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 18
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merit wherever he found it. In all things his life was ani- mated and guided by a tenacious Christian faith. Educated as an Episcopalian, he joined the Presbyterian church in early manhood, he believing that the latter form of church government was more in harmony than Episcopacy with our republican institutions. While at "Walney," his country resi- dence, there being no Presbyterian church in the neighbor- hood, he became a staunch supporter and vestryman of the Protestant Episcopal Church. During the sessions of Con- gress, he frequently attended at Trinity Church, but in 1854 he became a member of one of the constituent parts of what is now known as the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.
In the latter years of his official position in the Senate, the seeds of secession were breeding discord and disunion. After his resignation he retired to "Walney," where the bur- dens of advancing years were augmented by ill-health, and a sun stroke in the summer of 1860. At the election for mem- bers of the constitutional convention held in February, 1861, he voted for the Union candidates, and though he looked for- ward sadly toward secession, he yearned for a conservative leader to rescue the old Union. He remained on his home- stead in Virginia until November, 1862; the Union Army in its march through that State, some time preceding this, sacked "Walney," his library being scattered, his domestic servants leaving him, and for a matter of safety, he, and his family, came to Baltimore for a residence. Here he remained until August 11, 1863, when his death took place, and he was buried in Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore. His wife survived him until July 8, 1878, dying in the nintieth year of her age at her son's home in Baltimore, and was buried beside her husband. Of the seven children of Lewis H. and Caroline (Webster) Machen, four of them died in childhood, the others were: Emeline Machen, who died unmarried, in Baltimore, in 1887, Arthur Webster Machen and James Patterson Machen.
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Arthur Webster Machen was born on July 20, 1827, in the city of Washington, District of Columbia. He was of a slender build in stature, and during childhood suffered from sickness. After receiving an elementary schooling from a lady teacher, and an Irish pedagogue, he entered a private school in Georgetown, District of Columbia, kept by the Rev. Dr. McVain, a Scottish Presbyterian clergyman. Here he became drilled in Latin grammar and syntax. He next attended a school in Washington conducted by a Mr. Abbot, a native of New England, and here became proficient in Greek. Always an ardent reader, he used to tell stories to his schoolmates, often continuing them from day to day to maintain the interest of his hearers. After graduating from the "Select Classical Seminary"-the name of Mr. Abbott's school -- Mr. Machen became a student at the Columbian College, now George Washington University. Here he continued his studies about a year, then the educational plans made by his father were changed on account of the purchase of "Walney." The next six years were spent as the life of a country boy ; the open-air life on a Virginia farm improved his delicate health. He superintended all the farm operations and personally par- ticipated in them. In spite of his arduous labors, his father's extensive library having been removed to "Walney," he con- tinued his studies, adding greatly to his knowledge of books, not only in English but in Greek and Latin.
It was during his residence at "Walney" that he first commenced his literary efforts for the press. He was suc- cessful in winning several prizes for his efforts. He was, how- ever, morbidly solicitous to preserve his incognito, as he wished to avoid any reputation as a "litterateur or dilletante," which might interfere with his plan to become a lawyer. The winter and early spring of 1849 were spent in assisting his father in the labors of his clerical position during the session
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of Congress. He witnessed the inauguration of General Zachary Taylor, which was of great interest to him on account of his sympathies with the Whig party. His life as a farmer terminated in the autumn of 1849, never to be resumed with the exception of brief visits to "Walney." The law had already attracted him, even in his early childhood, and to fit himself for that profession he entered the Harvard Law School. Dur- ing his whole course of studies at this college, he supported himself, first by stories and articles for magazines, later, in part, by his stipend as librarian of the Harvard Law School Library. His novel, "Everstone," was published serially in the American Whig Review. Though he afterward wrote some fiction he decided after the publication of his novel to devote himself to magazine articles and book reviews. At the time of his graduation, in 1851, he won the prize for the best thesis, the subject selected by the faculty being "The Rights and Liabilities of Railroad Companies."
While he was a member of Harvard Law School, also after his admission to the bar, he assisted Professor Theophilus Parsons in compiling his work on contracts; he not only con- tributed material for the notes, but wrote the chapter on "Slavery." Among his closest friends, amongst the students, was Richard J. Gittings, of Maryland; Alfred M. Barbour, of Virginia; Gene R. Locke, of Kentucky ; C. C. Langdell, of New Hampshire ; James C. Carter, of New York, and Alfred Russell, of Michigan. The degree of Bachelor of Laws was conferred on him by Harvard College at the time of his graduation. He, however, continued his law studies at Cam- bridge for another year, and in the summer of 1852, he re- turned to the Virginia farm. The momentous question now was a decision in reference to his permanent residence, he hesi- tating between New York and Baltimore, but finally, having a desire to live in a Southern atmosphere, he decided on the latter city.
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Mr. Machen was admitted to the bar of the Superior Court of Baltimore City, on June 13, 1853. He immediately opened an office in Baltimore in conjunction with Richard J. Gittings, his former classmate. Though the public regarded them as partners, there was no formal agreement, only a tacit understanding to share alike in all fees. The young briefless barrister was eager to work, but clients were few and far between, and after three years at the bar he was still "as poor as Job's turkey." The greater the discouragements the more manfully he strove. Whatever litigations fell into his hands, he prosecuted vigorously; he sought to attract practice rather by industry, study and efficiency than by extending his social acquaintance ; he sought relaxation in books in preference to society. In the autumn of 1855, Mr. Gittings was selected State's Attorney for Baltimore county; while he never was a partner in criminal matters with the new State's Attorney, the reputation of the two associates began to spread abroad, and civil business improved. At the end of the year, the tide of professional success was still advancing. A few months later Mr. Machen had his first case in the Court of Appeals, and though the case received an adverse decision, the firm of Machen and Gittings had a remarkable record of success in the spring of 1859, when they were employed in almost every civil case on the Baltimore county trial docket and gained them all.
During the period of waiting for law practice, Mr. Machen assisted Professor Parsons in preparation of his law books. After this work was successfully accomplished, Pro- fessor Parsons urged him to write a book on trusts. This he declined to do, but instead commenced a work on estoppel. After almost completing the manuscript for the work, the publications of two works on the subject dampened his ardor, and the book was never completed. Another law book he
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started to compile was an alphabetical list of "Words Judi- cially Construed."
Mr. Machen's first case was in the Supreme Court of the United States, Parker vs. Kane, in 1860. From the commence- ment of his legal career he was in love with his profession. He understood the lawyer's art of acquiring, in a short time, a sufficient mastery of even highly technical subjects to discuss them intelligently. In discouraging days, when he was wait- ing for practice, it was his devotion to the high ideals of his profession which sustained him through the daily routine and the more disheartening idleness. After he began to get prac- tice, his devotion to the law by no means diminished. Though he recognized that criminal litigation was a valuable experi- ence for a young lawyer, it was however distasteful to him, his preference being for civil cases. The first cause celebre, in which Machen and Gittings were concerned, was tried in the Baltimore County Court in January and February, 1859. The indictment was against two men for the murder of a policeman named Rigdon. The murderers were members of two influential clubs of ruffians that terrorized Baltimore. They secured convictions in both trials and were instrumental in breaking up these clubs named the "Plug Uglies" and the "Rip Raps," and thus delivering Baltimore of a serious menace to her safety and good government. A vacancy occurring in the Superior Court of Baltimore, caused by the death of Judge Z. Collins Lee, the appointment was tendered to Mr. Machen by the Governor, but, after two weeks' consideration, he de- clined the honor. He never took an active part in the political affairs of the age, and voted for the first time when he was twenty-eight years old. On the question of slavery he opposed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and disapproved the decision in the Dred Scott Case, in so far as it restricted the power of Congress to legislate on slavery in the territories.
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In the presidential election of 1860, he voted for Bell and Everett, the last remnant of the Whig party. The conclusion of the Civil War found the firm of Machen and Gittings with a flourishing and rapidly growing business. They were re- tained in Baltimore county on one side or the other in almost every important legislation. While in Baltimore City their position was not so pre-eminent as in the county, they enjoyed a practice which ranked them in the forefront of the bar. Mr. Machen's first European trip was taken in 1867; two years later he made another trip, when he visited Rome and South- ern Italy. The increasing business of Machen and Gittings caused them to offer a partnership in their office at Towson- town, Maryland, to Colonel David G. McIntosh, a distin- guished soldier in the Confederate Army, who, after the war, located in Maryland. The firm was known as Machen, Git- tings and McIntosh, and the junior member had charge of the Baltimore county office at Towsontown.
Mr. Machen married Miss Minnie J. Gresham, of Macon, Georgia. Immediately after his marriage he joined the Franklin Street Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, and became one of its influential members. He was elected a trustee of the church and was re-elected annually until his death. He was chosen president of the Library Company of the Baltimore Bar in 1873, and was re-elected yearly until his death, thus holding the office for forty-two years. His con- stant, severe work on his professional employment impaired his health, and by the advice of his physician he made another European trip in the summer of 1881. The following year he again declined the nomination as one of the Judges of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City. In the same year his law partner, Richard J. Gittings, died, after a brief illness, and the firm of Machen, Gittings and McIntosh was dissolved by mutual consent. The senior member continued the practice of
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law individually. Since the close of the Civil War, Mr. Machen affiliated with the Democratic party, though he never took any active part in politics, and during the period of Democratic supremacy in Maryland he did not even take the trouble to vote. He always opposed the independent move- ments in Maryland politics, and never, save in one or two instances of judges and non-political offices, did he vote for a Republican candidate. He was president of the Bar Asso- ciation of Baltimore in 1897-8; and was counsel for the Balti- more City Passenger Railway Company from its incorpora- tion in 1862.
Mr. Machen was fond of travel, of seeing new scenes and of visiting places possessing historic or literary associations. His summer vacations were spent in America, frequently in the White Mountains. In 1908, however, and again in 1910 and 1911, he spent three summer months in Europe. On Sun- day, December 19, 1917, after returning from church services, he passed quietly away, surrounded by his family.
The "Baltimore Sun," December 22, 1917, in an editorial, reviewed Mr. Machen's career :
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF AN OLD REGIME
In the death of Arthur W. Machen, Baltimore loses one of few remain- ing human beings who linked it with a comparatively early part of its history, and our local bar loses probably the last survivor of a professional period which was especially prolific in lawyers of unusual intellect and force. Merely as a human landmark Mr. Machen was peculiarly interesting, since his long life of nearly eighty-nine years embraced an era of municipal change and progress which the young man and woman of to-day must realize, if at all. only at second hand and on the testimony of others. Mr. Machen was a part of old Baltimore as well as new Baltimore, of the Baltimore of the distant past as well as Baltimore of the present, of the days when the railroad and the telegraph were still a wonder, and of the days when the automobile has become almost as common as the barnyard fowl, and when travel by air is becoming as familiar a spectacle as travel by stage coach once was.
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Born ten years before the birth of "The Sun," and coming to the bar sixty-two years ago, the mind of a man of Mr. Machen's breadth and train- ing became the permanent depository of local history, the sensitive and re- ceptive film on which the pictures of men and events were impressed with special clearness and significance. His life was a part of the community life for so long that his passing creates a very keen sense of family loss. A human factor has gone which we cannot replace, one which helped to preserve the feeling of community continuity and to keep us in living touch with our past. What an addition a man such as Mr. Machen could have made to local history had he been able to find the leisure to put down in black and white his personal reminiscences of men and things!
As a member of the bar Mr. Machen belonged to an era to which we can always point with pride. That he held a recognized place in the front rank of his profession in a day which boasted such men as Teckle Wallis, Charles Marshall, Bernard Carter, Judge Ritchie and John P. Roe, and in which Recerdy Johnson, Steele, McMahon, Nelson and Schley still held their own as veteran intellectuals, is the best tribute to his legal ability and standing. What gives him wider claim to ordinary human interest and sympathy than his professional achievements was his intense and critical liter- ary taste, and the broad culture by which he strengthened and rounded his professional studies. The lawyer of the old regime was supposed to be a man of education and reading, and the old system built up its legal super- structure on a wide and solid foundation of learning. Mr. Wallis illustrated the fact that legal ability is not necessarily narrow and one-sided, and Mr. Machen, though he did not enter the realm of literature as a producer, main- tained his love for it in spite of all the professional demands upon his time, and there can be little doubt that it returned his affection with profitable dividends in his legal labors.
The lawyer of to-day is necessarily in a hurry. The competition is greater, the rewards are larger for the elect. We cannot expect the same breadth of culture as in the earlier days, though legal learning and legal ability may be as profound and as marked as in the past. But when we review a career like that of Mr. Machen, we cannot but regret that the old school of legal training has so few representatives remaining, in this country at least, and that keen but narrow specialists occupy so large a place in a profession which was once the centre of literary arts and graces.
J. Pembroke Thom
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JOSEPH PEMBROKE THOM, M.D.
T HE Thom family of Baltimore trace descent from a Scotch ancestor, Alexander Thom, who, loyal to his king, gal- lantly aided the Jacobite cause in Scotland until that fatal day in 1746, when "Prince Charlie's" cause received its death- blow, and he, an officer, fled from the field, finally reaching America in safety. From Alexander Thom, the Scotchman, sprang a distinguished Southern family, Dr. Joseph Pembroke Thom, of Baltimore, an eminent son, being of the third Ameri- can generation. Through intermarriage the Thoms are closely related to other families of distinction, notably, Mayo, Tabb, Bland, Wright, Randolph and Poythress.
Arriving in Virginia, after his flight from Scotland, Alexander Thom settled in Westmoreland county, but later removed to Culpeper county, Virginia. He married Eliza- beth Triplett, who died April 6, 1789, daughter of John Trip- lett. Alexander Thom died two years later, February 27, 1791. They were the parents of several children, the line of descent being traced to Dr. J. Pembroke Thom, through Colonel John Watson Triplett Thom, the eldest son of the founder. In the generations that have followed from the brave Scotch officer, who sacrificed his all for the cause of "Prince Charlie," and even to the fifth generation there are evident traits which distinguished him. Loyalty even to a lost cause is a family trait, and when his grandson, J. Pembroke Thom, was confronted with a similar problem, he offered his service in defense of the cause he believed in, and served the Con- federacy with all his ability.
Colonel John Watson Triplett Thom, eldest son of Alex- ander and Elizabeth (Triplett) Thom, was born November 11, 1769, and died May 22, 1855. He inherited the family estate, "Berry Hill," Culpeper county, Virginia, was a wealthy
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planter, and the owner of two hundred slaves, many of whom he sought to free by colonization in Pennsylvania, but they chose to return to him and their comfortable homes at "Berry Hill." He was elected State Senator, served his county re- peatedly as high sheriff, was an officer of the War of 1812, and a devoted churchman, serving as vestryman for more than fifty years. He married, July 27, 1815, Abby de Hart Mayo, daughter of Colonel William and Elizabeth Bland (Poy- thress) Mayo. They were the parents of Dr. Joseph Pem- broke Thom, to whose memory this tribute of respect and appreciation is inscribed.
Dr. Joseph Pembroke Thom, son of Colonel John Wat- son Triplett and Abby de Hart (Mayo) Thom, was born at the paternal estate, "Berry Hill," Culpeper county, Virginia, March 13, 1828, and died at his home, No. 828 Park avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, August 21, 1899. His youth was spent at "Berry Hill," where he was trained in all the industries of the estate, wood and iron working, weaving, basket making, coopering and shoe manufacturing, Colonel Thom consider- ing a knowledge of such industries a necessary part of his son's education, and all were reared to habits of industry. As a lad, Dr. Thom attended the primary school kept in a log schoolhouse nearby, later attended the academy presided over by Professor Thomas Hanson, of Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was very anxious to go to sea, and finally succeeded in obtaining a berth, but the initial voyage from Virginia to Bos- ton, Massachusetts, cooled his ardor, and henceforth the sea had no charms for him. He made the return journey home by land, and there remained until the outbreak of the Mexi- can War, when he was commissioned first lieutenant of a com- pany he recruited in Fredericksburg. But the urgent repre- sentations made to him by his father finally caused him to yield, and he resigned his commission, and received in recog-
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nition a fine farm presented him by his father. But he repented his decision, and, journeying to Washington, he ap- pealed to the President to restore him to the rank. His plead- ings, reinforced by his enthusiasm and attractive personality, won the President's consent, and he was commissioned second lieutenant, his captain being W. B. Taliferro, who subse- quently became brigadier-general, Confederate States Army. He was then nineteen years of age, but he possessed every sol- dierly quality, and at the front distinguished himself by his bravery and coolness under fire. He was twice wounded, once near the Puente Nationale, and again at Huamantla, com- manding his company in both actions. For a time after the capture of Mexico, the capital city, he was on duty there, and in the Province of Taluca, escaping all dangers, but at the close of the war, while in Vera Cruz, he was stricken with yellow fever and was carried to Fort Hamilton, New York, there recuperating, and soon thereafter returned to his Vir- ginia home.
His brother, Dr. William Alexander Thom, an eminent physician of Northampton county, Virginia (died May 12, 1899), induced the young man to begin the study of medicine under his direction, and a year later he entered the medical department of the University of Virginia, where he won dis- tinction in scholarship, and was the popular president of his class. He completed his medical studies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, receiving his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College with the class of 1851. From that medical college Dr. Thom entered the United States Navy, passing the exam- inations brilliantly, being second on a list of about one hun- dred applicants. He was admitted as assistant surgeon, was assigned to the frigate "Savannah," and spent four years on that vessel, cruising in South American waters.
On his return to the United States, Dr. Thom resigned
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from the service, married, and retired to a farm in Culpeper county, Virginia. He took active part in public affairs, and served on the staff of General William B. Taliferro during the John Brown excitement at Harper's Ferry, ranking as colonel, and thereafter, even before Virginia seceded from the Union, enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was assigned to the command of the "Irish Battalion," the only troops Vir- ginia then or afterwards raised separately, and continued its commander afterward. He was with Stonewall Jackson in the Valley campaign, and in all the marchings and battles in Western Virginia. He was recklessly brave, shunned no dan- ger, and was several times wounded. At the battle of Kerns- town, a bullet which would have pierced his heart was stopped by a pocket Testament, which he carried in his breast pocket. While the sacred book saved his life and was ever treasured as a precious souvenir, it could not prevent the shock to his heart, and he was unable to resume field duty. He was as- signed to the duty of transferring troops from Richmond down the Peninsula, but his health did not improve, and he was ordered to Bermuda by his physician. He ran the blockade from Charleston, and narrowly escaped capture at the entrance to the harbor of Bermuda. His quest for health was fruitless, and after a lengthy stay he made his way to Canada, there being visited by some of his family. At this time cruisers were being built abroad for the Confederacy. They were to be commanded by Commodore Maury, an old friend of Dr. Thom's father. Dr. Thom was ordered to Europe to await the completion of those cruisers then being built in France, but much of his waiting was spent in Italy. His wife had died in 1861, and during his wait in Italy, he met Catherine G. Reynolds, who became his wife in Leamington Cathedral, England, in 1865. The ending of the war found him still abroad, and it was not until 1866 that he returned home.
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Dr. Thom located in Baltimore, Maryland, after his return from abroad, and there resided until his death, thirty- three years later. He became prominent in professional, polit- ical and social life, and was one of the strong and influential men of his day. He was a Democrat in politics, ardently sup- ported Grover Cleveland for the presidency, and had the honor of being president of the first Cleveland Club organ- ized in the country. That club under his leadership aided greatly to create the sentiment which culminated in the nom- ination and election of the first Democratic president since James Buchanan, who was succeeded by Abraham Lincoln. President Cleveland, Secretary Manning, and other party leaders, always recognized the great service Dr. Thom ren- dered Democracy's cause.
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