USA > Maryland > Caroline County > History of Caroline County, Maryland, from its beginning > Part 21
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By this time, mail had become a very important mat- ter. About 1850 the people in this community drove to Denton after it. Later their post-office was at Federals- burg. There wasn't any way provided for them to get it only when they went to town, which was not very often as travel was not only slow but rude in those days. To improve upon this method the government established a post-office at Smithville. After the post-office was built drivers were appointed to bring the mail from Feder-
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alsburg to certain named centers as, Smithville, Concord, American Corner. It was delivered once about every two weeks, later once weekly and eventually every day.
NABB'S.
Nabb's school, erected in 1909, was named for T. D. Nabb. who was the prime mover in the enterprise, and gave much of the lot upon which the school stands. Miss Myrtle West was the first teacher.
Another Story of Patty Cannon.
One day Elgin Russell, a colored boy, and his sister were out looking for the cows. Patty Cannon upon passing by thought this was a good chance to get some money, so she got out of her gig and caught the two children, carried them home with her and put them in a closet; she told them not to say a word; the people came in search of the children for they knew that Patty Cannon was kidnapping people. These people demanded Patty to give them the key to the closet for they had searched everywhere else but the closet; she told them that she had lost the key. Just at that moment Elgin put his finger through a knot hole in the closet; the people then told her that if she did not give up the key they would burst the door open: she gave them the key which was around her neck.
Contributed by Pupils.
CHESTNUT GROVE.
Chestnut Grove is in the Eighth Election district of Caroline County. However it has not always been known as Chestnut Grove. For a long time it was known as Chestnut Woods and it is on the map now as Agner.
There are three different groups of buildings in Chestnut Grove: the school house, church, and store buildings, besides several farm houses around. The most important one to us children is the school house. Its name is Chestnut Grove School and like the place used to be called Chestnut Woods. It got its name from the many chestnut trees growing around it. The school was not always where it now is. At first it was on the other side of the road and while there the pupils sat on slab benches. In 1874 the Board of School Commission- ers purchased a school site from John Lehman and Robert Rooks. Then the people around Chestnut Grove subscribed enough money to build the school house which
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now stands on the Chestnut Grove road. The building was put up in 1883 and shows its age quite a good deal. The Methodist Episcopal church standing by the school house was built abont 1885, by subscription.
About thirty years ago a camp was held here. It was called Chestnut Woods Camp.
Besides the school house, church, and store building there used to be also a grist mill, saw mill, and postof- fice, about one half mile from Chestnut Grove known now as Morgan's mill pond.
Years back a certain William Morgan, for whom the place is now called, bought real estate and built a saw mill, also adding a corn mill thereon. He also built a store house and kept store for some time. After that it changed hands several times until at last a man by the name of John Agner purchased it and continued keeping store there.
The mill was run by water-power and was the only one for miles around. All the people came here to mill and as Mr. Agner also had the post office, it was of course quite a thriving place at one time.
Later the mills were discontinued and the store moved to Chestnut Grove, the postoffice, however, keep- ing the name of Agner until rural delivery came along.
Contributed by Pupils.
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HILLSBORO (Tuckahoe Bridge).
This town located on the Tuckahoe River in Caro- line County at the point where the Queen Anne and Tal- bot counties meet the river on the opposite side, is on the site of one of the oldest settlements of the county.
Official records show that before the year 1750, an Episcopal Chapel was located directly across the river from what is now Hillsboro and further that a bridge had also been built before this time. Located as it is in a re- gion conductive to good farming operations, it was only natural that the community should have been settled very early.
In those early times land was usually granted to rep- resentative people and families by the Lord Proprietor. Thus it was that John Hardcastle of Talbot county be- came the owner of large traets of land in this section.
Aside from the occasional repair and rebuilding of the Chapel and bridge, but little is known of the settle- ment which was known as Tuckahoe Bridge later called Hillsboro in honor of Lord Hillsboro of the Calvert Fam- ily, until the close of the Revolutionary War when Fran- cis Sellers, Esq., who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, had located here and married Elizabeth Downes the daughter of Henry Downes, who was a well known and influential citizen of the county of that time.
Mr. Sellers it was who had built the large brick house still standing near the eastern terminus of the bridge, as well as a brick warehouse along the river near- by where he evidently conducted his mercantile business. Someone has ascertained that the bricks in these two buildings as well as those in the Old Academy were of the same type and quality, indicating that Mr. Sellers was active in the building of the Academy as well. With the natural characteristics of a Scotchman, Mr. Sellers was energetic and thrifty in business and active in the ad- vaneement of his community along educational and re- ligious lines. It seems that he must have amassed a con- siderable fortune in his business as indicated by his va- rious benevolences. By ancestry, likely a Presbyterian, it seems that he was foremost in the councils of the local Episcopal church.
Whether Mr. Sellers prepared at Hillsboro the well known Sellers' Medical Compound that has for a long
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time been made in Pittsburgh by his descendants, is not definitely known but it seems very likely that he did, be- cause of the records which show the great amount of fev- ers in this section at that time. In fact Mr. Sellers and several of his children succumbed to a fever which was epidemie in Hillsboro about 1804. A few years after- wards in 1816, Jesse Lee, a well known minister and close friend of Bishop Asbury attended a camp meeting near Hillsboro, was stricken with a fever and a few days later expired at the home of Mr. Sellers, a son of the late Francis Sellers.
In 1831 the first newspaper in the county was es- tablished here, being printed by Lucas Bros.
For some time Hillsboro was the site of the Tri- county Fair and frequently was the meeting place of Congressional Conventions.
A record has been found indicating that Charles Wilson Peale, one of America's greatest painters, and the son of Rembrandt Peale who lived for a time in Queen Anne county, resided once in or near Hillsboro. Thus it seems that this place must have attained considerable prominence in religions and literary cir- cles, as well as having been of much commercial import- ance, the latter characteristic being indicated by the es- tablishment of a shoe factory, cannery, tobacco ware- house, tavern and one or more general stores.
The Old Hillsboro Academy.
In 1797 a brick school house was erected in Hillsboro, the land having been donated by John Hardcastle, Jr., of Talbot County, and deeded in trust to the following men : Francis Sellers, William Smith, Valentine Green, Henry Nichols, of Caroline County, and Samuel Barrow of Tal- bot. For over seventy-five years the building remained on this lot known as part of "Hackett's Garding." Pro- visions of the deed prove the school to have been purely local. In the next year plans were made for one liberal school in each county, and this school became known as Hillsboro Academy.
Private subscriptions provided the money for the school building and was furnished not only by men from Caroline but from Queen Anne's and Talbot as well. Francis Sellers. a well known business man living near the Tuckahoe bridge, was largely responsible for the suc-
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cess of the school. He not only made generous subscrip- tions to the enterprise but endowed the school for the benefit of orphaned children.
The first board of trustees were Francis Sellers, William Smith, Henry Nichols 3rd, Sammel Barrow, Hen- ry Downes, William Richardson and George Martin. These trustees were "on the job" from the start ; in fact the Legislature of 1806 placed the village goverment in their hands. They appointed a bailiff to collect taxes which were laid upon persons who kept dogs, also fines imposed upon residents who alarmed their neighbors by permitting their chimney to catch fire, and fines upon persons who enticed away or harbored any of the charity children in charge of the teacher or Trustees.
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OLD HILLSBOROUGH ACADEMY.
Founded 1797.
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The course of study included the classics as well as the elementary subjects. In recognition of the high standing of the school the General Assembly of 1812 made the school a donation of $500, which custom was kept up for nearly twenty years. In 1823 the following report was sent to the Assembly :
One teacher. Five free students. Eight classical students. Nineteen students in English and Mathematics. Total number of pupils, 27.
Hillsboro Academy held indisputable sway in Caro- line until 1827 when half of the State's annual donation was taken from it to give to the Denton Academy, not then erected. For a few years after this the type of teaching at Hillsboro was unchanged. Then came a pe- riod of struggle when it alternated between a private school and a local county school according as it enrolled the fifteen subscribing scholars necessary to receive the State donation. Later years saw the revival of interest in the Academy but only for a brief period. In 1878 the school was taken over by the County Board of Educa- tion, who replaced the old building by erecting a more modern two room structure for a graded school.
Episcopal Church.
A history of the Episcopal church will be found else- where in this volume under the caption-Early Churches.
Methodism in Hillsboro and Vicinity.
In the year 1776, the Rev. Mr. Ruff, was then preach- ing on what was then known as Kent Circuit. For some reason he was called away for a short time from his work, and at his request Freeborn Garretson came over to take his place while he was away. Garretson preached in Queen Anne's County, and came into Caroline, first at Greensboro, then traveling southward, he visited the up- per parts of Tuckahoe Neck near where Hillsboro now is. He was the first Methodist preacher the people heard in these parts.
Garretson says :
"I was wandering along in search of an opening for the Word in deep thought and prayer that my way might be prosperous, when I came to a gate, where I had a sudden impression that I ought to
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turn in, which I did and went up to a house and told the mistress who came out to meet me, that if she wanted to hear the word of the Lord. to send out and call her neighbors, which she did, and I preached that evening and the next day".
This was at the home of the step-father of the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, who was an officer in the American Army, and as it was a day of great mustering, Garret- son, sitting on his horse, preached to the soldiers, many of which were converted and became Methodists.
A Methodist Society was formed in the year 1776 or 1778 and between 1780 and 1784 the first Methodist Meet- ing House in Caroline County was built near the Meet- ing-house Branch and was known as "Ebenezer Chapel."
This was a rallying center for Methodists for more than a quarter of a century. Quarterly Conferences were held with Bishops Coke and Asbury presiding. On his first visit to this community in 1784 Bishop Coke said, "The people here are the best singers I have heard in America."
Several prominent Methodist itinerants came from this section. AAmong them were Ezekiel Cooper, Solo- mon Sharp, Stephen Martindale, and Thomas Neal.
About the year 1838 the church was moved from the Old Meeting-house Branch into Hillsboro, where it has occupied its present location ever since, and it still bears its original name "Ebenezer."
From its earliest beginnings to the present time Methodism has had a prominent place in the Religious life of the community, and has always helped to bear the burdens of the denomination.
Contributed by REV. E. W. McDOWELL.
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THE HOME OF FRANCIS SELLERS.
FRANCIS SELLERS.
1.
In the old brick mansion down the hill, Lived Francis Sellers a man of will. He came from Scotland far across the sea, And settled Hillsboro, dont you see?
2.
He was very honest, steadfast and true. And his fellow citizens knew it, too. Now as to slaves he had many ( ?) But never was known to ill treat any.
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3.
Old Hillsboro Academy owes its origin to him, Which goes to show he was a man of vim; He donated much money to help the poor, And had he been richer he would have donated more.
4.
Miss Downes of Caroline became his wife, And they lived an ideal married life. Seven beantiful children God gave to them. Two of which became noble men.
5.
In the Seller's graveyard npon the hill, He lies buried but we honor him still. We know that in Heaven he is at rest, His friends mourned his death but God knew best.
KATHERINE KLINE.
THAWLEY'S.
On the eastern bank of the Tuckahoe midway be- tween Hillsboro and the Choptank is located a colonial type of house which is best known. perhaps, as the Thaw- ley House, but earlier as the home of Rebecca Daffin. who was a sister of Charles Dickinson that fell in the duel with Andrew Jackson at the beginning of the 19th century.
A member of the well known family of Daffin of Dorchester county came to Caroline early and con- structed a very handsome residence of brick. Evidently no expense was spared to make this an elegant home with large rooms, high ceilings, beautiful stairways and elaborate mantel pieces. It is said that the great cost practically led to the financial failure of the builder.
Here one may easily imagine the goings-on of that period-the stately minnet, the joyons game, the elabo- rate feast, and the exciting hunt and chase so much in- dulged in in that day, with all cares left to the disposi- tion of the faithful slaves that made up the household.
The Daffin farm apparently includes the present Thawley farm as well as the Clark land extending as far as Thawley's church. This tract seems to have been the gift of Henry Dickinson to his daughter Rebecca.
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It seems that this section was early cleared and de- veloped as a good farming community. The mill nearby, known now as Knott's or Elben's mill, was standing in 1804 as per a plat filed in the Clerk's Office in Denton. At this time it was known as Morgan's mill and was in- eluded in a tract of 1500 acres of land belonging to Hen- ry Nichols and extended much of the way towards Hills- boro.
It seems likely that the Hillsboro school served for this community until about 1870 when a local building was erected. This was burned about 1885 when the pres- ent one was erected on land purchased of J. W. Clark.
TUCKAHOE NECK.
This section of Caroline County lying between the Choptank and Tuckahoe rivers and the main road lead- ing from Denton to Hillsboro has for a long time been almost as well known by name and reputation to the in- habitants of Maryland and Delaware as the famous "blue grass region" of Kentucky.
Endowed by nature with two crowning attributes- location along the river and fertility of soil, it is of lit- tle wonder that this section early attracted settlers from other counties. Until about 15 years ago, this region was inhabited almost entirely by the land owners them- selves, a situation which meant that the buildings and fences were in first class condition, and the land in a high state of cultivation. Travellers from other coun- ties to Caroline County at that time would not easily miss a trip of inspection to this beautiful section. Some of the most important families of the county and state have lived at one time or another in Tuckahoe Neck. Joshua Clark, one of the largest landowners. and one of the county's earliest court justices, lived during the Rev- olutionary War period at Lyford, an estate even well known at the present day. Later on John M. Robinson who became a distinguished jurist in this state was born and raised in Tuckahoe Neck. Suffice it to say that sev- eral worthies have come from this section.
It seems that the earliest inhabitants of this neigh- borhood either attended the Quaker meeting near Den- ton or went to Tuckahoe Chapel which was located near Hillsboro.
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In 1842 Isaac Harris then a prominent resident of this section deeded to Edward Carpenter, James Nich- ols, George W. Wilson, William Williams, John Nichols, Benjamin Atwell and William Cade, trustees, land to be used as the site of a elirch which was established under the Methodist Episcopal control. Thus the name of Har- ris Chapel most likely originated. It was provided in the deed that in case of a vacancy among the trustees the remaining ones should fill the vacancy provided the applicant be at least 21 years of age and a member of the church for at least one year previous. For a long. time this church was served by ministers from Denton, but for the past 20 years from Hillsboro. At present, service is conducted by the Southern Methodist minister at Queen Anne.
Owing to there being a large pond nearby where wild geese on their annual trip south formerly alighted for food and rest, this church, the school nearby and in fact the general section has long been known as Goose- pond.
The earliest school for this section of which we have any record was located near the junction of the road to Lyford with the Tuckahoe Neck road. Z. P. Steele, Esq., of Denton, recalls having attended this school and perhaps, as a very small boy, to have seen the original school building which seems to have been constructed of logs. Because of the crowded condition of this school in 1870, the School Board appointed a committee consist- ing of James B. Steele. G. W. Collison, and Edward Sanlsbury to consider the advisability of dividing the school district. Their report was favorably accepted by the Board and Upper Tuckahoe and Lower Tuckahoe distriets were formed. Since this time public schools have been maintained in these two districts-the one Saulsbury's in honor of Edward Sansbury-the other Cedar Grove because of its being surrounded by a grove of cedars. In 1885 an exchange of sites was made by means of which Cedar Grove school acquired a lot of two acres.
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AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL RIDGELY.
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RIDGELY.
THE FOUNDING.
Ridgely did not happen into existence like the typi- ical cross-roads settlements which gradually extend along the turning highway until they suddenly discover themselves to be full fledged villages or towns. Ridgely was fully conceived and definitely planned before one building was erected ou its site.
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RIDGELY'S FIRST HOUSE, OCCUPIED BY MR. FRED RIDGELY AND FAMILY, RECENTLY TORN DOWN.
When the Eastern Shore of Maryland was under- going a transformation because of the approach of rail- roads, a body of men from Philadelphia heard the call of the city and under the name of the Maryland and Balti- more Land Association, started forth with the dream of planting a city on the site of our present town, which should unite the Maryland and Delaware Railroad and the Choptank River. Without the cooperation of Rey- erend Greenbury W. Ridgely and Mr. Thomas Bell, the Maryland and Baltimore City LandAssociation could not have caried out its plans. The general understand- ing is that Messrs. J. R. Renzor, Thomas C. Hambly and
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George N. Townsend, the three important men constitut- ing the Association, were friends of Rev. Greenbury W. Ridgely and through his large land interests at this point and their common interests in the construction of the Queenstown and Harrington Railroad, these three men were drawn to this community. Under the circumstane- es, it was natural that the Reverend Mr. Ridgely should give them his hearty cooperation in their city building project, and that they should reciprocate by naming the city in his honor. After the negotiation of the Land As- sociation with Mr. Ridgely and Mr. Bell, in which they secured the use of the Ridgely and Bell farming lands for the promotion of their town and city scheme, they made their survey of Ridgely. Mr. Sisler, a Philadel- phia civil engineer, was employed by them for this spec- ial part of the work. He was assisted by Mr. Theophilus W. Smith, then a young man living at his father's home farm, near the prospective town. They surveyed not less than two hundred acres lying within and around the town.
This whole survey resulted in the production of a most interesting map of Ridgely, showing the beautiful streets and avenues planned. Copies of this were used freely in attracting settlers to the contemplated city. The dream city, founded May 13, 1867, was born too early in this section of the state to become a reality, and it soon died. The reason for this was that the financial resources of the Company were not sufficient to enable them to accomplish their great undertaking. As the summer advanced, signs of this were much in evidence. Unpaid bills were accunmlating and dissatisfaction was heard from lumber dealers, builders, painters, and day laborers. The city that had been started vanished with only a few buildings and a map left behind to record the unrealized dream.
After the failure of the Maryland and Baltimore Land Association, the real estate firm of Mancha Broth- ers united its activities in promising the growth of Ridgely; but for the first decade the most apparent growth lay outside the boundaries of the village. New settlers bought farms in the surrounding country where land was plentiful and cheap, and thus gradually the agricultural interests outside the hamlet and the com- mercial interests within, developed Ridgely into the busy railroad center it has increasingly become throughout
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its fifty years or more of history. Faith in the railroad was the great factor in holding Ridgely together and in promoting its growth.
The following are some of the earliest settlers in Ridgely, James K. Saulsbury, a merchant; J. Frank Mancha, and Henry S. Mancha, real estate agents, who were instrumental in bringing northern settlers into this community; Sylvester Smith, who established a fruit evaporating industry, and James Swann, Ridgely's first teacher and later Superintendent of Schools of Caroline County. Other early settlers were Isaac J. Sigler, John A. Sigler, and Thomas W. Jones, Sr.
REV. GREENBURY W. RIDGELY.
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LIFE OF THE REVEREND MR. RIDGELY.
The Reverend Greenbury W. Ridgely, in whose hon- or the town of Ridgely was named, was born in Lexing- ton, Kentucky, May 12, 1798. He attended the Transyl- vanian University, from which he was graduated, with honor. He then attended the law school at Litchfield, Conn., where he formed a life-long friendship with John M. Clayton, of Delaware. On Mr. Ridgely's return trip to Lexington he visited the families of his uncles, JJudge Richard and Henry Ridgely of the Western Shore. Here he was induced to remain and study law. After passing a successful examination, he became a member of the bar of this state. After a brief period of legal practice in partnership with Henry Clay, Mr. Ridgely decided to enter the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and with this idea he entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, from which in the course of time he was graduated.
While rector at Newtown he married Miss Worth, of that place. His wife died in 1841 and shortly after- ward Mr. Ridgely became rector at Chester, Pennsylva- nia. While at this place he gradually extended his min- isterial work in building up new churches in the vicinity. The churches at Marcus Hook and Claymont were the ontgrowth of his labors. In 1853 Mr. Ridgely came to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to live. He settled in Caroline County where he made large investments in real estate, purchasing from four to five thousand acres of land. Although he was not assigned to any parish, he constantly held services at places which were desti- tute of churches. His last years were spent near our town at the residence of his son, William S. Ridgely. In August, 1893, Mr. Ridgely suffered a stroke of paralysis from which he rallied; but a second attack shortly after- ward caused his death. He lies buried in the Episcopal churchyard at Hillsboro. He left three children, none of whom are living today. His second son, William S. Ridgely, was for many years one of the most prominent citizens of Caroline County.
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