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 68
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 68
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the organization of Banner Council No. 11, Jun- ior Order of American Mechanics, in which he has passed through all the chairs, and is still an active member. He is a representative to the state council, which met at Cambridge in June, IS97, and also to the Junior Order of Amer- ican Mechanics at Oxford. As a citizen he is progressive and enterprising, and all measures for the benefit of the people receive his support. His reputation is that of a reliable citizen, and as such he is accorded the respect of others.
R. CHARLES M. ELLIS, the third son of Francis Asbury Ellis and Eliza Ann How- 00 ard, was born at Elkton, Md., on the 13th of December, 1838. His early education was ac- quired at the Elkton Academy, under Principals Thorpe and Getty. In IS52 he was sent to New London Academy, one of the earliest foundations in Pennsylvania, and before his sixteenth year was one of the teachers thereof. Returning to Elkton he assisted his father, who for nearly fifty years was secretary-treasurer of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Cecil County.
Before he was of age Dr. Ellis was elected sec- retary and treasurer of the board of school com- missioners of Cecil County. In the spring of 1858 he began the study of law in the office of Hon. Alexander Evans, but in the fall of the same year he matriculated in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, of which institution his great-great-grandfather was an original in- corporator. He pursued a graded three years' course, and graduated in the class of 1861, amidst the din and turmoil of the early days of the Civil War. He immediately entered the military serv- ice of the United States as assistant surgeon of Rush's Lancers, a favorite Philadelphia organiza- tion, subsequently known as the Sixth Pennsyl- vania Cavalry. Three of his brothers, Howard, Rudulph and Philip, were also officers of the same reginient. He served with the Army of the Potomac, and in May, 1862, was detached by
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order of Gen. Philip St. George Cooke in com- mand of the cavalry division of the army, to take charge of the hospital of the division located by General Cooke on the "Johnson" farm, near the Chickahominy. He was captured, with his hos- pital, by the advance of Stonewall Jackson's corps the day after the battle of Mechanicsville, which ushered in the Seven Days' fight on the penin- sula. His hospital, being immediately in the rear of the rebel lines, was overrun by wounded Con- federates, to whom he rendered surgical aid. Be- fore his removal to Richmond he went into that city through the Confederate lines in disguise and : made known to General Reynolds (then a pris- oner at the Spotswood Hotel) the starving con- dition of the officers and wounded prisoners on the battlefields. His mission, although one of great danger, was entirely successful through the courtesy of General Winder, Provost-Marshal of "Henrico County. He was subsequently removed with many others to Libby prison and occupied ,his time continuously in devoted attention to the · wounded prisoners in Castle Thunder and other prison houses, a service that attracted the favor- . able comments of the Richmond press.
Returning to Elkton Dr. Ellis became associ- ated in the practice of his profession with the late Dr. Henry H. Mitchell in 1864, a co-partnership which terminated ten years later. Dr. Ellis has acquired a moderate fortune, owning the town hall, half interest in the gas works, a handsome residence, and is largely interested in agriculture, owning a number of farms. He has been an active promoter of many of the business interests of the community, taking especial pride in the success of the Mutual Building Association of
Cecil County, of which he was the founder in 1870, and of which he has been the president for nearly twenty-five years. He has been a liberal contributor to the periodical literature of his pro- fession. He has been for many years surgeon to the Pennsylvania Railroad, was a member of the first State Board of Health of Maryland, is a member of the American Medical Association, an honorary member of the Medical Society of Dela- ware, and an active member of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, which has
this year honored him by promoting him to its presidency.
In very early life Dr. Ellis married Miss Mary E. Cantwell. He has no children.
The Ellis family is connected through many lines with colonial and revolutionary ancestry. The first one of this family coming to America was Rowland Ellis, a Welsh gentleman and a priest of the Established Church. He was sent to America by the still existing society for the dif- fusion of Christian knowledge. Locating in Bur- lington, N. J., in 1701, he became early connect- ed with the famous St. Mary's Church, of which, for one hundred and seventy-five years, in di- rect line, his descendants were wardens, the line terminating with the death of Dr. Charles Ellis, the cousin of Francis A. Ellis. The vestry of St. Mary's has recently erected a monument to the memory of this Rowland in its beautiful cemetery.
Francis A., the father of Dr. Ellis, was the child of Rowland Ellis and Elizabeth Rudulph. He is thus connected with the Rudulph family, which contributed Majors John and Michael Rudulph to the Revolution. They were known for their desperate courage asthe "Lions of Lee's Legion," having early in the contest gone to Vir- ginia to join Lightfoot Harry Lee's Legion. The mother of Elizabeth Rudulph was Esther Synge, one of the daughters of Philip Synge, the "patriot silversmith of the Revolution." This remarkable man, a German, landed as a youth in 1701 (the same year the first Rowland Ellis ar- rived in America) at Annapolis, Maryland. He was soon in Baltimore, and thence removed to Philadelphia, where he became well known as a silversmith and maker of mathematical instru- ments. He was the intimate personal friend of Franklin; made for him all the instruments used by him in the study of electricity, and pursued the subject long after Franklin abandoned it. He was associated with Franklin in all his education- al enterprises, and was an original incorporator of the University of Pennsylvania and of the Ameri- can Philosophical Society. The silver inkstand which was used by the colonial congress, and which contained the ink used in signing the
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Declaration of Independence, was made by him, and is now preserved in Independence Hall at Philadelphia, among the cherished relics of the Revolution. Among his many distinguished descendants were Philip Synge Physick, the father of American surgery, and Commodore Connor, of the United States navy.
Dr. Ellis' mother's grandfather was Maj. John Howard, an English Catholic priest, who, eschewing celibacy, married Miss Evans, a de- scendant of Governor John Evans of Pennsylvania. Major Howard died at Valley Forge during the war, of camp fever. His mother was the daughter of Jacques Cashio, an Alsatian, who came to America to serve the cause of popular liberty and enlisted in the Delaware line. His musket. and accoutrements are preserved by the Delaware Historical Society.
OHN B. SLICER, M. D. Success in any occupation can be attained only through industry and study, and the good physician must necessarily be the most painstaking of work- . ers and the best of students. Of Dr. Slicer it may be justly said that he is a most conscientious physician, and whatever he undertakes is done thoroughly. The welfare of a patient is ever in his mind, and by careful diagnosis and accuracy of treatment he endeavors to restore the body to its wonted vigor and health. He keeps pace with every onward movement made in his pro- fession, and aims to take advantage of every improvement in the science which he has adopted for his life work. Since completing his course of study he has engaged in practice, and during all , this time, with the exception of a year at Prin- cipio, has had his office in District No. 9, Cecil County.
In this district Dr. Slicer was born in 1858, a son of John T., and grandson of Thomas, who in turn was a son of Jolin T. Slicer, a native of Germany. The last-named was one of three brothers who crossed the Atlantic in early man-
hood and settled in Maryland, near the city of Baltimore. The father of our subject followed the occupation of a farmer from boyhood until death, and was a man of great energy and untir- ing industry. In political belief he was a Dem- ocrat. He married Martha J. Read, of District No. 5, Cecil County, a member of an old family of this locality. They became the parents of five children, namely: William, who resides in Har- risburg, Pa .; Sabina C., Annie M., John B. and H. Emily. The father died in this district in 1892, at the age of sixty-six years.
The subject of this article began his studies in the common schools of the district, and afterward attended West Nottingham Academy. His com- mercial education was obtained in Eastman's Business College, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. How- ever, it was not his intention to enter the field of business activity, as he preferred a professional life. With this object in view, he matriculated in the College of Physicians and Surgcons, of Baltimore, from which he graduated in 1884, with the degree of M. D. On the close of his studies in college, he practiced at Principio, Cecil County, but after one year, removed from District No. 6 to No. 9, in 1885, and here has since conducted a general practice. He has patients not only in this district, but also in the adjoining Districts Nos. 5, 6 and 7, and some across the state line in Penn- sylvania. He is well known in this section of the county, and is popular, both professionally and socially. Gifted by nature, he has culti- vated his endowments, and through indefatigable labor has gained a place among the successful physicians of the locality. Fraternally he is connected with Excelsior Lodge of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all of the chairs. He is also Senior Warden of Harmony Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Port Deposit, a member of Chapter No. 21, R. A. M., at Baltimore, and Maryland Com- mandery, also of Baltimore. His parents rcared him in the faith of the Methodist Church, and he is in hearty sympathy with the work of this denomination and is interested in all movements looking to the welfare and advancement of his fellow-men. In matters political he favors the policy and platform of the Democratic party.
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When he began in practice he was a poor inan, bit possessing self-reliance and being determined to succeed. his enterprise and industry overcame the difficulties in his path and he is now numbered among the successful physicians of the county.
9 AMES W. HARKINS, M. D. The value to any community of a professional man is not marked merely by his learning and skill, his proficiency in medical and surgical practice, but also by his character, both private and profes- sional, his honorable adherence to medical ethics and his personal integrity and benevolence of pur- pose. These characteristics are combined in Dr. James W. Harkins, who is one of the foremost , professional men of his section. All his life has been spent in Harford County, Md., and here he was born to William and Martha O. (Bassford) . Harkins, who were natives of Maryland also. This worthy couple were actively engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout their lives, as was also the paternal grandfather, John Harkins, and the native state of the latter was Maryland. The paternal great-grandfather was Aaron Har- kins, a native of the Keystone state and a tiller of the soil. The children born to William and . Martha Harkins numbered ten, of whom at the present time five are living: Thomas A., William A., Richard R., Hannah J. and Dr. James W., the immediate subject of this sketch.
The youthful days of Dr. James W. Harkins were spent in following the plow and in discharg- ` ing the various duties of the farm, but when the time came to choose a life oceupation for himself, . he deviated from the established custom of the Harkins family, and instead of becoming a farmer he began reading medicine under Dr. Richard Mitchem, of Pleasantville, Md. He pursued his medical researches very energetically from the time he was twenty-four years of age until he graduated from a medical college in Baltimore, and he is still an indefatigable student of his pro-
fession. He considers it the duty of every phy- sician to keep abreast of the progress made in that science, and carefully studies and considers each and every one of his cases that is in any de- gree complicated, with the result that few medical practitioners have had better success in alleviat- ing the pains and ailments to which the human family is heir than has he. He is cheerful and encouraging at the bedside of his patients, and is, in fact, a model family physician. That his serv- ices are appreciated is demonstrated by the large practice which he commands and by the comforta- ble competency and beautiful home which he has acquired.
Soon after his graduation Dr. Harkins located in Norrisville, opened an office, and it was but a short time erc he was one of the busiest physi- cians of the county. He found a worthy help- mate in Miss Mary E. Gibson, whom he married in early manhood. Mrs. Harkins is a Pennsyl- vanian by birth and hier early life was spent on her parents' farm in that state. The doctor and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian Church. In his political views the former has always been independent, and particularly in local matters, voting for the candidate whom he con- siders best fitted to fill the office creditably. His life has been an exceptionally active one, as is that of all successful physicians, and in every re- lation of life he has acquitted himself creditably and as a gentleman.
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ROF. E. B. FOCKLER. There are many who claim, and not without excellent reason, that the public-school system of the United States surpasses that of any other country in the world. Certainly it is true that in no other land are there so many efficient, educated young men devoting their attention to the instruction of youth as may be found in our own country. One of this class is the subject of our sketch, who holds the responsible position of principal of the public school of North East, and who, since com-
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ing to this place, has evinced talent and the pos- session of those qualities without which a teacher cannot hope to gain success.
The subject of this article was born March 24, 1865, in Cavetown, Washington County, Md., which was also the birthplace of his father, Bell- jamin. The latter was an honest, hard-working inan, a shoemaker by trade, in politics an advo- cate of Democratic principles, and in religion a member of the German Reformed Church. Hon- ored by all who knew him, he passed from earth in 1886. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Louisa H. Colliflower, died in 1892. She had a brother, Rev. William Colliflower, who was pas- tor of the Reformed Church in Frederick, Md., at the time of his death; another brother, Henry, who is a retired merchant and prominent citizen of Hagerstown, and a third brother, George, who resides at Chambersburg. In her family there were ten children and seven of the number are living, namely: John T., principal of the public school at Chewsville, Md .; George S., teacher in the public schools of Washington County, this state; Harry L., who is a railway postal clerk, with residence in Hagerstown, Md .; E. B., of this sketch; Catherine, who resides with her brother Harry; Susan B., wife of William O. Fahrney, of Hagerstown; and Ella S., who mar- ried George Shetrone, of Columbia, Pa. The Fockler family is of German extraction.
In the public schools of Washington County and the high school of Smithsburg our subject received his education, and he graduated from the latter in the spring of 1884. At once he be- gan to teach in Pinesburg, Washington County, where he remained for two years, and afterward for three years he was principal of the public ;school at Ringgold, Washington County. In the fall of 1889 he became assistant principal of the school at Clear Spring, the same county, and after two years there, in 1891, received an ap- pointment as assistant principal of the high school at Waynesboro, Pa. The following year he was assistant principal of the Emmettsburg high school in Frederick County. In 1894 he was se- lected from among fifty-six applicants, as princi- pal of the North East school, which position he
lias since filled. Brought up in the belief that the Democratic party contained the principles that are best for our country, he has never changed the opinion instilled in his mind wheu young. Fraternally he is a member of Acacia Lodge No. 155, A. F. & A. M., at Fairmount, Md., chancellor of Fellowship Lodge No. 42, K. P .; secretary of Fellowship Division, Uniformed Rank, and a member of Council No. 5, Junior Order of American Mechanics, at Hagerstown. In youth he united with the German Reformed Church and afterward officiated as superintendent of its Sunday-school, but as there is no church of that denomination liere, he attends the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a teacher in its Sunday- school.
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ON. CHARLES C. CROTHERS. Cecil County has among its citizens a number of men eminent in the annals of the state, men - of ability, energy and honor, who, in the duties of public and private life, have ever been true and loyal. Such a one is the subject of this article, who has been a prominent member of the Elkton bar for years. Soon after entering upon active practice he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney, which first brought him into public and political life. The efficient man- ner in which he discharged every duty con- nected with the position and the large talents of which he gave evidence, led the people to believe that he was qualified to represent them in offices of great trust and responsi- bility. When, therefore, his party (the Demo- cratic) selected him as their nominee for state senator in 1893, he was given a very gratifying majority at the election, and is the present repre- sentative of the district in the senate.
The family of which Mr. Crothers is a member has long been identified with the history of Cecil County. The first of the name here were two brothers, James and William, natives of Ireland, and early settlers of this county. William was a
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sea captain, and on one of his voyages was lost at bar. The following year he was elceted state's sea; liis descendants live in Baltimore. James had a son, John Lawrence, our subject's grand- father, who was born in District No. 9, and engaged in farming until his death, at an early age. One of liis sons, Richard H., was a very . prominent man here and for some years held the office of commissioner of Ceeil County. Another son, Alpheus, our subject's father, was born in this county, May 17, 1820, and was a lifelong farmer, an honored citizen, and a man of quiet, retiring disposition. He never aspired to politi- cal honors, but was elected to the offices of justice of the peace and collector of taxes. At the age of seventy-seven, he died suddenly, of heart disease, at his home in District No. S, on the evening of March 26, 1897.
The mother of our subject was Margaret Orclia, daughter of John Hart Porter, member of one of the oldest families of the county and formerly a prominent farmer of District No. 8. One of her brothers, William E. Porter, was for a time connected with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and later was superintendent of the · West Virginia Central Railroad. Another brother, Charles C. Porter, was a wealthy resident of Louisville, Ky. She was the mother of eight sons, of whom we note the following: William E., went to California many years ago and still resides there; Dr. R: R., a graduate of the Uni- versity of Maryland, is a practicing physician at Colora, Cecil County; Alpheus, owns and oper- ates a farmi in District No. 8, this county; John L. is superintendent of construction of the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad, and lives in Baltimore; Ranville W. is a carpenter and builder in Lancas- ter County, Pa .; A. L. is an attorney in Elkton, where he was state's attorney from 1890 to 1895, and also counsel to the county board of commis- sioners; Dr. A. C., a graduate of the University of Maryland, is now engaged in practice at Port Deposit.
Near the village of. Conowingo, in this county, Charles C. Crothers was born March 28, 1857. His education was obtained in the public schools and West Nottingham Academy, after which he studied law in Elkton and was admitted to the
attorney, and this office he filled for four years. The honor was tendered him, in 1893, of election to the state senate, iu whieli illustrious body he has been a conspicuous figure. He was at one time the Democratic nominee for attorney-general of Maryland, but suffered defeat in a general "landslide." Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. . As a lawyer, he takes front rank at the bar of the county. He is a man of liberal education and scholarly attainments. At all times he has been a close, thoughtful student. His libraries, law and miscellaneous, are filled with works by standard authors. He possesses natural aptitude for the profession he has selected for his lifework, being a logical thinker and a concise reasoner. Every case, together with the laws governing it, he has well in hand. As a member of the senate he has souglit to perform his arduous duties conscientiously, ever bearing in mind the welfare of his constituents. A man of positive convictions, he is never afraid to take a stand that he considers right, aud has the cour- age of his convictions under all circumstances. In perplexing problemis he argues from primal causes to sequence, and grasps the matter at issue in its various phases. He has the deepest affec- tion for old Maryland, and the greatest faith in her people, her institutions and her future; and certainly the welfare of the state is immeasurably promoted by the able efforts of such citizens as he.
ENRY MITCHELL MCCULLOUGH is en- gaged in the practice of the legal profession in Elkton. His entire life has been passed here and since early manhood he has been iden- tified witli the professional and material interests of the place, to many of the enterprises of which he has contributed by his recognized progressive spirit. His firmi, quiet reasoning faculties, which are his by education and training, enable him to grapple with the salient points of a case and the
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technicalities of legal jurisprudence, and have secured for liim a position of prominence at the bar of Cecil County.
James T. Mccullough, father of the subject of this article, was long one of the most prominent men of Maryland, where much of his life was passed as a member of the Elkton bar. He was born on Rosedale farm, in Newcastle County, Del., in December, 1816, and received a thorough education in Delaware College. Entering upon the practice of the legal profession, his talents soon brought him distinction at the bar. His reputation was by 110 means limited to Elkton, where he had his office, but he was well known throughout the state. For some years he was a member of the Maryland senate, and his services in that distinguished body were such as to in- crease his reputation. He was a delegate to the convention that nominated Bell. During the administration of President Lincoln he held the office of collector of internal revenue in his district. While the Civil War was in progress, he took an active part at the time of the draft riots. Not alone was he prominent in his profession, but in religious enterprises as well. Long a leading member of the Presbyterian Church, he officiated as an elder and repeatedly represented the church in the general assembly. He continued in pro- fessional practice up to the time of his death, which occurred January 19, 1888. His father, James Mccullough, was a native of Delaware and from that state went to Missouri, where he died.
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The mother of our subject, who bore the maiden · name of Catherine W. Mitchell, is still living and .. resides at the old homestead in Elkton. She had two sons and two daughters, but one of the sons, Andrew H., was drowned in the creek, March 4, 1889. Delia is the wife of a banker and large , real-estate owner of Harrisburg, Pa. Mary is the wife of a merchant in Elkton.
In Elkton, where he was born September 24, 1858, the subject of this sketch gained the rudi- ments of his education. His studies were after- ward continued at Princeton, where he graduated in the class of 1879. Under the preceptorship of his father he carried on his legal studies and in June, 1831, was admitted to practice at the bar,
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