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 21
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JUDGE WILLIAM FRICK
THE HE name of Frick has been long and honorably asso- ciated with the legal, financial, scientific and social life of Baltimore. It is of German origin and the earliest records of it are found in an ancient document of the year 1113, which shows that the administration of the Frickgau or Frickthal, a district still known under that name in the northern part of Switzerland, was administered under appointment of the Ger- man Emperor by two brothers, Rudolph and Werner, Counts von Frick. The records also of Zurich and Basle show that the descendants of these two brothers were men of distinction until the dissolution of the bonds between the German Em- pire and the Swiss confederation, during which time, and sub- sequently through religious persecutions, they suffered loss of fortune, and their estates dwindled until they became small landowners and farmers throughout the cantons of Zurich and Aargau. In the year 1650, Henrich Frick, a landowner and school-teacher in Knonan Canton, Zurich, who was subjected to persecutions on account of his religious faith, emigrated with his wife, Elizabeth, and three children, two daughters and one son, to the Under Pfalz, or Rheinish Palatinate, taking with him considerable property and cattle. His son, Henrich, born December 19, 1647, was the father of John Conrad Frick, the first of the name to become a colonist in America.
Arms-A red wolf rampant on a shield argent.
John Conrad Frick, born March 28, 1688, and ancestor of the Frick family in Maryland, married in the Palatinate, Barbara Enten, and in 1732 he and his wife sailed from Rot- terdam, Holland, in the ship "Pennsylvania" and landed in Philadelphia, September 11, 1732. He was one of the group of colonists who founded Germantown, Pennsylvania, and in
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this settlement John Conrad Frick lived the remainder of his life, his death occurring October 3, 1761.
Peter Frick, fourth son of John Conrad and Barbara (Enten) Frick, was born November 9, 1743, in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and died October 15, 1827, in Baltimore, Mary- land. In 1770 he married Anna Barbara Breidenhart, daugh- ter of Dr. Christopher Breidenhart, of Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, and, removing from Germantown, came to Baltimore, Maryland, thereby founding the Frick family in that State. As a resident of Baltimore, Peter Frick was actively identi- fied with the civic and business interests of the city. He be- came a successful merchant of Baltimore, and in 1797, when, in obedience to an Act of Assembly, incorporating the City of Baltimore, a mayor and councilmen were elected, Peter Frick was chosen a member of that first council. The sons of Peter and Anna Barbara ( Breidenhart) Frick were: John Frick, merchant, William Frick, of the Baltimore Bar, George Frick, M.D., a physician, distinguished for his scien- tific attainments, being one of the first physicians in America to specialize on the treatment of diseases of the eye, on which subject he was the author of several valuable treatises.
William Frick, second son of Peter and Anna Barbara (Breidenhart) Frick, was born November 2, 1790, in Balti- more. He married, on June 6, 1816, Mary Sloan, daughter of James Sloan, also of Baltimore. His early education was received at a Moravian college at Nazareth, Pennsylvania, a college then regarded as a center of scholarship in the country. Mr. Frick's legal studies were pursued in Baltimore, in the law office of Gen. William H. Winder, and in 1813 the young man was admitted to the Baltimore Bar, where he speedily acquired legal distinction and became prominent in municipal affairs. His talents were devoted chiefly to admiralty, mari- time and insurance law. He was identified with almost every
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social and public enterprise of importance undertaken in the city. In conjunction with Chief Justice Taney, Judge Heath and other distinguished supporters of Jackson, he took an active part in the organization of the Jackson party. After several years of successful practice of law in the courts of Maryland, he was elected State Senator from Baltimore City, and in 1837 was appointed, by President Jackson, Collector of the Port for the District of Maryland. In June, 1848, Gov- ernor Francis Thomas appointed him judge of the Baltimore County Courts, and associate judge of the Court of Appeals, which offices he held until his election as the first judge of the Superior Court of Baltimore City, which post he honorably filled until his death. In the War of 1812 William Frick served as a volunteer during the campaign in Maryland. His death occurred July 29, 1855, at Warm Springs, Virginia, after an illness of only a few days' duration. His widow survived him until October 13, 1866.
The children of William and Mary (Sloan) Frick were: William Frederick, of further mention; Elizabeth A., mar- ried Dr. William Power; Mary L., unmarried; Charles, of medical fame; George P., merchant; Frank, a prominent merchant; James Sloan; William, of the United States Navy, and later in the naval service of the Confederacy; the last five mentioned are deceased.
Mrs. Mary (Sloan) Frick, wife of Judge William Frick, had three brothers: James Sloan, Jr., Dr. Charles Sloan, and Dr. William Sloan, all of whom were men of high attainments and culture. James Sloan, Jr., a graduate of Princeton Uni- versity, class of 1804, was admitted to the Maryland Bar. In tastes he was cosmopolitan. He was an author of ability and an excellent linguist. In 1818 he published a delightful volume entitled "Rambles in Italy," but his promising literary and professional career was unfortunately ended by his death, in 1819, at the early age of thirty-three years.
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Dr. William Sloan studied medicine under Drs. Littleton and Donaldson, of Baltimore, and graduated in medicine, in Philadelphia, in 1811. He was appointed surgeon of the Four- teenth United States Infantry at the commencement of the War of 1812, and continued in military service until peace was declared. Later he was elected one of the physicians of the Baltimore City Dispensary, and, in 1817, was appointed physician to the almshouse of Baltimore county. He died at the early age of twenty-eight years.
Dr. Charles Sloan, youngest son of James Sloan, of Balti- more, was one of the pioneer martyrs to scientific research into the nature of yellow fever. He had gone to New Orleans to study the disease, and, unfortunately, fell a victim to the mal- ady, dying in New Orleans on November 15, 1819, in the twenty-third year of his age.
Arms-Gules, a sword in pale, point downward, blade argent, hilt or, between two boars' heads, couped at the neck of the third. On a chief ermine a lion passant of the first, between two mascales, sable.
Crest -- A lion's head erased or.
At a meeting of the Baltimore Bar, held in the Superior Courtroom, July 30, 1855, in honor of the memory of Judge William Frick, eloquent tributes were paid his memory. Said John H. B. Latrobe in part :
To a graceful and ready wit, whose characteristics were its cheerfulness and faculty to delight, Judge Frick united talents of a higher order, whose impulses were always toward the elevated and refined. Fond of art and an adept in some of its branches, apt in all matters of science, and with strong literary power, he embellished his professional life with rare accomplish- ments. As to his social qualities, Mr. Chairman, how shall those of us, who knew him, speak of them? Warm-hearted and generous, the life of every circle that was fortunate enough to enjoy his presence, with an apparent happiness of temperament that was contagious almost. Who was his equal while he lived-who has he left behind that shall take his place? As a man and citizen, Mr. Chairman, of whom can more honorable things be said ?
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Blessed in the relations of a domestic life in a most eminent degree, his best eulogy, in this regard, is in the family he left behind him, to find comfort in his unspotted fame, and in the knowledge that, if not of kindred, yet all who knew him admired him for his talents, loved him for his virtues, and valued him for his solid and intrinsic worth. Graves are garlanded, while palaces are unadorned, and so, Mr. Chairman, what might seem flattery if spoken to the living, may, as in this instance, be uttered as the simplest truth in reference to the dead.
Said Edward H. Docwra in part:
To us, Mr. Chairman, the decease of our late Judge is a heavy calamity, for long and kindly association with him had engendered in our breasts the best feelings, the warmest friendship. So lately amongst us in his usual health, it seems hardly to be realized that William Frick is dead. Thus much, Mr. Chairman, have I trespassed upon this meeting, for Judge Frick was beloved by the members of this bar, both old and young, and I deem it not amiss that I, as one of the younger of the brotherhood, should pay my sad tribute to his worth. He has passed from us in the flesh, and it is not proper that we should let this occasion go by without joining our testimony to his many virtues. We know not who will in the future preside over us in this court, but I trust that whoever he may be, he will discharge the arduous duties of this bench as fairly and as honestly as they were dis- charged by our late Judge.
Resolutions were adopted by the Bar expressing the high opinion in which they had held Judge Frick, and after other addresses the meeting adjourned to later attend the funeral in a body.
At the assembling of the Superior Court over which Judge Frick had presided, eloquent tributes were paid the dead jurist. Said Judge Presstman in part :
Judge Frick was distinguished by many ennobling qualities of mind and heart. Refined in his tastes, courteous and affable in his manners, he had won the affections of those with whom he was upon terms of intimacy, and commanded the respect and confidence of all who were brought into com- munion with him in his public or private relations. Enjoying the advantage of early training, he was an accomplished scholar, and his political, literary
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and legal writings evinced a chaste and cultivated style. Having enjoyed a large share of public confidence, he was frequently called upon to assume the duties and responsibilities of public stations-all of which he performed with ability and unimpeachable integrity. He was a courteous opponent, not unmindful of the rights and feelings of others; yet always a staunch advocate of those political principles he believed to be most conducive to the welfare of his country. As a lawyer, he obtained an enviable rank in the earlier portion of his professional life at this bar, when some of the most distinguished names adorned its roll, and with many of whom he was intimately asso- ciated. Few men possessed in a higher degree that rare conversational talent which made him a welcome visitor and ornament of the social circle. As a jurist, he was perhaps more distinguished in the Appellate Court, during the time he occupied a position in that tribunal, which afforded him a better opportunity to do justice to those talents which he possessed than was afforded him in the trials at nisi prius. His opinions, as delivered in that court, have received high commendation. During the period he presided in this court, and the perplexing cares and anxieties which are necessarily incident to the station, his chief purpose seemed to be that the scales of justice should be held with a steady hand. The light of his mind is extinguished, and his presence, once familiar in this temple of justice, shall never again be visible ; but his virtues will be held in affectionate rememberance. The court will stand adjourned until tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.
MD .- 40
WILLIAM FREDERICK FRICK
A LIFE honorable in its achievement, and unusual in its length, ended with the passing of William Frederick Frick. A graduate of Harvard, his years there threw him into intimate contact with the poet, Longfellow, the states- man, Sumner, and men of New England, who later rose to fame, their intellectual attainments stimulating his own, and aiding to mould his character and mode of thought. He was also fortunate in his youth in the acquaintance of Judge Story, and other intimate friends of his distinguished father, men much older than himself. From such youthful and early manhood surroundings was developed the man of brilliant talents, high ideals and scholarly tastes, whose life was to prove so valuable to his native city. As a lawyer he was learned, broad minded and accurate, ranking as one of the most dis- tinguished practitioners of his time. As a citizen he was useful and courageous, deeply interested in the public school system. His life was one of honor and usefulness, every one of his years, eighty-eight, spent in preparation for and in the accomplishment of his ambitions and ideals. His social quali- ties were in accord with his intellectual attainment, and the eulogies pronounced upon his honored father can with equal propriety be applied to the son, save that the legal career of the latter did not include service on the bench.
William Frederick Frick, eldest son of Judge William and Mary (Sloan) Frick, was born in Baltimore, April 21, 1817, died in the city of his birth, January 25, 1905. His education, carried along under private tutors, Drs. Girardin and Williams, at old Baltimore College, was continued at Harvard College, and finished with graduation and high honors, class of "35." Early association, natural inclination and environment, dictated his choice of a profession, and when
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Judge William Frick was called to his father's, his mantle fell upon a son whom he had personally trained, and who for fifteen years of his early practice had had the benefit of a dis- tinguished father's advice, counsel and admonition. After completing legal study under the direction of his father, the young man was admitted to the Baltimore Bar in May, 1839. He at once began practice, and until his death, sixty-six years later, was actively engaged in his professional work. The promise of his youth was more than fulfilled and he rapidly rose to eminence, becoming one of the most distinguished and honored members of the Baltimore Bar. His scholarly tastes led him away from strict devotion to his profession in his earlier career at the bar, and considerable time was then given to lectures and addresses on matters of public interest, and in contribution to current literature.
The cause of public education particularly appealed to him, and he took an active and an eager interest in the organ- ization of the Baltimore system, serving for several years as president of the city school board. He wrote and spoke for the system without limit, his writings and addresses a direct influence in awakening public interest in city and State educa- tional affairs. But with the continued growth of his private practice, he gradually withdrew from public activities, and in his later years he gave himself exclusively to the service of his clientele. He was counsel for some of the more important commercial and corporate interests of his city, and personally served as a director of leading corporations, including the Bal- timore & Ohio Railroad Company, the Consolidated Coal Company, and the Consolidated Gas Company. So in honor and usefulness his long life was passed. He was keenly alive to his responsibilities as a citizen, and in the stormy times through which political Baltimore has passed, he was not neu- tral, but warmly espoused the cause he deemed the righteous
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one, and was a powerful advocate for that cause. . But outside official membership on the school board he could never be induced to accept political office. He was an independent Democrat, never wearing the collar of party subserviency, but a trusted adviser, and highly regarded by the true leaders of his party. In 1850 twelve of the most distinguished members of the Baltimore Bar organized the Friday Club, an organiza- tion most notable for half a century, which passed out of exist- ence in 1905, with the death of William Frederick Frick, the last survivor of the twelve. From 1872 until 1890 Mr. Frick practiced in association with his son, James Swan Frick, whom he admitted to a partnership after his admission to the bar in 1872. In 1890 the son withdrew from active practice, the father continuing alone.
William Frederick Frick married, February 10, 1848, Anne Elizabeth Swan, born in Baltimore, Maryland, January 10, 1819, and died there, December 20, 1880, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Donnell) Swan. Mr. Frick survived his wife twenty-five years, but was solaced in his long evening of life by the loving companionship of his three children: I. James Swan, born November 30, 1848, a member of the Mary- land Bar; married Elise Winchester Dana, daughter of Colonel Samuel and Abbie E. (Rice) Dana, a descendant of Richard Dana, who settled at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1640. 2. Mary Sloan, born January 4, 1851 ; she married (first) Robert Garrett, of Baltimore, and (second) Dr. Henry Barton Jacobs. 3. Elizabeth Donnell, born June 5, 1853, be- came the wife of Frank Foster, of England, whom she sur- vives, a resident of Washington, D. C.
Anne Elizabeth (Swan) Frick, wife of William Fred- erick Frick, was a granddaughter of Gen. John. Swan, born in Dumfries, Scotland, where his family had been prominent since 1599. The name Swan is of very ancient Danish extrac- tion, derived from a Dane-Swain or Swan-of noble ances-
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try, who settled early in the southeastern portion of Great Britain. The Swans were possessed of landed property in Kent and Derby from the period of the Norman Conquest. The name, as borne by landowners, occurs in the Domesday Book, and as early as the reign of Richard II, the Swans signed to their name "Gentleman" in ancient deeds. Through England, Scotland, and also Ireland, branches of the family scattered, as indicated by similarity in coats-of-arms and crests.
Arms-Azure, three swans argent, two and one; chief or.
Crest-A cockatrice's head erased proper, ducally gorged, ringed and lined argent.
Motto-Paratus Sum (I am ready).
It is from a Scotch line of ancestry that the Swan family of Maryland is descended, and in the Maryland branch, as in most of the others, is to be found upon the coat-of-arms three snowy swans floating upon the blue waters of a lake as repre- sented by an azure shield.
General John Swan, the great-grandfather of James Swan Frick, was born November 27, 1750, in Dumfries, Scot- land. He came to Maryland in the year 1766 as the heir of his uncle, Robert Swan, who died in Annapolis, May 4, 1764. He was a mere lad of sixteen when he sought the New World, and with the ardent enthusiasm of youth he espoused the patriots' cause and fought gallantly for the liberty of a nation. At first a resident of Annapolis, John Swan soon moved to Frederick county, Maryland, and later to the rapidly grow- ing town of Baltimore. He early entered the Army of the Revolution, was wounded at Morristown, and upon his recov- ery was, by order of General Washington, commissioned, on April 26, 1777, captain of the Third Continental Dragoons, at that time being recruited by Colonel George Baylor at Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was made major of the First Continental Dragoons, on October 21, 1780, and served with gallantry until the close of hostilities, and was with General
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Lafayette, at Yorktown, when Lord Cornwallis surrendered. At the close of the Revolutionary War, Major Swan was made general of the Maryland State Militia. He was also one of the signers of the original, and the amended constitu- tion, of the Society of the Cincinnati, that organization of dis- tinguished brothers-at-arms of which George Washington was president, and General Otho Holland Williams, of Maryland, was treasurer. General Swan's eldest son, Robert Swan, and his grandson and namesake, John Swan, were also members of the society by inheritance, and James Swan Frick, great- grandson of General John Swan, now represents him in the society.
General Swan settled in Baltimore after the independence of the United States was assured, and became closely identi- fied with the interests and development of the city. Among other offices held by him was the presidency of the Branch Bank of the United States for Maryland.
On July 12, 1787, General Swan married Elizabeth Max- well, born 1757, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Trippe) Maxwell, of Charles county, Maryland, and he died August 21, 1824.
James Swan, son of General John and Elizabeth (Max- well) Swan, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in January, 1796. In 1818 he married Elizabeth Donnell, daughter of John Donnell, Esq., an Irish gentleman, who came to Mary- land late in the eighteenth century, and married, October 11, 1798, Anne Smith, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Custis) Smith, of Northampton county, Virginia. James Swan was president of the Merchants' Bank of Baltimore for a number of years, and one of the first directors of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He died August 25, 1859. Anne Elizabeth Swan, eldest daughter and second child of James and Eliza- beth (Donnell) Swan, married William Frederick Frick.
GENERAL JOHN GILL
TALL and soldierly in carriage, with snow-white hair and mustache, General Gill was a striking figure anywhere, but was particularly well known and highly esteemed in Bal- timore's financial district. His soldierly bearing was both hereditary and acquired, as through his mother he descended from Captain John Deale, of Maryland, a distinguished offi- cer of the Revolution ; paternal and maternal ancestors fought in the War of 1812, and General Gill was an officer of the Confederacy. When the struggle finally terminated at Appo- matox, he became identified with the commercial life of Balti- more, but from 1887 until 1910 was president of the Mercan- tile Trust & Deposit Company and a power in financial affairs. The last two years of his life were spent abroad and in retire- ment at his Baltimore home, but his visits to the banking district to meet and chat with old friends were frequent. He was one of the most conspicuous figures in Baltimore's business district, having been identified with its welfare as merchant and financier for over forty years.
General Gill's grandfather, John Gill, of Alexandria, Virginia, born June 14, 1765, died March, 1856, son of Thomas Gill of Notton, Yorkshire, England, came to Amer- ica just after the close of the Revolution, as the resident part- ner of the shipping firm of Abernethy, Lowry & Gill, of Lon- don, one of the leading firms of that time. He married Esther Lowry, daughter of Colonel William and Oliva (Pickins) Lowry, both from Castle Blaney, County Monaghan, Ire- land. Colonel Lowry came to Baltimore in 1794, and shortly afterward was commissioned by Governor Lee, of Maryland, major of the Thirty-seventh Regiment, Maryland Volunteers. He was subsequently made colonel of the regiment. John Gill settled in Alexandria, Virginia, about the year 1784. The
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following year he married Esther Lowry, daughter of his partner. The firm of Abernethy, Lowry & Gill going out of business, John Gill continued in business for himself, in Alex- andria, until 1800, when he removed with his family to Balti- more, conducting there for many years a successful shipping business. Later in life he acted as a notary public, which was then a most important and lucrative office.
Richard Wardsworth Gill, father of General John Gill, was born in England, October 14, 1793, while his parents were on a trip to the mother country. He was educated at St. Mary's (now Loyola) College, and after graduation embarked in business, about the year 1815, forming a co-partnership with his brother, William Lowry Gill. His preferences, however, were for the law, and the firm did not long continue. He served in the War of 1812, on General Smith's staff, and was at the battle of Bladensburg, where, on August 24, 1814, an American force was defeated by the British, who immediately afterward entered and burned the city of Washington. He studied law and was admitted to the courts of Baltimore city and of Baltimore and Hartford counties in the year 1820. In 1824 he was elected District States Attorney for the city of Baltimore and served in this capacity for two years. Subse- quently he became a general practitioner with varied success until the year 1834, when he changed his residence to Ann- apolis to become the reporter of the Court of Appeals. His name is intimately associated with this work from that time to within a short period of his death, covering nearly nineteen years of unremitting toil, the result being Harris & Gill, Gill & Johnson, and Gill's Maryland Reports. In 1835 he mar- ried Anna Franklin Deale, daughter of Captain James Deale, of West River, Anne Arundel county, Maryland, and grand- daughter of Captain John Deale, who served in the Revolu- tionary War. Richard Wardsworth Gill died February 28, 1852.
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