USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland > Part 45
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allegiance to his country has never since been questioned, and he has always endeavored to do his entire duty as a citizen and voter. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Tangier Lodge No. 59, A. F. & A. M., in which he has held all the offices below that of senior warden. He also is a member of Aurora Lodge No. 69, K. P., having passed all the chairs. In Nanjemoy Tribe of Red Men he has occupied several offices.
Mr. Webster married Drusilla, daughter of Jabez and Elizabeth Webster. They have nine living children. The five older ones are sons, viz .: Benjamin F., William W., Thomas J., David O. and Andrew J. Benjamin F. married Mary J. Horner. Melissa, the eldest daughter, is the wife of Thomas Horner. Mary E., the next, is the wife of David White. Catherine C. is the wife of Thomas Anderson. Virginia C. is the youngest of the family and is still at home. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.
OSEPH F. SISK has been engaged in the mer- cantile business at Cordova, Talbot County, since 1882, and during a portion of the time served as postmaster of the place, but resigned in 1892. At first he was in partnership with his brother, but afterward bought the latter's interest and has since conducted the business alone. He is a man of energetic disposition and honorable character, honest in his dealings with all, and has built up a good trade among the people of the village and surrounding country.
Mr. Sisk was born near Cambridge, Dorchester County, Md., March 3, 1856, and is a son of William and Lucetta (Dean) Sisk. His father, who followed agricultural pursuits throughout life, held office as a magistrate for many years and was also assessor of his district. From Caro- line he removed to Dorchester County in early life, and there he resided until his death, in March, 1887. In politics he was a Democrat and in religious belief held membership with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was
JESSE A. WRIGHT.
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steward for thirty-three years. He was a man of prominence, esteemed by all who knew him. His wife is still living and is now seventy years of age. They were the parents of five children, namely: Amanda, wife of J. W. Kerr, of Den- ton, Md .; Lizzie E .; Joseph F .; Thomas J. (twin brother of our subject ); and Albert W., of Preston.
When a boy our subject attended the high school in Preston, Caroline County. After leav- ing school he began as a teacher, in which occu- pation he continued for nine years in Ohio and Illinois. In the fall of 1882 he came to Mary- land, settling in Cordova, where with his twin brother he bought the mercantile business of R. R. Shull, and this store he now conducts alone, having purchased his brother's interest. From 1885 to 1892 he was postmaster. In politics he adheres to Democratic principles. He is financier of the Heptasophs, and in religious connections a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been Sunday-school superintendent for ten years. June 1, 1883, he married Emma Gil- bert Dixon, daughter of Col. George Dixon, of Preston, and an estimable lady, whose death, August 6, 1895, was deeply mourned. Seven children were born of the union, five of whom are living, William, Pauline, Grace, Herman and Gilbert. October 20, 1897, Mr. Sisk married Miss Minnie Grace Fleckenstein, daughter of L. N. Fleckenstein, a farmer near Easton.
ESSE A. WRIGHT. The life of this well- known business man shows what is within the power of an industrious, energetic man to accomplish. Beginning in business with no cap- ital, he has nevertheless, in spite of opposing cir- cumstances and misfortunes, achieved a success that is truly commendable. In 1882 he came to what is now. Choptank and here he has since re- sided. It is largely due to his presence here and the impetus he has given different industries that the village has risen to an important position among the towns of Caroline County.
Near Fede.alsburg, in Caroline County, Mr.
Wright was born in 1856, the son of John P. and Anne (Kimmey) Wright, natives respectively of Dorchester and Caroline Counties, and for many years past residents of Choptank. The paternal grandfather, Jesse Wright, was a son of Constant Wright, who was a native of England and an em- igrant to Maryland. The family of which our subject was the eldest consisted, besides himself, of the following: William J., of Choptank; Wal- ter M., who resides in Talbot County; Oliver R., residing in Hurlock; Maggie A., Martin M., of Easton; and Nettie V., wife of M. M. Willey, of Choptank.
On the farm near Choptank our subject passed the years of boyhood. In 1877 he married Miss Dora, daughter of Peter Carroll, and to their union were born the following-named children: Emilene, Clarence E., Ira W., Minnie E., Dora, Alcade, Riley W. and Roland. In 1882 Mr. Wright came to Choptank and built a hominy factory, which he continued to operate each suc- cessive winter until 1895. To this business in 1883 he added the manufacture of fertilizer, which he carried on until 1887. In 1885 he built a factory for the manufacture of canned goods, and here he cans all kinds of fruit in season. Erecting a store building in 1888, he began in the mercantile business which he has since conducted, now having an extensive stock. In 1891 he erected his present store building, where he car- ries a full stock of goods, and in connection with its management he manufactures shirts on con- tract, selling to the wholesale business. In con- nection with other lines of work he has handled real estate and has also erected the majority of the houses in the village.
In June, 1894, Mr. Wright met with a serious accident, occasioned by a boiler explosion in his shirt factory. He was so badly scalded that for twenty-one days he lay unconscious, and though he finally recovered, because of a crushing fract- ure of the limb he was left a cripple for life. This misfortune, however, he does not allow to interfere with the management of his business, but ener- getically and cheerfully, as in the past, he carries on the various enterprises in which he is inter- ested. Since attaining his majority he has voted
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the Republican ticket at all elections and is a firm believer in the principles of the party. With his family lie holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is connected with the Improved Order of Red Men.
APT. WILLIAM K. LEATHERBURY is a prominent citizen of the village of White- laven, Wicomico County, where he is en- gaged in packing oysters for the market. He is a young man in the prime of activity and energy and is rapidly coming to the front here on account of his ability and good business methods. Be- sides conducting the enterprise just referred to, he has been the proprietor of the hotel at this point and numbered among his patrons many sincere friends, who still remember him most kindly.
Mr. Leatherbury is about thirty-nine years of age, as his birth took place upon the 11th of De- cember, 1858. He is a native of this county and is the eldest in a family comprising eight chil- dren. One of the number is deceased, and the others are: Charles, John, Robert L., Harry B., Hettie and James L. The parents were Capt. James and Matilda (Wingate) Leatherbury, both natives of the Eastern Shore. Grandfather Leaven Leatherbury was also born in this portion of Maryland and was extensively engaged in agriculture. His father, Maj. Robert, was a na- tive of England and won his title in the American war of the Revolution. He settled permanently near the town of Whitehaven, in this county, and became wealthy in landed estate.
The early education of our subject was gained in the public schools of his home district, to which, as a basis, he has since added knowledge gained in the world of business, private reading and general observation. He was brought up with his father to a sea-faring life and followed the water until his nineteenth year. He then became captain of his own vessel and sailed upon the bay and ocean until his twenty-ninth year, but since that time he has given his attention to
packing and shipping oysters, and has met with good financial returns. In political matters he is always to be found upon the side of the Democ- racy, though he is not an office-seeker, nor, in any sense of the word, a politician. Socially he is identified with the Knights of Pythias.
December 7, 1882, Mr. Leatherbury married - Lillian N. Toadvine, who comes from a family that is very well known and highly respected in this district. She was born and grew to woman- hood in this vicinity and is an estimable lady, beloved by all who have the pleasure of her ac- quaintance. To this marriage four children were born, but the eldest, Mazie, and the only son, William K., the youngest of the family, have been claimed by the angel of death. The others are respectively, Lettie and Nellie. Mr. and Mrs. Leatherbury are regular attendants upon the services of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are liberal in their donations to various re- ligious and charitable organizations.
ARRY A. ROE, one of the successful busi- ness men of Denton, was born in Minne- sota, August 18, 1857, being a son of Hon. A. B. and Catherine (Skirven) Roe, both natives of Maryland. His father, who was in early life engaged in the building business, afterward be- came identified with the fruit industry, and for twenty-five years has carried on a large canning business. An ardent Republican in politics, he was elected upon that ticket in 1881 to the state senate, of which body he was a member until 1885. Dur- ing the war he was a Union man and served as justice of the peace. He spent his life principally in Maryland, though for a short time he resided in Minnesota. He was an able representative of a family that has been intimately connected with Maryland's progress, and in the various lines of business in which he engaged was characterized by integrity and energy. His death occurred on the 28th of October, 1897. He and his wife, who died in 1885, were the parents of two sons and two daughters. Frederick is superintendent
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of his late father's canning factory; Blanche is the wife of R. W. Richards, of Greensborough; and Catherine R. married Dr. J. G. Emerson, a dent- ist of San Paulo, Brazil.
The education obtained by our subject was such as the local public schools and academies af- forded. When a lad he learned the builder's trade, which, at the age of nineteen, in 1876, he entered for himself. He erected a number of structures that rank among the substantial build- ings of Caroline County and was recognized as a skillful, accurate and reliable workman. In 1887 he turned his attention to the canning business, in which he has since engaged. He is also in partnership with J. H. Nichols, interested in a shirt factory where fifty hands are employed. His possessions include a farm of twenty-five acres and another of one hundred acres, both planted to fruit trees. A Republican in politics, he was chairman of the Republican state central commit- tee for two years. Fraternally he is a Mason. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which he serves as steward. In 1878 he married Sallie S., daughter of Samuel M. Carter, a farmer residing near Denton. They are the parents of a daughter, Helen, now five years of age.
ARRY L. BREWINGTON, senior member of the firm of Brewington Brothers, propri- etors and publishers of the Wicomico News, a journal printed each week in Salisbury, the county-seat of Wicomico County, is one of the native sons of this town, and, in consequence, deeply interested in whatever promises to advance her welfare. During the time that has elapsed since he and his brother undertook the inanagement of the paper, a period of nine years, it has been much enlarged and otherwise improved, until now it is a model of its kind. As a medium of general news of the inhabitants of this county, it is es- pecially desirable to our citizens, and it also ainis to present the current topics engrossing the great outside world in a concise yet sufficiently com- prehensive manner. Formerly a seven-column
folio paper, it is now one of nine columns. Its circulation is from sixteen to seventeen hundred copies weekly, and thus it is one of the finest ad- vertising mediums for our merchants possible to be obtained. Great credit is due the enterprising proprietors for the uniformly high standard they maintain in the News, and for their indus- trious efforts in behalf of the betterment of the county in every direction. The citizens should second them and encourage them in their en- deavors, as, in fact, a large percentage of them already do.
In tracing the personal history of H. L. Brew- ington it is found that he is a son of Henry and Orinthia A. (Long) Brewington, natives of Worcester County, where their nuptials were celebrated. The father was a dealer in and a manufacturer of hats, and was one of the first manufacturers and early settlers of Salisbury. He continued in business until about a year before his death, which occurred in 1892, at the age of seventy-four years, but had given up regular manufacturing some fifteen years previously He was an old-line Democrat, of the Jackson stamp, but was not a politician in the sense that he was desirous of holding public office. At one time he was the crier of the court at Wicomico County, having been given the post at the organization of the county from portions of Worcester and Somer- set Counties in 1867. This office he filled acceptably for a quarter of a century. His wife died in 1868. Their family numbered twelve children, of whom the following survive: William, Virginia, Harry L., Marion V. and Allen.
H. L. Brewington was born March 17, 1858, and was a student in the public and high schools of Salisbury. His initial experience in journal- ism was gained in the office of the Salisbury Advertiser as a printer's "devil." After working at various branches of the business here, during the two or three succeeding years, he went to New York City and there took a position with the Pennsylvania Railway Company. Nearly a year passed, and we then find him back in the office of the Advertiser, and there he stayed until October, 1886. With the other members of his family he removed to New York and soon obtained a posi-
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tion with the Erie Railroad Company, retaining the place two years. He formed a partnership with his brother, Marion V., in October, 1888, and bought the Wicomico News, of this town, and they have since conducted it successfully. In1 conjunction with it, they do fine job printing, circulars, pamphlets, etc. The office is supplied with a Cottrell printing press, and all the machin- ery connected therewith is run by steani power. Both in his editorial capacity and as a citizen Mr. Brewington is an advocate of the principles of Democracy, and is an enthusiast in defense of the party policy. Socially he is a member of the Royal Arcanum.
In February, 1881, the marriage of Mr. Brew- ington and Julia A. Jolinson was solemnized. Her father, Joshua Johnson, a leading Demo- cratic politician, now of Jersey City, N. J., was formerly a member of the state legislature, from Wicomico County. Two children, a son and a daughter, grace the union of our subject and wife, viz .: Walter J., a pupil in the grammar school, and Mary. The family are attendants at the Methodist Church South, and move in the highest social circles of Salisbury.
ON. JOHN O. PHILLIPS, whose public service is well known and redounds to his own and constituents' praise, is truly a rep- resentative man of the fourth district of Queen Anne's County, Md. He was born and has always lived on Kent Island, and his history is closely associated with every progressive work hereabouts for decades past. He has the best interests of the people at lieart, aad is true and sincere in his desire for their advancement, hold- ing his own success secondary to the general good.
The Phillips family is among the first men- tioned settlers of Maryland, and our subject's grandfather, Robert, and father, James, were both natives of Talbot County. In his early manhood James Phillips came to Kent Island and here he continued to work as a mechanic, having become
a skillful and thorough master of the trade. His wife was Margaret, daughter of William Harrison, and their family comprised the following: Willianı H., now of Dorchester County; Harriet E., wife of Charles S. Day, of Baltimore; Sarah E., Mrs. Albert Cowman, of this island; Annie, Mrs. William Graves, of St. Mary's County Md., de- ceased, and John O.
The subject of this sketch was born in 1840, and from his first recollections has been familiar with the beautiful spot called Kent Island. His education was first that of the common schools, to this an academic course being added later. Having well qualified himself for what he deter- mined to make his vocation in life, he took up the work in earnest, that of teaching, and was thus employed for nearly a quarter of a century on this island. He truly enjoyed training and bringing forth the latent talents of young, im- pressionable minds and consequently made a grand success as a teacher.
In 1868 Mr. Phillips married Laura Champion and to them were born three sons: James H., who died when seventeen years of age; Claiborne, a student in Westminster College, where he is fitting himself for the ministry; and Owen, the youngest, still at home. After the death of their mother Mr. Phillips married Mrs. Juliet M. Tucker, widow of Charles Tucker, and daughter of the late James Denney, of Kent Island, a leading citizen of the Eastern Shore. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have one daughter, Arianna Denney. The family have a beautiful home, and are sur- rounded by many of the luxuries of life, every- thing being pervaded by a fine cultured taste.
In 1870 Mr. Phillips was commissioned magis- trate of Kent Island, and has held this important office continuously since, with the exception of two years, 1878-79, when he held the appointment of tax collector for this district. In 1894 and again in 1896 Mr. Phillips served his constituents in the Maryland house of delegates, having been elected on the Democratic ticket, and while in the legislature he served on some of the most im- portant committees of that body. He has prob- ably handled more cases of violations of the oyster laws than any other man on this shore.
JOSEPH B. ANDREWS.
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Socially he belongs to the Improved Order of Heptasophs, being a charter member and the first presiding officer of the home lodge, and is now financial secretary of the same. He is also con- nected with Chester Lodge No. 116, K. P., and has held several offices in the same. He has long been a valued worker in the Methodist Protestant Church, and all of his children are identified with the church as members. His life is an exemplary one, for he humbly and earnestly strives to follow the teachings of the golden rule.
OSEPH B. ANDREWS, who was county commissioner of Dorchester County from 1891 to 1893, inclusive, is a stanch Repub- lican and a prominent citizen of Hurlock. He was born in the neighborhood of this village, before the place was laid out, and from his earliest recollections has been identified with the history of this section of the county. Though now a wealthy man, he has become so through the exercise of wise and far-seeing business methods and superior judgment in his investments. In 1894 he erected a beautiful residence here, the architecture and plans of the same having been made by himself and wife, but his devoted friend and companion was not long permitted to enjoy the new home, being summoned to the mansions above, not "made with hands."
aries. Some ten years or more he was interested in boating and the oyster fisheries, but of late has turned his attention in other directions. About 1891 he erected a building where he operates a cannery, and in the proper season large quanti- ties of tomatoes, peas, pumpkins and peaches and apples are prepared for the trade.
March 1, 1881, Mr. Andrews and Mary, daughter of John W. B. Todd, were united in marriage. They became the parents of the fol- lowing children: S. Elwood, Grace M., A. May, Edith Estelle, Olin Ray, Elizabeth Rebecca and Mary Todd. The family moved into their pretty new home in the latter part of 1894, and in April, 1896, Mrs. Andrews died. A fond wife and loving mother in the home circle, she was beloved elsewhere, and many friends deeply mourn her early death. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a sweet, consistent Christian. Mr. Andrews is a member of the same denomination. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellow and Heptasoph orders and also with the local lodges of the Senior Order of American Mechanics. In the fall of 1897 he was a candidate of the Republican party for the legislature but suffered defeat with the balance of the ticket in this county.
The birth of J. B. Andrews took place April 11, AMES A. WALLER is one of the most en- terprising farmers of Barren Creek district, Wicomico County, and is the owner of a well-improved and highly cultivated homestead. He uses good judgment in making investments, is thoroughly industrious and is upright and just in all his relations with his fellow-men. Though he has only just reached the prime of life he has already succeeded in a business way beyond the average and has a comfortable fortune, as a re- sult of his well-applied efforts. A practical farm- er, he keeps his place in a neat and thrifty man- ner, and raises each year large and paying crops of grain and other products. 1850, his father being Stephen Andrews, whose history appears in the sketch of James M. An- drews, which is to be found elsewhere in this volume. The mother was Rebecca, daughter of James Carroll and sister of C. Wesley Carroll. In this county our subject grew to manhood, re- ceiving the benefits of a liberal education in the public schools. Having finished his studies he became a teacher, but one term spent in that vo- cation was all that he desired. Previous to his marriage in 1881 he located upon a good farm near Cabin Creek postoffice, and remained thereon for a few years. He still owns that farm, and in addition to it is the possessor of about seven In following up the early liistory of the Waller hundred acres of land within the county bound -. family in this branch of the name, we find that
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three brotliers of English birth crossed the ocean in colonial days, one locating permanently in Virginia, one in Maryland, and one in Delaware. Of their descendants we are concerned alone with a man who bore the Christian name of Richard. He was the great-grandfather of our subject, and his son, Jonathan, the next in line, was captain of a militia company and a farmer by occupation.
George Waller, father of our subject, was a native of Sussex County, Del., as was his father before him. He received an excellent education and was remarkable for his wonderfully good memory of the history of old families of his coun- ty and community, and of events connected with that region. He left a valuable estate at the time of his death and was always very liberal in his contributions to charities and worthy enter- prises. His last years were spent in Salisbury, Md., his death occurring March 6,- 1896. He was a Democrat in his political faith, and was commissioner of Wicomico County in 1878, he having removed from his native state about 1842, and thenceforth was a resident of this county un- til his death, which occurred in the old home- stead known as Poplar Hill, in Salisbury. His wife was his second cousin, a Miss Julia Ann Waller. They had a family of eight children, one of whom died in infancy. The others are as follows: Martha I., unmarried; Jonathan, of Salisbury; Adeline, wife of Charles E. Williams, of the vicinity of Salisbury; James A .; George W. B., of Salisbury; Richard Lee, also of Salis- bury; and Julia D., wife of T. R. Jones, of Quan- tico, 'this county. The mother departed this life in the autumn of 1895. George Waller and his wife were members of the Episcopal Church, the former having also been a vestryman for long years in the congregation.
The birth of James A. Waller took place near Delmar, Del., but just within the state limits of Maryland, in this county, February 8, 1857. He received good educational advantages in the pub- lic and high schools of his home neighborhood, and for a time was a student in the Salisbury High School. At the age of nineteen he began to place his entire time at his father's disposal in
the work of the old homestead, and became a practical farmer. When he was about twenty- two he started out to make his own livelihood independently, and soon bought the place known as the John Crockett farm, a tract of two hundred and fifty-six acres. Here he has since been en- gaged in raising a general line of products and has been, upon the whole, very successful. He is a man of wide information and of much more than average attainments, and is respected and highly esteemed by his neighbors and all who know him. Religiously he is interested most in the Episcopal Church, and is a vestryman in the local congregation.
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