USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 2 > Part 23
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Prof. J. H. Apple was born in Pennsylvania August 4, 1865, and is the youngest son of Rev. J. H. Apple, D. D., for many years a zealous and successful minister in the Reformed Church in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The father was born in Easton, Pa., and received his higher education in Marshall College. During the years of early manhood he devoted some time to teaching and was principal of Clarion Collegiate Institute at Rimersburg, Pa., for a long period. The re- mainder of his life was consecrated exclusively to the Christian ministry, and it was not be- The boyhood of Professor Apple was quietly passed with his parents, and from his early youth fore 1891 that he retired from active work. His life has been a noble one and all who have . he manifested unusual fondness for his books. come under his influence have been uplifted and He attended Allegany College, Meadville, Pa.,
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JOHN W. WALKER.
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and then at Palatinate College, Myerstown, Pa., and finally graduated at the head of his class from Franklin and Marshall College. The fol- lowing two years he was the principal of the high school of St. Petersburg, Pa., after which he accepted the chair of mathematics in the state normal school at Clarion, Pa., remaining in that position four years. Next we find him elected to the chair of mathematics in the Pittsburg Cen- tral High School, being chosen from twenty-nine applicants for the place. Since 1893, as pre- viously stated, he has been the efficient and pop- ular president of the Woman's College at Fred- erick. It is one of the finest institutions for the education of young women in the state, and stu- dents come here from the north as well as from the south, east and west. The professor spends his vacations in lecturing in various states with view to interesting the people in the higher education of women, and has met with gratifying : salts. He is a Republican in politics but takes no active part in public affairs. He was married 1 1892 to Miss Mary, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Rankin, of Clarion, Pa. She died in 1896, leaving two children.
OHN W. WALKER, county commissioner of Montgomery County, is very well and favorably known throughout this region, and has officiated in various local positions of trust and-honor to the entire. satisfaction of all con- cerned. He was honored by being elected to his present post of duty in 1897, on the Democratic ticket, to which party he has always given his support. Previously he served four terms in the city council of Gaithersburg.
The father of the above, Nathan J. Walker, and the mother, formerly Miss Eveline King, are both natives of Montgomery County. Nathan J. Walker is a very prosperous agriculturist, and owns over five hundred acres of improved land near Gaithersburg. He has long been a promi- nent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church
and is a liberal contributor to all religious and charitable enterprises. During the war he was an earnest supporter of the Union and has since been a Democrat. In his family there are ten living children, of whom John W. is the eldest. The others are: George E., a farmer of this county; Amanda, wife of Nathan Darby, of Gaithersburg, Md .; James K., of this county; Charles W., a Virginian farmer; Crittenden H. and Nathan A., farmers of this county; Eveline R., Mrs. Cornelius Browning, of Germantown, Md .; Miriam, widow of William Carlisle; and McKendry, who is on the home farm.
John W. Walker was born October 29, 1849, in Frederick County, Md., and was an infant of perhaps a year old when his parents brought him to this county, where his home has since been made. He learned the various duties of an agri- cultural life on the old homestead and in connec- tion with farming operated a steam thresher for several years. However, he used the old- fashioned horse-power thresher prior to the modern style one, but was among the first to in- vest in the steam-thresher, which is so much more effective. Altogether he followed this busi- ness for more than fifteen seasons, and reaped a comfortable income from his enterprise. In 1876 he purchased the farm which he still owns and operates. It was then wholly unimproved and bore little resemblance to the fine and productive property of to-day. Mr. Walker erected several substantial buildings and keeps everything in excellent repair. The farm is a model of neat- ness and thrift, speaking well for the progressive- ness of the owner. In addition to raising grain and general agricultural products, Mr. Walker has made a success of dairying. At present he keeps thirty cows, and supplies milk to the Washington markets.
February 23, 1870, Mr. Walker married Amanda C. Thompson, daughter of Capt. Elijah Thompson, a progressive farmer of this county, and a man well known in public affairs, as for years he was a county commissioner, and also a judge of the orphans' court. To the union of our sub- ject and wife four children were born, namely: Lulu, wife of Willis Burdett, a teacher, now liv-
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ing in Damascus, Md .; Wilson, at home; Ger- trude E., wife of Edgar Fulks, a merchant of Washington Grove; and Clara E., who resides at home.
DWARD Z. TOWER. Ever since Garrett County was organized, some twenty-five years ago, the position of clerk of the circuit court has been filled by the Towers, father and son, and none of our county officials can show better records of fidelity to duty, efficiency, meth- od of transacting business and general reliability. Both the father and son were life-long residents of this county, representative citizens and patriots, zealous in everything that promised advancement to this region. The son is now carrying out the ideas and principles that his honored father in- stilled into his youthful heart and he is deservedly popular with all who know him.
William H. Tower, father of our subject, was born and reared in Allegany County, and when he arrived at maturity he engaged in teach- ing school for a few terms. Then for a number of years he was clerk to the county commissioner of Allegany County, after which he was made clerk of the Garrett County circuit court, in 1873, as before stated, and filled that place until his death, at the age of fifty-six years, in 1887. He married Rebecca P. Totten, of this county, and they became the parents of five children. Cora, the eldest, is deceased. Addie M., Mrs. Ed West, and Maggie are twins. Charles A., the youngest of the family, is a resident of Oakland. The wife and mother was summoned to the silent land when she was about sixty-three years of age.
Edward Z. Tower was born in Oakland the county seat of Garrett County, in 1863, and has always been a citizen of the town. His educa- tion was such as the public schools of his boy- hood here afforded, supplemented by wide gen- eral reading and private study. Having deter- mined to enter the legal profession he became a student in the office of Jolin W. Veitch, then
state's attorney, and was admitted to the county bar in 1884. He did not enter into practice, however, but became assistant to his father in the clerk's office. When the senior Tower died the young man, thus specially prepared to assume his duties, was appointed temporary clerk, pend- ing the fall election. In the following November he was elected by a good majority on the Repub- lican ticket, and again, in 1893, was returned to the office. Like his father before him, he is an ardent Republican and a leader in local affairs. Fraternally he is past grand of Shealtiel Lodge No. 122, I. O. O. F. He also belongs to the order American Legion of Honor, of Cumberland, and is past commander of the same. For fifteen years he has been a deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and no one in the congregation is more earnestly devoted to its welfare than he is and has been since he became connected with it in his youth.
ANIEL H. STALEY is the business man- ager of the Building and Loan Construction Company, of Hagerstown, and has his office and headquarters at No. 12 Jonathan street. He possesses energy, executive ability and good general qualifications and is making a success of the concern with which he is now connected. Personally he merits the friendship of those with whom his fortune is cast, as he is a man of up- right and honorable principle, generous and pub- lic-spirited disposition and patriotic love of his country and community.
Our subject is a native of this state, his birth having occurred in Frederick County, December 23, 1852. His parents were David Levi and Margaret (McDevitt) Staley, both natives of the same county. The father was a farmer by occu- pation and was fairly well off in this world's goods. He always used his ballot on behalf of the Democratic party, but would never accept official positions, as he was of a quiet and unassuming na- ture, and one who greatly preferred to keep to private life. For many years he was a most
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highly valued member of the Reformed Church, and held the office of an elder in the same. He departed this life January 5, 1882, aged sixty- seven years. His wife, a devout member of the Lutheran Church, was noted for her sweet, womanly qualities, which endeared her to all who enjoyed her acquaintanceship. She was summoned to her reward in October, 1878, when in her sixty-fifth year. Her father was a patriot and a soldier, fighting for his country in the battle of Bladensburg and others in defense of this land of freedom.
Peter Staley, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a well-to-do farmer of Frederick County. His wife, Margaret Albaugh, came from an old family of the same county and of the two sons and three daughters born to them but two of the daughters survive: Ann, the wife of Urias Remsburg; and Margaret, wife of William Pearl, both living on farms in Frederick County.
D. H. Staley was reared upon his father's farm in Frederick County, with his eleven brothers and sisters, all but two of whom are still living. With the exception of David, a farmer of Wash- ington County, they are all residents of the county in which they were born and brought up. D. H. is the fifth in order of birth in the family. He acquired his elementary education in the dis- trict schools, after which he was a student in the college in Mercersburg, Pa. Subsequently he taught successfully for sixteen years in Middle- town, Lewistown and Boonsboro. Still he did not care to settle down to a lifetime of this par- ticular line of work and at last he retired to a fine farın, which he carried on for six years. In 1891 he was appointed to the position of clerk to the county commissioners, a post which he filled to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He then became connected with the firm with which he is to be found to-day, and here his genuine busi- ness ability has been amply demonstrated. He uses his right of franchise in favor of the Demo- cratic party, and fraternally is a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Mystic Circle.
The first wife of Mr. Staley was Miss Kate Dyer, of Frederick, prior to their marriage, in 1876. She died in October, 1877, with consump-
tion and left one child, Byron, now a member of the Fifth Maryland United States Volunteers in the war with Spain. The lady who now bears the name of our subject was formerly Miss Mar- garet Booth. She is a native of this county and became the wife of Mr. Staley August 2, 1880. Six children bless their union, namely: Booth, David Lee, William, Howard, Mary and Mar- garet. The parents are members of the Zion Re- formed Church of Hagerstown, Mr. Staley hold- ing the office of an elder in the same.
OHN W. CABLE, who is now tax collector for Washington County, has a record of service for the public of which he has reason to be proud. In the dark days of the Civil war he nobly did his whole duty as a citizen and patriot and since the echoes of that dreadful con- flict have died away he has been occupied in the more quiet avocations of life. He has been one of the representative business men of this county for nearly thirty years and no one has a higher place in the estimation of the general public than he. He is a director in the Western Maryland Railroad Company; holds a similar position in the Hagerstown Bank and the Fair Association of this place and is always to be found on the side of progress and enterprise. In all the re- lations of life he has been loyal, true to the highest principles of duty and honor and is worthy of the confidence which is bestowed upon him in generous measure.
The parents of the above-named gentleman were Benjamin and Susan (Welty) Cable, both natives of Ohio. The father was a farmer of Tuscarawas County; was a township trustee for years and was an ardent Union man during the war and a Republican in politics. He brought up his children to be wise and patriotic citizens and useful men and women. At the age of seventy-one years, in 1888, he was summoned to his reward. A life-long member of the Lutheran Church he was respected and loved by all
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with whom he came in contact, for he thor- oughly lived up to the high principles that he professed. His widow, now about fourscore years of age, is still living on the old homestead in Ohio. Of their six children but one, Ida, is deceased, she having died when about two years old. Alice is the wife of Jacob E. Mackley, a merchant in Canal Dover, Ohio. Hiram S. mar- ried Cora Guest and resides on a farm adjoining the old homestead. Welty B. married Cora Lupher, and operates the old farm formeriy be- longing to his father; Eleanora C. lives with her mother.
John W. Cable was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, October 19, 1844, and after completing his public school studies, attended Alleghany College in Meadville, Pa., until ill health compelled him to seek an active life in the open air. He was ready, however, to respond to the call of his country ere the close of the war, and enlisted as a private in Company B, Fifty-first Ohio Infantry. He was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland under General Thomas, and participated in the engagements of Tunnel Hill, Resaca, Cassville and many others, skirmishing, etc., for several months and in the Atlanta campaign was under fire during a period of sixty days for much of the time. At the battle of Kenesaw Mountain he was severely injured in the hand and arm and this terminated his army service. He received an honorable discharge in November, 1864. He had enlisted for just three years and, as it turned out, served just nine months. His wounds were long in healing and trouble him even to this late day at times.
As soon as he was able to do so he obtained a school and taught for several terms, and for a short time in this county. He located here permanently in 1869 and has been engaged in business ever since. He has been thrice elected county commissioner, serving for three successive terms to the satisfaction of all concerned. In 1896 and again in 1897 he was elected tax col- lector. He belongs to the Republican party in politics, which he has always ardently supported by his ballot and influence since he became a voter. He is a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic and is connected with the Junior Order American Mechanics, having passed all the chairs in the last-named organization. He is also identified with Salem Lodge No. 196, A. F. & A. M., of Smithsburg, Md.
In 1874 Mr. Cable married Miss May W. Martin, daughter of Stephen G. Martin, of this county, and they have two children, John W., Jr., and Alice May, both now attending school.
ILLARD F. SMITH, clerk of the board of commissioners of Washington County, was appointed to his present position in December, 1895, and is efficiently meeting all of the luties devolving upon him in this capacity. He has made his own way in life and has de- veloped into a well-rounded character, command- ing the respect of everyone who knows him. He comes from good old county families, and has kept untarnished the name which was bequeathed to him. He uses his franchise in favor of the Republican platform and nominees, and takes great interest in politics or in anything that materially affects the public good.
A son of David and Mary A. (Keedy) Smith, both natives of this county, our subject was born in Sharpsburg, Md., November 26, 1852. His father was a shoemaker by trade, and quietly and industriously plied his calling, providing as well as was in his power for his family, and meriting the love and esteem in which he was held by all. He was loyal to the Union during the war; was very pronounced in his hatred of slavery, and when the Confederate forces came into his neighborhood, he found it necessary to absent himself from home. He was peace-loving by nature and followed the principles of his faith, for he was a Dunkard in religion. His wife, however, was a member of the Christian Church. He departed this life in June, 1892, when about seventy-four years of age. His wife had died many years previously, in December, 1872, at the age of fifty-two years. Of their children all survive
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uve one little girl, who died young. Drusilla :, the wife of Jacob Barkdoll, of Milwaukee, Wis .; Frisby is engaged in raising peaches in the vicinity of Sharpsburg; M. F. is the next child; Anna M. married Joseph Snavely, a farmer of the section of the county near Sharpsburg; und Virginia is the wife of Josiah Rohr, of Sharps- burg.
In his boyhood M. F. Smith was a student in the public schools of Sharpsburg. He learned the same trade as that of his father, and was oc- cupied in this direction for a number of years. I.ater he engaged very successfully in teaching school for nearly six years in the county. Then he obtained a position in the house of represent- atives, in the fifty-first session of congress. Next he was employed on the census enumeration of 1580, in the Department of the Interior, until the census business was entirely finished. Following this he was employed by the government to assist in laying out roads through the battlefield of Antietam, and worked under the direction of General Carmen. The visitor to the spot to-day may see the exact location of the forces of both armies (even to corps, divisions and brigades) in that fearful battle which has been characterized by the historian, R. M. Devens, as "the bloodiest day that America ever saw." The date of this fearful conflict between the north and south is September 17, 1862. The manner in which the laying out of the roads and the designating of the locations of the two armies was accomplished, reflects great credit upon those who were engaged in this work.
In 1874 Mr. Smith married Miss Fannie C. Kretzer, daughter of B. F. Kretzer, of Sharps- burg, Md. She was a devoted wife and mother, and when death took her from the happy home in June, 1896, as the result of an accident, the whole community joined with her loved ones in heartfelt grief and sympathy. She was a faithful member of the Reformed Church and was but forty-two years of age when she received her summons to the silent land. She left six children, viz .: Myrta C., Claude, Idella, Lester, Norman and Carlysle.
Fraternally Mr. Smith is a member of Eureka
Lodge No. 105, A. F. & A. M .; Mount Vernon Chapter No. 3, R. A. M., of Washington, D. C., and has passed all the chairs in Magnolia Lodge No. 64, Knights of Pythias, of Sharpsburg.
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ERVEY W. SHUCK, deputy register of wills for Allegany County, has been a life- long resident of Cumberland and is one of our most loyal and respected citizens. In his work he is systematic, accurate and reliable, and few county records would bear comparison with his in neatness, beauty of penmanship and gen- eral method. He is certainly an artist with his pen, and has few equals in free-hand lettering, script, etc.
His father, Jacob Shuck, who died in 1888, at the age of sixty-seven years, was also a citizen of Cumberland, and made his home here during his whole lifetime. He was a painter by trade, and carried on a general house-painting busi- ness here for years with success. He was a very active Republican and served as a member of the city council for several terms. His life was . marked by sterling integrity and uprightness, and no member of the Methodist Episcopal Church was more esteemed by all than he, as. for years he was earnest in his efforts to advance the welfare of the denomination.
The wife of Jacob Shuck was Miss Hannah Shipley in her girlhood, of an old and respected family in this region, her father having been Ephraim Shipley, a well-known tanner. To the marriage of this worthy couple eight children were born, and six of the number are still living, H. W. being the eldest. Harriet is the wife of W. S. Jordan; James W., now of Pittsburg, Pa., was formerly a very prominent citizen of this place and was our mayor two terms. He also acted in the position of postmaster here, and was at one time the treasurer of the municipality, besides being county sheriff for one term. He removed to Pittsburg in 1892; George C., the next son, is at present assistant postmaster in this
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city; Annie J. is the wife of Ed F. Rizer, a ways to be counted upon to do all that is in his member of the city council; Margaret is the wife power to upbuild and increase the local pros- of Homer M. Trussell, of Chicago, Ill. The perity. aged mother of these children is still living, having passed threescore and ten years, and re- sides in Cumberland. Grandfather Jacob Shuck, Sr., came to this county from York, Pa.
Hervey W. Shuck was born in 1845, and as soon as he arrived at a suitable age he became a pupil in the public schools of Cumberland. After he had finished his education he obtained a posi- tion as a clerk in the Baltimore & Ohio Railway shops, remaining there for some eight years. He then was employed for seven years in the rolling mills of the same corporation, after which he was with the Wills Creek Tannery, under Fayer- weather & Ladew, for several years. He was appointed to his present position in 1892, and has since that time made himself very valuable to the department. Like his father and brothers he uses his influence in favor of the nominees of the Republican party, and is quite a leader in local campaigns. He is past master of Ohr Lodge No. 131 A. F. & A. M., and stands very high in the estimation of his brothers in the fra- ternity.
In 1892 Mr. Shuck married Miss Ida B. Mason, of this city, the ceremony being per- formed at the residence of her sister, Ophelia Mason. The young couple have two bright little sons, Hervey W. and Sherman. The family at- tend the Methodist Episcopal Church and are active in the support of all worthy enterprises 'and benevolences.
OBERT C. PAUL, manufacturer of iron and brass castings in Cumberland, became a resident of this city in 1886, and has built up a trade hereabouts. He is a practical man of business, thoroughly understands the details of the trade and possesses great executive ability. In everything pertaining to the general welfare of our citizens, he takes an active part and is al-
Born in 1827, Mr. Paul is a son of Alexander and Agnes (Haig) Paul, both of whom were na- tives of Scotland. The father came to the United States when he was a young man of about nine- teen years, having previously learned the mill- wright's trade in his "bonnie" Scotland. He continued to follow this calling for many years after his arrival upon these shores and was the maker of the first locomotive built in New Jersey in 1832. He owned a large factory in South Paterson, N. J., and manufactured heavy cast- ings for railroads, etc. He met with a great loss later in life, when his plant was entirely destroyed by fire, and there was no insurance upon it at the time. He was quite a prominent member of the community, being familiarly called "Sandy Paul," and was noted for his sterling honesty, one of the characteristics of his nation, and for the shrewd business ability also, typical of the Scotch. He was a Whig and an ardent admirer of Henry Clay. In 1838 he went to Baltimore, where he continued in business in connection with Andrew and Eben T. Ellicott. His death took place in that city when he had reached his sixty-second year, in 1851. His children were nine in num- ber, but only two survive: Thomas H., of Balti- more, and our subject. Mrs. Agnes Paul, who lived to attain the extreme age of ninety-four years, was a very remarkable old lady, and was in the enjoyment of all of her faculties until just before her death.
Robert C. Paul was born in Paterson, N. J., and was but ten years of age when the family settled in Baltimore. There he received an ex- cellent education, completing the high school course. In 1843 he began learning the machinist's trade, and in time became past master of the craft. In 1854 he went to Frostburg, Allegany County, where, in partnership with his brother, Thomas H., he established a machine shop and foundry. The brothers were very successful and continued in business together until 1861, when Robert C. retired from the firm. Thomas HI. Paul, however, carried on the plant for eleven years
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