Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 80

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

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Mr. Harrison of whom we write is a native of Delaware, his birth having taken place in Sussex County, November 15, 1840. He is the second in a family of seven children, the others being Mahala, Eliza, Louisa, Levin and Charles H. The parents of this little family were Joseph G. and Rhoda (Long) Harrison, both natives of Sussex County, Del. The father was a farmer and was quite prosperous in a financial way, and his father in turn was also a farmer and was born in Delaware. A

From his earliest recollections Mr. Harrison has been associated with the life of a farmer and thoroughly enjoys it. Still, he has not confined his attention to farming, but has frequently branched out into other fields of enterprise and among other things has dealt extensively in cat- tle, sheep and lumber. In 1881 he first be- came connected with the lumber trade in North Carolina and in 1883 he came to this county and purchased a farm. He operates over two hun- dred acres of land here now and gives the greater share of his time to the raising of berries and peaches for the city markets and to his fine nursery stock. He estimates that he has about two million young peach trees for sale, fifty thou- sand plum trees, besides a great variety of other trees and small fruit bushes, five million straw- berry plants and two hundred thousand asparagus plants. His two sons, Orlando and George A., are of great assistance to him and are members of the firm as given at the head of this article. They are bright, intelligent young men, full of life and business enterprise, and are sure to make a suc- cess of life if they continue in the pathway they have marked out for themselves. Joseph G. Harrison has been allied with the Democratic party since he became a voter and is now sheriff of Worcester County.

April 4, 1856, Mr. Harrison and Miss Catherine Collins, a native of Maryland, were united in marriage. They became the parents of four

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children, who in order of birth are as follows: Orlando, George A., Della C. and Achsah. The sons are married and have homes of their own and the two daughters keep house for their father, as the mother was summoned to the home beyond April 15, 1887. She was a sweet Chris- tian character, devoted to her family and was for years a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

HOMAS W. K. WHITE. From the date of the first settlement of Kent Island down to the present time some representatives of the branch of the White family to which the subject of this article belongs have always been residents of this beautiful spot in Maryland. They have been a people devoted to agriculture and have led quiet, peaceful lives of usefulness to their fellow-men. Industrious and God-fearing, honest and just, it would be hard to find men who made better citizens, friends and neighbors than the ancestors of our subject. His pleasant residence is situated in the northeastern part of the island, not far distant from one of the num- erous pretty little bays that so thickly indent the coast, and following the example of his fore- fathers, he is interested in farming.

The paternal grandfather of Thomas W. K. White bore the Christian name of Walter. He was born on the island and the land which he owned and cultivated is still in the possession of his descendants. His son, Marmaduke, father of our subject, was born and reared here and became quite well-to-do. When he died he left a good farm of two hundred acres on Love Point, and another place east of Stevensville, this one containing one hundred and fifty acres. His wife was a Miss Mary Carville before her marriage with him, and to their union the following chil- dren were born: Madeline, wife of Jacob Calloway, of Queenstown; T. W. K .; Frederick, deceased; Catherine, wife of Perry Winchester, of Pennsyl- vania; Edward, James and Annie, all deceased.

The birth of Thomas W. K. White occurred in 1850 and his early years were spent in the man-

ner common to country lads. His education was that of the district schools, supplemented by a certain amount of outside reading and study, and much of his time was given up to the general work of the homestead. For the past twenty years he has managed his own and two other farms belonging to the family, and success has attended his efforts almost invariably. His vote is deposited in the ballot-box in favor of the can- didates of the Democracy, but he has never held public positions.

In 1876 Mr. White married Julia Winchester, a resident of Kent Island. They have seven liv- ing children, named in the order of their birth: Josephine, Bernard, Walter, James, Sue, Gladys and Cardinal. They are bright, intelligent young people and have been provided with excellent educational advantages. The parents are mem- bers of the Methodist Protestant Church, and are striving to bring up their children to have due regard for the rights of others and to instill into their youthful minds love towards humanity and upright principles of action.

OHN D. KIRBY, a resident of the fifth district of Queen Anne's County, was born here in 1831, being a son of Samuel and Mary (Carville) Kirby. His paternal grand- father, Nicholas Kirby, a native of England, came to this country and was married on Kent Island.' After a residence there of several years, he returned to his old home, and there spent his remaining years. Prior to crossing the ocean to America he had been an officer in the English navy and upon his return to England he again became connected with the navy.

When a boy Samuel Kirby learned the trade of a ship carpenter, which he afterward followed for some years, building and selling bay vessels. Finally he purchased a farm on the mainland of Queen Anne's County and there he remained until death, meantime by judicious investments accumulating a valuable property. In early years he was of the Episcopal belief, but through the

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influence of Major Massey his views upon doc- trinal points were changed and he identified him- self with the Methodist Episcopal Church. In his family there were three children: Rebecca, Nicholas and John D.

On the old homestead our subject passed his boyhood years. When a young man he began sailing on the bay and Chester River, with Capt. Samuel O. Tilghman, but after three years upon the water he abandoned the occupation and lo- cated upon a portion of his father's estate. He 11ow owns a farm comprising more than three hundred and sixty acres, on which are substan- tial buildings and between six and seven thou- sand peach trees. While he lias been successful, yet he has experienced his share of reverses, the inost serious of these being in April, 1893, when through fire he lost almost his entire property. Notwithstanding this, he worked energetically and in a few years had retrieved his heavy losses.

May 7, 1856, Mr. Kirby married Annie M., daughter of Rasin Gale, at one time a member of the house of delegates from Kent County. Four children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kirby, namely: Lavenia; Emma and Laura, de- ceased, and Isabel, wife of Lewis D. Senat, a busi- ness man of Philadelphia. Politically Mr. Kirby is a Democrat and takes a warm interest in party matters.

APT. JOHN WILKINSON was born April 25, 1808, at Mount Pleasant, four miles from Centreville, on the road leading to Ruthsburg He was the great-grandson of Rev. Christopher Wilkinson, who was appointed by the Bishop of London to the care of souls at St. Paul's, Queen Anne's County, in 1709. His father was Chris- topher (3d), a prominent farmer of Queen Anne's County, who engaged in the cavalry service in the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of Queenstown1. He was distinguished for his horsemanship.

Capt. John Wilkinson was twice married, his first wife being Miss Louisa Glenn, whom he married February 11, 1829, not being then quite

twenty-one years of age. She lived but a few years and left no children. After the death of his wife he removed to Zanesville, Ohio, where he remained about two years, returning on horse- back over the mountains and around the head of the bay. He then engaged in teaching at Pur- nell's shops, near what is now the flourishing town of Ridgely. After teaching there about two years, he took charge of the school at Ruths- burg and later the school at White Marsh, near Centreville. In 1839 he resigned his school to accept the position of deputy sheriff of Queen Anne's County under Thomas Sutton, and in the fall of the same year he was re-appointed under Samuel S. Robinson. During this time he also held the position of deputy United States marshal.

At the expiration of the term of office of Sheriff Robinson, Captain Wilkinson removed to Holt's Mill, in Talbot County, near the present town of Cordova. In 1845 he organized a company of sol- diers for the purpose of taking part in the Mexi- can war, and was made captain, but the company did not go into active service. Afterward he re- inoved to Centreville and began in the mercantile business, in which he continued until his death. In January, 1849, he married Eliza, the daughter of Thomas DeRochbrune and the granddaughter of Matthew DeRochbrune, the latter of whom came to Queen Anne's County direct from France.

Captain Wilkinson was one of the prime mov- ers in the establishment of the Queen Anne's Na- tional Bank of Centreville and was made vice- president. He died March 13, 1889, in the eighty-first year of his age, leaving a widow and two daughters, one the wife of Charles A. Bus- teed and the other the wife of John M. Perry.

OSEPH F. SMITH, a well and favorably known citizen of the fifth district of Caroline County, is one of the boys who wore the blue in the late Civil war. He was but a young man when he offered his services, and life if need be, in defense of the Union cause, and though many a year has since drawn to a close and his hair is

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whitening, his heart is as true as of yore to the principles he then defended, and in times of peace as well as in those of war, he has supported what- ever he honestly believed to be for the benefit of the great majority of his countrymen. He en- listed in the Sixty-seventh Pennsylvania Regi- ment of Infantry and was assigned to Company G, in January, 1862. He served under Colonel Stanton in a number of engagements and was wounded in the battles of Winchester and the Wilderness, and honorably discharged in Balti- more, in 1864. He has always had a warm place in his heart for his old comrades, and for years has belonged to Watkin's Post, G. A. R., of Fed- eralsburg. He doubtless inherited somewhat of the old patriotic spirit of one of the Revolutionary war heroes, for such was his great-grandfather Smith.

Leonard Smith, father of our subject, was a 11a- tive of eastern Pennsylvania and followed farming and lumbering in his active life. His wife was a Miss Rebecca Kaler in her girlhood, and they be- came the parents of several children. John re- sides in Thornhurst, Pa .; Elizabeth is the wife of Solomon Sitzer; Harriet married N. Slutter; William, who served throughout the war, died leaving two children; Mary died unmarried; Leon- ard is the next in order of birth; and Rebecca is Mrs. John Elsworth. Philip Smith, the grand- father of our subject, was also a native of the Keystone State, where several generations of the family have been esteemed among the leading citizens.

J. F. Smith was born in Luzerne County, Pa., March 28, 1838, and early learned the trades of millwright and bridge-builder. He was em- ployed at various kinds of carpentering work until 1877, when he came to this county and invested his funds in a good farm of one hundred and six acres, which he has since substantially improved. He endeavors to promote all worthy local indus- tries and is identified with the class that stands for order and good government. He is a stanch Republican and is faithful in discharging his duty as a citizen and voter.

December 8, 1867, Mr. Smith married Susan Downing, daughter of Jesse and Cynthia (Rosen-

crans) Downing, of Wilksbarre, Pa., and their union has been blessed with the following chil- dren: Emma, wife of Charles Kruger, of Newark, N. J .; Joseph, deceased; Lillian, wife of John Kent, of this district; Lorinda, Mrs. Elmer Co- hee, of Elwood; Mary, Josias, Asa and Ira.

ILLIAM .P. HORSEY is one of the most successful merchants of the lower portion of the peninsula. With his brother he owns

a flourishing mercantile business at Crisfield, where he occupies a building 50 x 85 feet in di- mensions, with glass front, and equipped with every convenience for the successful management of the enterprise. A full line of merchandise is car- ried, including clothing, dry goods, hats and caps, carpets, boots and shoes, and furniture. The ju- dicious manner in which he conducts the business, and the accommodating disposition which he has always shown in his dealings with others have de- servedly made him popular and brought him a large share of the local patronage.

In Crisfield district, Somerset County, Mr. Hor- sey was born March 12, 1853. The family has resided here for several generations. His grand- father, Edward Horsey, was born in Somerset County and here spent his entire life engaged in farm pursuits and the real-estate business, and having valuable holdings in land and slaves. Among his fellow-citizens and in the Democratic party he was prominent. His death occurred when he was about seventy years of age. The exact date of the founding of the family in Mary- land is not known, but it is known that they are of English extraction. The first of the name to locate permanently on the Eastern Shore was Stephen Horsey, who settled in Somerset County early in the seventeenth century.

The father of our subject, Capt. Albert R. Horsey, was born in Somerset County in 1818 and was reared on a farm in Lawsons district. When quite young he began life as a sailor on the ocean and bay and in the course of time he be- came the owner of several small vessels that plied

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the waters of tlie bay between Somerset County and Baltimore. Later he gave his attention to agriculture and became the owner of a valuable farm and several slaves. He was strong in his political convictions and favored the Democratic party. He died when fifty-three years of age. His wife, Lealı, was a daugliter of Thomas Nel- son, who was born in this county and was a farmer and merchant here. She is still living and is now seventy-six years old. When about thirteen years of age she became a member of the Methodist Protestant Church and has since been active in its work. She is a sincere Christian, kind in lier associations with others, of a chari- table disposition that finds its outlet in benefac- tions to the deserving poor. Of her seven chil- dren three are deceased. Edward, the eldest, is a mariner and resides in Crisfield; Alonzo R. is in partnership with our subject; and Joshua is also a merchant of Crisfield.

The second of these four sons was the subject of this sketch. He remained with his parents until grown to man's estate, meantime attending the public schools and Washington College, at Chestertown. At the age of about twenty he be- gan as a clerk and was thus employed for two years, after which he engaged in the tobacco busi- ness. September 1, 1876, he opened a general store at Crisfield under the firm name of Horsey Brothers, having his brother as a partner, and they have since been together in the management of the enterprise that under their judicious over- sight has brought them such marked prosperity. For a time they carried on two stores, but these they combined in 1895 and have since liad one large store.

The first wife of Mr. Horsey was Clara L. Roach, of Crisfield, who died in 1884, leaving a daughter, Lillian H., now a student in the Western Maryland College. In 1893 he married Miss Edith L. Crow, of Wilmington, Del., and they have a daughter, Madeline, while the only son, Albert C., is deceased. Politically Mr. Horsey is a Democrat. In religious belief he is identi- fied with the Methodist Protestant Church, in which he is a trustee and has been assistant super- intendent of the Sunday-school. He was one of

the original stockholders in the Crisfield Ice Con11- pany of this place, also one of the original stock- holders and directors of the Savings Bank of Somerset County, at Princess Anne.

ILLIAM S. SEYMOUR, M. D. Though one of the youngest physicians in Talbot County, Dr. Seymour is not one of the least known. He ranks among the rising young professional men of the village of Trappe, where he has an office and carries on a general profes- sional practice. For the work he has selected for his life calling he is admirably fitted both by natural gifts and by years of diligent study and application, also by his practical experience in hospital work.

Upon a farm in Talbot County the subject of this sketch was born January 20, 1871, a son of Levin S. and Matilda A. (Berridge) Seymour. In boyhood he was a pupil in the district schools, also in the high school of Trappe, where he laid the foundation of the knowledge to which he afterward added by reading, self-culture and observation. Until sixteen years of age he con- tinued to reside on the home farm. At that time, however, he came to Trappe, where he se- cured employment as clerk in a drug store and remained in the same position for three years. In order to gain a more thorough knowledge of pharmacy he entered the Maryland College of Pharmacy and remained there until the comple- tion of the regular course, graduating April 12, 1892. For one year afterward he had charge of a drug store. In the fall of 1893 he matriculated in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore, where he carried on medical studies for one year. Later he became a student in the medical department of the University of Mary- land, where he completed the course and gradu- ated April 16, 1895. The following year he was engaged as a physician in the University hos- pital, where he had an opportunity to extend his knowledge by practical experience with the treat- ment of disease in its many forms.

٠٫٠١

JAMES A. CONNAWAY, M. D.

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In 1896 Dr. Seymour came to the village of Trappe, where he has since engaged in practice. He also superintends the management of his farm of one hundred and seventy acres in this district. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, frater- nally is identified with the Improved Order of Red Men, and in politics is a Democrat.

AMES A. CONNAWAY, M. D., a practic- ing physician of Strait district, Dorchester County, is well posted in his profession, and has had a wide and varied experience in his chosen field of labor. About 1890 he came to his present location and has since succeeded in building up an extensive and lucrative practice. For twelve years prior to his coming here he re- sided on Hooper's Island, having been the first physician ever permanently residing on the island, and he still retains many of his clients there ..

Dr. Connaway was born in Sussex County, Del., June 24, 1835, and is a son of Levin Conna- way, who was likewise a native of Delaware, and spent his whole life near Concord. He was a very successful farmer and was quite active in political matters. He died at the age of seventy- eight years, regretted by all who had ever come into contact with him. His father, John, was also born, reared and died in the same section of Delaware and followed agriculture for a means of livelihood. The family in that state dates back as far as 1700, the original founders of the branch there being among the first settlers of Sussex County, and came from Europe. The doctor's mother, who was a native of Delaware as well, bore the maiden name of Matilda Anderson. She died when sixty-five years old, and five of her eight children survive at this writing. They are: Joseph, of Lewes, Del .; Mary J., a widow; Annie E .; James A .; and Rebecca, wife of Thomas Joseph.

Dr. J. A. Connaway was quietly reared to youth upon his father's homestead in Delaware, his primary education being obtained in the pub- lic schools. When he had arrived at mature

years, he determined to enter the medical profes- sion, and for a time attended lectures in the Cin- cinnati (Ohio) Medical College. When he was on his way home in 1861 from Ohio, at Akron, he was threatened with being forced into the army, and proceeded to Washington, D. C., where he found a position in the naval depart- ment and marine corps, and continued in that service for four years, at the expiration of which time he was honorably discharged. When the war clouds had -drifted away he returned to his old home in his native state and commenced his initial practice there, also assisting his father somewhat in the management of the farm. After the death of the latter the doctor went to Nan- ticoke Point, Wicomico County, Md., and prac- ticed his profession there four years, then settling upon Hooper's Island, as previously noted. He aims to keep thoroughly posted in all the discov- eries and new methods of combating disease, and is a practical, conscientious man at all times. He votes for the Democratic nominees, but has never been much of a politician. He and his good wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

August 17, 1871, Dr. Connaway married Miss Wilhelmina Winsor, daughter of Philip Winsor, of Georgetown1, Del., and they have three chil- dren: Benjamin, of this place; Viola, wife of Henry W. Mills; and Galen, who is with his par- ents ..

2 ICHARD LEE LINTHICUM, A. M., M. D., who was engaged in general practice as a physician for a few years in Hooper's Island, Dorchester County, has been located in Church Creek of late years, this neighborhood having been the home of his childhood and youth. In partnership with his brother, F. P., he is interested in managing the old homestead.

Born April 28, 1861, the doctor is a son of Richard Linthicum, who was of Welsh descent, his ancestor having crossed the Atlantic about 1643, A. D., and settled in Anne Arundel Count- ty, Md. The family has always since occupied

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an enviable place in the annals of the state, and members of it liave graced the various professions and arts frequently. In the main, however, they have been planters, merchants, and ship-builders, and many of them have amassed large fortunes by their executive ability and superior judgment in commercial affairs. (For particulars of the origi- nators of the Maryland branch of the family see the sketch of Benjamin J. Linthicum, a cousin of our subject, upon another page in this volume.)

Richard Linthicum was born upon a farmi opposite the town of Woolford (formerly Milton), Dorchester County. There he spent the first sixteen years of liis life, and then, following a strong desire to sail on the high seas, he became captain of a sailing-vessel at the early age of six- teen. He suffered many hardships in the line of liis arduous duties, but was undaunted by dan- gers and disasters, for, though he was ship- wrecked on the Spanish Main and also at Cape Hatteras when a mere youth, he continued to follow the sea for many years. His last days, by contrast, were very quiet and monotonous, as he settled down as a merchant at Church Creek, but liad investments in lumber, land, etc., which kept him fully occupied in looking after them. He conducted an extensive trade in ship lumber and owned three thousand acres of valuable farm and timber land. He was born during the year 1809, and died at the ripe age of four-score years, respected and highly thought of by all who knew him. He married Miss Susan A., who was born November 12, 1820, daughter of Samuel Linthi- cum, and their three children were Dr. R. L., of this article; F. Percy, who is also assisting in the supervision of the old plantation; and Aline Estelle, who is deceased.

Dr. Linthicum was educated in the public and grammar schools of Baltimore and in the City College. Later he entered Western Maryland College, from which he graduated in 1883, and then, having decided to enter the medical pro- fession, he matriculated in Jefferson Medical Col- lege, of Philadelphia, and was eventually awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine there, in 1887. Returning home, he practiced for a short time, then going to Hooper's Island, and finally re-

sumed his residence here. Like his revered father, he is affiliated with the Democracy. His mother is still living and resides at the old home- stead.

HOMAS C. SELLERS. Numbered among the industrious, enterprising citizens of Dor- chester County is this gentleman, whose home is in the third district upon a beautiful farm known as Indian Town. He has been very suc- cessful in his financial undertakings and has in- vested his funds from time to time in good land until he now owns over one hundred and fifty acres. Mr. Sellers takes an interested part in Democratic politics, and was tax collector of this district in 1885 and 1886, and from 1887 to 1892 was one of the trustees of the county almshouse. He has frequently been sent as a delegate to local conventions of his party, and is recognized as an influential factor in public affairs here.

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Portrait and biographical record of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Part 80

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