Colonel John R. Rouzer,
formerly a member of the Maryland Legislature,
and one of Frederick County's best known and
leading citizens, was born near Apple's Church,
about one mile from Thurmont, May 7, 1839. He is
a son of Peter and Rachel Hope (Martin) Rouzer.
Daniel Rouzer was the
first of the family to settle in Maryland. He
was a native of New Jersey, where he was born in
1776, and died in Maryland, August 18, 1850.
While a young man, he came to Maryland, and
learned the tanner's trade at Hagerstown. In
1793, he moved upon the present Rouzer
homestead, near Thurmont, Md., now owned and
occupied by Mrs. Emma K. Rouzer, widow of John
Ronzer. In that year he established the first
tannery in this part of the State. At first the
enterprise was conducted on a very small scale,
but by degrees it grew in importance. Mr. Rouzer
was in his time one of the most prominent
citizens of Frederick County, and he was
actively identified with church work. The
business which he established held a high place
in its own branch of trade for about a century,
his son, John Rouzer, succeeding to the
management of it. Mr. Rouzer was twice married.
His first wife was Sophia Schover, daughter of
Peter Schover, by whom he had ten children. He
was married secondly to Julia Matthews, daughter
of John Matthews, of Frederick County. They were
the parents of two children: John,; and Sarah, born in 1819.
Peter Rouzer, son of
Daniel and Sophia (Schover) Rouzer, was a native
of Hagerstown, Md., in which place he was born
November 1, 1792, and he died in Thurmont, Md.,
May 17, 1877. During much of his life, he
engaged in school teaching. He also spent much
time following agricultural pursuits. He was a
highly respected citizen of the community in
which he made his home. He was married 'May 29,
1817, in Mechanicstown, Md., to Rachel Hope
Martin, daughter of John and Elizabeth Mar-tin.
She was born in Albemarle County, Va., July 10,
1799, and died near Apple's Church, near
Thurmont, August 16, 1840. They were the parents
of the following children: 1, Sophia Margaret,
was born July 18, 1818, and died in infancy; 2,
Mary Elizabeth, was born March 22, 1820, married
Joseph Freeze, of Thurmont, Md.; 3, James
Madison, was born June 21, 1822, and died July
26, 1895, was by trade a cabinet maker, served
in the First Pennsylvania Reserves for four
years during the Civil War; 4, Daniel Riley,
born October 20, 1824, died December 15, 1860,
was a miller and farmer; 5, Catharine Jane, born
April 1, 1827, died May 2, 1898, married Joel
Weller, of Washington, D. C.; 6, Simon Henry,
died in infancy; 7, Barbara Ann, born December
19, 1830, died in Shepherdstown, West Va., May
11, 1890, married Washington A. Bennett; 8, Uriah A., born July 20, 1833, died at Knoxville,
Tenn., December 14, 1886, mill-wright by
occupation, and ranked high in the Masonic
Order; 9, Eliza Adeline, born January 22, 1836,
married Joshua Smith, who is now deceased; 10,
John R.
Colonel John R. Rouzer,
son of Peter and Rachel Hope (Martin) Rouzer,
spent his early life with his sister, Mrs.
Joseph Freeze, his mother having died when he
was but a year old. He attended the public and
private schools, and the Mechanicstown Academy.
At the age of eighteen he began life for
himself. He learned the trade of a saddler and
harness-maker with his brother-in-law, Joseph
Freeze, whose shop he later bought and continued
to operate for some years.
As a soldier, Colonel
Rouzer has a most en-viable record. At the
outbreak of the war he espoused the cause of the
Union, and on August 19, 1862, enlisted in
Company D, Sixth Mary-land Infantry, as first
lieutenant of his company; later he was made
captain and twice was brevetted for meritorious
service. The Sixth was one of the regiments that
became noted for their valor during the
struggle. Mr. Rouzer was made first lieutenant
August 23, 1862; was promoted May 1, 1863, to be
captain of Company B, same regiment, and later
was brevetted major, the promotion being made
for gallant conduct at the battle of Mine Run,
Va. He was wounded in the battle of the
Wilderness. May 5, 1864. He was brevetted
lieutenant-colonel for gallant service, and took
part in many of the most important engagements
of the war. He was once captured, at Winchester,
Va., September 19, 1864, and four months he
remained in Libbey, Danville and Salisbury
prisons, after which he was exchanged. At the
close of the war he was honorably discharged,
June 20, 1865, and returned to his old home.
On returning to
Thurmont, Colonel Rouzer resumed the business he
had left at the time of his enlistment. He is
one of the county's best known citizens and
business men. He was a charter member of the
Mechanicstown Water Company, of which he has
been vice-president for many years. He was
elected February, 1910, president of the
Thurmont National Bank, one of the county's
stable financial institutions. Colonel Rouzer is
now living in Thurmont, which has been his
residence through practically his entire life,
somewhat out of active business life.
Politically, Colonel
Rouzer was first a Whig and later a Republican.
In 1867, he was elected a member of the Maryland
Legislature. On March 19, 1869, he was appointed
postmaster of Thurmont, by the
postmaster-general, Hon. John A. J. Creswell. He
continued in that capacity until he was elected
register of wills of Frederick County, in
November, 1873. After a term of six years,
during which he discharged his duties with much
ability, he retired from that office and turned
his attention to farming and private business.
In 1883, he was appointed county school
commissioner, but declined the position. For a
number of years he was commissioner and
treasurer of the town board of Thurmont, and for
forty-five years was one of the trustees of the
Public Schools of Thurmont. In 1894, he was
again elected as a member of the Maryland House
of Delegates, and re-elected in 1896 and 1898.
During each term he was a leading member of the
House and assisted in the work of various
committees. He was one of Senator Wellington's
strongest supporters for the Senatorial
nomination. He is a fearless advocate of
whatever he believes to be just and right. He
served as a member of the committee on
organization, and as chairman of the committee
on militia, on manufactures, on corporations.
His record as a member of the legislature is a
good one, always having the best interests of
his constituents at heart. In 1900, he was
appointed by President McKinley as deputy
register of wills for the District of Columbia,
at Washington, D. C., and served in this
capacity for four years. He was a stanch friend
and supporter of the late Senator Lewis E. McComas.
Colonel Rouzer is a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic. and
the present Commander of Jason Demuth Post No.
80, G. A. R., Thurmont, Md. He is a consistent
member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Thurmont, in which he has served for many years
as a member of the council and as superintendent
of the Sunday School.
Colonel Rouzer was first
married May 7, 1866, to Harriet E. Willhide,
daughter of Captain Joseph Willhide. She died
twenty-two months after their marriage, and her
only child died when four months old. In 1871,
Colonel Rouzer was married to Mrs. E. Willman, a
widow, (Julia), a sister of his first wife. They
were the parents of five children, three of whom
are living, namely: Mary Catharine, the wife of
Harry N. Brown, of Norfolk, Va.; Margaret C.,
the wife of Lester W. Armocost, a merchant of
Thurmont, Md.; and Horace C., of Washington, D.
C.
Read Anne
Cissel's: Colonel John
R. Rouzer - An Extraordinary Man
Return to
index on Emmitsburg names in
William's History of Frederick County
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