"Making the Dean's List"

“Westward ho—Today at 11 o’clock AM Messrs William Dean & family, Lewis Stein wife & 3 children, & also Mrs. Henry Sinn (going as far as Vincennes Indiana) left in the cars for Saint Joseph Missouri. Mr. Dean has a son there (W. H. Houston Dean) & Mr. Stein has two brothers-in-law (J. H. Dean & Philip Buddy) there already. May success attend them.”
Jacob Engelbrecht
Tuesday, April 5, 1870 111/4 o’clock AM

This colorful passage was taken from the diary of Frederick tailor Jacob Engelbrecht (1797-1878). The mention of the Dean family’s move to Missouri in 1870 is an interesting one as it would have a direct effect on Mount Olivet. Although we lost a few future inhabitants to Missouri, we gained an impressive grave monument adorned with an anchor—but not the first in this part of the cemetery. (See our earlier story on Captain Herman Ordeman from August, 2018).

​I'd like to begin by sharing some backstory on the Dean family. The Deans hailed from the New Market area, and brothers William and John can be found living next to each other on neighboring farms. This is reflected in the 1850 census as they are enumerated in descending order.

1850 US Census

1858 Beers Atlas showing Dean brothers (upper right) living near intersection of Linganore Road and Gas House Pike east of Frederick City and the Monocacy River. Property records show that William bought this property in 1852 and sold it in 1862.

The son of the above-mentioned 1870 traveling patriarch (William Dean aka William Dean 2nd) of the Dean family mentioned above was a gentleman by the name of William H. R. Dean (b. August 28th, 1838). The younger William had bought lot #74 in Area A in 1862 upon the occasion of the death of his wife,  Ann Louisa (Gallion) Dean. Sadly, the newlywed Mrs. Dean was only 24 at the time of her passing.

Grave of Ann Louisa (Gallion) Dean in Area A/Lot 74

Ann Louisa's parents, Elizabeth and John P Gallion, buried in Area P

Plot of John Dean and family in Area P

​I found Ann Louisa’s parents (John Presbury Gallion and wife Mary Elizabeth Brown Gallion) in another part of the cemetery, Area P (Lot 29) only yards from William H. R.'s uncle (John Dean Jr.) and family in Area P/Lot 74. I was curious why she was not buried in a family lot with them as usually happened in situations like this.

​The 1850 census shown earlier shows William Dean’s wife, Catharine Barrick (b. 1814), and three sons on the family farm in New Market. They would relocate to Frederick by 1860 and took up residence on East Third Street near the location of Chapel Alley. 

​I soon became enthralled with the professional careers and achievements of all three of these Dean children. By 1860,  oldest son William H. R. and his father were running a dry goods store in Frederick. Their quirky advertisements filled the local newspapers of the decade as their business had an original  location at North Market and Third streets. By 1866, it had moved to the corner of East Patrick and Carroll streets. 

William Dean and family living in downtown Frederick in the 1860 census

Maryland Union (Jan 8, 1862)

Maryland Union (March 12, 1862)

Maryland Union (June 1, 1866)

Maryland Union (April 1, 1868)

1862 was a bittersweet year for William H. R. Dean. This is when the young man would marry Miss Gallion. Unfortunately, the couple would only have nine months of wedded bliss together.

Maryland Union (March 13, 1862)

Entry for burial lot purchase for Ann Louisa (Gallion) Dean in late December, 1862

​As mentioned earlier, Ann Louisa’s body was laid to rest in the William H. R. Dean lot on the day after Christmas, 1862. It would be quite a while before another family member would join her in this once shaded parcel near the front of the cemetery.

I stumbled upon another interesting burial tidbit from our friend Jacob Engelbrecht around this same period, just a few months after the Confederate Army under Gen. Lee visited Frederick in September, 1862, followed by the nearby battles of South Mountain and Antietam that same month. Engelbrecht stated in early January, 1862 that the whole number of Civil War soldiers that had been interred since the previous August was 767, of whom 579 were Union and 188 were “captured Rebel prisoners,” his words, not mine. Interestingly, many of those Union soldiers counted by Engelbrecht in this inventory would be re-interred and buried elsewhere back in soldiers' hometowns and in Antietam National Cemetery in Sharpsburg. Ironically, the lot holder’s brother, George, narrowly escaped death during military service in the Great Rebellion, as he could have added to the tally and joined Ann Louisa Dean during those war years. It would be this gentleman George A. Dean) who would assume this burial plot after the rest of his Dean family moved west.

Thirty-nine years later, in 1901, Emma V. (Gorton) Dean would be buried in the Dean lot on Area A with Ann Louisa. These two women were sisters-in-law, albeit brief if at all. That calls for some family identification of the William Dean family. I will tell you that not all the Deans went west. The whole move was precipitated in theory by Ann Louisa’s death you could say. Her widowed husband, William H. R. Dean would move to Missouri in 1869. Of course this is who Engelbrecht referred to in his diary entry to kickoff this story.

William H. R. had married again, Miss Elizabeth C. Stein (b. November 30th, 1841) in 1864, which eventually influenced her brother (Lewis Stein) to make the trip to Missouri with his brother-in-law’s family in 1870. Emma V. Gorton was the wife of George Albert Dean (b. January 27th, 1841). William Dean Sr.'s second son. Emma's obituary says little of her life deeds, but paints quite a picture of her husband’s life’s work.

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Frederick News (July 8, 1901)

As you can see, George A. Dean stayed here in Maryland instead of moving to Missouri. Actually, truth be told, he headed east to Baltimore, but came back to live his final years here in Frederick on Rockwell Terrace. His life story is brilliantly told in TJC Williams and Folger McKinsey’s History of Frederick County, published in 1910:
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"George A. Dean, a well-known resident of Frederick City, Frederick County, Md., was born on a farm in New Market District, Frederick County, January 27, 1841. He is the son of William and Catherine (Barrick) Dean.
The Dean family is of English lineage, and emigrated to the colonies prior to the American revolution. Robert Dean, the great-grandfather of George A. Dean, was married to Elizabeth Reynolds, a sister of Hugh Reynolds. They were the parents of William Dean 1st.

William Dean 1st, son of Robert and Elizabeth (Reynolds) Dean, was married to Alice Reynolds, daughter of Hugh and Alice (Flemming) Reynolds. They were the parents of William Dean 2nd. Mrs. William Dean’s father, Hugh Reynold’s, was a native of County Tyrone, Ireland. In company with his three brothers, William, James and John, he came to America about 1769. He had also two sisters one of whom, Elizabeth, married the Robert Dean mentioned above. Hugh Reynolds was married in 1780, to Alice Flemming, who was born in 1761, being seven years younger than Mr. Reynolds. They were the parents of the following children: 1. William, born in 1781; 2. Eleanor, born in 1782; 3. Margaret, born in 1784; 4. John, born in 1786; 5. Samuel, born in 1788; 6. Alice, born in 1790, married William Dean 1st; 7. Elizabeth, born in 1791; 8. Ann, born in 1792; 9. Lillie, born in 1794; 10. Jane, born in 1796; 11. Malinda, born in 1798; 12. Maria, born in 1800; 13. Sarah, born in 1802.

William Dean 2nd, son of William and Alice (Reynolds) Dean, was born near Frederick City, in 1810, and died in 1886. He was a tanner by trade, but in later life, followed agricultural pursuits. In his political views, he was, in early life, an Old-Line Whig but he afterwards adhered to the Republican party. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and filled the offices of elder and of deacon. William Dean 2nd was married to Catharine Barrick, daughter of George Barrick, of Frederick County, who served, in 1812-1814, in the second war against Great Britain. They were the parents of three children: William H. R., was born in Frederick County, MD., in 1838; left Frederick in 1869 for the then Western country. He first settled in Missouri (St. Joseph), changing to Nebraska; thence to the State of Iowa, in which he died, 1907. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits. George A., of whom presently. James H. left his native place, Frederick, Md., in 1883; serving in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, in various capacities, twenty-one years; finally resigning as President and General Manager of the Park Hotels Company, (1904), of which he was one of the organizers. He was associated with the Company about seventeen years; was born in 1843, and is now living in Southern California.

George A. Dean, son of William and Catharine (Barrick) Dean, was brought up in Frederick County and received his education in the public schools of the county, and in Frederick College. He afterwards went to Piedmont, W. Va., where he learned the trade of machinist. During the four years of the Civil War, Mr. Dean served as assistant engineer U.S. Navy on various vessels. He was wounded by a piece of shell while on board his vessel in an engagement at Plymouth, N.C., in 1864. At this time, April 16, 1864, he was made a prisoner of war and was confined in various prisons. He was at Plymouth, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; Columbia, S.C.; Macon, Ga.; Charleston, S.C.; and Libby prison, in Richmond, Va., from which place he was exchanged in November, 1864. He has been greatly disabled by the wound which he received in 1864, and by other infirmities caused by exposure and confinement.

Baltimore Sun (Jan 21, 1864)

After the close of the war, Mr. Dean returned to Baltimore, and within a short time became an engineer in the merchant marine service. He was first employed by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad ships, running from Baltimore, Md., to Liverpool, England. His next employers were the Charleston Steamship Company. In 1869, he entered the service of the Merchants and Miners’ Steamship Company, with which concern he remained until 1894. During the years from 1869 to 1883, he was chief engineer on various vessels of said company. From 1882 to 1894, he was superintendent of ships and machinery and, in the meantime, constructed several vessels for the company. Since 1894, Mr. Dean has been living retired in Frederick County and City. He is held in high esteem in the community in which he resides.

Baltimore Sun (May 30, 1893)

Baltimore Sun (March 22, 1900)

Frederick News (Nov 24, 1902)

Mr. Dean is interested in various enterprises in Frederick County, and holds directorships in several concerns. He acts in this capacity in the Fredericktown Savings Institution; in the Frederick and Emmitsburg Turnpike Company; and in the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Frederick County. Politically, Mr. Dean is a stanch Republican. In 1897, he was nominated and elected by his party to the office of commissioner of Frederick County. He served for a term of four years, and made a creditable record in that official position. He is a member of Columbia Lodge, No. 58, A. F. and A. Mm.; and of Enoch Royal Arch Chapter, No. 23, of Frederick City. In religion, he holds his membership in the Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, where he served as trustee.

George A. Dean was married, in 1864, to Emma V. Gorton, of Baltimore. They were the parents of five children, four of whom grew up. 1. William G., resides in Baltimore; 2. Marian (Mrs. Frank N. Mainhart) of New York City, NY; 3. Bella G., the wife of George T. Ness, of Baltimore, Md.; 4. George A., also of Baltimore. Mrs. Dean died in 1901. In 1905, Mr. Dean was married to Alice R. Dean, of Frederick County, a daughter of the late John A. and Mary A. (Mainhart) Dean. They have three children: Catharine Reynolds, James Hamner, and Margaret Barrick Dean."

Baltimore Sun (Jan 13, 1905)

Frederick News (March 24, 1904)

George Dean was active in buying and selling real estate and moved around a bit once back in Frederick. My assistant Marilyn Veek found that George A. Dean didn't buy property in Frederick until he moved here in 1894 from Baltimore. From 1893-1898 he owned a 20 acre farm described as fronting on the turnpike road from Frederick to Ceresville Bridge, that also abutted the road leading from Frederick to the Fulling mill (not otherwise identified). From 1898-1899 he owned a 110 acre farm which was north of Richfield along Rt. 15 (this is the property that was "near Harmony Grove"), and likely the locale George's brother James came back to live temporarily. From 1900 to 1902, George owned a property at 17 E. Third St.

​From 1904 to 1906 he owned property on the north side of East Second St (now part of 115 E 2nd) and across from St. John's Church on the "old Novitiate lot" as the article above mentions. In 1908, he bought a house at 121 W. Third St. that he sold in 1914 when he moved to Rockwell Terrace.

115 E. Second Street in Frederick

121 W. Third Street in Frederick (tan townhome in center on right side)

1920 US Census showing George A Dean family living at 205 Rockwell Terrace

205 Rockwell Terrace, final home of George A Dean

​George A. Dean would live another 12 years after the William' biography was published. Alice (b. 1880) was 39 years his younger and in peak child-bearing condition. You can assume that having three child born to a man in his mid to late sixties is not just an amazing accomplishment, but also could have added a strain to a life riddled with business/civic responsibility and physical debility. 

George A. Dean  would pass away on September 11th, 1922. Thank goodness he didn't move west, as his impact on his home town and county was pretty impressive as can be attested to by reading his obituary.​

Frederick News (Sept 11, 1922)

Frederick News (Sept 14, 1922)

George A Dean's monument includes an anchor which pays homage to his former naval service and career in the shipping industry. It also symbolizes hope for eternal salvation according to funerary inconography meanings associated with this symbol. I like to think that it also represents the fact that his legacy is "anchored" here in Frederick, as the rest of his family moved westward.

​One interesting point to make on the monument. In our collection here at the cemetery, we have an old photograph of Mount Olivet's Area A, taken around 1909-1910. Interestingly, the large Dean monument with the anchor is visible in the shot. This means that Mr. Dean erected this monument at least 12 years before his death in 1922. I theorize that this was likely done at the time of Emma's death in 1901.

The Dean monument is located in the middle of both the original (top) and zoomed in crop of original (bottom)

​George’s second wife, Alice, would join him here upon her death in 1953. Son James Hamner Dean and his wife, Malinda Louise (Horine) Dean would buried in the lot in the early 1970s, and their son, John Horine Dean would be buried here in 1997.

​William and William H. R. Dean
As for the pioneering Deans that headed west, George’s father William Dean made it to Missouri with Catharine. They appear in the 1870 census living with son William H. R. and his young family in Watson, NIshnebotna Township, Atcheson County, Missouri. The gentlemen appear to have revived their dry goods business. 

1870 US Census showing the Deans in Watson, Nishnebotna Township, Atcheson County, Missouri

The family moved to Lewis Township in Holt County, Missouri and this is where they can be found in 1880. William (2nd) died in 1886 and one can find his gravesite, along with that of wife Catharine in High Creek Cemetery, Rock Port, in Atchison County, Missouri.

1880 Census with Deans living in Lewis Township, Missouri

Dean Family plot in Rock Port Cemetery, Missouri

Baltimore Sun (April 12, 1886)

​As said in the George’s biography from 1910, William H. R. died in Iowa in the year 1907. His death and funeral on November 15th made front page news in his newfound home far from Frederick, Maryland. He and wife Elizabeth are buried in his father’s plot at Rock Port, Missouri.

Hamburg (Iowa) Reporter (Nov 22, 1907

James H. Dean
The last of this immediate family to cover is James H. Dean.  This man of familiar name was not a “Rebel Without a Cause” or a country-western musician turned into a sausage salesman. James Dean was one of the early assistant superintendents of Yellowstone Park as mentioned earlier.
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James H. Dean was born around 1844 in New Market. His future wife, Rebecca T. Pickings, was born in Maryland around 1845. Dean moved with his family into Frederick and went to work as a steward at the Maryland School for the Deaf. The school had just opened the previous year and served about 60 students, 25 of them that had never received any formal schooling. The school taught sign language, the finger alphabet, writing, speech, lip reading, along with vocational skills such as shoemaking, carpentry, printing, dressmaking, sewing, and housework. He held that position until 1877. 

1880 US Census

​At that time, he went to work for a hotel and restaurant called the Old Dill House on the northeast corner of West Church and Court streets. I wrote extensively about this location in a former story in April 2020. By 1879 the hotel became known as the Carlin House, after proprietor Frank B. Carlin, and finally the Park Hotel. James and Rebecca can be found residing here in the 1880 US Census as he held the position of hotel manager. (As an aside, I found James' brother, George, living here in the 1900 census.)

The Park Hotel (c. 1903) at the corner of W. Church and Court streets. Today this is a parking lot for the adjacent M&T Bank and the Temple Paul Mitchell school

​In 1883,  James H. Dean traveled to Yellowstone with Rebecca to work as an assistant superintendent. He would serve under Superintendent Patrick H. Conger in 1883 until early summer of 1885. He spent the summer of 1884 with his family at Norris in a small house built for them by the federal government. However it was unsuitable to withstand the cold, harsh winters and they moved to Mammoth to live that winter. He became clerk at the Firehole Hotel in 1885, serving there for several years. 

James H Dean became clerk of the famed Firehole Hotel in 1885

Some of the earliest hotels at Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park that came under James H. Dean's leadership. National Hotel, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park (after 1886)

Cottage Hotel, Yellowstone National Park, 1888

In 1888 he was hired to manage the Cottage Hotel at Mammoth, the year before the G. L. Henderson family sold the operation to the Yellowstone Park Association. Dean managed the National Hotel in 1891 and was appointed Superintendent of YPA in 1892, having supervision of all the park hotels. His office was located in the National Hotel. He served as president of the Yellowstone National Park Association from 1896 (or 1898) until 1901, when Harry Child, Edmund Bach and Silas Huntley bought out the company. 

Retired James H. Dean in the 1900 US Census. Note that his occupation reads "President of the Y.N.P Association." YNP of course means Yellowstone National Park.

Around 1902, he resigned from the company and came back to Frederick to live with a nephew Mr. Charles Pickings near Harmony Grove, north of town where Clemson Corner is today. By 1910, James and Rebecca had moved to California and were living in Coronado Beach, near San Diego. James died October 17th, 1919 in Coronado Beach after being in ill health and suffering a stroke the previous year. He was about 75 years of age. His mortal remains are at the Cypress Hill Mausoleum and Chapel in San Diego.

Frederick News (Oct 29, 1919)

FindaGrave does not have a photograph of the crypt of James H Dean, however this is Cypress Hill Mausoleum, his final resting place

James H. Dean's address in 1910 was 942 D Street which is denoted by the arrow. Although a newly constructed villa sits here today, this must have been a beautiful retirement location in paradise for James H Dean and his wife, Rebecca which was just a few blocks from the Pacific and the famed Coronado Hotel which appears to the upper left of this photo

Frederick Post (Dec 17, 1910)

Frederick News (Nov 17, 1911)

Frederick News (Nov 8, 1912)

Frederick News (Nov 3, 1909)

I was interested in finding many newspaper clippings in the early 1910s that reported George visiting his brother (James) in California and practically spending his winters there. You could say that the family member that stayed behind back in 1870, eventually did "go west," even if it was just seasonally.

​George A. Dean's eye-catching monument in Mount Olivet's Area A serves not only as a testament to his life and accomplishments, but also  as a lasting reminder of those immediate family members who took their dreams west to places such as Missouri, Wyoming and California.