USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 1 > Part 21
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
Andrew B. Price acquired his early education
at Charlotte Hall, St. Mary's County, Md., one of the oldest and best-known institutions in the state, having been founded in 1797. Having a decided preference for the medical profession, at the age of twenty-four he began its study under the direction of his father. In1 1865 he entered the medical department of the University of Maryland, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1867. On completion of his education he entered into the general practice of his profession at Stephens City, Frederick County, Va., where he remained three years. The following eight years were spent in Ocean, Allegany County, Md., and in 1879 he removed to Frostburg, where he has since remained.
A close and thorough student, possessed of an inherent love for his calling, Dr. Price has long since attained to a most prominent place among the practitioners of his county, and is recognized by all as an eminent and able physician. Polit- ically he is a Democrat, and during the first administration of President Cleveland served as a member of the pension examining board for Cumberland. He is a member of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, the George Creek Medical Association, the Tri-State Medi- cal Association, and the Allegany County Medi- cal Associaton, and has served as president of the latter body. He is also a member of the Royal Arcanum, Knights of Honor and the Hepta- sophs.
He has been twice married, first in June, 1872, to Laura B., daughter of Dr. Taylor, of Hills- boro, Va. In November, 1876, he married as his second wife Annie J., daughter of James Chipley, of Stephens City, Va. To them were born seven children, three of whom survive, viz .: Margaretta Carrington, Nellie Fairfax and Thomas O.
Dr. Price is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, and the family are prominent in social circles of the city. Personally the doctor is a kind and genial man-a progressive and ener- getic citizen-ever ready to assist with time and means any enterprise tending toward the development and progress of the community.
212
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
EVI ECHARD, proprietor of the Mountain Lake Park livery stables, has been engaged in this business here but four years, but is making a success of the venture. As everyone in this portion of Maryland and adjoining states must know, the beautiful little town of Mountain Lake Park, Garrett County, is situated in the range of Great Backbone Mountains, to the southeast of Oakland, the county seat. Though the charming summer resort is less than a decade old, its praises have been sung far and wide, and each year the number of visitors increases. In consequence the business of the subject of this sketch is constantly gaining, and the future out- look is alluring. There are miles of delightful drives to be had throughout this region and no one can afford to pass a few weeks, or days even, in the mountains without visiting the lovely spots which are too distant to be reached in a stroll.
Mr. Echard is of German descent, as his pater- nal grandparents were natives of the Fatherland. They crossed the Atlantic to found a new home for themselves and their family, and were num- bered among the well-to-do citizens of Fayette County, Pa., before they passed to their reward. The parents of our subject were Christopher and Christina (Huffine) Echard, natives of Fayette County, Pa. The father was a farmer by occu- pation and was influential and prosperous. Politically he supported the Democratic party, but he was not an office-seeker, and attended solely to his own business affairs. He died at the age of sixty-four years, and was survived a: few years by his devoted wife, whose deathi oc- curred when she was about seventy-five years of age. Of their large family of eleven children only four are now living, namely: Jacob, a resi- dent of Pennsylvania; Peter, of this county; Mary Ann, residing in Pennsylvania; and Levi, of this sketcli.
Levi Echard is now on the sunset side of life, as he is sixty years of age, but he is as strong and vigorous as many are when in their prime. Born in Fayette County, Pa., in 1838, he contin- ued to live in that section until the beginning of the war, when he removed to Garrett (thien Al-
legany ) County. He bought a farm near the town of Accident, in the northern part of the county, and for over thirty years gave his time and attention to its cultivation. He not only made a comfortable livelihood for himself and family, but managed to lay aside a goodly bank account for future use. In 1894, in partnership with his son Jacob, he started the livery business here under the firm name of Echard & Son. They keep about twenty good horses during the season, and have a good line of carriages and light vehicles suitable for this region. While a resident of Accident, Mr. Echard was appointed to the office of constable, and having given gen- eral satisfaction to all concerned during the nine years that he held the position, he was honored in 1895 by again being chosen to fill the place in this vicinity, and was re-appointed in 1897.
The marriage of Mr. Echard and Miss Elizabeth Hope, a daughter of David Hope, of Pennsyl- vania, was solemnized in January, 1861. The seven children who bless their union are in order of birth as follows: Christie -Ann, Mrs. Abram Wotring; Willis, a resident of Pittsburg, Pa .; Mollie, Mrs. C. H. Glotfelty; Jacob; Ella, Mrs. Stephen Mattingly; Stella, wife of Thomas Har- ris; and Bessie, who is at home. The family are members of the United Brethren Church and are honored members of society here.
ENTON M. NIHISER, M. D., is one of the most prominent physicians of Waslı- ington County, where he is engaged in general practice at Keedysville. In addition to his private practice he holds the office of surgeon for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, health officer of Keedysville and president of the board of pension examiners of Hagerstown. The various professional associations receive his co- operation and assistance. He isa member of the Washington County Medical Society, the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, the Na- tional Association of Railway Surgeons, the Inter-
-
213-214
CAPT. JOHN McDONALD.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
215
-
.
national Medical Congress, American Medical Association and the Baltimore & Ohio Surgeons' Association. He commenced the practice of medicine in ISSI, in Hartmonsville, W. Va., under a certificate of the state board of health of West Virginia, continuing there until 1887, and since that time he has been a practicing physician of Keedysville.
The doctor's father, Rev. John Wesley Nihiser, was born in Woodstock, Va., and devoted his life to ministerial work, becoming a prominent clergyman in the United Brethren Church and assisting in the organization of the Virginia con- ference. He was a pioneer of his denomination, which was first started near this place in Mary- land. The last four years of his life were spent in the home of his son, at Keedysville, and here he died in February, 1893, at the age of sixty- seven. His father, John, a farmer of Edenburg, Va., was the son of a German, who emigrated to Virginia and became one of the first settlers of Shenandoah County. Our subject's mother, Mary M., was a daughter of Peter Liggett, of Virginia, and died April 23, 1891, at sixty-four years of age. Like her husband, she was a con- sistent member of the United Brethren Church. In her family there were three children, all of whom are still living, namely: John W., a resi- „dent of Hagerstown; Maria Catherine, wife of Robert N. Fout; and Winton Markwood, the sub- ject of this sketch.
In Seymoursville, W. Va., the gentleman of whom we write was born April 9, 1859. He received the rudiments of his education in the · public schools of Mineral County, W. Va., and later carried on his studies in Bridgewater Academy, at Bridgewater, Va., and the Shenan- doah Institute at Dayton, Va. In 1878 he began to study medicine under Drs. M. F. Wright, of Burlington, and T. H. West, of Keyser, W. Va., and in this way he gained the basis of his medi- cal education. Afterwards he entered the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, where lie took two courses of lectures and grad- uated Marcli 1, 1882. He also attended one course of lectures at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 1884-85, and graduated
there on the 9th of March, 1885. Meanwhile he had begun the active practice of his pro- fession, which he has since conducted without intermission. As a physician he is skillful, con- scientious and painstaking, and these qualities have brought him success in his practice.
July 18, 1882, Dr. Nihiser married Miss Gus- tavia, daughter of Capt. George W. and Rachel A. D. Weems, of the Weems line of steamers, in Baltimore. They have three children: Vera, Winton Weems and Theodore Gustavus.
APT. JOHN McDONALD, representative of the sixth congressional district of Mary- land in the fifty-fifth congress, is one of the prominent men of Maryland. He owns and re- sides upon a valuable farm in Potomac District, Montgomery County. During the late Civil war he saw hard service in defending the Union, and by gallant and meritorious conduct rose to the rank of captain, and was publicly commended. Not less as a private citizen has he been active in support of our government and its institutions, and no one could be found better fitted to repre- sent the people in the councils of the nation.
The captain, though a native of Ireland, comes from good old Protestant Celtic stock. He was born May 24, 1837, and is a son of Thomas and Katherine ( Hoar) McDonald. When he was about eigliteen years of age he crossed tlie At- lantic in company with a schoolmate. His father had died the previous year and lie was thus thrown upon his own resources. After he had worked at various things for a twelvemonth he enlisted in the regular United States army, Au- gust 18, 1857, as a member of Company K, First Regiment of Dragoons, and joined the command at Fort Buchanan, Ariz. He participated in several campaigns against the Indians in that state and in California, and was ordered with his troop to tlie seat of war in November, 1861.
Assigned to the Army of the Potomac lie was first sergeant of his troop during the Peninsular
6
216
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
campaign, and was honored in presence of his command by his superior, Capt. B. F. Davis, for his bravery and judicious conduct at the en- gagement of Williamsburg, Va., May 4 and 5, 1862. On the 17th of the following July he was appointed second lieutenant of the First Cavalry, and sent to Carlisle, Pa., to recruit his troop to its complement of one hundred men. The next February he rejoined his regiment, and at Kelley's Ford, March 17, was severely injured by his horse, which, being wounded, fell with his rider. The young lieutenant was com- plimented by General Averill for the part lie had taken in the action on that occasion. He was ordered to Washington for medical treatment, thence to Carlisle and to Harrisburg, Pa, where he was placed on recruiting duty. He bore an honorable part in the Gettysburg campaign. De- cember 29, 1863, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and in the following November joined his regiment at Winchester, Va. The next month he went on a cavalry raid to Gor- donsville, Va.
From February, 1865, to May 15, 1865, he was in the general hospital for officers at An- napolis, Md., and was then assigned to mustering duty at Baltimore, after which he joined his regi- ment at New Orleans, La., in June. With his regiment he went to California the following January; from there to Arizona, being placed in command of Troop G, in March. In July, 1867, he was on sick leave, when lie was ordered to report to the army medical board of the Depart- ment of California, which recommended a change of station. While at Fort McDermott he was assigned to the command at Fort Halleck, Nev. From there he was returned to Fort McDermott, to be quartermaster and commissary. He ap- peared before the retiring board at San Francisco in November, 1867, and was commanding Drum Barracks when ordered to his home in Mary- land, January 15, 1868. From November, 1868, . to March, 1869, lic was on court martial duty in Texas, and July 1, 1868, was retired from active service with the rank of captain of cavalry.
Prior to his retirement Captain McDonald had purchased a farm in Potomac District, Mont-
gomery County, Md., and since that time he has been interested in cultivating and improving the place, which is now a model country home. For thirteen years he was connected with the County Grange and for six years was an official in the Montgomery County Agricultural Society, two years of that period being president of the organization. Fraternally he is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, standing high in that honored body, and is also a companion of the military order of the Loyal Legion. He is commander of Independence Post at Gaitliers- burg, and is senior vice-commander of the De- partment of Maryland, G. A. R. In the Ma- sonic order he is identified with Montgomery Lodge No. 195, A. F. & A. M., of Rockville. For twenty years he has been a vestryman of the Rockville Protestant Episcopal Church.
In 1882, when the Democratic majorities ranged from six hundred to a thousand, Captain McDonald was elected on the Republican ticket to the state legislature. In 1891 he was a candi- date for the position of state comptroller, and though he was not elected, he received a flatter- ing vote. In 1896 he was elected to congress by a majority of four thousand votes over his op- ponent, Blair Lee. At the convention held in Oakland, Montgomery County, six hundred and fifty ballots were cast in favor of our subject, and at the adjourned meeting in Rockville he was nominated by a vote of eight hundred and ninety-six. As a member of the house of repre- sentatives he has served on various important committees. Among others, he is a member of the committee on military affairs and chairman of one of the sub-committees of the same and is one of the committee on expenditure for public build- ings. His sterling integrity of character and his high principles make him admired and respected by even those politically opposed to him.
May 7, 1863, Captain McDonald married Mary J. Benton, daughter of Horace Benton, of this county. Of their six children Mary J. is the eldest; Charles G., an attorney of Washington, is now acting as his father's private secretary; Thomas B. is a practicing physician of Cumber- land, Md .; Kate F. is the wife of George Brad-
·
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
217
ley, a farmer of this district; John died in child- hood; and Jessie M. is attending school in Rock- ville.
OHN A. MILLER established a general mercantile business at Keedsyville in 1838, and this he carried on for a time in conec- tion with a paper he was then publishing, but since 1896 he has devoted his attention princi- pally to merchandising, having disposed of the paper. He is the owner of a fruit farm near the village, situated on the historic spot, "Mcclellan's Lookout," and here he is engaged in raising peaches and other fruits. Local matters receive his attention, and plans for the upbuilding of the town and county are sure of his co-operation. During one year (1886) he served as assistant burgess of Keedysville. A stanch Prohibitionist in principle and by example, he has been active in the work of the party, and has been its candi- date for state senator and representative.
Mr. Miller was born in York County, Pa., in 1858. His father, Benjamin F., also a native of York County, removed in 1854 to Keedysville, but four years later returned to his former home, and again, a year later, came to Keedysville, making this place his home for many years. Both in Pennsylvania and Maryland he has fol- lowed farm pursuits and the blacksmith's trade. In 1895 he moved to Hagerstown, where he now resides. Politically he is an advocate of Repub- lican principles. His father, John, who was a life-long resident and farmer of York County and a soldier in the War of IS12, was a son of a German, whose family was among the early settlers of that county. The mother of our sub- ject was Matilda, daughter of Jolin Ecker and a native of Frederick County, Md. In her family there were thirteen children, and all but two are still living. They are: Jolin A .; Mary, wife of James Peterman; Elhanan S., of Hagerstown; Enola; Everett B., of Sharpsburg; Annie, wife of William Snyder; Ernest W., of Hagerstown; Franklin D., also a resident of Hagerstown;
Victor H., who is preparing for the ministry; and Lorena and Prudence, twins. The mother of these children died June 3, 1894, when she was fifty-nine years of age.
When the family settled in Keedysville the second time, the subject of this sketch was one year of age. His early life was spent in this vicinity and he was educated in the schools of the county. At the age of twenty-four he entered the employ of the United States on the coast and geodetic survey, in which capacity he was re- tained for eighteen months. He then returned to Keedysville and secured a position as clerk in a general store, where he remained for two years. In 1887 he established the Antietam Wavelet, which he carried on under that name and also later under the name of Antictam Valley Record for nine years, and then sold the paper. Since 1888 he has been proprietor of a general store, stocked with a select stock of goods adapted to the needs of the people. Asa business man he is energetic and capable, and by his excellent judg- ment he has built up a valuable business.
In 1883 Mr. Miller married Miss Fannie Geet- ing, daughter of Emanuel Geeting, and they have an only son, Elmer G. The family are connected with the United Brethren Church. Fraternally he is connected with Banner Council No. 48, Jr. O. U. A. M., La Grange Lodge, No. 36, I. O. O. F., at Boonsboro, and Antietani Lodge No. 197, A. F. & A. M., of Keedsyville.
OHN W. MYERS is senior member of the firm of J. W. Myers & Co., wholesale gro- cers of Hagerstown. He owns four-fifths and his brother one-fifth of the business, and oc- cupies a building 100x40 feet in dimensions, and four stories in height. Beginning in business with very limited capital, he has, by resolution and indomitable will, combined with industry and judicious management; won his way to a position of prosperity. He enjoys the respect of the people among whom he transacts business,
218
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
and lias gained an enviable reputation for the fair- ness of liis dealings and the accuracy of his judgment and geniality of his manners.
The birth of Mr. Myers occurred March 4, 1859, upon the battleground of Antietam, near Sharpsburg. His father, Jacob Myers, was born near Boonsboro, Washington County, Md., and has spent his entire life here, engaged in farm pursuits. About 1867 he purchased a farm near Sharpsburg, and there lie is still living, being now about sixty-four years of age. Politically he is a Republican, firm in his allegiance to the party. During tlie engagement at Antietam, his house was converted into a hospital for the wounded soldiers. A grasshopper plague would have been no more disastrous than the presence of the army in his neighborhood, for they took or destroyed everything of value on the place. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Ann Cookerly and was born in Sharpsburg, in the vicinity of which place she spent her en- tire life. In religious connections she was identi- fied with the Lutheran Church. Of her twelve children all but one are still living.
The family were poor and our subject had few educational privileges, for he was obliged to sup- port himself from an early age. His schooling in youth covered a period of only eighteen -months. At the age of twenty-one he began to work on the railroad, but after a time he went west to Colorado, where he worked for a short time. Realizing that he needed a better educa- tion, he saved his money frugally, and thus was enabled to take a course in a college at Baltimore, where he remained for six months. At the ex- piration of that time he began to clerk in a gro- cery store, where he remained for two years. For a similar period he traveled for a grocery house, his territory covering portions of Mary- land, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
With a caslı capital of $95, but with an abund- ance of grit and determination, Mr. Myers began in business for himself. He carried on a retail trade for four years, and then started his present wholesale business. After a few montlis lie took into partnership two friends, but at the end of the first year his brother, Noah, purchased their
one-fifth interest in the business. The firm has five traveling salesmen in Maryland, Pennsyl- vania, Virginia and West Virginia, and transacts a large business with the retail trade. Three years before engaging in the wholesale business, Mr. Myers also owned a half-interest in a grocery at Sharpsburg, the other interest being owned by his brother. In politics he is a Republican, and in religious belief a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. In 1888 he married Miss Carrie C., daughter of John H. Cunningham, of this county.
The success obtained by Mr. Myers is especially praiseworthy when the fact is recalled that he started with nothing, not even a good education. He began for himself without means and influ- ential friends, beset on every side by obstacles, hampered by poverty and a lack of educational advantages; yet, notwithstanding these disad- vantages, he worked his way to an assured suc- cess.
ENRY WEBER, for years numbered among the sterling citizens of Oakland, Garrett County, is famed as a florist far and wide, and has frequently been awarded the highest honors and prizes upon exhibitions of plants, cut flowers and special designs at fairs and expo- sitions. Among these might be mentioned the official ribbon which was bestowed upon his display at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, also medal and diploma; a gold medal which was awarded him in Atlanta, Ga., in 1896; one in New York in 1895; diplomas from the American Institute of New York; the Chicago Horticultural Society; the American Carnation Society of Cincinnati, and many others of scarcely less importance. In 1897 he was given special honors in Cincinnati, for his exceptionally fine exhibit of carnations and the new Garrett rose. Certainly no one is more thoroughily master of his business than is Mr. Weber, who, from his earliest years lias devoted earnest study to the subject of floriculture, and has always been a great lover of plants and flowers.
219
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
In the case of Mr. Weber is found another example of the success that the Germans, in par- ticular, have as florists. They seem to have genuine insight into the nature of plants and a special tenderness and sympathy with their needs that result in care and skill in treatment, and abundant and beautiful harvests. Henry Weber was born in the province of Hesse-Cassel, Ger- many, in 1835, being a son of John and Elizabeth: Weber. The father was a farmer by occupation and died at the age of sixty-three years as the re- sult of an injury. His wife, the mother of five children, of whom our subject is the youngest and only survivor, died when in her fifty-ninth year.
In the usual manner of German lads, Henry Weber attended the government schools until he was fifteen years old, after which he began serv- ing an apprenticeship to a florist. In time he became a trusted and competent employe, and at last was placed in charge of his employers' busi- ness. During the Crimean war in 1854 and 1855, he served in the British army, and in the follow- ing ten years he was stationed at various points in Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Thus it may be seen that he is literally a world- wide traveller, and that his experiences have been something uncommon and extremely inter- esting. It was in 1865 that he decided to come to America, and with his brother John he em- barked in general farming and market gardening near Mount Savage, Md. There he remained five years, at the end of which time he sold out his interest to his brother and went to Cumber- land. In that locality he carried on the same busi- ness until 1883, devoting his entire attention to floriculture and market gardening, of which he has made a splendid success, financially and in every way. In 1879 he bought a tract of land in the Seventh District of Garrett County. It was then little better than a swamp and wilderness, but within a few years he had transformed the property, which seems especially adapted for the raising of plants and fine flowers. The owner has also carried on general farming and has raised market-garden produce to a great extent, but his chief delight is in the cultivation of flowers. At
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.