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Maryland maintains a unique initiative called the resident curatorship, which makes historic properties available for lifetime leases.  In exchange for an annual payment of $1, the curator agrees to restore and maintain the house and grounds at no cost to the state, in accordance with historic preservation standards.   After the restoration, curators are able to reside in a historic house for their lifetimes.  These homes are located on state parkland or natural resources areas and are protected from future development.  The program requires the resident curator to submit a proposal to represent about $200,000 worth of improvements to the property, which must be completed within five to seven years.  This partnering between the public and private sectors provide a method the Maryland uses to ensure long-term preservation of historic properties at no cost to the state. 

The Old Bohemia house, which dates from about 1840, is now available.   The property is located on the grounds of the Old Bohemia Wildlife Management Area in Warwick.  In 2009, the Old Bohemia property was purchased from the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) who owned the property since the 18^th century.  It was built to house tenant farmers who worked the adjacent farmland.  Just north of the house stands the National Register listed St. Francis Xavier Church and Rectory, constructed around 1792.  The Old Bohemia House and the church and rectory were part of the much larger Old Bohemia plantation (established around 1704) that eventually consisted of a saw mill, wharf, blacksmith shop and brick kiln, among other buildings and points of interest.  The house is surrounded by agricultural fields.

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The Historical Society of Cecil County has added two rare and valuable manuscripts from an anonymous donor to its collection.  Beginning in 1701 and running into the 1730s, these folio ledgers contain some of the earliest extant court records for the County.  The long-lost documents, which surfaced recently when a distant donor from New York contacted the Society, promise to be treasures to historians and genealogists as they harvest data about life during Cecil’s colonial period.

 The hand-written entries in a flowing script are sometimes challenging to read, but the browning pages of centuries old manuscripts provide researchers with valuable insight into everyday actions of the local Justice’s Court.  Records pertain to criminal justice, deeds, wills, estates, and the administrative matters of the local governing body.  In addition to its judicial function, the court had extensive administrative powers.  It decided where roads would be built and it authorized and licensed ferries.  There is a discussion about John Hack operating the Bohemia Ferry for 5000 pounds of tobacco in 1724, for example.  The body also issued business licenses, approved apprenticeships and guardian bonds, and kept records of orphans.  Cattle and hog marks were registered and Stephen Hollingworth had his recorded in 1715.  The justices also determined whether the poor were eligible for public assistance and it excused paupers and cripples from paying county taxes.

 When the manuscript begins in 1701 the justices are meeting at the courthouse on the Sassafras River.  Later they meet at Courthouse Point on the Elk River.  The court session typically lasted a few days and in the next few paragraphs we look at a few entries.

 In the November 1730 session, which was adjourned to December, the “worshipful Justice of County, judicially sitting,” received a petition from the vestry of St. Mary Anns.  The “parish church being much decayed” and in need of repair, the petitioners asked the court to grant an assessment on taxable persons in the parish for “eight pound of tobacco per pole” in order for the vestry to make the needed repairs.  The levy was granted.

Aaron Latham worried about improving his land adjacent to courthouse for fear of “trespassing” on the public property since the boundaries had “become blind & unknown,” in March 1724.  His petition requested that a survey be done and that appropriate survey stones be used to mark the boundaries.  The justices issued a warrant directing a surveyor lay out the courthouse land, provided the petitioner pay half the cost.

In the November 1725, John Pain, “being very ancient past his labor and it pleased God of late to take his eyesight from him so that he cannot walk” prayed upon the court for assistance.  The body ordered 200 pounds of tobacco for this poor person.

In June 1724, Sheriff John Hack had custody of Robert Dutch, who was condemned to be hanged on the 19^th of the month.  Due to the insufficiency of the jail, he requested a sufficient place to secure the prisoner until the execution and he asked for the assistance of constables from several of the nearby hundreds.  After considering the petition, the justices ordered that the sheriff summons a ‘two man watch and ward” until 19^th and that the men be reimbursed for their trouble during the next levy.  In addition nearby constables were summonsed to attend the execution.

The donor, a longtime collector of antiquarian books was retiring so he wanted these relics from the past return to their home.  He’d purchased the items in a rare book store in the 1950s.

These records of the county court provide excellent insight into the county’s past during part of the colonial years.  Additionally, since the two 18^th century books are fragile the documents have been conserved by putting them on microfilm in memory of one of our volunteers, Helen McKinney, who passed away in 2006.  Mrs. McKinney was one of our most dedicated researchers, always working tirelessly to help anyone unearth information about Cecil’s past.  The Society expresses its gratitude to the anonymous donors for the donation of these priceless manuscripts.

Chautauqua, an event that takes place every summer, gives residents of Cecil County a chance to meet and talk with historical figures from the past about their experiences and accomplishments.  This year’s theme “Beyond Boundaries”  will bring Thurgood Marshall, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. and Sacagawea to the county, as we hear from people who broke barriers, crossed borders, and created a sense of place.  

• Thurgood Marshall challenged racial barriers in education, housing, transportation, electoral politics and criminal justice.
• Sacagawea crossed both physical and cultural borders, as the only woman in the famous expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
• Frederick Law Olmsted created a sense of place in America’s communities and parks through his strongly held belief in the importance of democracy.

Where: Perryville Outlet Center, Perryville, Maryland  

Indoors at the Perryville Outlet Center  

When/Who: Warm-up act begins at 4 p.m. with performance at 4:30 p.m.  

Friday, July 9, “Thurgood Marshall”  

Saturday, July 10, “Frederick Law Olmsted”  

Sunday, July 11, “Sacagawea”  

The Maryland Humanities Council brings this free, public event to communities around Maryland.

The Cecil County Cemetery or Potter’s Field, the final resting place for paupers who couldn’t afford a burial, is located across from Mt. Aviat Academy.  On the grounds of what was the county poorhouse, it contains some 150 to 200 unmarked graves.

The Alms House, as it was also known, opened about 1776  and closed in 1952 when the county put the property up for sale.  It was purchased by Elk Paper Manufacturing Company and the new owner donated part of the tract to the Oblate Sisters for Mt. Aviat Academy, a school. 

In time weeds and vegetation took over the abandoned graveyard.  But John Beers, who’d grown up in the neighborhood, launched a project to have the Cecil County Cemetery cleaned up and marked with a marble monument.  The job of memorializing those unknown persons who rest there and commemorating the burial plot used for the indigent was completed in 1968.  The marble stone read: “Potter’s Field, 1776 – 1950,  may their soul’s rest in peace.”   

Over the centuries, unidentified drifters, the county’s poor, criminals and other outcasts from society, many having spent their final days at the poorhouse, were interred in the county graveyard.  Today the sisters bury members of the order in the field. 

Mr. Beers wrote a poem about the Potter’s Field.  His brother Lawrence Beers, a detective for the Baltimore and Ohio, was shot and killed near Belcamp, MD. in 1919. 

—————— 

In Potters Field 

We will bury them in potters’ field, the criminals and the unknown. 

I hear the B & O Freight train coming in on the siding and see the hoboes heading for a warm night’s sleep in the county home. 

On my way to the little school house by the tracks, I count them one and all. 

We will give them coffee for the road for I know they will not return. 

We have had a burial in potters’ field today; he was found floating in the Bay. 

When his widow arrives from New York she will identify him as her own, for he was a millionaire without a home. 

I see my brother Lawrence Beers passing on the freight, for this was his line of duty for the B & O 

                                                                                 Johnny “Cash” Beers 

Research Note:  The Historical Society has many of the county poorhouse records and those manuscripts are valuable for research. 

See Also

A Snowy Day at the County Cemetery and Poorhouse

The Cecil County Almshouse, a place for the care of the needy and poor

From the Maryland Historical Trust —-

The Savin-Conrey House located at 221 George Street was built by Thomas Conrey c.1850 and is located in the Chesapeake City Historic District along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. The house was used as a telephone exchange at one time and later rented as a private residence. After many years of only minimal basic maintenance to the house the trees had become overgrown, water leaks damaged the roof and caused significant mold problems. Alan Marine and Catherine Soukup carefully rehabilitated the house, repairing the existing historic materials wherever possible, and replacing deteriorated and inappropriate materials with historically compatible new materials where necessary. This modest and unassuming house has been transformed from an eyesore to an attractive home that Chesapeake City can be proud of.

Saving Family Treasures, will be the subject of a program at the Chesapeake City Branch Library  (410-996-1134) on June 15, 2010 from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

Family treasures are often neglected, frequently tucked away in drawers, trunks and attics. Preserving these heirlooms – items such as marriage certificates, family Bibles, letters, journals, and photos – is important, for they tell us about the past and connect the generations. This talk introduces caretakers to basic methods for preserving and protecting family relics and papers.

Aside from a few memories  “the real verifiable League history becomes hazier each year,” Jim writes.  “The old League minutes and records have been misplaced and destroyed as leaders rotated and officers move.  It happens in most volunteer community organizations.  And reliance on oral history gets less dependable every year, as memories fade and old leaders, managers and players die.”      

“Everyone knows that Little League in Rising Sun began in 1954.  The charter on the wall says so.  Aside from that, however, there are virtually no documents, scorebooks, photos or old record left that tell about the origins of Rising Sun’s Little League.  Whose idea was it?  How did this community baseball tradition begin?  Who were the leaders, the managers the League officials?  Who was this group or ordinary citizens with a love of baseball, pride in their hometown, and an extraordinary vision?“      

“Today’s players need to understand where it all started,” Jim continues.  “There is a need to have a written record, describing the beginning of the Rising Sun Little League tradition.  So the purpose of this written account is to honor those League founders by documenting the early memories and by reconstructing the remaining written fragments of League history.”       

Jim has done an excellent job of documenting and aspect of our community history that would otherwise be lost with the passage of time.  The book is available for purchase from the Historical Society and as part of the celebration of this aspect of our past the Society opened a special exhibit on the subject at its museum on 135 E. Main Street in Elkton.  Be sure to check it out.   

Ever held a 500 year old arrow head in your hand? Ever examined a piece of 150 year old china? Ever rolled a piece of charcoal in your fingers that could  be from a pre-historic fireplace? You could do just that on Saturday June 5th at Historic Elk Landing during our Archeology Day. 

Since Pre-historic times, Historic Elk Landing has been populated by humans. And with each generation came new leftovers: pottery, arrow heads, charcoal, nails, buttons, bricks, glass, and many other artifacts. Since 2000 the Historic Elk Landing Foundation conducted several archeological digs, collecting many such artifacts. 

Archeologist Christy Gill, who participated in all of those digs at Elk Landing and who has lectured on the subject here, will return to Historic Elk Landing between 10 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon on June fifth. She will take visitors on a tour of the site, identifying, displaying, and explaining many artifacts that she helped excavate at Elk Landing over the last ten years. But that’s not all. 

Christy will also have something for future archeologists as she helps youngsters dig with shovels for their own “artifacts” in a sand box and explain what each find is, its significance, and how it might have ended up at Elk Landing. 

That’s Archeology Day at Historic Elk Landing on Saturday June 5th between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission is free. Historic Elk Landing is located south of Route 40 at the foot of Landing Lane in Elkton, Maryland. 

We try to stay up on media coverage related to Cecil County history and culture in order to share news about the creation of these materials with the blogosphere.  An April 1^st broadcast on the Baltimore Public Radio outlet, WYPR, slipped past us somehow but it  came up this evening during the public hearing on the tax rate.

As a regular feature on WYPR’s midday with Dan Rodricks the show travels once a month to a Maryland county to highlight that location.  For April the Rodricks show’s hour-long examination focused on Cecil.  The Maryland county of the month segment included pieces on the marriage industry, a haunted historic landmark, tolls at Perryville, fireworks plants, and a few other subjects.

When the paranormal investigator, Rob, called in for his segment, Dan found the “haunting of this historic landmark” of particular interest.  Rob reported that his group conducted an intensive study at the 18th century property, Elk Landing.  Using sophisticated instruments to capture data, the investigation found a number of spirits in the centuries old property that he  believes are members of the Hollingsworth family.  The nonprofit organization that oversees the landmark is using the paranormal studies as a fundraiser and they are planning another one for the this Oct. it was reported.

After engaging talk about spirits, it was back to more practical things.  The host was concerned with questions such as whether we lean more toward Baltimore, Philadelphia or the Eastern Shore.  Kilby Ice Cream, Country and Western Music, and Fair Hill were other subjects. 

Although we’re late in announcing this broadcast, it is still archived on the WYPR web site.  Click here and scroll down to the April 1^st stream and click on the Maryland County of the month link to listen to the radio show.

On May 20th at 7:00, local author David Healey will talk about his soon-to-be-published book, Delmarva: Legends and Lore, in which he explores the sometimes quirky, sometimes spooky, history of our unique region between the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. In his talk patrons will meet slavecatchers, duelists, outlaw oyster boat captains, and a peach baron or two!  

Registration is required by calling the library at 410-996-6070, ext. 3.