#52 Ancesters Week 24: Father's Day

#52 Ancestors Week 24 Father's Day: William Boswell Scrivener

William Boswell Scrivener, my 2X great-grandfather, was one of five sons, twelve children of John Scrivener and Eliza Smith Boswell of Anne Arundel County MD.  William and his wife Sally Jane Barber had ten children, including five sons.  Now what make this so unusual is that despite all those Scrivener boys in two generations, this line of the family almost daughtered out.  My grandfather, Frank Phillip Scrivener Sr., was the sole surviving male of the line when he was born in 1900.

John Scrivener, the oldest son of Francis Scrivener, was born about 1780 in Anne Arundel County MD.  He served in the War of 1812, defending the Chesapeake Bay from British invaders.  In 1817, he married Eliza Smith Boswell, the daughter of Henry Boswell, in Prince George's County MD.   John and Eliza, as noted above, had twelve children:

John Henry (1819-1863) married Mary Sparrow and had one son, John Sparrow Scrivener, who died without issue in 1859.
Sarah Jane (1823-1904) married John Howe Somervell and had three sons and a daughter.
Samuel Wesley (1824-1904)  married Elizabeth Chew and had a daughter Elizabeth and a son Samuel.  Both children died in 1864.
Elizabeth Ann (1827-1907) married Luther Owen Sullivan of Virginia and had three sons and three daughters.
William Boswell (1828-1895) married Sally Barber and had five sons and five daughters.  More below.
Elizabeth Sydney (1829-1863) married George Washington Welch and had four sons and three daughters.
Francis George (1832-1853) never married.
James Edward (1834-ca. 1880) married Kate Garner and had five sons, all of whom died without male issue.  (One daughter among the five.)
Mary Priscilla (1835-1884) married Stephen Lee Bird and had four daughters and one son.
Maria Louisa twin  (1838-1875) married John Poultney Hanson and had one son and one daughter.
Emily Augusta twin (1838-1902) married Charles Porter Culver and had three daughters.
Rose Matilda (1843-1899)  married William Corwin Burgy and had a son and three daughters.

So, in this generation, only William had sons who lived to marry and have sons of their own to carry on the Scrivener name.

William and Sally had ten children:

Mary Wheeler Kent (1857-1942)  never married.
William Boswell Jr. (1859-1928) never married.
Sarah Jane Barber (1862-1945) married George Bourne Gantt and had a son and a daughter.
Leila Mary (1864-1941) married Howe Somervell Allnutt and had two sons.
Frank Phillip (1865-1939) married Louise Gwynn and had one son, Frank Phillip Jr.
Kate Estelle (1865-1918) married Harry Weems Wilkerson, no issue.
Lillian (1869-1948) married Robert Franklin Garner and had one daughter.
Frederick William (1870-1959) married Annie Vaughn and had one daughter who died as an infant.
Jonathan Yates (1876-1957) married Jean Macintosh, no issue.
Kent (1877-1941) never married.

So, again in this generation, only one Scrivener son to carry on the name.  Fortunately for the name, Frank Scrivener was prolific. This picture shows William Boswell Scrivener and Frank about 1870.

Frank Phillip Scrivener Jr. married Ida Elizabeth Dent in 1924 and had five sons and a daughter with her, including my, father Frank Phillip III.  My father had three sons and between them they had 13 sons, who have, in their turn produced another dozen sons and still counting.

I think this line of the Scrivener name is safe for a good while to come.  The picture below shows the Scrivener clan in 1986. Elizabeth Dent Scrivener is seated with her five sons seated next to her. I am seated on the ground in front of my father with my son James next to me.

#52 Ancesters Week 13: The Old Homestead

#52 Ancestors Week 13: The Old Homestead

Perhaps the most famous home associated with the Scrivener Family is Holly Hill in the Friendship area of southern Anne Arundel County.  The Scriveners called their home Rose Valley, but the house had a long history before the Scriveners acquired it.

Originally constructed in about 1698, Holly Hill or Holland's Hill was a two-room, one-and-a-half story frame dwelling probably built by Richard Harrison (a wealthy Quaker planter) for his son, Samuel.  An addition was made in 1713 and about 1730, the whole structure was encased in brick and another addition made.  It is one of the few extant examples of the Medieval Transitional style of architecture. Inside, original floors and paneling are still visible as well as an early 18th century mural that shows the house and grounds.

The house remained in the Harrison family until the 1850's, when William Boswell Scrivener bought it for his bride, Sarah Jane Barber.  William and Sarah raised their family of five sons and five daughters at Rose Valley.  After William's death in 1895, his son Frederick managed the house and farm.  The photo below shows Sarah with three sons and three daughters at Rose Valley about 1905.  My great-grandfather, Frank Phillip Scrivener, is standing behind his mother. The other man in the hat is Frederick Scrivener and his brother Kent is standing next to him.

The picture below is another group of the Scrivener siblings at Rose Valley.  Not sure of the date.  My great-grandfather, Frank Scrivener is standing on the left, with his wife, Louise Gwynn, next to him. Fred and his wife Annie are seated in front.

In the late 1930's Fred and his wife, Annie, feeling the effects of the Depression, sold the house to Captain and Mrs. Hugh LeClair who did extensive renovations.  The photo below shows Rose Valley about 1935.

Holly Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

The Library of Congress houses an excellent collection of photographs of Holly Hill made for the Historic American Buildings survey in 1937 which highlights some of the unique architectural features of the home.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.md0412.photos?st=gallery.

#52Ancestors Week 25 Same Name: Anne Hill

#52 Ancestors Week 25 Same Name: Anne Hill

I am named after my great-great grandmother, Regina Anne Hill.  Actually, I always hated my name, Anne Hill, the Hill part anyway, growing up.  It got me the nickname HillBilly, which I really hated.

However, later in life, when I was more interested in family history, I was rather pleased to be named after an ancestor, not to mention it was my mother's name also--Anne, not Hill.

So, Mary Regina Anne Hill was the daughter of Captain Alexander Penn Hill and Mary Elizabeth Childs.  She was born 2 February 1858 in the Nottingham District of Prince George's County MD, the sixth of nine children, a large and very Catholic family.  She grew up at Moss Side, the property her father had inherited from his father, Joseph Benedict Hill.

Sarah Elizabeth Hill (1846-1935) married Thomas Sprigg Blandford.

Samuel Childs Hill (1848-1928) married Mary Elizabeth Bowie.

Joseph Benedict Hill (1850-c. 1930) married Mary Hill.

Peter Henry Hill (1852-1893) married Nora Mary Young.

Mary Hester Hill (1854-1904)

Alexander Penn Hill Jr. (1860-1915) married Mary Catherine Munro

Emily Riddle Hill (1862-1959) married George Washington Young

Robert E. Lee Hill (1863-1934)

On 28 October 1878, Regina married John Kostka Summers, the oldest son of John Francis Summers and Eliza Ann Gwynn, neighbors of the Hills in Prince George's County.

Regina Anne Hill and John Kostka Summers had 15 children, of which my grandfather, Paul Francis, was the 12th.  The children included a set of twins, Joseph Mary and Mary Joseph.

John Kostka Summers Jr.  (1880-1943) married Benedicta Gannon.
John Lamar Summers (1879-1899)  drowned in the Patuxent River
Marie Emily Louise Summers (1882-1898)
Alexander Hill Summers (1883-1918)
Joseph Mary Summers (1885-1963)
Mary Joseph Summers (1885-1965) Sister Mary Ange
Eliza Mary Summers (1888-1980) married William August Dorr
Regina Agnes Summers (1889-1968) married Edward Payson Springer Jr.
Gretchen Summers (1891-1953) married Joseph Summerfield Perry
Mildred Elizabeth Summers (1892-1980) married Bernard Kummer
Dorothy Lucile Summers (1894-1945)  married James Heath Dodge
Paul Francis Summers (1895-1970) married Theresa Evalina Sasscer
Olin Jerome Summers (1897-1898)
Emily Ruth Summers (1899-1996) married Charles Henry Adams McPherson
Michael Jerome Summers (1902-1967)

The picture below shows the Summers family about 1910 at their home in Westwood, Prince George's County MD.  My grandfather Paul is in the center of the photo between his parents.

The picture below shows John Kostka Summers and Mary Regina Anne Hill celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1928.  My mother, Anne, is sitting on the ground in front of her grandfather, age about 3 years old. My grandfather Paul Summers is standing behind Sr. Ange holding his son on his shoulder.

Regina Anne Hill Summers died at her home 6 June 1932 and is buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in Waldorf MD.  Her husband, John Koskta Summers died 2 March 1941 and is also buried in St. Peter's.

I know very little about my namesake, but I do have an inheritance from her, a set of wine glasses that belonged to Anne gifted to me by her daughter-in-law, my grandmother.  I wrote about them here.