Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 8

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 8

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The silver question precipitated a controversy between those who were in favor of the continu- ance of silver coinage and those who were op- posed, Mr. Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his inauguration.

On June 2, 1886, President Cleveland married Frances, daughter of his deceased friend and part- ner, Oscar Folsom, of the Buffalo Bar. In the campaign of 1888, President Cleveland was re- nominated by his party, but the Republican candi- date, Gen. Benjamin Harrison, was victorious. In the nomination of 1892 these two candidates for the highest position in the gift of the people were again pitted against each other, and in the ensuing election President Cleveland was victori- ous by an overwhelming majority. Since the close of his second term, he has resided in Prince- ton, N. J.

BENJAMIN HARRISON.

B ENJAMIN HARRISON, the twenty-third President, is the descendant of one of the historical families of this country. The first known head of the family was Maj .- Gen. Harrison, one of Oliver Cromwell's trusted followers and fighters. In the zenith of Crom well's power it be- came the duty of this Harrison to participate in the trial of Charles I., and afterward to sign the death warrant of the king. He subsequently paid for this with his life, being hung October 13, 1660. His descendants came to America, and the next of the family that appears in history is Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, great-grandfa- ther of the subject of this sketch, and after whom he was named. Benjamin Harrison was a mem- ber of the Continental Congress during the years 1774, 1775 and 1776, and was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was three times elected Governor of Virginia.

Gen. William Henry Harrison, the son of the distinguished patriot of the Revolution, after a successful career as a soldier during the War of 1812, and with a clean record as Governor of the Northwestern Territory, was elected President of the United States in 1840. His career was cut short by death within one month after his in- auguration.

President Harrison was born at North Bend,

Hamilton County, Ohio, August 20, 1833. His life up to the time of his graduation from Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful one of a country lad of a family of small means. His father was able to give him a good education, and nothing more. He became engaged while at college to the daughter of Dr. Scott, Principal of a female school at Oxford. After graduating, he determined to enter upon the study of law. He went to Cincinnati and there read law for two years. At the expiration of that time young Har- rison received the only inheritance of his life-his aunt, dying, left him a lot valued at $800. He regarded this legacy as a fortune, and decided to get married at once, take this money and go to some Eastern town and begin the practice of law. He sold his lot, and, with the money in his pocket, he started out with his young wife to fight for a place in the world. He decided to go to Indian- apolis, which was even at that time a town of promise. He met with slight encouragement at first, making scarcely anything the first year. He worked diligently, applying himself closely to his calling, built up an extensive practice and took a leading rank in the legal profession.

In 1860, Mr. Harrison was nominated for the position of Supreme Court Reporter, and then be- gan his experience as a stump speaker. He can-

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vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by a handsome majority. In 1862 he raised the Seventeenth Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its Colonel. His regiment was composed of the raw- est material, but Col. Harrison employed all his time at first in mastering military tactics and drill- ing his men, and when he came to move toward the East with Sherman, his regiment was one of the best drilled and organized in the army. At Resaca he especially distinguished himself, and for his bravery at Peachtree Creek he was made a Brigadier-General, Gen. Hooker speaking of him in the most complimentary terms.

During the absence of Gen. Harrison in the field, the Supreme Court declared the office of Supreme Court Reporter vacant, and another person was elected to the position. From the time of leaving Indiana with his regiment until the fall of 1864 he had taken no leave of absence, but having been nominated that year for the same office, he got a thirty-day leave of absence, and during that time made a brilliant canvass of the State, and was elected for another term. He then started to rejoin Sherman, but on the way was stricken down with scarlet fever, and after a most trying attack made his way to the front in time to participate in the closing incidents of the war.

In 1868 Gen. Harrison declined a re-election as Reporter, and resumed the practice of law. In 1876 he was a candidate for Governor. Although defeated, the brilliant campaign he made won for him a national reputation, and he was much sought after, especially in the East, to make speeches. In 1880, as usual, he took an active part in the campaign, and was elected to the United States Senate. Here he served for six years, and was known as one of the ablest men, best lawyers and strongest debaters in that body. With the ex- piration of his senatorial term he returned to the practice of his profession, becoming the head of one of the strongest firms in the State.

The political campaign of 1888 was one of the most memorable in the history of our country. The convention which assembled in Chicago in June and named Mr. Harrison as the chief stand- ard-bearer of the Republican party was great in every particular, and on this account, and the at-

titude it assumed upon the vital questions of the day, chief among which was the tariff, awoke a deep interest in the campaign throughout the nation. Shortly after the nomination, delegations began to visit Mr. Harrison at Indianapolis, his home. This movement became popular, and from all sections of the country societies, clubs and delegations journeyed thither to pay their re- spects to the distinguished statesman.

Mr. Harrison spoke daily all through the sum- mer and autumn to these visiting delegations, and so varied, masterly, and eloquent were his speeches that they at once placed him in the fore- most rank of American orators and statesmen. Elected by a handsome majority, he served his country faithfully and well, and in 1892 was non- inated for re-election; but the people demanded a change and he was defeated by his predecessor in office, Grover Cleveland.

On account of his eloquence as a speaker and his power as a debater, Gen. Harrison was called upon at an early age to take part in the dis- cussion of the great questions that then began to agitate the country. He was an uncompromising anti-slavery man, and was matched against some of the most eminent Democratic speakers of his State. No man who felt the touch of his blade desired to be pitted with him again. With all his eloquence as an orator he never spoke for ora- torical effect, but his words always went like bul- lets to the mark. He is purely American in his ideas, and is a splendid type of the American statesman. Gifted with quick perception, a logi- cal mind and a ready tongue, he is one of the most distinguished impromptu speakers in the nation. Many of these speeches sparkled with the rarest eloquence and contained arguments of great weight, and many of his terse statements have already become aphorisms. Original in thought, precise in logic, terse in statement, yet withal faultless in eloquence, he is recognized as the sound statesman and brilliant orator of the day. By his first wife, Caroline (Scott) Harrison, he had a son and daughter. In 1896 he married Mrs. Mary (Scott) Dimmick, and they, with their daughter, reside in Indianapolis, Ind., where he has made his home since early manhood,

WILLIAM MCKINLEY.

ILLIAM MCKINLEY, who was inaugu- rated President of the United States in 1897, was born in Niles, Ohio, January 29, 1843. The family of which he is a member originated in the west of Scotland, and from there removed to the north of Ireland. According to the fam- ily tradition, James and William McKinley emi- grated to this country from Ireland and founded the two branches of the family in the United States, one settling in the north, the other in the south. At the time of their arrival, James was twelve years of age. He settled in York County, Pa., where he married and spent his remaining years.

David, son of James, and the great-grandfather of William Mckinley, was born May 16, 1755, and three times enlisted in the service of the colonies during the Revolutionary War, serving seven months after his first enlistment in June, 1776, spending six months at the front in 1777, and again in the following year serving eight months. December 19, 1780, he married Sarah Gray, who was born May 10, 1760, and died October 6, 1814. For fifteen years he lived in Westmoreland County, Pa., and thence removed to Mercer County. One year after the death of his first wife he married Eleanor McLean and about the same time settled in Colum- biana County, Ohio, but afterward made his home in Crawford County, where he died August 8, 1840.

James, grandfather of William Mckinley, was born September 19, 1783, married Mary (or "Polly") Rose, and with his family moved to New Lisbon, Ohio, in 1809. Their eldest son, Will- iam, Sr., was born in Mercer County, Pa., November 15, 1807, and in 1827 married Nancy Allison, a woman of noble and strong character and consistent Christian life. For some years he was engaged as manager of iron fur- naces at different places. From Niles he re-

moved to Poland, because of the educational ad- vantages offered by Poland Academy. In 1869 he established his home in Canton, and here he died November 24, 1892. His widow lives at the family residence in Canton, and with her are her daughter, Miss Helen, and two orphan grandchildren.

Of the family of nine children, William, Jr., who was seventh in order of birth, was born during the residence of his parents at Niles, Ohio, Jan- uary 29, 1843. His boyhood years were spent in that place and Poland, where he studied in the academy. At the age of seventeen he entered Allegheny College, but illness caused his return to Poland, and on his recovery he did not return to college, but taught a country school. At the opening of the Civil War, though only eighteen years of age, he immediately wanted to enlist. As soon as he could overcome the objections of his mother, he enlisted, in May of 1861, as a private in Company E, Twenty-third Ohio In- fantry. The regiment was commanded by Col. W. S. Rosecrans, who afterward, as general, led . his forces on many a bloody battle field, and the first major was Rutherford B. Hayes, afterward President of the United States. As a gallant soldier Mr. Mckinley soon won promotion, serving for a time as commissary sergeant, later was pro- moted to the rank of second lieutenant for gal- lantry at Antietam, and then won his way up- ward until, at the close of the war, he was pro- moted to major by brevet. July 26, 1865, after more than four years of hard service, he was mustered out with his regiment.

. With Judge Charles E. Glidden, of Mahoning County, Mr. Mckinley began the study of law, which he afterward carried on in the Albany (N. Y.) Law School, and in 1867 was admitted to the bar. Beginning the practice of his pro- fession in Canton, he soon became prominently known among the able attorneys of the city. His

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first connection with political affairs was in 1869, when he was elected prosecuting attorney of Stark County, and this office he held for two years. In 1876 he was nominated for Congressional honors and was elected to the Forty-fifth Con- gress, afterward by successive re-elections serv- ing for fourteen years. In March of 1890 he in- troduced the celebrated Mckinley tariff bill, which was passed and became a law. In the fol- lowing year, 1891, he was elected governor of Ohio, and two years afterward was re-elected to that high office, which he filled in such a manner as to command the respect not only of his own party-the Republican-but his political op- ponents as well. The connection of his name with the tariff bill and his prominence in the Re- publican party, together with his force and elo- quence as a speaker, brought him into national fame. In the campaign of 1892, for a period of more than three months, he traveled over a territory extending from New York to Nebraska, making speeches in the interest of the Republi- can platform. Those who heard him speak, whether friends or opponents of his political opinions, cannot but have admired his logical reasoning, breadth of intellect, eloquence of speech and inodesty of demeanor. During the campaign of 1894 he made three hundred and seventy-one speeches and visited over three hundred towns, within a period of two months, addressing perhaps two million people.

Tlie tariff issue and all the intricate questions of public revenue that are interwoven with it, constitute the most complicated problems with which a statesman has to deal. To master them in every detail requires an intellect of the high- est order. That Major Mckinley thoroughly un- derstands these questions is admitted by all who have investigated his official utterances on the subject, beginning with the speech on the Wood tariff bill, delivered in the house of representatives April 15, 1878, and closing with his speech in favor of the tariff bill of 1890, which as chairman of the ways and means committee he reported to the house and which was subsequently passed and is known throughout the world as the Mckinley tariff bill of 1890. He opposed the Wood bill be- cause of a conviction that the proposed measure

would, if enacted, prove a public calamity. For the same reason, in 1882, he advocated a friendly revision of the tariff by a tariff commission, to be authorized by congress and appointed by the president. In 1884 he opposed the Morrison horizontal bill, which he denounced as ambiguous for a great public statute, and in 1888 he led the forces in the fight against the Mills tariff bill.

As governor of Ohio, his policy was conserva- tive. He aimed to give to the public institutions the benefit of the service of the best man of the state, and at all times upheld the legitimate rights of the workingmen. Recognizing the fact that the problem of taxation needed regulation, in his messages of 1892, 1893 and 1894, he urged the legislature that a remedy be applied. In 1892 he recommended legislation for the safety and comfort of steam railroad employes, and the following year urged the furnishing of automatic couplers and air-brakes for all railroad cars used in the state.

When, in 1896, the Republican party, in con- vention assembled at St. Louis, selected a man to represent their principles in the highest office within the gift of the American people, it was not a surprise to the public that the choice fell upon Major Mckinley. The campaign that followed was one of the most exciting in the history of the country since the period of reconstruction. Especial interest centered in the fact that the point at issue seemed, not, as in former days, free trade or protection, but whether or not the government should declare for the free coinage of silver. This question divided the voters of the country upon somewhat different lines than the old- time principles of the Republican and Democratic parties and thus made the campaign a memorable one. The supporters of the gold standard main- tained that silver monometallism would precipi- tate a panic and permanently injure the business interests of the country, and the people, by a large majority, supported these principles.

January 25, 1871, Major Mckinley was united in marriage with Miss Ida Saxton, who was born in June, 1847, the daughter of James A. Saxton. Their two children died in 1874, within a short time of each other, one at the age of three years and the other in infancy.

EASTERN SHORE

MARYLAND

INTRODUCTORY

IOGRAPHY alone can justly represent the progress of local history and portray with accuracy the relation of men to events. It is the only means of perpetuating the lives and deeds of those men to whom the advancement of a city or county and the enlightenment of its people are due. The compilers of this work have striven to honor, not only men of present prominence, but also, as far as possible, those who in years gone by labored to promote the welfare of their com- munity. The following sketches have been prepared from the standpoint of no man's prejudice, but with an impartial aim to render justice to progressive and public-spirited citizens and to collect personal records that will be of value to generations yet to come.

To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, in spite of their best works and the most earnest efforts of their friends to preserve the memory of their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their memory have been in proportion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the naines and deeds of their great rulers. The exhumations made by the archæologists of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of those people to perpetuate the memory of their achievements. The erection of the great obelisks was for the same purpose. Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monuments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements and carry them down the ages. It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea-to leave something to show that they had lived. All these works, though many of them costly in the extreme, give but a faint idea of the lives and character of those whose memory they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of the people that then lived. The great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity; the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crumbling into dust.

It was left to modern ages to establish an intelligent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating a full history-immutable in that it is almost unlimited in extent and perpetual in its action; and this is through the art of printing.

To the present generation, however, we are indebted for the introduction of the adınirable system of local biography. By this system every man, though he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, through the coming ages.

The scythe of Time cuts down all; nothing of the physical man is left. The monument which his children or friends may erect to his memory in the cemetery will crumble into dust and pass away; but his life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.

To preserve the lineaments of our companions we engrave their portraits; for the same reason we collect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we think it necessary, as we speak only truth of them, to wait until they are dead, or until those who know them are gone; to do this we are ashamed only to publish to the world the history of those whose lives are unworthy of public record.

GEN. WILLIAM Mc KENNEY.

BIOGRAPHICAL

EN. WILLIAM McKENNEY, for many years one of the most successful business men and best-known residents of Queen Anne County, was born at Church Hill, this county, December 5, 1829, and died at his home in Centreville July 23, 1897. In his death the state of Maryland lost one of its most eminent financiers and agriculturists, an honored leader in both these departments of business life. Froni any point of view he was a remarkable man. Possessing a well-balanced brain, unerring judg- ment and a kind heart, he was not only a safe leader, but a counselor of great wisdom. His kindly disposition, sanguine temperament and pleasant and unostentatious bearing combined to endear him closely to the hearts of all with whom he came in contact, either in business or social circles. He was the same man everywhere, at all times, whether in intercourse with one high in the social or commercial world, or with the humblest man of his acquaintance. No man was more considerate of the feelings of others than he. No man ever said or did less to make known the shortcomings of others than he. He was a man of a thousand, one of whom the entire community was ever proud, and one who, when he died, was as sincerely mourned in death as he had been respected and loved in life. His career was a glowing example to the young and stands an enduring monument to his profound worth as a public-spirited citizen and a man among men.

The family of McKenney has given to Mary- land numerous representatives who gained more than local prominence. Several of our subject's

uncles distinguished themselves in various capac- ities in their country's service. The eldest of these, Thomas Loraine McKenney, took an act- ive part in the war of 1812, and later served in the Indian department at Washington under Presi- dents Adams, Madison and Monroe. His portrait may be seen in the Corcoran Art Gallery and the patent office in Washington. Notwithstanding the fact that almost his entire life was spent in the public service, he found time for author- ship and published a number of works that be- came authorities in their various lines. He had a younger brother, William McKenney, who was a chaplain in the navy during the war of 1812; also a brother, Samuel, who served in the second war with England and resided in Georgetown, D. C .; and a third brother, Rev. James McKen- ney, who was a rector in the Protestant Episcopal Church and grand master in the order of Masons of the state of Maryland.

The father of our subject, John McKenney, was born in Kent County, Md., April 13, 1800. In early life he was a merchant, engaging in business in Washington and Georgetown. Later removing to Queen Anne County, he followed the same business at Church Hill. At one time he was a member of the council of Gov. Thomas W. Veazey (elected governor in 1835). By his second wife, who was Maria Ambrose Merritt, daughter of Dr. John Merritt, of Middletown, Del., he had nine children, but seven of these died when young. The only sister of our sub- ject, Anna E., is the wife of the late Peregrine Tilghman, of Centreville.

For eight years John McKenney carried on

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mercantile pursuits at Church Hill, but after- wards for two years engaged in farming land be- tween Church Hill and Chestertown. Later he spent two years in Baltimore. Returning to Queen Anne County in 1844, he bought a farm on tlie Corsica River, near Centreville, but in 1849 he again entered the mercantile business, this time in Centreville. He continued as a mer- chant until his death, in 1866. His second wife, our subject's mother, died in 1837, when quite young. His father, William, was born in Kent County, and owned a farm, which he cultivated, besides carrying on a store at Chestertown. He was a son of William McKenney, a native of Scotland.

In the public schools of Chestertown the sub- ject of this article received his rudimentary edu- cation. Later he attended Washington College and Bel Air Academy, then became a student in the Centreville Academy, of which James W. Thompson was then principal. In 1847 he be- gan to prepare for a collegiate education with the hope of becoming a professor, but his fa- ther having a stroke of paralysis, it was impos- sible for him to bring his cherished plan to a con- summation. At the age of seventeen he took charge of his father's large business, which he continued to manage until 1849, and afterward he clerked in his father's store in Centreville until 1851, when he entered business for himself. About 1889 he retired from the mercantile busi- ness, in order to give his attention to other mat- ters. He was largely interested in the building of the Queen Anne and Kent County Railroad, toward which he subscribed $1,000, besides giving the ground on which the depot stands. He took an active part in the building of the hotel at Cen- treville and for years was its owner. From 1876 until his death, in 1897, he was president of the Centreville National Bank, the first bank in the town. He was the most extensive owner of real estate in the town of Centreville, and besides this owned fifty-seven fine farms in Queen Anne, Kent and Talbot Counties, some of which were among the finest estates on the Eastern Shore.

In political belief General McKenney was al- ways an ardent Democrat, and in 1884 he was

his party's candidate for the office of governor of Maryland. He was a colonel on the staff of Gov. Robert M. McLane and his title of general was obtained while serving on the staff of Gov. E. E. Jackson. For thirty-five years he was a member of the board of trustees of the poor of Queen Anne County, serving during the entire period without compensation.

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Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 8

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