Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 37

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Publication date: 1972
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 776

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487

BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

1840, the late Dr. Henry F. Hall, of Lewes, | pointed an elder and trustee. He was mar- became his preceptor. He graduated in 1842 ried in 1842, to Miss Hannah Bell, of Lewes, from the Jefferson Medical College and practiced his profession, with great suc- cess, in Lewes, till 1856, when he removed to · his farm near the town, and as far as possible,

who died in 1850. He was again married, in 1856, to Miss Comfort Tunnell Hitchens, also of Lewes. Their surviving children are John Selby and Robert Griffith Houston. Their relinquished his practice. In Sept , 1861, he en- only daughter, Elizabeth, died at the age of

tered the army as surgeon of the Second Regi- ment of Delaware Volunteers, and was in its encampments on the Eastern Shores of Mary- land and Virginia, till May. 1862, when his Regiment joined the army of the Potomac in front of Richmond, on the Chickahominy, just after the battle of Fair Oaks, where it was at- tached to the Second Brigade of the First Di- vision of the Second Army Corps. He served with it through the seven days' battle which soon followed, terminating with that of Malvern Hill. After the battle of Antietam he became Brigade Surgeon, filling that position till after the battle of Chancellorville in 1863, and in the following fall was appointed Surgeon-in-chief of the First Division of the second corps, and served as such, on the staff of General Han- cock, then in command of the Division, in the battle of Fredericksburgh the next December, and in the battle of Gettysburg the follow- ing July. He continued as Surgeon-in-chief of that division on the staff of General Francis Barlow through all the battles in which it was engaged during the campaign of 1864, until the army set down in the rear of Peters- burg in July of that year. His regiment had now become very much reduced, and as their three years of enlistment had expired and there were not enough veterans to re-form an- other, they were not re-enlisted and he retired from the army. Soon after his return home, however, a special regulation was adopted to meet such cases,and he was offered the same position without a regiment, but declined it, being fully satisfied that the war was near its close. In May, 1878, Dr. Houston was ap- pointed Treasurer of the Junction and Break- water, the Breakwater and Frankford, and the Worcester railroad companies, which position he still occupies. In politics he is a Republi- can, and was one of the few men, in his lo- cality, who cast their votes for Mr Lincoln in 1860. In 1874 and again in 1876, he was the nominee for the Legislature, but the ticket was defeated. He is a member of the Presby- terian church at Lewes, and in 1875, was ap-

five years. Conscientious in the performance of his duties a faithful friend and useful citi- zen, Dr. Houston is highly esteemed by all who know him.

ARLISLE, PARIS TOWNSEND, Cap- italist, Frederica, was born in that town, Dec. 15, 1834, the only child of Paris T. and Rachel (Luff) Carlisle. His father was in early life a merchant at Fork Landing and Frederica, and was remarka- bly successful. Commencing life with only $ 1000, he retired with a fortune at the early age of thirty years. He was a self-made man, of excellent, upright, christian character. Born in Bridgeville, Jan. 4, 1802, his parents removed, in his boyhood, to a farm near Fred- erica, where he grew to manhood. He was well educated and had a superior mind, and was the legal adviser of the town and the surrounding country ; preparing most of the legal docu- ments. He died, Dec. 9. 1871. His father, John Carlisle, who married Margaret Griffith, was a leading farmer and local preacher. He had four children ; John, Paris T., Dr. Samuel Griffith. and Sallie, who married Joel Carlisle, not a relative. Rachel (Luff ) Carlisle, born April 22, 1793, was the daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Powell) Luff. Her father was the third son of Nathaniel and Ann Luff. The family has been prominent in the history of Kent. Mrs. Carlisle had previously been mar- ried twice, first to Dr. George Barrett, by whom she had two children, both of whom died unmarried ; secondly to Jacob Boone, and married Paris T. Carlisle, July 4. 1833. She died, August 18, 1867. Paris T. Carlisle, Jr., received his early education in Frederica and Newark, and entering Delaware college at sixteen, graduated A. B. in 1853. In 1856, under the firm name of Carlisle & Son, he joined his father in general mercantile business, embracing lumber and building material. Their lumber yard occupied all the upper part of the town, and the same space Mr. Carlisle has since covered with dwellings. Frederica was

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

at that time a commercial and shipping centre | Samuel Shakespeare, of Coventry, Eng., (born of importance and they were very successful. 1731, died 1793,) who, with his family and his three brothers, David, Thomas, and Stephen, At the beginning of the war they retired, but in 1865 Mr. Carlisle resumed business alone. ; came to Philadelphia about 1769, they being In 1872 he took into partnership James Moxon, a young man whom he had brought up. They sold out in 1875 and Mr. Carlisle has since given his time to the care of his estate. He owns in that vicinity, eight farms of valuable land, aggregating 2,500 acres, chiefly devoted to cereals, and also much town property. The family were Whigs and devoted to the Union. He was nominated for the Senate, in 1874, by the Republicans, and ran ahead of his ticket, but the party were unable to carry the elec- tion. Uniting with the M. E. Church in 1871 he was for seven years superintendent of the Sabbath school, and has been steward. He was married, Feb., 9, 1858, to Miss Jennie A., daughter of John and Phoebe B. (Bessoick) Smith. Five of their ten children are living ; few months, but not finding it to his taste, pur- Linda, wife of Rev. Edward L. Hubbard of the Wilmington Conference ; Paris T., Jr. ; Rachel ; Mary Blanche and Lester Luff.

HAKESPEARE,WM. McINTIRE, Sr .* late of Dover, born, Jan. 10, 1819, near Christiana, was the eldest son of Ben- jamin Shakespear, of White Clay Creek hundred, and Mary, his wife, daughter of William McIntire, of the same place. The last named was the eldest son and heir of Al- exander McAntier, a large landed proprietor. Benjamin Shakespear was the youngest son of

*AMERICAN LINRAGE - Pierre Cresson, Huguenot exile, b. on family estates, Cresson Manor, near Abbeville, Picardy, 1609, fled to Holland 1640 and entered service of Prince of Orange, came to America 1657, first magistrate of Harlem, 1660, memb. of D. Reformed ch: his wife Rachel Coos, joins in his will 1673. Besides 5 others they had issue Jacques Cresson, land holder and military officer of Harlem 1660, who m. 1663 Marie Renard, of Huguenot parentage, whose will was proved 1710 at Philadelphia. Besides 7 others they had issue Solo. mon Cresson, last of Philadelphia, whose descendants still reside there, and Rachel Cresson, b. at N. Y. 1682; m. at Philadelphia 1705 Henry Sluyter, of Bohemia Manor, Md., 1698, son of Hendrick Sluyter of Wesel, Germany who was educated at Leyden for the ch. and was a bro. of Dr. Petrus Sluy- ter, the Labadist Bishop and Missionary. Henry's sister Elizabeth was the Ist wife of his partner, Samuel Bayard of the Manor, by whom she left issue. Henry d. 1722 leaving issue by Rachel Cresson two child. of whom one was Elizabeth Sluyter, to whom and her child. was left by will, 1746, of her uncle Solomon Cresson estate of lands and mills on Red CI. Creek, Del. She m. 1729 Isaac Hersey, b. ante 1700 of Huguenot ancestors who fled to Germany from province of Maine in France where the chiefs of this family had been Seigneurs de Herce for centuries. Isaac purchased lands and mills, west of Christiana, in Del. where he settled 1720 and d. ante 1768. His wife Eliza- beth d. 1772 of Mill Cr. Hund., leaving i-sue besides two others, Solomon Hersey, and Isaac Hersey. The latter of Mill Cr. Hundred, m. 1774 Jane, wid. of Alex. McAntier and was by her the father of the late Father John Hersey, the renowned Methodist Missionary and Preacher. The home of Isaac was one of the Ist in Del. opened to Methodist ministers, Bishop Asbury often sojourning there. Solomon Hersey, b. 1,30; m ante 1752 Elizabeth, was then of Mill Cr. Hund. Purchased 1754 Labadie Mills, on Bohemia Manor, from uncle Benj. Sluyter, and 1755 rec. lands adj. St. Au- gustine ch, of his gr. mother Rachel, nee Cresson. In his house 1771 the Ist Meth. Soc. on Eastern Shore was founded. He afterwards returned to Mill Cr. Hund. where he d. 1801, having had issue besides others, Sarah, b. 1763, who 1791 m. 2d William McIntire of White Clay Cr. Hund., Del., b. 1762, oldest son and heir of Alexander Mc Antier of same, by Jane, dr. of Adam Barr of same place. Alexander, b. 171: was oldest son and chief heir of Samuel Mc an Teer, a Presbyterian, who with family immigrated to Del. from north of Ireland having purchased estate in White CL Cr. Hund. 1742.

Baptist dissenters. Samuel afterwards re- moved to Delaware. Having been so short a time in the country at the outbreak of the Revolution, these brothers remained loyalists, and David and Stephen went to New York, from whence, in 1783, they went to Nova Scotia, where they received grants of land. David afterwards removed to Delaware, where he died in 1800, without issue, leaving a large estate. In the different lines of his descent, William McIntire Shakespeare inherited also the blood of Huguenots and of Scotch covenanters. He received a common English education which was completed at the Newark academy, after which he spent several years in Philadelphia. He studied medicine for a chased, with his father's assistance, a farm, a flour mill and saw mill, in the vicinity of New- ark, and commenced the occupation of his life, which was that of a timber merchant. Here his talent for business and the irrepressible activity and energy of his nature soon laid the foundation of success. Obliged, in a few years, to seek a wider field and more abundant ma- terials, he removed, in the spring of 1854, with his family, to Dover, having purchased the Dover Mills, one of the most extensive water powers in Delaware. Here with greatly in- creased facilities he soon became one of the largest ship timber manufacturers of the At-

His wife Mary joined in will 1748. He wasof a Highland Scotch family for- merly seated at Glencoe. William McIntire who, under influence of his step-father Isaac Hersey, early become a Methodist, was a local preacher, and the founder of old Saulem Church. Bishop Asbury was often his guest, William d. 1834, leaving issue, besides a son who d. s. p. and a dr. who left issue, a dr. Mary b. 1799, and now res. of Wilmington. She m. 1817 Ben- jamin Shakespear of White CI. Cr. Hund., who was b. 1788, the youngest son of Samuel Shakespeare, formerly of Coventry, Eng., b. 1731, m. 1765 Susanna, b. 1746, dr. of William Mister, oldest son of William Mister, gent. of Coventry, of whom she was co-heir in 1759. Samuel with three bros, came to Amer. 1769, and finally settled in Wh. Cl. Cr Hund., Del., where he d. 1793, and was bur, at Iron Hill Bapt. Ch. Benj. Shakespear d. 1854, and was bur, at Salem Ch , which adjoined his lands. He left issue : Wm. Mcl. Shakespeare, Sr .; Benj. Asbury now d. s. p .; Stephen now Prof. in Litton Springs College, Cal .; Charles Parker, of Nevada, of which State he has several times been a legislator; Rebecca, who m. 1849 Alex. Barr Crawford now dec. of Glasgow, Del., and by him has issue now living, Rev. John Crawford of New Jersey M. E. Conference, Anna Ida, and Alexander Barr ; Elizabeth, now of Wilmington. William Mclntire Shakespeare, Sr., formerly of Pencader Hund, last of Dover, b. 1819. m. 1843, Catharine, dr. of Edward Haman, of Wh. Cl. Cr. Hund., b. 1788 and d. 1846, son of Catharine Kats of N J. by William Haman, b. in Eng. circ. 1757, came to Ainer. circ. 1774, and ist settled in Lower Penn's Neck, Salem county, N. J , afterwards removed to Del. Ed. Haman m. 1819 Rebecca, b. 1798, dr. of James Smith, of New Castle Hund. b, 1771, d. 1856, of Irish Presbyte- rian ancestry, m. Ist 1792 Rebecca Morton, descended from early Swedish settlers upon Del. Wm. M. Shakespeare, Sr. d 1881, leaving surviving him his wife and the following issue :- ist Edward Oram Shakespeare, M. D., of Phila ; zd Benj. Franklin Shakespeare, now of Chester, Pa, who m. Emma Laws a dr. of James Laws and Priscilla (Stytes) Heverin of Dover, and has issue a dr. Kate Haman, and a son Franklin Heverin ; 3d James Haman Shakespeare, lawyer, of Phila., who m Ann dr. of said Heverin; 4th William Mcintire Shakespeare, Jr , of Dover, who in. Eliza Walker, another dr. of said Heverin; 5th George Oscar Shakespeare, now of Wilmington ; 6th Louis Shakespeare, now of Wilmington.

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Make Shakes Juan

lantic seaboard. During the late rebellion he these three sons being the daughters of James manufactured millions of feet of white oak for the navy yards of the Atlantic, and for the dock yards of the most important ship builders in America. A paralysis of the shipping interest, however, followed the war, causing the financial ruin of many shipbuilders some of whom owed him large sums. This, together with the decline in real estate, in which he was largely interested, so under- mined his resources that, in a year, his for- tune was swept away. As brave, as kind, as energetic as ever, the serenity of his spirit un- disturbed he started again in the race, and the advantages of his extensive business oper- ations were reaped, not by himself alone, but also by the community. His politics were those of a Jeffersonian Democrat and he could ably defend his political sentiments when oc- casion demanded. From 1873 to 1877, he rep- resented his county in the State Senate, where he was conspicuous for zealous attention to the interests of his constituents and to the welfare of the State. Upon the organization of the Legislature for the last session of his - term, although not a candidate, he received the votes of nearly half of his colleagues for the office of President of the Senate. During both sessions he was chairman of the Commit- tee on Corporations. He was a trustee of Dickinson college, and of the Wilmington Conference Academy at Dover. Mr. Shakes- peare united in early life with Old Salem (Meth- odist) church, in White Clay Creek hundred, which his maternal grandfather, William Mc- Intire mainly founded in 1807. He transferred his membership to the M. E. church at Dover, on removing to that town, and at once be- came one of its chief supports. He was early elected one of the stewards of the church, and for a number of years was president of its Board of Trustees. He married, in 1843, Catherine, eldest daughter of Edward and Re- becca (Smith) Haman, of White Clay Creek hundred, and had the following children ; Dr. Edward O. Shakespeare, of Philadelphia; Ben- jamin Franklin Shakespeare, of Chester, Pa., born Feb. 19, 1848, married Nov. 30, 1870, Emma Laws Heverin, and has two children ; James Haman Shakespeare, attorney-at-law, Philadelphia ; William McIntire Shakespeare, of Dover, born, Aug. 15, 1852, married June 3. 1874, Eliza Walker Heverin, the wives of 62

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BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

L. and Priscilla (Stytes) Heverin, of Dover. The remaining children are George Oscar, born Oct. 6, 1856; Louis, now of Wilmington, born Dec. 8, 1858, and Victor Arden Fitzwil- liam, born Oct. 2,1865, and died Nov. 2, 1869. William M. Shakespeare, Sr., was tall, erect and well proportioned, having a large, power- ful frame ; kindness and decision were his most prominent traits, and his quiet, gentle disposition, and christian character gained him general esteem. He died May 1, 1881, and it was felt and expressed that, in him, the state had lost one of its most valued and honored citizens.

DAMS, WILLIAM BACON. Merchant, Wilmington, was born in Philadelphia, Nov. 21, 1841, the youngest child of John and Eleanor (King) Adams. John Adams who was born in 1800, and was a painter by trade, died in 1842 before this son was a year old. The widow thus left without means, succeeded by her own brave efforts in raising her little family of seven children, care- fully and in respectability. Mr. Adams had but limited educational advantages, attending the old public school at Twelfth and Wistar streets, and a pay school for a few months, but before his ninth birthday his school days closed and he was put at service as an errand-boy to assist in the common support. At the age of sixteen he became an apprentice to learn the business of manufacturing trunks, at which he continued till 1860, when he came, as a clerk, to Wilmington. In 1862 he enlisted as a pri- vate in the first Delaware Battery under the command of Captain Benjamin Nields, serving bravely and faithfully the cause of his country on the field of honor for three years. Receiving an honorable discharge at the end of his term of service, he again took up his residence in Wilmington, and in 1866 entered into a part- nership with his brother, Joseph K. Adams, in the dry goods and notion business, in which they have been very prosperous, have built up a large trade and theirs has become one of the most substantial houses in the city. A more particular account of their business will be found in the Industrial department of this work. In politics Mr. Adams is an enthusias . tic Republican. He is a member and trustee of the Second Baptist church of that city; a

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

member of the Independent order of Odd ! social circles of the city, the intelligence was received with deep and sincere regret ; many notices of his brief but most full and noble Fellows ; of the Knights of Pythias ; and of the Grand Army of the Republic. He was married in 1877 to Miss Sallie P., daughter of | life, were given by the press of the city, and, Henry D. Bains, Esq., of Philadelphia. They have one child ; Caroline B. Adams.

perhaps, never has the funeral of so young a person been so largely attended. In the re- spect paid to him in death, in the heartfelt sympathy called forth from even the most casual acquaintance, and in the beautiful memory he left behind him, his friends have all that earth can afford to soften the bitter- ness of their bereavement.

RIPPEN, WILLIAM MADDOCK, late of Philadelphia, was born in that city Dec. 18, 1852 ; the eldest child of Ed- ward J., and Mary (Maddock) Crippen. The means of his parents enabled him to enjoy every advantage which the city afforded, and he grew up the joy of the home circle, and watched with affectionate and admiring interest by others. His taste in- clining him to commercial life, he early familiarized himself with all the details of his father's business, and also spent three years in the employ of Thomas, Roberts & Com- pany, wholesale grocers. Having thus ac- quired an ample experience, he was, on the withdrawal of his uncle, John B. Maddock, from the firm of Crippen & Maddock, admitted in his place, and the firm assumed the name of E. J. Crippen & Company, which it still re- tains. Always mature, careful and conscien- tious, he here developed rapidly into the en- terprising, intelligent, thorough man of busi- ness, bidding fair to add new commercial honors to the name, which his esteemed father had made so prominent. He soon acquired an enviable reputation among the merchants of Philadelphia, taking a well defined position in the business world, and all his prospects most flattering. He united with rare mercantile ca- pacity, a delightful courtesy and winning grace, that instantly impressed in his favor all with whom he came in contact. In the Ma- sonic Fraternity he stood high, having con- nected himself with the Corinthian Lodge, No. 368, F. and A. M., Corinthian H. R. A Chapter, No. 250; and St. Albans Com- mandery, Knight Templars, No. 47, each of which attended his funeral in a body, and paid most fitting honors to his memory. He left a young widow to mourn his loss, having been married in April, 1875, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of John M. Evans, carpet merchant of Philadelphia. His final sickness was brief, and his untimely death, May 28, 1882, came with sudden and crushing force on his family and friends. Throughout the business and | quick sensibilities and large smypathy, he

ALES, HON. JOHN, Lawyer of Wil- mington and U. S. Senator from Del- aware, was born at New Haven, Conn., July 31, 1783. He was de- scended from Nathaniel Wales who landed in Boston, 1635, whose great grandson, Rev. John Wales, graduated at Harvard 1728, married a lady by the name of Leonard, great grand daughter of James Leonard who was the first iron manufacturer on the continent of America, at Raynham, Mass. His son, Rev. Samuel Wales, D.D., professor in the Theological school at New Haven, was father of the subject of this sketch. His mother, Catharine (Miles) Wales, was a good and wise woman to whose care he was early left by the death of his father, and until the end of his long life the son omitted no fitting opportunity of praising her virtues and honoring her memory. He was a graduate of Yale, of the class of 1801, and pursued his legal studies with his brother- in-law, Seth P. Staples. With numerous let- ters of introduction he left home. The late Chas. Chauncey, of Philadelphia, advised him to settle in that city, but he finally accepted the invitation of James M. Broom, and formed a law partnership with that gentleman in Wil- mington, and in 1815, was, on motion of Nicho- las Van Dyke, enrolled a member of the Del- aware bar. This firm continued until 1819. when Mr. Broom removed to Philadelphia. Mr. Wales had by this time established an indepen- dent reputation and position which, for thirty years, rendered him familiar to the people and Courts of the State, and the earlier Delaware Reports show how large was his practice. His chancery business was very large, and his natural and acquired abilities, fitted him for laborious professional duties. A gentleman of

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BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

made his client's case his own, and relaxed | cesses of 1863 gave him assurances that his no effort till his cause was gained or success became hopeless. He is now remembered and honored for his unbought professional ser- vices in behalf of that class of beings who were without personal and political rights, who need- ed help in the dark days when slavery hunted its victims. He met odium for this then ; let his memory have honor now, for never deserting the helpless. Not favoring the system of slavery he always opposed its extension. He took great interest in the prosperity of his adopted home, and was prompt to give assistance to all plans for the moral or material improvement of the city and State. He was one of the original promoters of Delaware college ; the President of one of the oldest banks in Wilmington ; a director in the first Fire Insurance Co. of the State ; he bore a leading part in obtaining the city charter of Wilmington, and also in the earliest steps taken to get a railroad connec- tion between Baltimore and Philadelphia via Wilmington. He belonged to the Whig school of politics, was an ardent admirer of Webster, Clay, and other chiefs of that now historic party, and took his full share on the hustings when "stump speeches" were more needed than now. He was appointed Secre- tary of State in 1845, and in 1849 was elected by the State Legislature, to the United States Senate, to fill the unexpired term of Hon. J. M. Clayton, who had become a member of Gen. Taylor's cabinet. In 1851 the Democratic party obtained control, and James A. Bayard succeeded him. His being selected to fill this high position was a just tribute to his abilities, and the highest mark of respect for his character, as well as a recogni- tion of services rendered his party. He now virtually retired from the active prac- , tice of the law, but was deeply interested in the questions which grew more imperious and absorbing, and which were hurrying the nation into the vortex of civil war; and though advancing years forbade his entering on the labors of a political canvass, he took care to have it known that he was hostile to every form of secession. When the war was upon us he shared the deepest anxiety of the patriotic Unionist, and was in sympathy with the policy and principles of the Republican Party, nor did Providence permit his eyes to close upon his country until the military suc-

hopes for the nation's unity and success would be secured in the struggle. Mr. Wales had an attractive person, was of medium height, pos- sessing an easy address and fine social quali- ties. He was popular in the highest and best sense with the public,and the idol of his home, carrying into the evening shades of his life an unclouded intellect, and died, giving evi- dence of the faith of a christian, and express- ing his devout thankfulness to God for un- numbered blessings. He died, Dec. 3, 1863, in his eighty-first year. He married, June 12, 1820, Miss Ann, only daughter of Major Jno. Patten, a granddaughter of Rev. Jno. Miller, of Kent county, a woman of superior qualities of mind and heart, whose death occured Nov. IO, 1843. Two sons and three daughters sur- vived their parents, viz : Leonard E., (see sketch of Judge Wales.) Dr. John P., Mayor of Wilmington ; Catharine B., Matilda C., and Josephine.

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Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 37

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

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