The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-05-31

w, W. Costin, and the official board of Hunt:
NJ. E. Church, near Sherwood, N. c. R. R.. the
Brotherhood of the Baltimore District, Rev
DR.. G. H. Richardson, president, held its regu.
lar meeting at that church on Tuesday last
The visitors from the city were met at Ruxton
Station by conveyances at P. NJ. and driven
to the original burial place of Rev. Robert
Straw bridge, the founder of Methodism in
America, which was in the family graveyard
| of John Wheeler, who owned the property at
that time, and which is located about one and
a-half miles west of Towson, near the North.
ern Central Railway. This property was pur-
chased from the estate of John Wheeler by
the late Daniel Lee, and in subsequent years
the late James Boyce purchased it and it now
constitutes part of Kalmia Park. The dwell
ing house occupied by the Wheeler family, and
which was considerably enlarged by Mr.. Lee
| during his ownership was entirely destroyed
by fire several years ago, and nothing remains
to mark the place where it stood except giant
walnut tree that grew in front of it. All of
| the outbuildings have also been removed.
! The graveyard, which is located on hillside
several hundred yards south of where the
| dwelling stood, and in which, doubtless, lie
| buried the remains of many persons is over
grown with bushes and weeds.
Arriving at this place Rev. DR.. Richardson
| took charge of the exercises and, after singing
and prayer, Rev. G. d. Smith, of Baltimore
| was introduced and read an interesting paper
on the life and work of Robert trawbridge
to with marked attention. Strawbrdge was
born in Dramsnagh, Ireland, and in early life
| united with the Methodists and engaged most
| of his time in preaching, praying and circu-
lating the Scriptures in the Irish language.
AS man of business he was not successful.
His mission seemed to be that of rowing ex-
horter; nevertheless he married wife whose
patience was quite as admirable as her hus-
bands zeal, and in 1760 he set off for America,
with his family, to better his unpromising
fortunes. Having settled his family in small
cabin in the woods of Maryland, near Sans
creek, Frederick county, he began the double
work of farming and preaching, his own house
serving as chapel. 1t appears that his preach
ing thrived better than his farming, for he
soon had organized several little societies and,
as is stated on his monument in Mt. Olivet
Cemetery, on the Frederick road, Baltimore
He built the log Westinghouse in Frederick
county, Nd, 1764, the first in America" AS
many as four or five preachers were raised up
in this little chapel, who, under the direction
of Strawbridge, Travelled little circuits on Sab.
bath and worked for their daily bread on other
days of the week.
From 1850 to 1776 Strawbridge lived on his
farm near Sans creek, which, had it not been
for the toll of his wife and the charity of his
neighbors would have failed to keep himself
and family from want. At length one of his
wealthy friends, Capt. Charles Ridgely of
Hampton, gave him life lease of plantation
near Middle river, Baltimore county, where he
was abundantly provided with all the tenn
poral necessities of life.
Not content with preaching the Gospel in the
neighborhood in which he lived, he would
travel over the territory reaching from Vir-
ginia TO Philadelphia. There being no churches
in the sparsely settled districts, he would con-
duct his services at the house of some friend
and frequently in the open air beneath the
shade of some tree. Prominent among these
stopping places was the home of Henry Dor
sey Cough, of Perry Hall, Belair road, whose
wife was daughter of Governor Ridgely. 1t
was during the summer of 1881, while Straw
bridge was on one of these pilgrimages, he
stopped at the home of John Wheeler, where
these services were held, when he was taken
suddenly sick and died. The funeral services
were held in the open air beneath the large
walnut tree above referred to, and was attended
by a large concourse OF people, some coming
from his old home in Frederick county. Rev.
Richard Evans conducted the services. As the
body was borne on the shoulders of the pail
bearers to the grave those present followed
after, singing hymn. The body remained in
this graveyard until more recent years when
it was removed to the Preachers Lot" in Mt.
Olivet Cemetery.
At the conclusion of the reading of the
paper, which took place beneath the walnut
tree, and at the suggestion of Rev. DIR. Rich
ardson, the company formed in line and
marched to the graveyard, singing the same
hymn that was sung when the body of Straw
All present then repaired to Hunts Church.
where the business session of the brotherhood
was held, at the close of which supper WIS
served by the ladies of the church and a social
hour enjoyed. In the evening the topic of
1.-THE Lords Day" was considered and q num-
Der of ministers took part in the discussion.
Some Facts About the Seventeen-Year
Locusts.-The little towers or chimneys with
which the 17-year cicada has already covered
much of Baltimore county in his upward pro-
gress to the sunshine have an interesting his
tory. Some of it was told recently by DR.. E.
A. Andrews at a meeting of the Baltimore
Naturalists Club
"He has been down in his mud for IL years."
said DR.. Andrews, sucking nourishment from
any apparent reason for doing so just at this
particular time, he lets go his hold and starts
up. In order to get out he makes himself
large hole, so large that he can climb up it
and slide down it without difficulty.
HE doesn't take out much dirt, compare
lively, but seems to make his hole by arching
his back and pushing aside the dirt. 1t is a
nice round hole, with smooth walls, when he
is done with it. At the mouth of it he piles
up a fine mound of dirt, sometimes two inches
high. To do this he acts as his own hodcar-
rier, and uses his face for hod Slipping
down into the mud whence he rose, he gets his
face and head full of 1t and climbs to the sur
face. His face is broad and his jaws hairy.
The mud stays on well, and to get it off he
shoves on it with his big, crabby claws. The
process is difficult, for the hair adheres to the
mud. When he does get it off, however, he
shoves it all the way out through the tower
and it becomes one of the little nodules which
are distinctive feature of his mud house
When these nodules are freshly pushed out
the bottoms of them often contain imprints of
his face.
Near Relay l found one hill the cap of
which was entirely incrusted with these towers
or chimneys. On another, near by, they were
so low as to be almost imperceptible. A sur
face cutting made with a trowel, however,
showed the ground to be riddled with the holes.
When you approach one of these towers the
cicada drops quickly down his burrow and
stays until you are gone.
"Some of the other animals are already
finding the cicada very good thing as an ad-
dition to their bills of fare. have seen many
with the viscera eaten away and some of these
continue to live for while. A squirrel has
been seen to take one up tree, eat out all the
soft parts and throw the rest away. AS he
dropped it the wings worked in an effort to fly.
1.-The cicada has false reputation for de-
structive gluttony. He probably comes by it
because he is called locust and looks like
bad character. AS matter of fact, he might
as well be called the 17-year bed bug He is as
much like a bed bug as locust, and has no
more power to gobble up trees and crops. AS
a matter of fact, it is not certain that he eats
at all. In most cases it is the fact that he
doesn't.
"Dr. Hand Brown has called my attention
to the earliest English account of the cicada
which either of US has ever met. 1t occurs in
the philosophical transactions of the Royal
Society, and refers to observations made in
1865, reciting that 'swarms of strange and
mysterious insects appeared that year in New
England There must have been farmers and
journalists at that time, too for the report goes
on to say that they destroyed all vegetation
for the space of 200 miles
Like all of our most interesting American
animals, the cicada is passing. His periodical
invasion is weaker and weaker. The clearing
of forests and rise of the sparrow tribe and the
increase of his other enemies seem to be doing
him to distant finish"
They Will Eat Locust Pie, Perhaps.-A
novel entertainment as well as experiment,
will take place Saturday evening at 8 o'clock
at the residence of G. F. Brochat, Lauraville,
Hartford road. A huge pie of 17-year locusts
has been baked and will be served to the invi
ted guests. The locusts have long been pest
to Lauravlle, and it remained for Peter At
land, who boards at Mr.. Brochat's. to suggest
a profitable manner to rid the town of locusts
that of making locust pie. Mr. Brochat is a
well known baker, and it was upon the sug-