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 26
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Mr. Hunt had a rich and full life, the life of a thinker and a dreamer and a poet which was kept hidden in reserve. To his closest friends this was unsuspected until in a favored moment under some provocation of con- versation it revealed itself. His courtesy, kindness, sympathy, nobleness, and gentle fineness were constantly in evidence; the depth of the feeling of the man when it glowed-it never flashed-was a constant surprise to even those who knew him best. His was a rare and charming personality, one in whose presence one could be silent without awkwardness, and who was notwithstanding a constant provocative to conversation. He was a connoisseur of flowers, a lover of birds, and a friend of children. Many a little one will remember through life the loving nickname he had fancifully bestowed. One thinks of him as a flower, haply chanced upon beside the stream of life, blooming modestly and content with such sunshine as leaked to him beneath
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the trees, to the careless voyager appearing but as a usual forestry blossom ; but to the lover lingering among the vines and ferns it speedily became a rare treasure, both for its own sweetness and for the rich wealth of human association it revealed.
The Hunts were among the early settlers of Calvert and Baltimore counties, Maryland. William Beall Hunt traced his ancestry from Job Hunt, a Presbyterian clergyman, who came from Warwickshire, England, and settled first in South- ern Maryland, removing, in 1760, with his family to Balti- more county. There he took up large tracts of land, in the east half of Green Spring Valley, his estate comprising what is now known as Brooklandville, and extending toward Sher- wood and Ruxton. He married Elizabeth Chew, who bore his four sons : Henry, born March 5, 1745; Job, born March 16, 1747 (see forward) ; Samuel, born January 30, 1749, and Phineas, born November 2, 1751. Job Hunt, Sr., died some time prior to 1773, for on July 26th, of that year, Elizabeth Hunt transferred real and personal property to two of her sons, Samuel and Phineas, because of approaching marriage to John Bond. A section of the land which she gave to her sons at this time was called "Beall's Discovery," and it was upon a part of this land that Hunt's church was afterward built, and upon which is located the graveyard where many of the members of the Hunt family are buried, including Mrs. John (Hunt) Bond, three of her sons, the wife of Phineas Hunt, and others. Soon after coming to Baltimore county the Hunts connected with the Garrison-Forest English Church. Job Hunt, Jr., was a warden there in 1771 ; Samuel, in 1802, and Phineas was elected a vestryman on Easter Mon- day, March 25, 1799, which position he retained until the year 1809.
When, in 1769, Robert Strawbridge and Robert Wil- liams came to Baltimore county to preach the doctrines of
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John Wesley, the Hunt brothers were among the first to accept Methodism. Lednum in his history of Methodism states that Phineas Hunt and his wife Susan became Methodists when the early itinerants came to their neighborhood. Phineas opened his house for preaching and his neighbors gathered to hear the gospel. Phineas Hunt was made leader of the class which met in his home, that class being the foundation of the present Hunt's Episcopal Church. He had preaching in his house long before the first church edifice was built. In the beginning the Methodists did not consider themselves a separate church, but a part of the Church of England. This accounts for Phineas Hunt and his brother Samuel remaining active in the latter church. In about 1780, Phineas Hunt built a small chapel for the Methodists which he called Zoar Chapel, and later, on September 4, 1785, he transferred to William Stine, Marner and Samuel Hunt, Michael Thraner, Joshua Bowen, Daniel Isrig and others, the ground on which the chapel was built for the use of the Methodist Episcopal preachers.
Job Hunt, son of Job and Elizabeth (Chew) Hunt, married Margaret Hopkins, February 7, 1771, and died Feb- ruary 18, 1809. Children of Job Hunt and his wife, Mar- garet Hopkins, were: Samuel, born January 1, 1772, died February 10, 1779; Elizabeth, born February 2, 1774, died September 10, 1775; Sarah, born November 11, 1777; Miriam, born October 15, 1779; Samuel, born October 5, 1780, died October 5, 1782; Elizabeth, born August 11, 1783, died Jan- uary 9, 1784; Job (3), see forward; John, born July 2, 1787; Elizabeth, born December 23, 1789; Jesse, born July 3, 1793.
Job Hunt, of Hagerstown, Maryland, son of Job and Margaret (Hopkins) Hunt, was born June 10, 1785. He married Ann Boyd. Their son, Samuel Hunt, married Mar- tha M. Beall, daughter of William Murdock Beall, of Fred-
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erick, Maryland. Samuel Hunt was a merchant of long stand- ing of the well-known leather firm of Samuel Hunt & Son, of Baltimore, the business originally being established in the year 1785. This long-established business was carried on for many years by his son, William Beall Hunt, now, too, gath- ered to his fathers, his useful life and high character being the inspiration of this review.
William Beall Hunt was born in Baltimore, and there spent his life, his death occurring April 10, 1915. After his graduation from Baltimore City College, with high honors of a first prize winner, he began his long and honorable career as a merchant. He began business life in association with his father, Samuel Hunt, a prosperous leather merchant, his first position being in the counting room as bookkeeper. It was not long, however, before he was admitted to a partnership, the firm name then becoming Samuel Hunt & Son. They oper- ated the business until the death of Samuel Hunt, when the two sons continued as Samuel Hunt's Sons. When the great fire swept Baltimore, the firm did not resume, the Hunt brothers then retiring. During those earlier years in business the father, as the years advanced, leaned heavily upon his capable son, and eventually the burden of business manage- ment was borne entirely by the younger partner, William Beall Hunt. He developed rapidly and grew with his respon- sibilities until he had brought the firm into the very front rank among leather merchants. He traveled extensively abroad, his many trips to purchase goods being also trips to all centers where he could indulge his passion for art and music, his love of the beautiful in all things, and his artistic talent which had been cultivated from youth was also a trade asset, for many of the beautiful designs for the handles of the leather bags, and other goods the firm dealt in, were de- signed by him. While Nature in all her phases was a joy
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to him, and growing things made a particular appeal, his cul- tured mind responded as eagerly to the beauties of art, music, and literature. He was a graceful writer, giving a great deal of his spare time to writing, the current magazines publishing many short stories from his pen. He was a member of the Historical Society, of the Churchman's Club, of the Oratorio Society, and a subscriber for many years to the Peabody con- certs. Like his father, he was a member of old St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church, Samuel Hunt having served that parish as vestryman for a number of years. The son's connection with the Sunday school has been noted, and he had many warm friends among the clergy and laity of the church. He never married.
As a tribute to his memory the following poem was writ- ten by the Bentztown Bard :
His sleep is sweet That fell on him too soon,
Who at November
Wore the heart of June;
I mind the Spring more closely than I did,
Because it is the season when we hid
His dust in slumber near the little town
Where all life's boyhood fancies wander up and down.
He was a breath Of joyous spring in life
Touched in cold death
So brave and still for the strife
The winds of March blow mournfuller than ever
Across the memories of the years that sever
A boyhood faith in him who always seemed
A brother like the brothers men have dreamed.
In rest he lies
Who never thought of rest
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Until he'd sown some joy In someone's breast ; The noblest truth is in the lives men give
That they may help dependent ones to live --
And he gave all-love, sacrifice, devotion And kept his youth through grayhaired years in motion.
He should have lived, That to himself might come
Of all he gave A more proportioned sum ;
Proportioned to his goodness-for this soul That wore the sunlight, though the clouds might roll
And kept a frolic nature to the end
For those he loved. and for each gentle friend.
GENERAL WILLIAM DORMAN GILL
G' ENERAL WILLIAM DORMAN GILL, one of the best known men in Baltimore, died February 9, 1915, in that city.
Born in Baltimore, on May 1, 1867, he was the son of William Dorman and Isabelle (Paddington) Gill. His father was the founder of the lumber firm, which later became Wil- liam D. Gill & Son, and of which the son was the head at the time of his death. General Gill was educated in the pub- lic and private schools of the city, and later attended a private school in Charlotteville, Virginia. At the age of twenty-one years he left school to enter his father's business establishment, as a clerk, and after having mastered its details became a mem- ber of the firm on January 1, 1894. It is understood that the business under his direction has been very prosperous. Gen- eral Gill was also interested in a number of other profitable enterprises. In the spring of 1894 he was re-elected president of the Builders' Exchange, and had also been a director of the Lumber Exchange. As a member of the executive committee of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, he had charge of the campaign for a larger membership, carried on some time ago, and was successful in increasing its numbers. He was a director and secretary of the Freeport Smokeless Coal and Coke Company, and was a director and member of the executive committee of the Maryland State Bank. As one of the vice-presidents of the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Asso- ciation, he attended all of its meetings and took a pronounced interest in all that was said and done. He was appointed by Governor Austin T. Crothers, October 21, 1909, delegate to the meeting of the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association. held at Norfolk, Virginia, November 17, 1909, and received credentials as delegate to the same from the Merchants' and
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Manufacturers' Association of Baltimore. Again, in 1910, he was appointed delegate to the next annual meeting, held in Providence, Rhode Island. At several subsequent meetings he sat as a delegate from Maryland. In 1907 he was elected a member of the National Geographic Society. He was ap- pointed by Governor Goldsborough as a member of the Mary- land Commission to the San Francisco Exhibition.
In politics, General Gill was a staunch Republican, but had a host of friends in the other political parties. He was a close personal friend of Governor Goldsborough. Although he never ran for office, he was always ready to join in any movement toward civic betterment. He was a member of the City Charter Committee of One Hundred, in 1910, and was a member of the Greater Baltimore Committee of 1913-1914. He was also a prominent member of the Builders' Exchange and the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, and as chairman of the membership committee of the latter organiza- tion aided in bringing the membership of that body up to 1,000. He also served in an official capacity in these organ- izations. In 1896 Governor Loundes appointed him a colonel on his staff, but as he had recently entered the firm his father opposed the acceptance of the appointment, and it was de- clined. He, however, accepted when Governor Goldsborough appointed him inspector-general on his staff, and took much interest in the State troops. He accompanied the Maryland National Guard to Camp Phillips Lee Goldsborough, near Westminster, in 1912, and led the soldier's life there. Gen- eral Gill had the welfare of the Maryland National Guard at heart. Convinced that the employers of young men should urge their employees to take an interest and become members of the militia, he was instrumental in having the Builders' Exchange and the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Associa- tion send investigating committees to the Belair encampment
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last summer a year ago to see just what the Guard meant to young men in the way of instruction and training. He was always ready to lend aid to any of the organizations in the Guard, and was always to be seen at the regimental social functions.
General Gill was a member of many clubs and organiza- tions, and was noted as a bon vivant and raconteur. He was a thirty-second degree Mason, was former president of the Rotary Club, and of the Mount Washington Athletic Club, and a member of the Merchants' Club, Baltimore Athletic Club, Baltimore Country Club, Union League, Maryland Country Club, Baltimore Yacht Club and the Maryland So- ciety of New York.
Governor Goldsborough said of him: "General Gill was a whole-hearted, generous and true man, warm and loyal in his friendships. He was deeply interested in the upbuilding of Baltimore city and the entire State and gave of his best energy and thought toward that end. I feel that I have lost a strong personal friend, one whose companionship was kindly and genial and whose sincerity was beyond question."
Considerably over six feet in height, and of a massive physique, General Gill was a striking figure in any company. Of a genial disposition, companionable, obliging and ready at all times to put his shoulder to the wheel in any undertaking for the improvement of the city and State, General Gill had many friends, among whom he was generally known as "Billy" Gill. He had the jolly, hearty disposition that so often char- acterizes a man of his big, robust build, and to know him was to become attached to him. General Gill was a man of broad interests. Not only was he closely identified with the business life of the city, for in addition to his duties as head of the wealthy firm of William D. Gill & Son, lumber merchants,
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he kept in close touch with all matters pertaining to civic de- velopment.
General Gill had a big capacity for friendship, and it was his staunchness and loyalty, as well as his joviality, that endeared him to so many people. He was very democratic in his tastes, his friends having included all classes, and he was always willing to go out of his way to perform a kind act.
General Gill married Florence Eugenia Scarlett, No- vember 21, 1888, who survives. One of the intimate friends of General Gill, whose death (February 9, 1915) brought sorrow to many hearts, said, when talking about him: "If I were writing his epitaph I would make it simply 'Billy Gill, Good Fellow' ".
Minute of the Merchants' and Manufacturers' Associa- tion on the death of General William Dorman Gill :
It is with unfeigned sorrow that the Executive Committee meet to-day to testify, as far as words may, to their loss in the death of General William Dorman Gill, their fellow member and friend. He was one of the most active and useful members of this association. Its present numerical strength is a witness to his energy and the unsparing devotion of his time; and his genial manliness, which attracted everyone whom he met and made it a pleasure to oblige and associate with him.
A successful business man, a public-spirited citizen, with exalted notions of civic duty, having firm convictions as to what he believed to be right, no one ever heard an unkind word from him about his opponents.
The City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland have lost in him one who was active in every movement having their betterment for its object.
In our Association we relied upon his judgment, appreciated his energy and business success, and found him always a diligent and able co-worker, but it was as a broadminded, generous man that he bound himself most closely to us, and these ties are the hardest to sever.
We will miss him in our work, but as a true man and friend he will live the longest in our memories.
RESOLVED, That this minute be spread upon the records of the Associa- tion and a copy sent to the family of the deceased and published in the daily papers.
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BE IT FURTHERMORE RESOLVED, As a further mark of respect that the Executive Committee, as a whole, attend the funeral in a body.
CHARLES E. FALCONER, President.
ANDREW C. TRIPPE, Counsel. ROBERT J. BEACHAM, Secretary.
Builders' Exchange of Baltimore City. - At a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Builders' Exchange, held this 10th day of February, Nineteen Hundred and Fif- teen, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :
WHEREAS, recognizing in the death of our esteemed and respected president, General William D. Gill, the will of Divine Providence, we, the Board of Directors of the Builders' Exchange of Baltimore City, do hereby
RESOLVE, That in the death of Mr. Gill this community has lost one of its most progressive and beloved citizens. It is further
RESOLVED, That by his death this Exchange will feel the loss of his counsel and advice in the administration of its affairs. It is also
RESOLVED, That this Board of Directors on behalf of the Exchange tender to his family in their bereavement our most sincere sympathy; and it is further
RESOLVED, That this Board attend the funeral in a body, and that a page be set aside in the memorial Book to his memory and a copy of these resolutions be sent to his family.
By order of the Board of Directors.
Minute of the Executive Committee of the Maryland Commission to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition on the death of William Dorman Gill.
At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Mary- land Commission of the Panama-Pacific International Expo- sition, held February 10, 1915, the following minute was adopted unanimously :
General William D. Gill, our friend and associate, comrade and coun- sellor, yesterday crossed the Mountains of Endeavor and passed to the Valley of Reward.
We shall miss his sunny presence, his warm regard, his honest manli- ness, his sturdy soul and his conscientious counsel at our board.
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We feel that the City of Baltimore has lost a master builder who wrought greatly with the true joy of labor and that the State of Maryland has been deprived of the fruits of such service as only its best sons may give.
At a meeting of the Lumber Exchange of Baltimore, held this 10th day of February, the following minute was adopted and placed on the records of the Exchange :
Our Heavenly Father has in His wise Providence taken from us our esteemed friend, William D. Gill.
The death of Mr. Gill brings sorrow to his associates in the lumber trade. As a member of this Exchange for many years his work and influence in the organization was to maintain the best traditions and the best methods of the business, and in his personal place, he was equally conspicuous as an honorable merchant.
He was a generous and genial companion and loyal friend, and identified with the many and varied interests in our city and State; to none of these will his passing come as a greater loss than to those of the lumber fraternity.
Our sympathy goes out to his bereaved family, and we share with them their sorrow.
EDWARD I. CLARK
W HEN finally Edward I. Clark had argued his last case, made his last motion and uttered his last plea, a wave of sadness passed over the city of Baltimore, for he was well- known and highly-esteemed far beyond professional and polit- ical circles. He was a native son of Baltimore, a member of the law firm, Clark & Clark, from 1882 until his death, and a leading Democrat. He was a great criminal lawyer, and an eminent citizen, but men loved him for his genial, generous, kindly nature, his humor and unfailing friendliness, his in- tegrity and his willingness to serve. He was one of the oldest practitioners at the Baltimore bar, his service covering a period of forty-five years, 1872-1917. His service to his fel- lowmen extended far beyond the confines of city lines, for during his years at the bar he served on several commissions whose duty it was to revise the laws of the State. He was a son of James A. and Eliza Wilson Clark, of Baltimore.
Edward I. Clark was born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 23, 1851, and died at his home in that city, September 28, 1917. He was educated at Calvert Hall and Loyola College, his studies during this period being directed with the law in view. He prepared for the legal profession under the preceptorship of Judge William J. O'Brien, of the Baltimore bar, and in 1872 passed the required examinations successfully, and was admitted to the bar. He practiced privately during the first ten years of his legal career, then formed a partnership with his brother, Joseph A. Clark, which was never broken until death dissolved the bond which united them. He became famous in his profession, ranking with the leading criminal lawyers of the State, and until 1913 was actively engaged in practice. He was then stricken with paralysis, but in time recovered sufficiently to perform some legal duty, but was
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greatly enfeebled in all but his mental powers, only losing consciousness a few minutes before entering upon the long sleep.
During his earlier professional career he became in- terested in various building associations, both as legal adviser and member, and in 1883 was elected to the State Legislature. In 1903 he was defeated by a narrow majority for the office of judge, and in 1911 announced himself as a candidate for the judgeship, but later withdrew his name. He served on various commissions to revise State laws, but the law was his great love and all else was secondary. He was a lifelong Democratic, and in the councils of the party wielded consider- able influence. During the Progressive storm of 1912 he was swept by the strength of the Roosevelt sentiment, and like many others followed that one-time invincible leader to defeat. He was one of the local leaders of the Progressive party and put forth his best efforts to achieve success. He was a member of the City, State and National Bar associations, and a com- municant of St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church. He was connected with other organizations of the city, social, pro- fessional and religious, taking a deep interest in all that con- cerned the welfare of his fellowmen.
When the death of Mr. Clark became known, most of the courts of the city adjourned in respect to his memory. The announcement and motion to adjourn were made by James Fluegel in Circuit Court No. 2, and Part 2 of the Superior Court and the Orphans' Court, Richard B. Tippett seconding the motion in the Circuit Court, and George W. Cameron in Part 2 of the Superior Court and in the Orphans' Court. Judge Duffy, sitting in the Circuit Court No. 2, adjourned the meet- ing. In the last named circuit, William H. Lawrence made the motions, Albert Ecke seconding. In Part 2 of the City Court, B. H. Hartogensis and Eldridge Hood Young were
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the speakers. Judge Henisler adjourned the City Court upon being informed of the death of Mr. Clark. The funeral was largely attended at St. Ignatius Church, and following the service, Mr. Clark was laid at eternal rest in Greenmount Cemetery.
Mr. Clark married (first) Emma Reed, of Norfolk, Vir- ginia. He married (second) Frances A. Bell, of New York, who survives him and is a resident of Baltimore city.
Thus an earnest, useful life was passed, there being no blank spaces or wasted periods in its years, sixty-six. When legal age was attained, Mr. Clark was ready for his responsi- bilities, had completed both classical and professional study, and at the time of assuming adult honors also took his place among his townsmen as a member of the Baltimore bar. Life to him was real and earnest, and as he prepared so he con- tinued, always at his post, answering every call of duty or friendship. He fought well the battle of life, shared his full share of victory, and was not unduly elated, met his share of defeat and was not cast down nor discouraged. He was a good lawyer, a loyal citizen, a true friend and a manly man.
MD .- 45
CHARLES M. CAUGHY
F OR a score of years, 1893-1913, connected with the United States Consular service, appointed by President Cleve- land, Charles M. Caughy, of Baltimore, Maryland, through his adaptability, courtesy and diplomatic handling of the ques- tions submitted to him, won the approbation of the State De- partment and the universal good will and respect of the people to whom he was accredited. At all times and in all places he upheld the dignity of the great Nation he repre- sented, yet was so kindly, considerate, hospitable, and just, that he was considered in the light of a friend.
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