History of New Castle County Delaware United States of America

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William Gilpin, governor of Colorado, was born in Newcastle county, Del., Oct. 4, 1814; son of Joshua and Mary (Dilworth) Gilpin; and grandson of Thomas Gilpin, manufacturer, 1728-78. His great, great-grandfather, Joseph, emigrated from England in 1696. He entered the junior class of the University of Pennsylvania in 1831, graduating in 1833. He then studied law with his brother, Henry Dilworth Gilpin, in Philadelphia. He was cadet at the U.S. military academy, 1835-36; 1st and 2d lieutenant, 2d dragoons, U.S.A., 1836; served in the Seminole war, and then resigned his commission in the army to engage in the practice of law m Independence, Mo. He was secretary of the house of assembly, 1841-43, crossed the plains with a party of 125 pioneers in 1844, and founded the city of Portland, Ore., drawing up articles of agreement for a territorial government. The event of the war with Mexico recalled him to Missouri where he recruited and was major of the 1st Missouri cavalry, 1846, and lieutenant-colonel, 1847-48. He returned from Mexico in 1848 and proceeded against the hostile Indians of Colorado and on this expedition became acquainted with the vast resources of that territory. He returned to Independence in 1851 and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1861 he was appointed by President Lincoln governor of the territory of Colorado, serving 1861-62. He then engaged in developing the resources of the territory. He was married in St. Louis, Mo., to Julia, widow of Col. John Dickinson, U.S.A., and daughter of Gen. Bernard Pratt of St. Louis, Mo. He published The Central Gold Region (1859); The Mission of the North American People (1873); and The Cosmopolitan Railway (1890). He died in Denver, Col., Jan. 20, 1894.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

David Jones, army chaplain, was born in White Clay Creek Hundred, Del., May 12, 1736; son of Morgan and Eleanor (Evans) Jones; grandson of David and Esther (Morgan) Jones, and great grandson of Morgan ap Rhydderch, of Welsh Tract, Del., born in Cardiganshire, Wales, and immigrated to America in 1710. He was educated at Hopewell academy, N.J.; studied theology with his cousin, the Rev. Abel Morgan, and was ordained to the Baptist ministry. Dec. 12, 1766. He was pastor of the Freelyold Baptist church, N.J., 1766-75; the Great Valley Baptist church, Chester county, Pa., 1775-76, and upon the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, he entered the Continental army as chaplain of the 3d and 4th Pennsylvauia battalions, and on Jan. 1, 1777, he became chaplain under Maj.-Gen. Anthony Wayne, with whom he served until the close of the war. He had charge of the Southampton Baptist church, Pa., 1786-92, and resumed charge of the Great Valley Baptist church in 1792, where he remained until his death. When General Wayne was ordered to the northwest, Mr. Jones accompanied the army as chaplain, serving 1794-96, and when the war of 1812 broke out, he was appointed chaplain by Gen. John Armstrong, secretary of war, and served under Generals Brown and Wilkinson until peace was declared. He retired to his farm in Chester county, Pa., and devoted himself to its cultivation. He was married, Feb. 22. 1762, to Anne, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Stillwell of Middletown, N.J. Brown university conferred on him the honorary degree of A.M. in 1774. He published: a journal of two trips in the region of the Ohio (1765); Defensive War in a Just Cause, Sinless (1775); The Doctrine of the Laying on of Hands (1786); A True History of Laying on of Hands upon Baptized Believers as such (1805); A Treatise on the Work of the Holy Ghost under the Gospel Dispensation (1804); Candid Reasons of Peter Edwards Examined (1811). He died in Chester county, Pa., Feb. 5, 1820.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

William Medill, governor of Ohio, was born in Newcastle county, Del., in 1805. He was graduated at Delaware college in 1825, studied law in his native state, and removed to Lancaster, Ohio, in 1820. He was admitted to the bar in 1832 and practised in Lancaster. He was a representative in the state legislature, 1835-37, being speaker of the house, 1836-37, and was a Democratic representative from the ninth Ohio district in the 26th and 27th congresses, 1839-43. He was appointed first assistant postmaster-general by President Polk in 1845, and a few months later was made commissioner of Indian affairs, with headquarters at Washington, and served from October, 1845, to May, 1850. He was chairman of the Ohio constitutional convention in 1850; the first lieutenant-governor of the state, 1852-53; acting governor, 1853-54, as successor to Governor Reuben Wood, who resigned in July, 1853, and governor of the state of Ohio by election, 1854-56. He was defeated for re-election as governor by Salmon P. Chase in 1855, and was first comptroller of the U.S. treasury by appointment of President Buchanan from March 26, 1857, to April 10, 1861. He never married. He died in Lancaster, Ohio, Sept. 2, 1865.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of New Castle County Delaware

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