Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 24

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

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OORE, HON. JOHN T., Laurel, was born in Little Creek hundred, April 14, 1819. His father was Luther Moore, a farmer of Little Creek hundred, who was among the earliest friends of the M.P.Church and bore throughout a long life the character of an upright christian gentleman. His mother was Nancy, daughter of John Dashiell of the well known Dashiell family of Maryland. She was regarded as a most ex-

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Sincerely Yours L. Kittinger m. 2.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

emplary christian woman by all who knew her. | allow his name to go before the people as a Mr. Moore attended the public schools in his | candidate for Governor of the State, and in 1882 every inducement was presented by his many friends in the State, among whom were the leading men of the Democratic party, but he firmly and persistently declined, to the great regret of his party generally in the State.

vicinity until sixteen years of age, when he began attending a select school in Laurel. Here he continued until his twentieth year, when he commenced an agricultural life upon the farm where he was born, which was at- tended with no small degree of success until 1847, when he removed to Laurel and engaged in merchandizing. He became the possessor ONDER, HON. JAMES, Ex-Governor of Delaware, was born in Milton, October 31, 1819. A sketch of his father, Hon. John Ponder, and of the family history, will be found in this volume. Governor Ponder received a good education in the academies of Milton, Lewes. and Georgetown, completing his studies in 1838, when he became a clerk in his father's store, in Milton. On the first of January, 1843, he was admitted into partnership with his father. They carried on a very extensive mercantile business and were largely engaged in shipping produce, grain. wood. bark, luni- ber, etc .; also, in building vessels in Milton. In the last, Governor Ponder is still engaged. He also at that time bought and sold vessels to a considerable extent. In 1860 he erected a large steam mill for sawing lumber, ship timber, and for the manufacture of quercitron bark. The works were located on the south side of the Broadkiln, and a short distance below the bridge. The business he carried on was very large, especially in bark, $40,000 worth of which he sometimes had on hand at one time. He continued in all the above until the death of his father, in 1863, when he re- linquished the home mercantile department, and devoted himself to buying and shipping grain, bark, ship timber, etc. He is at the present time the owner of several vessels en- gaged in the West India and coasting trade. Governor Ponder is largely interested in agri- culture, and is the most extensive landowner of several vessels and contracted largely for wood, grain, lumber etc., which he shipped to Northern markets. In 1857 Mr. Moore was appointed clerk of the Superior Court of Sus- sex county, by Gov. P. F. Causey. After five years of efficient official service he returned to Laurel,giving his attention to his mercantile pursuits until 1870 when he retired from active business, still retaining,however, an interest in the purchase of grain and lumber until the year 1876, when his attention was given to the management of his farms and the oversight of his vessels. Mr. Moore is the owner of 1,000 acres of land, divided into six farms, in Sussex county, on which there are 6,000 peach trees in bearing, producing in 1878 4,000 baskets of peaches. The smaller fruits have also received much attention. In 1874 Mr. Moore was nom- inated on the Democratic ticket for State Senator from Sussex county. He was elected and served as Chairman of the Committee on Accounts, was on the Committee on Enroll- ment, on Revised Statutes, and Finance. His period of service expired in 1877, and for this session he served as Speaker of the Senate, in which office he gained by his knowledge of parliamentary law, his urbanity and fairness, a large hold upon the confidence and esteem of the members of that body. Mr. Moore is ad- mirably fitted for any position of public trust to which his friends may seek to promote him. For the last twenty years he has been a mem- ber of the M. P. Church in Laurel, and has served as a lay delegate in several sessions of in Sussex county. He has several thousand the Baltimore Annual Conference. In 1840 he acres of land, divided into farms and under good cultivation. He is engaged in the peach culture, although not making that a specialty. Most of his land he has purchased himself, in addition to which he holds the original estate patented by his great grandfather, John Ponder. Governor Ponder has always been was married to Miss Sallie, daughter of Na- thaniel Horsey, a well known business man of Laurel. Their only son, Andrew W. Moore, died at the age of twenty-five years. After the death of his first wife, he married Miss Rebecca, daughter of Winder Dashiell, Esq., who is also deceased, leaving no children. Mr. deeply interested in public affairs and actively Moore has been solicited often by his party to | engaged in promoting the fortunes of the

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Bates and James A. Bayard, to the United States Senate, and introduced the bill incor- porating the Junction and Breakwater Rail- road, which has since become a law. In 1864 he was elected to the State Senate, of which he was elected Speaker in 1867, filling this honorable and responsible position with marked ability and distinction. In 1870 he waselected Governor of Delaware by a large majority over his competitor, Thomas B. Coursey, of Spring Mills, Kent county, and was inaugurated on the third Tuesday of January, 1871. Governor Ponder filled the gubernatorial office for four years with great honor to himself and to the general satisfaction of the people of the State. From his youth he has been a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, to which the family have belonged for many generations. He is now a Warden in St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church at Milton. Governor Ponder was united in marriage in July, 1851, to Miss Sallie, daughter of Gideon Waples, of Milton, and has had four children; Ida, John, in busi- iness in Wilmington ; James, twelve years of age, and a son who died in his seventh year.

ITTINGER, LEONARD, M. D., of Wilmington, was born in Philadelphia, April 27, 1834, being the only son of Judge Henry Cress and Ann Eliza (Dixey) Kittinger. Judge Kittinger practiced law for a number of years in his native city, when he removed to Trenton, N. J., where he was Judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas for fifteen years, the first two terms of five years each being appointed by the governor and after the change in the consti- tution, the last term was elected by the people. He removed to Washington city in 1864 where he died in 1879, aged sixty-six years. He left besides Dr. Kittinger, three daughters, two of whom are married and reside in that city. Originally a Democrat, he became a pronounced republican on the breaking out of the war, and was a strong friend of

Democratic party, with which he has been identified since arriving at legal age. In 1856 he was elected to the Legislature of his native State, and served in the session of 1857, during President Lincoln. He was a man of ster- ling integrity and greatly respected. His father was Leonard Kittinger, a merchant of Philadelphia. He died about 1844, aged six- which he assisted in the election of Martin W. | ty-six years. His first wife was Sarah Cress, of Germantown, and their only child was Henry C., and after her death he married Eliza Moore, of Moorestown, N. J., by whom he had three daughters. His father was Dr. John Kittinger, who came from Germany and settled in Germantown, prior to the Revolu- tionary war. He was a large and wealthy landholder at the time of his death. Dr. Kit- tinger graduated at the Princeton Academy, N. J., after which he attended the grammar school at Edge Hill, N. J., from which he also graduated with honor. It was early his inten- tion to become a physician, and he began the study of medicine at Trenton, but his health being delicate, he engaged in mercantile life till 1859, when he entered as a student, the office of Dr. O. B. Gause, Professor of Obstet- rics and diseases of women and children, in the Pennsylvania Homopathic Medical Col- lege, an institution which has since been con- solidated with the Hahnemann Medical Col- lege. He graduated M. D., in 1863, after a very thorough course of study, and the same year settled in Flemington, Hunterdon county, N. J., remaining till April, 1866, when he re- moved to Wilmington, where he has devoted himself, with great success, to his profession, and by his skill and popularity, built up a large and lucrative practice. In May, 1859, Dr. Kittinger was married to Miss Emma, only daughter of Hon. Obadiah Howell, a pro- minent citizen of Trenton, N. J., and of an old and highly respectable family. They have three children : Leonard Armour, M. D., in partnership with his father ; Charles Howe, with Robinson and Chandler, bankers and brokers, Wilmington, and George Batchelder Kittinger, a student in Cornell University. Dr. Kittinger, in politics, is a Republican, but is exclusively devoted to his profession, in which he has achieved deserved eminence. He was, in 1869, elected a member of the Ameri- can Institute of Homeopathy, was one year the physician to New Castle Alms House and Insane Asylum, and is the physician in charge of the Home for Aged Women, a noble insti- tution, conducted under the auspices of the benevolent ladies of Wilmington.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

INDER, WARREN, Farmer, of North ordinances. He is a member of Sunnyside Grange, No. 7, Patrons of Husbandry. He is now past eighty-one years of age ; his faculties and senses unimpaired, and he still superin- tends his farm, managing its various interests with success. He was first married, February 2, 1825, to Miss Ann M., daughter of Caleb and Nancy Davis, by whom he had twelve children. Of these, nine grew to maturity : Caleb Davis, Mary Frances, Rhoda Ann, Emily, Sina, Eliza Amanda, Castilia, Martha Ellen, Caroline, and Mary Adelaide. Mrs. Kinder died April 1, 1848, and he next married Mrs. Eliza A. Bradley, widow of Isaac Bradley and daughter of Francis Brown. She died May 23, 1859. The third wife was Emeline Davis, sister of the first Mrs. Kinder, who died July 9, 1876. West Fork hundred, was born, Decem- ber 4, 1800, being the eldest son Isaac and Rhoda (Warren) Kinder. Isaac Kinder was a large land owner, and a prominent and highly respected citizen. He died, February 17, 1855, in the eighty-second year of his age. His wife was the daughter of Alexander and Sina Warren. She died, July 16, 1862, in her eighty-fifth year. The parents of Isaac Kinder were Jacob and Kate Kinder, who, in 1763, on the day of their mar- riage, left Germany for America. They pur- chased the farm where William Kinder, their great grandson, now lives, near Horsey's Cross Roads. Jacob Kinder died before 1800, and his wife about 1825. Their children were Jacob, a farmer, who inherited the home prop- erty, now owned by his grandson ; Isaac, no- ticed above, and Nancy, who married Stephen ICKMAN, HON. JOHN, late President of the Breakwater and Frankford Rail- road, was born in Milford Neck, Octo- ber 21, 1827. He was the only son of Nathaniel and Sallic Ann (Sharer) Hickman. His father was a shipbuilder of Milford, of wide reputation, who amassed a considerable fortune in his calling, born, March 20, 1785, and died, December 26, 1836. He had three children, Nancy, John and Mary. His daughters died unmarried. John was left an orphan at nine years of age, and until fif- teen years of age had his home with Captain John Hickman, an uncle. During his minority his guardian was Manaen Gum, of Frankford. He received his preparation for college at the Academy of Newark, and in 1844 entered Del- aware College, where he remained for two years. He entered on the study of medicine with Dr. John Gillis, of Whaleyville, Md., but could not overcome his repugnance to the sight of blood, and abandoned it after one year. He then entered mercantile life at Frankford, having Manaen Gum and John T. Long as partners, and with them conducted the vessel business, merchandizing and a large steam saw mill. When the partnership ended Mr. Hickman bought large tracts of swamp lands, which he cleared and converted into fertile farms, and this work, though laborious and expensive, was a paying investment. On the completion of the Delaware and the Warren, brother of Mrs. Isaac Kinder. War- ren Kinder attended the pay schools of his locality till about 1820, after which he at- tended the Academy at Seaford for two win- ters. In 1825 he married and purchased "Maple Grove," a farm of 500 acres, where he has since resided. Years of toil were required to clear away the oak forest and improve the estate. It is now divided into two farms. Mr. Kinder engaged to a considerable extent in the culture of peaches, raising the best varie- ties, and sending them to market so carefully that they always commanded the highest prices, but his land has been devoted princi- pally to grain, and he is one of the most en- terprising and successful farmers of Sussex county. In politics he was originally a Fede- ralist. In 1832 he was elected a member of the Levy Court on the Reform ticket, serving for one year. He then joined the Democratic party and was re-elected to the Levy Court for a term of four years. Subsequently he served two terms, making thirteen years in all, and his services were always highly satis- factory. He has also held many local offices. He was County Treasurer in 1873-4, and was for several years Vice-President of the Sussex county Bible Society, his health compelling him finally to resign. Mr. Kinder has been one of the most prominent members of Bethel M. E. Church for over half a century. He was steward and trustee for many years, and a |Junction and Breakwater Railroad, he con- faithful attendant and liberal supporter of its ceived the idea of making a railroad to con-

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2. b.valentine .

BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

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nect with the latter at Georgetown, running his eightieth year. His wife was Mary Tem- from Frankford and making a road for the ple. They had eight children. Captain Val- eastern section of Sussex county, and which entine attended the Friends' school of his na- would be an agency for the development of tive place during the winter season, until he that portion of the State, and southwardly to was twenty years of age, after which he was Maryland and Virginia. It is not too much to say that to Mr. Hickman it was owing that this railroad was carried through to Frankford and forms now an extension of the railroad line through to Franklin City, Va. Upon the completion of this improvement he was made the President of the Breakwater and Frankford Railroad, and continued to hold this position until his lamented death. He served two terms in the State Legislature, and during the second was Speaker. The interests of public education and the internal improve- ments of the State are greatly indebted to his wise influence and sleepless vigilance and energy. His death was regarded as a public calamity, and to his family and friends an irre- parable bereavement. John Hickman was an humble and devout christian believer, a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, and passed from life under the inspiring hope and with the calm resignation of the true christian. His useful and honorable career was terminated November 21, 1877. In 1851 he was united in marriage to Angie, daughter of Stansbury Cannon, of Bridgeville. Of their six children five are still living to revere his memory, and, we trust, to emulate his example. engaged in agriculture and teaching till 1838. He then removed to Wilmington, where he was a clerk for two years, and for two years principal of Public School, No. 12. Following this he was the agent of the P., W. and B. rail- road until 1853, when he was elected to the Legislature on the Whig ticket, and was a leading and popular member. He had charge of the bill for chartering the Delaware railroad, andintroduced the first bill ever brought before the Legislature of Delaware to give to married women the right to hold and control all the property they possess at the time of marriage. The bill had, at that time, no chance of pass- age, but it led the way to a better state of things. He became interested, about this time, in pushing through to a successful com- pletion, the building of the Delaware railroad, for which he procured large subscriptions. to the stock, and was thus engaged till the road was finished, in 1856. In 1857 he was elected City Auditor of Wilmington; in 1859, Street Commissioner for two years; and was kept, almost constantly, in office as member of the Board of Education, Board of Health and of the City Council. Being a strong Union man he was, in May, 1862, appointed Captain in the Volunteer service, and helped recruit the ALENTINE, CAPT. JOSHUA SCOTT, ex-Mayor of Wilmington, was born in East Marlboro, Chester county, Penna., July 28, 1811. His father, John Valen- tine. was a farmer in comfortable circum- stances, a member of the Society of Friends. He died, August 27, 1881, at the advanced age of ninety-five. His wife was Asenath, daugh- ter of Joshua Scott, of the same . township. They had four sons and three daughters who grew to maturity : Joshua S ; Elizabeth, widow of Samuel Gause ; Benjamin F .; Chalkley Mitchener, who died in 1880; Edith, wife of Marshall Harvey ; Hon. John K. Valentine, U. S. District Attorney for the Eastern Dis- trict of Pennsylvania ; and Annie, wife of Wil- liam Cloud, of West Chester. The grand- father of Capt. Valentine was Absalom Valen- tine, also a farmer, who spent his life in Lon- donderry township, and died in 1824, when in Fourth Delaware, which was mustered into the U. S. service in Sept. He commanded Com- pany K, whose hardships and perils he shared till the close of the war. They were engaged in the defense of Washington for about a year, after which the regiment joined the Army of the Potomac. It was engaged in all the battles of the Fifth Corps, to which it was attached, and made a proud record. Captain Valentine was a gallant and able officer, and on several occasions led his regiment in action. He received an honorable discharge in June, 1865. In September, 1866, he was elected by the Republican party, Mayor of Wilmington, and was also twice re-elected, serving six years, and proving a very able and popular officer. A disqualifying clause in the law, passed in 1872, finally made him ineligible for further re-election. He was afterward United States Commissioner and Chief Super-

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

visor of elections for Delaware. He was a age, when he determined to prepare for the Mason and belonged to the order of Odd legal profession, and studied three years in Fellows, from 1844. He was many years a member of the Wilmington Fire Department. He was married in October, 1835, to Miss Rachel Ann Hollingsworth, of Wilmington, who is still living. They had two daughters: Emma Louise, wife of George W. Remington, and Sarah Ann, widow of Archibald D. O'Meare. The death of Captain Valentine, July 6, 1882, was very sudden and unexpected, and the shock was deeply felt throughout the community. His kind disposition and staunch principles had made him hosts of friends, and he was greatly loved and respected wherever known. the law office of Hon. Nathaniel B. Smithers. Admitted to the bar in 1861, he at once com- menced the practice of law in Dover, in part- nership with Hon. George P. Fisher, then a member of Congress. In August, 1862, he was appointed by President Lincoln, Collector of Internal Revenue, which office he held till May 1, 1869. He then resumed the practice of law, which he still continues, and has a large share of the legal business of the town. In politics Mr. Day was a Republican till 1870, when he joined the Democratic party. In 1877 he was Clerk of the House of Represen- tatives. He is a member of the Methodist Church, in which he was several years steward and Sabbath School Superintendent. He was married, in 1850, to Miss Mary, a daughter of Samuel Warren, a farmer of Kent county, and granddaughter of Captain John Warren, who commanded a company in the battle of Trenton, and was one of those who bore Col. Hazlett, the distinguished Delaware soldier, from the field when mortally wounded. Mr. and Mrs. Day have three children, Amanda E., Ruth A., and Mary Emma Day.

AY, MATTHIAS, Farmer, of Kent Co., son of John and Mary (Maxwell) Day, was born in Kent county, Md., in 1783. His mother's family was one of the most wealthy and influential in that county. His father was a Methodist cler- gyman, and in 1792 moved to Kent county, Del., where he died two years later. The father of the latter, also named John Day, married Susanna Piner, and died prior to the Revolution. The family were of English origin, and were among the earliest settlers of Kent, in Maryland. Matthias Day owned two farms and became a leading man in his local- ity, holding the office of County Treasurer for the term of three years. He was in later life a Whig in politics, and was twice elected to the Legislature, serving in the years 1827 and 1828. He was a member of and class leader in the Methodist Church. By his first wife, Le- titia Lockwood, he had four children, three by his second wife, Elizabeth Smith, and five by his third wife, Martha Baggs. Mr. Day was a truly good man and served well his day and generation. He died, greatly lamented, May 14, 1843, at the age of fifty-nine.

AY, CHARLES H. B., Lawyer of Dover, son of the above, was born in Kent county, May 25, 1828. He was brought up on the farm and received a good common school education, but his father dying when he was very young, leaving his mother with a large family, he was after that obliged to labor very hard. He was en- gaged in farming till he was thirty years of

UNN, FRANCIS MARION, ex-Sheriff of Kent county, was born in that county, January 26, 1842, being the third son and fifth child of Thomas and Ann (Clements) Dunn. His father was a farmer, and died in 1849. His mother, the daughter of Thomas Clements, of the the same county, is still living. The maiden name of his father's mother was Sarah Daw- son, of the Dawson family, of Talbot county, Md. She married Robert Dunn, of York, Penna. Francis M. Dunn was left fatherless at the age of seven years, and his mother hav- ing six other children to care for, he was early obliged to assist in the family maintenance, and attended school only in the winter. At the age of fourteen years he became a clerk in Camden, continuing this occupation there for four years, and afterwards for a short time in Wyoming. He was next engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery business in Wil- mington. In 1862 he commenced teaching in Kent county, which he continued till October, 1866, when he formed a partnership in mercan- tile business at Marydel, with Mr. William

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N. Couper.

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BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

Reynolds. This gentleman dying in the fall of the following year, his father-in-law, Mr. Thomas H. McIlvaine, became his partner. He also died in 1874, when Mr. Dunn sold out his stock and engaged in the manufacture and sale of phosphates, and also was largely in- terested in the grain commission business. He was prominent in the affairs of the place, which was at first called Halltown, but Mr. Dunn succeeded in having the name changed to Marydel, and also in having a postoffice established there. He was the first postmaster, holding the office from 1867 to 1871. In 1878 he was nominated and elected Sheriff of Kent county, which position he held till the close of his term in 1880, proving an able and popu- lar official. He was married, January 3, 1867, to Josephine, daughter of Thomas H. McIl- vaine. They have three children living : Thomas Francis, Corabella, and Annie May.

COUPER, WILLIAM, Merchant, third son of Dr. James and Hannah (McIntire) Couper, was born in New Castle, Sep- tember 9, 1809. Of a family and lineage who, next to character and religion, prized a good education; he received in his early years, thorough instructions in the En- glish branches. While still very young he went to Philadelphia and there entered the commission house of Perit & Cabot, engaged in the foreign trade. He remained with the firm several years, after which he became cor- responding clerk in the celebrated house of Samuel Comly, with which were connected several branch-houses in the southern cities. In both these places his capability, industry, and manly, upright conduct, won him great respect and regard. He familiarized himself thoroughly with every detail of the business, and about the year 1855, went to Canton, China, where he engaged as corresponding clerk in the mercantile house of Wetmore & Company, and afterwards became a mem- ber of the firm. In 1864, he returned to Dela- ware, and purchasing several valuable farms in New Castle county, devoted himself to agriculture the remainder of his life. His de- cease took place November 25, 1874. Though a gentleman of culture and refinement, and successful in all his undertakings, Mr. Couper was modest and retiring in his habits and averse toall ostentation. Home he loved and

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Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 24

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

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