USA > Maryland > Men of mark in Maryland Johnson's makers of America series biographies of leading men of the state, Volume III > Part 17
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
In 1878, Doctor Barber was married to Miss Nellie V. Collison, daughter of the late William Collison, a leading contractor of Easton. Four children were born of the marriage, of whom two, with his wife, survive him. The two surviving children are: Stewart Earl Barber, Past Assistant-Paymaster in the United States Navy, stationed in Washinton at the time of his father's death; and a daughter, Miss Nellie Barber, who was attending the George School in Philadelphia when her father died.
Religiously, Doctor Barber adhered to the faith of his fathers. For generations the family had been members of the Society of Friends and the Doctor was a leading member of the Third Haven Meeting of Easton, one of the oldest churches in the United States. On the day of his death, which was Sunday, he had attended service in the morning. He had for several years been in poor health as a result of an accident, but was thought to be on the road to full recovery. Returning home from church, he was stricken with paralysis and died in a few hours.
The local papers bore testimony to the excellence of his character and to his strong qualities. He was given credit for being a most untiring worker in everything he undertook, and one of the able organizers of that section in both a business and political way. His business associates passed very handsome resolutions of condolence to his family and as a testimonial to his memory. He was a man of kindly temperament, courteous and genial manners, who won friends readily and retained them after winning them. Though he did not
279
ISAAC AMBROSE BARBER
live to any great length of years, he left behind him a record of accom- plishment which would have been creditable to a veteran of three score and ten.
When asked during his life to give a word of counsel to the youth of our country, he wrote these words: "First of all, be care- ful in selection of your early associates. Avoid those who want to smoke and drink whiskey or other intoxicating beverages. Be fond of your home and reading. The influences of church and home will lay the best foundation in life."
LOUIS VICTOR BAUGHMAN
T HE late General Louis Victor Baughman was not only one of the best known men and best citizens of Maryland, but was also one of the most chivalrous and most cultivated men of his generation. His family in both the paternal and maternal lines has been identified with Maryland for from four to nine genera- tions, and is connected with a large number of leading families of the State by ties of blood relationship. In the paternal line, the family was founded by his great grandfather, a sea captain who brought to Maryland many of the first settlers of Frederick County, and his family has been identified with Frederick County from that time down to the present. The son of the old sea captain was a substantial farmer of that county, and the grandson was John W. Baughman, father of the subject of this sketch, and one of the strong men of the last generation. John W. Baughman was a man of notable character. Thrown upon his own resources in early life, he clerked for a time in a mercantile establishment of Frederick; then two years in St. John's College; entered the mercantile business, and by a combination of capacity, industry and integrity built up a large and successful trade. He was married in 1844, to Mary Jane Jamison, daughter of Baker Sylvester and Louisa (Mudd) Jamison. Just prior to his marriage, he had entered the legal profession, having read law under James M. Coale. Shortly after his marriage, he was induced to take hold of The Frederick Citizen, known then as The Republican Citizen. The remainder of his life was given to the conduct of this paper. A man of fine natural ability, strong will and much determination- a staunch Democrat in his political convictions and in full sympathy with the South in those stormy days of the '50's and '60's, he made his paper a power, and drew down upon himself the wrath of the Federal Government, which, after first imprisoning him and confis- cating his property, finally banished him beyond the Federal lines. During the remainder of the war, he served in an official position in Richmond; and after the war, resumed publication of his paper, which he continued until his death, July 31, 1872.
عائلى + عبد
.. ..
LOUIS VICTOR BAUGHMAN
oh 283
Louis Victor Baughman was the eldest child of the marriage of John W. Baughman to Mary Jane Jamison, and was born in Frederick City on April 11, 1845. Looking back through the entire list of General Baughman's ancestral lines, we come in contact with many of the great names of Maryland, among them Leonard Calvert, the first Governor and founder of the Colony, who ruled Maryland from 1634 to 1637. Another great figure in that early period was the Reverend Robert Brooke, who settled in Maryland in 1650, and was Deputy Governor of the Province from 1652 to 1654. Crossing the Maryland line into Virginia, there looms up Governor Edward Diggs, 1654-58; and coming back to Maryland, Deputy Governor William Diggs of Maryland, 1684-1687. Going back again to the earliest period, we find Captain James Neale, who came from England to Maryland in 1642; was a member of the Provincial Council in 1643; again in 1661, and of the assembly in 1666. General Baugh- man was in direct line of descent from all of these notable characters of the earliest period of the Colony; but, these cover but a small part; for, tracing out the line farther, there appear the Sewells, Lowes, Boarmans, Matthews, Piles, Pyes, and many others which in the earlier generations were names to conjure with in Maryland. There flowed, therefore, in his veins the best blood of the Colony and State, always noted for the high character and excellent quality of its citizenship.
General Baughman was reared in Frederick and educated at Rock Hill and Mount St. Mary's Colleges. At the age of sixteen he-ran the blockade and entered the Confederate Army as a private in Captains McAleer's company of the First Maryland Infantry. While in this command, he took part in the battles of Malvern Hill and Gaines' Mill. He was then transferred to Company D. of the First Maryland Cavalry under Captain Welch; served under Early and Breckenridge in their raid through Maryland, and also in the well known Chambersburg raid in 1864 He was captured at Moorefield Virginia, about midsummer of 1864, was imprisoned in Camp Chase, Ohio, for nine months, and exchanged in March 1865, just prior to the fall of Richmond.
General Baughman accompanied his family back to Maryland after the fall of the Confederacy, and took up the duties of active life. From that time until his death, on November 30, 1906, at his residence, Poplar Terrace, Frederick, he was one of the foremost
284
LOUIS VICTOR BAUGHMAN
characters of the State. He read law under ex-Governor E. Louis Lowe, who was then living in Brooklyn, New York, and was employed by a steamship company of New York.
Upon the death of his father in 1872 General Baughman, in , connection with his younger brother, J. Wm. Baughman, took charge of The Frederick Citizen and continued the paper under the firm name of Baughman Brothers. Under their management, the paper continued to be, as it had been in the life time of the father, one of the most influential and best edited papers of the State. The record of The Frederick Citizen under the Baughmans is perhaps unsurpassed in the United States, The paper was founded as far back as May 1821, and during its history has supported every Demo- cratic Presidential nominee, from William H. Crawford down to the present. It is a record of consistent adherence to the principles of the party founded by Thomas Jefferson, which probably cannot be equaled by a half dozen papers in the United States.
As soon as he had gotten a fair foothold, General Baughman was married on September 27, 1881, to Miss Helen Abell, fourth daughter of the Honorable A. S. Abell, the famous founder of The Baltimore Sun and of one of the most noted journalistic families in the United States. The Abell family go back to the early settlement of Massa- chusetts about 1630 and through this connection General Baughman's children combine the Maryland Cavalier blood with the New England Puritan. See pp. 416-428 2d volume this Series for Abell family sketch. The living children of this marriage are: E. Austin Baugh- man and Mrs. Helen Baughman Conley.
It was but natural that a man so devoted to Democratic principles, and editor of one of the foremost journals of that faith in the State, should become a large figure in the party life of the State, and for many years General Baughman was a most potent factor in shaping the party policy of Maryland. His commanding personality, wide acquaintance, and unusuual grasp of public ques- tions and all matters political, amounting almost to genius, caused his counsel to be in great demand by his Party, and he served for several years upon the National Democratic Committee, as well as upon the State Democratic Committee and the Democratic County Committee, of which he was for a long time the Chairman. For four years he was Comptroller of the State Treasury. He was President of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal; Chairman of the
285
LOUIS VICTOR BAUGHMAN
Board of Commissioners for Maryland of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis. His military experience was utilized by three Governors on whose staffs he served,-first, Governor Groome; then Governor John Lee Carroll; and finally on the staff of Governor John Walter Smith, as Inspector General of the State.
Through life, he was a member of the Catholic Church. By virtue of his descent from numerous colonial soldiers, he held mem- bership in the Society of Sons of Colonial Wars. Keenly interested in the United Confederate Veterans Association, he was one of the early members of that society, and for many years took an active interest in the affairs of the Alexander Young Camp of Condeferate Veterans. He held membership in many Democratic clubs throughout the country. In social club life he was attached to the Maryland, the Journalists, Maryland Jockey, Country, and the Bachelors Cotillon Clubs.
It would have been hard to find a man of a higher degree of personal popularity, and equally hard to find one who more richly deserved it. This personal popularity was based on a combination of qualities-he was not half-hearted in anything. Any cause which he espoused could command his strength to the limit. Whether in Church or in State-in peace or in war-in the parlor or in the field, he put his heart into everything that he undertook, and by reason of strong mental and personal qualities attracted men to him. Possibly had his tastes run in that channel, he would have filled many high political positions,-and his abilities were equal to the highest; but he seemed to be content with helping others, rather than the pushing of his own preferment. That he was appreciated thor- oughly and fully by those with whom he came in contact, and by those whom he served, is shown by the record; and when he passed away at the comparatively early age of sixty-one, he waslamented from one end of the State to the other. He belonged to a generation the like of which we shall not see again soon-a generation which fought the greatest war in the annals of history, where brother was lined up against brother, in support of principles which each believed to be right; and no man in that mighty struggle bore himself more gallantly than the young Marylander who for four long years wore the sabre of a private trooper. Perhaps the best summing up of his character would be found in the word "faithfulness."
---
ELMORE BERRY JEFFERY
I I N THE innumerable changes which English family names have undergone during the last six or eight hundred years, few names present a greater variety than that of Jeffery. It origi- nated in the old Norman name, Geoffrey, which sometimes appears under the form of Godfrey. It is of some interest to note the variety of names coming from this root. We find: Jeffery; Jefferay; Jefferey; Jefferis; Jefferyes; Jeffrey; Jeffreys; Jeffries. Robert Jeffery, or Jefferis as it sometimes appears in the old records, was settled in Chester County, Pennsylvania, as far back as 1685; and another family spelling the name Jeffries was settled in Virginia at an even earlier date.
A prominent representative of the business life of Baltimore at the present moment is a member of this numerously-named family, Mr. Elmore B. Jeffery. He is a son of William Grafton and Eliza- beth (Keith) Jeffery, and was born in Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, on September 9, 1870. His father is one of the good citizens of his section; has served his town faithfully as a commis- sioner; is devoted to the work of the church,-a man of most char- itable disposition-industrious in business, and of strong character. Young Jeffrey led the life of the usual village boy. He was a robust youngster; partial to athletics; reasonably devoted to books, and took a pronounced interest in the church work, to which his father was so devoted,-and in this was especially encouraged by his mother, who exercised a most helpful influence on the boy in a moral way. He went through the schools of Bel Air, including the High School, in 1887, followed by a two years' course in the Maryland College, and rounded out with a business course in the Eaton & Burnett College in 1890.
In October 1890, he became a bookkeeper for Tyler Brothers, manufacturers of cakes and crackers. This was just twenty years ago. It would perhaps be hard to find in Baltimore or elsewhere, a man who has traveled farther in a business career in twenty years than has Mr. Jeffery. There must have been in his make-up an unus-
Truly yours Chnow & Cappy
Gh 289
ELMORE BERRY JEFFERY
ual measure of business talent. No amount of application or indus- try or integrity could have carried him so far, had it not all been sup- plemented by business talent amounting almost to genius. Notice the record: First, a bookkeeper; in a little while, local manager of the National Biscuit Company; then owner of the Skillman Baking Company, then President of the City Baking Company, which position he now holds. In addition to this,-a great position for even a gray haired veteran, and which is now so ably filled by this young man,-he is a director in the Maryland Biscuit Com- pany, and a director in the National City Bank. Mr. Jeffery, himself, can make no explanation of this remarkable record beyond the fact that from his very earliest boyhood he wanted to excel. He does, however, see where certain factors entered into the result. From home, school, and church he got the proper early training; by special study and association with competent men he gained experi- ence,-and these of course were great factors.
Yet a young man, he has not outgrown his boyhood love for baseball, and he finds recreation in that sport. His religious affilia- tion is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a most valuable member, being connected with the official board of the First Church. Mr. Jeffery's religious activities are not confined, however, to the work of his church. He is one of the leaders of the Young Men's Christian Association, being Chairman of its Finance Committee; and in this great field, he is doing valuable and effective service. His tastes do not run to politics, but he classes himself as an "Independent," wearing no party collar. Upon this, he is to be congratulated, for it is to this class of our citizenship the country must look for its salvation in those crises when party spirit runs mad and for- gets the general welfare.
He is a reading man, partial to a high class of literature. Among his preferential lines may be classed American and English history; the fiction of Dickens, Thackeray and Scott; Miller's Devotional works, and the sociological works of Bellamy and Josiah Strong. His reading easily gives the clue to his independence in politics.
On October 11, 1898, Mr. Jeffery was married to Miss Mary A. Miller. Their married life was comparatively short; and subse- quent to her death, he was married in June, 1908, to Miss Nellie Waters French. Of each of his marriages there is one daughter.
ALBERT WESLEY SISK
A LBERT W. SISK of Preston, Caroline County, now head of the large and responsible firm of A. W. Sisk and Son, manu- facturers and brokers in canned goods, was born on a farm near Preston, June 11, 1860, and his entire fifty years of life have been spent in his native county. His parents were William and Lucetta (Dean) Sisk. His father was a farmer, and held several minor offices by appointment, but consistently refused to be a seeker after office. He was a man of great energy and sterling integrity.
The family derives its descent from Joseph Sisk who came to this country in the first half of the eighteenth century and settled in what is now the southern end of Caroline County. The Sisks have been generations of farmers, noted chiefly for their integrity and piety. A. W. Sisk as a boy was rather delicate. He had liter- ary tastes and a strong partiality for mathematics. He was fortun- ate in both his parents, for his mother was of equally strong charac- ter with his father. He went through the public schools, graduating in 1878 from the Preston Academy, and began work on his own account as teacher of a public school in Beltsville, Maryland; and while there spent a part of his time in the study of higher mathematics and reading standard literary works, being especially partial to Shakespeare. He had, however, even then a strong desire to estab- lish a business which could be built up and give full play to his ener- gies and allow him to develop his executive capacity. He has suc- ceeded in that ambition, perhaps even beyond his most sanguine desires, for in a little country town he has built up a business which for years past has exceeded a volume of one million dollars annually. In addition to this, a connection with several financial institutions and with the public school system has afforded an opportunity for the further exercise of his ability. He first came in touch in an official capacity with banks, when he was elected a director in the people's National Bank at Denton in 1898. In 1902 he was elected a director of the people's National Bank of Salisbury, and in 1904 he was elected director and President of the Provident Savings Bank of
Jours Frely Alink
oh 293
ALBERT WESLEY SISK
Preston. Prior to that, in 1894 and 1896 be had served as a mem- ber of the House of Delegates. He had by this time become a thor- oughly well known man of high standing, and in 1900, Governor John Walter Smith appointed him a member of his staff with rank of Colonel. In that same year, he was appointed member of the School Board of Caroline County, and in 1904 was made president of the school board. Perhaps no work of Mr. Sisk's life has given him greater pleasure than that which he had done for the educa- tional system of his section. He is also a director of the Hebron Savings Bank, established in 1909, and a stockholder in the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Belair. He is also interested in the United States Fidelity Company, of Baltimore, as a stockholder.
In 1900 Mr. Sisk was appointed by Governor John Walter Smith as a member of his staff, with the rank of Colonel, and he served throughout Governor Smith's term.
On December 3, 1884, Mr. Sisk was married to Miss Sallie Fletcher, daughter of J. B. Fletcher, of Preston. Of the five children born to them, there are four living: Albert Fletcher, the eldest son, who is actively engaged with his father, proving a very able assist- ant in the handling of their extensive business; Edwin Kerr, Eliza- beth Eloise and Francis Douty Sisk are the younger children.
He is and always has been a staunch adherent of the Democratic party. In fraternal circles he is an active Mason, having been initiated into the order in 1886, and a Past Master since 1892. He has also for many years been a member of the Heptasophs. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Sisk has found his chief recreation in travel. He spent the year 1900 in Ireland, England and Continental Europe. In 1904 he took in California, where he spent several weeks. Again in 1910 he spent the summer with his wife in Europe, taking in Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, France and England. He frequently takes short trips, which he finds most beneficial from both a mental and physical standpoint.
The man who has done all these things and achieved all these results, has been through life afflicted with a weak body, and he says of this that he has often had to succumb temporarily to the drain upon his physical strength and he thinks that thus his success in life has been much less than it otherwise would have been. In this it is quite possible that he is in error. A strong man, conscious of his
294
ALBERT WESLEY SISK
strength, wastes time and lets opportunities go by, with the idea that he can make it up at most any time, while the weaker man knows that he must get the utmost results possible from his slender capital of physical strength; and sometimes the weaker man shows the better results.
Mr. Sisk suggests to the young men and women in our schools and colleges, that "while they are cultivating the mind, not to for- get the body, and keep it strong and healthy and vigorous, it being the source of strength to the mind in after years, and the temple of God always."
-
yours truly
WILLIAM JAMES PRICE
W ILLIAM JAMES PRICE, of Centerville, farmer, capi- talist and banker, comes of a family which has been iden- tified with the Eastern Shore of Maryland for two hun- dred years. Apparently the Price family was first founded in Cecil County, and then moved down the Eastern Shore to Kent, and has since spread out over that section of country.
The family was originally Welsh, the name being derived from the old Rees family of Wales. Ap Rees was the son of Rees. That became changed into ap Rice, and ap Rice was evoluted into Price.
Mr. Price was born near Centerville on October 12, 1831, son of Christopher and Mary (Knox) Price. His father was a mer- chant. The lad was reared in the country, near Centerville, and had an exceeding fondness for outdoor life. He was educated in the Centerville schools, and spent some little time in his youth as clerk in a mercantile house.
At the age of twenty-one he began farming on his own account, and has been farming ever since-a period of fifty-eight years. His farming operations were largely successful, he accumulated capital, and became the owner of a considerable number of farms, all of which he operated successfully, and five of which he has recently given away. In 1888 he left his home farm, which was a little way out of Centerville, and moved into the town, though he has continued to operate his farms up to the present.
In 1890 he was the chief factor in the organization of the Queen Anne's National Bank of Centerville, and became vice-president, serving in that capacity a time and then becoming president, which position he has held up to a recent period, when owing to the failure of his eyesight, he felt compelled to resign, much to the regret of his associates. That Mr. Price developed financial abilities of a high degree, is proven by his career in the banking business. He was fifty-seven years old when he left his farm to move totown. He was in his sixtieth year when he engaged in the banking business. Yet in these nineteen years the bank under his management has upon
.
pl 298
WILLIAM JAMES PRICE
its capital of $75,000 paid satisfactory dividends to its stockholders, and accumulated a surplus of $30,000. It is not given to many men to establish a new business at sixty and live to see it a brilliant success. Mr. Price has had that pleasure. Mr. Price yet retains the presi- dency of The Working Men's Building and Loan Association, which he has served with the same fidelity and ability that he did the bank.
Though identified with the Democratic party, he does not take an active interest, and has never sought office. He does, however, take a very keen interest in the betterment of his community, and in this way has acted as a County Roads Supervisor. Such was his public spirit that while holding this office he spent a lot of his own money to further the interests of the community.
That Mr. Price was a born farmer, is proven by two facts: First, that he made money out of farming, and secondly, that he gets his recreation now in looking after his farm. That he is also a born financier, is proven by his career as a bank officer.
In his reading he has found most pleasure and most advantage from historical works and from the press.
On March 11, 1856, he was married to Miss Eliza Price, daughter of William S. Price, a prominent citizen of Queen Anne's County, and who, though bearing the same name, was not a relative. Seven children have been born of this marriage, of whom six are living.
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.