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 8
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
THOMAS A. ASHBY
DR R. THOMAS A. ASHBY was one of the foremost physi- cians and surgeons of the country, with a national reputa- tion in his profession, and as a medical educator and author, a native of Virginia, born near Front Royal, Warren county, November 18, 1848.
His family is descended from Richard de Ashby, Lord of the Manors of South Croxton and Quenby, Leicestershire, England, in the year 1296. The town of Ashby-de-la-Zouche, and Ashby Castle, in which Mary, Queen of Scots, was im- prisoned, are located in Leicestershire, and are associated with the English family of Ashby.
Both in England and America the family has been repre- sented by many men who have achieved distinction in litera- ture, statesmanship and in war. The American line was planted by cavaliers who took refuge in Virginia during the Protectorate of Cromwell. Dr. Thomas A. Ashby was fifth in line of descent from Colonel John Ashby, who was a com- panion and trusted friend of Washington in the French and Indian Wars prior to 1764. Colonel Ashby commanded a company in the ill-fated Braddock campaign, and was chosen by Washington to convey the intelligence of defeat to the Governor of Virginia. As an officer in the Colonial service of Virginia he was noted for courage and daring as an Indian fighter, and is credited with various remarkable exploits. Through the same line Dr. Ashby was related to the late Gen- eral Turner Ashby, the distinguished Confederate officer in the War between the States, and whose tragic death, on June 6, 1862, cast a gloom over the entire South. Through the family of his paternal grandmother, Dr. Ashby was descended from the Marquis Calmes, a French nobleman, whose family, with other Huguenots, came to Virginia after the revocation
438
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
of the Edict of Nantes. Through the same line he was also descended from Philip Thomas, who came to Maryland prior to 1651, and became progenitor of the Thomas family and others equally distinguished. During the Revolution, Dr. Ashby's great-grandfather, Captain Nathaniel Ashby, held a commission in the Third Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel Thomas Marshall, father of Chief Justice Marshall. After the war Captain Ashby married Margaret Mauzey, granddaughter of Colonel Henry Mauzey, a Huguenot, who came from France to Virginia in 1685.
In 1867, at the age of nineteen, Dr. Thomas A. Ashby entered Washington College (now Washington and Lee Uni- versity) and there came under the benign influence of its presi- dent, General Robert E. Lee, the distinguished Confederate commander. He there pursued an elective course comprising the classics, modern languages and chemistry, as affording him special preparation for his chosen profession. Leaving col- lege in June, 1870, after a three and a half years' course, in the fall of 1871 he entered the Medical Department of the University of Maryland, from which he was graduated in March, 1873, also serving during his last year as interne in the University Hospital. After his graduation he entered upon practice in Baltimore, and his rise in his profession was rapid. He was soon appointed Prosector to the Chair of Anatomy in the Medical Department of the University. In March, 1875, he was elected Resident Physician to the Uni- versity Hospital, where his opportunities for clinical study and observation were of the most valuable character. His father dying in 1878, he was obliged to resign his position in July of that year and return to Virginia to close up the family estate. In October following he returned to Balti- more, and from that time to his death was a resident of that city, and a leader in all professional lines.
439
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
In 1882 Dr. Ashby proposed to several prominent profes- sional colleagues the advisability of establishing a Women's Medical College in Baltimore, and under his leadership that institution was established-the first in the South for the med- ical education of women. Dr. Ashby delivered the address at its opening, and presented in support of the new enterprise arguments which have never been controverted. He filled the Chair of Obstetrics from 1882 to 1897. To his ability and enthusiasm were largely due the successful career of the school, which is recognized as one of the most efficient and creditable of its class in the country, ever leading in every movement looking to the higher methods of medical instruction. In 1889 Dr. Ashby was called to the Chair of Diseases of Women and Children in Baltimore Medical College. Here a wide field opened before him, and he made the most of the oppor- tunity. The college was almost in its infancy, and its facili- ties were not equal to the work of progress which had been out- lined, but enthusiasm, energy and progressive spirit prevailed, and within a few years the college faculty and trustees erected a college and hospital plant at an outlay of more than $150,000, which placed it in the front rank of medical schools in the country. In July, 1897, Dr. Ashby resigned his chair in the Baltimore Medical College, and was elected Professor of Dis- eases of Women in his alma mater, the Medical Department of the University of Maryland. In these various positions he evidenced the most consummate ability and conscientiousness. He devoted much attention to abdominal surgery, and it is claimed for him that he performed successfully the first lapa- rotomy for ruptured tubal pregnancy in the State of Mary- land. As an operative gynecologist his experience was phe- nomenally large and successful.
Outside the strict duties of his profession, Dr. Ashby's activities were many and varied. In May, 1877, he was one
440
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
of the founders of the "Maryland Medical Journal," which was issued as a monthly until May, 1880, when it was changed to a bi-weekly. He subsequently became sole editor and owner, and in May, 1883, made it a weekly publication. This is the only medical journal in the State which up to that time had survived the third number of its second volume. It has taken first rank among the medical periodicals of the country, and owes its success to the indomitable perseverance, energy and determination of Dr. Ashby. Owing to the increased exac- tions of his professional and other duties, he sold his interest in the journal in 1888. His labors as editor extended through some fourteen years, and during that period his pen was active on almost every subject of professional interest and importance, and he was a frequent contributor to other professional pub- lications. For the term of 1890-91 Dr. Ashby adorned the presidency of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Mary- land, the sixth in point of age of the medical societies of the country. From 1897 he was prominently identified with the upbuilding of the famous old University of Maryland, and especially of its medical department. He was editor of the Hospital Bulletin of the University of Maryland, published in the interests of the university. He was ex-president of the Baltimore Medical Association and of the Baltimore Gyneco- logical and Obstetrical Society; member of the American Medical Association; honorary member of the Medical So- ciety, District of Columbia ; a fellow of the American Gyneco- logical Society ; American Therapeutical Society, and Ameri- can Medical Association. Dr. Ashby was active in a number of business enterprises and interested and active in one of the largest fruit growing interests in Virginia, the Belmont Fruit and Stock Farm. He was for years a director of the Com- monwealth Bank. .
Dr. Ashby was elected to the Maryland Legislature in
441
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
1909, and his record in that body proved creditable in every way, his official efforts were always on the side of good gov- ernment and in support of those measures which he deemed most conducive to the general good. He was the only physi- cian of high standing and professional reputation in the city of Baltimore who was willing to sacrifice his practice for what he considered a higher duty, and he was the only one of the faculty of Maryland University who served in the Legislature, this being an honor peculiar to himself, and the able manner in which he performed the duties and re- sponsibilities of his important office was evidence of the fit- ness of the man for the place. He showed strikingly what a man of energy, kindliness and purpose, combined with absolute integrity, could accomplish. Practically all of the bills which he introduced-the pure food law, the lunacy measures, those adding additional powers to the State Board of Health and various other measures-went through so easily that one who did not see the guiding hand of Dr. Ashby might have imagined that these things worked themselves. He was an indefatigable worker on the committee and his valuable serv- ices were fully appreciated by all. He served as chairman of the hygenic committee which handled the pure food bills, public health, and state care of insane; member of corporation committee which handled claims, temperance and civil service reform, and a member of the city delegation which handled all the bills pertaining to the city of Baltimore. Dr. Ashby served the excellent purpose of proving that the politicians do not know all when they insist that a man who has not been to the Legislature and "doesn't know the ropes" cannot do any good there. The excellent record of Dr. Ashby at Annapolis is an object lesson which Baltimore needed. If a few more men of the high integrity and spotless character of Dr. Ashby would take an active interest in politics it would be almost
442
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
impossible to estimate the good effect upon general legislature.
Dr. Ashby was social and literary in his tastes, an om- nivorous reader, attentive student and thoughtful observer, and his conversational powers were charmingly agreeable and instructive. His manner was frank and cordial, and he pos- sessed in eminent degree the faculty of making and retaining friends, his characteristics being those of an unassuming and cultivated gentleman. His home was in Madison avenue, Baltimore, and was the frequent resort of choice circles of professional and other friends to whom his hospitalities were gracefully and cordially dispensed.
Dr. Ashby married, in 1877, Mary Cunningham, of Cov- ington, Kentucky, a lady of most charming personal and social qualities. Their family numbers five interesting and highly educated daughters. He died June 25, 1916.
RICHARD DOUGLASS FISHER
R ICHARD DOUGLASS FISHER, son of James Isom Fisher, was born in the family residence at the northwest corner of St. Paul and Pleasant streets, Baltimore, on March 16, 1834. He was educated at private schools and at St. Mary's College, graduating with high honors in 1850. In 1854 Mr. Fisher and his brother, Robert A. Fisher, became partners of their father in the firm of James I. Fisher & Sons, succeeding the old firm of R. H. & William Douglass, which was engaged in the South American and West Indian trade. After the death of his father, Mr. Fisher continued in business with his brother, withdrawing in 1882. Some years later he formed the banking house of Fisher & Shaw, which firm was dissolved in 1899, when he took into partnership his sons, James I. and Robert A. Fisher, under the firm name of Rich- ard D. Fisher & Sons. Mr. Fisher retired permanently from business in 1903.
With relief from the cares of commercial activity there came fuller opportunity to gratify literary tastes and the latter years of Mr. Fisher's always busy life were occupied with historical research, mainly concerning the State and city of which he was so loyal a citizen. Many contributions, original and other, to the collections of the Maryland Historical So- ciety, evidence his discriminating and untiring ability and interest. No effort for the advancement of the public good lacked his cordial and efficient co-operation. No movement of public benevolence was without his generous assistance. He was for many years secretary of the board of trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of Baltimore.
Mr. Fisher's death occurred on the 13th day of August, 1910, and the estimation in which he was held by his fellow- citizens is expressed in the Minute adopted by the Maryland
444
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
Historical Society, at its meeting in November of that year in the following form :
Mr. Fisher had been in active business until a few years before his death and, becoming an Active Member of the Society in 1866, he brought to it, even during his busier years, the assistance of his business training and experi- ence, while with greater leisure he had for some years past given to it increas- ing thought and interest, adding to its historical archives matter of the rarest value, secured by him both in this country and abroad, with much personal labor and at no inconsiderable cost, and contributing, as a member of its council, the aid which his mercantile education peculiarly fitted him to furnish.
The many and valuable contributions, continued to the last meeting of the Society before his death, for which the Society is so greatly indebted to Mr. Fisher, comprised maps, manuscripts, prints, copies of records obtained at home and abroad, journals of the privateers and letters of marque "Law- rence", "Pelican", "Decatur", "Osprey", the Eden correspondence, the "Good Intent" papers, the Boucher papers, the Index of Uncalendared Maryland Papers in the British Treasury, and many others, but no enumeration may be made of the far more valuable contributions of sound judgment, wise counsel, kindly advice, and thoughtful suggestion for which the Society, and more especially its council, record this inadequate expression of sincere appreciation.
Of strong convictions, of unswerving loyalty, of unimpeachable rectitude, he was yet considerate of those whose views did not coincide with his own and of so graceful speech and courteous demeanor as to disarm opposition and transform difference into agreement.
In sorrowful recognition of the great loss which it has sustained in the death of Mr. Fisher this Society places upon its records this expression of its admiration and appreciation of one who throughout a long and well-spent life has ever shone as a merchant of unsullied honor, a friend of unwavering fidel- ity, a gentleman of unbounded courtesy, a man of unlimited kindness, who walked uprightly among his fellow-men and humbly before his God.
Mr. Fisher married Margaret, daughter of the late Rev. Samuel Gover Winchester.
REUBEN ROSS HOLLOWAY
TI `HE Holloway name has long been associated with that great modern aid in combatting the destructive fire fiend, Charles T. Holloway being the inventor of the chemical fire engine, and at the time chief engineer of the Baltimore fire department. Charles T. was the father of Reuben Ross Hollo- way, and from youth he had been associated with his father in experiments and the manufacture of fire fighting devices, en- gines and extinguishers. Upon the death of the father, in 1898, the son succeeded to the management of the business. Later, the local company was absorbed by the American La France Fire Engine Company, and, as a director of that company, Reuben R. Holloway was connected with the business until his death.
The ancestry of Reuben Ross Holloway is traced through maternal lines to Edward Foulke, who was born in Wales, May 13, 1651, came to America in 1698, and died November 8, 1741. His wife, Eleanor, born in Wales, died in Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1733. The line of descent from Edward and Eleanor Foulke to Reuben Ross Holloway is traced through their daughter, Margaret Foulke, born in Wales, who died, March 23, 1717, in Pennsylvania. She married Nicholas Roberts, who died in 1733. The line con- tinues through their daughter, Elizabeth Roberts, born June II, 1723, died May 29, 1790, who married, February 12, 1743, David Humphrey, son of Robert and Margaret (Evans) Humphrey, of Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. Their daughter, Elizabeth Humphrey, born in Gwynedd, March 13, 1761, died in Baltimore, Maryland, April 29, 1847, her husband, Sabritt Bowen, surviving her. Eleanor Humphrey Bowen, daughter of Sabritt and Elizabeth (Humphrey) Bowen, was born in January, 1792, died November 2, 1874, married
446
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
Robert Holloway, of Virginia, born in 1786, died January, 1863, leaving a son, Charles Thomas Holloway. He married Anna Harden Ross, they the parents of Reuben Ross Hollo- way, to whose memory this review is devoted.
Charles Thomas Holloway, son of Robert and Eleanor Humphrey (Bowen) Holloway, was born December 25, 1827, died in Baltimore, Maryland, March 17, 1898. He was an influential man of his day, head of the Charles T. Holloway Chemical Fire Engine Company of Baltimore, a company devoted to the manufacture of a fire extinguisher and a chem- ical fire engine, both inventions of Charles T. Holloway, and bearing his name both as an inventor and maker. He married October 12, 1854, Anna Harden Ross, born July 13, 1830, died January 31, 1909, daughter of Reuben and Sarah Ross.
Reuben Ross Holloway, son of Charles T. and Anna Harden (Ross) Holloway, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, June 13, 1855, and died in his native city, December 13, 1908. After finishing his school years he became associated with his father in the manufacture of the special lines of the Charles T. Holloway Chemical Fire Engine Company, and when, in 1898, the father passed to the spirit land, he was succeeded by his son as head of the business. Mr. Holloway continued the manufacture of the Holloway extinguisher and chemical fire engine for some time, then sold his right, title, and interest, to the American La France Fire Engine Com- pany, and from that time until his death was manager of the Baltimore branch of that company, and a member of its board of directors. He was a member of high degree in the Masonic order, and belonged to several social and patriotic organiza- tions, among them the Sons of the American Revolution, he serving the local chapter as treasurer.
Reuben R. Holloway married, January 28, 1892, Ella
447
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
Virginia Houck, daughter of Dr. Jacob Wever and Susannah (Porter) Houck. Mrs. Holloway survives her husband, a resident of Baltimore, with two children, Virginia Leslie, born November 18, 1892, married, April 26, 1913, Ernest Smith Jeffries, their children : Ernest Smith (2) Jeffries, born April 2, 1914; Virginia L. Jeffries, born July, 1916; Charles Thomas (2) Holloway, born March 22, 1897, married June 20, 1918, Frances A. Fuller, of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Ella Virginia (Houck) Holloway traces her ancestry to Lieutenant Robert Porter, of Back River Neck, Porters Bar, Maryland, an officer of the Revolution. He was born in 1757, died March 16, 1810. He was commissioned first lieutenant in the Third Regiment of Maryland Troops, February 20, 1777, resigned in April, 1777, married Susannah Buck, born in 1772, who died September 1, 1845. The line of descent is through their son, James Porter, born in 1797, died September 30, 1843. James Porter married November 26, 1829, Elizabeth Frances Todd, born January 29, 1809, died in July, 1860, daughter of Bernard and Mary (Green) Todd, of an ancient Maryland family (q. v.). The line continues through Susan- nah Porter, daughter of James and Elizabeth Frances (Todd) Porter, born September 26, 1832, died in May, 1911. She married, November 15, 1852, Dr. Jacob Wever Houck, and they were the parents of Ella Virginia Houck, widow of Reuben Ross Holloway.
The Todd ancestry of Ella V. (Houck) Holloway be- gins in Maryland, with Thomas Todd, of "Toddsbury," Gloucester county, Virginia, in 1664, who settled at the North Point farm in Baltimore county, Maryland, now called "Todd's Inheritance," which is still in the possession of the family. He was a son of Thomas Todd, who is mentioned in the records of York county, Virginia, in 1642, and who bought land in Gloucester county in 1652. His eldest son, William,
448
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
patented 500 acres in that county, in 1666. Thomas Todd served as burgess of Baltimore county from 1674 to 1675. His will dated April 11, 1676, was the first recorded in Baltimore county. He died on board the ship "Virginia," bound for England. Thomas Todd married Ann Gorsuch, daughter of the Rev. John Gorsuch, Vicar of Walkam Parish, Hereford- shire, England, and granddaughter of Sir William Lovelace. Their children were: Thomas, of further mention; Christo- pher; James; William; Phillip; Joanna; Frances and Averilla.
Thomas (2) Todd, son of Thomas (1) and Ann (Gor- such) Todd, was born in Virginia, in 1660, and died in January, 1724. His epitaph reads :
Here lies the body of Captain Thomas Todd, who was born in the year of our Lord 1660 and departed this life the 16th day of January, 1725.
He married Elizabeth -; they were the parents of : Anne, born in 1682, died 1720; Christopher, born 1690, died 1743; Frances, born in 1692, died 1703; Thomas, of further mention; Richard, married and had, Bernard and William; William of King and Queens county, married Martha Vicu- nes; Philip, sheriff of Gloucester county, Virginia, in 1730; Frances, born 1703, died 1743, married Robert North, of Maryland.
Thomas (3) Todd, son of Thomas (2) and Elizabeth Todd, owned land in Baltimore county, Maryland, and died in 1725. He married Elizabeth who bore him two children, Thomas, of further mention, and Robert.
Thomas (4) Todd, of Todds Neck, Baltimore county, Maryland, son of Thomas (3) and Elizabeth Todd, died in 1759. He married Eleanor Dorsey. By a will dated De- cember 9, 1756, and recorded at Annapolis, April 2, 1759, he devises to his three daughters, Elizabeth, Eleanor and Fran-
449
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
ces, a tract of land called "Showan Hunting Grounds"; to his youngest daughter, Mary, he devises "Todds Industry" in Patapsco Neck; also a tract called "Whirwells Neck," and "all my land where Thomas Jones now lives, known by the name of 'Cuckold's Point,' and my land at the island called 'Todds Island'." He bequeathed his personal estate to his son, Thomas, and four daughters. His wife, Eleanor Dorsey Todd, was the third daughter of Caleb Dorsey, who was the son of Honorable John Dorsey and his wife, Elinor Warfield, daughter of Richard Warfield, the American ancestor. The children of Thomas (4) and Eleanor (Dorsey) Todd were: Thomas, of further mention; Elizabeth, married John Crom- well; Eleanor, married John Ensor; Frances, married George Risteau, in 1757; Mary, married John Worthington. Eleanor, wife of Thomas Todd, married (second) William Lynch.
Thomas (5) Todd died in 1798, son of Thomas (4) and Eleanor (Dorsey) Todd, married and had four children : William, died in 1813; Bernard, of further mention; Christo- pher, died 1849; George W., died in 1818; Thomas, died 1 808.
Bernard Todd, son of Thomas (5) Todd, died in 1816. He was born on the homestead at North Point, Baltimore county, Maryland, and on reaching manhood became quite extensively interested in marine trade, owning many vessels used in the business. He manifested his loyalty to his country by his service in a cavalry company during the War of 1812, but aside from voting never took any active part in politics. He married Mary Green, daughter of one of the most promi- nent families in Baltimore county, and sister of Josiah Green, who served as a colonel in the War of 1812. Their children were: Thomas J., married Mary Trotten; George W .; Nathan; Richard; Elizabeth F., of further mention; Sarah MD .- 29
450
GENEALOGICAL AND MEMORIAL
Ann, married (first) John Diffendorfer, (second) Thomas Trotten.
Elizabeth Frances Todd, daughter of Bernard and Mary (Green) Todd, was born January 29, 1809, and died July, 1860, married, November 26, 1829, James Porter.
Susannah Porter, daughter of James and Elizabeth Frances (Todd) Porter, married Dr. Jacob Wever Houck.
THE NEW YORK FARARY
AND TILDEN FOUNDATION3
-
/
WILLIAM A. TOTTLE
TT is not an unusual thing for a man to achieve prominence
in business, nor to be a world widely known manufacturer ; were this the sum total of William A. Tottle, whose passing left many a heart desolate, it would be but a duplicate of the lives of thousands of his fellow-citizens. But he was more than a successful manufacturer, more than the head of a pros- perous corporation, for he lived not for himself but for the welfare of others. No interest in his life outweighed the church of his choice, its Sunday School, and that great philan- thropy work the Y. M. C. A. In the work of his own church he was very active and it was well known to his friends that the spiritual and financial interests of the Church of the Re- deemer in Baltimore were ever uppermost in his thoughts. As a business man his credit was high and his character above reproach. He was always on the right side of public ques- tion and his purse readily opened at the call of distress. He held his spoken word sacred, and while careful in business methods, he was enterprising, liberal and broad-minded. While he was generous in his benefactions he always gave quietly without the slightest ostentation, the satisfaction he deserved from helping others, the only reward he craved. The great sorrow of Mr. Tottle's life was the loss of his wife with whom he had spent a lifetime of happy married companion- ship, but that loss was soon recompensed in his early call to join her, but a few weeks intervening between their going away to their eternal home. He was a son of James and Elizabeth P. Tottle, of Devonshire, England.
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.