#52 Ancestors 2020 Week 6 Same Name: The Four Frank Philip Scriveners

For almost 150 years, there has been a Frank Philip Scrivener in Maryland.

Frank I 1896

Frank Philip Scrivener I was the son of William Boswell Scrivener and Sarah Jane Kent Barber.  He was born in 1864 at the family home, Rose Valley, (AKA Holly Hill) near Friendship in Anne Arundel County MD.  I don't know for certain how the Scriveners decided on that name, but if I had to guess, I'd say he was named for his great-grandfathers--Francis Scrivener and Luke Philip Barber (although as far as I know, no one ever referred to him as Francis; it was always Frank).

Since Anne Arundel County had no public high school until 1896, Frank attended Glenwood Academy in Howard County after he had completed the local public schools.  He went on to work as an accountant in Baltimore for the George H. Foster Company and then as a bookkeeper for the Joseph Gottschalk Company until his retirement in 1928.

In 1899, Frank married Louise Carmelite Gwynn, the daughter of Andrew Jackson Gwynn and Marie Louise Keene.  Louise and Frank made their home on Lafayette Avenue in Baltimore until Frank's retirement when they moved to Prince George's County, where Louise's sister, Effie Gwynn Bowie, also lived.  Frank's grandchildren remember him as a quiet gray-haired man who walked with a cane due to his arthritis.  He would often spend the afternoon rocking on the front porch of his home.  He delighted in giving the children small treats when they came to visit.

After a number of years as a semi-invalid, Frank Scrivener died in Upper Marlboro in May 1839 at the age of 78.




At his funeral, the pastor of St. Mary's Church eulogized him as "a constant edification to the children of the parish by his reverence.... He was always ready with a cheery word to anyone who spoke to him and generous supporter of everything that was for the good of his church.  … We will miss his ready smile and twinkling eyes that never lost their sparkle. "

Frank and Louise had one child: Frank Philip Scrivener Jr (my grandfather) in August 1900.

  Frank Jr. grew up in Baltimore and attended Baltimore Polytechnic High School. At 5'11" and 170 pounds, he enlisted in the Navy at the start of WWI.  He served at the Great Lakes Naval Air Station until 1922, where he played football in addition to his military duties.  According to family legend, he even played once against the Notre Dame football squad (before the Four Horsemen became famous).

After leaving the Navy, he returned to Baltimore where he began a 46-year career with the Maryland State Roads Commission, rising to the position of Chief Engineer for Maintenance and Operations in 1964.  Although he never earned a college degree, he continued his education through adult programs at Loyola College, became a registered professional engineer and served as president of the Maryland Engineers Association.

Frank and Lib 1924

Travelling around the state to district offices of the State Roads Commission, Frank met a young school teacher in Prince George's County whom he started courting. In 1924, Frank Jr. married Elizabeth (Lib) Dent, the daughter of John Marshall Dent and Mary Peterson Turner of St. Mary's County MD. Frank and Lib had five sons and a daughter, the oldest son  (my father, born in 1925) carrying on the namesake tradition as Frank Philip Scrivener III.

The Scriveners lived in St. Mary's County until the early 30's when they purchased a home in Baltimore.  Fortunately, Frank's state job kept them from some of the dire financial consequences of the Great Depression, especially as the boys grew older and could take on odd jobs like making deliveries after school.

Frank III 1929

My grandfather would always treat his grandchildren to ice cream when they came to visit, and he was a beloved customer of the local shop.  That love of ice cream continues to this day as a Scrivener tradition.

Frank Philip Scrivener Jr. died in Baltimore in 1980 at the age of 80, leaving a family that included 25 grandchildren.


Thanks to the generosity of his grandmother,  Frank III attended Newman Preparatory School in New Jersey, where the 12-year-old was one of the horrified witnesses to the spectacular crash of the Hindenburg in 1937.  At Newman, Frank learned to play tennis, a lifelong avocation that filled his home with trophies recognizing his talent at the sport. He graduated from Calvert Hall High School in Baltimore in 1943, where he captained the tennis team among other activities. Immediately after graduation, he joined the Army and served in Italy during WWII (where he also managed to play tennis.)

Frank and Anne 

Returning to Maryland after the war, in 1947 he married Anne Summers, the oldest daughter of Paul Summers and Evalina Sasscer, whom he had met during his many visits to his Scrivener grandparents in Upper Marlboro.  They were married at the same church where both of their parents had married: St. Mary's in Upper Marlboro.

Anne and Frank lived in Baltimore while Frank continued his education at Loyola College under the GI Bill. (And yes, was captain of the tennis team.)  Their first child (me) was born in 1948.  Their first son, Frank Philip Scrivener IV, was born in Baltimore in 1957.

Frank III worked for E. Stewart Mitchell Asphalt for several years before moving to Anne Arundel County in 1954, where he helped to found Reliable Asphalt.  He served as Vice-President of Reliable until his retirement in 1990.  He was president of the Maryland Asphalt Association and a member of the Board of the National Asphalt Pavement Association. He continued to play tennis and was nationally ranked as a senior.

Frank Philip Scrivener III died at Washington Hospital Center in 1990, only a few months after his retirement.

Frank (Phil) IV

Frank Philip Scrivener IV (my brother), who goes by Phil rather than Frank, attended Mt. St. Joseph High School in Baltimore and Towson University.  He has run his own landscaping and construction business and recently retired from the Department of Public Works in Annapolis.  He does not have children, so, so far there is no Frank Philip Scrivener V.

I have not given up hope, though.  I have 30 nieces and nephews and more than 40 great-nieces and nephews.  Surely one of them will decide to continue the long tradition and name a son Frank Philip Scrivener V.