Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 20

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Publication date: 1972
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 776

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OCKWOOD, WILLIAM KIRKLEY, Farmer, residing near Warwick, Cecil county, Md., was born in Delaware, March 31, 1828. A sketch and plate of his father, Richard Lockwood, are given in this volume. William is the fifth child of his parents, and was reared upon the farm, attending school until he was ten years of age, at which time his parents removed to Middle- town, where his education was conducted for six years. He was then sent to the New Lon- don Academy, Chester county, Penna., where he continued for two years. At the age of eighteen he went to Philadelphia, and was engaged as a clerk, but after a short time re- turned to Middletown and assisted in his father's store. He remained in this business for two years, when he began the pursuit of agricul- ture. He had the care of the home farm, the property of his father, for one year, when he removed to the farm called " Heath's Range,' where he now resides. This estate contains 440 acres, and by perseverance and enterprise, Mr. Lockwood has made it a most valuable

LEMING, EZEKIEL, Lumber Dealer, Mill Owner and Merchant, of Harring- ton, was born March 4, 1836, in Kent county. He was reared on a farm and attended the country schools very ir- regularly during the winter terms. At twen- ty-one years of age he began working upon the Delaware railroad, which he followed for eight years. At the end of this time he began the business of furnishing ties to the railroad com - pany, from a tract of timber which he had pre- viously purchased. He continued buying and selling lumber and railroad ties until 1872, when he bought an interest in a steam saw mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1875. The insurance on this property being only partial, Mr. Fleming's loss was considerable. He had contracted for large quantities of lumber, and had to employ other mills to do the sawing. He purchased the "McCleary mill," at Farm- ington, in 1875, which he still continues to operate. In 1876 he erected a steam saw mill at Felton, and after the contiguous timber was cut, removed it to Harrington. Mr. Fleming's mills cut and supply the Delaware railroad and P., W. & B. railroad with lumber for bridges, etc. He also ships large quantities to the northern markets. He has often five other

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mills employed to assist in cutting lumber to | the academy at Milford for one year. Upon fill contracts amounting to over 100,000 feet per month. In 1878, Mr. Fleming built a steam grist and custom mill at Harrington, running four sets of burrs, and turning out large quantities of flour, meal, etc. His mills are all furnished with the latest improved ma- chinery, and he gives employment to some fifty men. In 1871 he bought the stock and fix- tures of a general store and began merchan- dizing, which he still continues. In addition to all these interests he owns 570 acres of land, which are cultivated under his supervision. He has been eminently successful, and is one of the self-made men of the State. Mr. Flem- ing is a man of fine business abilities, honor- able, intelligent and industrious. He enjoys the confidence of his fellow citizens and his many friends In politics he is identified with the Republican party, was a strong Union man during the war, and openly opposed secession. In religious belief his sympathies are with the Methodists, though he is not a member of any church. He was married in 1861, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of William Booth, a farmer of Kent county. Of this marriage there are living seven children, three daughters and four sons.

HARP, WILLIAM WALKER, Farm- er, of Nanticoke hundred, was born, October 2, 1821, on the farm adjoining that upon which he now resides. This farm is situated on the county road leading from Seaford to Milford, about midway. His father, Clement Sharp, Sr., was a farmer and large land owner of Nanticoke hundred, who died at the age of seventy-six years, in 1854, leaving a large estate. He was a mem- ber of the M. E. Church, and an upright, honest, self-made man. His mother was Sallie, daughter of Thomas Lindale, of Sussex county. She died in 1850, at the age of seventy-five years, leaving seven children. The grandfather of William was John Sharp, a wealthy farmer and prominent citizen of Sussex county; he died in 1816. The Sharps came from England and settled in Sussex county, early in the eighteenth century. Wil- liam W. Sharp is the fourth generation from John Sharp, the emigrant. He attended the public schools of his neighborhood until he * jas twenty years of age, when he was sent to

reaching manhood he began teaching, and fol- lowed that vocation for three years, teaching only in the winter season. He then began farming and merchandising at his present home. He continued merchandising for five years, when he gave it up and devoted himself to farming and to the culture of fruit. His home-farm consists of two hundred and fifty- five acres of excellent land; he has 5,000 peach trees in bearing, and cultivates other fruits to some extent, but principally devotes his farm to the growth of grain. Mr. Sharp has been successful as a farmer, and is a man of great energy and business ability. He owns several very fine farms, in all, about 1,100 acres, all situated in Sussex county. He was reared a Whig, and has been a member of the Republican party since its formation; he was an avowed Unionist during the late war, and stood up for the preservation of the country. He joined the M. E. Church in 1837 and has been an exhorter, class-leader and trustee in his church for the past twenty years. Mr. Sharp has interested himself in public education, and has held the position of clerk of the school board of his district for . thirty years. His life is his best eulogy. He was united in marriage, on the twenty-fourth day of December, 1843, to Miss Leah, a daughter of George and Mary (Laws) Polk, of Sussex county, Delaware.

ARTER, EDWARD, Farmer, Fruit Grower, and Nurseryman, of North Murderkill hundred, was born, Novem- ber 3, 1824. His parents were Edward Broadaway and Mary (Register) Carter, of Kent county, Md. Three children of this marriage grew to maturity : Edward J., Mary A., and Lydia B. The Carters are of English descent, and first settled in Virginia, afterward removing to Delaware. Edward J. Carter at- tended the schools in the vicinity of his home until his sixteenth year, when he attended for one year the Academy at New Castle, Dela- ware. In 1845 he became a farmer at " Tonton Field," the place of his birth, which is the name of a large tract of land comprising more than one thousand acres, which has been in the possession of the Carter family since 1820. The farm on which Mr. Carter resides is also called Tonton Field, and his house is a brick

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BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

mansion, built by his father in 1833. In 1854 he began peach-growing, and established his nursery. In 1836 he set out fifteen hundred peach trees. Each succeeding year he has added to the number, and in 1880 had seven thousand peach trees in bearing. His nursery consists of peach and apple trees, principally, but attention is given to the cultivation of pear trees, the smaller fruits, evergreens and shrubbery. Mr. Carter has found fruit growing a paying interest. During one year his sales amounted to $3,000. In politics he has always been a Democrat. He was united in marriage, April 20, 1847, to Miss Elizabeth Reynolds, daughter of Robert W. Reynolds, a sketch and plate of whom precedes this biography. Ten children have been born to them, eight of whom survive : Mary Evelyn, wife of Dr. R. W. Hargadine, of Felton ; Rev. Herman Car- ter, a graduate of Drew Theological Seminary, and now a member of the Kansas M. E. Con ference ; Sallie G. R., Julia, Edward B., Luther M. R., Frank R .. and Aimee Carter.

ARRINGTON, SAMUEL MILBY, Lawyer, was born at Dover, October 31, 1840, being the eldest son of Chancellor

Harrington, of honored memory. It

has been the fortune of Delaware to have a succession of able men, whose useful - ness has been perpetuated in the virtues and talents of their sons. Of this, the subject of this sketch was a striking example. A life closed too soon as it seemed to human judg- ment, and yet so singularly fruitful of results, presents to the thoughtful and attentive mind a most interesting study. His earliest boy- hood gave promise of the future man. His elementary education was obtained in the town of his birth, and he was graduated from Delaware College with the first honors of his class in 1857, being then in his seventeenth year. At once the young graduate com- menced the study of the law, first under direc- tion of his father, and then of Hon. D. M. Bates, and was admitted to practice, No- vember 18, 1861, having, less than a month before, completed his twenty-first year. At this time the cloud of civil war had over- shadowed the land, and soon after, it became the subject of all absorbing anxiety and atten- tion. His earnest and sympathetic nature re- sponded to the sense of public peril, as it did

to every generous impulse, and he speedily became active in political affairs. In several capacities he gave his ardent support to the cause of the Union, and was in politics an active member of the Republican party, in which, even at so early an age, he became a recognized influence. In 1862 he was ap- pointed Adjutant-General of this State, in which capacity he rendered efficient service in raising, organizing and equipping troops. In the following year, (1863,) upon the election to Congress of Hon. N. B. Smithers, then Secre- tary of State, Mr. Harrington was appointed to that office. His new duties were discharged with characteristic industry and ability, and his administration thercof won the admiration of friends, and the respect of all. At this time, his interest in public affairs was un- flagging. He came at once to the front rank as a leader of his party, and wielded a large influence in shaping its policy and guiding its action, so long as it held power in the State. The death of Governor Cannon terminated his official life early in 1805, but his interest in public affairs continued till the election of 1866. After earnest but unsuccessful efforts, as Chairman of the State Central Committee of that year, in behalf of his friend, Mr. Riddle. as a candidate for Governor, he quitted the field of active politics, and, thenceforth. devoted himself untiringly to the practice of his profession. Shortly after, the death of his father left him, at twenty-five, the head of his family and stay of his mother and younger brothers and sisters. This sad event decided all his future course. He subsequently held two public offices, strictly in the line of pro- fessional duty, having been Deputy Attorney- General during a portion of the term of At- torney-General Wootten, and, July 1, 1872, being elected City Solicitor of Wilmington, a position to which he was re-elected for a second term. He was also a member of the Republican National Executive Committee from 1874 to the time of his death. Mr. Harrington's professional career, which ab- sorbed all of life which remained to him, was unique, both in the brilliancy of his success and the rapidity with which it was . achieved. The universal confidence of the bar and the public which his, father had enjoyed, was no mean inheritance ; but the son, unaided, would have commanded suc-

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cess in any forum. He combined all the quali- [ his grave, that therein were buried "not only ties of a true lawyer in a symmetrical develop- its richest treasures, but its brightest hopes." Mr. Harrington was an active member of the M. E. Church, and at every point, where it was pos . sible, he touched society, and it seemed always brightened by the contact. His fondness for children was so marked as to surround him with them on every possible occasion. No public interest came within his reach which did not receive his hearty co-operation and before others had ceased to plan he had begun to act, always bearing the burden of the common labor. But the physical was not equal to the mental. Silent and unregarded, the forces of life had been giving way. More and more had the work absorbed the man, quite crowding out that social life in which he could be pre- eminent. The end came on the 10th of Sep- tember, 1878, and he was not quite thirty-eight years old. ment as rare as it was admirable. As a counsellor he was patient to hear facts, and indefatigable in verifying them, clear and accurate in legal judgment, fixed in his ma- tured opinions, and frank in their statement. He left nothing to chance. He went into Court, master of the situation, and tried his case with a brilliancy and dash surprising to one not in the secret of the laborious preparation. Endowed with singular versatility and readi- ness of resource, alert, courteous, indefatiga- ble, his success was inevitable. If he had been less brilliant in advocacy, he would have secured a reputation for accuracy of detail and industry in the dispatch of office routine; or, if his facility in all that pertains to the attorney had been less marked, he would have impressed himself as one born to win distinc- tion as a barrister. The union of distinct and well defined capacities which generally dis- ILLIAMS, HON. JAMES, Member of the Forty-fourth and the Forty-fifth Congress from the State of Delaware, was born in the city of Philadelphia, August 4, 1825. His father, John Wil- liams, born in 1775, was, by birth, a native of New Castle county, Del., but went to Phila- delphia in early life, and was for many years engaged in that city as a dealer in lumber. He returned to his native State in 1846, and died, July 3, 1849. His mother was Esther, daughter of John Adams, of New Castle county, but originally from Maryland. Mrs. Williams died in Philadelphia, in 1875, in the eighty- eighth year of her age. The parents of Mr. Williams left six sons, having had eight chil- dren, of whom the subject of this notice was the seventh. After attending private schools, he, at sixteen years of age, engaged with a carpenter to learn the business of an archi- tect. He continued with him eighteen months, when his father having bought the estate known as "Redcliffe," in New Castle county, he came to Delaware and engaged in agriculture, to which he has devoted his subsequent life. In 1848 his father bought the land on which he now resides, being a part of the old Somer- ville estate, the residence and home of Chan- cellor Ridgely. Mr. Williams built, in that year, the house in which he still lives. This farm consists of 172 acres of valuable and im- proved land ; and he is besides the owner of tinguish two classes of lawyers, was of itself a source of power, even if either had been less marked in him. Indeed there was no duty of the profession to which he did not bring the faculties of a master. Not unworthy of note was his considerate, courteous punctuality, which would not waste for others the time which he himself so well employed. While he thus displayed all these gifts which en- riched his client, his exemplary bearing towards the Bench fulfilled to the' utmost his profes- sional oath, and his uniform courtesy made him the favorite of the bar. Mr. Harrington always maintained that high professional standard so essential to the welfare of the bar and of society. To be a lawyer meant not merely the means of personal advancement, but he felt that he exercised a public function involving a lofty range of duties and responsi- bilities. In all that tended to elevate the tone and promote the esprit de corps of the bar he was facile princeps. The Bar Associa- tion and Bar Library of his county owe their existence to his energy and their growth to his fostering care. Courteous, self-forgetful, public spirited, he was pre-eminently helpful and encouraging to younger men, and his brethren of every age arose at his death and blessed his memory for the kindly influence of his life. Truly his own profession in its tributes to his memory, recorded, as did Schubert's a

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900 acres, the greater part of which is in three | farms, and the rest in timber. Mr. Williams is a Democrat in politics, and in 1856 was elected by that party to a seat in the State Legisla- ture, serving for the years 1857-58. He was again elected and served in the years 1863-64. In 1866 he was elected to. the State Senate and served from 1867 to 1871. During the last two years he was Speaker of that body. He was a member of the National Convention of the Democratic party, which in 1872 met in the city of Baltimore and nominated Horace Gree- ley for President. He was elected to the For- ty-fourth Congress by his party, serving on the Committee of Naval Affairs, and also elected a member of the Forty-fifth Congress, serving on the committees of Military Affairs and Private Land Claims. In March, 1879, he returned to his home and has since devoted himself to the care of his farms. Mr. Williams declares himself a hard money Democrat, and steadily refuses to indorse measures whose virtue solely lies not in consistency, but suc- cess. He was appointed by Governor James Ponder an aid on his staff with the rank of Col- onel. A good farmer, an eminent citizen, a most.excellent neighbor, he is highly esteemed by his own community, and widely appreciated by his party and the State of Delaware. Col. Williams was united in marriage in 1850 to Miss Ruthanna, daughter of the late Mason Baily, of Kent county. By this marriage there are two surviving children ; Nathaniel J., and Sarah Esther Williams.

OOTTEN, HON. EDWARD, one of the Judges of the Superior Court of Delaware, was born in Laurel, Sussex county, October 2, 1810. His father, Peter G. Wootten, was a man of ability and great business enterprise. He was a farmer, a merchant, and engaged in vessel business, all of which he prosecuted with vigor and success. He was also interested in polit- ical affairs, and served in the State Legisla- ture. He died in 1824, at about fifty-seven years of age. The father of Peter G. Wootten came to this country from England. He settled his four sons on two thousand acres of land, in one body, near Laurel. Judge Wootten received his early education in the Laurel Academy, which at that time enjoyed great celebrity, and was considered nearly equal to a college ;

having all kinds of instruments and appa- ratus in the mathematical, astronomical and philosophical departments. At the age of eighteen Mr. Wootten commenced the study of law with the distinguished Thomas Cooper, of Georgetown, late member of Congress, and after his death, with James Rogers, Esq., of New Castle, being admitted to the bar in 1830. He at once began the practice of his profession in Georgetown. He early exhibited great skill in the management of his cases, and ere long had gained a large clientage, and was recognized as one of the leading members of the bar in Delaware. - In 1845 he received the nomination for Congress by the unanimous vote of the Democratic convention, but this honor he declined, preferring to devote his whole time and talents to his profession. The following year there was a general desire ex- pressed by the judges and members of the bar, and prominent gentleman of both political parties, for his appointment as one of the judges of the Superior Court of the State ; but Governor Cooper, who was a Whig, refused, as was supposed, for political reasons, to make the appointment. It 1847, however, Governor Tharp, recognizing his fitness for the position, appointed him to the place, which he has since filled with such credit to himself and honor to his native State. No appointment could have been more gratifying to the legal profession, or to the people at large, as over thirty years have proved. Judge Wootten has always possessed, in an unusual degree, the qualifications neces- sary for his responsible position, having a pro- found knowledge of the law, great decision of character, and a keen and intuitive sense of justice. With such assiduity and ability has he devoted himself to the duties of his high office, that no decision which he has rendered since his elevation to the Bench, has ever been reversed, although he has delivered the opinions of the Court and charged the Jury in many of the most important cases which have been tried during his long term of service, which were reviewed by the Court of Appeals. One of his distinguishing traits is his wonder- ful memory. It is common for the profession and others who know him, to say, " He never forgets anything." His comprehensive and accurate knowledge of law was marked, even before he became Judge, in his pleadings before the high Court of Chancery where he

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never lost but two cases, and those were ap- pealed to the Court of Errors, and both re- versed. Judge Wootten was, for thirty years, a trustee of the Georgetown Academy, and for many years a vestryman and senior warden of the P. E. Church. For sixteen years pre- vious to his becoming a Judge, he was a direc- tor of the Farmers Bank in Georgetown. He is now in the ripeness of his years and experi- ence, hale and vigorous, and in the full enjoy- ment of all his physical and intellectual powers. He has large landed interests in the vicinity of Georgetown. Judge Wootten was married, in June, 1833, to Mary, daughter of Judge Peter Robinson. Their only child, Alfred P. R. Wootten, late Attorney General of Delaware, died, August 28, 1864. . A sketch of his life will be found in this volume. Mrs. Wootten, a lady of great superiority and noble christian character, died, June 3, 1877. Judge Wootten is a man of unusual strength of will and force of character, yet of a most ge- nial disposition, which makes him very popu- lar with his many friends.

OUSTON, ROBERT BELL, Farmer and land owner of Dagsboro hundred, was born, December 9, 1802, on the farm where he now resides. His father was Robert Houston, a farmer and land owner, who died in 1821. His mother was Ann, daughter of Paul Thoroughgood, of that county. She died in 1827. Of this marriage there were seven children. The progenitor of the family in America was Robert Houston, an immigrant from Scotland, who , patented the land upon which his posterity have lived for successive generations. The name "Rob- ert" has been sacredly cherished in the Hous- ton family and has always been the name of the son living upon the paternal estate. Rob ert Bell Houston, the subject of this sketch, attended the private schools in his vicin- ity until his nineteenth year, when the death of his father made it necessary for him to assume the management of the home farm. In 1827, upon the death of his mother, Mr. Houston became the heir to this estate. In addition, he is owner, also, of 2,608 acres, his total landed possessions amounting to 3,208 acres. He was brought up in the faith of the Democratic party, and in 1831 was elected a member of the State Constitutional

Convention, but has since refused public office. He was many years an elder in the Indian River Presbyterian Church, which he joined in 1841. He was married July 3, 1831, to Miss Lydia B., daughter of Isaiah and Hetty Whar- ton, of Sussex county. Mrs. Houston died, April 12, 1876, in her sixty-seventh year, leav- ing the following children : John Mitchell, a farmer and ex-legislator of Dagsboro Hun- dred ; Dr. Isaac Howard Houston, of Vienna, Dorchester county, Md .; Edward Woolsey, a merchant of Millsboro ; Robert Isaiah , a farmer of the neighborhood; Charles Bell, residing on the home farm, and Henry Aydelott, a teacher by profession, and residing at Mills- boro, Del.

DAMS, ISAAC J. W., Mill owner of Laurel, was born, October 29, 18. ", being the eldest son of Thomas Adams' mill- wright, of Laurel, who died in 1866. His mother was Elizabeth Wootten, daugh- ter of John Wootten. His grandfather was Isaac Adams, a farmer of Somerset county, Md., who came to this State immediately after the Revolutionary war. He married a Miss Cordry. The childhood of Isaac J. W. Adams was passed on a farm. On his fifteenth birth- day he commenced learning his father's busi- ness, and continued with him until he was twenty-two years of age. He then purchased the Cod Creek Mills, and while attending to these, also gave his attention to the trade he had learned. He next became part owner of the Galestown Mills, and devoted his time to their management. In 1867 he removed to Salisbury, and engaged in the manufacture of ship and house lumber with General Hum- phries. In December of 1871, he became in- terested in the Laurel Mills, and the firm be- came Adams & Co., (of which see Industries in this volume,) who have built the present mills and conduct the business. Mr. Adams has devoted himself assiduously to his business, and, although his early advantages were few, he is a man of unusual intelligence, and is well-read and a representative, self-made man. In politics he is Democratic, but has in- invariably declined the nomination to office often tendered him by his party. Mr. Adams is a member and vestryman of Christ's Protes- tant Episcopal Church, of Laurel. In 1850 he was married to Miss Eglantine E., daughter

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Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 20

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

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