USA > Maryland > Men of mark in Maryland biographies of leading men in the state, Volume I > Part 14
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Mr. Miller was married on June 2, 1869, to Miss Mary Louisa Bradley, daughter of James H. Bradley and Lucilla S. Bradley of Fredericksburg, Virginia, who died on December 2, 1892. They had five children, all of whom are living in 1907. On April 17, 1907, he was married to Miss Grace Reid Mackenzie, daughter of Mrs. William Mackenzie of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
FRANCIS OSCAR MORGAN
M ORGAN, FRANCIS OSCAR, merchant, was born near Morganza, St. Mary's county, on January 29, 1854. He is the son of William S. and Elizabeth B. Mattingly Mor- gan. His father was a farmer, whose earliest known ancestors in the United States came from Monmouthshire, England, with the early settlers of the State.
In boyhood, he lived the healthy happy life of a boy on his father's farm, sharing in the work as his strength permitted, and learning the duties of farm management. In early manhood he took the position of clerk in a country store.
The influence of a good mother was a strong incentive to the formation of a high moral character. Referring to his education he says: "I taught myself all I knew; I learned little at school, and attended only the public schools."
The impulses which inspired him to strive for success came through strong desire on his part to earn money that he might sup- port his mother and sisters, and later his wife and child.
The influences of private study in later years, and of contact with men in active life, have been powerful factors in his career.
Mr. Morgan is vice-president of the First National Bank of St. Mary's at Leonardtown. He has been president of the commis- sioners of the village of Leonardtown since 1902.
In politics he is a Democrat. In religious faith he is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. His favorite amusements have been riding and driving, and he has shown his fondness for sport by attending the races and by watching the popular game of baseball.
On April 29, 1896, Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Mary Henri- etta Abell. They have had one child.
To the young men of Maryland who wish for true success in life, Mr. Morgan would say: "Energy and strict attention to business, with honesty, will lead to success."
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DENNIS W. MULLAN
M ULLAN, DENNIS W., Commander United States navy, was born in Annapolis, Anne Arundel county, November 10, 1843. He is the son of John and Mary A. (Bright) Mullan. His father was a man characterized by urbanity, justice, and charity, who, for a number of years, held the position of post- master of the United States naval academy and city councilman of Annapolis, and who was filling those offices at the time of his death in December, 1863. The earliest known ancestor on the paternal side was John Hogan, who emigrated from Ireland to Marion county, Kentucky, in the latter part of the eighteenth century. James Bright, a maternal ancestor, came from England to St. Mary's county, Mary- land, toward the end of the seventeenth century.
Mrs. Mullan's influence was quite strong for good on every phase of her son's life. In youth his health was excellent. He was fond of study, reading with special avidity history and the lives of great men, particularly those who figured in the early history of America and aided in forming the government. After studying in the Annap- olis schools and spending the years from 1854 to 1856 in attendance on courses at St. John's college, he entered St. Mary's college, Ken- tucky, where he was graduated in 1860. In 1872 he received the honorary degree of A.M. from St. John's college. On leaving St. Mary's, the wish of relatives determined his choice of a profession, in which the records and lives of our naval officers gave him the first strong impulse to strive for success. He was appointed midshipman from Kentucky, September, 1860. Under the pressure of war, his class was graduated from the naval academy in 1S63. He was appointed ensign October 1, 1863, and was attached to the steam sloop Monongahela, West Gulf blockading squadron, under Admiral Farragut, from 1863 to 1865. He served in attacks on various batteries on the coast of Texas, and at the battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864. He also participated in both attacks upon Fort Morgan, being present at its surrender, and afterward served on the steamer Malvern, North Atlantic station, in 1865. After the
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war he served on the Mohongo in the Pacific station, 1865-67, and on the De Soto in the North Atlantic station, 1867-68. He was commissioned lieutenant February 21, 1867, and was commissioned a lieutenant-commander, March 12, 1868. While attached to the De Soto he was selected by Commodore S. Boggs to command the steamer Glasgow, then at the Pensacola navy yard, to cooperate with him in suppressing an expedition against Mexico, then fitting out in New Orleans. From 1868 to 1871, he served on the Monocacy on the Asiatic station, and was present at the two attacks upon the batteries on the river Salee, in Korea, on June 1 and 10, 1871. In 1872-73, he was attached to the receiving ship Independence at the navy yard, Mare Island, California, then to the Saco on the Asiatic station from 1873 to 1876, when he was assigned to navigation duty at Norfolk navy yard, 1877-78. Lieutenant-Commander Mullan was executive officer of the Adams in the Pacific from 1879-81, and while attached to the Adams he was detailed to accompany the staff of General Baquedano, the Chilean commander-in-chief, in all his operations against Lima, Peru. He was present at all the engagements at Chorrillos, Miraflores, and other places near Lima, and made a report of these operations to the navy department. In 1895 he was presented with a medal from the Chilian Government, as a memento of having been a participant in the engagements named. By special act of congress he was allowed to accept this honor. He was promoted to commander, July, 1882, and was in command of the seven iron-clad vessels at City Point, James River, from 1884-87. On October 1, 1887, he was ordered to command the U. S. S. Nipsic and went via the straits of Magellan to the Pacific station. At Punta Arenas in these straits, he rendered assistance to one John Davidson, an Amer- ican sea captain, who had been imprisoned by the Chilean authorities at that place. For this service Commander Mullan received the thanks of both the navy and state departments at Washington. He was in command of the Nipsic at Samoa, during the troublous times with the Germans there, and gave protection to the American corre- spondent, John C. Klein, of the San Francisco "Examiner" and the New York "World," whom the Germans wished to be sent on board the German man-of-war, Adler, their flagship, there to be tried by court martial for alleged offenses. He was in command of the Nipsic during the great Samoan hurricane of March 16, 1889, and this vessel was the only American ship saved. The city council of Annap-
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olis voted him thanks for his conduct at the Samoan Islands; and the legislature of Maryland, at its session of 1890, presented him with a gold chronometer watch, in appreciation of his conduct during the political complications and the great hurricane at those islands. Commander Mullan, on his return from the Pacific, was on leave of absence for some months, after which he was ordered to duty as light- house inspector of the eighth light house district, with headquarters at New Orleans, 1890-94. In 1894-96, he was in command of the two vessels Mohican and Marion, on the Pacific station. In 1896 and 1897 he was in command of the navy yard and station at Pensa- cola, Florida, and was retired in July, 1901, under the act of congress allowing an officer of the navy to retire after forty years of service. Since his retirement he has resided in Annapolis.
On July 25, 1876, he was married to Ada R. Pettit, of San Fran- cisco, California, by whom he has two sons, both of whom are living. Commander Mullan is a Democrat and a Catholic. For recreation he turns to hunting, music, study and reading. He takes great interest in athletics. Life has taught him to "advise diligent study and investigation. The study of history I would encourage as well as the study of lives of prominent men. The study of our own con- stitution is of prime importance, and is too often neglected in public schools. English and Roman histories should be placed in the hands of the young."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN NEWCOMER
B ALTIMORE'S commercial prominence has been gained by the concentration of energy upon a few industries, in which all rival cities have been outdistanced, rather than through any endeavor to compete with other centers for general trade in all commodities and products. Among the architects of the city's impor- tance as a grain center were the Newcomers, including among other members of the family the late B. F. Newcomer, who acquired through his commercial enterprises a fortune which enabled him in later years to become one of the most influential capitalists of the South. Benja- min Franklin Newcomer was born at Beaver Creek, Washington county, on April 28, 1827, the son of John and Catherine (New- comer) Newcomer. His parents were first cousins, being grandchil- dren of Wolfgang Newcomer, who came from Switzerland to Phila- delphia about 1720. John Newcomer was an influential man in Washington county, owning large estates and conducting a flour mill near his home at Beaver Creek. He founded the flour and grain com- mission firm of Newcomer & Stonebraker in Baltimore. Washington county chose him as its sheriff, county commissioner, state senator, and a member of the convention which framed the State Constitution of 1851.
B. F. Newcomer, who was known to his friends as Frank, spent a life which has been characterized as valuable as an example to every young man "in its very simplicity and unwavering devotion to its one ideal of duty, crowned as it was with richly deserved success." His mother was a woman of a "beautiful Christian character, combined with a gentle firmness and strong, practical, common sense," and to her training, example, and love, Mr. Newcomer attributed much of the development of his own character and those qualities which fitted him for his success in life The Newcomers lived in Hagerstown from 1829 to 1834 and then resumed their residence at Beaver Creek where the son was educated at the county school. He early acquired the habit of hard work and displayed a firm determination to excel. After school hours he labored on the farm, or looked after the mill.
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When his father was sheriff, he frequently traveled over the county, summoning juries or witnesses. He was sworn in as a deputy sheriff, at the early age of ten years. In 1837 the family again removed to Hagerstown; and in 1840 young Newcomer entered the Hagerstown Academy where he remained for a year, intending to be a civil engi- neer. In March, 1841, however, when the family returned to Beaver Creek for a second time, the son chose to go out on the farm rather than to remain at the academy. A few months afterward John Newcomer wished to send someone to Baltimore to spend a few months looking after his business interests there, and accepted the son's offer of his services. This step fixed B. F. Newcomer's residence in Baltimore and gave him much coveted mercantile opportunities. He took hold of the flour and grain business with great energy, and in a few years built up so large a business that the house of Newcomer & Stone- braker did about one-tenth of the flour business of the city. He purchased his father's interest in the firm, giving notes for the value of that interest and agreeing to pay, in addition, the sum of one thou- sand dollars a year for the use of his name, until he reached the age of twenty-one. On November 14, 1848, Mr. Newcomer married Amelia Louisa Ehlen, daughter of John H. Ehien of Baltimore, by whom he had three daughters and one son, Waldo Newcomer.
Mrs. Newcomer died on October 20, 1881. On February 9, 1887, Mr. Newcomer married Mrs. Sidonia Kemp, widow of Morris J. Kemp and daughter of Charles Ayres. The second Mrs. Newcomer died on February 7, 1SOS.
Realizing while still a young man that his education was incom- plete, Mr. Newcomer joined the Mercantile Library, and became a regular reader there, attending its course of lectures upon natural philosophy, astronomy, and chemistry. Later he became a director of the library. In 1854, at the age of twenty-seven, he was elected a director of the Union Bank-afterwards known as the National Union Bank of Maryland-being the youngest member of the Board.
The firm of Newcomer & Stonebraker was dissolved in 1862 and Mr. Newcomer continued the business alone, trading as Newcomer & Co. The flour business was discontinued in 1896, but the firm continued in existence, junior partners having been admitted from time to time and the firm keeping Mr. Newcomer's accounts and funds for financiering his railroad interests. In 1853, Mr. New- comer became a member of the first Board of Directors of the Corn
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and Flour Exchange; and in 1879 he was a member of a committee which recommended the purchase of the present site and the erection of the building destroyed in the great fire of 1904.
For many years Mr. Newcomer was in close touch with the interests of the Pennsylvania Railroad System, though never an official of that road. In 1861, he was elected director of the Northern Central Railway Company and was made chairman of its finance committee, which position he held continuously-except for a period of voluntary retirement from the Board during the four years from from 1874 to 1878-until his death. He conducted the negotiations for most of the real estate purchased by that company in Baltimore during the period of his directorship. He was also a director of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company, and a member of its finance committee from 1882 until his death; and for many years a director of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Com- pany. In 1895 he succeeded to the presidency of the latter company. Mr. Newcomer was president of the Union Railroad Company from 1882 until his death, and in this capacity persistently declined to accept any salary, but had an annual dinner given to the stock- holders and other friends at the expense of the road, in lieu of a salary to himself. The resolutions adopted by these companies in memory of him asserted that "His sound judgment, ripe experience and quick perception rendered him a most valuable and trusted counsellor." "Mr. Newcomer added to his well known financial acumen, com- bined with broad, fair minded, judicial temperment, a most charming personality that impressed all with whom he was brought into business relationship."
Mr. Newcomer's great railroad achievement, however, was connected with the building up of the Atlantic Coast Line System. After the close of the Civil War, when Southern Railroad property was in a deplorable condition, a meeting of a number of Baltimoreans was held, on September 14, 1868, to consider the possibility of rehabil- itating the Wilmington and Weldon and the Wilmington and Man- chester Railroads. It was resolved to form a syndicate to purchase these railroads, on condition that Mr. Newcomer would act as trustee and conduct the negotiations. Mr. William T. Walters became co- trustee. The work was taken up and, on April 26, 1870, a meeting of the syndicate authorized the reorganization of the railroads under new charters and the Southern Railway Security Company was formed.
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The fruits of the enterprise were not realized as had been hoped and, in 1878, it was necessary to wind up the company's affairs and pay its debts.
Not discouraged by the syndicate's lack of success, Messrs. Newcomer and Walters formed another syndicate and, by close per- sonal attention and hard work, were able to commence the regular payment of dividends in 18S2. To simplify the complicated relations existing among the various railroad properties, a proprietary com- pany to own and hold the securities of these companies was planned and, in April, 1891, the American Improvement and Construction Company was organized under the authority of a resolution of the General Assembly of Connecticut. This company's name was after- wards changed to the Atlantic Coast Line Company. In July, 1898, the railroads of the Atlantic Coast Line in the State of South Carolina were consolidated under the name of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of South Carolina and, in November, 1898, those in Virginia were consolidated as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of Virginia. In May, 1900, the consolidation of all the properties was completed, under the name of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Com- pany, its main lines extending from Richmond and Norfolk to Charles- ton. Mr. Newcomer was president of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad Company from December, 1SSS, to February 12, 1890; vice-president and treasurer of the Atlantic Coast Line Company, and director of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and subsidiary companies. Mr. Newcomer was also a director of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company and of the Plant Investment Company for many years. His relations with William T. Walters have already been referred to. They were personal friends, served together as City Finance Commissioners from 1S67 to 1869, and were closely associated in railroad projects in the South and other enterprises until Mr. Walters' death in 1894. Through this friendship for Mr. Walters, Mr. Newcomer became a personal friend of William H. Rhinehart, the sculptor, and after his death Messrs. Newcomer and Walters were the executors of Rhinehart's estate.
In 1864, Mr. Newcomer became one of the incorporators of the Safe Deposit Company of Baltimore. Later it appeared that there was a field for an incorporated company which should act as trustee or executor, and an amendment to the company's charter permitting it to accept trusts of estates was granted by the General Assembly in 1868.
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In July of that year, Mr. Newcomer was elected president of the com- pany and, under his direction, the trust department became so impor- tant that, in 1876, the name of the corporation was changed to the Safe Deposit and Trust Company of Baltimore. Mr. Newcomer was president of this company for thirty-three years. He did not hold a controlling interest in the stock and received no salary for the first eleven years of his presidency. After his death his fellow mem- bers of the Board of Directors said that "it was as President of this company that he was most appreciated in this community, and its history is the record of the most active part of hislong, useful and busy life; its growth and its standing is the most enduring monument to his wisdom and intelligence, to his integrity and industry, and to the loyalty with which he guarded every interest confided to his care." Although he avoided directorates as far as possible, he served on nu- merous boards, but never allowed his name to be connected with any- thing to which he could not give his attention. Among such positions were a directorship in the Savings Bank of Baltimore and a trustee- ship of the Johns Hopkins University, in which latter position he served from April 2, 1894, until his death. His associates in the Board put on record their belief that "he will be remembered as a man devoted to business, who found the time and showed the dis- position to advance the education and the charities of the community by his gifts, by his sympathies, by his suggestions, and by his influence."
Mr. Newcomer's natural sympathy for those who were afflicted was made stronger in the case of the blind by the fact that he had a brother and a sister without sight, and he gave hearty encouragement to Mr. David Loughery, a blind man, who proposed that a school for the blind be established in Baltimore. Together they worked to arouse popular interest and, as a result of their efforts, the General Assembly incorporated the Maryland School for the Blind in 1853. Mr. Newcomer was secretary of the Board at its organization, became its treasurer in 1864, and its president in 1SS1. He continued in the latter position, until his death, when he had been a member of the Board for forty-eight years. In 1894, he gave $20,000 towards the erection of an additional building for the school and he was always keenly interested in its welfare. He was a generous man, who dis- criminated closely in his charity and regarded his wealth as a most important trust, which it was his duty to administer as wisely as possible. To the Hospital for Consumptives he gave $20,000 and to
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the Washington County Home for Orphans and Friendless Children he gave $10,000; but his greatest gift was one of $50,000 to build a library in Hagerstown for the benefit of all portions of his native county, which library, with characteristic modesty. he insisted should not be named after him. It was incorporated as the Washing- ton County Free Library in 1900, and has been rendering a most useful service to the people of the county since its opening in 1901. Mr. Newcomer was an earnest Christian, and was a member of the Christian or Campbellite Church, though he usually attended the Lutheran church, of which his first wife was a member. In politics he was a Democrat.
Mr. Newcomer possessed a vigorous constitution, and his regular and temperate manner of life kept him free from illness and enabled him to accomplish a great amount of work. Toward the close of his life his eyesight failed him in great measure, but his general health continued good until March 29, 1901, when he was suddenly stricken with paralysis. He died the following day in his seventy-fourth year.
WALDO NEWCOMER
N EWCOMER, WALDO, was born in Baltimore, September 14, 1867, the son of Benjamin Franklin and Amelia Louisa (Ehlen) Newcomer. His father, who was long among the foremost citizens of Baltimore, commenced his business life as a flour and grain commission merchant. He afterwards became president of the Safe Deposit and Trust Company, and a railroad financier of great ability. His courage and determination did much to build up the commerce of Baltimore and to add to her transportation facilities. His son has paid a deserved tribute to the father to whom he owes so much, in a memorial volume.
The Newcomers trace their ancestry in the United States to Henry Newcomer (Heinrich Neukommer) who emigrated from Switz- erland ahout 1724 and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; John H. Ehlen and his wife, the maternal grandparents of Waldo Newcomer, came from Hesse Darmstadt in the early part of the nine- teenth century.
Waldo Newcomer was a delicate child, but his health improved steadily after his fifteenth year. He devoted much of his time during youth to reading and study at his home, where the influence on him of both his parents was strong and most helpful. The summer months were spent in the country, but during the winter he lived in the city. He received his primary schooling at the Friend's Acad- emy and at Carey's School. Later he went to St. Paul's Preparatory school at Concord, New Hampshire; and after completing his studies there, he matriculated at Johns Hopkins University. At Johns Hopkins Mr. Newcomer pursued the academic course holding a com- petitive scholarship for two years and received his Bachelor's degree in 1889. He chose, however, to follow: a business career, and in September, 1889, he entered the employ of the Baltimore Storage and Lighterage Company as a clerk in the office.
This company subsequently became the Atlantic Transport Company; but the connection formed by Mr. Newcomer with it in 1889 continued unbroken until 1901. In 1894 he was appointed
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secretary of the corporation, a position which he filled until 1901. In that year Mr. Newcomer accepted the treasurership of the Atlantic Coast Line Company; and in 1903 he was elected second vice-presi- dent of that company. In 1906 he entered the list of Baltimore bankers, being chosen president of the National Exchange Bank of Baltimore. He is also a director of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, the Safe Deposit and Trust Company, the Savings Bank of Baltimore, the Terminal Warehouse Company and the Board of Trade. In charitable work and enterprises for the public good Mr. Newcomer is closely identified with the Federated Charities, and is treasurer of the Maryland School for the Blind, and of the Mercantile Library.
On the 7th of October, 1897, Mr. Newcomer married Miss Mar- garet Vanderpoel, of Kinderhook, New York. They have had three children. He printed privately, in 1902, a memorial of his father, Benjamin Franklin Newcomer.
Mr. Newcomer is a member of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, of the Baltimore Geographical Society, the American Archaeological Society, and the Maryland, Maryland Country, Baltimore Country, Merchants, Baltimore Yacht, Elk Ridge Fox Hunting, Baltimore Athletic, and Johns Hopkins Clubs.
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