USA > Maryland > Cecil County > Portrait and biographical record of Harford and Cecil counties, Maryland. Containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties. Together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 35
USA > Maryland > Harford County > Portrait and biographical record of Harford and Cecil counties, Maryland. Containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties. Together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 35
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G EORGE O. GAREY. A successful news- paper is generally representative of the people of the place in which it is located, and its value to a community is beyond estimate. Prominent among the papers of Cecil County is The Star, published by Mr. Garcy at North East. In every respect it is a progressive paper, and exerts a potent influence in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the people of the county. Its zealous advocacy of local interests has made it popular with the citizens of North East, whose advancement it has materially aided. Its success is due to the energy of its founder, who is its present editor and publisher, and who is fitted to make a success of the venture, both by natural inclinations and by years of experience.
The Garey family is well known in Talbot County, this state. The subject of this sketch was born in Easton, Talbot County, September 8, 1855, the eldest of a family of nine children, of whom seven are living, namely: George O .; Mil- ton, who is in the newspaper business in Jersey City, N. J .; Alfred and Frank, merchants of Easton; Walter, who has a bakery in Easton; Mrs. R. C. Lambert and Miss Carrie Garey, botil of that place. The father, George W. Garcy,
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was born in Talbot County, and throughont much of liis life carried on a boot and shoe business. He held numerous public positions, including that of assistant postmaster of Easton for four years, and justice of the peace. During the war he was one of the few men in Easton who sup- ported the Union cause. In politics, though not specially active, he advocated the principles of the Republican party until the "reconstruction" . period, at which time he identified himself with the Democratic party. He was a man of genial disposition, modest and retiring, and his amiable disposition won many friends for him. He died in Easton in 1890.
The mother of our subject was Emmaline Ben- jamin, a native of Cecil County and a member of one of its old families. Her father, Isaac Ben- jamin, ran the ferry at Perryville until the bridge was completed, and afterward he had a line of stages from Perryville to Easton, still later con- ducting a hotel in Easton. His grandfather, Joseph Benjamin, came to this country from Lon- don in 1766 and settled in Virginia. During the Revolution he served in the army under Light Horse Harry Lee. On the close of the conflict he came to Cecil County and took up large tracts of land, much of which still remains in possession of the family. When a boy the subject of this sketch attended the district and high schools of Easton, and at the age of nineteen he entered the Western Maryland College at Westminster, Car- roll County, in which he was a student for three years. Prior to this he had served an apprentice- ship to the printer's trade in the composing room of the Easton Star, and on leaving college he . returned to that place, where he remained a year or more, later going to Philadelphia, where he worked at his trade. In 1882 he came to North East and found for sale the plant and good-will of the North East Record, which had recently failed. He purchased the plant and began to issue The Star. For some years he continued, meeting with success and building up a large circulation. He had long cherished a desire to gain experience on the metropolitan papers, and it happened that in 1891 he had an opportunity to gratify this ambition and at the same time to sell his paper.
Going to New York, he accepted a position on the city staff of the Tribune, and remained there several months. However, he soon found life was not so. pleasant when under the dictation of others, and concluding he preferred the inde- pendent life of the country editor, in April, 1892, he purchased his old paper, which he has since published.
Politically Mr. Garey is an independent Demo- crat, and is well informed regarding politics. He has never held office nor allowed his name to bc used as a candidate. A member of the Knights of Pythias, and its representative twice to the grand lodge, he has been through the chairs of his lodge, and has many warm friends among the members of the order. In November, 1894, he started the Maryland Pythian, representative of the order in the state, and backed by both the grand lodge of Maryland and Delaware, in both of which states it has met a cordial reception. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1884 he married Addie Alexander, of Oxford, Pa , and they have had six children, one deceased.
JOSEPH R. ELY, justice of the peace at Dar- lington, Harford County, is a descendant of an old English family that settled in Penn- sylvania in 1734. The first who settled in Mary- land was his grandfather, Joseph, a native of Bucks County, but through much of his life a resident of Harford County, where he carried on agricultural pursuits. Isaac J. Ely, father of our subject, learned the wheelwright's trade in youth, and this he followed, in connection with the busi- ness of an undertaker, in Darlington, for many years, also at the same time superintending the cultivation of the old home farmn. He married Sarah Rogers, who survived him thirty years, dying in 1879, at the age of eighty-six. His death occurred in 1849, when he was fifty-six. His family consisted of three children: Sarah,
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Mrs. S. T. Prigg, formerly of Darlington, but "now deceased; Joseph R., of this sketch, and Mary R., who is dead.
After attending the common schools and Dar- lington Academy for some years, our subject, at the age of sixteen, began to assist his father in the store, continuing to make his home in his native village of Darlington. In 1849, when his father died, he was a youth of seventeen years. Notwithstanding his lack of experience, he carried on the business successfully for four years after- ward, closing it out in 1853. For ten years he held a clerkship in a general store, and during a portion of this time, from 1852 to 1860, he held the office of postmaster at Darlington. The line business engaged liis attention for five years. In 1867 he was elected register of wills for the county, in which capacity he remained for six years. Later he accepted an appointment as dep- uty clerk of the circuit court for Harford County at Bel Air, which position he filled efficiently for eighteen years, winning deserved commendation for the accurate manner in which he discharged every duty. Governor Brown appointed him jus- tice of the peace in 1892; in 1896 he was reap- pointed, holding the position at the present time. He has never married; however his home is not a lonely one, for he has residing with him two of his sister's children, Mary R. Whitelock and Robert E. Prigg, and his niece, Mrs. Sallie E. Whiteford, is also a resident of Darlington.
9 AMES N. CAMERON stands well in the business circles of North East, and has an excellent financial record, his present position being the result of his ability and sound judg- ment. His life of industry and usefulness, and his record for uprightness, liave given him an in- fluence in the community which all might well desire to share. The position which the village of North East holds to-day as a business center is due to the energy of such men as he. For years
he was connected with and manager of the Green Hill Fire Brick Company, but in 1890 secured the incorporation of the Wakefield Fire Brick Company, of which he has since been the head, and which has a large business in the manufacture of fire brick and stove linings.
The Cameron family was founded in Cecil County by Robert Cameron, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who came hitler front Scotland, and established his home in District No. 5. Here was born his son, Amor, our sub- ject's father, and for many years a large and influ- ential farmer. In early life he advocated Whig principles, and after the disintegration of that party he became a Republican. Like inany of the Scotch people he inclined to the faith of the Presbyterian Church. He married Emeline Brown, daughter of Hugh Brown, who came to Cecil County from Ireland in early manhood. She died in 1850, and her husband in 1885. of their five children three are living, namely: Rob- ert, who lives near the old homestead; James N., of this sketch; and Alice M., Mrs. Jacob Minker, of Wilmington, Del. Those deceased are Hugh B. and Margaret Elizabeth.
Within one-half mile of where lie. now lives the subject of this sketch was born July 10, 1841. His educational privileges were limited to an at- tendance, during the winter months, in the neighboring schools, where he laid the foundation of the knowledge he now possesses. From an early age he has been interested in farming, and, while he has other interests now, he still owns and superintends the cultivation of twenty-three acres of the old homestead, in District No. 5. At the opening of the Civil War he enlisted in the Union service, and in August, 1862, his name was enrolled as a private in Company A, Eighth Maryland Infantry. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged as a first sergeant, the date of his discharge being May 28, 1865. Dur- ing his active service he participated in twenty engagements, but was fortunate in escaping in- jury, though several times he was struck by spent balls. When the war was ended lie returned to his home in Cecil County. In 1876 he assisted in incorporating the Green Hill Fire Brick Com-
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REV. J. ALPHONSE FREDERICK.
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pany, of which he was manager until 1890, and since the latter year lie has been in charge of the Wakefield Fire Brick Company.
For twenty-five years Mr. Cameron has been a steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is now master-at-arms in Fellowship Lodge, K. P., and captain of the Uniform Rank. In Wingate Post No. 9, G. A. R., he has had several offices, including that of past commander. In 1867 he married Margaret, daughter of William H. Baker, of Elk Neck, and member of an old family to which belonged Captain Baker, of Revolutionary fame. She died in 1868, leaving a son, William A., who is associated with his father in business. In 1870 Mr. Cameron married Annie L. Craig, whose father, William Craig, is represented else- where in this volume. Eight children were born of this union, four of whom are living, namely: George N., who is telegraph operator at Havre de Grace; Abel C. and Murray H., who are con- nected with their father in the fire brick. business; and Ruth H., who is at home.
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EV. J .. ALPHONSE FREDERICK. Of the various professions in which men engage there is none more unselfish in its aims and more important in its results than that of the ministry, nor is there any that calls for higher powers, for greater devotion or for a deeper con- secration of purpose. He who would enter upon the calling must be of superior intelligence, broad knowledge and self-sacrificing disposition. It is to the possession of these qualities that the sub- ject of this article owes the large measure of success he has achieved in the priesthood of the Catholic Church, while in addition he has many attractive personal qualities that bring him the respect and admiration of people of every phase of religious belief.
The parish of St. Ignatius, of which Father Frederick is rector, was originally known as St. Joseph's Mission, Deer Creek. It is older than any Catholic parish in the city of Baltimore,
for it dates its beginning back to within a century after the landing of the Maryland pilgrims under Leonard Calvert, in 1634. At one time extending from the Susquehanna River to Baltimore and beyond, it is now confined to far narrower limits, although it still embraces an area of more than a hundred square miles and includes Bel Air, the county seat. The present congregation numbers more than seven hundred souls, and, with the exception of those resident at Bel Air, is com- posed chiefly of such as follow the pursuit of agriculture.
Joseph Alphonse Aloisius Frederick was born in Baltimore, Md., August 1, 1848, and is the third child and youngest son of a family of eight chil- dren. His father, John M. Frederick, bookseller, is proprietor of a Catholic book concern, which, with a single exception, is the oldest of its kind in Baltimore City. The mother, now deceased, was Margaret Ann, youngest daughter of Georgius Hild, burgomaster of Soden, in Germany. Under the care of the Christian Brotliers, in Baltimore, our subject received his primary schooling. When sixteen years of age his father sent him to St. Charles College near Ellicott City, Md., to take a six years' course in the classics. There he graduated, in June, 1870. In September of the same year he entered St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, and, in order to qualify himself for the reception of orders, he applied himself for four and one-half years to the study of philosophy, theology and kindred branches. He was ordained deacon in 1873, and just one year later, December 19, 1874, at the cathedral in Balti- more, hic was raised by the Most Rev. James Roosevelt Bayley, D. D., to the dignity of the priesthood. Immediately afterward an appoint- ment was given him as assistant priest to the Rt .- Rev. John S. Foley, D. D., then pastor of St. Martin's Church, Baltimore, but since elevated to the Episcopal see of Detroit, Mich .
In October, 1876, Father Frederick was pro- mnoted to the pastorate of St. Mary's Church, Deer Creek, Harford County, Md. Having labored strenuously in these parts for more than three years, lie was, in February of 1880, assigned a larger and more important field in an
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. appointment to St. Mary's Church, Hagerstown, to which were attached the inissions of Williams- port, Boonsboro and South Mountain, and later, when he had received an assistant, the missions also of Moorsville and Clear Springs. On account of failing health he petitioned for a return to his country mission at St. Mary's, Dcer Creek, of which he again took charge in February, ISS3. His second term of ministration here lasted a little over six years. At this time his eminence, Cardinal Gibbons, offered him a rectorship in Baltimore City, which kind offer, however, lie thought best to decline, as considerations of health and a passionate fondness for the country dissuaded him too strongly.
Out of deference to the wishes of his superiors, in March, 1890, Father Frederick accepted an appointment as pastor of St. Joseph's Church on the Bel Air road near Baltimore City. To this charge he attended for nearly three years, preach- ing every Sunday both in English and in Ger- man. He resigned in September, 1892, in order to pursue some higher studies at the Catholic University, in Washington, D. C. After having for a short time supplied the place of pastor to St. Augustine's Church, Elkridge Landing, Md., he was honored by the Cardinal, in January, 1894, with an appointment to his present charge of St. Ignatius Church, Hickory (Bynum P. O.), Harford County. His immediate predecessor here was his old college chum and bosom friend, Rev. Francis M. Fowler, who for sixteen years had, against many odds, labored faithfully and with abundant success in this part of the Lord's vineyard.
The founding of Sunday-schools, the establish- ment of circulating libraries and the unremitting care of the spiritual needs, especially of the young of the flock, have been some of the marked features of his ministry wherever Father Frederick has labored. He has also taken particular pains to improve the material surroundings of the church, and for this purpose he makes it a prac- tice to call upon the members to lend whatever manual or mechanical hielp they are able. He holds that men must pay or toil for what they are to prize. If a man's religion costs him 110
trouble or sacrifice, it lacks something vital and essential. Here, as in other matters, a thing is worth to you the bother and the pay expended upon it. It must be dear to you in more than one sense to be rightly appreciated. To increase, if possible, the revenues of the church, or, at least, to guard against any marked decrease in the finances, has been the endeavor of Father Frederick at all times and everywhere, and this not for any selfish end, as is readily understood; for no matter how large may be the income of a place, the amount fixed as salary by diocesan statute, and which is the same for all churches or missions, can alone be appropriated. To stimu - late by example the generosity of his parishioners, he has often taxed his own liberality severely, as grants, donations and cancelling of ducs, etc., here and elsewhere, amply testify.
In stature Father Frederick is not large, but above medium height, of rather slight build. His cast of countenance inclines rather to the serious, with lineaments that suggest refinement of thought and feeling, earnestness, benevolence, sincerity and appreciativeness. In deportment and dress he exhibits the priest and the scholar. He is broad-minded and conciliatory in his views, and hence enjoys the friendship or good-will of many who differ with him in points of religion. Retiring in disposition, he visits but little outside of official calls. Most of his time is devoted to serious study. His library is large and valuable, containing more than fifteen hundred volumes that have been selected with great care. His tastes turn strongly toward the scientific, and next to the studies peculiar to his calling, lie delights most in what are known as nature-studies. For years he has been the possessor of tele- scope and microscope. Concerning the flora and avi-fauna of this region he has gained con- siderable information, and he also interests hin- self in the study of entomology, although not a collector in any of these departments. He possesses, however, a cabinet of Indian relics with some rare and beautiful specimens, and the greater portion of these he has himself gathered from various localities in many a delightful tramp and hunt. It is by reason of such tastes and
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habits that he is very happy and contented in his country parish, with no desire to exchange his rural surroundings for the excitement of city life, even though accompanied with high honors and prominence in the ministry.
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ST. IGNATIUS CHURCH, HARFORD COUNTY, MD.
The writer of the following hasty sketch acknowledges his great indebtedness to the labors of G. W. Archer, MI. D .; John Gilmary Shea, LL. D .; Rev. Wm. P. Treacy, and others. He desires also to state that, owing to the short- ness of time allowed him for gathering and verifying facts and dates, he can only consider his work in many respects incomplete and merely tentative.
The privilege of reprinting in part or in whole is re- served.
HE pious ancestors of the devout generation that now gathers for religious service in the venerable church of St. Ignatius, in colonial times worshipped in ruder and less ap- propriate structures, chiefly on the uplands of Deer Creek. Of these edifices several are still in a fair state of preservation, notably the old Wheeler residence near Kalmia P. O., and St. Joseph's Chapel House at Priest's Ford. A tradition of some weight informs us, that prior even to St. Joseph's there was a priest's house, or chapel, "on the north side of Deer Creek, on the high hills back from Nottingham Forge, which stood about a half-mile above the mouth of Thomas' Run."
Who were the first missionaries to labor in the northern part of our state is not known with any certainty. The Recollects, or Franciscan Fathers, came to Maryland as early as the year 1673, and are believed to have exercised the ministry chiefly northward, but in what locality is still questioned. What is certain, however, is that the Jesuits, who were with the colony from the very beginning, in the year 1704, established themselves near Bohe- inia Manor in Cecil County, Md., and it is very probable that from this point the Fathers attend- ed the missions in the region of Deer Creek.
The first priest of whom we have certain knowl- edge in connection with this district is Rev. Benedict (Bennet) Neale, who was a relative of Archibishop Neale, and like him a descendant of Capt. James Neale, a favorite of the Crown and Privy Councellor of Maryland. Father Neale was certainly in charge of St. Joseph's Mission, Deer Creek, then Baltimore County, in the year 1747. In 1750 lie purchased land near a spot still called Priest's Ford, on the south side of Deer Creek, and he, possibly, even erected a mill for the purpose of procuring a living. "At this time," writes Bishop Carroll, "Catholics contributed nothing to the support of religion or its ministers; the whole charge of their maintenance, of furnish- ing the altars, of all traveling expenses, fell on the priests themselves, and no compensation was ever offered for any services performed by them, nor did they require any so long as the produce of their lands was sufficient to answer their demands. But it must have been forseen that if religiou should make considerable progress, this could not always be the case."
In an "Examination of Win. Johnson," in the year 1756, we find mention made of "Priest Neale's Mass House." Both Dr. G. W. Archer and Mr. John Gilmary Shea are of opinion that we have here an allusion to the building which is still standing, and is now the property of George Archer, architect, of Baltimore. But whether Father Neale erected the old chapel building or simply adapted it to serve its religious purpose is now beyond telling. What is known, however, is that on the 8th of October, 1764, Thomas Shea conveyed to Rev. Benedict Neale, in consideration . of "lodging, board, and all things necessary dur- . ing his life," one hundred and fifteen acres of land, "without any manner of exception, only that one- half of an acre of ground, where the burying place now is, be reserved, which the said Thomas Shea reserves for a burying place for himself and family."
In respect to mass-houses or private chapel- rooms the following quotations from the author of the "Catholic Church in Colonial Days" will serve as an elucidation. "By a law passed in 1702, which received the royal sanction, the Eng-
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lislı acts of toleration were extended to Protest- ant dissenters in Maryland, who were permitted to have service in their meeting-houses when reg- istered." But Catholics fared not so well. Rev. Dr. Hawks, himself a minister of the Church of England, notes with evident disapproval that "Maryland presented the picture of a province founded for the sake of religious opinion by the toil and treasure of Roman Catholics, in which, of all who called themselves Christians, none save Roman Catholics were denied toleration." ("Con- tributions" II, p. 117.)
"An exemption, however, granted temporarily and confirmed perpetually by Queen Anne's di- rection (1705), allowed the office of the Catholic Church to be performed only in a private family. Henceforward to the end of British rule no separ- ate Catholic church or chapel was allowed. The step taken by the early missionaries in securing lands was now to show its providential character. The houses of the missionaries were adapted or new ones erected in such a form, that while to all intents and purposes each was a dwelling house, a large room within was a chapel for the Catho- lics of the district. The house of some Catholic planter at a convenient distance would, by the zeal and piety of the owner, have under the gen- eral roof a chapel room, where his family and neighbors could gather to join" in the solemn rites of the church.
Father Neale resided at Deer Creek, with some probable intervals of absence, from 1747 to about the year 1770. He died at Newtown, St. Mary's County, Md., March 20, 1787, aged seventy-eight years. The next resident priest, as far as has been1 ascertained, was Rev. Ignatius Matthews, who came apparently about 1770, and stayed probably until the year 1779. For a time, in 1774 and 1775, he had residing with him Rev. Bernard Diderick. This is the priest who is first men- tioned as attending Baltimore and Elkridge, landing, namely, from 1775 to 1784. Rev. Charles Sewall had charge of St. Joseph's Mission probably from 1779 to 1784, in which latter year he took up his residence in Baltimore. He was related to Charles Calvert, third Lord Baltimore, who married a daughter of Hon. Henry Sewall.
He died November 10, 1306. Rev. Sylvester Boarman exercised the ministry for many years in Harford County. He probably succeeded Father Sewall in 1784, and staycd certainly as late as 1797.
It was during Father Boarman's administration that the building of St. Ignatius' Church near the Hickory was probably begun. If we are to credit tradition it was five years in the course of crection. In the year 1793 Col. Ignatius Wheeler is said to have contracted with "Jack Reardon, stone- mason" for the building of the walls at his ex- pense. It is also claimed that Josiah Wheeler, in his will of 1791, bequeathed seventy-five pounds, and that Benjamin and Thomas Wheeler, brothers, furnished conjointly a negro slave to wait upon the builder. No doubt, many other members of the parish contributed very consider- ably toward the erection of the new churchi, but neither their names nor their contributions have been handed down. The year and day of its ded- ication, or opening, have been lost, but it was inost probably some time in 1797 or 1798. It is said to have received the name St. Ignatius in honor of Col. Ignatius Wheeler's patron saint. Father Boarman was closely related to the Boar- mans and Wheelers of Harford County. He died at Newport, Charles County, on the 11th of Jan- ulary, 1811.
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