USA > Maryland > Maryland's colonial Eastern Shore ; historical sketches of counties and of some notable structures > Part 3
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"Suffolk" lies in Shrewsbury Parish, near the old parish church. In the old churchyard is buried Gen. John Cadwallader, the devoted personal friend of George Washington.
1733
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Fİ
TRUMPINGTON
SURVEYED 1658
A T the extreme end of Kent County where the Chester River joins the Chesapeake Bay stands today an old home for the charms of which the traveler would have far to seek to find the equal. Four hundred acres were in the original grant to Thomas South when it was surveyed for him in September, 1658.
"Trumpington" is now owned by Mrs. Julia Willson Ringgold and Natilie O. Willson, her brother, they having inherited the place at the death of their father, Richard Bennett Willson. His mother was Anna Maria Smythe, daughter of Col. Thomas Smythe, the third of his line as owner of "Trumpington." Thomas Smythe, the first in Kent, was a member of the vestry of St. Paul's Parish and gave to that parish, 1706, a beautiful silver chalice and patten with the initials "T. S." engraved on them. These two pieces are in use in that church today. Thomas Smythe died in 1719 and left his prop- erty, of which "Trumpington" was a part, to his son and daughter, Thomas and Martha. He also owned a lot in the old town of "New Yarmouth," part of "Hinchingham" and the "Plaines."
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WICKCLIFFE
SURVEYED 1658
W ICKCLIFFE" is one of the most interesting properties in Kent and is now owned by James W. Stevens, a native of Kent. In 1658 a grant was issued to Joseph Wickes and Thomas Hynson jointly for 800 acres by the name of "Wickcliffe," described as "lying on the east side of the Eastern Bay called Eastern Neck." Thomas Hynson's heirs surrendered their rights in the property in later years for a consideration and it was from the direct heirs of Joseph Wickes that Mr. Stevens bought the estate, it having been in the Wickes family for about 240 years.
From the very earliest records of the Isle of Kent down to the present day, with numerous representatives, the Wickeses have held a prominent place in the affairs of Maryland. It is generally supposed that Joseph Wickes was of Puritan stock, but no records are at hand to prove this. At the age of thirty-six, in 1656, he was appointed one of the Justices of the County of Kent. Twenty years after, 1676, he was of the "quorum," John Hynson and Cornelius Comegys sitting with him in court.
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
With Thomas Hynson, Joseph Wickes was granted all the land that comprised Eastern Neck Island-"Wickcliffe," 800 acres, "The Market Place" and "Partnership," in all, according to a resurvey in 1674, 1,740 acres.
The geographical location of "Wickcliffe" is ideal, lying at the extreme end of Eastern Neck Island, its shores washed by the Chester River. From the broad veranda miles and miles of the Chesapeake Bay and Chester River afford a picture rarely equaled in Maryland.
Here in the good old Colony days the swan, wild goose and canvas- back duck tempted the visitor at the hospitable table of the Wickeses. No less frequently upon this table were to be found the diamond-back terrapin, the oyster and soft crab, cooked and flavored by old "mammy," whose excellence in the art had been reached by constant practice in endeavoring to tempt the appetites of the "marster" and 'mistus."
As vessels came into the Chester River from England or France or Guinea, they passed close to this old house and the messages brought over from the mother country made the sails of the ships a doubly welcome sight. On a point of land lying well within the mouth of the Chester River and projecting from the shores of "Wickcliffe" is a clump of virgin pine trees which can be seen for miles. This point is known as Hail Point, so called from the fact that Lord Baltimore's naval officer in those early days had all vessels stop here before going up the river. This was done for inspection, both for customs and for health.
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TALBOT COUNTY
1662
T ALBOT COUNTY, named for Grace Talbot, a sister of Cecilius Calvert and wife of Sir Robert Talbot, was erected about 1662, though the authority for creating the county has never been found. It embraced all of the territory south and east of the Chester River, the Kent Narrows, Eastern Bay and Chesapeake Bay and north of the Choptank River. These boundaries were confirmed by the lines followed in laying out the parishes of the county in accordance with an Act of the Assembly of 1692, and not until 1706 did they change, save, in 1695, when Kent Island was taken into Talbot County. It will be interesting to the reader to quote in part the Act of 1706, Chapter 3, which gave to the county its present lines :
That the bounds of Talbot County shall contain Sharp's Island, Choptank Island and all the land on the north side of the Great Choptank River, and extend itself up the said river to Tuckahoe Bridge, and from thence with a straight line to the mill commonly called and known by the name of Swetnam's Mill, and thence down the south side of Wye River to the mouth thereof, and from thence down the bay (including Poplar Island) to the first beginning, also Bruff's Island in Wye River.
Whether by proclamation or by Act of Assembly this county was erected it is not now known, but on February 18, 1662, Moses Stag- well was made Sheriff of the county and the machinery of the county government began to be assembled around this chief officer. In pur- suance of the usual form issued to the Sheriff he called together all the freemen of the county to elect deputies to the General Assembly. They then elected four delegates of their peers. The Governor appointed the new commissioners of justice and their appointment was confirmed by the Assembly. They were Lieut. Richard Woolman, James Ringgold, William Coursey, Thomas South, Seth Forster and
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
Thomas Hynson, Junior. Four were of the "quorum," any one of whom with two of the other Justices held court for the trial of those cases that were not properly heard by the Council sitting at St. Mary's City, which at that time constituted the highest court of the Province.
In order to further provide for the machinery of a county, Talbot was divided into nine "hundreds" as follows: Tred Haven, Bolling- brooke, Mill, Tuckahoe, Worrell, Bay, Island, Chester and Lower Hundred of Kent Island. The localities now known as Miles River Neck and Wye Island were "Island Hundred," and "Bay Hundred" is to this day a voting district of this old county.
To the student of the history of the Province this particular county seems to draw around its delightful colonial period the charm of an enchanted land. Beautiful rivers washed its shores. The wealth of foliage, the deep green of the fields and the sparkling blue of the waters gave a charming background to the inbound ship as she came up stream in the bright sunshine with every sheet drawing, her sails filled with the strong breeze of the Chesapeake. We can, in the mind's eye, picture the visitors disembarking over the side of the ship while those on shore wave to them a welcome made genuine by the long years of separation from friends and relations. It is to such pictures of delightful surroundings that Talbot owes the recent migration to her shores of the many wealthy and cultured people who in these modern times of "hurry and drive" have bought there old manors and there, in addition to the natural delights, find for neighbors a country folk who have descended from the gentry of the colonial days.
Talbot, like her sister county, Dorchester, has lost much of her island area by subsidence and by the encroachment of the waters of the bay. Poplar Island and Sharp's Island are nearly covered by water and much of the land of Tilghman's Island has disappeared into the waters of the Chesapeake. So, today, where fields of grain and orchards of fruit-bearing trees once pleased the eye of the farmers, are miles of shallow water or marshes in which the muskrat builds his "house" and the redwing swings in the balmy breeze perched upon the tall cat-tails that grow luxuriantly there. The submerging of these lands has been going on very slowly for years and the loss to the county in area has been very considerable. The farm lands are rich and produce fine crops of wheat, corn, potatoes and hay. The raising
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
of blooded horses, cattle and sheep has its important place in the agricultural life of the county and it is a pleasing sight to see the green fields dotted with flocks of thoroughbred cattle and sheep.
In 1679 provision was made for a permanent court house for Talbot. The following record of that year is of interest: "The Com- missioners have ordered Elizabeth Winkles to have the court house which is now used to keep court in, with the room adjoining until the latter end of November next, in consideration we, the Commis- sioners are to allow her as we think fit." Continuing, the record further states: "The Court hath ordered Major William Coursey to treat with Richard Swetnam to come to the aforesaid house to keep ordinary, [tavern], as also to treat concerning the building of a court house." Major Coursey must have succeeded in his mission, for we find in 1680 that a court house was built upon land purchased of Jonathan Hopkinson which was located on Skipton Creek, near the headwaters of the Wye River. In this building court was held for the first time in 1682 or 1683. Later a "prison" was built. Around these two buildings there grew up quite a village which was called by Act of the Assembly of 1686 "Yorke," evidently in honor of the ancient town in England of the same name.
Oxford was laid out in accordance with the "Act for the erection of necessary towns" in 1684, and in 1707 the county-seat was moved to that thriving town. The last session of the court at "Yorke" was on the 17th day of June, 1707, and the first session at Oxford was held on the 19th of August following. Oxford became a port of entry and to its harbor vessels came from England, Guinea, Barbadoes and the ports along the Atlantic Coast. In 1726 Samuel Chamberlaine be- came the royal Naval Officer and he was succeeded at his death by his son, Thomas, and he by his brother, Samuel. With the removal of the county court to Oxford, the days of "Yorke" were numbered. In 1710 we find the court again ready to move to a more favorable loca- tion and there was talk of moving to "Pitt's Bridge." This bridge spanned a small body of water which was a branch of Third Haven, [Tred Avon], River. Of recent years this bridge has been known as the Tanyard Bridge, so called for a tannery once located there. "Pitt's Bridge" was on part of a tract of land granted to John Pitt, called "Pitt's Chance." The following interesting record in the rent
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
rolls of Lord Baltimore, (1724), shows that "Pitt's Chance" con- tained 400 acres of land and the yearly rent was eight shillings :
400/0/8/o Pitt's Chance, surveyed 24th January, 1665, for John Pitt at the head of the Northwest branch of Tread Avon Creek, adjoining the land called Westmoreland, Possest by Mr. John Needles for Ann Darby in England, a daughter of Mr. Edward Man.
The Assembly authorized on the 4th day of November, 1710, the building of a "court house for Talbot County at Armstrong's Old Field near Pitt His Bridge." This tract belonged to Philemon Arm- strong and comprised about two acres. How soon after the passage of the act before the building was erected is not known, but the first session of court in the new building near Pitt's Bridge was held on the 17th of June, 1712. Here, as at "Yorke," a village soon sprang up and became known as "Talbot Court House." The name applied to both the building and the village, that being the custom in those days. That was the last move of the court. The village continued to be called "Talbot Court House" until 1788, at which time it was changed to Easton, and is still the county-seat of Talbot County. Easton is now a flourishing town of 4,000 inhabitants and has the largest bank deposits of any town on the Eastern Shore. Here is located the Cathedral of the Diocese of Easton of the Protestant Episcopal Church. It is in the old parish of St. Peter's which had for its parish church for many years Whitemarsh Church, long since abandoned, the ruins of which form one of the old colonial landmarks of Talbot.
Here, too, is the Friends Meeting House, built in 1684 on what is now the outskirts of Easton. It is said to be the oldest building for public worship of wooden construction in the United States. If some magic power could give the old structure the gift of speech, what wonderful tales it could tell of Wenlock Christison, George Fox and William Penn, all of whom are said to have worshipped beneath its roof. It is also stated that Charles Calvert, third Lord Baltimore, and Lady Calvert attended meeting there on one occasion. During the early years of Talbot County the Friends had no meeting house, but conducted their meetings at the homes of members. A very large part of the population of Talbot County in 1681 consisted of Quakers, and William Penn, realizing what a stronghold these members of his
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
faith would make, established the Tred Avon Monthly Meeting as a branch of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. A record in the Minutes of Tred Avon Monthly Meeting shows that in 1681 it was decided to build a new meeting house upon Third Haven Creek.
The building was begun in 1682 and the first assembling of Quakers in the new meeting house was on the 24th day of October, 1684. It is this building that is spoken of above as standing today. The records of the Quakers are complete in detail and furnish one of the sources of the most accurate colonial data to be found in Maryland. The records of Tred Avon Meeting are now in the Library of the Mary- land Historical Society.
Talbot furnished her quota of volunteers during the Revolution and one of her sons, Col. Tench Tilghman, as aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington, is proudly referred to as one of the greatest soldiers ever sent from the Eastern Shore. His famous ride from Yorktown to Philadelphia, carrying to Congress the news of the sur- render of Cornwallis, is an ever-pleasing story and has been told in verse by one of Maryland's clergymen.
In the war with Great Britain, 1812-14, a battle was fought at St. Michaels in which the British were defeated.
Talbot has furnished four Governors of the State, Edward Lloyd, the fifth of that name in Maryland, June 9, 1800-November 16, 1811; Samuel Stevens, December 9, 1822-January 9, 1826; Daniel Martin, and Philip Francis Thomas, January 3, 1848-January 6, 1851.
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WYE HOUSE
BUILT ABOUT 1781
S
ITUATED on the banks of the south prong of Wye River and Lloyd's Creek is one of the most noted and historical estates on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, "Wye House," the home of the Lloyd family for eight generations. Edward Lloyd I came to the Colony of Virginia from Wales in 1623, and was a burgess in the Virginia Assembly until 1649, when he came to Maryland. Mr. Lloyd was a member of the General Assembly of Maryland which met at Preston-on-the-Patuxent between 1650 and 1658. On the 20th of April, 1650, the district embracing Providence was erected into a county and given the name of Anne Arundel. Edward Lloyd was made "commander" of this county by Governor Stone. On the organi- zation of Talbot County in 1661, having large landed estates there, he removed to that county and built his residence on Wye River, calling it "Wye House."
The original "Wye House" was burned by British marauders on the night of March 13, 1781, and was robbed of many of its treasures,
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
both paintings and plate. All the records of the Lloyd family up to that time perished in the flames. Later, after the war was over, several pieces of plate bearing the arms of the family were returned by the Crown. Of the original manor house only a fragment remains and is used as an outbuilding. A record states that the present "Wye House" was rebuilt by Edward Lloyd IV at once after the original house was destroyed by the British. This colonial structure, erected 135 years ago, remains intact and appears to be as solid now as when first erected.
The main building of two lofty stories, including the hall, drawing- room, parlor, dining-room and chambers, all of noble proportions, is connected by corridors with one-story wings in which are the library on one side and the domestic offices on the other, presenting a pleasing façade of 200 feet, crowning an eminence which commands a view of the lawn and leafy avenue and over the woods to Wye River and the bay. Back of the manor house is an old garden with many beautiful winding walks bounded by boxwood hedges, a stroll through which would convince one that landscape gardening has long been a study of art, and there was much time and money spent in making these features of the old homestead most attractive. To one side of the garden is a beautiful stretch of green sward, bounded on each side by hedges, at the end of which is an imposing building-the old orangery. To the left of this structure is an arch of brick, flanked on each side by a wall fast crumbling away. This arch marks the entrance to the burying ground at Wye and on each side stand two gigantic trees like two sentinels guarding those who are slumbering in peace in the graveyard, which contains the remains of many generations of Lloyds.
There seems to be some uncertainty as to the area of the original grant, but the present owner of "Wye House," Charles Howard Lloyd, inherited from his father over 5,000 acres. Another record referring to the landed estates of Edward Lloyd I in Talbot County speaks of the celebrated tract called "Hîr-Dir-Lloyd," containing 3,050 acres, now known as Oxford Neck, the patent for which bears the date of January 10, 1659.
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THE RICH NECK
SURVEYED 1651
O' F all the colonial manors of Maryland few maintained a position of greater prominence and importance during the days of the Colony than "The Rich Neck." This tract of land is a peninsula lying between the eastern branch of the Chesapeake Bay and St. Michael's River with Tilghman's Creek making in from St. Michael's River on the south, and furnishes one of the finest land-locked harbors on the bay. From the character of the soil of this peninsula it well deserves its name, as there are few tracts in this State which today can boast of soil more fertile.
Across St. Michael's River to the east and at the mouth of the Wye River was "Doncaster," the earliest county-seat of Talbot. In full view from "The Rich Neck" to the west across Eastern Bay is the site of the first seat of government for the Isle of Kent, and still farther beyond that, across the Chesapeake, is Annapolis, which became the capital of the Colony in 1692. This tract was surveyed for Capt. William Mitchell, October 20, 1651, by Robert Clark, then Surveyor-
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
General of the Province, and contained 1,000 acres. Captain Mitchell sold the tract to Phillip Land, the High Sheriff of St. Mary's County. In 1684 Mr. Land sold it to Capt. James Murphy, the consideration being 104 pounds sterling, "lawful money of England." 23,000 pounds of good tobacco and two tracts on Sassafras Creek- one tract of 1,000 acres and the other of 500 acres, both lying in Cecil County. James Murphy occupied this land from 1684 to 1698, and during the entire time was a Justice of Talbot County. At the time of his death he was president of the "quorum." He married a daughter of Capt. Ralph Dawson, Mabel, who was reputed to be the beauty of the Colony. By his will he bequeathed his property to his widow. She married Matthew Tilghman Ward and died in 1702, leaving one child, a daughter, Mary Ward, who died at the age of twenty-two years.
Matthew Tilghman Ward, for his second wife, married Margaret Lloyd, a daughter of Col. Philemon Lloyd. He became one of the Justices of Talbot. Upon the death of James Murphy he was made Speaker of the Assembly, which position he occupied for one or two terms and was then appointed member of the Council. At the time of his death, in 1741, he was President of the Council, and Lieutenant- General of the militia of the Colony, the two positions ranking next to that of Governor.
Matthew Tilghman Ward left no descendants and by his will bequeathed "The Rich Neck," after the death of his widow, to Matthew Tilghman, a cousin, who occupied the property until his death in 1700. Matthew Tilghman, like his predecessors, had been a Justice of the Court, Speaker of the Assembly, a Delegate to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, and was undoubtedly pre- vented by sickness from signing the Declaration of Independence. He was president of the First Constitutional Convention of the State and a member of the Committee of Safety during the Revolutionary War.
In 1906 this manor was purchased by the late Henry H. Pearson, Jr., from Joseph B. Seth, the then owner. Mr. Pearson restored and beautified it until it is one of the show places of the State.
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PERRY CABIN
ESS than a mile north of St. Michael's, fronting on St. Michael's, (Miles), River, is "Perry Cabin," the home for many years of the bachelor brothers, Samuel and John Needles Hambleton, both of whom were pursers in the United States Navy, and where they lived, when not on duty, with their two maiden sisters, the Misses Lydia and Louisa Hambleton. Samuel Hambleton, (1777-1851), was appointed in 1806 a purser in the United States Navy by President Thomas Jefferson.
During the War of 1812, at the battle of Lake Erie, when the flag- ship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the "Lawrence," was dis- abled by the sickness of the crew, he volunteered to work a gun and while thus aiding in achieving the victory was severely wounded by a cannon ball which fell upon him from the rigging. This estate, now the home of C. H. Fogg, is only a short distance from "Martingham," the earliest seat, (1659), of the Hambletons. Samuel Hambleton was born at "Martingham," and the estate is still owned by a member of the family. Here also lived John Needles Hambleton, (1798-1870), who faithfully served his country for fifty years as purser in the United States Navy.
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MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
Little more than a mile south of St. Michael's, and about two miles from "Perry Cabin," beautifully situated on Spencer Creek, where it empties into St. Michael's River, is "Spencer Hall," the seat, for several generations, of the Spencers, some of whom gained dis- tinction in the various walks of life, but none of the name now reside in Talbot County. The family was of Norman origin and of noble degree, and can be easily traced to the eleventh century, being descended from Robert le Despencer, Lord Stewart of the household of William the Conqueror, and one of the Norman barons whose name is in the Roll of Battle Abbey, and in the great Domesday Book appears as Robertus Dispensator.
In 1657 there came to Northumberland County, Virginia, Nicholas and Robert Spencer, brothers, of Cople, Bedfordshire, descended in the seventh generation from Robert Spencer, A.D. 1475, younger sons of Nicholas Spencer and his wife, Mary Gostwick, daughter of Sir Edward Gostwick, and a branch of the Northamptonshire family. They were accompanied by the brothers John and Lawrence Wash- ington, also from Bedfordshire, the former being the great-grand- father of Gen. George Washington.
Nicholas Spencer, by grants and purchases, came into possession of large tracts of land on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, 1658 to 1661. He finally settled in Virginia near the Washingtons. He was later known as Col. Nicholas Spencer, and was Secretary of Virginia. 1679-88. Robert Spencer was born in 1635. After removing from Virginia to Barbadoes, where he remained for several years, he came to Maryland in 1678 and settled in Talbot County in 1683. He died prior to April, 1688. He left an only son, James Spencer, born in Barbadoes in 1667, who came to Talbot after his father's death and settled on St. Michael's River. He died in 1714, leaving by his first wife, Isabella, four sons, James Spencer, Jr., the founder of "Spencer Hall," Charles, William and Hugh Spencer, and two daughters, Alice and Mary Spencer. The last male owner of "Spencer Hall" was Col. Perry Spencer, (1750-1822), and the property finally passed out of the hands of the Spencers in 1837. The Spencers were never numerous in Talbot, and but one of that family is now living in Maryland, Col. Richard H. Spencer, of Baltimore.
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THE ANCHORAGE
FIRST BUILT 1732 1128710
T 'HE fact that the Miles River is one of the most picturesque of Talbot's waterways was recognized by the early settlers. For this reason many of them chose to select sites on its banks. This river, after flowing about fifteen miles in a southwesterly direction, makes a distinct turn and flows northerly. The Miles River has this feature in common with the Chester and Choptank, which rivers empty into Chesapeake Bay.
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