Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 50

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

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ILLIAM H. JACOBS, M. D., has a grow- ing practice and a most promising future before him. He has been a resident of Millington, Kent County, for scarcely five years, but has won an enviable reputation for ability and skill in his favorite field of endeavor. It was his privilege to study in colleges noted for their progressiveness and modern methods in combating disease, and with this knowledge as a foundation he has built upon it the results of practical experience.

William H. Jacobs, Sr., was a native of Kent County, Del., and carried on a farm and also a mercantile business at Downs Chapel. His early manhood was exclusively devoted to agriculture, but for the last fifteen years he gave his attention and time chiefly to the management of his com- mercial ventures. He was an active politician, a strong Democrat, but never held public office. He was twice married, his first wife having been a Miss Moore, of Delaware, who died leaving two children, Nehemiah and Robert. His second union was with Naomi Truitt, a native of Dela- ware, and five sons blessed their marriage, viz .: George W., Jonathan, William H., James and Jacob, the two last-mentioned being twins.

Dr. W. H. Jacobs was born in 1865 in Kent County, Del., near the town of Downs Chapel, and was early initiated into the duties of farm management. His life was about such as is ex- perienced by every country boy-a free, joyous life-a life that develops the physical strength and gives breadth of lung and a chance for every bodily faculty to receive the benefits of exercise and pure air and food. His mental training probably did not keep pace with his physical growth, for district schools are not proverbial for fine systems of training "the young idea," but

when the opportunity presented itself the lad was not slow to respond to the advantages offered by wisdom. At last we find him treading the lıalls of the Chicago Medical College, and with his classmates giving earnest attention to the sub- ject of the proper treatment of disease. In 1889 he graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and for about twelve months thereafter he was engaged in practice in the town of Denton, Md. Feeling the desirability of further prepara- tion in a few special lines, he returned to his alma mater and took a post-graduate course during the winter of 1890. In the year following he estab- lished himself in business in Delaware City, Del., but in a short time removed to this place, and has since conducted a good practice.

In 1892 Dr. Jacobs married Miss Mary E. Maloney, a resident of Newcastle County, Del., and they have four children: James Paul, Gladys D .; Dorothy, deceased; and Bernice, who died when six weeks old. The doctor and his worthy wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are respected by all with whom they come in contact.

HOMAS STOCKTON WICKES, of Ches- tertown, was born in this city September 2, 1832. He is of good old Revolutionary lineage, his grandfather, Simon Wickes, having been an officer in the colonial army and a gallant soldier in defense of American interests; by oc- cupation he was a surveyor, and his surveys were always noted for their accuracy. In religious belief he was a Metliodist, being one of the early adherents of that denomination in the United States. He lived to see America win in the sec- ond war with England and died after its close, in 1816. He had an older brother, Joseph (who was the grandfather of Judge Wickes), and two sisters, Nancy and Fannie, the former of whom married William Brown, a large land owner and prominent resident of Kent County, while the latter married a gentleman from Philadelphia. The great-grandfather of our subject, Joseph

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Wickes, was born in Kent County and made his home upon the estate that had been pur- chased by his ancestors on first coming to America. This estate was out of the family for forty-nine years, but was bought back by our subject in 1879 and he is now its owner.

The father of our subject, Simon Wickes, was born seven miles from Chestertown, on Tulip Forest farm, in 1781, and engaged in farming the old homestead until 1831, when he retired to Chestertown, and there resided until his death in 1848. His health was very poor for years before his death, and being unable to manage his busi- ness affairs personally he suffered heavy financial losses, and was obliged to give up the estate he had inherited. His family were members of the Episcopal Church. He was an only son and had two sisters: Hannah, who married Capt. Benjamin Houston, nephew of Judge James Houston, of the United States district court in Baltimore, and whose grandson, Rev. James H. Eccleston, is rector of an Episcopal Church in Baltimore; and Polly, who died unmarried.

Our subject's mother, Elizabeth Blake, was born in Queen Anne's County and was a lineal descendant of the famous English admiral, George Blake, whose famous victory won for England the supremacy of the sea. Mrs. Wickes died in 1878, at the age of eighty-five years. She had a brother, William Blake, who was an officer in the American army, stationed at Fort McHenry. Our subject was the youngest of nine children and is now the only survivor. Mary Hamilton, who was named for her grandparents, Mary Freeman and Hamilton M. Blake, became the wife of James Arthur, a mechanic. Simon, who was born in 1818, engaged in farming and the drug business, and died in 1869; his son, Thomas W. Wickes, is now a druggist in Ches- tertowu. Charles Henry, who was born in 1820, was a clerk in Baltimore for a time, later went to sea, then studied law, and was a Union soldier in the late war, after which he turned his atten- tion to literature, being a man of fine literary tastes. He died in 1893, leaving a daughter, who resides in Chestertown. William Nichols Earle Wickes, born in 1823, died in 1895, leaving a

son and daughter. Isaac Freeman, born in 1825, was a druggist in Chestertown and Baltimore, but his fate is unknown, as nothing has been heard of him for thirty years. Anne Rebecca, born in 1827, became the wife of Benjamin Chambers Wickes, who died in 1854; she after- ward married Judge Joseph A. Wickes, and died in 1889. Elizabeth, born in 1830, died unmarried in 1888. One child died in infancy.

Educated in Washington College, our subject began his business career in the store where he is now. For two years he was in New York, but with that exception he has resided continuously in Chestertown, where he has been engaged in mercantile and agricultural pursuits. Among his possessions are valuable farms and town prop- erty. Politically he affiliates with the Democrats. He attends the Episcopal Church, in which for many years he was a warden.

OHN COPPAGE. Seldom does a poor boy work his way forward to a position of such assured success as has been the case in the life of Mr. Coppage. With nothing but a brave heart and a strong body he began the battle of life. His lack of opportunities and his poverty did not discourage him. On the contrary he was buoyant, hopeful, enthusiastic and determined. He now owns more than two thousand acres in Queen Anne's County, this large tract being sub- divided into ten farms, seven of which are in his home district, the second. He is also the owner of eleven hundred acres in Talbot County, in- cluding what is said to be the finest farming land in the state of Maryland. From his life, so re- markably successful, lessons may be gleaned worthy of emulation by the young.

In the second district, where he now resides, Mr. Coppage was born October 23, 1810, a son of John and Martha (Dudley) Coppage. He was the second of seven children, of whom six at- tained mature years, but all are deceased except himself and Edward E., who lives in Delaware. Reared to habits of industry, our subject early be-

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gan to make his own way in the world, and chose for his occupation the one with which he was most familiar, that of agriculture. He mar- ried Mary A. Nickerson, who died in 1846. His second wife, Rebecca Taylor, a native of Dela- ware, became the mother of fourteen children, of whom five are living, namely : Annie, Martha, Kate, Maggie and Enoch, a farmer of the second district.

Since 1854 Mr. Coppage has owned and occu- pied his present homestead in the second district, where he has four hundred and forty acres in one body. His attention has been given almost en- tirely to his personal affairs, and he has had little time or inclination to mingle in political matters. In 1876 he served as county assessor, for two terms he was tax collector and he also held the office of county commissioner.

EV. JAMES BLACK MERRITT, D. D. Thomas Merritt, of England, sailed up the Delaware River in his trading vessel, called The Little Baltimore, and had a grant of land on St. John's River, Reedy Island Neck, New- castle County, Del. Subsequently he settled in Rye, Westchester County, N. Y., before 1673, and purchased "Hog-Pen Ridge" September 4, 1680, and owned Pine Island and other lands about 1690. He was a vestryman, constable, super- visor and deputy to the general court. He married the second time, Abigail, daughter of Robert Francis, of Wethersfield, Conn., before 1688. His children by his first wife were: Thomas, Joseph, Ephraim and Samuel.

Thomas Merritt the second, of Rye, N. Y., had a son, Benoni (or Benjamin), whose wife's name was Mary. He sold land to John Merritt, May 14, 1720, at Rye; bought two hundred acres of land at Forcorners and died in 1779, intestate, on his farm in Reedy Island Neck, Newcastle County, Del., leaving a widow and four sons: William, Benjamin, Thomas and John.

William Merritt, born in 1726, bought Ivingo, a tract of land containing three hundred and

thirty acres in Kent County, Md., immediately adjacent to Shrewsbury Protestant Episcopal Church. He married Martha Bergin in 1759 and married the second time Martha Vansant, daugh- ter of Benjamin Vansant, in 1776. He petitioned the court of Newcastle County, Del., for the sale and partition of Benjamin Merritt's estate, his father, who died on his estate in Reedy Island Neck, Newcastle County, Del., intestate. For years he was a vestryman and church warden of Shrewsbury Protestant Episcopal Church, and was "high sheriff of Kent County," Md., in 1779. He died at Ivingo in 1793. His children were Benjamin, Rebecca and Mary.

Benjamin Merritt, born in 1779, died in 1832. He married Patty Kerr, of Newark, Del., daughter of Andrew and Martha Kerr, in 1808, and by this marriage had the following children: William K., George A., John and Adeline K., none of whom left any descendants. His second wife was Eliza Jane, daughter of John and Mary Black, of Black's Cross Roads, Kent County, Md., where she was born, October 3, 1803. Benja- min Merritt served in the battle of Cork's Field in the war of 1812, under the command of Cap- tain Chambers, subsequently judge of the circuit court. The children of Benjamin Merritt were: Thomas A., Benjamin G., James Black, Samuel A., Mary Ann and Caroline R.

Rev. James Black Merritt, D. D., the subject of this biographical sketch, was born September 20, 1826, at Ivingo, the home of his father and grandfather, and now owned by himself. He re- ceived his education in the common schools and Dickinson College, where he remained one term, and later, having studied theology at Concord, N. H., and in 1852 having been admitted to the Philadelphia Methodist Conference, he was as- signed to Dover, Del. While in this pastorate he married Hannah Pleasanton, daughter of Dr. Samuel Webb and Eliza Pleasanton, April 10, 1855, at their country residence, Muddy Branch, near Dover, Del. He served as pastor at Fred- erica, Del., Cambridge, Md., Easton, Md., Centre- ville, Md., Chestertown, Md., Dover, Del., second time (1872-75), St. Paul's, Wilmington, Del., Odessa, and Middletown and other places, and is

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at present pastor of Salem and Union, Fairlee, Kent County, Md. Dr. Merritt is reputed by the brethren of the ministry and laity to be one of the leading and influential ministers of the Wilmington Methodist Episcopal Conference, a man of marked ability and eloquence, depth of Christian experience and earnest desire to pro- mote the cause of Christ among his fellow-men. In his labors in the ministry he has led many to become Christians, has aroused the indifferent, awakened the thoughtless and increased the spiritual welfare of every congregation of which he has been pastor. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons. Politically he has always been conservative, opposed alike to the abolitionists of the north and the secessionists of the south. He has made many warm and influential friends in the varied relations of life.

To Rev. Mr. Merritt and wife were born the following children: Margaretta Boone, born March 16, 1856, died November 10, 1869; Eliza Pleasanton, born in 1857, married May 10, 1883, to A. M. Hepbron, of Baltimore, Md., and their children are Archer Kerr and James Merritt; James Black, born in 1859, is a graduate of medicine and a practicing physician at Easton, Md .; he married Georgetta, daughter of Alexander Parks, of Kent County, Md., and their children are James Black (Jay Bee) and Addie Kerr; Samuel Webb, born August 19, 1862, and a resident of Philadelphia, married Florence Katherine, daugh- ter of Dr. Francis N. Sheppard and Amanda F. Bowker, his wife, of Kent County, Md., April 10, 1894.

HOMAS HOPKINS, ex-county commis- sioner of Talbot County, and for a long period a merchant of Wye Mills and Skip- ton Landing, has been exclusively engaged in farming for over fifty years on the homestead which he owns in the fourth district. This place is commonly known hereabout as the Skipton farm, and is a tract of two hundred and ninety- three acres well improved with substantial build- ings, fences, etc. The worthy citizen of whom

we write has lived a very active and useful life, and now, though eighty-six years of age, is still hale and hearty, his mind and memory remarkably clear, and he is not obliged to use glasses when he signs his name.

The founders of this branch of the Hopkins family in America were members of the Society of Friends, and came from London, England, to Talbot County in 1658. They had a patent to certain lands situated on what is now termed Hopkins' Point, opposite the present town of Oxford. The great-grandfather of our subject bore the Christian name of Dennis, while the grandfather, the next in the line of descent, was called Thomas. Samuel, father of our subject, was a merchant and miller at Wye Mills, in this county, several years, and passed his last days upon a farm now in the possession of Dr. Earl, near Easton. He died in 1836. In his own neighborhood he was a man of considerable im- portance, and in early life was identified with the Federal party, later joining the Whigs, but he would never consent to hold office. He married Sarah Hart for his first wife, but she dying in 18II, and leaving an infant, our subject, he married again soon, her sister, Martha, being the lady of his choice. Her death occurred in 1814, and subsequently he was united in marriage to Rebecca Richards, of Queen Anne's County.

Our subject is the only survivor of his father's family, and was born November II, 181I, at Wye Mills. He attended the district schools more or less up to the age of seventeen years, when he went into his father's store, and man- aged the enterprise for him as long as he owned it. When his father removed to Easton, our subject bought his interest in the old mill and in the store and conducted the same from Jan- uary, 1836, to July, 1841. He then purchased the Skipton farm and managed it, at the same time running the store and vessel at the land- ing near for seventeen years. In the year 1851 he purchased the tan-yard farm of three hundred acres, but subsequently sold this place. He also bought and shipped grain to Baltimore to a large extent during this period. In 1853 he disposed of all his other interests and gave his whole

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time and attention to agriculture. In 1844 he was elected on the Whig ticket as county com- missioner and served in that office for years to the satisfaction of all concerned. Since the war he has been affiliated with the Democratic party.

In July, 1834, Mr. Hopkins married Hester A. McDaniel, who was called to her final rest in January, 1839. She left two children, Sarah A. and an infant, but both have since passed away. In June, 1840, he wedded Hester A. Mc- Daniel, a cousin of his first wife, and the five children born to them are: James L., who is at home and superintending the farm; Thomas, a resident of Long Woods; Hester Ann, widow of Rev. A. Manship, of Germantown, Pa .; Jane B., who is unmarried; and Grace, wife of Lewis Osborne, of Fredericktown, Md. The mother died in November, 1854. In August, 1858, Mr. Hopkins was united in marriage with Martha E. McCeeney, who died in 1881. Julia, her eld- est child, is the wife of S. W. Hopkins, of Wye Mills; Benjamin is at home; and Martha H., the youngest, is living with her father.

LANCHARD EMORY, JR., of Centreville, was born March 4, 1855, near the village where he now resides, the family home be- ing two miles north of this place. When a boy he attended the public schools and the Centreville Academy. Starting out for himself at the age of sixteen years, he secured a position as purser on the steamer Osceola, on Corsica Creek, and during the year that followed he obtained accurate knowledge of the life of a mariner. His next employment was as a clerk in the store owned by S. E. Dyott in Centreville, and with that gentleman he remained for several years. Later he was an employe of the firm of J. Edward Bird & Co., of Baltimore.

Forming a partnership with his cousin, E. B. Emory, in 1877 our subject became financially concerned in the business of fertilizer in Centre- ville. Later he was with P. H. Feddeman, and is now associated with Charles H. Burgess under

the firm title of Emory & Burgess. As a business man he is keen, shrewd and enterprising, capa- ble of forming important plans and also of carry - ing them to a successful consummation. Not a little of his prosperity is due to his own indefati- gable industry, for he is a very hard-working man and gives his time and thought closely to matters of business.

The Democratic party embodies the principles which Mr. Emory upholds. He believes in the platform of the organization and always supports its men and measures. Both in local and national campaigns his services are given in behalf of his party, which has in Centreville no supporter more ardent than he. Alike in hours of triumph or in time of defeat he stands by his party, pleased with its successes, but not discouraged by its defeats. From 1891 to 1895 he held the office of justice of the peace. In March of the latter year he was appointed postmaster of Centreville and still retains that office. He has also been agent for the Adams Express Company since July 7, 1877. Fraternally he is officially connected with the Knights of Pythias and in religious belief he is an Episcopalian. May 7, 1879, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Kerr, of Queen Anne's County. They became the parents of six children, but lost three of the number by death. The surviving sons are Alan G., Edward B. and Blanchard.

WILSON DAIL is one of the three county commissioners of Dorchester County, having been elected upon the Democratic ticket in 1893, his term to run for six years, therefore terminating in 1899. He is a very popular official and enjoys the entire confidence of his associates, friends and neighbors. His birthplace was in this county, and his whole life has been spent here, and is thoroughly known from first to last, and when, under such circumstances, a man stands high in the estimation of all, it is no slight credit to him. He is a stanch worker in the Democratic party, and once before served the

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public in an official position, when he was col- lector for liis own district during a period of two years.

Mr. Dail is one of the most promising farmers of this county and is the owner of a beautiful homestead, comprising two hundred acres in the seventli district, near Cambridge. He was born in the city of Cambridge September 24, 1851, a son of Levin S. and Sallie E. (Wilson) Dail, and was afforded an excellent business education. Wlien he started out to "paddle his own canoe" he concluded to try his fortune as a farmer, and has succeeded so well that he now can look forth upon his broad and fertile acres, from which rich harvests of golden grain are yearly garnered, with a feeling of satisfaction and just pride, for it has all been the result of his own toil and in- dustry. He lives in a pretty, substantial country home, and has a happy and loving family to cheer him in his hours of happiness.

The Dails were originally natives of England, and located in Maryland in the early colonial days. His great-grandfather, William Dail, was born and resided during his lifetime in Dorchester County, as did likewise grandfather Thomas Dail. The latter had five sons, viz .: William and Wheatley, both deceased; Thomas J., formerly a business man of Cambridge, but now living in Baltimore; Josiah, deceased; and Levin S., the father of our subject, whose death occurred in 1880, at the age of sixty years. His wife was a Miss Sarah E. Wilson, of Sussex County, Del., and of their nine children seven lived to reach maturity. In order of birth they are as follows: J. Wilson; Edgar, who died in his twenty seventh year; Louisa, who married Ezekiel Wilson, of Sussex County, Del., and died leaving several children; Bessie B., who became the wife of William Coulburn and left four children to mourn her loss when she died a few years ago; Levin S., a resident of Cambridge; Clara, wife of Frank Marble, of Sussex County, Del .; and Sally, who is engaged in teaching in the Cambridge Acad- emy.

The marriage of J. Wilson Dail and Miss Annie P. Robinson took place in the old Episcopal Church near the village of Church Creek, No-

vember 14, 1883, the bride coming from an old and influential family in these parts. She is a daughter of Joseph and Mary C. (Bowdle) Rob- inson. They have two children, a son and daughter, named respectively Herbert Hall and Annie Wilson. The Dail family are members of St. James' Parish Episcopal Church, of Cam- bridge.

UGH DUFFEY, the well-known druggist of Hillsborough, Caroline County, was born in Philadelphia, August 23, 1836, being the son of Roger and Eleanor (O'Neill) Duffey. His father, who was a native of Ireland, came to America in youth, hoping to find here the fortune his good sense told him could not be secured in his home land. However, his life in the United States was one of adversity rather than success. When a child he was stricken with the small-pox and lost the sight of one eye, and in time the other became affected, so that at the age of thirty-five he was quite unable to attend to business. This sad calamity, however, did not leave him helpless, as he formed a part- nership with a cousin, Hugh Duffey, and together they carried on the business of dyeing hats and were quite successful. He survived to an ad- vanced age, dying in Philadelphia when in his seventy-fifth year. His wife also died in that city. They had two children, Hugh and Eliza- beth.

The childhood years of our subject were passed in a comparatively uneventful manner in the city where he was born. At the age of fourteen he came to Maryland, where he has since made his home. His first work was as a farm hand, his wages being small and the work hard; but he did not become discouraged, on the contrary he was full of hope and determination. At the age of twenty-one he secured work as clerk in a general store in Hillsborough, where he remained for some time. His education had been rather lim- ited so far as schools were concerned, but he had applied himself diligently to the acquirement of knowledge and had gained a breadth of informa-

REV. GEORGE F. BEAVEN.

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tion that enabled him to secure a certificate to teach school, and this occupation he followed for three years. In 1865 he embarked in the drug business in Hillsborough, and this enterprise he has since carried on with success.

May 31, 1860, Mr. Duffey married Catharine See, who was born in the village of Hillsborough and has always made her home here. She is a daughter of John and Hester A. (Shepherd) See, the former a native of Delaware, and the latter of Maryland. Her family consists of five living children and five are deceased. The survivors are Roger W., Hugh C., A. Linden, Anna E. and Catharine S. The family are identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Duffey has been an active worker in the capacity of trustee, steward and class-leader. The evils of the liquor traffic have caused him to take a firm stand on the side of prohibition and he is connected with the party that maintains the pro- hibition plank in its platform.

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Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 50

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