The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-11-05
An Interesting Fact
COLONIAL HOMES AND
CUSTOMS

many hardships and privations Of a
primitive people. In many instances,
of course, this was true. "The poor
we have with US always" But we
bear in mind that while they chose
to settle in primitive country, they
were not a primitive people. They, on
i. the whole, had behind them the cul-
| ture, the customs, the habits and the
environments of their home land.
Even the indentured servants and the
redemptioners (many of them) were
persons of refinement.
1t is true that following the pur-
chase of St. Mary's from Yaecomico
for cloth, axes, hatchets, rakes, hoes
and knives, the Colonists for time
! dwelt in houses built. by and for the
Indians. These houses as described
by Father White four first historian)
in his Relations, were crude and de-
void of refinements and conveniences,
and We're mere cabins, with light adj
mitted through the roof, which wih-
dow also served to carry off the smoke
of the fire built in the middle of the
floor, around which the braves slept.
These conditions did not continue
for long, however. We find that as
early as 1864, only thirty years after
the landing of the Ark and the Dove,
the Assembly of Maryland provided
that thereafter all houses erected
should not be less than twenty feet
square and two and ahalf stories high
with brick chimneys. =
T During the following century many
dwellings, were constructed Of frame
and brick, some of which are still
standing, attesting the fact that our
forefathers built their habitations as
they helped to build our State and
Nation-durable and lasting.
We can but marvel, as we contem-
plate the many homes of ancestral
Maryland dotting the counties of the
Eastern Shore, standing as silent
monuments to the thrift and culture
of their builders.
Probably the first brick dwelling
erected in Maryland (about 1643)
and still standing was on tract of
land granted to Thomas Cornwallys, in
st. Mary's county, on the banks of
st. Inigoes Creek. In these Colonial
mansions lived the Thomases, the
Planters, the Cresaps, the Jarboes,
the Hansons, the Sarrolls, the Cal
verts, the Ogles, the Taskers, the
Copleys, the Nicholsons and the long
line of Maryland sons and daughters
who carved the Old Line State out of
the wilderness.
Those dwellings of the rich and
prominent were filled with furniture,
pewter and silver service, now almost
priceless; the women were clad in
silks and laces, all imported from the
homeland and for the most part pur-
chased in exchange for tobacco raised
in the fertile soil. Altogether life in
the Province in Colonial days was
! pleasant, if somewhat strenuous, and
from our viewpoint, crude and primi-
tive. The men were busy erecting a
nation, yet found time for the fox
chase, the horseracing and sports of
similar nature. The ladies of the
manor entertained their friends and
! neighbors, in many instances widely
scattered, performed on the "harpsi-
cord and spinnet" and played the part
of heroic wives and mothers, giving
counsel and advice to their men folk
and preparing their sons and daught-
ers for their life duties.
1t will be of interest to many Gar
hrett countians to know that among
the early Colonial homes is one known
as Long Lane Farm, the home of
Lieutenant Colonel Jarboe, paternal
ancestor of Mr.. J. M. Jarboe, of the
Garrett National Bank. This house,
more than $50 years old, still stands
in st. Mary's county,. and except for
some minor repairs, no alterations
have been made in the original cop-
struction. Il
A peculiar Ito us) feature of the
home was penthouse, followed out
below the ground and connected with
a bedroom by a doorway, through
which the family could go in case Of
a sudden attack by the Indians. BY
an ingenious arrangement Of the
planks and bricks, this room could be
converted into a smalIfor y
Lieut.-Col. Jarboe, "a native Of Di-
jon, France, came to- Maryland from
Virginia, and served as soldier Of
Lord Baltimore, with whom heSseems
to have been on intimate terms of
friendship.
The Jarboe ancestral home is de-
scribed in detail in Homes of the
Cavaliers" by Katherine Scarbor-
ough.
" -