Edward Stabler was born in his home of “Harewood” near Sandy Spring, MD to Dr. William Stabler and his wife, Deborah Pleasants on September 26, 1794 and died there of a heart illness in the fall of 1883. Edward Stabler was named after his paternal grandfather, a shipping merchant who immigrated from York, England in 1752.
Stabler had a diverse career in various fields for in addition to being the Postmaster of Sandy Spring, he was a farmer, engraver, inventor, businessman, and an expert hunter and fisherman. He was appointed Postmaster in 1830 by William T. Barry, Postmaster General under the administration of President Andrew Jackson. He was well-known as a great agriculturist, having published prize-winning essays in the American Farmer including, “Renovation of Worn-Out Lands,” “Under Draining” and “Drill Husbandry.” Stabler started his own die-sinking and seal-engraving business, of which he was self-taught. He wrote articles for various magazines and journals about his hunting and fishing expeditions and knowledge on subjects including shooting, angling, and the culture of carp.
Stabler also started a business with a few of his neighbors, “The Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Montgomery County.” Stabler was friends with well-known individuals of the time including Franics P. Blair, Sr. Gen. M. C. Meigs, Sir Edward Thornton, and Honorable Simon Cameron. He married Annie Robinson Gilpin, daughter of Benard Gilpin, in 1823 and they had ten children together. This biographical information was taken from a copy of an article published by the Baltimore American in 1883, see MSA SC 6272-1-12-2. |
