#52 Ancestors 2024 Week 5 Influencer: The Case of the Interfering Mother-in-Law

Maria Comegys Boyer, my 4x-great aunt, might be considered an influencer, if one were inclined to be charitable, but she could also be described as the ultimate interfering mother-in-law.

Maria Comegys, the eldest child of Lt. Jesse Comegys and Sarah Everett, was born in Kent County MD in 1778.  Augustine Montgomery Boyer, Maria's future husband, was born in 1772, also in Kent County.  Augustine was a chronic invalid and moved out of Kent County looking to improve his health.  After trying several locations in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, in 1803, he ended up purchasing 1000 acres of land in Tompkins County NY at the town of Caroline, about where the red dot is on the map below, a little south of Ithaca. 

In 1805, Maria and Augustine married at Stroudsburg PA, Maria travelling north and Augustine travelling south for the ceremony. They proceeded to have four children: Mary Amanda (1806), Thomas Montgomery (1807), Augustine Comegys (1808), and Ann Eliza (1812). 

Meanwhile, back in Kent County MD, Maria's sister, Sarah Everett Comegys (my 4x-great grandmother), had married John Wallis in 1803 and had ten children with him, including her daughter, Sophia Brooks Wallis in 1813, who is the object of this story.  In 1835, 22-year-old Sophia was engaged to Albert Maxwell in Kent County, when she went to New York for a visit with her aunt, Maria Comegys Boyer. Sophia was unaware that her aunt had plans for her that didn't involve Mr. Maxwell. Maria had decided that Sophia would be the ideal wife for her eldest son, 28-year-old Thomas. (I have to wonder if Thomas had some kind of problem that made his mother think he couldn’t find a wife for himself?)

So, when letters arrived from her fiancé, Maria made sure that Sophia never saw them. With Maria's encouragement, Sophia became convinced that Albert had forgotten about her and extended her stay in New York to help heal her broken heart. Perhaps her cousin Thomas's charm helped in that process. In any case, Sophia married Thomas that same year and had her first child--Wallis Montgomery Boyer--in 1836. 

Family accounts suggest that Sophia and Thomas's marriage was not a happy one. Although they did have nine children together between 1836 and 1853, only four of the children lived to adulthood, and one of those died of typhoid in his early twenties. Sophia returned to Maryland at least once to visit her family in 1846. She brought her one-year-old son, John Wallis Boyer, with her, who fell ill and died in Maryland and is buried there in the family cemetery.

Maria Comegys Boyer died in 1849 at the age of 70, having finally confessed what she had done.  Sophia later contacted Albert, who was reported to be "distressed" about the deception.  He died childless at the age of 94.  

Sophia and Thomas appeared to live separately a good deal of the time. The 1865 Census of New York shows Sophia as the head of household and Thomas not living there. Her 500-acre farm, valued at $9800, seemed to be thriving, producing hay, wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, and apples, and livestock of cows, pigs, and sheep.

Sophia died in Tompkins County in 1869 at the age of 55. Thomas died a pauper in 1894 at age 86. Both are buried in the Caroline Center Cemetery. 

Sophia's Obituary in the Ithaca Journal: 

Maria Comegys Boyer certainly influenced the course of her son's and her niece's lives, not to mention Albert Maxwell's life, but possibly not for the better. 

(With thanks to Guy Wallis and Elma Fraser Perry, Descendants of Cornelius Comegys in North America.)

#52 Ancestors 2024 Week 7 Immigration: Part 2 Immigrant Ancestors Maternal Line

 

In this blog, I am continuing to look at my immigrant ancestors, this time focusing on those from my mother's family. 

1.  Summers

The immigrant ancestor of my Summers family was John Summers, my 7x-great grandfather, who was transported to Maryland from England in 1671.  That probably puts his birth about 1650. By 1672, he was paying ground rent on 120 acres of land called "Pitchcroft" in Calvert County (now Prince George's County), Maryland. A few years later, he married Rebecca (possibly a Dent) and had three children with her: William, John (my 6x-great grandfather), and Sarah. In 1680, John claimed 50 acres of land, having completed his indentured service. John Summers died in Prince George's County MD in November 1705, leaving his estate to his wife, Rebecca and naming his three children in the will. 

2. Gwynn

The immigrant ancestor of this line may have been Hooper Gwynn, my 5x-great grandfather on both my paternal and maternal lines.  He is as far back as I have been able to trace this line.  He was in Prince George's County MD in the 1730's as a School Master and Court Scrivener, indicating that he was an educated man. A man of this name married in Yorkshire, England in 1725.  It's an uncommon name and odds are it is the same person or at least a close relative, but I really can't be sure if the man was born in England (or Wales, since Gwynn is definitely of Welsh origin) or was born in Maryland to immigrant parents.  Hooper Gwinn died in Fairfax County VA about 1759.  He had one son that can be documented: Bennett Gwynn, my 4x-great grandfather on both sides of my family. I have written more about Hooper and the Gwynns here. (With thanks to Effie Gwynn Bowie, Across the Years in Prince George's County.)

3. Hill

The immigrant ancestor of my Hill family was Clement Hill, Jr., my 6x-great grandfather, born 24 February 1670 at Compton Bassett, Wiltshire, England. He came to Maryland in 1693 and stayed with his uncle, Clement Hill Sr., who was a prominent figure in the Province, a member of the Lower House of the Assembly and a member of the Privy Council. In 1696, Clement Hill Jr. married Ann Darnall, the daughter of Col. Henry Darnall. In 1699, he purchased 748 acres of land in Prince George's County MD on the west side of the Patuxent River and built his home there, which he named Compton Bassett, after his home in England. Clement Hill Jr. was the Surveyor General of Maryland. Clement and Ann Hill had five children, including my 5x-great grandfather, Henry Darnall Hill.  Clement Hill died in Prince George's County MD in August 1743. (With thanks to Effie Gwynn Bowie. Across the Years in Prince George's County, Maryland.)

4. Childs

The immigrant ancestor of my Childs line was Henry Childs, my 7x-great grandfather, about whom I have previously written. Henry was born in Amersham, Hertfordshire, England about 1652. He married Ann Ball in 1671 and had ten children with her: Benjamin, Sarah, Mary, Ann, Henry Jr. (my 6x-great grandfather), Ruth, Rachel, Cephas, John, and William.  In 1687, Henry purchased 500 acres of land from William Penn, a fellow Quaker, land which he later gave to his son, Cephas. Henry moved to West River, Anne Arundel County MD where he and his family joined the local Friends Meeting. He died in Anne Arundel County in 1740, leaving his various properties to his children. 

5.  Sasscer

According to family tradition, the Sasscers came from France, but other sources say the Sassers originated in Westphalia/Saxony/Germany and migrated to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.  The earliest person I have found in my line of Sasscers is Roger John Sarcer/Sasser/Sasscer, my 6x-great grandfather, who may or may not have emigrated from Europe.  A Benjamin Sawcer was found on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1671, but I do not know how or if he is connected to Roger.  Roger John Sasser purchased 300 acres of land in Prince George's County MD called "Sarcer's Green" in 1713, so he was probably born in the late 1600's. He later settled near what is now Brandywine, where he purchased additional land. In 1737, Roger deeded "Sasser's Green" to his son John, my 5x-great grandfather. Roger died in Prince George's County MD in 1752.  (With thanks to Lieze Sasscer Moffett, The Sasscer Family of Maryland.)

6.  Gibbons

The earliest Gibbons ancestor I have found is Thomas Gibbons, my 6x-great grandfather.  Thomas, age 14, was in Charles County MD in 1685 when he was presented in court as a servant to William Barton.  So Thomas was born about 1671.  He may have been born in Maryland, or transported to Maryland by William Barton as an indentured servant.  By 1697, Thomas, a planter, was in Prince George's County MD and purchased 100 acres of "Barton's Hope" from William Barton. In 1704, he made further purchases of "Smith's Green" and "Brookefield" in Prince George's County. By that year, Thomas had married Elizabeth (MNU, but possibly Turner). Thomas and Elizabeth had children: George, Turner (my 5x-great grandfather), Christiana (who married my 5x-great grandfather, John Sasscer), and Thomas. Thomas Gibbons died in Prince George's County in 1711, leaving his various properties to his children. 

7. Wallis

The probable immigrant ancestor of my Wallis line is Henry Wallis, my 8X-great grandfather, born about 1650 in England or Scotland. About 1685, Henry petitioned the Lord Proprietor to obtain title to the tract "Boothbies Fortune" in Kent County MD. He probably died in Kent County MD, or he may have gone back to England.  Unfortunately, no other record has been found for Henry.  Henry's son Samuel Wallis, my 7x-great grandfather, was possibly born in England or Scotland and was said to have come to Maryland about 1700 along with William Comegys, another of my 8x-great grandfathers. Samuel married Anne, the widow of William Pearce in 1703/4 in Cecil County MD. He died in Kent County MD about May 1724 and his estate was administered by his wife, Anne. Samuel was an Episcopalian and longtime vestryman of Shrewsbury Parish.  He served in the lower house of the Maryland legislature and owned considerable property on the Eastern Shore, including Boothbies Fortune, presumably inherited from his father, Henry. He bought several properties jointly with William Comegys. Samuel and Anne had seven children, including my 6x-great grandfather, John Wallis. (With Thanks to Guy Wallis, The Wallis Family of Kent County, Maryland.)

8.  Willson

The immigrant ancestor of this Willson family was John Willson, my 7x-great grandfather, born 10 January 1690 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Willson came to Maryland in 1731 and settled on the Wye River at "Greenwood," along with his wife, Elizabeth, and young son Thomas. Willson was a staunch Catholic and engaged in many business dealings with his wealthy Catholic neighbor, Richard Bennett III, who was considered one of the richest men on the continent. Richard Bennett was godfather to Willson's son, Thomas Bennett Willson, and paid for his medical studies in Edinburgh, starting a line of four generations of doctors in the Willson family.  John Willson died in Queen Anne's County MD about 1728. (With thanks to Thomas Joseph Peterson. Catholics in Colonial Delmarva.)

This exercise has reminded me of the relative scarcity of documents for the 17th and early 18th centuries and how fortunate I am that Maryland has a fairly good collection of probate, court and land records from that period.

#52 Ancestors 2022 Week 34 Timeline: Francis Ludolph Wallis

 

Among my cousins, Francis Ludolph Wallis, my 3X-great grandfather, is a fairly familiar name. For a number of years, a very bad portrait of him done long ago by an elderly relative has been passed around the family as a kind of loving inside joke.  Grandfather Wallis has had many adventures with his various guardians including television appearances and trips to exotic locations in the US and abroad. For more on this family tradition, see my earlier blog.  But most of the family knows very little about his actual life, so I have decided to correct that ignorance and fill in some gaps in the life of Francis Ludolph Wallis.

Handover of Louisiana

Context 1800-1809: US Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison.  Maryland Governors Benjamin Ogle, John Mercer, Robert Bowie, Robert Wright, Edward Lloyd. Napolean is crowned Emperor of France. Federal government moves from Philadelphia to Washington DC.  Library of Congress established. US purchases the Louisiana Territory. Military Academy opens at West Point. Lewis and Clark begin their exploration. Robert Fulton develops the steamboat. John Carroll becomes Archbishop of Baltimore and construction begins on the Basilica of the Assumption. Elizabeth Seton establishes a religious order. The refrigerator is invented in Baltimore MD. Chestertown (Kent County) incorporated. US Population 5.3 M.

5 May 1803: John Wallis, the son of Lt.Francis Wallis and Sophia Brooke, marries Sarah Everett Comegys, the daughter of Jesse Comegys and Mary Everett, in Kent County MD.

Mount Herman

25 November 1803: Emily Thomas, the daughter of William Thomas and Elizabeth Woodall, is born at Mount Herman, Kent County MD.

23 April 1804: Francis Ludolph Wallis is born in Kent County MD. He is named for his great-grandfather, Francis Ludolph Bodien. 

3 May 1805: Jesse Comegys Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

15 February 1807: John Adolphus Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

27 June 1808: Cornelius Comegys Wallis is born in Kent County MD. 

Context 1810-1819: US Presidents James Madison, James Monroe. Maryland Governors Edward Lloyd, Robert Bowie, Levin Winder, Charles Carnan Ridgely, Charles Goldsborough, Samuel Sprigg. Construction begins on the National Road connecting Cumberland MD to Wheeling WV. President Madison declares war on Britain. The British blockade the Chesapeake Bay. British burn Washington DC. Francis Scott Key writes "The Star Spangled Banner" in Baltimore MD. Baltimore Clipper ship Chasseur launches. First gas lighting company formed in Baltimore. The tin can is introduced in the US. University of Virginia is founded. Sir Walter Scott publishes Ivanhoe. US Population 7.2 M.

7 March 1810: Benjamin Everett Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

10 April 1811: John Adolphus Wallis, age 4, dies in Kent County MD.

1812: John Wallis serves in Maryland Militia in the War of 1812. As he prepares to depart for war, he prepares a letter of advice for his children.  

1 October 1813: Sophia Brooks Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

27 September 1815: Mary Araminta Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

9 October 1817: Hugh Henry Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

Context 1820-1829: US Presidents James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams. Maryland Governors Samuel Sprigg, Samuel Stevens, Joseph Kent, Daniel Martin.  King George III dies in London. First High School opens in Boston MA. Internal combustion engine invented. Erie Canal opens in Buffalo NY.  Edgar Allen Poe publishes his first poems. Baltimore and Ohio RR chartered. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die on the same day. Joseph Dixon begins producing lead pencils. Noah Webster publishes The American Dictionary. Baltimore completes its Washington Monument. US Population 9.6 M.

24 January 1820: Arthur John Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

7 March 1824: John Ambrose Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

1825 or thereabouts: Emily Thomas  and her father visit White Stone Farm owned by John Wallis where she meets John's son, Francis. 

13 April 1826: Francis Ludolph Wallis, age 21, marries Emily Thomas, age 22, the daughter of William Thomas and Elizabeth Woodall, at the home of Thomas Mann, Kent County MD.

January 1827: Emily Thomas's mother, Elizabeth Woodall Thomas, dies in Kent County MD at the age of 67.

18 March 1828: Francis Adolphus Wallis (my 2X-great grandfather) is born in Kent County MD.

12 July 1828: John Wallis writes his will, leaving all his personal estate to his wife Sarah except for five Negroes which he leaves to his son Francis.  He recommends that she get a male friend to assist in administering the estate. 

27 July 1828: Francis Ludolph's father, John Wallis, dies in Kent County MD, age 53.  Cause of death is "an affliction of the throat."  He is buried in the Comegys-Wallis burial ground.  

Context 1830-1839: US Presidents Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren. Maryland Governors Thomas King Carroll, Daniel Martin, George Howard, James Thomas, Thomas Veazy, William Grayson. Queen Victoria ascends the British throne. Town of Chicago is laid out. Nat Turner slave rebellion in VA. Frederick Douglass escapes from slavery in Baltimore. Charles Darwin voyages on the HMS Beagle. Cyrus McCormick constructs a mechanical reaper. Samuel Morse invents the telegraph. Piney Point Lighthouse constructed. Baltimore Sun begins publication. A petition is circulated to allow women to own property in their own names.  It gets only five signatures. William McGuffey publishes his first Readers. Construction begins on the Washington Monument in DC. Charles Dickens publishes Oliver Twist. US Population 12.8 M.

1 March 1830: William John Wallis is born in Kent County MD. 

7 November 1830: Francis Ludolph's mother, Sarah Everett Comegys Wallis, dies in Kent County MD, age 47. She is buried in the Comegys-Wallis burial ground with her husband. 

25 May 1831: William John Wallis, age 1, dies in Kent County MD.

30 August 1831: William Thomas Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

13 May 1833: Robert Emmett Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

23 November 1834: Corbin Ludolph Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

6 June 1837: John Bodien Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

18 September 1838: Francis' brother, Benjamin Everett Wallis, dies in St. Mary's Parish LA, age 28.

13 December 1838: Emily Elizabeth Thomas "Lizzie" Wallis is born in Kent County MD. 

9 September 1839: Mary Emily Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

US Naval Academy 1853

Context 1840-1849: US Presidents Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Polk, Zachary Taylor.  Maryland Governors William Grayson, Francis Thomas, Thomas Pratt, Phillip Thomas. Antarctica claimed for the US.  Victoria marries Prince Albert. New York Tribune begins publication. Edgar Allen Poe writes The Murders in the Rue Morgue and later dies in Baltimore. Francis Scott Key dies in Baltimore. Samuel Morse sends first telegraph message from DC to Baltimore. US troops sent to Mexican border. First recorded baseball game takes place in Hoboken NJ. Maryland Historical Society founded. Naval School founded at Annapolis. Harriet Tubman escapes to Philadelphia. Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to receive a medical degree. Gold is discovered in California. US Population 17 M.

Francis Ludolph Wallis

1840: Francis L. Wallis is enumerated in the 2nd District of Kent County MD, a male age 30-39.  Also in the household are 2 males under 5, 3 males age 5 to 9, 1 female age 50-59, 1 female age 30-39, 1 female under 5 and 1 female age 10-14.  Also 1 free colored male and 1 free colored female and 1 female slave. 

1840's: Francis L. Wallis, as well as all of his brothers, travel to Louisiana to purchase sugar plantations.  Only Francis and his brother Arthur return to Kent County MD.  

17 March 1840: Augustine Keene Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

7 March 1841: Mary Emily Wallis, age 1 and a half, dies in Kent County MD.

5 March 1842: Augustine Keene Wallis, age 2, dies in Kent County MD.

5 September 1842: Mary Sophia Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

November 1842: Francis L. Wallis writes his will, naming his wife Emily and mentioning his trip to Louisiana to visit his brothers. 

7 March 1844: Mary Sophia Wallis, age 1 and a half, dies in Kent County MD.

20 July 1844: Cornelius Comegys Wallis is born in Kent County MD.

6 August 1846: During the war with Mexico, Francis Ludolph Wallis is commissioned a Captain in the Columbia Hussars, a company of the 8th Regimental Cavalry of the Maryland Militia. 

13 September 1846: Francis' brother, John Ambrose Wallis, dies in Terrebonne Parish LA, age 22.

John Brown's raid

Context 1850-1859: US Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan. Maryland Governors Enoch Lowe, Thomas Watkins Ligon, Thomas Hicks. Nathaniel Hawthorne publishes The Scarlet Letter. Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin. Isaac Singer patents the sewing machine. Commodore Perry reaches Japan. Camden Street Station opens in Baltimore. Maryland Agricultural College (now U MD) opens in College Park. Peabody Institute (first US Academy of Music) opens in Baltimore. Frederick Law Olmstead lays out Central Park. RH Macy opens his first store. John Brown raids the US Arsenal at Harper's Ferry. US Population 23.2 M. Average life expectancy for men 40 years.

13 August 1850: Francis L. Wallis, farmer, age 46, is enumerated in the First Election District of Kent County MD. Also in the household are Emily, age 46, William age 19, Ludolph age 15 and Bodien, age 6. His real estate is valued at $15,000.

15 December 1851: Francis's brother, Jesse Comegys Wallis, dies in Terrebonne Parish LA.

7 April 1855: Francis Ludolph Wallis dies at Evergreen in Kent County MD, age 50.  He is buried in the
Comegys-Wallis burial ground in Kent County. One memorial to him describes him: "Francis Ludolph Wallis was one of nature's noblemen, of fine upright character and unusual attainments.  He was 6 ft. 4 1/2 in. tall and of commanding presence.  He was a gentleman farmer, a kind master, and a loving father."  His gravemarker is inscribed:  "An Honest Man, the Noblest Work of God. "

20 December 1855: Robert Emmett Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, marries Matilda Jane Kennedy in Montgomery County PA.

7 April 1856: Francis's brother, Cornelius Comegys Wallis, dies in Louisiana.

22 June 1857: Frances Emily Wallis, daughter of Robert and Matilda, the first grandchild of Francis and Emily, is born in Kent County MD. 

Context: 1860-1869: US Presidents: James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant. Abraham Lincoln wins the Presidency in 1860, although he gets only 3 votes in Anne Arundel County.  Governors of Maryland: Thomas Hicks (Know-Nothing Party), Augustus Bradford, Thomas Swann. South Carolina secedes from the Union; Maryland does not, although there are many Southern sympathizers. First casualties of the Civil War occur in Baltimore where MA troops are stoned. "Maryland, My Maryland" written in response. Maryland slaves emancipated by the State Constitution of 1864. Pony Express begins mail service to California. US purchases Alaska. US Population 31.4 M.

Baltimore Riot 1861

Francis and Georgie Wallis

23 May 1860: Francis Ludolph's brother, Hugh Henry Wallis, dies in Terrebonne Parish LA.

25 July 1860: Emily Wallis, widow, age 56, is enumerated in Kent County MD.  Also in the household are: Francis A. age 32, farmer, William T. age 24, and Cornelius C. age 16.

15 October 1862: Emily Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wallis, daughter of Francis and Emily, marries Francis Granger Schutt in Chestertown, Kent County MD. 

26 April 1864: Francis Adolphus Wallis marries Mary Georgiana "Georgie" Willson at Ellendale, Kent County MD. She is the daughter of George Hayward Willson and Henrietta Eleanor Brooke. I believe the photo at the left was taken about the time of their marriage. 

27 January 1865: Mary Emily Wallis, daughter of  Francis and Georgie, is born at Ellendale, Kent County MD. 

10 January 1866: William Thomas Wallis, second son of Francis and Emily, marries Susan Beall Hollyday in Washington DC.

19 March 1866: Francis Adolphus Wallis Jr. is born in Kent County MD.

22 August 1867: George Hayward Willson Wallis, son of Francis and Georgie, is born in Kent County MD.

4 February 1869: Corbin Ludolph Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, marries Annie Siemans Hurlock at Shrewsbury Parish, Kent County MD.

Context 1870-1879: US Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, (See my previous blog about Grant's wife, my cousin Julia Dent Grant.) Rutherford B. Hayes.  Maryland Governors Oden Bowie, William Pinkney Whyte, James Black Groome, John Lee Carroll. Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge. Transcontinental Railroad is completed. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony form the National Women's Suffrage Association. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution is passed giving Negroes the right to vote.  Maryland votes against ratification. Yellowstone established as the first national park. Montgomery Ward becomes the first mail order house. The first running of the Preakness Stakes.  Thomas Edison invents the incandescent lightbulb. Johns Hopkins University opens in Baltimore. Louis Pasteur develops the concept of inoculation. The young men of the Baltimore Athletic Club play lacrosse. The Baltimore Orioles founded as a team.   US Population: 50 M.

After the death of Francis Ludolph Wallis, the management of his extensive properties became the responsibility of his sons.  Unfortunately, they did not have the same level of experience as their father.  The properties were mortgaged or sold and eventually, they were all lost.  Emily Thomas Wallis lived with her various children for the rest of her life. 

Emily Thomas Wallis

20 August 1870, Emily Wallis, age 66, is enumerated in the household of her son Corbin, age 35 and his wife Annie, age 24. 

28 December 1874: Theresa Evalina Wallis (my great-grandmother) is born in Kent County MD to Francis Adolphus and Mary Georgiana Wallis, the 8th of their 13 children. 

January 1877: Robert Emmett Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, moves to Cowley County KS where he establishes a retail grocery business. 

28 December 1878:  Corbin Ludolph Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, dies in Kent County MD, age44.  He is buried at Shrewsbury Parish. 

1 December 1879: Cornelius Comegys "Corney" Wallis, son of Francis and Emily, dies in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). He was in the cattle business. He is buried in Cowley County KS.

10 June 1880: Emily Wallis, age 75, widow, is enumerated in the household of her widowed daughter-in-law, Annie Hurlock Wallis, age 33.  Also in the household are grandchildren Ludolph age 6, Jonathan age 5, Caroline age 3, Edwin age 2 and Annie's mother, Henrietta Hurlock, age 60. 

5 March 1896: Emily Thomas Wallis dies at the home of her son, Francis Adolphus, in Kent County MD, at the age of 93. She is buried beside her husband in the Comegys-Wallis burial ground in Kent County MD.

6 March 1896. The Baltimore Sun publishes her obituary. 

Mrs. Emily Wallis. one of the oldest. If not the oldest woman in the county, died at the home of her son. F. A. Wallis, yesterday, . aged ninety-three years. Her children are Francis Adolphus Wallis, Robert Wallis of Kansas; Mrs. Lizzie Scott,[actually Schutt] of Washington, D. C, and William Wallis. of Prince George's county. Though bedridden and blind, she had a remarkable memory, and all of her faculties remained unimpaired. She was able to recite in detail many interesting incidents of the early part of the century.

Of Francis Ludolph and Emily's twelve children, only four outlived their mother: 

Francis Adolphus d. 1904 in Queen Anne County MD age 76.

William Thomas d. 1906 in Prince George's County MD, age 75.

Robert Emmett d. 1919 in Winfield KS, age 85. 

Emily Elizabeth Schutt d. 1919 in Cherrydale VA, age 80.

#52 Ancestors 2020 Week 23 Wedding: Three Generations of Southern Maryland Weddings

Most of the time, any family historian would count herself lucky to have found a wedding photo of her grandparents.  And I am fortunate to have a charming wedding photo of my maternal grandparents, Paul Francis Summers and Theresa Evalina Sasscer from 1924.  In addition, thanks to my grandmother's tendency to collect clippings, I also have the detailed account of the wedding from the local paper. And further, I also have the photo and newspaper account of the wedding of my great-grandparents, Thomas Reverdy Sasscer and Theresa Evalina Wallis in 1894. (Yes, she was a collector too.)  And, of course, I have the photo and newspaper description of my own parents' wedding in 1947, Frank Philip Scrivener and Anne Theresa Summers.  (At least I know I came by that hoarding gene honestly.)

So, since I have these treasures, I thought it would be interesting to compare the three Southern Maryland weddings and look at how things changed, or didn't over the course of the 50 years that separated these nuptials.

Theresa Evalina Wallis (Eva) was 20 years old when she married Rev Sasscer,  a Prince George's County tobacco farmer who was 23 years her senior. Eva had come to Prince George's County from Kent County on the Eastern Shore to teach in the one-room school house located on the Sasscer property.  She boarded with Mr. Sasscer and his sister and soon the wedding bells were ringing.

The Wallis-Sasscer wedding took place at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Chestertown, Kent County, the bride's home town on November 14, 1894. The bride wore a handsome gown of "tan henrietta cloth ( a type of fine wool) with gloves and hat to match." She was escorted to the altar by her brother, Francis Wallis, and two other brothers were mentioned as ushers.

The church, according to the newspaper, was beautifully decorated, the altars banked with white and yellow chrysanthemums and the chandeliers festooned with trailing vines.  "Numerous candles shed a mellow light over the scene."

Music for the service included both Mendelsohn's and Lohengrin's Wedding Marches, as well as  Ave Maria, Veni Jesu, and God Be Praised in All His Works, sung in solos and choruses.

After the ceremony, the bridal couple were given a marriage breakfast by Rev. George Ott, the officiating minister.

The bride's parents--Francis Adolphus Wallis and Georgiana Willson--signed the marriage certificate as witnesses.

My grandparents' wedding took place at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Upper Marlboro, Prince George's County, on the 26th of April 1924. (As an aside, my paternal grandparents, Frank Scrivener and Elizabeth Dent, were married in the same church just a few weeks later.)  Paul and Evalina had attended school together at Baden Agricultural High School and also attended the same church, St. Mary's. Paul Summers (28) had served in the US Navy during WWI and then returned to the family farm.  Evalina (25) had worked for the War Department in Washington DC and then taught school before her marriage.

The bridge wore a gown of ivory Canton crepe draped with Venetian lace and a tulle veil held in place by a bandeau of orange blossoms. Her sister, Eunice Sasscer Turner, was her matron of honor, wearing pale blue satin duchesse with a white picture hat.  The flower girl was Paul's niece, Dorothy Perrie in a shell pink frock. Since her father had died several years earlier, Evalina was escorted to the altar by her brother, Francis Wallis Sasscer. The groom's best man was his brother Joseph M. Summers.

Jerome Summers (Paul's brother), Clarence Sasscer (Evalina's brother), Charles Turner (Evalina's brother-in-law), and Francis Summers (cousin) were the ushers.

There was music, of course, but the specific musical selections were not named in the account.  The paper did identify the organist, Georgia Wilson, a cousin of the bride and two soloists, Josephine O'Connor and Nellie Ronan.

A wedding breakfast at the home of the bride followed the ceremony.  The paper includes a long list of the guests, a virtual catalog of the siblings and cousins of the bridal couple. The paper noted in particular "the presence of a charming group of children who were nieces and nephews, added another attractive feature to the interesting wedding."

The couple took a "northern trip" (Baltimore, perhaps?) before returning home to settle in at the home of Evalina's mother, Eva Sasscer.

My parents, Frank Scrivener and Anne Summers, were married at the same church, St. Mary's in Upper Marlboro on August 2, 1947.  Frank, 22, had just returned from service in Europe during WWII and was a student at Loyola College in Baltimore.  Anne, also 22, had graduated from George Washington University and was working for the federal government in Washington DC. They had met as youngsters when Frank came down to Upper Marlboro to stay with his Scrivener grandparents.

Their wedding was described by the Marlboro Gazette as "one of the outstanding weddings of Southern Maryland this year."

In addition to the pastor, Fr. McLaughlin, Monsignor Andrew Gwynn of South Carolina, Dad's great-uncle, also officiated at the ceremony.  There were more than 600 guests at the church.

The bride, who was given in marriage by her father, Paul Summers, wore a white gown with a lace bodice and white chiffon skirt with lace panels.  Her fingertip veil was held in place by a lace headdress.  She carried American Beauty Roses.

Wedding music was furnished by Mrs. Roland Ripple, Fred Wyville, Mrs. Arthur Gilman and Olivia Raphel (who was soon to marry Frank's brother Keene).

Evalina Summers was her sister's maid of honor and the other attendants were cousins Brooke Stiefel and Effie Melchior, sister-in-law, Carmelite Scrivener, and friend Jeanne Sauerwein. The attendants wore  frocks in a rainbow of silky faille with matching picture hats. Mary Brooke Kelly was the flower girl and the bride's brother, eight-year old Robert Summers, was the ring-bearer.

Jack Scrivener was his brother's best man, and Paul Summers Jr. (Anne's brother), Jack Fish, Jerry Laroque, and Tom Ostendorf (college buddies and tennis partners of Frank) served as the ushers.

 The reception was held at Maplehurst, the Summers farm, where the large outdoor area could accommodate the hundreds of guests (and the scene of many future weddings, some of which I can remember attending as my mother's younger sisters married.)

The couple left on a "Northern Honeymoon." (As my mother tells this story, Dad planned to take her to a resort where there was a tennis tournament he wanted to play in.  But that is a story for another time.) On returning, they planned to live in Baltimore.

So, here we have three Southern Maryland wedding stories.  All the couples were Catholic and married in a Catholic Church.  The weddings seem to get progressively more elaborate.  Great-grandmother got a nice new dress that she could wear many times after the wedding, while her daughter and granddaughter had specific wedding dresses that probably were not worn again. (Do you notice that none of the wedding articles bother to comment on what the groom was wearing? That didn't change in 50 years.)

On the matter of attendants, all of the wedding parties emphasized family.  Great-grandmother had no female attendants, just ushers, all family members.  Grandmother had a matron of honor and a flower girl as well as ushers, again all family members.  Mother had a full panoply of attendants, male and female including friends as well as family members. 

The celebrations progressed from a simple wedding breakfast at the rectory to a more elaborate breakfast at the bride's home, to a huge celebration with a catered dinner for hundreds of guests.  

What strikes me as the unifying note of all these ceremonies, though, is the degree to which they were family celebrations. The families went all in to start these new couples off in the right spirit.

What do you notice?

#52 Ancestors 2020 Week 18 Where There's a Will: Advice from Grandfather John Wallis

John Wallis, my 4X-great grandfather, was born at Whitestone Farm, near Sassafras, Kent County MD, 22 July 1775, the oldest son of Lt. Francis Wallis and his wife, Sophia Brooks.  His mother died when he was about ten years old and so he was raised by his step-mother, Elizabeth Smith Wallis and was educated at a boarding school.

On 5 May 1803, he married Sarah Everett Comegys, the daughter of Lt. Jesse Comegys and Mary Everett.  He was raised a Quaker, but when he married, he joined Shrewsbury Parish where he worshipped with his wife. He was a planter and owned several large tracts of land including Sewards Hope, Gleaves Adventure, Partnership, and Agreement, the last two inherited from his father.

Unfortunately, he lost quite a bit of his property when he kindly stood security for friends who failed to meet their obligations. 

Sewards Hope was described as follows in a newspaper advertisement of its sale:

The farm where I reside, within 6 miles of Chestertown and 2 miles of the Chester River, very pleasantly situated.  Arable land, divided into three fields.  The farm contains 220 acres, fifty of which in timber and firewood.  Buildings of brick, roomy and convenient, a brick barn and stable, with every other requisite outbuilding.  A large thriving apple and peach orchard in full bearing and well selected. A garden well supplied with shrubbery and fruits, the walnut, grape, raspberry, strawberry etc. 

John Wallis fought in the War of 1812, serving in Captain George Spry's company and later in Captain Frederick Boyer's Company.

Before departing for the war, John wrote a letter to his children to be read to them in the event of  his death.  The letter names his five eldest children, and he had four more before his eventual death in 1828:
Francis Ludolph Wallis 1804 (my 3X-great grandfather)
Jesse Comegys Wallis 1805
John Adolphus Wallis 1807
Cornelius Comegys Wallis 1809
Benjamin Everett Wallis 1810
Sophia Brooks Wallis 1813
Mary Araminta Wallis 1815
Hugh Henry Wallis 1817
Arthur John Wallis 1820
John Ambrose Wallis 1824

The letter was found with his will at his death.

Here is Grandfather's Wallis's advice:


My very dear children—Francis, Jesse, Cornelius, Benjamin, Sophia. 

It has pleased the Almighty to remove from ye Protection and ye Support, ye Father.  Ye are still blessed with an affectionate and deserving Mother, which is a comfort.  Ye several duties toward ye Mother are strongly pointed out by Nature as the Divine Precepts of the Gospel. Attend my dear Children to every respectful duty to ye Mother, ye country and ye God.  Let ye vocations be assiduously applied in improving ye education by writing, reading, and close study. Carefully avoid becoming too much enamoured with the frivolities of the youth of the present time.  Let yet attention be always engaged about something laudable and praiseworthy and ye my sons, avoid the alluring paths of vice and dissipation as ye would the greatest danger. Make confidants and friends of few.  Always be religiously just, and in all ye dealings, faithful and just.  Cherish always that brotherly love that should exist between brothers and sisters.  Avoid all strife and contention. The little property ye father has been able to leave ye (the wreck of a better fortune lost and wasted for want of early admonition) will give each of ye a tolerable start, which by industry and prudence will increase sufficiently to enable ye to support a family genteelly and become a useful member of society.  It would not last should a course of another kind be either of ye unfortunate lots.  The little ye have, with proper management may make ye a credit to ye Father, ye Mother, and ye Country.  Ye Father has seen a great deal of the world and he found that those that attend but little to it and pursue their own concerns have the most tranquil time of it. 


Ye father earnestly recommends to each of ye, to marry early, to be discreet in ye choice, let that one be near ye own years as to age, of reputation pure and of habits industrious.  Such companions cannot fail to make ye happy.  Avoid as ye would certain destruction, the illicit commune with bad women, it being the groundwork of every other vice, and in the end will lead to destruction of constitution, reputation, and ye property. 


In the commune with the world always be open and deal justly with everyone, take from no one that which is not ye own, but in all cases and at all times keep alive every honourable and just feeling.  Should ye country ever need ye support as a soldier or otherwise, the call is just and ought to be attended, keeping always in view that ye are a citizen thereof and bound as well from duty as honor to give ye support, when required, even unto death.  


These my children are ye Father’s reflections, which he has committed to paper, that each of ye may at all times after he has gone from ye, read them over, weigh them and govern ye selves accordingly.



So may the blessings of the Almighty be always with ye.

Ye Father,



John Wallis

John Wallis died in Kent County 17 July 1828.  The local paper described him as "an intelligent and respectable man and a most valuable and useful citizen."

His wife Sarah Everett Comegys Wallis died 7 November 1830 in Kent County.  Both are buried a the  Comegys-Wallis Burial Ground.

All of the Wallis sons left Kent County and went to Louisiana where they purchased sugar plantations.  Francis and Arthur eventually returned to Maryland and died in Kent County.

The original copy of John Wallis's letter was passed on to his oldest son, Francis, and it has in turn been passed down to the oldest son in succeeding generations.  Unfortunately, I do not know the whereabouts of the original at the present time.  However, because the letter has been copied numerous times, we can still have the benefit of Grandfather Wallis's advice.  Even after more than a hundred years, it is advice still worth contemplating.

#52 Ancestors Week 17 Land: Ellen Isham Schutt Pomological Artist

What, you may ask is a pomological artist?  It was a new word for me too.  Pomology is a branch of botany that studies and cultivates fruit.  A pomological artist, therefore, is an artist that specializes in drawing fruit.  And I have one of those in my family.

Francis and Lizzie Schutt

Ellen Isham Schutt (Aunt Nell, my 2X great-aunt really) was the daughter of Francis Granger Schutt and Emily Elizabeth Thomas "Lizzie" Wallis. Francis, a New York businessman, ran a furniture store in Georgetown.   His youngest daughter Nell was born 15 April 1873 in Oak Grove, Arlington County VA, where her father had bought property after the Civil War. The area is now the Cherrydale Historic District.

Indian Bael

From 1904 to 1914, Nell worked for the United States Department of Agriculture as an illustrator.  During this period she painted over 700 watercolors of various fruits and nuts. Her subjects ranged from the common

(apples, hickory nuts) to the then-exotic (bael, custard apple, cashew nuts), and quite a few show fruit damage from mold, insects, and other causes.  Her precise

style resulted in watercolors that at times look more like drawings than paintings. She also modeled some fruit such as apples and pears in wax to demonstrate the effects of long storage and packaging on fruits.

Custard Apple

In 1914-15, Nell worked at the University of California Berkeley doing drawings of apples in a variety of conditions including cold storage, core rot, and moth damage.

(Illustrations: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.)

For more examples of Nell's work, see the UC Davis website at https://calisphere.org/collections/19667/. 

In 1909, Nell turned her talents to architecture.  Having seen her father's home go up in flames, she determined to build a fireproof home for herself.  According to my cousin Larry, who heard the story from Nell herself and actually lived in the house briefly as a child, she was a one-woman dynamo.  She had molds made to make concrete blocks on the property, rolled up her sleeves, mixed the concrete, poured the molds, mortared the blocks and built the house.  Well, the degree of her involvement in the actual construction may be somewhat overstated, but the plan for the all-concrete house and the general architecture were definitely hers.  She named the place "Ellenwood,"  after herself. It was an imposing house, with columns in the front and a two-story high front porch. Cousin Larry also remembers that Nell salvaged some four-foot concrete urns left over from the St. Louis World's Fair which she used to adorn her front porch and driveway.  Ellenwood was unfortunately torn down in the 1960's to make way for an expansion of St. Agnes Church, but a little bit of it can be seen in the photo below that shows Thomas Smythe Wallis (second from the left) with his brothers, Francis, Harry and John standing in front of the house. 

After her father's death in 1914, Nell married Walter David Blackburn in Florida, but the marriage ended in divorce.  In 1917, she married her cousin Thomas Smythe Wallis and lived with him at Ellenwood, in the Cherrydale section of Arlington.   Thomas Smythe Wallis was the younger brother of my great-grandmother, Theresa Evalina Wallis (Dama), the 9th of 13 children of Francis Adolphus Wallis and Georgianna Willson. Nell and Tom had no children. 

Nell and her mother were both very interested in genealogy and Nell started the Francis Wallis chapter of the DAR that served the Washington DC area. Cousin Larry remembers a fabulous Wallis family tree drawn to resemble a botanical tree where he could see his own name in one of the tiny branches.  Some of her research still survives at the Maryland Historical Society.  

Thomas Smythe Wallis died in Virginia in 1949.  Nell died in 1955.  They are both buried in Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington VA.