Thomas Broome Travers (1802-1875)
Source: “Maryland Genealogical and Memorial Encyclopedia”
and “The Cators of Dorchester” Genealogy Web Site
My genealogical writings for Yahoo:
http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1062891/donna_cator.html
"On the map, the western part of Dorchester county seems to be a part of themainland. However, for a long time, and in fact so long that the 'memory of manrunneth not to the contrary,' most of this section has been an island separated by anarrow stream called Slaughter creek from the mainland. One of the early settlementsin the county was on this island, then considerably larger than at present since muchof it has unfortunately been washed away by the stormy waters of the Chesapeake bay. The pioneer settler on this island was
THOMAS TAYLOR
, after whom theisland was named. Shortly afterwards his cousin,
WILLIAM TRAVERS
, came thereto settle.
WILLIAM TRAVERS
died in 1701, devising by his will a considerableamount of real estate. One of his sons,
MATTHEW,
became one of the wealthiestand most prominent men in the county. He married
ELIZABETH
, daughterof
HENRY HOOPER
, the second in line of successive generations of
HENRYHOOPER
s, who furnished probably the most striking illustration in the history of thecounty of the passing not only of the surname but of a marked degree of prominencefrom father to son. A brother of this
ELIZABETH
was
HENRY HOOPER
, ownerand builder of Warwick Fort Manor. Another sister married
JOHNBROOME,
sometimes spelt
BROME
, whose prominence personally and that of hisfamily were well known to students of Maryland Colonial history. From both of thesedaughters of
HENRY HOOPER, THOMAS BROOME TRAVERS
, the subject ofthis sketch, was descended."Successive generations of Traverses and other allied families continued to live onTaylor's Island. The status of island, the distance from Cambridge, the county seat,and the almost impossible roads prohibited easy communication with Cambridge andother parts of the county. This isolation and the unusual industrial advantages ofTaylor's Island resulted in the development of a community unique in many respects.Fertility of the soil, large holdings of slaves, big profits from shipbuilding, ownershipof vessels trading with 'Brazil and The Indies,' produced a state of considerable prosperity. The water as well as the land furnished food in abundance. The houseswere commodious, although a simple style of architecture prevailed even in the homesof the richest. The dominant families were closely bound together by blood andalmost daily association. House parties were large and frequent. Educational provisions were quite good. The children were usually sent to school in Baltimore ortaught by tutors in private homes. It is doubtful whether any section of Dorchestercounty, or of any other county in the colony or State, had in proportion to populations
so many men of wealth. The loss of slaves, injurious tides, the wash of the sea andother causes brought about serious changes for the worse in the community life ofTaylor's Island. In recent years a new era of prosperity has begun to develop."
THOMAS BROOME TRAVERS
was born in 1702, the son of
THOMASBROOME and DELIA TRAVERS
. He was born in one of the Travers' homesteadswhich had been in the family for many generations. He increased his inheritance,which was considerable, by industry and excellent judgment, so that at the time of hisdeath he was one of the wealthiest men in the county. His many farms were wellhandled. Throughout his life he was constantly building vessels, which from theirocean and bay trade brought in considerable revenue."
THOMAS BROOME TRAVERS
was an excellent representative of the type of business man which in many respects has perforce ceased to exist. Since not a bankexisted in the county until the latter part of his life, all of his various operations wereconducted without the use of bank checks. Payments running up in the thousands ofdollars were made and received in gold. Large quantities of gold were frequently kepton hand. For instance, a package containing $4,000 in twenty dollar gold pieces wasallowed by him in one case to remain unopened for a period of at least fifteen years.He loaned many thousands of dollars to his friends, always without any form of noteor written acknowledge or receipt."He was an Episcopalian throughout his life and furnished the larger part of the fundsfor the building of the Episcopal church now standing on Taylor's Island. This churchwith its solid walnut pews and other unusual features is an interesting survival. It tookthe place of one of the old Colonial '
Chapels of Ease
' which had been a matter ofinterest to students of history. The dramatic scenes illustrated on the coast of Taylor'sIsland during the Revolutionary War, especially during the War of 1812, and whichhave never found proper place in history were matters of keen interest to him, and heendeavored to preserve fitting mementoes of these times, especially in so far asmembers of his family had participated."He married his cousin,
ELISABETH TRAVERS
, who died at the age of twenty-two, leaving three little daughters. These three daughters survived him. Theywere
SOPHIE D
., widow of
JOHN ANTHONY LeCOMPE RADCLIFFE
, asketch of whom precedes this;
MARY, widow of WILLIAMCATOR,
and
ADDIE,
wife of
E. L. GRIFFITH
.
THOMAS BROOMETRAVERS
never married again, but devoted the best of his time and energy to thewelfare of his daughters. It was his aim to bridge over the loss to his children of theirmother by assuming personally as many as possible of maternal duties andresponsibilities. In spite of the engrossing nature of his business enterprises, hefollowed most closely the details of the daily lives of his daughters. He provided
private instruction for them at his home, and as soon as they were large enough, hesent them to private school. A little instance illustrating his efforts to see that theirdesires and plans were properly looked after is seen in the arrangements which hemade in regard to the wedding cake of his oldest daughter [
Sophie D. Travers
]. Toinsure as much as possible against accident, he sent one of his best sailing vessels to bring the cake from Baltimore and permitted the vessel to have no other mission.Possibly the most distinguishing characteristics of
THOMAS BROOMETRAVERS
were the personal attention and interest which he gave to the daily life ofhis daughters, and his constant efforts to give them the best of training and education.This was carefully done in spite of engrossing business cares."He died in 1875, leaving one of the largest estates in the county. The best heritage tohis many descendants was, however, his reputation for integrity, ability and generalworthiness. "
Thomas Broome Travers (1802-1875)
Source: “Maryland Genealogical and Memorial Encyclopedia”
and “The Cators of Dorchester” Genealogy Web Site
My genealogical writings for Yahoo:
http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1062891/donna_cator.html
"On the map, the western part of Dorchester county seems to be a part of themainland. However, for a long time, and in fact so long that the 'memory of manrunneth not to the contrary,' most of this section has been an island separated by anarrow stream called Slaughter creek from the mainland. One of the early settlementsin the county was on this island, then considerably larger than at present since muchof it has unfortunately been washed away by the stormy waters of the Chesapeake bay. The pioneer settler on this island was
THOMAS TAYLOR
, after whom theisland was named. Shortly afterwards his cousin,
WILLIAM TRAVERS
, came thereto settle.
WILLIAM TRAVERS
died in 1701, devising by his will a considerableamount of real estate. One of his sons,
MATTHEW,
became one of the wealthiestand most prominent men in the county. He married
ELIZABETH
, daughterof
HENRY HOOPER
, the second in line of successive generations of
HENRYHOOPER
s, who furnished probably the most striking illustration in the history of thecounty of the passing not only of the surname but of a marked degree of prominencefrom father to son. A brother of this
ELIZABETH
was
HENRY HOOPER
, ownerand builder of Warwick Fort Manor. Another sister married
JOHNBROOME,
sometimes spelt
BROME
, whose prominence personally and that of hisfamily were well known to students of Maryland Colonial history. From both of thesedaughters of
HENRY HOOPER, THOMAS BROOME TRAVERS
, the subject ofthis sketch, was descended."Successive generations of Traverses and other allied families continued to live onTaylor's Island. The status of island, the distance from Cambridge, the county seat,and the almost impossible roads prohibited easy communication with Cambridge andother parts of the county. This isolation and the unusual industrial advantages ofTaylor's Island resulted in the development of a community unique in many respects.Fertility of the soil, large holdings of slaves, big profits from shipbuilding, ownershipof vessels trading with 'Brazil and The Indies,' produced a state of considerable prosperity. The water as well as the land furnished food in abundance. The houseswere commodious, although a simple style of architecture prevailed even in the homesof the richest. The dominant families were closely bound together by blood andalmost daily association. House parties were large and frequent. Educational provisions were quite good. The children were usually sent to school in Baltimore ortaught by tutors in private homes. It is doubtful whether any section of Dorchestercounty, or of any other county in the colony or State, had in proportion to populations
so many men of wealth. The loss of slaves, injurious tides, the wash of the sea andother causes brought about serious changes for the worse in the community life ofTaylor's Island. In recent years a new era of prosperity has begun to develop."
THOMAS BROOME TRAVERS
was born in 1702, the son of
THOMASBROOME and DELIA TRAVERS
. He was born in one of the Travers' homesteadswhich had been in the family for many generations. He increased his inheritance,which was considerable, by industry and excellent judgment, so that at the time of hisdeath he was one of the wealthiest men in the county. His many farms were wellhandled. Throughout his life he was constantly building vessels, which from theirocean and bay trade brought in considerable revenue."
THOMAS BROOME TRAVERS
was an excellent representative of the type of business man which in many respects has perforce ceased to exist. Since not a bankexisted in the county until the latter part of his life, all of his various operations wereconducted without the use of bank checks. Payments running up in the thousands ofdollars were made and received in gold. Large quantities of gold were frequently kepton hand. For instance, a package containing $4,000 in twenty dollar gold pieces wasallowed by him in one case to remain unopened for a period of at least fifteen years.He loaned many thousands of dollars to his friends, always without any form of noteor written acknowledge or receipt."He was an Episcopalian throughout his life and furnished the larger part of the fundsfor the building of the Episcopal church now standing on Taylor's Island. This churchwith its solid walnut pews and other unusual features is an interesting survival. It tookthe place of one of the old Colonial '
Chapels of Ease
' which had been a matter ofinterest to students of history. The dramatic scenes illustrated on the coast of Taylor'sIsland during the Revolutionary War, especially during the War of 1812, and whichhave never found proper place in history were matters of keen interest to him, and heendeavored to preserve fitting mementoes of these times, especially in so far asmembers of his family had participated."He married his cousin,
ELISABETH TRAVERS
, who died at the age of twenty-two, leaving three little daughters. These three daughters survived him. Theywere
SOPHIE D
., widow of
JOHN ANTHONY LeCOMPE RADCLIFFE
, asketch of whom precedes this;
MARY, widow of WILLIAMCATOR,
and
ADDIE,
wife of
E. L. GRIFFITH
.
THOMAS BROOMETRAVERS
never married again, but devoted the best of his time and energy to thewelfare of his daughters. It was his aim to bridge over the loss to his children of theirmother by assuming personally as many as possible of maternal duties andresponsibilities. In spite of the engrossing nature of his business enterprises, hefollowed most closely the details of the daily lives of his daughters. He provided
private instruction for them at his home, and as soon as they were large enough, hesent them to private school. A little instance illustrating his efforts to see that theirdesires and plans were properly looked after is seen in the arrangements which hemade in regard to the wedding cake of his oldest daughter [
Sophie D. Travers
]. Toinsure as much as possible against accident, he sent one of his best sailing vessels to bring the cake from Baltimore and permitted the vessel to have no other mission.Possibly the most distinguishing characteristics of
THOMAS BROOMETRAVERS
were the personal attention and interest which he gave to the daily life ofhis daughters, and his constant efforts to give them the best of training and education.This was carefully done in spite of engrossing business cares."He died in 1875, leaving one of the largest estates in the county. The best heritage tohis many descendants was, however, his reputation for integrity, ability and generalworthiness. "
