Carroll Yesteryears 22 December 2013 “The Night After Christmas” By Mary Ann Ashcraft The following poem, entitled “The Night After Christmas,” was published in the Democratic Advocate on Dec. 24, 1898. The author was listed as “Anonymous.” ‘Twas the night after Christmas – when all through the house Every soul was abed, and as still as [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 8 December 2013 Family History Comes to Life By Mary Ann Ashcraft You are probably reading this column because you enjoy history, especially local history. Maybe you’re a Carroll County native…maybe not. I didn’t set foot here until 1969, and doubt whether any of my ancestors did either, but sometimes you say to yourself, [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 24 November 2013 Six Sisters Established, Ran School for Girls By Mary Ann Ashcraft In 1837, the year Carroll County was founded, the six Birnie sisters established Thorndale Seminary for Young Ladies in their home on the eastern edge of Taneytown. The Misses Birnie were daughters of a successful Irish merchant who brought his [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 10 November 2013 Newspapers Hooked Readers with Different Tactics in 1800s By Mary Ann Ashcraft If you’ve never looked at one of Carroll County’s newspapers from the 1800s, you might be surprised at what you will find. Contrary to today, there were no sensational headlines screaming “Read me!” on the front page of what [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 27 October 2013 Jail Imprisoned Abolitionist in 1859 By Mary Ann Ashcraft Several articles from local newspapers in 1859 and 1860 hint at a story involving escaping slaves and the Underground Railroad, but only recently have fascinating details emerged thanks to Jenny Masur of the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom program. On November [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 13 October 2013 Detour Boasts Colorful History By Mary Ann Ashcraft Most of us heading to Frederick County or points west travel along Routes 26, 140 or Interstate 70, but few take Rte. 77 through Uniontown, Middleburg, Keymar, and Detour. That’s a bit sad because tiny Detour has an interesting history even if not [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 22 September 2013 Craftsman Known for Clocks By Mary Ann Ashcraft Eli Bentley, a resident of Taneytown during the late 1700s and early 1800s, is probably Carroll County’s best-known craftsman – a maker of clocks which are highly prized possessions of those lucky enough to own them. The Historical Society is proud to have [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 8 September 2013 Along the Way to Somewhere Else By Mary Ann Ashcraft In “Towns and Villages of Carroll County,” Dean Minnich described Hampstead as a place which was “there mostly because it was on the way to somewhere else.” The “somewhere else” was usually Hanover or Carlisle, PA, or Baltimore. Since travelers in [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 25 August 2013 Accounts Show How Love Blossomed During Civil War By Mary Ann Ashcraft While the Civil War left scars on the hearts and minds of many people in Carroll County, some stories had happy endings. A headline in the Union Bridge newspaper of May 3, 1912, read “Death Recalls Pretty Romance of [...]
Carroll Yesteryears 11 August 2013 Zinkham Remembered for Life Spent Helping Others By Helena Zinkham How might a city girl adapt to country life a hundred years ago? In 1917, Helena Lang, of Baltimore City, married George Martin Zinkham, a veterinarian in Carroll County. His World War I military service kept them apart for two years, [...]