Worthington Perry Wachter (1881-1941)

From the Book of Maryland: Men and Institutions, 1920.

  Lifelong Maryland resident Worthington Perry Wachter was for over two decades a leading figure in the Washington County bar, and in addition to his profession served as county tax collector and secretary of the State Industrial Accident Commission. In 1926 he became the Democratic nominee for Chief Judge of Maryland's fourth judicial circuit, and though unsuccessful in his run, achieved further distinction in the Improved Order of Red Men fraternal organization, being named as that group's head in 1932. The son of Sidney H. and Phoebe (Smith) Wachter, Worthington Perry Wachter was born in Ceresville, Frederick County, Maryland on May 30, 1881.

   A student in the public schools, Wachter graduated from Walkersville High School in 1899 and enrolled at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. Following graduation in 1902, he embarked upon a teaching career in Washington County that extended nearly a decade. During this period he served as principal of the Sharpsburg public schools and married in June 1906 to Maude C. Young (1885-1959), to whom he was wed until his death. The couple had three children, Samuel Sidney (1906-1981), Evelyn Mae (1910-1980), and Mildred (1914-2010). 

   Wachter made his first move into local politics in 1913 with his service as Washington County deputy sheriff, and in February 1915 was appointed as Washington County tax collector. He served until November of that year, and was defeated for reelection by Republican John Fleming, the margin being just two votes! Two years after his defeat Wachter was elected as chairman and executive officer of the Washington County military exemption board, and in 1918 was selected as secretary of the State Industrial Accident Commission. During this time Wachter decided to pursue a law degree, and following a period of study at the University of Maryland Law School, earned his degree in 1920.

   Active in several fraternal groups in his state, Wachter was a member of the St. Bernards Commandry, Knights Templar; the Queen Esther Chapter, No. 3, Order of the Eastern Star; the Scottish Rite Masons; the Loyal Order of Moose; the Independent Order of Oddfellows; the Modern Woodmen of America; and the Improved Order of Red Men. From 1920-21 he was Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment of Oddfellows of Maryland, and in those same years was Grand Sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men of Maryland. He was also a past potentate of the Ali Ghan Temple, Mystic Shriners.

  After several years away from public office, Wachter set his sights on a state judgeship in 1926. In that year's Democratic primary, Wachter ran for Chief Judge of Maryland's fourth judicial district, and after announcing his candidacy was featured in campaign advertisements in area newspapers. In a writeup in the Hagerstown Daily Mirror, Wachter made note of his previous areas of service and remarked:

"I am keenly appreciative of the honor and the dignity of the office to which I aspire, yet I feel justice and fairness to all demand that you be publically informed of my candidacy. I, therefore, submit my candidacy to you, the Democratic voters of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, for your consideration, with the hope of your endorsement by your votes, Tuesday, September 14."

From the Hagerstown Daily Mirror, February 10, 1926.

  That September Wachter was defeated by William C. Walsh, 5,765 votes to 3,448. Walsh, in turn, was defeated in the November general election by Republican D. Lindley Sloane. Wachter returned to practicing law in Hagerstown following his loss, and while his judicial aspirations were dashed, he achieved a measure of consolation outside of politics in 1927, when he was elected as district governor of the Lions Club. This post saw Wachter as chief of the Lions clubs in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., and during this period continued his rise through the hierarchy of the Improved Order of Red Men. In 1928 he served as Patriotic Director of that organization's grand council, and in September 1932 was elected as Great Incohonee at the group's biennial convention in North Carolina. 

  As the highest-ranking office in the organization, Wachter visited numerous Red Men lodges during his tenure and installed degrees on new members of that organization. In September 1933 he undertook "a tour of units of the order in  Texas and other western and midwestern states", and was succeeded as Great Incohonee in September 1934 by Arthur J. Ruland. 1934 also saw Wachter be a candidate for the Maryland state senate but lost out in the September Democratic primary to Joseph D. Mish.

   In 1940 Wachter began experiencing heart trouble, and by February 1941 had entered the Washington County Hospital for treatment. He remained under hospital care until his death at age 60 on November 23, 1941. He was survived by his wife and three children and was interred at the Boonsboro Cemetery in Boonsboro, Maryland.

From the Hagerstown Daily Mail, November 24, 1941.

Manasses Jacob Grove (1824-1907)

From the Portrait and Biographical Record of the Sixth Congressional District, Maryland, 1898.

  Sporting a pair of fashionable 19th-century sideburns, Manassas Jacob Grove was a leading producer of lime in Frederick County, Maryland, and was the founder of the M.J. Grove & Son and the M.J. Grove Lime Company. A former U.S. Postmaster at Burkittsville, Maryland, Grove was elected to two non-consecutive terms in the state house of delegates from Frederick County. The son of George Washington and Elizabeth (Biser) Grove, Manasses Jacob Grove was born in Middletown, Maryland on February 17, 1824. Bestowed the unusual name Manasses, this name has its origins in antiquity, being the name of several biblical figures. These figures include the son of Joseph and Asenath mentioned in the Book of Genesis, a King of Judah, and a Hebrew tribe. The name is also spelled Manasseh, and Grove's first name has a variation in spelling, being given as "Manassas".

  A student at the Middletown Academy, Grove underwent private tutoring in Latin and Greek, and at an early age began a teaching career that extended four years. At the dawn of the Mexican-American War, Grove left his teaching post and enlisted in a cavalry company that had been raised by his maternal uncle, George Cost Biser (1810-1895). Due to a vast number of volunteer companies that had previously applied for service, Grove's company never saw combat. He returned to teaching sometime later and taught in schools in Arnoldstown, Broad Run, Jefferson, and near Middletown.

  In 1851 Grove left teaching and established a mercantile store in Broad Run, and in the year following married Susanna Jarboe (1830-1889). The couple's near four-decade marriage produced eight children: William Jarboe (1854-1937), Carrie Estelle (1859-1932), Edward Dawson (1862-1934), Margaret (died in infancy in 1865), Bernard Lee (1866-1927), James Henry (1869-1930), Eugene Ashby (died 1929), and Laura Regina (1876-1945).

  Following his marriage Grove removed to Burkittsville, Maryland, where he established another mercantile store. He first entered public life in 1852 when he was appointed U.S. Postmaster at Burkittsville, serving until 1859. Grove undertook a career change in 1859, having seen lucrative opportunities in the manufacture of lime. He would purchase a tract of land containing substantial limestone deposits in Limekiln, an area near Frederick. Grove relocated to this area around 1860 and later founded M.J. Grove & Son, a lime-producing concern that included his son William. Grove's business flourished, and by the 1890s his business was accorded substantial mention in the Portrait and Biographical Record of the Sixth Congressional District, which notes:

"The supply of fine grade limestone appears to be inexhaustible. At Lime Kiln large quarries are being worked and they own several lime kilns there, one being iron clad for the manufacture of lime with wood. They are also operating at Frederick two plants of eighteen lime kilns, three of which are iron clad for the manufacture of lime with wood. During the busy season about one hundered men are employed in the quarries and kilns."

  After many years of success Grove organized the M.J. Grove Lime Company in 1889, and also established plants in Stephens City, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Grove accumulated substantial wealth from his business dealings, and also owned "a number of buildings and tenement houses and several fine farms aggregating about eight hundred acres." Widowed in 1889, Grove remarried in 1891 to Josephine Wilson (1849-1931), to whom he was wed until his death. 

  Remarked as "an ardent Democrat", Grove became a candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates in 1887 and was elected in November of that year. During the 1888-89 session Grove was named to the committees on Inspection, Labor, and Temperance, and in 1891 was a candidate for a second term. Profiled in the October 26, 1891 edition of the Frederick News, Grove's business dealings and previous term were highlighted, with the News remarking:

"His life has been closely identified with the progress of Frederick county, and in such matters as the improvement of public roads, the advancement of legislative measures calculated to favorably effect the interest of the greatest number, he has always been foremost and helpful on the side of the right. If reelected he would be a credit to his party and the people generally, and an honor to the official body of which he would again become a member."

From the Frederick News, October 26, 1891.

  Grove won the election that November and during the 1892-94 session sat on the committees on Amendments to the Constitution, and Pensions. After his term, Grove traveled widely, including visits to California and Canada, and was a member of the Reformed Church and the Enterprise Grange of Buckeystown, Maryland. Manasses Jacob Grove died at his home in Lime Kiln Station on February 3, 1907, aged 83. He was survived by his second wife and several of his children and was interred at the Burkittsville Union Cemetery in Burkittsville, Maryland.

From the Catoctin Clarion, February 7, 1907.

Honor Daniel Hartzler (1912-1947)

From the Baltimore Evening Sun, October 28, 1946.

  With a new month comes a monthlong theme, and throughout May the Strangest Names In American Political History will profile several curiously named political figures from Maryland. The first of these articles takes us to Carroll County and Honor Daniel Hartzler, whose political star shone for a brief time in the late 1940s. A funeral home director in Union Bridge, Hartzler was active in the civic life of his community and in 1946 was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. Just weeks after being sworn in, he died unexpectedly at age 34, curtailing a political career that was still in its infancy.

   The son of Daniel D. (1869-1941) and Fannie (Smucker) Hartzler (1871-1941), Honor Daniel "Jack" Hartzler was born on February 18, 1912, in Ohio. A student in the public schools, Hartzler was a graduate of the Martinsburg, West Virginia high school and also attended Bluffton University. Hartzler married in April 1932 to Kathryn Eline, to who he was wed until his death. The couple had one daughter, Patricia. 

  For three years Hartzler pursued law studies at LaSalle University Extension in Illinois, and in the late 1930s followed in his father's footsteps and earned a degree in embalming. Later, both he and his brother Byron joined their father's undertaking business, under the title D.D. Hartzler and Sons, and following Daniel Hartzler's death in 1941 continued with its operation. The business, then with locations in both Union Bridge and New Windsor, Maryland, still continues in the Hartzler family today. Additionally, "Jack" Hartzler was a partner in the Powell-Hartzler Funeral Home, located in Woodsboro and Libertytown, Maryland.

  Active in the civic and fraternal life of Carroll County, Honor Hartzler was a past president of the Union Bridge Lions Club, as well as chairman of Zone 3 of the Carroll and Frederick County Lions Clubs. He was a former president of the Union Bridge Parent Teacher Association, president of the Union Bridge Chamber of Commerce, and was chair of the local Red Cross chapter and historical society. A parishioner in the Union Bridge Methodist Church, Hartzler chaired the church choir and was a Sunday school teacher. 

From the Hanover Evening Sun, October 26, 1946.

  Honor Hartzler made his first foray into politics with his election to the Union Bridge town council, where he served for two terms, and was a notary public in the 1940s. In 1946 he announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the state house of delegates, and that November was elected, polling 6,356 votes. One of four Carroll County delegates elected, Hartzler was sworn into office in January 1947 and was named to the Agricultural and Natural Resources committee. With a bright legislative future before him, Hartzler died just weeks later on February 16, 1947, two days shy of his thirty-fifth birthday. In his obituary published in the Hanover Evening Sun, Hartzler is noted as feeling ill the morning of his death, and while making a cup of coffee at his home was felled by a heart ailment. 

  The loss of the freshman legislator was widely noted in Maryland newspapers in the days following his death, and the house of delegates adjourned on February 18, 1947, out of respect for his memory. Several days after his passing, Hartzler was succeeded by Donald E. Six, who was appointed to fill out the remainder of his term. Honor Daniel Hartzler was survived by his wife and daughter and was interred at the Pipe Creek Church of the Brethren in Union Bridge.

From the Hanover Evening Sun, February 17, 1947.

From the Baltimore Sun.