History of Western Maryland. ... Including biographical sketches. ... Illustrated

Front matter

HISTORY Hi WESTERN MARYLAND. BEING A HISTORY OF FREDERICK, MONTGOMERY, CARROLL, WASHINGTON, ALLEGANY, Al GARRET! COUNTIES FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT DAY; INCLUDING BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVE MEN. BY J. THOMAS SCHARF, A.M., AUTHOR OF "CHRONICLES OP BALTIMORE," " HISTORY OF BALTIMORE CITY AMD COUNTY," " HISTORY OF MARYLAND;" MEMBER OF THE MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND ACADEMY OF SCIENCES; MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA; HONORARY MEMBER OF THE GEORGIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETIES OF NEW YORK, WISCONSIN, MINNESOTA, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND VIRGINIA; OF THE HISTORICAL AND PHILO- SOPHICAL SOCIETY OF OHIO; OF THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC-GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, ETC, ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES, ILLUSTRATED. ■^OL. I. PHILADELPHIA: LOUIS H. EVERTS. 18 8 2.

Copyright, 1882, by Louis H. Evep.ts. press or J. E. LIPPINCOTT & CO., PHILADELPHIA. TO A RUN AH S. AB ELL, Esq., FOUNDER, EDITOR, AND PROPRIETOR OF THE BALTIMORE SUN THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED PARTLY IN TESTIMONY OF THE AUTHOR'S ESTEEM AND HIS ENDURING GRATITUDE FOR MANY KINDNESSES, ANCIENT AND RECENT ; PARTLY, ALSO, AS A TRIBUTE OF THE AUTHOR'S GENUINE ADMIRATION FOR, AND APPRECIATION OF, "THE SUN," the model newspaper of the United States. This great Structure, as it was Mr. Abell's creation, will also become his monument. It is a Perfect Piece of Work, " not built by envious show," yet symmetrical in all its Parts, aud the Pride of the Generous Architect swells chiefly at the Fact that, as it was reared with no man's ruin and to no man's hurt, so there are none who witness its Prosperity with Envy or wish its solid columns less stately in their vista.

It is so built that there is always not only encouragement, but neces sity, for its expansion ; its influence in the community, always large and strong, and always increasing, must ever be on the side of virtue, honor, justice, and enlightenment, since the public will never believe it capable of utterance or suggestion on any other side. The Founder's Sons may be expected to maintain in its pristine integrity, develop, enlarge, and beautify the original work ; but neither They nor the Public will ever fail to uphold him for its creating and per fecting should he depart now, or should his life be spared to us for multiplied years, which all trust and pray, none more fervently than J. THOMAS SCHARF.

Preface

The preparation of such a work as the " History of Western Maryland" imposes a vast responsibility and an immense amount of labor. Years of study devoted to the subjects embraced in it, the encouragement of friends, and the enterprise of the liberal publisher induced the author to undertake the work. In the compilation of this history no authority of importance has been overlooked. The author has carefully examined every source of information open to him, and has availed himself of every fact that could throw new light upon, or impart additional interest to, the subject under consideration. Besides consulting the most reliable records and authorities, over fifteen thousand communications were addressed to persons supposed to be in possession of facts or information calculated to add value to the work.

Recourse has not only been had to the valuable libraries of Baltimore, Annapolis, Frederick, and Hagerstown, but the author and his agents have visited personally the entire territory embraced in the six counties of Western Maryland, spend ing much time in each district, examining ancient newspapers, musty manuscripts, family, church, and society records, conversing with the aged inhabitants, and collecting from them orally many interesting facts never before published, and which otherwise, in all probability, would soon have been lost altogether. In addition to the material partly used in the preparation of his " Chroni cles" and " History of Baltimore City and County" and " History of Maryland," the author has consulted an immense number of pamphlets, consisting of county and town documents, reports of societies, associations, corporations, and historical discourses, and, in short, everything of a fugitive character that might in any way illustrate the history of Western Maryland.

From these and a large collection of newspapers (more particularly a nearly complete file of the Hagerstown Torchlight, Mail, Spy, and Herald, which were kindly loaned by Messrs. Mittag, Bell & Wil liams, aud E. W. Mealey) great assistance has been derived. With the aid of Prof. Philip R. Uhler, the topography and geology, as well as the geography, of Western Maryland have received the attention which their importance demands. Sketches of the rise, progress, and present condition of the various religious denominations, pro fessions, political parties, and charitable and benevolent institutions, societies, and orders form a conspicuous feature of the work. Manufacturing, commercial, and agricultural interests have also a prominent place. An account of the county school system is also given, and a history of the various institutions of learning of which Western Maryland has every reason to be proud.

Many of the facts recorded, both statistical and historical, may seem trivial or tediously minute to the general reader, and yet such facts have a local interest and sometimes a real importance. An honest effort has been made to do justice to both sections in the relation of such events of the civil war as come within the proper scope of a purely local history. The author has made 1

PREFACE.

. no attempt to obtrude his own political views upon the reader, and has constantly kept in mind the purpose that has guided his labors, — to present a work free from sectional or partisan bias which shall be acceptable to the general public. Considerable space has been given to biographies of leading and representative men, living and dead, who have borne an active part in the various enterprises of life, and who have become closely identified with the history of Frederick, Washington, Montgomery, Allegany, Carroll, and Garrett Counties. The achievements of the living must not be forgotten, nor must the memories of those who have passed away be allowed to perish. It is the imperative duty of the historian to chronicle their public and private efforts to advance the great interests of society.

Their deeds are to be recorded for the benefit of those who follow them ; they, in fact, form part of the his tory of their communities, and their successful lives add to the glory of the Commonwealth. A distinguishing feature of the work is its statistics of the various districts into which the six counties of Western Maryland are divided. In them the reader is brought into close relation with every part of Western Maryland. The advantage of this method of treatment is obvious, embracing, as it does, narratives of early settlements, descriptions of interesting localities, and per sonal reminiscences. The maps, views, and portraits are a prominent accompaniment, and add interest and attractiveness to the subjects which they are designed to illustrate and explain. Our acknowledgments are due to many friends, not only for a kindly interest shown in our labors, but for much valuable information, furnished in many cases without solicitation.

In presenting the " History of Western Maryland" to the public the author feels conscious that he sends it forth with many imperfections. In the preparation of a work of this char acter many minor inaccuracies and errors are almost unavoidable, the existence of which it is impossible to discover until the book has been exposed to the light of general criticism. It may not be considered presumptuous, however, to express the hope that its general conception and execution will be satisfactory to the community for which it has been written, and that it will prove useful and interesting to all classes of readers. J. Thomas Scharf. Baltimore, Feb. 10, 1882. CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.