History of Somerset County Maryland United States of America

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Alfred Allen Curtis, R.C. bishop, was born in Somerset county, Md., July 4, 1831. His primary studies were received in the schools of his native county. In 1856 he was ordained a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal church and was assigned to St. John's parish, Worcester, Mass., and in 1859 he was elevated to the priesthood. His resignation as a minister in the Protestant Episcopal church was offered and accepted in December, 1870, and in the early part of 1871 he visited England and consulted with Bishop John Henry Newman, who received him into the Roman Catholic church, April 18, 1872. He returned to the United States and entered the seminary of St. Sulpice at Baltimore. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Bayley, Dec. 18, 1874, and was made assistant at the Baltimore cathedral, also filling the position of private secretary to the archbishop. After the death of Archbishop Bayley in 1877 Father Curtis remained at the cathedral. In 1886 he succeeded the Rt Rev. Thomas A. Becker, D.D., bishop of Wilmington, transferred to Savannah. He was consecrated bishop on Nov. 16, 1886, by Archbishop Gibbons, assisted by Bishops Moore and Kain. He had in his diocese in 1896 between thirty and forty priests, two academies, two orphan asylums, about a dozen parochial schools, five houses of the Sisters of St. Francis and several missions for the colored, and a Catholic population of about 20,000. He resigned the bishopric of Wilmington, Jan. 23, 1896, receiving the titular see of Echinus, June 25, 1896. He was continued as bishop administrator of Wilmington until the consecration of his successor, the Rt. Rev. John Monaghan, and preached his farewell sermon, May 2, 1897. In 1898 he was appointed by Cardinal Gibbons vicar-general of Baltimore.

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

Samuel Chase, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in Somerset county, Md., April 17, 1741. His father, the Rev. Thomas Chase, was a clergyman in the Church of England. Two years after the birth of the boy he was appointed rector of St. Paul's church in Baltimore, and himself conducted the education of his son, who in 1759 began the study of law, and two years later was licensed to practise in the mayor's court. In 1763 he was admitted to the bar, and settled in Annapolis. He was ardently devoted to the cause of the colonies, and became a member of the "Sons of Liberty." When the stamp act was up for discussion he was vehemently opposed to it, and was among those who assaulted the stamp officers and destroyed the stamps. The authorities of Annapolis attempted to rebuke him, but this only added to his growing popularity with the people. In 1774, by a convention of the people of Maryland, he was appointed one of the five delegates to the first Continental Congress, and became a member of the committee on correspondence. He was bold and outspoken in his advocacy of independence. He was again a delegate in 1775, and did all in his power to strengthen the army then concentrating at Boston, Mass. In 1776, with Benjamin Franklin, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and Bishop Carroll he visited Canada to ask its concurrence with the action of the other colonies. After the failure of their mission he returned to his seat in Congress. The question of independence had been broached, and Maryland had expressly prohibited her delegates from voting for it; Mr. Chase traversed the province, and made such effective addresses and instigated the sending of such petitions to the convention then sitting at Annapolis that the convention lifted its restrictions. This bar removed, Mr. Chase hastened to Philadelphia, taking his seat Monday morning in time to join with the majority in a vote for, and to sign, the Declaration of Independence. He continued a member of Congress until 1778. In 1776, a delegate from Georgia, the Rev. Dr. John J. Zubly, was charged with secret correspondence with the royal governor, and Mr. Chase denounced him before the house as a traitor. Zubly fled and made good his escape. As chairman of the committee concerning those who gave "aid and comfort to the enemy," he recommended the arrest and imprisonment of wealthy Quakers in Philadelphia. In 1778 Mr. Chase withdrew from the practice of his profession in Annapolis. He drafted in this year a convincing reply to charges made and circulated by the Tories. In 1783 an incident occurred that deserves notice. He was in Baltimore and invited to attend a debating society. Among the speakers was a young man who attracted his attention by his felicitous English and close argument. He ascertained that he was a clerk in an apothecary's store; he sought him and advised him to study law, offered him instruction, the use of his library, and a seat at his table. The young man was William Pinkney, who afterwards became attorney-general of the United States, and minister at the court of St. James. In 1783 Mr. Chase visited England and recovered six hundred and fifty thousand dollars that had been invested by the state of Maryland in the bank of England before the war. He again served in Congress, 1784-85. In 1786 he changed his residence to Baltimore, and on leaving Annapolis the corporation of the city presented him with an address commending his fidelity in the discharge of his public duties and his patriotism as a citizen. In 1788 he was appointed chief justice of the criminal court for the district of Baltimore, and also served in the convention that adopted the constitution of the United States. In 1791 he became chief justice of the supreme court of the state. In 1796 he was appointed by Washington associate justice of the supreme court of the United States, and the nomination was confirmed by the senate. His irritable temper brought him into trouble, and his sharp words from the bench, however true, were resented. At the Fries and Callender sedition trials he was accused of misdemeanor, and John Randolph instigated his impeachment, which had at first six and then eight counts. When he came to trial before the senate, six counts were dismissed, and the others failed to secure a two-thirds vote. Judge Chase resumed his seat on the bench, and dignified his, office until his death, which occurred June 19, 1811.

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

Anna Ella Carroll, military genius, was born in Somerset county, Maryland, Aug. 29, 1815; daughter of Thomas King Carroll, governor of Maryland. When but three years of age she would listen with great gravity to readings from Shakespeare, Alison's History and Kant's Philosophy were her favorites at eleven, and Coke and Blackstone at thirteen. Her literary career began early in life, when she contributed political articles to the daily press. In 1857 she published The Great American Battle or Political Romanism, and in 1858 The Star of the West, a work describing the exploration and development of our western territories. In 1858 she rendered valuable assistance in electing Thomas H. Hicks governor, and her influence held Maryland loyal to the Union. She freed her own slaves and devoted tongue and pen to upholding the Union. In July, 186l, when Senator Breckinridge made his speech in favor of secession, Miss Carroll issued a pamphlet in which she refuted each of his arguments, and a large edition was published and circulated by the war department. Her ability was now recognized, and she was requested by the government to write on topics bearing on the war. She published in 1861 The War Powers of the Government, and for her next pamphlet, The Relation of the National Government to the Revolted Citizens Defined, President Lincoln furnishing the theme. In the fall of 1861 Mr. Lincoln and his military advisers had planned a campaign to extend operations into the southwest, opening the Mississippi to its mouth by means of a fleet of gunboats descending the river. Miss Carroll, at the suggestion of government authorities, personally investigated the scene of the proposed operations, and made a study of the topography of the country, and reported that the unfortified Tennessee river and not the Mississippi was the true key to the situation. Her letters, explanatory maps, and invaluable geographical and topographical information resulted in her plan being adopted, and the land and naval forces were massed on the Tennessee. Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Columbus, Bowling Green, Pittsburg Landing and Corinth, one after another, fell into the hands of the Federals; Missouri was saved, and Kentucky and Tennessee brought back into the Union. She also suggested the final plans adopted by the war department which resulted in the capture of Island No. 10, and the siege and capture of Vicksburg which opened the way to the gulf. It was deemed wise at the time to keep secret the fact that this campaign had been conceived by a civilian and a woman. Mr. Lincoln's death prevented his acknowledgment of the credit, and though Miss Carroll had ample documentary proof of the validity of her claim, which was acknowledged by several congressional military committees to be "incontrovertible," no further action was taken in the matter, and Miss Carroll was dependent for support in her declining years upon her sister, a clerk in the treasury department at Washington. See A Military Genius: Life of Anna Ella Carroll, the Great Unrecognized Member of Lincoln's Cabinet, by Sarah Ellen Blackwell (1891). She died Feb. 17, 1894.

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

Levin Thomas Handy Irving, jurist, was born in Somerset county, Md., April 8, 1828; son of Dr. Handy Harris and Peggy Ker (Handy) Irving, and grandson of Dr. Levin and Leah (Handy) Irving and of William and Betsy (Ker) Handy. He was prepared for college at Washington academy and was graduated at the College of New Jersey, A.B., 1847, A.M., 1850. He read law with his uncle, William Washington Handy, of Princess Anne, Md., and practised in Somerset county, Md., 1849-56; in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1856-57, and in Somerset county, Md., as a member of the firm of Jones & Irving, 1857-67. He was associate judge of the first judicial circuit, 1867-79; chief justice of the first judicial circuit toni judge of the Maryland court of appeals by appointment of Gov. J. L. Carroll, 1879, and by unanimous election, 1879-92. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Princeton in 1879. He was married, Nov. 15, 1865, to Florence, daughter of Thomas Teackle and Elizabeth (Teackle) Upshur, of Northampton county, Va. He died in Princess Anne, Md., Aug. 24, 1892.

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

History of Somerset County Maryland

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