Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 38

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Publication date: 1972
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 776

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LAIR, CHARLES ALBERT, one of the proprietors of the Milford Basket Company, etc., was born in Lebanon, Madison county, N. Y., Oct. 5, 1843. His father, Augustus G. Blair, was a farmer, and with his wife, Olive (Hitchcock) Blair, now resides in Johnsonsburg, Wyoming county, N. Y., where they removed in'1854. Mr. Blair owns land near that town. They had two other children, George A., a shirt manufacturer in St. Louis, and a daughter, Olive R., who died in 1869, at the age of six- teen. John D. Blair, the father of Augustus, was a farmer, and removed to Madison county from Massachusetts. He died in 1857, at the age of eighty-six. He married Achsah Lindsay, who is still living in her eighty-ninth year. The father of John D., was James Blair, also a farmer, who moved from Massachusetts to Mendon, N. Y., and lived to the great age of 104 years. The ancestors of the family on . both sides were among the early settlers of New England, and were from Scotland and England. Charles A. Blair graduated from the Genesee and Wyoming Seminary, after which he was a clerk and bookkeeper in John- sonsburg and Buffalo. In 1869 he became book- keeper for the old American Basket Company, at New Britain, Conn., remaining till 1874, when he came to Milford to take the general

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

management of the Basket Factory at that place, but in the following January he with- drew from this position, and with Mr. Theron H. Camp of New Britain, Conn., established an industry of their own, an account of which will be found in our Industrial Department. Of this business Mr. Blair has had the entire management, and has been remarkably suc- cessful, making for himself an excellent repu- tation as a business man and a citizen. In March, 1879, he was elected Town Commis- sioner in Milford. He joined the Free Masons in 1865, and has passed the Master's chair. In 1872 he united with the Congregational Church in New Britain, and is now a member of the Presbyterian Church in Milford. He was mar- ried, in 1865, to Miss Ellen E. Woodford, of New Britain. They had one child; Orlando R. Blair. In Dec., 1872, he had the misfortune to lose his wife. In March, 1875, he married Miss Adelia, daughter of Imly Viets of New Britain. They have three children ; Cyrus Hart, Nevia Louisa, and Nellie Adelia.

INNER, JAMES M., Dentist of Wil- mington, was born near Linden, Ly- coming county, Pa., Sept. 11, 1848. His father, James Winner, an orthodox Quaker, was a descendant of the Car- penter family, who, with the Winners, came from England. He pursued the business of farming and lumbering till 1870, when he re- tired and settled in Williamsport, Pa. In his. youth he also had a desire to prepare himself for the profession of dentistry and was de- terred from it only by the opposition of his parents. He is a man of decided ability and force of character, shrewd in business, and has excellent judgment. He always had a pas- sionate fondness for books and reading, and was conversant with all current events and matters pertaining to affairs of state. In early life, he, with his wife, Mary S. (Wheeler) Winner, became connected with the M. E. ,

church, of which they have always been con- sistent members. He also served for many years as steward and superintendent of the Sunday School. His son, James S., was edu- cated in the common schools, the labors of the farm, however, interfering greatly with his regular attendance. He, however, had many thoughts of the future. early becoming impressed with the idea that he could accom-

plish much in life, and began to lay his plans accordingly. These once formed, he kept steadily in view and followed them out with great determination. He has been the architect of his own fortunes, and is a truly self-made man. After the family removed to Williams- port he applied himself diligently to his books, and entered the Williamsport Commercial Col- lege, from which he graduated in 1872. In 1873 he commenced the study of dentistry, and in 1876 graduated from the Philadelphia Col- lege of Dental Surgery. He first practiced his profession abont five months in Philadelphia, and in August, 1876, entered into partnership with Dr. E. Shelp, of Wilmington, with whom he continued until January, 1879, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. Dr. Winner, then, at the solicitation of his Philadelphia patrons, opened an office at 1402 North Thirteenth street, in that city. Dr. Shelp, in the meantime, had become dissatisfied and desired to remove to Wilkesbarre, Pa., and Dr. Winner, knowing that it was a good open- ing, bought his practice in Wilmington, to which place he returned March 25, 1874, still giving two days in each week to his Philadel- phia office. He was cordially received by his many friends in Wilmington, and his practice increased so rapidly that he was soon com- pelled to close his Philadelphia office. His thorough knowledge of his profession, and his superior skill, gained him a reputation that brought him patients from all parts of the State, and many of the most prominent families of the city brought him their friends from other states. His time being now much more than occupied, he is ably assisted by his younger brother, J. P. Winner, a graduate of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, and who has become very proficient. Also, to accommodate his in- creasing business, he purchased, in 1882, the property of the late George N. Sparks, 605 King street, which he intends fitting up to meet the demands of his large practice. Dr. Winner was married October, 28, 1879, to Miss Lizzie B. Keene, of Wilmington.

CKAY, READ JENNINGS, M. D., Wilmington, was born in St. Louis, Feb. 6, 1843. His father, Harrison B. McKay, was a merchant. He was born in Kentucky and died in 1849. He married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Obadiah

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Jennings, a Presbyterian minister in Steuben- ville Ohio, afterwards,and till his death, pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Nashville, ing in the community, and is a member and Tenn. Mr. Jennings married, in Wilmington, ; Ann Wilson, who resided in the family of Thomas Read, D. D., to whom she was related Her birth place was Middletown in this State. The father of Mr. Jennings was also a clergy- men of the same church, at Brandenberg, N. J. Dr. Mckay was brought up by his father's relatives in Missouri, and graduated B. A., from the Lincoln Academy in that State in 1861. In his nineteenth year he entered the army and served four years in the ranks, in the First Missouri Brigade, C. S. A. He was in seventeen pitched battles, was four times taken prisoner, and once escaped. October 4, 1862, he was shot through the left lung and · 'laid up for six months, but was perfectly re- stored. The war having closed he matricula- ted at the Bellevue Medical college, graduat- ing M. D., in 1867. He practiced one year on Staten Island, and afterwards in N. Y. city till August, 1877. The catalogue of the above college says : "McKay, Read Jennings, A. M., 1867, New York city, 1872, attending surgeon Bureau of Med. and Surg. Relief for out-door poor, '69 to '71, and from 1872-77. Assistant surgeon, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary from 1869 to '76. District Physician N. Wes- tern Dispensary 1869-71. Assistant Demons- trator of Anatomy, sessions of '69 and '70, and '70 and '71, and assistant to the chair of Oph- thalmology, Bel. Hos. Med. Col. 1872 to 1877." While engaged as above he had, in addition, a considerable private practice. In 1871 and 1872 Dr. Mckay was in London and Paris pursuing his medical studies. He is now a member of the American Ophthalmological Society, the American Otological society, the American Medical Association and the Dela- ware State Medical Society. It was as an eye and ear specialist that he established himself in Wilmington in 1877, where he was soon re- garded as authority, being the only oculist and aurist in the State. He has the entire confidence and esteem of the profession and to him most of the difficult cases are referred by general practitioners throughout the State. His reputation however extends far beyond its limits, his patients not unfrequently coming from a great distance. Indeed his knowledge, skill and success place him among the first

BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

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oculists and aurists of the country. He was married in 1873. He Is a gentleman of stand- trustee of the First Presbyterian church of Wilmington.

ALES, LEONARD EUGENE, Asso- ciate Judge of the Superior Court of the State, son of Hon. John and Ann (Patten) Wales, was born at Wil- mington, Nov. 26, 1823. His school Jays were distributed among several acade- mies, his preparation for college being com- pleted at the Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, from which he entered the Freshman class at Yale. On his graduation, in 1845, he read law in his father's office, and in the spring of 1848, was admitted to the bar. He located in Wilmington and for two years was associa- ted with the late John A. Allderdice in editing the Delaware State Fournal, then the organ of the Whig party of the State. For several years he was clerk of the United States Courts for the Delaware District, under the appoint- ment of the late Judge Willard Hall. In July, 1853, he was elected city solicitor of Wilming- ton, and re-elected the following year. In April, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Co. E., Ist Regiment of Delaware Vols., organized under the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men to serve three months, and was chosen Second Lieutenant. The Regiment was assigned to the not very arduous duty of guarding the line of the Philadelphia, Wil- mington and Baltimore Railroad, south of the Susquehanna river, and was mustered out of service at the expiration of its term. In May, 1863, he was appointed Commissioner of the Board of Enrollment for Delaware, whose duty it was to prepare for the drafts rendered necessary to fill the wasting ranks of the Union armies. This position which, like its predecessors, came without solicitation on his part, involved the discharge of harassing and unpopular duties. Decisions on claims of ex- emption from military service, and on the qualifications of substitutes offered for those who had been, or were liable to be, drafted, could hardly fail of causing dissatisfaction when they were adverse to the persons inter- ested. While still a member of the Board of Enrollment, Governor Cannon appointed him Associate Judge for New Castle county, that

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

office having been made vacant by the resig- Left an orphan at four years of age, and poor, nation of Judge Milligan. Resigning the com- ; his early advantages were few. He grew up on the farm, attending the public school only

missionship he took the official oath and entered upon his judicial duties, Oct. 1, 1864. In politics | in winter, yet he was always in advance of Judge Wales had been a Whig by inheritance and association, but on the first organization of the Republican party in Delaware, in 1856, he joined its ranks on a deliberate and consci- entious conviction of the justice and patroitism of its policy and aims. Since his appointment to the bench he has abstained from all active and personal participation in political or party contests beyond the exercise of the elective franchise. Judge Wales has taken great in- terest in the Historical Society of Delaware, of which he is now the president. He is a gen- tleman of quiet manners, and justly esteemed as a citizen and member of the State Judiciary.

cDONOUGH, JAMES, the first American ancestor of the family in Delaware, was born in county Kildare Ireland, early in the eighteenth century, and emigrated to America in his youth, settling in Delaware, at or near what is now McDonough. His parents were Thomas and Jane (Coyel) McDonough. He married, in Delaware, Lydia, daughter of Peter Laroux, by whom he had six children: Dr. Thomas McDonough, the Major of Col. Has- let's regiment, and father of the Commodore ; Micah, James, John, Patrick and Mary. Patrick married Sarah McMunn, in 1784, and had nine children : Lydia, married Capt. James Allen ; Mary, James, Augustine ; Eliza, married John Janvier, May 15, 1823 ; Hester, married Gassa- way Watkins; Kitty, William and Sally Ann. The name is also spelled Macdonough.

others of his age. At sixteen he spent a year at the high school in Lowell, Mass. After working two years in a woolen mill, and on cotton machinery in Middlesex and Manches- ter, he returned to Lowell and entered the works of the Lock and Canal Machine Com- pany, under a three years' apprenticeship. After two years, his employer. Mr. Colby, re- moving to Philadelphia, he completed his ap- prenticeship at Waltham. His first experience in railroad and locomotive work was, in 1851, with Hinckley & Drury, Boston, and in 1852-3, he was with Hittinger & Cook, machine build- ers, at Charlestown. In 1854, Mr. David Upton, Mechanical Superintendent of the R. L. & N. F. railroad company, at Rochester, solicited Mr. Hodgeman to take a responsible position in these works. Mr. Upton was a native of Stoddard, N. H., and well knew Mr. Hodgeman's antecedents and ability. He was one of the ablest railroad men of his day, and under his instruction Mr. Hodgeman learned the railroad business thoroughly. After a year in the shops, he spent two years on the road as engineer, when, in 1857, he was made foreman of the repair shops, which position he filled with great ability and acceptance for several years. During that period a complete revolution took place in the construction of locomotives and railroad machinery, yet Mr. Hodgeman kept fully abreast of the times and attained a wide reputation among the railroad men of the country. In 1864 the P., W. & B. railroad company sought his services and he became Assistant Superintendent of motive power under G. M. Perry. In the spring of 1872, he resigned, to become General Superin- tendent of the Wilmington & Western rail- road, which, under his able management, was completed the following October, when he ac- cepted the position he now holds, with his office in Wilmington. During these ten years he has constructed twenty-one locomotives. Everything pertaining to the building, repair- ing and running of locomotives is under his control, and his mechanics and engineers num- ber 550 men. Mr. Hodgeman is a thoroughly self-made man. His feet have pressed every

ODGEMAN, STILLMAN A., Master Mechanic and Superintendent of Mo- tive Power of the Philadelphia, Wil- mington & Baltimore Railroad Com- pany, was born in Stoddard, N. H., April 18, 1831. His father, Stillman A., senior, a shoemaker by trade, and a man of sterling character, died in 1835. He married Dorothy Joslin, whose father was an officer in the war of 1812. Mr. Hodgeman's ancestors on both sides were among the early settlers of New England. They were intelligent and indus- trious, and several have been distinguished in public affairs and in the learned professions. round of the ladder, from that of the unknown

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BIOGRAPHICAL DEPARTMENT.

apprentice boy, to his present responsible po- sition, and every step of advance has been made by his own unaided efforts. He possesses, in an eminent degree, the qualities which con- stitute a successful and popular railroad officer; promptness, accurate judgment and great ex- ecutive ability. In politics he is a Republican, and when in Rochester was a member of the city council, and at the head of the fire de- partment. He is a member of the Masonic order, and in 1868, organized in Wilmington the commandery of Knights Templar, of which he was the first commander. He is a member and trustee of the Second Baptist church of Wilmington. He was married in 1859, to Miss Eliza H. Searles, of Cattaraugus county, N. Y., who died, July 26th, 1873, leav- ing two children ; George P., and Adelaide Eliza. He was again married in April, 1875, to Annie L. Wheaton of Delaware. Of their three children, two are living ; Florence and Stillman A., Jr.

USSELL, HON. GEORGE, of Milford, Proprietor of the Philadelphia Packet Line and dealer and shipper of coal, wood, lumber &c., was born Oct. 11, 1829, near Drawbridge. His father was Robert Russell, a ship carpenter and farmer, of Broadkill hundred. He served in the war of 1812, under Col. S. B. Davis, and died, March 12, 1859. He is buried on his farm known as the "Manlove Russell" estate near Drawbridge. His mother was Sarah, daughter of Curtis Shockley, who was the son of Richard Shock- ley, who owned and lived upon the land upon which the town of Lincoln is now built. Mr. Russell's grandfather was Manlove Russell, who lived and died upon the "Russell" farm and is buried at the Landing upon what is known as the "Morris" farm. Mr. Russell was the eighth child and the seventh son of a family of nine. He was educated at home by a teacher em- ployed by his father who took great pride in the educational interest of his neighborhood. Just before becoming of age he went to Phila- delphia and learned the ship carpenter's trade LARK, PHILIP REYBOLD, Sheriff of New Castle county, was born on the old homestead of his father, John C. Clark, near Delaware City, March 4, 1832. An account of the family is given in the sketch of his father. His mother, Eliza- and continued under instructions for one year, when he went to work as journeyman, and afterwards as sub-contractor, in Philadelphia, New York and Boston. He continued to fol- low this business until 1857 when he returned to Delaware and in partnership with his brother | beth, eldest daughter of the late Major Philip

William, engaged in building vessels at Milton upon Broadkill Creek. This partnership con- tinued until the death of his brother, when, in the autumn of 1864, he located upon a farm situated near the town of Milford. In the spring of 1870 Mr. Russell began the coal and lumber business in the town of Milford, which he made a success ; he disposed of this busi- ness, purchased a waterfront in South Milford, and built the extensive wharves extending 210 feet on the river front upon the south side of the stream. Here he continued the coal and wood business to which he added a line of packets trading between that port and Phila- delphia, consisting of the following schooners ; Three Sisters, Anna @S. Russell and Martha Davis. The Three Sisters was built by Mr. Russell in 1874. The A. S. Russell in 1878, and the Martha Davis was purchased by him in 1879. These vessels are engaged in the transportation of wood, railroad ties and ship timber to Philadelphia, and freights coal, merchandize and fertilizers for the mer- chauts and farmers of Milford and vicinity. Mr. Russell is one of the most enterprising citizens of Milford and his character and stand- ing are well-known throughout the State. He is one of the largest shareholders in the Mil- ford Gas Light company, which was organ- ized in 1875, and the works were built upon the land supplied by him. He is one of the incorporators of the first National Bank of Milford, being one of the largest shareholders, and a director from its organization. In poli- tics he has always been a Democrat, and though not an extreme partisan has taken an active interest in the success of his party. In 1863 he was elected as State Senator from Sussex county for four years, and assisted in the election of Thomas F. Bayard for his first term in the United States Senate. Mr. Russell was united in marriage, March 12, 1864, to Miss Mary S., daughter of John T. Conwell of Sussex county. They have four children all of whom are daughters.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE.

Reybold, (of whom also see notice,) is still [ needs, as a boy without the adventitious aids iving at the homestead. He attended the public schools, and, at eighteen, the academy at Newark for two years, after which he as- sisted his father and took charge of the sale of peaches, etc., in Philadelphia. At the age of twenty-two he married Miss Emma, daughter of David Compton of Port Elizabeth, N. J., and settled on his own farm, near Hare's Corner, where he resided till he was elected Sheriff of New Castle county, in November 1880, on the Republican ticket, and by a handsome majority. He was nominated for that office in 1878, but the Republican party was then so confident of defeat that no effort was made, and no candidates were nominated for Congress, or for the Legislature, yet Mr. Clark by his own energy and perseverance, as expressed by the opposition papers, "came within an ace of being elected Sheriff." He has proved a faithful and popular officer, discharg- ing his varied duties in a manner reflecting credit upon himself and the position. The children of the family have been ten, of whom three are deceased. Those remaining are John Curtis, a farmer who is married and lives near Stanton ; George W., Marion, Edwin, May, Bessie and Clara. Mr. Clark is a man of great energy and business ability, honorable in all his dealings with his fellow men, and highly respected.

ASTINGS, WASHINGTON, Repub- lican Candidate for Congress (1882) of the firm of Seidel, Hastings & Co., Plate Iron Manufacturers, was born, in New Castle county, Sept. 15, 1837. At the age of twelve years he became a res- ident of the city of Wilmington and went to school at the old public school at Sixth and French streets, which at that time was the only one in the city. After attending it for two years, at fourteen years of age entered the school of Theodore Hyatt, now Presi- dent of the Pennsylvania State Military school at Chester. This school was then conducted in the old First Presbyterian Church building, at Tenth and Market streets, and now occu- pied by the State Historical Society. Here his continuance was a brief one, amounting to twelve months only, when, already begin- ning to feel the responsibility of preparing for a mode of life which would meet his

of fortune, and secure the knowledge of a business to pave the way to a decent com- petence upon reaching manhood, he appren- ticed himself to the hardware business in a store in Wilmington, where he faithfully per- formed his allotted duties until he reached the age of twenty-one years. He now ob- tained a situation as clerk and book-keeper at the iron works at Tenth and Church streets, then known as the Wilmington Plate Iron Rolling Mills. It is now owned by Seidel, Hastings & Co., Washington Hastings being one of the firm and the managing partner of the business. Such are the external facts told in the simplest form of words, but the history of the young man clerk and book-keeper in those years can be readily suggested to us. How, with business capabilities of the highest order, with a character formed under the care of the church from a period before his manhood was reached, and with habits and tastes suited to the exigen- cies of his business and duties, he passed step by step upward to influence, means and honor, until now the party to whose fortunes he early attached himself, with unusual unan- imity of action, selected him as their candi- date for a seat in the Councils of the Nation. Of one thing the friends of Mr .. Hastings may be assured, that the workingmen of the city and State who know him, regard him as their friend ; and his kindness as an employer, his large sympathy with them as a class, and his personal achievements, from a position such as their own boys now occupy to the one he now holds, make him to them an object of just pride, and to their sons one of emulation. As explaining the sources of success in life, Mr. Hastings, would tell you of his joining the St. Paul's M. E. church when a youth of 19 years, and of the influence of that act upon his subsequent career. In 1865 he joined with other members of the St. Paul's church, in the organization of the Grace M. E. church, Ninth and West streets, now one of the most im- posing and beautiful in the country. Mr. Hastings is a member of its Board of trustees, and has been a teacher in its Sunday School since the church's organization. He served as President of the Wilmington Board of Trade in 1874, and was one of its delegates to the Convention of Merchants and Manu-

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Ht. Hastings

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facturers held in Washington, D. C., in 1876. He is a director of the Artisans Savings bank, of Wilmington. and with quiet earnestness has supported, by his means and his influence, the various benevolent, moral and christian insti- tutions of the community.

Until his nomination for Congress, in July, 1882, he had never been a candidate for office of any kind, and only when convinced that his acceptance would forward the success of the principles he has so long advocated, would he accept such nomination. He is ge- nial, frank and manly in his bearing, possess- ing fine natural abilities, and has, by self-cul- ture, become well-read on most subjects, and is an authority on commercial and industrial topics. Mr. Hastings was united in marriage, Sept. 20, 1864, to Miss Catharine, daughter of the late Samuel McCaulley, Esq., of Wilming- ton, and they have one child, William P. Hast- ings, a student of the Phillips Academy, And- over, Mass.

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Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2, Part 38

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

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