USA > Maryland > Men of mark in Maryland Johnson's makers of America series biographies of leading men of the state, Volume III > Part 16
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In looking back over his life Mr. Abbott finds that the direction which it has taken was largely the result of circumstances not fore- seen or controlled by him. From an office boy, he became assistant- bookkeeper and bookkeeper; then a traveling salesman. The home influences and the family inheritance had made it natural for him to be straight and clean in all his transactions. Contact with his fellow men stirred up his ambition to build up a good business charac- ter. The rest has been a matter of growth.
On July 28, 1891, Mr. Abbott married Miss Ida Mengel of Hagerstown, Maryland. They have four children. Politically he is an Independent, which is not surprising when one knows the stock from which he comes. He believes that we can render no better service for the on-coming generation than to instill into youth the virtue of economy, of beginning to save early, and of always spend- ing less than one makes. In view of the reckless extravagance of the American people of this day Mr. Abbott strikes a keynote, because no people in the world today are to be compared with us in what may be fairly called willful extravagance.
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CORNELIUS WEBSTER ABBOTT
There are two or three things about this family so notable that the biographer dealing with a member of it would be less than just if he failed to mention them. As before stated the name originated in an office of the Roman Church, but when the great reformation spread over Europe it took hold upon the Abbotts and we find them in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Puritans of the Puritans. Every intelligent man knows somewhat of the history of these Puritans and the figure they have made in our own country. With them religion came first and education second. In this good year of 1910 one who will take the trouble to investigate will find that the Abbots of the twentieth century are in full accord with the practices of the Abbots of the seventeenth century who went into the wilderness with a rifle over one shoulder and the Bible under the other arm. Any man may be proud to be descended from such stock, and while his pride may be justified, it is much more important that his own life be so worthy as to reflect credit upon his ancestry. In the case of C. W. Abbott his own conduct measures up with the best traditions of a race which has abundantly justified its existence by service.
CHARLES FISHER HOLLAND
A MONG the leading men of the Eastern Shore of Maryland of the present day, Judge Charles Fisher Holland of Salisbury occupies a prominent place. Judge Holland was born in Sussex County, Delaware, on April 3, 1841; son of Elisha and Louise (White) Holland. His father was a farmer; a man of strong will and sound judgment.
According to its tradition, the family came to America prior to 1692, and settled in Somerset County, in that section now embraced in Worcester County. Among the muniments of title to some land is a grant from William and Mary to one John Holland, Gentleman, in 1692. William Holland and Nehemiah Holland, brothers, together with Francis Holland, were county judges in the latter half of the eighteenth century. John Holland, son of William, and the great- grandfather of Judge Charles F. Holland, married and settled in Delaware in 1775, and was the founder of the Holland family in that State. The old homestead is still in the family.
A very ancient reference to the Hollands appears in 1678, when the General Assembly made an allowance to certain men named in the Act for their services against the Indians. Among these is mentioned Richard Holland who got "four hundred pounds of tobacco,"- tobacco being then the currency of the country. The name has long been famous in English history. English genealogists tell us it was founded by a man who came from Holland,-the original name being the given name with "of Holland" attached. Finally the "of" was eliminated, and we get the family name. As far back as the time of Edward II, we find Robert De Holland summoned to Parliament by that king, and Burke seems to think that this Robert was a native of Holland. It is known that the descendants of this Robert became Earls of Kent, and later Dukes of Exeter. One of them in the time of Edward III married into the royal family, espousing Joan Planta- genet, known in history as the "Fair Maid of Kent."
Judge Holland's most pronounced taste in boyhood was reading and research. Reared in the country, with certain farm tasks to
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perform, he frankly acknowledges that these tasks were neglected whenever a book could be obtained. Speaking of his mother, who was of the same family as Bishop White, first Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania, he says that her word was the law of his conduct. His tastes in reading ran to history and biography, but as a matter of fact has been very general. He has been especially interested in the customs and religious beliefs of nations. His education was obtained in public schools and private academies. Arriving at man- hood, he read law; was admitted to the bar at Salisbury in 1868, and has been in active practice in that town up to the present time, except for the years spent on the bench. He believes that the impulses moving him in early manhood were born of an instinctive desire to do well whatever he might undertake and to stand in the front rank of his associates. In the practice of his profession, he developed into what is known as a "corporation lawyer," which of itself is a testimonial of his ability in a legal way. After seventeen years of practice, he had gained such reputation for ability, sound judgment and impartiality, that he was elevated to the bench in 1885 and has served as a judge for more than twenty-five years. Keenly interested in the work of the Episcopal Church, of which he has been a lifelong member, he has served that body as a vestryman for forty years. Judge Holland has found his chief recreation in travel and in yachting. His political affiliation has been through life with the Democratic party. Outside of the church and the Democratic party, his only affiliation with organized bodies is with the Masonic Fraternity.
Speaking of his own life-work, he says that he has never had but one ambition, that was to excel in his profession. In justice to him it must be admitted that he has gratified his ambition.
To the youth of the country he has no new nostrum to offer in the way of advice. He believes that "sobriety, consistency, persistency, industry, and honesty will bring success in any walk of life."
On November 30, 1871, Judge Holland was married to Miss Mary A. Welch.
JAMES HENRY BAKER
AMES HENRY BAKER, of Baltimore, Lawyer, was born in Kent County, Maryland, June 24, 1872. His parents are James H. and Mary (Trew) Baker. He belongs to an old Quaker family which has been prominent in Kent County since colonial times. James H. Baker, the father of the subject of this sketch, is a Republican, and hasfor many years taken a leading part in political affairs in his county. He was the first member of his party to go to the House of Delegates from Kent, and for four years he represented his county in the Senate of Maryland.
James Henry Baker received his education at the Wilmington Conference Academy at Dover, Delaware, and then in Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., graduating at that ancient institution in 1893, and receiving three years later the honorary degree of Master of Arts.
Mr. Baker, like so many of the successful professional and busi- ness men in the large cities, is a product of the farm. Kent is one of the most beautiful and fertile portions of Maryland, and farm life in that county assumes its most healthful and attractive aspects, producing independence, resourcefulness and thoughtfulness, as well as a strong and vigorous body. The long winter evenings in the farm- house afford abundant opportunity for reading good books, and young Baker made good use of these opportunities.
At Dickinson College he found time to do some newspaper work, being the Correspondent of the New York Tribune. He has been for a number of years a trustee of his Alma Mater and one of the youngest graduates ever elected to that Board. His standing at Dickinson and the high esteem in which he was held by the alumni of that institution are indicated by his selection in June, 1908, to present a portrait of Chief Justice Taney to the College. His pre- sentation address on that occasion, being the 125th anniversary of the founding of the College, has been regarded by many as his best effort in public speaking. Judge Taney graduated at Dickinson in 1795 and was the most illustrious of all her graduates. As a Mary-
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lander, it was peculiarly fitting that this address should have been made by Mr. Baker, who received his diploma ninety-eight years later than Taney. In presenting the portrait of Judge Taney, Mr. Baker said in part as follows:
"I make the bold statement that Taney is the most distin- guished Dickinsonian to whom was ever delivered a diploma, or upon whom was ever conferred a degree by this old and venerable. institu- tion of learning. This country has had twenty-five Presidents, one a graduate of this college, and whose memory we have just honored, but there have been but eight Chief Justices of its Supreme Court. Therefore, only a few colleges can boast of this honor, of which we are one, in our immortal Taney, who presided over this august tribunal for twenty-eight years, from 1836, until his death in 1864. Dickinson has also been represented on this high tribunal by Associate Justice Grier, of this State, and, until very recently, we were remotely repre- sented there by Associate Justice Shiras, whose grandfather on his maternal side, Rev. Dr. Francis Herron, was a Dickinsonian and graduated in the class immediately before Judge Taney.
"Mr. Taney was a native of Maryland, born in 1777, about the beginning of our Government itself, and died in 1864, about the end of a great epoch-the Civil War-which rendered possible the aboli- tion of slavery. He graduated here iu the class of 1795, valedictorian of his class, elected to this his first honor by his classmates, as was customary in those days."
While completing his academic course at Dickinson, Mr. Baker also studied law at the Dickinson School of Law, later entering the Law Department of the University of Maryland, studying at the same time in the office of Senator Isidor Rayner, under the direction of that distinguished lawyer. He was admitted to the bar of the City of Baltimore December 22, 1894, speedily acquiring a good practice, being engaged as counsel for several building associations and con- tractors, besides a very large office practice.
Mr. Baker has found time to take a part in public affairs, having a deep interest in politics. In 1903 he was nominated on the Republi- can ticket for the State Senate in the Second Legislative District of Baltimore. But, as the district has a large Democratic majority, he was defeated with the rest of his ticket.
In 1907 he had the honor of presiding over the convention of the Republican party that nominated the Hon. E. Clay Timanus for
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Mayor of Baltimore. In all public affairs, and especially in such as concern the material improvement of the community in which he lives and of the State at large, Mr. Baker takes a lively interest and is always ready to do his full share of the work involved. In a recent sketch of him which has been published, he was placed among " the foremost of the younger leaders in the professional and civic circles of Baltimore." Continuing, the writer of that sketch said of Mr. Baker that he was "closely identified with that which is the highest and best as a lawyer. He is likewise rapidly becoming allied with the civic movements which promise so much for the City of Baltimore. Full of energy and possessed of a highly developed analytical mind, this young lawyer has already seized a sure place in the confidence and esteem of the community. In his professional life he is characterized, perhaps most marked, by the confident, syste- matic and persistent method by which he proceeds 'to do things.' He is intensely practical; he goes to the heart of the essentials with the ease, coldness and precision of a well directed blade. Yet it must not be supposed that he is without the innate warmth and delicate coloring of sentiment and idealism. He is a practical idealist."
He has cultivated a love of art, especially of good paintings and etchings, and his literary taste is as fine as his artistic.
He is a member of City and State Bar Associations and Secretary of the Public Lecture Bureau of the City of Baltimore-a movement for public education and improvement-in which he is associated with a number of the leading literary men of the city.
He is also prominent in the fraternal societies, including the Phi Kappa Psi and other kindred associations. He is Past Master of Union Lodge No. 60 of the Masonic order, and Past Regent of Balti- more City Council No. 357, Royal Arcanum.
On the 20th of November, 1902, Mr. Baker married Miss Louise Tull, daughter of the late Dr. John Emory Tull, of Somerset County, Maryland. They have one son, John Tull Baker. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are members of the Associate Congregational Church.
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JOHN LUTHER NICODEMUS
NE of the business veterans of Western Maryland is John Luther Nicodemus, president of the People's National Bank of Hagerstown, who at eighty-two years of age is hale, active,and puts in an appearance at his banking house promptly every morning. Mr. Nicodemus has spent his long life in Washing- ton County. He was born near Boonsboro on December 8, 1828; son of John and Anna Maria (Motter) Nicodemus. His father was a farmer and a miller, a son of Valentine Nicodemus, one of the early settlers of the then Frederick County. The Nicodemus family was founded in America by three brothers who came in 1720 from Austria or South Germany, landed in Philadelphia and settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. One of the Pennsylvania brothers had two sons, Valentine and Conrad, who came to Maryland and whose two cousins also settled in Frederick County. This Valentine who settled near Boonsboro was the grandfather of John L. Nicodemus. On the maternal side, the family is of French Huguenot stock, long set- tled in Frederick County, the name being originally Mottrie or Mot- tieur, which was promptly anglicized into Motter. In the present generation Judge J. C. Motter of Frederick is a distant cousin of Mr. Nicodemus. John Nicodemus the elder,-farmer and miller,- was a fine specimen of that excellent German stock which has con- tributed so much to Western Maryland. He was an upright, sturdy, generous man. Young Nicodemus was reared in the country, a healthy boy, trained in the tasks of the farm, upon which he worked between school seasons; and as a boy was anxious to grow up and get into business. He attended private schools, and later Mercersburg College. At the age of sixteen, he began work in his father's mill, and his life was spent in the milling business in Boonsboro for the ensuing twenty years. His operations in the milling business were successful. He made money and established the character of a sound financier. Seeing good openings in the banking business, he turned his attention in that direction; and since 1865 has been identified mainly with the banking business. In 1876, he founded the Clay County Bank at Spencer, Iowa, now known as the First National
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Bank of Spencer, of which he is the vice-president. He was one of the organizers of the Second National Bank of Hagerstown. In 1891 he moved from Boonsboro to Hagerstown; and in 1893, was elected president of the People's National Bank, the affairs of which he has since administered with distinguished ability.
Mr. Nicodemus' life covers a most eventful period of our history. He was a voter for twelve years before the Civil War. . He was reared in the political doctrines of the old Whig party, and so long as that party held together, supported its policies and candidates. When the troubles became acute in the country, the old Whig party dis- appeared and a new alignment was made, the members of that old and splendid organization dividing up between the Democrats and the Republicans. Mr. Nicodemus was an ardent Union man through- out that tremendous conflict, but during the Reconstruction period he decided to join the Democratic party, with which he has since affiliated, though not an active politician in the partisan sense. His recreations through life have been found in hunting, fishing and driving.
On May 29, 1853, he married Miss Evelyn C. Smith of Frederick, member of an old colonial family of that county. Of his marriage, there are four children: E. May, now Mrs. Doctor S. S. Davis; Cora Virginia, now Mrs. Dr. E. K. Wilson; G. Addie, now Mrs. Ashby Conner; and Edwin Nicodemus. His wife died April 26, 1891; and on November 9, 1892, he married Miss Virginia S. Newcomer, daugh- ter of Victor and Anna (Shirick) Newcomer of Funkstown, Mary- -. land. This branch of the well known Newcomer family owned a farm which formed part of the battlefield of Antietam, and lived there at the time of that epochal event, but afterwards they removed to Funkstown. The late B. F. Newcomer, the noted banker and philan- thropist, was second cousin to Mrs. Nicodemus.
Mr. Nicodemus' religious affiliation is with the Reformed Church of Boonsboro.
Mr. Nicodemus has lived a long, industrious, useful life. In his business ventures, he has been unusually successful and is one of the wealthy men of his section. He commands the entire confidence and respect of the people of the county in which his entire life has been spent, and now, in a green old age, can rest upon the fruits of his labors with the consciousness that he has served his generation with fidelity.
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GEORGE THOMAS REDDEN
T HE origin of the family name of Redden is involved in doubt A vast majority of our present family names have been evolved out of some ancient form, many now not recogniz- able. There are two explanations of Redden, one says it came from the French Redant, and we find in England the names Reddan and Redon derived from this French form. Another explanation is that it comes from the town of Reading (pronounced Redding) in Berk- shire, England, from which is derived the Redding family, and that this Redden is merely another form of Redding. It is quite possible that Redden is merely a Scotch-Irish modification of the English form Redding.
A representative of this family name,- who is not only one of the most successful, but one of the most useful men of the town of Denton, is George Thomas Redden, who was born in Kent County, Delaware, on February 12, 1855; son of George W., and Jane B. (Jones) Redden. His father was a farmer. His paternal great grandfather was a tailor in Bridgeville, Delaware; and his maternal grandfather, Thomas A. Jones, served two terms in the Delaware State Senate.
Mr. Redden was reared on his father's farm and had the usual tasks assigned him of a farmer's boy. He attended the public schools of Delaware, and went through the Farmington Seminary. At the age of seventeen, he went to sea as a sailor for one year, and with the money thus earned, went back to school. Completing his own schooling, he became a school teacher in Kent County, Dela- ware.
In 1880, the young man, moved by the spirit of adventure, went to Arizona, where for six years he was engaged in gold and silver mining in Yavapai County. During his residence in Arizona he was, in 1884, nominated by the Democrats for the territorial legislature, and was defeated by a narrow margin of three votes. After six years in the far West, Mr. Redden returned East; stopped for a time in New York City, and was engaged until 1887 in the commission
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business in that city. In 1888, he moved to Denton and embarked in the canning of fruits and vegetables and farining. His operations have been very successful; and in the twenty-two years he has been settled in Denton, he has built up a large business; made much money, and is now one of the wealthy men of the county.
But he has not stopped merely with the making of money. He is a vestryman of the Episcopal Church; member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics and of the fraternal order of Heptasophs, has served six years in the town council, and in 1898, was elected a member of the general assembly. In the general assembly, he did notable work, and it was largely through his efforts that the Enoch Pratt donation was secured for the splendid Pratt-Shepherd Hospital near Baltimore. It will be seen from this record that Mr. Redden has never allowed his business interests to absorb him to the exclu- sion of the performance of civic and religious duty.
Mr. Redden was married in 1893 to Mrs. Louise Elizabeth Finn, of Baltimore. They have four children: Maggie Jane, Mar- riott Seymour, Layman Jones, and Mary Virginia Redden. In addi- tion to these, he has one adopted son, John George, who is the son of his wife by her first marriage.
Mr. Redden finds his recreation in automobiling and farming. In view of the magnitude of his farming operations, one would think that looking after his farm would be more in the nature of labor than recreation; but like a wise man he has learned that in a diversity of occupation lies the best of recreation.
In addition to being a man of broad and liberal views, Mr. Red- den is a thorough business man of decisive action. His success has been won by ability to quickly recognize opportunities and take advantage of them. He belongs to that class which is doing so much to advance the real interests of the state of Maryland and of the country, and whose industry and enterprise deserve the most cordial approval of all good citizens.
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ISAAC AMBROSE BARBER
I HE late Doctor Isaac A. Barber, of Easton, during his life one of the most prominent men of the Eastern Shore in a pro- fessional, financial and political way, was born near Salem, New Jersey, on January 26, 1852, and died at his home in Easton, Maryland, March 1, 1909. He was a descendant of an English family settled in New Jersey since the seventeenth century. His parents were John W., and Ann S. Barber. His father was by occu- pation a farmer, and a man of great industry.
Doctor Barber was reared in the country and required to do his share of work on the farm. He attended the public schools of Salem; then went to Taylor and Jackson's school in Wilmington, Delaware. Even as a boy, he acquired a taste for reading, and through life had a pronounced partiality for works of a biographical character. He early developed a taste for medicine, and at seventeen years of age he entered upon medical study. Preferring the homeopathic school, he entered the Hahnemann Medical College at Philadelphia, and was graduated in 1872, when but twenty years of age. He began the practice of medicine in Woodstown, New Jersey, but only remained there until July 1873, when he removed to Easton, where he practiced with great success until 1887. He then became interested in the flour mill business in Easton and in St. Michaels. A most versatile and capable man, his success in business circles was commensurate with his success in medicine, and he was enabled to retire from active business pursuits with a competency in 1903. In the meantime, in 1894, his financial ability had led to his election as president of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Easton, and this position he retained up to his death. For the last six or seven years of his life, he confined himself chiefly to his agricultural interests and the breeding of fine horses, which was a passion with him, and he was the owner of quite a number of highbred and registered stock.
A public spirited man, he at one time served with great accept- ability as president of the Talbot County Fair Association, and took a keen interest in its success.
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He was through life affiliated with the Republican party, and for many years one of its leaders on the Eastern Shore. In 1891, he was the candidate of his party for delegate to the General Assembly, but was defeated. Im 1893, he was made candidate for the State Senate, but was again defeated. He possessed a great share of tenacity; and in 1895, he was again a candidate for the legislature. That was a Republican year in Maryland,-the Republicans elect- ing their entire ticket, and controlling the legislature, and in that year Doctor Barber was successful. In 1896, he was nominated by the Republicans as their candidate for the Fifty-Fifth Congress. Up to that time, the Republican party had not elected a Congressman from the Eastern District since the War. He was elected; served his term, and after the completion of his term, was made a member of the Republican State Central Committee for Talbot County.
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