USA > Maryland > Anne Arundel County > The founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland. A genealogical and biographical review from wills, deeds and church records > Part 58
USA > Maryland > Howard County > The founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland. A genealogical and biographical review from wills, deeds and church records > Part 58
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The site selected was a lofty hill, from three sides of which the eye beheld the waving grain fields and fine old forests of the farm. Great blocks of granite were quarried from the rocky hillsides of " Wood- stock," and slowly the stately mansion grew under the busy and skillful hands of the artisans. The massive walls took shape as the months went by, and woodworkers and carvers busied themselves on the interior, plasterers plied their trowels and painters their brushes. Plumbers were proud of a chance to install the mostmodern sanitary features of the day and decorators eagerly applied their art to the finishing touches. Other buildings were erected about the new man- sion and for months the favored hilltop seemed a beehive of industry.
The builders' art in those days was not the same as now. There were no immense steel girders, weighing tons, to be hoisted high in air; no complicated calculations to insure the correct holding of joints and frames; and yet as great, or greater, skill, perhaps, was required of builders then. The problem of transporting and shifting heavy building material had not the ready aid of steam in its solution, nor had mechanical ingenuity come very far toward lessening the wear
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of physical labor. One cannot look upon the massive pile at "Folly Quarter" without feeling admiration for the men who builded so strongly and well in their time.
It is difficult to learn just when the buildings were begun, but they were finished in 1832. Charles Carroll, of "Carrollton," died in Baltimore, November 14, 1832, and it is probable that, owing to the feebleness of great age, he was not permitted to look upon the finished structure at the "Folly."
How and why "Folly Quarter" received its name is a question that seems to be considerably clouded by the mists of time. In the surrounding country is a tradition currently believed to the effect that Charles Carroll, son of the signer, had accumulated a consider- able sum of money from his allowances. In looking about for a good investment his attention was called to a fine tract of land several miles west of "Doughoregan Manor." He was pleased with it and purchased it. When he informed his venerable and distinguished father of the fact the latter, according to the story, exclaimed:
"That is folly; we have enough land now."
And so, the tradition has it, the farm was known ever after- ward as "Folly Quarter," or "The Folly."
This would be a very interesting explanation of the subject but for the anachorism that this is at once in evidence. In his will the signer refers to the farm as though it had been for some time a part of his property. He does not devise the estate in his will, indicating that he had transferred it to Mrs. McTavish, his granddaughter, be- fore his heath. He does, however, bequeath to his son Charles, slaves "on the farm known as 'Folly.'"'
The word "Quarter" seems to have been applied generally to sections-perhaps quarter sections-of large tracts of land.
Not far from "Folly Quarter" was a large estate known as "Mike's Quarter."
The present visitor to "Folly Quarter" who goes out from Elli- cott City drives west along the Frederick Turnpike through a pic- turesque, rolling country. On either side are comfortable farm- houses, surrounded by fertile fields, with great, large-doored barns, telling their story of the generous soil. Here and there are hand- some mansions-some of attractive modern architecture and others recalling memories of a time long dead. Many of these are summer homes of wealthy city families, who fly to the cool, pure air of the re- splendent hills when the heated term draws near. Streams ripple and sparkle in the sun, dash merrily over rocks and whirl in cool, deep eddies on the lower side, where anglers steal to kill the speckled trout. Out past St. Charles' College and the lodge-house at the gates of "Doughoregan Manor," standing opposite each other, the visitor drives. Then over through stretches of woodland, over hills and through open valleys, until the "Vineyard" road is reached. Turn ing to the left a drive of about three miles brings one through a long piece of forest to the top of a hill, and "Folly Farm," in all its beauty, lies before the eye.
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The original entrance to the mansion has not been used since the old house was deserted, fifteen years or more ago; now one must drive half a mile or more farther on to the farm-house, occupied by Mr. Christian Broseener, tenant of the place. From the roadway only parts of the old mansion can be seen, because of the tangled growth and the unkempt surrounding trees, some of which, being evergreen, obstruct the view at all seasons.
To reach the place one has to drive through the yard of Mr. Broseener and cross a field and part of another, encountering several somewhat obstinate gates on the way. This is the most direct route. Another entrance is from the south, through a piece of woods-that is the "longest way 'round," and is not often used.
After climbing a steep hill, the lower edge of which is rimmed by a granite wall, the visitor reaches the open space surrounding the old mansion and pauses in admiration, almost in awe. It is like coming upon the decaying mausoleum of a dead and gone race.
It is the rear of the building that is first seen, and because of a larger open space there a better view can be had of it than from the front. Desolation is everywhere. The very air seems somnolent and the bare tree branches are quiet. Gleams of sunshine breaking through the overhanging tanglewood play fitfully over the granite walls and peep in the open windows. Traces of a winding roadway may be seen in the yard, and there are long rude tables showing that picnickers make merry under the trees during the summer.
The house fronts nearly east. It is plainly but very substan- tially built of large granite blocks that average in size thirty-five inches long and nineteen inches deep; many are considerably larger. Surmounting the two stories is a commodious attic. The front and rear are almost identical in appearance. In the centre of each is a massive porch, with six solid granite columns. These col- umns are seventy-one inches-nearly six feet-in circumference at the bottom, tapering slightly as they rise. A large window on each side of the porch lights the lower rooms, while three windows light the second story. Two windows are in each side of the house. These would seem inadequate to brighten the great extent of interior, but because of the arrangement of halls and rooms are sufficient.
From the first floor front windows balconies project, protected by iron framework. Dormer windows, one in front and one in the rear, are placed in the center of the roof to light the attic. Two tall chimneys stand like silent sentinels on top the venerable pile.
That cost was little object is shown by the fact that copper rain- spouts carry water off from the metal-sheathed roof and the massive doors are of mahogany, plainly but handsomely carved.
It is not difficult to enter the building. The doors and windows stand open, as though glad to welcome the light and fresh air. En- tering at the front one finds a splendid hallway the width of the porch. Its lofty ceiling bends in a graceful arch. The floor is of finest hardwood, closely fitted and polished like that of a ballroom. Near the western, or rear, entrance the hall narrows, the projections
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on each side being guarded by a graceful Corinthian column. A stair hall, running at right angles to the main hall, divides the southern half of the floor and leads to the Colonial stairway, constructed of oak, with a mahogany handrail and newel post.
The north side of the first floor contains two stately apartments, with high ceilings and plain white walls. They can be thrown into one, making a magnificent ballroom. Few modern ballrooms have better floors for dancing. Open fireplaces indicate that festive oc- casions in the old house were made cheerful by the blaze and splutter or burning oak logs. One can readily imagine that the genial glow thus given fashionable gatherings of that day could not have been improved by the sultry steam-heating fixtures of modern times. It is said that artistically carved marble mantels adorned these open fire- places, but there is no trace of them there now. This ballroom is even now a noted place for jollity in Howard County, as dances are frequently given there, and the polished floor kept smooth by the feet that follow the music of the two-step instead of the stately minuet and the rollicking Virginia reel. These modern visitors seem to delight in having their visits known, as the walls are covered with names and inscriptions of various kinds.
In the hall are long rough pine tables, where refreshments are served. In fact, the picnickers and dancers who visit the place now appear to lay considerable stress upon the importance of fortifying themselves with food. Not only are there tables in the rear yard and in the main hall, but in the upper hall and the basement as well.
On the south side of the first floor, beside the stair hall, are two large well-lighted rooms, evidently used as dining-room and library. These two have open fireplaces, but no mantels. Indeed, open fireplaces are in nearly every room in the house, but whatever adornments they may have had have long since disappeared.
The second floor is also traversed by a wide hall, ample enough to accommodate a score of patrons at a seaside hotel. There are six large chambers, enticing even in their present bleak desolation- dreams of luxurious comfort in their days of use. There is also a smaller chamber containing the wreck of an old-fashioned bathtub, partly set in the wall.
It is said that among the appointments of the mansion when it was left new and beautiful by the builders was a magnificent marble bathing pool, costing many thousands of dollars. It is not known where this pool was located. A local tradition has it that the pool was some distance from the house and connected with it by a sub- terranean passageway. There is no trace of any such thing now, and Mr. Broseener, who has lived on the farm a number of years, says he has never heard of it.
A gentleman who knows a great deal of the old place says that a marble bathing pool existed at one time, but he does not know its location. It is probable that the pool was demolished at the same time the marble mantels were taken away.
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Two cross-halls and five rooms of good size take up the space in the attic. The hallways in the centre extend upward to a square elevation or cupola on the roof, where a skylight lets brightness through to the floor below. This cupola is not noticed from the out- side of the building because of its stunted form. The rooms of the attic have sloping ceilings, conforming to the slanting roof, which fact somewhat diminishes their area. Above them, in a kind of half attic surrounding the cupola and skylight, are three small rooms, or large closets; they were probably used as storage-rooms.
A remarkable thing about nearly all the rooms in the second story and attic is the number of large closets they contain. In some rooms these extend around three sides. They are long, shallow af- fairs, filled with shelves, giving the rooms somewhat the appearance of abandoned country stores.
The builders were liberal in their ideas of space. Even the base- ment has a large hall running through it. This portion of the man- sion contains four large rooms, one evidently having been a kitchen, as its old-fashioned ovens and range, set well in the chimney wall, show, and they suggest the good cheer that such an equipment, in conjunction with a well-filled larder, could provide.
There are no indications of the uses for which the other rooms were intended-probably as servants' quarters, storage-rooms and serving-rooms. Two smaller rooms, more or less secluded from the light of day, and two vaults of good size, but dark interiors, suggest that ample provision was made for wine cellars. One of the smaller rooms may have contained the bathing pool, already referred to.
The old house has outlived a substantial marker of the passing hours in the yard. On the slope of the southern hill stands a stout granite post, hewn in one piece, about four feet high. This was the pedestal for a stone sun-dial, considered a necessary adjunct to almost every old homestead. It can yet be plainly seen where and how the dial-plate was fastened to the pillar, but the plate is gone. Parts of it may be seen lying on the ground. On three sides of the base are the following inscriptions:
"MDCCCXXXII," "NICOLLET," "POSUPT."
The fourth side is blank. The date marks the completion of the mansion.
Not far from the site of the old sun-dial are the ruins of an ex- tensive hothouse, built against the southern retaining wall in such a way that it caught the warm rays of the sun from early morning until late in the afternoon.
It was not intended that guests at "Folly Quarter" should find themselves without means of amusement. About fifty yards west of the mansion is a large stone building that in itself would be a com- fortable home for entire families. It is a two-story structure, built on the slope of the hill. The upper floor, which is practically the first floor when approached from the mansion, is entered from a porch, the distinguishing feature of which, like the porches of the mansion, is large, solid granite columns. This opens into a spacious
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billiard-room. It is a well-lighted apartment, and, with a wood fire burning in the open hearth, must have been a delightful resort when wintry winds blew across the hilltops.
Here is the same sad scene of desolation that the old mansion presents. A dismantled billiard table stands in the room, covered with broken plaster and autumn leaves that have blown in the open doors. There is no cue-rack and the only closet in the room is empty as the cupboard of Mother Hubbard. The table belonged to Mr. Charles M. Dougherty, who owned the property a number of years ago. There were two, but when Mr. Dougherty sold the place he sent the best one to St. Charles' College. Adjoining the billiard- room is a large apartment and still another considerably smaller. The floors of these are now covered with corn.
Below are rooms that may have quartered servants. A carriage- house occupies the centre of the lower floor and the eastern end con- tains the stable, with eleven comfortable stalls. These are not now occupied by spirited hunters and stylish carriage horses, but seem to be regarded by a drove of fine Berkshire hogs as their own special lounging apartments.
A little farther away from the mansion, northwest, is the chapel erected for the use of the family and servants. It is nearly as large as many country churches of the present day and is surmounted by a belfry and small steeple. The interior is devoid of furnishings. At one end is the altar platform, back of which is a small apartment designed for the priest's robing-room. The building is simple in de- sign, but stands with a quiet dignity of its own upon a small elevation. Sturdy oak trees partly surround it, and in that peaceful retreat one can feel that the worshipers, during the solemn hours of service, could truly lift up their hearts "through nature up to Nature's God."
Cool comfort during summer days came from a cavernous ice- house, built of huge granite blocks and banked over with dirt several feet thick. The distance from the top of the arched ceiling to the bottom is not far from thirty feet, and this great, walled hole-in-the- ground will hold enough ice for a medium-sized hotel. A passageway like a tunnel, eight or ten feet long, leads to the pit.
Set in the granite slab that covers the entrance to the pit is the iron pulley used to haul up the blocks of ice. A diminutive kind of cupola rises from the roof of the structure, probably having contained a skylight. Ivy and moss cover the roof and through the broken cupola hangs a slender, shivering spray of green that seems to have unwittingly fallen in and has resigned itself to its fate in that dark, damp grave.
Traces of the landscape gardening that beautified the old place in its palmy days may be seen on every side. The immediate sur- roundings occupied several acres crowning the hill and extending back to the west. The stone retaining wall previously mentioned at the base of the hill ran around two sides of it, bringing the at- tractive lawn out in bold relief. A wooden fence, ruins of which are yet here and there, divided the front lawn from that in the rear. In
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the front lawn were flower beds with trim boxwood borders, and boxwood lined the walks and drives. Tall button trees alternate with spruce, hemlock and arbor vitae. Farther away are pines and cedars. Tangle growths show where roses flourished.
Standing on the front porch and looking out through the mass of twisted, interlaced boughs, a scene of rare beauty is presented- the rolling hills, the valleys, the winding stream, the far-away forests and the fields, some green with a rich growth of newly-sown wheat and others studded with shocks of corn. But "silence, prolonged and unbroken" wraps the old mansion in its embrace, and the only living things about are a score or more of grunting hogs.
It is said that the buildings on "Folly Quarter" cost Charles Carroll, of "Carrollton," $100,000. To further enhance its beauty he caused a massive granite and marble bridge to be constructed across the stream that ran through the farm between the dwelling and the main road. This stream is a branch of the Upper Patuxent River, and it is said that trout may be found in it on "Folly Farm." The entrance gate was then directly in front of the house, the private road sweeping in a curve through a pretty valley.
The bridge is now used only in crossing from one part of the field to the other. Its foundations, piers and floor are of granite blocks as substantial and enduring as those in the mansion. The bridge springs from each shore of the narrow stream to a central pier, thus having two spans. The thick side walls, nearly shoulder high, are of marble, with two square marble columns at each end extending a short distance above the walls. Storms, rain and time have given the structure a dingy appearance, and marble and granite look much alike. It is said the bridge cost considerably over $10,000.
Persons driving along the front of "Folly Farm" notice a large barnyard, in which are new buildings and other of great age. At the gate are two great square pillars, or towers, of granite, which lead many to suppose it to have been the original entrance to the mansion's grounds. This is also thought to have been the site of the first build- ings on the estate. Some of the queer-looking old barns were built in 1790. One of the features is an ancient old blacksmith shop and forge.
The farmhouse occupied by Mr. Broseener is an interesting struc- ture in its way. It has the spacious porch, with immense pillars, that seemed to characterize architecture of that day, but the ravages of time have exposed a clever deception. Instead of being of solid material they were constructed of laths and plaster, and the plaster- ing has fallen off in places. In the bathroom of this house a large bathtub was constructed. Water was piped from a neighboring spring and poured into the tub through a finely carved marble lion's head. The tub has long since passed the stage of usefulness, but the lion's head is still in place.
Mr. and Mrs. John McTavish made their home at "Folly Quar- ter" for many years. Their son, Mr. Charles Carroll McTavish, in- herited the property and resided there with his family a number of
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years. Mr. McTavish finally decided to dispose of the estate, and it was sold through Messrs. Alexander Yearley & Son, of this city, to Mr. Charles M. Dougherty, a Baltimore merchant, who paid $100,000 for it. Mr. Dougherty made the place a summer home for some time, until he removed to New Orleans, about twenty years ago. He took great pride in the place and kept it up handsomely. Shortly after his removal he sold it to Mr. Royal Phelps, of New York, father-in- law of Ex-Governor John Lee Carroll, through whom it passed into the possession of its present owner, Mr. Charles Carroll.
Mr. Carroll renamed the place "Carrollton Hall," but it contin- ues to be known far and wide as "Folly Quarter" and "Folly Farm," and will probably never shake off these names.
It is known as "Folly Quarter" to the persons who pass along the road and catch a glimpse of the stately old pile through the sur- rounding trees, and "Folly Quarter" it is to the merry young folk who picnic in its shady groves and dance the evening hours away in its fine old rooms.
Charles Carroll, of Homewood, and Harriet Chew, his wife, had issue-Charles Carroll, heir of Doughoregan Manor, born 1801; Eliza- beth-Dr. Aaron Tucker; Mary Sophia-Hon. Richard Bayard; Benjamin Chew; Harriet Julian-Hon John Lee, of "Needwood; Louisa-Isaac Rand Jackson.
Colonel Charles Carroll, of Doughoregan, in 1825-Mary Digges Lee. Issue, Mary-Dr. Eleazer Acosta; Charles inherited Doughore- gan-Caroline Thompson, of Virginia; Louisa-George Cavendish Taylor, of England, nephew of Lord Waterpark, an Irish peer.
John Lee Carroll, born 1830-first, Anita, daughter of Royal Phelps, of New York; second, Mary Carter Thompson, sister of Mrs. Charles Carroll. (His biography will be found in the Governors of Maryland.)
Albert Henry-Mary Cornelia, daughter of William George Read. He was in the Confederate States Army and died at Martinsburg in 1862. His widow-Colonel James Fenner Lee.
Robert Goodloe Harper Carroll-first, Ella Thompson; second, Mary Digges Lee. He was, also, in the Confederate States Army.
Helen Sophia Carroll-Charles Oliver O'Donnell.
In 1826, when all the signers of the Declaration had passed away, except the venerable Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, a committee waited upon him to obtain from him a copy of the document, and when again signed by him this copy was to be deposited in the City Hall. After he had signed the paper he wrote the following supplemental declaration:
"Grateful to Almighty God for the blessings which, through Jesus Christ our Lord, He has conferred on my beloved country in her emancipation and on myself in permitting me, under circumstances of mercy, to live to the age of eighty-nine years, and to survive the fiftieth year of American Independence, adopted by Congress on the 4th day of July, 1776, which I originally subscribed on the 2nd day of August, of the same year, and of which I am now the last surviving
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signer, I do hereby recommend to the present and future generations the principles of that important document as the best earthly inherit- ance their ancestors could bequeath to them, and pray that the civil and religious liberties they have secured to my country may be per- petuated to remotest posterity and extended to the whole family of men. CHARLES CARROLL, OF CARROLLTON.
"August 2, 1826."
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, was a liberal patron of St. Charles College. He gave the ground on which it stands and laid the corner- stone.
A historian thus records the death of "The Signer." "It was toward sundown in November. The weather was very cold. In a large room, his bedroom, he sat in an easy chair before an open fire- place. On a table were blessed candles, an antique bowl of holy water and a crucifix. By his side, Rev. John C. Chance, President of St. Mary's College, in rich robes, offering the last rites. On each side of his chair knelt a daughter and grandchildren. In the rear were three or four old negro servants kneeling in reverence. "
The assembly made a picture never to be forgotten. The ven- erable patriot went through the ceremony with evident pleasure, and refusing nourishment said: "This supplies all the wants of Nature; I desire no food." He was then placed on the bed. It was after mid- night when he passed away.
THE HOME LIFE OF OUR EARLY SETTLERS.
Having now traced the families who left the attractions of An- napolis, the only town where pleasure and luxury then centred, to live the almost secluded life of the frontier, it will be well to look in upon them in their forest homes. As has been already shown, nearly all the families thus located were allied by marriage ties. The large estates taken up in the beginning were subdivided among succeeding heirs who located upon adjoining tracts. They thus became little communities of relatives, and as such each had its attractions.
From the assurances of recent survivors whose experiences and inherited information covered more than a century there is every evidence that the social life of our pioneers in Howard was most en- joyable. Dress was not then the chief feature of country gatherings. Ladies could and did appear upon many occasions in the same gown. As riding horseback was the chief means of reaching neighboring settlements, dress was made a subordinate consideration. Though our ancestors were in many cases well up in Latin, their far-famed dinners and suppers were not announced in French. The chief fea- ture of all gatherings was the dinner or supper, always fit for a king. Maryland biscuits were then in order. They were made in this way: "A section of a tree was firmly and permanently placed in a corner of the kitchen and the dough placed upon it and usually hammered or beaten until both the block and dough were 'blistered.' Then the latter was fashioned into round, chubby shapes, like unto small, flattened oranges, pierced with a fork and placed in a 'dutch oven,
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