Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 25

Author: Chapman Publishing Company
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: New York, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 906

USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland > Part 25

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AMES C. DIRICKSON, M. D., has been a continuous resident of the village of Berlin, Worcester County, for nearly forty years and is, moreover, a native of this place. The family of which he is a sterling representative is a very old one in this state and originated in Stockholm, Sweden. The paternal grandfather of the doc- tor was Levin Dirickson, who was a native of either the lower part of Delaware or of Maryland. He was a man of fine scholarship and occupied several public offices in his county. He was killed while still a young man. His father, James, was also born on the peninsula, and resided here all his lifetime.

The doctor's father, James Dirickson, was born near the town of Berlin, Worcester County, in 1796. He was a man of great wealth and influence and was possessed of a fine education for his day. He was a very public-spirited man and helped materially in the foundation of the village of Berlin. Frequently he was called upon to hold one or another official position, and among these was sheriff in his early manhood. He was a very successful merchant and owned vessels that conveyed freight to Philadelphia and New York City. He married Henrietta, daughter of Littleton Purnell, and their three children were: Levin L., now deceased; Mary I., who became the wife of Maj. Thomas L. Harris, a prominent man in Illinois; and the doctor. Levin L. was ed-

ucated in Trinity College, of Hartford, Conn., and became one of the leading statesmen of the Eastern Shore. He held numerous high posi- tions in county and state and was renowned for his wisdom and eloquence.

James C. Dirickson was born in Berlin in 1833, and was only sixteen years old when he began the study of medicine. He graduated from Jeff- erson Medical College in Philadelphia in the class of 1853, and located for his initial practice in Reho- both, Somerset County, Md. Three years later he went to Nicaragua and was there for a few months during the war and filibustering troubles of 1856. The following year he received an appointment to the Samoan Islands as consul from President Buchanan and remained there for three years, returning home in 1860. Since that time he has been engaged in practice in Berlin and vicinity. He has always been very active in the interests of the Democratic party and in 1884 was a delegate to the national convention which nominated Cleveland for the presidency, he being one of his firmest advocates. For many years the doctor has been affiliated with the Masonic order, and belongs to the blue lodge. In Octo- ber, 1865, he married Miss Eliza B. Cummins, of Smyrna, Del., and they have one child, a daugh- ter, Martha Susie by name.

OL. F. CARROLL GOLDSBOROUGH was born at Llandaff farm, Talbot County, about three miles southwest from Easton, and is a worthy representative of two of the most honored families of the state. His father, Matthew Tilgh- man Goldsborough, was born in the same county in 1812, and was the eldest child of Col. Nicholas and Elizabeth Tench (Tilghman) Goldsborough, of Otwell, Talbot County. She was a daughter of Col. Tench Tilghman, who served as aid to General Washington in the Revolutionary war. Our subject's paternal grandfather was a colonel of militia in the war of 1812 and as a life work followed the occupation of farming. He ably rep- resented his county in the Maryland legislature,

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and was a consistent member of the Episcopal Church, to which his father, Nicholas Golds- borough, also belonged. The last-namned was also a native of Talbot County and died when liis son, the colonel, was a small child. His father also bore the name of Nicholas.

Matthew T. Goldsborough was educated as a civil engineer, and for ten years successfully followed that profession, during which time he surveyed the Roanoke & Weldon Railroad in North Carolina, and the town of Goldsborough in that state was laid out along that line and named in his honor. On retiring from his pro- fession he located on his farm, where his death occurred in 1861, just at the outbreak of the Civil war. He was the owner of about seventy slaves and his sympathies were with the south. In early life he had married Eleanor Sarah Tilgh- man, a daughter of Edward Tilghman, a native of Queen Anne's County, who followed farming the greater part of his life and accumulated a large fortune. He was the second son of Col. Ed- ward Tilghman, of Wye. The mother of our subject spent her last days in Baltimore.

Colonel Goldsborough, of this review, is one of a family of seven children, of whom five are still living. Anna Elizabeth is the wife of Col. F. H. Johnson, a farmer of Talbot County; Matthew Tilghman owns and operates the old ancestral home in Otwell, Talbot County; the colonel is next in order of birth; E. Martha is now living in Baltimore; Sarah M. is the wife of Henry M. Smyth, of Gloversville, N. Y .; Fanny Van Wyck married William H. Archer and died in Baltimore, leaving a daughter, Fanny, who is now the wife of Rev. Peter Gray Sears, of Mis- sissippi; and Walter Gwynn died at the age of nineteen years.

The subject of this review spent his boyhood days upon the home farm, and was educated in the University of Virginia, where he graduated in the class of 1869. He now owns and operates the old homestead of his father, Ellenborough, where his entire life has been passed, and in con- nection with general farming is successfully en- gaged in rasing Oxford Down sheep, of which he was an importer. For several years he was

president of the American Oxford Down Associa- tion, was trustee of the Maryland Agricultural College fifteen years or more, and for nine years was president of the Talbot County Fair Associa- tion. He has also been cashier of the Farmers & Merchants' National Bank of Easton since the fall of 1896. By purchase he is now the owner of the old estate called Canterbury Manor, it being originally granted to the Tilghman family, who occupied it but a few years and then estab- lished the family home at the Hermitage, on Chester River.

In 1885 was celebrated the marriage of Colonel Goldsborough and his first cousin, Mary Hill Goldsborough, and they have become the parents of four children: Nicholas, Martha, Richard and Mary Hill. The parents are both Episcopalians and for about twenty years our subject has served as vestryman of St. Peter's parish of Easton. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat, and he derived his title as colonel while serving on the staff of Gov. William T. Hamilton. He indeed deserves mention among Talbot County's prominent business men and representative cit- izens.

AMES V. KNOTTS, M. D. On the 29th o August, 1893, there passed from his home in the first district of Queen Anne's County, a well-beloved physician, whose many years of faithful toil in his profession made his name a household word in that community. Nor had his influence and his efforts been confined to pro- fessional lines only, for in all the varied activities of our common life he had taken an active part as a loyal citizen, devoting his abilities to the cause of progress. Dr. Knotts was a man whose death was felt as a loss among all classes, and the fol- lowing brief account of one so esteemed will be read with unusual interest.

The doctor was born near Roseville, Queen Anne's County, January 9, 1840, and spent the days of his boyhood and youth upon a farm. After his own school days were over he engaged in teaching for several years and then took up

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the study of medicine, attending lectures at the University of Maryland, where he graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1866. He then located at the present home of the family in the first dis- trict and soon succeeded in building up a large practice, which he continued to enjoy up to the time of his death. He also owned and operated a farm and was recognized as one of the valued and useful citizens of the community.

In 1867 Dr. Knotts was united in marriage to Miss Kate O. Cooper, by whom he had eight children: Estella, Gurney, James T., Herbert, Roland, Katie E. and Mary O., all living; and George, deceased. The doctor was one of nature's noblemen, was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the world is better for his having lived. His influence was great and always for good, and his sympathy, benevolence and kindly greeting will long be re- membered. He was laid to rest in the Temple- ville cemetery.

WATERS RUSSELL, of Chestertown, is a member of a well-known family of Kent County. His grandfather, Theophilus Russell, was born here August 11, 1781, and grew to manhood amid the surroundings com- inon to all residents of the United States in the period immediately succeeding the Revolution. A sailor by occupation, he ran a packet between Baltimore and Chestertown. During the war of 1812 he enlisted in the American service and among the engagements in which he took part was the battle of Caulksfield. He died at an advanced age April 27, 1856. Little is known concerning his ancestry or parentage, save that he was a son of William and Ann Russell. In 1804 he married Ann Tittle, who was born July 23, 1787.

John Russell, father of our subject, was born in Chestertown January 26, 1805, and received a fair education in youth. Going with his father on the bay, he learned the sailor's occupa- tion and soon had charge of a packet between

Chestertown and Baltimore. Later, however, he left the water and embarked in the mercantile business. In his younger days he was captain of a rifle company of militia. For many years he was clerk to the board of county commissioners and at one time served as magistrate. In the order of Odd Fellows he took on active part, belonging to the local lodge. In religious belief he was connected with the Methodist Protestant Church. At the age of seventy years he passed away, October 12, 1875.

The mother of our subject, Frances George, was born in Baltimore July 26, 1806, and died in Chestertown December 23, 1834. She was a daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth George, a sister of the late James B. George and aunt of Isaac S. George, president of the Traders' Bank of Baltimore. Many of her relatives have been influential in the history of Baltimore. The George family is of French-Huguenot descent and inherits the qualities so notable in the char- acters of their ancestors. Mrs. Frances (George) Russell was the second wife of John Russell, who, after her death, married Elizabeth Greenwood, and they became the parents of the following- named children: John Hamer, whose home is in Winchester, Queen Anne's County; James Alex- ander; Hester Ann; William George, who was a watchmaker; Lewis L .; and Sarah L., wife of Clinton Cook, of Denton, Md.

T. Waters Russell was the only child of his father's second marriage. He was born in Ches- tertown October 3, 1833, and received his educa- tion in Washington College. Afterward he taught some years in Kent County and two years in North Carolina. Upon retiring from school work he was engaged in the capacity of deputy register of wills, being for twenty years with J. A. Pearce, and for a similar period he was clerk to the board of county commissioners. After this long period of faithful service he re- signed and retired on the Ist of January, 1896. Politically he is a Democrat, ardent in his support of the party and its principles.

In 1862 Mr. Russell married Benanna Green- wood Frazier, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Ridue) Frazier, and a native of Chestertown.

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Her father, who was born January 14, 1805, fol- lowed the occupation of a merchant tailor, and died in 1887. By her marriage she is the mother of six children, now living, namely: Frances George, wife of Joseph N. Wheatley, postmaster of Chestertown; Charlotte R., at home; William F., who is cashier of the Savings Bank of Chester- town; Ann Tittle, Amy Claudine and John Waters.

APT. CLOUDSBURY H. CLASH, one of the leading and influential citizens of Centre- ville, was born near St. Michael's, in Talbot County, Md., May 7, 1828, and is the only child born to Cloudsbury and Henrietta (Matthews) Clash, the former a native of Talbot County, and the latter of Queen Anne's County, Md., a daugh- ter of Joseph Matthews. She was his second wife and lived to be about forty-five years of age, passing away in August, 1849. The first wife of Cloudsbury Clash, Sr., was a Miss Stableford, a native of Talbot County, and they had three children: Sarah Ann, wife of Samuel Jewell; Garrettson, a merchant of Philadelphia, wlio died when about sixty-eight years of age; and Na- thaniel, who died at the home of his brother Cloudsbury in 1895.

Captain Clash, of this review, was a child of eleven years when the family removed to Tilghman Island, in Talbot County, where they spent four years, after which they removed to the Milton farm, near Easton. His educational privileges were quite limited, but contact with the world, observation and experience have made him a well-informed man. In October, 1845, he shipped aboard a schooner, and for a number of years he sailed on Chesapeake Bay. Within a year he was made mate, and at the age of nineteen he became captain of the Ellen S. Brown, owned by John Bartlett, a Quaker, and a very excellent man. In April, 1854, he came to Centreville and assumed charge of the schooner Harvest, owned by Pere- grine Tilghman, and afterward by E. T. M. For- man, having charge of the same until 1861.

In 1858 Captain Clash married Miss Sarah

Ellen Anderson, daughter of Charles H. Ander- son, who removed from Delaware to Centreville. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Jones, and was also a native of Delaware. In 1861, about the time of the opening of the Civil war, our subject formed a partnership with Jolın H. Evans, and engaged in the freighting business at Church Hill, carrying on operations there with good success for six years. He built a schooner, of which he was commander, but in 1867 he be- came dissatisfied with his business on account of its keeping him away from home so much and determined to sell out and locate on a farm. He then purchased the Bradford farm, three miles from Church Hill, on which he located January 1, 1868, but in 1870 he removed his family to Cen- treville, where he engaged in the boating busi- ness with Capt. Augustus McCabe. In 1872 his partner withdrew and Captain Clash continued alone. In 1876 he built his fine home, to which he removed in April, 1877. In 1878 he built the schooner Chesterfield at St. Michael's, Talbot County, at a cost of $6,500, with work being done by Kirby & Lang, but the captain furnished all directions for its construction, It is a vessel with a carrying capacity of one hundred and twenty tons. Captain Clash continued in command until 1883, when he employed a competent man to take charge in order that he might devote his time and attention to his business interests on the land.

To our subject and his wife have been born ten children. Charles Nicholson, born July 6, 1859, is now collector for the Deering Manufacturing Company of Chicago; Howard Tilghman, born April 8, 1861, is engaged in the lumber business in Toledo, Ohio; Frederick Henry, born March 29, 1863, married a Miss Marshall, and had one son; he was educated in St. John's College, was a successful teacher and died September 15, 1890, at the age of twenty-seven years; Vernon, born August 17, 1865, died March 5, 1868; Preston Anderson, born November 3, 1867, is at home; Henrietta, born April 13, 1870, is a teacher in Centreville; Mary Elizabeth, born January 25, 1872, is the wife of Robert A. Cairns, a chief engineer in Waterbury, Conn .; Norman Matthew,

COL. WILLIAM SCOTT ROBERTS.

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born March 7, 1875, died August 30, 1876; Sarah Ellen, born February 7, 1878, is a student in the normal school in Baltimore; Evelyn, born Jan- uary 4, 1881, completes the family.

Captain Clash is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and since 1872 has been con- nected with the Odd Fellows' Society. He is a very prominent and influential citizen, who com- mands the respect of all who know him.

D OL. WILLIAM SCOTT ROBERTS, of Cen- treville, was born July 11, 1838, and is the eldest son of the late Col. Lemuel Roberts, who was born in December, 1802, and throughout his entire life followed farming, cultivating land for which his father, Benjamin Roberts, obtained a grant in 1794. It was situated on the Clinton River Red Line, where the grandfather owned and operated a mill as early as 1750. He was twice married, and by the first union had two sons, Benjamin and Thomas. The latter was a successful miller, but went to sea, where he lost his life. The former, who was a miller and farm- er, sold his interest in the old homestead, which was inherited by the father of our subject.

Col. Lemuel Roberts was not only a prominent agriculturist, but was also a leader in the public life of his county and for ten terms represented his district in the state legislature. In 1852 he was elected state lottery commissioner and in 1858 was elected commissioner of public works, being re-elected in 1860 for a second term. He was a director on the part of the state for the Queen Anne Railroad and was concerned in all matters pertaining to the welfare and advance- ment of the county. His business interests were conducted with profit and he became one of the most extensive peach growers in the state. He died in October, 1869, leaving an estate valued at $40,000. The mother of our subject, Mrs. Maria J. (Scott) Roberts, was a native of An- napolis, and a daughter of William Scott, a na- tive of England, who was captain of a vessel.

Mrs. Roberts died on the old homestead in Queen Anne's County in 1851.

Col. Lemuel Roberts and his wife were the parents of eight children, three of whom died in early life. Benjamin, the second of the family, was a soldier of the Civil war, was wounded at Chancellorsville and at Gettysburg, and died of his injuries in the hospital. He held the rank of first lieutenant. Maria J. is the wife of John McFadden, of New York; Emma V. is the widow of the late William G. Temple, of Delaware, son of ex-Governor William Temple. Their only son, Rev. Dr. William Temple, now about twen- ty-six years of age, is lecturing to the post-grad- uate theological students in St. Vincent's Theo- logical Seminary of New York. He was for six years a student in St. Charles College, also at- tended St. Mary's College of Baltimore for six years, and was a student in the American Col- lege in Rome for four years. He was the first American who ever carried off the first prize in that institution and for four years he won it each year. Although his father was a Protestant, he is now in the priesthood. Finley completes the Roberts family.

The subject of this review was reared on his father's farm until the fall of 1851, when he en- tered the Maryland Military Academy, in Ox- ford, Talbot County, Md., where he graduated in the spring of 1859. In December of that year he went to Frederick, where he took up the study of law in the office of Joseph M. Palmer, and in 1862 was admitted to the bar. He began prac- tice in Westminster, Carroll County. During his residence in Carroll County he edited and published the Western Maryland Democrat, now the Westminster Advocate. In May, 1864, he returned to his native county, where he has since resided. I11 1875 he established the Centreville Record, of which he has since been the head. He is a journalist of ability, who handles with masterly skill the questions of public interest, presenting them in a fair, unprejudiced manner. His paper is one of the leading journals of this section of the state, neat in appearance, interest- ing in its editorials and profitable from the financial standpoint. It advocates the principles

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of Democracy, and its editor is a stalwart sup- porter of that party, and served in 1888 as presi- dential elector.

In 1872 Colonel Roberts was united in mar- riage with Miss Eliza J. Dunbracco. Since 1862 he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity and has served as senior warden of the blue lodge. He is a public-spirited, progressive citi- zen, deeply interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community, and is a promi- nent representative of the journalistic interests of Maryland.

OHN H. HORSEY, a wealthy farmer of Caroline County, is one of her most exten- sive land holders, as his estates comprise about eight hundred acres. His homestead is situated in the sixth district, his postoffice address being Denton. He comes from one of the oldest families in this region, his great-grandfather, a native of Germany, having settled here about the middle of the last century. He was one of the soldiers who fought for the independence of the American colonies in the war of the Revolution.

Grandfather Nathaniel Horsey was born in Delaware. The parents of our subject were William G. and Mary A. (Harris) Horsey, both likewise natives of Delaware, and his only sister is Eliza A., wife of Thomas Garrett, a farmer of Caroline County. William G. was reared in this county and was a very extensive merchant of Denton. In 1868 he was elected to represent this district in the state house of delegates, and from 1870 to 1872 was county commissioner here. He acted on the board of review and was the ad- ministrator of several large estates. He accumu- lated large tracts of fine land, and at his death willed over eight hundred acres to our subject, his only son. His wife died in June, 1853, aged twenty-eight years, and later he married Louisa Moore, a native of Delaware. They had two daughters, Eva M., who is deceased, and Clara, who is the wife of George Deakyne, county treas- urer of Caroline County (see his sketch elsewhere

in this volume). The maternal grandfather of our subject, Isaac Harris, was a native of this state, and was the founder of the Methodist Episcopal Church that is located upon the farm owned by his grandson.

John H. Horsey was born March 13, 1848, in this locality, and was early initiated into the duties of farm work. He was given a liberal education and attended St. John's College, at Annapolis, Md., about one year. Then, upon his return home, he was employed in a mercantile establishment in Denton for a twelvemonth, after which he obtained a position under Thomas H. Kemp, the county clerk, and held the same for two years. Since that time he has devoted his whole time and attention to farming and man- aging his large property. Politically he is a Democrat.

June 7, 1876, Mr. Horsey married Annie Pen- nington, who was born in Kent County, Md. They have five sons and one daughter, viz .: William G., Norman; Henry and Pennington, twins; Mary and Harold. They are all unmar- ried and living at home. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are very liberal in their contributions to its support. They are foremost in all worthy local charities, and in them the poor and needy always find friends.

ILSON MOORE TYLOR. The Eastern Gazette, of which Mr. Tylor is editor, is one of the oldest papers on the Eastern Shore, having been established in 1816. Favor- ing the principles of the Republican party, it however maintains a friendly attitude to other political organizations and never displays the bitter partisanship at times found in some papers. As an advertising medium it is one of the best in this section and is liberally patronized by busi- ness men. It is a bright, newsy sheet, published every Saturday, and has many friends among the people of the town and county.

The success of the paper is largely due to the management and ability of the editor, Wilson

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Moore Tylor, who purchased the plant in 1885, and since then has devoted himself to journalism. He was born near Denton, Caroline County, Md., June 2, 1856, a son of Jonathan and Re- becca (Huyck) Tylor. His father, who was born in Caroline County in 1806, died in 1868, aged sixty-two years; the mother died in 1884, at the age of sixty-one. The paternal grandparents were Thomas Tylor, of Caroline County, who died in 1829, aged seventy-seven, and Mary Al- exander Alford, who died in 1820, aged fifty years.

The maternal grandparents of our subject were Girardus and Mary (Pile) Huyck, the former a soldier in the war of 1812. The great-grandpar- ents were Petrus and Magdalena (Quackenbush) Huyck, the former a son of Johannes and Cath- arine (Bevier) Huyck, who were married in 1739. Johannes was a son of Mayke Hoes, who in 1703 married Burger Huyck, of Kinderhook, N. Y. Burger's parents were Andries Hanse and Cathalin Lammerse (Van Valkenburg) Huyck. Andries was a son of Elizabeth Peters, who married Jan Huyck, "chieftain of the groot straat in Nymegen, 18 Apr. 1607, emigrated from Wesel to New Amsterdam, 4 May, 1626;"' Jan was the son of Henric Huyck, a merchant of Roemund, Holland.

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Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 25

Author: Chapman Publishing Company Publication date: 1898 Publisher: New York, Chapman pub. co. Number of Pages: 906

Author: Chapman Publishing Company
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: New York, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 906