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 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
380
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
of Newcomer & Stonebraker, the son proffered his services. This led to his taking up his residence permanently in that city, and changed the entire direction of his life. He engaged in his new undertaking with all the energy of his nature, and soon built up a large business, the firm transacting about one- tenth of all the flour business of the city. When about eighteen years of age he purchased his father's interest in the firm, giv- ing his notes at six per cent. for the book valuation, and agree- ing to also pay $1,000 per annum for the use of his name until he himself came of age, and all this indebtedness was paid. In 1862, Mr. Stonebraker withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Newcomer continued the business alone, under the name of Newcomer & Company. The firm underwent various changes by admission of new partners, until Mr. Newcomer retired from the active management, but continuing to keep in the name of the firm his accounts and the funds for his other enterprises. Meantime, in 1853, Mr. Newcomer aided in the organization of the first Corn and Flour Exchange in Balti- more, was one of its first directors, and was a prime factor in purchasing the present Chamber of Commerce site. Notwith- standing his retirement from mercantile life, Mr. Newcomer retained his membership in this organization until the close of his life.
While making his beginning in mercantile affairs, Mr. Newcomer, realizing that a lad of fifteen was too young to consider his education completed, joined the Mercantile Library, became a regular leader there, and attended its lec- tures on philosophy, astronomy and chemistry. Later he became a director of the library.
While yet engaged with his firm in mercantile business, his activities extended into other fields. In 1854, at the age of twenty-seven, he became a director of the Union Bank, afterward the National Union Bank of Maryland; he was
381
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
the youngest man on the board, and outlived all his fellow directors of that date, and every bank officer from teller to president. He was an incorporator of the Safe Deposit & Trust Company of Baltimore, served as its president for thirty- three years (the first eleven years without salary ), and stamped upon it his own individuality to a remarkable degree. His interest and pride in the company were completely apart from any question of personal interest; he spared himself in nothing, and held others to a like strict account. After his death, the board of directors entered upon their records that "it was as president of this company that he was most appre- ciated in this community, and its history is the record of the most active part of his long, useful and busy life; its growth and its standing is the most enduring monument to his wisdom and intelligence, to his integrity and industry, and to the loy- alty with which he guarded every interest confided to his care." He was also a director of the Savings Bank of Balti- more, and of other financial institutions. He was an accom- plished financier and his judgment upon the merits of stocks and bonds was highly valued. A most significant tribute to his ability is found in the fact that, during the Civil War period, General Simon Cameron, then a member of Presi- dent Lincoln's Cabinet, offered to establish in Baltimore the first national bank in the country, if Mr. Newcomer would accept the presidency, but this flattering offer he declined as being too remote from the line of his private business.
Mr. Newcomer's great abilities were noticeably conspicu- ous in railway affairs. For many years he was in close touch with the Pennsylvania Railroad system, and was an intimate personal friend of President Scott, Roberts, Thompson and Cassatt. Though never an official of the Pennsylvania Rail- road itself, he was prominently connected with various of its subsidiary companies. In 1861 he was elected a director of
382
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
the Northern Central Railway Company, and was made chairman of its finance committee, which position he held continuously until his death, except during his voluntary retirement from 1874 to 1878. For forty years he conducted the negotiations for most of the real estate purchased by the company in Baltimore; at times, when there was reason for the company to remain unknown, title was vested in his name, at one time to the value of more than a million dollars. He was a director of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company, and of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company for many years, and in 1895, after the death of Oden Bowie, succeeded to the presidency of the last named.
The story of his connection with the southern railroads now comprised in the Atlantic Coast Line, is interesting and absorbing. The close of the Civil War found all southern roads practically obliterated. In 1868, Mr. Newcomer was solicited to act as trustee for a syndicate and conduct opera- tions for the rehabilitation of the Wilmington & Weldon and the Wilmington & Manchester railroads. He was then en- gaged in the flour and grain business, and demurred until it appeared that the project would lapse unless he consented to act. He finally agreed, on condition that W. T. Walters would serve with him as co-trustee. The syndicate paid in a capital of $1,200,000; new railway charters were secured, and, besides reorganizing the roads above named, the Southern Railway Security Company was formed, with a capital of $960,000, completing the Wilmington, Columbia & Augusta Railroad. The properties acquired also included the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad, the Richmond & Danville, and other parts of the present Southern Railway; these were dis- posed of from time to time, and never became a permanent part of the Atlantic Coast Line. After repeated embarrass- ments and failures, in 1898, the railroads controlled by the
383
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
syndicate were consolidated-those in South Carolina as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad of South Carolina, and those in Virginia as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of Virginia. In May, 1900, these properties were consolidated as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Mr. Newcomer was the prime factor in all these gigantic operations. He was presi- dent of the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad Company from December 1, 1888, to February 12, 1890, and after the con- solidation hereinbefore named, was vice-president and for many years treasurer of the Atlantic Coast Line Company, and director of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and subsidiary companies. During these years his duties took him all over the South, and other interests to the Middle West. During his busy life he visited almost every State in the Union, also Canada, Alaska and Cuba, and made two tours of Europe.
Regarding Mr. Newcomer's benefactions it is difficult to speak without violation of the very principle of modesty upon which he worked. His sympathies for the blind were intensi- fied by the fact that he had a brother and sister so afflicted. He became one of the incorporators of the Maryland Institu- tion for the Instruction of the Blind, was the first secretary, in 1864 was made treasurer, and in 1881 succeeded J. Howard McHenry as president. Mr. Newcomer's services covered a period of forty-four years, twenty years as president. In 1886 the title was changed to Maryland School for the Blind. Mr. Newcomer gave freely of his time and attention, and a gift of $20,000 to the building fund. One of the pupils gave evidence of a remarkable talent for music, and Mr. Newcomer sent him to the Peabody Conservatory at his own expense. In like spirit he contributed the sum of $20,000 to the Baltimore Hos- pital for Consumptives. One of his characteristic gifts was that which founded the Washington Free Library in Hagers- town, he, in his modesty, declining to permit his name to be
384
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
used in its title. Again, the Washington County Home for Orphans and Friendless Children at Hagerstown owes its existence to a conversation between him and his brother, and to their liberal aid. He was a member of the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins University, on account of his personal friendship for President Gilman. Besides his larger gifts, many a young man was assisted by him to an education and a beginning in business life, in many cases without knowing whence came the aid.
A member of the Christian church (the Disciples, or Campbellites), Mr. Newcomer usually attended the Lutheran church, of which his wife was a member. He was a reverent and careful Bible reader, and his religion was carried into his daily life and in it found beautiful expression. His work for the good of others knew no end. The greater part of his time was devoted to assisting others, many of whom had no claim upon him. His views of right and wrong were absolutely uncompromising ; if an act seemed to him wrong, he could not in any way countenance it. His intense conscientiousness was eloquently attested at a period during the Civil War. He could have secured a profitable contract for furnishing flour to the Federal Government, but to procure it, it was necessary for him to take the oath of allegiance, which, as a Southern sympathizer, he resolutely refused to do.
A few years before his death, Mr. Newcomer fell through a hatchway, cutting his head, wrenching his arms, and nar- rowly escaping death. He was picked up unconscious but at once recovered his senses and insisted upon walking upstairs to his office. Declining all assistance, he went to his desk, called his secretary, gave him certain instructions, and then answered that he was ready for a physician. The shock to his system at his advanced age (beyond three-score and ten) was very severe, but he recovered rapidly, and there seemed
385
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
to be no permanent ill effects. Shortly afterwards a cataract formed upon his eyes, and which in time left him blind-an affliction which he bore with touching patience. On the last Friday in March, 1901, he was in his office as usual. That night he suffered a slight stroke of apoplexy, and two days later death brought relief, on March 30, 1901. His demise affected the entire community, and all the bodies with which he had been connected paid fervent tribute to his worth.
On November 14, 1848, the year in which he attained his majority, Mr. Newcomer married Amelia Louisa, daughter of the late John H. Ehlen, one of the earliest stockholders of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and for many years a director of that corporation, and of the Chesapeake Bank and the Fire- men's Insurance Company. She was remarkably well suited to him-a gentle, lovable character, with high aims and ideas, giving him hearty co-operation in all his efforts. She died October 20, 1881. On February 9, 1887, Mr. Newcomer married Mrs. Sidonia Kemp, widow of Morris J. Kemp, and daughter of the late Charles Ayres. She died February 7, 1 898.
MD .- 25
ODEN BOWIE
JOHN BOWIE, the first of his name in the annals of Mary-
land, was born 1688, died 1759. He emigrated from Scot- land, according to family tradition, about the year 1705-06, at the invitation of his maternal uncle, John Smith, who, pre- ceding him many years, had settled on the Patuxent river, a few miles north of the present village of Nottingham. He married, in December, 1707, Mary, daughter of James Mulli- ken. Children: John, born in 1708, died 1753; Eleanor, 1709; James, 1714; Allen, 1719; William (see forward) ; Thomas, 1723; Mary, 1726.
Captain William Bowie, son of John and Mary (Mulli- ken) Bowie, was born in 1721, at the home of his parents, "Brookridge," a few miles from Nottingham, Prince George's county, Maryland. His father bought and deeded to him a large tract of land about two miles from Nottingham when he reached the age of twenty-one years, called "Brooke's Re- serve," which in after years was known as "Mattaponi." Here he erected a large brick house in the old Colonial style. Many grand entertainments have its old walls witnessed, while the hospitality and ready welcome extended by its owners to hosts of guests have endeared "Mattaponi" to five generations. It is probable that William Bowie commanded one of the militia organizations maintained by the Province, though no record of his commission has been discovered. In 1753 he was ap- pointed tobacco inspector for Nottingham, and later a justice of the peace, a member of St. Paul's vestry, and in 1767 warden of the parish. In 1770, it being rumored that ships were en route from Great Britain, loaded with European goods, and might soon be expected to reach the Patuxent, the inhabitants of Prince George's county thought it necessary to support "The Association" by prohibiting the landing of these cargoes, and
387
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
called a meeting for April 10, 1770, at Upper Marlborough, selecting representatives to keep an eye upon events, and to provide guards at points on the Patuxent river where ships were likely to touch. Only the most resolute and responsible citizens were delegated by the people for this purpose, and the ones for "Patuxent" (or Nottingham) were William Bowie and his brother, Allen Bowie. William Bowie was a delegate sent from Prince George's county, to a convention held at Annapolis, June 22, 1774, which passed strong resolu- tions in favor of upholding the rights of the Province, if neces- sary by force of arms, against Great Britain. In November of the same year, a meeting of freeholders was held at Upper Marlborough, where a committee was appointed which was in- structed to see that the resolutions of the "Association of the American Continental Congress" were enforced within Prince George's county. Among the men selected for this committee were William Bowie and his brother, Allen Bowie, as well as Walter and Robert Bowie, sons of William. The latter was also placed on a committee of correspondence, and it was further "resolved that Captain William Bowie and Walter Bowie (with others) are selected as delegates of this county to attend a convention to be held at Annapolis and are author- ized to vote in the convention for delegates to attend a con- gress which will assemble at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 10th of May next." In June, 1775, these representatives met at Annapolis, and on July 26, 1775, this convention issued the celebrated "Declaration of the Association of the Freemen of Maryland," the name of the Bowies being affixed to this memorable document, which antedated by one year the general "Declaration of Independence," and is now framed and hang- ing in the State House at Annapolis. What further part Wil- liam Bowie took during the Revolution is not shown, as the records for the county during the succeeding few years are
388
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
very meagre, but it is safe to presume a man as active as he had been, and who had shown such fearless patriotism, was not idle. He was too old for the army, but he doubtless con- tinued to take part in the councils of his people, and to aid them as advisor. The land records and his will show Captain William Bowie a man of wealth for his day, owning tracts of land in various parts of the country, much stock of all kinds, and many negroes.
Captain William Bowie married, in 1745, Margaret Sprigg, born April 20, 1726, daughter of Osborne Sprigg and his first wife, Elizabeth Sprigg. Osborne Sprigg was the grandson of Thomas Sprigg, the emigrant, who died in 1704, and who was the first owner of the fine estate in Prince George's county known as "Northampton." Children: I. Elizabeth, born in 1746. 2. Walter, see forward. 3. Governor Robert, born March, 1750, died 1818; married Priscilla Mackall. 4. William Sprigg, born 1751, died 1809; mar- ried Elizabeth Brookes. 5. Osborn Sprigg. 6. Ann, 1760. 7. Margaret Sprigg, 1765.
Walter Bowie, son of Captain William and Margaret (Sprigg) Bowie, was born at "Mattaponi," near Nottingham, Prince George's county, Maryland, in 1748, died November 9, 1810. He was probably educated by the Rev. John Eversfield, and by the Rev. Mr. Craddock, at the latter's school, near Baltimore. His father bought him a large farm near Col- lington, then known as "Darnell's Grove," later, as "Locust Grove," and now "Willow Grove." At one time he was in- terested in a large commercial business, conducted at Queen Anne, shipping tobacco to Europe, importing merchan- dise from points as far as India, as is seen by an adver- tisement in the "Annapolis Gazette" of 1774. He became exceedingly wealthy, and the county records show him possessed of enormous plantations and large num-
389
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
bers of negroes, his land extending for many miles along either side of the public road. He was a raiser of blooded stock, and his racers carried his colors on the tracks of Annapolis, Balti- more, Bladensburg and Nottingham. His horse, "Little Davy," won fifty guineas at Annapolis in 1784, and on Octo- ber 12, 1790, his famous flyer, "Republican President," won a purse of twenty guineas, and the day following, one of fifty guineas. Walter Bowie's career was an exceptionally brilliant one ; possessing a faculty for directing public opinion, he held an influence over the people for a longer time than is often seen. Intellectual, wealthy and ambitious, he early became a prominent figure in the field of politics, and at the commence- ment of the struggle for independence stepped to the front with those other stern patriots who determined to risk both life and property in defense of their rights. In March, 1774, he, with his brother Robert, later Governor, and their uncle, Allen Bowie, were selected as members of the committee appointed to carry into execution throughout Prince George's county the resolutions of the Continental Congress. On January 16, 1775, at another meeting of Freeholders, he and his father, Captain William Bowie, were chosen as two of the delegates to repre- sent their county at the first Provincial Convention, called to assemble at Annapolis the following June. When the Assem- bly convened, Walter Bowie was appointed a member of the committee of correspondence, and on July 16, 1775, the con- vention issued the celebrated "Declaration of the Association of Freemen," and Walter Bowie, his father, and many other distinguished men affixed their names to that famous paper. In January, 1776, he was elected second lieutenant of a com- pany of militia, raised in his county for the defense of the province. A short time later he was commissioned major of militia, and was referred to in public papers as "Major Bowie" until after the war ended, though it is not shown what part he
390
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
took in the active campaigns beyond the borders of the State. In November, 1776, he was one of four delegates elected to represent Prince George's county at the first constitutional con- vention, and assisted in framing the first Constitution of the "State of Maryland." In November, 1780, he was elected to the State Legislature. The elections for members of that body were annual, and Walter Bowie was returned to the House in 1781-82-83-84, when his brother, Robert, and his first cousin, Fielder Bowie, were elected two of his associates. These three Bowies continued to be elected in 1785-86-87-88-89-90, when Robert and Fielder dropped out for a while, but Walter continued to hold his seat in the House until 1801, when he was sent to the State Senate. In 1786 he was one of "the electors for the United States Senator." In 1791 he was appointed a justice of the peace. In 1794 the Governor com- missioned him colonel of militia. In 1802 he resigned from the State Senate and was elected a representative to the Ninth United States Congress, to fill the unexpired term of William Richard Sprigg. In 1793, at a County Convention held in Upper Marlborough, Colonel Thomas Contee presiding, reso- lutions were passed "urging Mr. Walter Bowie to stand for re-election as the Republican candidate for Congress from this district." He was elected, served until March, 1805, and then refused to accept a third nomination. After a long and con- tinuous career of thirty-five years, his death occurred, and he was buried at "Locust Grove."
Walter Bowie married, May 16, 1771, Mary, born No- vember, 1747, died May 16, 1812, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Townley) Brookes, who were married in 1745 by the Rev. John Eversfield. Benjamin Brookes lived near Marl- borough, and is buried at the church in that village. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Bowie: 1. Margaret, born March 22, 1772. 2. William, see forward. 3. Daniel, born March 7, 1779, died
391
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
1843. 4. Elizabeth, born April 11, 1781, died August 17, 1810. 5. Walter, born 1785, died 1879. 6. Juliet Matilda, born 1788.
William Bowie, son of Walter and Mary ( Brookes) Bowie, was born at "Locust Grove," Prince George's county, Maryland, January 29, 1776. He inherited a large property from his father and administered the latter's estate. He is described as a man of sound judgment and business capacity. He was the only one of his direct line who did not actively engage in politics, though he evidently took an interest in them, as is shown by the Governor appointing him a justice of the peace in 1808-10, also a member of the Levy Court, in 1820. At a convention held in Marlborough, in 1825, Dr. Joseph Kent, then Governor presiding, William Bowie was selected as a delegate to represent his county at a State convention to convene in Baltimore, for the purpose of considering plans for chartering the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. He was always a Democrat, and an attendant of the Episcopal church. On December 14, 1802, he married (first) Kitty Beans Duckett, born December 4, 1783, the only child of Baruch and Mary ( Beans) Duckett. Children: 1. Wil- liam Duckett, see forward. 2. Mary Margaret, born October 23, 1806, died June 2, 1809. 3. Eliza Duckett, born October 19, 1809, died April 20, 1846. 4. Walter Baruch, born Sep- tember 8, 1811, died October 11, 1832. 5. Kitty, born January II, 1816. 6. Robert, born December 23, 1817, died Septem- ber 13, 1818. Mrs. Bowie died August 11, 1819. Mr. Bowie married (second), March 27, 1822, Anne Duckett Mullikin, born March 23, 1788, daughter of Belt Mullikin and Mary (Duckett) Mullikin, and granddaughter of James and Charity (Belt) Mullikin. Mr. Bowie died September 10, 1826.
William Duckett Bowie, eldest child of William and Kitty Beans (Duckett) Bowie, was born at "Fairview," Prince
392
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
George's county, Maryland, October 7, 1803. His grandfather, Baruch Duckett, devised him a valuable estate near Colling- ton, where he settled after leaving college, but by the death of his two brothers, and by purchasing the interests of his sisters, he came into the possession of "Fairview," which he then made his home. He was his father's executor, and by the will of his uncle, Daniel Bowie, inherited all of the latter's land, which, with his own property, made him one of the wealthiest planters in Prince George's county. A tall, hand- some man, with bright, dark eyes and strong features, endowed with a clear, vigorous and well-balanced mind, he was yet more highly esteemed for the sound principles which added greater lustre to his character. So generally was his worth appreciated, that he might have occupied some of the highest official positions had his ambition been for public life. Although ever interested in political matters, and a forcible speaker, his tastes led him mostly to the retired paths of his well-regulated plantations, and the comforts of domestic life, though on several occasions he was induced to allow his name to be brought before the people. In 1830, he and his uncle, Walter Bowie, Jr., were appointed by the Governor, mem- bers of the Levy Court. In 1831, he was a delegate to the Congressional Convention. In 1838 he was nominated by the Democrats for the Legislature, but defeated by his cousin, General Thomas F. Bowie, the Whig candidate. Again the following year he was defeated by General Bowie, but in 1840 he overcame the large Whig vote and was elected to the House of Delegates, in which he served two terms. He was then pitted against that old veteran Whig leader, Robert W. Bowie, of "Mattaponi," who was considered by his party to be almost invincible, but was triumphantly elected to the State Senate, and re-elected at the expiration of his term. He was among the first to recognize the benefits to be derived
393
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
by his community if a railroad should be built through South- ern Maryland, and to his efforts, jointly with those of his son, Oden, and their relatives, Robert, Walter and Thomas F. Bowie, is due the construction of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad. When that company was organized he was elected one of its directors, and was regularly re-elected by the stock- holders for a number of years. The Governor appointed him a colonel of militia, and later commissioned him general of the State troops, but until the day of his death he was known as "Colonel" William D. Bowie.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.