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 II > Part 15
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DA ANIEL MILLER, who was prominent in philanthropy, politics and business circles, one of the most useful citi- zens of Baltimore, head of the firm of Daniel Miller Com- pany, and a representative of the best element of energy and progress of the younger men of Baltimore, was born in that city, June 1, 1849, son of Daniel and Mary Ann (Klein) Miller. Daniel Miller, Jr., was educated in the public schools of Baltimore, and entered Baltimore City College in 1863, graduating therefrom in 1867. He entered the present firm of Daniel Miller & Company in 1871 ; the firm was then located on Baltimore street, near Howard. In 1880 Henry Clay Miller, then head of the firm, died, and the business was reor- ganized. On returning from a trip abroad for his health, Mr. Miller became a member of the newly-organized firm. It then consisted of the following members: Theodore K. Miller, Daniel Miller, William R. Miller, Robert C. David- son, J. Frank Supplee. Daniel Miller was the financier of the firm of Daniel Miller & Company, and his keen insight into business affairs and conditions had much to do with the success of the firm. The firm occupied one of the handsomest modern store and warehouse structures in Hopkins Place, extending through to South Liberty street, a distance of one hundred and eighty feet. The premises had a frontage of forty-five feet on Hopkins Place and seventy-one feet on Liberty street. All the modern improvements were introduced, while a thor- ough system of organization was enforced, and the extensive business was handled with method and precision. The firm had a direct trade throughout the southern States and west of the Ohio with leading retailers and general merchants. The enterprise of the house was proverbial.
In 1893 Mr. Miller was elected president of the
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Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, serving in that capacity for three years, and he was instrumental in bringing about numerous benefits through the association to the business men of Baltimore. In his speech at the Merchants' and Manu- facturers' banquet, over which he presided with great success, Mr. Miller said :
Duty, at times, sings in minor keys, paying tribute to departed greatness ; but to-night duty is a trumpet call to every member of this association to for- get those things which are behind, and to seek those things which are before, striving for the spirit which was in Patterson, Peabody and Hopkins, and is now in our Enoch Pratt, so that our many members, as one body, may contribute its share to the brilliant future awaiting our city.
It can be seen from this that he was a firm and enthu- siastic advocate of the Greater Baltimore, and that he did all in his power to advance and strengthen it in all its interests. For a number of years he was a director of the National Exchange Bank, vice-president of the Guardian Security and Trust Company, and a member of the Board of Trade.
In the politics of Baltimore he was also a factor. He thoroughly knew the needs and advantages of the city, and added to this knowledge was a broad public spirit that sought the highest good for the community. He was a prominent member of the Reform League and took an active part in its work. He also belonged to the Civil Service Reform Associa- tion. He was one of the strongest tariff reform advocates in the State, and in 1892 presided over the Cleveland tariff reform meeting held in the Lyceum Theatre. In all reform move- ments in Maryland he was conspicuous and active upon com- mittees and on the platform. In 1891 Mr. Miller was the Independent Democratic candidate for the office of State Senator of the Second Legislative District, but was not elected. Mr. Miller was selected by Mr. Hooper, when the latter was Mayor, as one of the members of his reform school board, and was elected vice-president of that board.
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Every form of charitable enterprise interested him and secured his active support. He was the founder and first president of the Friendly Inn. Since its inception it has grown to a much larger extent than its projectors imagined. Aside from being of assistance to unfortunate men, the institution has saved the city a great deal of trouble, as well as relieving the police department of what was fast becoming a nuisance. It is due chiefly to Mr. Miller's belief in the work of the Inn, and his enthusiastic support, that the institution was kept going through a long period before its work was appreciated by the public and finally gotten into excellent condition. For a while he bore the burden of responsibility almost alone. Mr. Miller co-operated heartily with the Charity Organization Society and gave considerable of his time and means to the work of that organization, of which he was deemed one of the most valuable members. He was a director of the Presbyterian Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, besides being connected with other hospital work.
Mr. Miller married, in 1881, Mary Warner Kirkbride, of the family of that name in Philadelphia. Children: I. Henry C., born January 16, 1882 ; married Janet Goucher. 2. Mabel Kirkbride, born June 2, 1883; died July 29, 1910, in Germany. 3. Edward Kirkbride, born May 12, 1885; mar- ried Elizabeth Turner. 4. Daniel, Jr., born May 24, 1889. 5. Hazel, born February 20, 1893.
Mr. Miller died at his home, 605 Park avenue, Balti- more, December 13, 1898, in the prime of life, aged forty- nine years. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Joseph T. Smith, pastor emeritus of the Central Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Dewitt Benham. Interment was in the family lot in Greenmount Cemetery. Resolutions of regret were passed by the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Associa-
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tion, Maryland State Temperance League, Board of Man- agers of the Friendly Inn Association, Directors of the National Exchange Bank, and Directors of the Guardian Trust and Deposit Company.
CharlesA Nicolai
CHARLES HENRY NICOLAI
CHARLES HENRY NICOLAI, eldest son of Charles D. Nicolai, of Oldenburg, Germany, and Sarah Eliza (Saun- ders) Nicolai, of Westmoreland county, Virginia, was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, July 12, 1834. He was educated in the public and private schools of his native city, and in the year 1853 entered upon a business career with one of the largest importing firms of that period. He had already given evidence of fine mentality and executive ability. His natural inclination was toward the practice of law, but the untimely death of his father, in 1852, changed his outlook upon life and caused him to enter the business world. Of an analytical and argumentative nature, the arena of politics soon attracted him, and soon after attaining his manhood his ener- gies were about equally divided between public affairs and private enterprises. One of his first business adventures was the formation of a cement manufacturing company, Mr. Nicolai being its president for several years. Many of the largest buildings of Baltimore, which were erected nearly half a century ago, were constructed with cement supplied by this company, the most notable being the present city hall. Later he became interested in oil refining, being, in fact, a pioneer in that industry. He was actively engaged in this business until 1896, when his refinery was completely destroyed by fire, after which he retired from active business life. For a number of years he was a director of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, during the incumbency of the late John W. Garrett, president of that railroad.
When the war between the States broke out, Mr. Nicolai became an ardent supporter of the cause of the Union, regard- ing the separation of the States as a great calamity. He was a friend and admirer of President Lincoln, frequently visiting
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the President at the White House, and conferring with him upon matters of importance. At the close of the war he ren- dered valuable service to his State by exerting his influence, and by participating in the formation of the Democratic con- servative party, under the leadership of Governor Thomas Swann. Throughout his life he cherished a reverent affection for Mr. Swann, who was his ideal of manhood and states- manship. It was the proud boast of his political life that he had the honor of prevailing upon Mr. Swann to allow his name to be presented as the candidate of his party for the nomination of the office of Governor of the State of Maryland, and to which office he was duly elected. Mr. Nicolai was a member of the Governor's staff, with the rank of colonel. He represented Baltimore county in the State Constitutional Con- vention, in 1867, and was its youngest member. He took an active part in the deliberations of that body, which gave the State a new Constitution and which restored the full right of citizenship to many thousands of the citizens of the State, who had been deprived during the war of this prerogative, which is so dear to the heart of every true American. He used his influence to the fullest extent for the attainment of this privi- lege and right. Of the one hundred and twenty-six delegates to the State Constitutional Convention, in 1867, Mr. Nicolai was the last survivor within the State at the time of his death, in 1915. Mr. Nicolai served two terms in the Maryland Legis- lature (1867-1871) as a representative of the conservative ele- ment of the Democratic party. He was chairman of the Com- mittee on Corporations during that period, as well as being a member of other committees. Whilst in the Legislature, he introduced a bill which, later, became a law, requiring the flag of the United States to be furled daily from the top of the State house at Annapolis, a custom which has been observed since the enactment of that law.
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Mr. Nicolai was also a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Maryland State Agricultural and Mechanical Association, and was the sole surviving member of this body when he died. It was through his efforts that this association acquired the Pimlico property and, nearly forty years after, when it devolved upon the Legislature to appoint a trustee, to settle up the affairs of the association and to dispose of the property, Mr. Nicolai was chosen to serve in that capacity. The proceeds of the sale of the property, amounting to more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), was turned over by him to the State of Maryland and to the city of Baltimore; also to private stockholders.
Mr. Nicolai was genial in temperament, and had the old- fashioned Southern spirit of hospitality. A man of intense energy, enterprising and public-spirited ; a true pioneer in his willingness to embark in the new channels of trade as they appeared before him; he gave liberally of himself and his means to the creation of a bigger, better Baltimore, and is one of the men to whom his native city is indebted for much of her commercial greatness. Beginning his business and pub- lic career so young, and living to become an octogenarian, he naturally formed a very wide acquaintance and was on terms of intimacy with a large number of the most influential and prominent men of his city and State for nearly half a century.
On February 22, 1855, Mr. Nicolai married Charlotte R. Turner, daughter of Colonel J. Mabury Turner, of Baltimore, Maryland, by whom he is survived. Eight children were born to them, viz .: Mrs. James Hallowell Mickle; Miss Charlotte E. Nicolai and Charles D. Nicolai, who also survive him; Mrs. John L. Streeper, who died March 29, 1904; Lawrence Swann Nicolai, who died December 11, 1907; Miss Marie Nicolai, who died August 7, 1914; Miss A. Beatrice Nicolai, and Wilson Townsend Nicolai, who died January 21, 1895. Mr. Nicolai, father of these children, died June 25, 1915.
WILLIAM A. FISHER
W HATEVER else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than any other class of the community. This is but the natural result of the causes which are manifest, and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which are outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the general interest of society. Having held marked precedence among the distin- guished members of the bar in Baltimore was Judge William A. Fisher, who was distinguished for mental clearness and vigor and for his high standards of professional honor. His great success at the bar was due not so much to unusual ora- torical ability as to his faculty for direct and lucid statement and unadorned logic, his thorough mastery of the cases and his unflagging energy and industry. He was intellectually a strong man, rather than a superficially brilliant one, and he brought to the bar and bench the solid and valuable qualities that create honor and respect for both.
William A. Fisher was born in Baltimore, Maryland, January 8, 1837, son of William and Jane (Alricks) Fisher, the former of whom was for many years a wholesale dry goods merchant of Baltimore, and afterwards head of the well- known banking house of William Fisher & Sons. The days of his childhood and youth were passed in the city of Balti- more, and he was a student of St. Mary's College, Loyola College, and Princeton College, graduating from the latter institution in 1855, with degree of Bachelor of Arts, and later the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by his alma mater. His legal studies were conducted under the direc- tion of William Schley, of Baltimore, and he was admitted
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to the bar June 8, 1858. He engaged in the active practice of his profession, achieving success and winning renown, and in 1867 entered into partnership with Colonel Charles Mar- shall, under the firm name of Marshall & Fisher, which was well-known and highly honored, and this relationship con- tinued until 1881. During this time he served as counsel for the Western Maryland Railroad Company, Union Railroad Company, for other large and wealthy corporations, and for many local and foreign interests of great importance. In No- vember, 1879, he was elected to the State Senate to represent the second legislative district of Baltimore, being elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert M. Mc- Lane, and by his thorough business methods and habits proved himself a useful and valuable member of that body. One- tenth of the acts passed at the session of 1880 were introduced by him, among them the new law of limited partnership, which materially changed the existing system. He was chair- man of the judiciary committee of the Senate, of the joint committee on registration, and of the joint committee to draft a bill to apply the restraints of law to primary election, and he was a member of the committee appointed by the Demo- cratic caucus to confer with the Governor, Comptroller and Treasurer in reference to the preparation of legislation for the retrenchment of expenses and the reform of alleged abuses. He also introduced many other measures of importance, all of which were passed by the Senate, though not all by the House. Especially prominent were the services he rendered in the defeat of the bill passed by the House, which, while reducing street car fares in Baltimore to five cents, made no provision for transfers, and proposed to deprive the city of the park tax. This bill, after a protracted and exciting struggle, was de- teated in the Senate almost entirely by his vigorous efforts. He also made a strong fight against the system of inspection
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in tobacco, cattle, hay, etc., advocating earnestly the policy of leaving trade to protect its own interests. He was also a mem- ber of the water board, and prior to this he was engaged to conduct the proceedings for the condemnation of the lands necessary for the immense enterprise and improvement in- volved in the introduction of the new water supply from Gunpowder river.
Mr. Fisher was brought most clearly and prominently before the public in 1882, when he was put forward on the "new judge ticket." The campaign was one of the most hotly contested known in the city and resulted in a sweeping victory for the new ticket by Judge Fisher. He held the position on the bench to which he had been elected until January 3, 1887, and then resigned, believing that he could be of more use as a general practitioner at the bar. His strong personality and his large following throughout the State made him one of the most prominent possible candidates for the Democratic guber- natorial nomination in 1895. While Mr. Fisher was regarded as the leading candidate, events so shaped themselves that at the last moment John E. Hurst was nominated as the Demo- cratic standard bearer. Upon his resignation from the supreme bench he again resumed the practice of law, under the firm name of Fisher, Bruce & Fisher, his parters having been W. Cabell Bruce and D. K. Este Fisher, and they conducted one of the largest and most lucrative practices in the city. Judge Fisher was a Democrat in politics, and served as president of the Business Men's Democratic Association in the cam- paign when Davidson was elected mayor. He was honored by his profession by being chosen the president of the Bar Asso- ciation. He was a member of the Episcopal church. Judge Fisher was also connected with charitable works, being a trustee of the Maryland Institute for the Blind, a trustee and at one time secretary of the Thomas Wilson Sanitarium
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for Children, and also a trustee of the Thomas Wilson Fuel- Saving Society. In addition to performing the duties of these positions, he filled the post of executor and trustee of the Thomas Wilson estate. He was the first president of the Charity Organization Society.
Judge Fisher was the highest type of a gentleman and a scholar. As a high-minded, public-spirited, patriotic citizen, he reflected credit upon his native State and upon the city of Baltimore. He never was a seeker after office and occupied but few public places. He carried with him to the bench a profound knowledge of the law, a stainless reputation and a mind absolutely fair and judicial. In his profession he was in the very foremost ranks of Maryland lawyers at a time when the Baltimore bar numbered many men of brilliant attainments and national reputation. In all the walks and relations of life he was a good and an honorable man, one of the pillars of the State.
Judge Fisher was married in May, 1859, to Louise Este, who survives him. She was the daughter of Judge David Kirkpatrick Este, of Cincinnati, and it is interesting to note that Mrs. Este, who was a member of Judge Fisher's family for some years, was living, in good health, mentally and physically, at the time of the death of Judge Fisher.
Judge Fisher died at his country residence at Ruxton, Baltimore county, Maryland, September 26, 1901. The funeral services were conducted in Emanuel Protestant Epis- copal Church, corner of Cathedral and Read streets, Balti- more. Interment was in the family lot in Greenmount.
MD .- 35
CHAUNCEY BROOKS
T THE financial and commercial growth and development of
a city are so closely interwoven with the history of the individuals who further these interests, that a history of one is almost practically a history of the other. In this connection, in regarding the history of the city of Baltimore, it is most important that a history of the late Chauncey Brooks be taken into consideration. While many men owe their success to in- tense concentration upon one line of effort, and while this quality is of decided value, there are a few exceptions in American enterprise, where leaders of business matters have been so variously endowed by nature, that they have been able to organize and manage successfully a number and variety of exceedingly important undertakings. Of these exceptional men, Mr. Brooks is an example par excellence. His ancestors had their home in England, and some of them came to America previous to the war of the Revolution, and made their home at New Haven, Connecticut, where the first Chauncey Brooks was a lieutenant and a Royalist, siding with the Crown at the time of the Revolution in America. His lands and property were confiscated and held by the patriots, and were not recovered by him until after his marriage with Elizabeth Barnes, a member of a patriot family. The Brooks family belonged to the Episcopal church; the Barnes family were Congregationalists, and New England people.
Chauncey Brooks, son of Lieutenant Chauncey Brooks, was born in Burlington, Connecticut, January 12, 1794. He attended the public schools in the vicinity of his home, and from his earliest years displayed unusual ability. At the age of nineteen years he went to Baltimore, Maryland, and after an exhaustive consideration of the advantages offered by a residence in that city, concluded to make it his permanent
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home. The results achieved in his future career proved the wisdom of his plan. It was but a short time before his busi- ness acumen and ability made themselves perceptible in vari- ous directions. Methods of transportation engaged his atten- tion at the outset, and he was connected with this line of industry from the first, transporting goods by team to the adjoining sections of the country and to the valley of Virginia, and over the mountains into Ohio. Mercantile life next en- gaged his attention, and in 1822 he associated himself with General Walter Booth, of Meriden, Connecticut, who was at the time president of the Bank of Meriden and had repre- sented his State in the Federal Congress for a number of years. The business partnership thus formed under the firm name of Booth & Brooks met with success from its very inception, which was continued uninterruptedly for many years. After a number of years, General Booth withdrew from the firm, which was continued under various firm names until shortly before the conclusion of the Civil War. The various names under which he operated and the firms he was interested in during this period were: Chauncey Brooks & Company; C. Brooks, Son & Company ; Brooks & Fahnestock; Brooks, Ful- ton & Company; John G. Harryman & Company; Brooks, Towner & Company; Brooks, Thrasher & Company; the present firm of Brooks, Rogers & Company, and the banking house of Fahnestock & Company. The class of goods handled by these firms was a most varied and extensive one, including, in wholesale quantities, dry goods, grain, boots and shoes, etc.
Mr. Brooks entertained the excellent idea that the best method of promoting public progress was to advance indi- vidual prosperity, and acting in accordance with this theory, he became the associate member in a number of enterprises, selecting as his associate, not men of capital like himself, but one of those clerks in his employ who had shown especial
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business aptitude and who would be guided by the mature and ripened experience of himself. In this manner he is said to have furnished capital for the opening of more than thirty concerns, not permitting his name to' be used in the firm name, but figuring as the "Company" in it, and when the concern was placed on a successful and paying basis, withdrawing from it and leaving it in the hands of his young associate. Some of the business houses thus called into existence are still in the field in active operation in Baltimore, and have long since out- grown their small beginnings, and have helped greatly in de- veloping the commercial interests of the entire community.
In addition to these mercantile enterprises, Mr. Brooks at a very early period took an active part in numerous indus- trial and manufacturing operations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and at the time of his death was largely con- nected with the oil output of that State. It was but natural and human that he should desire success in all he undertook, but his greatest delight was in the opportunities the wealth thus acquired gave him to benefit others, collectively and individually, and he was too liberal minded to attach undue importance to this success. His extensive undertakings brought him that pleasure which comes with the conquest of difficul- ties which had seemed apparently insurmountable. The mag- nitude and magnifient results of his operations attracted to him other prominent business men of his day, who desired to benefit by his experience and advice in other fields of action. He was elected a director of the Baltimore Savings Bank, and served in this capacity until his death. He was one of the organizers of the Western Bank, and was elected to the presi- dency of that institution in 1837, succeeding the Hon. Samuel Jones, and remained president in active service until his death. With the interests and welfare of this financial institution Mr. Brooks became so closely identified that it has been considered
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