USA > Delaware > History of the state of Delaware, Volume III > Part 5
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In 1854 Peter F. Causey was elected the thirty-eighth Governor as the candidate of the "American Party." He
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served from January, 1855, to January, 1859. He was the son of Peter F. and Tanzey Causey, and was born near Bridgeville, January 11. 1801. Moving with his father to Milford in 1815, they engaged in business and were eminently successful. Peter F., the younger, at an early age showed that quickness of perception and good judgment which are so essential in business and which were his distinguishing traits through his life.
In 1825 he succeeded to the business that had been started by himself and father together. He not only established and conducted a large mercantile trade in Milford, but in addition engaged largely in mining iron ore, which was obtained in large quantities on his own land in Nanticoke Hundred. This was shipped on his own vessels to Philadelphia. He succeeded in whatever he undertook and soon accumulated large means, which he wisely invested in real estate in the vicinity of his home. He owned and operated for several years several valuable milling properties in the vicinity of Milford.
When about forty years of age he retired from the mercan- tile business and devoted his time to his landed interests, ag- gregating, at that time, over 1,500 acres, and to the manage- ment of his mills and tannery. He represented the Whig party both in the State Senate and House of Representatives, and was more than once a delegate to the National Whig Con- ventions. In the administration of the office he exhibited a wise patriotism and showed unusual executive ability. It fell to his lot to make a greater number of important appoint- ments than any man who had before that time occupied the office of Governor. His appointment of Edward W. Gilpin as Chief Justice of the State was received with much favor although he made the appointment from the political party that opposed his election.
He lived for many years in the historic house in South Milford, now occupied by Joseph E. Holland, and his death occurred February 15, 1871. He was one of the strong men
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of his day, representing high moral ideas, kind and generous to the needy and an influential member for many years of the Methodist Episcopal Church. One of his sons, John W. Causey, afterward represented the State of Delaware in Con- gress, and a second son William F. Causey was for many years a member of the Bar and served as Secretary of State under Governor Stockley.
William Burton, the thirty-ninth Governor, served from January, 1859, to January, 1863. He was the son of John Burton, and was born October 16, 1789. His boyhood was spent on the farm of his father in Sussex County, and after a limited education, he studied medicine with Doctor Sudler of Milford, and was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. Beginning practice at Lewes, he remained there but a short time, when he removed to Mil- ford where he lived the remainder of his days. He always took an active part in state politics. He served as Brigadier General of the State militia for two years, and in 1830 was elected sheriff of Kent County.
His first political affiliation was with the Whig party, but in 1848, he joined the Democratic party, and six years later was the candidate of that party for the office of Governor, but he was defeated by his fellow townsman, Peter F. Causey. Four years later he was again nominated by the Democrats and was elected. His term of office covered the trying period at the breaking-out of the Civil war, and his situation at that time was far from an enviable one. He was for many years an earnest member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, serving as senior warden of Christ Church in Milford. He is remem- bered as the dispenser of a kindly hospitality and a man who both in public station and in private life commanded the re- spect of the people by reason of the probity of his daily walk. He occupied no public position after his term as Governor and died at his home in Milford on August 5, 1866.
After an exciting election in the fall of 1862, William Cannon was elected the fortieth Governor of Delaware. For
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several years preceeding his election he had carried on a suc- cessful mercantile business at Bridgeville in Sussex County, near which town he was born on March 15, 1809. His first political affiliations were with the Democratic party, having been elected in 1844, by that party to the State House of Representatives. He was re-elected to the same position. In 1851, he was elected State Treasurer serving for four years and at the beginning of the Civil War, was chosen one of the members of the Peace Congress.
He served from January, 1863, until March 1, 1865, when, after a brief illness, he died at his home at Bridgeville. His brief administration as Governor commanded the respect of the people of the State, and the spirit of loyalty evinced by him won much applause from the ardent union men who had been instrumental in nominating and electing him. During his term as Governor the legislative department of the State was under the control of the Democratic party so that the many measures emanating from and advocated by him, in those trying times, met with the disfavor of his political op- ponents. He always occupied a leading position in his native county and by dint of good management and perseverance accumulated a substantial fortune. He was for many years a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His re- mains rest in the cemetery at Bridgeville within a short dis- tance of his old home, now, and since the death of the Gov- ernor, occupied by his son, Henry P. Cannon.
On the death of Governor Cannon, Gove Saulsbury, Speaker of the Senate, succeeded to the office, becoming thereby the forty-first Governor of Delaware. Governor Saulsbury was born in Mispillion Hundred on May 29, 1815. After a pre- liminary education in the free schools of the State he took a course at Delaware College, and studied medicine at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. He settled in Dover, where he re- sided and practiced medicine during the remainder of his life. He took an active part in political affairs, was a staunch ad- herent of the Democratic party, and by that party was elected
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to the State Senate in 1862. In 1864 he was elected Speaker of the Senate. He early showed rare qualifications as a leader, and for many years was the leading voice in the councils of the Democratic party in Kent County.
Having been sworn in as the successor of Governor Cannon on March 1, 1865, he occupied the office as acting Governor until the January following, when, having been chosen by the people at the election in November, 1865, he began a full term in January, 1866, and served as chief executive until January, 1871. He was a man of commanding physique, and much above the average man in mental caliber. As a poli- tician he was active and fearless, and naturally attracted men to him ; and while a dangerous enemy, yet he commanded and held the respect of his political opponents. In the memorable contest in the General Assembly in 1873 he came within one vote of being elected to the United States Senate. After his unsuccessful effort to reach the Senate he was less active in political affairs.
It has always been recognized that he was one of the strongest men who have occupied the office of Governor in this State. For many years Governor Saulsbury was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Dover, and at the organization of the Wilmington Conference Academy, located in Dover, he became the first President of its Board of Trustees, which position he held until the time of his death. He was one of the strongest friends of this institution and took the greatest interest in its welfare and advancement. His death occurred on July 31, 1881, and he was buried in the Methodist Episcopal cemetery at Dover.
James Ponder, the forty-second Governor, like many of his predecessors, was a man who had conducted a successful mer- cantile business, and by reason of thrift and management in business affairs accumulated a competence and earned a com- manding position in the community in which his life was spent. Born at Milton in 1819 his whole life was spent either in or near that town. In his early days he was in partnership
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with his father, John Ponder, who also was a successful mer- chant. The son, succeeding to the business, enlarged and in- creased it. He added vessel properties to his possessions, and the latter proved a profitable venture.
Like his father he allied himself with the Democratic party, and in 1856 was elected to the State House of Representatives. In 1864 he was elected a member of the State Senate and be- came Speaker of the Senate in 1867. At the expiration of his full term as Governor, extending from 1871 to 1875, he re- tired from active business and lived quietly " but respected of all men " at his comfortable home in the town of Milton. He died November 5th, 1897, and the whole community that had always been in touch with his life mourned the loss of a man who had in all relations been an honor to it.
The successor of Governor Ponder was John P. Cochran who became the forty-third Governor in January, 1875. He was a New Castle County man, the first one chosen as Governor for thirty years, the last occupant of the office from New Castle County having been Thomas Stockton, elected in 1844. Governor Cochran was born in Appoquinimink Hundred, February 7, 1809.
The large Cochran family, of which the Governor was pos- sibly the most conspicuous member, were of Scotch-Irish descent, and came to Delaware from Cecil County, Maryland. The Governor's early, as well as later life, was spent on a farm. Possessing strong common sense, coupled with energy and industry, he became a large land-owner, and was recognized as the leading farmer and fruit-grower in a section of country that was famous for its intelligent husbandry. He lived for many years in the midst of his landed estate just west of Middletown.
While always an active and ardent Democrat in politics, the only office that he held, prior to his election as Governor, was as a member of the Levy Court for New Castle County for a term of eight years from 1838 to 1846. His term as Governor marked him as a progressive man. He lent his influence to
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an amendment to the school law at that time which gave a new impetus to the free school system in Delaware; and his appointment, while Governor, of Joseph P. Comegys as Chief Justice of the State, met with unusual approval. Retiring from the Governorship, his after years were spent in the quiet of his beautiful home, and his years were lengthened out beyond four score and ten. His death occurred on December 27th, 1898, and he was buried in the Forest Cemetery at Middletown.
Another successful merchant and vessel-owner who became Governor of Delaware was John W. Hall, elected in the fall of 1878, and serving the full constitutional term from 1879 to 1883. In rotation he was the forty-fourth Governor. He was born January 1, 1817, in Frederica. His whole life was spent in that town, and there he died. Beginning his business career as a clerk on a salary of less than $3.00 a month and board, he early showed a frugal and thrifty tendency which enabled him when he arrived at his majority, to purchase the business of his employer, which under his management was extended and other branches of trade added, until he became the head and front of the largest business in his section of the county.
Adding to his mercantile business the sale of grain and lumber, he still further extended his enterprises by engaging in the building and sailing of vessels. The latter proved especially profitable, and for years his vessels sailed to many ports and he became one of the largest owners of small craft in this country. His accumulation of means he wisely in- vested in land, and for many years was one of the largest farm owners in Delaware. At first a Whig, he afterwards allied himself with the Democratic party, although never par- ticularly active in party affairs. In 1866 he was elected a member of the State Senate, and ten years later was a dele- gate to the National Democratic Convention that nominated Samuel J. Tilden for President. In 1874 he came within one or two votes of being the Democratic nominee for Governor,
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and four years later was nominated and elected by an over- whelming majority.
His administration was uneventful, but it was marked by the same good judgment and conservatism that he had shown in his business affairs. After his retirement from the office of Governor he held no other public place until 1890, when he was elected a member of the State Senate, and before his term as such had expired he died, his death occurring at his home at Frederica on January 23, 1893. His estate is estimated to have been worth a half million dollars, the largest, with one exception, ever amassed by a resident of Kent County. He was a true representative of "the self-made man." Consider- ing the opportunities and the environments of his life, the success which he attained in his business career was simply remarkable. His whole career is one deserving of emulation.
The election in 1832 resulted in the choice of Charles C. Stockley for Governor. At the time of his election as Governor he was a resident of Sussex County, in which County he was born, November 6, 1819. A typical Sussex Countian, his hospitable home attracted a wide circle of friends, and it was in the natural course of events that the political party to which he belonged should honor him with public office. He was appointed county treasurer in 1851 and served for two years. In 1856 he was elected sheriff of the county, and in 1872 was elected a member of the State Senate, and was chosen Speaker of that body in 1875.
His record as a Senator won him many friends, and in 1882, being nominated by the Democratic party as its candidate for Governor, he was triumphantly elected after a stirring cam- paign. Taking the oath of office in January, 1883, he became the forty-fifth Governor and served the full term. He was always a public-spirited citizen, and evinced the greatest inter- est in general public improvements. He was one of the earliest directors of the Junction & Breakwater railroad, and served as president of the Breakwater & Frankford railroad. At the time of his death and for several years preceding, he was the
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CHARLES C. STOCKLEY 1819-1901.
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president of the Farmers' Bank at Georgetown. In 1891 he was appointed Register of Wills for Sussex County. He was a man of kindly temperament, possessed good judgment and exhibited superior business ability. His death occurred at Georgetown April 21, 1901.
The forty-sixth Governor of Delaware was Benjamin T. Biggs, who served from January, 1887, to January, 1891. He was born in Cecil County, Maryland, October 1, 1821. Nearly all of his life was spent in this State. For many years he lived on his farm in Pencader Hundred, and in his later days erected a handsome home in Middletown, where he resided for several years before his death. His father, John Biggs, was a farmer on Bohemia Manor; the son was edu- cated in the local schools and at Wesleyan University. De- voting his life to farming and fruit culture, he was unusually successful in both. While yet a young man, he attracted attention as a debater in the district school houses of the neighborhood in which he lived, and this early tendency de- veloped until he became an attractive and unusually popular public speaker. This faculty naturally led him into political life, and few men of his day were more successful as local stump speakers. Having been commissioned as Major by Governor Temple during the Mexican War, he was afterwards known as Major Biggs.
His first appearance in public life was as a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1852, where he took & prominent part. Until the year 1854 he was a Whig in poli- tics, but afterwards adhered to the Democratic party. In 1860 he was the Democratic candidate for Representative in Congress from this State, but was defeated by George P. Fisher. In 1868 he was elected a member of Congress and served for two terms. He died December 25, 1893, and will be remembered as a most genial and delightful gentleman and an enthusiastic Delawarean.
Robert J. Reynolds, the forty-seventh Governor, was born in Smyrna, Delaware, on March 17, 1838, but while yet a child,
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his father, Robert W. Reynolds, moved to a farm in South Mur- derkill Hundred, about six miles west of Felton, and in that section, Governor Reynolds has always lived. After attaining a fair common school education he became a tiller of the soil and that honorable occupation has claimed his attention dur- his entire life. He served one term as a member of the State House of Representatives, being elected in 1868, and occupied the office of State Treasurer from 1879 to 1882.
Nominated as the candidate of the Democratic party, after a sharp and exciting campaign, he was elected Governor in the fall of 1890. A man of active temperament he naturally developed as a politician and for many years exerted a strong influence in political affairs, ranking high in the councils of the Democratic party. Warm in his attachments, he has at- tracted to himself a wide circle of admirers, and no one who has enjoyed the hospitality of his comfortable home doubts the sincerity of his life or the warmth of his friendship.
For the first time since 1862 the Republican party succeeded in electing its candidate for Governor in November, 1894; the outcome of that election being the choice of Joshua H. Marvel who took his seat in the January following and became the forty-eighth Governor of Delaware. Mr. Marvel was then in his seventieth year and for some years preceding his health had been seriously impaired. After serving as Governor for less than three months he died April 8, 1895. Governor Marvel was a native-born Sussex Countian, and a man who by dint of his own unaided efforts rose to a commanding posi- tion in the community where his life was spent.
Born near Laurel in 1825, his father died when he was less than nine years old, and he had very limited opportunities of procuring an education. As a young man he followed the sea, and afterwards learned the trade of a ship carpenter, but later developing a mechanical tendency, he drifted into the manufacturing business, and in his later life was the owner and operator of a large plant that manufactured crates and baskets for the fruit trade. He exhibited good judgment in
A. J. Watson
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business affairs and was able to accumulate a comfortable fortune. He will be remembered as a kindly man, an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and one whose general good qualities gathered about him a wide circle of . loyal friends.
On the death of Governor Marvel, William T. Watson be- came the acting Governor as Speaker of the Senate. He was the forty-ninth Governor. Governor Watson was a son of Bethuel and Ruth Tharp Watson, both father and mother representatives of old Delaware families. He was a grandson of William Tharp who served as Governor from 1847 to 1851. Possessed of a fine physique, in the prime of manhood, being at the time in his forty-sixth year, and having for several years followed an active business life, he was well equipped for the office of Governor. His life had been spent in busi- ness pursuits, the only political office held by him being as a member of the State Senate elected from Kent County in 1893. His term as Governor lasted until January, 1897, and during his incumbency of the office he exhibited good judgment and strong administrative qualities. His appointments showed independence of thought, and altogether, his brief administra- tion was highly successful. Governor Watson is still living a retired life at his hospitable home in Milford.
Ebe W. Tunnell became the fiftieth Governor of Delaware by choice of the people at the general election held in Novem- ber, 1896. He took his seat the January following and served for a full term. Governor Tunnell was born in Blackwater, Baltimore Hundred, Sussex County, on December 31, 1844. For many years he lived in that locality, engaged in mercan- tile pursuits, and in 1870 was elected a member of the State House of Representatives. In 1873 he removed to Lewes and joined his brother-in-law, Doctor. David L. Mustard, in the drug business, which they conducted together successfully for many years.
He served a term as clerk of the peace for Sussex County, and has, for many years, been recognized in the State as a
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leading and influential Democrat. He was the nominee of the Democratic party for the office of Governor in 1894, but was defeated by Joshua H. Marvel, Republican, and two years later, being renominated by his party, he was elected. Gov- ernor Tunnell has a charming personality, a man of kindly temperament and easy manners, is a general favorite wherever known, and no man has possessed more fully the confidence of the people of Delaware. Governor Tunnell is a bachelor and makes his home at Lewes with his widowed sister.
The election in the fall of 1900 resulted in the choice of John Hunn as the fifty-first Governor of Delaware. He had not figured in politics and had not previously held a public office. He was elected as a Republican, having received the votes of the two factions of the party as a compromise candi- date. His first official act after taking the oath of office, in January, 1901, was to appoint Dr. Caleb R. Layton Secretary of State. Dr. Layton had been a pronounced and unwavering Union Republican since the split in the party in 1895. Strong pressure was brought to bear upon the Governor-elect to pre- vent the selection of Dr. Layton, and many of those who opposed his selection never forgave Governor Hunn for ap- pointing him. The wisdom of the appointment was fully shown by the efficiency with which the duties of the office of Secretary of State were performed. Prompt, intelligent and capable service marked the conduct of the office under Dr. Layton, and when he relinquished it at the close of a four years' term, friend and foe alike had to admit that it had never been more efficiently managed.
John Hunn was a native of Delaware, having been born near Odessa, in New Castle County, June 23, 1849. He was the son of John Hunn and Mary Jenkins Swallow, both mem- bers of the Society of Friends, and was educated in the Friends' School at Camden, Delaware, and the Bordentown (N. J.) Military Academy. At the beginning of the Civil War young John went with his father to Port Royal, South Caro- lina, the latter being the representative of the Pennsylvania
JOHN HUNN.
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Freedmen's Relief Association, whose mission was relief work among the freed men of the South. This work was under the control of the United States government, the commanding officer at that point being General Rufus R. Saxton of the United States Army. The son remained in South Carolina ; being after the war connected with the Coosaw Mining Manu- facturing Company, it being the pioneer company to engage in the excavation of South Carolina rock for fertilizing purposes.
In 1876 John Hunn returned to his native State and settled at Wyoming, where he has since resided, being engaged in the general business of selling fruit, lime and lumber. His wife was Sarah Cowgill Emerson, to whom he was married in 1874, and one daughter, Miss Alice, graces the household. When the rancor arising from as fierce a factional fight as ever divided a political party subsides, so that men will be guided by reason and not by prejudice, the administration of John Hunn as Governor will be fully vindicated and all fair- minded men will agree that he was an honest and capable public servant. His term of office extended from January, 1901, to January, 1905, and he is still living in comfort, and quiet at his Wyoming home.
Preston Lea, the fifty-second Governor of Delaware, was born in Brandywine Village, now a part of the City of Wil- mington, November 12, 1841. He was the son of William Lea and Jane (Lovett) Lea. His grandfather, Thomas Lea, was a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania, being a de- scendant of John Lea, who came from England to America in the latter part of the seventeenth century as a follower of William Penn. Thomas Lea, the grandfather of the Governor, was the first of the name to settle in Delaware. He became a partner with Edward Tatnall in the milling business on the Brandywine, and in 1785 married Sarah Tatnall, the oldest daughter of Edward Tatnall. The succeeding generations of Leas in the male line have continued in the milling business.
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