Jacob Tome (August 13, 1810 – March 16, 1898) was an American banker, philanthropist, and politician who died as one of the richest men in the United States. He was the first millionaire of

Cecil County, Maryland Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The ...

, and an accomplished philanthropist, giving money to colleges, churches, and schools, including establishing the

Tome School The Tome School is a private school in North East, Maryland, North East in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County in the U.S. state of Maryland. Founded in 1894 by Jacob Tome, it is one of the oldest schools in Maryland. It enrolls grades K–12. ...

Early life

Jacob Tome was born on August 13, 1810, in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

or Manheim Township in

York County, Pennsylvania York County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York, Pennsylvania, ...

, to Christina (née Badger) and Christian Thom. At the age of 16, he worked for a farmer in York County; 15 months later, he became a superintendent of fisheries on Stony Island on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

. In 1830, he worked for a manufacturer of tinware in

Marietta, Pennsylvania Marietta is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,633 at the 2020 census. It is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, northwest of Columbia. Geography Marietta is located in western Lan ...

, for two years, and then became a teacher in

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Betzischteddel'') is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located southeast of Harrisburg, the state capital. Small factories existed at the turn of the 20th century when the p ...

Career

Business career

In 1833, he moved to

Port Deposit, Maryland Port Deposit is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River near its discharge into the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 653 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geograph ...

, to work at Boggs' Hotel. He moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for a short time to take up bookkeeping, but returned to Port Deposit in 1834. In 1834, he and David Rinehart, a Marietta banker and lumber dealer, founded the Tome & Rinehart lumber company, which prospered and would last until 1853. In 1849, he formed a partnership with the owners of the steamboat ''Portsmouth'' and Captain Masen L. Weems to establish the Baltimore and Fredericksburg Steamboat Company. In 1855, he and John and Thomas C. Bond formed the Bond Brothers & Co. lumber company . Through Bond Brothers & Co. and his own personal accounts, he invested in timber lands in Pennsylvania,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. With his nephew, J.W. Reynolds, he formed J. Tome & Co., a fertilizer and agriculture equipment company. He served as the president of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Steamboat Company; as a director of the Conowingo Bridge Company, as a director of the

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) was an American railroad, headquartered in Philadelphia, that operated in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland from 1836 to 1902. It was part of an 1838 merger of four state-chartered railr ...

, and as a director of the

Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad (C&PD) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated a main line between Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Port Deposit, Maryland, generally along th ...

. He was also a large stockholder in the Delaware Railroad Company.

Political career

He was a Union Republican and a supporter of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. From 1864 to 1867, Tome represented

Cecil County Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The ...

in the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

. In 1865, he was elected as the chairman of the Senate finance committee. In 1871, he was nominated as the Union Republican candidate for

Governor of Maryland The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

, losing to

William Pinkney Whyte William Pinkney Whyte (August 9, 1824March 17, 1908), a member of the United States Democratic Party, was a politician who served the State of Maryland as a State Delegate, the State Comptroller, a United States Senator, the 35th Governor, the ...

Banking career

In 1850, Tome obtained a charter for the Cecil Bank at Port Deposit. The bank quickly grew and became a national bank. In 1868, he purchased the Elkton National Bank. In 1865, he opened a bank the National Bank in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

, which his nephew John Creswell became president of. He owned stock in a number of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

banks and a majority stake in the Citizens' National Bank of

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...

Personal life

About 1850, Tome erected a fine, substantial home and in the 1870s he remodeled the structure. This renovation in the grand Second Empire Style, greatly enlarged the mansion. It had a mansard roof and wrought iron balconies, along with a substantial tower, which housed Tome's bank and office. In 1948, fifty years after his death, the "palatial three-story granite block home," was razed to make way for a swimming pool operated by the Port Deposit Lions Club. Tome married Caroline M. Webb, an aunt of John Creswell, on December 6, 1841. Together, they had three children, but they all died in infancy. She died on February 16, 1874. He married Evalyn S. Nesbitt on October 1, 1884. Evalyn Tome was the richest woman in the state of Maryland; after his death, she married Joseph Irwin France, a Senator and U.S. presidential candidate.

Philanthropy

Tome Memorial Methodist Church

He built the ''Tome Memorial Methodist Church'' in Port Deposit in 1887. The church was closed on October 1, 2018.

Dickinson College

Tome was a trustee of

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...

, from 1883 to 1898. He pledged $25,000 in 1883 for the construction of its first science building, the ''Tome Scientific Building''.

Jacob Tome Institute

The Jacob Tome Institute was incorporated in 1879, and the school was first opened for students on September 17, 1894. His wife, Evalyn Tome, served as the president of the board of trustees. In the last week of his life, Jacob Tome worked with Senators Austin Crothers and Henry Dodson to give Maryland financial supervision over the school.

Death

Tome died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on March 16, 1898, at his home in Port Deposit at the age of 87. He was buried at Hopewell Cemetery in Port Deposit. At his death, he owned about $89 million (about $ today).

Legacy

Maryland Route 276 Maryland Route 276 (MD 276) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Jacob Tome Memorial Highway, the highway runs from MD 222 in Port Deposit north to U.S. Route 1 (US 1) near Harrisville in western ...

in Cecil County was named the ''Jacob Tome Memorial Highway'' in his honor in 1961.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tome, Jacob 1810 births 1898 deaths American bankers People of Maryland in the American Civil War Politicians from York County, Pennsylvania People from Port Deposit, Maryland Politicians from Cecil County, Maryland Republican Party Maryland state senators 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American railroad executives American businesspeople in timber Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Maryland Philanthropists from Pennsylvania Philanthropists from Maryland 19th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly