USA > Delaware > Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2 > Part 42
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URPHY, JOHN, Printer, Publisher and Bookseller, Baltimore, Md., was born in Omagh, county Tyrone, Ireland, March 12, 1812. His parents came to America when he was ten years old, and settled in New Castle, where he attended the academy, and, after leaving school, he spent two years in a store, so much to the satisfaction of his employers that they desired to retain his services indefinitely, but he had resolved, even before leaving his native land, to learn the printer's trade and could not be turned from his purpose. Accordingly, at sixteen,he apprenticed himself in Philadelphia, and on attaining his majority became a jour- neyman printer in Baltimore, until 1835, when he assumed the superintendence of a job printing establishment, which soon acquired a reputation for the superior excellence of its productions unsurpassed by any house in the city. In 1837 he formed a co-partnership with Mr. William Spalding, under the firm name of Murphy and Spalding, which con- tinued, successfully, eighteen months, after which the business was conducted by Mr. Murphy alone. In 1840 he combined with it the book and stationery, and later, the pub- lishing business, all of which he prosecuted successfully for forty-two years, within a few yards of the locality now occupied by his suc- cessor. His special publications were the standard Catholic books of the country ; also valuable legal works, constitutions of the United States and of Maryland, school books, histories, etc., and all were distinguished by
a superior style and elegance in typography, binding and general finish. He accomplised much in elevating the standard of law publica- tions, and may be regarded as among the first to raise toward its present high rate of excellence, the whole art of printing, and publishing. Mr. Murphy married, in 1852, M. E. O'Donnoghue of Georgetown, D. C., who died in 1869, and he remained a widower the rest of his life. He died May 27, 1880, much regretted by a large circle of friends. He was an upright and conscientious, as well as enterprising and use- ful citizen, a kind employer, an indulgent parent and a christian gentleman. Under the able management of his son, Mr. Frank R. Murphy, the business he left promises to in- crease in usefulness and prosperity, and to sustain the high reputation it acquired under its founder.
PENNINGTON, HON. JOHN BARR, A. M., Lawyer of Dover and ex-At- torney General, was born in New Castle hundred, Dec. 20, 1825. His father, Thomas McDonough Pennington, was the son of James Pennington, who married a sister of Commodore McDonough. Thomas McDonough Pennington married Henrietta, daughter of John Barr, a farmer of New Castle county. John Barr Pennington attended the old public school in Christiana and others in the vicinity, and in 1843 and '44 the academies at New Castle and Newark. In the spring of 1845 he entered Jefferson college, at Cannons- burg, Pa., from which he graduated A. B. in June, 1848. He graduated with distinction in a class of sixty-seven members. He
then traveled south and west, and spent some time in Indiana in the study of law. Having there an attack of hemorrhage from the lungs, he regained his health by an out-door life in overseeing the construction of the Wabash canal, and returning home in 1851, engaged in farming till 1854. He then studied law in the office of Hon. Martin W. Bates, was admitted to the bar in 1857, and settled at once in Dover for the practice of his profession. Al- ways prominent in the Democratic party he was elected to the Legislature in 1856, and took his seat in January, 1857. The House was then composed of quite young men, many of whom have since been distinguished. In 1859 he was Clerk of the House, also in 1863,
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and again in 1871. Under Andrew Johnson he was United States District Attorney for Delaware for thirteen months before Grant came into office. He was appointed At- torney General, Oct. 3, 1874, by Gov. James Ponder for five years, holding the office till Oct. 3, 1879. Mr. Pennington has always been devoted to his profession, and is one of the leading members of the Delaware bar. A gentleman of scholarly attainments and high social position, he is yet very unassuming in manner. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and was married in 1848 to Miss Rebecca A. Rowan. Four of their children are living. His son, Henry R., now a lawyer in Wilmington, spent previously seven years in the United States Navy : four years at An- napolis and three years as midshipman. The daughters are Clara B., Ada H. and Mary C. Pennington.
OOCH, HON. JOSEPH WILKINS, was born at Cooch's Bridge, where he still resides, June 23, 1840. His father, Levi G. Cooch, a prosperous farmer and public spirited man, was twice a member of the Legislature, in 1847 and '49, being elected on the Whig ticket, with which party he was always identified. He died in 1869, at the age of sixty-six. His widow, Sarah C. (Wilkins) Cooch, is still living. The father of Levi G., was William Cooch, a miller by vocation, who resided at Cooch's Bridge, where he died in 1838, at the age of seventy- six. During the Revolutionary war, when sixteen years of age, he ran away from home and went to sea in a privateer, which was captured by an English man-of-war and he was taken to England. He found an oppor- tunity to escape to France, and from there was sent home through the aid of Benjamin Franklin, then minister at Paris. On reach- ing Delaware bay he was again captured, but managed to escape from the vessel to the Jersey coast. He was once a member of the Legislature. He married Margaret Hollings- worth of Elkton, Md., and had three children, Zebulon H., William, and Levi G. Zebulon was many years a merchant in Baltimore, where he became wealthy, and resided, during the latter years of his life, in Paris. He was killed in that city, in December, 1870, by being run over by an omnibus. William was
a miller and succeeded to his father's business and property. He died in May, 1869. The father of the elder William, was Thomas Cooch, who was a miller with his father, also named Thomas Cooch, and died young. Thomas Cooch, senior, was the original emigrant from England, and settled on the property which has ever since borne his name. He bought the mill and many hundreds of acres, in that section, and was evidently a man of character and enterprise, and became wealthy. He married a Welsh lady. Since then the family has always had a representative in the flour mill business. The first mill was built near the residence of Mr.' Cooch and was burned by the British soldiery at the time of the bat- tle of Cooch's Bridge. The second mill was built by the first William in 1792, just east of the bridge, and is still standing, but has not been used since 1828, when the present mill was built also by the elder Mr. William Cooch. This is still occupied and is run by the subject of this sketch with his brother, William Cooch. Levi G. Cooch, had five children, of whom the eldest is Joseph Wilkins. The others are Helen, wife of Rev. George Porter, of Newark ; William Zebulon Hollingsworth of Boston, Mass., and Mary B., wife of Samuel McDonald of Newark. Mr. Cooch attended the district school, and the Newark academy till 1856, when he entered Delaware college and pursued a three years' course. Returning home he went to farming on the old homestead, where he has always remained. The estate contains five hundred acres of land at Cooch's Bridge and in the vicinity, mostly devoted to grain. In March, 1879, he, with his brother William, purchased from the other heirs the mill property, which they successfully operate. In both the farm- ing and milling interests, Mr. Cooch is enter- prising and prosperous. In politics he is a Democrat, and takes an active interest in pub- lic affairs. He has held several local offices, and in 1878 was elected State Senator for New Castle county, for the term of four years. In the session of 1879 he was chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, and served on the Committee of Enrolled bills and Corporations. In 1881 he was chairman of the Committee on Education, and served on several others, proving a faithful and able member of that body, and is highly regarded by his constitu-
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ents as a popular and conscientious legislator. He was made a Mason in 1874, at Newark. He is trustee of the Pencader Presbyterian church at Glasgow, having united with that denom- ination in 1870. Mr. Cooch was married in 1871, to Miss Mary E, daughter of Rev. Edward and Nancy E. (Foote) Webb, of the Presbyterian church. They have four children living ; Caroline, Frank A., Edward Webb and Levi Hollingsworth."
cCAULLEY, WILLIAM SINCLAIR, Lawyer, late of Wilmington, was born in New Castle county, Dec. 18, 1832. His parents were William and Sarah (Sinclair) McCaulley. His father, , whose sketch has been printed, is still living in Wilmington. Mr. McCaulley, in 1847, en- tered St. Mary's College, graduating with the class of 1850, when he became a student-at- law in the office of the late Chief Justice Gil- pin, and after a thorough preparation, was ad- mitted to the bar in 1854. He at once en- tered upon the practice of his profession in Wilmington, where he soon acquired an ex- tensive and lucrative practice, and became a prominent member of the bar. In 1855 he was appointed City Solicitor of Wilmington, faith- fully discharging the duties of his position for the term of four years. In 1862 he was ap- pointed Deputy Attorney General, and con- tinued as such for two years. In politics he was a Democrat, and was the candidate of his party for Mayor, in 1868, and also in 1870, but his party being in the minority, he was not elected. Mr. McCaulley continued to practice his profession with success till the close of 1878, when he died suddenly, Dec. 30th, after a few hours illness, of acute pneumonia. He was a man of more than ordinary ability, with an acute and discriminating mind, and his kind heart and generous nature made him many friends. He was an affectionate and duti- ful son, and popular wherever he was known. He had, early in 1878, been appointed Adju- tant General of the State, and held that office at the time of his death. He was married, in 1855, to Miss Caroline F., daughter of Dr. J. B. Brinton, of West Chester, Pa., who survives him. Their only child, Florence F., is the wife of G. R. Frost, a merchant, of New York city.
AYES, HON. ALEX. L., LL.D., was the eldest son of Manlove Hayes of York seat, Kent county, Delaware, and Zipporah Hayes nee Laws. His first American progenitor was Rich- ard Hayes, who emigrated from England A. D., 1698-married Dolly Manlove, and made a settlement in Sussex county near the locality of Milford-he died in the year 1773 aged 96. His son Nathaniel Hayes married Elizabeth Carlisle and died 1786,aged 83 years His eldest son, Richard Hayes, married Pris- cilla Polk, granddaughter of Ephraim Polk, and died in 1796, aged 53 years, leaving issue, three sons, viz: Manlove, Alexander and Charles, and three daughters. Manlove, the father of the subject of this biography, was the only son of Richard who left issue-he died in 1849, aged 80, leaving to survive him a widow, Ann Hayes, since deceased, and three sons, Alexander, Manlove and Charles Polk, and two daughters, Eliza M., widow of the late Hon. William F. Boone of Philadelphia, and Harriet Sykes ; one other daughter of his first marriage, Mary Hayes, married the late Col. William K. Lockwood, formerly Register of Kent county, and died in 1818. Judge Hayes was born March 7, 1793, and died in Lancaster, Pa., on the 13th of July, 1875, in his 83rd year. His preparation for college was conducted at a Friends' school, Smyrna, at Newark academy, and at Dover Academy, and while at the last was, at nineteen years of age, induced to ac- cept the nomination for Secretary of the State Senate, to which position he was triumphantly elected. He, in company with the late Hon. Robt. C. Grier, late Justice of the Supreme Court of the U. S., entered the Junior class half advanced at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. where he was graduated in the class of 1812, having gained one of the three highest honors. He entered on the study of the law with Hon. H. M. Ridgley of Dover, becoming a member of the bar, Nov. 15, 1815, was ad- mitted to practice in the Common Pleas, Dis- trict and Supreme Court of Philadelphia, in 1820, after removal to that city, and in 1821 removed to the city of Reading for the prac- tice of his profession. His successful career here continued until June, 1827, when he was appointed by Gov. Andrew Shultze, assistant Judge of the District Court of Lancaster and York counties. Upon the division of the
N. S. M Cauley
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judicial district in 1833, upon petition of the | the coast of Texas soon after the war with members of the bar of Lancaster, he was ap- Mexico, and Charles, the second son, was a civil engineer, aud died some years before his father. Neither was married. Four daughters of Judge Hayes are now residents of Lancas- ter, Pennyslvania. pointed President Judge by Gov. Wolfe. He performed the duties of this position with high honor until 1849, when he resigned to resume practice at the bar. He was one of the origina- tors of the enterprise resulting in the erection of the Conestoga Mills of Lancaster, and OOCH, WILLIAM, of Cooch's Bridge, was born at that place, Jan. 6, 1845 ; the second son of Levi G. and Sarah C. (Wilkins) Cooch. For an account of the family and ancestry the reader is referred to the sketch of his brother, Hon. J. W. Cooch. He attended the schools in the vicinity of his home till the age of twelve, and after that, the academy at Newark. For three years from 1858 he was at the military academy of Col. Theodore Hyatt at Wilming- ton. He was then a salesman in a mercantile house in Philadelphia for a year and a half, after which he took a special course in analyti- cal chemistry in Delaware college, where he continued two years, having previously given much attention to this branch of study. In 1871 he went west and was for two years As- sistant Professor of Chemistry in the Univer- sity of Missouri. He then joined his brother, J. Wilkins Cooch, in iron mining on Iron Hill, two miles west of Cooch's Bridge, and a part of the original estate of the elder Thomas Cooch. In this they were very successful till the panic of 1875 to '78 made the business unprofitable. They had an ore free from phos- phorus and sulphur, especially suitable for steel rails, and of a finer quality than any imported ore. They shipped it to the fur- naces at Harrisburg, shipping often over 600 tons a month. They ceased iron mining in 1878 and purchased the interest of the other heirs in the flour mill at the Bridge, which they have since successfully operated. It is both a merchant and custom mill ; they have four run of stone and a pony, and a capacity of fifty barrels a day. Mr. Cooch is a member of the Democratic party, but is not interested in politics. He joined the P. E. Church, in 1878, and was married May 14, 1874, to Miss Annie M., daughter of Frederick A. Curtis of Newark. They have four children, the elder of whom are Harriet Curtis, Helen Augusta, and Eliza Baynard. Mr. Cooch is a gentleman of culture and high character, and an esteemed and en- terprising citizen. served as one of a committee to visit and re- port,after inspection of the cotton mills of New England. He was the writer of the commit- tee's report favoring their immediate erection. At the formation of the company, he at first declined to serve as one of the five managers, but, in 1846, was induced to succeed John N. Lane, and, in 1850, succeeded C. Hager, as President and General Agent of the Company. The mills employed eight hundred hands and he had full charge of their operations until 1854, when he permitted himself to be elected, at the solicitation of his many friends, asso- ciate Law-Judge of the courts of Lancaster county. In 1864 he was re-elected, and served with rare ability and dignity in this honorable position ; and though he had passed his four score years, his mental vigor and physical powers were remarkably preserved. He proba- bly held the oldest commission at the expira- tion of his last term (1874) of any living Judge, having served forty-two years on the bench. His efforts were unremitting in the cause of education ; for many years he was president of the board of School Directors of the city ; a trustee of the State Normal School, and one of the vice-presidents of the Franklin Marshall College. The occasion of his death was one of an eventful character in the community in which he had lived. To the citizens generally, it was a matter of wide condolence and affectionate regret, for all knew and honored Judge Hayes. The meeting of the Lancaster bar on the 14th of July was in itself, a touching scene Hon. Thomas E. Franklin made the formal announcement of the event calling them together ; a committee of which he was the chairman reported resolu- tions, which, while containing the highest eulogy, were felt to be just, recognizing the purity of his official life, and the benevolence, charity and integrity "which marks the christian gentleman" in every relation of life. Judge Hayes had two sons, Edward, a gradu- ate of West Point, who died of yellow fever on
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CWHORTER, HON. CHARLES to Wilmington. He was a municipal officer for several years in St. Georges. He was married, in 1865, to Miss Agnes, daughter of Thomas Jamison of St. Georges hundred, and has five children: Anna, Ewing Vallan- digham, Irene, Alma and Blanche.
HENRY, was born in St. Georges, December 25, 1838, the eldest son of Leontine Mc Whorter, a farmer of the above vicinity, who married in 1837, Jane, daughter of John McCrone, a native of Ireland, living near Wilmington. They had nine other children, six of whom are living : John T., Leontine and Emerson Hopkins, and three daughters, Maggie, now wife of Clarence Jamison of Red Lion hundred, Caroline and Mary. The father of the first Leontine was Thomas Mc Whorter, who was born in Virginia and came to Delaware the latter part of the last century, and settled in St. Georges hun- dred where he resided the remainder of his life. He married Mary McCaulley of this State and had three children : Leontine, Thomas, a farmer in St. Georges hundred, and Mary, all of whom are living. Charles H. McWhorter attended the schools of his locality, and in 1852 the Newark Academy, remaining four years. He then entered Delaware college, but on that day an accident, resulting in the death of one of the pupils, caused a suspension of the college for a time, and he returned home. He remained on the farm till 1860, when he removed to another, owned by his father, near Dover, which he cultivated for :three years. In 1863 he left farming and, in company with his brother, engaged successfuly in mercantile business in St. Georges, under the firm name of C. H, and J. T. McWhorter. In 1866 he sold his stock and real estate to J. P. Belville and retired from the business. He then furnished the capital for, and took an interest in, a tobacco manufactory in the same town, turning out about one thousand pounds of manufactured goods per day, and in this also was very successful, exporting largely to Europe. This business he continued till 1870 when he sold it, and in partnership with his brother engaged in the manufacture of agricultural machinery, under the firm name of J. T. McWhorter and Company, which they continued till the spring of 1881, when they established themselves in the agricultural implement business in Wilmington which they still continue. Mr. McWhorter has always been allied to the Democratic party, but was always opposed to slavery. He was elected to the State Senate in 1878 for four years and supported the bill to move the Court House
ALKER, CAPT. JOHN WHITE, of Wilmington, was born at Lewes, Jan. 16, 1816. His father, David Walker, lived on his farm in that vicinity, and was also by trade a carpenter and builder. He was a man of irreproachable character, quiet in manner and greatly esteemed. He held several local offices and was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He died about 1856, at the age of seventy- four. His wife was Mary, second daughter of Gov. David Hall, and who had been previously married to Dr. Robert Houston, uncle of Judge John W. Houston. John W. Walksr was educated at the academy at Lewes, and at sixteen commenced to learn the trade of his father. He was appointed Wreck Master by Gov. Tharp in 1846, and held the position four years, after which he was successfully en- gaged many years in the wrecking business, and in command of his own vessel acquired the title of Captain. He also superintended the construction of the Government Wharf at Lewes till near its completion, under the ap- pointment of Col. Kurtz, in which position he gave great satisfaction to all concerned, by his skill and knowledge of all the kinds of work to be done. A Democrat in politics, Captain Walker was many times Judge of the election in Lewes, and, in 1859, served in the Legisla- ture as a representative from Sussex, proving an able and popular officer. He removed in that year to Wilmington where he has since resided and followed his trade. In 1872 he was elected a member of the City Council, and served with credit for two years. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and since early life has been a member of the Presby- terian Church. He was married in 1855 to Miss Eliza Ann Herdman, daughter of the late William Herdman, at one time Sheriff of New Castle county. They have one child, John Herdman Walker, who, in March, 1882, married Miss Martha Craig, of Wilmington, whose parents came from the north of Ireland, and are strict Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.
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Capt. Walker is a man of intelligence, and of much force of character, and enjoys excellent health despite his years of activity and toil.
OCKWOOD, HENRY H., Brigadier General in the army of the United States, son of William K. and Mary (Hayes) Lockwood, was born Aug. 17, 1814 in Kent County. He entered West
Point in June, 1832, was graduated and ap- pointed a Lieutenant in the Second Regiment of Artillery, U. S. A. in June, 1836. He served under Major General Jessup through the Florida campaign of 1836-1837, and resigned his com- mission in October of the latter year. In 1841, he was appointed Professor of Mathe- matics in the Navy, and in that capacity, was assigned in Nov., 1841, to the Frigate United States on her three years' cruise in the Pacific. He was adjutant of the land forces under Com. T. Ap Jones, her commander, in the capture of Monterey on the coast of and the Capital of California in October, 1842. On his return, in 1844, he was stationed at the Naval Asylum in Philadelphia. He assisted in the organization of the United States Naval School at Annapolis, having on the requisition of the Government finished a plan for the same, and was appointed among the first of its Professors. Having, in 1845, married the eldest daughter of Chief Justice Booth of Delaware, he estab-
lished his residence in one of the dwellings be- longing to the Government on the beautiful esplanade of Fort Severn, where he continued to reside, filling successively the professorships of Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Gunnery and Infantry and Artillery tactics, until the Naval Academy was transferred by orders from Washington to Newport, R. I. In 1852, Pro- fessor Lockwood published a work on " small arms and other Military Exercises adapted to the Naval service," and also a pamphlet "On the Manual of Naval Batteries" which have contributed to the uniformity of drill, and the admirable system now existing in our Navy in the practice of Arms. Before the publication of this Manual no two batteries, it is believed, were drilled alike, a diversity, the inconvenience of which is too obvious to need explanation. When the State of Delaware, in the spring of 1861, raised her first Regiment of Volunteers, Professor Lockwood was solicited to accept the command as colonel. Believing it his duty
to do so, he applied himself, upon assuming command, diligently, to instruct and train his men for the field. A strict disciplinarian, a skillful tactician, careful of his soldiers, and at- tentive to their wants, his success was encour- aging and, indeed, complete. On the 8th of August he was made Brigadier-General, and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. On the occasion of his promotion he received from the officers of the Regiment he had com- manded an elegant sword, and sash, in token of their esteem. It being rumored that the counties of Accomac and Northampton, Va., were swarming with armed rebels, who threatened the lower counties of Maryland, the Union men in those counties anxiously sought aid from the Government of the United States. Gen. Lockwood was therefore di- rected, in Sept., 1861, to establish a camp at Cambridge, Md., and organize a force to pro- tect the peninsula, between the Chesapeake and Delaware. Here he remained until the November elections were over, when he as- sembled his forces, including Nemin's famous battery, the N. Y. Fifth, (Zouaves,) and a reg- iment from each of the States of Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Delaware, with a company of cavalry from Reading, Penna., the whole numbering five thousand five hundred men. These he as- sembled at Newtown, on the Pocomoke, near the Virginia line. Simultaneously with this movement Major Gen. Dix's celebrated pro- clamation was sent forth. The insurgents were soon brought to terms and compelled to lay down their arms. A civil government under the U. S. authority, and the Legislature of Wheeling, was established, which General Lockwood protected till January, 1863, though constantly seeking more active duty. Then he was put in command of the defense of the Lower Potomac, with headquarters at Point Lookout, where extensive hospitals, corrals, contraband camps and rebel prisons had been established. Here he remained till called to lead such troops as were in and about Balti- more, in June, 1863, to Gettysburg. With three Maryland Regiments and one from New York, he aided in that memorable conflict, justly regarded as the decisive battle of the war. His command was known as an inde- pendent brigade, but acted with the 12th corps. After this battle and the subsequent
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