Revolution, is also enrolled in the list of the worthies who visited
the town. In 1740 his father, when on his way from Ireland to America
with his three sons, died on shipboard. The captain appropriated the
meagre possessions of the family and set the boys ashore at New
Castle, penniless. George was sheltered by a butcher who was so
delighted with him that he decided to bring him up to the trade.
George was terrified when he overheard the man's plan; he did not
intend to be a butcher. So he stole out of the town between dark and
daylight and made his way to surroundings where the way was opened
that led him to usefulness and fame.
[Illustration: RIDGELY HOUSE, DOVER, DEL.
_Photo by R. C. Holmes_
See page 208]
XLV
THE RIDGELY HOUSE, DOVER, DELAWARE
A BOYHOOD HAUNT OF CAESAR RODNEY, THE SIGNER
On the Green in Dover, Delaware, is one of the most striking houses of
the quaint old town--the Ridgely house. The date of its erection is
not certain, but it is an interesting fact that on one of the bricks
is the date 1728. Originally there were but two rooms in the house;
subsequent enlargements have been so harmonious that one who sees the
place from the Green must pause to admire. Admiration turns to delight
when the interior of the house is examined. The old-fashioned garden
at the rear intensifies delight.
Dr. Charles Greenburg Ridgely became owner of the property in 1769.
The house was a gift from his father, Nicholas Ridgely. The second of
the wives who lived here with Dr. Ridgely was Ann, the daughter of
Squire William Moore of Moore Hall, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania,
whose determined advocacy of armed preparation for defence against a
threatened Indian attack once aroused the indignation of the
Pennsylvania Assembly, most of whose members were Friends.
The Ridgely house was famous throughout Delaware as the resort of
patriots. Dr. Ridgely was six times a member of the Provincial
Assembly, and was also an active member of the Constitutional
Convention of Delaware in 1776.
During the days when patriotic feelings were beginning to run high,
Caesar Rodney, the ward of Dr. Ridgely's father, was often an inmate of
the Ridgely house. Caesar was born near Dover in 1728. At Dover he
received most of his education. Some twenty years after the little
town saw so much of him he became famous because of his vital service
to the Colonies, as a member of the Continental Congress in
Philadelphia. "He was the most active, and was by odds the leading man
in the State in espousing the American cause," Henry C. Conrad once
said to the Sons of Delaware. In the course of his address Mr. Conrad
told the thrilling story of Caesar Rodney's most spectacular service.
On July 1, 1776, when the vote was taken in the Committee of the Whole
of the Continental Congress as to the framing and proclaiming of the
Declaration of Independence, ten of the thirteen Colonies voted yes.
"Pennsylvania had seven delegates, four of whom were opposed to it,
and three in favor of it. Delaware had two members present, McKean and
Read. Rodney was absent. McKean was in favor of, and Read against the
Declaration. McKean, appreciating that it was most important, for the
sentiment it would create, that the Declaration of Independence should
be proclaimed by the unanimous vote of the thirteen Colonies, sent for
Rodney, who was at that time at one of his farms near Dover. Rodney
came post-haste, and he arrived just in time to save the day, and cast
the vote of Delaware in favor of the Declaration.
McKean, writing of the event years afterward to Caesar A. Rodney, a
nephew of Caesar Rodney, said:
"I sent an express, at my own private expense, for your
honored uncle, the remaining member from Delaware, whom I met
at the State House door, in his boots and spurs, as the
members were assembling. After a friendly salutation, without
a word in the business, we went into the hall of Congress
together, and found we were among the latest. Proceedings
immediately commenced, and after a few minutes the great
question was put. When the vote of Delaware was called, your
uncle arose and said: 'As I believe the voice of my
constituents and of all sensible and honest men is in favor
of independence, and my own judgment coincides with theirs, I
vote for independence.'"
Since Pennsylvania also voted in favor of the Declaration, it was
adopted unanimously.
Caesar Rodney was Governor of Delaware from 1778 to 1781. On April 8,
1784, the State Council, of which he was presiding officer, met at his
house near Dover, because he was too ill to go to Dover. Less than
three months later he died.
A monument marks his last resting-place in Christ Episcopal churchyard
in Dover.
XLVI
REHOBOTH CHURCH ON THE POCOMOKE, MARYLAND
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
The Pocomoke River rises in southern Delaware, forms a part of the
eastern boundary of Somerset County, Maryland, and empties into
Pocomoke Sound, an inlet of Chesapeake Bay. On the banks of this
stream, not far from the mouth, Colonel William Stevens, a native of
Buckinghamshire, England, located in 1665, taking out a patent on what
he called the Rehoboth plantation, the name being chosen from Genesis
26:22. "And he called the name of it Rehoboth. And he said, For now
the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in this
land." When Somerset County was organized he was made Judge of the
County Court. He also became a member of "His Lordship's Councill,"
and was one of the Deputy Lieutenants of the Province.
As the years passed many followed Colonel Stevens to Somerset County,
in search of religious freedom. Scotch, Scotch-Irish, French, and
Quakers were represented in the village that was known at first as
Pocomoke Town, though later it was called Rehoboth. Many of these
settlers were Presbyterians, who had lost their property through
persecution.
In 1672 the Grand Jury, encouraged by Judge Stevens, asked Rev. Robert
Maddux to preach at four points in the county. One of these points was
the plantation house at Rehoboth. The next year George Fox, the
Quaker, was in the community. He also preached in his famous "leather
breeches" at Colonel Stevens' plantation, to a great congregation of
several thousand whites and Indians. A Quaker monthly meeting
followed.
The number of Presbyterians increased to such an extent that in 1680
Colonel Stevens asked the Presbytery of Laggan in Ireland for a godly
minister to gather the band of exiles into a church. Francis Makemie
was sent as a result. Soon Rehoboth Church was organized by him, as
well as a number of other churches in the neighborhood. The exact date
of the beginning of Rehoboth Church is uncertain, but it is probable
that the first building was erected about 1683.
For some years Makemie travelled from place to place, preaching and
organizing churches as he went, but from 1699 to 1708, except in 1704
and 1705, when he visited Europe, he lived in the neighborhood and
preached at Rehoboth whenever he was at home.
When it became necessary to erect a new church building, he decided to
have this on his own land, because of Maryland's intolerant laws. This
building, which is still in use, dates from 1706, the year when its
builder assisted in organizing the first Presbytery of the
Presbyterian Church at Philadelphia.
Makemie's name will ever be connected with the struggle for religious
liberty. He had a certificate from the court that permitted him to
preach in the Province of Maryland, but he had many trying experiences
in spite of this fact. His congregation groaned under the necessity of
paying taxes to support the rectors of three neighboring parishes.
The greatest trial was not in Maryland, but in New York, where he
spent a portion of 1706 and 1707. His experiences there should be
familiar to all who are interested in the struggle for religious
liberty in America.
The story is told in a curious document written by Makemie himself,
which was printed in New York in 1707, under the title "A Particular
Narrative of the Imprisonment of two Non-Conformist Ministers; and
Prosecution & Tryal of one of them, for Preaching one Sermon in the
city of New-York. By a Learner of Law and Lover of Liberty."
The warrant for the arrest of the "criminal" was addressed to Thomas
Cordale, Esqr., High-Sheriff of Queens County on Long-Island, or his
Deputy, and was signed by Lord Cornbury. It read:
"Whereas I am informed, that one Mackennan, and one Hampton,
two Presbyterian Preachers, who lately came to this City,
have taken upon them to Preach in a Private House, without
having obtained My Licence for so doing, which is directly
contrary to the known Laws of England, and being likewise
informed, that they are gone into Long-Island, with intent
there to spread their Pernicious Doctrines and Principles, to
the great disturbance of the Order by Law established by the
Government of this province. You are therefore hereby
Required and Commanded, to take into your Custody the Bodies
of the said Mackennan and Hampton, and then to bring them
with all convenient speed before me, at Fort-Anne, in
New-York."
When brought before Lord Cornbury, Makemie said: "We have Liberty from
an Act of Parliament, made the first year of the Reign of King William
and Queen Mary, which gave us Liberty, with which Law we have
complied."
But Lord Cornbury replied: "No one shall Preach in my Government
without my Licence.... That Law does not extend to the American
Plantations, but only to England.... I know, for I was at Making
thereof.... That Act of Parliament was made against Strowling
Preachers, and you are such, and shall not Preach in my Government."
Makemie again challenged Lord Cornbury to show "any Pernicious
Doctrine in the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church." Later
he refused to give "Bail and Security to Preach no more."
"Then you must go to Gaol," his Lordship said.
On January 23 another warrant was given to the High Sheriff of New
York. He was told "to safely keep till further orders" the prisoners
committed to him.
From the prison Makemie sent a petition asking to know the charge, and
demanding a speedy trial. Later the prisoner was released on habeas
corpus proceedings.
At the trial, where Makemie conducted his own defence, he read Chapter
23 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, as a complete reply to the
charge that he believed what incited the people to disregard the
authority of the king.
The jury brought in a verdict of "not guilty," but Makemie was obliged
to pay the costs, including the fees of the Court Prosecutor, which
amounted to twelve pounds. The total cost of the trial, including the
expense of a trip from his home in Maryland, made necessary by a
recess in the trial, was more than eighty pounds.
A few months later Makemie died. It was felt by those who knew him
that the trying experiences at New York hastened his end.
He had not lived in vain. His struggles for religious liberty were to
bear rich fruit before many years.
Henry van Dyke wrote a sonnet to the memory of Francis Makemie, which
was read on May 14, 1908, when the monument to the memory of the
pioneer was unveiled:
"To thee, plain hero of a rugged race,
We bring a meed of praise too long delayed!
Thy fearless word and faithful work have made
Of God's Republic a firmer resting-place
In this New World: for thou hast preached the grace
And power of Christ in many a forest glade,
Teaching the truth that leaves men unafraid
Of frowning tyranny or death's dark face.
"Oh, who can tell how much we owe to thee,
Makemie, and to labor such as thine,
For all that makes America the shrine
Of faith untrammelled and of conscience free?
Stand here, grey stone, and consecrate the sod
Where rests this brave Scotch-Irish man of God."
[Illustration: DOUGHOREGAN MANOR, NEAR ELLICOTT CITY, MD.
_Photo by James F. Hughes Company, Baltimore_
See page 216]
XLVII
DOUGHOREGAN MANOR, NEAR ELLICOTT CITY, MARYLAND
WHOSE OWNER WAS THE LAST SURVIVING SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE
It is true that when Charles Carroll was about to sign his name to the
Declaration of Independence he added the words, "of Carrollton," but
the story that he added the words there that he might be distinguished
from a second Charles Carroll is an error; he had been writing his
name thus since 1765. It would have been just as true a description if
he had used the name of another of the numerous Carroll estates,
Doughoregan Manor, but the designation he chose was simpler. At any
rate he could not spell it in so many ways as the name of the family
estate where he lived and died. Letters written by him at different
periods show such diverse spellings as "Doeheragen," "Doohoragen,"
"Dooheragon," and "Dougheragen," before he settled down to
"Doughoregan."
Doughoregan Manor, which was named for one of the O'Carroll estates in
Ireland, is one of the most ancient family seats in Maryland. In 1688
Charles Carroll, I, came over from England. He became a large landed
proprietor, in part as a result of his appeal to the king of England
for a part in the estate of the O'Carrolls of King's County, Ireland.
The king satisfied the claim by offering him 60,000 acres of land in
the Colonies. His heir was Charles Carroll, II, who was born in 1702.
Fifteen years later Doughoregan Manor was built, and twenty-seven
years later Charles Carroll, II, and his brother Daniel sold sixty
acres of land which became the site of old Baltimore.
Charles Carroll, II, divided his time between Doughoregan Manor and
the Carroll Mansion in Annapolis, his town house. Here was born, in
1737, Charles Carroll, III, the Signer. Most of the education of this
heir to the vast estate of Charles Carroll, II, was secured in France.
He was in Paris when his father wrote to him, in 1764, telling him of
the large property that was to come to him. After speaking of this in
detail, he concluded:
"On my death I am willing to add my Manor of Doughoregan,
10,000 acres, and also 1,425 Acres called Chance adjacent
thereto, on the bulk of which my negroes are settled. As you
are my only child, you will, of course, have all the residue
of my estate at my death."
When the estate of his father finally came into his hands, Charles
Carroll, III, was the richest man in Maryland. That he knew how to
handle such a large property he showed by a letter which he wrote to
his son, Charles Carroll, IV, on July 10, 1801:
"He who postpones till to-morrow what can and ought to be
done to-day, will never thrive in this world. It was not by
procrastination this estate was acquired, but by activity,
thought, perseverance, and economy, and by the same means it
must be preserved and prevented from melting away."
But while the owner of Doughoregan Manor was careful, he was not
penurious. He kept open house to his numerous friends, of whom George
Washington was one. In one of the rooms of the Manor Washington sat
to Gilbert Stuart for his portrait.
Both Mr. Carroll's property and his services were at his country's
call. From the days of the Stamp Act to the close of the Revolution
there was no more ardent patriot than he. He served as a member of the
Continental Congress, was for three months with Washington at Valley
Forge, by appointment of Congress, was later United States Senator,
and was a leader in business as well as in political affairs. With
Washington he was a member from the beginning of the Potomac Canal
Company, which later was merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Company.
After the Revolution he spent most of his time at Doughoregan Manor,
where he completed the remarkable three-hundred-foot facade by the
addition of the chapel which has been used by the family for more than
a century.
One by one the sons and daughters went out from the house, carrying
the Carroll name or the Carroll training into many sections of
Maryland and Virginia. Perhaps the most interesting marriage was that
of Charles Carroll, IV, who was mentioned by Washington in his diary
for 1798:
"March 27--Mr. Charles Carroll, Jr. ... came to dinner.
"March 28--Mr. Carroll went away after breakfast."
William Spohn Baker, in "Washington after the Revolution," after
quoting these extracts from the diary, says:
"The visit of young Mr. Carroll having given rise at
Annapolis to a rumor that it was made with the intention
of paying his addresses to Nelly Custis, her brother wrote
to the General in allusion to it, saying, 'I think it a most
desirable match, and wish that it may take place with all my
heart.' In reply, under date of April 15, Washington wrote,
'Young Mr. Carroll came here about a fortnight ago to dinner,
and left on next morning after breakfast. If his object was
such as you say has been reported, it was not declared here;
and therefore, the less is said upon the subject,
particularly by your sister's friends, the more prudent it
will be, until the subject develops itself more.'
"But youthful alliances are not always made at the nod of
Dame Rumor, nor are they always controlled by the wishes of
relatives. Nelly Custis married, February 22, 1799, at Mount
Vernon, Laurence Lewis, a nephew of Washington; and Charles
Carroll, Junior, found, in the following year, a bride at
Philadelphia, Harriet, a daughter of Benjamin Chew" [of
Cliveden].
A delightful picture of life at the Manor was given by Adam Hodgson,
an English visitor, who wrote from Baltimore on July 13, 1820:
"I have lately been paying some very agreeable visits at the
country seats of some of my acquaintances in the
neighborhood.... The other morning I set out, at four
o'clock, with General H, on a visit to a most agreeable
family, who reside at a large Manor, about seventeen miles
distant. We arrived about seven o'clock, and the family soon
afterward assembled to breakfast. It consisted of several
friends from France, Canada, and Washington, and the children
and grandchildren of my host, a venerable patriarch, nearly
eighty-five (83) years of age, and one of the four survivors
of those who signed the Declaration of Independence.... After
breakfasting the following morning, the ladies played for us
on the harp; and in the evening, I set out on horseback, to
return hither, not without a feeling of regret, that I had
probably taken a final leave of my hospitable friend, who,
although still an expert horseman, seldom goes beyond the
limits of his manor...."
The other three surviving Signers died first, so that when Charles
Carroll of Carrollton followed on November 14, 1832, the last Signer
was gone. Among his last words were these:
"I have lived to my ninety-sixth year; I have enjoyed
continued health, I have been blessed with great wealth,
prosperity, and most of the good things which this world can
bestow--public approbation, esteem, applause; but what I now
look back on with the greatest satisfaction to myself is,
that I have practiced the duties of my religion."
He was buried under the pavement of the chapel at the Manor.
The present occupants of Doughoregan are Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carroll,
who followed Governor John Lee Carroll, after his death in 1911.
[Illustration: UPTON SCOTT HOUSE, ANNAPOLIS, MD.
_Photo by M. M. Carter, Annapolis_
See page 220]
XLVIII
THE UPTON SCOTT HOUSE, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND
WHERE, AS A BOY, THE AUTHOR OF "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" WAS A
FREQUENT VISITOR
When Colonel James Wolfe was campaigning in Scotland in 1748 to 1753,
one of the surgeons in his command was Upton Scott, a young Irishman
from County Antrim. At that time began a friendship between the two
men that continued through life.
Another friend made at this time by the young surgeon was Horatio
Sharpe. In 1753, when Sharpe planned to go to America, Dr. Scott
decided to go with him, though it was not easy to think of resigning
his commission, for this would mean the severance of pleasant
relations with his colonel. When Wolfe said good-bye to his comrade he
gave him a pair of pistols as a remembrance. These are still treasured
by descendants of the surgeon.
From 1754 to 1769 Horatio Sharpe was Proprietary Governor of Maryland,
and Dr. Scott was his companion and physician. The young surgeon was
popular among the young people whom he met at Annapolis, the colonial
capital.
In 1760, when he persuaded Elizabeth Ross, the daughter of John Ross,
the Register of the Land Office of Maryland, to become his bride, he
built for her the stately house in Annapolis, Maryland, which is now
occupied by the Sisters of Notre Dame. The new house, with its
charming doorway and wonderful hall carvings, was well worth the
attention even of one who had spent her girlhood at Belvoir, a quaint
mansion of great beauty, six miles from Annapolis.
Governor Sharpe was a welcome visitor at the Scott house until the
time of his death in 1789, when he appointed his friend, the owner,
one of his executors. Governor Robert Eden, the last of the
Proprietary Governors, who served from 1769 to 1774, was at times
almost a member of the Scott household.
Governor Eden was looked upon with favor by the patriots in Maryland
because he was always moderate and advised the repeal of the tax on
tea. In 1776 he went to England, but in 1784 he returned to Maryland
to look after the estate of Mrs. Eden, who was Caroline Calvert,
sister of Lord Baltimore; by the terms of the treaty of 1783 he was
entitled to this property. While in Annapolis he was the guest of Dr.
Scott. There, in the room now used by the Sisters of Notre Dame as a
chapel, he died.
But probably the most famous visitor to the Scott mansion was Francis
Scott Key, who was the grandson of Mrs. Scott's sister, Ann Arnold
Ross Key of Belvoir. When he was a boy he was often in Annapolis. His
college training was received at St. John's in the old town, and in
later life he frequently turned his steps to the house of his
great-aunt and listened to the stories of Dr. Scott that helped to
train him in the patriotism that was responsible, a few years later,
for the composition of the "Star-Spangled Banner."
Many garbled stories have been told of the circumstances that led to
the writing of this song that has stirred the hearts of millions. The
true story, and in many respects the simplest, was told by Key himself
to his brother-in-law, R. R. Taney, who was later Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court. In 1865, when the "Poems of the Late Francis Scott Key,
Esq.," were published, the volume contained the story as related by
Judge Taney.
In 1814, the main body of the British invaders passed through Upper
Marlboro, Maryland. Many of the officers made their headquarters at
the home of Dr. William Beanes, a physician whom the whole town loved.
When some of the stragglers from the army began to plunder the house,
Dr. Beanes put himself at the head of a small body of citizens and
pursued these stragglers. When the British officers heard of this, Dr.
Beanes was seized and treated, not with kindness as a prisoner of
war, but with great indignity. Key, as an intimate friend of the
doctor, and a lawyer, was asked by the townsmen to intercede for the
prisoner. When application was made to President Madison for help, he
arranged to send Key to the British fleet, under a flag of truce, on a
government vessel, in company with John S. Skinner, a government
agent.
For a week or ten days no word came from the expedition. The people
were alarmed for the safety of Key and his companion.
The bearers of the flag of truce found the fleet at the mouth of the
Potomac. They were received courteously until they told their
business. The British commander spoke harshly of Dr. Beanes, but
fortunately Mr. Skinner had letters from the British officers who had
received kindness at the doctor's hands. General Ross finally agreed
that, solely as a recognition of this kindness, the prisoner would be
released. But he told the Americans that they could not leave the
fleet for some days. They were therefore taken to the frigate
_Surprise_, where they were under guard. They understood that an
immediate attack on Baltimore was contemplated, and that they were
being restrained that they might not warn the city of the plans of the
enemy.