Distinguished Citizens of
Allegany County
Excerpts from History of Allegany
County
by Williams and Thomas (1923)
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GEORGE TERNENT was for many years a leading general merchant at Lonaconing, and at the time of his death the oldest business man in that line in the city, having been associated therewith from the time he entered the store of John Combs as clerk in 1872. To his substantial business qualities Mr. Ternent added sterling personal traits which brought him the esteem of all his follow citizens, and though his relations with them were confined to his mercantile and social activities, he was known to a wide circle, whose unlimited confidence he retained throughout a long life by his honorable conduct in every association.
Mr. Ternent was a native of England, born August 15, 1847, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His parents, William and Hannah (Elliott) Ternent, brought their family from England to this country in 1850, first locating at Cresaptown, Allegany county, Maryland, and in 1857 removing to Lonaconing. Here the father followed his trade of tailor for many years, dying in 1906, at the age of eighty. The mother had passed away in 1884, at the age of sixty-four years. Five of their children reached maturity, namely: Elizabeth, now deceased; George; James, a resident of Lonaconing; Jane, wife, of John Johnson, of Gilmore, Allegany county, Maryland; and Hannah, now deceased. The father was a member of the Episcopal Church. He voted the Republican ticket.
George Ternent was three years old when he crossed the Atlantic with his parents, and a boy of ten years when they settled at Lonaconing in 1857. It was then only a little mining town on the creek, and its educational facilities were in keeping with the rest of its conveniences, but he made the most of them. When fifteen years old he started work at the old Detmold Mines in this vicinity, and continued to follow coal mining until 1872, when he changed to the line which ever after occupied his attention, taking a position as clerk in the store of John Combs at Lonaconing. During fourteen years of association with the business in that and more responsible capacities, he acquired a thorough knowledge of the details of its requirements and operation, and when he bought out Mr. Combs in 1886, was quite capable of handling it profitably, as his subsequent success proved. He devoted the remainder of his life to the store, which became a leading general establishment of the city, commanding a full share of the trade in the town and surrounding territory. He moved from his first place of business, the old stand of John S. Combs, in 1889, to the present location of the store, which is well arranged and completely stocked with a line of desirable goods. Mr. Ternent was a man of dependable character, punctilious in his dealings and conscientious in rendering high-class service to all his patrons, who gave substantial evidence of their appreciation. His integrity in all the relations of life, temperate habits and modest disposition gained and held the unqualified respect of his associates and fellow citizens generally. He held to the principles of the Republican party in politics, but took no active part in such matters.
On August 8, 1871, Mr. Ternent married Miss Jeannette Darnley, of Lonaconing, daughter of James Darnley, and the eleven children of this marriage, seven sons and four daughters, are: Hannah, now the wife of A. M. Evans, of Lonaconing, mentioned elsewhere in this work; Miss Annie E., a partner in the store; Nettie, also unmarried and living in Lonaconing; Willam, a resident of Akron, Ohio; George, who conducts a shoe store in Youngstown, Ohio; James J., who now farms on the Eastern Shore of Maryland; Pearl, married J. W. Hudson, Chester, Pennsylvania; Harry B., who is a partner of the Ternent store in Lonaconing; Oscar G., an electrical engineer, at present located in Detroit, Michigan; Alvin H., a partner of the Ternent store; and Sampson S., a chemist of New York City.
Mr Ternent died August 7, 1918.
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JAMES WALTER THOMAS--Truly both a gentleman of the old school, and yet emphatically of the new, is James Walter Thomas of Cumberland, the polished eloquent scholar, lawyer, historian and publicist, of whom Chief Judge Henry D. Harlan, of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, spoke, as given below, when he presented him to the board of regents of the University of Maryland in 1915, on whom it was desired by the University to confer the degree of Doctor of Letters, the first and only time this distinguished degree has ever been conferred by this august seat of learning "It has been an immemorial custom for universities, on festal occasions, to bestow upon men of learning and personal worth tokens of appreciation and gratitude. In conformity to this usage, the University of Maryland desires to place upon its honor roll on this occasion, the name of one who has given much time to historical study and research, and painstaking care in writing an accurate account of the important incidents in the history of colonial Maryland. And I have the privilege, in accordance to the mandates of the Regents, of presenting to you and asking you to admit to the degree of Doctor of Letters in this university, Honoris causae, James Walter Thomas, of Cumberland, Maryland, a lawyer, scholar, historian, a Bachelor of Letters of Saint Johns College, a man of affairs, a master of style and a speaker of grace and force, successful in his profession, for eighteen years president of the Western Maryland Hospital, for eight years president of the Board of School Commissioners of Allegany County, and otherwise prominent and useful in the life of the community in which he dwells.
"Bearing in his veins the blood of three colonial governors of Maryland, Leonard Calvert, William Stone and Robert Brooke, it was not indeed strange that the events of the period in which they lived and acted should have attracted his deepest interest, and, touched by the Muse of History, that he should have been led, after exhaustive investigation and research to write `Chronicles of Colonial Maryland.' In this work he has made, what those competent to judge have pronounced, a most valuable contribution to Maryland history and to American literature.
"In recognition of the work of this scholar in the interest of historical research and narrative I ask, Sir, that he be admitted to the degree for which he has been recommended."
No truer or more appropriate words were ever spoken of a son of Maryland, and no more worthy subject could have been selected for the honor of this degree. He has all the suavity, dignity and fire of his forefathers, the erstwhile governors of Maryland, with the broad and practical wisdom of the twentieth century attorney and patriot. His fame as an orator does not belong to Cumberland, but is statewide in its scope, and as a lawyer he stands in the front rank of practitioners in the country.
Born July 12, 1855, near Chaptico, Saint Marys county, Maryland, at Deep Falls, the Thomas ancestral home, where this illustrious family has lived for more than two centuries, James Walter Thomas is a son of James Richard and Jeannette Eleanor (Briscoe) Thomas, and a lineal descendant of Governor William Stone, one of the earliest colonial governors, through his mother, who was a daughter of Dr. Walter Hanson Stone Briscoe. On his father's side Mr. Thomas is descended from James Thomas, who migrated from Wales to the Maryland Colony in 1651. So that the family is nearly as old, and has been closely connected with Maryland since it was created, taking part in its affairs in a prominent manner both during the period when it was a colony, and since its revolution as a State. The line descends through such notable ancestors as Gov. Leonard Calvert, William Stone, Robert Brooke, Colonel Courts and John Hanson, so it is but natural that Mr. Thomas should inherit the strong traits and high qualities of these distinguished men, who, having settled in what later became Charles and Saint Marys counties, developed into pioneers in thought, life and action, in the development of this mother section of what is now the great State of Maryland.
James Walter Thomas is a great-grandson of Major William Thomas, of the famous "Maryland Line," that splendid body of troops that did so much toward the winning of American independence, and on whom General Washington always relied for the most daring and dangerous undertakings and service in what for a long time appeared to be a hopeless fight against the overpowering numbers and seasoned troops sent against the struggling colonists by King George. He is a grandson of James Thomas, who served as governor of Maryland from 1832 to 1835, during whose administration of this high office such notable public enterprises as the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Susquehanna Railroad, now the Northern Central branch of the Pennsylvania lines, were projected and begun.
James Richard Thomas, father of James Walter Thomas, was a planter living upon and cultivating the soil of the old homestead, Deep Falls, a property comprising many hundreds of acres, and as productive in the character of its soil as it is delightful in its location, on which stands the old colonial mansion. James Richard Thomas was a man of high attainments and cultured mind, which made him a figure and force in all matters of county and State, whose counsel and advice were much sought and eagerly followed by his fellow planters and compeers.
His early educational training received in the local schools near his home, James Walter Thomas turned toward outside sources for further pursuing his studies, and became a student of Charlotte Hall Academy, one of the oldest institutions of its kind in Maryland, and in the United States, from which he was graduated in 1873. His first practical experience was gained as a school teacher, and he was engaged in teaching in both Saint Marys and Howard counties, and while thus occupied, he began the study of law under the preceptorship of Judge William I. Merrick, one of the foremost legal light of Maryland.
Admitted to the bar in 1878, very shortly thereafter Mr. Thomas located at Cumberland, where he has since resided. On his admission to practice at a bar so well adorned by such lawyers as Walsh, McKaig, Williams and others of that period, Mr. Thomas realized that in such a field nothing but dauntless courage and tireless energy would gain a foothold, and he governed himself accordingly, and with in a short time won an enviable recognition, and immediately became an important factor in his profession, taking part in much of the litigation of that time, and always exhibiting marked ability and keen discernment in the conduct and management of his, cases, and not only built up a large and lucrative practice, but established an unquestioned reputation as a forceful and convincing speaker, whose services were sought not only in the form of the law, but as well on the platform as a political and public speaker.
About eighteen years ago Mr. Thomas gave up much of his active business at the bar, in order to devote himself to the preparation and publication of his "Chronicles of Colonial Maryland" a work that was intended to correct many of the inaccuracies of Maryland history as published, and to conserve for future generations much matter of historical interest and value that he had through many years been collecting with this end in view. This work takes rank with any extant of its character, and although modestly entitled "'Chronicles of Colonial Maryland," it is really a history of Maryland in colonial times so accurate and authoritative that it has been adopted by a number of institutions of learning as a text book on Maryland history. The first edition was soon exhausted and three years ago the demand became so great for it, that after some additional matter had been arranged, another edition was published that is now also exhausted.
This remarkable work contains the only authentic description and picture of Maryland's statehouse, great seal and coat of arms, all of which required exhaustive research and painstaking care to secure, such as only a man of Mr. Thomas' mind and bent would give to it, and in the publication of this notable volume he has conferred upon his State and all Marylanders a lasting heritage of great value. As an authority on Maryland State history Mr. Thomas has no peer, and as a historian generally he has few equals, and he is almost daily consulted about some matters of historical interest by those in a position to know his vast storehouse and collection of historical data. His library, which is among the largest and best of private collections, contains everything of a historical nature that has ever been written about matters pertaining to Maryland, and he is constantly adding to it by the best selection of rare old volumes. To this wonderful library his friends have easy access and free use.
Mr. Thomas has always been identified with every work of advancement in his adopted city-civil, educational, commercial, religious and charitable. He was instrumental in establishing the Home and Infirmary of Western 'Maryland, now the Western Maryland Hospital, and was for, eighteen years one of its directors, and its president. He was for eight years a member of the Allegany County School Board, and its president. Mr. Thomas helped to organize and establish the TriState Sanitary Milk Company for the pasteurization of milk and cream, and for the manufacture of dairy products generally, and has continued its president from its inception. He is a director and vice president of the S. T. Little Jewelry Company; the largest jewelry house in Western Maryland; a director of the Commercial Savings Bank, one of the foremost financial concerns in the city, which is now located in its handsome new banking house on the public square; was one of the first presidents of the Allegany County Bar Association; helped to establish and is vice president of the Association Charities of the city of Cumberland, giving liberally of his time and means in every move for the betterment of humanity and the alleviation of distress, and it may be said of him that he has woven a thousand garments of charity of which he has worn none.
In politics he is a regular Democrat in every sense of the term, but has never held or sought public office, although repeatedly urged to do so; he is zealous in his work for the success of his party, and ever ready to labor for and contribute to that end.
Mr. Thomas is a member of Emmanuel Episcopal church of Cumberland, whose handsome gothic church edifice occupies a part of the site of old Fort Cumberland, As he is as liberal in his religious views as he is on other matters, he does not confine his donations to his own church, but contributes to others, for he believes all creeds are designed to help humanity, and as such should be encouraged.
In 1884 Mr. Thomas married first Miss Susan Maxwell Smith, a daughter of Dr. James M. Smith, of Cumberland, one of the prominent medical practitioners of that time. She was a lady of culture and refinement, whose death occurred in January, 1914. Their only child, a son, James McLain Thomas, died in infancy.
In November, 1916 Mr. Thomas married second Mrs. Sarah D. Avirett, a most charming and delightful lady of Cumberland, and they occupy Rose Hill, a picturesque and stately residence north of the city, and overlooking the Potomac River. During much of the summer they occupy the old homestead at Deep Falls, Saint Marys county, which he owns. He has expended a large amount of money in beautifying this charming colonial home, which contains all of the valuable collections of antique furniture and furnishings, paintings, plate and side arms of his ancestors, and during the season its broad halls, wide verandas and well-shaded sloping lawns are filled with delighted guests, who are welcomed by their host and hostess with true Southern hospitality of the Maryland type.
Gen
Charles M Thruston
Transcribed by Barbara Algieri
GENERAL CHARLES M. THRUSTON was born in 1792, and was graduated at West Point in 1814. He was made captain of Company C, Third Artillery, of the Regular Army in 1820. He attained the rank of Brigadier General during the Civil War.
He married on September 5, 1820, Miss Juliana Hughes, daughter of Christopher Hughes of Baltimore, Md. Her brother Christopher Hughes, Jr., represented the American Government at Stockholm, and was one of the Diplomatic Corps at the Treaty of Ghent in 1815, and brought the first news that the treaty had been signed to the United States.
In 1837 General Thruston moved to Cumberland, where he lived until the time of his death in 1873, his wife surviving him until 1881, when she died in her 53rd year. They had children: Mrs. Charles H. Manning of Baltimore, Colonel George A Thruston, Charles B. Thruston, William S. Thruston, Dr. Henry Scott Thruston and Julian Thruston.
Colonel George A. Thruston married Elizabeth M. Tidball, of most enduring and happy memory. She was the daughter of Thomas A. Tidball who for many years was the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Winchester, VA. Colonel Thruston was a lawyer of commanding position at the Cumberland Bar and represented Allegany County for several terms in the General Assembly of Maryland. He died May 3, 1874, at the early age of 53 years, leaving surviving him his widow and three daughters, Mrs. Leroy Brown, of Virginia, Elizabeth Thruston, the wife of the Honorable Andrew Hunter Boyd, Chief Justice of the State of Maryland, and Violet Thruston, who married Paul Mackey of New York.
Charles B. Thruston, second son of General Thruston, also represented Allegany County in the General Assembly, and was States Attorney for this county in 1859, and again in 1867, but he did not live to serve the whole of the latter term, having died on September 6, 1868, aged 42 years. He married Miss Rose-Gantt of Virginia, a popular and most estimable woman. Surviving them are Miss Lillian Thruston; the descendants of Ross Thruston McDermott and Elizabeth Hunter Thruston, who married the Rev. Mr. Levell of Virginia.
William B. Thruston, third son of General Thruston, was accidentally drowned in 1865, at the early age of 37 years. Dr. Henry Scott Thruston was a surgeon in the Civil War and was killed on June 15, 1868. Julian Thruston, youngest son of General Thruston died on April 9, 1858 when only 19 years of age.
Supplemental information contributed by Tim Snyder
from Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States, Vol. VII, Boston: Federal Book Company of Boston, 1903, page 329
Born in Lexington, Ky. on Feb 22, 1789, son of Buckner and Jeannette (January) Thruston; graduated from the U.S. Military academy and was appointed 2nd Lieut., corps of artillery, on July 21, 1814; he served as acting assistant-engineer in the defense of Governor's Island, New York harbor, 1814-1815 (during the War of 1812); from 1815-1818 he was on garrison duty at Ft. McHenry, Md., and was promoted to 1st Lieut. on April 20, 1818; from 1818-1821 he served as adjutant of artillery; from 1821-1827 he served as adjutant of the 3rd artillery at headquarters; on Feb. 17, 1827, he was promoted to captain; from 1827-1833 he was on garrison duty in Maryland and Connecticut; from 1833-1835 he was on garrison duty at Ft. Monroe, Va.; he married Julia Armstead of Baltimore; served as acting adjutant-general of the Florida army from Feb.-May, 1836, and engaged in combat with the Seminole Indians and Oloklikaha on March 31, 1836; resigned from the service in August, 1836; he then retired to a farm at Cumberland, Md., where he was president of Mineral Bank, 1838-1841, and mayor of Cumberland from 1861-1862; as Brigadier-General of U.S. Volunteers during the Civil War, he guarded the B&O Railroad, 1861-1863, but resigned on April 17, 1862, and retired to his farm. He died in Cumberland on Feb. 18, 1873
Buckner Thruston, the father of Charles Mynn, also has his biography on the same page of Lamb's:
was born near Winchester, Va.; was the son of the Rev. Charles Mynn and Mary (Buckner) Thruston and a descendant of John Thruston, chamberlain of the city of Bristol, England, and of his son, Edward Thruston, who settled in Gloucester County, Va., in 1666. Buckner's father, the Rev. Charles Mynn Thruston, 1738-1812, was an Episcopal minister and served as captain and later colonel in the Revolutionary War; Rev. Thruston was also a judge and a member of the Va. state Legislature before moving to Louisiana in 1811. Buckner was educated and moved to Frankfort, Ky., where was began the practice of law; he married Jeannette, daughter of Peter January of Lexington, Ky.; he declined the U.S. territorial judgeship of Orleans Territory in 1805 after having been elected U.S. senator from Kentucky for the term that expired March 4, 1811. He served from Dec, 2, 1805 to July 1, 1809, before he resigned to become U.S. judge of the District of Columbia. Henry Clay was elected to complete his term in the Senate. Buckner served as judge of the district from 1809-1845. He died in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 30, 1845.
A few other details come from Appleton's Cycolpaedia of American Biography, Vol 6, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1889:
Regarding the Rev. Charles Mynn Thruston, the grandfather of Brig.-Gen'l Charles Mynn Thruston of Cumberland, it said, "He was educated at William and Mary college, and after prosecuting his theological studies in England was ordained to the ministry of the Episcopal church in Gloucester county. Subsequently he removed to Clarke county, and officiated in a church, near Shenandoah river, that is still standing. At the beginning of the Revolution he raised a company, was commissioned as captain, and badly wounded at Trenton. On his recovery he was appointed colonel, being known as the 'warrior parson.' After the war he was a judge and a member of the legislature, and in 1808 removed to Louisiana."
Appleton's information on Buckner Thruston is essentially the same as that from Lamb's
Regarding Charles Mynn Thruston of Cumberland, the only difference from Lamb's is this: "and in July, 1814, was commissioned as lieutenant of artillery, and assigned to duty on Governor's island, New York harbor, where he was engaged in erecting fortifications till the close of the war with Great Britain."
Incidentally, Charles Mynn Thruston's nephew, Gates Phillips Thruston, was a lawyer and served in the Civil War from Ohio and was decorated and eventually promoted to brevet Brigadier-General in 1865. Gates' brother, Dickinson Phillips, also served from Ohio. Gates' biography also appears in Lamb's.
The following is from the article, " Violence Along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal: 1839," by W. David Baird, Maryland Historical Magazine, Vol. LXVI, 1971, pages 124-125,127 &
In 1839 Colonel Charles Mynn Thruston of Cumberland was ordered by Gen. Otho H. Williams to raise two companies of militia from the Cumberland area to put down the riots by Irish workers building the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Joined by two troops of Washington County cavalry, his 150 men began marching on Aug. 27, 1839, and returned to Cumberland on August 31, having quelled the riot in five days and after marching 81 miles. As a result of the militia's actions, suit was brought against Thruston and two others for destroying property of those not involved in the rioting. The $2737 judgment was lodged against the defendants who turned to the state legislature for relief, but were rebuffed.
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WILLIAM EDWARD TURNER is the proprietor of one of the leading drug stores in Cumberland and is the oldest active druggist in the Western end of the State. His reputation for reliability, both as a druggist and in transactions of a purely business nature, is second to none. He is well and favorably known among his fellow tradesman and the medical fraternity in the city and county, as well as to a wide circle of patrons, whose appreciation of his dependable service has been manifested in the most substantial way. His honest worth has gained him the esteem and friendly regard of his associates in every relation of life.
Mr. Turner is a native of Berkeley county, West Virginia, born August 14, 1852, and his family is an old one in the Old Dominion, of English and Scotch-Irish origin. His grandfather, William Turner, was born in Virginia, and his father, Joseph W. Turner, in what is now West Virginia, the latter dying in 1885 in Cumberland, Maryland, where he had spent the last twenty years of his life, engaged in the mercantile business. For a number of years he was superintendent of the Honeywood Mills, at Dam No. 5, and later was at Four Locks and Clear Spring, Washington county, Maryland, where he was associated with Denton Jacques and Jonathan D. Prather before his removal to Cumberland in 1865. He married Ann C. Lowe, a native of Washington county, Maryland, and they became the parents of nine children, of whom we have the following record: William Edward is mentioned below; Sarah is the wife of William R. Pitzer, of Erie, Pennsylvania; Mary E. is married to Charles E. Rhind, of Cumberland, Maryland; Joseph W. is deceased; Charles H. is deceased; Denton J. is deceased; Lloyd L. and Arthur B. are deceased. The father was a Lutheran in religious connection and a Democrat in politics.
William Edward Turner was a boy of twelve years when the family settled in Cumberland, and continued his education in the public schools of the city. He had previously attended common school in Washington county, Maryland, having very good advantages for the time. At the age of seventeen years he began to support himself, becoming a clerk in the drug house of C. C. Shriver & Co. at Cumberland, in whose employ he continued for nearly sixteen years, during which period he acquired a thorough familiarity with both the chemical and commercial branches of the business. He had also gained enough confidence to make a venture on his own account, and in 1884 started business at the stand on North Center street, where he is now established, remaining there until his removal to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1902. Having done very well in the retail trade, he took advantage of an opportunity to enter the pharmaceutical manufacturing line, in which he was interested at that point for the, next four years, continuing it for another two years at Hagerstown, Maryland. In 1908 he sold out the business at Hagerstown and returned to Cumberland, resuming the retail drug trade at No. 111 Baltimore street, where he was established for five years, coming back in 1913 to his original location at Nos. 43-45 North Center street. Mr. Turner has commodious and well-equipped quarters, his store being thoroughly appointed in every respect and well stocked with the best the market has to offer in druggists' merchandise, with a full line of all kinds of oils and paints in addition. He takes proper pride in catering to a discriminating class of patrons, and is well prepared to keep up with the demands of customers. He has installed a fine soda fountain, and all the other accessories of a modern drug establishment.
Aside from his business Mr. Turner is probably best known in Masonic circles, being a member of Fort Cumberland Lodge, No. 211, A. F. & A. M., and Antioch Commandery, No. 6, K. T., of Cumberland; he is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, and is a member of Boumi Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Baltimore. On public questions he is independent, supporting the men and measures he favors regardless of their party affiliations.
On October 11, 1882, Mr. Turner was married to Miss Mary L. Fechtig, of Cumberland, by whom he has four children: Nellie Lowe, Mary F., Ilda and Edward L., the son an attorney at law now practicing in Los Angeles, California.
In 1900 Mr. Turner was elected president of the Maryland State Pharmaceutical Association. Governor (later Senator) John Walter Smith appointed him a member of the first Maryland State Board, of Pharmacy in 1902.
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