MDCHARLE-L Archives

From: "Bruce" <>
Subject: PEPCO Graves
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 17:04:51 -0700

Hello Friends....

Thanks for all the replies on the graves at PEPCO. I have an email from 1999 that provides most of the answers about the property. See attachment if anyone is interested. My remaining questions are: When was the old home built? Who lived there when it burned? How and when was the property finally returned to the Matthews family which owned the property between 1832 and 1859? Also, as an after-thought, it would be great to know the boundaries of the many properties that made up Laidler's Ferry as I knew it....

Since I have had many helpful emails from the MDCHARLE forum and have opened a Pandora's box, I guess it would be appropriate to send the old email to the forum also. I tried but attachments don't work on the forum so I will stick it on the end of this thing -- sorry for the volume.....

Hard to do Charles County research from the west coast.
Have a great day all and thanks,
Bruce

-----------------
26 Aug 1999
Potomac Properties:

"Laidler's Ferry"
"Lee's Purchase"
"Stump Dale"
"Stone Plantation"
"Dear Bought"
"Brant's Discovery"
"Three Brothers"
"Rose Dale"

My oldest and last relative in my father's generation finally sent me data
from a series of Charles Co land records that have resolved our family's
inheritance of a track of land where the Pepco power plant now sits. I
practically grew up on the place, but my grandfather sold it to Pepco when I
was a teenager. The property was generally square and ran along the river
from a point north of the 101 bridge to a gut called Pascahanza Creek just
north of Morgantown. I don't know the acreage. I can't vouch for the
accuracy of the below data, but I can attest to the honesty of my source....

Chip - The property was known as "Laidler's Ferry", NOT Ledlowe's Ferry, as
I first mentioned. In my youth I heard the name occasionally, but we mostly
referred to it simply as "The Ferry". I never saw it in writing so the
pronunciation was close enough for me

To summarize for those who want to move on to more important pursuits: Lee's
Purchase, Stump Dale, the Stone Plantation, Dear Bought, Brant's Discovery
and Three Brothers all came together to make up Rose Dale which eventually
became known as Laidler's Ferry.

The beautiful old home overlooking the ferry cove burned in 1929 - the four
LaGrange-style chimneys were still standing when I was a kid. Must have
been a lovely place..

My data:

14 May 1651 - Records show "Stump Dale" was owned by Thomas BACHELOR.

3 Mar 1714 - Richard LEE of Blenheim willed to his son, Philip LEE,
"Lee's Purchase" which he said is "late in the hands of Philip LYNES but is
being adjudicated".

15 Jun 1734 - John and Anne ASHMAN sold to Philip LEE the "Stone
Plantation" which then became part of "Lee's Purchase".

10 Oct 1760 - George and Chloe LEE sold to John LAIDLER "Lee's Purchase"
for 455 pounds sterling.

26 Sep 1765 - "Dear Bought" was granted to John LAIDLER, about 12 acres
which became part of "Lee's Purchase".

1 Feb 1771 - John LAIDLER willed to his son Robert "Lee's Purchase" and if
he died without heirs to his son John.

18 Aug 1813 - John LAIDLER sold to John Laidler HAWKINS "Lee's Purchase",
"Dear Bought" and the "Stone Plantation".

29 Jan 1818 - Patent to the LAIDLERS : Elizabeth, Catherine, Mary Ann,
Eleanor, Jane "Lee's Purchase", "Stump Dale" (which included part of Thomas'
Maggott and part of the "Stone Plantation"), and which was then to be one
track of land known as "Rose Dale". Mary Ann LAIDLER inherited "Rose Dale".
She married Thomas BRUCE.

10 Apr 1832 - Thomas and Mary Ann BRUCE deeded "Rose Dale" then known as
"Laidler's Ferry" to Gen John MATTHEWS, my 2GGrandfather.

12 Dec 1853 - John MATTHEWS willed the estate to his son Thomas, but Thomas
died dsp and his brother William Bruce MATTHEWS, my great grandfather,
inherited the property.

1859 - W.B. and wife Ann Trueman Dorsett MATTHEWS sold the
property to Henry FERGUSON.

28 Aug 1862 - Henry FERGUSON sold the property to Robert FERGUSON and Walter
MITCHELL to pay off a debt to W.B. MATTHEWS.

Still to be researched is the process between 1862 and 1893 by which
"Laidler's Ferry" became once more the property of W.B. Matthews' son John,
my grandfather who died in 1944.

Still to be researched also is how the "ferry" got into the name. When I
was a kid in 1945 the cove still had a few of the piles of a pier which I
was told was the remnants of the ferry pier but, as the name apparently
included "ferry" as early as 1832, that would seem incorrect - the piles
would last that long in river water. Perhaps the pier was rebuilt at some
later date....

I would appreciate any additions or corrections to the above data that may
come from anyone's records.

Wm Bruce Matthews

Monterey, Ca
formerly of LaPlata, Md

Hi Love,
Dad

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• PEPCO Graves by "Bruce" <>