USA > Maryland > Portrait and biographical record of the Sixth congressional district, Maryland V. 2 > Part 42
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Mr. Cost was born in Washington County, Md., June 20, 1843, and is a son of Samuel W. and Catherine (Stine) Cost, both of whom are likewise natives of this county, and still reside on a farm just outside the city limits of Hagers- town. The father is now in his eighty-third year and his wife is about seventy-four. He has given his entire attention to agriculture and has never been a politician or an office-seeker. Of his children our subject is the sole survivor. John L. was occupied in farming in his youth and was also a clerk for a short time prior to the outbreak of the war.
May 15, 1863, Mr. Cost enlisted in the army, as a member of Company B, Eleventh Maryland Infantry, and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He took part in the battle of Monoc- acy Junction. He was in Tyler's Third Separate Division of the Third Separate Brigade, whose
duty it was to guard the Potomac and keep in check the guerrilla forces under the noted Colonel Mosby and others. He had enlisted as a drummer-boy and was later promoted to be sec- ond lieutenant, thenceforth acting as such until the close of the war. In April, 1864, he received an honorable discharge from the army and re- turned to private life. He was always faithful to every duty, a man upon whom his superiors could safely rely, and one who displayed unusual ability for one of his youth, as he was in his mi- nority at the time of his enlistment and promotion to the lieutenancy of his company. He has never lost his interest in army affairs, and after the war he was for three years second lieutenant of Company B, First Regiment of Maryland National Guards, under Colonel Douglas. In his early manhood he affiliated with the Republican party, as did most of his relatives (sixty-two of them at one time casting their votes for the candidates of the party) and he has never seen cause to change his political creed.
At the close of the war Mr. Cost was a clerk for an uncle in Rohrersville, this county, for a time, after which he went into the hat and shoe business in Hagerstown, the firm name being Rowzer & Cost. At the end of about nine months he sold out to his partner and commenced traveling for A. F. Roberts, with whom he con- tinued up to 1867. He then embarked in the grocery business with Thomas Baker. For nearly thirty years he has been connected with the mail service, though not continuously, as for six years, while the Democrats were in power, he was occupied in carrying on a grocery opposite the public square in this city. With this exception, however, he has been in the government employ, at first running between Hagerstown and Harris- burg, Pa., then for three years between Balti- more and Cumberland; and for twelve years from Baltimore to Hagerstown. He resigned in 1885 and subsequently returned to the service in 1891, since which time he has gone back and forth be- tween thiscity and Weverton. He is an accurate, punctual and thoroughly trustworthy employe and the friends he has along the route are legion. In manner he is pleasant and genial, and every-
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one has a good word and best wishes for him. He holds an office in the lodge of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Cost is a great lover of fancy fowls and has bred light Brahmas for twenty years, during which time he has taken many premiums at the principal poultry shows in this county; he is also superintendent of the poultry exhibit of the Hagerstown Fair and is perhaps the most widely known poultry fancier in the United States.
In 1874 Mr. Cost married Miss Isadore Shipley, of Baltimore, and after ten happy years spent together she was called to the home beyond. She was a lady of sweet and lovable disposition and possessed the affection of all who knew her. She was the last of seven brothers and sisters with whom she had grown to maturity in the city of her birth, Frederick. She was a member of the Lutheran Church and was a loyal worker in its various departments of activity. Two chil- dren blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Cost, but both have been summoned to the silent land. The little daughter died when but three years old and the son, a bright, manly young fellow who had just arrived at his majority, died in 1895. He was a great student and had a most promising career opening before him. He had been a pupil in the Polytechnic School of Troy, N. Y., and was a general favorite with his classmates and teachers.
AMES A. WINDHAM, a successful farmer of Berry District, Montgomery County, was born February 20, 1829, on his father's farm between Bethesda and Rockville. He is of direct English descent, his paternal grandfather, Will- iam Windham, having come from England to this country at the time of the Revolutionary war and engaging in farm pursuits in Maryland. One of his sons took part in the War of 1812. Another son, James F., who was born in Mary- land, inherited a large tract of land and upon it conducted farm pursuits. In politics he was an old-line Whig. Just and honest in every trans-
action, he won the esteem of those with whom he associated. ยท His death occurred in 1869, when he was sixty-four years of age.
The wife of James F. Windham was Mary Ray Riley, who died when she was still a young woman. She was a daughter of Camden C. Riley, who served as a captain in the War of IS12 and owned many slaves and large tracts of land, being at one time the largest tax-payer in the county. Much of his land was situated near Rockville. He was a descendant of Scotch-Irish ancestry. In the family of James F. and Mary Ray Windham there were two sons and two daughters, namely: James A .; William, who was a successful farmer and blacksmith and died twenty-five years ago, leaving a small fortune; Ellen, who lives with her brother, James A .; and Elizabeth, the widow of George Hilton.
After receiving such advantages as district schools afforded, our subject started out for him - self at the age of eighteen years. For fourteen years he worked at the carpenter's trade, and during that time, for three years or more, he was also interested in the grocery business. Later he purchased his present farm on the Seventh street pike, about nine miles from Washington. At the time. of purchase the land was heavily tim- bered and swampy, but he cleared it, planted orchards, raised grain, and finally transformed the land into one of the finest farms in the vi- ciuity. In 1897 he erected a comfortable farm residence of twelve rooms, which sets back from the pike about a quarter of a mile and occupies high ground, surrounded by all kinds of forest and fruit trees.
In addition to the management of his farm, for more than thirty-four years Mr. Windham has been general superintendent of the Washington and Brookeville pike, having over twenty-six miles under his jurisdiction. Besides this he carried on a number of farms adjoining his home place. November 6, 1867, he married Eveline Nicholson, a native of Montgomery County. They have two sons and five daughters, namely: James Frederick, Richard Clayton, Elizabeth, Corinne, Nora Ellen, Nettie B. and Emma Glad- dus, all at home. The oldest son is a college
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graduate and a young man of fine attainments. The family are identified with the Protestant Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Windham is a Democrat, and for a number of years he served as deputy collector and constable.
M AGRUDER WILLSON OFFUTT, an in- fluential citizen of Bethesda and the former president of the Georgetown & Tennally- town Railroad Company, was born in 1863 in the locality where he now resides. His father, Hilleary 1 .. Offutt, who was born in this county, Montgomery, went to Washington, D. C., at the age of fourteen, and secured employment in a store. His earnings were carefully saved, until finally he was able to embark in business for him- self. For more than thirty years he had a large trade, both in wholesale and retail groceries. He was regarded as one of the representative gro- cers of the city. In national issues he favored the Democratic ticket, but in local elections gave his influence in support of the men best qualified to represent the people. He assisted in founding St. John's Episcopal Church, of which he was a trustee and vestryman for many years. In dis- position he was exceedingly charitable and gave to those in need even more liberally than might have been expected of a man of his means. For years he was connected with the Grange. He was a man of fine physique and weighed about one hundred and eighty pounds.
The mother of our subject was Anna Maria Fisher, whose mother was a member of the Ma- gruder family and a descendant of one of two brothers who made settlement in Montgomery County in an early day. One of these brothers had twelve sons and six daughters. Mrs. Anna M. Offutt is still living and makes her home in Montgomery County. One of her sons, Hilleary L., is engaged in farming, while her daughter, Anna L., is the wife of J. HI. Miller, vice-presi- dent of the Georgetown & Tennallytown Railroad.
In this county our subject received a public
school and academical education. Since attain- ing manhood he has been engaged in farming and the real-estate business. Two children, Edward Winsor and Magruder Willson, were born of his union with Dixie E., daughter of Edward Winsor, who was born and reared in Rockville, and for a time engaged in the mercantile business in Balti- more, but removed from that city to Lexington, Mo., engaging there in the real-estate and loan business. His wife was a Miss Willson. In national issues Mr. Offutt is a supporter of Democratic principles, but in local matters he is inclined to be liberal in his views, favoring the men whom he believes will best represent the peo- ple. In 1893-94 he held the office of president of the Georgetown & Tennallytown Railroad Com- pany, of which he was a director and the treas- urer for years. In religious connections he is identified with the Episcopal Church.
OHN BREADY. Few of the farmers of Montgomery County have met with greater success than has the subject of this sketch, who is the owner of a finely improved and val- uable farm in Berry District. He was born at Carroll's Manor, near Buckeystown, Frederick County, Md., in October, 1827, and is a son of David Bready, a native of that county also. For the family history, reference may be made to the sketch of Samuel K. Bready, presented else- where in this volume.
Reared on a farm and educated in the country schools, at the age of twenty-two our subject started out for himself, beginning to cultivate the land owned by his father. In 1849 he moved to Montgomery County and for two years resided in Brookeville, after which he rented a farm for seven years. In 1860 he purchased the farm where he has since resided. This place comprises two hundred and seventy-nine acres and is situ- ated in Berry District, along the Norwood turn- pike about fifteen miles from Washington. It is improved with a fine residence, substantial and
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commodious barns, and outbuildings of all kinds, and the entire place is under fence. It is recog- nized as one of the most valuable places in this section. In addition to this farm, Mr. Bready owns a farm of two hundred and thirty-eight acres, situated near Redland, Montgomery County; also a fine place of five hundred and thirty acres, situated about one and one-half miles from Mechanicsville. and now divided into two farms, having two separate tenants. All of these tracts have been improved by fences, barns, houses and fruit and ornamental trees. The farm upon which he resides did not have a building on it at the time of purchase, and its present con- dition and improvements speak volumes for the energy of the owner.
In 1850 Mr. Bready was united in marriage with Catherine Bear, who was born in Frederick County and is a daughter of Jacob Bear, a farmer of that county. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Bready was blessed by the birth of three sons and one daughter, who are still living, while three sons and one daughter who attained years of maturity are now deceased. This was perhaps the hardest blow that ever struck the family. These four young people, ranging in age from nineteen to thirty-one, died within five days of one another, and their sudden death was a severe loss, not only to the family. but to their hosts of friends as well. They were named Charles P., Edward A., Thomas John and Mary J. The surviving children are: Eli. at home; George W., a veterinary surgeon who practices in this local- ity and resides with his parents; Morris and "Annie E., also at home.
Politically Mr. Bready supports the Democratic party. For six years he was a member of the live stock sanitary board. and for many years has served as president of the Brookeville and Washington turnpike. His success proves that he is a man of thrift and good judgment. When he started out for himself he rented land, not having the money with which to buy, and on making his first purchase he was obliged to bor- row money with which to purchase his team. Now he has plenty of horses and cattle and all of them fine. He is a firm believer in the value of
lime and has had his land covered with it a sec- ond time. Through his judicious management he has become the owner of large landed estates, which represent his industry, perseverance and determination of will.
WILSON HUMBIRD, one of the most en- terprising and progressive business men of Cumberland, is financially concerned in many of the leading industries of this city and immediate locality. By his influence and ma- terial aid he has been an important factor in the development of our resources and has always had deeply at heart the welfare of this, his native place, around which many of the pleasantest recollections of his life cling. He is a man of wide and exhaustive information, the result of extensive travel, study, observation and expe- rience, and is an able financier and is clear-headed and far-seeing in his business affairs.
Jacob Humbird, the father of the above-named gentleman, was born in Westmoreland County, Pa., and died in May, 1893, when about eighty- two years of age. In his day he was one of the greatest civil engineers and railroad-builders of this country. He contracted for and constructed railroads in various parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin. But perhaps his great- est work was the building of the Dom Pedro Secundo Railroad in Brazil, from the sea-coast capital, Rio Janeiro, to points in the interior. This was the first road of any length built in the vast empire of Brazil, and few, if any, persons can form the slightest idea of what such an un- dertaking means in that tropical climate, with its deadly fevers and malaria, its treacherous na- tives and unreliable officials, in addition to all the more than ordinary disadvantages of natural topography which had to be overcome. It was truly a giant enterprise, and kind Providence, and courage and strong will power on the part of Mr. Humbird, were needed to carry the work to the successful completion. It was ultimately accom-
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plished, however, and that in but seven years from the time that the initial steps were taken, in 1859. Mrs. Humbird died January 3, 1898, then in her eighty-third year. In her girlhood she bore the name of Eleanor McKee, and her birth- place was in Westmoreland County, Pa.
J. Wilson Humbird was born December 25, 1850, in Cumberland. He received his early ed- ucation in the schools here; and was but eleven years of age when he accompanied his parents to South America. The next four years of his life were passed in the strange and interesting city of Rio Janeiro, and in 1865 he was sent to Paris, there to complete his education. In 1867 he re- turned to this city and has since been engaged in business here. Among the many enterprises in which he is now concerned are the following: The Kanawha & Coal River Railway, of which he is president; the Black Bear Mining & Manu- facturing Company; the Cumberland Steel & Tin-plate Company; the Baltimore & Cumber- land Valley Railroad (a branch of the Western Maryland road), the Third National Bank of this city, in which he is a director, and the Humbird Land & Improvement Company, of which he is president. The last-mentioned company owns a tract of one hundred and seventy acres, twenty- three acres of this being north of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tracks, and the remainder lying on the southern side of the same. This property is of easy access, as it is on the line of the electric street cars and is very desirable either for fac- tories or homes. The land slopes slightly toward the Potomac River and Canal, thus solving the question of drainage, and it is near the Cum- berland Steel Works, the Queen City Glass Works and the new Baltimore & Ohio shops and yard.
The beautiful residence of Mr. Humbird and family is pleasantly situated on Washington street, and is one of the best appointed homes in this portion of Maryland. The rooms are spacious and light and furnished in excellent taste, and everything bespeaks the presence of refined and artistic inmates. Mr. Humbird mar- ried Miss Fannie Elder, one of the accomplished young ladies of Chambersburg, in 1880, and she
is an ideal hostess, wife and mother. They have two bright and promising children, J. Elder and Mary Eleanor.
ILLIAM REUBEN PUMPHREY, who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Rockville, was born in this place December 8, 1846. He represents the third generation of the family that has resided in Maryland. The first to locate in this state was his grandfather, John Henry Pumphrey, a native of New York state, whence he removed to Prince George County, Md., and engaged in farming. The oldest son of John Henry was William Elkin Pumphrey, our subject's father, who was born and reared in Prince George County and after completing his education in private schools he learned the trade of a carpenter in Washington. This occupation he followed for a short time in Prince George County and then came to Montgomery County, where he acquired the ownership of large tracts of lands and a nun- ber of slaves, and on his plantation raised large quantities of tobacco. In connection with car- pentering he took up. the undertaker's business and manufactured coffins. 'In his community he was a man of prominence and influence, an active worker in the Methodist Church and a stanch Democrat. By his marriage to Elizabeth, daugh- ter. of Robert Connell, of Montgomery County, he had eight children, namely: Robert, deceased; John B., a farmer residing near Derwood; Annie E., who married Isaac V. Warner and lives in Loudoun County, Va .; William Reuben; Mary Lavinia, Mrs. Israel Warner, who resides in Washington; Oliver Livingston, deceased; Sidonia, Mrs. John Hagey, of Rockville; and Wallace, de- ceased.
The education of our subject was acquired in private schools. In 1871 he bought out his father's undertaking business, which he has since con- ducted. In 1879 he added a stock of furniture,
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and has since carried on both lines of business. He is thorough and conscientious in his work and has a reputation that extends into the surround- ing country, to some distance from his own home. Not only has he kept abreast with the times, but he has also always been on the lookout for im- proved methods of conducting the business. His vehicles are exceptionally fine and are of every variety. He was the first man in the county to take up the practice of embalming; he went to Philadelphia and posted himself on the subject. In 1892 he received a certificate from Clarke's school of embalming at Baltimore, and in 1895 was given a similar certificate from the Oriental school of embalming at Washington. He is well fitted for the difficult business, being careful and considerate in conducting all funerals entrusted to his care. To show how his services are valued, it need only be said that he has con- ducted as many as seven funerals in one day. He carries a large stock of caskets on hand, hav- ing from one hundred to one hundred and fifty.
Fraternally Mr. Pumphrey is connected with Montgomery Lodge No. 165. A. F. & A. M., Knights of Pythias, and the Junior Order United American Mechanics. He is a member of the Methodist Church, and in politics is a Democrat, and has served as a member of the city board. April 13, 1882, he married Hattie A. Sheckel, daughter of Alexander Sheckel, of Rockville. They are the parents of nine children, namely: William R., Jr., Elizabeth, LeRoy (deceased), Charlotte, Mary, Amy, Bertie, Warner and Willie.
AMUEL K. BREADY, commissioner of Montgomery County and a well-known farmer of Rockville District, was born Janu- ary 13, 1846, about nine miles from Frederick City. He represents a family that came to this county from Switzerland, where George Bready, our subject's grandfather, was born and reared. About 1775 he came to this country, settling in Frederick County and engaging in farm pursuits.
Of his five children who attained years of ma- turity David, our subject's father, was the youngest, and he was born in Frederick County New Year's day of 1796. His education was ob- tained in the subscription schools of the neigh- borhood, and at an early age he became interested in farming. Upon attaining eighteen years of age he entered the army for service in the War of 1812 and participated in the battle of Bladensburg. Afterward he followed the carpenter's trade and assisted in the cultivation of the home farm. Some of the buildings in Frederick County that he helped to erect are still standing. After at- taining his majority he began farming for himself and also had a large six-horse wagon that he kept on the road, hauling supplies to Baltimore, and bringing back goods for merchants. For two years he was engaged in the milling business. In 1849 he came to Montgomery County and bought a farm near Sandy Spring, purchasing five hundred acres or more, which he cultivated and improved. Politically he always adhered to Democratic principles. He was a man of gener- ous disposition, upright character, and, while not a member of any denomination, was an attendant at the Presbyterian Church. He died November 19, 1869.
By the marriage of Mr. Bready to Annie Eliza, daughter of Colonel Kellar, living near Catons- ville, Baltimore County, four daughters and five sons were born, viz .: Mary J., who died in in- fancy; John, who engaged in farming on a part of the old home place near Sandy Spring; Sarah, who died in girlhood; Charles W., whose death occurred in December, 1897; Laura, who married F. M. Price and resides near Laytonsville; David Frank- lin, deceased; Sarah Ellen, wife of A. L. Kees, residing in Washington, D. C .; Daniel Edward, deceased, formerly a resident of Virginia; and Samuel K., of this sketch.
In the schools of the county our subject re- ceived his education. After his father's death he took up blacksmithing, which he carried on for twelve years, being located at Redland. In 1883 he sold out there and purchased his present farm of one hundred and five acres, where he carries on general farming. Politically he is active in
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the Democratic party. In 1895 he was solicited by some of his friends to run for county com- missioner and he consented to become a candi- date. He was agreeably surprised at the flatter- ing vote he received, which was much larger than he had anticipated. He has filled the office to the satisfaction of the public, the result of an honest and earnest endeavor to conduct affairs entrusted to his care as commissioner to the best of his ability.
November 27, 1873, Mr. Bready married Annie L., daughter of the late William J. and Eliza (Kemp) Rabbitt, who lived near Redland. They have had seven children. The oldest, David J., resides in Rockville, and is tax collector for the fourth collection district of Montgomery County; he married Ollie Hardy, of Kensington. The other children are: Bessie L., Berenice L., Eliza Ellen (who died in childhood), Alpha, and Mary Elizabeth and Laura Virginia (twins).
a DWARD RABBITT. Among the farmers of Berry District, Montgomery County, few are as well known as the subject of this sketch. Both by training and tastes he is adapted for the life of a farmer. When twenty- eight years of age he purchased from his father a small tract included in the homestead. To this he from time to time added by the purchase of adjoining property and now he owns three hundred and fifty-five acres. His land lies along the Brookeville and Washington pike for a mile. At the time of purchase it was poor, with few in- dications of rewarding care and cultivation. But he has been a constant user of lime and has worked indefatigably to bring the land under cultivation, and the result is he has one of the finest farms in this section. Three years ago he built an elegant residence that stands back from the pike about eighty rods. He has also built windmills and barns, set out fruit trees, built substantial fences and in other ways improved the place. With the assistance of his hands, of
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