USA > Maryland > Genealogical and memorial encyclopedia of the state of Maryland, a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Volume I > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24
155
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
ventures, and was a tower of strength to the Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company, of which he was vice-president until his death. Until 1875 he was intimately connected with the business world, not only as a member of Spence & Reid, ship- ping merchants, but with other leading mercantile concerns. But from 1875 until his death he was practically free from business cares. He retained his vigor surprisingly, and even when in his ninety-fifth year it was no uncommon sight to see him, formally dressed and with as much care as the youngest man in his party, occupying his box at the opera. For seventy- three years he worshipped with the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church, and it was a very rare event for him to be absent from the Sunday morning service. While he kept well abreast of the times, there were certain old-fashioned customs to which he remained loyal. One of these was his carriage and pair, he with a very few Baltimoreans refusing to adopt the automobile even after it became the "vogue." He was extremely fond of a game of whist and even the best masters found him a strong opponent. He made many journeys abroad after surrendering business cares, and during these tours added to the art treasures in which his home abounded and in which his soul delighted. There stands in the rotunda of Johns Hopkins Hospital a heroic statue of the "Divine Healer" that few know was the gift of Mr. Spence. While attending Divine service in Copenhagen with his friend, Dr. Daniel Coit Gilman, then president of Johns Hopkins University, now with his friend in the spirit land, the beauty of a staute of the Christ proved wonderfully fascinat- ing to Dr. Gilman. "If you like it so much," said Mr. Spence, "I will have a similar one made for the rotunda of the hos- pital." This promise he kept, gave an order for an exact reproduction to the sculptor, Theodore Stein, and there it stands, a symbol of mercy, greeting every visitor to the institu- tion, whose mission is one of mercy.
156
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
Mr. Spence was a believer in and a warm friend of young men. On his ninety-second birthday he urged upon them ambition and high purpose. "Be ambitious, prepare your- self for greater things so that you may be ready when oppor- tunity comes. Aim high and put all the energy you possess into the accomplishment of your object. Be honest, work hard, and you will succeed." Could the secret or mainspring of his own success in life be reduced to words, it could be epitomized in his own words: "Always be prepared to take advantage of an opportunity." His was not a sordid nature, but he knew the value of money and the blessings it could bestow, and the great wealth he gained was wisely used. He was identified with many charities and philanthropies, but beneath his qualities, which made him a commanding figure in Baltimore's business world, beneath his kindness, capacity for friendship and his generosity, lay a deeply religious nature and principle, firm as the granite rock. His piety, wise coun- sel and material aid were woven into seventy years of the his- tory of the First Presbyterian Church, and at a thousand other points touched the history of other churches.
He was a man of few words, direct in his utterances and expecting equal directness from those who would have busi- ness dealings with him. He was deliberate in his judgments, but when he had decided was as adamant. He held firmly the control of all affairs with which he was connected, and would never forsake a proved and sound business principle for an untried one. In like manner he possessed the gentleness of a woman, and in all the years of his active business life no instance is recalled of bad temper. This wonderful self con- trol extended even to argument, and he would end a dis- cussion with the same placid ease that he began it. His de- termined spirit was proverbial, and it was that spirit which carried him past his one hundredth birthday. During the
157
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
last decade every purpose of his life was vigorously main- tained, and during his last two years he became so feeble that many of his friends believed that only his will power enabled him to reach his ambition to attain the century mark. He was. not only determined to see his one hundredth birthday, but to spend it in his Baltimore home, and he did. While he passed the day quietly in his bedroom, he was remembered by his friends of St. Andrew's Society, whose annual meet- ings he rarely missed; by the Maryland Historical Society, of which he was a life member; by the session of the First Presbyterian Church, and by his many personal friends. Perhaps the feature of his birthday which pleased him most came from the church, who held birthday services the day before that they might on the same day celebrate the one hun- dredth anniversary of the founding of its Sunday school. The following resolution was passed and sent to Mr. Spence :
The session of the First Presbyterian Church gladly avails itself of this occasion of the near approach of the one hundredth anniversary of the birth- day of its honored and beloved senior member, William Wallace Spence, to offer him its hearty congratulations upon the unusually long term of years which he has been permitted to spend so happily and usefully in the Master's service in this congregation, seventy-three years as a member, and sixty-seven as ruling elder. It wishes also to place on record this expression of the deep appreciation felt by all its members of the loyal devotion to the interests of this church so fully displayed by him during the whole period of mem. bership; of the affectionate regard and esteem they one and all entertain for him personally, and their gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the many spiritual and temporal blessings wherewith He has crowned his days.
William Wallace Spence was born in Edinburgh, Scot- land, October 18, 1815, and died at his home, No. 1205 St. Paul street, Baltimore, November 3, 1915, his father a prac- ticing physician of Edinburgh. He had all the advantages of education, but he had formed his plans for coming to the United States, the wishes of his father holding him until
158
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
his eighteenth birthday. He then carried his plans into effect and seventy days later landed in New York City, but did not long remain there, going six months later to Norfolk, Vir- ginia, where he remained seven years engaged in the ship- ping trade. In 1840 he decided Baltimore offered a wider field for his energies, and in that year he began business with his brother, John F. Spence, their place of business, No. 5 Rowlew's Wharf, the firm name, W. W. Spence & Company. Later John F. Spence withdrew and went west, his place being taken by Andrew Reid, the firm trading as Spence & Reid, shipping merchants and large importers of coffee. In 1847 the firm made a great deal of money in corn, they having purchased heavily at a figure which more than doubled. This was the cornerstone of the great fortune Mr. Spence accumu- lated, although Spence & Reid continued a large and prosper- ous business for more than twenty-five years. In 1875 he retired from commercial life and devoted himself to his private affairs, to charity, philanthropy, travel and the devel- opment of the finer side of his nature. He was one of the organizers of the Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company, was suggested as its first president, but he gave way to his son-in-law, General John Gill, who held the office until 1911, Mr. Spence serving as director and trustee. He rarely missed a meeting of the board and his judgment was both sought and deferred to until the end. He was also an official of the Eutaw Savings Bank, and so regular was he in his visits that if his carriage did not draw up before the bank at 10 o'clock each morning, the officers knew he was either indisposed or out of the city. He was regarded as one of the able financiers of the city and made so few mistakes that his reputation ever endured. In his business affairs he made use of all the aids of steam, electricity and modern invention, but could never be persuaded to adopt the automobile.
159
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
He took little part in civic affairs as an official, but his interest extended to every department of city life. He served three years as finance commissioner in association with Enoch Pratt, both voluntarily resigning. This office, to which he was appointed during Mayor Latrobe's second term, was his only public position. His charity was far-reaching and his interest extended to many philanthropies. He was president of the Presbyterian Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital; president of the Home for Aged Men; president of the Home for Aged Women; director of the House of Refuge; director of Egerton Orphan Asylum; senior elder of the First Presbyterian Church and its oldest member; life member of the Mary- land Historical Society; member of St. Andrew's Society. He was an enthusiastic patron of art, and with Theodore Mar- burgh and others organized the Municipal Art Society, of which he was long a director. His gift to the city included the statue of his ancestor, William Wallace, which stands on the Lake Front in Druid Hill Park, his other notable gift, "Christ the Divine Healer," in the rotunda of Johns Hopkins Hos- pital.
So a wonderful life was passed, wonderful in its achieve- ment, wonderful in its duration. None envied him his suc- cess for it was fairly earned and generously used. He began life with a definite purpose, but when the goal was reached he withdrew and long lived to enjoy the fruits of his enter- prise, good judgment and ability. He held his honor sacred, and his record bears no trace of unworthy sacrifice for world- ly gain, and freely as he received freely he gave; his life is an inspiration and his memory a rich inheritance.
Mr. Spence married (first) Mary A. Winkley, of Vir- ginia, who died November 1, 1859. He married (second) Charlotte Morris, daughter of Charles Morris, of the firm James & Charles Morris, contemporary with Spence & Reid
160
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
in the early forties. Mr. Spence left three children, all by his first marriage: Louise Wallace, married General John Gill; William Wallace (2) ; and Mary S., widow of O. N. Butler, all residents of Baltimore. Thirteen grandchildren also sur- vive him.
ROBERT. VANDERBURGH McKIM, M.D.
DR. McKIM was a native son of New York and a resi-
dent of the city of New York during more than the last quarter of a century of his long and useful life. He was a veteran surgeon of the Union Army, holding the rank of major. He was a man of considerable means and for many years preceding his death lived a retired life in the city of New York, devoting himself to the pursuits congenial to a man of culture and refined tastes. His progenitors were men of wealth and prominence in the business affairs of Philadelphia and Baltimore, descendants of Sir John McKim, born in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1655, knighted by his King for valiant service during the historic siege of Londonderry, raised July 30, 1689. Sir John McKim had by his second wife sons, Alexander and Thomas, the latter the founder of his line in America from whom descend the Philadelphia and Baltimore McKims.
Judge Thomas McKim was born in Londonderry, Ireland, October 10, 1710, died at Brandywine, Delaware, in Sep- tember, 1784. He came to this country, October 3, 1734, landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he resided until about 1739, when he moved to Brandywine, Delaware, where he resided until his death. He was a man of influence in his community, a justice of the Court of General Sessions and judge of the Court of Common Pleas for many years. He left children: John, of further mention; Robert, Eliza, Alexander, and Jane, all born in Brandywine, Delaware.
John McKim, of the second American generation, son of Judge Thomas McKim, was born in Brandywine, Delaware, in 1742, died in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1819. In 1785 he located in Baltimore, there rising to eminence in com- mercial life. He was the founder and first president of the MD .- 11
162
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
Union Manufacturing Company of Baltimore, organized in 1808, a company which operated one of the first cotton mills built in the United States and is still one of the successful manufacturing corporations of the city. He was also presi- dent of the Baltimore Water Company and one of the open- handed, public-spirited men of his day. His greatest philanthropy was the founding and endowment of a free school for the education of children of both sexes without regard to religious creed, an institution known as "The Mc- Kim School," a worthy monument to a worthy man. He married Margaret Duncan, daughter of Isaac and Margaret Duncan, of Philadelphia. She bore him two sons, Isaac and William Duncan. The eldest son, Isaac McKim, was born in Philadelphia in 1775, and came to Baltimore with his father in 1785. He entered his father's counting room at an early age and developed those qualities which made him the in- dustrious, energetic, intelligent and successful merchant which he afterward became. He was a great shipping mer- chant in the East India trade. He took great pride in his vessels and had some of great celebrity as fast sailers. In 1836 he built one of the first of the clipper ships, the widely known "Ann McKim," which was named after his wife. During the War of 1812, he was in active service as an aide- de-camp to General Samuel Smith, commander in chief of the forces defending Baltimore, and advanced $50,000 to the city to aid in its defense.
He was one of the promoters of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and one of its first board of directors. He took a warm interest in politics and was a prominent and influential member of the Democratic party. He served as State Sena- tor and was twice elected to Congress, of which he was a member at the time of his death. He was eminently social in his nature and his generous and elegant hospitality was
163
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
freely extended to a large circle of friends, as well as to all strangers who were in any way entitled to it. He died in 1838, at the age of sixty-three.
William Duncan McKim, youngest son of John and Margaret (Duncan) McKim, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1779, died in Baltimore, Maryland, in No- vember, 1834. After completing his education he joined his father in his various business enterprises and became one of the leaders of the commercial world. He was one of the founders of the Baltimore Gas Company, which he ably served as a director, also serving in that capacity in various banks, insurance companies and several public institutions of the city. Like his father, he was a man of noble, generous impulse and identified with many philanthropic movements. He married, in 1806, Susan Hazlett, of Caroline county, Maryland, whose ancestors, like his own, came from Lon- donderry, Ireland. They were the parents of six children : John, Hollins, Isaac, Hazlett, Margaret, married Alexander Gordon, and Robert.
Robert McKim, youngest child of William Duncan and Susan (Hazlett) McKim, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 25, 1816, died in New York City, April 23, 1893. He was a man of wealth and education, his connection with the business world that of an investor only. He married, No- vember 7, 1838, Charlotte Vanderburgh, daughter of Dr. Federal Vanderburgh, and granddaughter of Colonel James Vanderburgh, an officer of the Continental Army during the Revolution. They were the parents of Susan Hazlett, born August 11, 1839, married, in November, 1859, Wil- liam Mackay; Robert Vanderburgh, of further mention; Mary Helen, born September 14, 1843, died June 12, 1884, married, October, 1867, Richard Church; Clarence, born July, 1853, married, December, 1887, Caroline Lawrence;
164
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
deceased ; Laura Vanderburgh, born July 22, 1860, married, November 26, 1884, S. Morris Pryor.
Robert Vanderburgh McKim, eldest son of Robert and Charlotte (Vanderburgh) McKim, was born at Rhinebeck, Dutchess county, New York, August 19, 1841, died in New York City, October 20, 1915. He was educated in Baltimore and New York City schools, chose medicine as his profes- sion, receiving his M.D. from New York Medical College. At the outbreak of War between the States, he offered his services to the Federal government and was commissioned as- sistant surgeon of the Fifty-seventh Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, in October, 1861. In February, 1862, he was commissioned surgeon with the rank of major and saw hard service with the Army of the Potomac during the Seven Days fighting of the Peninsular campaign at Second Bull Run and Antietam. He was acting brigade surgeon during this period and later was in charge of a division hospital at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. He ever retained his interest in the militia and from March 5, 1883, until his resignation, honorable discharge, January, 1898, was brigade surgeon on the staff of General Louis Fitzgerald, commanding the First Brigade, New York National Guard. He was a mem- ber of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, the Colonial Order, the Union Club, the Metropolitan Club, and secretary of the Kennel Club of New York. He was a man of highest character and agreeable personality, highly esteemed by his professional brethren and dear to an extensive circle of friends.
Dr. McKim married, at Baltimore, December 28, 1858, Mary Schroeder Albert, who died at sea, May 17, 1907, daughter of Jacob and Eliza Margaret (Shroeder) Albert, of Baltimore. Dr. and Mrs. McKim were the parents of seven children : Robert Albert, born September 15, 1863, married,
165
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
February 28, 1889, Caroline Ransom; Mary Albert, born May 30, 1865, married, April 28, 1888, George C. Wilde, of Baltimore; Albert Vanderburgh, born February 14, 1867; Susan Isabel, born March 10, 1869, died in 1872; William Julian Albert, born September 3, 1870, married, November 9, 1893, Maud S. Lee; Charlotte Albert, born August 7, 1872, died in 1881 ; Augustus Albert, born 1875, died 1879.
CHARLES WESLEY GALLAGHER, D.D.
A NATIVE son of Massachusetts, Dr. Charles Wesley Gallagher, an eminent Divine of the Methodist Epis- copal church and the honored president of the Maryland College for Women, won his reputation as minister, scholar and educator beyond the confines of the State of his birth. He entered the ministry after the completion of his college course, continuing until 1889, having attained the dignity of a presiding elder ere he laid aside his priestly duties for those of an educator.
His first call was from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, and for four years he was president of that insti- tution. From that time until his death, in 1916, he continued in educational work as college executive, his connection with the Maryland College for Women beginning on June 1, 1908, after wide experience in the executive management of co-educational institutions and women's college, which peculiarly fitted him for the position he was to fill at Luther- ville. He was a man of deep learning, and for two years after coming to the Women's College, he continued to in- struct classes in psychology, logic and ethics, he having made a comprehensive study of those subjects before, and for a number of years taught them to classes in different institu- tions. He also gave special attention to the Bible in the Hebrew and Greek languages and ranked with the eminent scholars of his day. But his usefulness to the cause of the church and education was not alone his learning, his piety nor intellectual ability, but also in his executive quality, his business sense and his sound judgment, which won him the support of the friends of religion and education, and his ap- peals never were disregarded by those to whom they were addressed.
Charles W. Gallagher
167
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAI.
Seventy years was the span of his life, and it contained no blank periods, every page of his record being filled with honorable, useful endeavor to raise higher the standards of religion and education. He was a powerful advocate of the causes he championed, was an eloquent platform speaker and in frequent demand at church conventions, conferences and educational gatherings, while his powers of literary expres- sion and theological argument are wonderfully expressed in his "Theism or God Revealed," published in 1899, when he was in the full prime of his splendid powers. During most of the years spent as president of the Women's College, his duties were solely executive, the importance of that work demanding his release from class teaching.
Dr. Gallagher, along maternal lines, traced his ancestry to the Foster family of Colonial fame, who dated in Mas- sachusetts from the year 1628. His paternal grandfather, John Chartres Gallagher, of the Gallagher family of 1765, was proprietor and principal of the first academy in Sack- ville, New Brunswick, Canada, where a very important educational institution has been developed. Dr. Gallagher's father, Samuel Chartres Gallagher, married Rooxby Moody Foster, and resided in the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts, where his son, Charles Wesley Gallagher, was born. The parents were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and when a name was to be chosen, "Charles Wes- ley," brother of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was selected as an honored name they would have their son bear. The name was worthily borne, and who can say that there was not an inspiration in it which impelled the young man in his course toward high ministerial dignities.
Charles Wesley Gallagher was born in Chelsea, Massa- chusetts, February 3, 1846, and died in Lutherville, Mary- land, at his home on the Campus of the Maryland Women's
168
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
College, December, 1916. He completed public school courses, finishing with high school, and with this preparation he went West and taught school in Austin, Nevada, being for one year of that period principal of an academy. On his re- turn East he entered Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, graduating A. B., class of 1870. He pursued divinity studies at Wesleyan, was regularly admitted to the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, later was for- mally ordained, and entered upon pastoral duty at New Haven, Connecticut. In 1873 he was awarded his A. M. degree. From New Haven he was assigned to Hartford, Connecticut, under the Methodist rule of the itineracy, going thence to Providence, Rhode Island, his pastorate there being followed by charges in Brooklyn, New York, and in New York City. Wesleyan University conferred the hon- orary degree, Doctor of Divinity. He grew in intellectual strength and power along with ministerial usefulness, his brethren elevating him to the important office of presiding elder of the New Bedford district. During his years in the ministry he had become well known as a strong friend of the cause of education, this reputation, coupled with his learning, piety and eloquence, rendering him an ideal head of an educational institution of high degree. In 1889 there came a first call from the educational field, Lawrence Uni- versity, Appleton, Wisconsin, offering him the presidency of that institution. The call seemed one that should be heeded, and after fully considering the matter he resigned from the active ministry and accepted the presidency of the University. He remained at Appleton for four years, then transferred his services to Maine Wesleyan Seminary and College, there remaining until 1897, when he became associate principal of LaSalle Seminary, Auburndale, Massachusetts. Four years later, in 1891, he accepted the presidency of the National Training School for Missionaries and Deaconesses, in Wash-
169
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
ington, D. C., remaining executive head of that institution until June, 1908, when he was elected president of the Mary- land College for Women at Lutherville, Maryland.
For two years after becoming president of the Women's College, Dr. Gallagher taught psychology, logic and ethics, but from that time until surrendering his trust he was occupied entirely in executive duty. He succeeded in raising the stand- ard of the Maryland College for Women during his incumb- ency, and brought the college through some difficult periods. After the fire of 1911, he threw himself whole-heartedly into the work of replacing the ruined buildings and met with suc- cess. He ended his days in honor and usefulness, his memory forever enshrined in the hearts of the thousands of young men and young women who went out from under his teach- ings to carry the light to others. He continued in the active discharge of his duties until about three weeks prior to his death, when a severe breakdown followed a severe bronchial attack. Funeral services were held from the college under the direction of Dr. George Preston Mains, author and min- ister of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a life-long friend and class- mate. His remains were interred in Druid Ridge Cemetery, Maryland.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.