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Stories in Stone

Post Memorial Day Wrap

5/29/2025

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PictureMount Olivet's Confederate Row
Another Memorial Day has come and gone here at Mount Olivet Cemetery. The weather last Monday, May 26th, was quite gorgeous locally as it was for the entire military holiday weekend. On the previous Saturday, the community, under the leadership of Francis Scott Key Post #11 of the American Legion, placed thousands of flags over the graves of veterans residing here. Our number is nearly 5,000.

Although the majority of this post-Memorial Day week has been rainy and dismal, the appearance of these little flaglets throughout the historic burial ground is pretty awe-inspiring. Upon a walk the other day, one particular scene stood out to me among others. Here, I found a military-issue gravestone in Area M, aka "Strangers Row."

This monument is within the former site of a sizable line of Union soldier graves that once stretched from nearby Confederate Row (to the south) and paralleled the adjacent drive on our western perimeter in a northward (and then eastward) direction giving a glimpse of Lincoln Elementary School on the other side of the fence. The old "Union Row" actually extended to the site of the intersection of this lane with our Broadway Street gate road, and contained roughly 264 men of the Union Army who had died in our Frederick hospital center during the Civil War from either sickness or fatal injuries suffered in nearby conflicts. The vast majority of these soldiers were dis-interred from here in 1867, and moved to the new national cemetery that had been laid out in Sharpsburg. 

A few Northern soldiers were left behind in Mount Olivet, likely due to the request of family to keep them here. The marked veteran I saw has the name of James K. P. Brightwell. More on him in a minute. To the left of Brightwell's grave, was a lone flag atop an unmarked grave. I did a double-take thinking, "Why is there a flag placed there?" I then had a hunch of who it was based on research I did back in 2018 on World War I soldiers. My next question: "How did someone know there was a veteran buried there?" More on that in two minutes. 

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With inspiration to study these two decedents further, I decided first to look at the newspaper of a century ago to see what was happening in Frederick in conjunction with Memorial Day. Back then,  Memorial Day was observed on May 30th, regardless of the day of the week. In 1925, May 30th fell on a Saturday. Our first official Memorial Day commemoration at Mount Olivet took place 27 years earlier on May 30th, 1888. This 1888 date marked the 20th anniversary of Memorial Day on a national level. Here locally, appropriate exercises were held that morning at several cemeteries across the city and county. Within Mount Olivet, a special ceremony sponsored by the G. A. R. (Grand Army of the Republic) commenced at 3pm. The G.A.R. was the largest of all Union Army veterans' organizations.

Things would be no different at Mount Olivet in the year 1925, but the holiday with roots dating back to Decoration Day had taken on new meaning for generations at hand as Civil War veterans were becoming far fewer, and citizens were still feeling the effects and loss associated with the First World War with the majority of its casualties happening in 1918 as far as the American soldier was concerned. Thinking ahead, 1925 would be a critical birth year for boys who, in time, would be called to serve, and sacrifice their lives for the good of the country in the next major military conflict. This would come 17-20 years later with World War II.

I wanted to share a few of the news articles and advertisements of Memorial Day, 1925 as they appeared in the local Frederick Daily News. The main local, news story of this day of May 30th, 1925, still has Memorial Day implications today, but has nothing to do with the US military or warfare. The front page story heralded the opening of the new dam in northern Frederick County that would assist as a major reservoir. We know this today as Hunting Creek Lake, today a part of the William Houck Area of Cunningham Falls State Park. 
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Apparently traffic has always been a problem on Memorial Day as shown by the above article. And what is more fun than reading the "Years Ago Today" segment, and enjoying an evocative cartoon?

​What most impressed me in this particular edition of the Daily News was the newspaper's editorial. This is especially poignant for so many reasons. One being that today we are bombarded with more editorial content than actual news. Editors, reporters, anchors, experts and pundits frame news and the events of the day to match specific narratives. Everything is political, or made so it seems. Now, back in the day, and really up until not that long ago, our life experience, knowledge of the world and critical thinking skills would be called into play while reading about local, state, national and global happenings. The following editorial is purely enlightening. I wish I knew the author.
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Seven years ago, we at Mount Olivet launched an auxiliary website to our business site, MountOlivetCemeteryInc.com, and our history site (the one you find yourself reading this blog) MountOlivetHistory.com. I'm talking about MountOlivetVets.com, a site solely dedicated to the veterans buried here in what is considered one of the most distinguished and beautiful burial grounds in the country. As said earlier, Mount Olivet is home to thousands of patriots who bravely served their country under the same flag "so proudly hailed" in 1814 by fellow cemetery resident and Frederick native, Francis Scott Key.
 
For those in the know, the MountOlivetVets.com website is somewhat like a customized version of FindaGrave.com. Our Friends of Mount Olivet members continue to volunteer their time to research and create memorial pages for men and women connected to military service and every conflict our country has been involved in. This is certainly a work in progress as we have only completed the early wars (American Revolution and War of 1812), World War I and the Union soldiers of the American Civil War, as the Confederate soldiers are soon to be published.

​We are working on building our World War II pages at present, and have plenty more veteran pages to follow in connection to service men ans women in the Korean War, Vietnam War and more modern conflicts such as Desert Storm. And yes, we haven't forgotten about our Mexican War, Spanish-American War and all those brave citizens who served under the flag during times of peace. For now, all get a flag on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Hopefully, if we get full sponsorship for Wreaths Across America, all will receive a memorial wreath on the second Saturday of December. Click here for the sponsorship link to our Friends of Mount Olivet Wreaths Across America page. We also have a FaceBook site I encourage you to check for news and updates.
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The two flags shown at the outset of the story in Area M belong to a Civil War vet and a World War I vet as previously established. Both have memorial pages on the MountOlivet Vets website. Let's start with the man who has a monument behind his flag. This is James K. P. Brightwell. 
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Our subject is from an English family with deep roots going back to the early days of the Maryland colony. James' third great-grandfather is a man I am familiar with thanks to a documentary I researched over 25 years ago, along with a class I teach on Native Americans, early explorers and fur traders of our region in the 1600s/early 1700s. This man's name was Capt. Richard Brightwell (1642-1698). He arrived in Maryland in 1663 as an indentured servant from his home in Mildenhall, Suffolk, England. He served out his indenture in Prince Georges County under Capt. Thomas Trueman and would become quite prosperous over his lifetime.

On appointment by the provincial government, Capt. Richard Brightwell was a commander of the Prince Georges County Rangers who traveled the early Indian trails of the Monocacy Valley and what is today Upper Montgomery County. In 1697, Brightwell reported to the Maryland General Assembly that "This country was "a howling wilderness, with only Indian paths, Indian camps and wild animals. No white settlers would dare these trails. It was only the traders who worked among the Indians that knew these trails."

Capt. Brightwell's grandson, John Lawson Brightwell, married into the Carmack family and relocated from Upper Marlborough in Prince Georges County to eastern Frederick County by 1790. This man was our subject James K. P. Brightwell's great grandfather.
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1850 US Census showing James Brightwell living with his parents and siblings in Libertytown in the 1850 US Census
James Brightwell was born in August, 1845 or 1846, however, this date is up for debate. He was the son of John Robert Brightwell of Libertytown and wife Elizabeth Polly Carr. You will later learn that this, too, may be up for debate. James was one of 9 children and raised in Libertytown despite his mother dying in 1850. Instead of middle initials "K." and "P.," note that the 1850 census above shows James "D." I would also see him later referred to as James "R." and James "B." In the end, literally the end as in his obituary, I would learn that his full name was James Knox Polk Brightwell. Obviously this was an homage to our 11th US president who was in office at the time of James Brightwell's birth.

The 1860 US Census shows James and other siblings living in the home of his oldest sister Rosanna who had married a blacksmith named James Myers. James' father, John, can be found living with another daughter (and sister to James) named Eva Elizabeth Adeline Steele who had married a Mexican War veteran named John Steele.
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1860 US Census showing James living with Rosanna and William H. Myers in Libertytown
I presume that James received a basic education in Libertytown and worked as a laborer. That is, up to the American Civil War. Research from our MountOlivetVets.com site shows that James enlisted in the Union Army in Baltimore on October 1st, 1861. He would serve initially as a private in Company E of the 5th Maryland Infantry. Enlistment papers state, at the start of the war, that our subject was a barkeeper by the name of James K. P. Brightfull, and was born in 1845, so our soldier was a man of deception, mystery or confusion.
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James Brightwell would be captured by the Rebel Army on June 15th, 1863 as part of the 2nd Battle of Winchester, Virginia. He was paroled weeks later at City Point, VA on July 8th, 1863. At this point he returned to duty.
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Brightwell participated in the June 15th, 1863 2nd Battle of Winchester (VA)
James Brightwell served out his original enlistment at Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island, a major Union operated prison fort in the middle of the Delaware River. I am quite familiar with this place as it is positioned off Delaware City, Delaware where my own father's side of the family is from. As a matter of fact, two of my paternal 3rd Great-grandfathers served as carpenters in the building of the fort in the late 1850s. Both men next served in the Union Army and had duty as prison guards at Fort Delaware during the Civil War. One of these, named John Koch and a German immigrant, died at the fort of smallpox early in the war. His wife, my 3rd Great-grandmother named Catherine Sebastian Koch, worked at  Fort Delaware during the war as a laundress and cook. Perhaps she had an occasion to talk to James Brightwell at some point while both were there?
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Civil War era photograph of Fort Delaware in the Delaware River
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Today, Fort Delaware serves as a Delaware State Park with access from Delaware City by boat
Brightwell fulfilled his enlistment and was mustered out on December 31st, 1863 at Fort Delaware. However, he re-enlisted the following day and served until September 1st, 1865. He had been promoted to corporal on June 30th, 1865, and mustered out in Fredericksburg, VA.
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James returned to Libertytown after the war and lived with his sister and siblings. One of these was older brother Alonzo F. Brightwell (1844-1877) who also served with the Union Army during the Civil War. Alonzo enlisted a month before James in Frederick and served with Company B of the Potomac Home Brigade of the First Maryland Infantry. He would be captured at Harpers Ferry in mid-September 1862 at the Battle of Maryland Heights, and was paroled afterwards. Alonzo spent much time guarding the local lines of the railroad and canal before being mustered out of service at Point of Rocks in February, 1864. He would re-enlist and served with Company B of the 13th Maryland until war's end. Like James, Alonzo was promoted to the rank of corporal and finally mustered out of service in Baltimore in late May, 1865.

James worked as a house painter, and Alonzo worked in the copper mines near New London. Yes, this is how Coppermine Road received its name. 
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1870 US Census showing Brightwell brothers back living with Rosanna Myers in Libertytown
Alonzo F. Brightwell came to live in Frederick with his wife and children. He is buried in Mount Olivet like James. Alonzo died of consumption in 1887 and is buried in Mount Olivet's Area Q/Lot 196.
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Frederick News (March 3, 1887)
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Corp. Alonzo Brightwell (1844-1887)
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James Brightwell married Lucinda Heiser of Warfieldsburg, Carroll County in 1874 in Libertytown. They would first live in the vicinity of New London between Libertytown and New Market in the eastern part of Frederick County.
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1880 US Census showing James and Lucinda Brightwell and three children.
By 1880, the Brightwells had three of seven known children. Minnie L. (1876-?), Cora V. (1878-1983) and Zeno (1879-1933). Four more would follow in Benjamin K. (1887-?), Franklin Dallis (1887-1958), Leroy (1890-1968) and Cornelia Irene (1893-1976).

I don't know much about the Brightwells' family life, but I do sense some serious health and well-being challenges associated with James, perhaps something caused as a result of his years in the service. I was clued in to this notion by seeing  this news article carried in the Frederick newspaper in 1884.
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Frederick News (Oct 9, 1884)
From this article, I decided to investigate a little deeper and found out how, and when, James was committed. His new residence was at the Montevue Hospital, the county almshouse, located north of Frederick. 
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Frederick Citizen (July 8, 1884)
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I presume that James was only at Montevue until 1886/87 based on the births of twin sons Benjamin and Franklin in 1887. A year later, he was involved in a buggy accident in Frederick with relatives. James next appears in the 1890 special Veterans Census living in Frederick. That same year, I found a very intriguing clue into his confusing childhood. Perhaps this has a direct correlation to issues encountered as an adult?​
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Frederick News (May 21, 1890)
Was this Rosanna Myers the mother of James K. P. Brightwell, or was she simply his older sister as I had previously believed? Were John and Elizabeth Brightwell our subject's parents or grandparents?  Rosanna appeared as Rosanna Brightwell in the 1850 census and married three years later William Henry Myers. Even though James is not mentioned in Rosanna's obituary in 1900, are we to think that James was the son of Rosanna? Now the questions run deep. Either Rosanna gave birth to James out of wedlock, or perhaps adopted him as her own, or he considered her (Rosanna) his mother since Elizabeth died when he was about 4-5 yearsold. Maybe Rosanna previously married an older  Brightwell son of John and Elizabeth Brightwell and became widowed before 1850?
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Frederick News (Oct 8, 1900)
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Rosanna Myers gravestone in Libertytown's Fairmount Cemetery as shown on FindaGrave.com. The heading for this memorial page interestingly reads "Rosanna Brightful Myers."
James worked as a house painter through the decade. I learned that he would make a return trip to Frederick's Montevue Hospital in 1897. I assume he was visiting or living in Libertytown with relatives at the time of his commitment. 
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Frederick News (June 15, 1897)
​An interesting sidenote is that Sheriff Andrew Clay McBride (1860-1910) is buried only about 50 yards from James Brightwell in neighboring Area L/Lot 193. More so, McBride's son, Brigadier General Allan Clay McBride (1885-1944) was a veteran of both World Wars and is buried at our World War II monument in Area E of Mount Olivet. He is one of our highest, if not the highest ranking veteran in Mount Olivet, and in the spirit of Memorial Day is oft remembered for dying in active duty as a Prisoner of War after serving on the staff of Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific in the Philippines and participating in the infamous Bataan Death March.

James Brightwell was out of the Montevue Hospital by 1898. He and his
 family relocated to Baltimore and can be found there later that year and two years later in the 1900 US Census. James is recorded as continuing to work as a house painter there in Baltimore City directories from 1898-1902. Lucinda is listed as a seamstress in the 1900 census. 
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1900 US Census showing the Brightwells in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore
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The second rowhome from the right is 102 E Hamburg St in Baltimore, temporary home of the James Brightwell family in 1900
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James K. Brightwell Military Pension Card held by the US Government
In 1901, James had been issued a military pension by the government for his service in the Civil War three decades earlier. Sadly, James Brightwell would be re-committed to Frederick's Montevue Hospital once again by 1903. The following article appeared in the Frederick News in September of that same year.
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Frederick News (Sept 16, 1903)
Thankfully, James would eventually leave Montevue and was back living with Lucinda in Frederick on East Patrick Street, and later South Bentz Street. The only mentions for the next 15 years in the newspapers of James Brightwell  are in announcing that he was either visiting relatives (children) in Baltimore, or recovering at home from illness or injury. 

I found an especially uplifting article which appeared in the local newspaper in advance of Memorial Day, 1908. It dealt with James' efforts to mark the grave of a fellow Civil War colleague buried at Mount Olivet. 
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Frederick News (May 29, 1908)
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Grave of Corp. Samuel Munshower (1835-1907) in Area G/Lot 1
​James can be found living apart from Lucinda by 1910. He, instead, is residing with son Zeno and wife Ella Brightwell with their 2 year-old son Leroy in the 1910 Census. They were living at 16 South Bentz Street. Meanwhile, Lucinda and her youngest children can be found living at 426 West Third Street in Frederick.
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James Brightwell living with son Zeno on Bentz St in Frederick in 1910
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16 S Bentz St is no longer the site of a townhome, but rather the entryway to Mullinix Park
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Lucinda Brightwell and three youngest children living at 426 W 3rd St in Frederick in the 1910 Census
James Brightwell would not be living in the next census of 1920, having died May 1st, 1919. His obituary was carried in the Frederick paper on May 2nd, 1919, however is hard to read based on the microfilm copy I found. He would be laid to rest in Mount Olivet's Area M/Lot 23.
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Frederick Post (May 2, 1919)
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Obituary transcript:

"James K. Polk Brightwell, a civil war veteran and a well-known citizen died at the home of his son Zeno Brightwell, 16 Bentz Street yesterday evening at 7:30 o'clock after a short illness of kidney trouble 72 years old. He had been in failing health for some time. He was a native of Libertytown and enlisted in the Union Army Company E Fifth Maryland Regiment, Captain Lowery, in 1861 and served throughout the conflict. He was a house painter by trade and was a member of the Lutheran church. His wife died one year ago. Three daughters, Mrs. John Apple, Mrs Charles Shannon and Mrs Lewis Rickerd, Baltimore, and three sons, Zeno, this city and Frank and LeRoy Brightwell, Baltimore. One sister, Mrs. James Ely, this city, a half sister Mrs Kate Scott, Baltimore, and two half brothers, Stephen Myers, Liberty and Walter Myers, Baltimore, all survive. The funeral will take place from his late house Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Thomas P. Rice will be the funeral director."

As stated in the obituary, James' wife, Lucinda, had died in 1918. Interestingly, she died exactly one year before her husband on May 1st, 1918. Lucinda Brightwell is not buried in Mount Olivet. Instead she is in an unmarked grave in Dundalk's Oak Hill Cemetery in southeast Baltimore. Her youngest son, Leroy Brightwell (1890-1968), is buried here in this cemetery as well and likely made the arrangements. It is likely that she died at his home in Charm City, located at 432 South Third Street.
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Baltimore Sun (May 3, 1918)
If anything else, I find myself thinking about Lucinda Brightwell for the trials endured in raising her children, all the while caring for husband James. It now makes sense why James is buried in Strangers Row in Mount Olivet. Unlike his Civil War counterparts, he was not buried here as a result of war injury or illness, but more so for being indigent at the time of death. Mount Olivet used this area for paupers graves and for actual strangers that died in town, not claimed by family or friends and brought to respective hometowns for burial. In addition, I've found that the cemetery's board of managers practiced charity by helping widows with little means to bury spouses, and families of similar circumstances to bury children who had died. 
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Part of Area M of Mount Olivet, aka "Strangers Row" showing James K. P. Brightwell's gravestone marked with a flag
Once again we are reminded of the importance of a gravestone. Yes, it only shows a brief amount of information in the form of name, birth and death dates, and either military-based information as is the case of our veterans, or an occasional bible verse for others. These are monuments to lives lived, plain and simple. Think what you will of mortal remains and the soul or spirit of an individual, but the grave marker is a touchstone, both literal and figurative, representing the accomplishments, experiences and occasional mishaps of what the decedent embodied in both life and remembered in death. I'm glad I could learn more about James Brightwell, the man and life behind and beneath this flaglet. Now, what about the flag to the immediate left of his gravestone?
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The decedent under this flag was also a local soldier. He was a private in Company M of the 71st Infantry Regiment and his last name was somewhat similar to his cemetery neighbor Mr. Brightwell. His name was James Lewis Lambright, Jr. He went by the name Lewis Lambright.

Born May 15th, 1889, "Lewis" was the son of James Lewis Lambright who died in 1896. Our subject's mother was the former Georgianna M. Heiser of Carroll County and daughter of Daniel and Susan Heisler. Georgianna was an older sister to Lucinda Heiser Brightwell of whom we just talked about. 

Georgianna would remarry in 1897. This was Harry Westerly. The family of five "Lambright" siblings continued living at mother Georgianna's home of 104 West Sixth Street in Frederick.  
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1900 US Census showing Lambright family in Frederick
The Lambright children attended school in Frederick and Lewis would take up the tonsorial arts becoming a barber. He began working in this profession at age 19 around 1908.
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1910 US Census showing Lewis Lambright living with his parents at 104 W 6th St
To say that Lewis had a straight and narrow upbringing would not be quite correct. He was no stranger to the local police authorities. At age 15, he was arrested for theft of some oranges from a freight train. It was proven later that he was innocent of the theft, though.
 
At age 25, he and another man, Osborne Six, were "engaged in a fracas" because Six accused Lewis of "too much familiarity with Six’s wife." Both men were arrested by Policeman Johnny Adams who we have chronicled in this blog. Each man was fined, and Lewis was "warned by the magistrate to steer clear of other people’s wives." The next year, Lewis was charged with disorderly conduct by Officer Adams. He was fined $5, but ended up staying in the jail for 15 days since he couldn’t pay the fine. 

​As World War I raged in Europe, Lewis registered for the draft in June, 1917. He was now 28. Sometime later that year or the next, he would marry a West Sixth street neighbor in Annie Wickham. Lewis enlisted in the US Army and was inducted into service on June 26th, 1918. As stated earlier, he was assigned to Company M of the 71st Infantry.
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World war I Draft Registration for James Lewis Lambright in 1917
Lewis Lambright was sent to Camp Meade in June of 1918 for basic training. In August 1918, he came home on furlough, but remained at home instead of returning to camp on August 25th as expected. The next night, he attempted suicide by swallowing a bichloride of mercury tablet. His family realized what he had done and called a doctor who pulled him through the suicide attempt.

Lewis refused to go back to Camp Meade. We learn a great deal more thanks to unfortunate events occurring on December 1st, 1918. The following article in the Frederick News tells of his sad demise after staying A.W.O.L. all fall as the headline clearly states. (NOTE: I've transcribed this article below).
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Frederick Post (Dec 2, 1918)
Transcription:
"Rather than go back to Camp Meade to face punishment for being absent without leave, Private James Lewis Lambright, West Sixth Street, on Friday afternoon swallowed a quantity of arsenic which caused death on Sunday afternoon. Although information is lacking, it is believed that Lambright swallowed the poison in his room on the second floor while officers were on the first floor urging his wife to produce him for arrest.


​On September 2, Lambright was absent from Camp Meade. At that time he attempted suicide swallowing a quantity of bichloride mercury. The soldier responded to treatment and was sent home to recover. Lambright was absent from Camp Meade since November 2. Members of the police force have known of his presence here but failed to arrest him. On Friday afternoon (Nov. 29), Officer John Adams and Painter called at the Lambright home on West Sixth Street. They were received by Mrs. Lambright who at first refused to permit the officers to talk with her husband. 'You can't take him without a warrant,' she exclaimed. Finally, Lambright appeared and he was persuaded by the officers to accompany them to the city exemption board from where they got in touch with Camp Meade. The officers were instructed to hold the soldier until the arrival of the guard from the camp.

Then shortly after 8 o'clock, Frederick Chief of Police Bruchey received the following telegram: 'Hold Private Lewis Lambright absent without leave. Will send Guard.' "Provost Guard Headquarters"
Half an hour later a telegram was received by the chief of police. 'Lambright is a deserter. Plan for calls of his arrest immediately.' "Lieut. Hammond"
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Later a telephone message was received by Desk Sergeant John Engelbrecht from Camp Meade requesting the county officials to hold Lambright for a guard which would be sent to Frederick. 

Becomes ill at Jail
On the trip to the county jail, Lambright became violently ill. The two officers suspected that he had taken poison but Lambright denied it. 'Didn't I tell you before September 2nd that I took poison he counterquestioned'. The officers agreed that he had said that his promptness had saved his life.

At the jail Lambright became seriously ill. His wife consulted a physician and he was released by Sheriff Klipp to be taken home for treatment. On Saturday (Nov 30), his condition was critical and on Sunday (Dec 1) afternoon between 12 and 1 o'clock he died. 

He is survived by his wife, his mother Mrs. Harry Esterly, a brother Harry Lambright and one sister Mrs. Ada Cuddy, Harrisburg, PA., half sister Mrs Pearl Adams and a half brother, Charles Zimmerman.
The funeral will take place this Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock. Services will be conducted by Dr. G. P. Kidner. Burial will be made in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Thomas P. Rice is the funeral director."


Such was the life of Lewis Lambright, buried without a grave marker in Mount Olivet's Area M. I would also learn that his father and mother are buried in different sections here at Mount Olivet: James Lewis Lambright, Sr. in Area C/Lot 57 , and Georgianna (Lambright) Esterly in Area T/Lot 144. Both are in unmarked graves as well.​
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On Memorial Day, we traditionally focus on those veterans who actually died honorably in the duty of serving under the flag. I guess its also okay to remember the cases of veterans like Corp. Brightwell and Pvt. Lambright, attempting to cope with past experiences and the concept of warfare.

Again thanks to all who serve, and those who have served, and let us never forget those who made the greatest sacrifice so that we may enjoy our freedom and liberties.
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The Cordwainer's Son

5/16/2025

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Darn! I'm two months late for "National Shoe Day" (March 15th), and way too early for "International Shoemakers Day." No worries, I will tell you this week's "Story in Stone" anyway. But, before I do, I'm reminded to share the old idiom:

"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes."

The admonition to "walk a mile in someone else’s shoes" means before judging someone, you must understand his or her experiences, challenges, thought processes, etc. In effect, it is a reminder to practice empathy. While long credited as a Native American aphorism, replacing the word shoes with moccasins, the saying almost certainly is derived from a Mary T. Lathrap poem published in 1895. The original title of the poem was Judge Softly, later titled Walk a Mile in His Moccasins. There are many variations on the phrase such as walk a mile in his, her or my shoes. A plea for empathy is phrased put yourself in my shoes, as well as put yourself in his or her shoes.

I was reminded of this quote recently by hearing a stand-up routine by Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connolly. His variation on the theme included this joke:
 
"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares?... He's a mile away and you've got his shoes!"
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This week's piece was more inspired by a gravestone in Frederick, Maryland's historic Mount Olivet cemetery, than by foot apparel. I guess you could say that judgment and empathy are also at play based on the subject of who has a grave marker, and who does not. 

Two early gravestones appear in area M, not far from the grave of Gov. Thomas Johnson, Jr. They represent the location of the mortal remains of George Malambre, a cordswainer, and his first wife Rachel. The fact that the monuments pictured above still exist is quite a feat unto itself as these are relicts from the old All Saints' Protestant Episcopal burying ground. "God's Acre," as it was once called, dates back to the founding of Frederick in the 1740s and existed on a bluff overlooking Carroll Creek.

Like the namesake church itself, the burying ground is long gone, emptied of its mortal remains back in 1913. This was part of a planned mass-removal project sponsored by the congregation. They wanted to get out of the cemetery business, and maintenance of the cemetery was difficult as it had become quite unkempt over decades. New burials were primarily going to Mount Olivet upon the latter's opening in 1854. People with the means to do so would have relatives, formerly "residing" at All Saints, moved to a new family plot in Frederick's "Garden Cemetery" south of town. Several lots were purchased at Mount Olivet by the church, itself, in an effort to facilitate the relocation. Today, all that remains of "All Saints" in the vicinity of the old church and former burying ground is a name—neighboring East All Saints Street.
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All Saints Protestant Episcopal burying ground can be seen in the upper left of this 1854 lithograph by Sachse & Co. The vantage point is from the Square Corner (intersection of Patrick and market streets) looking southeast. S. Market St is on the right of the image.
The Malambre stones, among others, once sat atop the hill area where the "Alive at Five" concerts are held today, more specifically the amphitheater on the southern bank of Carroll Creek—a component of our spectacular linear park. Many of the early Fredericktonians buried in the All Saints' Cemetery here came to Mount Olivet with no gravestone, or lost theirs along the way if it was deemed too shabby to adorn Frederick's "Cemetery Beautiful." Those monuments that were broken, or showing visible signs of "wear and tear" were rejected and simply buried along with their decedents.

​There are plenty of unmarked residents to be found in our Area M in company of those who retained their stones. I read recently that it was basically one surviving stone for every five decedents. Several without markers were prominent citizens as well. One such, Dr. John Tyler (1763-1841), is noted as one of the earliest oculists (eye specialists) in the country. As a matter of fact it is said that he became the first American-born man to be recognized as a specialized doctor in this field and was among the first to conduct cataract surgery.

My friend and mentor, John Ashbury, recently wrote (or is in the process of writing) a piece on the good doctor for Frederick Magazine.  As the so-called "coucher of cataracts," he performed delicate work that required a steady hand. It's no wonder why Dr. Tyler "spited" city officials back in 1814 when he quickly constructed a house on an adjacent lot next to his home (and place of business) on West Church Street. This stunt featured the intent and "optics" to thwart a plan by municipal officials to build a "through road" between West Church Street (at Record Street) to West Patrick Street as an extension of Record Street. Ironically, years later, Dr. Tyler's home, next to his "Spite House," would become the rectory for All Saints Church.
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Dr. John Tyler's unmarked gravesite in Area M/lot 52
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Virginia Free Press (Nov 4, 1841)
In death, Dr. Tyler wasn't fully "spited" by cemetery reinterment efforts. He lost his grave marker, or perhaps never had one, but was thankfully given his own grave space in Area M. At that time, nearly 300 of his All Saints' brethren were not as lucky. These individuals are buried together within a mass grave only yards in front of the steadfast stones of George and Rachel Malambre.

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I will tell a more complete story of both Dr. John Tyler, along with All Saints Cemetery and its removal to Mount Olivet, in future efforts with this blog. One of the key resources for me in understanding the early churchyard on Carroll Creek is a description by writer Emma Gittinger for an article published in the Frederick News on May 28th, 1913. This piece was actually based on a lecture Ms. Gittinger had given at the time to the Frederick Historical Society. It centered on a recent visit she had made in walking through the lonely,  old burial ground shortly before its dismantling. Here is a small snippet of the article with mentions of both the Malambres and Dr. Tyler:
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From this article, Ms. Gittinger tells us that Mr. Malambre was a shoemaker, a line of work that also employs the terms of cobbler or cordwainer. One of the world's earliest professions, people skilled in this trade are responsible for making, repairing and restoring footwear. I received a better understanding by reading an online article on a website called Revolutionary War Journal (www.revolutionarywarjournal.com). Author Henry Schenewolf published an article entitled "Cordwainers & Cobblers, Shoemakers in Colonial America" on March 8th, 2016—just a week prior to "National Shoe Day." Mr. Schenewolf shares: 

"The word shoe is derived form the Anglo Saxon ‘scoh,’ meaning any covering for the foot, excepting hosiery.  In ancient times through the nineteenth century, in the Old and New World, the shoemaker garnished a unique class of respect.  They were so regarded for their remarkable intelligence and the large number of literates, poets, and statesmen who had risen from their ranks.
 
Cordwainer was the title given to shoemakers.  Cobblers were those who repaired shoes.  The cobbler had as much as five years less training than a cordwainer.  In most countries, including the American colonies, cobblers were prohibited by proclamation from making shoes.  The first shoemakers, tanners and other tradesmen arrived in Jamestown in 1607; among the colony’s principal founder John Smith’s many talents, was that of shoemaker –  the settlement was partially funded by a thriving English shoe trade.   However the first fully trained member of the cordwainer’s guild to arrive in America was the British shoemaker Christopher Nelme in 1619.  The first cordwainer in New England, Thomas Beard, landed at Plymouth in 1629.  Prior to his arrival and long after, New England settlements continued to purchase leather from Virginia until their own tanners were established."
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Tools of the Colonial cordswainer
George Malambre is our person of interest this week. As I noted earlier, Rachel was his first wife. The couple died less than 25 months apart in the mid 1840s and were buried side by side in All Saints' Cemetery. Seventy years later, their bodies were brought here to Mount Olivet to resume their "resting in peace" after a four-block trek to the front gate of our cemetery, combined with a similar sojourn thereafter to the midsection of Mount Olivet and Area M/Lot 42. This occurred on December 19th, 1913 according to our records.
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I was disappointed that I did not find a great deal of information on George, but I did piece together plenty about his father, Jacob Malambre, who was also a shoemaker. Our story starts on September 17th, 1793 with the arrival in Philadelphia of Jacob Malambre aboard the ship "Columbia" from Amsterdam. This man was the progenitor of the family here in the United States. He hailed from Germany, likely North Rhine-Westphalia, and was born around the year 1768. I found the surname spelled "Malampre" in early records as well, and I believe this to be a bit of a French connection. Keep in mind that the border of eastern France and western Germany (Alsace-Lorraine region) would change hands often throughout history.

We believe that Jacob Malambre soon after went to work as a shoemaker in Philadelphia. He can be found in the 1800 US Census living in Philadelphia in the city's "Dock Ward" (now known as Society Hill) and his occupation is listed as that of cordwainer. Jacob Malambre had married Margaret Catherine Welsh on May 29th of that same year at Philadelphia's St. Paul's Episcopal Church located in the Chestnut Hill area.
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Old St Paul's Episcopal Church and Graveyard in Philadelphia at 225 S 3rd St
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1800 US Census showing Jacob Malambre in Philadelphia
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Gelf's General Advertiser (June 18, 1808)
Newspaper advertisements give brief details of Jacob's professional life in the shoemaking trade. From 1804-mid-1810 he can be found in city directories conducting business as a master shoemaker at 515 Front Street (on the waterfront of the Delaware River) and had apprentices and journeymen in his employ. I found Jacob involved in an interesting case in January 1806. This was  a grand inquest held in Philadelphia on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to explore details of a labor strike on behalf of journeymen shoemakers who had "united" together in an effort to get better pay from master shoemakers like Malambre.

Apparently the city had set prices for varying styles of shoes across the board, but the business owners and master shoemakers found that the rising rate of pay demanded by journeymen workers (needed to handle work volume) was growing, thus there would be the necessity to raise prices of goods at the behest of the customer base. 


​Author Patrick Grubbs in his entry describing the Cordwainers Trial of 1806 within the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia writes:
 
"This trial proved to be not only a contest between journeymen laborers against master shoemakers but also a trial of Federalist versus Jeffersonian ideals. The ultimate decision upheld Federalist notions of protection of property and firmly placed the United States on a course of enhanced industrial manufacturing through the use of wage labor. As such, it also proved to be one of the most significant trials in American labor history.
 
Contention between journeymen shoemakers and their masters grew in the last decade of the eighteenth century, as in-migrating master craftsmen began promoting price competition, proposed higher pay rates, and lowered product quality. Both masters and journeymen fought the practice of underselling (marketing cheap goods), as it not only affected profits, but also wages. However, each side did so independently and with its own interests at stake, which foreshadowed the divergence that would take place between them.

After both sides presented their case, Federalist Judge Moses Levy (1757-1826) used his charge to the jury to extol the ideals of a laissez-faire market and its ability to determine both prices and wages. He denounced the existence of journeymen societies, their use of strikes, and the artificial regulation this put on the market. Lastly, he instructed the jury to understand that a combination of workers, formed into a society in order to raise their wages, was illegal under common law. The next day the jury found the eight journeymen guilty and fined them eight dollars each."
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This volume contains the transcription by Thomas Lloyd of the Cordwainers Trial, officially titled The Trial of the Boot and Shoemakers of Philadelphia, on an Indictment for a Combination and Conspiracy to Raise their Wages.
In many situations, dissatisfied apprentices absconded if they didn't get the pay or conditions desired. Apparently, Philadelphia was not as high paying as neighboring New York City and Baltimore. I saw multiple instances where apprentices went "AWOL" from Mr. Malambre, and he would in turn place listings in the newspaper offering rewards for their return.
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Relf's Philadelphia Gazette (July 16, 1804)
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Relf's Philadelphia Gazette (Aug 7, 1807)
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Philadelphia Aurora General Advertiser (Sept 5, 1809)
To give an example of going prices for shoes of the day, I found the following price guide of shoes in Philadelphia for 1805: Fancy Tops $4.25, Back Straps $3.75, Longboots $2.75, Cossacks $2.75, Bootees $2.50. The journeyman generally could make $6-7/week, but some could pull $11.25-12/week based on work speed and efficiency. A good workman could produce three pairs of Back-Strap boots/week.
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Aurora General Advertiser (Aug 3, 1810)
In 1810, Jacob had moved from his second location of business at 113 S. 2nd Street in Philadelphia to 69 Union Street. He would stay here five years before moving to his final known location in the "City of Brotherly Love" of 114 Race Street. It is assumed that sundry apprentices were replaced by children of the couple of Jacob and Margaret Catherine Malambre. Four are known including our subject George who was born in Philadelphia on July 5th, 1804. Others included John (b.1802-1868), Jacob (1806-1850) and a daughter Margaret. It can be assumed that all three boys worked in the family business from a young age.
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Jacob Malambre living in Philadelphia in 1810 Census showing multiple tenants including both children and employees (living with family)
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Relf's Philadelphia Gazette (Oct 19, 1815)
For one reason or another, Jacob Malambre leaves Philadelphia somewhere around 1816. I found references to "unpicked up" letters for him in Lancaster, and a business directory listing for Jacob Malambre in Baltimore for 1817-1818. The Baltimore location seems to be in the Towson Area. He could have been a journeyman himself in those other places. Regardless, Jacob Malambre, Sr. would come to good old Frederick, Maryland. 
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Political Examiner and Public Advertiser (June 10, 1818)
The earliest advertisement I had access to within an early Frederick newspaper implies the location of Jacob Malambre's shoemaking business as being at a site directly opposite the National Pike Mile-marker #45 at the corner of East Patrick Street and today's Maxwell Alley. The marker is gone, destroyed by a wayward motorist some years ago, as it sat in front of  the former site of Frederick's first house, built by John Thomas Schley in the 1740s. This would eventually become Niedhardts Bakery and more recently the Blue Ridge News Agency and currently Venus on the Half Shell, a vintage clothing store. At this later location, my old friend Jennifer Stillrich can still set you up with shoe apparel from yester-year! That would make Malambre's shoemaking shop location 200 East Patrick on the south side of the street and along an alley that leads back to C. Burr Artz Library.
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John Thomas Schley's House
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A vintage picture of Venus on the Half Shell with Milemarker #45 to left
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Looking east on East Patrick St at Maxwell's Alley. One can see the original stone west wall of an earlier structure that once stood here. This could likely have been part of Malambre's early shop.
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Political Examiner and Public Advertiser (October 21, 1818)
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Outside of advertisements for the business, not much more can be gleaned from Jacob Malambre's operation here in town. He did move to another location in the summer of 1819. This was several blocks to the west on Patrick Street adjacent the bridge over Carroll Creek. Interestingly, this vicinity, called Bentztown was later inhabited by two lasting Frederick legends. Diarist Jacob Engelbrecht possibly lived and worked (as a tailor) here in this very dwelling. Across the street, Barbara Fritchie would make her home with husband John Fritchie, a glovemaker. Again, this would be sometime later. 
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Political Examiner and Public Advertiser (Sept 25, 1819)
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This drawing from the late 1800s shows the early homes that originally stood in the vicinity of the W Patrick Street bridge over Carroll Creek. This shows the north side of the street and the Malambre residence was likely the first house immediately to the right of the bridge shown.
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Jacob Malambre was hard to find in the 1820 Census because the entry is misspelled and blotched at the bottom of a page. Three sons and a wife are shown living in the household with him.
Jacob Malambre appeared in the 1820 US Census, but died a year later on October 4th, 1821. Mention of his death was carried in the local newspaper, but also can be found in the Baltimore and Philadelphia newspapers as well.
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Republican Gazette and General Advertiser (Oct 6, 1821)
Jacob Engelbrecht chronicled the event with the following entry into his diary on the afternoon of the cordswainer's death:

"Died this day, in the 52nd year of his age Mr. Jacob Malambre (shoemaker) a resident of this town for the last five years. He will be buried on the Lutheran graveyard tomorrow."

It seems odd that Jacob made this remark as I supposed this couple to be of the Episcopal faith because they were married in the Episcopal Church, and it seems son George "kept the faith" as he was originally buried in an Episcopal burying ground. Regardless, Jacob Malambre's gravestone and gravesite cannot be found in Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery on East Church Street. The church has done an awesome job in preserving burial records, but I failed to find any entry in their extensive database. 

Meanwhile, oldest son John Malambre stepped up to take over his father's business. It can be assumed that George Malambre, now age 17, assisted his older brother. Sister Margaret Malambre had married Jacob Ortner on November 6th, 1820. John Malambre would marry a local girl two years later on May 13th, 1823. His bride was Catherine Getzendanner.
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Republican Gazette and General Advertiser (Oct 10, 1821)
Less than a year later, John moves locations to the former home of Mrs. Alice Wright, who I found among the first advertising the sale of ice cream in Frederick in the year 1818 at this location. I believe that this was on the north side of the first block of West Patrick Street, just west of the former Frederick County National Bank building. This move would open the opportunity for Jacob Engelbrecht to purchase the Malambre's former location on the creek of which he would expand in scope.
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Republican Examiner and General Advertiser (Oct 26, 1822)
By the summer of 1826, it appears John would take on a new occupation. Jacob Engelbrecht's records on July 26th of that year:

"John Malambre is appointed toll-gate keeper at the Monocacy Bridge Gate viz John Reitzell resigned. He enters on his duty of office tomorrow."

The thought is that John may have operated the business with brother George until summer of 1828 when Jacob Malambre takes command of the family business started by his father three decades earlier.
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Frederick Town Herald (June 28, 1828)
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1830 US Census showing George's mother Margaret Catherine Malambre living in Frederick.
Margaret Catherine Malambre appears living alone in Frederick on West Patrick Street. John Malambre would eventually go to Carroll County and open up a cordswainer business there. He would die in 1868 and is buried with his wife (Mary) at Sam's Creek Cemetery in Clemsonville. Brother Jacob Malambre, Jr. had married Ellen Gawthrop in 1826. He would run the shop on West Patrick temporarily, eventually leaving for Hagerstown. Shortly thereafter Jacob, Jr. and Ellen would leave Maryland altogether and take their family to Dayton, Ohio. His son George W. Malambre would serve in local and state government and made quite a name for himself there from what I've read. Jacob Malambre, Jr.  would die here in Frederick while making a visit of friends in 1850. 
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The (Hagerstown) Torch Light And Public Advertiser (April 12, 1832)
Meanwhile, I found our George Malambre's name in both Baltimore and Washington, DC newspapers. I theorize that he could have been conducting shoe sales and garnering orders/subscriptions in both cities for shoes. He seems to have been in the vicinity of Towson in Baltimore County. Here he married Rachel Mayes (b. 1808), daughter of farmer James H. Mayes (1783-1863) and wife Rebecca Eubanks (1788-1859). This took place around 1830.
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George Malambre can be found living in Baltimore in the 1830 US Census
George and Rachel appear to be living together in Towson in the 1830 US Census.  After returning to Frederick in the 1830s, the couple had two sons together: George Mayes Malambre (b. 1838) and John L. Malambre (b. 1848). George Malambre conducted his shoemaking business on North Market Street between East Second and East Thirds streets. 
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The Times and Democratic Advocate (Aug 31, 1837).
George had the assistance of apprentices. The following are two documents found at the Frederick County Courthouse that lay out agreements for these young apprentices. The first is from 1838 and a young indenturer named William Ely. This consists of three pages. The second agreement is from 1837 and records the promissory relationship between George Malambre and the Frederick County Orphans Court in which he took responsibility for training Henry A. Jones and Elizabeth A. M. Jones in the trade of shoemaking.
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1838 apprenticeship with William Ely
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Orphans Court wardship over apprentice candidates Thomas A. Jones and Elizabeth A. M. Jones in 1837.
On February 2nd, 1839, the Frederick Town Herald announced George Malambre's appointment as leather inspector, a state appointment of the governor, for Frederick County. As for a home residence, it appears that George was living at what is now 213-215 North Market Street in November, 1840. He touted this new location in the following newspaper ad from 1841.
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Frederick Town Herald (April 8, 1841)
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The new location for the Malambre family and shoemaking business was 213-215 N Market St in downtown Frederick. This is the brick building to the right of green accented Bushwaller's Restaurant. Today this is Retro Metro.
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1840 US Census showing George Malambre and a plethora of household residents, mostly apprentices and journeymen.
Unfortunately, George's wife Rachel Malambre would die on February 17th, 1843, just a few weeks shy of her 34th birthday. As we stated earlier, she would be buried in the All Saints' Church Graveyard between East All Saints Street and Carroll Creek. ​
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George Malambre would remarry in late spring 1844, April 29th to be exact. His bride would be Emeline Mayes of Towson born around 1821. This was George's sister-in-law, a sibling of former wife Rachel. This was not necessarily uncommon at the time when wives died relatively young with children to raise. The new couple of George and Emeline would have a son together the following year and named him James Edgar Malambre.

​The union was short-lived. July 5th, 1845 would be the day George Malambre died. Not much time spent with his second wife Emeline, and not much time spent with his infant son James—mere months. Unfortunately, we have no record of George' cause of death. He was only 40. George would be laid to rest next to first wife Rachel, Emeline's sister, in the All Saints' burying ground. The gravestone below would soon appear over his grave at that vicinity.
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Grave of George Malambre in Mount Olivet's Area M
My assistant Marilyn Veek found documents associated with George's estate that may be of interest. If anything else, it is interesting to see detailed lists of his personal property at the time of death.
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Emeline went back to Baltimore County to live with her parents. The 10-acre farm was located on York Road a few miles north of Towson. All three Malambre boys went with her to be raised in the home of their common grandparents. None appear to have pursued careers in shoemaking.
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1850 US Census showing Emeline and her two stepsons and son James living with her parents in Towson.
George Mayes Malambre died on October 11th, 1861 in Towson. His obituary appearing in the Frederick paper in late October was extremely dramatic, but no cause of death was mentioned. Likewise, no place of burial was listed.
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Frederick Examiner (Oct 23, 1861)
It was the worst of times, and it was the best of times for our subject George's second son John L. Malambre. He suffered a bad vehicular accident in 1866, but struck lead in the early 1880s.
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Baltimore County Journal (Feb 10, 1866)
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Baltimore Sun (Jan 22, 1876)
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Baltimore County Union (April 1, 1882)
Emeline Malambre died on May 20th, 1867. Son James Edgar would assume the property of his mother located above Townson and sold it in 1870. Two years later, he married Mollie A. Graham of Carroll County.
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(Towson) Baltimore County Union (June 8, 1867)
Two pieces of aged marble in the form of gravestones can surely tell quite a story if you do the work and research. Although we still don't know much about the cordwainer Jacob Malambre's son George, and wife Rachel, we can appreciate the importance of their respective time on Earth and relationships to a family business and family members as well: parents, siblings and offspring. I could not find gravesites of George's parents, second wife and three sons "to boot" as they say.

American spiritual teacher, Yoga guru, psychologist and teach Ram Dass (1931-2019) taught workshops on conscious aging and dying around the United States. He left us with an original quote which seems to "tie up" our story here about this family with cordwaining talent galore:

"Death is absolutely safe. It's like taking off a tight shoe."
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Henrietta : Hood's Devoted Friend

4/18/2025

1 Comment

 
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 AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following "Story in Stone" was researched and written by Hood College senior Genesis Kapp as part of her internship with us here at Mount Olivet Cemetery (spring semester 2025).

Having the great honor of placing flowers on the grave of a person you do not know, or have never met, is quite amazing. This individual died 27 years before I was even born. She wasn't a relative, or family friend. I hadn't even heard her full name until a few months ago. That  name is Henrietta Rosenstock.

I know it may sound insane, but I feel as if I now know this person. Not directly, as most people would think, but through intensive research over several weeks, including interviewing a few people in our local community that did know her. More than anything, I feel a connection to this woman through my college experience.  I am a senior at Hood College and will be graduating next month. Henrietta was vested in my school and the education of my classmates, along with those before me, and those that will come after.

It's April 18th, a vibrant, spring day. It also happens to be the death date of my subject. If she were still living, she would be 128 years old. Having an internship at Mount Olivet Cemetery this semester, I learned that Henrietta's grave site has been the recipient of a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on this date, each year since she passed in 1975. Her loving husband, Sam, had set up this endowment with the cemetery at that time.

​When learning of my desire to write this "Story in Stone" about Henrietta, the cemetery superintendent, Ron Pearcey, and my internship coordinator, Chris Haugh, entrusted me with the task of placing these flowers on this important day.
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​In the following short blog here, I'd like to introduce you to Henrietta, if you didn't know anything about her already. She was a great woman, the kind that Hood College hopes to produce in alumnae of the institution. The school mission reads: "Through an integration of the liberal arts and the professions, Hood College provides an education that empowers students to use their hearts, minds and hands to meet personal, professional and global challenges and to lead purposeful lives of responsibility, leadership, service and civic engagement." Although she never attended this institution as a student, Henrietta embodied this mantra throughout her life.
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​Henrietta Spaget Kaufman was born May 7th, 1896 in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina.  This small community near Rocky Mount was founded in 1760 by British colonists. Henrietta came from Polish-Jewish immigrant grandparents, and her family started a small, but booming dry goods business in Tarboro. This childhood experience helped give her a firm business knowledge, along with a sense of community service for later in life. She would assist her husband with a successful career in running fruit and vegetable canning-establishments here in Frederick, Thurmont and Florida. 
 
Henrietta was the daughter of Michael D. Kaufman (1870-1932) and Pearl Morris (1871-1963). Her father was a native of Norfolk, Virginia, the son of retail clothing merchant Jacob Kaufman (1845-1912) from Poland, and Henrietta Spaget (1847-1889) of Prussia. Our subject's mother (Pearl) met Michael in  Tarboro in the early 1890s presumably, and married in 1894. Their first born child died in infancy, followed by Henrietta who would be born next in 1896. Two additional children would grow the family in the form of Henry Morris Kaufman (1897-1975) and Michael David Kaufman, Jr. (1907-2007). Michael Kaufman would own a clothing store in Tarboro as well. One of his ads from 1903 proclaimed that he had just returned from New York with new merchandise. Indeed, Jewish-owned stores were often perceived as being more cosmopolitan and having more fashionable merchandise.
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1907 dated postcard showing Tarboro, NC's Main Street
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(Wilmington, NC) Semi-Weekly Messenger (Jan 18, 1894)
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Tarboro's B'nai Israel Synagogue
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Michael Kaufman family living in Tarboro in the 1900 US Census
Originally born in Richmond, (VA), Pearl (Morris) Kaufman (Henrietta's mother) had moved to Tarboro at an early age. The oldest of six children, she was educated at Mrs. William Dorsey Pender's Seminary in Tarboro and Women's College in Richmond, VA. Pearl's father, Henry Morris, was not only an exceptional businessman, but a local leader in the civic and political realm as he served as Tarboro's mayor.
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1880s view of Tarboro's Main street with the H. Morris & Bros. Dry Goods Store in center of photograph as a neighboring hotel burns.
​The Find-a-Grave memorial page on Find-a-Grave.com gives an interesting biography of Henrietta's grandfather Morris and how he came to America, and Tarboro:
 
"Henry Morris was born in England, the eldest son of 5 children born to Jewish immigrants Aaron W. Morris (1818-1887, born Poland) and wife Sarah (c.1817-1893, b. Germany). The family immigrated to America, where Aaron Morris established himself as a clothier in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess Co, NY. By 1870, the family had removed to Richmond, VA and re-established a store there, where a thriving Jewish community was established.
 
In 1869, 29-year old Henry married 18-year old Sarah Lichtenstein (1851-1929) of Richmond, daughter of Polish-Prussian Jewish immigrant, Simon Lichtenstein & his German wife, Rebecca Schultz. (Sarah Liechtenstein was older sister to David Lichtenstein (who married Hannah Zander) and also removed to Tarboro where he rose to great prominence and success.)
 
Within the year, Henry & Sarah, along with his younger brother William Meyer Morris, had removed to Tarboro, NC and established MORRIS BROS. STORE on the 400 block of Main Street, selling ready-to-wear clothing and shoes. The brothers later partnered with brother-in-law, David Lichtenstein, and had stores in Tarboro, Greenville, and Washington."
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H. Morris & Bros. storefront in Tarboro, NC in the 1880s
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Henry Morris obituary in the Tarboro, NC newspaper (May 13, 1887)
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​At age 11, Henrietta moved to Norfolk in 1907 as her father opened a retail business back in his hometown. The 1910 Census shows him working as a salesman at a clothing store.
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Virginian Pilot (Nov 7, 1909)
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Norfolk's Maury High School, under construction in 1910
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Kaufman family in Norfolk, VA living on Olney Rd in 1910 US Census
​​The Kaufman family lived in the Warwick Apartments and Mr. Kaufman was working as a clerk at the Old Dominion Paper Company in 1915-1916. Henrietta's name appears in the Ledger-Star newspaper of June 14th, 1916 as part of the graduating class of Matthew Fontaine Maury High School in Norfolk In 1916. She appears to have gotten her certificate in Commercial Arts. ​​Later that same year of 1916, the Kaufmans would move from Norfolk, VA to Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Their specific destination was Brookline, Massachusetts, a southwest suburb of Boston.​
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Ledger-Star (June 14, 1916)
According to later Brookline City Directories, the Kaufman family took up residence at 26 Claflin Road. A brief mention in a Boston area newspaper of the time points to the possibility that Henrietta worked as a saleslady in a local dress shop. Regardless, it would be a turbulent time for the country as troubles had been brewing in Europe since 1914. In April, 1917, the United States officially joined our allies in "the Great War" against Germany, also known as World War I. In July, 1918, Henrietta would enlist in the military. Perhaps the naval influence of Norfolk, Virginia stayed with our subject and provided the inspiration to serve her country. She enlisted on July 23rd in the US Navy and initially held the rank of yeoman (f), but eventually served as one of only eight women chief petty officers during the first World War.
 
The Yeoman Corps of women in World War I primarily held secretarial and administrative duties. A Chief Petty Officer would expand on these duties, and recipients of this rank were held responsible for training  junior officers and leading yeoman divisions and other petty officers.
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Boston Globe (July 25, 1918)
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​Henrietta would be discharged in April, 1919. The Brookline Directory shows her living with her parents in 1919 and 1922. In the 1920 US Census, Henrietta's occupation is listed as secretary in the investment field. 
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1920 US Census showing Kaufman family in Brookline, MA
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Henrietta's employment is shown on the third line down on this extension of the 1920 US Census record
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26 Claflin Street (left side of stairs) served as home to the Kaufman family in Brookline, MA
I had the opportunity to interview Jenny Morgan, a great niece of Henrietta who lives here in Frederick County. Jenny's grandfather was Henrietta's youngest brother, Michael Kaufman, Jr. Of her Aunt Henrietta, Jenny said:

"She was a determined woman all of her life. After her military duty, she went to New York City and went to work on Wall Street as a secretary/market analysist. Brother Michael would eventually work as a stock broker in New York beginning in the 1930s, and would go on to have a seat on the New York Stock Exchange."

It is not known how Henrietta received her job but it has been conjectured that perhaps a relative or family friend may have assisted her in gaining this job on Wall Street since it was very uncommon to see women working for the stock market during this time. It could also have come as a result from a contact from her US Naval days as well. This was an amazing opportunity for Henrietta, one that would have implications for the rest of her life.
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Female employees read the ticker-tape at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in the early 1920s.
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The New York Stock Exchange of the mid-late 1920s.
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​During this time in New York is when it is thought that Henrietta Kaufman met her future husband, possibly around 1926-1927. His name was Samuel Rosenstock, a Baltimore native who had been living in Frederick with relatives for many years. It has been found that "Sam" had worked in the stock market business as a "runner" for a Baltimore bank investment company, but the time of this employment is not exactly known. 

Sam Rosenstock has a "storied" history as well that Chris (Haugh) plans to write as another one of these "Stories in Stone" in the near future. Sam came to Frederick to live with his uncles who operated a canning plant here. This is where Sam got his earliest employment and training for the future in an industry that brought him great wealth over his lifetime. 

Perhaps Henrietta and Sam simply met while Sam was visiting New York City for business or pleasure purposes. Records on Ancestry.com show that Mr. Rosenstock made a few trips to Europe at this time, leaving out of New York. Maybe he could have met her at this time or upon revisiting Wall Street as his short career as a runner more likely would have occurred a decade earlier.

Whatever the case may be, Henrietta married Sam in early 1928, and Sam brought his bride back to Frederick to help him run his canning empire. 

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Frederick Post (March 6, 1928)
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Photo of Henrietta from 1928 before she married
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Frederick News (March 24, 1928)
​After the couple married, they eventually returned to Frederick as Mr. Rosenstock owned canning establishments in Frederick and Thurmont. He was a mover and shaker in the community through civic work as well and quickly got Henrietta involved in this arena, along with his business endeavors. In the 1930s, Henrietta served as Recording Secretary for the Frederick City Hospital Board of Directors. 

In
 1932, Henrietta's father died. Her parents had been living Raleigh, North Carolina since 1929. This death precipitated in Pearl Morris moving to Frederick to live with Henrietta and Sam at the fine home called "Rosehaven" they had built along the Old National Pike (MD144) on the eastern side of Jug Bridge. The large parcel of land on the east side of the Monocacy River is still referred to by some as the old Rosenstock Farm and stretched northward to once include today's Clustered Spires Golf Course. This is the vicinity of today's Spring Ridge, and the Rosenstock's large home has been recently revealed from tree cover, for all to see, thanks to construction of a housing development.
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The Rosenstocks former Frederick Home of "Rose Haven" in the vicinity of Old Jug Bridge on the east side of the Monocacy River
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1940 US Census showing Pearl Morris living with Sam and Henrietta in Frederick. Note another resident in the household, Thomas Schleines, a 15-year-old ward of the state.
In the 1940 Census, we see that the Rosenstocks had a teenager named Thomas Schleines living in their household. Nothing more could be found about him. Henrietta and Sam never had any children of their own, though both loved children and giving back to the children of the community. 

​The canning businesses in Frederick County continued to flourish through the Depression era and into the 1940s. The couple would build a large string-bean canning plant in 1941, and opened this large scale facility in Belle Glade Florida in 1943. This  facility was located west of Palm Beach, Florida where the Rosenstocks spent winters at "The Breakers."
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"The Breakers," Palm Beach, FL was the winter home of the Rosenstocks
The Rosenstocks had an active social life, traveling, hosting parties and recreating with friends. Known relationships of note included All Saints Episcopal Church's Rev. Maurice Ashbury and wife Frances, and Hood College president Andrew G. Truxall and wife Leah. 
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Rosenstocks and Ashburys
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Andrew G. Truxal served as Hood College's second president from 1948-1961. He is buried in Frederick's Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Sam sold his Frederick plant to the Jenkins Brothers in 1946, along with his other operations. He had accomplished what he set out to do  in this industry and, now in retirement, he and Henrietta could dedicate their lives to philanthropy and community service. Both of them were very ambitious and wanted to make Frederick a better place than they found it. Two such groups that Henrietta was active in were the Kiwanis Club of Frederick and the Salvation Army's Women's Auxilary. 
 
One of the more surprising activities that the couple became involved in was assisting different churches in Frederick County. One such was a proposed Baptist Church Center in Walkersville in which they pledged money for a chapel building.
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Frederick Post (Aug 29, 1966)
​​Growing up, Henrietta's family were devout members of the Jewish faith and traditions. Interestingly, upon reaching Frederick, she would eventually become a member of the Catholic Church. Talking to her niece, I found out more about this,. Although Henrietta, herself, still identified as Jewish, she would convert to Catholicism and the teachings of the Catholic Church. She continued to practice in this faith tradition for the rest of her life, and many others in her family would follow her lead, including Sylvia (Kaufman) Cable, Henrietta’s niece (Jenny Morgan's mother).
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Interior of Henrietta's St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Frederick, MD
​The Rosenstocks owned a great deal of property tracts around Frederick. In the 1950s through 1970s, they would sell some of these parcels and donate the money to Hood College—​ the origins of an irrevocable trust and endowment. This was somewhat influenced by Sam's longtime service on the Board of Trustees for the local college, along with having an intimate friendship with President and Mrs. Truxal.
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Frederick News (June 29, 1951)
This generous practice of giving would lead to a major structure to be built on campus in the late 1960s.  Rosenstock Hall would be constructed and named on Sam and Henrietta's behalf thanks to their authentic and financial dedication to the college. The cornerstone would be laid in October, 1969. 
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Proposed design of Rosenstock Hall
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Frederick News (Oct 4, 1969)
The official dedication of Rosenstock Hall would occur on September 4th, 1970.  Henrietta would even go on to have a special Library Fund in her name, the Henrietta Kaufman Rosenstock Library Fund.
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Frederick News (Sept. 5, 1970)
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Dedication Day of Rosenstock Hall in early October, 1970 with Sam and Henrietta pictured in center.
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Frederick Post (Oct 3, 1970)
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Rosenstock Hall on the Hood College campus today
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The plaque placed on Rosenstock Hall back in 1970 still states the fact that Henrietta and Sam were "Devoted Friends of Hood College."
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This portrait by artist Rembski was donated to the college in 1981 from the Rosenstock estate.
​Henrietta passed in spring,  1975. Looking through obituary-related articles and tributes, all I could find was that she died of "a lengthy illness." Upon the interview with Jenny Morgan, it was revealed that her decline in health was due to liver cancer. 

Henrietta's niece shared that the Rosenstocks cut short their "wintering in Florida" in early1975. They returned  from Palm Beach  shortly after Christmas. Henrietta went into Frederick Memorial Hospital soonafter. A few months later, she would die on April 18th, 1975. From what Jenny was able to share with me, Henrietta and Sam likely knew about her terminal condition for a while, but things took an a more accelerated turn after the couple returned to Frederick. Henrietta's death made front page news in her adopted hometown of Frederick​—a town more beloved by her than Tarboro, Norfolk, Brookline and New York City.
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Frederick News (April 19, 1975)
A powerful editorial would appear in the Frederick paper on the day of Henrietta Rosenstock's funeral. It would praise her accomplishments from business to volunteer and philanthropic. She certainly helped make Frederick a better place.
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Frederick Post (April 21, 1975)
Henrietta would be buried in the Rosenstock family plot (Area EE/Lot1) next to her mother who had passed in June of 1963. As a side note, Pearl Morris Kaufman was the first patient of Vindabona Nursing home of Braddock Heights, which opened as such in 1954.  As can be imagined, Henrietta's funeral was well-attended and officiated over by the archbishop of the Catholic Church of Atlanta, Georgia. The couple had earlier bought plots in Mount Olivet because Sam refused to be buried in a Catholic Church cemetery like St. Johns in downtown Frederick. Mount Olivet was non-denominational, and Sam thought this would be the perfect place for Pearl, and later themselves when their time would come. 
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Frederick News (April 22, 1975)
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​Sam Rosenstock only had to experience five anniversaries of his beloved wife's death. He would die on March 20th, 1981 at the age of 95. Before he left us, he met with Mount Olivet's superintendent, Ron Pearcey, to set up an endowment to place flowers on Henrietta's grave on her birth and death dates, and also on the major Catholic holidays of Christmas and Easter. I received the chance to place a beautiful assortment of daisies and carnations on April 18th, next to daffodils that had been placed in advance of Easter.

Not only did Henrietta make Frederick a better place as stated a moment ago, but she and her husband certainly made Hood College a better place. As I conclude my collegiate experience here on Hood's Campus, I have a personal attachment to this outstanding woman of Frederick's past whose everlasting legacy will continue to be felt by students just like me into the future. Thank you Henrietta.
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Special thanks to Jenny Morgan, historian John Ashbury and Hood College archivist Mary Atwell for their assistance with this article.
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Lords of the Manor: the Cunninghams

4/8/2025

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Frederick County’s Carrollton Manor stretches from below Frederick City southward to the Potomac River. The western boundary is Catoctin Mountain, and the eastern is Sugarloaf Mountain. This constitutes a bit of an embellishment based on the original 1723 “Carrollton” land patent of 10,000 acres as assigned to namesake Charles Carroll the Settler. He claimed he acquired it from the Tuscarora tribe that had come from North Carolina about the year 1712.
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When it comes to researching and exploring the history of this special region of Frederick County, I look to two prime “Go To” sources: William Jarboe Grove (1854-1937) and Nancy Willman Bodmer. William Jarboe Grove’s History of Carrollton Manor was first published in 1922 and takes a personal  view of former families and “Southern culture” of the area by a lifelong resident. Grove’s father was Manassas J. Grove, founder of the M.J. Grove Lime Company located at Lime Kiln just above Buckeystown.

Nancy Willman Bodmer was born in Aberdeen (MD) and moved to Frederick County in 1972 with her husband Ed. The couple settled in Buckeystown where they raised their family and opened up a pottery and wood stove shop in the center of this village southeast of the county seat. Nancy soon became enamored with the history of her new hometown and set out to research and write numerous publications about Buckeystown and surrounding area. Two of these are Buckey’s Town: A Village Remembered (first published in 1979), and The Past Revisited: Buckeystown and Other Historical Sites (1990). Nancy continues to research, preserve and present the history of the southern Frederick Valley, in addition to exercising her pottery craftmanship. I want to thank Nancy in advance as I will be sharing some important visuals from her books to help illustrate this week's "Story in Stone."
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Two prominent early characters of “the Manor” were Judge Benjamin Amos Cunningham (1798-1891) and his son John A. H. Cunningham (1831-1870). Their names can be found on the pages of both authors’ respective works. Judge Cunningham led quite a life, one that spanned nearly the entirety of the 19th century. He began his career as a merchant, but finished a highly-respected politician and banker. His son died at 38 years of age, but made a name for himself as a local leader in agrarian circles operating one of the largest plantations in the county.
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Cunningham family plot in Frederick's Mount Olivet Cemetery (Area E)
​Benjamin Amos Cunningham’s large funerary monument sits proudly on the northern end of Mount Olivet Cemetery’s Area E. Son John’s gravestone is a few yards to the south in the neighboring lot. Just down the hill, behind their graves, one can view cars traveling on the more recently renamed “Stadium Drive” – the beginning leg of New Design Road, a thoroughfare that bisects the entirety of Carrollton Manor from north to south. The route terminates at Noland's Ferry on the Potomac River and was originally called the "New Designed Road." It dates from the mid-1800s.
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Vivid depiction of the "New Designed Road" from the 1858 Isaac Bond Atlas Map showing it originally spanning between today's Harshman Road and Noland's Ferry. The route would be extended to intersect with South Market Street and Corporate Frederick.
William Jarboe Grove, in his History of Carrollton Manor writes:

“The road probably derives its name from the fact that for nine miles (on its southern portion) it was run in a straight line. No barriers of any kind checked its straight course, although then, as now, objections arose. One of the most serious was that in passing through the western edge of the Darnall property, the road cutoff the buildings and Monagoul Spring, which was not only one of the finest springs on the Manor, but its connection with the Tuscarora Indians made it valuable from a historical standpoint. About this time Davis Richardson bought the Darnell farms and the Manor settled the dispute to the satisfaction of Mr. Richardson, who built a fine residence on the east side of the road, where C. Arunah Rogers now lives. The Buckeystown pike runs through the Manor on the east and was originally an Indian trail coming from the lakes down the Susquehanna River through Pennsylvania and Maryland to the mouth of the Monocacy and on down through the Virginias to Florida.”
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Closer view of "New Designed Road" on 1858 Bond Atlas Map
The New Designed Road was originally built by the Carroll family to help facilitate the movement of goods from Noland’s Ferry (on the Potomac) to Frederick City, however it would not fully open until the mid-1800s. The road project lost its straight line at the former plantation of a man named Richard Cromwell, who served as the last overseer of Carrollton Manor for the Carroll family.

Meanwhile, the Buckeystown Pike, paralleling New Design Road to the east, would constitute part of the original US Route 15 until being supplanted by a new right of way at the eastern foot of Catoctin Mountain in the 1960s. Today, we also know the Buckeystown Pike by its technical name, Maryland Route 85. Just below the old turnpike’s namesake town, this roadway parallels the Monocacy River on the eastern side of "the manor," and passes by the former Buckingham Plantation once inhabited by the fore-mentioned Judge Benjamin Amos Cunningham and his heirs. Today, this is where you can find the Claggett Center and Buckingham Choice Retirement Community.
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Above photo features a view looking southwest across Buckeystown Pike (MD85) from Bishop Claggett Lane (driveway for Claggett Center). The original entry into the Buckingham estate was Buckingham Lane which is further north on the Buckeystown Pike (on the south side of the village of Buckeystown).
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Nancy Bodmer created the map above in her book "The Past Revisited: Buckeystown and Other Historical Sites." It wonderfully illustrates both New Design Road and the Buckeystown Pike as they traverse Carrollton Manor
​Benjamin A. Cunningham
Benjamin Amos Cunningham was born June 20th, 1798 in Baltimore, Maryland, a son of Harford County natives Daniel Cunningham (1763-1832) of Little Falls and wife Mary Ann Amos of Gunpowder Falls (1777-1872). Benjamin’s parents were Quakers and married on October 16th, 1797 at the Little Falls Meeting House near today’s Fallston. 

Benjamin A. Cunningham was raised in Baltimore. An interesting anecdote can be found in his lengthy obituary and refers to the War of 1812. As a young teen, Benjamin assisted in digging entrenchments at Baltimore’s Chinquapin or Hansom Hill to aid the local militia units preparing to battle the invading British.
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A portion of a drawing entitled "ENTRENCHED POSITIONS OF AMERICAN TROOPS NEAR BALTIMORE- WAR OF 1812" -a sketch drawn during the conflict and comes from the personal journal of Sir Pulteney Malcolm (of the HMS Royal Oak), See "Chinkapin Hill" in lower left, so named because of Chinquapin Run creek
​This is a great connection to Mount Olivet’s totality of War of 1812 veterans, including our front-gate greeter, Francis Scott Key. Like Key, Benjamin A. Cunningham studied law with intent to have a legal career. 

​Benjamin somehow became acquainted with some of Frederick’s earliest Quakers living on Carrollton Manor in the immediate vicinity of Buckeystown. These included the Davis and Richardson families.  Maybe this is what brought him in 1825 to the sleepy little village south of bustling Frederick. Regardless, the road, literally and figuratively, led him to Buckeystown where he would engage in mercantile pursuits.  We are not exactly sure where Cunningham conducted his early business but he took over the job of village post master from Daniel Buckey in 1826. He would serve in this role until 1840. 
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Baltimore Patriot and Mercantile Advertiser (Aug 15, 1826)
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1830 US Census showing Benjamin A. Cunningham living in Buckeystown
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​Benjamin Amos Cunningham would go on to marry one of the twin daughters of a wealthy, large plantation owner in the immediate area of Buckeystown. His name was John Hasselbach and he lived south of the village in between the Pike and the Monocacy below Michael’s Mill. Hasselbach is spelled a number of ways, but I will use the spelling found for Rebecca on her gravestone of "Hosselboch." Benjamin’s bride Rebecca (born 1804) was of German heritage and had also formerly lived in Baltimore before coming to Frederick County with her father and family. Information on this gentleman is tough to come by. I found a probable birth date of 1765 and another of 1757. Either way, both were associated with Philadelphia and he (and possibly his wife who remains unnamed) were Redemptioners who came in the 1780s. This could explain a relationship to nearby Quakers as well.

John Hosselboch purchased his 300-acre farm with its stately mansion in 1811. The earliest recorded history of this property dates to 1730 when the land was patented as Buckingham House and granted to Edward Spriggs, a Colonel in the British Army and well-known pre-Revolutionary War land speculator. Later names on the deed include Ninian Tannehill, Ninian’s son William Tannehill, and finally George Schnertzell before Hosselboch’s ownership. The farmhouse is thought to have been constructed in 1780. Buckingham farm has always been considered one of the show places of “the Manor” on account of its fertile Monocacy bottom land and splendid, scenic views of surrounding mountains. It was also a place that utilized considerable slave labor. At John Hosselboch’s death in 1840, the plantation was supported by 34 black and mulatto house servants and farm laborers.

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A view looking southeast across the former Buckingham Plantation towards Sugar Loaf Mountain from Bishop Claggett Lane near the intersection with the Buckeystown Pike.
​Benjamin Amos Cunningham married Rebecca Hosselboch on November 9th, 1829 and the couple went on to have three children together: the fore-mentioned John Amos Hosselboch Cunningham (1831-1870), Mary Rebecca (Cunningham) Hall (1833-1913) and William Armstrong Cunningham (1834-1892). The Cunningham family lived at the Buckingham farm residence with Rebecca’s parents. I’d also like to add that the Hosselboch family were influential in building the first stone Methodist Church in Buckeystown in 1827, of which Benjamin Cunningham would soon become a devout member.
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​When John Hosselboch died in 1840, he left the Buckingham House and plantation to his 19-year-old grandson, John Amos Cunningham. At this time, Benjamin sold his business in town, likely in an effort to help his son with the responsibility of running the Hosselbach family farm. I want to return to author William Jarboe Grove for a bit more narration regarding the Hosselboch and Cunningham families from The History of Carrollton Manor. The author states that John Amos Hosselboch Cunningham was a key supporter of the road projects on the manor, and served as one of the original officers of the Buckeystown Turnpike Road Company. The younger Cunningham also had his name changed to honor his maternal grandfather:

“Very active in this road movement was John Amos Hoselbock Cunningham, who married Martha, daughter of James L. Davis. Mr.  Cunningham was a man of leisure with a happy jovial disposition, and a true gentleman of the Southern type, he owned Buckingham, where the Buckingham Industrial School is now located and maintained by the Baker brothers.
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Mr. Cunningham, by a special act of the Legislature, had his name changed to John Amos Hoselboch Cunningham. When the change of Mr. Cunningham's name was under consideration, an amusing incident occurred. One of the members of the Legislature inquired if it was Mr.  Cunningham's wish to take up the whole alphabet. But it was in gratitude for the gift to him by  his grandfather John Amos Hoselboch of the Buckingham farm containing more than three    hundred acres of land, and all the stock, farming implements and household furniture, that Mr. Cunningham had his name changed. Mr. Hoselboch was a very successful farmer, who died and left all this by will to Mr. Cunningham. Mr. Hoselboch had three children: one son and two daughters. He provided well for his daughters, but his son George, who had been very successful, and whom he had already helped financially, was not remembered by his father's will. The daughters were twins. One married Thomas Davis, the owner of Greenfield Mills, and the other married Judge Benjamin Amos Cunningham. A remarkable occurrence was their   death on the same day, and the messengers bearing the news of their deaths met on the road between Buckeystown and Greenfield Mills. They were both buried on the same day in the family burying ground on Buckingham farm."     
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Hasselboch Burying Ground with Buckingham's Choice Retirement Community in background
Rebecca (Hosselboch) Cunningham died the day after Christmas, 1834 at the tender age of 30. As stated above, her twin sister, Hilleary (Hosselboch) Davis of Greenfield Mills down the pike, died the very same day on December 26th (1834). Both young women would be laid to rest in a small, but special cemetery in which members of the Hosselboch family and two individuals of African-American descent are buried. The Hosselboch headstones are no longer present; but a marker has been placed to remember the two Black individuals who were buried here. This private burial ground is particularly familiar to me as it constitutes the opening scene of my 1997 documentary “Up From the Meadows: A Black History of Frederick County, Maryland.”

This cemetery is on private property, but individuals are welcome to visit it if they first check in at the Claggett Center Welcome Center. (If the welcome center is unstaffed, please call 301-691-8048) where you’ll sign in and get a guest badge. You’ll leave your car here and walk behind the Welcome Center. Follow the signs into the farm fields for 0.5 miles through open fields towards the Hosselboch family cemetery on the top of a small hill. Visit online below: On the Trail of Souls.org
ON the Trail of Souls
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William Jarboe Grove continues with a personal anecdote about the burial ground at Buckingham:
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“Mr. Hoselboch and many others were buried in this old graveyard, which was then enclosed by a post and rail fence. About the year 1870, a substantial brick wall was built by Benjamin Cunningham, a son of John Amos Hoselboch Cunningham. I, as a boy, hauled lime in a cart from my father's lime kiln to put up this wall, and I remember very well how difficult it was for the horse to hold the cart back, as the hill which it was necessary to go down was especially steep. It was the custom then for every farm to have its burial ground, which was usually in the center of the field or some prominent place on the farm. During those days, many of the leading citizens and early frontiersmen were buried in these lots. Nearly all of these old graveyards have been farmed over, very few having been enclosed or protected; and, while this looks like desecrating the graves of these early people, still we have the consolation as my mother always said: "No matter where the body rests, so the soul is safe."
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​As I was looking into the personal and professional life of Judge Cunningham, my assistant, Marilyn Veek was studying old land records. In 1834, B. A. Cunningham bought his first property in the area. This included a very familiar structure still located on the southwest corner of the Buckeystown Pike and Manor Church Road. Author/historian Nancy W. Bodmer knows this place intimately because it served as the home of her pottery business for half a century!
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This stone building on the southwest corner of the Buckeystown Pike and Manor Woods Road served home to Benjamin A. Cunningham and author Nancy W. Bodmer. (This is the first building on the right of Buckeystown Pike in the center of the photo).
In her book, Nancy opines about this structure which she gave the designation of #83 and "The General Store":

"Originally part of the Good Luck tract and later owned by George Buckey, this property was sold to Adam Kramer for $300 in 1823. The land included the present 4 houses to the south. The price would indicate that no houses were present in 1823. The stone for construction was quarried from a rare vein of iron rich stone along the Monocacy River near Michael's Mill. The stone house adjacent to this store was built around the same period. In 1825, Abraham Koontz bought the property which had doubled in price, $600.50. In 1834, Benjamin Amos Cunningham purchased the property for $1400. In a history of the town written by W. G. Baker in 1913, he describes the stone store: 'Seventy years ago Mr.'s Cunningham and Duvall kept the largest or one of the largest stores in Frederick County outside of Frederick City in the building of Arthur McKenna. From the store room, sales were made for miles around. Persons now have no idea of how many goods were sold from this same old store room. Farmers would buy for their families and for their colored people by the wagon loade.' "
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The General Store site in 1915
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Interior of the General Store under the proprietorship of John DeLashmutt (pictured) in 1898
Benjamin would marry a second time to Eveline Candler (b. 1818) of Montgomery County on December 5th, 1836. The couple would have five additional daughters: Eveline Virginia (Cunningham) Thomas, Alice Louise (Cunningham) Rice (1842-1942), Cecelia Ellen (Cunningham) Chilton (1844-1902), Fannie (1849-d. before 1860) and Ida Caroline (1852-1902).

As son John Amos Hosselboch Cunningham gained more experience in leading the Buckingham plantation, Benjamin had the opportunity to work on behalf of the greater Frederick community in political realms. In 1845, he received an appointment on Frederick’s Levy Court. Three years later, in 1848, Mr. Cunningham became a Frederick County School Inspector. All the while the family lived in the confines of the Buckingham plantation's farmhouse.
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Vintage image of the Buckingham farmhouse
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1850 US Census showing Benjamin and Eveline with seven children in the household at Buckingham
Benjamin Cunningham obtained a great deal of property in the village after the 1850 death of his brother-in-law George Hosselboch who died in Cairo, Illinois of cholera according to Frederick diarist Jacob Engelbrecht. This included a holding on the corner property immediately across the Buckeystown Pike from the General Store (on the southeast corner of Buckeystown Pike and Michael's Mill Road). 
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Former home of Cunningham's brother-in-law, George Hasselbach.
Also around this time, my assistant Marilyn learned that Benjamin had bought 16 lots in town from William Norris, the executor for his brother-in-law George Hosselboch. He was involved with a number of other properties, mostly owned jointly with others including Mr. Duvall, Daniel Baker, Arthur DeLashmutt, and Davis Richardson. He would sell off various lots on the southeast part of the village and along the pike between then and 1871. Many fine homes today are located east and south of Buckingham Lane on these former lots once owned by our subject.

​Cunningham's longtime business partner, Grafton Duvall, purchased the General Store property from Benjamin in 1857 for $2000 and would continue as a merchant here. Fours years earlier, Benjamin had bought an old limestone building a few doors up the pike. This was the former Buckey's Tavern, and was sold to Cunningham by Col. Lewis Kemp, son-in-law of George Buckey. Col. Kemp was the first president of the Agricultural Club of Frederick County and the Frederick County Agricultural Society, founded in 1853. Benjamin A. Cunningham would also become a board member of this organization. This same year of 1853 would mark the first exhibition of the Frederick County Agricultural Society. Today we know this event as the Great Frederick Fair.

Mr. Cunningham re-opened a second mercantile establishment in the former Buckey’s Tavern, and it is shown as "Cunningham and Co." on the 1858 Bond Atlas Map. This occurred in 1853.  It has been said that Mr. C. could provide his customers with anything from “needle to anchor.” 
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1858 Bond Atlas Map of Buckeystown
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Frederick Examiner (Oct 12, 1859)
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This visual of Buckey's Tavern (second from left) comes from Nancy Bodmer's books. Below is a modern-day view of the same structure in Buckeystown.
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​In early April of 1854, Benjamin's wife Eveline Cunningham died at age 36. It appears that she was originally buried at the Hosselboch burying ground as Mount Olivet was not open for burials until late May of that year. It was also this same year that Cunningham was elected to the state legislature as a delegate. In 1858, Gov. Thomas H. Hicks would appoint Benjamin to serve as Judge of Frederick County's Orphans Court.
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Maryland Union (Nov 4, 1858)
​Based on land records, newly-titled Judge Cunningham bought a farm in 1859. That farm is at the location marked S.D. Leib on the 1873 Titus Atlas Map. This is north of Lime Kiln (over the train tracks) and south of Arcadia on the west side of the Buckeystown Pike. Today, Cunningham's former farm is bisected by English Muffin Way and is home to several large warehouse buildings and the local home of Matan Companies.
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A portion of the Buckeystown District Atlas from the larger Titus Atlas Map of Frederick County showing the farm of S.D. Lieb just below Arcadia on the west side of the Buckeystown Pike. This was a former farm of B. A. Cunningham
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1860 US Census showing Benjamin Cunningham and daughters living on their farm
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To the left is the former site of Cunningham Farm in vicinity of English Muffin Way at the railroad crossing on Buckeystown Pike
​Benjamin Amos Cunningham would weather the American Civil War with no issue. He was said to have been a proud Unionist and was elected to serve on the 1864 Union Convention of Maryland. This body rewrote of the state constitution officially put an end to slavery here in the Old Line State.

In January, 1865, Cunningham was elected Secretary of the Frederick Town Savings Institution and appears in their employ in the 1870 US Census. Some records say that Cunningham moved to Frederick in 1865, but if so, he was likely renting.
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MD Union (Jan 12, 1865)
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1870 US Census showing Benjamin Cunningham working for the Frederick Town Savings Bank. Note that his 93 year-old mother is living with the family.
​​All the while, John Amos Hosselboch Cunningham was making his maternal grandfather proud with his successful management of the Buckingham Plantation. I've read that after freeing his slaves, he would assist many in obtaining land nearby the plantation. Just across from Buckingham, on the other side of the Monocacy River, two Emancipation communities would grow in the form of Flint Hill and Hope Hill. Many of these families of color had former links to the large plantation. Some continued to work here, while others found employment at Buckeystown's cannery, along with the tanyards and nearby lime operations.

​John Amos Hosselboch Cunningham predeceased his father. This occurred on April 20th, 1870. He would be buried the very next day, however this would not be in the small family cemetery at Buckingham. Interestingly, his mortal remains would be laid to rest in Mount Olivet in Area E/Lot 197.
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​Earlier that same month, Judge Cunningham had second wife Eveline re-interred in Mount Olivet in an adjoining plot to his sons' Area E/Lot 90. He had already done the same with his first wife, Rebecca (Hosselboch) Cunningham, over a year earlier on January 30th, 1869. This is likely the time when the large obelisk style monument was erected on the plot, however it could have come two years later upon the passing of Judge Cunningham’s mother Ann in 1872.
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Frederick Examiner (Jan 31, 1872)
Our subject retired from his position at the bank in 1875. He can be found living with two daughters, a niece and a house servant in the 1880 census and spent the following decade in Frederick. He bought what is now 227 East 2nd Street in 1880 from trustees for John Jarboe. At the time he owned it, the property included a vacant lot to the east at what is now 229 East 2nd Street. The house now at that location was probably built by his daughter Mary (Cunningham) Hall.
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1880 US Census showing Judge Cunningham living at 227 E 2nd St in Frederick
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The former home of Judge Cunningham stands at 227 E 2nd St (gray home on left with light blue shutters)
​Judge Benjamin Amos Cunningham died on May 1st 1891 and was noted as one of Frederick’s oldest residents. As mentioned at the onset, his obituary was quite extensive and made front page news here in Frederick. I also found his obituary in the Baltimore, Washington and even Pittsburgh newspapers.
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Frederick News (May 1, 1891)
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Frederick News (May 4, 1891)
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Frederick News (May 2, 1891)
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Frederick News (May 7, 1891)
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​Judge Cunningham's other son, William Armstrong Cunningham (1834-1892), died within a year of his father. Thus concludes the lives of the male Cunninghams of Carrollton Manor. Also buried on this plot in Mount Olivet are two of the Judge’s daughters: Cecelia Chilton (1844-1902) with husband William, and Ida Caroline Cunningham (1852-1902). John Amos Hosselboch Cunningham’s wife Mattie and three young grandchildren are also here. Another daughter, Alice Louise (Cunningham) Rice (1842-1942), is in nearby Area B/Lot 112 .
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William Armstrong Cunningham)
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Cecelia Ellen (Cunningham) Chilton
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Ida Caroline Cunningham
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Alice Louise (Cunningham) Rice
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Martha "Mattie" Caskie (Davis) Cunningham (with John A. H. Cunningham) and three young children: (l-R) John Hosselboch Cunningham (1867-1869), Mollie Loulie Cunningham (1859), and James Lynn Davis Cunningham (1857-1859)
​John Amos Hosselboch Cunningham’s heirs sold the Buckingham plantation to a gentleman named Daniel Baker sometime before 1873 as his name is designated on this site on the Titus Map published in 1873. Twenty-five years later in 1898, Daniel, Joseph, and William Baker founded the Buckingham Industrial School for Boys on the property. Based on the European industrial school model, the Baker family endowed and created an institution where poor white boys might have a home and receive a good education. The enrollment averaged 50 Buckingham Boys between the ages of 6 and 18.
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1898 view of the Baker Industrial School (above) and the structure today (below)
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​In addition to their industrial education the boys took care of gardening, milking, canning, and tending the orchards. The school closed in 1943-44. In 1950 the property was donated to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and renamed Bishop Claggett Center after Thomas John Claggett, first bishop of Maryland. It continues to serve as a conference and retreat center to this day.
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The name Buckingham also lives on with the Buckingham’s Choice continuing care retirement community located next to Claggett Center. A “newly designed path” leads residents on a pleasurable walk through the scenic grounds of the former "Lords of Carrollton Manor" up to the old Hosselboch/Hasselbach Burying Ground.  
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Hosselboch Burying Ground
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to my friend and colleague Nancy W. Bodmer who I have known for over 30 years. When it comes to the history of Buckeystown and Carrollton Manor, she is definitely the "Queen of the Manor." Her research and visuals contained in her several books were invaluable to publishing this blog story on the Cunninghams and Hosselbochs!
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"A-Triscuit, A-Truscott"

4/4/2025

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In the 1970s, Nabisco did a satirical "take-off" of a song for a catchy advertising campaign, with the lyrics "A Triscuit, A Triscuit, baked only by Nabisco.” The original tune here is called "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," a nursery rhyme first recorded in the late 19th century. The melody to which the nursery rhyme is sung recurs in other nursery rhymes including "It's Raining, It's Pouring," "Rain Rain Go Away" and "Ring around the Rosie".
"A-tisket a-tasket
A green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my friend
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it, I dropped it,
And on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up
And put it in his pocket."

The rhyme was further used as the basis for a successful 1938 recording by Ella Fitzgerald, the famous black vocalist who once performed in Frederick at Bernie Winkle's "Hollywood Gardens." This venue was located on West Patrick Street where the Comcast technical headquarters is located.
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Hear Ella Fitzgerald's "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" (1942)
This little jingle fluttered about in a deep windmill of my mind when recently walking by a gravestone boasting the last name of a decedent couple named Truscott. Here, I found the final resting places of George Truscott (1816-1885) and wife Hannah R. Truscott (1818-1889). The grave monuments in Area D are bold and pearly white, after having been dutifully cleaned a few years back by our Friends of Mount Olivet "Stoners." 
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Regular readers of this blog  know that I am now about to do a deep dive on this Truscott family--
Who were they? When did they arrive in Frederick? What did they do for a living? Where did they live? How did they die? What are lasting legacies, if any, in addition to having these gravestones in Mount Olivet?

I will begin with commenting on whether this gravesite truly has anything more to do with Triscuits? And before I go any further, perhaps I should explain what Triscuits are for those who have never partaken in the lovable treats that are "Real. Satisfying. Crackers." that are "Unapologetically Wholesome." At least that's what recent marketing says about them.

Triscuit is a brand name of snack crackers which take the form of baked square whole wheat wafers. Invented in 1900, a patent was granted in 1902 and the Shredded Wheat Company began production the next year in Niagara Falls, New York. The Niagara site was chosen due to its proximity to the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power generating plant which opened in 1895. This was the first major electric-generating site in the United States. The name Triscuit may have come from a combination of the words electricity and biscuit as one early advertisement boasted that the snack crackers were "Baked by electricity," claiming they were "the only food on the market prepared by this 1903 process."
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early advertisements showing the link between Triscuits, Niagara Falls and the new phenomenon of electricity.
If anything else, hopefully you have learned something here that will allow you to impress friends, family and foe at the next dinner party you attend in which Triscuits are proudly served. I mean you can also bring up the information I will share about the Truscotts as well, but I don't think it will have the same effect in a social setting.
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George Truscott was born on September 15th, 1816 in Cornwall, England in a civil parish and small village named St. Stephen-in-Brannel. As a matter of fact, I found a baptismal record for our decedent with the date of October 5th, 1816. This event occurred in the fine church of St. Stephens, by which the village (and parish) takes its name. The Anglican Church here has roots dating back to the year 1261.
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Early 1900s view of the village of St. Stephens
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St. Stephen's Church
The neighboring cemetery holds no fewer than 142 Truscotts, definitive kinfolk and cousins of our Mount Olivet decedent George. Most of these Brits died in the early 19th century. The earliest Truscott is named Alexander Truscott (1675-1758). Please remember that name as we will see it again in relation to our subject. I even found four George Truscotts resting "over there" in St. Stephens. One such has an eye-catching monument covered in moss with vital dates of 1769-1839.
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George Truscott (1769-1839) in St. Stephen's Churchyard (St. Stephens-in-Brannel, Cornwall, England).
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One of the most famous past residents of St. Stephen-in-Brannel was named William Truscott (1734-1798). One of 12 children of John and Margaret Truscott, who are buried in the St. Stephen's churchyard,, William would serve as a rear admiral in the Royal Navy in the late 1700s. Many of his sons would follow in his footsteps of naval service. The youngest, named George Truscott, came up with a simple invention that  revolutionized the way water was stored and retrieved on Royal Navy vessels. This is called "the force pump."

According to William R. O'Byrne's Naval Biographical Dictionary published in 1849, Capt. George Truscott was "Inspired by a visit to an ale house, he designed and fitted a ship in 1805 with a relatively simple iron pump attached to a small diameter pipe system that led to the hold. Just like in the ale houses, he attached a flexible leather hose to the end of the pipe and fed it into the water casks. This obviated the need to move the casks to retrieve water. This was a major boon on sailing vessels, because moving casks to retrieve water was time consuming, dangerous, and inevitably impacted the ship’s trim, requiring periodic rearrangement of the ship’s casks and ballast. Truscott's pump eventually led to the use of permanent iron water tanks on sailing vessels, which ultimately resulted in the abandonment of shingle and iron ballast."

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Diagram of Capt. Truscott's 1805 "Force Pump" of Capt. Truscott from the collection of the Royal Museum Greenwich
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Capt. George Truscott (1785-1851)
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Capt. Truscott's grave in Buffalo, New York's Forest Lawn Cemetery
Capt. George Truscott was a contemporary of our George Truscott's father and a definite cousin of our subject. I had a bit of a time connecting the exact genealogy because of repetitive first names, but "a Truscott by another name would not be a Truscott." Unfortunately, information on the seafarin' Truscotts is certainly easier to come by than that pertaining to our Frederick members of this Cornish family. With a little luck, I found a handful of journal entries in Jacob Engelbrecht's diary that shed a little light on the life of Frederick's George Truscott. This one was penned on September 16th, 1837:

"Mr. George Truscott, second son of Alexander Truscott, told me today that yesterday he was 21 years old. Consequently was born September 15, 1816. He was born in England but was only 18 months old when his parents came to America. He says he intends to get naturalized to-day."

This was a tremendous find as it told me the exact time our subject came to America. If my math is correct, George Truscott and family arrived here in March, 1818. This was the same year that Frederick Town was incorporated as a city. 

Our cemetery records reveal that George's parents were Alexander "Alex" Truscott and Catherine "Cate" Truscott. Alexander's supposed birth year is thought to be 1787/88 and it can be assumed that he was a lifelong resident of St. Stephen-in-Brannel. I found several Alexander Truscotts in the burial ground there, including the earliest Truscott mentioned a few moments ago. I would soon learn that we had our own here in Mount Olivet. 

George's mother was Catherine Thomas according to a marriage record of St. Stephens that gives a matrimony date for the couple of February 18th, 1808. She too was a native of St. Stephen-in-BranneI. I immediately began searching old US Census Records and found the Truscott family living here in town. From what I can deduce, they lived on the south side of East Church Street near today's Winchester Hall. 
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1820 US Census showing Alexander Truscott and family living on E. Church St
​​ The Truscott household consisted of six members. Two boys under 10 years old, one girl under 10, and another female between 11-20.
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Truscott family in 1830 in Frederick living next to John Baltzell who built the large mansion which is home to Heritage Frederick today. Note the presence of a faded checkmark in the first column noting a child between 0-5 years of age. What child is this?
In consulting old newspapers, I confirmed Alexander's profession. Interestingly, it had a remote connection to Triscuit crackers.  No, he wasn't a baker or electrician, but his employment centered on water, and, more so, the power of water. Alexander Truscott was a pump-maker. I located the following old advertisement for his services in an 1826 edition of Frederick's Political Intelligencer and Republican Gazette. This also further confirmed that the family lived across from Evangelical Lutheran Church, the site of Winchester Hall's parking lot of today.
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Political Intelligencer and Republican Gazette (Feb 9, 1826)
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Mr. Truscott likely learned the art of pump-making in his hometown in England, as it was known as a mining center producing tin, copper, lead and zinc. There are also rich kaolin clay deposits in St. Stephen-in-Brannel which supported a robust industry for making porcelain chinaware and other ceramics. Water needed to be "pumped" out of mines, of course.

Jacob Engelbrecht also mentions that Alexander Truscott, along with another man named Solomon Albach (likely Albaugh), made, and installed a gate between the houses of John Mantz and Col. George M. Eichelberger in mid July, 1827. The only deed we found for Alexander Truscott was one in which he bought household furniture from a lady named Catharine Loveder. This was also in 1827.

The only other tidbit I could learn about Alexander Truscott was that he was a member of the Independent Hose Company. I'm assuming he was quite an asset based on his "9-5 profession" specializing in pumping water. The following article in an 1831 newspaper lists the transplanted Englishman as being appointed a "ladder man."
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​Back to Jacob Engelbrecht's Diary I went, and found nothing more than the mentions of the deaths of both Alexander and wife Catherine.

"Died last night in the year of his age Mr. Alexander Truscot (pump maker), a native of Cornwall, England and a resident of this town about twenty years. Buried on the All Saints Churchyard." 
​-Saturday, April 11, 1840

"Died yesterday in the year of her age Mrs. Catherine Truscott, widow of the late Alexander Truscott. She survived her husband only 5 days. Buried on the Protestant Episcopal Graveyard. She was a native of England."
-Thursday, April 16, 1840


An obituary appeared in a Baltimore paper the following week, listing the deaths of both husband and wife. 
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Baltimore Patriot and Commercial Advertiser (April 21, 1840)
We are very fortunate to have a gravestone for this couple whose deaths predate Mount Olivet, which opened in 1854. The bodies were moved here and placed in Area MM in lots bought by All Saints Episcopal Church for a mass reinterment project in 1913. The couple was placed in Lot 42. Their monument is quite unique as it is basically a wide stone serving as a "double-stone" to list the information of each of George Truscott's parents. Perhaps the death of the couple was a rare blessing, as only one stone had to be created by a local stone-carver.
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We've mentioned that George Truscott, son of Alexander and Catherine, was born in St. Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, England in 1816. Who were his siblings that appear on the 1820 and 1830 census records? I searched the St. Stephen-in-Brannel parish records further and found four baptisms linked to Alexander and Catherine. These include: Grace Truscott on April 5th, 1810; Samuel Truscott on April 4th, 1812; Rebecca Truscott on January 16th, 1814; and as reported earlier, George on October 5th, 1816. 

I could not find Grace, Samuel or Rebecca in any further records past the 1820 and 1830 census records. I assume they either married or died by the 1840 census. In 1840, I found George listed as a head of household. He had married earlier in the year. A marriage license dated February 19th, 1840 for George and wife Hannah Rebecca Marman (b. July 29th, 1818) was found. Jacob Engelbrecht documented the nuptials in his diary on March 27th saying:

"Married last evening by the Reverend John L. Pitts, Mr. George Truescott(sp), to Miss Hannah Marman, daughter of the late Thomas Marman of this town."
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1840 US Census showing George Truscott
The 1840 US Census shows George and Hannah, but also a mystery female between 10-15 years old. Perhaps this is a sister of Hannah's? Regardless, I want to add that Hannah also had English roots as her father, Thomas (1785-1835) and mother, Ann, were from the Holborn section of London.

I was familiar with the Marman name in context with a later purveyor of oysters in town named Washington P. Marman (1823-1892). He was a younger brother of Hannah. I also stumbled across two other siblings of Hannah. These included Julian E. Marman, married a week before Hannah to John A. Hudson and Sarah Marman. I learned a bit more about the family due to Jacob Engelbrecht recording Sarah's wedding to Solomon Ranck on July 14th, 1830. Less than a month later, Jacob would write:

"Thomas Marman stabbed his son-in-law Solomon Ranck in the neck. Marman is in jail. It happened last Saturday afternoon 7 instant." 

Welcome to the family Solomon! I would also find that Julian's husband (John) served as a sergeant for the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1863, while here in Frederick, he would be accidentally shot in the head by a fellow soldier named John W. Bechtol. Luckily, our subject George Truscott did not suffer any major head or neck trauma as far as I could see.
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In 1850, we have a clearer picture of the Truscott family. George and Hannah have two daughters, Sarah Catherine (b. January 9th, 1841) and Hannah Rebecca (b. February 8th, 1842). George's profession is also presented to us and is the same as his father, that of pump-maker.
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1850 US Census showing George Truscott and family living on W. All Saints St in Frederick
​In 1851, George bought the home he was living in since 1830. This is what is now 122-124 West All Saints Street. I perked up when I learned that he would sell this to a black woman named Mariah Harper in 1859. I researched Mariah back in 2017 for this "Stories in Stone" blog as she was a former slave that belonged to Frederick's prominent Johnson family. In fact, she is buried in the same family vault as our first elected governor of Maryland, Thomas Johnson, Jr., on Area MM in Mount Olivet. Johnson's great-granddaughter, Ann Grahame Ross, served as Mrs. Harper's executor and would sell this home in 1884.
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The twin gray townhomes at 122-124 W All Saints St were once owned by George Truscott
​In 1853, George Truscott bought the property at what is now 130-136 West All Saints, and sold it in 1863. In 1859, he bought what is now 58 South Market Street, which his heirs sold in 1892. This is now a parking lot across from the United Fire Company Hall, but for many years sported a brick facade that was the subject of preservation efforts. This is where George was living in the 1860 census up through his death a few decades later.
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1860 US Census showing Truscott family on S. Market St.
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58 S Market St today (above) and back in 2017 showing the former Truscott home that once stood here
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Although I located several records pertaining to this family hailing from England, I found very little about George outside the census records. He went about his business of pump-making and was active in the local Masonic Lodge. Daughter Sarah Catherine Truscott would marry George Washington Van Fossen (1839-1922) on February 13th, 1861. The couple lived on West All Saints Street and Mr. Van Fossen worked as a coach and carriage builder and painter eventually owning his own firm.

Englebrecht's diary gives us one more interesting insight into the life of George Truscott. On May 21st, 1868, George and another townsman named John Hemby left for England. Engelbrecht says:

"(They) Will go by steamer and stop at Southampton in the English Channel."

I'm sure this was a great opportunity for George to see his former hometown and any relatives still living. 
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1870 US Census showing Truscotts
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Maryland Union (Oct 12, 1871)
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Random individual posing with a good old-fashioned water pump fit for "man and beast."
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1880 Census showing George, Hannah and daughter Hannah still living at home
George Truscott would die of laryngitis on June 6th, 1885. The newspaper only carried a short mention of his death in a Saturday edition. Not much more would be gleaned about his life and career in a small report on his funeral in Mount Olivet a few days later.
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Frederick News (June 6, 1885)
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Frederick News (June 9, 1885)
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George Truscott gravestone on Area D/Lot 9
A much more informative obituary would show up in the Frederick News a year later, heralding the death of George's brother Samuel who had ventured to Columbia, Pennsylvania after departing Frederick in the mid-1830s.
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Frederick News (Oct 20, 1886)
I also learned of another Truscott brother who went further west and changed the spelling of his name. This was Thomas W. Truskett, and he had a seemingly more interesting life in "the Wild West." The following passage comes from a 1918 book entitled: A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans (Vol 4). 

"(Thomas William Truskett) His paternal grandfather was a native of England who on coming to the United States located in the State of Maryland and there passed the remainder of his life...

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Thomas W. Truskett the elder, was born in Maryland in 1823, and was reared and educated in his native state, from whence, as a young man, he went to Monroe County, Ohio. There he became a pioneer farmer, married, and established a home, and continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1859, when he removed to Cooper County, Missouri, again becoming a pioneer.
 
In 1862 he enlisted in the First Regiment, Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, for service during the Civil war, and joined the command of Gen. John Seaton, with which he participated in a number of the most important engagements of the war, including the battles of Shiloh, Helena and Fort Donelson, and the siege of Vicksburg. He was taken prisoner by Shelby's men near Springfield, Missouri, but was shortly thereafter exchanged and rejoined his regiment, with which he fought until the close of the struggle. He established an excellent record for bravery and fidelity, and when honorably discharged and mustered out of the service, at Omaha, Nebraska, returned to his Missouri home.
 
Mr. Truskett continued to be engaged in farming in Cooper, Morgan and Moniteau Counties, Missouri, until 1870, and in that year went to Vernon County, where he made his home and carried on his agricultural activities until 1890. In that year he located in Washington County, Oklahoma, settling on a farm ten miles south of Caney, Kansas, consisting of 100 acres, where he was living at the time of his death, in 1896. He was laid to rest in the cemetery at Caney. Mr. Truskett was a republican and a faithful member of the Christian Church.
 
He was married in 1841, in Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Williams, who was born September 1, 1820, at Crabapple Orchard, Pennsylvania, and was a schoolmate of the great statesman and politician, James G. Blaine, at one time a candidate for the presidency of the United States."
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Sunnyside Cemetery Caney, Montgomery County, Kansas. This is the final resting place of Thomas W. Tuskett (son of Alexander Truscott and younger brother of George Truscott).
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Back to Frederick and our dear Truscotts. George's faithful wife, Hannah Rebecca (Marman) Truscott, would die on May 3rd, 1889. Daughter Hannah R. Truscott would never marry. She lived out her life in Frederick, but not in the family home on South Market Street as it would be sold by Hannah and sister Sarah in 1892. Hannah is said to have lived at the Home for the Aged on Record Street. This is where she would pass on March 10th, 1921. Both Hannahs (mother and daughter) joined George on the family plot in Mount Olivet. 
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Frederick News (March 17, 1890)
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Truscott Lot on Area D/Lot 9 in Mount Olivet.
Also here in the Truscott lot is a former wife of the Truscott's grandson Thomas Van Fossen. This woman is another mystery by the name of Georgine  Bernard Von Fossen. She died in 1898 at the age of 24 and her actual name could be Geogianna Bernhardt Van Fossen. Georgine died in Philadelphia, and her husband remarried and is buried elsewhere.

The Van Fossens can be found in a nearby cemetery plot to the east (Area D/Lot 8). Sarah Catherine (Truscott) Van Fossen died in 1911, and her husband, George Washington Van Fossen died in 1922.
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By successfully making it through this week's "Story in Stone," in which I took you from Cornwall, England to Frederick, Maryland, please go "pump yourself up" with a delicious, savory snack cracker. You know the one I'm talking about;)
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__________________________________________________________Are you up for a history walking tour through Frederick County's amazing "Garden Cemetery?"

This author (Chris Haugh) is leading various themed tours through Mount Olivet in April and May. Topics include:

*Frederick History 101 (1700s & 1800s personalities)

*Frederick History 101 (1900s-Present personalities)

*Frederick in the Civil War

*Mount Olivet and Black History of Frederick


Click button below for more info and a printable schedule of walking tours and local history classes taught in the historic Key Chapel!

Mount Olivet Walking Tours (Spring 2025)
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Philly Soul

3/5/2025

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Philadelphia, (PA) in 1768
A "Philly Soul," that was my takeaway after being lured over to take a closer look at seeing a unique name on a small gravestone. This occurred while on a recent walk through one of the "oldest" areas within Mount Olivet's 100-acre cemetery. More on my geographical reference to the "City of Brotherly Love" in a moment. I will share that the decedent died 15 years before our famous burial ground opened its gates in 1854.  This wasn't his first "place of rest," as he had been "removed" from elsewhere. His name —Phineas Watson.
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For starters, how many times do you stumble across the name Phineas, other then when reading the Bible, deciphering the initials of "the greatest showman in history," or watching the Disney Channel? I'm sure many of you readers have no idea what I'm talking about. First off, we'll go "old school" as the name Phineas (or Phinehas) has been around for centuries. It is of Hebrew origin boasting an impressive lineage of leaders, lawyers and esteemed artists. Ancestry.com says the name is derived from the word "Pinchas," which translates to "oracle" and "serpent's mouth." The attribution links the name to the great nephew of Moses and something called the  Baal Peor episode in the Bible. It's not the nicest story at face value as it involves "Pinchas" (aka Phineas) killing a hedonist couple  with a spear while they were in bed. In doing so, however, he zealously avenged God's name.
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A depiction of the Paal Boer scandal by artist Ottmar Elliger in 1666.
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According to website TheTorah.com, "Pinchas" is portrayed as a hero in the Torah and Second Temple sources for killing Zimri and his Midianite lover, Cozbi. In the Bible's Numbers 25, the Israelites, stopping at the village of Shittim, are seduced by Moabite women (from the Moab kingdom east of the Dead Sea) into serving their gods, specifically Baal Peor. God is angered by this and instructs Moses to punish the transgressors. At the same time, God sends a plague into the Israelite camp. Before Moses and his appointees take action, an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into the camp, apparently to be "intimate" with her. Pinchas sees this and immediately takes action:

"Num 25:7 When Pinchas, son of Elazar son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he arose from the assembly and took a spear in his hand, 25:8 and followed the Israelite into the chamber and stabbed both of them, the Israelite and the woman, through her belly. Then the plague against the Israelites was checked."

With a flare for the dramatic, we can now explain "the Greatest Showman." This Connecticut native and businessman was responsible for giving us "the Greatest Show on Earth" in the form of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. That's right, P. T. Barnum's full name is Phineas Taylor Barnum. He lived from 1810-1891.

And now for a softer, more modern, reference to the name Phineas in the form of the lovable Phineas Flynn, one-half of the popular Disney Channel cartoon Phineas and Ferb. He was a main character on the show which ran over four seasons between 2007-2015. I know it well because my son and I watched the program regularly — however, its been a while since I last saw it as my son grew up and is currently away in his freshman year in college. The series' premise follows stepbrothers Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher during summer vacation. 

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Phineas Flynn (center) with Perry and stepbrother Ferb.
Every day, the boys construct a grand project or embark on a spectacular adventure to make the most of their time on school break. This always annoys their controlling older sister, Candace, who frequently tries to expose the boys' schemes to her mother. The animated show also features Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus, named Perry, who secretly moonlights as a secret agent and always upends the evil plans of the resident mad scientist named Heinz Doofensmirtz.This may seem confusing, but hey, at least no one gets brutally stabbed in bed in the latter offering!

Alright, let's get back to "Stories in Stone," shall we? Our subject, Phineas Watson, was born on July 4th, 1768 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I can only imagine how Phineas spent his eighth birthday (in 1776) based on the legendary events that would occur at Independence Hall that particular day. Sadly, I could find nothing of the sort, or any other birthdays celebrated in his 71 years. I had also hoped to find out his occupation, and reasoning for locating here in Frederick, but came up empty. 
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Phineas is buried within Mount Olivet's Area NN/Lot 124. He is with other decedents moved here in April, 1907 from their original burial spot of Evangelical Lutheran Church's second burial ground. This was at the intersection of East Church Street Extended and East Street in the location later to be known as Everedy Square.
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Former site of the second Evangelical Lutheran Church Graveyard at the corner of East Street and East Church Street Extended
​I found a record on Ancestry.com that corroborated information in our cemetery database pertaining to Phineas being married. His wife, Catharine Watson, was also re-interred here in Mount Olivet and Area NN back in 1907. However, she is not buried beside her husband, but instead is  located in the row in front of Phineas in Lot 125. Since all these graves in surrounding lots are removals (from other burying grounds), they are packed in very tightly with most stones touching one another. Born October 25th, 1777, also in Philadelphia, Catharine died on April 21st, 1855. She was originally buried side by side with Phineas in the the Old Evangelical Lutheran Graveyard on the east side of Frederick City.
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Area NN with the gravestone of Phineas Watson (left side in second row) and Catharine (far right in first row).
This would be a very challenging story, with little obvious information to sift through. I found that I had to look closely at scarce references to friends, relatives and acquaintances in order to try to understand the life of Phineas Watson. My assistant and I also had to do a deep dive on alternative sources such as property transactions found in land records within the state and county records.

​Marilyn Veek searched the Frederick County Register of Wills, Frederick County Orphans Court, and came up with a last will and testament for Phineas, and another from Catharine. In Phineas' document, made in October, 1836, we learn that Phineas and Catharine had no direct heirs living in the form of children (as far as we know). Phineas' executors were well-known Frederick citizens John P. Thomson, John Baltzell, and Henry Doyle. I've written past stories on the first two, having no difficulty whatsoever in learning about their respective past lives before winding up in Mount Olivet. 

Phineas bequeathed all his holdings to his "dearly beloved wife Catharine Watson during her life." He made provisions to give his belongings to a sibling and her children after the death of his wife. 
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Last Will and Testament of Phineas Watson (GME-2-41/ Nov 21, 1839)
 Here we would learn that Phineas had a sister named Ann Lambe, wife of Lacon Lambe. The Lambes were living in Washington County, PA in 1836 (the time the Final Will and Testament was written by Phineas). I did a little online searching and soon found Ann buried in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania's Emmanuel United Presbyterian Church Cemetery. 
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Grave of Phineas' sister, Anne Lambe in Eighty-Four, PA
The fine, upright stone of marble states that Ann was the wife of Lacon Lambe and lived from 1770 to March 17th, 1844. The couple married on November 19th, 1803. Ann Lambe's husband is also buried here, and lived until 1861 to the ripe old age of 91. He can be found with his adult child's (Mary Ann Whitely) family in Somerset, PA at the time of his death. Lacon was a native of Bath, England and, before immigrating to the United States, worked in conjunction with his father as a grocer specializing in the sale of teas, sugars, spices and coffees.

Phineas also mentions the potential sale of stocks with dividends going to benefit the children of William Hunt of Washington, DC, and another individual, Tabitha Appleby (wife of Washington Appleby) and resident of Montgomery County, MD. I guess we can call our subject "Philanthropic Phineas" in addition to "Philadelphia Phineas." Regardless, what a kind "Philly Soul."
From looking at documents like the will and other land records, we uncovered the following land dealings in Frederick County:

December 3rd, 1835: Phineas Watson bought from George and Ann Cole the eastern half of lot 286, which we believe to be located at today's 221 East Church Street. The house here now dates only to around 1900, but the earliest owner was Frederick Kinckley, a carpenter.

November 9, 1837: Phineas and Catherine sell half of lot 286 to Henry Lare and Thomas O'Neill. After Phineas' death, Catharine held mortgages for Daniel Martin and William Laley (a gravestone mason) at different times but didn't own any property herself.
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221 East Church Street (with yellow door) on original lot 286 that was purchased by Phineas Watson in 1835.
Catharine Watson's will was also an interesting find for us. Written in 1850, we see Mrs. Watson giving money to benevolent causes including funds to the American Bible Society of New York, a scholarship for "a Professorship of Theology" at Hillsboro College of Illinois (on behalf of Frederick's Evangelical Lutheran Church), and money to the Frederick County Orphans Court and "the poor of Frederick."
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Catharine Watson's will (GH-1-41 & codicil GH-1-42/April 23, 1855)
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Catharine Watson also calls out three women to give varying sums of money too. These echo children mentioned nearly twenty years earlier by Phineas and include Lydia E. Hunt (daughter of deceased Washington, DC bookbinder William Hunt), Harriet Burdett of Howard County, Harriet's daughter Achsah Elizabeth Burdett, and Ann Maria Appleby (daughter of Washington and Tabitha Appleby).

As for Lydia E. Hunt, I believe she may well be a cousin through Phineas' mother. Focus immediately shifted to her father's origins. Marilyn conducted a familysearch.com search and found a family tree of William Hunt which  showed that Ann (Watson) Lambe, like her husband (Lacon), was born in England to parents Richard Watson and Catharine Hunt, but gives no source. This is a bit confusing because Ann (Watson), supposedly born in 1770, is two years younger than Phineas. My premise for the onset has been that of Phineas Watson being born in 1768...in Philadelphia!

My assistant went on to find that William Hunt (1783-1829), the bookbinder, is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, DC. He looks to be a first cousin of Phineas (on his mother's side) and gives rise to the Watson estate gift going to William's daughter, Lydia Hunt, who married David Todd on May 23rd, 1843. The couple would move to Greensburg, Westmoreland, PA.  
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In the case of Miss Appleby, we connected the dots to Phineas' mention of a Tabitha (Mockbee) Appleby in his will. It was stated that a husband was Washington Appleby who I soon found to be from a pretty colorful, and "rough and tumble" family living in Montgomery County back in the early 19th century. Mr. Appleby, like his brothers, father and grandfather appear in county records quite often for the wrong reasons, and usually in front of a magistrate. The family was destitute. The Maryland Gazette carries a mention of the state giving "relief" to Washington in 1830.

​I found that Tabitha and Washington Appelby married in 1827 and had at least one daughter together, Ann Maria, whom Catharine writes that she (herself) "acted the part of a mother" by raising the young child until an affliction prohibited her (Catharine) from doing so. At this time, Ann Maria went to live with her aunt, the forementioned Harriet Burdett. I'm assuming Tabitha died or had a debilitating illness herself which caused the Watson's interest in the young child's welfare. 

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Ann Maria Appleby was born around 1836 according to this 1850 Census from Howard County showing the household of widow Harriet Burdett of Poplar Springs
I  would later learn that Harriet (Appleby) Burdett (1797-1880) is buried in the Stackhouse Family Cemetery in Poplar Springs, Howard County. However, I don't know what became of Ann Maria Appleby. Reading this information makes me think that Mrs. Watson perhaps played some greater role in educating or working with poor and orphaned girls over her lifetime. Or, maybe she just had a big heart in seeing the plight of these youngsters in poverty situations, be they related to her, or not. 

We may not have figured out much on our mystery couple, but we had a few "persons of interest" that may show us the light. So, it's time to go back in time to see if I could glean anything further about Phineas or Catharine and why they came to Frederick. My favorite find  in research was a photocopy of an entry for the marriage of Phineas Watson and Catharina Heyl in the combined church ledger records of St. Michael's and Zion Lutheran Church in Philadelphia on December 4th, 1802. This at least connects Phineas' gravestone epitaph to Philadelphia in wedlock, as I'm still hopeful that is where his birth occurred.
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Philadelphia marriage record for Phineas Watson and Catharine Heyl from 1802
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St. Michael's and Zion Lutheran Church (Philadelphia)
If we trust the logic used in deciphering the fascinating connection to William and Lydia Hunt in both Phineas' and Catherine's wills, combined with the info on Phineas' sister Ann Watson, then we can speculate that our subject's parents are Richard Watson and Catharine Hunt. As for the parents of Catharine (Heyl) Watson, I found a baptismal record that could be hers. It shows a Catharine Heel, daughter of Revolutionary War soldier Phillip Heel (1739-1810), and wife Catharine Zeiglerine. Could this be Phineas' Catharine Watson in Mount Olivet's Area NN?

​The best I could muster in scanning the 1790 and 1800 US Census records for the City of Philadelphia were instances of Philip Heyl (1739-1810), a baker by profession, living on the east side of Water Street. On this same street, I found a John Watson in the 1790 and 1800 census records but the name (obviously) and age doesn't quite work out right for this to be Phineas' father.

A little more pecking around led me to find a Richard Watson who had died back in April 1775 on the eve of the American Revolution. This man was a talented craftsman and affiliated with another named James Reynolds who is noted for his intricate woodwork in connection to furniture (particularly chairs and side tables) and particularly framing for paintings and portraits at the time.  I found a fascinating passage from www.Chipstone.org, the website of the Chipstone Foundation, a Wisconsin-based foundation dedicated to promoting American decorative arts scholarship:

"Like most craftsmen of his stature, Reynold’s took apprentices and almost certainly employed journeymen. He also appears to have been associated with Richard Watson, a London carver who immigrated to Philadelphia before 1774, when the latter’s name appeared on the Provincial Tax List. Reynolds witnessed Watson’s will, probated on April 27, 1775. William Macpherson Hornor alluded to a business connection between the two men in his Blue Book: Philadelphia Furniture (1935). Although he did not cite his source, Hornor noted that Watson made “1 Pair Mahoganey brackets” and “1 Pair Paint’d Do.”[17]

The #17 at the end of the passage refers to the exact bibliographic source: 
http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/philadelphia/taxlist/northward1774.txt>. Will of Richard Watson, probated April 27, 1775, Philadelphia Wills, 1775, no. 115, p. 134, City Hall, Philadelphia. William Macpherson Hornor, Blue Book: Philadelphia Furniture, William Penn to George Washington (Philadelphia: by the author, 1935), p. 284.
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This image accompanied the article and shows a "carved" wooden bust of "Philly's own" Benjamin Franklin by Martin Jugiez which has been gilded
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1771 Pier Glass mirror made by James Reynolds shop in Philadelphia
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Pennsylvania Gazette (Dec 29, 1768)
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Carved and gilded frame detailing represent the type of work Richard Watson performed in his profession
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Was Richard Watson, the noted carver and gilder of Philadelphia in the 1770s, and direct from London, the father of Phineas Watson? Its certainly not far-fetched to think this man could have been in Philadelphia by 1768, the year of Phineas' birth. 

I saw a brief summary of witnesses of Richard Watson's will of 1775, and these included James Reynolds and Richard's wife named Elizabeth (who served as executrix) and his father named George. In this case, what became of Phineas after the death of his father? We can assume he was raised by his mother into adulthood, or perhaps it was a relative or family friend. Maybe he was orphaned? Regardless, it would certainly make for a soft spot in the heart for other children experiencing the same situation with the loss of a parent(s).

This doesn't resolve the issue of Ann Watson's supposed 1770 birth in England, but that could have been an erroneous birthdate, or the statement that she was born in England could have been wrong. That family tree had a name of Catharine for Ann Watson's mother as well. That's certainly not Elizabeth, but could there be an error here as well? Anyway, I am excited that there is a chance here for discovering Phineas' father, and perhaps a clue to unlock Phineas profession if he learned the carving talents of Richard.

Marilyn dug up these land transactions (selling lots) involving Phineas, done shortly after his marriage to Catharine. 

May 22nd, 1805: Phineas Watson to Jno Meer - west side of "Seventh and Delaware Street"  between High and Chestnut Streets  - 17 feet wide and 81 feet westward, bound on the south and west sides by other land of Phineas Watson.

May 17th, 1806: Phineas Watson to Simon Gratz -- west side of Seventh Street from the River Delaware between High and Chestnut Streets - being part of the larger lot that Phineas bought from the High Sheriff on July 6th, 1800 deed D 185

Aug 14th, 1805:  Phineas Watson to Jno Meer  - description seems the same as EF 19/537


Again, it's just interesting that these properties are located near to the forementioned Phillip Heyl and John Watson. Water Street is located along the Delaware River. 
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Philadelphia scene of the early 1800s
This leads us to believe that this was the probable time of departure from Philadelphia, and the couples' move to western Maryland around 1806.  However, it would not be Frederick right away. I found only two census records for our subjects.  We find them in the 1810 US Census living in Washington County. However, study of land records show the following transactions involving Phineas in the vicinity of Elizabethtown (later renamed Hagerstown). The earliest coming in 1807.

June 1st, 1807: Phineas Watson bought from Michael Hager a 92 3/4 acre tract of land that included part of Hager's Delight, part of Cellar's Resurvey, part of Cellar's Establishment, part of Pleasant Garden, part of Friendship Ended, part of Hagers Fancy, and part of Fertile Meadow. He sold this property to George Lyday on March 31, 1810.

April 10th, 1810: Phineas Watson bought from Michael Rudicill 10 1/2 acres along the road from Elizabeth Town to Green Castle. He sold this land to Frederick Wolfersperger on April 11th, 1812. 
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1810 US Census showing Phineas Watson in Washington County
I found multiple announcements in the April editions of the Maryland Herald and Hagerstown Weekly Advertiser stating that Phineas had unpicked-up mail at the post office there. A further look uncovered more mentions of dead mail in 1813, 1816, 1818 and 1819 with the earliest being a letter for Catharine Watson on behalf of Phineas Watson, in the year 1809.
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An advertisement in the Hagerstown paper in April, 1811 stating that Phineas has mail in the post office that hasn't been picked up. A Mr. John Wolfersberger has the same situation. How is the latter related to Frederick Wolfersberger. And why didn't these guys get their mail?
By 1820, the Watsons are residing in the Goshen District of Montgomery County according to the US Census. This is near Clarksburg, and yes, we found land transactions by Phineas here as well.

January 13th, 1813: Phineas Watson bought from Zachariah Waters, trustee for the sale of the estate of Godfrey Waters, 64 3/4 acres part of Warfield's Vineyard

May 19th, 1817: Phineas Watson bought from Otho Willson 3/8 acre part of Moneysworth along the "great road" in the town of Clarksburgh

February 14th, 1823: Phineas Watson paid $43 for the household goods and furniture of Thomas Marman

February 7th, 1823: Phineas Watson bought from Alexander Winsor 28 square perches of part of Moneysworth and part of Woodport

July 15th, 1831: Phineas Watson sold to Elisha Lewis all of the above property

The household of 1820 shows Phineas and Catharine, but also a female child under 10 and an older female over 45. Who was this mystery child? Likely a youngster taken in for benevolent purposes by the "Godly" couple. Here, too, in this census, we get our only glimpse at Phineas in regards to an occupation as the census says he is engaged in agriculture. 
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1820 US Census showing Phineas Watson living in Montgomery County.
In scouring the census, I found nearby neighbors in this Clarksburg vicinity to the Watsons. These included the earlier mentioned Washington Appleby and the Harriett Burdett family. I could not find the Watsons in the 1830 Census of Montgomery County. The chronology seems to indicate that this is where they would reside before moving into Frederick City by the mid 1830s. We base this presumption  on the land transactions by Phineas shown earlier. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything more on Phineas regarding his last four years of life in Frederick. All we know is that he and Catharine were members of Evangelical; Lutheran Church.
That leads us to the death of Mr. Watson. This occurred on October 20th, 1839. The burial ledger of Evangelical Lutheran states that his death came on suddenly and as a result of apoplexy-heart disease. Diarist Jacob Engelbrecht made an entry a day later in his celebrated diary saying:

"Died last night in the 71st year of his age Mr. Phineas Watson of our town. Buried on the Lutheran Graveyard. A note was later added that "He was born in Philadelphia July 4, 1768." 

Everyone in town must have been fascinated by the assumed fact that Mr. Watson was very proud of being born in Philly, perhaps his life's greatest highlight? All I can say is "Go Phillies, Sixers, Flyers....and E-A-G-L-E-S!"
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ELC Burial Ledger Volume IIIB pg 460
That's the end of the road for me in seeking out more sources on the internet. Without direct heirs, it's as if it was the end of a legacy for Phineas Watson as well. All that remains is that gravestone here at Mount Olivet to prove he once walked the Earth. His wife certainly kept his memory alive for another 16 years until her death on April 20th, 1855. Catharine would be buried the next day.
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Evangelical Lutheran Church Death Ledger showing the loss of Catharine Watson in 1855
So that is all I can tell you about this "Philly Soul" —a man named Phineas who was proud of the fact that he was born in Philadelphia. He may have been the son of a talented 18th century immigrant craftsman from London, and may have possessed some of those talents himself. Phineas, I wish I could have learned more about you and your wife Catharine. I hope it was a good life, and don't worry, I will never forget this meandering research quest each and every time I pass by your graves in that interesting cemetery area of NN.
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2 Comments

Mary "Polly"???

2/10/2025

0 Comments

 
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In going through cemetery burial records, my talented research assistants Donna Lacagnina and Marilyn Veek discovered that we had the same individual entered twice in our records under different names. We apparently had a lady named Mary "Polly" Conrad  in an unknown/unmarked burial here at Mount Olivet. We also have a woman named Mary "Polly" Grosch (1783-1841) with a known burial space of Area NN/Lot 128.  Donna and Marilyn made this discovery by going through FindaGrave.com memorial pages and found that both "Marys" were assigned to the same grave lot (NN/Lot 128), and grave space. The accompanying photo of the gravestone (on FindaGrave.com) on this location for Mary Grosch substantiates the presence for the Mary Grosch burial and entry. However, the Mary "Polly" Conrad entry left plenty of questions with no such stone to be found as this was an unmarked grave as assumed.
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Gravestone at Area NN/Lot 128
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Donna has been working on a project of finding obituaries for decedents buried here in Mount Olivet whose deaths predate the opening of the cemetery in 1854. This is why she was trying to find obits for both ladies. She had searched, and found, an obituary in an old 1841 Frederick newspaper. This was a brief obit for a Mary Grosch, however she could not find one for Mary "Polly" Conrad. 
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Frederick Visitor (Sept 9, 1841)
There were three "Conrads" buried in this unique Area plot associated with Frederick's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Two predated Mount Olivet (death-wise) and had stones, while the other died in 1861 and is unmarked. None bear the name Mary or Polly, and none were in specific grave lot 128.

Ten yards away from the stone of Mary Grosch, we have an Elizabeth (Kern) Conrad (1799-1851), buried next to son Joseph J. Conrad (1828-1833). Both mother and son have small gravestones. A third "Conrad," Joseph Conrad (unknown birth-1861), is identified as the husband of Elizabeth (Kern/Carne) Conrad and father of Joseph J. Conrad. Two other children of Joseph and Elizabeth are buried in Area H. These are John Conrad (1816-1888) and Elizabeth (Conrad) Norris (1822-1894). Interestingly, we mentioned Elizabeth Norris' husband (Lafayette Norris) a few months ago in a Story in Stone entitled "Lafayette's 1824 Visit."
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Gravestones of Elizabeth Conrad with young son Joseph J. Conrad to left in Area NN/Lot 125
Donna and Marilyn are with the Friends of Mount Olivet membership group, and next consulted our cemetery database which would show that both "Marys" (Mary "Polly" Grosch and Mary "Polly" Conrad) not only shared the same birth and death years, but were born and died on the same days as well. This is when Donna and Marilyn began to look closer, assuming an error had occurred in duplicative data entry here at Mount Olivet. 
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​Our database entries did not add a great deal of vital and family info outside of a full birthdate of December 7th, 1783 and death date of August 29th, 1841. Both entries also included the same name for both Marys' mother. This was Hannah Conrad. However, both entries would also point to each other in a very interesting set of statements in the optional "Remarks" section at the bottom of each entry page.  Mary "Polly" Grosch's page reads:

"See Mary "Polly" Conrad buried in NN-128-10. Removal from Old Lutheran Graveyard, Frederick, Md. Mary was a free Mulatto woman who was raised and worked for the Grosch family. As a result, she went sometimes by the name of Mary "Polly" Grosch. However, her real name was Mary "Polly" Conrad."

This was extremely interesting to learn, especially in regard to Mary "Polly" being referred to as a "free Mulatto woman." On top of that, she possesses one of the largest memorials in this particular cemetery area.  Her gravestone is what we call a "ledger," or "tablet," memorial or marker. Again, she is referred to on the stone simply as Mary Grosch with a death date of August 29th, 1841, dying in the 57th year of her age.       
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A ledger stone is an inscribed stone slab usually laid into the floor of a church to commemorate or mark the place of the burial of an important deceased person. Think of accounting ledgers, and ledger paper and notepads—long and narrow.
 
​Ledger stones may also be found as slabs forming the tops of chest tombs. An inscription is usually incised into the stone within a ledger line running around the edge of the stone in the same manner a ledger book contains stacked rows of recorded information and numbers. Such inscription may continue within the central area of the stone, which may be decorated with relief-sculpted or incised coats of arms, or other appropriate decorative items such as skulls, hourglasses, etc. Stones with inset brasses first appeared in the 13th century.

Traditionally, these memorials are found in Colonial-era burying grounds, and generally reserved for the upper class. The Grosch family of Frederick was certainly prominent, but it is fascinating to see a stone of this size on the grave of a "person of color," no less a single woman of color. She certainly must have carried clout in the community and her greater family. If anything else, the simple inscription on the face of this particular ledger stone states that Mary "Polly" Grosch was a "Faithful member of the Lutheran Church."
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Evangelical Lutheran Church (fronting on E. Church St) with its burial ground stretching to E. 2nd St in this 1854 lithograph by Edward Sachse
​Exactly eight years ago this month, I penned a multi-part "Story in Stone," in which  I explained my attempt in searching for the earliest Frederick residents of color to be buried in Frederick’s Mount Olivet Cemetery. The rural cemetery opened in 1854 and specifically catered to Frederick’s white community, an unspoken and understood practice not only here and the Deep South, but in many places in the North as well. Separate burying grounds, or separate sections within established graveyards, had been set up by churches or beneficial societies for the black populace. This was no different with how churches had evolved, marking a color divide with religion (ie: the Methodist Episcopal Church vs the African Methodist Episcopal Church). The same was true here in Frederick as well. From before the time of the Civil War up through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many cemeteries would remain segregated with “unwritten” and, in some cases, “written” rules to back the claim.
 
Mount Olivet is the largest cemetery in Frederick County. Today, it operates without discrimination in burying people regardless of color, creed, religion, sex and national origin. At the same time, Fairview Cemetery, located on East Church Street extended/Gas House Pike continues a proud tradition of service as the predominant “black cemetery” of town. This is simply a historic and cultural precept.

My fascination with Mary "Polly" Grosch, or Conrad, was one of breaking the color barrier in death. She was described as being Mulatto, or mixed race (black and white). First off, here was a woman that was a Free Black living (and dying) in Frederick at a time long before the Emancipation Proclamation and the American Civil War. She died in 1841 at the age of 57. The question remains: Was she a former slave? If so, when was she manumitted, and by whom? As a matter of fact, were her parents (or just one of them) slaves? Who was Hannah Conrad?

Second, it is interesting to learn of Mary "Polly," a woman of color, being originally buried in Frederick's second Evangelical Lutheran burying ground. The Lutherans had two such downtown graveyards in Frederick. The first was located on East Church Street behind the church edifice. You can still see ancient gravestones there today, but a traditional expanse, or field, of stones is not what you will find. The Schaeffer Center, the congregation's early Sunday School, eventually displaced many a gravestone and likewise decedents, when it was built in 1892. It fronts East Second Street, on the north end of the Lutheran church property. Many of these stones can be found propped up along the vintage Sunday School structure.
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Gravestones in the Evangelical Lutheran Churchyard
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Schaeffer Center
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Gravestones against the Schaeffer Center
A second Lutheran burying ground would open down the street on the southeast corner of East Church Street extended and East Street. This is where the Lerner Collection (formerly Frederick Coin Exchange) and Talbots are located today within Everedy Square. I think this is most likely the place of Mary "Polly's" original burial, because this ground and its decedents were moved to Mount Olivet in 1907 to Area NN.
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Former location of Frederick's second Lutheran Burying Ground on the southeast corner of East Street and East Church Street extended (present site of Everedy Square)
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Area NN in Mount Olivet consists of bodies moved here in 1907 from the second Lutheran Burying Ground
Area NN is an interesting one here in Mount Olivet. It’s shape is somewhat triangular as it sits against the western boundary of the cemetery, not far from the Barbara Fritchie and Thomas Johnson gravesites.  The section often raises curiosity among visitors as the stones within are somewhat positioned very closely together—almost too close together, but there is a reason. Most of the people interred here today, came from other burial grounds that once graced downtown Frederick.
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Many of these gravestones have death dates that predate Mount Olivet’s opening in 1854, and there are several examples written in German. The Colonial architecture is clearly evident and the rationale for these stones placed so close together lies in the fact that these comprise church group reburials dictated by the trustees of local congregations. Three different churches bought the bulk of the lots on NN — the Presbyterian, Evangelical Lutheran and Methodist Episcopal. These churches once had their own designated burying grounds downtown, but elected to transfer bodies via mass removal to Mount Olivet, allowing for re-use or resale of the former graveyard properties.

This was certainly not an uncommon practice for the time, and in the case of Area NN, most of this reburial activity occurred in 1907-1908. This option was designed to take the congregations out of the graveyard business, and maintenance thereof, deferring the job to an entity that solely was suited to handle the assignment. 
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As for the makeup of the property, the Methodists are to the left, Lutherans in the middle (see tall obelisk monument in middle) and Presbyterians to the right. 
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Area NN looking west
Marilyn brought the situation of both Mary "Pollys" to my attention, and we started searching for more information on this singular woman with two names. Our intent was threefold: 1.)To correct our cemetery database with duplicative listings for the same woman; 2.)To correct any Find-a-Grave.com information on Mary Polly's memorial page, as we had made one a few years prior under the Friends of Mount Olivet management; and 3.)To learn anything we could about Mary "Polly," and discover how she may connect with the early prominent Grosch family of Evangelical Lutheran Church and Frederick Town.
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Mary "Polly" Grosch ledger in Area NN/Lot 128
Our first endeavors included a consultation with Jacob Engelbrecht's heralded diary, and then a search to see what was on Ancestry.com for this woman. For those not familiar with Engelbrecht, he was an early resident of town, a tailor by trade, who kept a diary from 1819 until his death in 1878. He worked as a tailor and lived out most of his life on West Patrick Street next to Carroll Creek and across the street from legendary neighbor Barbara Fritchie.
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Jacob Engelbrecht (1797-1878)
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Evangelical Lutheran Church (c. 1855)
Jacob Engelbrecht was a fellow parishioner of Mary "Polly" in Evangelical Lutheran Church, and as usual, his diary did not disappoint. We found the following entry dated August 29th, 1841:

"Died this afternoon in the year of her age, Miss Mary Grosch, granddaughter, or rather niece I should say, of old Mrs. Kimboll, Buried on the Lutheran graveyard."

I was quite familiar with the early Grosch family and their connection to the church, not to mentian Mrs. Catharine (Grosch) Kimboll (also spelled Kimball), a notable early businesswoman of Frederick Town. She ran a tavern on West Patrick Street from 1797-1828 that hosted many early statesmen such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. It was called "The Sign of the Golden Fleece." This structure, located near the northeast corner of West Patrick and Court streets ,would eventually become Talbott's Tavern and later the City Hotel—Frederick's prime lodging spot throughout the century, eventually yielding to the Francis Scott Key Hotel that would be built on the original footprint.
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Catharine Kimboll was the longtime proprietor of "The Sign of the Golden Fleece" Tavern (middle structure in this illustration by John J. Markell)
Mrs. Kimboll was the former Catharine Grosch, daughter of an early German settler in town named Johann Conrad Grosch (1712-1794). Mr. Grosch is commonly known as "Conrad Grosch" and was one of the first members of Frederick's Evangelical Lutheran congregation, as he came to the area a short time after the town's founding in 1745.  Grosch was a great benefactor and one of the first builders of the original large ediface of the church on East Church Street, begun in 1752.

I recalled that Mr. Grosch was also an early slave owner. This wasn't uncommon, as I recall years ago being surprsed to learn that some of our early German settlers of Frederick owned slaves. Michael Roemer (1715-1800) was another leading member of this congregation, and his slave Adam Cooms (aka Combs and Coomes) is buried on the Evangelical Lutheran Church property in an unmarked grave.

Old local histories state that Cooms (c.1739-1824) helped build the Lutheran Church, and was the only Black man to be a regular (confirmed) member of the church at the time of his death. He was also the first Black individual buried in the Lutheran Graveyard in the year 1824. 
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Frederick Post (July 26, 1934)
​Michael Roemer (aka Raymer) is buried on the church grounds downtown, as is Johann Conrad Grosch. Roemer's gravestone is still here, however there is not one for Conrad Grosch or his wife Maria Sofia (Gutenberger) Grosch (1717-1785). I found it odd that our Mary "Polly's" gravestone was featured on the latter's FindaGrave memorial page. Two other Grosch family members are here in unmarked graves in son Adam Grosch (1754-1785) and a mystery lady named Salome Grosch (1721-1794) according to church records. Perhaps she was Conrad's sister or cousin?
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Michael Roemer's grave (dating to 1800) can be found behind Evangelical Lutheran Church against the wall that borders the old "Town Market Space" behind the parking deck and Brewer's Alley Restaurant
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Conrad Grosch was born May 18th, 1712 in Eichloch in "Rheingrafischen Hernschaft" (now Rommersheim, in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). He married (Maria Sophia Gutenberger) in 1737 in her hometown of Woellstein, Alzey. The couple came to America in 1748, the same year Frederick County was created out of Prince Georges County.

On the journey across the Atlantic, Conrad and Maria Sophia would bring one son and two daughters— one of which was Catharine (Grosch) Kimboll. Once here, they expanded their family to include four sons and four daughters: Maria Dorothea Grosch (1739-1810) married Col. William Beatty; Peter Grosch (1741-1796); Catharine Margaret Grosch (1745-1831); Henry Grosch (1749-1749); Johann Michael Grosh (1749-1777); Christina Grosch (1752-1808) married Matthias Buckey; Anna Barbara Grosch (1752-1828); married Col. Elie Marion Williams); Adam Grosch (1754-1785). Catharine married William Kimboll, a saddler by profession, in the early 1760s. The couple had at least one daughter, Maria Barbara in 1763, but William seems to vanish from the records by the late 1790s.

With this information, coupled with our records saying that Mary "Polly's" mother was a Hannah Conrad, how could Catharine be our subject's grandmother? I acutely picked up on the interesting connection with the name Conrad however, as this was Catharine's father's first name of course. This led me to two online databases of baptisms for Evangelical Lutheran Church. The first can be found on Evangelical Lutheran Church's website, twinspires.org, in the preservation section. The second comes from late Genealogist Bob Fout's website, bobfoutgenealogy.com, under FELC Baptisms 1780-1785.
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First column is the baptized, second column are parents, birth date, baptism date and fifth column is sponsors/Godparents. (Evangelical Lutheran Church Baptismal Ledger: Volume II, Pg. 140, #150)
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This is a copy of micofilm scanned by the late Bill Fout and ELC Historian Marcia Hahn showing Polly on the original Baptismal Register of the Church (Vol. II, Pg. 140, #150)
Note the individual "Polly," baptized on December 21st, 1783. This is two weeks after her birth on December 7th. She is our Mary, as her mother is Hannah, and there is a direct connection to the Grosch family. I think the mystery is partially solved! Conrad is not a last name of her mother, and sponsor, Hannah. Rather, Hannah is listed simply as Conrad Grosch's negro woman, without a last name. Blame the error on the vintage ELC Baptismal Ledger not having wider columns to write this information. I think we can say with surety that Hannah was a slave of Conrad Grosch.

I decided to peck around in both of these databases a bit more and eventually found the following entry from June 11th, 1775. It is a baptism for a child named Jacob, the son of negroes Henry and Hannah. Conrad Grosch and wife Sophia are the sponsors. Could Jacob's mother be the same Hannah who gave birth to Polly eight years later in December, 1783?
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Evangelical Lutheran Church Baptismal Ledger: Volume II, Pg. 100, #74
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This is a micofilm copy scanned by the late Bill Fout and ELC Historian Marcia Hahn showing Polly on the original Baptismal Register of the Church (Vol. II, Pg. 100, #74)
Again, we see Conrad Grosch in the picture. However, what happened to Henry over that eight year span. Was he Polly's father? Or was it someone else?
I finally consulted a hardback volume entitled A History of Evangelical Lutheran Church. The majority of the book contains a history of the church written in 1938 by a Gettysburg Seminarian named Dr. Abdel Ross Wentz. The book was published, compiled and brought up to date by Amos John Traver in 1988. I looked for anything I could find on Mary "Polly," and Mrs. Kimboll, as there were several references to Conrad Grosch as you can imagine as he was also one of the earliest church elders. On page 185, I found the following passage that gave me great satisfaction in discovering:

"A question of order was raised in 1811 when (Rev. David Frederick) Schaeffer catechised a mulatto girl and then proposed to confirm her. The action of the council was that 'a majority of the church council resolved that Mr. Schaeffer should confirm Mrs. Kimbold's (sp) Mullate Girl and should let her come to the communion as the last one in the church or as Mr. Schaeffer thinks best.' The record does not state , but knowing Schaeffer's interest in the blacks and all needy souls we may conclude that the girl was confirmed and was admitted to the communion table after all others had been communed. And knowing his tact and prudence we may conclude that she was seated, not in the main auditorium on the left-hand side where the other women sat, but in the gallery at the back of the church. This custum with reference to negroes continued in the church until the issues of the Civil War were raised, and it was renewed towards the close of the century."

Mary "Polly" was about 27 years old at this point. Could this be Mrs. Kimboll's "mulatto girl?" I would think that if an exception be made for a person of color to be confirmed in Frederick's early Lutheran Church, it would certainly be a person with a connection to church builder and former leader, Conrad Grosch who had died in 1794. Secondly, I'm now thinking that Polly's confirmation name was likely "Mary." This would explain the duality of names, and would be appropriate for a number of reasons, especially since her baptismal sponsor was Mary Sophia Grosch. Perhaps there are confirmation records that need perusing to prove this fact? And don't forget the inscription on Mary "Polly" Grosch's ledger stone as being "a faithful member of the Lutheran Church." This was a highly important accomplishment for a person of color, just as Adam Cooms would make the history books as the slave who helped build Evangelical Lutheran's first church in Frederick Town. My friend Marcia Hahn was kind enough to find the Church Minutes from January 1811 in which the church council discussed the issue of Ms. Grolsch potential confirmation. Unfortunately those records are written in German in the 1811 Evangelical Church Minutes Book,  but I submit them below anyway. (If you know German, please kindly translate this record and feel free to add the passage in the comments at the end of the story.)
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Twenty-three persons were confirmed in Frederick's Evangelical Lutheran Church and here is the original list of those individuals from Church records. Note that Polly Grosch was last to be listed in the 23rd position on this document (​ELC Vol III pg 319).
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List of those confirmed at ELC in 1811
I can't get over the connection to Mrs. Kimboll and Mary "Polly" Grosch. Our subject was more than a slave, and the stress on her being a mulatto, and not simply negro as Hannah her mother was referred to. Now the question must be raised: Was Mary "Polly's" father a white man? Now the plot thickens if so. We have seen that a possible father of our subject, and spouse of Hannah, was negro Henry. Neither Hannah nor Henry were referred to as mulatto though from what we saw.

Regardless, what did Jacob Engelbrecht mean when he said: "Miss Mary Grosch, granddaughter, or rather niece I should say, of old Mrs. Kimboll?" If Mary "Polly" Grosch was a legitimate niece of Catharine Kimball, then Polly's father would be one of the old tavern keeper's Grosch male siblings, or one of husband William Kimboll's siblings, whoever they may be. In order for Mary "Polly" to be a granddaughter of Mrs. Kimball, would mean that Mary "Polly" would have to be the daughter of her only known daughter, Maria Barbara (Kimboll) Morris. However, Mary "Polly's" mother was Hannah, and not Catharine Kimball's daughter Maria Barbara Morris, wife of Jonathan Morris. This couple would relocate to Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina.

I simply think that Catharine Kimboll may have been protecting a family secret of some sort. She likely referred to Mary "Polly" as her granddaughter, but she was really a niece. Germans can be dark complected, and couple this with Mary "Polly" being a mulatto, you have an opportunity to hide the truth, or at least try to. Jacob Engelbrecht could never be fooled, as he knew everything in town from fact to fiction.
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In my research, I did find this interesting biographical piece on the state's Maryland Historical Archives website regarding Catharine Kimboll's brother, John Michael Grosch. This son of Conrad and Mary Sophia Grosch died in 1777 while serving in the American Revolution at the Battle of Germantown (PA). Note the section toward the bottom listing the decedent's nieces. Here lies the puzzling mention of a female named "Mary" with no other supporting documentation. Why is she just out there like an island? Apparently she is a daughter of one of Michael's siblings, but which one? Likely one with a last name of Grosch which leaves Peter or Adam.

Anyway, searches for anything on a Conrad Grosch granddaughter named Mary turned up fruitless. The only thing I could find was Mary (Charlton) Grosch, wife of Peter Grosch, and an aunt of Francis Scott Key to boot.
Catherine Kimboll died at age 86 on May 18th, 1831. She was the last of her immediate family. Jacob Engelbrecht made note of her death in his journal and commented that she was buried in the Lutheran Graveyard. This most likely was the churchyard. ​Mary "Polly" Grosch would live another decade before her death in 1841. I almost forgot to check Evangelical Lutheran Church's Death Register for Mary "Polly's" death entry. To my delight, I would find "two for the price of one" to complete my research.
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Evangelical Lutheran Church Death Register Vol. IIIB, pg 466
Wow! Now, how could these two ladies die so close together, and, fittingly, why is there no burial information for Mary, but there is information of her removal? Because these two ladies are the same person. Polly died of dropsy, also known as Edema. This is fluid retention, swelling caused by excess fluid buildup in the body's tissues. Mary "Polly" was 57 years of age at the time of her death.

I was not certain who made the plans for Mary "Polly's" burial. She would never marry, or have children. Did she have siblings or anyone else? Perhaps a Grosch cousin? Catharine's daughter Maria (Morris) had died in 1834 and is buried in South Carolina, so we can rule her out, unless it was one of her daughters of which she had a few. Jacob Engelbrecht refers to these ladies as a Mrs. Dugas and a Mrs. Shaw but they lived elsewhere. I presume that it may have been the Evangelical Lutheran congregation, itself, or a clergyman. This Black trailblazer certainly deserved an honorable memorial, especially considering how generous she was to the Church and Missionary Society with those donations at the time of her death. That was a good amount of money back in those days.

​Thanks to a late, final discovery by Marilyn, we would learn a bit more about our mysterious  Mary "Polly" in the form of a will in the Frederick County Courthouse records. This was written on July 29th, 1841, exactly one month before her death. Therein we find that Mary "Polly" had formidable wealth
—even enough to purchase her own ledger gravestone! The first orders she gives to her executors Edward and John A. Mantz revolve around her own burial:

​"First, and principally, I commit my soul into the hands of Almighty God, and my body to the Earth to be decently buried at the discretion of my Executers hereinafter named, and after my debts and charges are paid. 2nd, I devise and bequeath forty dollars for a tombstone to be placed over my grave." 
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Full copy of last will and testament of Mary "Polly" Grosch (Larger singular page scans are below)
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Within the will, the major recipient appears to be Miss Henrietta C. Mantz. Ms. Grosch wrote the following:

"Thirdly, I devise and bequeath one hundred and fifty dollars, also my furniture and all my wareing apparel, for her kindness towards me."

Others mentioned were youngsters to receive money in trust at a later date. These included Isabel Mantz (daughter of Charles Mantz) and Otho Mantz (son of John A. Mantz), David Poole, John Doll, and William Dungan. Most interesting of all was money left to a nephew named John Jones.  A nephew?! (of Mary "Polly") Well, that's a "rabbit hole" for another day.

As said earlier, the mortal remains of Mary "Polly" Grosch, and an impressive gravestone, were brought to Mount Olivet in 1907. She would be reburied in Area NN/Lot 128 on March 19th of that year. Rest in peace, Mary "Polly." If her stone could talk, what an incredible tale it would tell.
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EPIOLOGUE
Since the story's completion, my assistant Marilyn Veek was inspired to search for a manumission record for Mary "Polly" Grosch, and also one for her mother Hannah. She  was successful in finding Mary "Polly's" manumission thus confirming that she was a slave. More valuable information shows that Hannah was a slave of William Kimboll at least as early as 1765, 18 years before Mary "Polly's" birth in 1783.

The manumission of Polly (aka Mary) by Catherine Kimboll occurred on July 26th, 1810 by Frederick County Courthouse deed WR 37 647 (attached). Mary has "served her since her infancy."
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Conrad Grosh's Last Will and Testament makes no mention of enslaved persons, however the 1795 inventory of his estate includes "1 Mulatto slave girl named Poll." Mary “Polly” would have been 11 years old at this time. 
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Excerpt from the 1795 estate inventory of Conrad Grosh listing "Mulatto Girl Slave named Poll"
​​According to his will, Conrad Grosh’s real and personal estate was to be sold. Marilyn was unable to find a deed by which Catherine Kimboll obtained Mary “Polly,” though presumably it was from Grosh's estate. However, there is a 1792 deed in which Peter Mantz sold a negro woman named Peggy Fisher to Elie Williams in trust for Catherine. Mr. Williams was Catharine's brother-in-law, as well as an executor for her father.
​Marilyn also uncovered a complicated set of deeds involving the mortgaging and sale of the negro woman Hannah. We can assume that this slave was Mary “Polly” Grosch’s biological mother. On August 28th, 1765, William Kimboll mortgaged Hannah "and her increase" to Christopher Edelen (Frederick County Courthouse Deed J 1288). On February 26th, 1766, William Kimboll mortgages to William Beatty and Peter Grosh various household goods and also a negro woman named Hannah (Frederick County Courthouse Deed K 397).  
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Excerpt from Feb. 26, 1765 mortgage document between William Kimball and William Beatty/Peter Grosch.
​On March 15th, 1766, William Kimboll paid off his debts to Edelen and to Beatty & Grosh (2 deeds at K 415). He then immediately sells Hannah to John Beatty (Frederick County Courthouse Deed K 416).
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Final March 15th, 1766 transaction regarding Hannah as William Kimboll sells her to John Beatty.
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Flower Girl

2/1/2025

1 Comment

 
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​I often stop, and truly take in the human statues I see in our cemetery. Most often these are females, and come in the form of angels, "women in mourning state" and young cherubs. Recently, I spotted a young figure of a girl who looked quite angelic, but I don't know if she was actually depicting one of the heavenly variety as I didn't spy any wings. She is holding what looks to be a small bunch  of flower petals in her left hand, and appears to be in the process of dropping a petal (or petals) with her right hand —and on this very grave. I’m not sure of the exact significance of this act, but angels are often known to spread blessings.

I soon asked myself whether this funerary ornamentation was intended to be a representation of the young nine-year-old decedent in this grave space, or that of a like-aged chum showing affection and/or pity for young Rebecca M. Zacharias (August 25th, 1891-December 16th, 1899)?

I then thought about whether this marble art piece has a relationship to flower girls, you know, the ones utilized at weddings. Their role is to spread flowers or petals ahead of the bride, or hand them out to the guests. 
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I decided to review the duty behind flower girls at weddings. Of course, job number one is to be incredibly cute and actually steal a bit of attention away from the marital couple. The flower girl is responsible for throwing flower petals on the ground as she walks down the aisle before the bride. The origin of the tradition is believed to have stemmed from symbolizing a leading of the bride from childhood to adulthood, and soon-to- be motherhood. It’s for this reason that the flower girl is also usually dressed in white, representing innocence, similarly to the color worn by most brides.
 
Rose petals are said to symbolize fertility and the couple's hope for children.  The tradition apparently began in Ancient Rome, where the flower girl serviced the bride and groom by carrying wheat and herbs. This was to bless them with prosperity and fertility. I also read that the tradition may have originated from superstition, with the flower girl throwing petals to ward off evil spirits. During the Renaissance, flower girls carried strands of garlic based on the belief that garlic repelled bad luck, along with vampires too as we all know.

In the Elizabethan era, wedding guests would scatter flower petals from the bride's home to the church. Flower girls followed musicians in the wedding procession, “carrying a gilded rosemary branch and a silver bride's cup adorned with ribbons.” The cup was usually filled with flower petals or rosemary leaves, as an alternative to a basket. Other alternatives included a small bunch of rosemary sprigs used as a sweet posy or a small floral bouquet, incorporating sprigs of fresh rosemary.

The Victorian flower girl most resembles the modern ones we all know. Victorian-era (1837-1901) flower girls were traditionally dressed in white, perhaps with a sash of colored satin or silk. Her dress, usually made of muslin, was intentionally simple to allow future use. The Victorian flower girl carried an ornate basket of fresh blooms or sometimes a floral hoop, its shape echoing that of the wedding ring and symbolizing that "love has no end."
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Victorian mourning card from 1881
Well, that's the story behind wedding flower girls, dropping petals at the happiest of life's occasions. So what then does this statuary monument here in Mount Olivet's Area R represent? ​The Victorians regularly used symbols for funerary art. The angel was a symbol of spirituality & the hand pointing downward traditionally symbolized “sudden death” or “mortality." Petals plucked from a whole flower is like a person leaving the whole of humanity —a journey traveled alone to heaven.
 
In researching further, I found the legend of St Dorothy. On her way to death, she was mocked by Theophilus of Adana in Luke's Gospel of the Bible. He asked for proof of the heavenly garden she was going to. After Dorothy's death, an angel visited him with a basket containing flowers and fruit in the middle of winter. This would correlate to our angel or girl on this particular memorial in the act of bringing proof that the deceased is in heaven.
 
The floral bouquets in the hands of angels can be found in some instances as spreading floral petals over hallowed ground. I think the bouquets are comprised of “roses” (symbol for love) and “forget-me-not” (symbol for remembrance). Sometimes the opposite is true as angels can also be shown as picking flowers, signifying the harvest of souls for heaven. 

We've talked before in this blog about the iconography of flowers in cemeteries. Here's a link to a story from seven years back. Interestingly, the cover image (of the story) was taken in this very, family lot of the Zacharias family. I had zeroed in on an old flower pot on the bookend side of Rebecca M. Zacharias' parents/grandparents large family marker. This is in Area R/Lot 81. 
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Flowers on the Zacharias plot from a story entitled "Flowers Eternal," published on June 16, 2018. The link can be accessed by the button below.
"Flowers Eternal" Story in Stone
So that's all I can tell you about this unique statuary monument. Naturally, I was equally curious to learn more about the young child under the monument—a poor soul who died at nine years of age, long before having the opportunity to walk down a church aisle while following a flower girl. 

I didn't expect to find much on little Rebecca Mealey Zacharias whose life spanned less than a decade. As I reported earlier, she was born on August 25th, 1891.  By dying in late December, 1899, she would never be enumerated in a US Census. Rebecca was the daughter of Horace C. Zacharias and Tempie Elizabeth Wilcoxon. She had one sibling, a sister named Hilda A. who was born in 1897.

Shown below are Rebecca's interment card from the Mount Olivet records, along with her obituary announcement and a report on her funeral from the Frederick News.
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Mount Olivet Cemetery Interment Card for Rebecca M. Zacharias
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Frederick News (Dec 16, 1899)
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Frederick News (Dec 19, 1899)
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I was tickled to see that Rebecca's funeral service included floral testimonials that "were numerous and handsome." The image of Rebecca's young Sunday School classmates also conjured up quite a scene in my mind's eye.  Things also came more in focus as I looked again at the photo I had taken of epitaphs found on the back of the base of Rebecca's monument.
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The obvious overarching title which is clearly legible is the word "Sleeping," a wholly Victorian notion toward death as this was the period when expressions such as "Resting in Peace" and "In Golden Slumber" came into existence in cemeteries and would soften the Puritanical attitude towards death as ambivalent and containing both terror at the possibility of eternal damnation and hope for deliverance.

Below "Sleeping" are three separate epitaphs, two of which come from the Bible. The first line is from Psalms 31:1 and reads, "In thee O Lord do I put my trust." The second, "Budded on earth to bloom in heaven," is especially poignant and speaks to the fact of a life cut short before its prime. The final epitaph comes from Colossians 3:3,  "Your life is hid with Christ in God."

In my scanning of local newspapers for anything more on Rebecca, I would find two memorials published during the year after her death (1900). These were submitted to the Frederick News by family members, and fittingly include references to both angels and flowers.
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Frederick News (Feb 16, 1900)
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Frederick News (Dec 17, 1900)
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Zacharias Family Plot in Area R/Lot 81
Horace C. Zacharias and Family
The larger Zacharias cemetery plot here in Mount Olivet's Area R is quite impressive. The family monument is located a few feet south of Rebecca's "flower girl" and is by far the largest in the area. The central family monument has the Masonic compass emblem on its face on its eastern side. On the opposite, west side, a monogram of J. F. Z. exists. Three generations of family are here in the form of Rebecca and her sister, her parents and her grandparents.

​Let's talk about Rebecca's parents, Horace Clinton Zacharias and Tempie Elizabeth Wilcoxon. Horace was born in Frederick on March 10th, 1867, the only child of John Flavius Zacharias (1842-1868) and wife Ann Rebecca (Miller) Zacharias (1839-1908). Horace's father, John Flavius Zacharias died the year after Horace's birth. I found John Flavius in the 1860 US Census living on the farm of his father, Christian Zacharias (1802-1875), a farmer of Emmitsburg District in northern Frederick County.
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1860 US Census showing John Flavius Zacharias living with father Christian Zacharias on the family farm in Emmitsburg
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1873 Titus Atlas Map showing Zacharias family properties southeast of Emmitsburg and near the confluence of Stony Branch and the Monocacy River. (C. Zacharias at center-bottom)
Thanks to a publication entitled The Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (published in 1905), I learned about the family progenitor who immigrated to America from Germany. This was Matthias Zacharias (1757-1825) who eventually settled in Stony Branch Valley, roughly three miles  southeast of Emmitsburg. He called his property "Single Delight." His son, also named Matthias Zacharias (1757-1825), was a Revolutionary War veteran who has a great story in connection with his old countrymen, the Hessian soldiers. These men were Horace C. Zacharias' Great-Great Grandfather and Great-Grandfather.
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While researching this story, I discovered that my old friend, Michael Hillman, has included a great research of the Zacharias family and their properties on his Emmitsburg.net website. Click the link to read more, however we are going to focus on Horace Clinton Zacharias at this point as he was the man who erected the fine monument for Rebecca, and the large granite Zacharias stone in memory of his parents as his father's monogram adorns the western face with outlier markers for them, as he would also have for him and his wife, Tempie. I've been told that this monument is made from a very high grade granite, and likely cost a great deal at the time of purchase.
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Surprisingly, Horace C. Zacharias does not have a biography in Williams' History of Frederick County. I had to piece together his life from reading newspaper articles. His obituary in 1946 was accompanied by a photo, so I could finally put a face with a name.

According to Horace Zacharias' obituary, the family lived at 100 East Third Street, in a house that he built in 1895. The earlier house on the property was owned by John W. Miller, his maternal grandfather. Horace John Miller was a butcher and Horace and his widowed mother were living with Miller in the 1870 census after his father's death. 
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1870 US Census showing 3-year-old Horace Zacharias living with his mother Ann Rebecca (Miller) Zacharias and his maternal aunt and grandparents
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The former home of Horace Zacharias is located at 100 E 3rd St in Frederick on the southeast corner of Maxwell Alley. Today it is known as Georgetown Apartments and has Quinn AME Church as its next door neighbor.
The family situation was the same for Horace a decade later as his Aunt Elizabeth Miller assumed the home after his grandparents' deaths in 1876 and 1877 respectively. He received an education in local schools.
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1880 US Census showing Horace C. Zacharias living on E 3rd St.
One of the first mentions of Horace in the Frederick News that I could find was in spring of 1886. He was a member of something called the "Occasional Club," a supposed social organization that liked to dance. From an article dated May 16th, I also learned that Horace was musical director for the Frederick Cornet Band.
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Frederick News (May 16, 1886)
On the very next day, the Frederick News printed a Frederick Business Index in the May 17th edition of their publication. I learned that Horace was doing more than just the "Occasional Club" activities as he was working in a business that perfectly befits his first name. He was proprietor of a livery business on today's Maxwell Alley between East Second and East Third streets. This was basically his back yard.

For those unfamiliar with the profession, a livery in the late1800s was an establishment that rented out horses for riding, or for pulling buggies or wagons. It also boarded horses for those who did not own a stable. For a price, the livery would feed, groom, and exercise a boarded horse, and also keep its stall clean. The livery provided feed and bedding. Horace would give his business the name Champion Livery.
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Frederick News (May 17, 1886)
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1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing "Zacharias Champion Livery" on Maxwell Alley (formerly known as Middle Alley) between E. 3rd and E 2nd streets.
I went on to find several articles over the next decade that praised Horace's business, and the way in which he conducted it. He would often be mentioned as bringing residents to special outings throughout the county, with frequent destinations being White Rock on Catoctin Mountain in the Yellow Springs area north of town, and Sugarloaf Mountain to the southeast of Frederick City. Articles talk of his bandwagon, busses and beautiful stock horses. Along the way, Horace would find a wife in Tempie Elizabeth Wilcoxon (b. May 3, 1867), daughter of Frederick lumberyard owner John A. Wilcoxon (1807-1883). 
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Frederick News (Feb 5, 1886)
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Frederick News (Nov 2, 1886)
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Frederick News (June 30, 1887)
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Frederick News (June 12, 1889)
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Frederick Citizen (August 13, 1889)
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Frederick News (April 10, 1895)
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Frederick News (Nov 17, 1896)
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Frederick News (July 7, 1897)
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Frederick Citizen (Dec 22, 1899)
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1900 US Census showing Zacharias family on E. Third
As Horace's business was "off and running," or better yet, "trotting along," he kept himself active with volunteer work with his church, and within Frederick's Columbia Lodge. At Evangelical Lutheran Church, he became manager of the Sunday School, and would later be responsible for dedicating a memorial window to his mother, Ann Rebecca Zacharias, upon her death in 1908. He would become a Worshipful Master of the local Freemasonry chapter and was instrumental in the building and opening of the chapter's new home on West Church Street in 1902.
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Frederick News (Nov 28, 1898)
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Frederick News (Feb 10, 1902)
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Memorial window to Ann Rebecca Zacharias (right) in Frederick's Evangelical Lutheran Church
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Frederick News (Dec 2, 1902)
Around this same time, we see Horace C. Zacharias changing gears professionally. He would sell his Champion Livery business in 1901 to a man named George Edward Myers. Mr. Myers would operate this business until 1909 and a picture survives of his granddaughter Lizzie (Mary Elizabeth Stewart Myers) holding two horses outside the stable location on Maxwell Alley. This photograph appears in Gorsline, Cannon & Whitmore's Pictorial History of Frederick (1995) and is part of Heritage Frederick's rich collection.
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Frederick News (March 30, 1901)
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Lizzie Myers in front of the former Champion Livery stable on Maxwell Alley (c.1906)
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looking north up Maxwell alley towards East 3rd St. The old livery stables of Zacharias and Myers would have been on the east/right side of alley. Today their is an automobile garage with room for 31 automobiles according to an old newspaper story.
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In the 1910 census, Horace C. Zacharias gives his profession as that of a "Stock Dealer." I found a number of articles showing him in the purchase and sale of business stocks, and also in local real estate. Properties would come to include 37 and 39 East Third Street, along with 42 and 44 East Third Street. In addition, he acquired land east of Frederick on the southside of the Old Baltimore Turnpike (Rt 240) near the old Emmons C. Sanner Farm near Quinn Orchard Road. In the 1920s, Horace returned to his roots and dealt in livestock.

However, one of Zacharias' most savvy dealings would include purchasing property between Carroll Creek and today's Citizens Way, along the east side of Court Street. This occurred in 1900, and was later co-owned with a gentleman named James Burke. Nearly four decades later it would become the site of Frederick's first large scale supermarket. 
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Frederick News (Jan. 11, 1938)
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Frederick News (March 29, 1938)
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Frederick News (Jan 27, 1939)
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1947 lease deal for widow Tempie Zacharias after Horace's death
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A&P Grocery store in background on S. Court St across from the Municipal Parking Lot. Today, the Court Street Parking Deck sits on the old site of the A&P which moved to a location on W. Patrick St (now Comcast). The parking lot serves for special parking for the Frederick County Courthouse.
Horace C. Zacharias died on January 23rd, 1946. He had a great career as a local businessman. His death made front-page news and his funeral was well-attended. The only thing that was missing was the opportunity to see his daughter Rebecca fully blossom into adulthood. He would be laid to rest by her side on the family plot on January 26th.
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Frederick News (January 24, 1946)
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Horace's footstone-style marker is on the eastern side of the large Zacharias monument, and his parents' footstones are on the west side of the monument.
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The Masonic square symbol is closely associated with morality, or acting within the square of virtue, and the compass refers to Freemasons conducting themselves within the boundaries of their trade, lodge and society. The letter "G" in Freemasonry refers to God.
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West view of the Zacharias family monument in Area R in springtime with the individual markers for Horace's parents John F. and Ann Rebecca.
Horace C. Zacharias' wife Tempie would live nine years before her death on February 2nd, 1955. Her mortal remains would be placed next to her husband and within a few short yards of her beloved daughter, Rebecca. 
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Frederick News (Feb 3, 1955)
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Frederick News (Feb 7, 1955)
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I loved that Mrs. Zacharias' funeral announcement described the event as having "a profusion of flowers,"  so fitting as I will now always associate this funeral plot with flowers. Unlike Rebecca, the Zacharias' other daughter, Hilda Ann (Zacharias) Opel, would live a life eleven times as long as her deceased older sister. Hilda lived from 1897 to 1997 and is buried with her husband Charles A. Opel directly behind our "flower girl" —​Rebecca M. Zacharias.
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Death by Piano

1/13/2025

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Last month, I came across the surname Grable in conjunction with our cemetery. In particular, I was looking for information on two sisters who were local dressmakers. They were buried here in June, 1895 after having been disinterred from Frederick’s Methodist Episcopal Church Graveyard, once located on the southeast corner of East 4th Street and Middle Alley (today’s Maxwell Alley).
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The mortal remains of Jane Grable (1784-1854) and Sevilla Grable (1800-1853) are located in our Area NN, and I believed that they connect back to a German immigrant named Nicholas Samuel Grable (1695-1774), and his son John Grable (1722-1801) residing here in the county from the late 1700s. Information was scarce on these Grables, but I found a number of others in Mount Olivet under a variation of the name—Grabill.

Of the 15 decedents buried here with that spelling, I zeroed in on the earliest born and found William H. Grabill (1833-1897) and wife Maria Louisa (Hamilton). The next "earliest" were Jacob S. Grabill (1852-1905) and wife Emily (Kintz), and George Frank Grabill (1854-1942) and wife Ida M. (Barrick). To build suspense, I will share here that one of these three gentlemen died earlier than he should have due to a musical instrument. More on that in a moment.
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St. John's Reformed Church (left) and memorial (above) outside the structure in Woodsboro
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1840 US Census showing Moses Grabill, Jr. and family in Woodsboro
All three of these "Grabills"  were related via Moses Ulysses Grabill, Jr. (1796-1861), the second of a succession of three Moses Grabills, farmers who would make their homes near Woodsboro. Moses Grabill, Jr. married Sarah Wolf in 1817. This man is not in Mount Olivet, but he, his wife, and parents are listed on a memorial located among other graves outside  St. John's Reformed Church in Woodsboro.

Moses Grabill, Jr. was a native of New Holland, (Lancaster County) Pennsylvania who fathered 15 known children including the forementioned William H. Grabill. 
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1870 Census showing William H. Grabill and family
William H. Grabill was a farmer in the "upper" Bartonsville area, located  east/southeast of Frederick City on the east side of the Monocacy River. Grabill's farm is listed on the 1870 Titus Atlas and positioned just north of Linganore Creek (off Linganore Road) and about a mile north of MD route 144. The Frederick Police Training Center is here in this vicinity today. 

William H. Grabill died in early September, 1897 and local newspapers published his obituary saying that he was "well known and respected by many friends and acquaintances." An article on his funeral reports that it was well-attended, including the fact that there was a procession through town to Mount Olivet of "40 vehicles" which I thought was an interesting happenstance based on the time period, shortly after the introduction of automobiles in the US in 1893. But perhaps these were simply just horse and buggies and carriages.
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Frederick News (Sept 2, 1897)
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Frederick News (Sept 6, 1897)
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William H. Grabill's headstone and footstone in Area R/Lot 73
Another son of Moses Grabill Jr. was Jacob Grabill, father of Jacob S. Grabill and George Frank Grabill. That makes William H., the uncle of the latter two "early Grabills" found here in Mount Olivet. So there's my family tree work for you.

​The two brothers, along with a third, William Alfred Grabill, lived with their parents (Jacob and Caroline (Dinterman) Grabill) on the farm of their grandfather to start out their lives. In the 1873 Titus Atlas, I found Jacob Grabill operating a farm on the west side of the Monocacy River not far from Utica. 
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1850 US Census showing extended Grabill family in Woodsboro District
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"J. Grabill" property is marked as such in lower right of 1873 Titus Atlas map within the Creagerstown District (and not Woodsboro District across the river)
George Frank Grabill has a striking tombstone dominated by text and located in Mount Olivet's Area S/Lot 127, about 20 yards north of our World War I Memorial Gazebo. He married into the Barrick family, one of the most prominent families in the Woodsboro District and purveyors of the storied stone quarry that has been in operation since 1874. A carpenter by trade, George Frank Grabill's obituary states that he was the second oldest male resident of Walkersville at the time of his death. That's an interesting accomplishment I guess!
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Frederick News (July 24, 1942)
​​Finally, that leaves me to tell you about Jacob S. Grabill. He particularly caught my attention when I originally researched his name in our cemetery interment database last month. The remark line of his entry reads as follows:
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"Resided at 307 E. 3rd St., Frederick, MD. Died from injury from handling a piano."
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I immediately wanted to know more. Jacob S. Grabill was born on December 27th, 1852.  I venture to wonder if the "S" stands for Samuel, a possible connection to the Grable sisters' ancestor Nicholas Samuel Grable. The 1870 census shows Jacob S. Grabill working on his father's farm with both his older and younger brothers. ​
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1870 US Census showing Jacob Grabill and family
Jacob married Emily "Emma" Kintz, daughter of Lewis and Margaret (Gehr) Kintz, in 1876 and took up residence in Frederick on West Fifth Street next to his in-laws. The couple would have two daughters, Myrtle born in 1877 and Katie M. born a year later. Jacob's profession was that of a butcher in the 1880 census, and I'm curious whether he was employed at the Baumgardner meat market which was located in close proximity to his home. ​
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1880 US Census showing Grabill and Kintz families on West 5th Street
Sometime in the next decade, Jacob S. Grabill would change his profession, and unfortunately this would lead to a shortened life. He would now work as a self-employed drayman.  What's a "drayman" you may ask? Well, a drayman was historically the driver of a "dray," a low, flat-bed wagon without sides, pulled generally by horses or mules. Drays were used to transport all kinds of goods.​

In this line of work, I'm sure that Mr. Grabill was quite familiar with Mount Olivet as he likely was regularly employed to haul gravestones and monuments from out of town vendors delivering their works here by train. The Frederick train depot scene likely resembled the photo below showing draymen at a rail depot in Michigan at the turn of the century.
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Railroad depot in Manistique, MI with plenty of draymen at the ready
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Early 1900s postcard of the Frederick Depot, once located on S. Carroll Street. Note the "drays" to the right of the structure. Perhaps one of these was that of Jacob S. Grabill and could that be him pictured in the distance?
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Draymen are most famous for being deliverers of beer. The term is used in the United Kingdom for brewery delivery men, even though routine horse-drawn deliveries are almost entirely extinct. Some breweries still maintain teams of horses and a dray, but these are used only for special occasions such as festivals or opening new premises. There are some breweries still delivering daily/weekly using horses.
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Frederick News (April 9, 1889)
From a brief mention of a horse purchase by Jacob S. Grabill in the Frederick News, it seems likely that Jacob S. Grabill entered the industry in 1889. It was dangerous work as the following clippings from subsequent newspapers attest to. Not only were you lifting heavy objects, but you were moving said objects. One was relying on spoked wheels and horses traveling on roadways much different from those of today. There were dirt roads that would develop ruts in times of rain, snow and ice covered thoroughfares during winter, and any" paved" roads were made of brick and stone, not smooth-laid macadam like today. Trolleys in the streets and accompanying rails also added a degree of danger to the profession.
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Frederick News (Sept 7, 1892)
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Frederick News (March 31, 1893)
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Frederick News (Sept 8, 1893) telling of a fatality of Jacob's cousin in West Virginia
In 1902, Jacob's business seems to have been going fine. It enabled him to purchase real estate in 1898-1899 from local businessman David Lowenstein. Grabill would erect a two-story dwelling at 307 East Third Street extended. In the 1900 census, I reveled in seeing that Jacob and his family lived next to William H. Lebherz and his young sons who would one day open a successful business producing bottle cappers during the Prohibition. Later the Lebherz's Everedy Company would make novelty cooking and chrome items.
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The gray house on the right was the home built by J. S. Grabill in 1898-99 at 307 E. 3rd St. extended
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1900 US Census showing Jacob S. Grabill and family at 307 E. 3rd St. Daughter Katie died in 1881, but the family is joined here by Emma's mother (Margaret Kintz).
On the personal level, Jacob's daughter Myrtle became a teacher and was married at home on Christmas Eve 1902 to William H. Pentz of Mechanicsburg, PA. His father Jacob would pass away in November, 1903 after a long illness while a patient at the Montevue Home (county almshouse) just north of town. He is buried at Israel's Creek Cemetery between Walkersville and Woodsboro with his wife (Caroline) who died earlier.

That brings us to the fateful day of October 13th, 1905. I guess you could call it an "A0" kind of day for those musically inclined. Jacob S. Grabill was hired by Birely's Palace of Music to deliver an upright piano, maybe more, to the Frederick Fairgrounds in advance of the annual spectacle. Like other vendors, Birely's had a booth at the fair, and were interested in demonstrating the new Vough model, a "changeable pitch piano," to fairgoers.

This wasn't Mr. Grabill's first fair, or rodeo, to use the age-old phrase, as he had moved plenty of pianos in his professional experience. I desperately hoped that I would learn more details of the accident, but I can only speculate that the upright piano fell on him while he attempted to unload the large instrument at the fairgrounds. It appears that he was bedridden and housebound for over two weeks before succumbing to death on October 31st, 1905.
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Early 1900s scene of the Great Frederick Fair
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Birely's Palace of Music was located on the southwest corner of Church and Market streets in Frederick (Home today of The Orchard restaurant)
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In scanning old newspapers, I did find the following advertisements in the local newspaper of October, 1905. At the very least, this gave me an idea of why the piano in question was needed for the fair, in addition to telling me the likely make and model of the item that fatally injured our seasoned drayman.
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Frederick News (Oct 12, 1905)
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Frederick News (Oct 19, 1905)
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This is a Vough piano from the early 1900s like the one that "killed" our subject
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Jacob S. Grabill's funeral took place on November 2nd, 1905. He would be laid to rest in Mount Olivet's Area H/Lot 161. Widow Emma Kintz had buried her father here in 1885 and her mother in 1903. The Grabill's daughter Katie is also in this plot in an unmarked grave, as she was buried here in 1881. 
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Frederick News (Nov. 2, 1905)
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The Kintz/Grabill family lot in Area H (Jacob S. and Emma Grabill's stone is on left)
I thought that maybe Jacob would leave instructions to use his old "dray" to deliver his body to the cemetery instead of an undertaker's hearse or horse-drawn carriage. I soon learned that this was certainly not the case. As the funeral was in progress, a secondary tragedy almost befell Mrs. Grabill and her mourning family.
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Frederick News (Nov 3, 1905)
Luckily, the horse survived, but the culprit was not found. In the days to follow, Mrs. Grabill put the horse in question, plus the family business up for sale. She did not have to wait long for a willing buyer.
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Frederick News (Nov 6, 1905)
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Frederick News (Nov 8, 1905)
Sadly, Mrs. Kintz would have to endure another terrible blow just months later into the new year. Her daughter, Myrtle, would die of tuberculosis on March 18th, 1906. She would join her parents in Area H/Lot 161.
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Frederick News (March 19, 1905)
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Emily "Emma" (Kintz) Grabill would live over three more decades, dying on December 9th, 1937. She would join the rest of her family in Mount Olivet as a few siblings and their spouses would also be buried in this plot.

​Sometimes the study of genealogy is quite melodic, wouldn't you say?
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Frederick News (Dec 10, 1937)
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Lafayette's 1824 Visit

12/28/2024

1 Comment

 
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In early 1824, it was announced that the beloved French hero of the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, was returning to make a grand tour of America. The French aristocrat and military officer was a key ally to the American colonists during the War for Independence. He participated at numerous battles of the conflict including Brandywine, Gloucester, Barren Hill, Rhode Island, Monmouth, Green Spring and the decisive finale at Yorktown. Lafayette also spent time at Valley Forge, and served a trusted confidante of George Washington. His commitment to the cause of liberty and instrumental role in securing French support for the American Revolution engraved his name in the American history books. However, he would also play an important role in the local Frederick history book as well.
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Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette (portrait of 1791)
​Beginning in 1824, the Frenchman would travel more than 6,000 miles and visit 24 states over a 13-month span. My late friend, Theresa Mathias Michel (1926-2024), shared her thoughts on the subject in my 1995 documentary entitled Frederick Town. Here is a transcript of what she had to say on the special visitor who came to Frederick exactly 200 years ago:

“Lafayette did make this marvelous, triumphant tour of the United States fifty years after the Revolution. He was an elderly gentleman at the time. I think it’s a miracle that he managed to travel. It must have been uncomfortable and must have been very hard on him, but he persevered. He was feted and honored in a way that no one has probably been before or since.”
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Theresa "Treta" (Mathias) Michel with historian/writer John Ashbury (at left) and author Chris Haugh (right) in 2023
​Mrs. Michel’s interest in Lafayette’s visit was particularly understandable since her life-long home in Frederick’s Courthouse Square was within the center of an exciting scene in late December, 1824. The mirror townhome next door, known for the last century as the Ross House, played host to the special French dignitary. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Michel’s daughter, Tee, has been busy most of this past year in heading up the committee for planning/executing anniversary events relating to Lafayette’s 1824 stay in Frederick. This is equally personal for her because she grew up at 103 Council Street and currently owns, and resides within, the Ross House at 105 Council Street.
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​Lafayette’s visit would not have occurred had it not been for the man who built these homes on Council Street in the early nineteenth century. He made his mark on Frederick in various ways and is buried in Mount Olivet. This gentleman was Col. John McPherson.
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Col. McPherson led efforts to extend a courteous invitation to Gen. Lafayette. This would lead to our town being added to the general’s busy tour itinerary. You could say that he created history for us, but he also had a direct impact on the lives of Theresa Mathias Michel, daughter Tee and Mrs. Michel’s brother, Sen. Charles “Mac” Mathias through building the majestic townhomes that grace Council Street.
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Antique silhouette rendering of Col. John McPherson (McPherson is depicted on the left of his horse and in front of the Council Street mansions)
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Col. John McPherson (1760-1829)
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Grave of Col. John McPherson in Mount Olivet's Area E/Lot 53
​The McPhersons
Col. John McPherson, Sr. was one of the largest landowners in western Maryland, and operated the largest iron factory in the region. A Pennsylvania native, John McPherson was born in 1760. He served in the Pennsylvania militia, being promoted at the age of 21 to lieutenant toward the end of the Revolutionary War in 1781. Col. McPherson was sent to Frederick to provide rations for British prisoners but by then, the war was nearly over. The trip, however, proved fruitful for McPherson, who ended up moving to Frederick in 1781. Until his death in 1829, John McPherson was a leading citizen and prominent figure in town.

McPherson was a member of the Common Council and served for many years as a county representative in the legislature. He entered the iron manufacturing business and became co-owner of the profitable Antietam Iron Works. Col. McPherson’s partner was John Brien, his son-in-law. Brien would later purchase, operate, and upgrade the Catoctin Furnace, started by “Rev War” patriot and Maryland’s first governor, Thomas Johnson, Jr.
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At auction, McPherson and Brien bought the Council Street lots where the old county jail had originally stood. In 1817, the two men built two large mansions for themselves on the prime real estate adjacent the courthouse which is today’s Frederick City Hall.
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A view down Council Street showing the Ross and Mathias mansions at 105 and 103 respectively
​Mrs. Michel went on to say of the Council Street townhomes:
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“The houses were very substantial, certainly for their time, for any time, and they were built as though they were manor houses in the country rather than in-town houses. In fact, they had stables, they had slave quarters, they had an icehouse which still exists in the house next door owned by the Ross family. I suspect there was an icehouse on this property which has been lost. There were coachmen houses and the gardens extended across Second Street for certainly another block in the beginning. Sometime between the first and second quarters of the 19th century, those gardens were obliterated, and houses built on that land. They were very much more than townhouses. They were mini estates.”

The senior McPherson had a son, John McPherson, Jr., born in Frederick in 1796. On December 23rd, 1823, the younger McPherson married Fanny Russell Johnson, granddaughter of the fore-mentioned Thomas Johnson, Jr. Like his father, Mr. McPherson played a prominent role in public affairs and was a successful businessman. He was manager of the Central National Bank and involved in the family iron business. The younger McPherson also would become a captain and colonel of the Frederick Light Horse Cavalry. He too would play a leading role in the planning for Lafayette’s visit.
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John McPherson and Fanny (Johnson) McPherson grave monument in Mount Olivet's Area E/Lot 26
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​Col. John McPherson, Sr. is credited with extending the invitation on behalf of the committee he chaired, made up of the most prominent figures in the city and county. McPherson would travel to Baltimore to deliver the invitation to Lafayette “in-person” in 1824.

Supposedly it was President James Monroe who issued the formal invitation to the illustrious Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette to tour the 24 states of the Union. Our fifth president hoped that the former general, the last living of the Revolutionary War generals, might instill the “Spirit of 1776” into the younger generation of Americans. In the process, this was the federal period equivalent of Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour,” with the excitement generated, and the event celebrated the enduring bond between France and the United States.

In September (1824), the general arrived in Baltimore. He soon accepted the invite to visit Frederick, but no exact date could be given at that time. Meanwhile, the second official Cattle Show and Fair of the Frederick County Agricultural Society had already been considered for late October 1824. Col. McPherson was vice president of this organization which would decades later be responsible for giving us the Great Frederick Fair. Plans for a fall, 1824 Frederick County Cattle Show and Fair were cancelled when the Maryland Cattle Show was postponed to late November to accommodate the visit from the “Nation’s Guest” as Marquis de Lafayette would soon be labeled. The general would attend the Maryland show and receive membership in the Maryland Agricultural Society. He personally handed out premiums at the rescheduled state event. 

Gen. Lafayette was also made a Maryland citizen by a special act of legislature, and held a unique “French connection” to Frederick as he had guided many county troops in battle during the American Revolution. While these events were happening elsewhere in the state, a local committee under ocular specialist Dr. John Tyler, builder of the Tyler-Spite House on West Church Street, planned arrangements for the general’s eventual visit to town. His arrival would come in late December, a few weeks after addressing Congress at the US Capitol.
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Gen. Lafayette by Dutch-French painter Ary Scheffer. This portrait has hung continuously in the House of Representatives since Jan 20, 1825
​On Christmas Day, the Frederick Town Herald newspaper shared news that Frederick would be visited the following Wednesday by the “Nation’s Guest.” Yuletide decorations were quickly replaced with French and American flags, and triumphal arches were built at the entrances to town to welcome the aging hero.
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​Gen. Lafayette and his party arrived at the Monocacy Bridge (Old Jug Bridge) east of town on the morning of December 29th, where they were met by Frederick’s mayor, George Baer, along with members of Congress, various other officials and several military troops. Lafayette, himself would comment:
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“I am highly gratified, gentlemen to meet you in your happy valley, where agriculture and manufacturing industry, practiced by a rapidly increased population are the reward of your patriotic and domestic virtue. Receive my best thanks for your kind welcome, for your affecting references, to past time, for your affectionate wishes, and permit me to hasten to the revolutionary companions whom you have had the much valued attention to bring with you.”

The general and his entourage then entered several fancy carriages pulled by elaborately harnessed teams of horses. The procession of carriages, militia, and citizens “on foot” headed to Frederick, whose streets were decorated with the fore-mentioned arches, one at Market and Patrick Streets and the other at Market and Fifth Streets. Between the arches, artillery, riflemen and infantry lined the streets. Every resident came to watch the historic event as estimates say that thousands of people lined the parade route through town. The 67-year-old Lafayette would soon be the toast of the town with parties, dinners and a grand ball thrown in his honor.
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The Lafayette procession scenes captured in this story come from a mural found in the Ross Mansion and painted by artist Virginia McLaughlin
​At the courthouse, the second built structure for the purpose in our county’s history, attorney William Ross III (1772-1852) welcomed Lafayette’s procession and a Hagerstown company of riflemen saluted the general. Mayor Baer and Mr. Ross’ graves, like so many other planners of activities and participants of this great event, can be found in Mount Olivet. Ross' monument is in close proximity to the McPherson family plots in Area E, and his heirs through Charles Worthington Ross would eventually gain ownership of the home at 105 Council Street giving it a new name due to the subsequent generations of Ross family members to live there.
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George Baer, Jr. (1764-1834), former US Congressman and Frederick mayor
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George Baer, Jr. ledger grave in Area MM/Lot 82
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William Ross III (1772-1852)
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Ross monument in Area E/Lot 21
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​Gen. Lafayette had a very short walk to his next destination in the form of Col. McPherson’s mansion on Council Street, place of his lodgings. A huge dinner-banquet was held that night in Joseph Talbott’s Tavern on West Patrick Street as a special illumination of town commenced. Two-hundred individuals attended after buying tickets for $4/each. Highlights included 13 toasts being made by a “who’s who” of Frederick’s past, and a presentation of an honorary apron by the local Masons. The Columbia Lodge No. 58 still has this priceless artifact in their museum collection to this day.
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This is not the apron in Columbia Lodge No. 58 but a Masonic apron given to George Washington by Lafayette
​Published in 1910, Williams’ History of Maryland has a detailed description of Lafayette’s time in Frederick, saying of the December 29th welcome banquet:

“Gen. Lafayette dined heartily and enjoyed especially the game, eating corn pone and possum and drinking old rye whiskey and sherry. Before the speeches began a number of songs were sung. William C. (Campbell) Russell sang the Star Spangled Banner and the Marsellaise hymn, the whole company joining the chorus. On learning that the author of the Star Spangled Banner was a native of Frederick and was living in Georgetown, the General declared that he would go to see him. Other songs were sung by Andrew McRobie, Lewis W. Glenn, Benjamin Rutherford and others.”
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Grave of William Campbell Russell (17?-1847) in Mount Olivet's Area E/Lot 131. He had good singing chops honed by his profession as an auctioneer
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Final resting place of Benjamin Rutherford (1787-1838) in Area L/Lot 140
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PictureEngelbrecht (1797-1878)
​“Our whole town is in an uproar – all about Lafayette. There were from 6 to 8,000 people in town yesterday and last night there was a general illumination and celebration.”
-Jacob Englebrecht, December 30th, 1824

The next morning, the general was greeted at Talbott’s Tavern by citizens, desiring to be introduced, between 10am and noon. Among these was Frederick’s diarist, himself.

“He is now receiving the citizens & strangers at Talbotts. Among the rest by the bye, I was one who was introduced to him by Colonel Ritchie. This afternoon he will receive the ladies at Colonel McPherson’s & tonight he will attend a ball at Talbott’s.”
-Jacob Engelbrecht  

The “Colonel Ritchie” that Jacob Engelbrecht mentions is Col. John Ritchie. Born in 1757, Ritchie was a Revolutionary War veteran and prominent local businessman who once owned a large dwelling and the property on the northeast corner of the Square Corner (Market and Patrick streets). The colonel died on November 11th, 1826 and was buried in the former All Saints Protestant Episcopal cemetery that once existed along Carroll Creek near the site of today’s linear park amphitheater area. Col. Ross is buried in Mount Olivet’s Area G/Lot 174.

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Grave of Col. John Ritchie (1757-1826)
​December 30th witnessed the greatest ball in Frederick’s history as it was held in one of the upper floors of the McPherson home. More than 200 people attended, with guests traveling from Virginia, Pennsylvania and every part of Maryland. A passage in TJC Williams’ History of Frederick County states:

"This ball was perhaps the most famous that ever took place in Frederick County. The Misses Creble, two fashionable milliners and mantua makers, it was declared in the newspapers at the time, were busy day and night for weeks making ball dresses for their customers. They had some French flowers which had been presented to them and which they cultivated with great care, preserving by some chemical process their beauty and fragrance. These were worked into headdresses. The costumes were of the gayest yet of the most republican character, the music was soul inspiring, the dancing was good, and refreshments seem to have been ample... all the delicacies that the palate could crave or the appetite enjoy, were served at intervals in great profusion."

After reading this, I immediately became interested in the mention of “the Misses Creble” in that illustrative passage. I was unfamiliar with the surname and postulated that this could be a typo or bastardizing of the name, so I immediately began searching Mount Olivet’s interment database. I found no Crebles as mentioned, but soon theorized that the name could be the locally found name of Grable/Grabill. I was met with instant success and found two women of this name buried in a very old section of Mount Olivet known as Area NN. 
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Mount Olivet's Area NN
​Here we have remains of individuals who died before our cemetery opened in 1854. The decedents in Area NN were moved in 1907 to this location from three former downtown burying grounds including the Evangelical Lutheran Burial Ground (formerly found where Everedy Square is now). Another churchyard of note and re-located here was the Presbyterian burying ground once located at the southwest corner of Dill and North Bentz streets. These bodies were moved here in the late 1800s. Finally, a third portion of NN, to the south of the other two, contains the mortal remains of the Grable sisters Jane and Savilla. They were buried here in June, 1895 and had been disinterred from Frederick’s Methodist Episcopal Church Graveyard once located on the southeast corner of East 4th Street and Middle Alley (today’s Maxwell Alley).

Information was very scarce on the Grables, but, as mentioned, I found two potential ladies in our cemetery database as people of interest. I don't know what there relationship is, but hoping it is that of sisters. Jane was born on February 11th, 1784 and died on January 28th, 1854, roughly five months before Mount Olivet Cemetery opened. On Ancestry.com, I found a Maryland christening record from June 1783 for a Jane Grable in Baltimore, however her birthdate is shown as February 10th, 1783. This individual, who could be the later Frederick dressmaker in question, was the daughter of Jacob and Martha Grable. Sevilla was born around 1800 and would die at age 53 on June 1st, 1853. As far as early Grables in Frederick, I found a German immigrant named Nicholas Samuel Grable (1695-1774), and his son John Grable (1722-1801) residing here from the late 1700s.
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Area NN/Lot 123 features graves from Frederick's old Methodist Burying Ground on E 4th St. The two Grable graves bookend the front row pictured here.
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Grave of Sevilla Grable (1799-1853)
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Grave of Jane Grable (1784-1854)
​Well, so much for that rabbit hole as I did not get far at all. So, let’s get back to Lafayette. After two days of events and entertainment, the French hero and his small party left Frederick the morning of December 31st. His next stop would be Washington, DC as he traveled southward on the Georgetown Pike towards the nation’s capital within a horse-drawn carriage.
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A portrait of the US Capitol in 1824
​Of his visit to Frederick, Lafayette had this to say:

“The local tranquility which has blessed your delightful valley did not prevent its inhabitants taking a spirited part in the revolutionary and in the last war [War of 1812] and becoming fully entitled to all the advantages of Republican freedom. I thank… the good people of Frederick for the gratifying sentiments you have been pleased so kindly to express and for your honorable and affectionate welcome. I rejoice with you on the great improvements in this city and county and beg you all to accept my most grateful respect and patriotic wishes.”

Local historian Jake Wynn wrote the following for the Visit Frederick website:

“The significance of Lafayette's visit to Frederick extended beyond the ceremonial. It served as a reminder of the international bonds that had been crucial to America's birth. Lafayette's journey through the United States, with Frederick being a key stop, underscored the enduring friendships that had been formed in the crucible of war. It also highlighted the role of communities like Frederick in the broader narrative of American independence and identity.”
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Gen. Lafayette’s visit 200 years ago was another exciting chapter in the history book of Frederick. It’s fascinating to think that this world celebrity walked our streets and stayed in a home that is still standing proud on Council Street. This event was commemorated in the fall of 2024, with a special visit from Lafayette again in late December. The events were done to perfection thanks to the aforementioned Tee Michel and months of planning by local groups such as Visit Frederick, Heritage Frederick, Rose Hill Manor, the Maryland Room of Frederick County Public Libraries, Lawrence Everhart Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution and our two Daughters of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (Frederick and Carrollton Manor).
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General Lafayette arrives in Frederick. Portrayed by Mark Schneider of Colonial Williamsburg, the iconic French hero once again was a guest of the Ross Home on Council Street (photo taken Dec 27, 2024)
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Ross House mural of Lafayette's 1824 visit showing Frederick County Courthouse and Council Street mansions
​​On that departure from town on the morning of December 31st, 1824, Lafayette passed a swath of farmland immediately south of town that would become our cemetery thirty years later. Not to mention the parcel fronting the Old Georgetown Pike would become the final resting place of another patriotic individual of renowned celebrity, Francis Scott Key, the man who wrote that patriotic song sung by William C. Russell at the fabulous dinner at Talbott’s Tavern on December 28th (1824). Mount Olivet Cemetery is home to many of the leading citizens that planned the general's visit, and countless townspeople who met Lafayette and participated in the grand revelry. May they all  rest in peace here in Frederick’s Second City.
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Lafayette would not depart the country for his home back in France until September of 1825. Interestingly, there must have been a local couple by the name of Norris who especially got caught up in the whimsey of the "Nation's Guest" and his glorious tour. You see I found a decedent in Mount Olivet's Area H, Lot 381 who was born in 1826, within nine months of the end of Lafayette's tour of the states.  Ladies and gentlemen, meet Lafayette Norris!
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Grave of Lafayette Norris in Area H/Lot 381
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Frederick News (June 19, 1896)
Through census and obituary records, I learned that Lafayette Norris was a plasterer by trade. Talk about French connections, this is somewhat ironic, since the quarries of France's Montmartre have provided a fine grade of gypsum for coating walls in the form of Plaster of Paris. Secondly, I would also find the following entry in Jacob Engelbrecht's diary which proves that Lafayette Norris embodied the Revolutionary Spirit of 1776 and possibly the French Revolution as well!

"The Independent & Junior Hose companies had a Battle Royale on Saturday night August 14, 1858 -when brick bats & stones were thrown. Lafayette Norris, George Lambert, Luther A. Nickel & several others were injured - a row after a false alarm of fire."
-Jacob Engelbrecht (August 16, 1858)

"Vive la France"......."Vive la Lafayette!"
More on Lafayette's 1824 Tour of America
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"Oases of the Year"

12/18/2024

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"Twas the week before Christmas, when all thro' the cemetery,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a ________________."


Although the possibilities are limitless, the necessity to have a word that rhymes with cemetery is a tough task. The best I can do is "hereditary," an appropriate term that connects with graveyard genre, but one too many syllables and makes no sense at all when inserted in my bastardization of Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 holiday masterpiece "A Visit from St. Nicholas." To be grammatically correct, the noun version "heredity" should be used, but now we don't have a proper rhyme with cemetery. I will now quit while I'm ahead.

It only feels fitting to write a Christmas-themed "Story in Stone" this week, but I think I better leave the true message of the season in the hands of a capable writer of the 19th century. In this case, I wanted someone more local than Clement Clarke Moore, Charles Dickens or Washington Irving. I soon found my author in Mr. Charles E. Knauff, editor of the Frederick Examiner newspaper. The edition of December 25th, 1872 contains a powerful message, and I was taken by the following passage:

"Cheering is the assurance that we can celebrate Christmas Day as an epoch in the history of our deliverance from the fear of the future."

I just love this assessment, not only as an historian, but the message holds true today just as much as it did back then 152 years ago. The author laments the fact that Christmases of the time (1872) were not "as interesting as the olde-fashioned ones were," however he states that young people will look back longingly and lovingly at these modern Christmases (ie. 1872) when in their own later years as they reminisce and reflect back and compare. Mr. Knauff's full editorial can be found below:
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Frederick Examiner (Dec 25, 1872)
Charles E. Knauff had a great deal of olde-time Christmases under his belt as he was 45 years-old in late 1872. The newspaper veteran was born on April 20th, 1827, and earned distinction for his long career as a printer, reporter and editor in Frederick. He had been affiliated with his former boss, Charles H. Keefer, and The Examiner for quite some time, and soon became a partner and co-publisher of the local paper. As a matter of fact, I was surprised to see the Keefers and Knauffs as next door neighbors in the 1870 census. However, this makes complete sense as they lived at the business site located at the Examiner Building on the southwest corner of Market and Church streets. Many know this location today as the home of the Orchard Restaurant.
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1870 US Census showing Knauff and Keefer families living in Frederick
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The Frederick Examiner printing office on the southwest corner of Market and Church streets
Back in 2018, I wrote a "Story in Stone" about a terrible train accident at Point of Rocks which took the life of several leading Fredericktonians. Among them was Charles H. Keefer of The Examiner. Charles E. Knauff was responsible for reporting on the tragic incident for the newspaper he shared in managing with Keefer. In essence, Knauff had to detail the death of his mentor and friend who is today buried in Mount Olivet's Area R/Lot 116. 
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Frederick Examiner (June 6, 1877)
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Charles E. Knauff
I tried finding biographical information on Mr. Knauff, but the best I could muster was what I would see in two obituaries in early April, 1915. He died on April 5th, and the two newspapers of record at that time, the Frederick News and Frederick Citizen paid homage to this man who never missed a day of work during a career that spanned over six decades.
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Frederick News (April 6, 1915)
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Frederick Citizen (April 9, 1915)
Our cemetery records show that Mr. Knauff was buried on April 7th, 1915 alongside his wife (Anna Bragonier) in the grave plot of his parents, Jacob Knauff (1788-1867), a War of 1812 veteran, and wife Deborah (Philips) Knauff. Interestingly, Charles E. Knauff would die on the very day of the 15th anniversary of his wife's death. Both Charles and Anna rest in unmarked graves in Area A/Lot 77.
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Knauff family lot in Area A with graves of Charles Knauff's parents in forefront
In that same Examiner Christmas issue of 1872, holiday advertising can be found in many columns adjacent Mr. Knauff's thoughtful editorial. Two such ads that caught my eye were "barking" for the local businesses of A. R. Ruse and A. C. McCardell. I was familiar with the latter gentleman, but did not know Mr. Ruse. I would soon learn his full name of Addison R. Ruse, proprietor of  Ruse's Novelty Emporium on North Market Street.
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Frederick Examiner (Dec 25, 1872)
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This was certainly one of the leading toy stores of town at the time, and a  place where holiday shopping could be done for the entire family. This was Frederick's Wal-Mart if you will, but it was not quite the pinnacle. No that was David Smith's Temple of Fancy, billed as Santa Claus' Frederick headquarters. 

Addison Rufus Ruse was born July 30th, 1849 and lived to October 11th, 1927. He was married to Martha J. Kussmaul of the family that would eventually produce an educator whose name would grace Frederick Community College's spacious theater.
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Addison Ruse in the 1870 US Census living on S Market St in Frederick City
A Google search aided me greatly with a biography on Mr. Ruse. It comes from John Thomas Scharf's History of Baltimore City and County, page 728 and was attached to Addison R. Ruse's memorial page on Findagrave.com.
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Apparently, Addison Ruse worked in the newspaper business like Charles E. Knauff. The two gentlemen are also buried a short distance away from one another in Mount Olivet's Area A. Ruse grew up near the South Market Street bridge over Carroll Creek, and his stationary and music store, the location I presume mentioned in the 1872 advertisement at 54 North Market very near Frederick's City Hall (which is Brewer's Alley Restaurant today).

​His newspaper career with the Frederick Times was a short one in the mid 1880s and prompted him to leave Frederick for Baltimore because of an expense, not an opportunity. I learned this from a letter to the editor written a week after after his obituaries appeared in mid-October, 1927. Speaking of obituaries, I include two below, one from our Frederick paper, and another from The Baltimore Sun.
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Frederick News (Oct 13, 1927)
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Baltimore Sun (Oct 12, 1927)
Also buried with Addison here is his wife, Martha Alice J. (Kussmaul) Ruse, who predeceased him, and a daughter Nellie Mae and her husband, a man named Alonza Cover.
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Frederick News (Oct 22, 1927)
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Ruse family plot in Area A/Lot 107
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Another merchant of note included in that 1872 Frederick newspaper was A.C. McCardell, proprietor of a local confectionary, a shop that sells candy. I was familiar with this man and even possess a few items in my personal collection including a Victorian advertising card and a signed billhead from his business. 
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Frederick Examiner (Dec 25, 1872)
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Frederick Examiner (Nov. 27, 1872)
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A. C. McCardell in the 1870 US Census living in Frederick
I have always been intrigued by two things in connection to the above billhead. First, that Mr. McCardell billed himself and business as a "fruiterer," a word that I haven't seen used anywhere else. Second, I found it ironic that the store that sold the healthiest food in town (fruit), also manufactured the unhealthiest food in town. I guess you could call it a bittersweet business with a diverse portfolio.

In my research on this particular gentleman, I found myself feeling like "a kid in a candy store," both literally and figuratively. There are extensive writings on Adrian Coelfrid McCardell (1845-1932) and his business endeavors to be found. One of those endeavors includes my employer, as he served as Mount Olivet Cemetery's fifth president of our board of directors from 1919 until his death in 1932.

In conducting research, I was once again aided tremendously by T.J.C. Williams and his History of Frederick County, published in 1910. In Volume II of that work, one can read a lengthy biography on our subject, and see his photograph as well. Both are featured below:
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"Adrian C. McCardell, a leading and highly esteemed citizen of Frederick County, Md., who is prominent in business and financial circles, is a native of Washington County, Md., where he was born December 25, 1845. He  is a son of Wilfred D. and Catherine E. (Humrichouse) McCardell.
 
The McCardells are of Scotch-Irish origin. As far as can be ascertained, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Thos. McCardell, was one of three brothers who emigrated from Ireland at an early date. One went west to Missouri, and one located in New Jersey, Thomas, who married Annie Nogle, settled in Williamsport District, Maryland, where they owned a large farm, and a number of slaves. Mr. McCardell was held in high esteem by his neighbors and was widely known as a successful agriculturist. He was the father of the following children: Richard P.; Wilfred D.; Courtney; Upton; Willoughby Rebecca, who became the wife of Frank Dugan; and Annie, who was married to John French.
 
Wilfred D. McCardell, son of Thomas and Annie (Nogle) McCardell, was born in 1814, and was accidentally drowned at Williamsport, Washington County, Md., in 1861. He was held in high esteem by all who knew him and was an influential and prominent citizen of the community. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and his opinions carried much weight. He was also prominent in political circles, being an active supporter and stanch adherent of the Whig party, and his best efforts were always put forth towards the furtherance of that organization. Mr. McCardell’s services to his party were recognized by his election to the Maryland House of Delegates from Washington County, in which capacity he discharged his duties with great ability and to the satisfaction of his constituents. Mr. McCardell was married, in 1845, to Catherine Humrichouse, daughter of Frederick Post Humrichouse, of Colonial and Revolutionary fame, who was a descendant of one of the oldest and most respected families of Washington County, Md., where their ancestors were numbered among the early settlers. Wilfred D. and Catharine (Humrichouse) McCardell were the parents of the following children: Adrian C.; Thomas E., of Washington, D. C., where he is employed in the printing office of the United States Government; Mary A., widow of Abraham Seidenstricker ; Wilfred H. a well-known merchant of Hagerstown, Md., where he is engaged in the clothing business; Odelo D., in partnership with his brother, Wilfred, in Hagerstown; Lucretia P., a resident of Hagerstown; and Alburtus, died in childhood.
 
Adrian C. McCardell, son of Wilfred D. and Catherine (Humrichouse) McCardell, grew up on his father’s farm in Williamsport District, Washington County, Md., where he remained until he was sixteen, when he went with his parents to Williamsport, Md. He received his education in the public schools of Washington County, and evinced much aptitude for study. In 1861, the year of his father’s death, he went to Hagerstown and was employed as clerk by D. H. Phreaner, who was engaged in the confectionery business. Here he remained for a short time and then entered the service of George Bowman, also a confectioner. Mr. McCardell’s choice of Frederick City as a home was the result of an accident. In July, 1863, he was on his way to Washington, D. C., to join the Commissary Department of the United States Army under Gen. Bell. Arriving in Frederick, he was unable to communicate with the General on account of the second battle of Bull Run. He reconsidered the matter, and decided to remain in Frederick and work for his old employer, D. H. Phreaner, of Frederick City, with whom he remained until 1867. In that year, he gave up his position on account of poor health, and went to Hagerstown. After a short time, however, he went to Funkstown, where he was employed as clerk in the store of Beachley & Fiery, and J. H. Beachley, dealers in general merchandise. Mr. McCardell remained with this firm until 1869, when he returned to Frederick City, and purchased the confectionery store of his old employer, D. H. Phreaner, located at No. 4 North Market street. At this location, he carried on a general wholesale and retail confectionery business until 1882, when he purchased the property at No. 52 North Market street, where he is actively engaged in his branch of business. This is one of the oldest established business house; in Western Maryland; having been in existence for forty years, and ranks foremost in its own special line of trade.

​From the time that he took charge of the business, Mr. McCardell has met with substantial success, and today ranks as one of the leading merchants of the county. He has directed the affairs of his establishment with an ability, foresight and sagacity that stamp him as a man of high executive ability, and rare mercantile acumen. He has become widely prominent in confectionery circles as one of the ablest and most representative men identified with that particular branch of industry. He is honorable in all his dealings, and his business methods have always been characterized by the highest principles, until now he commands the respect of business and financial circles generally."
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Assorted views of confectionary stores of the 19th century
"Mr. McCardell has not however, devoted all of his time to the confectionery business, but has been connected with many other of the thriving and prosperous industries of Frederick. He has always been ready to lend a helping hand to anything that promises to serve the best interests of the community, and is known as a thoroughly public-spirited citizen. For eleven years he served as president of the Business Men's Association of Frederick City. From 1888 until 1892 he served as a director of the Fredericktown Savings Institute. In 1891, he was elected vice-president of the Frederick County National Bank, and served in this official capacity until 1904, when he was elected president of the bank. He still holds this responsible position, whose duties he had discharged with marked fidelity and ability, being recognized throughout the county as a keen financier. He is also a director in the Mount Olivet Cemetery Association. Since 1893, he has been a director of the Woman's College, of Frederick, and has been treasurer of its endowment fund since its organization. For many years he has been one of the directors of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of Frederick County, and in May, 1909, succeeded Charles E. Truit as president. Mr. McCardell has always been active in church work. For twelve years he has been an elder and the treasurer of the Evangelical Reformed Church, and for sixteen years has been superintendent of the Sunday School connected with the church.

​Mr. McCardell is thoroughly a self-made man, having begun life without means or influence, and by his own efforts has raised himself to his present enviable position. His success in life is directly traceable to hard work, close application to business, and sober and temperate habits. He is a man of vigorous intellect, and has a wide range in general knowledge. In his personal tastes, he is thoroughly refined and domestic, and takes particular pride in his home and family. He is undoubtedly, one of the foremost and best known citizens of his county.

 
Adrian C. McCardell was married, in April, 1872, to Alforetta R. Stonebraker, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Knode) Stonebraker, who is descended from a prominent family which was numbered among the early settlers of Washington County, Md. Adrian C. and Alforetta (Stonebraker) McCardell are the parents of the following children: 1, Adrian L., assistant cashier of the Frederick County National Bank; 2, Edgar S., conducting a retail department for confectionery in his own name; 3, Albert N., a well-known merchant of Germantown, Md.; 4, Wilfred S., traveling salesman for the wholesale department of his father's confectionery establishment; 5, Mary A., unmarried: 6, Ernest W., of Frederick, Md.; 7, Pauline R., unmarried." 
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McCardell's later confectionary establishment is thought to have been housed in the building directly south of City Hall (extreme right in this photo). This would later be renumbered as 118 N. Market and today a building at this location serves as office space for Frederick County Government.
In vetting Mr. McCardell's vital dates, I did find that the birthdate given by T.J.C. Williams in the bio was too good to be true. I subsequently learned that "Frederick's Candyman" was not born on Christmas Day as written, but, instead, four days later on December 29th. Another interesting familial sidelight involves one of Mr. McCardell's grandchildren, a woman whose storied-career had nothing to do with candy and fruit, but everything to do with women's fashion. She would even grace the cover of Time Magazine in May, 1955. "Yes, Virginia, she was Claire McCardell."
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Time Magazine (May 2, 1955)
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Curbside marketing in 1915 for McCardell's Restaurant
McCardell's candy store evolved into a restaurant that was well-known for its decadent desserts (also apparently spelled as "deserts" in the above right photo, just as another connection to our story title regarding deserts and oases). McCardell's had quite a run here in town as a home-grown business.

Adrian C. McCardell passed away on March 30th, 1932 at the age of 86. Apparently being around all those sweets for the balance of his life had little to no effect on his longevity. He would be buried in Mount Olivet's Area R/Lot 17. His wife, Alforetta is here as well, dying in 1923. A daughter, Ruth Pauline, would be buried here in 1965.
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Baltimore Sun (March 31, 1932)
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Well its time for me to wrap up this "Story in Stone" so I can wrap up some presents. I will end with one more tidbit from that Frederick Examiner newspaper from Christmas Day, 1872. The article deals with an element of fashion that Adrian C. McCardell's granddaughter helped "bury" forever with her own sportswear designs. Our holiday incident involved a young man named David Otho Thomas.
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Frederick Examiner (Dec 25, 1872)
For those not familiar with this antique clothing accessory, a bustle is a padded undergarment or wire frame used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses. The fashion was popular in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. Heavy fabric tended to pull the back of a skirt down and flatten it. As a result a woman's petticoated skirt would lose its shape during everyday wear (from merely sitting down or moving about).
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Bustles were all the rage
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I could not find a follow-up story to this specific incident in later editions of the paper. I'd like to believe that the pretty-young lady was one Marie Virginia Quynn (1852-1927). She was a daughter of Allen G. Quynn of early Frederick hardware lore. Like Cinderella missing her glass slipper, perhaps Miss Quynn read the Frederick Examiner article above and dared stepping into the Thomas snuff shop in order to retrieve her bustle, and thus her destiny. 
Born June 18, 1849 in Buckeystown, Mr. Thomas came from a well-known local family as well. He worked as a pharmacy clerk before getting into the tobacco business with his shop located on the northwest quadrant of the Square Corner (Market and Patrick streets) just west of Frederick County National Bank on West Patrick. Photographs exist of this location in a later incarnation as Flemings Tobacco Shop. The 1870 census shows David O. Thomas living at the City Hotel just down the street. 
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David O. Thomas in the 1870 US Census living at Frederick's City Hotel
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Frederick Examiner (Dec 25, 1872)
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William W. Fleming would eventually acquire the tobacco shop from David O. Thomas
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Maria V. Quynn living with her family in Frederick City in the 1870 Census
One way or another, David Otho Thomas married the abovementioned Miss Quynn in October of 1873, just ten months later. Could it have been the same pretty, young lady who lost her bustle? We may never know. However, we can only imagine the bustle and train employed by the young bride on her wedding day, perhaps using the very one dropped on the street just before Christmas, 1872. If by design, more interesting bait has rarely been used by young ladies seeking matrimony. Again, I'm just wishful speculating here. 

By 1880, David O. Thomas was working as a dealer of hay and straw, more things that burn I guess. He was living with his bride and widowed mother in Frederick City.
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1880 US Census showing D. O. Thomas family in Frederick
Interestingly enough, our subject died on New Years Day, 1926 after what seems to have been a good life. He and Maria never had any children, but he finished his days working as a hardware salesman at Quynn's on East Patrick Street. His obituary proves that he had quite a business career, you could even say it was "bustling."

David and Maria Thomas are buried in a plot adjacent Mount Olivet's "Pumphouse Hill" in Area Q/Lot 18. Maria died the following year after her husband and is buried in this plot along with David's mother. 
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Frederick Post (Jan 2, 1926)
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I'd just like to leave you with two separate, yet poignant, quotes from a pair of 19th century wordsmiths that still hold true today:

"Were the views of those who are cheerless and despondent adopted and time regarded as a desert, still it would have its oases. Holidays are the oases of the year; some of them are so enchanting that upon their recurrence we allow ourselves to forget all else save the memories they commemorate. In their enjoyment outside cares vanish; we do not so much as throw a glance forward towards the always important tomorrow, but revel in the delights that the present affords.Years pass and generations die with them, but such principles endure and are transmitted from father to son."
         
 -Charles E. Knauff 

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" 
           
-Clement Clarke Moore
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​ATTENTION LOCAL HISTORY FANS!!!
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The award-winning author of this article is teaching classes on local Frederick History. A variety of courses and tours are now scheduled for 2025, and open for registration on this site. Most classes will be held at Mount Olivet Cemetery's Key Memorial Chapel. Enjoy colorful commentary within PowerPoint-illustrated lectures, some featuring video clips from Chris' past documentary work and occasional "show and tell" using historic artifacts and memorabilia. Holiday gift certificates now available for that local history lover on your list. For more info and registration details, click the link below:
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http://www.historysharkproductions.com/history-course-offerings.html
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A Father's Letter

12/9/2024

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​"The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again."
​-Charles Dickens
(a quote from Nicholas Nickleby)

For most of these “Stories in Stone,” I am seldom fortunate enough to come across a portrait, or photograph, of subjects who died in the 1700s and 1800s. Sometimes, a family member, or long lost descendant, will send me an image after discovering my story online. I’m always excited about inserting these into the previously published works that live in perpetuity on the MountOlivetHistory.com website you find yourself on now as you read this. Regardless, it’s always more satisfying to research and write with an image of my subject staring back at me. Usually, I have to use a gravestone as the only surviving "image" of a decedent. I guess you could say that it’s great to put a face with a name when that name appears on a gravestone within Mount Olivet.

This week, I have a firm sense of my subject’s face as this was my introduction point, not knowing anything more about him, or seeing his gravesite in Mount Olivet. My interest stems solely from seeing his picture, and in said photo he is not doing anything particularly interesting or noteworthy. I must admit that, if anything, he looks somewhat peculiar in my opinion, and gives off vibes of being a stern, “no-nonsense” kind of guy. I don’t know if that assessment is anywhere near the truth, but you can judge for yourself the possible temperament of Mr. George Beckenbaugh.
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Photo of George Beckinbaugh (courtesy of contributors Lisby and Harvey Kligora on Findagrave.com)
​My second thought, upon seeing George Beckenbaugh’s face for the first time, was that he seemed to belong in a Charles Dickens novel. The great English writer lived from 1812-1870, while our subject, Mr. Beckenbaugh, lived pretty much the same time period being born a decade prior in 1801 and dying eight years after the man who published A Christmas Carol in 1843. I’m sure our Mr. Beckenbaugh was quite familiar with the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, and I would find through my research that he was certainly no Ebenezer Scrooge as he seemed to embrace happiness throughout his life.

George Beckenbaugh was born on the 5th of December 1801 in the sleepy hamlet of Creagerstown in northern Frederick County. Residents take pride in the fact that they are “four miles from everywhere.” Now Creagerstown wasn’t always “sleepy,” as it was at one time a bustling crossroads during the American Revolution period. As a matter of fact, its founder, John Creager, was also the man who gave us Mechanicstown which later changed its name to Thurmont. Creager was a son of Lorentz Krieger, one of the early German immigrants to our county and an early leader in the Moravian Church in Graceham.
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1808 Charles Varle's map of Maryland showing Creagerstown dating back to 1794
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Frederick Hornet/Republican Advocate (April 17, 1811)
​George was the son of Jacob & Eve Catherine (Zimmerman) Beckenbaugh. His father was a store owner in Creagerstown. George was raised in Creagerstown, and eventually married Martha Vaines (Ligget) Beckenbaugh and was father to six children: Isabella Catharine, Jane Elizabeth, George William, James Jacob, John Michael, and Thomas Ligget Beckenbaugh.

Our photogenic subject owned a 19-acre lot adjacent town and operated stores in Creagerstown and a hotel which he would turn over to his brother Michael at some point in the 1840s. Michael appears as “M. Beckenbaugh” on Isaac Bond's Map of Frederick County, published in 1858. 
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This is an inset of the 1858 Isaac Bond Atlas Map showing Creagerstown and vicinity. Note "M. Beckenbaugh (top-middle) as the site of the former home property of the family. In the lower left, "M. Zimmerman" marks the site of the Zimmerman Farm (George's maternal grandparents and childhood home of his mother)
The hotel location would be destroyed in the great fire of 1914, which took most of the buildings in town after an accidental blaze started in the Monocacy Valley Creamery.
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On this Isaac Bond inset map from 1858, George's first cousins Dr. William Zimmerman (1816-1882) and Lewis Alonzo Zimmerman (1832-1912) are shown along with George's brother Michael L. Beckenbaugh (1816-1865)
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Views of Creagerstown c. 1909 (above and below) before the devastating fire of 1914. The south view below shows the former Beckenbaugh store location on the left and the hotel location on the right.
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The existing structure of the town hotel following the fire of 1914
​George would move to Frederick in the early 1840s and eventually operate the Temperance Hotel here. This was the site of the former Bartgis' Hotel, located on the corner of West Church Street and Court Street. Beckenbaugh began leasing the establishment in 1855 which would later be bought by John Stemmel, who made extensive repairs and re-opened his endeavor as the Central Hotel. Upon this event, the local newspaper commented that Beckenbaugh’s former hostelry “has recently been thoroughly repaired and for the beauty and convenience cannot be surpassed by any public house in Frederick.  Being located near the courthouse, persons having business to transact will find this most convenient.”
-Frederick Examiner January 10th, 1855
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1854 lithograph inset showing location of hotel in Frederick at southeast corner of W. Church and N. Court streets (today the Temple and M&T parking lot)
As if I wasn’t lucky enough to have a photo of George Beckenbaugh, an online search soon presented me with a letter written by Mr. Beckenbaugh, himself, to other family members in 1867. At the time Beckenbaugh was widowed, had left Frederick County and was living in Baltimore. On this occasion, he took the time to share his genealogy and own life story with his children.
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The following communication is copied from pages 69-79 of Edwin T. and Atha (Peckenpaugh) Brace's book entitled Peckinpaughs, Pickenpaughs, Beckenbaughs, Peckipahs, and Peckenpaughs: Descendants of Johann Adam and Anna Maria Beckenbach. The letter was written by George Beckinbaugh in Baltimore on November 23rd, 1867 and reads as follows:
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To my dearly beloved Children,
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    Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of my beloved Father, it having occurred on the night of the 23rd Nov 1817.

     I believe not a single anniversary of that heart-rending occasion has since come around in the cycle of time, that the scene around his dying bed has not been vividly brought to my mind, to me, the eldest of seven children (then living) and not quite sixteen years of age, it was overwhelming.  Never shall I forget it whilst memory endures, and had it not been for the bright evidences he gave in his dying hour, of a blissful immortality beyond the grave, I know not how I could have been reconciled.

     The recollection of his many virtues, and the high character which he left as an enduring legacy to his children, has been to me, throughout my whole life one of the sweetest recollections, that cluster around the memory of my idolized Father.

     I have thought this a fit occasion, to put you in possession of some of the particulars, of the History of my father's and my mother's families, of which I am not aware that you have any knowledge, I do this, that when I am gathered to my fathers, you say not be ignorant of your ancestry.

     From information derived from reliable sources I have learned that my Grandfather Beckenbaugh (whose Christian name was George Leonard) and two brothers, emigrated to this country from Germany, before the war of the Revolution, my Grandfather and one brother, whose name was Caspar, settled in the Middletown Valley, Frederick County, Md., they were farmers. One of the brothers whose name I do not know, I was informed by one of my aunts, kept the Ferry at Shepherdstown, and upon one occasion after having taken over the river some person or persons was drowned upon his return to shore, the river being high at the time.  My Grandfather and his brother Casper are buried in the German Reformed grave yard in Middletown.  I found some years ago in searching in this grave yard for the grave of my Grandfather, this inscription upon a grave stone, "In Memory of Caspar Beckenbaugh, Born July 10th 1722.  Died January 18th 1790", at the time, I thought it might be my Grandfather's, but upon inquiry, I learned that his Christian name was George Leonard.
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Christ Reformed Cemetery in Middletown holds the graves of George Beckenbaugh's grandfather (George Leonard 1730-1799) and great-uncle (Johann Caspar 1722-1790) however no gravestones can be found for them here
     My father (whose name was Jacob), was one of twelve children, 6 sons and 6 daughters that arrived to the age of maturity, of which all married and left families, except two, one a son, the other a daughter.  Their names as far as I now know them, were Leonard, Peter, George, Jacob (my father), John and Michael, Sons; and Barbara, Elizabeth and Catherine, Daughters; the name of three daughters I do not now remember, perhaps, never knew.  John and Catherine never married; John died when a young man, Catharine at old age.

     The five sons that married all left children, so did also the daughters.  The names of the daughters' husbands were Marteney, Keafauver, Darner, Campbell, and Critzer.
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     My father and his brother, George, came to Creagerstown as single young men previous to the present century, married sisters, daughters of George, and Catharine Zimmerman, (my recollection is that my Grandfather Zimmerman's Christian name was George, and my Grandmother's, Catherine), and that my Grandfather came to Maryland from Pennsylvania, and my Grandmother (whose maiden name was Crist) came with her parents from Germany, when a child.  My Uncle George Beckenbaugh was married some years before my father, he died in the year 1800.  (My father and mother were married in February 1801.) Both men were merchants in that village, both died of consumption, and are both buried in the grave yard of that town.  My Grandfather Zimmerman's family that arrived at maturity consisted of eight children 4 sons and 4 daughters viz: Jacob, George, Michael and John, Sons; Elizabeth, (whom my Uncle George married) Eve Catharine, (my mother) Mary, who married Thomas Draper, and Barbara, who married Richard C. Campbell, and whose son is the present Rev. John F. Campbell.
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The grave of George's father, Jacob Beckenbaugh (1775-1817) in Creagerstown Cemetery also known as St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
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Gravestone of George's mother, Eva Catharine (Zimmerman) Beckenbaugh (1780-1851) in Creagerstown Cemetery
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St. Johns Lutheran Church and graveyard in Creagerstown
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Ledger/Tablet grave marker of George's uncle, John George Beckenbaugh (1760-1800) in Creagerstown Cemetery
     Of my father's Brothers, I only recollect having known Leonard and Michael; and of his Sisters all, except Aunts Marteney and Darner.  I knew all of my mother's Brothers and Sisters, all were married and left children.  Of my Grandparents, I only knew my Grandmother Zimmerman.  She lived to be quite aged, I believe was in her 84th year when she died, they are both buried in the grave yard near Little Hunting Creek, on the road leading to Lewistown, Frederick Co., Md.
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George's uncle, Michael Beckenbaugh (1767-1855), is buried in Middletown's Christ Reformed Cemetery
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Beautiful photo taken by expert grave and cemetery finder/documentarian Bryan Main of what remains of the Licklider Family Cemetery near Lewistown on the former Zimmerman family farm property
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Gravestone of George's grandmother, Maria Catharine (Crist) Zimmerman (1745-1828) at Licklider Family Cemetery near Lewistown
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George's maternal grandfather, George Zimmerman (1738-1793) in the Licklider Cemetery
     The farm owned by my Grandfather Zimmerman, where I believe all his children were born, is still in the family, and is now owned, and occupied by my Cousin Michael Zimmerman.  The first year after the marriage of my father and mother, they resided in the Brick house known as the "Creagerstown Hotel,” this property then belonged to the Estate of my Uncle George Beckenbaugh, in this house I was born on the 5th of Dec. 1801.  My father and mother had eight children, six sons and two daughters, named George, John, Jacob, Wm. Washington, Peter Alexander and Michael Leonard, Sons, Catharine and Mary daughters, four of whom only, now are living viz: myself, Wm. Washington, and my two sisters, not a single one of all my parents' family are now living, they have all passed away, but it is a source of much pleasure to me, to know that they were all (so far as I know) members of Christian Churches, mostly of the denominations, Lutheran, and German Reformed; were honest, and upright in all the relations of life; and raised their families in the principles of the Christian religion, and mostly they too, became members of the churches of their parents.
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My father was a member of the German Reformed Church and my mother of the Lutheran, my mother's brothers were members of the German Reformed and her sisters of the Lutheran Churches, my father's family were principally members of the German Reformed.  When I look back over my past years and remember my youthful days, my visits to my uncles and aunts, and my intercourse with my numerous Cousins, and enumerate those that are now living, I find that but few comparatively remain.  It is a sorrowful reflection, but the time is fast approaching when I too shall have to go the way of all flesh, and be joined as I trust to my fathers in that better world; where trouble and sorrows never come.
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Creagerstown's Old Lutheran Church
     Believing, and indeed feeling confident, that some of the particulars of my own life will be a source of comfort and pleasure to you, and in years to come, may not only be referred to by yourselves, but by my Grandchildren with much gratification, I will commence it with my first departure from my home.

     In the spring of 1818, then in the 17th year of my age, my Uncle Jacob Critzer, then a resident of Middletown, Frederick Co., Md., procured for me a situation in the store of Messrs. H. G. O'Neal & Co., who at that time were doing an extensive business in that place, I remained however, but a few weeks with them, never having been separated before from my family, I was very unhappy and returned to my home, and during the year, aided my father's executors in the settlement of his Estate.  In the spring of 1819 this same Uncle, Adam Lorentz, and Walter F. Gill opened a new store in Middletown, and my Uncle engaged my services to fill his place in it, I was then in my 18th year, I remained until the following fall when I again returned to my home, and took charge of the store then owned by my mother and my Uncle Michael Zimmerman, which I conducted until the spring of 1821, when they retired from business, during the summer of 1821 and winter of 1822, I taught school.  (I believe 9 months.)
     In the spring of 1822 my mother and myself opened a small store in partnership in the house in which my father done business, our capital being small, our business was also small, the succeeding year I was appointed Post Master at Creagerstown, which office I had been solicited to accept previous to my arriving of age, during this year, two other stores were opened in the village, small as it previously had been.  The following spring one store was not continued; the other remained until the spring of 1826.  When the gentlemen owning it moved to Middleburg in Carroll County, after which a friend of mine (to whom when a boy I went to school) kindly offered without solicitation the loan of one thousand dollars to enable us to enlarge our business, after consultation with my mother we accepted a loan of Five hundred dollars; and from this time forward our business greatly improved.  It was during this spring I made the acquaintance of your dear and excellent mother.  The following summer she again visited her brother, Dr. James Ligget, who resided next door to my place of business, and previous to her departure for home, we were engaged in marriage, which event was consummated on the 29th of Nov. 1827, in the town of Sharpsburg, Washington County Md. and next Friday will be its 40th anniversary.
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1830 US Census showing household of George Beckenbaugh in Creagerstown
     The following spring I purchased my mother's interest in our store, and went to housekeeping in the Brick house opposite the "Creagerstown Hotel" where we lived 4 years, during which my daughters Isabella and Jane were born, in the spring of 1832 I moved to this "Hotel" which I previously purchased, where we lived until the beginning of the year 1838, during which time my sons George and James were born.  We removed to our first abode then, in the beginning of 1838, in which time, my son John was born, then moved to the house now owned by Mr. Otto, where we lived until the spring of 1840, in which time my son Thomas was born, in the spring of 1840, we again removed in our first residence which property, I took in part payment for the "Hotel" property, here we resided until our removal to Frederick City in the month of Dec. 1841.
     Whilst a resident of Creagerstown, I was engaged in the mercantile business, and during the time we resided at the "Hotel" conducted it, in connection therewith.  In politics I was a Whig, and supported the candidate of that party from the time of the election of John Quincy Adams to the Presidency in 1824, until the rise of the "Know nothing Party,” not approving of some of the principles of that party, I did not formally connect myself with that organization.  Whilst a resident of Creagerstown, I was twice appointed one of the Justices of the Peace, and was also appointed one of the Associate Justices of the Creagerstown District Court, from which office I was removed (as were all the Whig officers in Frederick Co.) by Gov. Grason, who was the first Governor of Maryland elected immediately by the people, under a change of the Constitution.  (He was a Democrat.)
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Gov. William Grason (1788-1868) was Maryland's 25th governor who served from 1839-1842 and was the namesake of Grasonville, MD
 In the year 1837, I was nominated as one of the delegates on the Whig ticket for the Legislature of Md., but in the contest (which was not warmly prosecuted) the Democratic ticket was elected I had the honor, however, of receiving the largest number of votes for my ticket and consequently led the ticket.  In 1838, I was again nominated by the Whig party for Legislature, this year the contest was animated, it being the first time that the people voted, directly, for a Governor and State Senators, the result of that election in Frederick County, was the election of Richard Potts (Whig) to the State Senate, and to the House of Delegates, two Whigs, Geo. Schley and Grafton Hammond, and two Democrats, Col. John McPherson and Daniel S. Biser, and a tie vote as to myself and the late Dr. Jno. W. Geyer (Democrat).  We both went to Annapolis upon the meeting of the Legislature, each claiming a seat in the House of Delegates upon the ground of illegal votes polled and votes claimed and not counted by some of the Judges of election, after a protracted investigation on, I believe, the 60th day of the session, the Legislature decided that neither of us was duly elected, the Speaker of the House then issued an order for a new election to fill the vacancy, at my request, I was exonerated from being a candidate at this special election, by my party, and my contestant elected without opposition. 
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Baltimore Patriot (July 7 1837)
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Baltimore Advocate and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Oct 5 1838)
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Baltimore Patriot (Feb 18, 1839)
In May 1841, I was appointed by a Whig Levy Court, Collector of the County taxes, after which I sold my store to my brother Michael and my Cousin, James A. Zimmerman, and entered upon the duties of Collector about the beginning of September.
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     In December following I moved my family to the City of Frederick as before stated.  In 1842, I was reappointed Collector in connection with John Sifford (who was assigned to the collection of the state taxes by a Democratic Levy Court.)  In 1843, I was appointed by a Whig Levy Court, Collector of both state and county taxes, but in consequence of the refusal of the Court to fix what I deemed a fair commission for their collection, I declined to accept the appointment.  In the fall of 1843 Col. Geo. M. Eichelberger, the then Register of Wills proffered me a situation in his office which I accepted, and upon the appointment of Col. Thomas Sappington, his successor, I was retained as his Chief Clerk, in which capacity I continued until May 1847 when I was elected Teller, in the then "Farmers and Mechanics Bank of Frederick County" which position I occupied until January 1856, when I resigned.
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1850 US Census showing Beckenbaughs living in Frederick on West Patrick St
      In the year 1857, I was a candidate, before the people of Frederick County, for the office of Register of Wills for Frederick County, Col. Thos. Sappington the then Register was also a candidate (we were independent candidates and both Whigs) George Hoskers Esq. was the Democratic candidate, nominated by a county convention of his party, and was elected by a minority vote, the Whig vote being divided between Col. Sappington and myself.
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     On the 31st day of January 1857, I came to this city having previously engaged to become Book Keeper and Paymaster for Ross Winans Esq. at his "Coal Burning Locomotive Engine Works.” Eleven years have since almost passed away, I still occupy that position, and may for ought I know continue to do so, until He or I, are called to render up our stewardship in the world to come.
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1860 US Census showing George Beckenbaugh and family living in Baltimore in the boarding house of Eliza McKinley
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The Camel No. 217, a production of the Ross Winans Locomotive Works at Mount Clare in Baltimore. Winans was a Baltimore inventor who patented railroad wheel bearings and experimented with early railroad equipment. He became the B&O's Assistant Engineer of Machinery at the Mount Clare Shops.
​     The foregoing embraces the main facts in the History of my parents and their families, as well as of myself, your own recollections after our removal to Frederick City, to the present time, makes it unnecessary for me to go into further detail of many things, that might otherwise be interesting to you, during this period of time (as you know) we have had many joys, and many sorrows, but the most grievous sorrow of all, was the death of your beloved mother, yet when we recur to it, (as I hope we often do) how sweet is the consolation to know, that she died fully sensible that the time of her departure had come, and in the confident hope of a blissful immortality.  She has gone to Heaven, where I trust we shall again meet her.  The recollection of her happy and triumphant death, and of her love and devotedness to me, and our dear children, are consolations that cluster around her memory which you, nor I, never, no never can forget.

     God grant that when our departure comes, we too, may leave behind, the same consolation to our loved ones, is the sincere and fervent prayer of your fond and affectionate father.

                                                                                                              Geo. Beckenbaugh
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What a great documentation to have, one I wish I myself had from one of my own ancestors. We all could hope for a Jacob Engelbrecht in our past, but this was a holiday gift indeed featuring a great autobiographical effort by Mr. B. including his feelings towards his grandparents, parents, siblings and most importantly, wife. Speaking of which, Martha died on January 17th, 1862 in the midst of the American Civil War. I presume she was buried in Baltimore. 

George would continue his work in "Charm City" and can be found here within the 1870 census. I wish the letter was written a decade later as to provide me with more details of his last years of life. He would die on April 14th, 1878 at the age of 77 and had a funeral service in Baltimore. He was buried in Mount Olivet three days later in a lot found in Area F/Lot 69.
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Baltimore Sun (April 15, 1878)
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Baltimore Sun (April 16, 1878)
George Beckenbaugh, unlike Dicken’s Ebenezer Scrooge, would not find a neglected tombstone bearing his name if he was to visit today. In 2025, it will be cleaned by our "Stoners" crew and it already appears to have been repaired in the past. 
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Martha’s body would be disinterred and brought to Mount Olivet for reburial next to him on September 11th, 1878. George and his wife are also not buried alone in this lot atop the former Pumphouse Hill in the middle of our historic burial ground. Their son, Dr. James J. Beckenbaugh (1836-1869) was the first of the family to be laid to rest here. However, he too was originally buried elsewhere, coming to Mount Olivet on November 22nd, 1873, nearly four and a half years after his death, and four years prior to his father’s death. Naturally, this loss must have had a major impact on George Beckenbaugh like all the others he had endured.
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Maryland Union (May 20, 1869)
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Gravestone of Martha Beckenbaugh
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Grave of Dr. James J. Beckenbaugh
​Two of George’s other children are buried here in the family plot in Area F. These include Dr. Thomas L. Beckenbaugh (1840-1881) and daughter Isabella Catharine (Beckenbaugh) Lynch (1829-1901). Isabella’s husband, Judge John Alexander Lynch (1825-1904), was Judge of Circuit Court for Frederick and Montgomery Counties for thirty years. He was also a leading member of Frederick’s Columbia Masonic Lodge, but broke away to start a rival chapter of the fraternal organization. The Lynch Lodge No. 163 A.F. & A.M. was chartered in 1873 and formed not because of a desire to have a lodge closer to home but because the Masons were in danger of violating one of the two taboo subjects that aren’t discussed in a lodge—politics and religion. These subjects tend to create hard feelings between people and the Masons are about brotherhood.
 
Although the Civil War had ended in 1865, differences still existed between those who supported the Union and those who supported the Confederacy. The two lodges remained separate until 1994 when they merged back into the Columbia Lodge. This organization is still active today as Lynch Lodge No. 163 A.F. & A.M. Note that both of Isabella's brothers were Masons as well based on the carved symbol  of the compass, a carpenter's square and a capital "G" with the latter thought to represent either geometry or a Christian God.
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Dr. Thomas Beckenbaugh
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Isabella C. (Beckenbaugh) Lynch
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Grave of John A. Lynch (pictured left)
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Frederick News (Dec 28, 1883)
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Beckenbaugh family plot in Mount Olivet (Area F/lot 69)
A few hundred yards away from the Backenbaugh family plot is the grave of William Luther Wesley Seabrook (1833-1916), George Beckenbaugh's nephew (son of his sister Mary Catharine (Beckenbaugh) Seabrook (1807-1893). You may recall this gentleman from a Story in Stone written last year entitled "A Newspaper Sentinel," and better yet, if you journeyed with me in October 2024 for my "Unsettling Candlelight Walking Tour." This former Creagerstown resident had a fine newspaper career and was a friend of Abraham Lincoln. He helped raise his grandson William "Willie" Seabrook (1884-1945), who introduced us to the concept of zombies with his 1929 book The Magic Island. 
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William Luther Wesley Seabrook
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William "Willy" Seabrook (1884-1945)
​One more Beckenbaugh connection of note features George and Martha’s son Dr. John Michael Beckenbaugh (1838-1873). This gentleman spent much of his life in Sharpsburg, and is buried in Shepherdstown’s Elmwood Cemetery. His wife was Nancy “Nannie” Cowan Douglas Beckenbaugh, a daughter of Rev. Robert Douglas. Nannie grew up in a house overlooking the Potomac River on the Maryland side of the river opposite Shepherdstown. This is the 700-acre Ferry Hill Plantation, the former park headquarters site for the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. The house and Douglas family go back to the Blackford and Swearingen families that originally operated a ferry that carried travelers over the Potomac. You may have heard of Nannie Beckenbaugh’s brother, Henry Kyd Douglas.
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Vintage photo of Ferry Hill Plantation on the east side of the Potomac River across from Shepherdstown and the current day Bavarian Inn
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​Henry Kyd Douglas was a Confederate staff officer during the American Civil War. Capt. Henty Kyd Douglas participated in most of the battles of the Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia and served on the staffs of Stonewall Jackson and his successors. Severely wounded on the third day of the battle of Gettysburg, Douglas became a prisoner of war for almost ten months. At the end of the war, he commanded a brigade at the last battle of the war.

​After the war Douglas returned to his civilian occupation as a lawyer, got involved in state politics, and became an officer in the Maryland National Guard, eventually holding the appointment as Adjutant General. Today, Henry Kyd Douglas is foremost known for his wartime memoir, “I Rode with Stonewall,” first published in 1940. I wonder if he was influenced in any way to put pen to paper by his sister’s father-in-law George Beckenbaugh?
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​Captain Douglas was quite familiar with Frederick and visited here during the war. Of key significance was his time spent in the company of Gen. Stonewall Jackson in September 1862. In his memoirs he tells the story of attending a church service with Jackson at the German Reformed Church in which Rev. Daniel Zacharias offered up prayers for Abraham Lincoln and the Union soldiers during his sermon. Jackson apparently slept through this, but heartily congratulated the minister afterwards on delivering a most thoughtful sermon.

​Henry Kyd Douglas also was a staunch critic of the Barbara Fritchie poem as told by Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Douglas claimed that he was at Jackson’s side throughout the general’s famous exit of town on September 10th, 1862. Douglas always maintained that the pair bypassed the grand Dame’s house, and did not have an altercation with her as was purported.
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Houston Daily Post (April 25, 1900)
​Dr. John Michael Beckenbaugh’s son, Capt. John Kyd Beckenbaugh (1874-1940), was responsible for getting his uncle’s colorful memoirs published as the book "I Rode With Stonewall,” after a challenging period of 35 years. Captain John, George Beckenbaugh’s grandson, would die later the same year and he, his mother and "Rebel" Uncle Henry are residing in Shepherdstown’s Elmwood Cemetery.
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Grave of Henry Kyd Douglas in Shepherdstown's Elmwood Cemetery
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Nannie Douglas Beckenbaugh
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Capt. John Kyd Beckenbaugh
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​What a wonderful photograph we have of George Beckenbaugh, and other family members to boot thanks to them being shared by descendants and genealogists on FindaGrave.com. Like George Bailey, it appears that our subject (George Beckenbaugh) had a wonderful life as well, despite the stern look in his image. Come to think of it, most all those early photographs have uncomfortable looking subjects because photographers told them to hold still for an awkward amount of time while snapping the photo.  Perhaps that’s how the tradition of saying “Cheese” came about?

Happy Holidays!
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"Coney"

11/21/2024

0 Comments

 
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Having nothing at all to do with the distinguished looking gentleman above, I'd like to talk about my pet for starters. We will get to the Col. Sanders-looking guy above in a minute.

​So, it has been a week of freedom, unbridled joy and relief for my cat Bilbo. Last Sunday, I removed the e-collar he's been wearing since late summer. The "cone of shame" was necessary to keep said feline from reopening a wound on his front right paw. After significant healing in August, the collar was removed, but after being left alone for just two hours, this docile, and intelligent, cat completely undid weeks of self-repair on that paw wound. Back went on the cone after just a two-hour respite.
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Bilbo the cat
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​Bilbo went about his business with the translucent headpiece. One month later, he was given a second chance for e-collar removal. This time, gauze was put over the wound area (devoid of fur) in hopes that it would deter Bilbo from reopening the wound again. Stupid move on the human's part, as he easily chewed through the gauze and re-attacked the scabbed over trouble spot.

Now the cone would be left on Bilbo for nearly the entire month of October. It became so commonplace that I began referring to my 4-legged housemate as
 "Coney," instead of his preferred Lord of the Rings inspired name (Bilbo Baggins) that came with him when adopted from the Frederick County Humane Society over a decade ago.
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Now I know Bilbo is simply an animal and its hard to change those survival instincts within. It was a sad situation, but he seemed to accept his fate and the cone didn't seem to be slowing him down from a daily regimen of sleeping, eating and occasionally scratching things. My plan included removing the e-collar by month's end after a scheduled vet check-up in late October and consultation on a potential strategy to keep him from opening up the wound for a third time.

Amazingly, just days before the visit, I came home to find Bil on a back porch couch cushion with blood smeared all over himself and said cushion. He now possessed a mysterious, oozing wound on his chest area. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be in pain, however the situation was quite perplexing, having me wonder how in the world he could have reached this area with the cone affixed?

A trip to the pet emergency hospital directly afterwards revealed that Bilbo had suffered a ruptured abscess, one that had gone unnoticed beforehand obviously. The subsequent burst left a heck of a mess, leaving Bil in a precarious situation of not being able to care for himself because of the cumbersome cone not allowing him to reach anything as he would have lapped up the fluid as cats are self-cleaning professionals.

The hospital vet theorized that Bilbo had likely been in a recent scrap with another cat, or woodland creature, as he sometimes leaves the yard temporarily by hopping my six-foot privacy fence. He comes back with no problem, however this practice has been limited of late thanks to having an obnoxious cone on his head. The vet cleaned Bilbo up and pointed out the puncture marks, but with all rabies shots current, there was no fear of complications and a prognosis of full recovery after cleaning and sterilizing the wound. I, of course, felt guilty knowing that the cone had inhibited the poor guy's ability to defend himself against his mystery yard opponent.

Anyway, although his right paw was looking great, this new setback would dictate at least three more weeks "under the cone." 
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"the dreaded cone"
Well here we are nearly a month later. The cone was officially removed last weekend, and Bilbo was heavily surveilled for the first two days. Slowly, I left him unsupervised, and he did not disappoint. He had plenty of "laundry" to attend to (licking himself), and this chore kept him occupied for that pivotal first 48 hours without the e-collar in place.

I did have two major hairballs to attend to on my carpet Monday night, but I didn't care as Bil's wound areas remained unscathed. And they have continued to stay that way throughout all last week. Best of all, Bilbo seems so very relieved not to have something either hanging over his head, and more so, hanging around his neck. 
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While out walking the grounds of our lovely garden cemetery earlier this week, I took special notice of a fitting moniker on an old marble stone. This was solely based on my personal happenings at home that I just recounted. I was in Area E, on the side of a hill offering a scenic view of Loats baseball field with Costco in the distance. As I looked the opposite direction towards Catoctin Mountain, I saw the word "cone" carved upon the face of a marble gravestone. It was that of  Spencer Cone Jones.

Who the heck is this guy! I was not familiar with this gentleman at all, but would soon learn that he was quite well known to many during his lifetime, as was his father who is buried just steps away. This "Cone" was a lawyer and former politician of the late 19th century , and received much of his early education in Frederick. He would gain greater acclaim for being a public servant representing his native Montgomery County. A two-time mayor of Rockville, Spencer Cone Jones was a Civil War veteran who would also gain election to serve as a leading member of Maryland's General Assembly. 
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1850 US Census showing 13-year old Spencer Cone Jones living with his family on West Patrick Street in Frederick
​My research on this fellow was pretty easy as I was aided by finding a biography from Bernard C. Steiner's "Men of Mark in Maryland: Biographies of Leading Men in the State" published by Johnson-Wynne Co., Washington DC in 1907. Here is what Mr. Steiner, also buried in our cemetery and longtime librarian of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library, had to say about my subject:

​"Spencer Cone Jones, banker and lawyer, was born at Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland, July 3, 1836, the son of Reverend Joseph H. Jones, a Baptist clergyman, and Elizabeth (Clagett) Jones. He was educated at the Rockville Academy, at the Frederick public schools and at Frederick College, the old county academy. He then read law with William J. Ross of Frederick and was admitted to the bar of Frederick County."
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Frederick Examiner (May 18, 1859)
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Frederick Examiner (Oct 19, 1859)
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Frederick Examiner (Feb 22, 1860)
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Frederick Examiner (May 24, 1860)
​"During the War between the States, he enlisted in Company D, 1st Maryland Cavalry, Confederate States Army, and served as a private to the close of the contest. He then went to Texas and taught school near Huntsville for two years. Returning to Maryland in 1868, he began the practice of law at Rockville, where he has resided to the present time."
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Civil War record of Jones with the 1st Maryland CSA Cavalry
​Spencer C. Jones began to practice law here in town, but the Civil War interrupted  his plans. A Confederate sympathizer, he enlisted in Company D of the First Maryland Cavalry as was stated by Steiner. From our database, I learned that Spencer was arrested by Federal troops at Maryland Heights on May 26th, 1862 and charged with treasonable conspiracy. He was imprisoned for eight months, being held at various periods in the city jail at Baltimore, Fort McHenry, and Fort Delaware. 

When he was first arrested, he was listed as prisoner of war in Baltimore City Jail. Jones was subsequently transferred back and forth between Fort McHenry and Fort Delaware for interrogation. During this period, he was listed at various times as either a prisoner of war or a political prisoner. This interested me greatly because I had two GGG grandfathers who served as prison guards for the Union Army at Fort Delaware, and my GGG grandmother was a laundress and cook there.
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Fort Delaware State Park in the Delaware River just off Delaware City, DE
Spencer Cone Jones  was released from Fort McHenry on December 16th, 1862. He enlisted into the Rebel forces again at Harrisonburg, VA on May 1st, 1863, but was captured on July 4th, 1863 at Monterey Pass, PA just after the Battle of Gettysburg. A document on Fold3 reports that Jones' horse was killed underneath him in battle here. He was imprisoned for a few more months in Baltimore, but was exchanged in a prisoner swap.  In February of 1864, he was charged in the Frederick County Circuit Court for levying war, and in 1865 was disbarred from the Frederick County Bar. Apparently, he served out the remainder of the Civil War in Virginia and was present at the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in April, 1865.  The state dropped all charges on Mr. Jones in March 1866. 

After the war, Spencer Cone Jones taught school near Huntsville, Texas, not returning to Maryland until after the adoption of the state constitution of 1867. He remained vocal and influential among former Southern sympathizers, speaking at meetings of war veterans, including the dedication of a memorial to the Confederate dead in Winchester, VA.

Speaking of Confederate monuments, Spencer Cone Jones had a hand, or other body part, in the Rockville Confederate Monument that was removed from Rockville Court Square a few years back. 
The statue was unveiled and dedicated on June 3rd, 1913. This date was Jefferson Davis’ birthday and 50 years after the Battle of Gettysburg, a time when reconciliation and ceremonies were important to surviving veterans on both sides of the Civil War.

Judge Edward C. Peter and Rockville Mayor Lee Offutt made keynote speeches at the dedication. It has been suggested, but not documented, that the soldier’s head was modeled after Spencer Cone Jones, father-in-law of an official in the foundry that cast the statue. 
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Rockville Confederate Monument as photographed in 1927.
​Let's return back to Bernard Steiner's narrative on Mr. Jones:

"On December 21, 1871, he was married to Ellen, daughter of John and Elizabeth S. Brewer. Mrs. Jones died on July 21, 1876, leaving one daughter, Elizabeth, who is married to Thomas R. Falvy of New Orleans. In Rockville, Mr. Jones soon built up a large practice and in 1871 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of state's attorney for Montgomery County. In 1875 he was re-elected and, in 1879, he was elected clerk of the State Court of Appeals. A second term in this position was given him by the vote of the people of the State in 1885 and, in 1892, he was chosen by the legislature as state treasurer. To this position he was reelected in 1894 and was renominated in 1896, but failed of election, as there was a Republican majority in the General Assembly. Mr. Jones was twice elected mayor of Rockville, in 1898 and 1900. He resigned this office, on being elected a member of the state senate in 1901." 
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Cumberland Evening Times (Jan 6, 1904)
​"During the session of 1902, he was chairman of the finance committee, and during that session of 1904, he was president of the senate. His unfailing courtesy, business-like manner and firm decision of character made him an excellent presiding officer. For several years he has been one of the leaders of his party in the state and his name has been frequently mentioned for the gubernatorial nomination. From the organization of the Montgomery County National Bank, May 21, 1884, to the present time, Mr. Jones has been one of its directors and he has been its president since January 1892."
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Spencer Cone Jones
​"He affiliates with the Baptist church, and is a Mason and Knight of Pythias, in both of which societies he has occupied the higher offices. Mr. Jones is vice-president of the Board of Visitors of the State School for the Deaf at Frederick."

I wanted to learn a little more about Mr. Jones' time in the Maryland Senate and found the following passage in the Maryland Archives as it  appears the Maryland State House Annex building was his idea.

"Jones took a leadership role in the construction of the State House Annex at the beginning of the twentieth century. As a state senator, Jones served on the Executive Committee of the State House Building Commission. On the Building Commission, he frequently participated in meetings regarding the funding and contracts for the State House refurbishment and construction of the State House Annex. In August 1902, the Baltimore Sun reported that the idea for the Annex was Jones' and that he submitted the appropriations bill to fund the restoration and construction. Jones' original bill requested $400,000, but at the request of the Governor and Treasury officials, he changed his request to $250,000, with the understanding that any additional money would be provided during the next legislative session."​
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Exterior of the Maryland State House Annex
​"Jones was elected President of the State Senate on January 4, 1904, and gave a speech that emphasized the importance of completing construction on the State House:

'So with the sunshine of prosperity, honor and usefulness upon us should we hesitate to make this house a beautiful, lasting and appropriate expression of our gratitude for, and pride in, the achievements of our people? It is with sadness that we are compelled by the necessities of the situation to vacate the old Senate Chamber, memorable in the history of the State, and in which cluster associations which strike a tender chord in the heart of every true Marylander. Let us have it restored as near as, possible to its original condition and sacredly preserve it as the holiest of all in this temple of our liberties.'
(Archives of Maryland, Vol. 401, pp. 10)

​A major focus of Jones' speech was that the Legislature should provide the necessary funding to complete the work on the State House and that such work must maintain the original character of the building."

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Even despite some alleged "funny business" during the election, Jones' term in the Senate ended with his defeat in a primary by Blair Lee in 1905.
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Frederick News (Aug 7, 1905)
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Baltimore Sun (Aug 7, 1905)
​Spencer Cone Jones lived the bulk of his adult life as a widower. His wife, Ellen, had died back in July 1876 and was laid to rest in Rockville Baptist Church Cemetery. Spencer continued to live in Rockville afterwards, and can be found on the northwest corner of Washington and Jefferson streets in the 1910 census with his profession listed as president of the Montgomery County National Bank. The property would eventually be sold to the Baptist Church of Rockville.

​He would regularly leave Maryland to spend winters living with his daughter Elizabeth, and her husband, Thomas R. Falvy, in New Orleans. This is where Spencer Cone Jones would die on April 1st, 1915. His body would be sent to Frederick for burial in the family plot in Mount Olivet in Area E/Lot 48 next to his wife and parents. She had been re-interred to Mount Olivet in May, 1888.
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Jones' obituary in the Cumberland Evening Times (Sept. 4, 1915)
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Spencer's grave stands in the center of the Falvys (left) and his wife Ellen (right).
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Spencer's daughter and son-in-law (the Falvys) would be interred Mount Olivet upon their deaths within the family plot originally purchased at the time of Spencer's mother's death in the 1860s.

​Just a parting word on Spencer's father, Rev. Joseph Hawkins Jones, born December 3rd, 1798 in Fairfax VA. He was the son of Charles Jones of Ireland (immigrated to the US in 1793) and Prudence Hawkins of Providence, Rhode Island. Joseph Hawkins Jones was ordained a minister in the Baptist Church in 1820 and served in Rockville.  Both are buried directly behind Spencer.

Rev. Jones married Elizabeth Clagett of Montgomery County in 1821 and had at least five known children in addition to Spencer (who was the youngest). All are buried with him and his wife in the family plot in Area E/Lot 48: Ann Elizabeth Jones (1825-1888), Susan Prudence (1827-1828), John Hawkins Jones (1829-1830), another John Hawkins Jones (1831-1833), and a second Susan Prudence (1833-1834) The four children who never reached maturity were moved here in 1907 from their original burial place in Rockville.

I learned more about Rev. Jones' career and death from the following information compiled from the archival minutes of Barnesville Baptist Church (Barnesville, MD):

"In 1845, after 24 years of service Mr. Jones resigned his pastorate of Rockville Baptist Church and moved to Frederick, Maryland. While living there, he preached at Barnesville in school houses &c, and after the close of the Civil War, a church was organized at that place and regularly supplied by him, and a meeting house was built under his auspices. Much of this time he was actively engaged in missionary work in Frederick County distributing Bibles among the destitute and needy and preaching at other regular appointments.

In 1864 his wife, who had been a help-mate in all his labors of love for more than 40 years, departed this life. This severe trial, with a rather delicate state of health, induced him to spend his winters with his son-Judge Clagett Jones of King & Queen Co., Va. About 1871, the house of worship near Barnesville was erected as a monument to his faithful life work. Thence he was called home to his Father’s house on above, Dec. 31, 1871."
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Barnesville Baptist Church in 1948. The church is still in active use today and is located at 7917 Barnesville Road in Barnesvlle, Montgomery County
​"He was a man of strong faith and untiring energy. Where ever a sense of duty led, there he was bound to go and do his best. He was never known to fail in meeting his appointments, unless something beyond his control prevented. His was a remarkably kind heart, with a strong tenacity for what he conscientiously believed, and he candidly proclaimed his convictions of what was right. His preaching and conversations seemed more bent on instructing and comforting Christians than the converting of sinners. His style of preaching was similar to that of the venerable Jeremiah Moore—“well versed in scripture, often giving lucid explanations of different passages. Christian experience was with him a favorite theme. His life was an ornament to religion as a man, a Christian, a preacher, he was an honor to his Country, the Church, his family and himself. He was cheerful even when suffering and joyful during his last illness, his last words were 'Happy, happy, happy.' "

Rev. Joseph Hawkins Jones died in King and Queen County, VA on December 31st, 1871 at age 73, and would be buried in Mount Olivet four days later.
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Grave of Rev. Joseph H Jones(1798-1871) Area E/Lot 48
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Elizabeth Clagett Jones (1794-1864)
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Jones children removed to Mount Olivet from Rockville in 1907
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Elizabeth Jones (1825-1888)
What's in a Name?
I had to go down another rabbit hole to see how Spencer Jones gained his "conical" name. It was a quick search that led me to a man named Spencer H. Cone. ​

​Spencer Houghton Cone was an American clergyman born April 13th, 1785 in Princeton, New Jersey. He entered Princeton University at the age of twelve, but two years later, because of his father’s illness, left his studies. At sixteen he was master in a school at Burlington, NJ and next moved to Philadelphia. Finding his salary insufficient to support his family, he first studied law, but abandoned it and turned to the stage. This vocation did not especially appeal to him, and was strongly opposed by his devout mother who considered it not respectable. He first appeared in "Mahomet" in 1805 and subsequently was successful on the stage. But this profession was distasteful to him and he soon left it.
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Rev. Spencer H. Cone (1785-1855)
​In 1812, Spencer H. Cone joined the Baltimore American newspaper as treasurer and bookkeeper. Soon afterward, in connection with his brother-in-law, John Norvell, he purchased and published the Baltimore Whig. During the War of 1812, he was at the Battle of Bladensburg with Norvell and the account of this experience has been chronicled in "Some Account of the Life of Spencer Houghton Cone, A Baptist Preacher in America," published in New York in 1856.
 
Cone then became a clerk in the treasury department in Washington. After moving there, he began to preach with remarkable success. He was converted to the Baptist Church in 1814. In 1815-1816 he became Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives. About 1823, Pastor Cone moved to the Oliver Street Church, New York, where he remained for eighteen years. He then became pastor of the 1st Baptist church there. In 1832, Spencer Cone became president of the Baptist triennial convention, and was re-elected until 1841. From 1837 till 1850, he was president of the American and Foreign Bible society. On the formation of the American Bible Union, Cone was made its president, and so continued until his death on August 28, 1855.
 
At the zenith of his career, he was probably the most popular and influential Baptist minister in the United States. It's no wonder that a man of profound faith such as Rev. Joseph Hawkins Jones would name his son after Rev. Cone. It is likely to assume, that he  (Rev. Jones) met/knew this man during his lifetime.

In closing, I find it fascinating that my subject had such a connection to the Baptist Church in name, family and spirit. The central tenet of the Baptist faith tradition "teaches that people are born again when they believe that Jesus died for their sin, and was buried, and rose again." 

As for my cat Bilbo, he too, must feel "Born again" in having his cone removed. At this moment, he seems to have found a grocery bag to hang out in. From the looks of him, he continues to seem "Happy, happy, happy!"
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Bilbo Baggins(in bag) formerly known as "Coney the Cat"
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Visiting Spirits & Kindred Souls (Pt. 2)

11/8/2024

1 Comment

 
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​This is the second part of a story which I began last week regarding ghosts frequenting Mount Olivet. While I have not personally seen any of the kind, that doesn’t rule out whether there have been visits, and/or if any said spirits still exist "in residence" along with their own mortal remains. I guess one could say when it comes to Mount Olivet, and the presence of apparitions of any of our cemetery residents, you have to look at "what can be, unburdened by what has been."
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Our cemetery opened its gates to burials over 170 years ago, so it’s quite possible that we've had some unique visitors from the community's past frequent our property in the present. This will likely continue into the future as well. In the meantime, there is plenty of space for the supernatural to roam over a hundred acres which boasts over 41,000 interments.
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In folklore, a ghost is the soul, or spirit, of a dead person that can appear to the living. Wikipedia describes ghosts as “varying from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions.”

According to Daniel Cohen’s Encyclopedia of Ghosts (1984):
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“The belief in the existence of an afterlife, as well as manifestations of the spirits of the dead is widespread, dating back to animism or ancestor worship in pre-literate cultures. Certain religious practices—funeral rites, exorcisms, and some practices of spiritualism and ritual magic—are specifically designed to rest the spirits of the dead. Ghosts are generally described as solitary, human-like essences, though stories of ghostly armies and the ghosts of animals rather than humans have also been recounted. They are believed to haunt particular locations, objects, or people they were associated with in life.”

Back in March, 2018, I wrote one of these “Story in Stones” about a gentleman buried here in Mount Olivet who has been said to have been haunting a mansion located in the northern part of the county. This house, built in 1808, is named Auburn, and a former resident of that home, Edward McPherson (1827-1848) is buried in our Area E. Auburn was built by Baker Johnson, brother of Gov. Thomas Johnson, Jr. It is located on the west side of US 15 near Catoctin Furnace, a few miles south of Thurmont in northern Frederick County.

​Many residents of Auburn have reported that they heard the mysterious sounds of someone slowly climbing the back servants’ stairway of the 19-room, colonial home. These were relatives and descendants of the greater McPherson family (of which Edward belonged). Our subject died in 1848 in Mexico during a duel fought between two military officers engaged in the Mexican War.

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Auburn Mansion (built 1808 by Baker Johnson, brother of Gov. Thomas Johnson, Jr.
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Lt. Edward McPherson (1827-1848)
​Anyway, "Sir Edward,” as the ghost has been called, has been frequenting Auburn, but who knows if he has ever haunted Mount Olivet. The word “haunting,” is a strong term defined as having a deeply disquieting or disturbing effect. It also can be defined as poignant and evocative; difficult to ignore or forget.
I’ve recently learned about a few other folks whose mortal remains reside in Mount Olivet, but have reportedly been hanging around their homestead just north of Walkersville. Their names are Henry R. Harris and wife Clarissa Harris.
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Henry R. Harris plot in Frederick's Mount Olivet in Area R/Lots 121 &122
​I first heard these Harris names, a popular one this year, when I had the good fortune to catch up with an old friend of mine named Ron Layman at the Great Frederick Fair a few months back. While there, Ron told me that he had been spending his retirement doing housework—literal house demolition and refurbishing in the process of rehabilitating a familiar historic home on the grounds of a popular Frederick County park. This happens to be the Heritage Manor House on the grounds of Walkersville Heritage Farm Park located at 9236 Devilbiss Bridge Road near the intersection with Glade Road and salubrious Glade Creek. The farmstead is seen as “a shining example of rural domestic agricultural architecture.”
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​For the last five years, Ron Layman, a former Boy Scout leader, has been volunteering with others to bring back a magical farmhouse to its original glory. The location has been known by many names, and best known as the Harris Farm. The property dates back to the county’s beginning when it took its original name Hawthorne Bottom. The Cramer family of Germany are said to have constructed the first farm in the year 1746 (when we were still part of Prince Georges County). This led to the moniker of Hawthorne Farm.
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The main house and farmstead that exists today was built in 1855 by the forementioned Henry R. Harris. He owned the property, but the actual craftsman builder was one John W. Winebrenner, the founder of the Glade Church of God. The three-story, center plan house was constructed in predominantly late Greek Revival style, with some Italianate elements. The agricultural complex consists of a bank barn with an attached granary; a second frame barn that shares an animal yard with the bank barn; a row of frame outbuildings including a converted garage, a workshop, and a chicken house. There is also a drive-through double corn crib; and a frame pig pen from 1914.
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​The 20th-century buildings consist of a frame poultry house, a dairy barn with milk house and two silos, and an octagonal chicken coop. An early lime kiln is located on the edge of the property with the entire complex preserved as part of the Walkersville Heritage Farm Park.
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​The Harris Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, decades after the last permanent occupants lived here. These were renters of the house and farmstead who vacated upon its sale in 1986. Apparently, Frederick County Government rented a room herein to a local Walkersville athletic association who used it for storage of athletic equipment and occasional meetings.
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Ron Layman has been associated with the building for five years now, coming almost weekly to provide his skills as a volunteer laborer. For many years, Ron served as head scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop #274 before retiring in 2017. He has continued to lead young men in scouting with this Harris Farm house project. Four years ago, Ron got the Boy Scouts of Troop 274, along with other Frederick County troops, involved in helping him with house repairs and renovation. As part of this agreement, two rejuvenated rooms have been used for Boy Scout district meetings, Eagle Badge boards, scout training programs, meetings of the Walkersville Boy Scout Troop, and a program called “Sunday’s for Santa”—an annual fundraiser.
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Ron Layman (right) affixes a pin on the uniform of a Boy Scout
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These photos (l-r) are from the "Home of the Brave" Commemorative event in Mount Olivet back in Sept, 2014
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I’ve worked with Ron dating back to my Cable 10 television days as we featured topics on the Frederick Boy Scout program. The same holds true when I was at the Tourism Council of Frederick County. I fondly recall Mr. Layman and Troop 274’s helping with our luminary event held in 2014 at Mount Olivet to commemorate the writing of "the Star-Spangled Banner. This event was called "Home of the Brave."
Ron’s scouts served as tiki torch chaperones that evening, keeping vigil over 108 veteran gravesites of our Frederick County 1812 soldiers. I'm sure the scouts were joined that night of September 13th-14th by the spirits of those men who helped in defending Baltimore from the British during the 25-hour bombardment.
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As a matter of fact, Ron Layman, himself, has been with me in spirit through my trusty lantern. You see, he built it for me in his workshop. I've used this particular wooden lantern for years now while conducting candlelight tours here at the cemetery. I utilized this lantern six times in recent weeks as I presented the 2024 edition of the “Unsettling” Candlelight Tour of Mount Olivet.
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​Made by the hands of Ron Layman, my lantern continues to serve as a true intermediary between both myself, and the potential ghosts of those buried here­ in our cemetery. Speaking of intermediaries, Ron told me that last year a local spiritualist/paranormalist was brought in to “feel the place out” after some evocative happenstances.
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The professional "ghostbuster" in question here was Rhonda Russo, who gave a riveting lecture to a large group of participants at the former Harris Farm home on October 26th, 2023. Ms. Russo next helped conduct an investigation, and found that the original housebuilders (Mr. and Mrs. Harris) were still “haunting” the house, in spirit of course. Ms. Russo shared that these first residents of the home were quite happy with the fine renovation work being done by Ron and the scouts. A better testimonial could not be given. However, I guess it can be a little intimidating and unnerving knowing that these humble remodelers are not alone, but instead are being supervised by Henry R. and wife Clarissa Harris who died in 1878 and 1901 respectively. By the way, both individuals died in the house.
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​I was previously aware of this house by sight only, and up until recently had no idea that the original residents were buried within Mount Olivet. While I haven't been inside the farm house, I have spent many hours of my life sitting on the greater farmstead property while watching numerous baseball games played by my son Eddie. This period was when he played for Frederick Babe Ruth and Frederick American Legion’s baseball team in games versus some talented Glade Valley Babe Ruth teams, and Woodsboro Legion squads. Here, I sat and watched several "end of season" tournaments on the various ball diamonds positioned just a couple hundred yards away from the farmhouse which stands proudly at the entrance of the park.
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I have tried to find photos of Henry and Clarissa Harris to no avail, as I’d like to be able to recognize them if they happen to frequent their gravesite here in Mount Olivet’s historic section. According to Ron Layman, no one has had a clear look at them at the Harris farmhouse either, but at least we know they are “there in spirit,” and “alive and well,” at least, in the greater Walkersville area. I will also call out Heritage Frederick to be on the lookout as well, because I’ve learned they are the keepers of the Harris family bible. You never know when this couple may want to peruse it for old times sake!?
​So, let’s talk about Mr. and Mrs. Harris, whose impressive grave monument occupies two large family plots on an elevation in Mount Olivet’s Area R—not far from the grave of Gov. Thomas Johnson and Barbara Fritchie. 
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​Henry and Clarissa Harris
Henry Ross Harris was born in Frederick County on September 6th, 1820. He was one of eight known children, and was the eldest son of Franklin Harris (1790-bef 1850) and wife Elizabeth Claybaugh (1796-1850). Henry appears to have received an education and studied law as I have seen him described as an esquire in newspaper mentions of the mid-19th century. He was also a state legislator and gentleman farmer exemplified by the fact that he owned this beautiful plantation now comprising Walkersville Heritage Park.

Henry married the former Clarissa Barrick on July 26th, 1843. Miss Barrick, born December 17th, 1821, was the daughter of Frederick Barrick and Catharina Cramer. It appears this property came down through Clarissa’s family as her father, Frederick Barrick, is identified as a son of Jacob Barrick and Rosanna Devilbiss, large property owners in the area. You may recognize the Barrick name in relation to nearby Woodsboro’s legacy of quarrying (Barrick Quarry), and of course, who can forget the water crossing that has made famous (or almost famous) the Devilbiss name—Devilbiss Bridge.

Henry Harris bought 120 acres of land (part of "Jacob's Lot Well Bounded") from John W. and Catharine Barrick and Margaret Barrick, widow of a man named George Barrick, in 1845. My assistant Marilyn Veek provided me with lineage charts and info, while explaining  that John W. Barrick was Clarissa’s first cousin, and that George and Margaret Barrick were her paternal uncle and aunt.
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I first found Henry and Clarissa Harris here at this property, and living within the manor house, in the 1850 US Census. They are joined by a daughter, Julia A. Harris, born October 26th, 1846.
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1850 US Census showing the Harris family living at the former Hawthorne Farm near Walkersville. (Note the Barrick relatives that lived on an adjacent farm).
​Subsequent census records were found, but not much info can be gleaned outside of Henry’s written occupation as a farmer. The interpretive panel outside the farmhouse states that Henry began as a local teacher at the Old Glade School House, located basically across the road from his home. I would find several vintage news advertisements (in the 1860s and 1870s) pertaining to Henry’s political aspirations and service in state government. There is also proof of his strong Union leanings during the American Civil War, and he conducted many auctions of nearby farms and estates.
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Frederick Citizen (Oct 9, 1861)
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Maryland Union (Oct. 21, 1969)
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1870 US Census
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​A National Register of Historic Places report by the Maryland Heritage Trust can easily be found online and provides information gleaned through existing histories, tax assessments and census records from the second half of the 19th century.
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​Henry would not be enumerated in the 1880 census because he died two years earlier on November 24th, 1878. I checked that particular year to see when Thanksgiving was celebrated. I found it was November 28th, so I think we are safe from Henry not dying on Thanksgiving Day, thus being particularly “unsettled” on the holiday. I learned a great deal more about the man (Henry R. Harris) courtesy of his obituary which appeared in the December 12th, 1878 edition of Frederick’s Maryland Union newspaper. I had no idea that he was a captain!
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Maryland Union (Nov 27, 1878). Note that this article erroneously states that Henry was buried at the Glade Church.
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Maryland Union (Nov 27, 1878)
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​And to think, I could have titled this particular blog story "Death by newspaper." We pick back up by seeing Henry’s widow continuing to live at the property which appears in the 1873 Titus Atlas Map. The National Register of Historic Places report continues in talking about Clarissa cohabitating with an assortment of relatives and farmhands.
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1900 US Census showing Clarissa Harris and family
​Clarissa Harris passed away on April 19th, 1901. Her obituary would appear in the Frederick News the very next day.
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Frederick News (April 20, 1901)
​Mrs. Harris would join her husband in the gravesite in Mount Olivet. However, as we have seen, their spirits appear to have remained at the farmstead on Devilbiss Bridge Road. Daughter Julia Amanda Liggett took over ownership of the property, however her time as the “mistress of the manor” would be brief as she died on December 5th, 1905.
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Frederick News (Dec 6, 1905)
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Frederick News (Dec 13, 1905)
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​The land remained in the greater Harris family until Julia’s son (Henry and Clarissa’s grandson), Henry Ross Harris Liggett, sold the property, by then 192 acres, to Charles Sager in 1932. Henry Liggett is buried in the Harris plot in Area R as well, and his name adorns the south side of the large monument.

Soon after the sale to CharlesSager, a couple from Calvert County purchased the farm in 1933. Their names were Jefferson and Mary Patterson. Some may be familiar with Mr. Patterson, a former US diplomat, as his name is synonymous with Maryland archaeology and preservation.
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Jefferson Patterson (1891-1977)
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Mary Marvin (Breckenridge) Patterson(1905-2002)
​Jefferson Patterson (May 14th, 1891 – November 12th, 1977) was an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Uruguay under Dwight D. Eisenhower, from 1956 to 1958. He married Mary Marvin (Breckinridge) Patterson in 1940. He also had assignments in Berlin, Belgium, Egypt, Greece, and the UN Special Committee on the Balkans. In addition, Mr. Patterson wrote a book, Diplomatic Duty and Diversion. He worked at the U.S. Embassy in Paris during World War II, and was in charge of French prisoners of war before the transfer of protecting power from the United States to Vichy, France.
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former Patterson Home at the state park
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former bank barn
​Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum (JPPM) is a 560-acre state park and museum located along the Patuxent River in St. Leonard, Calvert County, Maryland. The property of JPPM was given to the State of Maryland by Mary Marvin Patterson in 1983 in honor of her husband Jefferson Patterson. Both Jefferson and Mary are buried in Washington, DC's Rock Creek Cemetery. 
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Patterson gravestone in Washington DC's Rock Creek Cemetery
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Jefferson-Patterson Park is in lower Calvert County in Southern Maryland on the Patuxent River
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​Many of its buildings were designed by early female architect Gertrude Sawyer starting in the 1930s. The property has more than 70 identified archaeological sites, with current excavation and research being conducted. The land features 9,000 years of documented human occupation. The visitor center, located in a former cattle barn, features displays about the Pattersons, and about the science of archaeology and the work being done on the property.

The Exhibit Barn features a War of 1812 exhibit and displays of antique farm equipment. The 1812 Battle of St. Leonard's Creek occurred here, and a neighboring property, called the Brewhouse, is the ancestral home of the Johnson family and birthplace of our Gov. Thomas Johnson, Jr.
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The Maryland Archaelogy Conservation (MAC) Lab at Jefferson-Patterson Park in Calvert County
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MAC Lab instruction
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JPPM is also the home of the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab), which houses almost 10 million artifacts. The MAC Lab serves as a clearinghouse for archaeological collections recovered from land-based and underwater projects conducted by State and Federal agencies throughout Maryland. Many artifacts from Frederick County, such as Native-American spearpoints and ceramic vessels, reside in this state government repository. All of these collections are available for further research, education, and exhibit purposes to all students, scholars, museum curators, and educators. 
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The old Harris Farm that occupies Walkersville Heritage Farm Park is a special place. It's safe to say that Henry and Clarissa Harris have a number of people to thank for preserving the legacy of their beautiful home over the 160 years since it was built. We, at Mount Olivet, are also proud to be in the position to preserve their "final home" and resting place here in Mount Olivet—whether they are at rest, or on the move!
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Ron Layman for his assistance with this story, along with Jody Brumage of Heritage Frederick.
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Visiting Spirits & Kindred Souls (Pt.I)

10/31/2024

2 Comments

 
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PictureThe author's "orb encounter" of fall of 2014.
Seven years ago, I wrote a blog entitled All Hallow's Eve at Mount Olivet in which I revealed that I have yet to see a ghost in the vicinity of Frederick County's largest, and most historic burying ground.

I'm here many nights under the cloak of darkness, and, more recently, have been conducting my annual "Unsettling" Candlelight walking tours of the cemetery. I'm now in my 13th year of leading people around this "City of the Dead" with no incidents, save for the time I had some orbs flying around my head back about a decade ago. Oh, and just last week, I was talking about a decedent named Emory Moberly Nusz (1866-1893) who owned a cigar store in town back in the late 1800s. He was killed in a railroad accident when he decided to jump off a train at Point of Rocks before it had come to a complete stop. All of a sudden, while relaying his tale, many participants on the tour began commenting that they smelled cigar smoke....and no human was "puffing away" in the cemetery that I could see.

As I mentioned in that story back then,  even though I haven't seen ghosts, doesn't mean that they don't exist. And even if they do exist, doesn't mean that they are "camped out" here in the cemetery near their respective mortal remains. Think about it, if you were a ghost, wouldn't you rather be floating around in the comfort of your own home, hanging around descendants or visiting a favorite vacation spot? Heck, I'd enjoy lingering around a concert venue, sporting complex, or other source of "mortal pleasure" enjoyed while alive and well.

All Hallows’ Eve is a celebration observed on October 31st in a number of countries. This marks the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day, better known as All Saints Day, followed by All Soul’s Day. This three-day period that comprises Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed. 

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Image of a Mexican cemetery during the Day of the Dead commemoration period.
On a website entitled Manoamano.nyc, I would learn the following about Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead, an important celebration in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times.

The Mexica [meˈxika] (Aztecs) memorialized their dead for two months in the summer: Miccailhuitontli (for children) and Hueymicailhuitl (for adults). Spaniards introduced the Catholic calendar and moved the practice of honoring the dead to All Souls Day, celebrated on November 2nd.

The tradition is rooted in the native Mexican belief that life on earth is a preparation for the next world and that it is important to maintain a strong relationship with the dead. Families gather in the cemetery during this celebration to welcome the souls on their annual visit. In the houses, people prepare altars known as ofrendas with traditional ephemeral elements for the season, such as cempasúchil (marigold) flowers, copal incense, fresh pan de muerto bread, candles, papel picado, and Calaveras (sugar skulls). Photographs, mementos, and favorite items used by the departed are included.
 
The Mexica believed that when a person died, their teyolia, or inner force, went to one of several afterworlds, depending on how they died, their social position, and their profession (not by their conduct in life). There were special afterworlds for children, warriors, women in labor, and those who died by drowning. This tradition continues today with special altars built on specific days to honor different groups: October 28 for those who died in accidental or violent deaths, October 29 for individuals who drowned, October 30 for forgotten and lonely souls, October 31 for unborn children, November 1 for deceased children, and November 2 for adults who died a natural death, as well as for all other deceased adults. 


Although we don't have official exercises here at Mount Olivet in connection with the Day of the Dead, reminders of the soul, the afterlife, and spiritual journey are captured within monument design, gravestone iconography, scripture and other quotes found on the faces of funerary markers here. An interesting example is the grave monument adorning a gentleman named Daniel Fout. This marble marker can be found in Area M/Lot 69 along our western cemetery boundary.
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Under the typical name and vital statistics of the decedent, a clever poem can be read by the keen-eyed "tombstone tourist:"

"There is but a step between me & death.

Remember friend as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I;
As I am now, so you must be,
​Prepare yourself to follow me."
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Our diarist, Jacob Engelbrecht, even chimed in on Fout's demise. 

"Died this afternoon in the 24th year of his age Mr. Daniel Fout of this county. His death was occasioned by being thrown from a horse and instantly died. He was to have been married on next Thursday to Miss Scholl on the Georgetown Road. Buried on the Lutheran graveyard."
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Monday, January 18th, 1830 
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Southern Patriot of Charleston, SC (Jan 30, 1830)
A brief newspaper account from the Republican Compiler, Gettysburg, PA of February 2nd, 1830 gives a bit more information on the accident:

"Fatal Accident - On Monday the 18th ult. as a Mr. Daniel Fout, of this vicinity, was returning home from town, his horse run against a tree with such violence, as to cause almost instant death."
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Our subject was born on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1805​ to parents Daniel Fout (1771-1810) and Barbara Fout (1775-1841). It is thought that he was born on the family farm and was not the first child of the couple's six known offspring to receive his father's name. There was an earlier son Daniel born April 11th, 1800 but died August 31st, 1804. He is buried in this same plot (Area M/Lot 69) which sits just south of the end of Confederate Row.
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Our records note that both brothers, by the name of Daniel, were reinterred here in Mount Olivet on May 20th, 1908 after formerly being buried on the Fout family farm south of Mount Olivet and Frederick City. Of course, this raises a discrepancy here with Engelbrecht's account of the horse riding Daniel remark that Daniel was buried in the Lutheran Graveyard. 

The four other children of Daniel and Barbara Fout include: Jacob Fout (1797-1806), Lewis Fout (1801-1857), Otho Fout (1804-1835), and Charlotte Fout (1809-date unknown) None of these siblings are buried here in this plot in Area M, however Lewis and Otho appear elsewhere in the cemetery.
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Lewis Fout's grave is in Area P/Lot 126. He is buried next to 3rd wife Mary Ann Late and is said to have originally been buried in the Evangelical Lutheran Graveyard at the time of his death in 1857.
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Otho Fout (1804-1835) is buried in Area E/Lot 97 with wife Catherine Crum. His obituary states that he died of "a lingering disease" in his 31st year of life.
Daniel Fout's mother, Barbara, is buried a few yards away from his grave in Area M/Lot 69. Her first husband (Daniel) died in 1810, and she would remarry a man named John Lane (1771-1849), a native of Yarmouth, England. The couple wed on June 3rd, 1819.
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As I "dug deeper" into the genealogy of this family, I found that Daniel and Barbara Fout were first cousins. Daniel's father was immigrant Jacob Fout (1728-1774) born in Sinsheim, a town in southwestern Germany in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden Wurtemberg about 14 miles southeast of Heidelberg. Wife, (and cousin), Barbara was the daughter of Balthazar Fout (1736-1798), born here in America. Balthazar and Jacob Fout were brothers, both the sons of Jacob Pfaut/Faut (1701-1750) born in the village of Rohrbach located in Friedberg within Bavaria in southern Germany.  Rohrbach is northwest of Munich.
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An image of Friedberg, Germany
​The name Fout is also used as a nickname for a puffing person, from a noun derivative of Middle High German phusen meaning, "to breathe hard, puff." In early records, the name can be seen written as Pfaut, Pfout, and Faut.

The Fout family farm was located on northern Carrollton Manor, not far from Mount Olivet by way of New Design Road. Shown below is a portion of the Titus Atlas Map of 1873. I invite you to locate the notation that reads "Heirs of L. Fout," near bottom of this map. Their property was known as "Rocky Creek," bought by Jacob Pfaut/Faut (the adult immigrant) in 1738. Jacob would also purchase "Goose Nest," an adjacent tract of 30 acres, in 1752. The properties are located on the west side of New Design Road, just north of Ballenger Creek. This is now the general vicinity of the intersection of New Design Road and Corporate Boulevard.
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Inset from Titus Atlas Map of 1873
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​Daniel Fout's will of 1811 left property to his wife Barbara while his children were still minors at the time of his death. It was directed to be equally divided among them at a later time. In 1835, surviving son Lewis sold the property to John Lane, who had married his mother Barbara.

John would outlive Barbara. When John Lane died in 1849, he left the property in trust to George Fout for the benefit of Lewis Fout's children, as he had promised Barbara he would. This was formalized by a deed in 1868 after the children reached adulthood. Several of the children sold their rights in the property to their siblings George Late, Elizabeth and Mary Catherine Fout. George, Elizabeth and Mary would sell the property to Eugene Sponseller in 1905.
Let's get back to our original subject Daniel Fout, the young man who died while riding a horse, or falling off said horse. His evocative gravestone prose speaks volumes as a clever verse that reads like a riddle. I go back to the Engelbrecht diary passage and was struck with the fact that our subject was engaged and about to be married. All we can glean is that her name was Miss Scholl and they were to be married on the Georgetown Pike.

This was very interesting to me, and I made an attempt to find this woman. If eternal soulmates, perhaps it would be this Miss Scholl who could be a person of interest who might engage in "ghosting" around the particular plot of fiancé Daniel Fout. Likewise, if I could find Miss Scholl's grave, perhaps Daniel's spirit could be a frequent visitor there.  
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A magician raising a ghost, illustration by W. Raphael from The Astrologer of the Nineteenth Century, 1825
If you take another look at that Titus Atlas of 1873, you will note that the greater Fout family owned property north and south of that owned by Daniel Scholl, and his plantation known as Manchester.  This is where Margaret Scholl grew up, being the daughter of Daniel and Mary Susan (Thomas) Scholl. You may know this Miss Scholl by her married name, Margaret Hood, the benefactress of Frederick's Hood College. Margaret Scholl Hood was born in 1833 (and died in 1913) and represents the wrong generation in question, as her parents were contemporaries with our subject Daniel Fout. However, Mrs. Hood's family namesake could have been our missing fiancée.

In looking closely at this family, and predicting the convenience of amour with "the girl next door," Daniel Scholl, son of 1812 veteran Christian Scholl (1768-1826), had at least three known sisters reach adulthood. One of these, Mary Elizabeth (1816-1886), can be discounted from our conversation as she was too young to marry in 1830 at 14 years of age. She would marry a man named Daniel Bentz in 1833 at the age of 17. Mr. Bentz died in 1842, and the former Miss Scholl would marry John H. Brunner (1813-1871). She would die in November, 1866 and is buried in Mount Olivet's Area C/Lot 134.

That leaves Catherine Scholl (1799-1878) and Rebecca Scholl (1807-1838). Catherine married Aeneas Hedges and is buried in Mount Olivet's Area C/Lot 85. I disqualify her because she married in 1820 and I was tickled to see that one of her sons was Lycurgus Hedges of whom I wrote an entire "Story in Stone" back in January 2019.

Rebecca Scholl married Cornelius Shriner in 1829, so she too can be scratched off the possibility list. This couple rests in perpetual peace in Area G/Lot 159. 
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Ledger graves of Mary Elizabeth (Scholl) Bruner and husband John H. Bruner in Area C/Lot 134
After a little more exploration, I started thinking about Jacob Engelbrecht's comment that the couple were to be married on the Georgetown Pike. This eventually had me looking for residences of the Scholl family on the main thoroughfare between Frederick and Washington, DC. We know this as Maryland route 355 today. I soon found an old advertisement from the early 1800s that mentioned a tavern belonging to Jacob Frederick Scholl which was located in Clarksburg, just over the line in Montgomery County. 
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Frederick Hornet (Sept 4, 1804)
This led me to thinking that the wedding could have well been planned for Scholl's Tavern, a very popular destination on the Old Georgetown Pike. It now dawned upon me that Miss Scholl was likely related to this Frederick Scholl, who was kin to the other Scholls from Frederick.

​Frederick Scholl had purchased this tavern in 1800. The inn had earlier been known as Dowden's Ordinary since 1750, when Michael Ashford Dowden received a license to keep an ordinary at his home. Frederick Scholl obtained a tavern keeper's license soon after buying the property, and he and his wife Catherine operated the inn until his death in 1815. The tavern remained in the hands of the Scholl family until 1834. I don't have time for another drawn-out history story, but I will tell you that this historic tavern site had direct ties to the legendary Stamp Act Repudiation of 1765 by Frederick County's "Immortal Justices." 

If anything else, this tavern had to be the proposed site of Daniel's impending nuptials in late January of 1830. However, Frederick did not have any eligible daughters for Daniel Fout in the years leading up to untimely death in 1834.
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Scholl's Tavern in upper left in a painting done by Benjamin Latrobe in 1811
After floundering in my quest to discover the mystery  fiancée of Daniel Fout, I would learn that his brother Lewis had actually taken a daughter of John Scholl (1772-1848) for a wife in 1829. This was Elizabeth M. Scholl, daughter of John and Catherine (Brengle) Scholl. Elizabeth had two sisters who could have been eligible bachelorettes for Daniel Fout in the late 1820s. These included Margaret Scholl (1808-1899) and Catherine Scholl (1810-1899). Both ladies would "tie the knot" in the year 1833: Margaret married Frederick William Cramer (1809-1866); and Catherine married Thomas Jefferson Myers (1811-1850).

​It's very likely that there was a relationship between these ladies and Daniel because they were one-time in-laws in the late 1820s. Saying that, there is a very good chance that one of these women could have been devastated in January, 1830 with the death of Daniel Fout as his soon-to-be wife. She would have to start again at square one leading to a marriage three years later if this was the case.

If Daniel wants to visit the grave of either of these ladies, he will be lingering in Frankfort, Indiana, or better yet, Area E near the John Scholl family plot. 
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Grave of Margaret (Scholl) and Frederick William Kramer in Greenlawn Cemetery, Frankfort, Indiana
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Grave of Catherine (Scholl) and Thomas Jefferson Myers in Mount Olivet's Area E/Lot 203
​Speaking of devastated by death of a significant other, Lewis Fout had experienced this tragedy just four months earlier with the death of his young bride. The aforementioned Elizabeth M. (Scholl) Fout would die one day short of her 27th birthday on September 13th, 1829 just months after her marriage to Lewis Fout on February 4th, 1829. The following obituary comes from the Frederick Town Herald newspaper of September 19th, 1829:  
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Frederick Town Herald (Sept 19, 1829)
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Graves of John, Elizabeth and daughter Elizabeth M. (Scholl) Fout in Mount Olivet's Area E/Lot 196.
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Elizabeth Scholl was the second wife of Lewis Fout and lived from 1809-1829
So, using the above logic with Daniel Fout and his mystery Miss Scholl possibly visiting each other in our cemtery's Area M (Fout plot) or Area E (Scholl plot) or elsewhere as apparitions, maybe Elizabeth M. (Scholl) Fout could be found in "spirit form" hovering around her own final resting place or that of former husband Lewis Fout in Area P? However, I don't know the etiquette or the possibility of reciprocal visits from Lewis to her location in Area E since Lewis remarried, and his "last" wife," Mary Ann (Late) Fout, is buried right beside him.
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I would also learn from diarist Jacob Engelbrecht that Lewis Fout had married three times in total. In order of things, I had been unaware of a third wife, but soon saw notations for all three in our Mount Olivet database. This lady was actually Lewis Fout's first wife named Lydia Ann (Routzahn). Lydia died within her first year of marriage to the man, as well, the same fate of Elizabeth. On November 6th, 1827, Engelbrecht would write:

"Died Suddenly today in the 24th year of her age, Mrs. Lydia Ann Fout consort of Mr. Lewis Fout & daughter of Mr. Routzahn near Middletown. They were married on the 15th of February last. Buried in the graveyard at Mr. Lane's farm."

Lydia was not moved to Mount Olivet like others that had been buried on the Fout family farm that would eventually be known as the Lane farm at the time Engelbrecht wrote this entry. Perhaps she is still there, or maybe her mortal remains are somewhere in the Middletown Valley where Routzahns have always reigned supreme.
I'd like to wrap up part I of this spirited, yet painful, genealogical heavy "Story in Stone." Let's conclude by deciphering the message that can be found on Daniel Fout's mother's gravestone. While not as clever as the first quote we started this story on upon Daniel's gravestone, it points to the high probability that Barbara (Fout) Lane was well-read, and likely the individual who had the earlier poem placed upon her son's grave.
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"Affliction sore long years I bore
Physicians were in vain
Till God did please to give me ease
And freed me from my pain."

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Look for Part II of "Visiting Spirits & Kindred Souls" next week!
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(Un)Civil Unions

10/14/2024

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PictureVerena's binders
I recently taught a course entitled Frederick in the Civil War  in the historic Francis Scott Key Chapel here on the grounds of Mount Olivet Cemetery. On the night of the first class, one of my students presented me with a khaki-colored, zippered canvas bag. It contained two, large, 3-ring binders, filled with copied documents all clad in transparent sleeve protectors. These documents ranged from old military records and regimental histories to government correspondence and handwritten depositions. Upon handing me the bag, the owner, Ms. Verena Rose, simply said: "Here's the info on Henry and Charlotte...good luck!"

I had met Verena, an Olney (MD) resident, one year earlier as she had taken my Frederick History 101 course the previous June of 2023. During a class intermission break for the forementioned 101 offering, I found myself out in front of the chapel talking with a few students. Verena asked if I had contemplated teaching a Civil War class, to which I replied that I was certainly planning to do so in the future. She revealed her interest in the subject and said that she was a member of the Frederick Civil War Roundtable.

I was moved to ask Verena if she had any Civil War ancestors from Frederick? She smiled, and said, "Yes, and he is buried right over there." She pointed to a spot about 30 yards away towards the rear of the chapel in Mount Olivet's Area L. Verena followed by saying that his name was Henry and she had learned through research that he was an "unsavory" character who had defrauded his wife.

My curiosity now piqued, we both took the opportunity to walk over to the "unsavory" man's final resting place and observe his gravestone closer.

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Durfey grave in Area L/Lot 53
On its face, the large marble marker included the names of Henry Durfey (May 15, 1841-March 31, 1913) and "his wife" Charlotte S. Durfey (August 27, 1845-March 13, 1923). Verena had presented me with not just another Union Civil War veteran in Mount Olivet, but more so, a bonafide "mystery man" who had apparently led a second life, plus had an alias to boot—"Hank Miller."

Verena and another family member had researched this man thoroughly a few decades back, more than fitting because she certainly knows her way around these types of characters and stories as a member of the "Mystery Writers of America (MWA)." Not only does she possess a passion for the historical mystery, she has written and published several short stories in the sub-genre.
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Verena Rose
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Verena Rose is the Agatha Award nominated co-editor of Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea, An Interesting and Entertaining History of Malice Domestic’s First 25 Years and the Managing Editor of the Malice Domestic anthology series. In addition to serving as Chair of Malice Domestic, Verena is also a member of MWA, a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime-National, a member of Sisters in Crime Chesapeake, a member of the Historical Novel Society and a lifetime member of the Jane Austen Society of North America.

Verena is also the chief financial officer and acquisitions editor for Level Best Books as their representative, and is a member of the American Booksellers Association, the Crime Writers Association, the Historical Novel Society, and the Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association. If that's not enough, she hosts a podcast called "Sunday Tea with V," which can be found on the History Chronicles on Spotify for Podcasters.

Henry Durfey
So, what's the issue with Henry Durfey? Well, our mysterious "Story in Stone" subject here has more to do with "civil union" than participation in trying to save the "Union" during "the Civil War." He may have been a hapless casualty of war himself, but the true victim in this mystery was "his wife" Charlotte, but I must use that moniker loosely. Actually, I should say "wives."
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Officers and enlisted men of the 1st Battalion, New York Light Artillery
To review, a civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage at the state level, however federal protections and benefits are not guaranteed. Many are familiar with the term "common law marriage" which results from the parties' agreement to consider themselves married, followed by cohabitation, rather than through a statutorily defined process. Not all jurisdictions permit common law marriage, but will typically respect the validity of such a marriage lawfully entered in another state or country.

Much to her surprise, shock and dismay, Charlotte S. Durfey would learn late in life that she had not been lawfully married to her supposed husband, at least in the eyes of the federal government. This was exposed when she desperately tried to lay claim to Henry's military pension after his death in 1913. However, the real shocker was learning that she was not alone.
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Government Military Pension Record Index Card for Henry Durfey
The incredible research done by Verena features a plethora of pages in the aforementioned binders featuring correspondence between the Department of the Interior's Pension Bureau and Mrs. Durfey, a lifelong resident of Frederick. The Durfey surname is spelled a variety of ways (Durfee, Duffee, Duffy), but we will stick to what is "carved in stone" upon the couple's grave —Durfey. The binders' contents also document Henry Durfey's Civil War service with Battery M of the 1st New York Artillery Regiment, along with a medical discharge and a second enlistment with Company A of the 1st Potomac Home Brigade Maryland Infantry.

Interestingly, Henry Durfey would have a hard time getting his own pension after the war because past military records were riddled with inconsistencies and errors that in some cases, he, himself, had created. Primary sticking points would be the forementioned spelling of his last name and use of an alias for starters, but deeper problems related to his actual birth year, while other issues involved embellishment of injuries said to have been suffered during the war. 

Henry's birth dates in the federal military records differ from that carved upon his gravestone (May 17, 1841) here in Mount Olivet, and what can be found in our cemetery records (1839) from his death certificate. Discharge papers from December, 1863 report his age as 23 (which point to a birth in 1840).  He claimed his birthday to be April 3rd, 1837.

Henry brought up war injuries that had no historical backing in federal military records. He submitted a claim for an Invalid Pension in 1888, starting the process in Frederick County Circuit Court. In this claim, which was ultimately rejected by the Bureau of Pensions, he reported that he was debilitated by epileptic fits contracted through his military service.
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1888 Declaration for Invalid Pension by Henry Durfey
Mr. Durfey would make a repeated claim for an Invalid Pension in 1890 to which he added to his epilepsy the fact that he had defective eyesight and debilitating wounds from battle. These included the loss of his little finger on his right hand (which had been shot and rendered useless), and an injury to his left arm (above the elbow) had been badly shattered due to shrapnel from an artillery shell hitting near him. This supposedly occurred in battle near Winchester, Virginia during the Civil War. These injuries could not be found in the government records so he was rejected once again.

They say "the third time's a charm." Henry would make another Invalid Pension claim in 1891 and added documentation regarding a rupture, or internal hernia, that had continued to hamper him over the years. In August of 1891, he would win his case and started receiving payments of $6/month from the US Government.  This began a decade of visiting physicians and surgeons for the federal government in order to track the progress of Durfey's hernia in relation to other problems which would arise such as asthma and heart trouble. His pension would grow to $15 in 1907 at age 70 after skillfully lobbying for his birthday to be recognized as April 3rd, 1837 despite inconsistencies.
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Portion of Henry Durfey's affidavit from 1898 which describes various ailments and the origin of his alias "Hank Miller" thanks to a colleague named Samuel Jones at the Independent Hose Company where both served as volunteer fireman
All the while, federal reviewers with the Pension Bureau were privy to some interesting information regarding a former claimant for Henry Durfey's pension. We will get to that in a moment, along with plenty more on the confusing life and times of Henry Durfey, but first let's explore the more straightforward existence of Mrs. Charlotte Durfey.

​Born Charlotte Sophia Hoffman on August 27th, 1845, she was the daughter of Ezra and Mary (Frazier) Hoffman (1823-1885). Her father worked as an upholsterer, and the family can be found living in Frederick in the 1850 census. Relating to the family business, Charlotte's mother was a seamstress and taught her daughters how to skillfully sew as well.
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Hoffman family living in Frederick in the 1850 US Census
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Mary Ann Hoffman (1823-1885), mother of Charlotte (Hoffman) Durfey in Mount Olivet's Area H/Lot 123
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Ezra Hoffman (1846-1924), brother of Charlotte (Hoffman) Durfey in Area H/Lot 123
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Charlotte (shown here as Sophia) living with her widowed mother in the 1860 US Census
At the time of the American Civil War, Charlotte was in her late teens, turning 17 just prior to Gen. Robert E. Lee bringing his Confederate Army here to Frederick in early September, 1862. This was mere weeks  prior to the nearby Battles of South Mountain and Antietam. It is about this time that Charlotte started performing care duties for sick and wounded soldiers at the Union Army's Hospital center in Frederick. This would also be a collision course with her destiny in meeting Henry Durfey.
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Interior view of a Civil War era hospital barracks
According to his gravestone, we (at Mount Olivet) have assumed that Henry Durfey was born on May 15th, 1841 in Lockport, New York, a town in Niagara County. This location would come to prominence in the 1820s thanks to the famed Erie Canal.  As its name suggests, the community was known for its Flight of Five Locks, and gave work to many Scottish and Irish canal workers brought in as its labor force.  

Henry Durfey's father is said to have died when Henry was 12 years old, and his mother passed when he was 18. I could not find this individual in the 1850 or 1860 census records living in Niagara County.
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Lockport, NY, birthplace of Henry Durfey
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Union Army recruiting poster from Lockport, NY
PictureCamp Barry (Washington, DC)
Henry Durfey enlisted in the Union Army at Lockport on October 21st, 1861 and was mustered into military service at Rochester, New York a week later on October 28th, 1861. He and his fellow soldiers would soon find themselves at Camp Barry, a temporary artillery camp, in Washington, DC.

As mentioned earlier, Henry was originally with Battery M of the 1st New York Light Artillery. In 1862, this unit served under Williams' Division of the 5th Corps of the Union's Army of the Potomac. In January, the battery was ordered to Frederick to help guard transportation lines such as the railroad and canal. In early spring, they were stationed at Point Of Rocks and would soon be ordered to cross the river into Virginia at Harpers Ferry and serve within the Department of the Shenandoah. 


All the while, a lady named Nancy Jane Lake would play a role in our story, representing a proverbial "monkey wrench" to an otherwise, romantic, local love story. Nancy was a New York gal and a daughter of Bloomer and Elizabeth Lake of Wilson, New York. Wilson is also within the state's Niagara County. The village is northeast of the famed Niagara Falls and positioned on the coast of Lake Ontario. 

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1860 US Census showing Nancy J. Lake and family living in Wilson, NY
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Map of Niagara County, NY showing Wilson and Lockport
Nancy would marry a gentleman from Lockport, only 18 miles from Wilson. This was the forementioned  Henry Durfey. ​I'm not certain to the length of the courtship, but the couple had appeared before a Justice of the Peace in Nancy's home town on September 17th, 1860.  It appears that the marriage could have been of "the shotgun variety" with the bride-to-be presumably eight months pregnant at the time. Henry enlisted in the Union Army just over 13 months  later, and would leave for Rochester in November of 1861. 

Two daughters would be born to this union:  Sarah Elizabeth ("Elizabeth") on October 28th, 1860 ​and Rhoda Jane "Jennie" on May 11th, 1862. 
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Winchester in Frederick County, VA
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In the spring of 1862, Private Durfey and his unit were under the command of Major General Nathaniel Banks and engaged in fighting Rebel forces under Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson in Frederick County, Virginia and its county seat of Winchester. The First Battle of Winchester occurred on May 25th, 1862 and served as a great victory in what has been classified as Jackson's Valley Campaign. Henry Durfey either became sick or was wounded on the morning of June 18th, and subsequently taken to a place called "Union Hotel Rebel" in Winchester with bruised forehead and stomach. This location was a prominent hotel called the Union. Southern sympathizing citizens removed the U & N at the start of the conflict, causing it to be called the Ion Hotel.

Soldiers from both sides would be cared for here, and Union soldiers (eventually taken prisoner) would receive medical assistance from Confederate surgeons and staff. The name "Union Hotel Rebel" comes from a "Memorandum from Prisoner of War Records," and now seems to make better sense to me. I did read that the hotel would collapse in December, 1864 due to a heavy snowfall. In the mishap, seven Yankee soldiers would be crushed by a falling roof. 

Luckily, our subject Henry Durfey had long since left Winchester. He was sent to Frederick, Maryland's General Hospital #1 on June 22nd, 1862, shortly after his wounding or sickness. Again, documents such as the one pictured below say that our subject was suffering from a bruised forehead and stomach. Was this an injury caused by an attack of epilepsy? It sure sounds plausible. However, why is there no report of a shot finger, or left arm damaged by an exploding shell? Sounds like Henry may have conjured this up over time. Just wait until you see his work resume after the war.
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Prisoner of War Records from the US War Department
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Frederick's Union Hospital #1, located on the Old Barracks Grounds on S. Market St.
For those not familiar with Frederick's General Hospital #1, the main facility was established on the grounds of the Hessian Barracks on South Market Street. This location was practically across the street from Mount Olivet Cemetery's main entrance. The original structures on "the Old Barracks" property consisted of a pair of stone buildings built for the Revolutionary War, and would grow to include at least five frame buildings, set on four acres of ground and enclosed by a board fence. The wooden structures had been built as regimental barracks for the Provost Guard during the Civil war.

In June 1862, the hospital was officially designated The United States General Hospital #1. By then, more suitable hospital ward buildings had been added. William W. Keen, an Assistant Surgeon at the hospital, noted that the new barracks were “finely ventilated” using a ridge-ventilation system, and could accommodate eighty patients each.
 
Here's a little aside that connects with Mount Olivet history. Along with Henry Durfey, a wartime adversary named Pvt. J. E. Johnson, was also brought to Frederick and the General Hospital from Winchester. This Confederate fought with the 16th Mississippi and suffered a gunshot wound to the lung. He and Durfey were among 500 patients transferred from the Winchester hospital to Frederick that late June/early July of 1862. Pvt. Johnson would expire from wounds suffered on July 15th, 1862 and afterwards brought to Mount Olivet to be the first  Rebel soldier buried in our Confederate Row.  
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​Even with the new buildings, the hospital was still overcrowded. Henry Durfey was here during the month of September (1862) when Gen. Stonewall Jackson came to town and allegedly had a confrontation with our fabled heroine Barbara Fritchie on West Patrick Street. This account, of course,  came from the pen of New England poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Just days later, Durfey was visited at the General Hospital by former comrades of his unit, the 1st New York Light Artillery Company as they passed through town in pursuit of the Rebels after fighting engagements during the Virginia Peninsular Campaign over the summer.

Following the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, the hospital population here in Frederick swelled tremendously, causing the need for more places to treat the soldiers of both armies. This led to public buildings and churches throughout the city being utilized, along with many townspeople taking soldiers into their own homes as well.

On October 29th, 1862, Union Surgeon Robert F. Weir, who was in charge of General Hospital #1, wrote the Quartermaster General requesting that additional hospital wards be built. The enclosure expanded to eighteen acres. It was around this time that Henry Durfey was transferred to the Union's Invalid Corps, under the purview of the Army of the Potomac, and given "cook" and hospital attendant detail at the General Hospital. He apparently earned the nickname of "Hank Miller" through this Army employment by having a bag of flour on his head one day which spilled all over him and making him look like "a miller," one who grinds corn or wheat into flour. 
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Henry Durfey muster roll records with the 1st NY Light Artillery explaining his whereabouts during the second half of 1862 while in Frederick
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Civil War camp cooking
Private Durfey would remain in Frederick over the next year until July and August (1863), when he was dispatched to serve as an attendant at a hospital in Newtown, Virginia (northeast of Richmond). He would return to Frederick and his cook detail for the fall months of 1863. On November 16th, 1863, Henry was ordered to report to northern Virginia and the place called Convalescent Camp Virginia. Known also as Camp Misery, the poorly maintained facility had been replaced in February, 1863 with a new hospital camp, situated between Fairfax Seminary and Long Bridge in what is now Arlington County.

The old Camp Convalescent was renamed the Rendezvous of Distribution and Auger General Hospital, and was used as a distribution center to send "healed men" now "fit for field service" back to their regiments.
However, after inspection by a military surgeon, Private Henry Durfey was found unfit for military service because of epilepsy and frequent seizures, apparently contracted through his enlistment (likely the apparent trauma  received at Winchester over a year and a half earlier).  He was given a Certificate of Disability which was received by the Adjutant General's Office a few weeks later.

All the while, future problems would arise due to a clerical error in which  Durfey was inadvertently reported as "a deserter" in 1st New York Light Artillery muster rolls, claiming he skedaddled on his way to Virginia from the hospital of Frederick. This would be corrected upon his discharge at the end of the war.
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Muster rolls showing the claim that Henry Durfey had deserted the Army in December, 1863.
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Private Durfey's Disability Discharge granted at Camp Convalescent
Henry Durfey spent the year 1864 in Frederick by all accounts. He would not return to New York. In February, 1865, he would volunteer for an additional year's service with the 1st Potomac Home Brigade's Company A. This would  make him eligible for a government bounty (financial incentives) according to enlistment paperwork filled out in Frederick at the time. As a veteran, he now held the rank of corporal.  Durfey would eventually be transferred on April 8th to Company A under the 13th Maryland Infantry Regiment. 
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Henry Durfey's re-enlistment with the Potomac Home Brigade in February, 1865
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Corp. Henry Durfey's company muster rolls with the 13th Maryland Infantry Regiment
Henry's supposed one year re-enlistment would only include three months of service due to Gen. Robert E. Lee's unconditional surrender of his Rebel Army in April, 1865. Corporal Durfey had successfully made it through the Civil War and was mustered out in Baltimore in May. He would settle down back in Frederick, the place he spent the majority of the war period. But, hold the phone, or telegraph, keeping things in proper historical context! What about wife Nancy (Lake) Durfey and his two daughters back in Niagara County, NY? ​

I found Nancy Durfey (spelled Duffey), along with Sarah Elizabeth and Rhoda Jane (Jennie), living with Nancy's parents in Wilson in the 1865 and 1875 supplemental state censuses of New York. In 1870, she was living with a sister in Wilson, NY.
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1870 Census shows Nancy Durfey and daughters living with Sarah Ann Booram in Lewiston.
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1875 State Census of New York showing Nancy and daughters living with her widowed mother in Wilson, NY
Many soldiers in the Civil War, both North and South, never returned home because of death. These men, usually buried in far off places, left countless widows who lacked the means to travel and/or bring their beloved husband's bodies back home to family plots in local graveyards. Such is the fate of over 700 Confederate soldiers buried in Mount Olivet's Confederate Row lying beside the earlier mentioned J. E. Johnson of Mississippi. Likewise, many of the Union soldiers buried in Mount Olivet during the war never made it back to places such as New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, etc. Instead, most of the latter were re-interred at the Antietam National Cemetery in Sharpsburg in 1867.

Nancy J. Durfey had last heard from her husband through a letter dated December 18th, 1863. Nothing more came from him, and she eventually learned that her husband had been captured at the Battle of the Wilderness in May of 1864. This conflict featured nearly 29,000 casualties, and not hearing from Henry again, she assumed that he had died, and was buried somewhere in the South.

We know this today because in September, 1881, Nancy tried desperately to receive a widow's pension to help take care of herself and two daughters. They were living in Lewiston, New York at this time. The process was slow and arduous for Nancy, and she was ultimately denied the pension because proof of her husband's death could not be found.
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Nancy Durfey's Widow's Claim
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Affidavit from Nancy Durfey (1881)
My friend Verena has many copies of correspondence from Nancy Durfey's pension request case courtesy of the Library of Congress. These include official government transcripts and personal affidavits of fellow soldiers and Lake family members assisting the plaintiff.

One of the most interesting testimonies comes from Henry Durfey's former commanding officers from the 1st New York Light Artillery's Battery M
--Sergeant John H. Gormley and  Lieutenant John D. Woodbury (later promoted top captain). In May of 1883, both men put pen to paper recounting the last they saw, and knew, of Private Durfey.
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Affidavits above and below from John H. Gormley, Sergeant of the 1st New York Light Artillery (Battery M)
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John D. Woodbury (1st New York Light Artillery) affadavit
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Testimony of Elizabeth Lake, mother of Nancy. J. Durfey
As can be seen, Nancy's mother, Elizabeth Lake, would also attempt to aid her daughter in her time of need. The Second Auditor of the Treasury Department  summarized a report of the 1881 attempt by Nancy to claim a widow's pension. The "verdict" of a lengthy investigation which also revealed Durfey was still alive was sent to Mrs. Durfey two years after her claim was opened. Excellent information and correspondence came from the true "eyes and ears" of the nation of the time—individual town postmasters who had helped in locating Henry Durfey in Frederick, Maryland. Unfortunately, this represented nothing but heartache for the jilted Mrs. Henry Durfey, at least the first one.
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1883 Report from the Treasury Department explaining rejection of claim
It's not just the fact that Henry Durfey did not go back to New York or communicate with his first wife, he actually claimed that he had never married Nancy on military documents. When pressed for answers, he said he "skipped town" after getting her pregnant.

So the Treasury Department and Pension Bureau learned Durfey was alive in Frederick, and had deceived this poor woman back home by having her believe he was dead, all the while "living in illicit intercourse with another woman in Maryland." Frederick's postmaster described Henry Durfey as "a poor ignorant fellow, with a fondness for lewd women."

As this is information that was used internally by the Pension Bureau, and remains today as part of their records collection, I have no way to know if Nancy Durfey saw this full report and its contents, or learned the whereabouts of Henry. Hopefully, she did not hear of his crass rationale for not coming back or the fact that he was "remarried" with children in Frederick.

Usually,  in cases of war separation, the grieving or impatient wife or girlfriend remarries after their soldier goes missing, and doesn't come home. This case is certainly a unique turnabout.
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Documentation of the rejection of Nancy's claim in Pension Bureau records
​Now living in Lewiston, NY, Nancy would receive an official rejection letter to her claim in 1883. She would eventually die eight years later on January 13th, 1891 at the age of 49. 
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An illustration of women washing clothes at a Civil War hospital
So, you likely know who "the other woman" is by now. She is none other than Charlotte Hoffman. Charlotte unknowingly married Henry Durfey on February 24th, 1863. She met the soldier while working as a washerwoman and nursing attendant at Frederick's General Hospital in her aid of the sick and wounded during the Civil War. The couple wed at the Methodist Church in New Market. The former Miss Hoffman claims that Henry never mentioned being married before, and the same goes with failing to reveal the fact that he had two daughters living in northern New York.

Henry and Charlotte went on to have two daughters as well: Laura Rebecca (born March 24, 1864) and Ida Mae (born 1872). In subsequent census records of the late 19th century, Henry is listed as a laborer and as a farmer. The family can be found living at 466 West South Street. 
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1870 US Census showing Henry and Charlotte Durfey and family living in Frederick
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The house in the center, 466 W. South St., was the former home of Henry and Charlotte Durfey in Frederick
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1880 US Census showing Durfey family
In perusing old newspaper archives, I saw almost nothing on Henry Durfey. However, I did see countless references to "Hank Miller." He is regularly doing odd jobs ranging from manual labor and hauling to planting trees and digging ditches for sewers. "Hank" can also be found working at Baumgardner's Butcher Shop, Calvin Page's Hinge factory and picked fruit at local orchards. A member of the Independent Hose Company, he was also appointed fireman at the Frederick County Jail for a while. 
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Frederick News (Dec 12, 1887)
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Frederick News (Dec 15, 1887)
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Frederick News (March 7, 1888)
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Frederick News (March 28, 1888)
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Frederick News (June 29, 1888)
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Frederick News (May 24, 1897)
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Frederick Citizen (March 30, 1900)
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Frederick News (Oct 22, 1912)
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Frederick News (July 14, 1905)
​My favorite employment venture of our subject centered on rat extermination for homeowners,  businesses and farmers alike. Hank actually employed a unique labor crew of ferrets for this endeavor.
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Frederick News (March 4, 1899)
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Frederick News (March 14, 1899)
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Frederick News (Oct 3, 1899)
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Frederick News (Jan 14, 1900)
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Frederick News (Feb 10, 1904)
When Henry Durfey wasn't being productive, he was involved in general mischief, fights and wrong doing. Our veteran soldier (and perennial groom) apparently did not change his deceitful ways throughout life, and was a thorn in the side to municipal leaders. He was asked to leave town on numerous occasions, but always found his way back to Frederick . ​
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Frederick News (June 5, 1894)
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Frederick News (Oct 17, 1896)
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Frederick News (July 3, 1902)
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Frederick News (Sept 24, 1907)
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Frederick News (July 10, 1911)
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Frederick News (July 11, 1911)
I think it's safe to assume that Charlotte Durfey played the role of "long-suffering wife." Henry must have been a handful for a multitude of reasons, including the health problems he would experience, many caused of his own volition. Some of these maladies were mentioned in his claims for his Invalid Pension. I severely question the work projects he engaged in as he certainly doesn't seem to be an OSHA posterchild either. Lifting heavy things can lead to, or exacerbate, a hernia for sure, not to mention taking part in fisticuffs as well.

Regardless, I read in the documentation that Charlotte  kicked Henry out of the house for good in the late 1890s for his 
"getting drunk and staying out all night and associating with loose women."  The preceding is an exact quote taken from a deposition of daughter Laura Rebecca (Durfey) Cramer in 1914. Laura had issues with her father's behavior, but also stated, "He was a good man when sober." Her husband, Joseph Carty Cramer (1859-1939) did not care for his father-in-law in the least, and that explains why Henry Durfey was not given an opportunity to live with them. 

It appears as if our subject boarded for a time with a woman living on Bentz Street and also resided at the Frederick Almshouse at Montevue for a year. Henry went to Cumberland (c.1910-1912) for a short time to reside with his other daughter, Ida Mae (Durfey) Gantt. Mrs. Gantt lived at that place with husband Charles Eugene Gantt (1871-1944). I found both of these individuals buried in Cumberland's Hillcrest Burial Park.
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Hillcrest Burial Park (Cumberland, MD)
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As can be seen, Henry Durfey (aka Hank Miller), was a true "Frederick character." The life of the New York native would fittingly come to a dramatic end on the corner of West 5th and Market streets on March 20th, 1913. He wouldn't "go out with a bang," but let's just say the incident was pretty dramatic nonetheless. 
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Frederick Post (March 21, 1913)
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Mount Olivet interment card for Henry Durfey
Charlotte's daughter, Laura (Durfey), and husband Joseph C. Cramer would host the wake of her father at their home on South Street. They also made arrangements to have Henry's body buried in their own family plot within Area L and utilizing Lot 53. 
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Frederick News (March 23, 1913)
​​The story doesn't end here, no sir! Charlotte Durfey now took her turn in trying to claim her rightful share of Henry's military pension. In the process, she would learn the bitter truth that she was not the only widow of Henry Durfey. This was her family's first learning of Henry's other family in New York. In fact, Charlotte would come to find that the US Government did not recognize her (Charlotte) as a widow at all.

​The Pension Bureau had all the paperwork associated with Nancy J. Durfey's rejected claim as rightful heir to Henry's pension from 30 years earlier. Since Durfey never divorced Nancy, the second "marriage" to Charlotte did not count as a lawful and recognized civil marriage deserving the benefit of a widow's pension from the US government. However, if Nancy had been alive at this time, she would have now been entitled to a widow's pension due to Henry's death.
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Charlotte Durfey's 1913 initial letter to the US Pension Bureau
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Charlotte Durfey's Declaration for Widow's Pension from 1914
Charlotte worked desperately to convince the government of her deserved claim. Unfortunately the Methodist minister from New Market who married her fifty years earlier had long since passed, and any record of the nuptials could not be gotten from the church. Charlotte claims in the documentation that Henry, himself, destroyed their copy of the marriage certificate after a domestic squabble one night.

Verena Rose's second binder contains dozens of pages of correspondence with the government, and examples of testimony, including that from Charlotte, daughter Laura, along with several neighbors/Frederick residents. Charlotte had to claim that not only had she legally married Henry Durfey, and that they lived together as man and wife, but also had the responsibility to prove that she had never divorced the man, although they lived apart for the last 16 years of his life.

The special examiners at the Pension Bureau believed Charlotte to be an honest individual and upstanding citizen by reputation, and received the local references to back it up, however without proper documentation as Henry's lawful wife, they could not process the claim on her behalf.

Charlotte's last chance came with investigating court records in New York in the hopes that Henry had actually secured a divorce from Nancy (Lake) Durfey, or vice-versa. Instead, she would learn of Nancy's death in 1891, with no divorce ever filed. Of most interest to me was a deposition taken on November 24th, 1914 at Niagara Falls, New York involving a Jane Nichols, wife of Alva D. Nichols. This was Henry's second daughter with Nancy J. Lake
—the former Rhoda Jane "Jennie" Durfey born May 11, 1862. She stated that her mother, married Henry in 1860 in her hometown of Wilson, but the last name was always spelled Duffee, not Durfey. She also said that her older sister Elizabeth (wife of Alexander Scott, and residing in Lewiston, NY) had died just five weeks earlier. Jane here offers the information that her mother died in 1891 and was buried in the Lewiston, NY Cemetery, however says there is no headstone marking her grave. 
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Jane (Durfey/Duffee) Nichols Deposition in 1914
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Final resting place of Nancy J. Duffee in an unmarked grave at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery (Lewiston, NY)
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Rhoda Jane "Jennie" (Duffee) Nichols (1862-1922) in First Presbyterian Church Cemetery (Lewiston, NY)
The investigators were given photos of Henry by each family, and these were also shown to both, further proving that they were all connected to the same man in Henry. No such records of divorce were found, and other witnesses (including family members) in New York gave testimony to the fact that Nancy never remarried, or made any effort to obtain a divorce even after learning that Henry was still living through her claim rejection in the early 1880s. Charlotte would learn that Nancy  was destitute and crippled at the time of her death, again at the age of 49 as stated earlier.

​Charlotte saw the writing on the wall and soon realized her attempt was fruitless by the end of 1914. She would receive her rejection letter in late January, 1915.
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Charlotte Durfey's claim rejection letter
Charlotte's heartbreak must have been two-fold knowing that not only had herself and two children been deceived by Henry Durfey, but so had Nancy and her two daughters as well.

The last few pages of Verena's second binder contain documentation in February and March of 1915 in which the heirs of Nancy J. Durfey (Duffee) are inquiring of the the Pension Bureau as to their own opportunity of claiming any money due them past, or present. They were quickly shut down by the government, and all cases involving Henry Durfey were closed.

As for Charlotte (Hoffman) Durfey, she passed away on March 14th, 1923. 
​In time, Charlotte would join her "common law" partner here in Mount Olivet Cemetery.  I smile in thinking that someone made sure that the grave monument sitting atop the Durfey's  gravesites reads, "his wife Charlotte." 

Naturally, Laura and Joseph Cramer would be laid to rest here in this lot.  They are Verena Rose's great-great-grandparents, thus making Henry and Charlotte Durfey her third great-grandparents. I may add that it might be a stretch to use the adjective "great" when referring to Henry Durfey, but without him, we wouldn't have this lengthy "Story in Stone," or more importantly, Verena Rose, now would we? ​
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Cramer/Durfey Plot in Mount Olivet (Area L/Lot 53)
Author's Note: My sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to Verena Rose for sharing this incredible story and its well-researched documentation with me. The Library of Congress holds boundless treasures for the family historian. This particular odyssey is much more than a Civil War Veteran tale, but a larger story of the struggles of humanity featuring two strong women who demonstrated great resiliency through trying times and circumstances. May they both continue to rest in peace. 
An Opportunity for a Moonlit History Stroll in Mount Olivet
​with this author!

Join Chris Haugh for the all-new, 2024 edition of the “Unsettling” Candlelight Walking Tour of Frederick’s historic Mount Olivet Cemetery. Five offerings with limited space for Oct 24, 26, 31 & Nov 1, 2 @ 7pm. 2-hour tour $16/person. For more info/registration, click the button below:
Unsettling Tour of Mount Olivet
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Rev. Trapnell and the "Spirit of 76"

9/14/2024

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September 14th marks the anniversary of the unexpected death of Jesse Lee Reno, a career US Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War, the Utah War, the western frontier, and finally, the American Civil War. He was the highest-ranking military officer to die in the line of duty in Frederick County during the decisive conflict of the mid-19th century. 
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This Union general was known as a "soldier's soldier" who fought alongside his men. Gen. Reno had recently opposed his former West Point classmate and friend, Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, during the Second Battle of Manassas (or Bull Run) just over three weeks earlier.

It’s ironic that both of these men, Reno and Jackson, are said to have had poignant conversations with Frederick’s most famous nonagenarian ­­­­and flag-waver, Barbara Fritchie. This happened in September, 1862 and it has been reported that Reno actually spent time with the patriotic maven just a few days after her alleged “wrangling” with Gen. Jackson.
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Barbara and her flag as Gen. Jackson looks on
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Gen. Jesse Reno
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Barbara Fritchie
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A similar view to what Gen. Reno had while traveling west on W. Patrick St. before crossing over Carroll Creek. (Note the replica Barbara Fritchie house on left with flag flying from dormer window).
When passing through town on the 12th, Reno and his brother supposedly encountered Barbara waving a small flag while standing in front of her home on West Patrick Street while the Union Army was heading west in pursuit of the Confederates via the National Road. The Renos are said to have witnessed Barbara holding her flag on the south side of the street in front of her home by Frederick’s Carroll Creek.

Simultaneously, their eyes were also caught by another resident on the north side of the street, here, by the approach of the bridge crossing over the town creek. This lesser-known figure in the annals of local history lore was another patriotic senior citizen aged in his upper 80s — Rev. Joseph Trapnell. Seeing both these mature individuals caused Gen. Reno to cheerfully call out to his soldiers, “Behold the Spirit of ’76!”
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This insinuated that both of these Frederick residents were the products of a greater generation who were alive at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (July 4th,1776) and witnessed our country winning the American Revolution. Gen. Reno then told his brother Frank that the aged female civilian reminded him of his deceased mother. With that, the Reno brothers apparently stopped to visit Barbara at her house by Carroll Creek.
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​Barbara is said to have given the officer currant wine, along with allowing an opportunity to write a letter home from her family desk. As a parting gift, Dame Fritchie allegedly presented Reno with a flag, perhaps the one she supposedly waved at Jackson a few days earlier when she uttered the immortal line made famous by poet John Greenleaf Whittier:
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“Shoot if you must, this ole gray head, but spare your country’s flag.”

Ironically, it would be this flag that would accompany Reno’s dead body on its trip home to Massachusetts for proper burial a few days later.
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1960s re-enactment of Barbara Fritchie waving on Union soldiers
​Gen. Jesse Reno died atop South Mountain on September 14th, 1862 while leading his men against Rebel forces in the vicinity of the Wise Farm at Fox’s Gap. This was the result of a sharpshooter’s bullet as Reno was surveying the field prior to twilight after a long day of battle.
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​Gen. Reno's death would be a tremendous loss for the Union Army. He would be memorialized with a monument placed where he fell. Reno also has a road named for said monument here in county, but this isn't quite as impressive as the city named for the fallen officer in Nevada. 

Jesse Reno is buried in Washington D.C.’s Oak Hill Cemetery, and Barbara is, of course, residing in Mount Olivet as she would die just a few months after her meeting with the Union general. A couple hundred yards away from the heroine's grave is that of the other Frederick participant involved in the Reno “Spirit of ‘76” episode. Rev. Joseph Trapnell is buried in Area E/Lot 14.
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​So, just who was Rev. Joseph Trapnell? Well, there were three individuals (all related) holding that name in September of 1862 when Reno came through town. Representing three generations of this English family, our subject was an immigrant to this country and both father and grandfather to the other two. Ironically, he would not possess the true "Spirit of '76" as he was an English citizen living in Great Britain at the time of the American Revolution. However, he was a Union supporter during the American Civil War, four-score later.
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Rev. Joseph P. Trapnell (1775-1870)
​Rev. Joseph Pearse Trapnell was a former Protestant Episcopal Minister, born in the neighborhood of Tiphill  in Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, England. This civil parish is located ten miles east of Exeter and is known for St. Mary’s Church, dating from 1260. This Gothic masterpiece was consecrated 516 years before the legendary happenings in Philadelphia and the Continental Congress in July of 1776. However, our Rev. Trapnell was born a year earlier on November 8th, 1775 and was likely baptized in the ancient house of worship there near the banks of the Otterly River.
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Ottery St. Mary in Devonshire, UK with St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Church below
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​Joseph and his sister Eleanor (b. 1759) were the children of John Trapnell (1734-1814) and Martha Leate (1737-1802). I found Trapnell family ancestors living here in Ottery St. Mary dating back to the 1500s, but could be much earlier.

I learned nothing of Joseph’s childhood or entry into the clergy, however I did find a marriage entry date of April 24th, 1809 at St. Thomas' Church in Salisbury, England, some 80 miles to the east of his childhood home. A reference hinted that Joseph could have eloped. Regardless, his bride took the form of Harriet Wylds, born January 29th, 1790 in Bemerton, Wiltshire, England. Our cemetery records show that she was the daughter of William and Sarah Wylds of Bemerton.
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Harriet (Wylds) Trapnell (1790-1853)
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Wiltshire marriage register showing the union of Joseph Trapnell and Harriet Wylds
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St. Thomas' Church, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK
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Interior of St. Thomas' Church where the Trapnells were married in 1809
​​Always interested in geography, I found this village just outside of Salisbury and located roughly eight miles south of the famed Stonehenge. Bemerton is also eight miles away from Amesbury, the English namesake town for Amesbury, Massachusetts where John Greenleaf Whittier lived and penned his Ballad of Barbara Fritchie in 1863.
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Bremerton is marked with the yellow marker on this satellite view of the greater Salisbury area
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1779 published engraving of Stone Henge
I know the couple lived here in Bemerton for at least five years after they exchanged vows because their three children were born here. This included Sarah Trapnell (b. January 10th, 1810), William Henry Trapnell (b. December 12th, 1811) and Joseph Trapnell, Jr. (b. June 19th, 1814). 

The Joseph Trapnell family would make its way to America and Maryland, with homes I assumed being dictated by his profession as a minister. He was naturalized as a United States citizen on September 25th, 1828, however he had come earlier. I would discover through immigration documents on Ancestry.com that this would be in June, 1819. The family shows up on the Frederick City census in 1820.
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​I couldn't identify the Trapnell's home in 1820, but, in time, the Trapnells would own many properties in Frederick County including Frederick, Brunswick, Petersville and Middletown. Much of this was done by Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr. who would serve (later in life) as rector of St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church in Petersville in western Frederick County. My assistant, Marlyn Veek, compiled the following report of Trapnell property purchases:

Frederick:
Joseph Trapnell Sr. bought the lot just east of Carroll Creek, fronting W. Patrick Street, in 1824. Trapnell sold his lot to his sons Joseph and William in 1866. Today it has the address of 155-157 West Patrick Street.
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Rev. Trapnell's former home of W. Patrick St. east of Carroll Creek
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West view of former Trapnell home located at 155-157 W. Patrick St
Berlin (later known as Brunswick):
In 1874, Joseph Trapnell Jr. bought Basil DeLashmutt's half interest in two warehouses in Berlin (today’s Brunswick) - a brick one on the south side of the railroad that was occupied by the firm Boteler & Trapnell, and a frame one on the north side of the railroad (possibly the building shown as Butler & DeLashmutt on the 1873 Titus Atlas map). His half interest was sold to William Gross in 1889, after Joseph's death.
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Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr. owned half interest in the warehouses labeled Butler & Delashmutt on the Berlin map on the 1873 Titus Atlas (lower left above the railroad tracks)
Middletown:
In 1878, Joseph Trapnell Jr. bought a large property at 11 E. Main St. in Middletown. He died in this house that lines the National Road as it enters historic Middletown just prior to the intersection with MD 17(Church Street). After her father's death, Trapnell's daughter, Emily (Trapnell) Beatty, and her husband Dr. Joseph E. Beatty bought the property from his estate. They would sell this in 1902 and move to Baltimore. Dr. Beatty had earlier served as a major (regimental surgeon) in the Confederacy's 2nd Maryland Infantry during the Civil War.
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Former Trapnell/Beatty residence on E. Main St in Middletown (white house with green roof to right)
​Petersville:
In 1881, Joseph Trapnell, Jr. bought a small lot in Petersville (1501 Jefferson Pike), which he sold a year and a half later.  Presumably when he was the rector at St. Mark's Church, he lived at the Episcopal Parsonage, which is today a private house located at 4032 Petersville Road).
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1501 Jefferson Pike on the south side of the road at intersection with Catholic Church Rd
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The Episcopal Parsonage in lower right of 1873 Titus Atlas on Petersville Road as it intersects with Jefferson Pike. Note Dr. Joseph Trapnell, Jr's son Richard Watkins Trapnell's doctor's office on the corner. This is an auto repair business today (Blue Ridge Automotive).
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Former Episcopal Parsonage that served as a former home to Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr.
​Let's get back to our other leading patriot of West Patrick Street, Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Sr. He sold the western portion of his West Patrick Street property to our legendary Frederick diarist Jacob Engelbrecht in the year 1826. This land actually bordered the creek and was situated exactly across from the original Barbara and John Fritchie house. Jacob writes about this with an entry in his diary on April 13th, 1826:

“This day I entered into articles of agreement with the Reverend Joseph Trapnell for a lot of ground adjoining Carroll’s Creek (east side) running with Patrick street to within eleven feet of his brick house dwelling and back to within three feet of his brick house. I having the privilege of the passage or alley terms three hundred dollars. One hundred down, one hundred in one year & one hundred in two years without interest. I am to have my deed by the 6 of May next. George Rohr Esquire holds the contract.”

Interesting to note that when Rev. Trapnell’s sons (William and Joseph, Jr.) sold their father’s property in 1869, the deed mentions that the sale did not include a 10-foot square parcel situated in the rear of Jacob Engelbrecht's house which had been granted to Engelbrecht to erect a "privy.”
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1830 US Census showing Joseph Trapnell and Jacob Engelbrecht as neighbors living on Frederick's W. Patrick St.
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Map of Henry Nixdorf showing homes on W Patrick St at the time of the Civil War. to the right of the creek are the former homes of Jacob Engelbrecht (demolished) and Rev. Joseph Trapnell (far right)
​Engelbrecht and Trapnell went on to have a lifelong friendship and mutual respect as neighbors. This can be evidenced by Rev. Trapnell having Jacob as a witness to his own last will and testament in 1840, and again with a revision in 1860. Jacob also made an entry heralding Rev. Trapnell’s naturalization date, mentions a number of local weddings administered by the clergyman and discusses additions and improvements that Rev. Trapnell made to his home from time to time.
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This photograph is attributed to be Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Sr.
​When looking through J.T. Scharf’s 1882 History of Western Maryland for references to Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Sr., I found an interesting reference (on pg 518) saying that both Joseph and wife Harriet became members of Frederick’s Baptist Church on May 23rd, 1827.  However, the anecdote states that Joseph was excommunicated on July 25th, 1829. He would switch teams and join the Protestant Episcopal Church and was ordained in 1835 by a Bishop Stone. He became rector of St. Peter's Church in Montgomery County.
​From 1836-1844, Rev. Trapnell served as rector of Urbana’s Zion Protestant Episcopal Church. I also found that in 1837, he was a "professor of grammar" at St. John's College in Annapolis. This was the same school that Francis Scott Key attended at the turn of the 19th century. I saw several advertisements of him marrying local couples  here and in Montgomery County into the 1840s. 

Rev. Trapnell's greatest accomplishments were raising his children into adulthood and moving to America. He guided his sons toward careers with the church. As for his daughter, Sarah, she would marry in 1837, but would not be far from her father throughout her life. Sarah married a local man named Asfordby Beatty (b. 1807), a descendant of early Frederick settler Susannah (Asfordby) Beatty who came here in the 1730s  from Kingston, New York. Sadly, their marriage together was short as he would die in 1848, leaving her with at least four boys to care for. A year prior in 1847, Sarah had lost a 10-month-old daughter, Sarah Ellen. She would move back into the family home on West Patrick Street and can be found living here in both the 1850 and 1860 censuses with her parents and sons. 
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1850 US Census showing Trapnells living in Frederick
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Baltimore Sun (July 16, 1853)
​Rev. Trapnell's beloved wife, Harriet, would die suddenly on June 13th, 1853. Jacob Engelbrecht took time to report this loss in his diary, and a short announcement appeared in the Baltimore Sun. Mrs. Trapnell was buried in All Saints' Burying ground before being brought to Mount Olivet where she was later laid to rest in Area E/Lot 14 on December 23rd, 1854. Mount Olivet would not open until May, 1854 and at some point Sarah would re-bury her husband Asfordby, and daughter Sarah Ellen Beatty, here as well on December 15th, 1863 in Area F/Lot 68. This was less than five months before her own death.

As for Sarah Beatty, she was likely at arms reach to her father as he cheered Gen. Reno and the Union soldiers on September 12th, 1862. She would die less than two years later on April 6th, 1864 at the age of 54. Not only did Jacob Engelbrecht write about her death in his diary, he mentioned the honor of serving as a pall bearer for her funeral along with leading citizens Edward Trail, George W. Delaplaine and Valerius Ebert.
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Note the spelling of Sarah Beatty's husband's name on the tombstone as Afrebee Beatty instead of Asfordby Beatty
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Sarah (Trapnell) Beatty's grave monument is in need of serious repair, Both she and her husband are buried in Area F/Lot68.
​In retirement, Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Sr. filled his time with his grandchildren and served on the Board of Directors of the Frederick Town Savings Institution in the late 1850s and early 1860s. After the death of his daughter and the end of the Civil War, it was decided best that he live with his son, Rev. Joseph, Jr. in the small village of Petersville. The younger Rev. Trapnell was the rector here at this time, and we discussed his living arrangements earlier in the story while taking charge of St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church. Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Sr. appears in the 1870 US Census living here. This enumeration was taken in the early summer of that year. 
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Maryland Union (July 15, 1863)
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1870 US Census showing Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Sr. living with his son and family
Just a few months later, the English immigrant would pass on September 5th. His body would be brought to Mount Olivet for burial. ​
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Maryland Union (Sept. 15, 1870)
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Rev. Trapnell's gravestone in Mount Olivet's Area E/Lot 14.
Both of Rev. Trapnell's sons followed in his profession as ministers of the gospel. William Henry Trapnell was a 1838 graduate of Bristol College in Pennsylvania. I found him in York, Pennsylvania after graduation and then delivering sermons at St. Andrew’s Protestant Episcopal Church, Wilmington, Delaware in 1841. A few years later he can be found in Cincinnati, Ohio and eventually become rector of St. Ann’s Protestant Episcopal Church in Amsterdam (Montgomery County), New York located northwest of Schenectady and Albany.
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1855 New York State Census showing Rev. William H. Trapnell as a resident of Amsterdam, NY
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St. Ann's Church in Amsterdam, NY
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Mercy Annie (Allen) Trapnell
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The Century Club (Amsterdam, NY)
While there, Rev. W. H. Trapnell courted a profound, local woman named Mercy Annie Allen (1832-1908) for a few years. Ms. Allen was well educated and was an instructor at a school destined to become New York University. In 1872, Reverend Trapnell left Amsterdam for a parish in Upper Marlboro, Maryland at which time Annie and he finally married. She was 40, he was 60. He died four months later here in Upper Marlboro, the county seat of Price Georges County.

I learned that the new Mrs. Trapnell would not remarry, but would dedicate herself to the cause of advancing women. Her true claim to local fame was in establishing a local library for her town and also The Century Club in 1895. This latter achievement is still revered today in Amsterdam as her philanthropic and educational drive occurred at a time when women had not been received into full intellectual equality with men. Ms. Allen, knowing there were other women who shared her interest in books and study, invited twenty five friends to become the charter members of the Shakespeare-Browning class. These twenty five friends invited four friends each. When they met in one place, there were a hundred women searching for culture, self-improvement and knowledge.

​By 1908, the time of "Annie" Trapnell's death, the membership of The Century Club had increased to 250 women. The  Century Club still operates today, and St. Ann's would receive a memorial pulpit dedicated to Rev. William Henry Trapnell. Both Rev. Trapnell and wife Mercy Annie (Allen) Trapnell are buried in Amsterdam, New York's Green Hill Cemetery.
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Joseph Trapnell, Jr. was ordained by a Bishop Moore and further educated at St. John's College in Annapolis, graduating in February of 1840 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. The prior year, he had married Emily Green Watkins of Annapolis and was already serving as rector of Trinity parish in Upper Marlboro in Prince Georges County.  ​​He and Emily would eventually be the parents of at least four sons and three daughters.
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Annapolis (MD) Republican (June 22, 1839)
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Annapolis Republican (Feb 26, 1840)
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1850 Census showing Joseph Jr. and family living in Baltimore
Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr. eventually "took the reins" of St. Andrews Church in Baltimore, but ran into some major troubles within the church fold. This would lead to a trial. This incident led to a trial, reports of which were carried in newspapers throughout the country. Trapnell would eventually be exonerated, but was forced to move his family north to Bristol, Rhode Island and next to the mid-west for a while. 
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Early photograph of Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr.
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Southern Christian Advocate of (Augusta, GA) (March 12 1847)
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I invite you to check Amazon.com to purchase a book for more on Rev. Trapnell's trial. Cost is $21.75 for a reprinting. Full Title: "Report of The Trial of The Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jun., Before The Standing Committee of The Diocese of Maryland, Sitting as an Ecclesiastical Court, in St. Andrew's Church, Baltimore, on Tuesday, the 23d; Wednesday, the 24th; Thursday, the 25th; and Friday, the 26th, 1847.
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Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr. in the Iowa 1850 Census living in Keokuk, Iowa
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Joseph Trapnell, Jr.
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​​The Trapnells eventually moved to Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, where a new Protestant Episcopal church, St. John's, had recently been built.  Missions were also being formed as Iowa had just received statehood in late 1846. The family would be back living in Frederick County by the early 1860s as Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr. would serve St. Mark's Church in Petersville.  
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At its height, St. Mark's Parish consisted of four churches: St. Mark's, Petersville; St. Luke's, Brownsville; Grace Church, Brunswick; and St. John's, Burkittsville. The churchyard at St. Mark's Church in Petersville contains numerous monuments from the community's prominent families, including Francis Thomas, Maryland politician and congressman who served as the state's governor from 1842 until 1845. Due to the shift of population from Petersville to Brunswick in the early-20th century, St. Mark's Church dwindled and finally closed its doors in 1966. The church is today home to the St. Mark's Apostolic congregation.
Rev. Trapnell's wife, Emily, died in March, 1862 and  and she was laid to rest in the family plot in Mount Olivet purchased eight years earlier by her father-in-law. It's not known when the sizeable monument was placed over the grave of Harriet Trapnell, now joined by Emily.

Rev. Trapnell, Jr. would remarry. His second wife was Ellen C. (Frazier)Marshall (1825-1891), widow of John H. C. Marshall. She would eventually be buried in this plot upon her death, four years after her new husband.  Three other children of Joseph, Jr. are buried here in Area E/Lot 14: William Trapnell (1847-1874), Fannie M. Trapnell (1946-1900) and Ella Trapnell (1851-1912), the latter is unmarked.

As for Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr., he died in Middletown on October 3rd, 1887. Now his name would be carved on the gravestone's eastern face.
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Frederick News (Oct 4, 1887)
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​We started this article talking about the American Civil War and it is very etched upon my mind as of late as I am currently teaching a four-week course entitled "Frederick in the Civil War" under my History Shark Productions brand. With Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Jr's enthusiastic support of General Jesse Reno in September, 1862, he followed up by making a generous contribution less than a year later after the Battle of Gettysburg for the care of Union soldiers. One would think the man, and his family, were avid and loyal supporters of the Union cause. That brings us to Rev. Trapnell's namesake grandson Joseph, Jr. who was a southern sympathizer and secessionist.
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Joseph Trapnell III (1842-1912)
In Jacob Engelbrecht's diary, I found this entry dated August 2nd, 1862:
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"More Arrests - Last night (near 10 o'clock Friday August 1 1862) the Provost Marshal entered the shoe store of J.F. Hill (middle store of German Reformed building) and arrested Mordaunt C. Winchester, Adolphus Fearhake, Junior, Francis Brengle, James McSherry Junior, J.R. Hill, Joseph P. Pope, Joseph P. Myers, Milton G. Urner and Joseph Trapnell of Jos Junior. Subsequently, they arrested Thomas E. Pope, John Myers. Winchester, Fearhake, Brengle, McSherry, Trapnell, & Pope were released on Sunday night 9 o'clock August 17 1862 by taking the oath of allegiance to the United States."
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Frederick Examiner (Aug 20, 1862)
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Joseph Trapnell III grave in Zion Episcopal Churchyard in Charles Town, WV
This Joseph Trapnell's life story is equally interesting and we can again thank his grandfather (Rev. Joseph Trapnell, Sr.) for help making it possible. Here is a transcript of an obituary for this gentleman from a Charles Town, WV newspaper called the Spirit of Jefferson and published March 19th, 1912:

"Joseph Trapnell III of Charles Town, W Va, died Saturday, am March 16, 1912. Born in the city of Annapolis, Md, September 1, 1842.  A grandson of Rev Joseph Trapnell, who was born at Ottery, St Mary, Devonshire, England, November 8, 1775. Oldest son of Rev Joseph Trapnell, D D, who was born at Bemerton, Wiltshire, England, June 19, 1814. Our subject's boyhood days were spent in Baltimore, Bristol, R I , and Keokuk, Iowa, where his father was rector of churches in these places. He commenced the study of law in the office of Belknap & Lomax, at Keokuk, Iowa, in 1859.

In 1861 (his father having moved to St Mark's parish, Frederick Co, Md) he continued his legal studies with Joseph Palmer, esq, a noted attorney of Frederick, Md, until Sept 1862, when he entered the Confederate Army on the 12th, Company G, 7th Va Cavalry, where he remained until the late fall of 1864, when he joined the Maryland Battalion, which had the honor of being the last part of the noble army of northern Virginia to surrender.

In the summer of 1865 he continued his interrupted studies in the office of the late N S White, esq, at Charles Town, W Va. In Oct, 1866, he was admitted to the bar at Frederick, Md, and commenced the practice of his profession with his late preceptor, N S White, making the firm of White & Trapnell. On Nov 20, 1866, he was united in marriage in Zion Church, Charles Town, with Miss Rebecca Holmes White, only child of his preceptor and partner. The Rev Joseph Trapnell officiated.

His long useful life in the practice of his profession was spent in this ancient and beautiful town. He was chancellor of the diocese of West Virginia, a lay deputy to the general convention of the church, which meets every three years, since 1889; a vestryman, of Zion church, Charles Town, or warden, for upwards of forty years. Throughout the whole valley of Virginia, especially, and in all parts of the state and adjoining states of Virginia and Maryland, in many parts his professional ability made him much sought after - especially in the intricacies of the great science, he was known to be a master of the law.

Respected, honored, loved by the whole community, after a life spent there of nearly 47 years, he will be missed in the church and state. He leaves a widow and one sister. His brother is Dr R Watkins Trapnell, of Point of Rocks, and his sister Miss Ella Trapnell, of Middletown, Md."


Joseph Trapnell III is buried in Zion Cemetery in Charles Town as are many of his siblings and children. One of these is his oldest son, Benjamin Trapnell (1867-1926) who joined the US military, but his stay was brief. 
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Benjamin Trapnell (great grandson of Frederick's Joseph Trapnell, Sr.)
​Benjamin and several cousins attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland—although Benjamin's military career was cut short by an infamous hazing incident. On August 31st, 1883, Captain Ramsay convened a court-martial to try the third-class cadets accused of violating the Hazing Law.

​The court-martial made national news and received daily coverage in the New York Times and other large newspapers. The first cadet tried was Benjamin Trapnell, who had the most numerous and serious hazing charges against him. Trapnell’s alleged acts included making some fourth-class cadets stand on their heads while wearing only nightshirts, making another sit cross-legged in his hammock while he swung the hammock until the underclassman was thrown to the deck, and making another lie motionless in a tank in the washroom for ten minutes. The court convicted Trapnell. 
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New York Times (Sept 13, 1883)
Several other cousins were officers in the United States Army as was Benjamin's brother, Wallace Probasco Trapnell, who served in the Signal Corps. Following his father, Frederick Mackay Trapnell attended the Naval Academy, graduated, and was commissioned an ensign in 1923. Frederick Trapnell was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After serving for two years at sea on board the battleship USS California and the cruiser USS Marblehead, Trapnell was assigned to Naval Air Station Pensacola in 1926 for flight training, thus beginning his career as a naval aviator.
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Trapnell on far right
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Vice Admiral Frederick M. Trapnell
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Frederick M. Trapnell at right
Frederick M. Trapnell was the first US Navy pilot to fly a jet aircraft, was considered the best, most experienced naval test aviator of his generation, co-founded the branch's first test pilot school, and played a pivotal role in both the development of future Naval aircraft and the survival of the post-World War II Navy's air arm. In 2015, Trapnell was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. 
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Trapnell was appointed as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea, effective April 29, 1950. He immediately put his extensive aviator experience to use in order to increase efficiency. Among other innovations, Trapnell revised the system and apparatus utilized for carrier take-offs, considerably streamlining the amount of time expended for the procedure.
 
In February 1951, he was promoted to rear admiral and became- in March- deputy commander of both Sandia Base and the Field Command Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Albuquerque, New Mexico. He served in this capacity until April 1952 and soonafter medically retired with the rank of vice admiral.
 
After the Navy, Frederick M. Trapnell worked as a consultant for Grumman Aircraft for the next 23 years and became a sailing enthusiast. On April 1st, 1976, the air field at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland's St. Mary's County was officially named "Trapnell Field" in his honor. 
Short Video about Frederick M. Trapnell
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Patuxent River Naval Air Station (Trapnell Field) Airport with the Chesapeake Bay in the background
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Frederick W. Trapnell was a cousin of Bataan Death March survivor, Thomas John Hall "Trap" Trapnell (1902–2002), a United States Army lieutenant general. He was the son of Joseph H. Trapnell, Jr. (1871-1922), son of Joseph Trapnell III of Charles Town. This gentleman was a West Point grad and career officer who served in World War II and the Korean War. Trapnell survived the Bataan Death March and the sinking of two transportation ships during World War II, put down a rebellion of prisoners of war in the Korean War, was the top US advisor to the French during the French Indochina War, and advised against US involvement in Vietnam. He rose to the rank of three-star general before his military retirement and, at the time of his death, was the oldest living member of the Philippine Scouts.
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Lt. Gen Thomas J. H. Trapnell is buried in the West Point Military Academy Post Cemetery in New York
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​Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Trapnell's brother, Walter Scott Kennedy Trapnell, rose to the rank of commander in the United States Navy during World War II. Commander Trapnell, was a 1921 graduate of the United States Naval Academy who married five times and was forced to leave the Navy when an investigation allegedly uncovered evidence that he was operating a bordello while stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. His wife had attended Radcliffe College and was a member of an old Massachusetts family.
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Commander Walter Scott Kennedy Trapnell is buried in Arlington Cemetery
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​​Enter son Garrett Brock Trapnell (1938-1993), the most infamous Trapnell of them all. His parents were divorced when he was 4, and he lived his younger years with his mother in Massachusetts. Garrett dropped out of high school, and lived for a time in a brothel in Panama City and joined the Army at the age of 17. He served at Fort Hood, Texas where an uncle was the commanding general, but he developed a long record of infractions and was finally discharged after he shot himself, apparently accidentally.

This led to a colorful career as a con man, bank robber, and aircraft hijacker of the 1960s and early 1970s. Trapnell robbed a string of banks in Canada, frequently posed as an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency, masterminded a $100,000 jewelry store heist in Freeport, Bahamas, and simultaneously maintained marriages with at least six women. When arrested for his crimes, he frequently feigned madness and successfully used the insanity defense to be committed to mental institutions, from which he would later escape or be released on the grounds that he was no longer dangerous. While serving life imprisonment for the hijacking of a TWA passenger airliner in 1972, he was the subject of a book, 
The Fox Is Crazy Too, written by journalist Eliot Asinof.
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Garrett Brock Trapnell
Our subject, Joseph Trapnell, Sr., gave rise to American patriots just like his neighbor Barbara Fritchie who was a poster child for inspiring countless others. The Protestant Episcopal minister had a lineage that gave us at least three great, great grandsons who would shine through their military duty to his new country of the United States of America and countless other descendants who continue to make important contributions. Unfortunately, there is always one bad apple in every bunch. That would be his scoundrel great, great, great grandson who was not a shining legacy to say the least.

You can't win them all, I guess, but what a fascinating history of a family progenitor buried in Frederick's Mount Olivet —one of oh, so many fascinating progenitors.
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Author's Note: Great information (and photographs) for this Trapnell family can be found via Findagrave.com, Byrnefamily.net and the Virginia Historical Society. Frederick M. Trapnell, Jr. wrote a great deal of articles and participated in interviews discussing his father's military service. Many photographs exist online thanks to his vast collection.
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A Frederick Junk Dealer

8/29/2024

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​Labor Day is upon us once again! As many know, this isn’t a religious or cultural day of observation, but rather a federal holiday celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor, and recognize, the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.

Not all individuals get the day off, but most do. Naturally, those that have to labor on Labor Day are generally employed within health and public safety professions, while others are engaged in hospitality (hotel/restaurant/attractions) and retail trades. The first Labor Day in America was celebrated in New York in 1882. Other states started recognizing the holiday one by one until it was made a national holiday in 1894.

I wonder if John Walter, our featured subject for this week’s “Story in Stone,” labored on Labor Days throughout his lifetime? He died in October, 1905, having the opportunity to celebrate eleven Labor Days if my math is correct.

John Walter was an immigrant who came to Frederick in the mid-19th century and "labored" as a professional collector and purveyor of junk and scrap, and what others would deem trash. But let me clarify, there is certainly a difference, and distinction, to be made between junk and scrap and trash—especially to the well-trained eye. Few in Frederick’s past (and present) can rival the success experienced by John Walter, although Mount Olivet resident Bernie Winkel certainly comes to mind. Mr. Winkel, the self-proclaimed “Used Car King of Maryland,” had a scrapyard of old Model T's and other vehicles which was located on W. Patrick St. at the site of the soon to be gone Patrick Street Center. He specialized in automobiles and “junk cars” for “junk parts,” where Mr. Walter was open to “junk” of all sorts, shapes and sizes.

John Walter achieved a great reputation as a businessman, and held a high standing in the community. This is quite impressive for a humble “junk dealer.” He is buried in Mount Olivet’s Area G/Lot 62 and his final resting spot is marked with an impressive monument featuring a shrouded woman with arms folded across her chest, gazing upwards toward the heavens in what appears to be prayer and contemplation. The white marble statue sits atop a polished, granite base. Upon closer inspection, one will notice that the woman is actually holding a small anchor in her left hand. Anchors represent "hope" in the annals of monument iconography. 
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​Volume II of T.J.C. Williams’ History of Frederick County, Maryland includes biographies on notable living Frederick Countians. At the time of its publishing in 1910, John Walter was included posthumously as he  had passed five years earlier in 1905, as already mentioned. Here is a transcript of that biography which appears on pg. 981 of the original printing:

“The Late John Walter, a retired business man and capitalist of Frederick, Md., was born in Germany in 1825.
Mr. Walter’s parents died while he was a little child and he was cared for by friends. He received his education in the public school and he was still but a lad when he began to learn the machinists’ trade. He was a little more than a child when he was thrown upon his own resources and was literally compelled “to paddle his own canoe.” He was only sixteen when he decided to go to America, of which he had heard so much. He had very little money, but not being one who was deterred by slight obstacles, he found a place on a ship where he was allowed to work for passage money. He came at once to Frederick, Md., and, for a time, things looked pretty dark for the orphan boy, alone in a strange land, without money or friends. No one had any employment for him, and he was almost in despair but at length Mr. F(rederick) Pampel gave him a place as a machinist. The youth was faithful to his duties there and, at the end of five years, he was employed by Doub & Glaze, machinists.

​After spending four years with this firm, Mr. Walter began buying “junk.” He had good judgment in buying and made a great success of his enterprise. The same sound judgment guided him in investing his profits, and at his death, Mr. Walter possessed railroad securities and valuable real estate in Frederick and in the surrounding county. He always respected the rights of his fellow men, never overreaching them, but was strictly upright and honorable in all his dealings. A large share of his fortune was made during the Civil War in which he took no active part. After that time, he was a Republican. Mr. Walter was a resident of Frederick from his youth, and had been actively interested in everything related to the development and prosperity of his adopted City. He soon won a competence and, secure from fear of want in his old age, he enjoyed life thoroughly. His friends were legion, and to one and all he extended most hospitably, the courtesies of his comfortable home. He was an entertaining conversationalist, and his friends enjoyed his graphic account of the way in which he obtained his start in financial affairs. He was a member of the Odd Fellows, of the encampment, and of the Order of Red Men.


John Walter was married, in 1848, to Elizabeth Pampel, a daughter of his first employer. Of their ten children, eight reached maturity: 1. Sarah C., married to John O. Smith, a lumber merchant of Hagerstown, Md.; 2. Jacob W. of Hanover, Pa.; 3. Alice V., married to Jacob F. Snyder, a retired farmer of Germantown, Md.; 4. Charles G., deceased; 5. Lewis C., a locksmith, of Frederick City; 6. Florence M., (Mrs William F. Snyder), of Frederick City; 7. Edward H., optician, Hanover, Pa.; 8. Bertie E., married first to the late Professor Mitchell E. Daniels, of Vergannes, Vt., and after his death to James F. Eldridge, of Washington, D.C. For more than three decades, Mr. Walter resided at the old home on North Market Street where he died October 26, 1905, and was laid to rest in Mount Olivet Cemetery, beside his wife, who had died in 1902. He held the faith of his ancestors and was identified with the Lutheran Church. For more than thirty years, he had been superintendent of the Sunday School, and actively engaged in the work among the young people with whom he was a great favorite.”
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1860 US Census showing John Walter family living in Frederick
​Jacob Engelbrecht’s diary features several entries involving Mr. Walter and was well-known to the author in addition to attending the same church. As a matter of fact, John Walter lived across the street from the tailoring business shop that Jacob and his brothers operated on N. Market Street just north of the old Market House/Town Hall (today’s home of Brewer’s Alley Restaurant).

A few diary entries around the time of the Civil War were particularly interesting:

“Our neighbor, Mr. John Walter, who went to Winchester about 2 months ago on the trading business, that is, following the United States Army, was taken prisoner by the army of General (Stonewall) Jackson (Rebel) & taken with the prisoners captured of the First Maryland regiment of Colonel Kenly, Jackson took nearly all the civilians who were trading with the Yankees, as they call the United States Army. This information was received today from a gentleman who had been to Winchester. He was captured May 25, 1862."
Friday, June 6, 1862

"Mr. John Walter arrived in our town this forenoon at 11 & 1/2 o’clock in the Hagerstown Stage. He was not captured but was in Winchester on the day of the fight (May 25) & saw much of the battle. He gave us the particulars a bit ago."
Saturday, June 7, 1862

"Battlefield—Mr. John Walter was at the battlefield yesterday near Boonsborough and he says such sights beat everything. Dead soldiers in heaps decomposing & horses in the same way. At one place he says he saw a pile of dead Rebels in a kind of ravine as long as the width of the street (60 feet) in layers of 3, 4, 5 heaped on each other. Already decomposed, (they were of the last Sunday’s fight already) & the stench was exceedingly offensive. In all the battles fought, `(and they have been at it nearly every day since Sunday last the 14th instant) the number of killed and wounded on both sides must have been tremendous."
Saturday, September 20, 1862

"John Walter & Frederick Kehler (constable) had a striking affair this afternoon. Kehler had process against Walter on dog taxes. When he refused to pay & Walter having his dander raised struck Kehler with a hammer. Did not injure him much."
Tuesday, March 15, 1864

"Mr. John Walter (our neighbor opposite the city hall) told me today that he arrived at New York from “Ipsheim” (his place of nativity) Germany on the “18th of August 1845” in the ship “Agnes” from Bremen. Came to Frederick Maryland, September 3, 1845."
Wednesday, March 7, 1866
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John Walter's birthplace of Ipsheim in Bavaria
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This is the ship that John Walter came to America upon in 1845 from Germany. The "Agnes" was bound for Bremen when she was lost in a storm off the coast of Holland in 1850
​I was disappointed that I couldn’t find any of Mr. Walter’s advertisements for his junk business from any old newspapers. I’m assuming junkyards, junk warehouses and the like did not do a great deal of marketing. I did find locations for two former sites of his business. They appear on Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These atlas maps were created to assist fire and rescue units with understanding the layout of businesses and dwellings in town. In 1887, John Walter’s junkyard could be found on the former West Alley between W. Fourth and W. Fifth streets. This thoroughfare is known as Klinehart’s Alley today, and a few ruins and remnants of the old brick support buildings can be found. The site hosted a soap factory as well.
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1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing the John Walter Junkyard and Soap Factory off Klinehart's Alley
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A current day aerial view of the old junkyard/soap factory/slaughterhouse complex. After Walter's ownership, an access lane would connect to N. Market St.
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​Within a few years, I learned that Mr. Walter apparently relinquished this property to John F. Baumgartner. In a January, 2020 edition of Preservation Matters, City of Frederick historic planner Christian Martinkosky writes:
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“Perhaps the most notable site was a multifaceted business operated by John F. Baumgardner, a German immigrant. It was between Fourth and Fifth streets, adjacent to a slaughterhouse. Baumgardner likely relied on locally sourced animal products to make fine soaps and phosphates, in addition to running a junkyard.”
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Current day view looking north on Klinehart Alley. The Walter Junkyard was once located to the right in this picture and associated buildings are still visible in brick structures. (Note the curved wall building to left and compare to atlas image below (curved building off alley)
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Views of the Baumgardner complex from the 1892 Sanborn Map
​We wrote about Mr. Baumgardner, and his son Harry, in a “Story in Stone” back in 2021 as they were very successful in both the junk business, and, more so, the meat processing and retail business. These operations including the junk yard and soap-works, with the addition of a slaughterhouse plant, gave labor to local Blacks living in the immediate vicinity along West Alley as one can see several property clusters on the Sanborn Map labeled simply as “Negro Dwellings.”

Christina Martinkosky, in her article, references the housing plight and relocation of these residents, decades later through government housing projects:

“The mid-20th century brought great change to Klinehart’s Alley. Driven by urban renewal projects, homes along the alley between Fifth and Seventh streets were cleared out. In 1942, the Roger Brooke Taney Apartments were constructed. This community was made up of eight large housing units holding 68 apartments to accommodate low-income white families. A second development, known as the John Hanson Homes, cleared another section of the historically black neighborhood in 1959. These developments have since been demolished and replaced with new homes. Today, only traces of the former neighborhood can be detected, including remnants of Baumgardner’s business.”

John Walter moved to another location as the town was certainly big enough to support two junkyards. This was a pre-existing junkyard on E. Third Street next to the Ruprecht family’s mattress manufactory, and near the cross street of Middle Alley—then known as Locust Alley. The new Walter family business location can be found on the subsequent 1892 Sanborn Map drawn and published for Frederick City.
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1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing John Walter Junk Business on E. 3rd St
​And speaking of family businesses, John’s wife, Elizabeth, was a milliner—a maker of women’s hats. I also stumbled upon a listing of a school being taught in the family home on N. Market Street. But just where was this home? I read that he owned some homes on East Third and could have lived or had business on North Market St. Locust Alley properties once in his portfolio are now part of the Maxwell Square Condominiums. Locust Alley is now called Maxwell Avenue.
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Frederick Examiner (Aug 22, 1866)
​John and his wife lived at what is now 129 N. Market Street. This is known as the River Bar & Grill today. The year before his death, Mr. Walter sold his house to his daughter Florence (1904), retaining the right to "use, occupy and enjoy" the room which he used as a bedroom. Florence, like her mother, was a milliner and ran her business out of the home. Interestingly, Elizabeth (Lewis) Peters, who we also once wrote about in conjunction to Miss Bird Smith's re-interment in Mount Olivet bought this building from Florence (Walter) Snyder's heirs in 1970 and owned it until 1973.
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Looking south on N. Market St with River Bar & Grill in center of photograph (left of Agave Tequila Bar)
​All of John Walter's other properties, on E. 3rd Street and on Locust Alley, were sold at public sale after his death, by William P. Maulsby, trustee. The house at 27 E. 3rd Steet was sold to Edward Walter and his sister Florence (Walter) Snyder, while the remaining properties were sold to Lewis Walter. He apparently mortgaged them in 1908 but then they were advertised for public sale by the mortgagee in 1916.

In researching the deeds, I found that John Walter's youngest daughter Bertha was married to a Mitchell Daniels (oculist from Vermont) from 1890 until his death in 1902, then to a James Fillmore Eldridge from 1904 until his death in 1908. Interestingly, Bertha Eldridge served as a milliner in Thurmont, as this article from the Catoctin Clarion of 7 Sept 1905 shows:
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Catoctin Clarion (Sept 7, 1905)
​Mrs. Walter died in 1902 and her obituary was quite lengthy. At some point, we will tackle the story of her parents, particularly her father Frederick Pampel, creator of the Pampel Foundry that once stood on the southwest corner of W. South Street and Broadway Avenue.
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Frederick News (Dec 18, 1902)
​I found several mentions of John Walter in local newspapers, but none greater than this obituary which added a few interesting details to the biography found in Williams’ History of Frederick County. It appeared in the October 27th, 1905 issue of the Frederick News, while also appearing in the Baltimore Sun.
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Frederick News (Oct 27, 1905)
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Frederick News (Oct 30, 1905)
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​I could not find any information on the installation of the Walter monument on the site, but I’d bet that it went up in the immediate years after Elizabeth’s death and before John’s death (ie: 1903, 1904 or 1905). Other family members buried here in the Walter plot include infant children Cassandra and John, along with Charles G. Walter (d. 1897), Lewis C. Walter (d. 1923), and Katie Elizabeth Walter (d. 1881). Florence (Walter) Snyder is buried in the adjoining plot.
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Happy Labor Day....and all of that junk!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This cover photograph at the top of this story is not a Frederick scene. It was taken by photographer Joe Clark in 1939 and is part of the collection entitled: Clark Family Photography Collection and was provided by the UNT Libraries Special Collections to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. If you have any photos of the former junkyard/scrapyard or warehouse sites connecting to John Walter or his family, please contact me as we'd love to include them with this story.
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McCleery's Designs

8/19/2024

1 Comment

 
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​Earlier this summer, I was pecking along on the internet, preparing for teaching one of my “Frederick History 201” classes. I wanted to learn a little more detail regarding the history of the Frederick County Courthouse. In particular, I was seeking information on the structure’s architecture and builder by the name of Henry McCleery.

In saying this, I need to make a few clarifications to assist you in figuring out which building  and geographic location I am referring to here. First off, I am talking about the second (of four) courthouses that Frederick County has witnessed being built, and utilized, since the 1750s. The greater locale is within the heart of historic downtown Frederick City.

The particular courthouse in question, and pictured at the top of the story, no longer stands. If it had a gravestone, it would read 1785-1861. We do have its 1862 replacement, but that building is not our present courthouse (#4), which is located on the northwest corner of West Patrick and North Court streets and built in 1982.
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Current Frederick County Courthouse
​​We are fortunate to still possess former courthouse (#3) —another example of Frederick's many "adaptive reuse" success stories. Today, this building of Italianate design is in its fifth decade of service as Frederick City Hall and like its predecessor (courthouse #2) is positioned within Court House Square, often called "Court Square" for short. This "public yard" has served as Frederick's  village common, or green, far longer than Baker Park and is sandwiched in between Council and West Church streets to the north and south respectively, and North Court and Record streets to the east and west.
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Aerial photograph of Frederick City Hall by Michael Binebrink
So what happened to Frederick's second county courthouse? Well, it burned down in 1861 in the early days of the American Civil War. Some say it could have been an accident, and others say it was arson and an early victim of political protest. Either way, Henry McCleery’s Georgian style masterpiece left us shortly after its 75th anniversary. If anything else, it was certainly more durable and accommodating than our first courthouse, while helping to launch the legal careers of many men of mark including Roger Brooke Taney and Francis Scott Key.

In case you were curious, the first Frederick County Courthouse was built in this same Court Square vicinity after our county's founding in 1748. The Maryland General Assembly ordered that Frederick be the site of the county seat.  On a chosen location on the northwest side of the fledgling village, land would be obtained for the purpose. The order stated:

“That the said three Acres shall be laid out in an exact Square, and staked and well bounded, and that the Courthouse aforesaid shall be built in the Centre of the same Square, and that the Prison or Prisons for the same County shall be built on the South Side of the same Square.”
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1782 Samuel DuVall Map (white block left center is the site of Frederick's Court) House Square)
​Construction began in 1750 but was delayed for some time thanks in part to the French & Indian War which led to the confiscation of workers’ wagons for the war effort among other things. Talk about your supply chain issues! Anyway, the project would eventually be completed in 1756 and hosted the legendary Stamp Act Repudiation less than a decade later in November, 1765. Court Square would be the site of a large mock funeral for "the recently expired" Stamp Act, a satiric protest put on by our local “chapter” of the Sons of Liberty.
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A depiction of the Stamp Act mock funeral held in Frederick's Courthouse Square on November 30, 1765 (art piece by Richard Schlecht)
​Frederick Town continued to attract a number of talented attorneys and legal minds to work in its courts including Revolutionary War patriots Thomas Johnson, Jr. and John Hanson. The county’s growth naturally necessitated a new courthouse be built, one that could properly accommodate the needs of court business. At the same time, historic records show that the first courthouse and jail (Gaol) were in a shabby state of deterioration. The year was 1785, and that is when the fore-mentioned Henry McCleery enters our story:

“Whereas the Justices and sundry Inhabitants of Frederick County by their petition to the General Assembly have represented, that the Court House and Gaol are at present in a very impaired State—That the former is so much out of repair, that the public papers and Records are not only exposed to be purloined and taken out of the office above Stairs, but to be damaged and defaced by every driving rain and Snow that may happen by penetrating into the Office among the said Records and papers, that the Walls of the said Court House are giving away being Cracked and Chasms made from the foundation to the roof thereof that the Gaol is likewise in a very decayed State and will be insufficient with all the repairs that can be given to secure Criminals.” (Laws, Liber T.B.H. No. A, pp. 46.r)-66, Ms)

Historian Thomas J. Scharf adds to the story in his commentary on the building of the second courthouse in his History of Western Maryland (published in 1882):

“The members of the General Assembly heard this cry of distress and thereupon empowered the justices of the county to levy up to £2,000 current money. They were also granted permission to sell whatever materials in the old courthouse which could not be used in the new building and to add the proceeds to the building fund. By 1787, the outside of the new courthouse was finished, but the interior was not ready and as is usual in these cases, the money had all been expended. It was necessary, therefore, to return to the General Assembly with a second plea, this time for £750 current money. An act authorizing this further levy was passed at the April Session, 1787.

Although it was apparently not finished at the time, the court began sitting in the new courthouse in March 1787. From the time of the razing of the old, and the completion or near completion of the new, courthouse, quarters were secured for the court in the house of Mrs. Rebecca Owen, for which she was allowed thirteen pounds and fifteen shillings at the November Term of 1786.”


The court had appointed a building commission on April 8th, 1785 to supervise the building, and apparently it was this body that employed our subject, Henry McCleery. This man was described by former Court Square resident, historian, politician and international statesman, Charles McCurdy “Mac” Mathias (1922-2010) as "Frederick's little known but highly talented architect” in an article written about his childhood home in the 1950s.
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Frederick County's second courthouse within the Sachse 1854 lithograph of Frederick City
​So back to my innocent Google journey from last June. I stumbled upon a particularly evocative entry within search engine results for “McCleery architect” on a site called www.Biblio.com, a privately owned international online marketplace specializing in rare and collectible books. My find was for an online sale entry for actual work books and ledgers belonging to Henry McCleery and his family. These were  billed as “manuscripts having enormous research value, containing, as they do, a copious amount of first hand information about the architectural and building history of Frederick spanning fifty years, 1790-1840.”
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Now I had seen references before to some of the McCleery family papers. These reside in repositories such as the Maryland State Historical Society in Baltimore and the Hall of Records in Annapolis. I also have seen that some McCleery papers and sketches are located at the prestigious Winterthur Museum in northern Delaware. 

My attention was certainly gotten in reading the sale's very detailed description. Here’s just the opening stanza:

“OVER 1100 PAGES OF MANUSCRIPT CONSTRUCTION RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS IN THIRTEEN FOLIO VOLUMES OF AN IMPORTANT FREDERICK, MARYLAND, 18th/19th CENTURY IRISH IMMIGRANT ARCHITECT AND MASTER BUILDER, INCLUDING THOSE OF HIS SONS, WHO WERE HIS BUSINESS PARTNERS AND SUCCESSORS, KEPT OVER A PERIOD OF FIFTY YEARS, 1790-1840
BOOK #1. McCLEERY, Henry (1749-1819), Irish-American architect and master builder in Frederick, Maryland, who built most of Frederick's significant structures in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Tall folio ledger book, original flexible boards (worn & soiled), signed on front cover: "Henry McCleery/ his Book/ 1790 January 1st," then again, "Henry McCleery His Book," with dates "1790/1791/1792/1793," and "Alegheny Lotts in this Book 1790 page 20"; over 320 pages of manuscript in 4 sections, crudely side-sewn and bound as one, ca. pp. [76] + [76] + [80] + [90], each section with alphabetical list of clients/customers + 12 simple original sketch plans of buildings with dimensions, written on laid paper with ProPatria watermark. Frederick, Maryland, this volume, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, [1796, 1814-1815, 1821]: Additional volumes described below covering the years 1794, 1800, 1810, 1811, 1821-30, 1830, 1831, 1834-40, 1836, 1840. Thirteen volumes of bound manuscript, tall folios, approximately 1100 pp. Condition is generally used, as would be expected, but very good, as described for each volume. An extraordinary collection of manuscript account books delineating an early American architectural and construction business conducted by Henry McCleery.”
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A page from one of Henry McCleery's Workbooks
​This listing contained a treasure-trove of local history! But, alas, my find was nothing more than “a ghost page” as the sale had already been completed by an independent firm by in Sheffield, Massachusetts by the name of Howard S. Mott, Inc. The company is a collector/reseller specializing in early Americana, historical books and magazines, autograph letters, etc. I could find no corresponding date, or any info on the seller, buyer or successful bid. Where are these books residing today?  

I surely hope that these invaluable workbooks made their way back to Frederick, or at least Maryland. If not, maybe they are in the possession of a caring family member or property owner. Odds are they are now owned by a museum or architectural history fan who appreciates their magnificent importance. And if the buyer ever reads this humble blog in the future, please consider sending our Heritage Frederick (the former Historical Society of Frederick County) a copy of the books to help us understand the McCleery built structures, and family, a bit better. No one appreciates their history and historic buildings like Frederick with our much-heralded, 50-block Downtown Frederick Historic District.
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Second Frederick County Courthouse designed and built by Henry McCleery (completed 1787)
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The Court of Assizes in Dublin, Ireland was the inspiration for McCleery's design for the 2nd Frederick Courthouse
​So, just who is Henry McCleery? Well, in addition to giving Frederick some pretty amazing edifices, he also is responsible for even more descendants, with plenty buried here in Mount Olivet Cemetery including himself.
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Henry McCleery plot in Mount Olivet (Area H/Lot 371)
​Henry McCleery is remembered in the annals of our town’s history as an Irish immigrant architect and master carpenter. He settled in Frederick in the late 1760s and conducted a carpentry and building business, one that was carried on after his death in 1819 by three sons, Robert (1788-1840), Andrew (1777-1853) and William (1794-1848). William went to Brookville, Indiana in 1825 to care for his sister-in-law after the death of her husband . A fourth son, Henry (@1783-1822) is buried here in Mount Olivet in an unmarked grave according to our interment records. He doesn't seem to be associated with the building trade, but could have been.
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​In 1778, Henry McCleery bought a 39'x 83' lot fronting on Market Street from Charles Beatty, next to the north side of the "Market House", where he apparently had his house, and later bought several adjoining properties as well as other properties in and near Frederick. Of course, the Market House property was enlarged, later in 1874 when the opera house was built, so the location of Henry's house is where the northern section of Brewers Alley now is. This house stayed in the family until 1855, although after 1841 it was occupied by William Beall (whose sister Rebecca had married Robert McCleery).
 
Henry McCleery's will was proved in 1820, leaving everything to his three sons equally including several lots in Frederick and his old construction shop which once fronted on East Second Street, just west of the alley that takes one to Market Space. This was said to be the lot east of his mother-in-law's house (Mary Ritchie) and across the alley from the Old Lutheran Graveyard behind the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Schaeffer Center occupies the majority of the old graveyard today. Interestingly, this location of the McCleery workshop was near the site of the Tory Gaol during the Revolutionary War. 
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E 2nd Street at Market Space Alley, former site of the McCleery Shop
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Part of Henry McCleery's will in which he leaves his "shop" to his sons
​Buildings of Frederick attributed to McCleery are plenty with his main achievement being the second county courthouse (1785). It was reportedly designed using the Court of Assizes in Dublin, Ireland as a model. Other construction marvels that still stand include the second All Saint's Episcopal Church (1813) on North Court Street and the Frederick Presbyterian Church (1825) on West Second Street. In some accounts, he is revered for designing and building the famed steeple atop Trinity Chapel which would serve home to the town clock built by Frederick Heisley. This is usually attributed to Stephen Steiner, as are the twin spires of the fore-mentioned Evangelical Lutheran, but this could have been McCleery's design or handiwork in partnering with Steiner.
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The German Reformed Church's Trinity Chapel on W. Church St
​Henry McCleery was also responsible for producing numerous other taverns and houses here. The former Potts House on the corner of North Court and West Church streets was built by Henry McCleery after being designed by the noted architect Robert Mills who is responsible for many early government buildings of Washington, D.C.

The sale description states that “there are four pages detailing work accomplished in 1821 for the Committee of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Henry McCleery's manuscripts, with voluminous additions by his sons after his death, provide a wealth of previously unknown information about the flourishing business conducted by these architect/master builders, all regarding properties and businesses they served in Frederick County, as well as some in Georgetown. The initial accounts/records are carried over from a previous "folio," whereabouts, if extant, unknown to us. These thirteen volumes containing more than 1100 pages offer an extraordinary amount of descriptive accounting information about the business activities of McCleery and his sons, with names of their many customers, with all jobs priced and described as completed for some of the most distinguished personages of late 18th and early 19th century Frederick.”

I couldn’t garner a great deal of information on the man himself, as most information accompanies histories pertaining to his children and later descendants. Henry McCleery was born in 1749, in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. His father was Andrew McCleery, (1724-1794) and his mother, Martha E Rea (1724-1813). Henry arrived in America in the late 1760s and would marry Martha Ritchie (b. August 5th, 1755) in 1768. Martha was the daughter of William Ritchie (1726-1765) and Mary Beatty Middagh (1732-1818). The union produced nine known children: four sons (Henry, Andrew, Robert, and William) and five daughters (Mary (Knight) (1779-1820) , Zeruiah (Knox) (1783-1839), Susanna (McLanahan) (1786-1848), Frances (Beall) (1791-1852), and Cairissa.
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1790 US Census showing Henry McCleery living in Frederick
​I learned that Henry worked his early years in Frederick as a house carpenter and joiner, as listed in some of the early deeds. He is said to have produced the upright cases for grandfather clocks made by John Fessler. I read that he very likely paid someone to take his place in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. His service is noted as making coffins for deceased soldiers. Of course he would be tasked with designing Frederick’s court house just after the end of the conflict that gave him and his countrymen their independence.

An article found while researching for this blog story says that an old hinge had been found on the property of the Old All Saints Burying Ground (by Carroll Creek) sometime after the cemetery’s removal to Mount Olivet in 1913. The hardware resembled that which McCleery used regularly on both the clock cases and coffins he produced. This information came from a lecture given by Joseph W. Urner, a lineal descendant of McCleery, and a fine architect and sculptor in his own right, to the Frederick County Historical Society back in 1950. We have three of this particular gentleman’s sculpted busts in Mount Olivet including those of Roger Brooke Taney, Thomas Johnson, Jr. and Dr. Amon Burgee, and he also was the sculptor of the Alabama State Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Speaking of Thomas Johnson, Urner said in his talk that Henry McCleery was tasked to build a coffin for Maryland’s Revolutionary hero and first elected governor. Both men (McCleery and Johnson) died in the same year of 1819.
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Frederick News (May 18, 1950)
​Martha McCleery died on December 12th, 1815, and Henry passed on November 23rd, 1819 at the age of 70. They were both originally buried in the Old English Presbyterian burial ground that once occupied the southwest corner of the intersection between North Bentz Street and West Fourth Street where Dill Avenue begins. The contents of that burial ground were eventually moved to Mount Olivet in the latter part of the 19th century. Our records show that Henry McCleery's grandsons (Perry and Robert) had the bodies of their grandparents (along with several of Henry and Martha's children) disinterred and moved in September of 1863 to the family plot in Mount Olivet's Area H.
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Ledger stones marking the graves of Andrew McCleery (left), Henry McCleery (center) and Martha McCleery (right) in Mount Olivets's Area H/Lot 357
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​Henry McCleery was undoubtedly a very wealthy man. I have reason to believe that he lived in Georgetown, District of Columbia, after the death of Martha, as this was the place he filed his will in 1818. In his will, he assigns a Georgetown home on Washington Street to son Henry, and it seems as though his eldest son is sick or debilitated and requires "maintenance." I'm thinking that Henry cared for this man, at the time in his late thirties. This same Henry, Jr. would die just a few years later in 1822. His daughter Cairissa never married, and was recipient of his primary home in Frederick Town.

Henry left his daughters large amounts of cash, and  shares in the Bank of Columbia, Farmers Bank of Maryland, Union Bank of Georgetown, and Bank of Baltimore. Other properties and building lots in Frederick were divided amongst his three younger sons as were houses and lots in D.C., along with an importing and exporting company, a shop, and a tavern in Georgetown. He also had shares in the Bank of Columbia, Farmers Bank of Maryland, Union Bank of Georgetown, and Bank of Baltimore.
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1751 plat of lots in Georgetown
​Henry McCleery had acquired his lots in the new nation’s capital at the turn of the 19th century and is believed to have constructed one of the earliest surviving homes of Georgetown around 1800 to 1801 with "Adamesque" elements throughout its interior. McCleery purchased the lot from Thomas Beall, a relative through the marriage of his daughter Frances. The Beall family owned major tracts of land in the area and sold them for residential development. Both of these families (McCleerys and Bealls) also connect through the Knight family who I have chronicled in two earlier “Stories in Stone.”
 
A home that McCleery built still stands near an intersection with M Street at 1068 30th Street in Northwest, D.C. near what would become the beginning of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal a few decades later. The street the house fronted was originally called Bridge Street. Changes to this structure were made by the home’s second owner, John Bowie, whose family lived in the house from 1816 to 1847. Bowie was a well-known shipping merchant, who began his own company, Bowie and Kurtz, in 1799. It appears today on many historic home tours of Georgetown.
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Henry McCleery House in Georgetown
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​The term “Adamesque” had me recalling the John Adams miniseries that first aired on HBO well over a decade ago. In that program, a unique scene included the construction of the White House by slaves under the direction of architect James Hoban. The McCleery House in Georgetown shares many similar features with "the President's Home" and some historians have wondered if Hoban shared his knowledge in the construction of McCleery’s home. It would be interesting to see whether this was simply the architectural genius of our subject who may have influenced Hoban, or vice versa, to be used in the McCleerys’ later ventures. We will likely never know.

Slave labor and construction of this time period is often a missing part of the early building history of our country. They certainly made an important contribution to erecting countless amazing structures that began as humble drawings and designs on paper. The Biblio.com auction listing I found shares glimpses of Frederick’s African American heritage. I was fortunate to find the following in the auction entry writeup:

“Maryland being a slave state, there is much here mentioning named Negro labor, whether slave or free, we don't know, although we do know that the slave population in Frederick was substantial. Building, contracting, carpentry work of all types with different wood such as poplar, ash, chestnut, etc., building houses, making doors, paneled doors, windows, sashes, chimneys, bricks, flooring, joists, shutters, nails, stock locks, boards, scantling, rafters, gutters, etc., etc., also custom furniture making, copious numbers of coffins made to order for children and adults, with some of the more expensive versions described with details of wood, polish, fittings; some for the poor, McCleery apparently having an ongoing contract to provide coffins for those who died in the Poor House, including Negroes.

Included are many renovations, building of complete structures, the buying and selling of various types of lumber and wooden building materials. Accomplished jobs are given full treatment, with names, dates, work accomplished, giving exact accountings of materials used for each task, with prices charged. All four sections begin with a hand-lettered alphabetical index of clients names, be they personal, commercial, or county or state entities. The personal names are sometimes identified with a trade, i.e.: printer, locksmith, "comedian", blacksmith, baker, schoolmaster, butcher, mason, tailor, turner, etc., and some with military titles. Businesses or institutions include the Market House, or Frederick Town Market, of which McCleery seems to have had an official position, mentioning he collected "one Years rent of Room over Market", and "rent of stalls & shambles", signed "Henry McCleery Clerk"; "Christian Dwellings"; the State of Maryland, "federal", the County of Frederick; the Magazine; Court House [built in March 1787; those who would speak there would include John Hanson, Thomas Johnson, Francis Scott Key and Roger Brooke Taney, who appears in these records]; the Poor House [built in 1820, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places]; Lutheran Church, etc.


The initial 52 pages of the first section (1790) have been re-purposed with a child's pen-trials, school writings, notes, scribbles, math sums and writing-over the previous ledger information, most of which is still legible; thankfully the young scholar used blank areas of this section for his or her efforts [probably a young McCleery]. There are about a dozen pinned-in, laid-in, or loose pages of business and personal writings, including materials lists, costs; drawings, plans of buildings and calculation notes. Work for Frederick County included building steps for the Record Room, making doors, benches and tables, a "Pilory (sic) of Locust with Band," and ladder; hanging and leading windows. McCleery also notes his service as a Juror for 5 days, as well as valuing and "laying off", i.e. surveying, properties. Work for Frederick County in 1791 included such things as "new timbers & covering for the South Bridge in Frederick Town…" as well as construction details for the Poor House, ongoing through the years with intermediary David Leavy (or Levy) who often appears in the records as a customer, and whose house (or tavern) McCleery designed and built.

Another notable project was work done on the Market House for butchers, and for various other identified business stalls and their amenities. Occasional bartering is evident, such as using Col. Johnson's "negro" for a project for money and labor trade; to the butcher for a "clock case wild cherry wood to pay on the halph [sic] in cash in 2 weeks and the remainder in truff and tallow…"; and exchanging carpentry work for blacksmithing or masonry. McCleery makes mention of "My own house on 2d Street 48 perches in sellar…By 39,000 Brick laying…", and the Baptist Meeting House."

McCleery’s work on the Market House, today’s site of Brewer’s Alley Restaurant on North Market Street, helped me put the following article in better context. Ironically, this building would be Frederick’s very first City Hall as Mr. McCleery made a lasting contribution to not only Frederick’s beautiful historic skyline, but to the residential, commercial and governmental lifeblood of the community he made his home after emigration.
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Frederick News (Sept 4, 1924)
I know I’m simply sharing facsimile text of this incredible Biblio.com auction ad, as I truly I wish I knew the locale of its original contents today. Much like unique architecture that is unfortunately razed over time, I just want to document this incredible information within this blog in case the listing gets deleted from the internet one day. That said, Henry McCleery was atop one of the most respected trades of his day. I’ve read, that during this time, architects and master masons sat at the very top of the professional pantheon—even above physicians, lawyers and politicians.

Henry McCleery had professional and personal associations with the top citizens of both our community and state. Whitman H. Ridgway, in his 2018 work Community Leadership in Maryland, 1790-1840: A Comparative Analysis of Power in Society states:

“The Frederick County decisional elite in the second party era,…numbered seventy-two men…Frederick County's decisional leaders represented the diversity of the community in contrast to the relative uniformity found in the other rural areas…” 

The men who appear in these McCleery manuscripts include Roderick Dorsey, Colonel John McPherson, Dr. Thomas W. Johnson, Richard Potts, Jr., William M. Beall, Jr., etc. The auction ad for McCleery’s manuscripts and workbooks list accounts that “cover his work for just over 100 different named clients in the first volume, and many more in the later volumes, many of whom have multiple entries during the years covered. There are a great many prominent names listed, including a number of patriots who participated in the Revotutionary War, and important politicians, lawyers, judges, prominent members of the Frederick County community, or trades people such as John Adlum, one of several Frederick patriots of the same family with the same name; Col. Baker Johnson (1747-1811), lawyer and Revolutionary War battalion commander who fought at the 1777 Battle of Paoli in the brigade of his brother, Col. James Johnson. He eventually ran Catoctin Furnace in the early 1800's from his manor house named Auburn, which still stands: several long entries, one for August 12th to September, a full-page for work on 4 floors, fully described; the entry for January 6, 1791 is a full-page accounting of work for Baker Johnson, and another August 12th 1791, and more, including a "coffin for your child hing'd and polished shambles."
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A page from Henry McCleery's Workbook showing a job done for Baker Johnson
Here is more of a description of the individuals McCleery did work for according to the Biblio.com auction listing:

[Charles] McGragh [i.e. McGrath], "Comedian." McGrath, "the American Tate Wilkinson of that epoch" pirated the comedy The Contrast, the first play by an American to be professionally staged, and played it at Elizabeth-Town (Hagerstown) as early as April 13, 1791, after it had played Frederick, Georgetown, Alexandria, etc. The entry for August 10, 1791, shows McGrath was in Frederick, and paid for "170 feet of boards….1000 12 penny nails…to doing the Seattes…150 Spridgs (springs) for making Doors." This leads us to believe it is possible McGrath was outfitting the semblance of an unkown theatre in Frederick, and not having work done on a dwelling; Col. William Deakins, a Georgetown merchant in the tobacco trade; Col. Thomas Deakins, Revolutionary War officer, surveyor of the Maryland-West Virginia "Deakins" boundary line; John Graham (d. 1833), president of the Frederick County Savings Bank; Catherine Kimball, (1745-1831), many entries for this tavern owner of "the highest-caliber establishment of its kind in Frederick (once frequented by George Washington); Rev. Stephen B[loomer] Balch (1747-1833), Presbyterian minister and educator in Georgetown who graduated from Princeton and served in the Revolutionary War. He founded the second church in Georgetown, the Georgetown Presbyterian Church, often traveled the 40 miles to preach in Frederick where he founded the English Presbyterian Church; Richard Potts (1753-1808), whose house is now part of an architectural walking tour of Frederick, was a politician, U. S. Attorney for Maryland appointed by George Washington, jurist, military aide to the governor of Maryland, Thomas Johnson, with the Maryland line at Valley Forge in 1777, U.S. Representative, U. S. Senator."
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Senator Richard Potts (1753-1808)
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The former Potts home on the corner of W Church and N Court streets
​"More work was done by the McCleery family firm in designing and building bridges in town and in the county. Pertaining to a  John Winter, printer in Frederick 1791-1800, there exist three entries, the last for "a Wallnut coffin rais'd lid for a Child.” Thomas Johnson, Jr. was a client and Col. John McPherson (abt. 1760-1829), employed McCleery for an extensive amount of work as you may recall that this wealthy citizen built the large townhomes on Council Street known today as the Ross and Mathias mansions. The auction listing rattles off more luminaries of Maryland and Frederick’s past:

Joshua Dorsey (1752-1814), lawyer, sat at one time in the Maryland House of Delegates: 4 1/2 pp. of specs giving a complete description of his new 33 x 35 foot house, three floors and roof; a number of lengthy entries for David Levy [also spelled Leavy by McCleery] (1741-1804), Revolutionary soldier, tavern owner on Patrick Street. With extensive construction account & rough sketches of plans for him, October, 1792 (with Scott, see below); George Murdock, trustee of Frederick College); a number of entries for Isaac Mantz (1759-1826), commissioner of roads; William M[urdock] Beall (1742-1823), Frederick judge, landowner, slave holder; John Ross Key (1754-1821), general officer in the Continental Army, lawyer, judge, father of Francis Scott Key; Abner Ritchie, land speculator; William Ritchie, Clerk of the Frederick County Court, 1779 until 1815; [Henry McCleery married Martha Ritchie, and there are several other Ritchie men named here]; George Scott (before 1742-after 1793), Sheriff of Frederick County (1766-1768), "George Scott Esqr. April 20th 1793, with rough sketch plan and itemization, for large structure "to Joyn to Mr. Leavys house/to Jas. Beatty"; Col. William Beatty, Revolutionary War officer; Benjamin Ogle (1749-1809), George Washington's friend, governor of Maryland (1798-1801). It was he who issued a proclamation after Washington's death setting aside February 11th as a day of mourning, beginning what would become a national precedent; Henry Brothers, tavern owner, with a sketch plan for his house on the corner of today’s West Patrick and South Court streets where the current Frederick Courthouse stands today. Col. Thomas Price (1722-1795), pronounced against the Stamp Act, Revolutionary War officer and later one of the justices of the Frederick County Court; Mountjoy Bayly (1754-1836), Revolutionary War general, large land owner; John Parks (1738-1812), tea merchant; extensive work from May, 1792 to November of that year; and others who served in various Maryland and Pennsylvania military companies, according to Archives of Maryland Records of Maryland Troops Serving in the Continental Service During the War of American Revolution, 1775-1783.

At the end of this first volume there is an undated half-page "Memorandum of an agreement made between Abraham Haff [Jr.] (1769-1813) and Henry McCleery that said Abraham Haff doth engage to deliver scantling of poplar and ash for a house to be built for Benjamin Ogle early next Spring [and seven more lines specifying deliver dates and payment], signed by Haff and McCleery, and witnessed by Susanna Johnson, followed by three more full pages about the projected house, "Mr. Benjamin Ogle's house 31 feet front by 44.'"

I wrote about Abraham Haff in one of these “Stories in Stone” a few years back as he was a prominent member of Frederick's Presbyterian Church to which the McCleery family belonged. Presbyterian minister, Rev. Samuel Knox, served as the first schoolmaster of the Frederick Academy and married Henry McCleery’s daughter Zeruiah. The graves of both can be found in the McCleery family lot in Mount Olivet’s Area H/Lot 357.
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Graves of Zeruiah (McCleery) and husband Samuel Knox
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The second Presbyterian Church in Frederick built in 1825. The first structure of this congregation was located at the intersection of N. Bentz and Dill Ave
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Frederick Academy (aka Frederick College) was built in 1797
​The Mott sale listing states that McCleery had accounts with a number of Frederick women:

“specifying aspects of home-building for the Mrs. Burnes, Cary, Mary Ritchie, Davison, Dyer, Charlton, Cazlister, Catherine Kimball, etc. Also noted are purchases for business: tools, wheelbarrows, hatchets; as well as personal items such as newspapers, coffee, barrels of herring, rum, cloth of various types, "2 tickets in the Washington City Lottery at 7 Dollars ea." Notes are meticulously kept, accounting for labor for himself and working crew, as well as Negro workers who have been lent to him: "…14 Days of your Negros attending masons at my house."

Well if you are still with me, the listing was more like a "history roller-coaster" with non-stop thrilling twists and turns for the Frederick history geek like myself. Coming around the final stretch, highlights of more material within the collection’s next six volumes is highlighted with names very familiar to Frederick and Mount Olivet Cemetery, including my very own. I will explain in a moment!

“Miscellaneous material: A laid-in note from Abner Ritchie requesting his cousin, builder Andrew McCleery, to help a poor man and wife whose daughter had fractured her leg: "…the parents living poor & having but few of the conveniences of life need assistance…the loan of your cot, for the girl to lie on...Dr. Shields & myself have just reduced it…" Dated 1814, repurposing blank pages is a billing summary of 5pp. of a "Bill of Scantling for Joshua Dorsey Esq." which includes small crude drawings of building component details, as well as a side view, side measurements and height plan. Also given are floor by floor details of joist, lath-work, rafters, windows and trim for the project, which is typical throughout the whole book. A further page details a list of "Stuff of ours taken for Dorsey's house" including various timber, nails, planking, chimney pieces and the "costing up" for all. There is also an amusing 27-line piece from December 1814, in which McCleery's describes his and Mr Beall's naiveté regarding buying a horse as they have sold their Chestnut sorrel. "We came to the conclusion last night to get Mr. McLanahan to purchase for us, he being a good judge. We wish him not to go over 100$...The qualities that we would wish him to possess is gentleness & fitness for the Harness…he is intended for our gig…Mr. Beall & myself are both afraid to make the purchase for fear some broken winded or hipshodden animal might be palmed upon us."

The volumes are well used, as is to be expected, but the contents are very legible. In our nearly 50 years of experience, we have never seen anything remotely resembling such a collection of these 18th and early 19th century American architect/builder's records.

VOLUMES 2-13. BOOK #2. McCLEERY, Henry, architect and master builder. Manuscript ledger for the year 1794. Tall folio, unbound, stitching broken, pp. [58]. Frederick, Maryland, January 1st to end of December, 1794. Two leaves, folios 22 and 23, excised. Index from letters Q to Z present here, others preceding excised.

There are 4 pp. of construction and carpentry records for building tavern owner Henry Brothers "new house;" payment made for 1000 acres of land in Kentucky, and for a building lot in George Town; 4 pp. of records for building a house for Benjamin Ogle, "39 by 28 ft. Inside;" 3 pp. on construction work for David Levy; carpentry for Arthur Shaaff Esq. [Frederick lawyer; Francis Scott Key's cousin]; construction and iron work for William Potts; the same for Richard Potts & Andrew Loe; an 11 ft long sign for Christian Rye; work for John McPherson; renting rooms, stalls to butchers; work for Isaac Mantz, George Murdock; State of Maryland; Snider School; buying boards, ending with "Mr. William. Was bound about May for 3 ½ years. I am to pay him £4 year 1795 & £4 year 96 & £4 the time of being free."

BOOK #3. McCLEERY, Henry, architect and master builder. Manuscript ledger for the year 1800. Tall folio, original drab flexible boards, pp. 60, with Index of names, partly covered by newspaper articles and ephemera in a few places. Frederick, Maryland, January to December, 1800. Similar to previous volume with work done for Mantz, Ritchie, Levy, Mountjoy Bayly; 4 full pages for painting carpentry, etc., for Mary Ritchie; 3 full pages for work for Catherine Kimball; the Market House; Col. Baker Johnson, Hugh Reynolds; the Court House; John McPherson. 7 sketches of structures; numerical figures; 2 pages for "Mrs. M[ary] Ritchie's house to be built 2 stories; a house in George Town for Nicholas Hodges on Lot. #9; work on a structure for General Mountjoy Bayly. Somewhat soiled and stained, but very legible. Includes work for Roger Brooke Taney.

BOOK #4. McCLEERY, Henry, architect and master builder. Manuscript ledger for the year 1810. Tall folio, original drab flexible boards (worn), pp. 80, with Index of names. Frederick, Maryland, 1810. Bank information; blacks (presumably slaves) cutting wood; half page for Roger B, Taney for glass, glazing, locks, curtain rods, mending table, etc., as well as a full page on leaf 64 for Taney; the usual work as described previously for members of the Potts, Ritchie, Mantz, McPherson families, and others. Included is Dr. Philip Thomas (1747-1815), a very important Frederick patriot/physician. See, Chris Haugh's long article, Frederick's Physician-Patriot of '76, re: Mount Olivet Cemetery; Lutheran Church; extensive work for Mrs. Lowe's house; Barracks & Arsenal; with 2 wallpaper samples laid in.


That’s right, "Chris Haugh’s long article" on Dr. Philip Thomas, however it pales in comparison to this story and a magnificent auction listing. Nice advertising for me though, thank you! 

BOOK #5. McCLEERY, Henry, architect and master builder. Manuscript ledger for the year 1811. Tall folio, original drab flexible boards (worn), pp. 14. Frederick, Maryland, 1811. 2pp. for "Barracks Account" with two small sketches; purchase of Lot #5 in George Town for Major A. Ritchie; books lent; 3 full pages about building Joab Hunt's three-story house. Volume in rough condition.

Alright, I'm stopping here! What an amazing discovery, one of many I have stumbled upon while writing this blog. Henry’s children did great things as well, and the auction collection also includes workbooks and manuscripts in the hands of Andrew and Robert. I will include that latter part of the listing write-up at the conclusion of this story because I am literally spent from writing this story about Frederick’s original architect extraordinaire. I will leave you with an 1840s portrait of the second county courthouse by artist John J. Markell, and the McCleery's surviving masterpiece on North Court Street of the second All Saints' Episcopal Church. 
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John J. Markell's 1842 depiction of the Courthouse cupola fire caused by burning embers from the Tyler House fire on Record Street
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The second All Saints' Episcopal Church on N. Court Street
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​Henry McCleery’s sons Andrew, Robert and Henry, Jr., are buried in Mount Olivet. Robert is in the greater family plot in Area H, but Henry Jr. is in an unmarked grave within the re-interred bodies from the Old Presbyterian Church and located in Area NN. Daughters of Henry buried here include the previously mentioned Zeruiah Knox, Susanna McLanahan, and Frances Beall.
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Grave of Henry's son Robert McCleery (1788-1840) and wife Rebecca (Beall) McCleery (1795-1871) in Area H/Lot 368
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Grave of Henry's daughter Susanna McLanahan (1786-1848) in Area H/Lot 357
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Grave of Frances (McCleery) Beall in Area F/Lot 55
​If you locate the whereabouts of this McCleery collection of workbooks and manuscripts, please let us know! It’s a window on Frederick’s past like no other, and worth its weight in pure gold. Kudos to the research team at Howard S. Mott, Inc. for their insightful and detailed effort and research, and thanks for helping to educate me so I could tell a much better “Story in Stone” of one of Mount Olivets’s many precious eternal residents.
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Henry McCleery grave in Mount Olivet
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Greater McCleery Plot in Area H of Mount Olivet with multiple generations represented


​ADDENDUM
The following is the Biblio.com sale description of books 6-13 in the collection offered by Howard S. Mott, Inc. These all come after Henry's death and pertain to the business dealings of his sons.

BOOK #6. McCLEERY, Andrew (1777-1853), Robert (1788-1840), and William R. McCleery (1794-1848), master builders. Tall folio manuscript ledger, disbound, pp. 80. Georgetown and Frederick, Maryland, 1824-1830.

Partly a business ledger; a travel-log; a record of draft legal documents and agreements, especially concerning the leasing of tavern properties in Georgetown for periods of one to three years, with several draft agreements with lessors, covering bake ovens, sheds, stairs, etc.; the business situated on H St., Georgetown, etc.; leases for rooms in Storehouse on the corner of Market Street. Andrew describes a visit: "…Georgetown appeared to look better than on previous visits. They were painting & repairing every thing formerly seemed going to ruin, renting did not seem to be quite so bad. The City improves considerably, but that seemed to fluctuate from one part to another, places that used to be lively quite dull & houses tenantless other parts that had been dull busy & improving….[closing with accounts of banks there]; banking and investment, personal and family information, including: cash accounting ledger, acting as a diary of business activities; travel expenses, wages, rentals, mortgage, fee collection, money-lending, real estate, and auction purchases of land, household goods, clothing, shoes and on several occasions, books, with titles given, and other material, such as considerable tinware, with prices paid. Charitable contributions include Robert Wait at College Hill, DC (eventual co-founder of Wake Institute, which later became Wake Forest University).

Mountain land; vast quantities of wood delivered to McCleery by Frederick Kleinhart; land called "Puzzlesome Corrected."

At the back, in ledger form, is a record of banking at various named institutions during 1823. They include Hagerstown Bank; Bank of Westminster; Bank of Columbia; and Frederick County Bank, giving a good account of the family's financials. Also in the same section are drafts, or copies of legal documents, for deposits made on the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States.

One full page, November 2, 1827 to April 19, 1828 is devoted to "Negro Bob." "Negro Bob commenced work at $6 per Month…Novb. 29. Bob lost one day only cut a little wood. 30th. Bob lost one day did nothing at all got his shoes mended. Dec. 17th. Bob lost ½ day did nothing at all said he wanted to get his shoes mended…Feb 7th. Lost one day says he will work in the holiday to make up," etc.

​Entries from July 29 to September 9, 1825, comprise four (4) full pages of a ca. 300-word "Journal of Expenses to New York & Saratoga [and return]," enumerating running totals for a round trip costing $68.97. Steamboats, ferries; lodging at taverns, with their owner's names; crackers; cakes and beer; toll bridges; barbering (several times); "segars;" oysters; "Museum" in Philadelphia; "three glasses lemonade cream of tartar;" "hats for boys;" Sunday, August 10th "Three times at Presbyterian Church; six hymn books; washing; cantaloupes; apples; tobacco; music, etc., etc. A simple entry for Tuesday, August 25th: "William left Saratoga for the West." "William" would be Andrew's brother, who left for Brookville, Indiana, to help their sister, Mary McCleery Knight (1779-1820) build a tavern after her husband died. William didn't return to Frederick, instead he got married in Brookville, and resided there.

BOOK #7. McCLEERY, Andrew (1777-1853) and Robert (1788-1840), master builders. Manuscript ledger for the year 1830. Tall folio, original drab flexible boards, pp. 73, including 3-page Index, with a copious number of names; [leaves 12-19, half of 22, 23-25 & 27 excised]. Frederick, Maryland, 1830.

One hundred and fifty-five entries in the Index, including 12 who are termed "colour'd man," with their names, one of whom was "Romia (Mr. Taney's man),"-Taney didn't own slaves; and two who are termed "colour'd woman." November 22nd, the 23rd and 27th lists charges to William Ogden Niles, printer of the Frederick Town Herald—"Mr. Niles (printer). To putting up a press…To 216 nails for ditto. To making a cherry frame for a roler (sic) for press. To making a box of pigeon holes, carried to book 1831 page 7" [where it is to be found; see ledger #8]. Quantites of hay, molasses, candles, planks, cords of wood sold; rent of Stone House to a number of named Germans; carpentry work, etc.

BOOK #8. McCLEERY, Andrew and Robert, master builders. Manuscript ledger for the year 1831. Tall folio, original drab flexible boards, pp. 120 [5 preliminary leaves excised, as well as leaves 12, 54 & 60]. Frederick, Maryland, 1831.

Builds a coffin for the famous tavern owner, Catherine Kimball; "Mr. Niles' paper the [Frederick Town] Herald commenced the 11th day of Octr. 1830 when [printer] Mr. J. P. Thompson transferred;" John P. Thompson, "the richest printer in Frederick County, was president of the Frederick County Bank."-John Thomas Scharf, The History of Western Maryland: Being a History of Frederick…(1968 edition), p. 537. "June 24th-Friday (Markly (sic) hung to-day)." John Markley murdered, December 29 and 30, 1830, six persons, including two children. Lists many rents to Germans; sales of planks, straw, manure, molasses, carpentry work done; house construction for John P. Thompson, printer, Director, with Roger B. Taney, of The Frederick National County Bank, then it's president in 1833; Negro hire; construction for the Farmers & Mechanics Bank of Frederick; May 26th "Little Black Boy came to work on Monday (Milly Brown's son)…"; bank certificate with sketches; etc.

At the end are seven pages of closely written recipes (several thousand words) for varnish, black varnish, making a drier for painting, to destroy insects in trees, to make punkin oil, polishing furniture, strengthen vinegar, to distill tar, make cement for rock-work, wood cement for coppersmiths, cement for glass-grinders, crop planting ideas, construction and craft techniques; the last two leaves with six examples of decorative scroll work; the last leaf with "Memorandum of Books Lent," etc., etc., etc.

BOOK #9. McCLEERY, Andrew and Robert, master builders. Manuscript ledger for the years 1833-1840. Tall folio, original drab flexible boards, pp. 80. Frederick, Maryland, 1833-1840. Kept over several a period of years as a memorandum/diary.

Many workers mentioned with first names only, presumably Negroes; i.e. ploughing gardens, hauling quantities of manure and hay "to turnpike;" legal contract to buy Capt. Henry Steiner's land called "Tasker's Chance" (now a neighborhood of Frederick City); a copy of a letter threatening Robert McCleery's "own personal welfare" if he does not "discontinue the Protestant [an unrecorded periodical] and ease corrupting the Public mind…P. S. You are an old offender. The Church has therefore marked you on the blacklist…;" "Mr. Schultz had about 20 hands in Mrs. Steiners lot", presumably colored laborers; eviction notices, which is a recurring theme; land surveys; real estate sales; legal notices; indentures; rent figures; sketches of plot plans; sawing rail cuts, hauling wood turnpike lots; land kiln construction in 1840. At the end are eight pages recording cash, checks and bank dividends received, including $203.00 from Wm. B. Tyler "for negro girl."

BOOK #10. McCLEERY, Andrew, master builder. Manuscript ledger for the year 1836. Tall folio, original drab flexible boards, pp. 160. Frederick, Maryland, 1836. Lists of complex carpentry jobs, prices, etc., about 40pp. counted loose at rear. Condition: Binding rough, contents foxed and stained, but legible; some leaves excised.

BOOK #11. McCLEERY, Andrew, master builder. Manuscript of building plans. Tall folio, 9 pp. laid into original drab flexible boards (worn). With 7 full-page drawings, and full page of figures for stone work, brick work, second floor, roof, girders, window and door frames. Frederick, Maryland, undated; early 19th century.

BOOK #12. McCLEERY, Benjamin Beall (1822-1887). Signed Education Manuscript by Henry McCleery's 18-year-old grandson, signed on front cover: "Ledger Dec. 10th 1840. Perry B[eall] McCleery," and again on verso: "Perry Beall McCleery/Frederick City, Dec. 10th/1840." Tall folio, original pictorial illustrated green printed flexible boards, stereotyped by L. Johnson, Philadelphia, approx. 100 pp. Frederick, Maryland, 1840.

Perry Beall McCleery (1822-1887), cashier of the Frederick County National Bank, built a fashionable house in Frederick between 1876 and 1878 which is listed on the National Register. Here are McCleery's youthful educational exercises, covering mathematics, penmanship, accounting; rules for keeping ledgers and journals, examples of poetry, recipes, home preserving, farm planting instructions, etc, using examples from 1805-1820s.

BOOK #13. McCLEERY FAMILY. Circa 1830s ledger completely repurposed as a mid to late 19th century scrapbook filled with newspaper cuttings, and a few pieces of insignificant ephemera. Bound in leather-backed boards (worn). 84478 ABAA-VBF
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1 Comment

"Sweet Auburn" and Nellie Cole

7/22/2024

1 Comment

 
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I’m still riding a high from recently checking off an item on my proverbial “bucket list.” This occurred thanks to a trip to a unique destination I’ve wanted to visit for quite some time. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a bucket list is “a list of the experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have, or accomplish, during their lifetime. A bucket list is an itemized list of goals people want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket” — or die.”

The true irony lies in the fact that the place I traveled to recently is a location seldom relished by those among the living, yet a stark reality for those who are not. I’m talking about a trip to a cemetery. However, this isn’t any ordinary cemetery, rather it’s thee cemetery—Mount Auburn in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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My recent adventure was more than just a personal quest, it was a professional sojourn—one that will further help guide me, my co-workers and our Friends of Mount Olivet membership group in our quest to further enhance Frederick’s Mount Olivet, originally modeled after the Rural/Garden Cemetery movement of the early 19th century.
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Dedicated in 1831, Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of over 93,000 individuals including many prominent New England families. Here one will discover noted politicians, inventors, social reformers, war heroes, and plenty of authors and artists of note. Mount Auburn Cemetery is also designated as a National Historic Landmark.
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The grounds are set with classical monuments in a rolling landscaped terrain. This marked a distinct break with Colonial-era burying grounds with rows of upright slate tombstones, many decorated with “death heads” featuring a central winged skull, sometimes with crossed bones nearby, or an hourglass, or any other mortality symbol.
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I saw several of these stones on the same trip to Massachusetts in various old graveyards located along Boston’s Independence Trail. One of the featured points of interest on the Trail is the Granary Burying Ground across from Boston Common on Tremont Street. Here, you will find immortal patriots like Paul Revere, John Hancock and Sam Adams. Ben Franklin's parents and Mother Goose are also here.
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​The Granary is the most visited burying ground in the northeast with over one million visitors each year. Just up the street from here is Boston’s oldest graveyard with Kings Chapel Burying Ground.
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​​The third such graveyard for the “Tombstone Tourist” on the Independence Trail is Copp’s Hill Burying Ground on the North End of the city. Established in 1659, this is the city’s largest graveyard and it is within easy view of the fabled North Church’s steeple where Paul Revere had placed lanterns on that fateful night in April, 1775 signaling “one if by land, and two if by sea.”
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As said earlier, these three examples represent the accepted style for burying grounds here in North America until Mount Auburn Cemetery was planned, and dare I say executed, in the late 1820s leading to a dedication in 1831. The new burial ground project was designed largely by Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn with assistance from Jacob Bigelow and Alexander Wadsworth. Bigelow, a medical doctor, came up with the idea for Mount Auburn as early as 1825, though a site was not acquired until five years later.

​Dr. Bigelow was concerned about the unhealthiness of burials under churches as well as the possibility of running out of space in Boston. Epidemics causing widespread death gave pause to rethink burial being conducted in the rural outskirts instead of in the heart of residential centers of our early large cities.
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Leventhal Map of the City of Cambridge, MA (1854)
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With help from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded on 70 acres of land authorized by the Massachusetts Legislature for use as a garden, or rural, cemetery. The original land cost $6,000 and would later be extended to 170 acres. The first president of the Mount Auburn Association was a Supreme Court Justice named Joseph Story. I found his grave, and it soon made me reflect that if I were an employee of Mount Auburn (instead of Mount Olivet) and writing this particular blog series, I would certainly have a clever title for his fitting “Story in Stone.”
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Grave of Mount Auburn founder Joseph Story
I also learned that Justice Story's dedication address, delivered on September 24th, 1831, established the model for many more addresses in the following three decades with particular emphasis on President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address which took place right up the road from Frederick. The national cemetery Lincoln would dedicate there in 1863 adjoins Evergreen Cemetery, a burying ground designed by the very same landscape architect who designed Mount Olivet. This was James Belden.
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James Belden's original architectural plan for Mount Olivet Cemetery (1853)
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Advertisement by James Belden in Baltimore Sun (April 8, 1856)
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The appearance of rural, or garden, cemetery landscapes coincided with the rising popularity of the term "cemetery," crudely translated from Greek to mean "a sleeping place.” This language, and outlook, eclipsed the previous harsh view of death and the afterlife embodied by old burying grounds and churchyards such as those previously mentioned in Boston.

The land that became Mount Auburn Cemetery was originally named Stone's Farm, though locals referred to it as "Sweet Auburn" after the 1770 poem "The Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith.  
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Aerial view of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass
Mount Auburn was inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and is credited as the beginning of the American public parks and gardens movement. It was an inspiration to cemetery designers across the country, setting the style for other suburban cemeteries such as Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia, 1836), Mount Hope Cemetery (Bangor, Maine, 1834), Green-Wood Cemetery (Brooklyn, 1838), Green Mount Cemetery (Baltimore, Maryland, 1839) Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester, NY, 1838), Lowell Cemetery (Lowell, Massachusetts, 1841), Allegheny Cemetery (Pittsburgh, 1844), Albany Rural Cemetery (Menands, New York, 1844), Swan Point Cemetery (Providence, Rhode Island 1846), Spring Grove Cemetery (Cincinnati, 1844), and Forest Hills Cemetery (Jamaica Plain, 1848) as well as Oakwood Cemetery in Syracuse, New York. It can be considered the link between Capability Brown's English landscape gardens and Frederick Law Olmsted's Central Park in New York (1850s).
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​The 174-acre cemetery is important both for its historical aspects and for its role as an arboretum. It is Watertown's largest contiguous open space and extends into Cambridge to the east, adjacent to the Cambridge City Cemetery and Sand Banks Cemetery. It was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 2003 for its pioneering role in 19th-century cemetery development.
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Upon arrival, I was immediately impressed with the main entrance off Mount Auburn Street, and was given assistance by a guide positioned just inside the gate. The Story Chapel was a great place to start exploration with cemetery map/guide in hand. In the near distance, a beautiful pond could be found at the base of a hill topped with another, yet more majestic looking chapel known as Bigelow Chapel.

​I know this may seem crass, but looking at the well-manicured grass, bountiful plantings and these two chapel features at the entrance conjured up images of the entrance to DisneyWorld. I wonder if this place was an inspiration to Disney ground designers in any way? Regardless, with this being a cemetery, visitors  can find themselves in a perpetual state of “Yesterland.”  
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My exploration of Mount Auburn took place on a sunny and temperate Tuesday morning. The cemetery was not very crowded, and the vast canopy of trees provided plenty of shade. This shade also creates the magic of the landscape with light and darkness accenting the monuments and surrounding trees and vegetation.
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​I had performed my advance work in reviewing notable residents of this place. There were plenty, such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Julia Ward Howe, Winslow Homer, Henry Cabot Lodge, Arthur Schlessinger, Jr., and Charles Sumner. Of particular interest to me were three "more modern" residents: Hall of Fame sportscaster Curt Gowdy, architect-engineer R. Buckminster Fuller, developer of the geodesic dome, and psychologist-behavioralist B. F. Skinner, a Harvard professor who gave test rats and pigeons fits with his operant conditioning chamber (aka “Skinner Box”).
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"Paul Revere's Ride"
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​Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems "Paul Revere's Ride", "The Song of Hiawatha", and "Evangeline." He was the first American to completely translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and was one of the "fireside poets" from New England. 
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Homer's "Breezing Up (A Fair Wind)
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"The Veteran in a New Field"
Winslow Homer (February 24th, 1836 – September 29th, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in American art in general.
 
Largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator. He subsequently took up oil painting and produced major studio works characterized by the weight and density he exploited from the medium. He also worked extensively in watercolor, creating a fluid and prolific oeuvre, primarily chronicling his working vacations.
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Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr.​ (October 15th, 1917 – February 28th, 2007) was an American historian, social critic, and public intellectual. The son of the influential historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. and a specialist in American history, much of Schlesinger's work explored the history of 20th-century American liberalism. In particular, his work focused on leaders such as Harry S. Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. In the 1952 and 1956 presidential campaigns, he was a primary speechwriter and adviser to the Democratic presidential nominee, Adlai Stevenson II. Schlesinger served as special assistant and "court historian" to President Kennedy from 1961 to 1963. He wrote a detailed account of the Kennedy administration, from the 1960 presidential campaign to the president's state funeral, titled A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House, which won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.
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Julia Ward Howe ( May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as new lyrics to an existing song, and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers' Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism and a social activist, particularly for women's suffrage.
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Charles Sumner (1811-1874)
Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811 – March 11, 1874) was a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, serving from 1851 until his death in office in 1874. A staunch and vocal proponent of the Abolitionist movement, he gave a speech dubbed the "Crime Against Kansas" condemning slavery on May 22nd, 1856, which prompted South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks to assault and severely injure him while on the Senate floor. He was absent from the Senate on account of the injuries caused by Brooks from 1856 to December 1859.
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​Curtis Edward Gowdy (1919 –2006) was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s. He coined the nickname "The Granddaddy of Them All" for the Rose Bowl Game, taking the moniker from the Cheyenne Frontier Days in his native Wyoming.
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​Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. Fuller developed numerous inventions, mainly architectural designs, and popularized the widely known geodesic dome; carbon molecules known as fullerenes were later named by scientists for their structural and mathematical resemblance to geodesic spheres. 
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Burrhus Frederic Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, inventor, and social philosopher. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974. Considering free will to be an illusion, Skinner saw human action as dependent on consequences of previous actions, a theory he would articulate as the principle of reinforcement: If the consequences to an action are bad, there is a high chance the action will not be repeated; if the consequences are good, the probability of the action being repeated becomes stronger.
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PictureBarbara Fritchie (1766-1862)
I wanted to find a few individuals buried here in Mount Auburn with definitive connections to Frederick, Maryland and/or former residents buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. Of these, most can be linked to the American Civil War, and our heroine Barbara Fritchie. The gray-headed “Grand Dame” gained universal fame due to a Massachusetts author named John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892). Many literary historians claim that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's patriotic tale of Paul Revere (published in 1861) helped inspire fellow "fireside poet" John Greenleaf Whittier to write "The Ballad of Barbara Frietchie" in 1863.

Whittier is not buried  in Mount Auburn, but was laid to rest in his hometown 
​of Amesbury, Massachusetts in Union Cemetery. I did, however, revel in finding some other decedents in Mount Auburn, who had once walked the same streets of Frederick that we all know and love. Perhaps some of these may have even visited Mount Olivet while they were here? The following are a few individuals that I specifically sought out while at Mount Auburn.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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​Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among "the fireside poets," he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (1858). He was also an important medical reformer. In addition to his work as an author and poet, Holmes also served as a physician, professor, lecturer, inventor, and, although he never practiced it, he received formal training in law.

Holmes would come to Frederick in September, 1862 after learning that his son, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17th while fighting with the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment of the Union Army. While here, the elder Holmes interacted with several local residents in Frederick  and Middletown. One such was Gen. Edward Shriver (1812-1896) leader of the Potomac Home Brigade, who is buried in Mount Olivet's Area MM /Lot 23. Holmes first met him in Baltimore on the way here. He writes of him:

"General Shriver, of Frederick, a most loyal Unionist, whose name is synonymous with a hearty welcome to all whom he can aid by his counsel and his hospitality. He took great pains to give us all the information we needed, and expressed the hope, which was afterwards fulfilled, to the great gratification of some of us, that we should meet again, when he should return to his home." 

The elder Holmes would write an account of his desperate search for his son and titled this "My Hunt After the Captain." It would  appear in the December,  1862 edition of the Atlantic Monthly magazine, the same publication that later printed Whittier's "Barbara Frietchie" poem ten months later.

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​The elder Holmes would write an account of his desperate search for his son and titled this "My Hunt After the Captain." It would  appear in the December,  1862 edition of the Atlantic Monthly magazine, the same publication that later printed Whittier's "Barbara Frietchie" poem ten months later.

It  has been said that Mr. Whittier borrowed some of Holmes' eye-witnessed imagery of Frederick for his own work since he, himself, had never been  to Frederick. Holmes wrote the following upon laying eyes on Frederick while traveling on the National Pike (today's US40-A), just west of town on the eastern slope of Catoctin Mountain:

"In approaching Frederick, the singular beauty of its clustered spires struck me very much, so that I was not surprised to find “Fair-View” laid down about this point on a railroad-map. I wish some wandering photographer would take a picture of the place, a stereoscopic one, if possible, to show how gracefully, how charmingly, its group of steeples nestles among the Maryland hills. The town had a poetical look from a distance, as if seers and dreamers might dwell there."

Of course this vivid description could have given rise to the immortal opening stanzas by Whittier for his poem:

"Up from the meadows, rich with Corn
Clear in  the cool September morn.

The clustered spires of Frederick stand,
Green-walled by the  hills of Maryland."

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The rest is history as they say, because we have been known for those "clustered spires" ever since.

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An aerial depiction of Frederick during the Civil War, as this image appeared in Harpers Weekly magazine in October, 1862.
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Oh, in case you were wondering, Capt. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was found by his father in Hagerstown. Holmes, Jr.  is one of the most widely cited and influential Supreme Court justices in American history, noted for his long tenure on the Court and for his opinions on civil liberties and American constitutional democracy—and deference to the decisions of elected legislatures. Holmes retired from the Court at the age of 90 in 1932. I recall seeing his face often as it was immortalized on a 15-cent postage stamp in my youth. 

George Leonard Andrews
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​George Leonard Andrews (August 31, 1828 – April 4, 1899) was an American professor, civil engineer, and soldier. He was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was awarded the honorary grade of brevet major general.
 
During the Civil War, Andrews served in a number of important commands, first as the colonel of the 2nd Massachusetts, a regiment which saw heavy action in the Battles of Cedar Mountain and Antietam, among other actions. Mentored by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, Andrews became part of Banks's staff and was assigned several command roles in the Army Department of the Gulf during the later years of the war. From July through November, 1861, Lt. Col. Andrews was stationed in garrison here in Frederick as he and his troops were responsible for guarding the Upper Potomac under Maj. Gen. Banks.
Robert Gould Shaw
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PictureShaw and 54th Mass Memorial in Boston
One of the men that served with Lt. Col. Andrews and the 2nd Massachusetts was Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863). You may recall this Boston native for his later command of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. The Oscar-winning movie "Glory" tells Shaw's story as the young colonel was portrayed by actor Matthew Broderick in the 1989 motion picture release.

Robert Gould Shaw spent plenty of time in, and around, Frederick with the 2nd Massachusetts in late 1861/early 1862. I wrote about him in a two-part "Stories in Stone" blog back in late February-early March, 2020. (I have included a link to those stories below.) Letters home to his sister Effie reveal the names of local citizens, some buried in Mount Olivet. The earlier-mentioned Edward Shriver was one of these as Shaw actually spent time at the former Shriver home located on N. Court Street, across from Court Square.

​Like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Shaw would be seriously wounded during the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. While recuperating back home in Massachusetts, he would be appointed to serve as  Colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. This happened in March 1863.
 
Among the first units to be made up of African-American recruits, the 54th Massachusetts proved itself in an ultimately futile charge on Confederate earthworks near Charleston, South Carolina on July 18th, 1863. Shaw was buried in a mass grave with his men at Fort Wagner. Mount Auburn contains a cenotaph for Col. Robert Gould Shaw as this type of memorial is a monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating people who died in a war. 

On this same trip, I saw the famous relief sculpture memorial for Shaw and his men of the 54th at Boston Common. This was sculpted in 1884 by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Link to Robert Gould Shaw Mount Olivet articles
Dorothea Dix
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Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the indigent mentally ill who, through a vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums. During the Civil War, she served as a Superintendent of Army Nurses and was well-acquainted with Frederick as it served as "one vast hospital" throughout the conflict.

Dix set stringent guidelines for nurse candidates. Volunteers were to be aged 35 to 50 and plain-looking. They were required to wear un-hooped black or brown dresses, with no jewelry or cosmetics. Miss Dix wanted to avoid sending vulnerable, attractive young women into the hospitals, where she feared they would be exploited by the male doctors as well as patients. She often fired volunteer nurses she hadn't personally trained or hired. All of these demands "earned the ire" of supporting care groups such as the United States Sanitary Commission,  which Frederick's Dr. Lewis Henry Steiner (1827-1892) headed during the war. Dr. Steiner is buried in Mount Olivet's Area G/Lot 85.  

You can learn more about Dorothea Dix  at our local National Museum of Civil War Medicine on East Patrick Street. In  my earlier research on Barbara Fritchie, author John Greenleaf Whittier reported that Miss Dix was one of his trusted sources for the September flag-waving incident with the Rebel horde in September, 1862. 
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Cincinnati Daily Gazette (Feb 26, 1869)
Caroline Healy Dall
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Caroline Wells Dall (née Healey; June 22, 1822 – December 17, 1912) was an American feminist writer, transcendentalist, and reformer. She was affiliated with the National Women's Rights Convention, the New England Women's Club, and the American Social Science Association. Her associates included Elizabeth Peabody and Margaret Fuller, as well as members of the Transcendentalist movement in Boston.As a young woman, she received a comprehensive education, encouraged by her father to write novels and essays, and to engage in debates about religion, philosophy and politics. In addition to private tutoring, she attended a private school for girls until the age of fifteen.

Ms. Dall came  to Frederick in the 1870s in search of the truth  about  Barbara Fritchie and her alleged confrontation with Stonewall Jackson during the Civil War. She spoke to Dorothea Dix and numerous Frederick townspeople and Barbara Fritchie associates while conducting her "investigation." Of those  included were the abovementioned Dr. Lewis H. Steiner, diarist Jacob Engelbrecht, former mayor Valerius Ebert, store-owner/author Henry Nixdorff, niece Catherine Hanshew and Marie Diehl, instructor at the Frederick Female Seminary and daughter of former Evangelical Lutheran Church Rev. George Diehl. All but Ms. Diehl are buried in Mount Olivet. 

Miss Dall's writings  on Barbara Fritchie appeared in newspapers, magazines and was published in hardback form in 1892 as Barbara Fritchie; A Study. At the end of the work, Ms. Dall makes mention of Mount Olivet, but not by formal name:

"It was a sunny Sabbath afternoon when a few days later I drove out over South Mountain. Braddock's Road crossed mine almost at a right angle. A spring is still shown where his men stopped to drink. The hillsides are covered with chestnuts hung with vines. From the latter the Germans make a very fair claret. from the cemetery where Francis Key's body was laid, one may look far down the road which leads to  Washington. It is a broad highway, traversing the distance with a mighty sweep. As I looked, I felt the poet's dry bones must have put on their flesh when the Rebel army marched into Frederick!

Old Duvall, who had charge of the cemetery, had been on the spot all through the war. He saw Burnside enter, the sun gleaming on his bayonets, cavalry skirmishing along the road, and the artillery shells from the rear over both armies. I could see it all as I listened and looked down the turnpike,  threading the beautiful hills on the way to Georgetown! When you are on the spot, Harper's Ferry also seems  to be only a suburb of Frederick. Certainly, John Brown and dear old Barbara have long since shaken hands!"


Dall was referring to Mount Olivet's first superintendent, William T. Duvall (1813-1886). Her book subject's body was not here at that time, as she had been  originally buried at the Old German Reformed Burying Ground on the west side of town (at the corner of West Second and North Bentz streets). This is today's Memorial Park.  Barbara Fritchie would  be re-interred  in Mount Olivet in 1913, just five months after Ms. Dall's death.
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Felix O. C. Darley
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​Felix Octavius Carr Darley (June 23, 1822 – March 27, 1888), often credited as F. O. C. Darley, was an American illustrator, known for his illustrations in works by well-known 19th-century authors, including James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Mary Mapes Dodge, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, George Lippard, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Donald Grant Mitchell, Clement Clarke Moore, Francis Parkman, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Nathaniel Parker Willis.

I've seen plenty of Civil War scenes illustrated by Mr. Darley, but this is overwhelmingly my favorite.
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​Some of those featured above may be new names to us Marylanders, but certainly were well-rooted and known in the greater Boston area. However, my favorite decedent, whose grave I visited on this particular July day at Mount Auburn, was that of an individual likely unknown to Massachusetts historians and genealogists. That said, many former local residents, now buried in Mount Olivet, knew her well during her lifetime which began in Frederick City nearly a century and a half ago. This was Nellie Cole, known after marriage as Pauline (Cole) Knissell (1876-1956).
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So here I will attempt to give you, the reader, a reverse-engineered “Story in Stone” about a former Fredericktonian turned permanent “Mount Auburnian” for eternity.
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Nellie Pauline (Cole) Knisell (1876-1956)
Before departing Frederick, I conducted a number of web search trials looking for someone from Frederick who is buried at Mount Auburn. I finally came upon one in the aforementioned Ms. Knissell. I immediately researched her genealogy and found her parents and many siblings here in Mount Olivet. Her maiden name of Cole is a popular one around our parts, and her parents, Charles Edwin Cole (1847-1905) and Mary Catherine (Nichols) Cole (1851-1901), are buried in Mount Olivet’s Area R/Lot 140. In this same plot, I found Nellie’s brother, George William “Will” Cole (1886-1961). 
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Nellie (Cole) Knisell (second from right) photographed with her siblings and likely taken in Frederick (c. 1930s). (Pictured here from left: Frank W. Cole, Mary "Maymie" R. Cole, Clara May Weller, Charles E. Cole, Nellie P. Knisell and George W. Cole).
In addition, other siblings are buried here too, including Frank Warehime Cole (1882-1962) in Area AA/Lot 56; Clara May (Cole) Weller (1873-1944) in Area Q/Lot 140; and Charles Edward “Ed” Cole (1870-1935). This last gentleman worked as a linotype operator in the composing department of the Frederick News-Post for the majority of his life. I suddenly realized that I had interviewed this man’s grandson, Louis N. Cole, Jr., for a documentary project about the newspaper. This was in the early 1990s, and Mr. Cole had recently retired after working the same job in the composing department for his career, as his father (and grandfather) before him. These gentlemen are buried here in Mount Olivet as well and constitute a brother,  nephew and grand-nephew of our subject (buried in Mount Auburn), Ms. Knisell.
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Charles E. Cole (1870-1935)
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Louis N. Cole, Sr. (1893-1967)
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Louis N. Cole, Jr. (1912-1995)
To learn more about the Cole family, I was tremendously aided by a family historian named Connie Houtz. Ms. Houtz has done incredible work detailing family members with biographies, obituaries and photographs on the popular site Find-a-Grave.com. Most all of the Cole family photos in this story are from Connie's collection. I first was made aware of her genealogical prowess while publishing a blog in this series titled “Eyewitnesses to the Battle of Monocacy.”

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In that story, I talked about families buried here in Mount Olivet who played pivotal roles in the July, 1864 "Battle that Saved Washington." In particular, one gentleman was the paternal uncle of our subject, Nellie, in the form of William G. Cole (b. 1815 in York, PA). He served as mayor of Frederick during the American Civil War, and is best remembered for delivering the $200,000 ransom demanded by Confederate Gen. Jubal Early. This was done to thwart any potential damage or destruction to the “clustered-spired” city.
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Former Frederick mayor William G. Cole (1815-1877)
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Above is a depiction of the delivery of ransom money collected from the local banks and handed over to Confederate officers in baskets according to legend.
Information on Nellie Pauline (Cole) Knisell is scarce. I at least wanted to check her cemetery records. I was aided (onsite) by Mount Auburn’s Client Relations Coordinator, Caitlin Lowry Zouras, in pulling any information the cemetery had pertaining to the Knisell family lot , No. 8429, on Mount Auburn’s Birch Avenue. The Lot card was in a bank of file cabinets located just a few feet from Ms. Zouras' desk.

From this exercise, I learned that there are five decedents buried on the lot under one central stone. Of particular interest was the fact that the date of purchase was May 3rd, 1950, and more so, that there existed a joint-ownership between Nellie Pauline and her sister, Mary Rebecca “Mayme” Cole (1889-1967). Now I had not just one, but two former Fredericktonians in Mount Auburn with Nellie and “Mayme.”
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The Mount Auburn Interment and Lot Card Files
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Mount Auburn Lot Card for the Knisell family
​Nellie Pauline’s husband, Edward Leavitt Knisell (1876-1969) is buried in the plot along with a daughter, Sarah Katherine (Knisell) Wheeler (1902-1995), and Sarah’s infant child, Douglas Robert Wheeler, who died in January, 1959 just 11 hours after his birth.
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Nellie Pauline (Cole) Knisell's memorial page on Find-a-Grave.com.
Again, my sincere thanks to Connie Houtz who illustrated corresponding Find-a-Grave pages of these family members with photographs so I could put faces with names at real time speed. She also helped shed light on the girls’ upbringing here in Frederick through an extensive biography on their father, Charles Edwin Cole. Here is what she included on the Find-a-Grave memorial page for this man:
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Charles Edwin Cole was a printer by trade, having learned the trade with his father, Charles E. Cole, who published the Maryland Union in Frederick, Maryland until his death in 1882. After his father's death, Charles was a compositor on the Examiner until 1903 when he was obliged to retire due to failing health. He was a nephew of William G. Cole, who was Mayor of Frederick from 1859 to 1865 during the Civil War. Charles married Mary Catherine Nichols of Frederick on 26 November 1869. They were married by the Rev R. Hinkle. Charles was a life-long resident of Frederick, living at 22 East 5th Street, and a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and of the Junior Steam Fire Engine Company.  He was known for his sterling character and kind and congenial disposition.
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Newly married Charles Edwin and wife Mary Cole living in Frederick in the 1870 Census
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Charles Edwin Cole (1847-1905)
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1900 US Census with Cole family living on E. 5th St
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Mary Catherine (Nichols) Cole (1851-1901)
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Grave of Mary C. Cole
Nellie's mother, Mary C. (Nichols) Cole, died on June 5th, 1901. Her husband would die four years later in late summer of 1905. Both would be buried here in Mount Olivet's Area R as I mentioned earlier.
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Obituary of Charles Edwin Cole from Frederick News (Aug 22, 1905)
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​From deciphering interment records at Mount Auburn, I found that Nellie Cole was born on July 22nd, 1876. I found her in the 1880 Census living at the family home at 22 East 5th Street, now the site of modern condominiums.
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Charles Edwin Cole and family living in Frederick in the 1880 US Census
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Frederick Citizen (Dec 8, 1899)
​I don’t know how, or when, Nellie met her husband, Edward L. Knisell, but the couple married at Nellie's home on  November 30th, 1899 by Frederick’s Evangelical Lutheran Church minister. She can be found in the 1900 US Census living in Glassboro, New Jersey with her husband’s family. Fittingly, Edward worked for a glass company as an assistant secretary. From a few later records, I found that Edward was employed by the Cape May Glass Company.
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1900 US Census showing Nellie living with Knisell family of Glassboro, NJ
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Old postcard of the Cape May Glass Company
​The couple obtained their own home by 1910, in neighboring Pitman, NJ to Glassboro. They moved to the Boston area by the 1910 census. Nellie and Edward had three children, but only two reached maturity. These included son Leavitt (1900-1981), daughter Sadie "Sarah" Katherine(1902-1995) and another child, Pauline, who died in her first year (1908-1909). Pauline is buried in Glassboro, NJ.

​I’m assuming that Edward’s job would eventually take the family to Massachusetts as the Knisells can be found there in 1918. A draft registration card for Edward gives his employment as a sales manager for the Cape May Glass Company located at 40 Battery Ward in Boston. This likely may be the upscale Battery Wharf area of today. The Knisell's home residence is listed as 48 Edison Green in the Dorchester suburb of south Boston.
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WW I Draft Registration Card for Edward L. Knisell
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1920 US Census showing Knisell family in Edison Green, MA
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The 1920 Census shows Nellie and her family still living on Edison Green. An additional tenant residing with them is Mary Rebecca Cole (aka Mayme). Mayme is 30 years of age at this time and her job is given as working for the Paymaster Department of the Navy Yard. I would learn that this was the Charlestown Naval Yard in north Boston. Years later, her obituary mentions that she was the Chief “Yeomanette” of that facility.

What's a "yeomanette?" The first large-scale employment of women as Naval personnel took place to meet the severe clerical shortages of the World War I era. The Naval Reserve Act of 1916 had conspicuously omitted mention of gender as a condition for service, leading to formal permission to begin enlisting women in mid-March 1917, shortly before the United States entered World War I.

​Nearly six hundred Yeomen (Female) were on duty by the end of April 1917, a number that would grow to over 11,000 in December 1918, shortly after the Armistice. The Yeomen (F), or "Yeomanettes" as they were popularly known, primarily served in secretarial and clerical positions, though some were translators, draftsmen, fingerprint experts, ship camouflage designers and recruiting agents. We have four know "Yeomanettes" buried in Mount Olivet, including the last living veteran of this rank from World War I in Charlotte (Berry) Winters (1897-2007).

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Charlestown Navy Yard (Boston) in 1916. Today, the yard is home to the USS Constitution
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Group photo of Yeomanettes at the Charlestown Navy Yard (Boston, MA)
The Knisells moved to Watertown, Massachusetts before 1930 and can be found living at 258 Common Street. The house still stands and is less than two miles west off Mount Auburn. Sarah had married by this time, however son Leavitt and Nellie’s sister Mary were still living with the family. Nellie continued to keep house, while Edward remained working in the glass industry, now as a “commercial traveler,” which I’m assuming is the same as a traveling salesman. It appears from the 1940 census that son Leavitt is a salesman for the same glass firm his father was working for. Meanwhile, Mayme Cole was a stenographer at the Naval Base located in north Boston.
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1940 US Census Knisell family in Watertown, MA
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Former Knisell home at 258 Common St in Watertown, MA
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Frederick Post (May 11, 1931)
​I would find a few blurbs in the Frederick newspaper of occasional visits by Knisells to Frederick to see family. I’m sure she returned to Frederick and visited Mount Olivet for the funeral of her older sister, Clara May (Cole) Weller (b. 1873) in September, 1944. The 1950 Census shows the family still living in Watertown on Common Street. Leavitt has moved on, but daughter Sarah Katherine is living here with son Robert after her divorce from Robert Southwick Wheeler, Jr. Mayme is residing with them and Edward, at 73, was still employed as a glass salesman.
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1950 US Census showing Knisells in Watertown, MA
​Nellie passed away on January 15th, 1956. Her body would be brought to the Mount Auburn lot, #8429 on Birch Avenue, which she had purchased six years prior. A small article appeared in the January 24th edition of the Frederick News-Post saying that family members traveled to Boston for the funeral. ​
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Boston Herald (Jan 16, 1956)
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Frederick Post (Jan 24, 1956)
​Mary R. “Mayme” Cole retired from the Charlestown (Massachusetts) Navy Yard in 1955 and continued to live with Edward after her sister’s death. She died May 4th, 1967 at the age of 77 and was remembered with quite an obituary. Ms. Cole would be buried next to Nellie in the lot on Birch Avenue.
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Frederick News-Post (May 5, 1967)
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 As for Edward Leavitt Knisell, he outlived his wife by 13 years, dying on February 18th, 1969. Interestingly, he would live out his life right here in Frederick, but his body would make the trip to Massachusetts and Mount Auburn for burial.
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Boston Herald (Feb 20, 1969)
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Frederick News-Post (Feb 19, 1969)
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​The story of these Cole sisters may not be one of the most riveting in this blog series, but it features several threads that bind us to Mount Auburn, the legendary rural/garden cemetery upon which Mount Olivet was modeled. If you are in the Boston area on pleasure or business, I strongly urge you to make time for a visit. You won’t be disappointed. 

Of course, feel free to visit the Cole sisters' parents in Mount Olivet's Area R/Lot 152 at anytime. If life had worked differently, they, perhaps, would be resting here in death.
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Charles Edwin Cole plot in Mount Olivet (Area R/Lot 140)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Connie Houtz and Mount Auburn's Curator Meg Winslow and the kind staff of Mount Auburn Cemetery for their assistance with this "Story in Stone." 
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Rinaldo & Rashland

7/7/2024

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The title of this "Story in Stone" reads like the name of a big-city law firm --Rinaldo & Rashland. However, that couldn't be further from the truth as this contrived moniker has never graced a "hung shingle" in our fair city and is simply the combination of names of two complete strangers buried nearly next to one another in Mount Olivet's mysterious Area M.  Fittingly this specific location is also known as "Strangers Row."

We seldom know anything about people whom we call "strangers." When researching individuals in this particular sector of the cemetery, I have to be "lawyer-esque" in approach looking extra hard to find out things about my subjects. This includes a careful cross-examination of relatives, residencies and past employments to attempt to paint a better picture of my subject. I may even find out things about their relationship with the law as well.

With two names, Rinaldo, a first name, and Rashland, a last name, I immediately had the vision of a law office in mind, and immediately thought of the practice of those in the profession hanging their proverbial "shingles." An online search for an early visual showed me the law office of our fifth US President, James Monroe, whose grandson and other descendants rest in our cemetery. I also thought of the alleged law office of our most famous legal duo in Frederick history annals. These two were not only "in-law," but were also in-laws, more specifically, brothers-in-law.  
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James Monroe's law office on Charles Street in Fredericksburg, VA
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Faux law office (above and below) on N. Court St in Frederick said to have been the home of Francis Scott Key and Roger B. Taney. The building was constructed in the 20th century long after both men had died.
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In researching their lives, I had the opportunity to compare and contrast two individuals —one a humble carpenter, and the other a former actor turned lecturer. These two men were not related, and never met one another. They did not reside in the same town, yet they experienced life in the similar time period of history being born immediately after the American Civil War, and surviving into  the Roaring 1920s, with one actually making it to the Great Depression. 

One of our subjects traveled the country in his vocation, while the other may not have ever ventured out of Frederick County or Maryland to my knowledge. One worked with talented hands wielding tools, while the other had a mouth and tongue that paid the bills by way of words, verse and prose as his work accoutrements. 

Both encountered life struggles --one had financial woes, while the other had problems with alcoholism. Each died suddenly, and not in the confines of one's own home or a hospital room. Their surprising deaths made headlines in the local newspaper while likely talked about by countless local residents not knowing either decedent personally.

Last of all, neither subject had funds of family to purchase them a proper grave space. Charity led them to their respective, final resting places in Frederick's Mount Olivet Cemetery and not elsewhere.

​Now, permit me tell you the stories of Rinaldo & Rashland.
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Rinaldo C. Walters
He was born on February 28th, 1868 and given a masculine Italian name (with German and Latin roots) which crudely translates to "wise power." Rinaldo was born in West Virginia, the oldest of six children to parents John Wesley Walters (1833-1916) and Annie Cecelia Pampel (1845-1928). Berkeley County was the likely home of Rinaldo's birth and paternal relatives as some records infer.

Rinaldo spent his youth in both Frederick City and  Shepherdstown, WV. and likely received little advanced schooling. He did, however, learn a trade — that of his father. He would work as a carpenter for the balance of his life, while his maternal uncles (Henry and David Pampel) would make their mark crafting iron instead of wood. The Pampels' father, Frederick (1800-1876), hailed from France and this surname can still be seen on several existing iron grates throughout town. We will look into their story at another time.
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1880 US Census showing Walters family living in Shepherdstown, however the 1870 census shows Rinaldo living with his parents in Frederick City.
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Frederick News (Aug 22, 1908)
Rinaldo and his parents would eventually move to Frederick in the early 1900s and lived on West Patrick Street according to an obituary for Rinaldo's youngest sister, Violet, who died in Baltimore at 20 years of age in August, 1908. We also learn from this obit that three other siblings lived in Baltimore at this time (Ira, Eugene and Mary "Mamie"). I also saw records that another brother, Harry, married in Boston and eventually lived in New York City.

​Violet would be laid to rest in Mount Olivet's Area K/Lot 26. Interestingly, I found two other family members here in a lot where Violet never received a gravestone. Charles L. Walters, an infant nephew of Rinaldo and Violet (and son of brother Ira) had been buried here in February, 1896. Sadly, the child died on his first birthday. Twenty years later, on March 11th, 1916, Rinaldo's father (John W. Walters) would be buried here next to Charles.
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The grave of 1-year-old Charles Walters of Baltimore is the only Walters family member in the lot with a monument. Others unmarked include the infant's aunt (Violet Walters Jones) and grandfather (John W. Walters)
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John W. Walters (1835-1916)
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Frederick News (March 10, 1916)
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1910 US Census showing Rinaldo living with his mother on North Market Street
In the first decade of the twentieth century, Rinaldo is listed as working as a carpenter in a blacksmith operation. This could likely have been the Pampel Foundry, once located on West South Street. Regardless, this would be the last census record I could find for our subject as he was living with his mother at the time at the family home on North Market Street. Meanwhile, Rinaldo's father was residing in the county home at Montevue. In 1915, he is listed as a blacksmith in a Frederick City directory and his exact address was 210 West Patrick Street.
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Rinaldo Walters as he appears in the 1915 Frederick City Directory
Not much else can be found out about Rinaldo. He never married or had children. But, what Rinaldo did have was a drinking problem that included legal intervention from time to time. This comes from reading a few newspaper mentions, in which the issues were related to alcoholism and public drunkenness. From the article below, you can surmise that our subject certainly didn't pick the best location in Frederick to pass out.
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Frederick News (April 10, 1908)
A newspaper article from 1919 states that Rinaldo was living on East 5th Street.  The 1920 US Census backs this claim up by showing Rinaldo as a boarder of widow Jane Renner at 128 East 5th Street. Interestingly, a next door neighbor was William R. Diggs, namesake for the municipal pool located off West All Saints Street and the limousine driver for prominent banker, et. al. Joseph Dill Baker (namesake of Baker Park).
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By 1928, Rinaldo is back to being called a carpenter in the Frederick City directory and can be found living closer to Diggs Pool than Mr. Diggs, himself, as he was residing as a boarder at 26 West All Saints Street. This would be the year that Rinaldo's mother would pass as well. She is not buried in Area K with her husband, daughter and grandson, but rather in Baltimore where she had lived her final years with a granddaughter. 
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Frederick News (Feb 20, 1928)
I failed to find our subject in the 1930 census, although he died in 1934. I surmise that he was a patient at the Montevue Hospital located northwest of town on West 4th Street extended towards Yellow Springs on a road destined to hold the name of Rosemont Avenue. This institution was built in 1870 and catered mostly to wayward men giving it the moniker "The Tramp House." One year after the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and ushering in the Great Depression, Montevue served an array of transients including what have been described as "idle vagabond paupers, a recent class of professional vagrants, transients or "tramps" often sought out almshouses like this and jails for temporary room and board." 
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The Montevue Home and Hospital in the late 19th century along Shookstown Road in foreground
​​Either by design or heavenly provenance, Rinaldo C. Walters had already found himself  here as a resident since around 1928. As you may recall, his father lived his final years at Montevue as well. And here is where our life story ends for a well-marked "stranger" in Mount Olivet's "Strangers Row."  Apparently, he was on his way either to, or from, Frederick City, but was found in an adjoining field.
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Frederick News (March 28, 1934)
My surprise lies in the fact that he was brought to Mount Olivet for burial in a pauper's lot. Perhaps this was dictated by family, as he did receive a gravestone, something his sister and father don't have. I would assume that he would have typically been buried in the "potter's field" at Montevue, a burial ground for hospital residents which we have discussed in an earlier "Story in Stone."
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Frederick Post (March 30, 1934)
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Frederick Post (March 31, 1934)
Frederick E. Rashland
A month ago, I wrote about two other "strangers" in Mount Olivet's Area M that bookend the grave of Robert L. Downing, one of the greatest stars of the theatrical stage in the late 1800s. To Mr. Downing's left, is buried Eli G. Jones, MD (1850-1933). This man practiced for over 50 years, selecting methods he found truly useful from conventional medicine, Physio-medicine, Biochemic, Homeopathic and Botanical (Herbal) medicine. Dr. Jones wrote many excellent articles and books including Cancer:  Its Causes, Symptoms and Treatment (originally published in 1922), in which he describes specific and different approaches to each type of cancer then known laying great stress on individualizing the course of treatment for each patient.

The story of Dr. Jones directly led me to learn who the decedents were who occupied graves to his immediate left. The nearest grave monument belongs to Rinaldo C. Walters, whom we just chronicled. However, the nearest individual (in a grave) and actually placed beside the mortal remains of Dr. Jones is one Frederick E. Rashland with no marker or monument.

I would soon learn that Rashland had an acting career like Robert Downing, but was nowhere near as famous. However, on a smaller stage in the field of education and oratory later in life, Mr. Rashland had quite the reputation that brought many to see and, most particularly, hear him. Funny how a man intent on leaving his mark on communities throughout the country with his talents, is buried in a cemetery without anything to mark and identify his final resting spot and an adventurous life seemingly well-lived. 
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Area M (aka "Strangers Row") with the grave monument of Rinaldo C. Walters visible to the left and that of Dr. Eli G. Jones to the right. (Frederick E. Rashland is buried between them).
Frederick E. Rashland was born a year and three months before Frederick carpenter Rinaldo C. Walters. This occurred somewhere in New York on November 12th, 1866. I have experienced hardships in trying to find any specific information on this gentleman prior to the 1890s. From later census records, I learned that his father, John Rashland, was a traveling salesman from Baltimore, and his mother was from France. I found City Directories from 1890 and 1895 that show Frederick Rashland as an actor living in Syracuse.
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​​My only source of information prior to the US Census of 1900 has been newspapers which further talk of our subject's profession as an actor. The earliest I found was from 1891. 
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Arcadian Weekly Gazette (Dec 30, 1891)
In 1894, Fred Rashland starred in the lead role in a comedy play entitled "The Private Secretary." A review of a performance in Hamilton, Ontario specifically called him out for his "grotesque" portrayal.
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Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada) (Dec 6, 1894)
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Detroit Free Press (Dec 8, 1894)
The clipping below introduced me to the woman I would eventually learn to be Rashland's wife. Anita Richards of Perry, New York, was born July 14, 1873 and would go by the stage name of Anita Leslie in her early years as an actress. The couple would marry on August 11th, 1898.
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Perry (NY) Record (Nov 20, 1896)
Fred's big break seems to have come around the time of his nuptials as he was cast in a play titled "The Air Ship," billed as a farce comedy. This impressive traveling production would play to audiences around the country. I found advertisements of it being performed on stages in the northeast, mid-west and far west including: Anaconda, Montana; Dallas, Oregon; Laramie, Wyoming; Boulder, Colorado; Spokane, Washington; North Platte, Nebraska and Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Boulder (CO) Daily Camera (Nov 22, 1898)
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New Haven (CT) Daily Morning Courier (Feb 17, 1899)
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​This musical may have been prompted by widespread reports of a mysterious airship seen flying over California in Nov-Dec 1896 and throughout the Midwest in April 1897. It was something of a precursor to the UFO sightings of the postwar era, although most of those who saw the airship assumed it was the creation of a human inventor rather than an extra-terrestrial craft.
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In his blog, Voyages Extraordinaire  Scientific Romances from a Bygone Era, Canadian author Cory Gross wrote the following about this particular musical:

"Dubbed "a musical farce comedy," it tapped into both the public fascination with powered flight and the Klondike Gold Rush, which were the current affairs of the year. Samuel Langley had just made two successful flights with steam-powered model aircraft in 1896, which flew almost a mile after being launched from a catapult. Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, became interested in possible military applications and began funding Langely's experiments.

Meanwhile, a pair of civilians, Orville and Wilbur Wright, were only a few years off from their historic flight in Kitty Hawk. As the quest for the air was going on, hundreds of thousands of treasure-seekers clawed their way to the Klondike River in the Canadian Yukon Territory in the quest for gold. Unfortunately, by the time stampeding prospectors finally made their way across the treacherous Chilkoot Trail in 1897, most of the good sites had already been claimed. The North West Mounted Police - precursors to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - acted quickly to ensure a peaceful and orderly gold rush, but hardship and hunger still plagued the Stampeders. Those who could eke out gold from the river bed and the hills became fabulously wealthy. Dawson City came to be called the "Paris of the North" and, practically overnight, the largest city west of Winnipeg."  
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"The Air Ship" illustrations appearing in an 1899 review from the Jan 16 edition of the Fort Wayne Gazette
​"J. M. Gaites' musical opened with an inventor flying his airship to Alaska and discovering a lake whose shores were literally coated in gold. Sadly his heavy-laden craft went down on the way back, along with all knowledge of the lake's whereabouts. Undaunted, the inventor's nephew decided to try his hand at aeronautical adventure. Reaching Dawson City with a farcical crew of comic characters and buxom beauties, they eventually manage to find the gold and return home in a harrowing thunderstorm.

Critics decried what they perceived as a lack of plot, the show being carried by the music, dialogue, and effects. That is a familiar critique even today. Audiences, on the other hand, loved it. After its initial run in New York, The Air Ship went on tour and continued drawing full houses well into the 1910s. Of particular note were the air ship itself flying through the thunderstorm and the wintry scenes in Dawson, many celebrating these as masterful and as realistic as one supposes that a stage play can get.

With the advent of The Great War and the widespread use of military aircraft, attitudes towards fanciful flights from before the Wright Brothers changed. Like with Jules Verne and Georges Méliès, the public was no longer interested in Scientific Romanticism. The hard reality of industrialized warfare dashed those aspirations. J.M. Gaites' greatest fame still lay in his future though, writing Vaudeville routines for the Marx Brothers."
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Carlisle Evening Herald (Aug 26, 1899)
It seems as if "The Airship" had made its run by the summer 1899, but a few more shows in the Mid-Atlantic region were performed late in the year and early 1900. In the late summer/fall of 1899, Fred Rashland could be found in another production called "The Wyoming Mail." I had found mention of this in respect to a performance in Carlisle, PA, but our subject was well-acquainted with the imagery of the west that this production portrayed as he had recently traveled it.

​I found the Rashlands the following year in the 1900 US Census in Nettie's hometown of Perry, New York. The two are both listed as actors and living with Mrs. Rashland's parents, Albert and Eleanor Richards.
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The Rashlands in Perry, (NY) in the 1900 US Census
Apparently the two were conducting their own productions that year under "the shingle" of the Rashland-Leslie Theater Company. The brief article below informs the public that the couple were canceling shows for the spring season due to a personal illness experienced by Nettie, but they were not sidelined for long. By 1903, they were traveling together performing benefit shows. One such was called "A Modern Match" and was performed in the greater New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut region.
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Buffalo Courier (March 18, 1900)
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Reynoldsville (PA) Star (Oct 3, 1900)
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Oswego (NY) Journal (Nov 28, 1901)
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Buffalo (NY) Commercial (Feb 19 1906)
From exhaustive newspaper research, I noticed a shift beginning in 1909, during a permanent residency in  New York City. The twosome are not acting on stage, but Fred Rashland now possesses a Ph. D. and is working for Columbia University, or so say a few articles I read. He seems to be instructing elocution and oratory skills and is held on retainer by neighboring New York and New Jersey public school systems to train students in this fine art. Of particular interest is his inferred work under philanthropist Helen Gould.
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Punxatawney Spirit (PA) Nov 28 1910
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Scranton Truth (Feb 1, 1911)
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Forty Fort Feb 6 1911 Wilkes Barre Times Leader
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Providence (RI) Evening Bulletin (Oct 6, 1914)
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Norwich (CT) Bulletin (April 3, 1915)
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Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer (March 7, 1917)
These lectures kept Fred busy throughout the decade, and into the next. Sadly, this line of work would be responsible for his death. More shocking than that statement is the fact that he would die here in Frederick County! More on that in a moment.

In 1920, the Rashlands were living on Mount Vernon Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Rashland's occupation was listed as instructor. 
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1920 US Census with the Rashlands in Philadelphia
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Wilmington (DE) Journal (June 14, 1921)
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Wilkes Barre (PA) Evening News (Oct 13, 1921)
I was able to spot the tandem in the 1925 New York State Census. At least in June of that year, they were living in the boarding house of Emma Chapman, a 46 year-old nurse. This was located at 72 Washington in Binghamton, New York.
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1925 New York State Census showing the Rashlands living in Binghamton
And that brings us to Frederick Rashland's final "curtain call" here in Frederick County. The year was 1926 and the couple were supposedly residing at 100 Third Street in Washington, DC. Lectures and benefit readings were being performed in regional schools in the winter and spring months leading up to the fateful day of May 27th. 

​On this occasion, Mr. Rashland would make an impromptu visit to the Walkersville School and offer his services for a lecture. As you will learn, the performance was never made.
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Walkersville School (c. 1934)
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Frederick Post (May 28, 1926)
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Frederick News (May 28, 1926)
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Wash Herald May 29 1926
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Frederick E. Rashland's interment card for Mount Olivet
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Frederick Rashland's visit to Frederick, Maryland would be a permanent one for his mortal remains. As I've said at the outset, he would be buried here at Mount Olivet in Area M. He preceded Rinaldo Walters, Dr. Eli G. Jones and fellow actor Robert L. Downing  to the grave. I wonder if he knew Downing at all in the realm of acting? 

Regardless, I was fascinated with the story of this gentleman, however, I would further learn of two evocative anecdotes involving the seemingly struggling actors. The first involves Nettie's plight in Frederick. It is said that sympathizing friends helped Mrs. Rashland bury her husband in our fair cemetery. "Strangers Row" had been set for that same reason, however very few in this location have back stories like him, and Dr. Jones and Mr. Downing as I have shared. More mimic that of Rinaldo Walters.

Mrs. Rashland found herself with no money, and decided to stay. I would learn that she was aided by our local Sisters of the Visitation here in Frederick. I didn't have time to explore this more fully, but I couldn't recall seeing any ties of this couple to the Catholic Church per se, or even religious at all. However, they did appear to be a bit crafty in terms of performing benefits with the seemed end game of benefitting themselves even if it was for daily survival. It seems that Nettie Rashland lived here through the Great Depression era. In 1931, a Frederick City Directory shows her living at the Colonial Hotel at 2 East 2nd Street and working as a waitress. A newspaper article the following year announced that fortunes were about to change for the former actress. Her name would appear on the front page of the Frederick Post.
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1931 Frederick City Directory
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Frederick Post (February 2, 1932)
This was quite mind-blowing to me so I decided to go down the rabbit hole and found a follow-up article and the actual patent design in the 1932 edition of the Official Gazette of the US Patent Office.
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Frederick News (March 5, 1932)
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Mrs. Rashland's patent illustration in the Official Gazette of the US Patent Office
Unfortunately, that's as far as I got with the patent. I couldn't find anything further and don't know if the Visitation Academy received the money or not for Mrs. Rashland's invention of the first non-glare automobile headlights—something all of us certainly appreciate to this day.

I could not find Nettie Rashland in the 1940 US Census, but I would learn that she spent the years around that time living at the Montevue Home. I wonder if she knew Rinaldo C. Walters, the man who would be buried next to her husband in 1935? 

​Nettie requested the opportunity to move into a veterans' nursing home for women by proving that she was the daughter of a Civil war veteran. This was in Oxford, New York and was the same home her mother had lived in until her death in 1925. 
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Nursing home application from November, 1944 for Mrs. Rashland found on Ancestry.com
Anita (Richards) Rashland would be accepted for residency at the New York State Relief Corps Home in Oxford. She died four years later at age 75 on September 11th, 1948 and is buried at the New York Veterans Home Cemetery at Oxford in Chenango County. Like her husband, she didn't have to pay for her burial spot either.
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The last piece of information I "dug up" on this tandem is from a biographical history of citizens of Perry, New York. One such individual written about was Arthur Richards, Mrs. Rashland's father and veteran of the Civil war. I took a moment to read it and an article I had found on the man from a 20th century paper. I was saddened to read a bit about how our acting couple could have been involved in a case of "elder abuse" regarding Mrs. Eleanor Richards after the death of her husband. It reads as follows:
PictureOctober, 1917 obituary of Albert Richards from Find-a-grave.com from an unidentified Perry, NY newspaper
"RICHARDS, Albert - Private. Born 4 June 1832 in Claremont, NH, the son of Edward & Sally (Densmore) Richards. He was married 5 Oct 1854 in Perry, Wyoming Co., NY to Eleanor A. Wilcox, born 26 April 1835 in Warsaw, Wyoming Co., the daughter of Jerome Wilcox. They were married by Eben Francis, a Universalist pastor. Albert enlisted 1 Oct 61 at Perry, NY, a 29 year old Wagoner. Mustered in 7 Dec 61 as an Artificer. In 1862 he accompanied Capt. Lee and his sister on a visit to Bull Run battlefield. While on a scout off Newport Barracks he discovered the sawmill that became so useful to the Battery. Reduced, date not stated. Re-enlisted 1 Jan 64 at Plymouth, NC. Captured 20 April 64 at Plymouth, NC. Held captive at Andersonville, GA, Charleston & Florence, SC. While in Florence he had nothing to eat for three days and had meat to eat only three times during his stay. Paroled from Florence Stockade 10 Dec 64 at Charleston, SC. Arrived 16 Dec 64 at the General Hospital, Annapolis, MD. Sent to St. John's Hospital at Annapolis, MD. Sent home on a furlough. It was at this time he was carried off the train on a pillow - a mere skeleton. Later he returned to the battery when recovered. Transferred 28 May 65 to Battery L, Third NY Artillery. Mustered out 7 July 65. Discharged 17 July 65. After the war Richards lived in Perry and for many years ran the steamer Gypsy carrying picnic parties on Silver Lake. Albert joined the John P. Robinson GAR Post 101 on 21 Aug 1897. His widow Eleanor Richards gave the bulletin board that stands in front of the Universalist church. In later years her daughter, Nettie, married an actor, Frederick Rashland. They came to Perry and took the mother back with them to New York City. It is alleged they were looking for what little money the mother might have. At any rate, the poor little woman was found deserted on a doorstep a few days later by a former Perry boy who saw that she was placed in the Oxford Home where she died a few years later on 10 Aug 1925 at the age of 90. The Richards lived in a little house at 37 Lake St. and is where Mr. Richards died on 16 Oct 1917. Both are buried in Hope Cemetery at Perry." 

A sad story indeed, but the validity is not proven as far as my research took me. It does hold some credibility however based on the day to day financial struggle of this ever-transient couple to find work for survival, including Fred Rashland's final proposed performance in the Frederick, Maryland vicinity.

​It also speaks to the possible remorse that Nettie felt when her patent for the non-glare automobile headlight was certain to yield a great payout. Maybe that is why she gave the money to those who had helped her in her deepest hour? It would be a decision that would explain why she died penniless and continuing to rely on the charity of others for her residency at our Montevue home, followed by the Oxford Nursing Home, and finally her final resting spot four and a half hours away by vehicle, some 230 miles, from that of her husband's in Mount Olivet.

In keeping with our theme about "hanging up shingles," I will leave you with this quote from Italian actress and model Monica Bellucci:

“I think the lawyers are such incredible actors. Can you imagine the performance they have to do every day?”
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"Strangers Row" or Area M, final resting place for Rinaldo C. Walters and Frederick E. Rashland
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Flower Beds

6/21/2024

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This summer, our Friends of Mount Olivet membership group started a project to re-plant our collection of “cradle graves” throughout the cemetery. These unique funerary markers are also known as bedsteads. I wrote a Story in Stone article on these back in October of 2020 entitled “From Cradle to Grave.”

A cradle grave consists of a gravestone, a footstone, and two low stone walls connecting them, creating a rectangle designed to hold plantings while memorializing the person buried below. It resembles a bed, with a headboard, footboard with bedrails on each side connecting them. Flowers planted resemble a lovely blanket of color and texture.
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​We have several cradle graves in Mount Olivet, with some marking the graves of children. Popular in the Victorian era, cradle graves were first utilized as early as the 1840s, with most of ours ranging from the 1850s-1870s. Originally, most of these personalized gardens would have been planted and maintained by the family of the deceased. Over the last century, all have been abandoned, in many cases due to families moving away, or dying out.

That said, I checked on a few of these cradle graves last month as we were preparing to feature them as part of our programming for Celebrate Frederick’s annual “Beyond the Garden Gates” garden tour. 
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​A little bit further out in the cemetery, a double cradle grave was under repair in Area H. It was for two young daughters of Perry Beall McCleery and wife Mary Jane (Doub) McCleery. Here, sisters, Ida Beall McCleery (January 31st, 1854-August 26th, 1854) and Esther Doub McCleery (Feb 25th, 1858-January 25th, 1859) are buried side by side with this twin version of a cradle grave placed above.
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McCleery gravesite in Area H/Lot 351
​After taking pictures of this site, I saw a few other monuments of interest just about 30 yards distant to the left and across the lane in neighboring Area G. I was struck by the design of two primary monuments at the front of this family lot belonging to the Bantz and Dukehart families in G/224. These were definitely not cradle graves, but a later “re-boot” on a bed-themed marker over the final resting places of Merle Bowman Bantz (July 3rd, 1850-March 14th, 1899) and Minnie Cecelia Dukehart (March 28th 1860-January 5th, 1906).
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​I was perhaps just reading more into these monuments because I had “beds on my mind” thanks to the cradle grave exploration work I was conducting at the time. Upon closer inspection, these really seemed to “fit the bill” as the old expression goes. No flowers could grow out of these elevated granite markers, however, beautiful hand-carved plant-life is depicted on the face and sides of a faux slanted headboard.

​My next point of fascination came with the family names here. I was well-acquainted with the Bantz family of Frederick and patriarch Gideon Bantz, Jr.—grandfather of our subject Merle. Gideon Bantz, Sr. was the first president of the Farmers Club of Frederick County which eventually became known as the Frederick Agricultural Society. This is the same group that gives us the Great Frederick Fair each year. Mr. Bantz served as vice president for the first agricultural fair of the society which was held at the Frederick “Hessian Barracks” grounds in the fall of 1853.
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The Old Barracks Grounds on S. Market St
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Early 1900's view looking west out W. Patrick Street. Former house of the Bantz family (extreme left dwelling)on the corner of W. Patrick and Court streets in downtown Frederick
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Ruins of the former Bantz Tannery on "Brewer's Alley" (S. Court St) around 1892
​Gideon Ernest Bantz was born on February 9th, 1792, the son of Henry and Catherine Bantz. He owned farmland both inside, and outside, the town limits, plus a quarry east of Frederick on the National Pike. Bantz was best known for operating a tannery in downtown Frederick on “Brewer’s Alley.” It was positioned north of Carroll Creek along the west side of South Court Street (between the creek and West Patrick Street). Today this location is home to the Citizens Truck Company’s fire station, adjacent the Frederick County Courthouse and its parking lot.
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In October, 1854 Gideon Bantz found himself serving as acting president of the Frederick County Agricultural Society due to an illness to president Col. Lewis Kemp.  This occurred when the Agricultural Society's Board of Trustees met on October 7th, just prior to the opening of their Exhibition on Wednesday, October 11th.  Gideon Bantz attended opening day of the fair, but would travel to Baltimore on Thursday the 12th to represent Frederick County by attending the Maryland  State Fair. While there, he contracted a sudden illness, blamed on oysters he ate for dinner. Mr. Bantz returned home, but died just 24 hours later stunning the community.
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Frederick Examiner (Oct 18, 1854)
PictureGrave of Gideon Bantz, Sr. (Area G/Lot 188)
​Now this Gideon Bantz is buried in Area G, but further down the driveway to the west from Merle and Minnie who I am spotlighting here. He is buried under a very large obelisk across from Confederate Row. However, this plot (where I have found my later bed monument models) was bought by Gideon Bantz, Sr.’s son Gideon Ernest Bantz, Jr., born October 4th, 1813.

After his father's death, Gideon Jr. carried on the tanyard and mill business, along with other civic roles in the community. He served as a bridge inspector and spent the American Civil War working with Col. Lewis Steiner (buried close by) under the United States Sanitary Commission.

Gideon Ernest Bantz, Jr. apparently died quite suddenly like his father. This occurred on July 21st, 1887 here in Frederick. Heart disease, not oysters, was found as the culprit for his demise.  

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Frederick News (July 22, 1887)
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​That brings us to Merle Bowman Bantz and Minnie. At first glance, I assumed that Minnie was Merle's wife and this is what brought the Bantz and Dukehart families together in this burial plot. I would soon learn that I was mistaken.

​As stated earlier, Merle was born July 3rd, 1850. He grew up in Frederick, the son of the fore-mentioned Gideon Ernest Bantz, Jr. and wife Julia Ann (Hartman) Bantz.
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1860 US Census showing Merle living with his father (Gideon E. Bantz, Jr) and family in Frederick
​As a young man, Merle attended the Frederick Academy here in Frederick. Around the year 1869,  he re-located to Winchester, Virginia to assist his brother Theodore Marion Bantz in a mercantile business. T. Marion was a free-lance journalist who was very interested in politics and ran what has been called the oldest shoe establishment in Winchester at 14 N. Loudoun Street. He was a very close friend of Charles Broadway Rouss, a Woodsboro (MD) native who spent his formative years in Winchester and made it big in New York City to become a wealthy merchant.  Their personal friendship made the Bantz family very popular in Winchester. Another brother, Julius Alton Bantz (1853-1920), would also help with the shoe store. 
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This building is known as the Bantz Building and was the final home of the Bantz shoe business in Winchester
In Winchester, Merle would help grow the family shoe business while his older brother served in other civic and political capacities. Like that of his father and grandfather, Merle's death came as a surprise and shock to his community of Winchester, as well of his old hometown of Frederick. He was a victim of spinal meningitis and died an excruciating death at the age of of 48. This  occurred on March 14th, 1899. 
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Winchester (VA) Star (March 14, 1899)
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Merle Bowman Bantz' body would be brought back to his father’s grave plot where he is buried near his parents and other relatives including his brother Julius. I learned that his brother Theodore Marion Bantz is buried about a hundred fifty yards away in Area R.
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Grave monument of Merle's brother Theodore Marion Bantz, a leading merchant of Winchester, VA buried in Mount Olivet's Area R/Lot 7
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Grave of Merle's brother Julius Alton in the Bantz/Dukehart family plot in Area G
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Backside of Gideon E. Bantz, Jr. family monument in Area G
​The Dukeharts
Until I read Merle Bantz' obituary, I thought he married Minnie C. Dukehart because the beautiful monuments are identical.  I was also confused in figuring out family members because a neighboring gravestone in this plot belongs to Merle’s aunt Julia Ada (Bantz) Dukehart, sister to his father (Gideon, Jr.) and Gideon Sr.’s only daughter. Julia, born in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania, married a fellow named Capt. John Peck Dukehart of Baltimore. (More on him later as he has an interesting story as well).
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Anyway, Minnie Cecelia Dukehart is the daughter of Capt. Dukehart and the former Julia Ada Bantz, making her Merle’s first cousin. As I’ve said before, I had no judgment if they had been married, as I know that kind of thing happened regularly back in the day, especially between prominent families. I didn't learn much about Minnie at all through my research attempt. However, I did find her in the 1870 and 1880 census records living in Baltimore.
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1880 US Census showing Minnie living with her parents and brother Eugene in Baltimore in the 1880 Census on West Fayette St
I double-checked our cemetery records and they state that both Merle and Minnie were single. She was living with her mother in the 1900 US Census. Both Merle and her father had passed the previous year (1899), and the 1890 census is not available to check her whereabouts, but it was likely that she was living at home with her folks her whole life.
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1890 Census showing Minnie living in Baltimore with her mother and brother
Our co-subject of a bed-like memorial died on January 5th, 1906. She was only 45, and succumbed at her residence in Baltimore at 1406 West Fayette Street. I found Minnie's scant obituary from 1906 with no mention of a husband or children. Julia A. Dukehart had her daughter's mortal remains interred in the family plot in Frederick adjacent her father and grandfather, but next to cousin Merle. 
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Frederick News (Jan 6, 1906)
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Frederick News (Jan 8, 1906)
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I find it interesting that Minnie's mother, Julia Ada (Bantz) Dukehart, employed the same design as Merle's monument. I would even find his marker praised in a Frederick newspaper article a year before Minnie's death. Perhaps she requested or mentioned to her mother that she'd prefer the same for her own grave monument?
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Frederick News (Nov 28, 1905)
Minnie’s sister, Julia Bantz Dukehart, died as an infant in 1858 at 2-months old. This child and Minnie's brother, Eugene, are both buried in this plot here as well.
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​I said earlier, I wanted to explain further my findings regarding Capt. John Peck Dukehart, Minnie’s father. He was a native of Baltimore, born July 31st, 1824, the son of an early Baltimore insurance agent named John Dukehart. I found John and wife Ann Dukehart in the folds of Baltimore’s Quaker Church. Capt. Peck was raised in the Society of Friends, along with his sister Sarah. I noted that the family also made frequent trips to Columbiana, Ohio in his youth but I could not establish exactly why.
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1850 US Census showing Capt. John P Dukehart still living with his parents and working as a hose maker
​In the 1850 census, I found 25 year-old John Peck Dukehart employed as a hose maker. In subsequent censuses he would work for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. As a conductor, he garnered the respect of both passengers and his colleagues by his actions on the job during a terrible blizzard in 1856.
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Baltimore Sun (May 23, 1856)
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1880 US Census showing Capt. John P Dukehart and family living in Baltimore
Capt. Dukehart continued working for the railroad until his death on September 27th, 1899. Instead of being buried with his parents in Baltimore, the decedent would be brought to Frederick for burial in the Bantz family plot.
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​Thirty-one years later, Capt. Dukehart’s wife, Julia Ada (Bantz) Dukehart died in Baltimore in December, 1923. This woman had outlived her entire immediate family and had them buried in Frederick's Mount Olivet, all in the same family plot with her parents and siblings. She, too, would join them here in death and  would be placed in a grave next to her husband.
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Frederick News (Dec 3, 1923)
​That pretty much wraps up my review of this plot, entirely influenced by me seeing those bed-shaped markers while observing a cradle grave a short distance away. After writing the piece, I found this article in a local newspaper from 1965 which sheds a little more light on this interesting family of Bantzes and Dukeharts.
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Frederick News (April 2, 1965)
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Mary's Husbands

6/2/2024

3 Comments

 
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​As I was walking the western border of the cemetery a week ago, I passed Confederate Row and the over 700 Southern soldiers buried therein—casualties of the American Civil War. These men died during a time range of 1861-1865, and their gravestones once formed a makeshift wall separating the burial ground and surrounding farmland, once part of a plantation known as Birmingham. This part of Mount Olivet comprises the midsection of Area M, a linear section only 12-feet in width. The swath continues north and south of Confederate Row along a chain link fence with houses on the other side belonging to residents of the Carrollton development that has grown out of the Birmingham estate over the last half century.

Just beyond the Confederate graves, and to the south, the topography suddenly dips down. The next 50 yards or so of Area M consists of a hodge-podge of single gravesites, some marked, and others not. This is somewhat of a pauper’s location, and formerly carried the moniker of “Stranger’s Row” in the distant past. Here, one can find many infant and child mortalities, along with indigent residents as we’ve discussed in an earlier “Story in Stone” with focus on the section of Area M  north of Confederate Row.
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Area M, the former "Strangers Row," south of Confederate Row
​As it always does, a familiar stone came plainly into view for me while on this walk, one of my favorite individuals in Mount Olivet because of his unique “life story.” He surely wasn’t indigent, and I've often questioned why he is buried here in this part of our 100-acre burying ground. It is an understated memorial which basically sits like an elevated footstone. Our interment books show this as Area M’s plot #13, and there are only a few grave monuments sitting over a collection of 13 individuals in this roughly 12’x12’ plot, with four interments being those of children.
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​This is the grave of Robert Lindley Downing (1857-1944), one of the most successful stage actors of the late 19th century. He was fondly called "America's Tragedian." This Shakespearean-trained performer from Washington, DC shared the stage with some of the greatest actors of his day including Edwin Booth. He was best known for his depiction of “Spartacus the Gladiator,” a role he played thousands of times on stages across the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In 1907, he abruptly retired from the stage to become an evangelical minister and toured the country in that vocation. Afterwards, he lived a simple and reclusive life in Middletown, devoid of the great fanfare enjoyed in early life.  (Click for original "Story in Stone.")
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Robert L. Downing
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Stage Poster
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Atlanta Constitution (Jan 18, 1895)
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The Downing grave and monument is in the center of these three stones with German Shepherd looking on
​This humble plot of Area M/Lot 13 seldom has visitors, but rather plenty of passersby who have no idea that they are in the midst of a bonafide entertainment legend from an earlier era before motion pictures. I will note that this vicinity is, however, under the watchful eye of a dutiful German Shepherd on the other side of the fence.
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No other Downing family members are here, which is interesting considering Mr. Downing had married four times. He was widowed twice, and divorced once from his second spouse, Eugenie Blair, a noted stage actress in her own right. Downing’s third wife, Helene Kirkpatrick (1864-1930), is buried several hundred yards away to the north (and along this same cemetery lane) in an unmarked grave in Mount Olivet’s Area L/Lot 183. Downing’s parents, siblings and grandparents are buried in Washington, DC's Glenwood Cemetery.
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(Oct 5, 1944)
​The answer to my question of, “Why here?” can be explained by the fact that Area M once afforded families and benevolent groups the opportunity to purchase or obtain single gravesites at a cheaper rate than the usual spaces for sale . Mr. Downing’s fourth wife, and widow, simply decided that she may want to be buried elsewhere instead of by his side.

That is what I believed when I wrote my story back in March of 2017, and recalled this fact again upon my impromptu visit last week. This time around, I took special notice of Robert L. Downing’s immediate neighbors, wondering who they were, and thinking of whether their descendants have knowledge of their respective "loved one's" proximity to such an interesting celebrity?

My observation soon commenced as I saw the gravestone of a man named Harry Wilson to the right of Mr. Downing. According to his monument, Wilson lived from March 18th, 1850 to May 25th, 1932. Closer inspection of our cemetery records showed that he actually died on June 25th of that year, a fact proven by his obituary stating so (as it appeared in the June 27th, 1932 edition of the Frederick News.)
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Frederick News (June 27, 1932)
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Harry Wilson as he appears in the 1920 US Census, living and working at the Montevue Home
​I didn't learn much at all on this man. As the article states, Harry Wilson was a resident of the Montevue Home for the aged at the time of his death. I found him there in the 1930 US Census, and he was also living at Montevue a decade earlier in 1920. However, the 1920 Census lists Mr. Wilson in the employ of the Montevue Hospital, and greater facility, as a “fireman.”  Sort of interesting that the Montevue would undergo a later demolition by way of fire as a training exercise, but I digress.

The only thing I could find was information claiming Harry was a native of Pennsylvania, and his parents were both immigrants from Scotland. The responsible party for Mr. Wilson’s burial was a Miss Alice Mull on behalf of Montevue Hospital.
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Unlike Mr. Downing, Harry Wilson never married. I assume his burial here, as opposed to the potter’s field at Montevue, was a gesture honoring his dedicated service to the county almshouse facility.
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​I next examined the grave marker to the left of Robert L. Downing. It was positioned considerably closer to his grave space than the memorial to Mr. Wilson. Here lies a gentleman named Dr. Eli G. Jones. 
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 I had no earthly idea who this former physician was, but would soon learn that he, too, would marry four times like the stage actor buried beside him 11 years later. Dr. Jones would also be widowed twice and divorced once.

Dr. Eli G. Jones possesses a stone that is also that of a footstone variety, but it is not elevated substantially like that of Mr. Downing’s. 
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​The similarities, however, don’t stop there. Both men were one-time residents of Middletown. This fact could be explained by further exploring a major connection involving a woman from the nearby piketown to the west who had loved, and been loved by both of these interesting gentlemen. She was the one who was responsible for choosing the gravesites of both men.

This woman was not a cemetery employee, or county almshouse representative as we saw in the case of Miss Mull handling Harry Wilson’s burial. No sir, this woman was wife # 4 for Dr. Eli Jones, and wife #4 for Robert Downing. Meet Mary Shafer Jones Downing. Her previous husbands lie side to side, but she is nowhere to be found, so to speak.

That’s right, Dr. Jones and Robert Downing share a common link in the form of wife Mary, the former Mary Eleanor Shafer of Middletown.  She was the daughter of a teacher, former Frederick tax collector,  and ten times elected Burgess of Middletown. In fact, Mr. Peter W. Shafer was also a co-organizer of the Hagerstown & Frederick Trolley system. Her sister Eva was an accomplished artist and both sisters participated in the Washington social scene.

Mr. Shafer and wife Anna L. (Young) are buried in Christ Reformed Burying Ground in Middletown, just east of Mary’s former family home (spent with both husbands) on the west side of South Jefferson Street.
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202-205 S. Jefferson St in Middletown (cabin to the left of image) served home to the Peter W Shafer family and later daughter Mary shared it with Jones and Downing.
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Frederick Post (April 15, 1936)
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Frederick Post (April 17, 1936)
​Through additional research, I found that Mary Eleanor Shafer was born July 19th, 1870. She grew up, and was educated, in her native Middletown. She graduated from Allentown College in Allentown, PA. Mary became a drama and literature teacher and did considerable writing for various professional publications. She would continue to teach while married to both husbands, who were considered accomplished teachers as well.

​Since I told you a bit about Mary’s second husband, (Robert), let me tell you about her first. I don’t know how, or where, she met Dr. Eli G. Jones, but the couple were married at Wayne, New York on August 27th, 1923. At the time, Mary was 53 and the good doctor was 20 years her senior. 
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Jones-Shafer Pennsylvania Marriage License from August 1923
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Frederick News (Nov 25, 1929)
​So, Dr. Eli Gresselt Jones moved to Maryland, and moreso, Middletown with his “young” bride (relatively speaking, of course). While Mary advertised her skills in preparing young students for careers in public speaking and the like, her new husband was often mentioned in local newspapers of the period as receiving visits from medical graduate students that he had taught. In fact, Dr. Jones ran a private school for cancer treatment on Middletown's Main Street. This was his latter life’s work, that of an instructor and author of several books that are still widely used today.
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​To my amazement, I soon learned that Dr. Jones not only had an incredible ancestry, but also had made quite a name for himself professionally, rivaling that of his marital replacement in Robert L. Downing who would eventually become husband to Mary E. Shafer.

Eli G. Jones
Eli G. Jones, MD (1850 - 1933) practiced for over 50 years, selecting methods he found truly useful from conventional medicine, Physio-medicine, Biochemic, Homeopathic and Botanical (Herbal) medicine.  He developed such skill in treating difficult cases, that he became known as a "doctor's doctor," assisting his fellow physicians on up to 2,000 cases a year. He wrote many excellent articles and books. 

There are countless online references to Dr. Jones’ work, especially in regards to cancer research and therapies. He was one of the first to do so, and made the claim that he could even cure the terrible disease. In Cancer:  Its Causes, Symptoms and Treatment (originally published in 1922), he describes specific and different approaches to each type of cancer then known  laying great stress on individualizing the course of treatment for each patient.

Dr. Jones even has his own Wikipedia page with his biographical information therein:
"Jones studied conventional medicine and practiced for five years before deciding that the medicine of the day was harmful, because of its dependence upon harsh cathartics like calomel. He then turned to eclectic medicine, which relied upon herbal extracts including those of the Native Americans, went back to school, graduated, and practiced eclectic medicine for another five years. He decided to learn homeopathy, went back to school, and then practiced as a homeopath. He next turned to Physiomedicalism and, after studying, practiced that for another five years.

And finally, he studied Dr. Willhelm Heinrich Schüssler's biochemical cell salts, which is similar to homeopathy, but relies upon salts found in the body and practiced that. After his forays into the various medical schools of his time, Jones developed a syncretic practice using all the schools he had learned. He tended to use a low dosage herbal tinctures or homeopathic mother tinctures in high doses. His Definite Medication proposed low dosage herbal extracts and engendered opposition from non-homeopaths."


As mentioned earlier, Dr. Jones wrote Cancer – Its Causes, Symptoms and Treatment – Giving the Results of over Forty Years' Experience in the Medical Treatment of this Disease, and Definite Medication. He also published “A Journal of Therapeutic Facts for the Busy Doctor,” which gave doctors the pro and con experience of various treatments. The 1912 and 1913 issues have been transcribed by David Winston.

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Link to Dr. Jones 1911 Book on Cancer
I next stumbled upon a website of a gentleman named Donnie Yance, an internationally known master herbalist and nutritionist. He is the author of the book, Herbal Medicine, Healing and Cancer and Adaptogens in Medical Herbalism. Specifically, Mr. Yance writes a blog, and one such article from June 25th, 2015 is entitled: “The Wisdom of Dr. Eli Jones, One of the Greatest Physicians of All Time.” I will share the link to this blog in a moment, but this is how Mr. Yance’s article begins:

“In my opinion, one of the greatest physicians of all time—and perhaps the person that has influenced me more than any other in my clinical practice and pursuit of doing all that I can to help those with cancer—was Dr. Eli Jones, an American Eclectic physician. He was a master of knowing the specific actions and indications of each herb, and especially the applications of herbs for cancer.

The basic principles of Eclectic medicine can be distilled to these simple precepts:

Nature is the great physician who, if permitted and not interfered with, provides for our physical requirements.
Disease (dis-ease) of whatever nature is caused by a lack of equilibrium (an imbalance), the result of an abnormal condition in the body, or the result of congestion due to poor elimination.

Dr. Jones was a true Eclectic in that he read all medical textbooks of that time, including allopathic, Physiomedical, homeopathic, and of course, Eclectic. He believed in the exploration of every system of medicine, regardless of its origins, to discover and apply the most useful principles for the wellbeing of humanity. He combined his own botanical formulations (internal and topical) with simple Nature Cures such as hydrotherapy, and he also used some homeopathy.

Eli Jones practiced from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century and was the most successful doctor ever to treat cancer. He believed that a tumor is only a local manifestation of a constitutional (or blood) disease and that the underlying cause—a weakened constitution—must be addressed to successfully cure the cancer. Cancer, like most diseases, affects the whole organism, and should be treated as such. Modern conventional medicine fails to recognize this, and instead focuses on removing the cancer through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, all of which further weaken the constitution.

Eli Jones gave these four main reasons for the increase of cancer in America, England, and most of the modern world (note that he made these observations a century ago):

Stress: he called this “worriment of the mind.” Worrying weakness the nervous system, lowers vitality, and opens the way for the invasion of cancer.

Vaccinations: In all states and countries where vaccinations are mandatory, you find cancer on the increase.

Diet: Overeating meat coupled with a low intake of vegetables and fruit increases the incidence of cancer. In England, where cancer increased 4 ½ times over the last fifty years, meat consumption rose to an average of 131 pounds per year per person. In the La Grande Trappe monastery in France, where the diet excludes meat, tea, coffee, and other stimulants, there was not a single case of cancer for twenty-seven years.
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The abuse of stimulants: This includes tea, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, etc.”

(Read Blog on Donnie.Blanche.com)
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​Like other Mount Olivet residents I have met by researching and writing these “Stories in Stone,” I love reading quotes from our decedents. The cliche is true, as these rare opportunities help bring people back alive. Dr. Eli G. Jones wrote in the early 20th century the following passage:

“In America we are becoming a nation of nervous, hysterical people.  You must realize that if the nerve power falls below the normal standards there is danger of the invasion of cancer. What our people need to be taught is how to live.  Good pure water, good pure air helps you make good healthy red blood. Unadulterated food, mostly vegetables which are easily digested, keep the nervous system strong and vigorous. “STOP WORRYING and return to the simple way of life.”
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PictureChristopher Jones (1570-1622)
​Dr. Eli G. Jones was the son of a Quaker preacher (named Eli Jones) and grew up in the Society of Friends, himself. Both father and son were born at China Lake, Kennebec County, Maine, about twelve miles from Augusta. Our subject was the grandson of Abel and Susannah (Jepson) Jones, a direct descendant of Captain Christopher Jones (1570-1622), who commanded the legendary Mayflower, that brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock in November of 1620.

In 1833, Eli Jones (the physician’s father) married Sybil Jones. They were the parents of several children including our subject (Eli Grelett), who was born July 26th, 1850. He had aspirations of becoming a lawyer, and excelled on his school’s debate team, but his mother wanted him to stay in medicine. Eli would be sent to Friends Boarding School in Dirigo, Maine for schooling, and eventually studied under a homeopathic doctor named Dr. Frances Roberts. Here is where he learned the Materia Medica.

Eli Jones next studied under David P. Bolster and attended Oak Grove Academy in Maine before attending the Eclectic Medical College in Pennsylvania,  and University of Pennsylvania College of Medicine and Surgery in Philadelphia.

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1870 US Census showing Eli G. Jones living with his family in China Lake, Maine
​By age 20, the US Census of 1870 shows his profession as that of a physician. He was practicing in his hometown, but still continued his learning by attending Dartmouth University, graduating in 1871.
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A decade later, Dr. Eli G. Jones was living in Amesbury, Massachusetts, the hometown of John Greenleaf Whittier who wrote the legendary Ballad of Barbara Fritchie. Although Dr. Jones would not have personal familiarity with Frederick at that time in 1880, I’m certain he knew all about our Civil War heroine Barbara Fritchie, and Frederick’s “Clustered Spires” long before moving here over 40 years later.

In the 1880 US Census, Dr. Jones is married to first wife, Cynthia Sophia Roberts from Sharon , NY. They had wed in 1872 and she was a college-educated woman who first worked as a teacher, and later as a nurse. The couple had a 6-year-old daughter named Cassina Mae (1874-1941) at this time. A second daughter, Mabel Florence (1882-1971) came next.

Interestingly, Cynthia and Eli Jones' marriage would not last. In fact, she would not die  before Dr. Jones as I had assumed, but instead would do so just ten months after his death in November, 1933. This was puzzling for multiple reasons. I learned that Dr. Jones would marry again in the year 1883. This was to a woman named Hannah "Hattie" Emma Little (1853-1907). Dr. Jones had two additional children with Hanna: Walter Grelett (1885-1951) and Sybil May (1893-1974).

​This new iteration of the Dr. Jones family lived in Ohio and New Jersey, but by 1900, they could be found living in a boarding house on 33rd Street in Manhattan, New York and Hannah’s profession was that of a stock-broker.
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1900 US Census showing Dr. Jones and family in Manhattan
As for Dr. Jones’ first wife, Cynthia , she was living with her mother and daughter (Cassina) in Hanover, New Hampshire in the 1900 US Census and working as a nurse. Her own marital status reads “widowed” in the census of that year as well. I jumped up a decade to 1910 and found Mrs. Jones and now 28-year-old daughter Mabel Florence working and living in Indianapolis, Indiana.  

Cynthia Jones would eventually move to Tulare, California in 1914 to live with now-married daughter Mabel Florence (Herd).  I checked for Cynthia in the 1920 census, and her own marital status reads “widowed." She lived here for the next 13 years. I was still curious as to the reason of their marriage dissolution going back to the early 1880s, but have been told that many people simply used the widow moniker to avoid the scrutiny and shame associated with divorce in those early days.
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New Brunswick (NJ) Daily Times (Sept 19, 1907)
​Meanwhile,  Dr. Eli G. Jones would endure his second wife Hannah’s death in 1907, and raise his children into adulthood. He can be found in Burlington, New Jersey in 1910. Interestingly,  Dr. Jones’ marital status in 1910 simply read that he was engaged in his second marriage with a new woman named Merie (Marie), who ran a boarding house where the physician also lived as her husband. Shouldn't this be his third marriage? Perhaps an annulment wiped out that marriage with first wife Cynthia, or his secret (divorce or an abandonment by one party or the other) was easy to conceal as he regularly moved from place to place around the country?
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1910 US Census showing Dr. Jones and Merie in Burlington, NJ
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Philadelphia Inquirer (Sept. 5, 1912)
In 1912, Dr. Jones found himself at the helm of a new national medical society called the American Association of Progressive Medicine. As it's founder, the following editorial appeared in early July, 1913:

Our Association is a Grand Brotherhood, composed of the best, the brainy men of all schools of medicine; men who want the best there is in medicine; men who are doing things in their profession, whose heart and soul are in the work of saving human life. This is a call for every man who loves his fellow-man and his profession, and who wants to do his whole duty by his patient. We want you with us! Will you come and will you do it now.
 
A PHYSICIAN'S DUTY TO HIS PATIENT.
I have always felt that a Doctor's duty to his patient was the paramount issue, that it overrides every
other consideration. Your patients have shown their confidence in you by employing you; they expect
the best medical treatment that you can give them, and they have a right to it.

In this enlightened age, no Physician can afford to plead ignorance of the most common remedies
used in the different schools of Medicine. In his ignorance of these remedies he is handicapped in
dealing with diseased conditions. When a Doctor refuses to consult with another Doctor because he
doesn't happen to belong to his particular School of Medicine, or if he refuses to use a remedy because
it doesn't happen to be in. the Materia Medica of the School of Medicine that he is identified with, then
I say that he is not doing his whole duty down to an early grave, because their Doctor followed blindly,
slavishly the 'Authorities' of his particular School of Medicine. It is a pity that many of our Physicians
born under the shadow of "Old Glory," rocked in the cradle of Liberty, yet they are cowed down by a
slavish fear of the "Powers that would be" of their particular School of Medicine.

Brothers! Are we freemen or are we slaves? If we are freemen, then let us use the brains God has
given us to use for suffering humanity, and not depend upon Some one else's brains to tell us our duty
to the sick. When I graduated at Dartmouth Medical College, N. H., one of our Professors said to the
class, 'Boys, you want to be Captain of them all.' I understood what he meant and took his words to
heart, and resolved then and there, that I would be 'Captain of the whole.' To do this I decided first
that I must rid myself of all prejudice against any School of Medicine; that I would study the Materia
Medica and Practice of all Schools of Medicine to fit myself to heal the sick. I took up one School of
Medicine at a by his patient.

To refuse the help of a brother Physician is a greater responsibility than I personally would dare to
take upon my shoulders. We should remember that there is a remedy somewhere for every diseased
condition, and it is your business and mine to find the remedy and use it. If not, then we have not done
our whole duty."


Dr. Jones outspoken nature played out in several newspaper articles I came across in my research.
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Oakland (CA) Tribune (Sept 4, 1913)
​Sadly, Dr. Jones lost third wife Marie sometime between 1910 and 1920 because the census of the latter shows him living alone as a boarder in Erie, New York. He still had his professional life, and like Robert Downing, continued honing his craft as he traveled through life. An article in an Ohio newspaper from 1919 referred to him as the eminent physician of the Buffalo, New York area. This tipped me off to the move from New Jersey.
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1920 US Census showing Dr. Jones, with widowed status, in Erie, NY living in a boarding house
Dr. Jones traveled the country, appearing at medical conferences all over. In 1921, I found a reference to him serving as the official statistician of the American Medical Association, something he had been doing at least since 1915. As said earlier, Dr. Jones would next marry Middletown’s Mary E. Shafer in 1923, and soon became a resident of Frederick County and Maryland where he continued in his profession, gave lectures and read books.

That brings us to late January, 1933. The front page of the Frederick Post published word of Dr. Eli G. Jones’ death. He would then be buried in Mount Olivet’s Area M, Lot 13. Little did he know that his wife would marry again in 1936. This was to Robert Downing. Eight years later, Mary would be widowed in 1944, and had to bury her second husband in an 11-year span. She placed "America's Tragedian" in a grave right next to her third husband. Both of these highly accomplished men are resting in peace within Mount Olivet's  Stranger’s Row. And to me, that's the "strangest" part of this story.

Robert L. Downing and Dr. Eli G. Jones had eight wives between them. However, that final wife for each, is  not here in Mount Olivet, but buried in an unmarked grave in southeastern Pennsylvania. I could not find an obituary, but I did locate a particular death certificate from the Keystone state. 
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Death certificate of Mary E. (Shafer) Downing
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239 Dean St in West Chester, PA (center duplex with red roof) was the last residence of Mary (Shafer) Downing
Mary died on June 5th, 1951 in Norristown State Hospital. The document shows that she had been residing in West Chester, PA and that her cremains were placed within West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA.

I assumed that I would find her final resting place on Findagrave.com but that was not the case. There is certainly no shortage of Downings here in this famous garden cemetery, as I suddenly recalled nearby Downingtown, PA. My search for Mary was fruitless, telling me that her grave is likely unmarked. What a disappointment and shame, because Mary had wed two very prominent men during her lifetime, and was the daughter of outstanding locals. If anything else, her remains should be honorably memorialized in Middletown's Reformed Cemetery in the plot with her immediate family.

My last point of business for this story was confirming her burial, which I was able to do thanks to Laurel Hill's impressive cemetery website: laurelhillphl.com. Using a locator tool on the site, I found the location of Mary's burial (River 582/Site 2). 
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Ground view showing approximate area of Mary's burial, roughly 30 yards in near the center of this visual
What an odyssey, one that began with a simple, impromptu visit to the grave of an old subject of mine. This led me to explore "next door neighbors." One, Harry Wilson, originally from Pennsylvania (and perhaps Philly), died at our local county home. The other, Dr. Eli G. Jones, spent a chunk of his life just upriver from Philadelphia in Burlington, NJ. As I've illustrated, he has left an incredibly rich legacy, however he is virtually invisible in the annals of local Frederick history as is Robert Downing. 

Both men are slowly being forgotten to national history, where once they were known near and far across the country as they traveled it in their respective professions complete with audiences of eager hearers.  Their final resting places are in the equivalent of our "econo section" just feet away from some clunky sheds and outbuildings and under the surveillance of a trusty canine. Was this "the final scene" either gentleman imagined?
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​Last but not least, the woman responsible for both Dr. Jones and Robert Downing being buried in Mount Olivet,  is herself in an unmarked grave in Philadelphia. Oh, if she was only back here in Mount Olivet in Area M/Lot 13. What a strange connection between all these individuals.

That said, I thought it would be fitting to leave you with this quote from one of Dr. Eli G. Jones’ books:
"We shall not pass this way again,
 
Oh, heed the passing hours,
 
And let each day a record make
 
Of something pure and noble.
 
A smiling face, a cheering word
 
Makes others round us happy,
 
And lightens up the rugged way
 
That leads us on to glory.”
 
~Dr. Eli G. Jones
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3 Comments

"To My Mother"

5/11/2024

0 Comments

 
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Mother’s Day is the single busiest visitation day for cemeteries near and far. Saying this, it is a bittersweet one for many as they come to the cemetery to celebrate the memory and adoration for a mother, grandmother, step-mother, or maternal-figure. It also ends a high stress period for cemetery superintendents as they have been scrambling to have their respective grounds looking their best at a time when May showers can play havoc with maintenance crews’ ability to mow and trim grass.
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Burial grounds like Mount Olivet serve as vivid reminders of how people feel about their maternal figures, who these women were in life, and how the family chose to remember them after death through grave markers and memorial headstones. Like a mother herself caring for her children, cemeteries are regarded as sacred places entrusted with respectfully caring for deceased individuals, along with the preservation of shared history.

A couple years back, I spotted a particular gravestone in Mount Olivet that gave me inspiration for a great Mother’s Day FaceBook post, which I made the following day. It was perfect, as it boldly caught my eye by having the pronouncement, “To My Mother,” on its face. This beautiful work in marble featured a hand-carved flowers shaped like a wreath surrounding the above memorial sentiment. It is located in the historic section of Area H/Lot 397.
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The decedent here is a woman named Catharine Michael who died on February 28th, 1858. Research findings were scant.  Catharine was born January 4th, 1804, as Catharine Bernhart, but our cemetery records do not list her parents’ names. On the website Geneanet.com, I found a Catharine Bernard with a birthdate of 1808, the daughter of Luke (1761-1816) and Rebecca Barnard (1770-1826). Could this be her, regardless of birthdate accuracy and spelling of surname?
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Not much else could be gleaned of her birthplace, or about her early life, however I soon learned that in addition to being a mother, our subject was a wife three times over. She first married a man named John Coe on June 2nd, 1820. With a little searching, it appears Mr. Coe died in 1833 at age 41 and is buried at Israel’s Creek Meeting House Cemetery in Walkersville. I found his gravestone and memorial page on FindaGrave.com.
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Grave of John Coe in the Israel Creek Meeting House Cemetery (Walkersville)
There is a woman buried to the immediate right of Catharine by the name of Ann Rebecca Norris (1822-1868). I believe this to be the daughter of Catharine and John Coe, even though our records do not list her parents’ names either. However, the responsible party for Catharine’s burial was a son-in-law named J. Lawson Norris. This man is buried next to Catharine—James Lawson Norris (1810-1882) was the husband of Ann Rebecca. The Norris gravestone, of a more recent make and model, states that Mr. Norris was a one-time editor of the Republican Citizen newspaper. This also gives potential support to Catharine giving that name of Rebecca (to her daughter) as a tribute of honoring her own mother (Rebecca Bernhart/Bernard) if that be the case. 
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​Catharine next married a gentleman named John Baker. I could not find a date of marriage but I am assuming sometime in 1835 or 1836. A second daughter was born to Catharine on December 13th, 1836 in the form of Caroline Matilda Baker. This woman would marry a man named Albert Mory, and lived later on North Charles Street in Baltimore. She and her husband are buried to the immediate left of “Mother Catharine.”
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Caroline M. (Baker) Mory (1836-1896)
The maternal rose between two thorns you could say, but with the sentiment expressed on Catharine’s gravestone, I deduct that they were loving daughters. 
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I learned that Catharine lived in Middletown, and was a one-time owner of the west half of Lot#26, now 112 West Main Street. George C. Rhoderick, Jr. in The Early History of Middletown, Maryland states that Catharine Baker purchased this property from a James Cook on March 15th, 1845. (At the time of her death, this property was bequested to Caroline Mory, her daughter. Caroline and husband Albert would eventually sell this to Samuel Brandenburg in 1864.)

John Baker died sometime in the 1840s as Catharine married for a third, and final time, on March 3, 1850. This was to a man named Isaac Michael. Mr. Michael moved took up residence in the former Baker household. She appears with him in the 1850 US Census.
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Catharine Michael living in Middletown in the 1850 US Census with 3rd husband Isaac Michael. NOTE: Daughter Caroline and what looks to be a third daughter, Sarah are living with the family at this time.
​I could not locate an obituary for Catharine, but saw that there was a little wrangling over the estate of Mrs. Michael between her daughter and third husband. Looks like Caroline won out from what we know, especially in terms of keeping the house in Middletown. 
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Frederick Examiner (March, 1858)
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One more stone is here in this lot, and it has the name Bibbins on its face. Here lies Catharine's granddaughter Ruthella Bernard Bibbins (nee Mory). This is Caroline's daughter,and the most telling discovery here is that middle name of Bernard.
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Grave of Ruthella Bernard (Mory) Bibbins (1865-1942) wife of Arthur B. Bibbins
Mother’s Day has been all about paying tribute to mothers both on earth and those who have passed since its inception. From a little online research, I learned that starting in ancient times, the Romans and Greeks both had their own festivals to pay tribute to mother goddesses. The Celtic tribes of Europe would honor Brigid, their mother goddess figure. This pre-Christian day of honor was less dedicated to individual mothers and more about mythical figures. The switch came back in 1870 in post-Civil War United States, when author and poet Julia Ward Howe first attempted a celebration with her “Mother’s Day Proclamation.” Her goal was celebrating the mother figures in our lives.

On May 10th, 1908, a lady named Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) picked up where Julia Ward Howe left off by holding a memorial for her mother at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Her mother had passed three years earlier. Ann Reeves Jarvis was a social activist during the Civil War, and was a founder of Mothers' Day Work Clubs. Anna was inspired by her mother’s kind and giving nature, seeing that reflected in mothers across the country, stating a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.” 

In 1876, twelve year-old Anna had stated in a prayer after a Sunday school lesson:

"I hope and pray that someone, will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it." 

Thirty-eight years later in 1914, Anna petitioned Congress to create a holiday honoring all Mothers. President Woodrow Wilson signed Mother's Day into law and the rest is history.
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Anna Jarvis, foundress of Mother's Day
Today, St. Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is the International Mother's Day Shrine, located in Grafton. This 1910 event marked the first official observance of Mother's Day. ​Jarvis continued to fight for the deeper meaning of the day years later, protesting companies that wanted to make Mother’s Day a for-profit holiday, even getting arrested for “disturbing the peace” while she protested the sale of carnations as gifts for mothers. Her greatest wish was for people to visit their mothers, visit cemeteries, and write letters that came from the heart.

Speaking of letters, about 20 years ago I came across some old letters written by a first cousin to my Great-great grandmother who lived in Delaware City, Delaware. These were written in the 1880s by a Margaret "Maggie" (Gallaway) Davis who also lived in Grafton. My ancestor was much younger than the letters' author and both women's mothers were sisters. Interesting the content of these letters talked primarily about the state of the current mothers, along with other family info as the family was disjointed on account of geography and living so far apart.

I had the opportunity to stay at a place called Terra Alta, WV in October of 2022. This is about 10 miles west of Oakland, MD, not all to far from Deep Creek Lake. Ironically, this was the last place my own mother lived before her death in February, 2019. I decided one afternoon that I would drive an hour southwest to Taylor County and try to find the cemetery that Margaret "Maggie" Davis was buried in hopes to visit her grave. This led me to Bluemont Cemetery in Grafton.

Once there, I started my search for Margaret's grave without knowledge of its location. It was a Sunday, and no one was in the office. Bad planning on my part. As I wandered through hundreds of gravestones on the steep slopes of the mountainside cemetery, I stumbled upon a fascinating memorial. It was that of Ann Reeves Jarvis, Ann's mother. This is where I first learned the story of Mother's Day which I just recounted for you. So very fitting since the my weekend trip was filled with memories of my mom, as this was the first time I had been back to her former home, and place of death since 2019. It's like she was there guiding me through that cemetery, and Mrs. Jarvis' grave perhaps.
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Grave of Ann Reeves Jarvis at Bluemont Cemetery (Grafton, WV)
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In case you were wondering, I did find the gravesite of my distant relative, Maggie Davis, in the cemetery about 100 yards up on top of the hill, and about a half hour later. Through her letters, this woman helped shed a bit of light on my Great-great grandmother, and more so, on that woman's mother, my Great-great-great grandmother.
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Taking a walk through a cemetery, especially ones that have older headstones and memorials, it is not difficult to see how women have been defined through motherhood in the past.  Many headstones and memorials are adorned with the word "Mother," along with poems and quotes that reflect who the particular woman was in life, and what she means to the family in death. In older times, simple inscriptions about her character were common, such as “God-fearing homemaker” or “Hardworking caregiver." Over time, these became more eloquent and many people chose Bible passages exemplifying their role as mother, or using an original poem written by a family member.

This is the story of Catharine Michael and countless others in Mount Olivet in Frederick, Maryland, Bluemont in Grafton, West Virginia, and everywhere else. Good luck with your visitation on Mother's Day if you are making one. If not, keep the memory of yours close, not just on this day, but everyday.
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Inscription on Catharine Michael's grave: 

"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Phillipians 1:21)

(NOTE: Can't make that last passage out, please place in comments below if you can.)
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"In Perfect Blum (or a few days late)"

5/5/2024

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If "April showers bring May flowers," what do May showers bring?

Well, it appears we can expect either continued or future blooming of trees and flowers, or the abrupt end of the annual blossom cycle as can be attested by many places in the cemetery, as well as my back patio and yard at home. A recent onslaught of rain, after a mild spring and winter, has put more than a damper on outdoor events and activities over the last few days. The precipitation and blustery conditions have altered the vibrant spring landscape of just a week or two ago. Colorful petals  and important seeds from  neighboring trees and bushes have fallen to the ground, some traveling several yards away.

Meanwhile, bees of the Megachilidae family have been working overtime, busily transporting pollen between plants, while some of us have been sneezing up a storm because of the powdery substance. It's all part of the plan when talking of angiospermous trees such as dogwoods, redbuds, Japanese magnolias, flowering plums and cherries. All of these are among the season's earliest bloomers. It appears, that I may be a week too late to capture optimum photographs, but there is still some hope for the present and days ahead.
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​Speaking of blooming, it's been an interesting spring here already at Mount Olivet. We recently unveiled a new "Tree & History" Walking Tour with the Frederick County Forestry Conservation Board. We designed the tree sojourn last fall and winter, and its been so refreshing to see the trees covered in leaves and flowering once again. Our inaugural guided tour of this occurred on Arbor Day (April 26th) and it seemed like the perfect spring day at the height of color and blossoming trees.

While I'm on the subject, this Tree Walk follows others the Frederick Forestry Board has done for Baker Park and Hood College in recent years. Like those offerings, we now have 19 specimen adorned with small signs containing a QR code. With a simple capture of the code using the smartphone's camera  feature, users will have access to a comprehensive website, packed full of information, images and maps that will virtually aid the trail follower.
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​Hedges and bushes throughout the grounds are still looking looking robust, and in different stages of bloom, while flowers of many varieties have been popping up as well. One particular place to look in our cemetery is in the middle of Areas S, T, and U. This is where we have the World War I Memorial Gazebo and Never Forget Garden. Here, one will find 11 white "Knock Out" Roses in a bed of poppies that encircle the memorial. Poppies are synonymous with World War I, (read the poem "In Flander's Fields") and are often used as a symbol of sleep, peace and death. It's very fitting that these flowers are in full bloom in the weeks leading up to  Memorial Day.
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Some of these have been recently planted as part of a new project our Friends of Mount Olivet group has taken up by beautifying our unique collection of "cradle graves," located throughout the historic section. These burial monuments were popular around the American Civil War era of the 1850s-1860s and were designed to look like bedsteads with a headboard, footboard, and side rails. In days of yore, flowers and evergreen woody vines like ivy were planted in these beds, both  literal and figurative.
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Cradle Grave in Area H belonging to Capt. William Winder Polk (Area H/Lot 26)
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Victorian era bedstead
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Cradle Grave of Thomas Baltzell Tyler (Area B/Lot 113)
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We'll be discussing these new offerings of our "garden cemetery," in a few weeks on May 18th and 19th (1-5pm) as we will again be a stop on the Beyond the Garden Gates Tour. A favorite of residents and visitors alike, this particular Celebrate Frederick event has grown to draw over 800 visitors annually, and has raised thousands of dollars for local garden clubs and multiple beautification projects around Frederick. Special thanks to this year's major partner and facilitator of the event, the Tasker's Chance Garden Club. 

On those particular Saturday and Sunday afternoons (18th and 19th), the Key Memorial Chapel (behind the Francis Scott Key monument) will be open to participants and boasting  info and exhibits, as will our greenhouse. This latter structure is the temporary home each year for many lilies destined for  Carroll Creek and the wildly successful "Color on the Creek" initiative. We hope to have some lily ponds of our own in the near future. ​

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​On a recent walk, just over a week ago, to check on our legion of historic gravestone cleaning volunteers, aka "The Stoners," I stumbled upon a most fitting burial plot on a sunny day prior to the recent stormy weather that I referenced at the onset of this article. This was in Mount Olivet's Area H, and I later learned that I had found myself taking special note of Lot 385. Six family members reside here in the proverbial shadow of a large granite marker that announces their name as "Blum."

This impressive gravestone, simply stating the family surname, "sprouts" out in the center of the lot, with individual member foot stones located around its perimeter. For those of you with an understanding of the German language,  Blum translates to "bloom" in English. The noun "die Blume" is the word for flower. Ironically, no flowers can be found in the lot or surrounding lots, but I was taken with the beauty of a pink Dogwood tree standing proudly in the distance behind the plot. 
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The head of this household was a longtime Frederick tailor named John Nicholas Blum, born January 1st, 1845. From the limited info I found on this gentleman, I learned he was a native of Hanover, Germany. His wife Elizabeth, better known as Elsie (nee Biene), was also a German immigrant hailing from Hesse Cassell. She lived from 1838-1921. 

I found this couple in the 1870 and 1880 Federal Census records. In both, they were living at 100 W. All Saints Street. The couple had four known children, all of whom are buried here in this plot: Louise Christine (1870-1930), George Nicholas (1871-1872), Augusta (1874-1932) and Bertha M. (1876-1932).
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1880 Census showing Blum family living on West All Saints Street in downtown Frederick
From what I could learn, Mr. Blum was an active member of Frederick's German Reformed Church. He appears to have changed careers by the early 1880s as I found him working at the toll gate house east of Frederick City by 1883. A series of interesting articles speak to a few newsworthy events our subject was involved in. These are all from the Frederick Daily News, a publication in its infancy at this time.
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Frederick News (Nov 26, 1883)
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Frederick News (Feb 14, 1884)
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Frederick News (March 27, 1884)
In 1884, Mr. Blum moved his family out of downtown Frederick after buying a 31-acre farm near Monocacy Junction. The purchase price was $2,800.  In keeping with this week's theme, I found it interesting that the Blum's new home is referred to (in the article) as a "garden farm."
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Frederick News (May 12, 1884)
Unfortunately, Nicholas Blum would die less than two years later on Valentine's Day, 1886. He was only 40 years old. Mr. Blum would be buried in this lot in Area H, where his son George had been laid to rest 14 years prior in late July, 1872. 
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Frederick News (Feb 16, 1886)
Footstones would accumulate here in the Blum lot, much like petals under some of our trees this week. added to the space as additional family members passed from among the living. This group whose names and lives were captured and duly counted in the 1880 census record I shared above, would now gather here in death (in both body and name). Nicholas Blum's wife lived a good, long life into her 80s, dying in 1921. However, the three Blum daughters would be gone by the end of 1932. They each died in their late 50s which seems sort of representative of those pretty flowering trees loosing their leaves a bit prematurely as it seems. All three sisters (Louise, Augusta and Bertha) are buried here, but Bertha, the last to die, does not have a footstone.
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​I had gone back the other day to take a picture of Bertha's gravestone, before knowing she didn't have one, and was surprised to see how differently the landscape looked just a week after I had last been there. The Dogwood (behind the plot) was devoid of all pink petals. Of course, the sky wasn't a brilliant blue as I had seen earlier, but now was cloudy and ominous looking, and the grass was understandably wet from rain.

​However, there was some good news and a silver lining. The stone cleaning team had been here during my absence. Water and our D2 cleaning solution, compounded with additional rains had worked their magic on the Blum grave markers. I could now read the footstones clearly! Just one week, and they looked so much better, dare I say "new." The central Blum family stone even glowed, as if it was in "perfect bloom," if you will allow me to say. 
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​So, what have we learned this week? First off, springtime colors, like that of fall, come fast and furious. Enjoy them while you can because the season cycle is always turning. Second, gravestones can magically "re-bloom," like buds and flowers, into the beautiful memorial originally placed over a loved one's grave, even if it was a century ago like Mrs. Blum and her daughters, or Nicholas Blum and son George 140-150 years ago.

Most of all, both entities, nature and gravestones, are here to remind us that life is such an amazing gift, and it sadly passes by too quickly, doesn't it? Quit worrying over dumb stuff, and focus on the beauty of all things big and small. I saw a quote recently, and it seems to speak to this thought perfectly: 

“It is true, as they say, that the blossoms of spring are all the more precious because they bloom so briefly." 

-Murasaki Shikibu (973-1014) from her work The Tale of Genji.
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    Chris Haugh
    ​An award-winning researcher, writer, documentarian and presenter of Frederick County, Maryland history, Chris has served as historian/preservation manager for Mount Olivet since 2016. For more on his other work and history classes, visit: HistorySharkProductions.com. 

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