Rose Hill (Port Tobacco, Maryland)
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Rose Hill, a registered national historic site in Charles County, Maryland is known for three things:
- It was the home of Dr. Gustavus R. Brown, a life-long friend of George Washington, as well as one of his physicians.
- It was the home of Miss Olivia Floyd (born 1826, died 1905[1])
- It is the reputed site of the Port Tobacco Blue Dog Legend
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[edit] Dr. Gustavus Richard Brown
The Rose Hill manor house was built in 1783 (or later[2]) by Dr. Gustavus Brown. He had recently combined four tracts of land from Betty's Delight for this purpose.[3]
The house has been owned by several people since it was built, and restored more than once,[4] most recently by Charles Stuart.[5][6][7]
[edit] Miss Olivia Floyd
The Maryland archives (and some less reliable sources) appear to show that Rose Hill Farm (with the manor) was sold to Ignatius Semmes, but do not provide a clear story, i.e., whether it was to the elder Semmes (born 1773[8]), or the younger (born 1821[9]), and when this took place (from 1804 to the early 1820s). Another Gustavus Brown is mentioned more than once in the same area, up to 1826. But the archives do show that older Semmes died in 1826, and the younger Semmes died in 1843, willing the property to his uncle and aunt (Holmes and Semmes) and her children.
Olivia Floyd was one of the latter. She is best known as a Confederate agent.[10][11][12][13]
[edit] The Blue Dog
Port Tobacco, which is at the bottom of Rose Hill, is a town. In contrast, Rose Hill Road (which is outside Port Tobacco) passes a few widely scattered houses.
[edit] Notes
- ^ OLIVIA FLOYD DEAD.; Famous Woman Blockade Runner of the Confederacy, The New York Times, December 12, 1905, <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=940DE1DB143DE733A25751C1A9649D946497D6CF>. Retrieved on 17 October 2007
- ^ Sometime after the 1783 tax assessment, according to the Maryland Historical Trust web page.
- ^ Arnett, pp 44-45
- ^ The Historic American Buildings Survey notes that it was restored in 1937, which was when the survey made photographs of the building.
- ^ Before Stuart bought it in 1972, it was owned by Frank Wade for 12 years.
- ^ Memorial Obituaries — Charles Edward Stuart. Brinsfield Echols Funeral Home (August 19, 2007).
- ^ Nixon White House Staffer, Charles Stuart, Dies at 69. The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- ^ O'Rourke, pp 12.
- ^ Sister Miriam John+, OCD, Discalced Carmelite Nuns, Carmel of Port Tobacco. The Early Nineteenth Century Burials at Mount Carmel, Maryland. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
File modified October 7, 2000. It lists dates on gravestones 1778-1826 and 1821-1843 for the elder and younger Ignatius Semmes. See external link to St. Ignatius Church which shows worn gravestones (1773 may be read as 1778). - ^ Rose Hill. The Historical Marker Database (June 17, 2007).
- ^ Larry G. Eggleston (2003). Women in the Civil War: Extraordinary Stories of Soldiers, Spies, Nurses, Crusaders and Others. McFarland & Company.
- ^ The Maryland Historical Trust web page states that Olivia Floyd was a descendent of Gustavus Brown.
- ^ John T. Marck. Miss Olivia Floyd. About Famous People. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
[edit] References
- Arnett, Earl; Dr. Robert J Brugger, Edward C. Papenfuse (1999). Maryland: A New Guide to the Old Line State. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Hayden, Faith (September 29, 2002). Washington stayed here, as does loyal dog's ghost. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- O'Rourke, Timothy J. (1985). Catholic Families of Southern Maryland. Genealogical Publishing Company. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
- Ridgely, Helen West (1908). Historic Graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia. The Grafton press.
- Scharf, John Thomas (1879). History of Maryland from the Earliest Period to the Present Day. John B. Piet.
- Wilstach, Paul (1921). Potomac Landings. Doubleday, Page & Company.
- MD0347 — Rose Hill, Rose Hill Road, Port Tobacco vicinity, Charles County, MD. Historic American Buildings Survey. Retrieved on 2007-10-01.
- National Register Listings in Maryland. Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
[edit] External links
- Lists several photographs of Rose Hill
- Description and photograph of Betty's Delight
- St. Ignatius Catholic Church, St. Thomas Manor Chapel Point, Maryland
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