USA > Maryland > Men of mark in Maryland Johnson's makers of America series biographies of leading men of the state, Volume III > Part 11
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
Immediately after graduation he entered upon practice in Dela- ware, but only remained there until November 1, 1SS3, when he located in Baltimore which has since been the scene of his labors. On August 10, 1885, less than two years after entering upon
.
Very truly yours J. B. Ochwatha M
oh 159
JOHN BUSHROD SCHWATKA
practice in Baltimore, he was appointed associate demonstrator of Anatomy in the Baltimore Medical College. On November 18 of the same year he became demonstrator of anatomy. In that same year of 1885 he was appointed (by Mayor James Hodges) vaccine physician for the seventh and eighth wards, and serving for two years in that capacity was appointed in 1887 assistant medical examiner for the City of Baltimore. On March 8, 1886, the Balti- more Medical College, in recognition of his attainments, compli- mented him with an "Honorary Diploma." This was just four years after his graduation. In 1887 he was appointed lecturer on regional anatomy in the Baltimore Medical College. In 1895 he was elected professor of anatomy of the Baltimore University. In 1896 he was elected president of the board of directors of that institution. In that same year he began his career as a military surgeon by appoint- ment of the Governor as assistant surgeon with the rank of captain on the staff of the Fourth Regiment, Maryland National Guards. In 1897 he was elected professor of the diseases of children in the Baltimore University, and in that same year was also honored by election to the presidency of the Baltimore Medical and Surgical Society. In conjunction with others he founded, in 1898, the Mary- land Medical College, becoming professor of diseases of children and also serving as president of the college from its organization until his resignation in 1908, making ten years of service in that capacity. In 1904 he was elected professor of dermatology in the Maryland Medical College and in that year also became dean of the college.
In January, 1901 Governor John Walter Smith appointed Dr. Schwatka surgeon-general of the State of Maryland, with the rank of brigadier-general in which capacity he served during Governor Smith's term.
It will be seen from this brief record that his activity in every department of the profession has been immense, and that this ac- tivity, backed by his unusual aptitude, has won assured position in everything that he undertook. It is probably true that his best work has been done in the school room, where he is noted for the thoroughness of his instruction and the happy faculty which he possesses of imparting to his students a complete knowledge of anything that may be discussed.
Dr. Schwatka holds membership in the Medical and Chirurgical Society of Maryland, in the Alumni Societies of Baltimore University,
160
JOHN BUSHROD SCHWATKA
Baltimore Medical College, and University of Maryland. He be- longs to several fraternal organizations and in the Masonic Order has attained to the thirty-second degree.
He was married in Kent County, Maryland, on October 6, 1885, to Miss Margaret G, Cooper, a native of Philadelphia. Of this mar- riage there have been three children: John Bushrod, Jr., born July 28, 1886, died October 17, 1908. just as he had reached manhood; second son, W. Herdman, born August 11, 1888, who is now a prac- ticing lawyer; the third child is a daughter, Miss Margaret V. Schwatka, born March 9, 1894, now a student in the Virginia Insti- tute at Bristol, Virginia.
Dr. Schwatka's political affiliation is with the Democratic party, and in this connection he rather humorously says that he has never changed his political allegiance, but has "remained 'white' and polit- ically decent so far." Those people who live south of Mason's and Dixon's line will recognize the serious force underlying this rather facetious statement.
In looking over his medical record it would not seem that there has been any time left for anything else, but such is the energy of the man that we find by the record that he has had a remarkable political career. In September, 1898, he was nominated by the Demo- crats to represent the Third Maryland District in the Congress of the United States. He was defeated by 122 plurality. In the fol- lowing autumn (1899) he was nominated by the Democrats for sheriff of Baltimore City and was elected by twelve thousand (12,000) major- ity, running ahead of the ticket. There is something worth noting in this election as illustrating political methods in some of our cities: In this second election he carried the Wards comprising the Third Congressional District by more than twenty-five hundred (2500) majority. It will be remembered that the year preceding he had been defeated by 122 plurality in these same wards. The only com- ment that he makes on this apparently phenomenal change is that "the Republicans no longer controlled the 'window' with their 'men and methods.' "
In looking back over his past life, which has been so immensely successful, he says that his own personal preferences had most to do with the selection of his vocation; that the strongest impulses in his early life to struggle upwards came from his mother and the home influence, though he does not underrate the value of education and school companionship.
161
JOHN BUSHROD SCHWATKA
He possesses that veneer of surface cynicism which is not infre- quently found in successful practitioners of medicine. Coming into · closer relationship with their fellowmen than the men of any other calling, and seeing the littleness of men, they become cynical on the surface. But these same men who will indulge in biting sarcasm at the expense of their fellows in one hour will in the next hour spend the last ounce of their strength in trying to keep life in the body of some poor scrap of humanity who could well be spared. For it is true at the bottom that the men who follow the calling of physicians are animated by a sense of duty and an inborn love of humanity not excelled by the men of any other calling whatever. All men of wide experience are accustomed to this trait in doctors and take it at its real valuation.
Dr. Schwatka possesses also a strong sense of humor, and says in speaking of authorship, that he has not so far offended. This is quite a feather in his cap in these days of the making of many books.
He is partial to all forms of athletic sports, and gets a certain measure of relaxation from the hard work of his profession in this direction. He comes of that strong German stock which has con- tributed so enormously to the history of the world during the past fifteen hundred years, and which in the last one hundred years has taken such a decided lead in scientific discovery and mechanical investigation. The time was when we looked to France for scientific teaching, and to England for mechanical invention. Germany and America have forged so rapidly to the front in both directions that we are now measurably independent of both France and England along these lines, though of course we utilize any knowledge which they contribute to the general fund. It is quite probable in future, that the thoroughness of the German, his infinite patience as to details, his willingness to spend a lifetime, if necessary, in the estab- lishment of one single scientific truth, will make of him a real leader in world progress, add Dr. Schwatka's career has shown that the German blood idherited by him has lost nothing of its quality in his case, and is largely responsible for the honorable and eminent posi- tion which he now occupies.
GEORGE MICHAEL LAMB
T HE LATE George Michael Lamb, who for many years occu- pied an honorable place in the business circles of Baltimore, was born in Baltimore County on July 25, 1847, and died in Baltimore City on January 2, 1908. He was a son of John Emerson and Esther (Matthews) Lamb. On both sides of the family he was of English descent. John Emerson Lamb was an educator, a man or unusual ability, who organized and became principal of Milton Academy in Baltimore County, a school in which many of Maryland's representative men received their education. He was a generous, upright and unselfish man, whose children have since risen up to do him honor.
His wife, Esther Matthews, was a daughter of Eli and Mary Matthews. Eli Matthews was descended from an Englishman who came over from England in the time of Cromwell and settled in Baltimore County.
John E. Lamb's family history in Maryland goes back to Pierce Lamb, who was a member of the Society of Friends. He came from England in the early colonial period and settled in Kent County on the Eastern Shore, that old county which has been fairly a breed- ing place for the great families of Maryland. Pierce Lamb had two sons: Francis and Pierce. The second Pierce drifted West. Francis remained in Maryland. He was twice married, and was the father of eight sons, five by the first wife. It is from the children of his first wife that George M. Lamb was descended. His father founded the Milton Boarding School in 1848. The Civil War interfering with the schools of that section, he became attached to the internal reve- nue service and spent the remainder of his life in that work.
Geroge M. Lamb's early years were spent in the country. He obtained a good education in the Milton Academy and the Westtown Boarding School in Pennsylvania. Following that, he took a com- mercial course in a Baltimore business college; and in 1867, entered upon business life as an employee in the then firm of Gist and Wells. His ability and fidelity carried him steadily forward, and he became
Gh 165
GEORGE MICHAEL LAMB
a partner in the business; and upon the death of Mr. Joseph Gist, became head of the firm, the name of which was then changed to Lamb and Kemp, Mr. Edward Kemp having been admited to part- nership. This partnership continued a few years; was then dissolved, and a new firm succeeded, composed of Mr. Lamb and his younger brother, John Emerson Lamb, under the firm name of G. M. Lamb and Brother. The business was a produce commission, combined with a pork-packing establishment, and occupied two warehouses on South Street. In 1907, the business of G. M. Lamb and Brother was united with the R. M. Jones Company and incorporated under the style of Jones and Lamb Company. After the fire of 1904, the busi- ness became an exclusively pork-packing establishment.
Reared in the faith of the Society of Friends, to which his fam- ily had been attached for generations, Mr. Lamb carried into his business the moral earnestness and the unswerving integrity for which the Friends are always and everywhere noted. Resulting from this, he had the absolute confidence of his business associates and the high- est respect and esteem or all with whom he came in contact. He served for a time as a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Enoch Pratt and Shepperd Hospital, and was also a director for the Savings Bank of Baltimore.
His political affiliation was with the Republican party; but he was not active in political life. In his private life, he was a great home lover, and his chief pleasures were found in his country home, where it was always his greatest delight to dispense hospitality to his friends with his family gathered around him. He was an unas- suming, useful, quiet citizen who served his generation faithfully.
His older brother, Eli M. Lamb, took hold of the now famous Friends' School in Baltimore some forty-five years ago, when it had but twenty scholars, and made of it one of the famous educational institutions of that section of our country.
On February 22, 1876, Mr. Lamb was married to Miss Annie L. Roberts, daughter of Josiah and Lydia Roberts of Moorestown, Burlington County, New Jersey, a family settled for generations in that section. Five children were born of this marriage, all of whom are living: Edith, the daughter, married Howard Cooper Johnson of Philadelphia, and is now a resident of that city. The sons are: George M., Junior; Robert Emerson; Philip Edward, and James Gibson Lamb.
166
GEORGE MICHAEL LAMB
In his annual report for 1908, Doctor E. N. Brush, physician-in- chief and superintendent of the Shepperd and Enoch Pratt Hospital, made the following reference in connection with Mr. Lamb's work as a member of the board of trustees: "Just at the opening of the year, you as a Board and I personally, were called upon to meet a great and irreparable loss in the death of Mr. George M. Lamb. He had been a member of your Board for eighteen years. Residing nearer the hospital than any other member, he was more frequently a visitor and I therefore saw more of him and grew into the habit of conferring with him more than with any other Trustee. I learned to respect his judgment and to rely upon his friendship, and I have missed and shall miss both. The hospital has lost in his death a most devoted friend, and you as a Board a wise and safe counselor."
FERDINAND WILLIAMS
J T UDGE FERDINAND WILLIAMS of Cumberland, who ranks as one of the leading lawyers of Western Maryland, is a native of Calvert County; born in January 1846; son of the Reverend Henry and Priscilla Elizabeth (Chew) Williams. His father was an Episcopal minister, thoroughly consecrated to his work. He was descended from a family which originally settled in South Carolina, coming from England; and in later generations, the grandfather of Judge Chew moved to Maryland. The Williams name will be honored in South Carolina and Charleston as long as tha city stands, because of the record made by George W. Willams, the merchant prince, philanthropist and patriot.
On the maternal side, Judge Williams is descended from a notable Maryland family, the Chews, long prominent in Virginia, in Maryland and in Pennsylvania. The family was founded by John Chew, who came from Chewton, Somersetshire, England, in 1622; was a member from Jamestown in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1623; and in 1643 was in the House of Burgesses from Hogg's Island. He left two sons, Samuel and Joseph. One of these sons settled in Maryland, and had a son, Colonel Samuel Chew, who was very prominent in the early history of Maryland. He settled in Anne Arundel County; and, as his will, probated on the 12th of June, 1677, shows, he left seven sons: Samuel, Joseph, Nathaniel; William, Benjamin, John and Caleb. .. grandson of this Samuel became chief justice of the three lower counties of Pennsylvania, now comprising the State of Delaware; and his son Benjamin was speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, and chief justice of the State. It was his stone residence in Germantown into which the British threw them- selves and checked the victorious career of the Americans at the bat- tle of Germantown. Richard Smith Chew, naval officer, also belonged to this Maryland family. In the war between the States there was no more famous command in the Confederate army than Chew's battery of light artillery attached to Stuart's cavalry corps, and the commander of this famous battery belonged to this Maryland fam-
١٦
6 168
FERDINAND WILLIAMS
ily. From this brief mention it will be seen that Judge Williams comes on both sides of the family from the best of our American stock.
Mr. Williams was reared mostly in the country; a healthy boy; and after attendance upon the Calvert County. schools, entered the Maryland Agricultural College at Bladensburg. Leaving that insti- tution, he studied law in the office of his elder brother, Henry Wil- liams, at Cumberland, and was admitted to the bar in 1868. His life since that time has been that of the hard-working lawyer. He speedily won rank in the profession, and has several times been tend- ered appointment of circuit judge of the Allegany district by differ- ert governors. He declined all these tenders but one, which was during the administration of Governor John Walter Smith. He accepted on that occasion, and served for two years. He prefers, however, the active practice rather than the duties of the bench. He was a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket in 1904. He is a member of the Allegany and Maryland Bar Associations; and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Religiously, he is a commu- nicant of the Episcopal church, in which he has been a vestryman.
The bar of Cumberland has always been strong. The second city of the State in size; the residence of something like fifty lawyers, it is strong evidence of ability when a practicing attorney stands up in the front rank, and this position has been occupied by Judge Williams for many years. He is a man of high character and attrac- tive personal qualities.
In November, 1870, he married Miss Flora F. Johnson, daugh- ter of Richard D. Johnson of Cumberland, Allegany County. They have three children.
Very truly yours
JOHN HAINES KIMBLE
A MONG the unassuming and useful citizens of Port Deposit, no man ranks higher than John Haines Kimble, banker by occupation, and now secretary, assistant treasurer and trus- tee of the Jacob Tome Institute. Mr. Kimble was born in West Nottingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, October 26, 1860; son of Anson B. and Mary Hannah (Kirk) Kimble. Onthe paternal side, Mr. Kimble is of English descent; and on the maternal, of Scotch-Irish. There are three or four spellings of the name. The oldest spelling found in England, and from which all the others have come is Kimbell; the New England is Kimball and dates back to the first settler of the name who came over in 1634 to Watertown, Mas- sachusetts. Curiously enough, there is a county in Texas named in honor of some Kimble who spells his name in the same way that John H. Kimble does. This branch of the family was founded by John Kimble who settled in New London, Chester County, Pennsylvania, before the Revolutionary war. In 1790 this John Kimble was living where he first settled, and including himself was the head of a family of seven persons.
On the maternal side, Mr. Kimble's ancestry goes back to Roger Kirk who migrated from Northern Ireland and settled in East Not- tingham, Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1712, and married Elizabeth Richards of Aston in 1714. John H. Kimble is in the seventh generation from Roger and Elizabeth Richards Kirk.
Mr. Kimble was a healthy boy, reared in the country; had to do the work of a farmer's boy, and was especially fond of reading, devouring every book upon which he could get his hands, but was especially partial to historical works. His labors on his father's farm continued until he was seventeen hears old, and he there learned the valuable lesson that, to succeed as a farmer, it was necessary to be economical and to do things well. He has since found that the same things are necessary in every other walk of life if one would succeed. His education was obtained in the public schools up to the age of fourteen. After that, he had three months' in the Oxford
₼h 172
JOHN HAINES KIMBLE
(Pennsylvania) Seminary, and three months in Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, where he was graduated in 1878 with the degree of Master of Accounts. In 1879, he entered business life as a clerk for J. L. Cooper, a grain dealer of Nottingham, Pennsylvania. He remained in this service until 1882, when he became a teller in the Cecil National Bank of Port Deposit, and held that position from 1883 to 1900. Upon entering upon his duties in the bank on January 31, 1883, he married Miss Mary J. Tome, daughter of Peter and niece of Jacob Tome, founder of the Jacob Tome Institute. Of his marriage, two children have been born, both living: Chester Tome and Annie May Kimble.
He spent seventeen years in the service of the bank, intent only upon the discharge of his duty from day to day and without ulterior ambitions, except as these might come in the way of duty. His faithful service, however, had attracted attention to him, and in 1900 he became secretary of the board of trustees of the Jacob Tome Institute, assistant treasurer and a member of the board of trustees and on the executive committee. This position he has filled not only with fidelity, but with marked ability, and is now director in the National Bank of Port Deposit.
He is a lifetime Democrat in his political affiliations, and though never a seeker after place, his qualities had so commended him to the people of his county, that in 1899 he was elected as a Democrat a member of the House of Delegates for a term of two years, serving while in the General Assembly on several important Committees including Ways and Means. This duty he discharged with his usual fidelity.
Mr. Kimble is a typical American in one thing-his favorite amusement is base ball. He is an earnest member of the Methodist Church and the Masonic fraternity. He is now a member of the board of managers of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Cecil County. He is also a Charter member of and still a director in the Union Hospital of Elkton. In 1908 he was appointed by Governor Crothers, as a director of the Maryland Penitentiary, which term he is now serving. This appointment in itself indicates the esteem in which Mr. Kimble is held.
Mr. Kimble is a strong believer in the gospel of hard work, and that hard work properly applied will always win a fair measure of success, and in some cases even more than this. He believes every one
173
JOHN HAINES KIMBLE
should embrace every opportunity to get a good, rounded education, and especially to develop that side to which the mind leans strongest.
One phase of his activities has been reserved for the concluding remark. When he settled in the bank and married, he located on a farm near Port Deposit, from which he could come in to his daily duties, returning home in the evening. This led to his taking an active interest in farming matters. The American people are just beginning to wake up upon this question of the proper development of agriculture; but Mr. Kimble woke up twenty-five years ago, and early in the battle he became identified with the Farmer's National Congress, which held its first meeting at Chicago in 1881, and which holds its next meeting at Lincoln, Nebraska, during the current year. This body, non-partisan, non-sectional, in no sense like the Grange or the Farmer's Union, organized for the purpose of bringing together the best men of the country who are interested in farming, will hold its thirtieth convention this year. It has had at its head during these thirty years some of the most eminent farmers of the country. The amount of good which it has done cannot be estimated; for it speaks with authority, controlled as it is by unselfish men who work without pay, and who pay their own expenses, to attend the national convention. They have brought to bear in these thirty years influ- ences which have resulted in great good; and as all good influences are cumulative, the future of this great association is now full of promise. Mr. Kimble has been something more than a member, he is one of the three assistant secretaries, and has given much time and labor, and spent a goodly number of dollars in this work, which is purely one of good citizenship without any direct or material reward. It is probably that in this he takes more pleasure than in any other work he has done, and it is certain that in this he is doing better work for his country than anything else he has ever attempted.
.
RILEY E. WRIGHT
T UDGE RILEY E. WRIGHT, senior member of the well known law firm of Wright and Wright of Baltimore, (his brother M. W. Wright being the junior partner), was born in the town of Westminster, Vermont, on July 24, 1839, son of Erastus and Mary Ann (Fairbrother) Wright. Judge Wright's father was by occupation a farmer, a well informed and widely read man of sound judgment and strict integrity, who held during his life at different times various town and county offices. An investigation made some years back shows that in the early settlement of the colonies there came to America five distinct families of Wrights and that investi- gation shows that each one of these families through their descend- ants have won a remarkable measure of distinction in the new country. The particular branch to which Judge Wright belongs goes back through Deacon Samuel Wright of Springfield, Massachusetts, who was descended from John Wright, Lord of Kelvedon Hall, County Essex, England. Captain Azariah Wright, great grandfather of Judge Wright, with his company of militia on March 13, 1775, defended the court house, resisting the provincial authorities who wanted to hold court, and this affair known as the courthouse affray resulted in the death of two of the patriots and was really the first bloodshed of the Revolution. This same Captain Wright served through the Revolutionary War and accompanied Arnold in his famous expedition to Quebec. Judge Wright's maternal great-grand- father, Richard Fairbrother, also served throughout the Revolu- tionary War.
A robust boy, disposed to be studious, and yet fond of ath- letics and hunting, Judge Wright had the advantage of country rear- ing. He worked steadily on his father's farm at tasks suited to his years and was taught to believe that habits of industry are essential to the formation of character and to success in later life. He had good school advantages, attending the Academy at Derby, Vermont. and Green Mountain Institute, in Glover, Vermont, and The Powers Institute, at Bernardston, Massachusetts, and then engaged in
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.