USA > Maryland > Montgomery County > Sandy Spring > Annals of Sandy Spring history of a rural community in Maryland, Volume 1 > Part 6
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Now ascend we from the physical and material depart- ment to the intellectual. Such evidences as there may
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be of progress in this respect, your historian will find his highest gratification in diligently collecting and setting forth.
In the first place may be mentioned the new event of the " Teachers' Association" of Montgomery County, held in this building last summer. Unfortunately the busy season prevented the attendance of many who might have profited by the interesting exercises. The members, of whom many attended from a distance, all testified to the kindness and hospitality with which they were received. Invitations were cordially extended to repeat the visit at a more convenient season of the year. Although, in the opinion of your historian, the State is threatened with serious injury and loss by the change recently made in its public school system, there appears to be no reason why our own neighborhood should suffer. Our citizens have only to take proper advantage of the District-Trustce feature of the new law in order to keep the management of their public school in their own hands. In the mean- time the private boarding schools, taking both together in view, may be regarded as decidedly flourishing. And so that essential element of a people's progress, "the School," an element by which Sandy Spring has been distinguished for a full half century, is still preserved to us.
The other improving institutions known as the "Far- mers' Club," the " Club Junior," the " Ladies' Association for Mutual Improvement," the "Horticultural Society," were successfully carried on, each in its season, and with its purposes fully provided for. So well has the Ladies' Association fulfilled its mission, gaining honor and interest not only by the subjects which it selects, but also by those which it Froids, that a serious effort is being made (as I
1
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am told) to organize another similar one. It has our best wishes, accompanied with the cantion that, in choosing a name, there may be no attempt to distinguish the two Associations by any invidious epithet referring to such unimportant matters as a difference of age.
The subject of intellectual progress during the year may now be considered as pretty well exhausted. In former pages of this book, it is true, there were other agencies for mental improvement mentioned ; as Lectures, Reading Circles, and such. Perhaps the less that is said on these neglected affairs, the higher will be the degree of our self-satisfaction.
It is only fair to our worthy President to refrain from dwelling upon these omissions, because he is doubtless able to give excellent reasons for practically discontinuing the Lyceum Lectures during the past season. The Literary Society has had its difficulties too ; but the design of sus- taining it as a settled institution of the neighborhood is by no means abandoned. Vigorous are the attempts which have been made to keep life in its body ; and a few weeks will show whether'it has only been in a state of suspended mimation, or whether those attempts must prove it no better than a galvanized corpse.
We are compelled to own that the experience of the past year indicates a somewhat critical condition for the boasted literary character of Sandy Spring. In the natural course of events we have apparently approached a crisis. The first enthusiasm for the Lyceum has passed away, the charm of novelty being gone. It has now reached the point when it has to contend with that lukewarmness apt to accompany such enterprises as bring no excitement to the senses and no profit to the purse. It has also to meet the depressing influences from the discouraging prophecies
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of those who declared at the beginning that " they knew how it would be; that it might flourish while it was a new thing, and then would be sure to go the way of such under- takings in other places." Now it may be that the multi- tude of societies amongst us has served to withdraw interest from the Lyceum. It may be, as several of our solid men thought, that " this sort of thing is a little overdone "; causing the just claims of business and industry to be neglected in consequence of too great devotion to literary and social entertainments. However these things be, it is certain that a crisis is upon us ; we have to decide a ques- tion whose importance cannot casily be overestimated. It is a proposition which I think can be demonstrated : whatsoever other circumstances may have produced an influence in shaping the condition of this neighborhood, its distinguishing characteristic,-that which has mainly made it what it has been, and what it is coming to be, is the mental activity of the people. I do not claim for them larger minds than those possessed by other residents of our State, nor a better or more thorough education ; but I do claim, as an unquestionable faculty, a wondrous activity of mind. It will be a great mistake then (to use the mildest term) for us to give up such a powerful stimulus to that activity as this Lyceum, with all its appurtenances, affords. I do not believe you will do it. Where men feel a real want they are very apt to appropriate means of supply. But it may be well to remember that it is much easier to keep the flame alive than to restore to life when once suffered to die. An instance of the sort of activity just referred to is exhibited in the following " item " for- warded to me by a member of the committee appointed by my request, at your last Annual Meeting, to assist the Historian by furnishing him with some of their notes of
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neighborhood transactions. "There were mailed in the last six months from this Sandy Spring Post Office, ten thousand one hundred and forty-one letters." Twenty thousand letters sent from our neighborhood office in one year! I find by inspecting the returns of the British Post Office that about twenty letters for each individual passed through the mails of that country in one year, according to the latest report within my reach ; which return appar- ently includes the letters that pass both ways. The num- ber shown by our office exceeds greatly the English average. This little item (so good and appropriate that we have only to regret there are not more of the same sort from the same source) affords strong statistical evidence much to be relied on in an exhibition of the intellectual life of a people.
Another evidence of life has been recently shown in the effort, zealously and successfully made, to organize and establish a Savings Institution. The general animating interest taken in this enterprise, and the success of its preliminary proceeding, may be set down as the crowning event of the historical year. It will be for future annals to record the full establishment and growing strength of an institution which, we think, is bound to succeed.
In a sketch exhibiting our agricultural, social, literary and business transactions, there should be room made for all subjects of general interest. The higher and purer the motives that lead to any undertaking, the worthier is it of enduring record. In this class of events it is proper to notice the commencement, last summer, of a course of readings in the Lyceum on First day morning. They appeared to be generally well attended throughout, and would perhaps have been more so if held a little later in the morning. In the same class may be mentioned the
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meeting held in second month last for the revision of the Discipline; wherein the members generally were invited, · in accordance with a just interpretation of the require- ments of the spirit of the age, to partake in the delibera- tions of the assembly. Another step forward. On the same high level with these two last events I placed the liberal and unselfish subscription made for "Southern Relief," which was started at the close of a Lyceum lec- ture, going up with very little effort to the sum of $107. If a man can say truly, "What I kept I lost-what I left behind me is not mine-what I gave away alone remains with me," -- a community may repeat the sentiment with added emphasis.
I now come to the most pleasurable part of my office, in which the degree of satisfaction is proportional to the extent of the record. On this principle the pleasure now is fourfold the amount last year. Four marriages are to be entered here.
Our neighborhood, in conunon with a large adjacent country, has had abundant cause of thankfulness for the general good health that has prevailed throughout the past year. It has been much the healthiest season since this record connnenced. Within the somewhat indefinite circle that comprises our neighborhood I note but one death during the year, but that was of the sort that leaves a wide blank.
Died on the morning of March 15th, Roger Brooke, in the 5Sth year of his age. On the afternoon following, a large number of neighbors and friends collected at his funeral. A more than usual feeling of solemnity per- vaded the assemblage; and many a kind expression evinced the sincere regard felt for one whose warm friendship had been widely shared. His nearest neighbors
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had the most to say in his praise. One, not a very near neighbor, who had known him from boyhood, was deeply moved in recalling his peculiar manly and honorable traits of character, and loving to dwell on one pleasant incident that had left a deep impression on his memory. It was just thirty years ago, being the spring of 1838, since the writer of this article commenced farming opera- tions where he now resides. The situation was not promising, in fact "it was hard lines" with him. To make it worse, the spring was unusually wet and cold. The month of May was more than half over, and the field designed for corn, on which so much depended, was not half plowed. One morning as " he drove his team afield," not very "jocund " indeed, his poor little team and little old plow-just as the sun was rising-what was his sur- prise to see the decayed fence taken down at the farther corner, and-enter three fine horses with a big plow and strong, skilful driver; and without so much as saying " by your leave," begin to tear up the ground in a way- well, a way that has done me good ever since. It was Roger's teanı.
And as I recall the impression which that incident produced at the time, remaining there ever since, it seemed worthy of record here; not merely as a tribute to the departed, but as suggesting that no one perhaps can perform a better act than by lending a little help just at the right time to a young man struggling under difficul- ties to make a start in life.
Five years having elapsed since this record was begun, 1 now sum up, as promised heretofore, the scattered statistic- of marriages, births and deaths during the several year- 1: the period ; relating to a population, as nearly as I can estimate, approximating three hundred :
5
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For the year from
Marriages.
Births.
Deaths.
1863-4-2 to 4-4-1864
1
10
5
1864-4-4 to 4-3-1865
3
8
9
1865-4-3 to 4-2-1866
6
7
1866-4-2 to 4-1-1867
1
8
6
· 1867-4-1 to 4-6-1868
4
S
1
-
Total in five years,
15
41
28
An agrecable addition was made to our numbers this last year, by immigration. Two new families have come to reside among us, a rather infrequent but welcome event.
CHAPTER VI.
FROM FOURTH MONTH, 1868, TO FOURTH MONTH, 1869.
What is a neighborhood ?- Difficult weather - Disappointment in price- Fruit a failure, also ice - First complaints of poultry - First attempt at a census of the neighborhood -Two large fires and one disastrous flood - Progress of "Savings Institu- tion," and first Directors --- More of railroads -- Tower of Coast Survey -- Porch at Meeting House - Political contest -- Science in the Lyceum - Introduction of the piano - Amusements - "Spare the birds !" - " Hard times."
Before resuming our historical sketch, it seems proper now at the commencement of a second period of five years, the second Lustrum, as the old Romans called it, to make some inquiry into the nature and intent of this sort of record, with a view to 'satisfaction upon the question whether it is a real thing. and not a more fanciful specula- tion. Is there such a fixed fact, such a real entity as a neighborhood, possessing such actual existence as might
---
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entitle it to be portrayed in a history? Let us endeavor to briefly clear up this subject. It will not be disputed that there is a very general understanding as to what is meant by the claim of country. The events of the past few years have dispelled all confusion of ideas in regard to that matter. We have been taught by stern lessons that we have a country, to which much is due. We have known what it was to sympathize with its distresses, to suffer keen apprehensions in its time of danger, and to . feel our own relief at its escape. We have learned to be proud of its good faith, to rejoice in its prosperity, and to mourn over its illustrious dead. To feel, in short, that we are part and parcel of it; that if we were disposed to leave it, it won't let us go.
Now there is a somewhat similar fedling, which may and of right ought to exist in regard to our own neighbor- hood, the social circle wherein all our immediate interests are closely bound. A natural, healthy and beneficial feel- ing leads us to take a lively interest in all that concerns its welfare, to be anxious for its improvement, jealous for its reputation, sorrowful for its shortcomings. Perhaps this sentiment is most strongly felt when we are absent for a time. Let any one who has spent a week at the sea- shore, or in any place where men do congregate, call to mind his emotions when by chance his own neighborhood is mentioned ; how lively the interest excited by remarks made upon it; how pleasant to hear favorable comments, how vexatious any sarcastic remark. Under such circum- stances we take up for our neighborhood, as if it were our own fireside. Does not this fact show that there is such an entity, an actual existing thing as a neighborhood ? Of course it does. Again, there is another band that draws us still nearer together,-the enclosures of youder
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graveyard. We are united into one community by our dead as well as by our living. Who does not feel the force of the hallowed tie? The dead of the past five years are a sad reality; an important, inexorable fact, from which there is no escape. I look over their names set down in the pages of this little book, and think how much we have lost by their removal from the active life of the neighborhood. Names recalling so much of ex- cellence, of' promise, of solid worth, that it is not too much to say our whole community would have stood higher at this day if these had been spared to live and labor.
I think then we may justly claim that we place before our minds a reality in the idea brought up by the words "Sandy Spring"; it thus unquestionably possesses a claim to form history. Looking back with varied emotions of pain and pleasure on the past, gathering strength and wisdom from the retrospect, but fixing our eyes and hearts and hopes upon the future, with the steady purpose to sustain the character of our neighborhood, and to raise it to still higher degrees of excellence, let us now give our attention to the special events of the past year.
The weather being a matter of so much importance to an agricultural community, and really interesting to every- body, I am compelled to encroach so far upon the province of your meteorologist as to remark that the spring of last year was a difficult season for farming operations. The frequent rains delayed the sowing of oats so late that it was in poor condition to incet the drought of the last of June and first of July. The result was a crop short in quantity and far worse in quality. The weight per bushel averaged about twenty pounds; not quite so bad as in a recent season, when it scarcely reached above fifteen. The corn planting was also generally delayed to a
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late period in May, but the season proved more favorable in the end, giving us a full crop of that most important of all agricultural products. Potatoes yielded on the whole a very fair return, both in quality and quantity ; but in respect of that other valuable consideration, price in the market, there was serious disappointment. It must be confessed that the disappointment was much aggravated, if not, indeed, altogether caused by the high prices of the few latter years, creating anticipations which were not realized. Our enterprising young farmers, as I am informed, are not all discouraged about potatoes, but intend to put in the usual crop this spring.
There was no cause to complain of the wheat crop, in any respect. Hay was abundant, and the price as good as could be expected with suchefull crop. The great failure of the year was in fruit. Apples and peaches, the two far exceeding all others in value and excellence, were nearer being a total failure, it is considered, than has ever been the case with us before.
Amongst the failures in important crops of the year just closing, I am compelled to enumerate the ice crop. I know it would have been kind to pass over this deficiency in silence ; especially as it might be thought to suggest invidi- ous comparisons. But an impartial historian has no right to indulge any feelings of that sort, nor to slur over an incident of practical importance for the sake of shielding improvident confidence, putting off to January what ought to be done in December. The report of the meteorologist will doubtless show that the average temperature of the first winter month was favorable to procuring ice. On the whole then we find slight reason to complain of the bounty of nature during the past year. With one compara- tively unimportant exception, in the case of poultry, there
...
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has been a general exemption from disease with man and beast. Some families did appear to have more than their share of affliction ; but not a single death has taken place amongst the persons included in our special neighborhood.
In order that we might obtain a definite idea of the extent of the circle referred to as comprising the neighbor- hood of Sandy Spring, I have, with the assistance of a colleague and the suggestions of some other friends, made out a list of families, being a census of the persons who are concerned. Of course it was difficult in some cases to draw the separating line, but our return may be regarded for practical purposes sufficiently correct. The list hereto annexed shows 328 individuals in 66 families.
In this circle there were during the first four years 27 deaths; in the last two years ane death only : this seems to be a very remarkable circumstance.
The number of births reported for the present year is seven. Number of marriages, one.
Among the unfortunate contingencies of the year must be noted the unusual circumstance of two destructive fires : the house of Samuel Ellicott, and the barn of Dr. F. Thomas. Also a disastrous flood on the 24th of July, which washed away Thomas Lea's mill. All these losses are already repaired or very nearly so.
The organization of the "Savings Institution of Sandy Spring" was mentioned in the last chapter of this history, with sanguine expectations of its success. These hopes have been thus far fully realized, and indeed exceeded by the actual results. The Institution was opened on the 13th of April, ISES; on the first day of the following March the returns show that in the first ten and a-half months there had been paid in $9545, on which the in- terest accrued was $240; withdrawn $2665, leaving $7120
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on deposit. The considerable number of depositors, 183, shows the extent to which the benefits of the Institution have already reached, and gives reasonable grounds for the hope that its future influence will be widely felt. This success places the new institution in the front rank of our beneficial associations, and entitles its projectors to last- ing remembrance.
In each successive chapter of the present record some mention has been made of the railroad, which has been a lively subject of interest and expectation for many years. At length our hopes seem to touch solid ground. The whistle of the locomotive has not yet reached our ears, ex- cept from the dim distance of the Laurel Road, but some decided preliminary measures have been taken. On the 15th of June, the engineers so long looked for came to the Manor and commenced operations. They went on to make the necessary surveys, and had fixed definitely upon the line when they were called away. The delays since that period served to confirm the doubts of the skeptical and to temper the ardor of the sanguine; but the latter class having made up their minds for many years that " the railroad was only a question of time," can never be driven from that stand; and the very latest advices con- firm the faith of such that the time has indeed come, and the coming summer will make it clear to all.
In connection with public proceedings the tower created by the Coast Survey officers must not be forgotten. The constant view of this object ought to inspire a scientific interest, especially when the gentlemen operating from its summit shall have arrived; while the sight from thenon is well calculated to widen and correct our knowledge of local points in our neighborhood, as well as to cultivate a taste for natural scenery.
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ANNALS OF SANDY SPRING.
The porch erected at the meeting house is an improve- ment well deserving of mention; and along with it the whitewashing of the interior, after using it for 51 years without a brush being put on the walls.
Our people took a lively interest in the political contest of last fall. They formed an active club that held its meetings in this building, at which a large amount of speaking, and, on one or two occasions, of real eloquence, was poured forth on the altar of patriotism. They also erected a lofty and handsome pole, unfurling at its top at sundry times a flag, to tell the passers-by where they were to be found politically.
This use of the Lyceum Building was by no means the only way in which it was occupied. After a season of unusual dearth in literary affairs, a course of lectures was revived, commencing with readings and recitations, and sustained by an audience large enough to prove that our people have not lost their interest in intellectual improve- ment. Their appreciation of the last lecture by Prof. Schaffer, which was highly flavored with real science, affords a gratifying proof of their love of knowledge.
Another course of lectures, on history, which the young persons of the neighborhood have lately started, is receiv- ing more favorable support than was anticipated by the lecturer.
The clubs have been going on in the usual pleasant way. It has appeared to me, perhaps owing to better opportunity of observing, that "the Ladies' Association for Mutual Improvement" has taken on a more vigorous life than ever, as the spirit of the age seems to demand. Its career has been a uniform success. And whether it shall find in the future some more active part to take, or shall continue satisfied with its present quiet sphere of
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influence, it is certain that entire confidence may be reposed in its perfect discretion.
We cannot but indulge a reasonable expectation that the Junior Farmers Club will attain to some useful results hitherto undiscovered ; while the Senior institu- tion mav always find enough new subjects to keep up the fresh interest of their meetings.
The social life of the neighborhood has lost none of the agreeable features for which it has always been noted ; even though the winter entertainment, in consequence of the total privation of sleighing amusement, has missed a portion of its usual excitement.
An entirely new interest has been added in several families by the introduction of the piano into society. Other amusements have been scarce; the attempt so vigorously made among the boys to get up the base ball game having come to an abrupt termination. Many wise people begin to discover that amusements of an innocent kind are essential to a perfectly healthy development of the youthful mind and body; and it is not unlikely that this natural demand should require some judicious means of supply among us. In the meantime it is not difficult to point to one injudicious sort of amusement, happily not indulged to much extent by those belonging to our imme- diate circle. When alluding on a former page to the deplorable failure of the fruit crop in the past year, I should have remarked upon a phenomenon that accom- panied it, namely, the extreme scarcity of the birds. No accidental coincidence was this. It is universally agreed that insects are the chief enemies of fruit. and that birds are the appointed agents to keep the insect world within proper bounds. It "goes without telling" that our in- genious youth can work out the calculation thus-" I spare
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