USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 2 > Part 31
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W. B. Mobley was but a child when his father brought the family to Laytonsville, and here he was reared to maturity. He was educated in the local schools and Stanmore Academy at Sandy Springs, Francis Miller being then at the head of the institution. Later the young man was a student in the John W. Loch Academy, of Norris- town, Pa. In his father's store he learned the principles of business, and when he was in his twenty-fifth year he engaged in merchandising at Brookeville. He built a store and for fifteen years was very successfully occupied in manag- ing the same. When his father died he sold his interest in the store and has since devoted his at- tention to the management of his large property interests. He owns over eight hundred acres of land and has extensive investments in various industries in this county. His place of residence has been in Laytonsville for the past seventeen years. In politics he is affiliated with the Demo- cratic party. For several years he has been iden- tified with the Episcopal Church and has been a member of the vestry. He has been sent as a delegate to numerous conventions of the church, and has contributed generously of his means to the support of the work.
April 30, 1868, Mr. Mobley married Miss Louisa H. Griffith, daughter of Walter and Mary W. (Riggs) Griffith. They have three children,
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namely: Walter W., who is a prosperous farmer of Derwood; Edith M., wife of Daniel H. Gaither, of Glenwood, Howard County, Md .; and George W., a student in Warfield school, at Sykesville, Md. The eldest son married Bessie, daughter of Judge David Griffith.
RS. REBECCA T. VEIRS. From the inost reliable sources of information possi-
G = ble, Mrs. Veirs has obtained the following facts regarding her ancestors. The names of those on her mother's side are Thomas, Hanson, Contee, Alexander and Magruder, while those on her father's side are Biays and Jackson. The Thomas family are the most ancient of these, as Sir Rhys. Ap. Thomas, in the reign of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. of England, according to the Welsh antiquarians and historians, had an extant pedigree, going back to Adam, but the historical part probably begins with Urien Rhe- ged, a British prince, living, according to the best authorities, in the sixth century after Christ. Possibly the links that connect him with Sir Rhys may not be all of equal certainty, but that the latter was descended from Urien is the uni- form judgment upon Welsh history and geneal- ogy. This information Mrs. Veirs has gained from the Thomas Book of Genealogies, written by Laurence Buckly Thomas, D. D.
The first settlers in this vicinity of the direct ยท family were James and Samuel Thomas. They were from Wales, and emigrated during the reign of Queen Anne, settling in Kent County, Md. The records in the family's possession show them to have been men of wealth and high standing. Samuel died unmarried. James was twice mar- ried, his first wife, who was of English parentage, emigrating to this country with him. His sec- ond wife had several children, among them being James, who married Miss Elizabeth Bellican, whose ancestors were from Holland. The chil- dren of James and Elizabeth Thomas. were: Philip, William, Sarah and Rebecca. William
is mentioned as having been a great Latin, Greek and Hebrew scholar. Sarah and Rebecca died young.
Philip Thomas was born in Chestertown, Kent County, Md., June 11, 1747. He was married February 18, 1773, to Miss Jane Contee Hanson by Rev. D. M. . McKenon, of the Episcopal Church, Frederick Town. He was one of the state's most prominent citizens. He studied medicine under Dr. Van Dyke, of Philadelphia, Pa., and practiced at Frederick Town. During the Revolution he was chairman of the commit- tee of safety. He was one of the electors of General Washington to the first presidency, and was likewise the first president of the Medical Society of Maryland, besides filling numerous other positions of trust. He died April 25, 1815, and is buried in Frederick Town. His wife, Jane Contee Hanson Thomas, died June 17, 1781, at the age of thirty-four years. Their children were Catharine, Rebecca Bellican and John Han- son. Catharine married Dr. Ashton Alexander, of Baltimore, Md., and they had three children: Elizabeth, wife of John Marshall, eldest son of the late chief justice; George and Ashton. Re- becca Bellican married Alexander Contee Magru- der, of Annapolis, Md., the eminent lawyer and judge of the court of appeals of Maryland; they had four children, the eldest being Philip Alex- ander Magruder, who died unmarried. John Han- son Thomas Magruder was state librarian for many years; he married Eliza Hoxton. Jane Cathe- rine Thomas Magruder married Philip Grable Biays, of Baltimore, and they had ten children. For some years they resided on their handsome estate, Mount Jefferson, in Baltimore County, but afterward, in 1833, removed to Montgomery County, where they purchased Springfield farm, three miles west of Rockville. Rebecca Thomas Magruder married Maj. John B. Scott, United States army. They had three children: Philip and Frank, who died in infancy, and Fanny Ma- gruder, who lives unmarried in Baltimore.
Dr. John Hanson Thomas married Miss Mary Isham Colston, of Virginia. Their son, John Hanson, Jr., married Miss Annie Campbell Gor- don, of Virginia They had seven children:
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Basil, John, Raleigh, Douglas, Annie, Mary and John Marshall. Dr. John Hanson Thomas, Jr., was president of the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Baltimore for thirty-four years, and filled many other positions of trust. His son, Douglas Thomas, since his father's death has oc- cupied the position of president of that bank. The Contee silver service, bearing the manufact- urer's date of 1620, is at the date of this writing owned by Douglas Thomas of Baltimore. The large punch bowl is owned by Charles S. Contee of Prince George County, Md. The Thomas silver, consisting of coffee pot, cream jug, sugar bowl and salvers, is owned by Dr. Philip Thomas' great-grandchildren, James Philip Biays, Re- becca Thomas Biays Veirs and Maria Biays Turner. The Thomas coat-of-arms consists of an "arm-sable, a cheor on ermine, a canton of last. Crest, a demiunicorn armed and crined or supporting a shield of sable. Motto, Virtus in- victa gloriosa."
One of the Hansons, while taking a tour through Sweden, married a Swedish lady, who was closely connected by friendship, at least, with the royal family. She died in 1594, after giving birth to a son. Her family assumed the care of the infant, who in consequence grew up in familiar intimacy with Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus Adolphus was slain in the battle of Lutzen, November 16, 1632, and by his side fell Colonel Hanson, leaving four sons, Andrew, Randolph, William and John, who were taken under the immediate protection of the royal family. In 1764 Queen Christina placed them in the special care of Lieut .- Col. John Peintz, governor of New Sweden, with whom they came to the Delaware when a colony was formed oc- cupying the present state of Delaware, and thus it happened that the Hanson family, though of English origin, came to this country from Sweden. After the fall of the colonial govern- ment, several of the Swedes took refuge and set- tled in the neighborhood colony of Lord Balti- more, this in the year 1753. Among the refugees were the four Hansons. Samuel, son of John Hanson, Sr., is the father of John Hanson, Jr., who married Miss Jane Contee, daughter of
Alexander Contee. He was a member of the house of delegates of Maryland for a number of years, and member of the continental congress 1781-82, and on the 5th of November following was elected president, which position he filled with distinguished credit to himself and marked satisfaction to congress, receiving the thanks of congress for his services March 1, 1781. General Washington was received by congress November 28, 1781, and was given a graceful welcome by President Hanson in a speech remarkable for dignity, modesty, heartiness and terseness. The speech and General Washington's reply, together with sundry letters from the same, will be found in Sparks' Life of Washington.
Alexander Contee Hanson, son of John, was assistant private secretary to General Washing- ton. In 1789 he was made chancellor. The coat-of-arms of the Hanson family: "Azure, a cross battonee (or cross trizzles) or cantoned by four fleur de lis argent. Crest, a martlett proper. Motto, Sola virtus invicta."
The first Contees of whom we have ancestral record are Peter Contee and his wife, Catharine Contee, who lived in Barnstable, Devonshire, England. Alexander Contee, who emigrated to America with his uncle, John Contee, and set- tled in Prince George County, Md., married Miss Jane Brook, and they had eight children. Barbara, their youngest daughter, married John Reid Magruder. John and Barbara were the parents. of Judge Alexander Contee Magruder, consequently Judge Magruder and his wife, Re- becca B. Thomas, were cousins. In Alexander Contee's will, dated 1730, he bequeaths a very extensive real and personal estate, also mourning rings of one guinea value, with the inscription "Remember a Contee," to Daniel Dulany and Edward Jennings, eminent lawyers of the pro- vincial bar; also to Philip Key, ancestor of Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star Spangled Ban- ner," and other intimate friends. Contee coat- of-arms: "Gules and azure, a chevron ermine between three wolves passant."
Mrs. Veirs has little information concerning the history of the Biays family, as the family Bible is in the possession of a cousin who resides
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in Paris. John and James Biays were among Baltimore's oldest and most useful citizens. They were shipping merchants and ran vessels between the United States and France. They resided on Fell's Point, Baltimore. James married Miss Mary Jackson, of that city, and they had one wat and five daughters: Philip Grable, Mrs. Sarah Stump, Mrs. Elizabeth Bowerman, Mrs. Fanny Hammond, Mrs. Anna Hoke and Mrs. Jane Allender. James Biays served in the War : 1812 when Baltimore was termed the "doomed city." (Thomas Scarf's History of Maryland, Vol. III, page 105.) The fifth regiment of cav- alry was commanded by Lieut .- Col. James Biays, and contained the independent light dragoons. He was a man of stately worth, and in that hour when men's souls were tried, came forth to do his duty. In the midst of this critical state of affairs, the citizens of Baltimore assembled at the Central Market House, January 30, 1808, to show their letermination to resist with every energy all at- tempt to violate the majesty of the law. James Biays was one of the fifteen citizens chosen by that assembly to draft resolutions expressive of the views of the citizens of Baltimore upon that subject, which was then agitating the whole country. Mrs. Veirs' father, who at that period was a lad of sixteen years, was the only son of Colonel Biays, and insisting upon going with his father; his father warned him, "Now, Phil, if you run I will shoot you." This was the salutation he received upon entering his duties as a soldier. This son, Philip G. Biays, was born in Baltimore, in August, 1797, and died in Rockville, Md,, in 1845. His wife, Jane Catharine Magruder, was born in Annapolis, Md., April 14, 1810, and died in Rockville, Md., January 31, 1879.
Philip Grable Biays and Jane Catharine Thomas Magruder were married in May, 1825. They resided on their estate, Mount Jefferson, in Baltimore County, Md., until 1832, when they removed to Montgomery County, and purchased a farm of two hundred and sixty-one acres west of Rockville, called Springfield, the farm which is now the property of Charles Veirs. Their ten children were named as follows: Magruder Alex- ander, who died in South America; John Hanson
Thomas, who died in the gold fields of Califor- nia; Sarah Stump, who died in infancy; James Philip, who was first married to Rebecca Hodges, by whom he had three children, Kate, Jane and Benjamin; Rebecca Thomas, who married Will- iam A. Veirs, a merchant of Rockville, Md .; Philip Alexander Magruder, who died unmarried at Bay St. Louis, La .; Maria A. G., who mar- ried. Joseph H. Turner, a large slave and land owner of Prince George County, Md., and they had six children (Mary and James, who died young, Joseph, William, Blanche and Morton) ; Henry Hammond, who died young; William Jackson, who died in Sidney, Neb .; and Frank Scott, a resident of Denver, Colo. The most prominent relative of the Biays family is Hon. Herman Stump, an eminent lawyer, member of congress in 1884, and afterwards commissioner of immigration under President Cleveland.
Judge Alexander Magruder and his wife, Re- becca Bellican Thomas, were the grandfather and grandmother of our subject, Mrs. Veirs. Dr. Philip Thomas and his wife, Jane Contee Han- son, were her great-grandfather and mother. John Hanson and his wife, Jane Contee, were her great- great-grandfather and mother.
May 3, 1853, Rebecca Thomas Biays was mar- ried in the Church of the Epiphany in Washing- ton, D. C., to William A. Veirs, of Maryland. On the same day they went south and took up their residence in Madison, middle Florida, where Mr. Veirs engaged in the mercantile busi- ness eight years. At the outbreak of the war they returned to Maryland and settled on their farm, Springfield, three miles west of Rockville. They had six children. Kate Marbury, who was celebrated for her beauty, was born in Madison, Fla., January 20, 1855, and married William Kennon Whiting, of Baltimore, in 1881, dying August 16, 1889, and is buried in the family lot in Rockville Cemetery: She had two children, Aline, who died in infancy, and Julian Wythe, whose home is with his grandmother at Rock- ville, and who was born November 9, 1885. Charles Veirs married Rose Lyddane, and they reside on and own Springfield farm, being the third generation to own and occupy that farm,
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the Biays homestead, three miles west of Rock- ville. They had four children, Clifton, Florence, Magruder and Fanny Scott. Francis Scott Veirs resides in Rockville, and is unmarried. Jane Biays Veirs married S. Cluskey Cromwell, of Washington, D. C., who is on the editorial staff of the Evening Star. They have a son, S. C. Cromwell, Jr. James Philip Biays Veirs is a lawyer in Rockville.
William A. Veirs was the son of Samuel Clark Veirs, and his wife, Juliana (Diffendaffer) Veirs, of Rockville. He was educated in Rock- ville Academy. The genealogy of the family will be found in the record of Hon. W. V. Bouic in this work.
HARLES J. MADDOX, M. D., who for- merly was a successful physician and is now living retired on his farm near Rockville, rep- resents the fifth generation of the Maddox family in America. The first of the name to establish a home in this country was John Maddox, a native of Wales, who settled in Charles County and en- gaged in the cultivation of a plantation. He brought with him bricks made in England, and with these he constructed a house that is still standing, occupying a location overlooking the Potomac River. The family intermarried with the Harris family, who came from Wales at the same time with them. The oldest son of Jolin and Mary Maddox was John, Jr., who married Eliza- beth Jenifer, and their eldest son, also named John, married Martha Harris. They followed the family custom and named their oldest son John, but he died. Their second son was Will- iam T., the doctor's father, who was a man of local prominence and served for thirty years as clerk of courts, having been appointed to the po- sition by the governor. In religious belief he was an Episcopalian.
In 1818 William T. Maddox married Anna Maria King, daughter of Charles King, who was
a lumber merchant of Georgetown. They be- came the parents of ten children, of whom four are living, namely: Charles J., who was born in Georgetown, D. C., December 31, 1819; Martha M., who married George Hayden, editor of the St. Mary's Beacon; S. Kate, wife of John W. Nixon, who was a member of the United States navy at the outbreak of the war, but resigned then and entered army service; and Anna Franklin, who married James Polk and resides in Washington, D. C.
The education of our subject, begun in the common school of Leonardtown, was continued in Georgetown College, where he was a student for four years. In March, 1843, he graduated from the University of Maryland, at Baltimore. Opening an office at Leonardtown, St. Mary County, he engaged in practice there for ten years. The climate, however, did not agree with him, and owing to the regular recurrence of chills, he deemed it best to seek another location. In 1853 he came to Montgomery County and settled on a farm five miles above Rockville, and carried on a general practice there until 1865, when he moved to Rockville. In May, 1891, lie was permanently injured, and afterward his at- tention was confined to office practice.
Politically Dr. Maddox is a Democrat. In 1891 he was made chairman of the building committee of the new court house and while attending to the duties incident to that position, he had a fall which confined him to his bed from May 21 un- til November 5. Simultaneously with the fall he had a severe attack of typhoid fever. . Owing to the severe illness, his leg did not receive proper at- tention and for some time it was not known that it had been broken; consequently the bones were not set and he has never recovered the use of the limb, but otherwise he has the appearance of being a very healthy man.
For a number of years he has been trustee of the almshouse, and for fifteen years served as physician to the jail. Prior to 1865 he engaged in farming, being the proprietor of an estate of seven hundred acres, but owing to troubles inci- dent to the war, he sold all but three hundred and forty acres. He erected a brick drug store
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in Rockville and has also laid out an addition to the town, known as Janeta. In religion he is a Catholic.
The first marriage of Dr. Maddox united him with Mary L., daughter of Joseph King, of Georgetown. The seven children born to them are named as follows: John, who is engaged in the insurance business in Washington, and mar- ried Addie C. Gough, of St. Mary County; Anna, Catherine and Mary, deceased; Mary L., at home; Charles Joseph, county surveyor; and An- na M., who resides at home, but is employed as a stenographer in Washington. Mrs. Mary L. Maddox passed away the day after Christmas in 1865. October 2, 1866, the doctor was united in marriage with Catherine Jane Harding, daughter of Henry and Catherine (Robb) Harding. She was the youngest of five children, named as fol- lows: Mary E., wife of Robert W. Carter, who served as register of wills for many years; Anna, who died unmarried; William R., who was killed on the streets of Augusta, Ga .; Dr. Charles A., deceased, who went south and fought throughout the war, afterward settling in Prince George County, Md .; and Catherine Jane, Mrs. Maddox, who died June 26, 1897. Mr. Harding was a man of prominence, and first as a Henry Clay Whig and later as a Democrat, was closely identi- fied with the political history of Montgomery County. For a time he filled the office of sheriff, afterward became a member of the state legislat- ure and still later served as register of wills .. He married a daughter of Adam Robb, who was born in Scotland, but emigrated to America in youth and settled in Montgomery County, where he married and spent his remaining years.
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EONARD I. HAYS, a farmer residing near Barnesville, Montgomery County, was born September 8, 1838, on the homestead where he now resides. His father, whose name was the same as his own, was born in this county in 1793 and died here in 1864, having devoted the active
intervening years to farm pursuits and merchan- dising. He opened a store opposite the family residence and there he carried on business until his death, and also served as postmaster for many years, having the postoffice in his store. His wife, Eliza Poole, was born June 28, 1807, and died July 21, 1874; she was a daughter of John and Priscilla (Sprigg) Poole.
The family of Leonard and Eliza ( Poole) Hays consisted of eight children who attained maturity in years: Sarah P., born February 21, 1829, married Nathan T. Talbot; Eleanor L., born November 19, 1831, married W. T. Poole; Pris- cilla I., born February 9, 1835, married Regi- nald Poole; Eliza, born February 11, 1836, died unmarried; Leonard was fifth in order of birth; Richard P., born December 18, 1840, succeeded his father in the management of the store; Fred- erick P., born March 18, 1846, is a farmer in Barnesville District; and Mary P., born Febru- ary 19, 1849, married John Jones, also of this county.
Our subject's grandfather, Leonard Hays, Sr., was a resident of this county, where he owned large tracts of land. By his marriage to Eleanor Simmons he had the following-named children: Abraham S., born in 1773; Sarah, 1785; Samuel, 1787; Abigail, 1789; Eleanor, 1791; Leonard, 1793; and William S., 1797. The grandfather died in 1821.
When our subject began in life for himself it was on the home place. He has followed general farming and stock-raising, and ships general farm products. His place consists of five hun- dred acres of well-improved land, upon which he has made valuable improvements. In 1894 he removed the old house in which his father had lived for so many years, and erected the modern residence that he now occupies. October 24, 1888, he married Mary E. W. White, daughter of Richard T. and Mary E. (Waters) White. Three children bless their union: Leonard, Rich- ard S. and Frederick S.
Mr. Hays has never sought office for himself and aside from voting the Democratic ticket does not take any part in politics. For ten years he has officiated as a vestryman in Christ Episcopal
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Church of Barnesville. He was one of the origin- ators of the Barnesville Grange, in which he has since been an active worker. He took a prominent part in the organization of the First National Bank of Rockville, with which he has since been identified as a director.
ILLIAM H. VINSON has been actively engaged in farming pursuits, but in 1886 he gave up the management of his estate and has since lived practically retired, his son-in- law cultivating the home farm. He is a member of an old English family that settled in America in an early day and was afterward identified with the development of the agricultural resources of this country. His grandfather, Benjamin Vin- son, who was born in Montgomery County, par- ticipated in the second war with England. Of his children, Thomas, father of our subject, was the second-born. He took up the trade of a mil- ler and millwright, which occupation he followed in this and Frederick counties. Politically he was a Republican. By his marriage to Mahala Johns, of Virginia, five children were born, of whom two are living, William H. and John T., of McClellandtown, Fayette County, Pa.
In the county of Montgomery William H. Vinson was born April 28, 1821. In youth he learned the tailor's trade, but never followed the occupation. For a time he clerked for a mer- chant in Darnestown, but shortly after -his mar- riage he turned his attention to farming, in which occupation he continued to engage until his re- tirement from active work. He bought one hun- dred and eighty-one acres, not one acre of which had been cleared. He hewed down some timber and on the spot thus cleared he built a house. He was full of energy and determination, and by hard work managed in time to get his place cleared and in fine condition; all this by his own exertions and without any assistance from others. In early life he was a Whig and after the war voted the Democratic ticket.
In 1848 Mr. Vinson was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Cecelia Beall, daughter of the late Dr. Richard D. Beall, of Darnestown, Montgomery County. They were co-workers for forty-seven years, until her death in the fall of 1895. They were the parents of eight chil- dren, of whom six are living, namely: Edgar D., who resides in Germantown; Jeanette, who married Oscar Filmore Vinson and lives in Wash- ington; Benjamin Franklin, who makes his home in Darnestown; Cecelia, whose husband, Stephen W. Smoot, conducts the home farm; James, who resides in Washington; and Bertha.
M ICHAEL J. BROWN, who is engaged in farming in Wheaton (formerly Berry) Dis- trict, Montgomery County, was born on Capitol View in 1836, being next to the youngest son of Robert and Mary F. (Sardin) Brown, the former a native of Ireland, the latter born on the ocean while her parents were coming to this country. The grandfather, Robert Brown, was an architect, and among his contracts was that for the dome of the capitol building. A success- ful man, at his death he left a large amount of property.
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