"Chadwick's End"

An old cottage in Chadwick End along the Warwick Road

A web search recently landed me on a website with the address of www.solihull.gov.uk. I was searching for a small, rural village in Warwickshire, England called Chadwick End. Just by looking at this url, one can spot that this page is hosted by the government of Great Britain. In particular, the information I would gain on Chadwick End could be found as part of a larger information portal for the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England, one of seven  metropolitan districts (in the West Midlands) and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England.

Now I've never had the opportunity to travel to Great Britain, but hope to one day. Chadwick End is not a place on my "bucket list" at all, but I stumbled over it while researching a unique first name found in Frederick's historic Mount Olivet. As a matter of fact, I just learned that Chadwick is ranked #5,568 in popularity according to the website thebump.com. More about him in a moment. Here is what I learned from the "worldwide web" on my village quest, for those interested: 
 
"Chadwick means 'farm near a spring'. Chadwick End is approximately 6 miles south-east of Solihull town centre and is in the parish of Balsall, itself previously in the parish of Hampton-in-Arden. The village is not a traditional village in terms of a cluster of houses situated around a village green with a church and a public house. Rather, it is a crossroads settlement that has expanded over time with a ribbon of development along the A41. It lies astride this trunk road between Birmingham and Warwick, some 3 miles from Knowle, and its position on this established route probably accounts for its development.

​Most of Chadwick End falls into Solihull although part is in Warwickshire; sometimes the houses may be in Solihull and the gardens in Warwickshire! There are close links between Chadwick End, Baddesley Clinton, which is in Warwickshire, and the cluster of properties formerly known as Bedlam's End. Traditionally a small village that supported a farming community, between 1905 and 1960 the settlement of Chadwick End, together with the adjacent Bedlam's End and Baddesley Clinton, grew considerably."

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I have to admit that I instantly became interested in a potential visit to Chadwick End's sister-city Bedlam's End!  if nothing else, I'd go there just to obtain a souvenir tee-shirt. I got sidetracked with this "squirrel distraction" as I desperately looked for more info on Chadwick End's neighboring village. That's when I learned that the term "bedlam" comes from the name of a hospital in London, “Saint Mary of Bethlehem,” which was devoted to treating the mentally ill in the 1400s. Over time, the pronunciation of “Bethlehem” morphed into bedlam and the term came to be applied to any situation where pandemonium prevails. Who says that these "Stories in Stone" are nothing more than biographical tributes to the deceased? I sure pride myself on providing my viewers with the knowledge to expand horizons and wow friends, family and co-workers. But I digress.

Baddesley Clinton Manor is a moated manor house in the village of Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England. The house probably originated in the 13th century, when large areas of the Forest of Arden were cleared for farmland.

I tried to find a good photo of Chadwick End for my story's cover image  (at top of the article). There was nothing of interest (or historic sex appeal) to be found. However, the big tourist draw in this area is the British National Trust' Baddesley Clinton Manor located nearby Chadwick End (and Bedlam's End) in the greater Solihull area. I lost track of the project at hand (this article) as I read a story about a former lord of this manor named Nicholas Brome. One of the "must sees" found within this attraction include stains on the floorboards said to be blood, and left in 1483 when Mr. Brome stabbed the local priest.

​It seems a "big time" sin in breaking commandments (Thou Shall not Kill) until one learns that the said priest was actually breaking another. Brome's rage boiled over when the clergyman was "being overly familiar with his wife." Tests on the stains suggest that they are comprised of pig's blood, but the murder probably did take place somewhere in Baddesley Clinton on account of this "unsaintly" conduct by both individuals. Brome went on to rebuild the nearby parish church, dedicated to St. Michael, as a penance for having murdered the parish priest. ​

Note the stains in front of the fireplace at Baddesley-Clinton Manor. It conjures up the guess/theory: "Lord Broome with a knife in the study."

Nicholas Brome memorial stain-glass window (left) in St. Michael's the church he had rebuilt. Above is a flat, stone marker over the odd, "vertical" crypt of Lord Brome.

It doesn't end there though. Mystery and intrigue continues to invoke interest  in Nicholas Brome's gravesite. Apparently, Brome demanded to be buried "standing up" in the doorway of the St. Michael's Church at Baddesley Clinton. Sadly his marker stone often gets covered by a doormat, but hey, remember that he did stab a priest to death in cold-blood. 

So what does any of this have to do with Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland? Nothing in particular, save for a "catchy" obituary header for a decedent buried in our Area NN.  A slight alteration of Chadwick End would have provided our local newspaper with "Chadwick's End," fitting to run above the fold and photograph of our decedent's gravestone that still sits over his traditional, horizontal burial. 

However, photography hadn't quite made its way to Frederick yet by 1842, and this certainly would not have appeared in our Frederick newspapers until much later in the 19th century. Regardless of that, I'd like to finally introduce you to our main subject this week, Chadwick Hargrave Kuhn (1822-1842).

So I've talked before about the sources used in compiling these stories. One of the first places consulted is Mount Olivet's digital burial database. Here was the result of my search for this random stone that caught my eye on a walk of the grounds back in late March. 

With some quick computing, I deducted that Chadwick's birthdate was November 19th, 1822. As a 19-year-old, I assumed that I wouldn't find much on this youngster. I did my initial searches in other source materials at hand, but found nothing. I was also frustrated by the fact that I did not have immediate access to local newspapers of this period either.
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So Chadwick had me looking in other directions. First, I wanted to track down his parents, who sadly are not buried here in Mount Olivet.  I had their names in Chadwick's data with father being Joseph Lewis Kuhn, and the unique inclusion of our records of his military duty. I soon found that Chadwick's mother was the former Caroline/Carolina Hargrave. A family tree on Ancestry.com helped further, as it had been uploaded on the website by a descendant of one of Chadwick's sisters.

I soon found myself at a " dead end, pardon the pun, on the Kuhn family line going backwards. However, a look at the Hargrave line certainly piqued my curiosity. If anything else, I felt good about discovering the source of more than just Chadwick's middle name "Hargrave."

Yep, our subject's first name comes from his grandfather's middle name and likely a family surname before that in an earlier generation. Lewis Chadwick Hargrave, Chadwick's grandfather, was a politically important man of his times who apparently served as "Counsel for the King of England to Gibralter, Spain," according to Ancestry.com. 

Deeper investigation showed that Lewis Chadwick Hargrave was the Britannic Majesty's Consul General for the Balearic Isles of London.  Hargrave died in 1837 and his daughter Caroline is mentioned in his will which I was able to find thanks to the internet and a genealogical board: 

"Lewis Chadwick Hargrave now devised his moiety in trust to Charles Bowdler of Doctors Commons, George Henry Malcom Wagner of Hurstmonceux Place Sussex and John Chadwick the younger of Rochdale Lancaster merchant for use of his son James Augustine Hargrave for life. And in trust to raise £ 4000 the interest to his daughter Louisa Maria wife of John Parody of Gibraltar And also £ 4000 the interest to the children of his deceased daughter Caroline Catherine late wife of Joseph Louis Kuhn now in America. After the decease of James Augustine Hargrave proceeds of moiety for use of his children." 

​Our subject unfortunately did not get much of a chance to spend his inheritance from his noteworthy grandfather. I see three siblings listed for Chadwick in Henry, Caroline and Antoinette. However, I strongly think Henry's supposed birth date of 1802 (as listed in this family tree) is erroneous, as this is impossible because Joseph L. Kuhn married Caroline/Carolina Hargrave around 1818. 

Chadwick Hargrave's gravestone is in fine condition standing in Area NN's last row

In performing a Google search, I found a town history that revealed that Chadwick's older sister (Caroline) lived the majority of her life in Tiffin, Ohio (within Seneca County) as Mrs. Caroline Pennington. She married in 1842, and Mr. Pennington's biography states that Caroline A. Kuhn was a native of the island of Minorca (a province of Spain). It also said that she was a daughter of Joseph L. Kuhn, of the United States Navy, and a granddaughter of Lewis Chadwick Hargrave, late British consul-general to the Spanish Balearic Islands. This was a nice vetting process for me, and I also have seen that many former Frederick residents would make Tiffin, Ohio their home back in the early 19th century. 

Minorca (aka Menorca)

So, I may never learn how Chadwick and Caroline's parents first met, but it's safe to assume they were married and living in Minorca, or Menorca as it is known today. Now here is a place that is a tourism "keeper" at first glance, unlike Chadwick End! I went in search of its history and learned that in November 1798, a British expedition captured the island of Menorca (historically called "Minorca" by the British) from Spain. A large force under Gen. Charles Stuart landed on the island and forced its Spanish garrison to surrender in eight days with minimal bloodshed. The British occupied the island for four years, using it as a major naval base, before handing it back to Spain following the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.

John Thomas Serres-Port Mahon, Minorca with British Men-of-War at Anchor

My research assistant Marilyn Veek was summoned by yours truly, to find out more about Joseph L. Kuhn. I was getting nowhere fast with him, however, I found scant mentions in Jacob Engelbrecht's diary, kept from 1819-1878. More on that momentarily as I'd like to share Marilyn's findings done on abbreviated time before she headed off on  a "birding" trip to the west coast.

She actually found a ship manifest for Joseph L. Kuhn and his family from Gibraltar to Philadelphia in the year 1821. Unfortunately, for me, this was just before Chadwick's birth in November of the following year. However, it confirmed Henry Kuhn as a sibling (born c. 1819) to Chadwick, along with a time of passage to the United States. 

Passenger manifest dated June 25th, 1821 showing the Kuhn family with two children Henry and Caroline) going from Gibraltar to Philadelphia.

Dr. Henry Kuhn, 1st mayor of Tiffin, OH

​A reader (Deborah Ward) pointed out to me this poignant Jacob Engelbrecht entry from July 2nd, 1821:

“Lieutenant Joseph L. Kuhn of the United States Marines arrived in town on Thursday evening last 28 of June 1821 from Port Mahon Island of Manorca, in the Mediterranean Sea. After an absence of nine years he brought with him his lady & two children. He arrived in Philadelphia his welcome return.”

I had assumed that the Kuhns lived in Philadelphia but a definitive home by 1830 would be Washington, DC. Jacob Engelbrecht writes in his diary on December 16th, 1830, the following entry:

"Died at Washington City on the 10th instant in the year of her age Mrs Caroline Kuhn consort of Captain Joseph L. Kuhn of the United States Marines." 

The question that begs asking here is, "Why would Engelbrecht write this? Did he know the Kuhn family? If so, did they live in Frederick between 1821 and 1830? Or, was Capt. Kuhn a Frederick native to begin with?"

I found a Joseph L. Kuhn (1798-1855) who lived in the Creagerstown area in the 1850 census, but he had a wife, Sarah, and slew of kids.  This is not our father of Chadwick because Engelbrecht also wrote of Capt. Kuhn's death in 1836:

"Died at Washington City on the 7th instant in the year of his age, Captain Joseph L. Kuhn, late of the United States marines, a native of our town. Son of the late Henry Kuhn, Esquire, Second Mayor of our city. (January 12, 1836)."

And this is why I love history! Captain Joseph L. Kuhn was the son of our second mayor, Henry Kuhn, no way! Henry Kuhn (1761-1834) was a longtime judge of the Orphans Court for Frederick County and died at his farm in Graceham in north county. So perhaps the Henry Kuhn I saw linked to Thurmont is a distant cousin to Chadwick somehow?

A Google search of "Mayor Kuhn and Frederick" led me to a Dr. Henry Kuhn of Ohio. This was a brother of Captain Joseph who holds the distinct honor of being a town's first mayor. Interestingly, that town is none other than the fore-mentioned Tiffin, Ohio. Dr. Kuhn was born and raised here in Frederick, and Engelbrecht made a note in his diary of Dr. Kuhn's marriage on Nov. 17, 1825 to Catherine Baltzell, daughter of Charles Baltzell.

​ Marilyn found a land transaction done three years before Joseph L. Kuhn's death.  In 1833, Joseph L. Kuhn of Washington City, bought from the estate of Peter Mantz, a 32-acre tract called "Stovers Good Luck".

​I think it may have been located in the vicinity of Tuscarora but don't quote me on that.

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Looking through Jacob Engelbrecht's Diary longer, led me to another obituary for the family. This was the death of Chadwick's brother whose birthdate given in the Ancestry.com family tree I disputed.

"Died in Washington, DC on the 26th instant in the year of his age Mr. Henry Hargrave Kuhn, son (eldest) of the late Joseph L. Kuhn of the United States Marine Corps. He was born on the island of Minorca, Mediterranean Sea. (April 29, 1841)." 

As much as I achieved in chasing down the story of this family through fine resources at hand, I have yet to find the final resting places of Captain Joseph L. Kuhn, wife Caroline and son Henry.  I'm also puzzled that Engelbrecht failed to write about Chadwick's end, I mean death—well you know what I mean. I scoured the diary to no avail. I also checked the online database of Frederick's Evangelical Lutheran Church and they don't have a clear record of his burial in their graveyard. However they have a record of his reburial from the second Lutheran burying ground at the corner of E. Church and East Street to Mount Olivet in 1907.

Site of second Evangelical Lutheran Graveyard that once was located on the southeast corner of East Church St and East St.

Our records are dependable in this regard and backed up by Evangelical Lutheran in their database. He was re-interred in Mount Olivet's Area NN/Lot 125 on April 1st, 1907. Not my first choice for a dependable date (April 1), but I will trust in the system of record keeping. Its now been 116 years here in our humble cemetery within Frederick, Maryland far from Chadwicks End and Gibralter, native home of our subject's mother. Chadwick Hargrave Kuhn is buried among a row of strangers, with no one from his nuclear family in the cemetery as well. At least his paternal grandfather was a big wheel here in Frederick in his lifetime.