History of Baltimore County Maryland United States of America

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John Eager Howard, senator, was born at "Belvedere," Baltimore county, Md., June 4, 1752; son of Cornelius and Ruth (Eager) Howard; grandson of Joshua and Joanna (O'Carroll) Howard, and great grandson of George Eager, who came to Baltimore county before 1668. Joshua Howard came to Baltimore from Manchester, England, where he was an officer of the army of the Duke of York, settling and building" Belvedere" as a home in 1667. Joanna O'Carroll, whom he married, was a native of Ireland. John Eager Howard, at the outbreak of the Revolution, joined the American forces as captain in the second battalion of the flying camp, Col. J. C. Hall. He fought in the battle of White Plains, N.Y., Oct. 28, 1776, under Gen. Hugh Mercer. In March, 1777, he was prohinted to the rank of major and assigned to the fourth battalion, Colonel Hall, and engaged in the battles of Monmouth and Germantown. On March 11, 1779, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel, and assigned to the second Maryland regiment, and was with General Gates at the disastrous battle of Camden, Aug. 6, 1780. The same year he joined the army under General Greene, and his bayonet charge at the battle of Cowpens secured the defeat of the British forces. It is said that he received the swords of seven British officers, who surrendered to him during the engagement. Congress ordered a medal struck and presented to him for his bravery. He was at the retreat at Guilford Court House, March 15, 1781, and at the battle of Hobkirk's Hill, April 15, where he succeeded to the command of the 2d Maryland regiment. His command was reduced to thirty men at Eutaw Springs, and as their only surviving officer he made a final charge, and fell severely wounded. He was married, May 18, 1787, to Peggy Oswald, daughter of Judge Benjamin and Mary (Galloway) Chew. He was a delegate to the Continental congress, 1787-88; governor of Maryland, 1789-92, and was U.S. senator as successor to Richard Potts, resigned, 1796-97, and for a full term, 1797-1803. President Washington invited him into his cabinet as secretary of war in 1796, and in 1798 selected him as one of the major-generals in the army organizing in anticipation of war with France. In 1814 he prepared to take the field, and when the national capital was in the hands of the British he opposed all arguments looking to a capitulation. In 1816 he was the candidate of the Federalist party for Vice-President of the United States, and received twenty-two electoral votes. His son, John Eager Howard, served in the war of 1812, and with his three brothers was at the battle of North Point, Sept. 12, 1814; and his grandson, John Eager Howard, served in the Mexican war, and was first on the walls at the storming of Chapultepec. Another son, George Howard , was governor of Maryland; another son, Benjamin Chew , was a representative in congress; another son, Charles, was graduated at St. Mary's, Baltimore, was sometime president of the Baltimore and Susquehanna railroad; afterward president-judge of the Orphans' court; in 1860 was president of the board of police commissioners of Baltimore, and was married to Elizabeth Phoebe, daughter of Francis Scott and Mary T. (Lloyd) Key. Governor John Eager Howard died at "Belvedere," Md., Oct. 12, 1827.

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

Charles Hammond, journalist, was born in Baltimore county, Md., in September. 1779. In 1785 he removed with his parents to Ohio county, Va., where he attended school in winter and worked on a farm in summer. In 1801 he was admitted to the bar, and practised for a time in Wellsburg, Va. Susequently he removed to Ohio, where he served in the legislature, 1816-12, and 1820, and reported for the Ohio supreme court, 1823-28. About 1811 he published in the Scioto Gazette articles defending the conduct of Gen. Arthur St. Clair, at the evacuation of Fort Ticonderoga, which brought him into notice as a newspaper writer. He published the Ohio Federalist at St. Clairsville, 1813-17, and edited the Gazette in Cincinnati, 1825-40. He prepared and published Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Ohio, 1821-39 (9 vols., 1833-40). He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 3, 1840.

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

George Howard, governor of Maryland, was born at "Belvedere," Baltimore county, Md., Nov. 21, 1789; son of Gen. John Eager and Peggy Oswald (Chew) Howard. He was educated at home by tutors, and first appeared in public life by his appointment as acting governor of Maryland, July 11, 1831, on the death of Gov. Daniel Martin. He was elected to the office in 1831 and re-elected in 1839, serving 1831-33, when he was succeeded by James Thomas. He was a Whig presidential elector in 1836 and 1840, voting in both elections for William H. Harrison. He was a slaveholder and supporter of the fugitive slave law. He was married, Dec. 26, 1811, to Prudence Gough, daughter of Gov. Charles C. and Priscilla (Dorsey) Ridgely, and had eight sons and five daughters, born and brought up on the family estate, "Waverly," near Woodstock, Howard county, Md. Governor Howard died at "Waverly," Md., Aug. 9, 1846.

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

William Few, senator, was born in Baltimore county, Md., June 8, 1748; a direct descendant from William Few, who came to America with William Penn and settled in Pennsylvania. He removed with his parents to North Carolina in 1758 and there acquired his education chiefly through his own efforts. In 1776 he removed to Georgia and at once identified himself with public affairs. He was a representative in the Georgia legislature in 1777, 1779, 1783 and 1793; a member of the executive council, 1777; and in 1778 engaged in the expedition conducted by General Howe and Governor Houstoun for the subjugation of East Florida. He was elected surveyor-general of Georgia in 1778, and in the same year was appointed commissioner of confiscated estates and senior justice of Richmond county. In 1779 he became lieutenant-colonel of the county militia and was actively engaged in resisting the advance of Colonel Campbell upon Augusta, in guarding the frontiers of Georgia and in resisting the predatory attacks of the British, Tories and Indians He was a delegate to the Continental congress, 1780-82 and 1785-88. He assisted in reconstructing the state government of Georgia in 1781; was admitted to the bar in Savannah in 1784; was a delegate to the Philadelphia convention for revising the constitution of the United States in 1787; and in 1788 was a member of the Georgia convention which ratified the constitution of the United States. In 1788 he was elected a United States senator, and drew the Short term, serving from March 4, 1789, to March 2, 1793. In 1796 he was appointed a judge of the second judicial circuit of Georgia. He removed to New York city in 1799, and in 1801-04 was a member of the general assembly of New York. In 1804 he was appointed commissioner of loans. He was an alderman, 1813-14; director of the Manhattan bank, 1804-14, and president of the city bank, 1814. He died at the residence of his son-in-law, Albert Chrystie, at Fishkill-on-Hudson, N.Y., July 16, 1828.

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

History of Baltimore County Maryland

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