Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1949-03-24

One Oh the HlCeSC CnlnpS about
doing this column is the friend
ships we have made through it,
One of the most valued of our Gun
seen friends" is Allan McLane
Albert who will on Sunday mark
his Saith birthday. For several
years Mr.. Albert has from time to
time sent US little bits of informa-
ton about old times in the county.
We have saved those notes-often
there was little of his own early
history = from which we have
pieced out the following:
Mr. Albert, who is a great, great
grandson of Benjamin Franklin,
says: "My old home Homework
(now Manor Club has seen many
changes since / was born there "a
years ago-on March 27, 1865. The
house, a substantial one built of
stone quarried on the place, then
contained cellars, A first floor
rooms, second story rooms and 5
third story ones. My parents, Mr..
and Mrs. Charles Albert, were
afraid of fire, so Homewood had no
fireplaces-we used stoves to heat
the house.
Father bought 925 acres of
'Bradford's Rest in 1858 or there
abouts = two years later he sold
200 acres to the heirs of Presley
Dorsey-then in 'S2 or '83 sold BOG
acres to B. H. Warner, Sr.
"Norbeck was first located three
quarters of a mile down the pike
on the property of the Rannies =
later Albert Cowelrs place. Father
used his influence and had the
store and postoffice established at
the junction of the Rockville Road
and the Seventh Street Pike. l
have ridden many times on the
four-horse stage from our gate to
the city. When the Metropolitan
Branch of the B. & o. opened for
traffic, that stage run was turned
to Rockville.
Father got up every morning
between and $3.50. In winter he
first looked at the thermometer,
using a match or candle to see the
fgures-then he would open all
ten window blinds - finish his
toilet, have breakfast and drive
four miles to Rockville to catch
the Point of Rocks train for the
city. Before the railroad came, he
drove to Washington on Monday,
returned Wednesday night to go
again Thursday and back on Fri
day-it was easier by train"
Mr.. Charles Albert kept a diary
in which he recorded among other
things the daily temperature. Our
Mr.. Albert jots his figures (taken
from newspapers) on the margin
of the Hagerstown Almanac. By
this he can compare the chit or
miss" weather man and the Alma
nae. GIN July, 1884, Hagerstown
hit the weather 81 times while
U. S. was right only z times out
of the 81 days." says Mr.. Albert.
Mr.. Albert has turned over to his
nephew, Franklin Bache Albert,
the family Bible in which Charles
Albert noted births, ailments,
measles, mumps, etc., also days of
baptism" 1t is described as a
"most complete family record"
Of his schooling, Mr.. Albert says,
1.-TWO sisters and a brother went to
the old Emory School you some
times mention. My first school was
to Mrs. William Brooke, nee Mary
Coffin. Later went to Rockville
Academy when C. d. Luckett was
principal-left and went to Emer-
son Institute in D. C.-never grad
uated, but as a brother-in-law used
to say, merely Cultivated The
Prettymans lived just across the
hedge when l went to the Rock
vile Academy" Two Albert sis
tiers attended "The Cedars," the
Huttons' school for girls near
Brookeville. The Misses Huttons'
father, Orlando Hutton, was min
lister at st. Johns for some years.
Another time Mr.. Albert wrote
"My first visits to Milton Mills
later called Muncaster's Mill for
the owners of the property-was