was made a Master Mason, at Temple Lodge, Milford, in 1867. Mr. Van Burkalow united with the Methodist Church in 1844, at the age of thirteen, and at sixteen years of age was licensed to exhort, having from that time maintained this relation to the church. He has filled all the lay offices, and is a leading mem- ber in the church of his denomination in Mag- nolia. He was married in 1851 to Miss Mar- garet Maria, daughter of Benjamin and Cather- erine (Swiggett) Townsend, of Camden. Their children have been six in number : Ruth Sip- ple, who died in 1869, at the age of seventeen; Keturah Swiggett, wife of William M. Prouse, merchant at Magnolia ; Hattie Sipple, wife of John J. Conner, farmer, near Magnolia ; Mosena, wife of Rev E. C. MacNichol, of the Wilming- ton Conference ; John, who died at the age of three years, and Caleb Sipple, a son of much promise, now in his twentieth year.

PASSEY, GEO. V., Lawyer and Sol- dier, was born in Chester county, Pa., in 1841, removed to Delaware in 1849, living for one year at Newark. He afterward resided for several years at Elkton, Maryland. He removed to Dover in 1855, where he has since resided. He has been constantly engaged in the practice of the law since 1865. Has never had any public office. He was in. the army for two years during the war, in the Adjutant Generals and Inspector Generals Departments, respectively.

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.

Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 10

Author: Publication date: 1972 Publisher: Number of Pages: 776

Author:
Publication date: 1972
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 776