USA > Delaware > Historical and biographical encyclopaedia of Delaware. V 2 > Part 43
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abortive attempt to crush Lee's army at Wil- liamsport, he was left in command of the im- portant post of Harper's Ferry, with its garri- son of 15,000 men. During the following au- tumn he was relieved, and soon after, on the withdrawal of Gen. Schenck from the Middle Department, succeeded that astute com. mander in command of the Middle Depart- ment, with headquarters in Baltimore. After the disastrous battles in the wilderness, Va., in the spring of 1864, Gen. Lockwood gathered together all the available troops in and around Baltimore and Washington-some 6000 men- and led them as an acceptable reinforcement to the depleted Army of the Potomac. He wasas- signed to the command of the 2nd Division of the Sixth Corps, and as such took part in the actions of May 30th and June Ist, near Han- over Court House, Va. Afterwards he re- turned to Baltimore, and remained inactive till July, 1864, when in the absence of the De- partment Commander, he, at the instance of the Governor of Maryland, and the Mayor of Baltimore, assumed command of such provis- ional forces as could be gathered together for the defense of that city against the rebel raid of Gen. Early, in July, 1864, whose cavalry se- riously threatened the city. Confirmed in his course by the Secretary of War, he remained for some weeks in command of a large force near that city, and afterwards and till his mus- ter out in Aug., 1865, commanded a brigade in the Middle Department. The war ended, Gen. Lockwood resumed his duties as a naval officer at the Naval Academy, being professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy. In July, 1871, he was transferred to the Naval Observatory, Washington, D. C., where he e- mained till August 14, 1876; under the provi- sions of an Act of Congress, providing for such officers as may reach the age of 62 years, he was retired from active duty on three-fourths pay. Since then he has lived in Georgetown, D. C., and though legally retired, feels himself able to partake in any struggles that may hereafter disturb his beloved country.
ULBRETH, THOMAS OLIVER, Re- tired Merchant of Dover, was born in Caroline county, Md., Jan. 20, 1828 ; son of Durden and Susan (Crawford) Culbreth. His father owned a large and valuable farm on the head waters of the
Choptank river, which he cultivated, and on which he was born and died, and on which, also, his father, Samuel Culbreth, was born and died. The last named was a member of the Legislature, and so honest and conscientious, that he refused the per diem for the days that he was absent; on being assured that the State would not be benefited by his leaving it, he took it and gave it to his poor neighbors. He was married three times, first to Miss Smithers, by whom he had three children ; John, Durden, and Margaret, afterwards, Mrs. Thomas Slaughter. By his marriage next, to Miss Smith, he had four children ; Sallie, Thomas B., Richard S., and Samuel. His third wife was Annie Baynard, and his children by her were six ; Robert B., William F., Charles, Susan, afterwards, Mrs. Solomon Truitt, Re- becca, who died a young woman, and Henry C. Culbreth. Durden Culbreth had three chil- dren, two of whom are living ; Thomas Oliver, and Crawford, a farmer of Anne Arundel county, Md .; the younger child died in child- hood. The family is one of the oldest and most respectable on the Eastern Shore of Maryland ; one of its members, Thomas Cul- breth, was the only representative ever sent to Congress from Caroline county. Thomas O. Culbreth attended the schools of his locality, in his boyhood, and worked on the farm. In 1848, he became a clerk in a dry goods house in Philadelphia, where he thoroughly familiar- ized himself with the business. Receiving but a small salary, he still contrived to lay aside, regularily,a portion of his earnings, which add- ed to the $7,000 he received from his father's estate, enabled him, in 1857, to start a store in Dover in company with his half uncle, William T. Culbreth, who took charge of the business in that place, while Mr. Thomas O. Culbreth made the necessary purchases in Philadelphia, where he still remained as clerk. The follow- ing year, however, he became a resident of Dover, and the partnership continued till 1867, when his uncle died. He then conducted the business alone till 1878, when he retired and devoted himself to the care of his property. Having been very successful in business, he invested largely in real estate, and owns in Kent county 377 acres in two farms, in Mary- land 450 acres in two farms, and much valuable property in Dover, part of which is the Capitol Hotel, and with the exception of two build-
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ings, the whole of that block on State street. [ Common Schools of New Castle county, and Mr. Culbreth affiliates with the Democratic has been a most useful citizen in the several party. He is a member of the Protestant | relations he has held to the community. Dr. Episcopal church, in which he has been Ves- Grimshaw, by his superior endowments and tryman for fifteen years. He was married in | culture, has been able to serve the best inter- 1864, to Mary E., daughter of Jonathan Stiles, ests of education, and his writings have been a farmer of Kent county, and has had seven | widely read, especially his two published prize children, two of whom have died; Haslet, March 22, 1870, and Howard Carroll, Oct. 9, 1878.
RIMSHAW, COL. ARTHUR HAR- serve his country and his friends and the in-
PER, M. D., of Wilmington, was born terests of the city, than careful for the accu-
in Philadelphia, Jan. 16, 1824. He is a ! mulation of fortune. He has been the untiring graduate of the University of Penn- friend of the poor in his practice, and his as- sylvania, of the class of 1845, in which | siduities at their bedsides, and his generous year he came to this State and engaged in the ! relinquishment of claims on such for medical
practice of his profession, at DuPont's Powder Mills. Before settling in this State, he was resident assistant physician of the Philadel- phia Dispensary, and physician tothe Friends Orphan Asylum for Colored Children, and also served as resident physician in the Philadel- phia Alms House. After nearly three years spent at DuPont's, he removed to Wilming- ton, in January, 1848, and entered on a large and successful practice, in which he continued near Greenwood. Thomas Curry, his father, until 1861, when he was appointed Postmas- ter of the city by President Lincoln, and held this position until removed by Andrew John- son. On June 7th, 1862, he was commissioned Colonel, and appointed mustering officer to recruit the Fourth Delaware Infantry Regi- ment, whose subsequent gallant services in the army of the Potomac are well known. He was in command of a brigade during most of the period of service up to Jan., 1865, and his brigade took the chief part in the action of Chapel House, on the Squirrel Level Road, Va. Among the most important battles in which he took part, were those of Cold Har- bor, and the attack on Petersburg, besides be- ing in many others of less importance. In the attack on Petersburg, he was wounded twice : in the shoulder by the fragment of a shell and was shot through the right arm by a minnie ball. In civil life he has served in positions of honor and usefulness, having been, for three years, a member of the City Council ; a mem- ber of the Board of Education, from the period of its formation up to 1882, and at one time its president. He succeeded to Hon. Willard Hall, as Superintendent of |years, because of his father's declining health, 66
essays, one on the " Use of Tobacco," and an- other on " Juvenile Delinquency." Col. Grim- shaw is brave and unselfish, his civil and mili- tary record, alike, showing him more ready to services rendered, have passed into the cur- rent history of the city, in which he has so long been known and honored.
URRY, ALBERT, Farmer and Candi- date for Governor of Delaware, on the Republican ticket, 1882, is the son of Thomas and Nancy (Clifton) Curry, and resides on the old homestead farm
was born in 1783, in North West Fork hun- dred, and died in 1836, on his estate near Mil- ford. His father was also named Thomas, and died, Oct. 22, 1827. He was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and served in the famous "Delaware Line," and his son Thomas served under Col. S. Davis, in the war of 1812. The Currys first were settlers in the province of Maryland, and emigrated from England. The grandfather of Albert Curry, Thomas, had two sons, Thomas and James and moved from Bridgeville, Del., to the farm on which the subject of this sketch now resides, and where he died at the date above noted. The period of this settlement on this farm antedated the war of the revolution. On this farm Thomas, the father of Albert Curry grew up. Daniel Curry, late of Milford, and father of Mrs. Gen. A. T. A. Torbert, was the elder brother of Albert, and Ann Elizabeth, wife of Simeon Pennewil!, Esq., of Greenwood, is a sister. Mr. Curry, after attending the schools of his neigh- borhood, was sent, at sixteen years of age, to the Academy at Milford, then under the di- rection of Rev. Mr. Howard, and after four
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was compelled to return home, and since 1836, | Justice of the Peace. He held many local offi- has continued to reside here. He has devoted i ces and was popular and highly respected. He his life to agriculture, and is one of the most successful and thorough farmers of the State. He is the owner of ten farms in his vicinity ; is a large peach grower, having had as many as 20,000 trees in bearing at one time, but now has only about 8,000 in bearing, his farms be- ing mostly devoted to grain. He, early in his history, took a large interest in the public im- provements of the State, and has been a di- rector of the Delaware railroad for many years; has taken a great interest in the educational affairs of the community, and served as School Commissioner of his district ; and at the break- ing out of the late civil war was appointed by Gov. Burton, enrolling officer for his district, and served in this position throughout the war. His desire was to be a soldier in the field, and but for untoward circumstances pre- venting, he could not have been induced to occupy a merely civil post in the struggle. In politics he has been a Republican from the or- ganization of that party in the State, and be- fore this, was a member of the People's party, and a Whig until the party ceased to exist. Indeed, he is to this day, rather disposed to congratulate himself upon the fact that his father and grandfather were members of that now historic party. Averse as Mr. Curry has always been to public life, and to official po- sition dependent on a political canvass, it was with some surprise that his friends first learned that he had consented, after the greatest per- suasion, to become a candidate for Governor. His modesty and perfect freedom from politi- cal aspirations, being not less marked charac- teristics of the man, than his intelligence, honor, and special fitness to serve creditably, and with fidelity and purity in any position his fellow citizens might induce him to be a can- didate for. He was united in marriage, May 2, 1848, to Miss Sarah A., daughter of John Hurst, of Sussex county, and one son, Thomas, born, Sept. 4, 1851, is the fruit of this marriage.
ICHOLSON, JAMES, Farmer of Sum- mit Bridge, was born in New Castle county, Feb. 6, 1814. His father, Wil- liam Nicholson, was born in Dover, but resided, most of his life, in Penca- der hundred, where he was, for many years, a
followed, in early life, the tailoring business, but was afterwards kept almost constantly in office. He was very prominent in the commu- nity, an active and influential member of the old Whig party, and an intimate friend of John M. Clayton. He died in 1856, at about 75 years of age. His son, James, is his only surviving child by his marriage, in 1812, with Millicent Savin, of Kent county. She died in 1838, and he was afterwards twice married. His second wife was Rachel Layman, by whom he had two children, both living : William P. and Pauline. The family is of English origin, and were among the early settlers of Kent. Mr. James Nicholson received a good common school education, was brought up to industri- ous habits, and early commenced to make his own way in life. He was a clerk for a while, worked in making the old Frenchtown and New Castle railroad, and at nineteen, taught school, which he followed for two years. For about a year he superintended the construc- tion of a part of the P. W. & B. R. R., after which he rented, for two years, a farm near Glasgow. He then removed to Cecil county, Md., and combined farming with hotel keep- ing, but returned in two years to a farm in the vicinity of Glasgow, and soon after be- came the tax collector and constable of Pencader hundred for four years He after- wards kept the hotel at Glasgow for two years, and next, at Summit Bridge for thirteen years, cultivating also the hotel farm. From 1852, he kept a country store till 1855, when he became a contractor for the building of the Delaware railroad. In 1856, he purchased the Caulk farm near Sum- mit Bridge, where he lived and succeeded well, but rented it in 1858, and returned to mercantile life at Summit Bridge, and also kept hotel till 1865, when he purchased a fine farm in Chester county, Pa., and resided there a year. On account of the death of his eldest son, he sold this property and returned to his store at Summit Bridge, and soon purchased there the Beach hotel farm, where he still re sides. He has added to it an adjoining farm, and now owns 217 acres close adjoining the village, and which will probably be the site of the best part of the town. He owns also the "Pleasant Valley" farm, at the foot of Iron
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Hill, near Glasgow, which he purchased in 1856. Mr. Nicholson has always been a mem- ber of the Democratic party, and actively in- terested in political matters. He was first elected as Assessor of his hundred against his father, who was the Whig candidate. In 1868, he was appointed Recorder of New Castle county, by Gov. G. Saulsbury, which office he held five years. In 1876, he was elected to the Legislature and served during the ses- sion of 1877. He became a Mason in 1870, joining St. John's Lodge, New Castle county. He was married, July 3, 1838, to Miss Sarah, daughter of William and Anna (Underwood) Adair, of Pencader hundred. They have had four children. The daughters were Milli- cent Jane, wife of William H. Harbert, mer- chant of Summit Bridge, and Anna Matilda, who married Edward F. Boulden, and died in 1863, in her twenty-second year. She was a lovely christian woman. The eldest son, James Lewis, died, Sept. 4, 1865, in his twenty-third year, a young man of great promise, well educated and of exemplary christian character. He was the pride of his parents, and his loss was keenly felt. The youngest child, Lambert Veazey Nicholson, is at home with his parents.
ATEMAN, REV. JAMES, formerly a well-known Minister of the gospel in Delaware, was born in Queen Anne county, Md., Jan. 4, 1775. He married Susan, daughter of John Marim, of Kent in the vicinity of Dover. Five children were born to them : Hannah Marim, Mary, James, Charles M. and John Henry Bateman. Sketches of James and John H. are in this vol. He traveled as an itinerant in the States of Vir- ginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware ; his death occurred in Greensboro, Caroline county, Md., May 31, 1830, and his remains were interred at that place. His last conscious utterance was, "Oh ! the pain, the bliss of dy- ing !" The testimony of The General Min -. utes of the Methodist Episcopal Church respect- ing him, is most honorable, and the following IMMONS, BAUDUY, late of Wilming- ton, was born in Christiana hundred, near what is now Du Pont Station, Jan. 24, 1805. His father, John Simmons, had there three farms, on one of which he lived. He died in the infancy of this son encyclopedic notice embraces all that needs " to be said : " A Methodist Episcopal minister, born in Maryland, 1775, converted in 1800, en- tered the itinerant ministry in the Philadel- phia Conference in 1806, located in 1814, re-| entered in 1817, and preached until his death. | who was his youngest child. The family is
As a man he was amiable, urbane and gen- erous ; as a christian, gentle, candid and full of charity ; as a preacher, sound, earnest and warm ; as a presiding elder, discreet, firm and wise. His life was useful and loving, and his death triumphant."
ATEMAN, JOHN HENRY, Cashier of the First National Bank of Dover, was born in Chestertown, Kent county, Md., March 13, 1830. His father, Rev. James Bateman, died a few weeks after the birth of this son, who was brought up by his uncle, Charles Marim. His educational advantages were limited, and at the age of fourteen, he became a clerk in Milford, and after one year, in Wilmington. For two years from 1848, he was in the woolen factory on the Brandywine, and for two years superintended the farm of his uncle, near Dover. He was next in business in Dover, and, in 1857, re- ceived from Gov. Causey the appointment of Justice of Peace and Notary Public for Kent county. This office he resigned, upon being appointed clerk by C. H. B. Day, Col - lector of Internal Revenue. President Lin- coln appointed him Postmaster at Dover, in 1861, and he held this office two terms. April 28, 1868, he was elected Cashier of the First National Bank of Dover, which position he has since ably and satisfactorily occupied. In poli- tics he is an enthusiastic Republican, and a prominent and influentfal worker and writer for the success of his party. Mr. Bateman united with the M. E. church in 1845, and is superin- tendent of the Sabbath School of the Wesley church of Dover. He was married, Feb. 26, 1852, to Caroline S., daughter of Andrew and Rebecca Armstrong, of Brandywine. Five of their children are now living : Susan M, a teacher in Wilmington; Rebecca T., who married, Feb. 26, 1878, William T. Cullen, of Kent county, and has one child, William Bateman Cullen ; and James, Josephine and Andrew Armstrong Bateman.
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one of the oldest in the State, and from times ; and later in life a vestryman in St. Andrew's far back were members of Old Swedes church. P. E. church. His wife was Ann, daughter of John Simmons had, besides, two other sons, Samuel Gregg, and their four children, now liv- George and John, and one daughter, Hannah, ing, are Samuel G., Charles, Jesse G., and who married Jesse Gregg. All are now de- Helen S. All these three brothers are togeth- ceased. Bauduy Simmons was trained to the er in partnership. No face was more familiar in business circles in Wilmington than that of Bauduy Simmons, and with few persons was it so pleasant to meet. Therefore the loss was deeply felt when on Feb. 2, 1882, an ill- ness of about two months closed his long and worthy career. He died at his residence, 304 West st., aged a few days over 77 years, and was laid to rest in old Swedes cemetery. labors of the farm which he followed for a time, but inclining towards mercantile pur- suits, he came to Wilmington, about 1830, and entered the store of his uncle, George Sim- mons, who was then a shipping merchant at Front and Orange streets, at a time when Wilmington carried on an extensive trade with the West Indies and was much more a shipping port than now. In 1837 he entered into partnership with Jeremiah Duncan in the lumber business, at Front and Tatnall streets. Soon after, he purchased Mr. Duncan's interest and entered into partnership with Joshua Sim- mons, which continued till the death of the latter in 1863, when his son George took his place, and Mr. Bauduy Simmons' son, Samuel G., was also admitted to the firm, which then took the name of Bauduy Simmons and Com- *pany. A large and extensive business in lum- ber and mill work was built up, requiring large buildings and yards for the trade, and is still fully maintained. Mr. George Simmons retir- ed in 1871, and the year following Mr. Bauduy Simmons also retired, and the firm then be- came S. G. Simmons and Brother. Since that time the younger brother has also been ad- mitted. These gentlemen are practical in the business, having grown up to it under their father's management, and the firm is recog- nized as one of the most important in the city, on account of the nature and extent of their transactions and of their superior business ac- complishments. The enterprise has now a continuous history of over forty years, and few establishments are able to refer back to so long continued a prosperity as that enjoyed by S. G. Simmons & Brothers. Mr. Bauduy Simmons became one of the old reliable busi- ness men and property owners of Wilmington, and was one of its most public spirited citizens. Active in business, upright in dealing, and with a character above reproach he was a man of mark, and respected by every one. He would, however, never accept any office. In |beginning to convalesce, but he rose up at early life he was an old line Whig and after- | once and was the first man in the county to wards a Republican. He was for a number of enlist, and in three days he had raised Com- years a member of Old Swedes church, pany D., 12th Regiment, New York Volun-
TONE, GEORGE WHITEFIELD, Merchant of Wilmington, was born in Moravia, Cayuga county, New York, Feb. 29, 1840. His parents were Jacob T. and Mary (Bennett) Stone. His father was a farmer in his early life, and with the exception of one year spent in Moravia, resided all his life in Homer, Cortlandt county, New York ; to which place he returned in 1840. He was Postmaster there under Taylor, and for many years after was an Associate Judge of the County Court. His four children are Seymour H., residing in Syracuse ; Amelia C., wife of Prof. Richard L. Quinton of Phila- delphia ; Lucius B., a planter in Alabama, and George W. Stone, the subject of this sketch. Jacob T. Stone and his wife are still residing in Homer. They are both descended from the early Puritan settlers of Massachusetts ; their ancestors being originally from Wales. Thomas Stone, grandfather of the subject of our sketch, was from Brimfield, Massachusetts, and was one of the early pioneers of Central New York, where he became a prosperous farmer. He was the son of John Stone, also a farmer. The first American founders of the family were three brothers ; John, Nathan and David. As a race they have always been, and are to the present day, hardy, independent and prosper- ous. George W. Stone graduated at the Cortlandt Academy in 1859, and entered the same year the law office of O. Porter, Esq., with whom he studied till the breaking out of the war. He was then on a sick bed, just .
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teers for the three months' service, of which he | taken an active interest in music, and has was elected captain. On the way with his been President of the Philharmonic Society of Company to join his regiment he was admitted Wilmington, with the exception of one year, during its existence. Mr. Stone is a gentle- to practice in the Supreme Court, at Bingham- ton, New York. In August, 1861, he entered man of dignified and polished manners, high the United States Navy as Assistant Paymas- | social position, and spotless reputation. A ter, which rank he held during the war. He man of strong and positive convictions and was detailed as Judge Advocate of the North | high purposes, he is a natural leader and im- Atlantic Squadron, and was engaged in its presses himself strongly on others, whether in duties till the close of the struggle, when he | business or political affairs. His mind is clear, was honorably discharged. He remained near Fortress Monroe in the practice of law till 1867, when he removed to Wilmington to be- come Vice-President and Superintendent of the Delaware Mutual Life Insurance Company, with which he continued for about two years. He then, in 1870, decided to become a mer- chant, and established the business of machin- ery and machine supplies at No. 11, East Water street, it being the first and only estab- lishment of the kind in Wilmington. Many predictions were made that such a specialty could not there be sustained, but Mr. Stone went to work undauntedly and with his accus- tomed energy and perseverance, and was soon rewarded with a profitable trade, which has continued without interruption to the present time. He is now one of the most suc- cessful business men of Wilmington, and is considered one of the most careful and thor- ough. He was Secretary of the Board of Trade in Wilmington from the time of its or- ganization in 1867 to 1873. His reports are very full and valuable ; in fact, he was the first to compile the trade statistics of Wilmington, and gather them into one volume. In 1869 he put forth great exertions to have a public park made on the banks of the Brandywine. The whole property on both sides of the river, amounting to over 100 acres, could then have been purchased for $27,000, and such a park as might there have been made would, for beauty and romantic situation, hardly have been equaled in the whole country. That he did not succeed in his undertaking must always be a cause of regret to every one who takes pride in the city and State. Public meetings were held, and a very great general interest was aroused on the subject. Mr. Stone wrote the report which was published, signed by the following committee, Thomas F. Bayard, Samuel M. Harrington, Charles B. Lore, Daniel W. Tay- lor and George W. Stone. Mr. Stone has
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