USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Historic graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia : with the inscriptions appearing on the tombstones in most of the counties of the state and in Washington and Georgetown > Part 19
USA > Maryland > Historic graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia : with the inscriptions appearing on the tombstones in most of the counties of the state and in Washington and Georgetown > Part 19
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John Hammond Cromwell, 1745-1819; Mary Hammond Dorsey Crom- well, wife of John H. Cromwell, died 1795; Oliver Cromwell, 1775-1792; Eliza Cromwell, 1789-1796; Elizabeth, 1786-1787; Mary, 1792-1793; Rebecca C. Wilson, 1780-1806; Louis Harlen, 1774-1825; Frances Dorsey, sister of John W. Cromwell, died in 1820; John C. Reynolds, M. D., late a surgeon in the army of the U. S., b. Feb 6, 1810; d. Feb 20, 1849.
On "Success " farm still stands the old homestead with its quaint curb-gabled roof, built more than two hundred years ago. It is now owned by members of the Nickle family, descendants of John Hammond Cromwell.
Ten years ago, in response to the writer's request for in- formation about the graves or burial places of Cecil county, the following report from the late A. W. Evans was re- ceived :
"The work contemplated by the Colonial Dames of America, Maryland Society, is a very worthy one, deserving assistance-if such can be given. It is, however,-as laid out in the circular of the committee-one of great extent, involving considerable expense. To state who were the 'men of mark' in Cecil county would be, with a few excep- tions, rather difficult. I am aware of but one Governor given by this county to the State,-viz., Governor Thomas W. Veazey-and that was in the fourth decade of this century. He was probably buried either at St. Steven's church, or at his home plantation in Sassafras Neck, now in the possession
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of his daughter. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries we have the founders of families-all very respectable people, gentlemen and yeomen-not, perhaps, very distinguished, but very numerous; and the justices of the county, and other officials-also very numerous. A list of these would have to be prepared, as far as possible, as preliminary to the work. Augustine Herman and George Talbot, in the seventeenth century, did much in the formation of the county; but the latter died in Europe.
" When we come to the Revolution, in which Cecil, though settled by such diverse nationalities, was, with singular unanimity, very patriotic, or rebel, a number of her sons who were officers in the war can be named. The following is an imperfect list of these 'men of mark':
" Walter Alexander, Captain of Militia of the Flying Camp, in 1776; buried at Hd. of Christian Church, with a stone which is correct as to his age, but in error as to the year of his death, which is given as 1780. He died in April, 1778.
"Herman Arrants, Lieutenant Flying Camp Militia; re- moved to Kentucky after the war.
"Jacob Arrants (I am not quite certain of the given name), Lieutenant of the Flying Camp Militia; burial place not known -- probably in Elk Neck.
"Henry Dobson, Captain 3d Maryland, Continental Line, killed at Eutaw Springs, S. C., 1781, and probably buried there. There is a family graveyard of the Dobsons near Elkton, but no stone over anyone.
"Hezekiah Foard, Lieutenant 1st Maryland, Continental Line; survived till 1833; burial place not known.
"Elihu Hall, Major of Militia; died 1791; burial place not known.
"Elihu Hall' (son of last?), Ensign or Lieutenant, Ist Maryland, Continental Line; burial place not known. This family was of the northwestern part of the county.
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"Henry Hollingsworth, Colonel of Militia; died 1803; buried at Elkton, with a stone.
"Thomas Hughes, Major or Lieutenant Colonel of Militia; burial place not known-perhaps in Harford county.
"Stephen Hyland, Colonel of Militia; died 1806; probably buried at his place, Harmony Hall, in Elk Neck.
"Edward Oldham, Captain 5th Maryland, Continental Line; burial place not known-perhaps at St. Augustine church.
"Nathaniel Ramsay, Lieutenant Colonel, 3d Maryland, Continental Line; died 1817; buried at Baltimore.
"John Rudolph, Major in Lee's Legion; died December, 1782, in South Carolina, and probably buried there.
"Michael Rudolph (cousin of the last), Captain in Lee's Legion, and afterwards Major in the Establishment of the U. S. Lost at sea in 1793.
"Edward Veazey, Captain in Smallwood's Regiment; killed at Long Island, August 27, 1776, and probably buried there. The ground remained seven years afterwards in the possession of the enemy.
"William Veazey, 1st Lieutenant Flying Camp Militia; burial place not known-probably in Sassafras Neck.
"George Wallace (of Cecil county), Lieutenant in a Dela- ware Regiment; died about 1795 and buried at Hd. of Christian meetinghouse, with a stone.
"Michael Wallace, Surgeon in Smallwood's Regiment; died about 1798; probably buried in Sharp's graveyard, but no stone.
"And there were probably many other officers of the Mi- litia, who saw service, and whose names further research might discover.
"Natives of the county who grew to manhood in it, but . migrated, were John McKnit Alexander (uncle of Captain Alexander, above), of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde-
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pendence; died 1817, and buried in North Carolina; and Abraham Kirkpatrick, Captain 4th Virginia, Continental Line, who has a monument at Pittsburg, Pa.
"If to all these we add the names of the many men who founded families in the county in the seventeenth and eight- eenth centuries, or who were otherwise conspicuous, it will be seen that the task outlined by the circular of the Colonial Dames, is sufficiently extensive. If a suggestion might be offered as to a beginning, it is that monuments be erected, first only, to the following, viz .:
"To Augustine Herman, founder of 'Bohemia Manor,' who died in 1686, and was buried on the bank of the Bohemia river, at a spot which can be closely identified. It is much more suitable that this should be done by Americans than by the Bohemians or foreigners of Baltimore city.
"To that gallant and able soldier of the Revolution, Captain Michael Rudulph, of Lee's Legion. As he died at sea his monument might be appropriately placed at Elkton, at or near which he was born.
"If Cecil county would erect a monument inscribed with the names of her sons who served in the Revolutionary war, it would be a worthy memorial.
"Perhaps the above does not exactly meet the idea of the circular, for the carrying out of which a local, or Cecil county branch of the Colonial Dames seems indispensible. Such a branch might do something to further the views of the com- mittee. Others are not likely to take any steps in the matter. 'The men of mark' of old times have not all left posterity in the county or elsewhere; in many instances their places of burial cannot be determined; and to a great extent, the present inhabitants are not descendants of those who dwelt here in the eighteenth century.
"A. W. EVANS.
"Elkton, February, 1898."
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Historic Graves of Maryland
Of the Episcopal churches originally established in Som- erset county there is now not a trace. St. Andrews in Princess Anne, built as a chapel of ease to Somerset par- ish, between 1769 and 1771, is perhaps the best preserved of those that come later. In the old churchyard are to be found the following names and inscriptions, for most of which we are indebted to the lists of Mr. Albert Richardson, in the first issue of the Bulletin of Original Research:
Lydia Brittingham, wife of James Brittingham, born Oct 28, 1803; died Aug. 27, 1831.
Mary E. Crosdale, daughter of Col. William Walter and Anne Holland, and Relict of Rev. Henry Crosdale, born March 24, 1820; died April 23, 1885.
Hic Jacet Henricus Crosdale, Presbyter Ecclesia Catholica et olim Rector Hujus Parochia. Obit XII Die Aug., Anno Salutus MDCCCXIV. "Credo quod Redempter meus vivit."
Wm. H. Collier, d. Dec 7, 1844, in his 59th year.
Sarah Bishop Dashiell, daughter of Wm. & Esther Cottman, and Relict of George Dashiell, b. Feb 9, 1811; d. Sept 17, 1849.
Geo A. Dashiell, b. June 9, 1737 [1787?]; d. Sept. 3, 1835.
Geo. Wm. Dashiell, son of Geo. and Sarah Bishop Dashiell, b. April 29, 1829; d. Jan 20, 1849.
Mary B. Harris, d. Sept. 27, 1850.
Col. Arnold E. Jones, b. Aug 21, 1785; d. July 13, 1839.
Matthias Jones, M. D., d. May 8, 1826.
Milcah Gale Jones, relict of Dr. Matthias Jones, d. Oct 17, 1836, in her 64 th year.
Mary H. Jones, wife of Samuel W. Jones, d. Feb 28, 1831, in her 23rd year.
Samuel W. Jones, b. July 13, 1804; d. Aug 7, 1869.
Elizabeth Johnston, consort of Wm W. Johnston, d. March 2, 1831, aged 18 years & 9 months.
Three infant children of William W. & Rosina Johnston, between the years 1831 & 1842.
George Johnston, b. Dec 3, 1764; d. Oct. 5, 1846.
Rider Henry Rackliffe, d. Aug 20, 1818.
Wm. R. Stevenson, son of George D. & Henryetta Stevenson, b. Nov 6, 1824; d. Sept 28, 1850.
ST. MARY ANNE'S, OR NORTH ELK, PARISH CHURCH, CECIL COUNTY Built in 1742
1
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Somerset County
Littleton Dennis Teackle, buried in an unmarked grave under a great maple tree near the fence.
M. E. Waters, b. Dec 15, 1837; d. Sept. 4, 1847.
John Woolford, M. D., b. Oct 27, 1761; d. Nov 15, 1836.
Anna Irving Woolford, wife of John Woolford, M. D., b. Feb 5, 1777; d. Oct 11, 1839.
Thomas Williams, late merchant, son of John Williams of Dorchester Co., d. Sept 1, 1807, aged 29 years.
On tombs of a later date than 1850 are to be found the names of Atkinson, Bowland, Bratton, Dennis, Dixon, Gale, Handy, King, Polk, Stone, Whittington and others. Many of the Eastern Shore worthies of an early period bore these names, but no lasting memorial of any of them was found here.
It may prove interesting, as an illustration of the geographi- cal changes effected in a tide-water country, to quote from a letter written about ten years ago, by the late Levin Waters of Princess Anne.
"In 1705," he writes, "Arnold Elzey and wife conveyed to Queen Anne of England, for church purposes, one acre of land, on the Manokin River, on which, there then stood a church. Not only the church, but the acre of land so con- veyed has disappeared. It has been washed into the river and from tradition we learn, that certain red sandstone steps, which now mark the entrance to one of the old residences, on the Manokin River, are the last relicts of this old church. Certainly, if there was a burying ground attached to it, it has long ago disappeared with the "God's Acre " upon which the church stood, and the remains of the dead, if any were ever interred there, have gone into the river with the land which held them."
It was usually near the spot where the pioneers of the church exercised their functions, that the first parishes sprang into official being, and the earliest church in Somerset was undoubtedly the above. The parish church was de-
...
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Historic Graves of Maryland
stroyed by fire some years ago, and so St. Andrews is the lineal descendant of its predecessor on the banks of the Manokin. Rev. John Hewitt, the first church of England divine accred- ited to Somerset county, arrived here in 1685. To him is attributed the building of the early church.
Of Monie church, originally erected in 1712, Mr. Waters writes: "The old building was blown down, about twenty years ago, and reconstructed almost immediately afterwards, through the energetic efforts of the Rev. Dr. Barton, then rector of Somerset parish. But until recently, there was never any enclosed graveyard, and but few graves, about the old church, and these were of the nameless dead. Through the efforts of some of its present members, there is now a very neat enclosure about the church, and the ground en- closed is being used for the sepulture of the dead of the neighborhood. In this enclosure is found the stone-a large marble slab-which covered the remains of Squire William Stoughton, the donor to Somerset parish, of the beautiful, unique and very valuable silver communion service, which is now used in the churches of the parish, and cherished by the parish as a very precious memento of the colonial times. This Squire Stoughton was the grandfather of Mrs. Governor Winder. He was buried in the old family burying ground of the Elzey's, at 'Almodington,' the original residence of that distinguished family, on the Manokin river. This property, like nearly all others in Maryland, having gone out of the family to which it was patented, and the graveyard being absolutely neglected and unprotected, the slab, which was put there to commemorate his virtues, together with such of his remains as could be found, were removed, a few years ago, to the churchyard at Monie, where it is now to be found. This stone bears the following inscription:
Here lyeth the Body of Wm Stoughton Esq. Born in the year 1692 and departed this life the 12th day of December 1759 aged 67 years.
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Somerset County
"Of the last resting places of John Elzey, the original settler of the 'Manoakin' plantations, and who appears so conspicuously in the colonial records, as early as 1663, and of his descendants of that name, there is now no trace. The same may be said of Randal Revel and Anne Toft, to whom large bodies of land were granted by the colonial government, on the opposite side of the ' Manoakin' river, as early as 1665."
Somerset county claims to have been and undoubtedly was, the cradle of the Presbyterian church in America, and certainly Rev. Francis Mackemie, the first pastor of "Old Rehoboth," was the father of the sect on these shores. The only tablet erected to the memory of this eminent divine is in the church. On the banks of Holden creek, across the Poco- moke river, and ten miles below the scene of his ministra- tions, is his grave. He was sent to this country in 1683, and before 1690 had organized congregations at Rehoboth, Snow Hill, Rockawaukin, Salisbury and Manokin. Would that we might explore these spots! And yet it is well to console ourselves with the reflection that the Presbyterian church- yards have probably shared the same fate as many of those of the Episcopal church. The tombstones around the Mano- kin church, Princess Anne, without exception, all date from the nineteenth century. They follow here:
Rev. Henry Blatchford, A. M., eldest son of Rev. Samuel Blatchford, D. D., of Lansinburgh, N. Y., d. Sept. 7, 1822, in the 34th year of his age.
He was pastor of the Manokin and Rehoboth churches, and the tomb was placed in the cemetery by both congrega- tions, as a joint memorial tribute.
Ellen R., consort of John W. Crisfield, d. March 8, 1835, aged 24 years and 3 months.
Mrs. Julia Ethelwide Crisfield, wife of J. W. Crisfield, d. June 28, 1841.
We will note here that J. M. Crisfield was an eminent lawyer, a member of Congress, president and builder of the Eastern Shore railroad. He was born November 6, 1808,
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and died January 12, 1897. "Strong of will, to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield."
Martin L. Haynie, M. D., d. in New Orleans, La., Feb. 1815.
Henrietta B. Haynie, daughter of Ezekiel and Betty Haynie, b. Aug 1, 1789; d. Jan 15, 1850.
Elizabeth Hargis, b. Oct 11, 1767; d. March 1811.
Sally Handy, wife of George Handy, and daughter of Denwood and Margaret Wilson, b. Oct 11, 1786; d. May 3, 1845.
Henrietta H. Jones, wife of Alfred H. Jones, d. Feb 13, 1845.
Elizabeth Stewart, b. June 1776; d. 1811.
Mary S. Wilson, d. Oct 17, 1837, aged 56 years.
At Rehoboth there is also an Episcopal church, said to have been erected in 1735, with churchyard and graves about it, but none of these date from colonial times.
A mile below the ancient church, on the Jenkins plantation facing the Pocomoke, was discovered about ten years ago, a broken tombstone flat on the ground, thus inscribed:
Under this stone lyeth the body of Madam Mary Hampton, who de- parted this life the 19th of October 1744, aged 70 years, wanting three days.
Remains of other stones are here also, but they are all broken and illegible, and were it not for the fact that Madam Mary Hampton was a well-known character in her day and generation, the name would pass by without significance. Her maiden name was King and her father, Sir Robert, was an Irish baronet, who, according to Irving Spencer, was in official life in Maryland in 1690.
The lady was married three times, her first husband being Col. Francis Jenkins, one of the justices, a member of the Governor's Council and a man of large wealth. Upon his death in 1710, his widow married the Rev. John Henry, who succeeded Rev. Francis Mackemie as pastor of Reho both church. Among the graduates of the University of Edinburgh in 1703, appears the name of John Henry, and as the reverend gentleman first mentioned was a man of ability, who brought with him the sympathy of influential men
-
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Somerset County
in Scotland and Ireland, and stood high in his adopted coun- try as a citizen and a divine, we may assume that he was the University graduate of 1703. Madam Hampton had no children except by this marriage. Her daughter, a talented and distinguished woman, died before her in 1722, but her two sons, Maj. Robert Jenkins Henry and Col. John Henry, lived to become prominent in public affairs; the first as judge of the Provincial Court in 1736, the second as member of the House of Delegates from Worcester county. John Henry, son of the colonel, was first a member of the Continental Congress, then United States Senator and finally Governor of the State.
What little we have to say about the private burying grounds of Somerset county can best be given in the words of the late Mr. Levin Waters, from whom we have quoted before, and the remainder of whose letter now follows:
"Among the few private burying grounds in Somerset, of which there remains any positive knowledge and in which marks are to be found, are the following. At 'Tusculum,' on Monie creek in Somerset county, which was formerly the estate and residence of the Gales, there are several stones and a brick vault, one of these stones marks the grave of Col. George Gale, who died in 1712, aged forty-one years, and bears the Gale coat-of-arms, which appears to be a shield bearing crosses above and below, and two griffins with an anchor in the center. The vault in this graveyard has fallen into decay and some years ago, when last seen by me, some of the bones of those within could be seen, on looking in through an aperture near the top.
"On the Pocomoke river, some fourteen miles below Princess Anne, is a stone marking the last resting place of William Stevens, one of the early settlers and among the first of his Majesty's, the King of England, Justiciaries in Somer- set county. The inscription on this stone, which I here give
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Historic Graves of Maryland
verbatim, will give as much of the history of this once promi- nent man, as I have here space to write.
"Here lyeth the Body of William Stevens ESq, Who departed this life the 23rd, day of December 1687, Aged 57 years. He was 22 years Judge of this County Court, One of his Lordship's Councill and one of the Deputy Lieutenants of this Province of Maryland. Vivit Post Funera Virtus."
"At 'Workington' on Back creek, which was formerly the residence of the Jacksons of Somerset county, are several stones bearing inscriptions dating back into the last century. At 'Westover' on the same creek, formerly the estate and residence of the Wilsons is a graveyard with stones marking the resting places of several members of that family, but none of these, as far as I recollect, bear dates earlier than the present century.
"At 'Cedar Grove,' on the Annamessix river, which for- merly belonged to and was the residence of one of the branches of the Gale family of Maryland, is a graveyard with stones marking the resting places of members of that family. Among which, there is one over the remains of Gen. John Gale, a revolutionary soldier. This stone bears date 1813.
"The burial ground of the Winder family, in which rests the remains of the late Governor Levin Winder and Mrs. Winder, on little Monie creek, is now owned, and if I am correctly informed is occupied as a wood pile, by a man, who is a stranger to the family and without respect for the honored dead who lie there.
"Of lesser note, but still prominent in the history of the State, is the ancestry of the Bayleys, Whittinghams, Adams, Handys, Gunbys, Waters, Dashiells, Riders and others, whose graves are unmarked and except in some very few instances, their locations absolutely unknown. It is greatly . to be regretted and a burning shame on the generations which have just preceded us, that so little was done toward preserv-
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Somerset County
ing and noting the last resting places of our patriotic dead. Some few of these were prominent participants in the estab- lishment of our government and in the events of the Revolu- tion which secured to their descendants national independence and the sweets of civil liberty.
"Their names are written upon the pages of our State and national histories, but many others less prominent, but equally deserving, the pioneers and educators of their race, the heroes of the wilderness, who braved dangers and suf- fered much that their descendants might be free, are no less entitled to be held in remembrance by the living participants of the blessings, these dead heroes bequeathed.
"I am rejoiced to know the Colonial Dames are making an effort to rescue, some at least, of the resting places of these patriotic dead, from the utter oblivion into which in another generation, they in all probability would have fallen.
"I hope what I have thus briefly written, may be of some service in the work you have in hand.
"LEVIN L. WATERS."
Somerset county, when first laid out in 1666, extended from the Choptank river to the southernmost boundary of the Eastern Shore. From this section Dorchester was erected in 1669, Worcester in 1742 and Wicomico later. In the latter county, two churches have survived to add interest to the history of Stepney parish, one of the four originally appor- tioned to Somerset. These are St. Bartholomew's, or the Green Hill church, and Spring Hill or the Quantico church. The latter, built originally as a chapel of ease, was re- placed by a church of good proportions just before the troub- lous days of the Revolution. It has suffered fluctuations of fortune ever since. Ancient Bartholomew's, constructed of brick, in 1733, as successor to a primitive wooden building, was abandoned a number of years ago on account of its
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Historic Graves of Maryland
ruined condition, but an interesting custom was established, which led eventually to its being restored. For years the de- scendants of former parishioners came here from far and near on St. Bartholomew's day, which falls in August, to join in out-of-door services under the trees. At one time the Wicomico river encroached upon the bluff where the church stands, making its safety a serious question, some of the old tombs having already fallen with the crumbling banks and been destroyed; but the catastrophe was averted, and it is said that many slabs and monuments remain bearing quaint and interesting epitaphs. Of these we have only been able to obtain one, thought to be the oldest. This specimen is placed over the grave of Captain Parker, a man of note in the latter part of the seventeenth century, who died the first year of the eighteenth. It has a special flavor of its own quite independent of the rules of poesy.
This World is like a mighty city full of crooked streets And death is the market place, where all men meet. If life were merchandise that men could buy, The Rich would live always, but poor men die.
Another ancient parish belonging formerly to Somerset, but now to Worcester, is All Hallows', Snow Hill. The old church, completed in 1756, is still standing and is in an ex- cellent state of preservation. Of the graves we have received different reports, but from them no epitaphs nor names of ancient date. The old Berlin churchyard, on the contrary, is said to be full of venerable tombs, but even a full list of these has been denied us. From the Presbyterian church- yard at Snow Hill, however, we have the following names:
Lieut. Col. Levin Handy, born Aug. 20th, 1754, died June 5th, 1799; Major James Handy, both of whom served in the Revolutionary army as members of Gen. Washington's staff; Mrs. Nancy Handy, widow of Lieut. Col. Levin Handy, born March 18th, 1769, died April 25th, 1817.
At "Beverly," the old Dennis place, on the Pocomoke
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Dorchester County
river, is a well-kept burying ground in which the following tombs are the oldest :
In Memory of Littleton Dennis Esq., who Departed this life the 6th Day of May, Anno Domini 1774, in the 46th year of his age.
In Memory of Susanna Dennis, Relict of the late Littleton Dennis. She was was born In the 8th Day of July 1733, And Died In the 17th Day of November 1784, In the 51st year Of her age.
In Memory of Littleton Dennis, Junior, who Dyed the 23rd day of Sep- tember 1764.
In Memory of James Dennis Esq., who departed this life the 6th Day of November 1774, In the 20th year of his age.
In Memory of Henry Dennis, son of Littleton and Elizabeth Dennis, who was born May 29th. A. D. 1791, And departed this Life January 31, 1793.
When the graveyard was put in order some years ago, an old Englishman was employed to clean the stones. He re- marked on the "Esq.," and said that none but the " gentry " could use it on their tombstones.
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