The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1876-05-06
Personal SKETCHES.

Personal SKETCHES.
No. ;.
4 EN.GON. JAMES BLACK GROOME
Mr.. EDIT"H:-Betore proceeding further
with the personal sketches of the promi-
nent men Of Port Deposit and vicinity,
have thought it not amiss to take for my
present subject, an Elktoniau. You have
at the county seat, SO many gentlemen,
! professional and otherwise. with whom
have been personally associated and init
mately acquainted, that, as they have been
grouped before my minds eye. have been
somewhat perplexed as to whom | should
select first.
For various reasons, both personal and
my old friend Col. John c. Groome, whose
public career, while yet so young a man,
has been SO highly honored as to entite
him, in my opinion to special notice.
1t was a favorite saying Of VIM. Knight,
o. Knights Island the grandfather of the
present Senator from Cecil, THAT there is
as much difference in the blood of men, as
there is in the blood of horses The sub
iect of this sketch has the advantage of
being well born, both on his paternal and
maternal sides. Beside the fortune of birth.
he has had such advantages as wealth and
social position hestow, and has, by an hon
orable career, reflected credit on his ances-
try.
His grandfather DR.. John Groome, was
Il distinguished and popular physician at
Elkton, and repeatedly represented Cecil
county in the State Legislature, at period
when it was the sentiment of the voters of
Maryland, that her ablest and best citizens
only, should fill public positions of honor
and responsibility. On the maternal side.
his grandfather, Hon. James r. Black. of
New Castle, Delaware, was, for many years,
distinguished judge of the Superior Court
of that State, and was highly esteemed for
his ability as !, lawyer, as we'll as for the
fidelity with which lie discharged his judi
cial duties His father, Colonel John c.
Groome, was prominent lawyer of Mary
land, than whom no man of his day was
more highly esteemed and respected, no
less on account of his personal worth, than
by reason of his professional prominence.
cherish very many pleasant recollectons
of Col. Groome, or as his Princeton class
mates nicknamed him, honest John Groome.
| remember him particularly as a young
man. with the physical advantages Of a
handsome persona fine, open countenance,
and prepossessing address. He was a man
of unusually generous impulses, of nervous
temperament, genial III disposition, pol
ished and refined in manner, and remarka-
bly, social in his personal habits. Indeed
it is in a companionable and social point of
view, that |, as well as the friends of his
earlier years, most warmly cherish his mem
Dry. For it was in the social, and ia the
pleasant associations of domestic and fam
lily intercourse, that he Shone without a
rival, and attracted friends by personal
magnetism and charm of manner, pecu-
liarly his own. TO an unusual share of
wit and humor, with great natural tact,
and the address of a well-bred gentlemen.
he added an untring flow of life and spir-
its, which constituted linn the very center
Of his circle. He possessed, in an eminent
degree, the happy faculty of putting peo-
pie at their ease. and but few moments
in his company, generally sutfced to place
even the most ditident upon footing of
easy, social familiarity. He was, strictly
speaking, ''society favorite, and as
young gallant perhaps served oftener in
the obliging capacity Of 'Groomsman " to
more happy couples than any of his asso-
ciates, although he deferred his own mar
riage until near middle life.
Col Groome entered Princeton College
when quite young man, and graduated
with the highest honors of his class. After
his admission to the bar at Elkton, he soon
took high rank as IA lawyer, and had for
many years, most extensive and lucra-
tive practice. He enjoyed and justly de-
served the reputation of an honest and con
SCieulIOuS law yer, WHICH SECURED MIN great
influence professionally. He was emf
nently peacemaker, and sought to adjust
claims and disputes whenever it could be
done, without recourse to the Courts. In
politics, he was a Henry Clay Wing of the
old school. While a man of great personal
popularity, he was not a politician in the
usual sense of that word. Hence, although
frequently solicited by his personal and
political friends to accept nominations for
office, he could not, until late in life, be
induced to become candidate. In 1898
the Senate of Maryland which then filled
its own vacancies, selected him without
consulting him, or indeed before he was
aware of the intention of that body, to fill
a vacancy that had occurred. He, for the
first time, yielded to the opportunities of
of his friends, and served the three remain
ing years of the senatorial term, but could
not be induced to accept a collection.
| recall an act of Col Groome's while in
the Senate of Maryland, that well illustrates
the kind and appreciative disposition of the
man. Hon. Ezekiel +. Chambers, while a
member of the State Senate, had nvaria-
bly, voted against all applications for di