Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 60

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

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In 1873 Mr. Crockett married Miss Ella Brown, of Fruitland, and to them have been born two sons and a daughter, viz .: James, Letha and Charley. The family have a pleasant home and are well provided with many of the luxuries and necessities of life.

OHN H. C. KEMP. Numbered among the flourishing business men of Trappe district, Talbot County, is this gentleman, whose pleasant home is the abode of hospitality and good cheer. Here he has dwelt for the past seven- teen years, during which time he has instituted many substantial improvements upon the place, and now has brought things into a thrifty state. There are one hundred and eighty-eight acres in the homestead, and in addition to this he owns a tract of one hundred and seventeen acres else- where, and also an interest in his father's old farm in Bay Hundred district.

The father of our subject, John W. Kemp, was born in Baltimore, and came to this county in 1814 with his father, Thomas, who was a ship- builder by occupation, but had now decided to re- tire and thenceforth lead a pastoral life. He purchased land and removed to Wades Point, where he died a few years later. John W. Kemp was a Whig in politics, and in 1864 was elected to the state senate, and also held the office of county commissioner at one time. He was a slave holder before the war, but was a kind master. He died in 1881, aged sixty-nine years. His wife was a Miss Sally Caulk, of St. Michael's district, Talbot County, and six of their twelve children survive. They are as follows: Susan E., widow of Charles Stevens, of Denton; John H. C .; Helen D., widow of Joseph T. Tunis, who was one of the founders of Claiborne, Md .; Joseph O., who lives on the old homestead at

Wades Point; Fannie K., wife of Joseph Lowe, of Bay Hundred district; and Charles A., who is also occupied in farming in that district. William T., who was an assistant surgeon in the United States navy, died in 1864; Louisa died in her thirtieth year; Albert H., when seven and the others died in infancy.

J. H. C. Kemp was born on a beautiful farm overlooking the lovely Chesapeake Bay, in Bay Hundred district, Talbot County, August 18, 1844. The homestead was located on Wades Point, and here he grew to manhood. The attractions of the sea proved greater to him than those of agri- culture, and thus, when he was sixteen we find him seeking employment upon one of the numer- ous vessels that plied the bay. He followed the life of a sailor several years and at length was given entire charge of a ship. Becoming wearied of the business at last he returned to farming and for a few years carried on a place adjoining his old home. Then he moved upon that farm and it was not until 1880 that he came to his present dwelling.

January 23, 1873, Mr. Kemp married Esther Hopkins, of this district, and four children have blessed their union. Elenor is the eldest of the family; William T., a most promising young man, is a graduate of the Annapolis St. John's College, and has entered Columbia College of New York; Hester A. graduated from the Easton High School; and John H. C., Jr., is the youngest. The father deserves great credit for the privileges which he has bestowed upon his children in an educational way, for, feeling the need of better advantages than he had the opportunity of enjoy- ing, he resolved that his young people should not be thus deprived. Mr. and Mrs. Kemp are loyal members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and are beloved and highly esteemed by every- one in this neighborhood.

A LBERT E. ACWORTH, one of the worthy and highly esteemed citizens of the first dis- trict of Wicomico County, comes from an old and honored family in this neighborhood, a

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

family that has borne its fair share in whatever has accrued to the development and advancement of the county. Originally English, they came to America for the purpose of enjoying religious liberty and of seeking, under new conditions, a livelihood for themselves upon a fertile, virgin soil, the sod of which had never yet been turned by man. The great-grandfather of the above- named gentleman was one Thomas Acworth, who was born upon a farm two miles from the home- stead of Albert E., and the grandfather, Train Acworth, was likewise a native of the same place.

Train Acworth first saw the light of day in the old ancestral home and when he arrived at man's estate he did as his forefathers had done, in the matter of choosing rural pursuits as his means of making his living. He became very well-to-do and was influential among his associates and neighbors. In order to be better equipped for the battle of life he learned the carpenter's trade when he was a youth and followed it more or less sev- eral years. At the time of his death, in 1853, he left a large landed estate, to which Albert E. and his half-sister, Mrs. Dr. W. W. Robinson, of Baltimore, as the only children, fell heirs. He was a patriot and served in the war of 1812, in the defense of the city of Baltimore. His wife was Nancy, daughter of Edward Hull, and her death occurred while she was yet a young woman, in 1836. A brother of Train Acworth, Beacham by name, was deputy sheriff and surveyor of Somerset County years ago.

Albert E. Acworth was born upon the farm which he now owns and manages, May 26, 1827. For his day, he had better educational advantages than did most of his boyhood associates, for he at- tended the Salisbury Academy and the academy of Princess Anne, after he had exhausted the meager resources of the district school. In 1848 it was his greater privilege to enter upon a scien- tific and classical course in Princeton College, from which renowned institution of learning he graduated three years subsequently. He carried off the honors of his class, moreover, and was selected to deliver the oration for his Cliosophic Society, but was prevented from delivering the address on account of sickness at home. Soon

after his graduation young Acworthi took up the study of law in Easton under the instruction of T. R. Lockerman, but he was interrupted in his pursuits by the illness and death of his father, in 1853. It seemed best that he should stay at home and attend to the management of the farni, and he continued to do so, abandoning his pro- fessional career. He cultivates one hundred and sixty acres, raising abundant harvests.

In 1856 Mr. Acworth became one of the editors and proprietors of the Somerset Union, and since that time has contributed articles on farm- ing to the American Farmer and the Maryland Farmer. He is a supporter of the Democratic party politically, and is a member of the Episco- pal Church. April 23, 1855, he married Char- lotte E., daughter of John Dougherty, of this county, and she has been a true helpmate to him along the highway of life. They both enjoy the confidence and friendship of a large circle of acquaintances and take pleasure in ex- tending a liberal, open-hearted hospitality to all.

ABEZ WRIGHT, a retired farmer of Dor- chester County, is quietly spending his declining days in the pretty little town of Hurlock. His life has been a very useful, busy one, and he has richly earned a season of rest. He and his estimable wife are enjoying their beautiful home, where they are surrounded with many luxuries and evidences of refined tastes, and they doubtless appreciate these blessings the more keenly in that they procured them by their own arduous efforts in the past.

Mr. Wright was born in this county, in what is now called the twelfth district, December 31, 1827, and grew to manhood in the same locality, receiving such advantages in an educational way as was afforded him by the district schools. His parents were Kennelly and Celia (Lewis) Wright. The father was born in this county November 14, 1798, being a son of Cornelius and Bethany Wright. The former was an early resident of this county, and of English-Scotch

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descent, and when he commenced his business life was a poor youth. He possessed qualities that rarely fail to bring success, however, and by continued industry managed to amass a consider- able amount of property. He had a large family, and provided well for them, both as children and when they were getting started in independ- ent occupations. In order of birth they were named as follows: Christiana, Arah Ann, Mar- garet Ann, Hester Ann, Lovey, Jabez, Celia, Lewis, Catherine, Minus, Bethany, Betsy Ann, Wilbur F. (who died in childhood) and Abram. The mother was a daughter of Abraham and Lovey Lewis and was born September 25, 1799.

While he remained at home with his parents, which he did until he had reached his majority, Jabez Wright lent his dutiful assistance to the general work of the farm, and became thor- oughly equipped for his future life as an agri- culturist upon his own account. He was a dili- gent student in the schools of the period, and was called upon to teach for two terms, which he did successfully. Then he turned his attention solely toward farming and was prospered in his various labors in this direction. Politically he was first a Whig, and joining the ranks of the Republican party soon after its formation he continued to lend it his support until about 1889, when he became convinced in his own mind that the Prohibition party needed his loyalty, and since that time he has voted for the candidates of that party.

November 7, 1850, Mr. Wright married Mary C., daughter of Samuel and Dorcas (Nichols) Wright, and eight children were born to them, viz .: Rhoena V., wife of James R. Nichols, of this county; James Marcus, of Federalsburg, Md .; Margaret A., who died in childhood; M. Rhodolph, who is carrying on a ranch in Custer County, Idaho; Kennelly J., a merchant of Hur- lock; Alvin W., a resident of Westville, Conn .; Everett K. (twin brother of Alvin), a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the St. Louis conference, and Zed, who is taking a theological course in the seminary at Dover, Del.

It is a matter of great happiness to our esteemed subject and his estimable wife that their

children are all identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and that they have not turned a deaf ear to the teaching and example which their parents earnestly strive to set before them. Surely they inherited a much greater blessing than wealth or power, for the influence of a righteous man or woman is beyond imagination to picture.

HOMAS K. ADREON is one of the pro- gressive young business men of Deal's Island, Somerset County. His ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were prominent in local affairs in Baltimore many years ago, and were ever loyal to the interests of that city and of the state. On his father's side he is a great- grandson of Christian Adreon, who served as an officer in the United States army during the war of 1812 and bore a part in the battle of North Point, when the British forces threatened an attack on Baltimore. On his mother's side he is a great-grandson of Thomas Kelso, at one time a well-known millionaire of Baltimore.

The father of our subject, Harrison, a son of William Adreon, was born and reared in Balti- more and engaged in practice as a lawyer in his native city. When the war broke out he sup- ported the Union and entered the army, in which he served until the close of the conflict. For meritorious service he was breveted lieutenant- colonel. Under the Garfield-Arthur administra- tion, 1881-85, he held the office of postmaster at Baltimore. Plans for the upbuilding of the city and the benefit of the people received his hearty encouragement and practical support, and his death, in 1891, at the age of fifty-one, was a loss to the city whose interests he had always so loyally upheld.

The birth of the subject of this sketch occurred in Baltimore in 1869. He was educated in private schools, being given the best advantages which the city afforded and tlie ample means of his father_rendered possible. To the information

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obtained in school he has added by reading of magazines and current papers, so that he is 110w a man of broad culture. He succeeded his father in the pension business, but after a time, in 1895, removed to Deal's Island, where he established a general store. At this writing he is the pro- prietor of two stores and also engages in the oyster packing business. He is a member of the military order of Loyal Legion at Washington, D.C. In February, 1892, he married Miss Nannie, daughter of James T. Daniel, whose sketch ap- pears on another page. They are the parents of one child, Louisa Jessie.

ILLIAM H. DASHIELL, county super- intendent of schools of Somerset County, has filled this very responsible position nearly fourteen years. Since his early manhood he has been deeply concerned in educational problems, and is pre-eminently the right man in the right place. Himself a man of wide expe- rience as a teacher, he knows exactly what the needs of pupil and teacher are and can meet dif- ficulties pertaining to our school system as few citizens of general information could do. In ad- dition to being general superintendent he is sec- retary and treasurer of the county school funds.

Born January 28, 1852, Mr. Dashiell is a son of Rev. John H. Dashiell, D. D., a native of Salisbury, Md. The father was reared in the place of his birth and was educated in the schools of Salisbury. After attending Dickinson College he became principal of Salisbury Academy, being honored with that position before he was twenty years of age. A year or more passed and he removed to Baltimore, where he was engaged in teaching with good success several years. In 1858 and 1859 he was president of Dickinson Seminary, of Wilmington, Pa. At length he en- tered the ministry and preached in pulpits of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore County and in Pennsylvania until the breaking out of the war. In 1862 he opened a large school in Balti- more and conducted it for eiglit years, at the end

of which time he returned to the Baltimore Con- ference and remained in the ministry until 1891. He then retired from active labor, being seventy years of age, and for the past six years has made his home in Annapolis. He is very well pre- served and still enjoys life with all the enthusiasm of a man of half his age. He married Emily W. Irving, sister of Hon. L. T. H. Irving, wlio at one time was judge of the court of appeals of Maryland. The father of John H. was Robert Dashiell, who was born in Salisbury, and was there engaged in the mercantile business for many years. He died when about fifty years of age.

The early years in the life of William H. Dashiell were spent in Baltimore. Under his fatlier's excellent instruction he made rapid progress in his studies and when he was seven- teen he entered Dickinson College, from which he graduated in 1871, two years later. He was then nineteen and at once began teaching, having been tendered a position as principal of Smyrna Acad- emy, of Smyrna, Del. He remained in that place four years, at the expiration of which time he came to Princess Anne, with the intention of taking up the study of law with his uncle, Judge Irving. He persisted in his determination, and was admitted regularly to the bar of this county in 1875. However, his inherited taste for teach- ing soon came to the surface again, and thougli he has practiced law in a measure he has made his chief business in life the education of the young mind. During the years of 1877 and 1878, he was principal of the high school of Crisfield and following that held a similar position in the Washington high school, of Princess Anne. He was elected county superin- tendent of schools and took charge of the office, beginning in January, 1884. He is an able at- torney and has been one of the court examiners, master in chancery for several years. In his political views he is a stanch Democrat. Frater- nally he is past master of Manokin Lodge No. 106, F. & A. M. In the Methodist Episcopal Church he is an active worker and valued mem- ber. For years he has been one of the trustees of the congregation, and for fifteen years has been

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superintendent of the Sunday-school. He is very popular with all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance and his friends are legion throughout the county.

The first wife of Mr. Dashiell bore the maiden name of Sallie B. Upshur. She was a native of Virginia and died in 1886. Seven years after- ward, in 1893, Mr. Dashiell married Miss Ellen M. Dougherty, of this town, and they have one little daughter, Emily Irving, a sweet little sun- beam of three years of age.

LEXANDER C. LOWERY. Kent Island was very fortunate in the class of people who settled within her boundaries a century or two ago, and whose descendants are still living here, for they have been remarkable for traits of persevering industry, good citizenship, and that unselfish regard for the rights of others which adds much to the desirability of any community. Among those sturdy, earnest pioneers of the civ- ilization which has since come to the island was the forefather of the gentleman of whom we write. He was a native of Virginia, and removed here in his vigorous young manhood, to make a per- manent home. This man, whose Christian name was William, bought land on Coxey's Neck, and this property was handed down to his children, and is still in the possession of the family. His daughter Margaret died unmarried, but Annie married Richard Crisp, of Anne Arundel County, Md., and their children are numbered among the most influential citizens of that locality at this time.

The parents of our subject were William Owens and Mary Emeline (Walters) Lowery, both na- tives of this island. The father was born Sep- tember 16, 1802, and grew to manhood here, his time being given to agriculture as long as he lived. He first married Eliza Tolson and their children were Joseph Owens, who died on Kent Island, leaving a widow and one child, a daughter; Harriet D., who is deceased, and who was the wife of William Coonsman, of Baltimore; and William

S., deceased. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Lowery married Mary E., daughter of Alex- ander Walters, a leading merchant of Queen Anne's County. Alexander is their only son, and the two girls were Sarah Frances, who died while young, and Mary Ann, also deceased.

A. C. Lowery was born January 6, 1840, on his father's farm and has always resided here. His homestead comprises one hundred and seven- ty-five acres, and in addition to managing this property, he cultivates a tract of like size adjoin- ing the village of Kent Island. He has been very active and successful as a business man, and though he does his duty as a citizen and voter, his preference being for the Democratic party, he is not in any sense a politician, and has no desire for public office. As a matter of accom- modation to his friends and neighbors he has served a few times as election judge. Socially he is a charter member of the Improved Order of Heptasophs, of Kent Island.

December 11, 1866, Mr. Lowery married Ma- ria L., daughter of Samuel White, who was from one of the old county families. Eight children came to bless the union of our estimable subject and wife, viz .: Emma K .; Lulu, who became the wife of Robert Cook, and died, leaving 110 children; Elizabeth E., Claude, Florence M .; and Mary E., William D. and William A., deceased.

ICTOR CARROLL, a popular young drug- gist of Church Creek, Dorchester County, is one of her most enterprising citizens. He owns a well-equipped store, where in addition to the regular line of supplies there may be found all kinds of toilet luxuries, stationery, etc. He enjoys the confidence of the people as a reliable pharmacist and as a young man of reliable and commendable habits. He is attentive to his busi- ness in all its details, and keeps his store and stock in a neat and attractive manner. He has a constantly increasing trade and merits the patronage of all.

A son of Dr. Thomas King Carroll, our sub-

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ject was born in this district, May 5, 1865, and Kenna, is still living, and is hale and hearty, both was reared under the paternal roof until he was in mind and body, for one of hier advanced about sixteen. (For further history of his par- years. Patrick McShane was a prosperous mer- ents and family see sketch of his father elsewhere chant at Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, in New York State, for many years, and was also for years a resident of Wurtsboro, in the same state. He was engaged in general merchandising, and also dealt extensively in lumber. In 1884 he removed to Ridgely, Md., and was one of the founders of the place, assisting its infant enterprises, etc. He opened a hotel and livery, which he carried on for several years, or until 1893, when he came to Denton. Since his arrival here he has been prin- cipally concerned in real-estate ventures, and is doing well. in this volume.) He had been an apt student in the local schools, and when he was only in his seventeenth year we find him making application for a position as a teacher. Having passed the required examinations, he was given charge of a school and followed that vocation for a period of about fourteen years. He was a great success as an instructor of youthi, and it was with regret tliat the school directors accepted his resignation finally. Having saved a little fortune he 110w invested it in a drug store, and has since con- ducted this business here. He is a supporter of the Democracy, and has served as tax collector of this district for two years. He gives promise of future prosperity in the financial world, as he possesses traits of character which usually win success, and is upright and fair in all his dealings with others.

r HARLES E. Mc SHANE, of Denton, Caro- line County, is an ambitious, well-informed young lawyer, and is rapidly building up a large and paying practice. He was given an ex- cellent education, which serves as a substantial foundation for the superstructure of special knowl- edge he has since gained in his chosen field of effort. He happily possesses just those qualities which are essential to success in any line of en- deavor-pluck, perseverance and industry, and it is safe to predict for him a brilliant future.

The subject of this sketch was born in Sullivan County December 10, 1873, being one of the five children of Patrick H. and Catherine E. (Mc- Kenna) McShane, who were also natives of the Empire State. One of their children is deceased, and those who survive are named as follows: Mary E., Charles E., Frank P. and Catherine V. Their paternal grandfather was a native of Ire- land, and coming to America in 1845, located in New York City. Their grandmother, Ellen Mc-

C. E. McShane continued his studies in tlie district schools until he had mastered the ele- mentary branches, and then feeling the desir- ability of yet greater advantages he went to Phila- delphia, and entering one of the high schools there, pursued the higher branches of science, philosophy and literature during a period of three years. Returning home he commenced reading law, and for a year and a-half was a pupil in the legal department of Dickinson College, of Carlisle, Pa. Then, in order to gain the necessary ex- perience in the routine work of the courts, and actual application of the general principles he had learned in college, he entered the office of Judge Russum and that of Hon. Henry R. Lewis, profitably passing the next two and a-half years under their judicious instruction and advice. In 1895 he was regularly admitted to the bar, and is now practicing in Denton with good success.

OAH ALEXANDER HUTSON, who is en- gaged in the practice of law in Denton, Caroline County, is a prominent citizen and a leader in the local Democracy. He has served as a judge or clerk of elections for the past twenty- five years, and in 1882 was appointed justice of the peace, which office he held acceptably to all concerned fourteen years. He is loyal to the best interests of the community, and is actively en-

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gaged in the promotion of all movements which he believes are calculated to advance our pros- perity and usefulness.

The great-grandfather of the above-named gen- tleman, on the paternal side of the family, was a native of Germany, and settled in America before the war of the Revolution. His son Jacob, who was our subject's grandfather, was an active par- ticipant in that struggle, and won the title of cap- tain for his meritorious service. He was a native of the state of New York, was a farmer by occu- pation, and spent his last years in Maryland, dying in 1812, at the age of fifty-eight years. One of his sons, John, was born in this state, and when he grew to maturity married Catherine M. Seaman, a native of Pennsylvania. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom four are deceased. Those living are named in the order of their birth as follows: Jacob, Frank, Kate, William, N. Alexander (our subject), James and Sallie.

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Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 60

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