Biography
Tome was born in Hanover in southwestern York County, Pennsylvania. He arrived in Port Deposit, Maryland, a penniless man and died as one of the richest men in the United States. He was Cecil County's first millionaire and its greatest philanthropist. His benevolence lives today in many institutions, colleges, churches, and schools of learning.
He was a Republican and a supporter of Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. He was a member of Maryland state senate in 1864. After the war, he was a candidate for Governor of Maryland in 1871.
He died of pneumonia in Port Deposit at the age of 87 and was buried there at Hopewell Cemetery. His approximate wealth at the time of his death was 89 million dollars—approximately 2.4 billion in today's money (2005). His widow Evalyn Nesbitt Tome was the richest woman in the State of Maryland; she later married Joseph Irwin France (Senator and U.S. presidential candidate).
Read more about this topic: Jacob Tome
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“A great biography should, like the close of a great drama, leave behind it a feeling of serenity. We collect into a small bunch the flowers, the few flowers, which brought sweetness into a life, and present it as an offering to an accomplished destiny. It is the dying refrain of a completed song, the final verse of a finished poem.”
—André Maurois (1885–1967)
“There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He is too many people, if he’s any good.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)