Milford chronicle., 1909-04-23
Business Men Of Frederick From
1910 to the Present Time.


easy-going conservative people. Theii
habits of Industry and economy has rem
dered many of them independent and
well-to-do. In no village in the State is
labor better remunerated, or a more COM
Portable living acquired than in Frederick.
Many snug fortunes have been made, by
those possessing business tact and energy
especially in the mercantile and shipping
interest of former times. For many
years it has represented as much wealth,
according to its size and population, as
any village in Delaware. OF course the
inhabitants are not all wealthy, for accord
ing to the fiat of Jehovah, there must be
"hewers of wood and drawers Of water. "
Just when the village was begun is not
certain. One authority says: That
Johnathan Emerson who owned the land
laid out the town in I77O, but We think
this date little too early, as BaTratt's
Chapel, the cradle of Methodism, was
not built until ten years aiterward. 1t is
not very likely that it is much if any
older than the church or it would have
been located nearer than one mile Of the
village. The town of Milford was not
laid out until 177S, and we very naturally
incline to the opinion, that Frederica
was not begun until about the close of
the Revolution. The southern approach
to the town by way of the long causeway
had not been opened at that time, and
was not until after the beginning Of the
Nineteenth Century. The only means of
access was by way of tie short causeway
on the north and the county road leading |
into the west end of town. After the
building of the road south Of the town, a .
new impetus was given to the village, for
it opened up a large territory, the trade 1
Of which before virtually had been cut
off, or very much restricted on account
of the torturOus route leading through
the farms of Benjamin Taylor, John Car
Isle and Jabez Fisher, crossing the MUIR
derkill at Cedar Landing, winding its
wav to the rear of Barratt's Chapel and
entering Frederick on the north, a dis
tance of two miles more than the present
route The shortened distance in travel,
accelerated the business interests OF the
town, and addeded more than half of the
trade of Milford Neck, on account of its :
close proximity.
Among the business men Of the early
history of the place were: Major Town
send, Jacob Boone, Thomas Lockwood,
solomon Townsend, and Nathaniel Luff |
Major Townsend was a man of consider
able wealth, owning much valuable real
estate in Murderkill anc Milford hun l.
lreds, several tracts of which we're heav.
ly timbered. He was merchant by oc- l
,upation and had accumulated quite
mug fortune for the times; his estate d
,eing estimated at more than twenty {
housand dollars. He lived to be an old I
nan and was very eccentric in his last
ears. He died in lS45 and is still re- :
nembered by many of the older citizens [
# Frederick. d
Jacob Boone was a shrewd business d
nan and succeeded in gaining much d
1ealth. in farms, mills and vessel prop
rty. He built the house on the corner 1
+ Front and Market Streets, now owned 81
nd occupied by James T. Postles. It is St
aid of Mr.. Boone, that when the fOun- G.
alton was begun, he had his son, James G
Ienry Boone, then youth, to lay the Il
rst brick, so that he might become the ID
cad of the corner. After the death OF a
Ir. Boone, in the early thirties, James v
Ienry Boone became sole heir, but his G
ther's wish was never realized. His IL
lheritance melted away from his grasp, "
ke the mist OF morning before a bright III
lnshine. He grew up CONSTANT and u
orthy young man, amiable, kind and le
1liging, but such were the DEGREES of W
te, that his substance slipped from his u
inds under circumstances peculiar and P'
-er which he seemed to have no con. al
oil. He married Margaretta, daughter al
Waitman Sipple, and sister of the late al
n. Sipple and Waitman Sip PI
e, Jr Mr.. and Mrs. Boone died child i0
IS in middle life. Having no children IS
their own, they adopted son of &C
siah Collins as their own. This son tll
as killed by the accidental discharge Of
5 gun, near Webbs Landing, as he was lee
turning in boat with his party, on an
nning excursion on the river. lol
Townsend was perhaps one OF II d d
e best qualified business men of his day. OI
ch were his qualifications tact and en- Pu
", that he soon outgrew the dimen- lea
ms of the quaint little town OF his ma .ec
ity and sought broader field in the lns
y Of Penn. such was his proficiency
1t coming generations proited by the
siness training of which he was their
ceptor. About 1910 he removed to "
iladelphia taking with him his busi- witt
S energy, his moral character and bis "
out christian qualities. He associated pro