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 38
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 38
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In1 1866 Mr. Howard was joined in wedlock with Miss Lavina Ford, of Elkton, Md., and to them was born a daughter, Eveline. Our sub- ject was again married in 1875, his second union being with Mrs. Sally Gilpin, widow of Thomas Gilpin, and four children blessed their union: Veleska, wlio is now attending college in Phila- delphia; Guy, who is taking a commercial course in Wilmington, Del .; Henry M., who died in 1882; and Ethel, who is also attending college. The family is one of prominence in the con- munity, holding a high place in social circles.
BRAM P. McCOMBS. Whoever labors to secure the advancement of his community, striving to develop its resources and promote its commercial interests; who is devoted to the welfare of the people; who seeks to promote the cause of justice and morality, and to advance our civilization through educational, professional, business and agricultural channels, becomes a public benefactor, and is worthy of especial men- tion in the pages of history.
Such is the character and such the record of Mr. McCombs, long one of the most influential citizens of Havre de Grace and the promoter of many important local enterprises. A man of ver- satile ability, he has successfully carried to a consummation enterprises of a widely divergent
nature. However, it is perhaps as a newspaper man that he is best known and has wielded the greatest influence. In the field of journalism he has championed with his pen the cause of truth and honorable, independent manhood; lias ably represented the best citizenship of the county and state, and has accomplished not a little toward the progress of the city where he resides.
His business ability, enterprise and integrity of character, are evidenced by the number of posi- tions of honor and trust he now occupies. He is president of the First National Bank of Havre de Grace; president of the City Building and Loan Association; president of the Havre de Grace Improvement Company; president of the Water Company; president of the Real Estate and Power Company; vice-president of the Havre de Grace Shoe Manufacturing Company, and interested in other industrial enterprises.
The life now sketched began in Coventry, Chester County, Pa., June 16, 1824. The McCombs family is of Scotch origin, but later representatives resided in Ireland. William McCombs was born in the city of Armagh, Ire- land, in 1765, and liis wife, Elizabeth, was born in the same place in 1769. In 1787, at that time unmarried, they came to the United States, land- ing at Newcastle, Del., where they were married. The following year they bought a small farm near Newark, Del., where the eldest son, George T., father of our subject, was born July 19, 1797. The latter married Ellen Prizer, of Chester Coun- ty, Pa., July 19, 1823, and was assassinated near Allentown, Pa., in October, 1836. At the age of seventeen he marched with other volunteers from Delaware to the defense of Baltimore in 1814. He was a licensed preacher in the Methodist Church, as were his brothers, James and Will- iam, the latter a member of the Philadelphia conference for fifty years.
The subject of this sketch began his education in the common schools and later attended an acad- emy in Hatboro, Montgomery County, for two terms. His opportunities for gaining knowledge were limited, but with a love for reading and a taste for the best in literature, he early stored his mind with a fund of useful information, upon
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which he was accustomed to draw at will in his later years. When he was still quite young, he made his first literary efforts, and various of his compositions, both prose and poetical, appeared in standard papers, among them the Philadelphia Weekly Ledger and the Saturday Evening Post. Three years of work upon the farm were followed by three years as a clerk in a store and by a simi- lai period spent as a teacher of public schools, near Reading. In the latter place he met Miss Maria C. Schott, daughter of Louis Schott, of Lebanon, Pa., and they were united in marriage March 29, 1849.
After some years spent as clerk and assistant manager of the iron works of Robeson, Brooks & Co., twelve miles above Reading, in the spring of 1855, Mr. McCombs became general manager of the Sarah Furnace Company's iron works, and removed to Harford County, Md. Ten years later he accepted a similar position in the Ash -. land iron works, of Baltimore County, owned by the same parties. Associated with others, in the spring of 1866 he organized a stock company known as the Havre Iron Company and purchased the iron furnaces at Havre de Grace from George P. Whitaker. Accepting the general manage- ment of the works, he moved to the place that has since been his home. For the purpose of sav- ing a claim in the Havre Independent, a small tem- perance paper that had died after a precarious existence of some months, in 1868 he bought the printing office, and at once commenced to publish the Havre de Grace Republican, which he still, in association with his son, edits and publishes.
In 1862 Mr. McCombs organized a company of home guards, and by Governor Bradford was commissioned captain October 16 of the same year. In May, 1869, he was appointed deputy collector of the port of Havre de Grace, which position he held for eight years. He was an original Republican, identified with the organiza- tion of the party, and supported its platform until the principles of liberty, justice, and equality of all men before the law, upon which it was found- ed, had been engrafted in the constitution and laws. For the past twenty years he has main- tained an independent position toward party
politics. As stated, he came of Methodist ances- try; his grandfather was among the pioneer Methodists in the state of Delaware, and his house was one of the stopping places of Bishops Asbury, Coke and others of the early fathers of the church in this country. Mr. McCombs is not a member of any church; his religion consists in charity to- ward all mankind and in doing unto others as he would have others do to him.
His family consists of a son and two daughters. The son, William, has been mayor of Havre de Grace, and was elected to the city council several terins. The daughters are both married; one re- sides in Salisbury, Md., and the other in Brook- lyn, N. Y.
OHN KEILHOLTZ. Cecil County has many well-to-do and successful farmers, who have accumulated what they have of this world's goods through individual effort. Among this class the name of the subject of this notice is entitled to a place. He is now the owner of a valuable and well-improved farm of one hun- dred and seventeen acres in District No. 6, where he is industriously engaged in the prosecution of his noble calling, and is meeting with far more than ordinary success.
Born in the city of Baltimore, September 15, 1821, Mr. Keilholtz was there reared and edu- cated until coming to Cecil County, in 1834. In District No. 6 he began learning the cooper's trade, at which he served a three years' ap- prenticeship, during which time he received only his board and clothes. He continued to work at his trade in connection with farming until 1855. In 1847 he purchased forty acres of land, whichi he improved and cultivated, and added to the amount until he had one hundred and eighty-six acres. On selling that place he purchased a farm of two hundred and twelve acres of a Mr. Kim- ball, and continued to make his home there until 1884, when he disposed of the property and
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bought his present fine farm, whose neat and thrifty appearance indicates the supervision of a careful and painstaking owner.
Mr. Keilholtz has been twice married, the first time in 1843, Miss Sarah Mossey becoming his wife. To them were born the following children: Henry C., Mary, Mary A., Amos E., William K., Charles M., Clara C., Ada B. and Ella N. For his second wife he chose Miss Martha E. Kirk, and they have become the parents of four children: Ellis H., Emma Beatrice, Clara C. and Lillie R.
Mr. Keilholtz cast his first ballot for Henry Clay, the Whig candidate, and since the organi- zation of the Republican party he has been a stanch supporter of its principles. Public- spirited and progressive, he has always taken an active interest in local affairs and given his aid to all matters pertaining to the progress and develop- ment of his country.
ON. GEORGE BIDDLE. Doubtless few of the residents of Cecil County have promoted its educational interests in such an important degree as has Mr. Biddle, whose long service as a member of the board of school commissioners, and as school examiner for the county, renders him thoroughly familiar with the work and quali- fies him for the intelligent management of affairs. His long retention in the position and the ad- vancement which the schools have made under his administration, prove his fitness for the work better than inere words could do. .
His is a historic family, related to many of the leading people of the eastern shore of Maryland. The progenitors of the family in this country were John Biddle and Mary, his wife, who emigrated from England some time before 1692; the exact date is not definitely known. Settling in what is now . District No. 1, Cecil County, he at once took a prominent position among the people of that early day. In religious activities he was earnest and successful, and for many years offici-
ated.as warden and vestryman of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. His son, John, who was born October 1, 1695, married Mary Mouned, whose birth occurred February 2, 1715. Their son Stephen, born March 1, 1733, married Mary Savin. Next in line of descent was Peregrine Biddle, our subject's grandfather, who was born July 14, 1775, and married Martha Bateman, daughter of William Bateman. He was an ex- tensive, landowner and for twenty-eight years vestryman of St. Stephen's Church, during all of which time he never missed a meeting of the church. In addition to being a large property holder, he was engaged in settling estates and had other important business of that nature. He died April 18, 1828.
George, son of Peregrine Biddle, and father of our subject, was born December 27, 1804, and was a man of prominence in his day. Like his ancestors he was for many years a vestryman in St. Stephen's Church. His sister, Susan, mar- ried Col. George W. Oldham, who was a direct descendant of Augustine Herman, the founder of the Bohemia Manor; one of their children, Mary Amanda, married Dr. Charles H. B. Masscy, of Massey, Kent County, Md., whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Kent County and had an extensive grant of land there. Mrs. Massey is now living in Chestertown, Kent County. Another sister of our subject's father, Margaret Savin Biddle, married Dr. John W. Wirt, father of Hon. John S. Wirt, of Elkton. The mother of our subject was Frances A. Per- kins, daughter of Dr. John D. Perkins, of Queen Anne County, Md., and a relative of Hon. James B. Ricaud, who was a member of congress and leading politician of Kent County; also closely related to Hon. Thomas J. Keating, of Queen Anne County, who was for many years comp- troller of the state of Maryland, and is at this writing state tax commissioner. Mrs. Frances A. Biddle died October 18, 1887.
Born August 20, 1836, the only child of George and Frances A. Biddle, the subject of this sketch was given the best advantages the schools of the east afforded. The rudiments of his education were obtained in the common and select schools
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of this neighborhood and Wilmington, Del., after - which he went to Charlottesville, N. Y., and in 1855 graduated from Delaware College. During the four years of his collegiate course he was never absent a day from his classes, but put his whole life and energy into his work. Although . he graduated before he was nineteen years of age, he carried off the honors of his class. Since then his entire time has been devoted to education and the improvement of the school system. He was one of the very first to advocate the establishment of free public schools, and commenced the agita- tion as early as 1860. He was one of the first to advocate the appointment of school commission- ers by the judges of the circuit court, believing . that this was the proper way for them to be ap- pointed, as it would entirely remove politics front schools. In 1870 he was elected to the legislature on this issue and was the author of the bill that became a law to have the school commissioners of the state appointed by the circuit judges. This law was in force for twenty years, when it was taken away from the judges and the appointing power given to the governor of the state.
After spending one term in the house and ac- complishing the object he had in view in taking the position, Mr. Biddle did not aspire to a re- election, but in 1872 was appointed a school com- missioner and served in that capacity for twenty years, resigning in 1892 to accept the more im- portant position of school examiner for Cecil County. At the same time he is secretary and treasurer of the board of school commissioners. His whole active life has been devoted to the im- provement of the school system and no man is better versed in the wants of the schools of Cecil County than is he. The building of good school- houses is one of his "hobbies," and the fine new high school building at Elkton stands as a monu- ment of his untiring zeal and energy. He has the confidence, not only of the school commis- sioners but of the entire community, and to it he is justly entitled, for he is a conscientious worker, a thorough student and an excellent judge of human nature. For years he has been active in the work of St. Stephen's Protestant Episcopal Church and is keeping up the reputation of his
ancestors by his long service as an official of the parish, having served for thirty-four years as a member of the vestry; at the expiration of that time he tendered his resignation but the congre- gation refused to accept it. January 4. 1866, he married Miss Katherine Kettell, daughter of Rev. George F. Kettell, D. D., a Methodist minister of Brooklyn, N. Y.
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HOMAS JEFFERSON MCCAUSLAND was born March 5, 1834, in District No. 5, Harford County, where he now resides. He is the son of Robert and Ann (Higginbotham) McCausland, natives, respectively, of this county and Ireland, and the parents of eight children, namely: George W., John C. and Andrew J., all of whom are deceased; Robert, who is un- married and owns a farm in Darlington, this dis- trict; Thomas Jefferson; Mary J .; Sarah A .; and Maria, who married Joseph R. Hopkins, a farmer and butcher residing in this county. The father of this family was a farmer. During the War of 1812 he was captain of a battalion, but was never called into active service.
The grandfather of our subject, George Mc- Causland, was born in Ireland, and from there came to America, establishing his permanent home in Maryland, and carrying on a general store in Dublin. He was also a surveyor. His property possessions were large, aggregating more than two thousand acres, all situated in Harford County. During the War of 1812 he was a major in the American army. Our subject was reared on the home place and received a fair education in the common schools. In 1867 he married Melissa R. Hopkins, a native of Harford County, and there were born to bless their union three children, namely: Marcus H., who is mar- ried and resides near his father; Inez, who is at home; and Paul C., deceased.
In the northeastern part of his district, Mr. McCausland is especially well known, for he has always resided in that locality and naturally has
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many friends among his neighbors. By a course of industry and good management, he has become well-to-do, and his valuable property shows in a marked degree to what good purpose the propri- etor has labored. In politics he was reared a Democrat, of the most pronounced kind, and the party with which he votes nominated and elected him to the position of supervisor, which he filled for two years. Formerly he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but at this writing is no longer an active worker in this lodge. He and his family are connected with the Presbyterian Church.
ACOB B. WEBSTER. Of the various occu- pations in which men engage not one is so free from the cares and anxieties of the world as the occupation of farming. To watch the seeds spring into life, developing into the plant that is finally enriched by the wealth of ripened fruit and grain; to watch the soil respond to the care and cultivation bestowed upon it; and to enjoy the harvests which kind nature almost invariably bestows upon man; this is a privilege granted only to the farmer. In this calling Mr. Webster has spent his entire life and from it he has become the possessor of a competency, the deserved re- ward of diligent labor. The one hundred and sixty acres which constitute liis farm are situated in District No. 3, Harford County, and are de- voted to the raising of cereals and of stock.
Upon this place Mr. Webster was born in 1840. He is a son of John L., and grandson of John Webster, and a lineal descendant of the same an- cestors as those to whom James Webster traces his lineage. In early life John L. Webster was interested in a saw mill, but the most of his life was devoted to agriculture, and he resided in Dis- trict No. 3 until his death, in 1869, at the age of seventy. During the existence of the Whig party he was a supporter of its principles, but upon its disintegration he identified himself with the Demo- crats. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Susan Brown, died in ISS4, at the age of seventy- three. They were the parents of six children, named as follows: Jacob B., J. Thomas, William E., Mary E., M. Sophia (Mrs. Joseph Mitchell) and Sarah.
The boyhood years of our subject were spent in school and upon the home farm. Early gaining a thorough knowledge of agriculture in every de- partment, and having a partiality for country life, he naturally selected farming as his life occupa- tion, and he has had no reason to regret his choice. On the death of his father he succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead, which he has since occupied and cultivated. In matters of politics he gives his influence and vote in behalf of the Democratic party, because to him it em- bodies those principles best adapted to the govern- ment of a free country. He is prompt to meet every obligation and therefore stands well in bus- iness circles. In the management of his affairs he is systematic, and in his dealings with others, careful and considerate. In IS81 he married Miss Sarah J. Fletcher, daughter of carpenter Fletcher, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. He has the moral and material welfare of the commu- nity at heart, and earnestly uses his influence to promote it.
OUIS H. OSBORNE. On the banks of the Sassafras River lies the village of Frederick- town, where the subject of this sketch was reared and where he is now engaged in the mer- cantile business. While much of his life has been passed in this place, he has been in many other portions of the United States and has become familiar with customs of people in other sections of the country. However, he believes there is 110 state like old Maryland and no county that can compare with Cecil. The place where for gene- rations his forefathers dwelt is the one mnost dear to him, and here he expects to spend his remain- ing years.
A native of Kent County, Md., Mr. Osborne
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was born in 1852 upon the anniversary of the day remembered by American people as that upon which George Washington was born. His par- ents, Edward L. and Christiana J. (Hall) Os- borne, were natives, respectively, of Maryland and New Jersey and had a family of five children, namely: Charles T., deceased; Mary F .; Edward L., deceased; Louis H. and Emma. The paternal grandfather, Groom Osborne, was born in Mary- land and here spent his entire active life engaged in mercantile pursuits. In the schools of Frede- ricktown our subject received a fair education that fitted him to make his own way in the world. In early manhood he took up fishing and was thus employed on the Chesapeake Bay about six years. Afterward for five years he followed railroading and was engaged in construction work in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. For four years prior to going west he was interested in the lime business in Fredericktown. After his return to this place, he opened a general store in ISS9 and has since conducted a profitable business among the people of the surrounding country. He is not active in politics, but always votes the Democratic ticket and is interested in the success of his party.
Mr. Osborne married Grace Hopkins, who was born in Maryland, a member of a family identified with the history of this state for many genera- tions. The only child born of this union was Mary, who died at the age of eleven months.
ELSON K. WARNER. The family of which this gentleman is a representative came to this country from Scotland, and has since been identified with the history of Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, where its members have become known for energy of disposition and pro- bity of character. One of their most distinguish- ing traits has been prtriotic devotion to country. Not only in times of peace were they loyal citi- zens, but they proved their patriotism on many a closely contested battlefield, where they stood firm for the principles they believed to be just and
right. This trait, so noticeable in preceding generations, is equally conspicuous in the lives of those now living, and causes them to be intim- bered among the best citizens wherever they may reside.
Reviewing the genealogical record, we find that the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Richard Warner, was a native of Harford County, Md., and died near Woodlawn, Cecil County. He had several sons who bore a valiant part in the Union cause during the Civil War, among them Jacob, now living at Woodlawn, a member of Snow's Battery; Edward, also a Union soldier, and now residing at North East; William, who was taken prisoner while in active service, but was afterward released, and now lives in Linwood, Chester County, Pa., and Frank, of Ilion, Herk- imer County, N. Y., who was a member of the United States navy during the war. Our sub- ject's father, Henry Warner, was born in Lan- caster County, Pa., August 4, 1828, and followed the trade of an iron worker. For twenty-eiglit years he was manager of the Mccullough iron works, near Elkton, but then resigned the posi- tion, and is now living on his farm near Zion, in Cecil County. His wife, who is still living, was Ellen M., daughter of Thomas Caldwell, owner of a sawmill in this county, and the descendant of Irish ancestors. She had several brothers, one of whom, Harvey, now a resident of Liberty Grove, Md., is a veteran of the late war. In her family there are but two children, our subject and Sophia, wife of D. M. Lee, who is a farmer near Zion, and one of the board of county commis- sioners.
In the little village of Rowlandsville, five miles from Port Deposit, Cecil County, the subject of this article was born, January 14, 1855. He was twelve years of age when his father was made manager of the Mccullough iron works, near Elkton, and he then removed with his family to this place, receiving his subsequent education in the Elkton Academy, later embarking for himself in the mercantile business: His good judgment brought him a fair measure of success; both as a dry-goods merchant and as the proprietor of an agricultural implement business. In May, 1896,
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he was commissioned magistrate by Governor thies were with the south, and soon he enlisted for Lowndes, and has since efficiently filled the office at Elkton. In his political belief he has always been stanch in his adherence to Republican prin- ciples. Fraternally he is connected with the Heptasophs. In I891 he was united in marriage with Miss M. Allie Dougherty, of Lewisville, Pa., and they have one child, a son, named Henry E.
ENRY VAN BIBBER CRAWFORD. Identified throughout liis entire life with the history of this locality, and well known as one of its most influential citizens, the subject of this memoir was laid to rest, at his death, amid the scenes familiar to him through so many years. He was born at Middletown, Newcastle County, Del., September 16, 1833, and died suddenly of heart disease January 14, 1897, at his home near Warwick, Md. The family of which he was a inember was among the oldest in Maryland and was connected with the Youngs and Culbreths, of Caroline, the Mackeys, of Talbot, the Turpins, of Queen Anne, and the McKims, of Baltimore. Upon his mother's side he was connected with the Petersons and Van Bibbers, of Cecil County, and the Gilmores, of Baltimore. He was the young- est son of William Hazlett and Catherine A. (Reading) Crawford, the former a native of Dela- ware, an influential farmer, a private in the ranks at the battle of North Point and at Ft. McHenry, and a nephew of Col. William Hazlett, a Revolu- tionary hero, whose body lies buried in Dover, Del.
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