Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1893-12-21
Saint Maru's Beacon
OLD TON WHITES GHOST.
1T CONES on WINTER NIGHTS TO
RING THE CHURCH BELL.
From the Snndau Ners.

Everybody knows where the site
of the old st. Mary's City is, and
every child in Maryland is familiar
with the history Of the early set
Element of st. Mary's county by
the Calverts, the old mulberry tree,
the old Trinity p. 4. Church, and
the burial-place Of Leonard Calvert.
But few, however, are living now
who remember old Tom White, the
colored sexton of Trinity Church.
Tom was a slave, and as such
descended from one generation to
another until he fell into the kind
hands of DIR. John NJ. Bronze, who
owned large estate on the st. Ma
ry's river and who generally super
vised the church and the st. Mary's
Female Seminary, standing one
hundred yards east of the church
building. Where old Tom White
was born nobody knows to this day.
There is legend among the color
ed folk down there that Tom was
fishing "off Church Pint" when
Columbus discovered America, and
that he was still there when the Ark
and the Dove cast anchor in the
st. Mary's river. This tradition
has but few adhcrents now. Tom,
however, was great fisherman,
that is, he was always fishing ex-
cept on Sundays and feast days,
when he rang the church bell. He
always fished where there were no
fish, but whenever it was time to
ring the church bell he was at his
post.
Dressed in kersey suit and a
beaver hat, he would make his way
to the church from his cabin quar-
ter OF mile distant, under the
brOiling rays of summer sun or
through snowy blasts of winter.
Tie bell was not in a steeple in
those days, but it was one of the
kind with which the village milk
man now disturbs the early morn
ing slumbers of the people in sum-
mOning the cook to the back gate
to take in the weakened cream for
the breakfast coffee. One peculiar
ity about the old colored sexton
was that he always laid aside his
old beaver hat before he rang the
bell.
After building the fire in the
winter in the stove, nearly five feet
long, he would lay his old hat on
the steps and bare-headed he would
walk up and down in front of the
church, ringing the bell. Many a
wintry Sunday, Tom made the fire
in the church stove, cleared a path
way through the snow to the outer
gate of the church yard, and to the
Female Seminary when the weather
was too bad even for the parson to
come and then rang his bell and
knelt down by the stove and re-
peated the morning service all by
himself, The old chnrch has Civ
ell way TO new one of modern
structure, with ornamentations
made from the famous mulberry
tree under which Leonard Calvert
is said to have made his deal with
the Indians.
A bell now hangs in a tower and
another sexton rings it. The COL
ored people around the neighbor-
hood still, however, believe that old
Tom Whites spirit visits the place
at times and upon winter nights
when the wind plays around the
church tower and shakes the bell
and beats the clapper against the
metal they huddle together and
whisper, "Uncle Tom Whites ring
in de chu CHI bell. The death of
of the old sexton, Tom White, was
a pathetic one. 1t occurred about
% years ago. His former master,
DR.. john NJ. Bronze, was at his bed
side when he breathed his last, do
ing all that mortal cauld do to save
his old, faithful black friend. The
late Rev. DR.. James Stephenson,
afterward dean of Cumberland, then
rector of Trinity Church, was also
present. The last dose of medicine
given the old sexton was small
pill. He looked at the doctor and
said
"Marsa John, make dat pill big
ger, cause if l die who's gwyne ter
ring de chu'ch bell 20
"Pills will not cure you, Tom,"
replied the doctor. "You are GO
ing now where your work will
cease"
m - ~