USA > Maryland > Men of mark in Maryland Johnson's makers of America series biographies of leading men of the state, Volume III > Part 9
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"And this road, that twelve years ago had no traffic, last year saw 152 sailings from its piers against 150 regular sailings clearing from other piers in the transatlantic service.
"The development has hurt no one. The company's merchandise commerce which amounted last year to 1,744,420 tons, was diverted from no other carrier. It is an example of new blood and broad ideas creating new commerce.
"It is the fruition of a work that began twelve years ago from nothing, and, without affecting injuriously in any way the traffic of the great trunk lines of the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio, resulted last year in this comparatively small road doing 55 per cent of the export and import business of this port.
"To close readers of the "North American" this chapter of rail- road history is proof of every contention we have made concerning the physical advantages of this city over every other port on our Atlantic seaboard. Those who have not followed our repeated arguments in the past we urge earnestly to inform themselves con- cerning what this one quiet, unobtrusive railroad official has done.
"But to those influences which have permitted this river to shoal, these docks to decay and the impression become prevalent in this city and to be distributed broadcast throughout the country that Philadelphia is not the most logical and economical depot for Atlantic shipments, we say that the work of Charles E. Henderson in Philadelphia, which he ends voluntarily to take up a life of well-
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earned leisure, constitutes an indictment of each and every one guilty of such criminal neglect of this city and its commerce."
In 1908, Mr. Henderson felt that he had earned his rest. Country-born and bred, he had retained always his love for the country, and on that account, and also because he thought it would be a means of health and happiness for himself and family, he had purchased in 1893 the beautiful country home of the late Admiral Buchanan (commander of the Merrimac in its famous engage- ment with the Monitor in Hampton Roads during the Civil War) situated on the Miles River in Talbot County, Maryland, and one of the best known and most attractive places on the Eastern Shore. As stated, he felt that he had earned his rest, and he yearned for the delights of this pleasant home. So, in 1908, he resigned these great places and became a permanent resident of the Eastern Shore. He has identified himself with the people of that section, and is a member of the board of the Agricultural Society of the Eastern Shore. A student through life of the classics, and also partial to history, he holds membership in the Pennsylvania and Maryland Historical Societies. His political affiliation has always been with the Demo- cratic party. He finds much delightful recreation in these latter years in operating his farm and in aquatic sports. He attends the Episcopal Church.
On October 22, 1879, Mr. Henderson was married in Kansas City, to Miss Ida M. Lynn, daughter of William Lynn, for a long time treasurer of Muskingum County, Ohio. Three children have been born to them. Of these, two are living; Charles English Henderson, Jr., born in Indianapolis November 23, 1888; William Lynn Hen- derson, born in Philadelphia, December 8, 1894.
Mr. Henderson is having prepared an ancestral chart and biog- raphy of each known ancestor of his family. This little book he pro- poses to dedicate to his boys,-and perhaps no better insight can be obtained into his character than the dedicatory page dictated by him and here given in his own words:
"To MY BOYS, CHARLES ENGLISH HENDERSON, JR., AND WILLIAM LYNN HENDERSON, with the hope that they may prove worthy descendants of their and my ancestors as shown herein, this little book is dedicated.
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CHARLES ENGLISH HENDERSON
When temptation comes, as come it does to all in the fierce struggle of life, may they always remember the motto of their family name: "Sola Virtus Nobilitat," and ever keep in mind that a hand pointing to a star, with the words beneath, "Ad Astra per Aspera" is engraven on the family crest.
May the records of their lives be such that when the call comes, they may, with no blot on their escutcheons, but with clean hands and pure hearts be ready to answer the summons.
If the facts gathered herein, showing, that so far as known, none of those from whom they are descended have proven false to a trust, or led ignoble or un- worthy lives, shall aid them in keeping a higher and better standard for their own, the time and labor given to its preparation will not have been expended in vain by its compiler,
C. E. HENDERSON."
As mentioned in an earlier paragraph, Mr. Henderson is of mixed Scotch and English descent, and his ancestral lines contain so many of the strong names in Maryland and Virginia, that it is of interest to mention a few of these. Richard Henderson came from Blantyre Scotland, in 1756; settled at Bladensburg Maryland; was the purchaser and joint owner of the Antietam Iron Works until his death in 1802.
John Brice came from Bucks County, England about 1700. He was one of the signers of the petition for the charter for the town of Annapolis in 1708, and was ancestor of the numerous Brice family, of the Hammonds, and other prominent families in Maryland.
James Frisby came from London, England, to Virginia in 1651; moved to Maryland in 1665; settled on the Sassafras River in Kent and Cecil Counties. He was a member of the Governor's Council, and a large land holder.
Augustine Herman came from Holland as an officer of the Dutch West India Company in 1633; settled at New Amsterdam (now New York), and moved to Maryland about 1665, and became proprietor of the famous "Bohemia Manor" in Cecil County, Mary- land and in Delaware. Another tradition says that Augustine Her- man came from Bohemia; was a distinguished surveyor, and was granted twenty-two thousand acres of land by the Colony of Mary- land in payment of his service as surveyor, and that he named this place "Bohemia Manor" in honor of his native country. He was a most accomplished man.
Matthias Vanderheyden, one of the first Naval Officers of the Chesapeake, came to Maryland from New Amsterdam about 1680. He settled on a part of Bohemia Manor; was ancestor of many of
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the Bordleys, Jennings, Randolphs, Dulaneys and other noted families of Maryland and Virginia.
Richard Johns of the Cliffs of Calvert, came from Bristol, England, in 1670. He was a prominent Quaker; was an ancestor of · Johns Hopkins; of Chancellor Johns of Delaware; of Bishop Johns of Virginia, and other notable men.
Matthew Howard was one of the five Howard brothers who settled on the Severn River and that vicinity about 1665. He came from Maryland to Virginia, and probably from Norfolk County, England, to Virginia.
Colonel Ninian Beall came from Scotland about 1658; settled on the Patuxent River near Upper Marlborough and was a noted Indian fighter.
Running over these names, all of which appear in Mr. Hender- son's ancestral line, is almost like calling the roll of the great families of Maryland.
A man with the wide and successful business experience of Mr. Henderson,-for the record already given shows it to have been wide, and his prudence in management made it successful, for he was wise enough never to dabble in outside interests beyond investing his savings in real estate and in good investment securities, (he is a large owner of valuable property in the city of Duluth which he purchased when that was an infant town, and which has had an immense increase in value), naturally has decided convictions as to how the young man starting in life should conduct himself with a view to winning the largest possible measure of success; and this sketch can be concluded in no better manner than to give these opinions in his own words, which are clear cut, pointed and practical:
"Never to expect to get something for nothing, but to render full value for what you receive or for which you are paid. If an employee (as most men are in some form) to endeavor to do the work better than the person whom you succeed, and to learn to do the work of the next higher position as well or better than the one occupying that position so that when vacancies occur or opportunity for advancement comes there will be no question about your fitness to occupy the higher position. To be satisfied to give in value more than you are paid, rather than to be paid more than you are worth.
"To be loyal, honest and efficient and faithful to any trust, and if possible to be beyond suspicion of anything that is false or un- worthy."
WALTER ROBEY TOWNSEND
W ALTER R. TOWNSEND, of Baltimore, was born in Balti- more County on July 20, 1857, son of Wilson and Mary L. (Robey) Townsend.
Mr. Townsend's family is an old one as families go in America, but a much older one in Great Britain, where its authentic history goes back for many centuries. In great Britain the name seems to be indifferently spelled Townsend or Townshend. The oldest family appears to be the Townshends of Raynham, and the present head of the family in Great Britain is the Marquess Townshend. Branches of the family have been settled in Scotland and Ireland for many generations. The Maryland branch was founded on the Eastern Shore shortly after the first settlement of the colony. As far back as 1683, we find John Townsend one of the legatees of Henry Townsend. Perry Townsend, great grandfather of Walter R. Townsend, was born in Talbot County, and was the first of the family to settle in Baltimore County. His son, Mathias B. Townsend, was born in Talbot County in 1802. He was one of the best known sportsmen of his time, and the Porter's Bar Ducking Shore, which was his property is still held by a member of the family. Wilson Townsend, son of Mathias, was a large land owner in Baltimore County, and for forty years was identified with the Pennsylvania Railroad. He was a capable man, in addition to his farming being connected with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad for sometime as a local agent, then as contractor, later as a confidential agent. His connection with that road extended over thirty-seven years, that road being a part of the system of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He served as a justice of the peace, and as a school commissioner of Baltimore County. He took a keen interest in public affairs, and was influential in the counsels of the Democratic party. In 1877 he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates by a majority of over nineteen hundred. During his entire life he was a strong advocate of the temperance cause. He married Miss Mary L. Robey, of Prince George County, Maryland, daughter of Walter W. and Elizabeth (Haynes) Robey.
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WALTER ROBEY TOWNSEND
Walter R. Townsend was reared in the country. After attend- ing the county schools and the Baltimore public schools, he com- pleted his education at the Baltimore City College. He then entered the law office of Linthicum and Alexander, prominent lawyers, and after two years of study, was admitted to the bar in 1881.
He began practice in that year, and that he promptly made reputation is shown by the fact that in 1886, five years later he was elected to the House of Delegates of Maryland. At the next term of that body he was chosen reading clerk of the House, and served in that capacity four terms. He was then elected reading clerk of the Senate, and served in that capacity five terms, making a total con- nection of over twenty years with the General Assembly. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, and is recognized as an influential man. Devoting himself to the duties of his party, pursu- ing no object distinct from the public good, he is accustomed to con- template at a distance critical situations in which the party might be placed.
Mr. Townsend is affiliated with a number of fraternal societies, and a number of social clubs. His church membership is with the Protestant Episcopal church. He is a profound believer in the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and has never wavered in his allegiance to that organization during the long years in which it has been a minority party in the nation. The present outlook, therefore, for the rehabilitation of the historic old party under which the nation made such phenomenal growth in the first half of the last century, is to him a matter of profound satisfaction. He is a sound lawyer and a useful citizen, and is in his day the same good worker for the commonwealth that his ancestors have been in Maryland for two hundred and fifty years.
On May 20, 1886, he was married to Miss Cora Farmer, a native of Virginia, daughter of Major M. Farmer. Mr. Townsend has no children. His mother and sister, Lizzie T. Douglas, wife of J. Mal- colm Douglas, civil engineer, and their son, Malcolm T. Douglas, reside on the old home place, Sunny Side.
WILLIAM KENNEDY CROMWELL
T HE manufacture of cotton duck has long been one of the leading industries of Baltimore. Many of the armies of Europe, and both the Russian and Japanese armies in the Manchurian campaign, were sheltered in tents made in Baltimore. With the manufacture of cotton duck, from the earliest days of the industry, the Cromwells were closely identified. Their business sagacity and enterprise did much to build up the great industry. Richard Cromwell was for a long time president of the Mount Vernon Cotton Duck Company, and later of the Mount Vernon-Woodberry Cotton Duck Co.
His eldest son, William Kennedy Cromwell, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, on the 18th day of April, 1862. His mother was Mary Josephine (Kennedy) Cromwell. Mary Kennedy Cromwell was a daughter of William Kennedy, one of the famous company of sea captains who carried Baltimore commerce and the reputation of the Baltimore clipper ships into every corner of the world seventy- five years ago. At the age of twenty-one, Capt. Kennedy was the owner of his own vessel, sailing for various foreign ports. He married Mary Ann Jenkins, daughter of William Jenkins of the well known Baltimore family of that name, whose homestead was on the old York Road, just north of Boundary Avenue, and consisted of a large tract of land which was subsequently divided among his children. William Jenkins was in the tanning business. It was very natural that the sea-captain should have at the gate of "Oak Hill," his resi- dence, an old anchor, which has since been transferred to the church lot of St. Ann's Church, built by Capt. Kennedy and named in honor of his wife Ann.
In 1845 when the Mount Vernon Cotton Duck Company was founded William Kennedy, Benjamin DeFord, Francis White and Thomas Whitridge, were among the earliest supporters of the Cotton Duck manufacturing interest, and Capt. Kennedy, by reason of his business abilities, became the leading spirit in the movement.
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Very truly yours.
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WILLIAM KENNEDY CROMWELL
The Cromwell family furnished to England in the person of Oliver Cromwell a man whom the best historians now concede to have divided with Alfred the Great the honor of being the two greatest men England has ever produced. In the disturbed time of the revolution in England when Cromwell was fighting the royalists, several members of the Cromwell family migrated to the new country. We know that John Cromwell came to New York in 1650, and in the next twenty-five years it is said that several other members of the family came over the water, due to their unpopularity in England after Charles II regained the throne. The Maryland branch owned the family estate in Anne Arundel County just south of "Long Bridge," and known under the name of "Belle Grove." This Long Bridge was built by Mr. Richard Cromwell, grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, and was owned and operated by him until it was bought by the city of Baltimore about twenty years ago.
Young Cromwell's early years were spent in the country, his home being in Baltimore County, and he grew up with a love for country life, and all the manly sports and amusements of the country. including hunting. His father gave him the advantage of a fine education. He was sent as a young boy to Loyola College in Balti- more, and to the Pen Lucy private school. Of this school Richard Malcolm Johnston, the distinguished writer and man of letters, was head master. Having thoroughly prepared himself for college, Mr. Cromwell entered Johns Hopkins University, and was graduated therefrom with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1884. His desire was to become a lawyer and accordingly he entered as a student at Harvard Law School, and remained there two sessions. But before graduating he was compelled by the state of his health to leave, returning home in 1886. The following year, much to his own regret, he abandoned the idea of practicing law, and in deference to the wishes of his father he entered upon a business career in the Mount Vernon Cotton Duck Mills. His family was largely interested in the mills, his father being president of the company, and it seemed de- sirable that he should learn the business. His entry into the Mount Vernon Mill was the beginning of a successful career in a great indus- try. He became vice-president and general manager of the Mount Vernon Company, and vice-president of the Mount Vernon-Wood- bury Cotton Duck Company. Later on, after the formation of the Consolidated Cotton Duck Company-that is, in 1896,-Mr. William
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K. Cromwell acquired control of the Gandy Belting Company manu- facturing cotton duck belting for the transmission of power and other purposes. The connection of the Cromwells with the Gandy Belting Company is an illustration of their business capacity. Maurice Gandy of England, the founder of the business, was at one time the Liverpool agent for the Mt. Vernon Cotton Duck Company. He conceived the idea of making belting out of a modified form of sail cloth which he had been for years selling to the ship owners for sails. He exploited a company for the purpose of carrying out his idea in England, and duplicated that company in America in 1880, locating in Baltimore as the place for manufacturing his belting. In 1886 the company went into the hands of a receiver, and Mr. Richard Cromwell was appointed receiver. Mr. Cromwell as receiver con- ducted the business so successfully that by 1896 he had paid all of its debts with interest, and when in that year it was reorganized, Mr. William K. Cromwell was elected its president; and its career has since been one of unbroken prosperity.
In the prosecution of the manufacturing enterprises with which he was connected. Mr. Cromwell was brought face to face with the protective tariff. He and his family have always been Democrats; but he became convinced that American manufacturers should be protected to a certain extent from outside or foreign competition by means of the tariff tax. The Democratic party was opposed to this policy, and so he left that party and joined the Republican, the party of protection and protective tariff.
The manufacturing business in which Mr. Cromwell is engaged, while sufficiently absorbing and exacting, has never entirely occupied the time and energies of this active and diligent man of affairs. For fifteen years he has been a member of the board of directors of the Merchants and Miners Transportation Company, which operates lines of steamships along the Atlantic Coast from Boston to Florida. This company has contributed in no small degree to the upbuilding of Baltimore and the importance of its port.
Other companies in which Mr. Cromwell is a director, are the Baltimore Mutual Fire Insurance Company; The Patapsco Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and the Maryland Mutual Fire Insurance Company,-all members of the New England Factory Association.
But Mr. Crorawell does not limit his activities to business and the acquisition of wealth. He is a public-spirited citizen, and is
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WILLIAM KENNEDY CROMWELL
always ready to contribute his share to social and other obligations. He is a member of the Catholic Church. For fifteen years he has. been one of the trustees of St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. This is a large and well-conducted reformatory in charge of the Catholic Church. The work of this great school is of especial interest to Mr. Cromwell, for he is a strong advocate of education, and believes that in connection with religious training, it is the best agency for uplifting the people. In his own experience he has found that his study of the law (although he never completed the course nor en- gaged in the practice of the profession,) and the knowledge of the law that he gained at Harvard, have been of enduring advantage to him.
In social as in business life Mr. Cromwell is prominent. He is a member of some of the leading clubs; namely, the Maryland, the Merchants, and the Baltimore Country Club, and also of the Bache- lor's Cotillion.
On the 28th of November, 1894 Mr. Cromwell married Miss Sallie B. S. Franklin, daughter of Col. W. S. Franklin, of Baltimore. To this marraige have been born four children, all of whom are living.
CHARLES JAMES ORRICK
C HARLES JAMES ORRICK, merchant of Cumberland, at the head of the oldest and largest wholesale grocery house in that city, was born in Honeywood, Berkley County, Virginia, on November 8, 1850; son of James Campbell and Susan (Pendleton) Orrick. Mr. Orrick's father was an able merchant, largely interested in the grain business and in flour milling. He was a man of strong and positive character.
The Orrick family is of Scotch descent, long known in that country, where the name is spelled Orrock, and has given name to a parish in Scotland. The ancient coat of arms borne by the family in Scotland is thus described by Burke, the great English authority: Sa. on a chev. betw. three mullets ar. as many chessrooks of the first. Crest-A falcon perched ppr. Motto, Solus Christus mea rupes.
This branch of the family first settled in Eastern Maryland; thence to Virginia. Mr. Orrick'smother was a member of the Pendel- ton family of Virginia, prominent for many generations in that State, and of English descent. In the present generation the mem- bers of the Orrick family appear to have inherited a full measure of the Scotch stability of character, and a brother of the subject of this sketch who has recently died, the Reverend W. P. Orrick, D.D., was an eminent minister of the Episcopal Church, being rector of Christ Cathedral at Reading, Pennsylvania at the time of his death.
When Mr. Orrick was a small boy his father moved to Cumber- land, and practically his entire life has been spent in that city. His father's means enabled him to give the boy the best educational advantages. He was trained in the private schools at Cumberland; in the Allegany County Academy; in a classical school at Charles- town, West Virginia; and concluded his school career by taking special courses in chemistry, mineralogy and metallurgy at Lehigh University. While a student at Lehigh, he was assistant to Doctor Chandler, head of the school of chemistry, and upon graduation was offered the position of assistant professor of Chemistry, for which he had a natural adaptation; but constrained by a sense of duty, his father's
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health at that time being precarious, he returned to Cumberland and took up a business life as a junior partner in the wholesale grain business then being conducted by the father, and which had been established in 1863. This business in its inception was a wholesale grain business with a flour-milling attachment. Under the manage- ment of Mr. J. C. Orrick, it had been successful; but the son saw what he thought was a wider opportunity. In 1882, he purchased his father's interest in the grain business, and added to it a wholesale grocery business,-later on dropping the grain and milling business entirely. The firm of J. C. Orrick and Son then established was the first exclusive wholesale grocery house between Baltimore and the Ohio River. In 1887 the business was incorporated under the present style of J. C. Orrick and Son Company, with Mr. Charles James Orrick as president. There has never been a break in the growth or the prosperity of this business. First the father, and now the son have shown the possession of eminent business ability, and they have built up a truly colossal business when the size of the city is considered. The capital stock of the company is $150,000; their plant covers a lot 100 by 200 feet, with a branch at Piedmont and Grafton, West Virginia. Great shipments of goods go out day after day throughout the territory covered by them in Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. They keep eight traveling men employed and it requires sixty employees in the home establish- ment to carry forward the business. While carrying a general whole- sale grocery stock like that of other establishments of its kind, this company makes a specialty of certain brands of goods upon which they put their own name or some trade mark of their own and the Falcon Brand of groceries is widely known throughout that section. Their "Old Virginia" hams and breakfast bacon have a wide repu- tation. Himself a man of the first order of ability, Mr. Orrick has attracted to him other men of ability with the result that the busi- ness steadily grows year by year.
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