davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

longed 10 MIN IN MS capacity
as his fathers executor. For in
1884, Thomas and two of his
brothers sold it to another
brother, William Prather VIII
liams. In the deed it Is called
Exchange and New Exchange
Enlarged, but the description
by courses and distances agrees
exactly with the description of
Young Mans Delight as sold by
Nelson to Barrett, by Barrett
to Carroll, by Carroll to Davis
and by Davis to William vii.
liams.
Within the next few years
William Prather Williams laid
out portion of this land into
a town which he called vii.
liamsburg. The lines ran
North, East, South and West
and did not follow the lines of
the tract. 1t must have COW
cred about so acres for when,
in 1894, William Prather VIII
liams sold what remained of
Young Mans Delight (part of
Exchange, etc. back to his
bro t h ers, Thomas o. and
Elisha, the tract contained 14S
acres. The other acreage was
in the Court House Lot.
This lot of 2 7/S acres had
been laid off in 1888 by a Jury
whose findings accompanied by
a Plat were recorded In the
Montgomery County Land Rec
ords in 1872. The lot included
part of West st. in Williams
burg, parts of several town
lots, a small part of Exchange,
etc. (Young Mans Delight,
property of "Messrs." Williams,
and a strip of Valentines Gar
den for which payment was
made to jeremiah Crabb.
Ut would seem that this part
Of Valentines Garden was the
land left to Capt. Williams by
Henry Wright Crabb by will in
1854 as noted above. Perhaps
some legal complication had
prevented 1t from being turned
over to William Williams
heirs - a supposition given
weight by the fact that in a
Court Case brought In Annap-
oils in 1901 seeking to partition
the real estate left by Crabb,
the bequest to Capt. Williams
was specifically noted.)
Court House Erected
Presumably a Court House
was built on the Lot soon after
Its survey. Subsequent Court
Houses have occupied the same
site; additional land has been
acquired in recent years and
utilized for the newer sections
Of the present Court House.
Williamsburg must have been
a beehive of activity, for Is
years after its beginning, the
tax Assessment of 1898 showed
that buildings had been erected
on SO lots Tor parts of lots),
Is Of which were designated as
houses, the other improve
ments being no doubt offices,
stores, blacksmith shops and
the like. The Williams broth
ers owned SO unsold lots, while
they had sold about 20 lots on
which no improvements had
been made.
In 1901, for some reason,
"sundry inhabitants of Mont
gomery County" petitioned the
Legislature to have a survey
made of the lots sold by the
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25
of Factors Made Rockville County Seat

Williams brothers adjacent to
the Court House. The pc
titioners claimed there was no
record of these sales and that
therefore titles are precarious
and uncertain" An Act was
passed directing that the new
survey follow the old locations
as accurately as possible, based
on the best evidence to be OBJ
tanned. The town was already
called Rockville! We do not
know who gave it the name,
nor why the petitioners chose
to ignore the name of Williams
burg.
The first Commission failed
to act, so in 1903, as the result
of new Act of the Legisla-
ture, another Commission en-
ployed a surveyor who laid out
the streets and lots of Rock
vile; the Plat is recorded in
the Land Records.
Thus was Rockville launched
on its way to fame and for
tune. Additional tracts were
added from time to time. Re-
Gently we have the greater"
Rockville that bears no re-
semblance to the village sur
rounding the Court House
which was Rockville until a
few years ago.
Original Homes Gone
Apparently there is not a
single house standing today
which was the original house
in the original Williamsburg.
Parts of such houses may be
Incorporated into or covered up
by later structures.
The best-known house and
probably the oldest, was the
Russell House which until
about 40 years ago stood on
s. Washington ct. (Lot No. 49,
on the site now occupied by
the Baptist Parsonage. BY 1876,
when Montgomery County cele-
brated its Centennial, 1t had be-
come a tradition that this an
cient house was the former
Hungerford Tavern, later the
''house of Leonard Davis" 1T
was claimed that this house
had been built and was for
merly owned by Joseph Wilson,
father-in-law Of Leonard Davis.
Some authorities hold firmly TO
this belief, while others deny
the claim.
The extensive research done
In connection with this paper
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

has not shown where Hunger
ford Tavern or the house of
Leonard Davis were located.
Several facts about the Rus
sell House have come to light.
Before 1857, the land was at no
time owned by Joseph Wilson.
1t is possible that he might
have owned it between 1887
and 1908, but If he did. no deed
is on record; those dates were
too late for Hungerford Tavern
or the house of Leonard Davis.
In 1908, Lot No. 10 (incIuding
the house, was sold by vii.
liam p. Williams to Brice
Selby from whose estate 1t was
purchased in 1S47 by Mrs.
Susan Russell.
The obvious age of the Rus
sell House indicates that I'M
questionably it was either the
Court House of 1779-17S3 or
one of the three dwelling
houses belonging to Thomas o.
Williams located on Young
Mans Delight Exchange, etc.
in the tax assessment OF 1888.
In the testimony attending the
sale of Lot No. 10 and Lot No.
35 in 1S47, it was said that zone
of them is the oldest house in
Rockville"
Taverns Built County Seat
And so we need not rule out
the Russell House as Hunger
ford Tavern. We merely rule
out Joseph Wilson as the
owner. Hungerford and Davis
could well have rented the
house from the heirs of VIII
liam Williams. A previous
owner (1763-1766) was Thomas
Davis, an innholder, who might
perhaps have built 1t.
No matter where the early
taverns were located exactly,
Rockville owes its selection az
Montgomery County Court
House to their existence. Court
could not be held unless food
and shelter were available for
its personnel and clientele.
Lawrence Owen, Thomas Davis,
Joseph Wilson, Charles Hun
gerford, Leonard Davis and
Thomas o. Williams laid the
foundations for our County
Seat when they offered hospi-
tality to the traveller going
West from Georgetown. In
that sense they are our found
ing fathers.
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

area firmly in the hands of the
Williams family, two events
took place of great historical
significance.
On June II, 1774, q group Of
inhabitants of the lower Dis
trict of Frederick County met
at Hungerford's Tavern to pro-
test tyrannical actions Of the
British Government. These
men served on the various
committees which worked to
bring about Independence.
On August IA, IT'S, the
Maryland Convention, acting as
the governing body of the re-
bellious Colony, divided Freder-
lex County into three districts.
The lower district was delin-
Gated, and 1t was ordered that
elections for this district were
to be held "at Hungerford's."
On September 6. 1776, this Sec
ton was made into a new
County which on Oct. ], 1776,
became officially Montgomery
County, named for a revolu-
tionary General who had been
killed in an attempt to take
Quebec.
1t was ordered that Court for
the new County should be held
at a convenient place to be
chosen by the Justices. They
selected the house of Leonard
Davis where the first Court
was held May, 1777. The Levy
Court Records for 1777 and
1778 show various payments to
Leonard Davis for food and
lodging for jurors, witnesses,
etc.
Apparently Thomas Owen
Williams, eldest son and execu-
tor of the will of his father
Capt" William Williams, had
not been in any hurry to carry
out the provision in the will
that the land purchased from
Thomas Davis should be sold.
For Thomas Owen Williams
was In possession of 1t on Au-
gust IA, 1879, when he pro-
posed to the Montg cry
County Court ito have the
House they sit in" The upper
and lower floors were to be
laid; convenient doors and win
dows, the W dows to be
glazed; lower walls to be filled
in with brick; one fireplace
above and one below stairs; two
rooms above stairs to be
seated for jury; tables and
benches to hold Court. This
was to be completed by No
vember Court next and to be
used by the Court rent free for
three years. The proposal was
accepted and the clerk called
these quarters "the Court.
house" in reporting that the
Court met there in August,
1779. This information Il from
the County Courthouses and
Records of Maryland: Part
One: The Courthouses; by
Morris L. Radoff Annapolis,
1860, pages 111,115).
Apparently this arrangement
lasted through 1888, for in the
Tax Assessment for that year,
Thomas owen Williams is
listed as owner of Young Mans
Delight, 200 acres, improved by
/ framed Court House; g
framed dwelling houses, and A
old out houses.
Here we have a description
of Montgomery Court House"
as It existed in 1888.
Assessed to williams
Although in 1888, this prop
erty was assessed to Thomas
Owen Williams, Il probably be-
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

hsh a tire and recapping plant
at 1874 Commerce Lane In the
heart Of Rockville. At the start
Of business he had a payroll
of ten. Today his payroll is
twenty. Growth pains forced
the firm to move to a bigger
location-the present plant site
on old 24O, about 2 miles north
Of Rockville.
Here the firm has q modern
recapping plant and also sells
new tires, batteries, and acces-
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

series - q one-stop shopping
service.
The firm Is another success
story of a family type opera
ton. Charles wife. Mary
Francis, is vice president, and a
brother, James, is company
treasurer. Glen Gregory, not q
member of the family, holds
an important post, that OF
credit manager. The firm does
a big credit business.
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

died In 1765, leaving to his
wife, Sarah, the part of Ex-
change on the North side of
Falls I'd. for life and after her
death to his son, Alexander
Adams; the part on the South
side Of the road was left to
Sarah with full power to dis
pose of same as she will think
proper" The widow, Sarah,
married William O'Neale II be-
fore 1906; O'Neale had a dis
pute with the Williams heirs
over their boundaries, which
was settled by the Court after
many surveys. Sarah left the
land she owned in fee simple
on the South side of Falls I'd.
to her son Alexander Adams
and to her son-in-Iaw Richard
West, who had married her
daughter, Cassandra Adams.
young Mans Delight"
Meanwhile Nelson had COM
pleted in 1899 the sale of Ex-
change by deciding 200 acres to
Alexander Barrett. This was
the Northeastern part and at
one point adjoined Valentines
Garden. Barrett called it
young Mans Delight" On
these 200 acres were located
later the towns Of Williams
burg and Rockville.
In 1753, Barrett sold Young
Mans Delight to Daniel Car
roll, m erchant of Prince
Georges County, a member of
one Of Maryland's most distin-
guished families. He owned vast
quantities of land, including a
number Of tracts in what is now
Montgomery County. One OF
them was Kilmain near Pooles-
vile. His mother lived on some
of the Carroll lands at Forest
Glen on which there are today
a Catholic Chapel and Gene
terry. Daniels brother John be-
came an archbishop, and Dan
lei was a member of the con-
vention which drew up the Con-
stitution of the United States
and was later one Of the Com
missioners for laying out the
District of Columbia.
Young Mans Delight was
sold by Carroll in 1863 to
Thomas Davis, innholder of
Frederick County. Davis Mort
gagged the property to Daniel
Dulany. In 1866 the 200 acres
were sold to William Williams.
Including this purchase,
Capt" William williams
owned (among other tracts:
mo. u 200 acres Of Ex-
change, etc. called Young Mans
Delight.
mo. y As husband of Bar
bara (Owen), TN acres of Elk
change, etc. adjoining No. /,
called Spittle Fields.
mo. 81 $50 acres of valen-
tines Garden, adjoining Elk
change, etc. willed him by
Henry Wright Crabb in 1854.
This means that he owned all
the land on which the earliest
Rockville was situated.
william Williams died in
1869 leaving his lands to his
wife and children whom he
named. His sons were Thomas
Owen Williams, Elisha Owen
Williams, William Prather VIII
liams, Edward Owen Williams
and Walter Cade Williams. The
land he purchased from Thorn
as Davis was to be sold and
divided; his part Of Valentines
Garden was to go to his son
William Prather Williams.
Significant Events
With the original Rockville
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25
Combination
Historian Traces
City's Background
By Martha sprigg Poole

Historian Montgomery County Historical Society
One hundred years ago the General Assembly of
Maryland passed Act Incorporating the City of Rock
vile, County Seat of Montgomery County, Maryland
AS Rockville celebrates this its Tooth anniversary, it
interesting to look back of 1860 what people and
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25
Montgomery Tire Service
Doubles Staff in 3 Years

Take 1t from Charles (Pat) Richards President Of
Montgomery Tire Service, Frederick Pike, Rockville the
tire business is good in the County And Richards ought
to know.
Three years ago Richards left Laytonsvle to estab-
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

it resurveyed, as a result Of
which the tract became 995
acres in area, and was called
'Resurvey on Part of Exchange
and New Exchange Enlarged"
(To strengthen his title, Dick
in 1772 got a deed for the prop
erty from one Arthur Nelson of
Frederick County, presumably
an heir of Arthur Nelson, the
original patentee.
James Dick sold 100 acres to
Barton Harris and the re-
mainder was purchased in TIT
by Thomas Wilson Of Annapolis,
merchant. Before 1894, Wilson
was, declared a lunatic and
Robert Peter Of Georgetown
was put in charge of Wilson's
estate. Tracts were sold off to
James Suter, William ONeale
and others. The Poor Farm was
on this tract.
So much for the land which
Arthur Nelson sold to George
Gordon In 1877. The next year
he sold "a acres to Thomas
Johnson, who called his land
Addition to Sarah's Delight.
The outcome of this transaction
is obscure.
In 1877, Samuel Carnole, a
weaver, purchased TN acres
from Nelson. Carnole called
his tract "Spittle Fields; he
sold it in 1743 to Kennedy Far
rell. Both Carnole and Farrell
lived in the area for many
years and owned other tracts.
Farrell sold Spittle Fields in
1747 to Thomas Owen, also a
resident and owner of other
lands. The land passed by in
heritance to Owens daughter,
Barbara, who married the Will
liam Williams who received $50
acres of Valentines Garden by
will of Henry Crabb las noted
above.) Spittle Fields was left
by Barbara Owen Williams to
her son William Prather Will
liams, after whose death In 1918
it became. the property of Will
liams' brother, Edward Owen
Williams.
Pritchett Buys Land
Nelson's next sale was in
1879 when William Pritchett
bought 200 acres. Pritchett
lived in the area and owned
other property. He sold Ex-
change, etc. In 1745 to Richard
Keene, merchant. Keene and
Ralph Crabb were brothers-in-
law.
Keene also bought $50 acres
Of Exchange and New Ex-
change Enlarged directly from
Nelson. He left both tracts
(now combined into one) to his
son Henry who died in 1857.
Henry's widow, Precious Keene,
leased the land to Samuel Car
mole, the weaver. The land
descended to Richard Keene Of
Bath County, Virginia, who
sold the 1893 acres to Richard
Wootton. The Wootton family
took a prominent part in the
early history of Montgomery
County. 1t was Thomas Sprigg
Wootton who brought up in the
Maryland Convention the Bill
to divide Frederick County into
three parts, one of which be-
came Montgomery County.
Nelson was still finding pur-
chasers for his land. In 1740
Alexander Herbeart bought $50
acres which he willed in 1854
to Benjamin Adams, son of
Ann Adams, presumably his
grandson. Alexander Herbeart
lived near Oxon Run, but
Adams lived en- Exchange. He
Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-08-25

This modest down payment"
made it possible for bona fide
settlers to secure small tracts
of land directly from Lord Bal
timore. But whenever new
areas were opened up, there
were apt to be on hand a num-
Der of prosperous purchasers
who took up land in large tracts
for resale at a profit. (They
knew that buyers were often
willing to pay more to a pri-
vate owner for desirable land
In a favored position, rather
than pay less directly to Lord
Baltimore's agent for land more
Evening star., 1960-11-13
Oklahoma Stute
Cushes tumble to
Edge Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb., Nov. IL
(AP) Oklahoma State turned
a Nebraska tumble into a
touchdown in the final four
minutes today and racked up
a 7-6 Big Eight football tri-
umph.
Unable to penetrate deeper
than NebraSka'S IS through 3
and a half quarters, and be-
hind 60, Oklahoma State, with
Frank Parker doing the honors,
recovered Pat Fischer's tumble
on Nebraska's 20 midway in the
final quarter.
Jim Elliott passed for IA
yards and plunges by Chester
Pittman, Jim billiard and Eli
oft put Elliott in position for
his 8-yard touchdown run.
Ted Davis kicked the crucial
conversion point and that was
the ball game.
Fischer reeled off an 84-yard
punt return for a touchdown in
the first quarter. Ron Meade
the conversion kick.
OKLAHOMA STATE o O o 7-7
NEBRASKA q O 0 O-6
Nebraska-Fischer s4, punt return
(kick failedl
Oklahoma-Elliott s, run Davis kick)
Attendance $4,000.
Evening star., 1960-11-13
Tigers Post
Remains Open

LOS ANGELES, Nov. IL (AP) /.
The Detroit Tigers still have
MT decided who their new man
ager will be, Club President
John Fetzer said today.
Fetzer said he expects to re-
turn to Detroit tomorrow and
does not anticipate a decision
before then.
Bill Rigney, fired by the San
Francisco Giants in mid-season
this year, is rumored to be the
top candidate for the job. Fetzer
has admitted Rigney is being
seriously considered but says he
is not the only prospect.
Fetzer came here to talk to
Casey Stengel, released by the
Yankees last month. Stengel
told the Tigers he couldn't give
them an answer right away and
advised them to look elsewhere,
since they were in a hurry.
The Tigers have been shop
ping for a manager since Joe
Gordon quit October 3 to man
age at Kansas City.
Evening star., 1960-11-13
IOWA
Continued From Page d.

down run of the year for Iowa,
which has a I'll record and
completes its season in a nom
conference game ct Notre Dame
next week.
He shot over right tackle,
spun away from numerous
defenders and set sail for the
distant goal. -Halfback Bill
Wentz had a shot at him but
failed
Pass Is Key Play
Ohio State drove 79 yards
in four plays to open the third
period with Mates 48-yard
pass to Charlie Bryant the key
play. Matte scored on a %
yard run.
But Iowa stopped the Suck
eyes comeback hopes with a
defensive stand on the Iowa
7 and an intercepted pass late
in the final period.
Evashevski, who steps down
as head coach after nine sea-
sons to become athletic dir
ector, received a roaring ova-
ton from the $1,000 persons
near the end of the game.
OHIO STATE ------ 0 6 6 O-l2
IOWA z 81 O 7-35
Iowa-Williams 40. run Moore. kick
Ohio State-B. Ferguson /, run (kick
failed).
Iowa-Hollis IL. run Moore. kick).
lowa-Szykowny !. run Moore, kick
1owa-Williams ., run Moore, kick
Ohio State-Matte 30, run (pass
failedD.
1owa--Fersuson 81, run Moore, kickl
Attendance-51900.
Evening star., 1960-11-13
Redskins Try to Halt
EoqIes' Drive for Title

over Pittsburgh, Cleveland, De-
troit, st. Louis and Dallas,
after a defeat by Cleveland in
the opener, the Eagles are 13-
point favorites. The five-game
winning streak is their longest
since 1858, when a team
coached by Jim Trimble won
six straight and finished second.
The cellar dwelling Red
skins suffered their second
straight lopSided defeat at st.
Louis last week. A 26-14 de-
cision over the winless Dallas
Cowboys is the only victory
posted by the Washington club
this season.
Norm Van Brocklin, 34-year-
old veteran of IL pro football
campaigns, will direct the
Eagles varied and explosive
offense. For the Redskins it
probably will be Ralph Gug-
lielmi. who perked up notice.
ably in practice this week after
drawing Coach Mike Nixon's
ire for what the latter con-
sidered a sub-par performance
against the Cardinals.
Emphasis on offensive line
play in practice is expected to
help Guglielmi's passing. Nixon
also hopes to see improvement
in such receivers as Bill An
derson, Joe Walton and Jim
Podoley, all of whom have yet
to display their top form.
Van Brocklin has outStand-
ing receivers in Pete Retzlaff
and Tommy Mcdonald and a
trio of solid ball-carriers in
Clarence Peaks, Billy Barnes
and rookie Ted Dean of Wich-
ita
Once again it will be a test
for the Redskins shaky sec
ondary defense. which has
yielded 1858 yards to the op-
position thus far. But the re-
turn of Garry Click, who
played against st. Louis with
no practice after being out for
two weeks, and painStaking
work with newcomers Billy
Brewer, Jim Wulff and Sam
Horner. may curb the Eagles.
Evening star., 1960-11-13
STATISTICS

quarter after recovering a fun
BILE and intercepting a pass.
They capped the rout when
Ethan Blackaby took !. a Wis
consin punt and sprfnted So
yards for a touchdown.
Wisconsin, showing little on
offense beyond the passing of
Ron Miller, didn't get into the
scoring column until Illinois
held a 21-0 lead. .-..
Miller passed for both of Wis
conSin's touchdowns but the
Badgers couldn't muster a run
ming attack to help out the SEN
sational sophomore.
Illinois didn't really get roll
ing until the second half, but
they did manage to score early
in the second quarter. Substi-
tute Quarterback Mel Meyers
threw a 21-yard scoring pass
to Marshall Starks. Starks and
Blackaby accounted for two
touchdowns each,
Illinois scored twice in the
first seven minutes of the third
quarter and was never in dan
ger after that.
1EEiSoHs MEiS9NslN 9 81 ,Cbatt
1llinois1stark 81. pass from Meyers
Wood kick.
Enthusiastically /. run Wood kickD
1llinois-Easterbrook 5, run Wood
Wisconsin-Ezerins IA. pass from Mil
Ter (KuneSh kick.
Illinois-starks 3. run Wood kick.
Enthusiastically Ss. punt return
Wisconsin Staley IL. pass from Mil
Ter tKunesh kick.
Attendance-4S,l63.
Evening star., 1960-11-13
STATISTICS

ering Len Bartkiewicz's tumble
at the Indiana IA on the first
play after the second half kick
off.
The Wolverines, assuring
themselves of a winning season
for the first time since 1857.
drove in for a touchdown five
plays after the tumble. -e
Five minutes later, Dennis
Fitzgerald fell on Nathan Ram
sey's tumble at the Hoosier II
and this time it took Michigan
only two plays to score.
Indiana. using the wing-T
offense for only the second
game this season, led TO early
but the third period fumbles
crushed the Hoosier spirit. The
Wolverines opened gaping holes
in the Indiana line and Michi-
gan quarterbacks found some
flaws in the Indiana pass de-
fense after completing only
two of seven tosses in the first
half. -t4
The loss was the seventh in
eight games for the Hoosiers,
whose games do not count in
the Big Ten Conference stand
ing because of a conference
probation ruling for recruiting
violations. Michigan takes a
5-3 record into next Saturdays
finale against Ohio State.
Coach Bump Elliott substi-
tuted freely after his first team
turned the third-period fum-
bles into a comfortable lead.
Third and fourth stringers
played most of the remaining
time and Michigan used 56
players in beating Indiana for
the first time since 1857.
MICHIGAN q 5 13 S-29
InGiana-Lopa 81, run nicholas.
kicEl.
Mlchigan--Maentz 30. pass from Glinks
Fitzgerald pass from Glinka).
ichiean-Tunnicliff !, run (pass
failedl.
chiean-Turead 8. run (Freehan,
klck).
Michiean-Kowalik 3. run (zubkus.
pass from Hannah.
Attendance-51. .936.