The scorching summer heat has made outdoor activities nearly unbearable for a few days now, and people are coping with the tropical conditions in a variety of ways. Late this Saturday afternoon, families’ crowded tables at Betterton Beach, enjoying outdoor picnics while hopefully catching a cooling breeze from the Chesapeake Bay. Elsewhere people outside quickly scattered for whatever shade they could find and restaurants were crowded.
Over forty years ago, Cecil Whig Photographer Jim Cheeseman caught this picture of a young-man attempting to escape a 1969 summer heat-wave by resting briefly in a self-serve ice-box at a business in the county seat. Elkton had a National Weather Service Observation Station from 1927 to 1976, by-the-way. H. Wirt Bouchell, the local weatherman, recorded the highs and lows every day for nearly 50 years and the highest reading he recorded in Elkton was 106-degrees on July 10, 1936.
Dr. James R. Koterski, the author of Potters and Firebrick Makers of Cecil County Maryland & Nearby, 1750 – 1950, will be at the Palette and Page, 120 E. Main Street, Elkton, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2011, to sign books. Click here for additional information on the Aug. 5th activities.
Here is some additional information on this informative new title.
Clay deposits played a major role in the economy of by-gone Cecil County. Some were mined and shipped out-of-state while others provided the key raw material to potters and firebrick makers. Wheel-thrown redware and stoneware were fired in kilns at Rising Sun, Brick Meeting House, NorthEast and Rock Springs. Meanwhile some Delaware and Pennsylvania potters relied on the county’s clays to turn their pots. The names of some potters like William Carter and Eli Haines were virtually unknown until this book traced the role this craft played in their lives. An exquisite harvest jug fashioned by Carter in 1847 survives today. Other names – Remmey, Grier, Hare, Magee, Brown and Schofield – are much more recognizable to today’s collectors and historians, yet in many cases, connections to Cecil County were unknown or incomplete.
Commercial firebrick operations were attracted by the abundance of kaolin-based clays. Some were short-lived while others carried on for decades. Most companies like Cecil, North East, Wakefield, Green Hill and United molded and fired these refractory bricks around the town of North East.
Potters and Firebrick Makers of Cecil County, Maryland, and Nearby is illustrated with over 100 images, nearly half in color. Spanning 140 pages and 8.5” X 11” in size, this book was built from numerous newspaper accounts, land records, family histories and pottery collections. It provides a valuable window to the past and deserves the widespread interest from fans of local history and pottery enthusiasts and collectors alike.
Bird’s Eye View maps, popular from the 1860s until about 1920,
depict places as if they were viewed from above at an angle. Using direct observation and some imagination, artists working for a number of companies specializing in these panoramic products visited towns to sketch out the place.
The sketches, which were sold to local residents, were not drawn to scale,
but showed streets, patterns, individual buildings, and major landscape
features in perspective. They are very useful for researching the history of a community or an old house. In 1907, the cartographic artists representing Fowler and Kelly of Morrisville, Pa were busy at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. As they made a sweep of the area the illustrators produced Bird’s Eye Views of Elkton, Havre de Grace and Rising Sun.
July 16, 2011 — The Cecil County Public Library will have a booth at the Fair, located in the building next to the midway and carnival rides, open every weekday evening from 5-8pm, and 1-8pm on Saturdays and Sunday the 24th. All booth visitors will be able to take a free book and play a guessing game for the chance to win a $50 Walmart gift card. A game and craft will be available for children.
The library will also participate in “Daycare Day” on Monday, July 25th at 10:30am at the small stage area past the barns. Children and their caregivers will take a “musical tour around the globe” with song, dance and play in accordance with the Library’s summer reading theme: “One World, Many Stories.”
Sixty-four years after Eastern Airlines Flight 605 crashed outside Port Deposit, taking 53 lives on Memorial Day 1947, a monument has been erected at the place where the plane hit a Cecil County hillside. Jeanette Nesbit Hillyer, 89, whose father was one of the first to respond to the terrible accident, arranged to have the memorial placed near the intersection of Jackson Park and Principio Roads, the Cecil Whig reported.
Lt. Don Hash (Retired) of the Maryland State Police, the first emergency responder to arrive at the plane crash site east of Elkton on December 8, 1963, recently talked to the Singerly Fire Company Museum about his recollections of that dark night in a Maryland cornfield where 81-people perished.
Trooper Don Hash with his 1963 patrol car.
On that stormy December Sunday evening in 1963, Trooper Hash, a 23-old rookie one year out of the academy, was cruising northbound on Route 213 near Brantwood Golf Course. With an unusual late fall thunderstorm rolling across Cecil County, heavy rain pelted the patrol car when a powerful bolt of lightning in the shape of a wishbone suddenly came out of low-hanging clouds, illuminating the area. One or two seconds after that, a large airplane enshrouded in an orange glow flew out of the cloud. The doomed craft flew for 10 to 15 seconds before a wing fell off, and the plane nosed straight down into the ground. Trooper Hash radioed the barrack as he raced toward the crash, somewhere east of Elkton near the state line.
Don, who retired from the State Police as a lieutenant, talked to us on June 9, 2011, about his experience on that troubling, unforgettable experience. The first emergency responder to arrive, he remarked: “I could see flames on Delancy Road as I neared the crash site. It wasn’t a large fire. It was several smaller fires. A fuselage with about 8 or 10 window frames was the only large, recognizable piece I could see when I pulled up. It was just a debris field. It didn’t resemble an airplane. The engines were buried in the ground 10 to 15 feet from the force of the impact.”
By this time, everyone was mobilizing. The state police rushed troopers from other barracks to help the three roadmen patrolling the county that night. In a few minutes, the fire company arrived, and during the next hour, officers from across the state arrived to help. Trooper Don Hash stayed on location throughout that long night until he was relieved the next morning.
Early this morning in downtown Elkton, a bunch of characters were hanging out in the vicinity of the Historical Society. The buzz around the Main Street crowd was unusual for a Saturday, and when passersby took a closer look at this gaggle curiosity was peaked even more.
The eccentrics were dressed as if they stepped out of another era. Some men in tricorn hats were styled just right for the 18th century. A finely and properly dressed lady and gentleman were out of the 2nd-half of the 19th century and children were scampering around in colonial garb.
This early morning crowd was actually the Cecil County Heritage Troupe, a volunteer group sponsored by county tourism, closer investigation revealed. The company formed in the 1990s to entertain and inform audiences in a different way by taking them back in time to centuries old happenings right here in northeastern Maryland. During lively skits, they tell the county’s story theatrically as skits about the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and much more unfold for attentive audiences.
They were at the Historical Society to welcome about 50 visitors to the county, the Teague family History Group. The Teague association traveled from around the country to visit here as part of an annual family get together. And they were in for a treat as they chatted with Zebulon Hollingsworth, Judge Sample, Kitty Knight, other important people, and children who lived through these troubling times.
Soon after being welcomed to the Society by librarian Carol Donache
the visitors to our historic region were treated to an excellent stage show about
the history of the county by these fine performers. It was great to see Zebulon Hollingsworth return to the stage for he keeps things rolling along with some history, plenty of humor, and the best interplay with an audience you’re ever going to see. But there was Judge Sample, too. The old man, present when the enemy attacked Cecil County, recalled those troubling days when the cry the British are coming, the British are coming frightened citizens. Kitty Knight told her story about confronting the British, and there was a dramatic skit as local citizens and children worried and argued about the upcoming Revolution War.
For an hour or so this morning some of the most interesting people from our past, individuals with stories of dramatic times were hanging around downtown welcoming visitors to this place with so many historical connections. The Troupe does an excellent job and has great performers, taking our visitors on a fun filled and enjoyable trip to the past.
A week earlier another Descendants of Valentine Hollingsworth were at the Society for their annual reunion, so it’s been a busy time in Elkton for visitors making our county a destination because of our past and the institutions that are working as our heritagekeepers.
Mike Collins and Mary Biron
Vaughn Ellerton delivers his lines. Photos courtesy of the Heritage Troupe
We recently received a press release from the West Nottingham Historical Commission advising that the organization is planning to erect a historical marker noting the forceful 1851 kidnapping of Rachel Parkier, an African-American. A slave catcher from Elkton, Thomas McCreary, was involved inthe abduction, which alarmed Pennsylvania and galvanized popular opinion against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Click here to read a webpage on the kidnapping. The press release follows.
Press Release from the West Nottingham Historical Association
We need your help!
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) has approved an historical marker for the Kidnapping of Rachel and Elizabeth Parker. In preparation and dedication of this historical event, the West Nottingham Township Historical Commission is trying to locate any descendants of Rachel and Elizabeth Parker, also Joseph Miller.
Rachel and Elizabeth Parker, young black women, were kidnapped from Nottingham in December 1851. Falsely accused of being escaped slaves, the sisters were taken to Baltimore, MD and imprisoned for more than a year. The local community reacted to the Parkers’ abduction with indignation. Pennsylvania officials also sprang to their defense. This swift reaction brought attention to the incident and, tragically, cost Joseph Miller, one of the would-be rescuers, his life. He is buried in Union (Fremont) Methodist Church cemetery.
We only know the following information:
Rachel and Elizabeth were daughters of Ned and Rebecca Parker (who were free Blacks). Elizabeth worked for Mathew Donnely.
Rachel worked for Joseph Miller. Joseph Miller married Rebecca Kirk, had several children and resided in West Nottingham Township.
Elizabeth (Parker) Miller lived at 427 W. Barnard St., West Chester, PA.
In 1918, Rachel Parker died at the home of her daughter. This daughter, Lucy, lived in Oxford and was married to James Jones.
If you have any information on descendants, please contact any member of the West Nottingham Township Historical Commission. You may phone 610-932-3305, 717-529-2962 or Historical Commission Secretary at 610-932-8823.
We welcome any and all information. We are eager to include any descendants in the celebration of this historic event.
Maryland’s War of 1812 history isn’t just about major battles, military commanders, political leaders, and the powerful. It’s also about a time of great fright on the shores of the Chesapeake for everyday people as enemy soldiers terrorized the region, “firing private property and robbing hen houses.” With the 200th anniversary of this conflict approaching, we’re fortunate that many unpublished accounts by regular citizens have been passeddown in diaries, letters, and journals. These firsthand eyewitness tales, while filling in gaps in our understanding of the past, also give us a different vantage point for viewing the trying events of 200 years ago whencries of the British are coming rang out in the middle of the night. Since the Chesapeake region is getting ready for the Bicentennial, we are periodically sharing the stories of some of these ordinary people.
Here’s an updated post about how an enslaved woman, Hetty Boulden, helped the local militia turn the British back during the April 1813 incursion on the Elk River. The narrative for the event is taken from Hetty’s telling of the story to a newspaper reporter. We’ve been aware of the account for years, but recently located her obituary so we’re updating the Dec. 2009 piece with that added information.
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When a British raiding party stormed Frenchtown during the War of 1812 an African-American woman, as brave as any man in the Cecil Militia, exhibited a great deal of gumption as hundreds of Royal Marines plundered the hamlet. Hetty Boulden, near twenty years old, the slave who risked her life shielding Elkton, was the property of Frisby Henderson. She and five other servants lived with the master’s family at White Hall, a fine mansion on the banks of the river just north of the village. Frenchtown was a place of some importance during this time, for it was the transfer point on the great travel and freight route between Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Hetty gave an account of the pillaging of the Upper Elk during the War of 1812 to a reporter from the Cecil Whig when she was 70 years old. On a morning in April 1813, the lookouts at a small fortification protecting the area shouted, “They’re coming, they’re coming,” as the Royal Marines rowed into view. Easily overrunning the small battery on the shoreline, the enemy proceeded to plunder and burn the wharf, fishery, warehouses, goods and vessels lying at anchor.
One company was ordered to advance to Elkton, a distance of about three miles. Passing up the shoreline, they stopped at the door of White Hall, where Mr. Henderson told them that the barges wouldn’t be able to reach the place by way of the creek. So an officer ordered Hetty to show the Royal Marines the way by land. Although she was terribly frightened, the enemy commander assured her that she wouldn’t be hurt. For her assistance in escorting them to the town they intended to loot, the military man said he would give her “more money than she could carry.”
The approaching invaders created a big scare in Elkton. Roads to the north were filled with women and children carrying bundles of every description while the men rallied to the nation’s defense, and Hetty escorted the English through unfamiliar territory. She could have easily and more safely marched the enemy up the direct road to town but instead she fooled the contingent, taking them to Cedar Point, opposite Fort Hollingsworth.
As they stood at the edge of the Big Elk Creek, directly in front of the garrison protecting the county seat, the Militia responded with shot at the approaching enemy. That was about noon and Hetty recalled that they took no cannon with them, only their muskets. The swearing soldiers, having been caused to blunder into range of local defenses, concluded they had better go back. But they said they would torch everything. Built about 1800, the Frenchtown Tavern survived the attack but was destroyed by fire in the 1960s. Returning to White Hall, she heard them threaten to hang Mr. Henderson before his own door for
deceiving them. Several barges approached Elkton by another route, going up the river. Militia there also fired upon the British and obstacles in the water halted the advance. The enemy, having neither grape nor canister shot with them, could do no harm so they rowed back down the river, the Americans firing away at them all the time.
Their primary objective was achieved, the destruction of the military stores, warehouses, and vessels, and they sailed back down the river. It was now the turn for Havre de Grace. Hetty recalled seeing the smoke from the burning town. She lived well into the second half of the 19th century. When the aging African-American granted the interview, she was residing with Dr. R. C. Carter of Cherry Hill.
Another paper, the Cecil Democrat, wrote about her passing in 1873, when she was between 90 and 100 years of age. The weekly recalled that “she belonged to Captain Henderson, of Frenchtown, when that place was burned by the English Army . . . and was compelled by the commander to act as a guide to Elkton.” Freed at some point, she worked in the household of Dr. R. C. Carter of Cherry Hill for 23 years before becoming disabled by age.
Coastal Survey Map from the 1840s shows the waters of the Upper Chesapeake; Source NOAA
