USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland > Part 105
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nedyville and still has the Marsh Point farm. The well-tilled fields and neat and thrifty appear- ance of his places indicate the supervision of a careful, painstaking owner, of progressive ideas.
Mr. Hurtt was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary E., only daughter of James Freeman Woodland, and to them were born ten cliildren, of whom seven are still living: Lizzie, now the wife of E. T. Comegys; Alice, wife of H. C. Deringer; Florence, wife of Woodland Deringer, of Spang- ler, Pa .; Woodland; Clifton; Dr. Harry, of Wash- ington, D. C .; and Edwin S. Julia died July 28, 1894, at the age of thirty-six years. Woodland Hurtt, the oldest son, now resides at Woodland Hall, the late residence of James Freeman Wood- land, his maternal grandfather. He married Miss Woodland, a daughter of James F. M. and Emma A. Woodland, and they now have one child, James Freeman.
The family, which is one of prominence in social circles, is connected with the Episcopal Church. Mr. Hurtt has ever taken a prominent and influential part in political affairs, first as a Whig and later as a Democrat. His fellow-citi- zens, appreciating his worth and ability, elected him a member of the state legislature in 1872, and while a member of that body he served on the Chesapeake Bay committee. Whether in public or private life he has ever been found true to every trust reposed in him and has the con- fidence and esteem of all with whom he comes in contact.
AMES H. McNEAL, member of the board of county commissioners of Talbot County and also a member of the Shannahan & Wrightson Hardware Company, of Easton, Md., was born near this city, October 11, 1846, being a son of Hon. James H. and Elizabeth (Benny) McNeal, also natives of Talbot County. The family of whichi he is a member is of Scotch-Irish lineage, belonging to that class whose descend- ants are among the most substantial citizens of the United States to-day. Hector McNeal, a na-
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
tive of Scotland,. removed to County Antrim, died in infancy. Jonathan Benny, the eldest Ireland, where in 1725 his son, Archibald, was son, who married Mary C. Valliant, of Baltimore, died in June, 1895. bori. In 1747 the latter came to Talbot Com- ty, and here spent the remainder of his life.
James, son of Archibald, had a son, James Hector, who was born near Easton, January 20, 1807, and grew to manhood here. Being one of nine children whose parents were poor he met with many obstacles in his attempt to secure an education; but his evenings were devoted to study and as lie possessed a retentive memory he stored in his mind a valuable fund of knowledge. In 1822 his father died, and being the eldest son he assumed the responsibility of caring for the family, whont he in a large measure supported. Going to Baltimore he was employed in a shoe store for a time, but the failing health of his mother caused him to return home, and soon afterward she died.
Soon after his marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Benny, James Hector Mc- Neal embarked in the mercantile business in Easton, where by economy, good management and close attention to business he became suc- cessful. At the same time he carried on his large farm near town where the family resided. In politics he was a Republican and during the war was a strong Union man. In 1864 he was elected to the legislature of Maryland, of which body he was a useful member. In 1865 he was elected to the state senate and at the expiration of his term was re-elected, filling the position with marked ability. For two years he was col- lector of state and county charges, after which lie retired from public life.
James Hector was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and held the office of trustee. His life was brought to a close on Christmas day, 1868, and his wife passed away November 16, 1870. They were the parents of ten children, six of whom are living: Sarah E., wife of P. S. Reed, of Philadelphia; Martha V., wife of Gervas Hall, of Easton; James Hector, of this sketch; Gertrude, widow of Edwin Ball, of Philadelphia; M. Louisa, wife of William E. Shannahan, of Easton; and Annie R., wife of Charles T. Wrightson, of Easton. Three of the children
After graduating at the Easton Academy our subject, in 1864, secured employment as clerk in a hardware store in Easton, where he remained for two years. For four years he was employed in a dry-goods store. In 1869 he was appointed deputy United States marshal under Maj. Ed- ward Y. Goldsborough, at Baltimore, and dis- charged the duties of that office for ten years. In the meantime, however, he did not neglect his interests in Talbot County, but continued the management of his farm here. In 1884 he bought an interest in the hardware firm of Shannahan & Wrightson, of Easton, with which he has since been connected.
Politically a Republican, in 1879 our subject was nominated for the legislature, but was de- feated. In November, 1895, he was elected county commissioner for the six-year term. He is a director of the Easton Gas and Electric Light Company and takes an interest in all local enterprises calculated to improve the place and benefit the people.
In the Methodist Episcopal Church he is a steward and the secretary of the official board. August 23, 1893, he married Caroline K. Budd, daughter of Henry G. Budd, of Smyrna, Del. They are the parents of two children, James Hector and Henry G. Budd.
FRANK HEARN has been the proprietor of a store at Bishop's Head, Strait district,
Dorchester County, for about nine years and is doing well from a financial point of view. He is genial, cheerful and generous in disposition, and readily makes friends wherever he goes. In addition to managing his store he is interested to some extent in oyster dredging and planting. In his political views he is strongly in favor of the principles of the Democracy, and was a magis- trate for several years.
Born in Drawbridge district, the one adjoining
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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Strait, Mr. Hearn is a son of Benjamin B. and Charlotte A. (Smith) Hearn, whose history will be given below. He was born in 1864, and is next to the youngest of ten children, six of whom are living. His early life was spent upon the old homestead near Cambridge, Dorchester County. His education was that of the public schools, supplemented by a course in practical commercial training in Bryant & Stratton's Business College of Baltimore. Leaving home when he had ob- tained his majority, he went to Wicomico County, and followed merchandising there for four years. In 1888 he came to this place and opened a store. He is a member of the Heptasophs and holds the office of archon with the local lodge. He and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are valued citizens of the community. He was married in 1893 to Miss Henrietta G. Pritch- ett, daughter of J. N. Pritchett, and their only child is named Omro.
Benjamin B. Hearn, father of the above- named gentleman, was born in Sussex County, Del., in 1823, a son of Josiah and Sarah (Lowe) Hearn. They had seven children, but now he and his brother, William W., of Vienna, Dorches- ter County, are the only ones left. The father, Josiah, was a native of Sussex County also, as were his ancestors back to about 1700. He oper- ated a portion of the old family estate near Laurel, Del., and died when he was but thirty-five years old. His father was William, a farmer, and most of the family seem to have followed the quiet, peaceful life of tillers of the soil. Benjamin B. Hearn remained at home until he was about seventeen, when he went to Laurel, Del., and a few years later, in 1845, became associated in the manufacture of furniture with his brother. They did business together up to 1856, when the part- nership was dissolved and Benjamin ·Hearn con- tinued there until 1860, when he commenced cul- tivating a farm near Vienna. He stayed there some fourteen years, and then, from the fall of 1874 to 1896, leased a homestead near Cam- bridge. The past year he has been living re- tired, in the enjoyment of the results of his for- mer years of toil, his home being in Cambridge. For three years he has been a deacon in the
Baptist Church, to which denomination both him- self and wife are adherents. She is Charlotte A., daughter of Samuel Smith. The surviving chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Hearn are: Olevia, Mrs. George A. Thompson; Annie, Mrs. John O. Weeden; Williamn C. and George E., twins; J. F. and Herbert, a merchant at Lloyds, this county
RANK M. ECCLES, M. D., is a successful physician of Oxford, Talbot County, where he succeeded in practice Dr. Eugene Doug- las, now of Baltimore. He is a careful, diligent student of his profession, and by study in college work and practical experience in hospitals and asylums has gained a fund of knowledge that is of inestimable value to him. In practice he is accurate in diagnosis and skillful in treatment. He is interested in the various organizations of the medical fraternity and holds membership in both local and state associations.
Born in Philadelphia, Pa., in January, 1858, the doctor is a son of Perry Eccles, a native of the vicinity of Royal Oak, Talbot County. One of our subject's ancestors, Perry Benson, served as a captain in the Revolution and was made a general in the American army during the war of 1812. The Benson family settled near Royal Oak some time in the seventeenth century and became very prominent in that locality. Our sub- ject was taken by his parents to Baltimore when a small child, and there he attended college. Later he took a classical course in Swarthmore, Dela- ware County, Pa., where his literary education was completed. He read medicine for two years, and later he attended lectures and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Balti- more. In the same year, 1881, he was made hos- pital assistant, a position that enabled him to ex- tend his medical knowledge by broad practical experience. At the expiration of two years he was made resident physician of Bay View Asylum, where he remained for one year. He then took up private practice in Caroline County, and from there came to Oxford.
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September 30, 1886, the doctor married Miss May C., daughter of Major Sanders, of Maryland. They are the parents of two children, Wilson C. and Frank M. Fraternally the doctor is con- nected with several prominent orders, and while he has never been active as a partisan politician, nevertheless he is interested in public affairs and keeps himself posted concerning the issues before the people. His franchise is used on behalf of the men and measures of the Democratic party. As a citizen, he gives his support to measures for the benefit of the people and for the advancement of village and county. In religious belief he is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
E. McKNETT has carried on his valuable homestead known as Middletown for the past thirty-three years, as it came into his posses- sion by purchase in 1864, and since that time he has been much interested in making improve- ments upon the place. It is a tract of land situ- ated in the third district ol Dorchester County, comprising three hundred and seventy-seven acres, and is well adapted for the raising of grain and staple products. The owner is a practical agriculturist and has made a good livelihood for himself and family. He and his estimable wife have reared their large family to be good and useful men and women in the busy world, and have trained them in habits of industry and self- reliance that are better than wealth as an inherit- alice.
The McKnett family is of Scotch extraction, but as the father of our subject died when the latter was but three years old, the history of his ancestors on the paternal side is wanting. The father, Thomas McKnett, was a native of Har- rington, Del., and was a millwright by trade. He removed to the city of Baltimore in 1837, and there held an office by appointment of the gov- ernor of Maryland. He died when in the prime of life in 1839 with that dread pestilence, Asiatic cholera, it having come to these shores upon
trans-Atlantic sailing vessels. He was a Whig politically, and was a man whom all respected and admired for his sterling qualities. He mar- ried Josephine, daughter of J. Ennalls, who was of English descent. She was born and brought up in Dorchester County and died in 1856, after having survived her husband many years. Of their seven children J. E. is the only survivor. His great-grandfather, J. Ennalls, was a colonel in the Revolutionary war and received a very large grant of land in Dorchester County from the king of England.
J. E. McKnett was born in the city of Balti. more, June 6, 1839, and was taken by his mother to New Market district, Dorchester County, and there reared upon a farm. He attended the pub- lic schools, and made the best of his opportunities, becoming well informed on general subjects. He obtained and taught a school from his twentieth to his twenty-eighth year, and was a good man for the calling. He has always voted the Demo- cratic ticket since reaching his majority.
December 1, 1863, he married Sarah Vincent, a daughter' of John and Elizabeth Vincent, of this county. Ten children came to bless their union, and only one of the number has been called from their circle by death. John, the eldest son, is at home, and helps in the management of the farm; Rose is the wife of Augustus LeCompte, the overseer of the county almshouse near by; Thomas is a resident of Big Mills, Md .; Robert A. is the next; May married John Bassett, of this vicinity ; and Josephine, Charles, Maggie and Joseph are at home.
UFUS S. NOBLE, commissioner of Dorches- ter County, is one of the prominent business men of Taylor's Island, of which village he has been postmaster. Heis extensively engaged in merchandising and is also interested in the oyster business, being the owner of six oyster boats, three of which are dredgers. In local affairs he has wielded considerable influence, giv- ing his support to the Republican party and its
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candidates, and upon that ticket he was elected county commissioner in 1895 to serve for a term of six years.
Near Preston, Caroline County, Mr. Noble was born December 3, 1851. His grandfather, J. Noble, was a native of Sussex County, Del., where he spent his entire life successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, dying at the age of about sixty years. He was a man of very firm con- victions and when once resolved that a certain course of action was right, nothing could swerve him from it. Withal, he was always cool-headed and in the face of any emergency never became excited and never acted recklessly or with im- petuosity. It is thought that his father was born in England, whence he emigrated to Maryland.
Twiford S. Noble, our subject's father, was born in Sussex County, Del., and from there in early manhood he removed to Caroline County, Md., where he remained until his death, at sixty- two years of age. In the local ranks of the Republican party he was active. He served as delegate to the state constitutional convention and at one time was commissioner of Caroline County. In religious connections he was identi- fied with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Ruth Leverton, who was born near Preston, Caroline County, and died in Dorchester County when only twenty years of age. She was reared in the Quaker faith and was a member of the Society of Friends. Her father, Jacob Leverton, was a native of Caroline County and a very prosperous farmer there; her mother, Ruth (Hannah) Leverton, was a very active Abolition- ist in the days when slavery excitement ran high. At her death Mrs. Noble left two children, the older of whom, J. L. Noble, M. D., is a physican at Preston, Md.
At the time of his mother's death our subject was an infant. He attended the public schools in boyhood and also studied in Preston Academy. At the age of nineteen he was employed as teacher of a district school in Caroline County and later was similarly engaged in Dorchester County, following the occupation about eight years. On his marriage he settled down as a farmer near Preston, where he remained for two
years. He then removed to Solomon's Island, on the western shore of Maryland, where he engaged in merchandising about three years, and then came to Taylor's Island and opened the store that he has since conducted.
The marriage of Mr. Noble united him with Katie B. Dewell, of Baltimore, daughter of Col. Thomas Dewell, who owned a tannery in Balti- more, served as a member of the city council there and during the war held rank as a colonel in the Union army." The family of Mr. and Mrs. Noble consists of three children: Twiford Sewell, who is a student in Dover Academy, at Dover, Del .; Fannie L. and Marie, who are at home. The family is connected with the Methodist Epis- copal Church, in which Mr. Noble has been a steward for several years.
HE GOLDSBOROUGH FAMILY. Nich- olas Goldsborough, the progenitor of the Goldsborough family of Maryland, was born 1640-1641, at Malcon Regis, near Wey- mouth, in the County of Dorset, England, and married, 1659, Margaret Howes, the only daugh- ter of Abraham Howes, son of William Howes, of Newbury, in the County of Berks, England. He had three children, viz .: Robert, born Advent Sunday, 1660, at Blandford, Dorset County, England, and died Christmas day, 1746; Nicho- las, who died in 1705; and Judith. The first- named, Nicholas Goldsborough, left England in 1669 and went to Barbadoes, thence to New England, and finally, early in 1670, settled on Kent Island, where he died. He was buried on the plantation of Tobias Wells. His wife survived him and inarried in 1672 George Robins, of Tal- bot County, and had a son, Thomas, who married twice. He married first February 3, 1696, Su- sannah Vaughan, and had a son, George. His second wife was Elizabeth Standley and their children are: Thomas, born October II, 1705: William and John, twins, born December 22, 1709; Elizabeth; Lambert; and Standley, who married January 6, 1742, Sarah Goldsborough. Thomas Robins died December 29, 1721.
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Robert Goldsborough of Ashby, Talbot County, Md. (son of Nicholas and Margaret Howes Goldsborough), came to Maryland in 1678 and married September 2, 1697, Elizabeth Greenbury, daughter of Col. Nicholas and Anın Greenbury, of Greenbury Point, near Annapolis. She was born September 23, 1678, in Anne Arundel County, died March 2, 1719, and had children, viz .: Ann, born July 13, 1698, died February 24, 1708; Elizabeth, born February 13, 1700, died January 17, 1708; Mary, born December 14, 1702, died January 15, 1742; Robert, born Feb- ruary 17, 1704, died April 30, 1777; Nicholas, twin brother of Robert, born1 February 17, 1704, died November 14, 1757; Charles, born June 26, 1707, died July 4, 1767; William, born July 6, 1709, died in September, 1760; John, born Oc- tober 12, 1711, died January 18, 1778; Green- bury, born November 16, 1713, died February 2, 1715; Howes, born November 14, 1715, died March 30, 1746; a second Greenbury, born No- vember 13, 1717, died November 20, 1717; a third Greenbury, born November 19, 1718, died three hours after birthi.
Mary Goldsborough, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Greenbury Goldsborough, married M. Mooney, and had children, viz .: Mary, Eliza- beth and Anna Keziah. Mary Mooney, daugh- ter of Mary Goldsborough Mooney, married June 16, 1751, Thomas Sherwood, and had a son, Maj. Hugh, who married December 10, 1795, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Tilghman. Ann Keziah Mooney, daughter of Mary Golds- borough Mooney, married December 8, 1763, Daniel Feddeman, and had children, viz .: Mary, born June 29, 1766; Annie, born April 19, 1768; and Daniel, born January 9, 1770, and died February 25, 1832. Daniel Feddeman, son of Daniel and Ann Keziah Mooney Feddeman, mar- ried March 16, 1794, Rebecca Sherwood Wright- son, who died October 15, 1842, and had chil- dren, viz .: Mary Mooney; born February 3, 1795: Ann Keziah, born February 13, 1797; Richard, born May 8, 1800; Elizabeth, born Jan- uary 8, 1805; Mary, born May 8, 1807; Jane Maynadier, born May 27, 1809; Emma, born December 18, 1811; Philemon Henry, born Au-
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gust 3, 1814; Daniel Maynadier, born January 24, 1817, who married April 27, 1865, Alice Col- bert; and Dorothy, born February 4, 1819.
Ann Keziah Feddeman, daughter of Daniel and Rebecca Sherwood Wrightson Feddeman, married November 25, 1813, Philemon William- son Hemsley, and had children, viz .: Philemon Feddeman, born September 8, 1814, died young; Martha Ann, born December 23, 1815, who mar- ried Alexander Lackey; Philemon Feddeman, born October 1, 1817, who married Mary Ham- bleton; and Richard Feddeman, born July 19, 1819, died in April, 1854. Philemon (Philip) Henry Feddeman, son of Daniel and Rebecca Wrightson Feddeman, married November 25, 1840, Ann Matilda Groome, daughter of Samuel and Deborah Morris Groome, and had one son, Morris Groome. Samuel Groome was a son of Charles and Sarah Kennard Groome. Charles Groome, the register of Chester Parish, Kent County, Md., was a son of Samuel and Margaret Groome. The last-named Samuel Groome was a church warden in St. Paul's Parish, Kent County, Md., in the year 1726.
Robert Goldsborough, son of Robert and Eliza- beth Greenbury Goldsborough, married twice. He was married November 5, 1739, to Sarah Nicols, daughter of Rev. Henry Nicols, rector of St. Michael's Parish, Talbot County, and had one son, Robert, born November 8, 1740, died 1798. Mrs. Sarah Nicols Goldsborough died Saturday, November 15, 1740. He married again July 8, 1742, Mrs. Mary Ann Turbutt Robins, widow of John Robins, attorney-at-law, who died in 1739, and the daughter of Foster and Bridget Turbutt; she died August 29, 1794.
Robert Goldsborough and his second wife had children, viz .: Elizabeth, born April 29, 1745, died April 29, 1748; Howes, born September 14, 1747, died January 30, 1797; William, born March 17, 1750, died January 23, 1801; and Mary Ann Turbutt, born October 21, 1752, died unmarried April 18, 1811.
Robert Goldsborough of Myrtle Grove, son of Robert and his first wife, married September 22, 1768, Mary Emerson Trippe, youngest daughter of Henry Trippe, of Dorchester County, and had
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children, viz .: Robert, born March 21, 1771, died April I following; Robert Henry, born Febru- ary 17, 1774, died September 18, 1777; Eliza- beth, born July 30, 1776, died August 14, 1798, and a second Robert Henry, born January 4, 1779, died October 5, 1836.
Elizabeth Goldsborough, daughter of Robert and Mary Emerson Trippe Goldsborough, married September 22, 1793, Gov. Charles Goldsborough, and had children, viz .: Elizabeth Greenbury and Ann Maria.
Hon. Robert Henry Goldsborough, son of Robert and Mary Emerson Trippe Goldsborough, United States Senator from May 21, 1813, to De- cember 21, 1819, married January 16, 1800, Henrietta Maria Nicols, daughter of Col. Robert Lloyd Nicols and his wife, Susannah Robins Chamberlaine Nicols, and had children, viz .: Robert William, born October 18, 1800; William,
12, 1804; Susan Elizabeth, born January 4, 1806, who married Mr. Coolidge of Boston, and died January 14, 1838; Mary Caroline, born Novem- ber II, 1808; Henrietta Maria, born January 31, 18II; John McDowell, born October 4, 1813; Mary McDowell; Eliza, born September 19, 1815; and George Robins, born April 11, 1821. Col. Robert Lloyd Nicols was the son of Jeremiah Nicols and Deborah Lloyd. Deborah Lloyd was the daughter of James Lloyd and Ann Grundy. Susannah Robins Chamberlaine, when she mar- ried, in August, 1775, Col. Robert Lloyd Nicols, was the widow of Thomas Chamberlaine. She was the daughter of George Robins and Henri- etta Maria Tilghman, who married April 22, 1721. Henrietta Maria Tilghman was the daugh- ter of Richard and Ann Maria Lloyd Tilghman of the Hermitage.
Howes Goldsborough, son of Robert and his second wife, Mary Ann Turbutt Robins Golds- borough, married November 16, 1773, Rebecca Goldsborough, daughter of Robert and Sarah Yerbury Goldsborough, and had children, viz .: Sarah, born October 5, 1774; Robert, born March 6, 1776, died December 5, 1777; Mary Ann, born February 23, 1778; Charles, born June 4, 1779, died August 13, 1824; Robert Yerbury, born
January 24, 1782; Henry Turbutt, born Decem- ber II, 1783, died February 2, 1785; William Henry, born May 6, 1785, died August 14, 1842; Ann, born May 11, 1787, who married May 30, 1810, Charles Louis Pascault, of Baltimore, and died December 24, 1855; Howes, born March II, 1789, who married Maria Ward; Rebecca, born November 25, 1790, died in September, 1792; Elizabeth, born February 8, 1791, died February 19, 1791; and Henry, born February 16, 1792, died 1832.
Sarah Goldsborough, daughter of Howes and Rebecca Goldsborough, married March 25, 1802, Dr. Samuel Y. Keene, and had children, viz .: John Henry and Mary Ann, who married - Hollingsworth.
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