Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

John de Peyster Douw  (8/18/1873-8/12/1942)
MSA SC 3520-13712
Mayor of Annapolis, 1905-1907

Biography:

Born August 18, 1873, in Albany, New York. Son of Volckert Petrus and Ella Brooks (Gould) Douw. Attended Albany Academy; Brookville Acadmey in Washington, D.C.; Columbian College Preparatory School; New York Mercantile Marine Academy. Married  (1)Harriet Rooker Tate (c. 1868-5/8/1919) on October 20, 1896. Three Children:  Julia Agnes (Douw) Holt (b. 7/29/1897); Helen Louise (Douw) Richards (3/4/1899-12/18/1965); Lt. Commander Volckert Petrus Douw, II, USN (3/4/1907-4/29/1945). Married (2) Anne Morris Olyphant, January 25, 1921, in New York City. Died in Annapolis on August 12, 1942. Buried, Cedar Bluff Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland.

Annapolis Alderman. Member, Board of County Commissioners, Anne Arundel County. Mayor of Annapolis, 1905-1907.  Elected Civilian Defense Director by the Mayor, Alderman of Annapolis, and the Board of Anne Arundel County Commissioners. Ensign, U.S. Navy May 14, 1898 to August 15, 1898. Enlisted in Maryland National Guard on May 21, 1902 as Regt. Commissary Sergeant, 1st Infantry. Among positions held with National Guard were an Aide de Camp, Ordnance Officer, and Major of the Quarter Master Corps as U.S. Property and Disbursing Officer. On June 1, 1917, he was assigned to duty as Assistant Adjutant General of Maryland in charge of the draft. He held this position until being drafted by the U.S. Army on April 26, 1918. Continued in federal service as an instructor at the Small Arms Firing School, May 15, 1918 to October 1, 1918; Chief Instructor in charge of rifle practice, 17th Division, Camp Beuregard, October 1, 1918 to November 6, 1918; Ordered to War College in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 1918 and completed Staff Officer Course on December 10, 1918. Held position of Contracting Officer, Legal Advisor and Chief of Adminstration Branch until September 2, 1919, when honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. Douw returned to service with the Maryland National Guard, working in the Finance Department, and with the rifle team in regional and nation tournaments. Douw retired from the Maryland National Guard with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on June 1, 1927, after approximately twenty-three years of service.  Commerical banker, 1919-1925. Chairman, Board of Directors of the County Trust Company, 1933-1937. Chairman, Cordial Relations Committee of Annapolis. Past President, Maryland State Volunteer Firemen's Assocation. Member, St. Anne's Protestant Episcopal Church. Member, Masons; The Army and Navy Club of Washington, D.C.; Annapolitan Club; Amerian Legion; American Veterans; Military Order of Foreign Wars.
 

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