USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 2 > Part 30
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On the old family homestead occurred the birth of Samuel Willson, and there he spent his life, attending to the cultivation of the estate. Politically he was an old-line Whig. He was an ardent supporter of the Methodist Church, to which he gave of his time and means. He as- sisted in erecting the old Methodist edifice now occupied by the colored people in Rockville. Religious work was his delight, and through his kindness of heart and generosity of disposition he was enabled to assist many of the poor and needy. By his marriage to Margaret Shull, of Clarksburg, four children were born, namely: Catherine, who died in girlhood; Mary, who married Charles Slemmer and resides in Norris- town, Pa .; Samuel, deceased; and John E., of this sketch.
After completing the studies of the Rockville Academy, our subject took up work on his part of the old home place where he now resides. When he was eighteen months old his father died, and when he attained his majority the es- tate was divided, his brother Samuel falling heir to the old home place, while he took this part. He erected the buildings here and has made all of the improvements. Desiring to build his house back from the road, he selected a suit- able site and planted a large number of fine shade trees, which now make his yard a beautiful one. To the original tract he has added until he now has three hundred and sixty acres. In addition to raising general farm products, he gives some attention to stock-raising and has fine stock, sheep, cattle and horses. He has conducted his farm on business principles and has had success in his undertakings. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Democrat. Although often solicited to become a candidate for office he has uniformly declined, having no taste for politics and also having enough to engross his attention on his farm. In the Methodist Church he has been a steward for more than twenty years and for a long time was a teacher in the Sunday- school, but his increasing deafness caused him to give up much of his work in the church and Sunday-school.
October 19, 1865, Mr. Willson married Ella, daughter of J. C. Gilpin, a farmer of Sandy Spring, who for a time worked in the custom house in Baltimore and was also connected with an Indian agency. Mrs. Willson is a member of an old English family that traced its ancestry to Richard de Gylpyn, who was granted the manor of Kentmere in the time of King John. Her fa- ther was a son of Bernard Gilpin, who had the old family name of Bernard, after Bernard, the "Apostle of the North," 1517-1583. The first of the name in this country was Joseph, of Dor- chester, county of Oxford, England, who settled in Chester County, Pa., in the year 1696. Mrs. Willson has a picture of Scaleby castle in the county of Cumberland, England, which is yet in possession of one of the members of the fan- ily. Mr. and Mrs. Willson are the parents of
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the following-named children: Margaret, who married Irving Underhill and lives near her par- ents; Gilpin, who married Annie B. Liggett and is a druggist in Staunton, Va .; Percy H., who married Hattie A. Waters and follows the drug business in Staunton; Sallie, the wife of Hervey Brown, a bookkeeper in Wilkesborough, Wilkes County, N. C .; Samuel J., who is with his older brothers in Staunton; and Barrett P., who is at- tending school in Washington. Appreciating the advantages to be derived from a good educa- tion, Mr. Willson has given all his children ex- cellent opportunities, and all but one were sent away to school or college.
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ASIL B. CRAWFORD, M. D., is one of the oldest physicians engaged in active practice in Montgomery County, in years of actual professional work, as forty-seven summers and winters have come and gone since he first opened an office at Laytonsville. Few practitioners are better known or more favorably esteemed in a com- munity than he, and his labors have not been confined to this district, for he has often been called into consultation with his brothers in the profession in adjoining counties, and in former years, especially, his services were called for, from far and near. Forty-two years ago he erected the comfortable house which has since sheltered him and his, and in 1872 he remodeled it.
Born August 3, 1832, the doctor is a son of Basil and Arabella (Cross) Crawford. The mother was a sister of three illustrious men: Col. Trueman Cross, of the United States army, killed just previous to the battle of Palo Alto, in the Mexican war; Gen. Osborne Cross, also of the government forces, and Capt. Joseph Cross, of the navy department. The first two were graduates of West Point. The last-mentioned was voted a magnificent sword (by the state of Maryland) for gallant and meritorious service and it is now owned
by his daughter, Elizabeth Cross, of Baltimore, who has deposited it in the hands of John Latrobe, president of the Maryland Historical Society. Basil and Arabella Crawford were both natives of Prince George County, Md., and later lived in Howard County. The father was a successful farmer, and his property was situated at Elk Ridge. Of his family two died in childhood; Mary, deceased, was the wife of W. W. Welling, of Howard County; Sophia married Upton Dorsey; Elizabeth was Mrs. Thaddeus S. Clark; Letitia O. was the wife of James Morris, of How- ard County; Frances Maria is Mrs. John H. Windsor, of Montgomery County; William H. married Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Hardy, a farmer of Howard County; and Samuel C. married his cousin, Maria Cross.
Dr. Crawford was born on the old home place at Elk Ridge, Howard County, subsequent to the death of his father, and there passed his boy hood. He received a good education in the public and private schools and when he was in his sixteenth year he entered the office of Dr. William W. Watkins, an old friend and neighbor of the fami- ly. After finishing his preliminary studies he entered the medical department of the University of Maryland, and was graduated March 1, 1851, with the degree of M. D. He was only eighteen and a-half years of age when he established an office and began practicing in Laytonsville and vi- cinity, and here nearly a half-century of earnest labor on behalf of humanity has been spent by him. For forty-two years he has been affiliated with the Democratic party, but has never been a politician in the ordinary sense of the term. Among the practitioners of this county he ranks with the first and is well and favorably known throughout the western section of the state.
November, 26, 1856, the doctor married Jemi- ma E., daughter of Lebbeus and Mary (Grif- fith) Griffith, who were cousins. Of the eleven children born to the doctor and wife but two are living. Mary Arabella first married Thomas O. Banks and after his death she became the wife of his brother, William O., of Howard County. Anna Blanche is the wife of John M. S. Bowie, of Washington, D. C. Howell G. died when in
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his twenty-sixth year. Varina, born June 11, 1860, lived to be three years of age and died- September 16, 1863.
OHN W. BROWN resides upon a farm ad- joining the village of Barnesville, Montgom- ery County. In his place there were, at the time of purchase, seventy-seven acres, for which he paid $200 in cash, assuming an indebtedness for the balance. Since then he has paid off the debt and added one hundred acres to the farm, which is under a good state of cultivation. While he rents the lands, he has maintained its personal supervision, and has engaged in raising stock and general farm produce.
In the village of Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Mr. Brown was born November 28, 1826, a son of Hatton and Deborah (Shanks) Brown. His father, who was born in Philadel- phia, Pa., January 28, 1801, spent his entire life in this county, first as a farmer, later as a shoe- maker. He died in Barnesville, where for many years he had resided, December 28, 1870. Four sons and one daughter comprised his family: John W., of this sketch; Albertius E., who engaged in mercantile pursuits in Baltimore until his death, January 26, 1897; Alexander M., who died in early manhood; Sarah E., who died at the age of sixteen years; and Edward H., who resides in Georgetown, D. C., and is engaged in the mercantile business. The grandfather of this family, Robert Brown, M. D., was born in the city of Philadelphia, was a surgeon and served as a member of the medical force during the war with England, soon after which he lo- cated in Clarksburg, and there spent his remain- ing years. Deborah Shanks was a daughter of Edward Shanks, of Georgetown, and a grand- daughter, on her mother's side, of Dr. Richard Waters, a surgeon in the War of 1812. She was born in Georgetown in 1798 and died in Mont- gomery County, January 15, 1865.
When a boy our subject learned the shoe-
maker's trade. November 25, 1852, he married Mary E. Shaw, daughter of William and Eliza- beth (Fish) Shaw, all of Clarksburg District, the father being an exemplary citizen and successful farmer, who died in 1881. After his marriage Mr. Brown settled on his present farm, adjoining Barnesville. He and his wife had two children: William C. and Sarah E. The son married Mary G. Darby, daughter of John W. Darby of G., and afterward carried on farm pursuits, culti- vating land that adjoined his father's place; there he died January 30, 1894, leaving a wife and four children, who continue to reside on the same farm. The daughter resides with her parents.
In politics Mr. Brown was first a Whig, later a Republican. In the census of 1890 he acted as assistant enumerator, and in 1896 served as assistant assessor-at-large of the county. In 1894 he was the Republican nominee for commissioner, but the usual. Democratic majority prevailed. For twenty years he has served as a steward of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Barnesville. He is connected with the Barnesville Grange. For more than thirty years he has been a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, having formerly been connected with Mizpah Lodge No. 143, at Rockville, and when it was dissolved he became a charter member of Pentalpha Lodge No. 194 at Gaithersburg.
D OL. GEORGE A. PEARRE, the able state's attorney of Cumberland, ranks high among the members of the legal profession of west- ern Maryland and possesses the esteem of the bench and bar. He stands equally high as a cam- paign speaker, being an-orator of no small talent, and his services have frequently been in demand not only in this state, but in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. He has twice been a candidate for the congressional nomination on the Republican ticket, and after very heated campaigns was de- feated by his opponent, Hon. George L. Welling-
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ton, whose majority, however, was small. In No- vember, 1895, he was elected state's attorney for this county for a four years' term, his majority be- ing fourteen hundred votes. He is well qualified to hold this position and is meeting the demands upon him in a manner that has won for him the full commendation of all who are, in any wise, concerned in the administration of law and just- ice.
The birth of George A. Pearre occurred July 16, 1860, in Cumberland, his parents being Hon. George A. and Mary (Worthington) Pearre. The father was one of the leading members of the Maryland bar for a long period and served with distinction in the capacity of judge of the fourth judicial circuit. He was a polished scholar as well as an able lawyer. The mother came from one of the old and honored families of this state. The junior Pearre gained his higher edu- cation in the old Allegany County Academy, St. James' College, the University of West Vir- ginia and Princeton College. He graduated in 1880. Having determined to follow his father's example in the matter of a vocation in life, he entered his senior's office, and after pursuing legal studies there for a time he matriculated in the law department of the University of Mary- land, and was admitted to the bar subsequent to an examination held before the supreme bench of Baltimore, in May, 1882.
The initial practice of the colonel was begun in this, his native city, which has since been the witness of his success. From the time that he reached his majority he has taken an active in- terest in political affairs, and has attended con- ventions of his party in his home district, county and state. In November, 1889, he was elected to the Maryland senate from Allegany County by a good majority and served in the sessions of 1890-92. He was very aggressive in the advocacy of the (then) new Australian ballot law, the mat- ter of the maintenance of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal as a waterway; the reassessment of the property of the state, with the feature of annual listing and many other important measures hav- ing for their aim the benefit of the people of Maryland. As a lawyer, politician and private
citizen, Colonel Pearre is fully awake to the re- sponsibilities which rest upon him, and endeavors to do his duty by others to the utmost extent of his ability.
For several years the colonel was connected with the Maryland National Guard, rising from the ranks to the position of lieutenant-colonel of the Second Battalion. In that capacity he took his command to Camp Jackson, at Frederick, and Camp Douglas, at Loreley. In contests of skill his men ranked among the best in the state, and were first in the matter of marksmanship, above all other military organizations of Maryland. On account of the increasing duties of his profession the colonel was reluctantly obliged to resign his place and retire from the service December 21, 1891.
2 ICHARD THOMAS GOTT, M. D. The Gott family was established in this country in an early day, its first representatives here coming from Scotland and settling in Ann Arun- del County, Md. In 1792 a brother and sister, Richard and Mary, came to Montgomery County. The latter married Charles Spencer and migrated to Kentucky. The former, prior to coming here, had married Ellen Norris, by whom he had five children: John, Elizabeth, Richard, Eleanor and Sybella. John went to Kentucky, Elizabeth married Thomas Allnutt; Eleanor became the wife of William Harris, whom she accompanied to Missouri, they running away from home on account of the opposition of her parents to the marriage. Some years later her father, hearing of her death in Missouri, rode there on horseback and found that she had left two children, a son and daughter, the latter only three years of age. This child he brought back to Maryland with him, riding the entire distance on horseback, and ever afterward cared for her as for his own chil- dren. She married William Fisher, of Mont- gomery County, and they had one daughter, Sarah A., wife of Thomas H. Poole, of Pooles- ville.
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The younger son, Richard, the doctor's grand- father, was born in Anne Arundel County, March 25, 1776, and in 1792 accompanied his father, Richard, to Montgomery County. In the War of 1812 he served as a lieutenant. He was a far- mer and extensive land owner. His first wife was Sarah Collinson, and after her death he mar- ried the widow of Captain Mackenzie, U. S. N. He died in December, 1858.
The children by his first wife were as follows: John Collinson, born February 14, 1803, who served as commissioner and also represented his county in the legislature; Mary Collinson, born June 14, 1804, who married Joseph C. White, of Montgomery County; Susannah, born November 9, 1805, who married Benjamin White, a brother of her sister's husband and settled in Missouri; Richard, born October 24, 1807, who married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of John A. Trundle; Edward Collinson, born March 5, 1809, who married Rosetta, daughter of Pierre A. T. Bouic, of D'Ocqueville, France; Elizabeth Anne, born May 16, 1810; Elinor, born September 10, 1811; Jane, born February 26, 1813; Benjamin Collin- son, born May 28, 1814, first married Susan E., daughter of George Darby, and for his second wife chose M. Rebecca, daughter of William Cecil; William Collinson, born February 10, 1816, the only one of the sons who chose an- other occupation than farming; Thomas Norris, born April 1, 1818, who married Elinor White, daughter of Capt. William Chiswell; Sarah Ellen, born July 29, 1821; and Nathan White, born March 20, 1824.
The subject of this sketch was reared on the old home farm adjoining Poolesville and received his early education in the local schools. At the age of nineteen he entered Columbia College of Washington, where he was a student for two years. For one year he read medicine in the office of Dr. A. R. Mott, of Leesburg, after which he completed his studies in the medical department of the University of Maryland at Baltimore, taking his degree there. From that time until 1874 he practiced in Poolesville, after which he resided in Eutaw, Greene County, Ala., until 1879 and then returned to his former field
of work, where he has since carried on a general practice, extending into the country surrounding the village.
November 12, 1873, Dr. Gott married Alice, daughter of Thomas and Evaline W. (Hyde) Poole. She was born June 29, 1846, and is a member of an old family of Georgetown. In religion the doctor is connected with St. Peter's of Poolesville, one of the oldest parishes in the state. In politics he has always been a Demo- crat. Fraternally he is identified with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being a charter member of the local lodge, in which he has filled all of the chairs.
OSEPH H. STONESTREET, M. D., of Barnesville, was born in Charles County, Md., May 17, 1862, a son of Benjamin G. and Mary E. (Sellman) Stonestreet, natives re- spectively of Charles and Anne Arundel Coun- ties. His father has for eighteen years served as clerk of the circuit court of Charles County, and is now an incumbent of that position. He was admitted to the bar, but has never practiced, al- though his knowledge of the law has been of great assistance to him in his work. In his fam- ily were the following-named children: Richard S., who was for years connected with the clerk's office of Charles County and died in 1885; Jen- nie F., deceased wife of William A. Fowke, for- merly of Charles, now of Baltimore County; Nel- lie, deceased; Joseph H., and Julia, widow of Walter M. Muschette, formerly an attorney of Charles County. The grandfather of this fam- ily was Nicholas Stonestreet, a prominent law- yer of Charles County, who married a sister of Benjamin G. Harris. .
At the age of sixteen, after having completed the studies of the common schools, our subject entered the Agricultural College of Maryland, from which he graduated in 1882 with the degree of A. B. In the fall of the same year he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Balti-
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more, and graduated with the class of 1885, re- ceiving the degree of M. D. He began the prac- tice of his profession at Dagus Mines, Elk Coun- ty, Pa., but after less than a year there, in June, 1886, he removed to Boyds. Three and one- half years were spent there, after which he lo- cated at Barnesville, on the death of Dr. Woods, and has since carried on a general practice in both Montgomery and Frederick Counties. He is a member of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland and is recognized as one of the rising physicians of his locality.
In political faith a Republican, Dr. Stonestreet keeps himself posted concerning all the questions before the nation to-day. In local matters, too, he is deeply interested and every deserving en- terprise receives his co-operation. He inclines toward the Episcopal belief, having been reared by parents who were members of that church. Fraternally a Knight of Pythias, he is a charter member of Monocacy Lodge No. 126, of Dicker- son.
ON. HATTERSLY WORTHINGTON TALBOTT. Among the foremost in the legal fraternity of western Maryland and numbered among the representative citizens of Rockville, ranks the gentleman of whom this sketch is penned. He is a worthy scion of a fam- ily long resident in this state, seven or eight gen- erations of Talbotts having come and gone since the founder of the name in this fair land first took up his abode in Anne Arundel County, about 1648.
Richard Talbott, of English birth, and a mem- ber of the Society of Friends, as were also sev- eral generations of his descendants, was the an- cestor referred to as the first of the family in Maryland, his home being on West River. Fol- lowing him in the line of descent to our subject, were Edward, Edward, Jr., Richard, John L., Richard and Edward A. A peculiar fact in con- nection with the family is that every generation
has had either an Edward or a Richard, generally both. After the Talbotts had been in America for some time they changed their religious faith and became Episcopalians; later some of them became connected with the Methodist Church.
Born in Howard County, Md., August 26, 1842, Hon. H.W. Talbott is a son of Edward A. and Mary J. (Wareham) Talbott, and grandson of Richard and Sarah A. (Fairall) Talbott. He acquired his elementary educational training in the schools of his native county, chiefly at an in- stitution known as the Howard Latin School. Among his teachers there was Hon. A. Leo Knott, now of Baltimore. The youth was also a student at a private school kept by Rev. Cyrus Huntington, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Ellicott City, Md. In 1859 Mr. Talbott en- tered St. John's College, and continued there until May, 1861, when the war disrupted the school. He proceeded then to teach school, in the meantime reading law.
Admitted to the bar in 1866, he shortly after- wards located in Rockville, where he soon won an enviable reputation in his profession. He has been actively engaged in practice here since, and has not only attained prominence as a lawyer, but has also been an important factor in politics. For three terms he was mayor of Rockville, and was elected on the Democratic ticket in 1888 as presidential elector for the sixth congressional district of Maryland. For the years 1894, 1895 and 1896 he was chairman of the Democratic State Cen- tral Committee, and in the year 1884 was a dele- gate to the national convention of his party, which convened : in Chicago and nominated Grover Cleveland. He was further honored by being elected to the Maryland Senate, and represented this district in the sessions of 1894-96. Since 1881 he has been a member of the board of trus- tees of Rockville Academy, and for several years has been president of that honorable body. In his practice he was associated for years with Joseph H. Bradley and since 1893 has been a partner of Charles W. Prettyman, under the firm name of Talbott & Prettyman. He was one of the directors of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from 1886 to 1890, and since its organization in
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1884 has been a director in the Montgomery County National Bank of Rockville, and for the past three years its vice-president.
In 1891 Mr. Talbott erected his beautiful resi- dence in Rockville. The lady who is the charm- ing mistress of this cultured and attractive home was formerly Miss Laura Williams Holland, a native of Hagerstown, Washington County, Md., though she has lived nearly all her life in Mont- gomery County. Her parents were Lieut. Zacha- riah and Laura W. (Williams) Holland. The former was a lieutenant in the navy and a partici- pant in the Mexican war. The marriage of Mr. Talbott and Miss Holland was solemnized Febru- ary 10, 1874. They have two sons, Otho H. W., first lieutenant of Company K, First Regiment Maryland Volunteers, U. S. A., and Hattersly W., Jr., now taking a course in electrical engin- eering in Cornell University. For a quarter of a century Mr. Talbott, Sr., has been a member and vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church of Rock- ville. He is a member of the Society of the War of 1812, his grandfather, Richard Talbott, having been a commissioned officer with the rank of en- sign in that struggle with the mother country. He served in the command of Capt. John W. Dorsey, of Caleb, in the Thirty-second Regiment of Maryland Infantry.
ILLIAM B. MOBLEY is one of the lead- ing citizens of Laytonsville, Montgomery County, and one of the largest land holders in the county. He has taken an active part in public affairs and is always to be found on the side of advancement and progress. In 1895 he was appointed to serve as a member of the school board and for two years acted as president of the same. He is one of the charter members of the Montgomery County National Bank of Rockville; is a director in the Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany of this county and is also an original mem- ber and now a director in the Gaithersburg Mill- ing and Manufacturing Company.
The birth of W. B. Mobley occurred February 28, 1843, in Clarksburg, Md., his parents being George W. and Mary A. (Brown) Mobley, na- tives of this county. The father was a merchant of Clarksburg for seven years, after which he re- moved to Laytonsville. Here he made his home for thirty-four years, dying in 1881, loved and re- spected by all who knew him. His only son is the subject of this article. Mary A. Mobley was the daughter of William Brown, and a descend- ant of Robert Brown, of Dumfries, Scotland, who was the progenitor of a number of illustrious Marylanders. The grandfather of our subject on the paternal side was Basil Mobley, who was born about 1786, and died in early manhood, leaving but one son, George W. His father, Archibald, was the founder of the Mobley family in this state, and was an extensive land owner.
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