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 50
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 50
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Benjamin Chandlee, Jr., took up his residence upon the property adjoining the Brick Meeting House, at Nottingham, Cecil County, which was left by will to his mother, and occupied the old Benny Chandlee house, known in olden times as the Arc. In 1749 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Folwell, a daughter of Gold- smith Edward Folwell, of Wilmington, Del. Mr. Chandlee died between one and two o'clock, September 18, 1791, at the age of sixty-eight years and six months; and his wife October 6, 1806, at the age of seventy-seven years and six months.
Five children were born to Benjamin Chandlee, Jr., and wife, namely: (1) Goldsmith, born May 18, 1751, became a resident of Baltimore, where he followed the trade of watch and com- pass making until the latter part of his life, which he spent at Winchester, Va., dying there in 1821, at the age of seventy years. His son Benjamin remained in charge of the business in Baltimore, where he died in 1822. (2) Sarah, born April 10, 1753, died August 5, 180S, at the age of fifty-five years and four months. (3) Ellis, born June 11, 1755, married Elizabeth Giles Oldham, a daughter of Nathan Oldhami, of Cecil County, and spent his entire life at Nottingham, where he died in 1816, at the age of sixty-one years and seventeen days. His children were as follows: Maria; Evan; Sydney, who married a Miss Price,
of Nottingham, and had a number of children, among whom were William, of Washington, D.C., and Henry, of Baltimore, Md .; Absalom: Lilbern; V'casey; Eliza; Gainer; Edwin; Courtland, who married Elizabeth Pierce, of Wilmington, Del., and had one son, David Wollford, who died at the age of thirteen years; Mira, who married Rawlins Abrahams and had a number of children, and Ellis Goldsmith, who married Ann Eliza, daughter of Robert and Sarah Brown, of Cecil County, and had several children. (4) John, born July 10, 1757, is mentioned more fully be- low. (5) Isaac, born September 12, 1760, at Nottingham, died December 9, IS13, at the age of fifty-three years. He never married and lived in the old Benjamin Chandlee house known as the Arc, which was sold some time after his death. His maternal aunt, Susan Folwell, kept house for him.
John Chandlee, son of Benjamin and Mary (Folwell) Chandlee, spent his entire life at Not- tingham, where he died August 12, IS13, at the age of fifty-five years and ten months. He was three times married, his first wife being Miss Sarah Brown, of the same place, by whom he had one child, Edward G., born at four o'clock in the afternoon of September 13, 1792. The son died at Rockford, Del., August 15, 1851, when about fifty-nine years of age. He had married Jane Walker, and to them were born three children who died in infancy. After the death of his first wife John Chandlee married a Miss Kinky. He be- came acquainted with his third wife, Miss Rebec- ca Ward, in Wilmington, Del. Three children blessed their union, all of whom were born at Nottingham in the white house standing between the Brick Meeting House and Lombardville. (1) Horatio Ward, born at three o'clock Satur- day morning, August 6, 1803, married Lucinda Barnum, of Baltimore, and had two children, Frances Anna and Sarah Jane, both born in Ohio. He was in Baltimore in 1832 and for some years was at Havre De Grace, Md., with his father's cousin, Benjamin Chandlee, but spent most of his life in the west. (2) Mary, born about ten o'clock P. M., Tuesday, September 17, 1805, be- came the wife of James Fulton, of Steuben Coun-
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ty, N. Y., who at the time of their marriage was living near Wilmington, Del. All of their four children were born at Rockford, Del., namely: Edward A., who died in 18So of wounds received at the battle of Antietam: William Thomas, who died in infancy; Anna Rebecca, who married J. Darnell Gifford, of New Jersey; and Sarah Caro- line, who married George Wright, of Pennsyl- vania, and has three children living, Joseph F., Emma Icola and James. James Fulton, the fatlıcr of these children, died in Chicago, Ill., in 1855, while traveling with his son, Edward A., then a boy, who brought the body back home for burial. His widow survived him for many years, dying at the old homestead at Rockford, near Wilmington, Del., in 1893, aged eighty- eight years and four days. (3) Allison Chandlec, the youngest child of John and Rebecca (Ward) Chandlee, was born at five P. M., Tuesday, August 22, 1809, in Nottingham, but spent the greater part of his life in York County, Pa., fol- lowing the tailor's trade in Delta. He died in 1868, at the age of fifty-nine. In early life he wedded Mary Anderson, a daughter of Adam Anderson, a soldier of the War of 1812, and she survived him many years, dying in 1893, at the age of sixty-five. In their family were six chil- dren, but only three are now living: William E .; Mary, now the wife of John Dorton; and Charles, who makes his home in Delta.
AMUEL J. ARBUCKLE. In making note of the life of Mr. Arbuckle it is proper to S mention the fact that he is looked upon as one of the most public-spirited men of Cecil County. He has a pleasant country home, built up by his industry and enterprise, assisted by his capable wife. His homestead comprises sixty- nine acres of excellent land and has all the facili- ties for the successful prosecution of general farm- ing and dairying. The dwelling, as well as the surroundings, gives evidence of the cultured tastes of the owner.
A gentleman still in the prime of life, Mr. Ar- buckle was born in Montgomery County, Pa., in 1845. His grandfather, Daniel, came to this country from Ireland and settled in Philadelphia County, Pa. Daniel, Jr., father of our subject, was born in Montgomery County and for thirty- three years engaged in the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods. On retiring from active life he came to District No. 3, Cecil County, where the last twenty-four years of his life were passed. Here he died in 1891, at the age of seventy-eight. In carly days he was a Whig, and upon the disin- tegration of that party and the organization of the Republican, he joined the latter, to the prin- ciples of which he afterward adhered. Frequently he was solicited to accept positions of local trust, but having no taste for public affairs and wishing to devote himself exclusively to business, he in- variably refused. By his marriage to Mary S. Magargle, of Philadelphia County, he had nine children, four of whom are still living, namely: Samuel J .; Daniel T., of Cecil County; Paul T., also a resident of this county, in District No. 4; and Philip R., of Cherry Hill.
In the common schools of Philadelphia County the subject of this sketch received his education. At the age of sixteen his studies were discon- tinned and he began to assist his father in the factory owned by the latter. Gaining a thorough knowledge of the business, he became an invalu- able assistant in its management. After spending five years there, he began in the flour and feed business in Philadelphia County, and for five years carried on an enterprise of his own. Com- ing to Maryland in 1872, he established his home at Cherry Hill, in District No. 3, and here he has a large farm, equipped with necessary buildings and divided by good fencing into fields and pas- tures of convenient size. In 1866 he married Catherine M. Kuhn, daughter of Jacob and Re- becca A. Kuhn, of Philadelphia County, and a lady of estimable character, who shares with him in the respect of acquaintances. Her father had a machine shop at Manayunk for a number of years, and was the inventor of the double box loom. In politics Mr. Arbuckle is in harmony with the Republican party and gives stanchi ad-
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herence to the party of his choice. With his wife he attends religious services at the Methodist Church. He is connected, fraternally, with Rox- borough Lodge No. 135, F. & A. M., at Man- ayunk, Pa. The high position he occupies is due not alone to his management as a farmer, but also to his general intelligence and firin principles.
In 1863 he enlisted in Company A, Thirty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers. He is now connected with Grant Post No. 10, G. A. R., at Cherry Hill.
ILLIAM D. BRATTON. In the line of public journalism, more than in any other vocation, success is not gauged by the ac- cumulation of money, but by the influence exerted upon a community, the progressive measures fos- tered and the public-spirited enterprises origina- ted. Among the newspapers that have exerted a marked influence in the upbuilding of Cecil County, prominent mention justly belongs to the Cecil News of Elkton, which has a large cir- culation among the people of this section and in- fluences in a marked degree the educational, commercial, moral and material interests of the locality. While the subject of this sketch has been connected with it for a comparatively brief period only, yet he has proved the possession of the traits of character that mark the true journal- ist, and is building up a reputation as an editor. The high standard of journalism which he has set has met with a corresponding appreciation on the part of the people, so that to-day his paper commands a wide influence, and his editorials, clear, logical and pointed, are widely read. Every important national event or question is treated in the columns, and the people are enlightened as to the right or wrong, the justice or injustice, of proposed measures.
The editor of this paper is a native Eiktonian, born near this village June 8, 1868, the son of Daniel and Susan (Reese) Bratton, natives, re- spectively, of Delaware and Cecil Counties, Md. His father, who was of Irish descent, started in
life a poor man, but by industry and economy accumulated a fortune in the mercantile business and became the owner of large tracts of valuable land. He died March 5, 1882. His widow is still living on the estate in the suburbs of Elkton. She is the mother of four sons, Daniel, Samuel, Howard and William D. Daniel was, for some years before his death, the owner and editor of the Cecil News. Samuel is a civil engineer in Texas. Howard graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, and is a practicing physician of Elkton.
In 1889 the subject of this sketch graduated as a civil engineer from Princeton, and afterward for several years was in the employ of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company as civil engineer, but ceased professional work at the time of the death of his brother, Daniel, in May of 1895. He suc- ceeded to the management of the Cecil News, which he has since published. He is a young man of high scholastic attainments, fitted for the responsible work of a newspaper editor. Not only is he an able and forcible writer, but as a business man he also possesses ability, and is qual- ified to carry on the management of the journal with success. He is unmarried and resides with his mother and sisters.
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ILLIAM THOMAS BRICKLEY, a thorough and skillful farmer, and a busi- ness man of more than ordinary capacity, was born May 11, 1829, in the house which he still occupies, in District No. 6, Cecil County, and is a son of Andrew and Mary (Campbell) Brickley. The birth of both the father and grandfather, Joachim Brickley, occurred on the same farın, which was first owned and occupied by Joachim Brickley, Sr., the great-grandfather of our subject, who was of German descent. The family has been prominently identified with the entire growth and development of this region, and its members have been numbered among the leading and influential citizens of Cecil County.
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During the War of 1812, Andrew Brickley faithfully served as a soldier in the American army. He never left the old home farm, which he continued to operate up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1870, when in his seventy-sixth year. The mother of our subject passed away in 1883, at the age of seventy-nine. Both were earnest Christian people and the motlier a devout member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church.
Our subject was an only child and was reared upon the home farm, which he assisted his father to cultivate and improve until the latter's deatlı, when he assumed entire charge of the place. He acquired a good practical education in the com- mon schools, and by reading and observation in later years has become a well-informed man. He successfully carries on general farming and is the owner of a valuable and well-improved tract of one hundred acres.
Mr. Brickley led to the marriage altar Miss Mary L. McCall, and to them was born one child, who died at the age of five years. The only nephew our subject has of the Brickley name is T. Ernest Brickley, son of Theodore Brickley. Mrs. Brickley is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, like her husband, she is held in the highest regard by all who know her. He holds membership in the Grange, and is one of the most earnest ad- herents of the Republican party. No man takes a deeper interest in the prosperity of Cecil County, and it is safe to say that few have contributed in a larger degree to bring about this result.
OHN G. WILLIAMS, clerk of the circuit court of Cecil County, was born near Prin- cipio, District No. 5, Cecil County, May 21, 1849. His father, Thomas Williams, was born on the same farm in 1818 and throughout life followed agricultural pursuits on the place where he was born. In 1882-83 he held the office of tax collector, but never cared for public positions,
his inclinations being rather for the quiet retire- ment of home life. He died on the old home- stead in April, 1891. His father, Jesse Will- iams, who spent his life principally upon the same farm, was a son of Thomas Williams, who came from Wales and founded the family in Cecil County.
The mother of our subject was Catherine Thompson, a native of Cecil County and daugh- ter of John Thompson, of one of the old families here. She is still living on the old place. Two of her children died in infancy, but she had five sons and three daughters who attained mature years. William M., a mechanic, lives in Balti- inore; Jesse T. is a wheelwright; Sarah L. is the wife of James Buchanan, a farmer: Lizzie mar- ried John H. Thompson, a farmer of this county; Joseph R. is a farmer and resides on the old homestead with his mother; Edward T. is a painter by trade; Rebecca is single and lives in Philadelphia. The eldest of the family is our subject, who received a good public-school edu- cation, thus becoming fitted for the practical activities of life. In youth, following the good old custom of learning a trade, he became a painter and paper-hanger, and was a reliable, efficient workman. In 1886 he served as a com- mittee clerk in the state legislature, the first time on the house side, and in 1890 on the senate side, in that way gaining practical experience that was of great value to him in later years. In 1 892 he entered the county clerk's office as deputy under James T. Graham, and continued in the position under the late William P. Howard, who died August 2, 1896. On the death of that gentleman, Mr. Williams was chosen to succeed him.
As a citizen Mr. Williams has ever maintained a deep interest in the welfare of tlie people and the progress of the county, and his labors have been instrumental in securing the advancement of local enterprises. Having been the incumbent of official positions, lie has been situated so as to render the people valuable service, and with jus- tice it may be said that few citizens liave accom- plished more for the development of the resources of the county than has lie. He is unmarried,
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and resides in Elkton, but still considers the old place his home and spends each Sunday with his mother there. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias. He has met with snc- cess, a fact that is due to his energy and common sense, and as a citizen and official he has the re- spect of all.
AMUEL M. JOHNSON, ex-sheriff of Cecil County, is one of the representative farmers and prominent citizens of District No. 5. Believing that "from labor, health, from health, contentment springs," he has bent every energy toward perfecting his agricultural projects, and has proved himself eminently one of the best citizens of the community. He began his earthly career in District No. 5, Cecil County, March 25, 1836, and upon the same farm, his father, Benjamin F. Johnson, was also born. For many years the family has been prominently identified with the agricultural and industrial interests of the county, the grandfather, Charles Johnson, being one of its pioneer settlers. Here he estab- lished Johnson's grist and woolen mills, which later became known as the Crawford factory. For some time the father engaged in their opera- tion, and he also successfully followed farming and school teaching. He spent liis entire life in District No. 5. By his marriage with Miss Mary McCollough, he had three children: Joseph, now a contractor and builder residing in Baltimore; Charles L., who lives in Cecil County; and Sam- uel M., of this review.
Our subject was reared in much the usual man- ner of farmer boys, becoming a thorough and skillful agriculturist. His education was such as the district schools of the locality afforded and on laying aside his text books he devoted his entire time to his chosen calling. When a young man he assumed charge of the home farm, and afterward purchased a portion of the same, which he successfully operated until his
election as sheriff, when he removed to Elkton. On the expiration of his teri two years later, he took up his residence upon his present fine farm, which he has placed under a high state of culti- vation and greatly improved.
On attaining to man's estate, Mr. Johnson married Miss Caroline Nowland, and to them were born five children: Benjamin F., now sta- tion agent at Perryman, Harford County, Md .; Otho, who is a merchant of the same place: Charles H., teller in the Second National Bank of Elkton; George A. M., a telegraph operator, connected with the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad; and William W., who is en- gaged with his brother Otho in business.
Since the organization of the Republican party, Mr. Johnson has been one of its ardent support- ers, and on that ticket was elected sheriff of Cecil County in 1888. He proved a most efficient and satisfactory official, and left office as he had en- tered it, with the respect and confidence of all who know him.
T. BROWN, M. D., one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Cecil County. residing in District No. 6, is a native of this county, and was born February 4, 1844, in Dis- trict No. 9, but when quite small he accompanied his family on their removal to Chester County, Pa. There he grew to manhood and acquired his primary education in the public schools. He completed his literary training, however, in the Nottingham Academy, and at the age of eighteen began the study of medicine with Dr. Worthing- ton, of Westchester, Pa., with whom he remained for one year. Going to Philadelphia, he con- tinued the preparation for his chosen profession under the direction of Drs. Levick and Hunt, and in 1866 graduated from the medical depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Brown at once opened an office in the vil- lage of Principio, Cecil County, Md., where he remained until 1879. He then purchased his
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present farm of sixty-eight acres in Distriet No. 6, and in connection with its cultivation still con- tinues the prosecution of his profession. He enjoys a large and lucrative practice and has met with excellent success in the treatment of the various cases that have been placed in his care. For thirty-one years he has been identified with the medical fraternity of Cecil County and he stands deservedly high among his professional brethren.
In 1866 Dr. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Martha Touchton, by whom he has three children: Clara, now the wife of Clifton Miller, of Woodlawn, Md .; Howard, a medical student of the University of Richmond, Va .; and John F., who is now studying dentistry. The doctor is an honored and prominent member of the Cecil County Medical Society, is a pro- nounced Democrat in politics, and both he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Both have the warmest esteem of the entire community for their many admirable virtues and for their genial manners.
ON. JAMES D. WATTERS. Ever since society was organized its enemies have lived, and to enforce laws calculated to pro- tect mankind from the doers of evil has always been a serious duty of the judge. The philoso- pher and the social reformer may indulge in spec- ulations as to the causes of vice and lawlessness, but, dealing with these grave social problems in a practical as well as a beneficent spirit, it has been the aim of the makers of law to devise such meas- ures as will punish the individual law breaker as well as deter his fellows from like wrongdoing. The office of the judge who faithfully discharges his duties and permits no innocent man to suffer · and no guilty man to escape, is one of honor and dignity. No other place within the gift of the peo- ple is more conspicuous and important. It should be filled by a lawyer of unquestioned abil- ity, as well as sterling integrity, and in the elec-
tion of James D. Watters to the bench the people have secured an intelligent, energetic and faithful officer, who has proved a terror to wrong doers, not only because it is his duty to do so, but be- cause he has no sympathy with crime or criminal. Withal he is humane and just, and the scales of justice in his hand are balanced with care and circumspection.
Judge Watters was born in Harford County, Md., six or seven miles from Bel Air, January II, 1834. a son of Henry G. and Mary (Clen- denin) Watters, and a grandson of John Clen- denin. His paternal grandfather, as well as his father, was born in the same place as himself, and both were worthy tillers of the soil. Heury G. Watters was a leader in the affairs of his section, and held the office of county commissioner and other official positions of responsibility. He was a soldier of the War of 1812 and a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he and his family were the first to unite in this section. He died in 1865. One of the ancestors of Judge Watters, William Watters, was the first native American Methodist Episco- pal minister in this country.
Judge Watters was one of four children. His brother, Dr. John H. Watters, was a young man of much promise and bright prospects. He went to St. Louis, became a professor in a medical college of that city, but at the breaking out of the Civil War he entered the Confederate service as a surgeon, in which capacity he served throughout the war. He died in 1872. The other brother, Godfrey Watters, was a farmer and is now de- ceased. The sister is still living. The early life of Judge Watters was spent in healthful farm work and in attending the district schools. After a time he entered Bel Air Academy, then Dickin- son College, of Carlisle, Pa., and from the latter institution graduated in 1856 with the degree of A. B. For one year thereafter lie was tutor in Latin and Greek in Brocket's school at Alex- andria, Va., and afterward for one year taught a small private school in Chester County, Pa.
In the latter part of 1858 Mr. Watters made his way to St. Louis, where he entered the law office of Krum & Harding, and in January,
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IS61, was admitted to the bar. In the summer of that year he returned to Harford County, Md., and the following year joined the First Virginia Confederate Regiment, but was soon transferred to the Maryland Cavalry, under Col. Ridgeley Brown. In 1864 he was made lieutenant, and this position he held until the close of the war, when he returned to Harford County and com- menced the practice of law. In 1868, in company with William Bauldin, he established the Har- ford Democrat, and this he edited until 1871, at which time he was elected to the office of judge of the circuit court, and has ever since been on the bench. This fact alone would be sufficient to illustrate liis competence and popularity with- out further remark.
In IS6S Judge Watters married Miss Fannie H., daughter of John A. Munnikhuysen, of this county, and they have one child, Anna M., a student at the Woman's College of Baltimore. Judge Watters is a prominent Mason. During the winter season, while his daughter is at school, he makes his home in Baltimore, while his sum- mers are spent at Bel Air.
AMES A. GRIER, who was a resident and business man of Washington for a quarter of a century, has for some time made his home in Harford County, residing with his son, who owns a valuable farm of one hundred and thirty acres situated in District No. 3. In whatever line of work he has engaged, his honorable and straightforward record has brought him many friends. Ever true to each duty, he has through his long life maintained the confidence of all with whom he has been brought in contact, either through business or social relations.
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