| Creswell Hall -- Home of John A. J. Creswell Delaware Ave., Elkton, Md |
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| Probably more distringuished than any Union soldier from Cecil County was a civilian, John A. J. Creswell. |
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John A. J. Creswell was born Nov. 18, 1828, in Port Deposit. After studying law at Dickinson College he was admitted to the bar. Sometimes a Whig, Creswell joined the Democratic party in time to be a delegate of Maryland to the Democratic National Convention which in 1856 nominated James Buchanan for President. When the war came, John A. J. Creswell became a Republican. He labored strenuously in 1861 as a member of the House of Delegates to hold Maryland firmly in the Union. In 1862 he was appointed assistant adjutant-general and charged with raising Maryland's
quota of troops for the United States Army. The following year he was elected to the House of Representatives where he served with distinction until he entered the Senate in 1865.
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A follower of Henry Winter Davis, Creswell vigorously opposed President Johnson in his reconstruction program. Under President Grant, Creswell was appointed postmaster general. It was in this position that he performed his most important public service. In his closing years, Creswell lived at Creswell Hall, just outside Elkton.
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Editors Note:
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The Creswell home was destroyed by a fire in the 20th century. Its location is marked by an historical marker.
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| Source: |
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Maryland Remembers, A Guide to Historic Places and People of the Civil War in Maryland.Maryland Civil War
Centennial Commission, 1961
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