FRIDAY, APRIL 29
A fundraising preview party at Holy Trinity parish house from 7 – 9 p.m. will
celebrate the opening exhibit of the Museum’s 2011 season: To Sara, With
Love, featuring Valentine, Birthday, and Mothers Day cards lovingly handmade by Capt. Bill Benson for his wife, Sara. As you preview a selection of
cards, you’ll savor chocolates and champagne, and be entertained by Nick and
Evelyn Nazare, singing a few of their favorite romantic ballads, ones that
earned them fame as "regulars" in the annual Neviaser Follies that benefited
Habitat for Humanity.
The preview party will be open to all; reservations will be required. Additional
information, including ticket price, will be available soon. Look for posters
around town and further details in the spring issue of The Historian.
Winter2011
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 202
Easton, MD
Save these Dates!
TheOxfordHistorian
1683
Restoring the Tombstone of a Good Man
SATURDAY AUGUST 27
Figalicious: This special fundraising fete will focus on Oxford’s most
prevalent fruit (especially prolific in the Museum’s back yard). You won’t want
to miss this. Food, fun, and other festivities are in the planning -- even the “Free
& Eazy (or is it the Free & Figgy?) Band!”
CURRENT RESIDENT OR
Nominations for 2011 Hanks Preservation Award
The Museum is accepting nominations for the annual Douglas Hanks, Jr.
Oxford Preservation Award until March 31.
Nominees may be made for an individual, group, organization, business or civic
institution. Nominees need not be residents of Oxford as long as the activity
specifically relates to Oxford and the surrounding area.
To receive a nomination form, leave a voice message on the Museum’s phone:
(410) 226-0191. (The recording indicates the Museum is closed until April, but
the phone is monitored.)
Decisions will be made by the Preservation Award Committee with the award
presented at the Museum’s Annual Meeting in May, 2011.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Oxford Museum collects, records, interprets and
shares materials relating to the history of Oxford,
Maryland and the surrounding area. Founded in 1964, this
nonprofit volunteer organization provides resources for
historical research and sponsors a variety of programs,
activities, and exhibits to foster knowledge and
appreciation of this community’s people and history.
THE OXFORD MUSEUM, INC.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ned Crabb
Jeanne Foster
Sally Fronk
Rebecca Gaffney
Henry Hale
Susie Hopkins
Kathleen Kurtz
Bill MacFarland
Pat Jessup, Secretary
Bob Valliant, Treasurer
Dorette Murray
Larry Myers
Tot O'Mara
Carol Patterson
Doreatha Rasin
Beth Schucker
Nancy Wilson
Ellen Anderson, Executive Director
Leo Nollmeyer, Curator, Board Emeritus
TheOxfordHistorian
Editors: Beth Schucker, Rebecca Gaffney
Contributors: Ellen Anderson, Pat Jessup, Nick Nazare, Larry Myers
100 South Morris Street
PO Box 131
Oxford, MD 21654
Gordon Graves, President
Jan Mroczek, Vice President
The Oxford Museum
100 S. Morris Street, PO Box 131, Oxford, MD 21654
410-226-0191 (phone), 410-226-0225 (fax)
www.oxfordmuseum.org, [email protected]
Tench Tilghman was one of Maryland’s great patriots. He died in 1786. “Oxford
is his third resting place,” explains Arthur Waxter, of Easton, a grandson of
Tilghman. “He had two burial sites in Baltimore before being moved to Oxford,
at family request, in 1971.” Waxter pauses as
he counts up to five on his fingers, the number
of “greats” that must be squeezed in between
Tilghman and grandson to accurately reflect
his lineage with the Revolutionary War
luminary. Waxter is currently shepherding a
family restoration of Tilghman’s grave.
Tench Tilghman was born on December 25,
1744, into a prominent English family that
had settled in Talbot County in 1662. His
privileged upbringing and education molded a
man of strong intellect and character. His
Baltimore mercantile business, at one point in
partnership with Robert Morris, the financier
of the Revolutionary War, thrived. But
Tilghman is most remembered for his role as
George Washington’s trusted aide-de camp
and secretary during the Revolutionary War.
When the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781, Washington honored his
friend and officer by having Tilghman deliver news of victory to the Continental
Congress in Philadelphia.
Tilghman married his cousin, Anna Marie
Tilghman after the war, in 1783. They had
two daughters. Following her husband’s
death in 1786, Anna Maria moved to
Plimhimmon, the Oxford plantation that her
father, the Honorable Mathew Tilghman, of
Claiborne, had purchased for her. She lived
there until her death in 1843. Anna Maria
was buried at Plimhimmon, in a small family
plot across the cove from her residence.
Arthur Waxter points out the Tilghman
family gave the parcel of land adjoining that
family burial ground to the town of Oxford.
It was incorporated in 1881 and later
expanded to become the cemetery we know
today. In addition to Tench and Anna Maria,
their daughter Ann Margareta Tilghman and
General George Washington,
nine other descendents are buried in the
the Marquis de LaFayette,
family plot.
and Lt. Col. Tench Tilghman
(con’t inside)
Tombstone (con’t from front page)
Spring Lecture Series
History Sharpens Childhood Memories
“We’ve contracted with craftsmen for a two-part restoration,” says Waxter.
“The horizontal sandstone ledger that rests on a brick base will be repaired
first and then the full inscription of 400 characters will be hand carved.”
A ceremony is planned for late spring
when the work is completed.
Referring to the epitaph, Waxter says,
“There’s lots of personal
correspondence that shows that
George Washington and Tench
maintained their friendship after the
war. Tilghman traveled to Mount
Vernon several times.” When he died,
their bond was so strong that the
Tilghman family sent the epitaph to
Washington for his approval.
Slated for April and May, the Museum is planning programs about the recent
restoration process of Oxford churches and homes. The programs will
provide guidelines on how to do a restoration that maintains architectural
and historic integrity while still making a house modern-day livable. Specific
dates, speakers, and other details will be announced shortly. Look for flyers at
the Post Office, Library, Oxford Market, and other local venues. If you would
like to be notified by email, please leave a message (and your email address) on
the Museum voicemail (410-226-0191) or email the Museum at
[email protected].
…..a conversation with Nick Nazare
The Museum was recently
gifted a 1785 letter from Spain
to Col. Tench Tilghman and his
silent business partner, Robert
Morris Jr. seeking their
influence to secure intervention
from Congress to protect trade
between Spain and the U.S. A
story of this historic document,
gifted by Museum Board
member Larry Myers, will
appear in the Spring issue of
The Historian.
Tench Tilghman Tombstone in
Oxford Cemetery
In Memory of
Col. Tench Tilghman
Who died April 18, 1786
In the 42nd year of his age,
Very much lamented.
He took an early and active part
In the great contest that secured
The Independence of
The United State of America.
He was an Aide-de-Camp to
His Excellency General Washington
Commander in Chief of the American Armies,
And was honored
With his friendship and confidence,
And
He was one of those
Whose merits were distinguished
And
Honorably rewarded
By the Congress
But
Still more to his Praise
He was
A good man.
In Our Collection
The Museum thanks members Henry Stansbury and his wife Judy for their
continuing generous support of our collection and displays. Henry recently had
noted decoy carver Lloyd Cargill restore three of the Museum's four miniature
carvings of canvasback decoys made by
Oxford’s Edward Parsons about 1925. We
now have two perfect pairs of Ed’s little
gems, faithful replicas of his famous hunting
decoys.
Henry, recently retired Chairman of the
Maryland Historical Society, is a nationallyknown decoy collector and expert, the author
of two prominent books on Virginia decoy
makers Lloyd Tyler and Ira Hudson, a
contributing writer for Decoy Magazine, and
the curator of a number of decoy exhibits in
Noted decoy collector,
various museums, including works of Ed
Henry Stansbury
Parsons.
Ed Parsons’ distinctive miniature decoys,
mounted on hardwood blocks, are considered by collectors to be among the
very best ever made, and are highly sought after. He made many species, from
ducks and geese to swans, ranging
from a mere two inches long to over
six inches, all carved and painted
with total accuracy. The Museum is
very fortunate to have two matching
pairs as gifts from Ed’s family, as
well as the rare miniature penguins,
which Ed made late in his life as gifts
for friends.
Thanks again, Henry.
Miniature Parsons hen decoy
from the Museum's collection
Winter Window Display
Stop by the Museum for a special window exhibit on the "Battle" of Benoni
Point. Curated by Rev. Jay Bunting, the exhibit highlights this local
Revolutionary War activity which took place February 7-9, 1780. Rev.
Bunting's research on Oxford's role in the war effort is the subject of a future
article in The Historian.
“It was so neat to tie scraps of memory together and find closure after years
of curiosity,” said Nick Nazare, a Museum supporter and life-long Oxford
resident. “Now I know something about Jena.”
He was referring to the Jena plantation house which today is located off the
Oxford Road between Plimhimmon and Anderton. As a youngster, Nazare
and a schoolmate often played in the fields surrounding the brick house and
its nearby cemetery,
always wondering -Who had lived there?
Who died there? It
was only recently,
after revisiting the
gravestones and
spending many a
“slow afternoon”
studying books at the
Museum, that some
of those early
residents came into
Jena in 1976
focus for Nazare.
He reports that the
property that became the Jena plantation was originally part of the 600 acres
that Lord Calvert assigned to John Anderton in 1659 (See The Historian,
2008). Anderton, in turn, conveyed part of that property, known as “Longe
Point.” to John Eason and Edward Roe for 11,000 pounds of tobacco. Today,
on that land, stands the brick house we know as Jena. Nazare notes that the
brick dwelling was probably built by Richard Robinson, a merchant, in the
early 1800s, replacing an earlier 18th century frame structure.
Colonel Perry Spencer of Spencer Hall near St Michaels acquired “Longe
Point” in 1821 for farming and investment purposes. How and when the
property was renamed, Jena, is unclear. But one speculation points to Spencer
and his friend Jacob Gibson. Gibson so admired Napoleon Bonaparte that he
named his own properties after Napoleon’s famous victories -- Marengo and
Austerlitz. Perhaps Gibson convinced Spencer to follow suit. In any case,
Jena was the site of another Napoleon
Graves at Jena
victory.
Spencer’s son, Captain Jonathan Spencer
served in the Maryland Militia during the
War of 1812. He died an untimely death
and was laid to rest at Jena in 1822. Only
35 years old, his tombstone reads, “In
memory of Capt Jonathan Spencer who
departed this life in the hope of a life of
immortality December 5, 1822.”
Nazare documented nine other graves of
former Jena owners and families for the
Museum. They are near the Jena estate,
but because boundary lines have been
redrawn, they are now on neighboring
property, on a small point of land nearby a protected cove off Goldsborough
Creek. Regarding his search, Nazare reflects “Though the cemetery is
overgrown and neglected, the place has dignity. It deserves respect. The early
residents of Jena should not be forgotten.”