Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 2, Part 2

Author: Chapman Publishing Company
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: New York : Chapman publishing co.
Number of Pages: 722


USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 2 > Part 2


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Mountain Lodge No. 99, A. F. & A. M., Ohr Chapter No. 126, R. A. M., and Antioch Com- mandery No. 6, K. T., of Cumberland.


June 19, 1891, Dr. Griffith married Eleanor L. Bloom, who was born in New York City, and one child blesses their union, a daughter named Helen Cary. The Bloom family is of old Knickerbocker stock. Mrs. Griffith's father, Edward N. Bloom, was a son of Judge Isaac Bloom, a native and life-long resident of Albany, N. Y., where he was prominent as a lawyer and jurist. Active in all public affairs, Mr. Bloom was especially in- terested in educational matters and was a firm friend of the public schools. Much of his time was given to the promotion of the schools and the advancement of the standard of education. In all the positions that he held he was character- ized by a strict sense of integrity and honor and a desire to promote the welfare of his fellow- citizens. For some time he was a director of the Bull's Head Bank. His death occurred at the age of thirty-eight, while he was still in the vigor of his strength.


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FORGE MARKELL, one of the honored old citizens of Frederick City and County, has lived in his present home for forty-seven years. He has always been greatly interested in whatever efforts were made toward the upbuild- ing and advancement of this now thriving city, and has done his share at all times in the promo- tion of public enterprises. He eventually retired from active business life and has since lived in the city of Frederick.


The father of our subject, John Markell, was born in this vicinity, and was a life-long resident here. In the War of 1812 he enlisted for the service and was quartermaster of a Maryland regiment. He was one of the early merchants of Frederick, and was a pillar in the Lutheran Church. He died in 1859, and was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery. His father, William Markell, was also a citizen of this place, settling


here when it was but little more than a hamlet. The mother of George Markell, whose name heads this sketch, was Miss Catherine Mantz in her girlhood. Her father, Maj. Peter Mantz, was a surveyor and laid out tracts of land and town sites in all parts of this county. He was at one time judge of the orphans' court. His ancestors were Pennsylvanians, and at a very early period became residents of this state.


With his five brothers and sisters George Mar- kell was reared to maturity in Frederick, attend- ing the common schools, which at that far-distant day were of little account. He was born in 1816, being the first in order of birth in his par- ent's family. His brother Charles, for years a prosperous business man of Baltimore, is now retired. Lewis was successfully engaged in the mercantile business in Frederick with his brother George when in the prime of his life, and Frank was likewise interested up to the time of his death. The only sister, Mary, married Robert Johnston, of Hagerstown. George Markell was a student in the famous old Frederick College in his youth, and was about twenty years of age when he entered his father's store. Having thoroughly learned the business he gradually as- sumed more and more of the management, and when the father withdrew from the firm our subject and two of his brothers purchased the store and carried it on for a number of years stic- cessfully together. Finally George and Lewis Markell retired from the business, which was thenceforth conducted by Frank until death put an end to his career.


Formerly an old-line Whig, Mr. Markell espoused the principles of the Republican party upon its organization in 1856, and has been an earnest believer in its tenets. He has never allowed his name to appear as a candidate for official honors, though he has often been urged to do so. Neither has he ever been a member of any secret society or club, but he is a valued worker in the Reformed Church, to which he has given his allegiance since his boyhood.


In 1840 Mr. Markell married Sophia Markell, a second cousin. Four daughters and one son came to grace their union. The son, Lewis,


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died in June, 1897, at the age of thirty-seven. The oldest daughter married J. S. Detrick, of the firm of Detrick & Harvey, of Baltimore, and is the mother of two children, viz .: Mabel and Sophia. Bettie has never married and keeps house for her father. Mary is the wife of J. Davis Byerly, and has two children, Charles and Mary. Harriet, Mrs. Jonas E. Walker, has one child, Harriet, and thus our subject has five grandchildren.


ILLIAM YEAKLE, deceased, was one of the merchants who prior to and during the stormy days of the war, carried on business in Frederick, and assisted materially in keeping things here on a firm and steady basis, when financial conditions seemed paralyzed or shaken to the center. From the time of his per- manent settlement in this city until his death, which occurred while he was yet in the prime of manhood, he had great faith in the future of Frederick, and did all that was in his power to promote the welfare of her citizens.


Born in Washington County, Md., in 1819, · William Yeakle was a son of Henry Yeakle, a boot and shoe dealer of Hagerstown. The early life of William was passed under his father's roof, his education being a public-school one. After the family removed to Hagerstown he continued hisstudies for a time in its schools, and was thus well prepared for business life. He was a young man when he came to Frederick, and started in the boot and shoe business here in partnership with a brother. Some years rolled away, and the brother having died, he sold out his interest in the store and entered the employ of Mr. Gittinger, with whom he remained some time. Later he embarked once more in independent business on Market street, where he was successfully occupied in the man- agement of a paying trade up to the date of his death in 1869. He was a life-long Democrat, but was never an aspirant for public office. Though he was strongly in sympathy with the


Confederacy, he had many warm friends on both sides, and enjoyed the good will and esteem of all who knew him. A member of the local Odd Fellows' lodge, he stood high in the same, and religiously he was a member of the Methodist Church.


October 19, 1845, William Yeakle married Miss Mary, daughter of Caspar and Catherine (Evans) Cline. The father was a native of Hanover, Pa., and his parents having died when he was young, he came to Frederick at an early day. For many years he carried on a flourishing carriage manu- factory, giving employment to a number of men. He was also the superintendent of the mail route between Frederick and Hagerstown during a long period. He retired from arduous business life when he had acquired a comfortable fortune, and passed many peaceful, contented years here before he received the summons to leave the scenes of his earthly career. He was a faithful and consistent member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and died strong in the faith he had professed April 18, 1871, at the good old age of seventy-six years.


The Evans family was of Scotch descent, the father of Mrs. Catherine (Evans) Cline having been one of three brothers who came to this country from Scotland. He settled in Maryland and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, while another of the brothers, Col. John Evans, located in Ross County, Ohio. Members of the family at one time owned large tracts of land in Baltimore and vicinity. Mrs. Catherine Cline was born in New Market, Md., and after her marriage came to Frederick, taking up her abode in the identical house now owned by the widow of William Yeakle. She was a member of the Methodist Church, and was a most estimable Christian lady. At the time of her death she left five sons and two daughters to mourn her loss. Of these; Harriet married Stephen B. Crum, and died, leaving three sons. William is deceased; John went to Australia and later en- gaged in the ranch business in California; George T. and Nicholas O. both reside in Frederick.


Of the nine children born to William and Mary Yeakle four are deceased. Aquilla, the eldest


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AQUILLA R. VEAKLE.


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son, and the present mayor of Frederick, is rep- resented elsewhere in this volume. Thomas is a boot and shoe merchant in Chicago. John is in the dry-goods business in Peoria, Ill .; Edward is at home. Katie married Charles Thomas, since deceased, and had three daughters, of whom two survive. Mrs. Yeakle was born and reared in this city and received her higher education in Frederick College. She is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is loved and respected by all.


QUILLA REESE YEAKLE, the popular and energetic mayor of Frederick during the years 1896, 1897 and 1898, was the unan- imous choice of the local Democracy in the cam- paign of 1895, for the important position he filled with so much credit. Notwithstanding unusual opposition to the ticket, his friends carried the day for him by a good majority, and their wisdom in selecting him as their standard-bearer was fully -justified. He made a conscientious, painstaking mayor, attending with strict integrity to the duties of his office, and upholding the dignity of the position in an intelligent, progressive man- ner, alike creditable to himself and to his party.


A. R. Yeakle was born in Frederick, June 28, 1848, and has resided here all of his life. His father, William Yeakle, was engaged in the boot and shoe business here for many years and was numbered among the most enterprising and public-spirited citizens of this place. (See his sketch. ) His death occurred in 1869. He mar- ried Mary L. Cline, daughter of Caspar Cline, who figured prominently in the War of 1812, and was a man noted for his valor and unflinching bravery. Mrs. Mary Yeakle is still living in Frederick, and is a striking example of that sweetness and gentle dignity of character that have marked the true southern woman for gen- erations.


Reared in a home where only the best influ- ences surrounded him from his first recollections,


it is not strange that our subject early developed a manly, noble spirit that has since character- ized him at all times. His higher education was obtained in St. John's College, and in 1863 he entered the store of Z. J. Gittinger, where he re- mained for fourteen and a-half years. That he gave entire satisfaction to his superior is plainly shown by the length of time that their business relations continued, and it was only at the will of Mr. Yeakle that this connection was finally severed. In October, 1877, he rented the main store room in the city hall building and opened a boot, shoe and hat store, which is still in exist- ence, and has long since been one of the most popular establishments in the city. He is also a stockholder in the Union Manufacturing Com- pany.


The strong and patriotic interest which Mr. Yeakle had always shown in public affairs and politics incidentally, made him appear a fitting man to asstime somewhat of the burdens and responsi- bilities of official position, as his friends argued, and at last they won his consent to let his name appear as a candidate for Democratic alderman of the third ward. He was elected after a vigorous campaign, and served for six years, much of the time being chairman of important committees. His record as an alderman led to his being nomi- nated for the mayorship .. As the official repre- sentative of the city he deserves great credit for the diplomatic skill and tact with which he en- tertained and made welcome the Maryland Na- tional Guard Encampment at Frederick in 1896, and it was by his efforts and suggestion that the parade of the brigade through the city, as an escort to Major-General Nelson A. Miles and Governor Lowndes, was obtained.


For a long time Mr. Yeakle was president of the Evening Visitor's Club, one of the most pleasant social clubs, of this place. One of the charter members of the Alpha Temple of Honor, he filled all of the offices in the subordinate tem- ple and was a representative to the grand temple. He was elected grand worthy chief templar of Maryland and the District of Columbia; was ' representative in the supreme council of Amerza, and attended the meetings of the order inChi-


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cago in 1875 and Philadelphia in 1876. He is active in support of the Business Men's Associa- tion, which has for its object the industrial and material advancement of the city. For years he was treasurer of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school, was a director in the Frederick County Bible Society for years, and is a liberal supporter of church and temperance movements.


October 31, 1882, Mr. Yeakle married Miss Fannie B., daughter of the late Jacob D. Hane, and granddaughter of Rev. David Schaeffer, D. D., a noted divine in the Lutheran denomina- tion, and formerly of Frederick. The only child of our subject and wife is Marie H. Mrs. Yeakle is a vocalist of superior talent, and her fame is not confined to this, her native place. She has been the leading soprano in the choir of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick for many years, and is always in great demand at all concerts and public entertainments, being es- teemed an acquisition to any program. Her voice is rich, of wide compass, and well trained.


OHN T. GAREY. Numbered among the leading citizens of the Second District, Gar- rett County, for over forty years, this gentle- man has been closely associated with its history and development. His many friends, appreciat- ing his sterling integrity and patriotism, elected him to the responsible post of county commis- sioner in 1897, his term to continue for four years. Since the organization of the Republican party he has been one of its most ardent supporters, and, whenever possible, has promoted its interest, as in its growth and success he believed reposed , the highest good to the greatest number of the American people.


The paternal grandfather of the above-named citizen came to western Maryland from his native state, New Jersey, and, settling upon a tract of land near Cumberland, passed the remainder of his life there. His son, Cornelius, father of our subject, was born in Allegany County, and from


his early years was occupied in agricultural pur- suits. For the most part his home was near the town of Frostburg, in his native county. Prior to the Civil war, he was an adherent of the Dem- ocratic party, but his sympathies were with the north in the great question which led to the dreadful sectional warfare. He died at the ripe age of eighty-two years. Three times married, his first union was with Miss Mary Candle, a native of Somerset County, Pa. They were the parents of seven children, namely: Susan, Mrs. John H. Patterson; Catherine, Mrs. William Ayers; William; Elizabeth, wife of John Sycle; Margaret, wife of Elmer S. Bailey; John T. and Louisa, deceased. The mother died when about forty-eight years of age, and the father subse- quently married Hester Broadwater, by whom he had one child, Mary J., now the wife of David H. Friend. The third wife was Asenia Dawson before her marriage.


The birth of John T. Garey occurred near Frostburg, Md., in 1836. He was reared upon a farm situated on the banks of George's Creek, and was educated in the common schools of his home district. At the age of sixteen years he left home in order to learn the trade of a plasterer and this calling he followed until 1859. At that time he came to Friendsville with his father, the latter having rented the Blooming Rose farm, about two miles from the village. Up to 1862 he stayed with his father and assisted in carrying on the homestead, but the need of his country then caused him to put aside all personal considerations and go forth to fight her battles. He enlisted as a private in Company D, Third Maryland Infantry Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. He took part in the battle of Harper's Ferry, was captured by the Confeder- ates and sent to Annapolis, where he was paroled. At the battle of Monocacy he was detailed to the commissary department. A short time after his return to the ordinary occupations of life, he went to Piedmont, W. Va., and there worked at his trade until 1867. At that time he married and took his bride to his comfortable farm-house home, the aforesaid Blooming Rose farm, which he himself rented for nine years. In the spring


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of 1877 he removed to his home farm, which he had purchased in 1876. It is known hereabouts as the John S. Friend property, and comprises one hundred and seventy acres of well-improved land, close to the village of Friendsville.


In his various business ventures Mr. Garey usually met with success, as he was judicious, far-seeing and persevering in carrying out his plans. Since his early life he has been an active and valued worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. For some time he was a steward, and for the past score of years he has been a class- leader and superintendent in the Sunday-school. His wife and children are all members of the church, also. The former, Priscilla, is a daughter of Jonathan Friend, and her four children are Cora, Mrs. H. M. Ramsbaugh; Della May; Gertrude, Mrs. Henry L. Wolf, and Edith.


D APT. ELI W. MERCIER, one of the lead- ing business men of Point of Rocks, Fred- erick County, and also the efficient agent for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at this place, is the proprietor of the elevator here as well as the one at Catoctin, carries on an extensive grain busi- ness and also handles fertilizers and agricultural implements. He was born near Hood's Mills, Carroll County, in 1840. His father, Cornelius, who was born at the same place, became the owner of a number of farms in Howard and Car- roll Counties and was a very successful man. He took part in the War of 1812 and politically was an old-line Whig. He never united with any de- nomination, but attended services at the Method- ist Episcopal Church South. He died in Howard County in 1858 and was laid to rest in the family burial ground in Carroll County. His father, Richard Mercier, was a native of France, when he came to America and settled on a farm in Carroll County. His wife was a Miss Tevis.


The mother of our subject was Sarah E. Gaither, whose father was a major in the War of 1812 and a prominent merchant, also the owner


of large tracts of farming land in Carroll and Howard Counties. She died in Carroll County and her body lies by that of her husband in the family cemetery, which is a part of the Carroll County homestead. The farm is now out of the family, but the graveyard is still retained. In her family there were two sons and two daugh- ters. Richard Cornelius is a merchant at Catoc- tin and also manages our subject's elevator at that place; Cassandra married John Gross, of Baltimore City, and is now deceased; Ruth E. is the wife of Asel Mercer, of Carroll County, Md.


The family owned a number of slaves and were intensely southern in their sympathies. At the breaking out of the Civil war our subject, then twenty-one years of age, at once took up the cause of the Confederacy. He enlisted in the First Virginia Cavalry and served throughout the entire period of the war. In April, 1862, his company was sent south, and he participated in the principal engagements of the regiment, among them the battle of the Wilderness (where he was wounded), South Mountain, Antietam and Gettysburg. At the close of the war he re- turned to Maryland and entered the service of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad as brakeman, but was soon made conductor, holding the position for four years. Since then he has been agent at Point of Rocks, where he has resided since ISSI. The most of his time is given to his large grain business and to the sale of agricultural imple- ments, in which he has the entire local trade. During the great flood in this county, which oc- curred in 1889, he lost many thousand bushels of grain, over six thousand bushels of wheat and flour, and his house and other buildings were washed away. Notwithstanding this heavy loss, he at once began to rebuild and has since built up a valuable business.


In 1865 Captain Mercier married Martha E., daughter of Capt. George Kephart, of Loudoun County, Va., who was captain in the militia be- fore the war. The children born of their union are Gaither, who died at six years of age; George S., superintendent of his father's grain business here; Eugene, manager of the Baltimore & Ohio freight and passenger office here; Margaret


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Tevis, Elizabeth White and Sarah Mildred. Po- litically the captain is a Democrat and takes an active interest in public affairs, but is not a parti- san and has never desired public office.


AYLOR MORRISON. Having his home in Western Port and his office in Piedmont, Mr. Morrison carries on professional prac- tice in the courts of both Maryland and West Virginia, and, while still a young man, has built up a reputation for broad knowledge of the law and keen judgment in matters relating to juris- prudence. In addition to his private practice, he is assistant general counsel for the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad; assistant representa- tive of the Davis National Bank of Piedmont; representative and director of the Twin Towns National Savings, Building and Loan Associa- tion, in the organization of which he was a valuable assistant and which has an authorized · capital of $2,000,000; representative of the E. J. Fredlock Manufacturing and Building Company, of Piedmont, and attorney for the Twin Towns Manufacturing Company.


In Alexandria, Va., the subject of this sketch was born on the 4th of July, 1872, his parents being James and Esther (Clark) Morrison, na- tives of Allegany County, Md., and Alexandria, Va. He and his brother, John J., were the only sons of John Morrison, a pioneer and extensive land owner of Allegany County. John J. Mor- rison, an uncle of Taylor Morrison, was three different times called upon to represent his dis- trict in the state legislature, where he faithfully represented the interests of his constituents. At one time, with his brother, he was interested in a mercantile business at Western Port. He died at Alexandria, Va., and was buried at his home at Morrison, near Barton, which place was named in his honor. James died October 1, 1892, when he was sixty-six years of age. Of his children five are living: Mary E., wife of W. W. Shul- tice, a merchant of Western Port; Taylor; James


C., who is employed in the chemical department of A. Klepstein & Co., of New York City; Edith and Rosalie, who are unmarried, and at home with their mother.


When our subject was a boy of twelve years his parents moved to Maryland, where he has since resided. He was educated in the Potomac Academy at Alexandria, Va., from which he graduated in 1889. Afterward he remained on the farm near Barton until 1891, when he entered the office of William E. Walsh, of Cumberland, and there read law for two years. In 1893 he entered the law department of the University of Maryland, from which he graduated the follow- ing year and about the same time was admitted to the bar. In October of the same year he es- tablished his office in Piedmont, and has since built up a satisfactory practice, meantime making his home with his mother in her elegant resi- dence at Western Port. Politically he is a Democrat; in religious belief he is a Catholic, and fraternally he is connected with the Order of Elks and the Golden Chain. He stands now on the threshold of life, with the future stretch- ing before him, and with every prospect for obtaining the success which his talents merit.


OSEPH C. WARD, who was appointed justice of the peace in May, 1895, by Gor- ernor Lowndes, is an honored citizen of Hagerstown, Washington County. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having loyally fought for the Union for over three years, during which time he participated in several of the most dar- ing and hazardous campaigns of the conflict. He has always endeavored to do his whole duty as a patriotic son of his loved fatherland and whether in times of war or peace, has been reliable and trustworthy.


The father of our subject landed in America when a boy of barely twelve years, having left his home, parents and three sisters in his native land, the Emerald Isle, to seek a livelihood


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among strangers. He crossed the ocean in an emigrant vessel, bound for New Brunswick, from whence he proceeded to Pennsylvania. There the ambitious and brave-spirited youth, whose Christian name was James, learned the blacksmith's trade and followed this vocation during his active life. For many years he re- sided in Frederick County, Md., and later settled in the southern part of this county. He died in November, 1876, and left eight children, one al- so having died in infancy. He was seventy-seven years old when he was summoned to his reward, at the close of his busy, useful career. Both he and his faithful wife were members of the United Brethren Church, and had been identified with the denomination from their youthful days. She was a Miss Catherine Metzger in her girlhood, and lived to be eighty-one years of age, her death taking place in 1882. Of their children Ann Re- becca, of Hagerstown, is the widow of Joseph A. Siess; John T. died when eighteen years old; Mary E., of this county, is the wife of John Gloss; Ruann Catherine, who died when in her fiftieth year, was the wife of J. H. McClary, of this city; James Henry resides in Roanoke, Va .; Josiah E., of Toledo, Ohio, is the superintendent of parks there and was orderly sergeant of the Twelfth Maryland Regiment of Infantry, which enlisted for ninety days in the late war; Joshua T. is a citizen of this town. James Henry, men- tioned above, enlisted in the First Maryland In- fantry in September, 1861, and after being in the Army of West Virginia was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, participating in all of the severe battles in which that illustrious band was en- gaged up to September, 1862, when he was captured. He was kept in the parole camp in Annapolis until the following March, when he was exchanged and returned to his own army. He served altogether three years and one month.




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