USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 2 > Part 36
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Of anatomy and surgery Dr. Trapnall was fond, and he performed a great number of surgical operations. He had no hobby. His energies seem to have been alike devoted to the interests of every department; and although practicing in a period when hobby riding was fashionable, he was remarkably conservative in his views and cautious in practice. In a word, he may with much truth be styled a medical philosopher. He accumulated a large and well-selected library, with the contents of which, by close application to study, he kept himself familiarly acquainted; which, however, he generously divided with his young friends, after he retired from active pro- fessional life. Having established himself upon a farm, he retired from the active duties of pro- fessional life about the year 1818, twenty-two years from the time he had entered upon them, a brief, but rather brilliant professional life.
There was something remarkably striking in his person and manner. He was full six feet two inches high and remarkably straight, had an air of dignity and independence, often construed into haughtiness, rendering him rather repulsive
to strangers, It is said of Admiral Vincent, his kinsman, that he was so tall and commanding in person, and possessed such an air of majesty, his very appearance excited a feeling of awe in his friends and struck terror to his enemies. A large physical stature and majestical air seem to have been characteristic of the Vincent family; and the doctor inherited his full share of it. He possessed remarkable firmness and decision of character, honesty and purity of life, was ardent in his attachments, loved his friends with a devo- tion bordering on idolatry, would make almost any sacrifice for their convenience. Of this re- markable devotion to the interests of his friends there are still a number of living witnesses. But towards his enemies he was implacable, almost bitter. Dr. Trapnall was a member of the legis- lature from the county of Mercer in 1806-7-8-9, and a reference to the journals of that period will show itis efficiency and prominence as a member of that body. In 1812 he was defeated for con- gress by Samuel McKee, of Lancaster. In politics he was a warm partisan even after he had retired from active life; an uncompromising Whig, al- ways prompt and early at the polls on election day, a duty, which, as a good citizen he felt in conscience bound to discharge. He was a mem- ber of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and a very warm churchman; a zealous stickler for the succession and one of the ablest champions of episcopacy in this country. He was exceedingly well posted in the history of his church. In 1828-9 he wrote many articles in defense of the doctrine of his church, which were published and replied to by Dr. C. Calland. The discussion was a protracted one and attracted much atten- tion in the religious world.
In 1806 the doctor married Miss Nancy Casey, daughter of Peter Casey, at Fountain Blue, Mercer County, Ky., a lady of highly cultivated intellect and great prudence, who was truly a helpmate to him, with whom he lived forty-five years, raising a large and highly respected family. In 1818 he retired from active duties of the pro- fession, and established himself upon a farm ad- joining Harrodsburg, devoting the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. In this position,
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more congenial to his taste and inclination, he entertained a large number of visitors, for which his fine conversational powers and open hospital- ity so eminently fitted him. In "Camden," a novel written many years ago by John A. Mc- Clung, the doctor figured conspicuously under the title of General Lethbridge. On the 31st of January, 1853, in the eighty-first year of his age, he died, as he had lived, in humble trust and unshaken confidence in Him who is "the resurrection and the life." Thus lived and died one whose friends were numerous and devoted, whose history, however, is too prominent, and whose character too marked and decided never to have met opposition or encountered malice, which, however, were disarmed of their power to hurt by his acknowledged honesty of purpose and purity of life.
During the '50s the members of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Harrodsburg erected a very nice brick church on the northeast corner of Office and Chiles streets. The Trapnalls, espe- cially Benjamin Casey, took an active part and contributed largely to the building. The church is named St. Philips, in honor of Dr. Philip Trapnall, and has a memorial window, donated by his son, Benjamin Casey, and placed in the west side in honor of the old doctor. There are two lancet-shaped windows, side by side, in one double frame. One of these is marked with the Greek letter Alpha at the top. It also contains the emblem of a broken column and the sun setting behind an expanse of water, and also an anchor. There are the words: "A Follower of Christ and a Lover of His Church;" and in an- other part of the window: "A good man, bold and strong, yet gentle as a little child." Then, in the lowest portion of the window, we read: "Dr. Philip Trapnell, born January 4, 1773; died Jan- uary 31, 1853; aged 80." The companion window has the Greek letter Omega at the top, emblems of rose hanging from bent and broken stem, and of lamb, reclining, supporting banner on which is traced a cross. Then, besides the words: "A mother in Israel," we read: "Nancy Trapnall, his wife, born July 4, 1786; died July 3, 1851; aged 65."
OL. WILLIAM KILGOUR, for many years one of the prominent public men of Mary- land, and a life-long resident of Rockville, was born in this place July 24, 1833, and is the descendant of Scotch ancestors. The first of the name to come to America was his great-great-grand- father, Bishop William Kilgour, who crossed the ocean for the purpose ofordaining Bishop Seabury, of Connecticut, the first Episcopal bishop in this country. Shortly after that ceremony had been performed, he returned to Scotland, where he held a bishopric. His son, also named William, came to this country about 1730 and settled in St. Mary's County, Md., which was the home of many of his descendants.
Next in line of descent was William, grand- father of our subject, who was a planter on the Patuxent River, and a prominent man in crystal- izing public sentiment, aiding in forming political movements. In 1812 his residence and crops were destroyed by the British naval fleet that made the attack on Washington. He had four sons, namely: Charles I., who was associate judge of the District of Columbia; John A. T., who was a prominent forensic advocate; Alex- ander and James, who remained on the old homestead.
Alexander, father of our subject, was born in St. Mary's County and received his education at Charlotte Hall and Union College, from which he graduated in 1819. He then took up the prac- tice of law in Leonardtown, St. Mary's County, and shortly afterward was elected to the state legislature. In 1822 he removed to Rockville and from here was also elected to the legislature, serving as a member of that body for many years. Politically he was an old-line Whig, prominent in public affairs. Following the religious belief of his ancestors, he held membership in the Episcopal Church.
November 17, 1832, Alexander Kilgour mar- ried Miss Margaret Ann Stribling, daughter of Capt. Francis Stribling, of the United States army, and niece of Commodore Stribling, of the navy, and of Dr. Stribling, who originated and presided over the insane asylum at Staunton, Va. Mrs. Kilgour was born in Clarke County, Va.,
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and was educated in the seminary at Leesburg. Her family consisted of seven children, as fol- lows: William, of this sketch, who was the eldest of the children; Cecelia McIlhaney, widow of Samuel Jones and residing near Rockville; Francis Stribling, who is a farmer and owns property near Rockville; Martha Matilda, widow of the late Judge Alex W. Chilton, of Virginia; Sarah; Alexander, Jr., whose sketch appears on another page and who is the present state's at- torney for Montgomery County; and Virginia, deceased, who married Charles Vandevender, chief engineer for the Western Maryland Railroad.
The subject of this sketch graduated from St. John's College, Annapolis, Md., in 1855. In Janu- ary, 1856, he went to Cumberland, Md., and began to read law with the late Judge Pearre, continuing until he was admitted to the bar in October, 1857. In the same month he was elected to the legislature as the candidate of the Democratic party. Subsequently he was appointed assistant state's attorney, and later clerk and attorney for the board of county commissioners of Allegany County. In 1860 he was elected secretary of the Maryland state senate and continued as such un- til the legislature was arrested by order of the secretary of war. In 1862 he moved to Wash- ington, D. C., and began the practice of law, remaining there until 1869. Then going to Al- exandria, Va., he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Judge Chilton. In 1872 he was elected commonwealth attorney for that city and county and held the office for six years. In 1878 he returned to Rockville, his old home, where he has since been in politics and journalistic work. In 1890 he was elected to the legislature from Montgomery County. During Mr. Cleveland's last administration he served four years in the United States' internal revenue service. His po- litical tutelage was under the late Hon. Charles Faulkner, minister to France during the admin- istration of President Buchanan, and also for many years a member of congress.
That Mr. Kilgour was considered a valuable public officer may be judged from the following, quoted from the Baltimore Herald: "While no doubt there are many unique statesmen among
those now gathered at Annapolis, there is miss- ing at least one colossal and picturesque figure whose absence from any legislative session, as an active and aggressive member, can be considered in no other light than as both a political loss and a public calamity. We refer to the Hon. Will- iam Kilgour, whose dulcet and yet stentorian voice has been a familiar sound to every man, woman and child within the confines of Mary- land for at least one generation, if not more."
In October, 1858, Mr. Kilgour married Miss Rose Ellen Queen, adopted daughter of her uncle, the late Henry Harding, one of the early and prominent men of Montgomery County. To this union were born two children: Annie Stribling Kilgour, who graduated from Mount De Sales, Baltimore County, and died a few years after her graduation, and Mary C., at home with her father. Mrs. Kilgour died in September, 1886.
OHN THOMAS KELLEY, justice of the peace, and for many years one of the active farmers of Darnestown District, Montgomery County, was born in Baltimore County, this state, March 22, 1829. He is a descendant of ancestors who settled in Maryland prior to the Revolutionary war and have since been identified with the history of the state. His father, Joseph, who was born and reared in Baltimore County, had an older brother, Thomas, who served in the War of 1812 and participated in the engagement in which General Ross was killed. Their father was one of the eight men who paid for the erec- tion of a schoolhouse and employed a teacher for their children; so that the sons were given better advantages than most boys of their day.
When eighteen years of age Joseph Kelley be- gan on his own account, and with his brother, Thomas, cultivated a farm for two years, after which his brother withdrew and he continued alone. The farm belonged to a widow and he superintended its management for forty years, until failing health obliged him to discontinue
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active work. So well did he manage the prop- erty that the widow, who had no other means of support than this land, was enabled to keep her family of eight children together, clothe them neatly and educate them well. In the meantime Mr. Kelley often purchased adjacent land, until he finally owned three hundred acres, which he cultivated, in addition to managing the other place. He was a hard-working man and a success- ful farmer. Politically he was a Democrat. In religion he was a Baptist. He was interested in educational work and served as trustee of a school that afterward became an academy. His death occurred when he was eighty-two.
The first wife of Joseph Kelley was Mary Parks, by whom he had two children, John Thomas and Mary Elizabeth, widow of Aquilla Galloway and a resident of Baltimore. After the death of Mrs. Mary Kelley, he married her sister, Ann, and four children were born of that union: Elisha F., deceased; Amanda R., wife of Dr. J. F. R. Appleby, of Georgetown; Joanna, who married J. Nelson Wisner, of Martinsburg, W. Va .; and Laura V., wife of.John Tabb Snodgrass, also living in Martinsburg.
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At the age of eighteen the subject of this sketch secured employment in a cotton factory. The superintendent of this (the Warren) factory resigned his position one year later, in order to accept the management of the Union factory at Ellicott City, and our subject accompanied him, remaining in the latter place for five years. In order to better his circumstances he resigned his position and went to Franklin, Tenn., where he took charge-of a factory and machine shop. After two years in that place he was offered a more lu- crative position at Sparta, where he removed and remained two years. Then, with two others, he undertook the opening of a factory at Law- renceburg, Lawrence County, Tenn., and went there, clearing the land and aiding in the con- struction of the dam. He continued in business at that place for eight years. However, failing health forced him to sell his interest and seek oc- cupation elsewhere. He removed to Georgetown, D. C., in 1858 and for ten years engaged in the mercantile business, after which he purchased
his present farm of two hundred and seventy-two acres. January 1, 1897, he retired from active work, turning the management of a large part of his property over to a son-in-law, while he de- votes himself to the raising of small fruits and the charge of his apiary.
Politically Mr. Kelley is independent, prefer- ring to vote for the man best fitted for the position rather than adhere strictly to party lines. In the spring of 1896 he was appointed justice of the peace and two years later was again chosen to oc- cupy this position. Fraternally he is a demitted Mason and has been a member of the Odd Fel- lows and Sons of Temperance. For thirty years he has been identified with the Presbyterian Church, as one of its elders, and to its work he is a generous contributor. His marriage January 13, 1853, united him with Susan Appleby, daughter of William Appleby, and an estimable lady, whose death, September 28, 1892, was a heavy blow to her family. They were the par- ents of five children, namely: Joseph, who is en- gaged in farming in the southeastern part of Vir- ginia; Mary Elizabeth, who married John Lynch, a clerk in the treasury department; Nellie, wife of Millard Rice, who conducts. the home farm; John Thomas, M. D., who married Virginia Og- den, of St. Paul, Minn., and is a physician in Washington; and Susan Darby, who married William Nelson, principal of the Andrew Small Academy.
DORSEY TRUNDLE, a representative citizen of Montgomery County, and a promi- nent member of the bar, lives in a beautiful home known as Rock Hill Villa. Among the numerous elegant residences of Gaithersburg and vicinity, this is one of the handsomest, and is especially favored in location, standing, as it does, upon an elevation and overlooking the town and surrounding country. The owner is constantly making improvements and additions to the place, thus increasing its attractiveness, and making of it an ideal home.
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The old homestead, Potomac View, where were . In our subject and his father before him, has een in the possession of their family for several generations. The senior Trundle, James O., was a" agriculturist by occupation and was eminently ยท accessful, both as a farmer and as a financier. He owned a number of finely improved farms and sas a man of influence in Montgomery County. H- was a faithful member of the Methodist Epis- opal Church and in politics was a Democrat. In a family of five children he was the eldest, and :: herited the old homestead, Potomac View. His Mest sister, Annie V., is the wife of Edward Nichols, whose farm is near Licksville, Frederick County, Md. Fannie, deceased, was the wife of Charles W. Paxson, of Loudoun County, Va. Wilham, the only brother, was a merchant in Monocacy, Md., up to the time of the war, when entered the Confederate army and sacrificed - life in the cause. Susan E., the youngest of w family, is unmarried, and makes her home with our subject. James O. Trundle married for . first wife a distant relative, Eleanor A. Trun- de, and their only child, James E., is the paying teller of the First National Bank of Gaithersburg. The mother of our subject was a Miss Annie E. Dorsey in her girlhood.
R. Dorsey Trundle was born May 20, 1865, at Potomac View, and passed his youth there. His education was gained in Rockville Academy and in the Columbia University, Washington, D. C., where he pursued a scientific course and gradu- ted from the law department in the class of 1891 with the degree of LL. M. He was at once .mitted to the bar and established an office in Washington, where he remained for three years. He then returned to this, his native county, and has since been engaged in practice in Gaithers- burg. Since establishing his present practice in this place, by close attention and correct business methods he has succeeded in building up a large und remunerative practice, and is recognized as among the most prominent of the younger mem- bers of his profession in the county.
In 1896 he was honored by being elected to the city council here and has served as such since that time. For two years previous he was at-
torney of the board. In political affairs he has taken an active part, being identified with the Democracy. Fraternally he is a Mason of the Scottish rite degree, and is secretary of Pentalpha Lodge No. 194, A. F. & A. M. The various business interests of this town have received the material encouragement of Mr. Trundle, who has investments in the Gaithersburg Milling Com- pany and bank, as well as in other local enter- prises. He is the owner of two farms comprising about seven hundred acres, the management of which he personally supervises, and one of which is the old Dorsey homestead, long kept in the family. Religiously he is a Methodist, belonging to the church of that denomination in this town.
November 20, 1896, the marriage of Mr. Trun- dle and Miss Margaretta Clarke was solemnized in Howard County. She is a daughter of George D. and Alice (Linthicum) Clarke, natives of Howard and Montgomery Counties, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Trundle two children, a son and daughter, have been born. They are named respectively Otho Clarke and Alice Dorsey.
JEORGE A. CRESSLER, for years a pros- perous and enterprising farmer of the Ninth District, Washington County, is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred upon the homestead belonging to his father, near Shippensburg, Pa., in 1833. , From his boyhood he has given his entire attention to agricultural affairs and has long been numbered among the thrifty and wealthy farmers of this locality. Just thirty years ago he came to this county and became the purchaser of Paradise farm, which is justly considered one of the most fertile and valuable tracts of land in this section of the state. He has made a great many of the substantial improvements upon the property, but the fine old house was built over a century ago, in 1787, and is one of the landmarks of the county, and well worthy of a visit from the traveler. It was constructed of brick brought from England by
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General Sprigg, and is still in a good state of preservation and is now being rebuilt and mod- ernized by our subject's son, D. W. Cressler. The farm comprises two hundred acres, on which is raised a variety of grains and other crops com- mon to this region, and in return for the care be- stowed upon these fertile fields a goodly harvest is garnered each year.
The great-grandfather of our subject was a na- tive of Germany, and when he came to America, took up his residence in Pennsylvania. His son, the grandfather of G. A. Cressler, Adam by name, was a stone mason by trade and in later years attended solely to his farm near Shippens- burg, Pa. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was within twenty miles of Baltimore the night that Lord Baltimore was shot. He was a faithful member of the Lutheran Church and was loved and respected by all who knew him. He died in 1858, at the age of eighty-four years. Joseph G. Cressler, father of our subject, was born and passed nearly his whole life in the neighborhood of Shippensburg, Pa. He was a farmer and owned a large and valuable tract of land. He was a man of influence in his com- munity and was county commissioner of Cum- berland County during the few years he lived in that locality, having been elected on the Repub- lican ticket. From the time that he was twenty- five years of age he was an active and represent- ative member of the Lutheran Church up to the time of his death in 1875, at the age of sixty-six years. He was twice married, the first time to Sophia Cleppinger, by whom he had seven chit dren, three now deceased. Those surviving are G. A., William T .; Joseph B., of Virginia; and Adeline, wife of Reynolds Wallace, of Norfolk, Va. The second wife bore the maiden name of Catherine Heck, and of their union four children were born: John A., deceased; Lydia; Steward and Bertha, Mrs. John Plasterer. Our subject's mother, who died in 1849, at the age of thirty- six, was a most estimable Christian lady, beloved by all who came within her influence. Both she and the second wife were members of the Lu- theran Church.
Up to 1868 Mr. Cressler continued to dwell in
his native county and in Cumberland. He thor- oughly mastered every department of farm work and received a good general education in the pub- lic schools of his own neighborhood. Later it was his privilege to attend the Shippensburg Academy, where he pursued the higher branches and became very well informed. In 1859 he took a very important step in life, as he then married the lady who has since shared the joys and sor- rows that fell to his lot in the years that followed. She was Miss Mary C. Clever, a daughter of David Clever, of Cumberland County, Pa. Seven children have come to bless their mar- riage, namely: David W .; Joseph A .; Mary E., a teacher; George W .; Minnie F .; I. Maude, also a teacher; and Alberta B., who is a mem- ber of the faculty of the Illinois Normal School, at Macomb, Ill. In his political tendencies Mr. Cressler has always been uncompromisingly Re- publican, and loyal to the best interests of the community in which he lives, as well as to the general government. He and his wife and daugh- ters are members of the Reformed Church and are active in all good works.
JOSIAH HARDING, M. D., deceased, for- merly one of the most prominent and suc- cessful physicians of Montgomery County, was born in this county, about four miles from Rockville, in 1817. He was a member of one of the old and highly respected families of Maryland. His father, Edward Harding, who was a native of this county, owned and operated a large tract of land in the vicinity of Rockville and was prominent in public life, as well as in agri- cultural circles. He married a widow, Mrs. Perry, and their only child was the subject of this sketch. Mr. Harding, by his first mar- riage, had a daughter, Mrs. Caroline Frances Noland, of Rockville, and a son Henry, who for many years was registrar of wills for Mont- gomery County; also a son Edward, who for years was a major in the Regular army.
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When our subject was an infant his mother died and when he was nine his father passed away. He was reared under the care of his brother, Henry, and was given excellent educa- tional advantages, attending school in Rockviile and afterward graduating from Georgetown Col- lege. He began the study of medicine under Dr. John Wootton, an eminent physician of that day, and afterward took a course of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania, where he grad- uated. After having practiced for a time in Rockville he moved to Carroll Cottage, a beautiful residence now owned by Dr. George H. Wright and a description of which appears in the sketch of Dr. Wright. There he remained from 1840 to 1864, meantime practicing in the vicinity, and he continued in active practice until his death, in 1894.
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