Finding clues from the past that give us a glimpse into the places and lives of Marylanders who came before us
My father and I took a field trip last week. We visited Prospect Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C., to find the grave sites of my great-great grandparents, great-grandparents and great-grand aunt, which we did successfully with the assistance of the cemetery’s very helpful superintendent. Prospect Hill Cemetery is a historic German-American cemetery on North... Continue Reading →
Joseph Piscor of Baltimore made the paper a few times in the early 1900s for violent incidents in which he was depicted as the perpetrator and the victim. In March 1902, the Baltimore Sun reported that Piscor’s wife, Kate, allegedly beat her husband and fractured his skull with an unknown implement. “The assault is said... Continue Reading →
In January 1902, a Washington County judge ordered a unique punishment for a man convicted of carrying concealed weapons. The man, George W. Oroby, was described by The News as “an aged resident of Williamsport.” Judge Stake presided over the sentencing of Oroby. Stake said that he’d known Oroby all his life, “...that he was... Continue Reading →
Like today, thieves of yesteryear had some pretty creative ways of getting what they wanted. Take, for instance, the man who impersonated a park police officer for some easy cash in February 1897 Baltimore. It happened when Harry Crooks — the son of a police officer — was sitting on a park bench in Druid... Continue Reading →
Three robbers added insult to injury when they robbed Isaac Silber’s bakery in 1932 Baltimore. “Isaac Silber doesn’t mind so much that three young men robbed his till last night, but he wishes they’d hand the cash register back so he could find out how much the robbery cost him,” The Baltimore Sun reported on... Continue Reading →
In February 1887, someone entered Robert Klotz’s property on East Third Street in Frederick in an attempt to rob the chicken coop in his yard, reported The News. Much to the disappointment of the intruder, the coop was empty. Klotz was the proprietor of the Court Restaurant on the corner of Market and Church streets... Continue Reading →
On Valentine’s Day, 1901, The Baltimore Sun reported a crime involving the theft of a silk dress — Mrs. Baker’s dress, to be precise. The day before, the alleged perpetrator was found in Mrs. Henrietta Trippe’s boarding house at 529 North Charles Street. He was described as “[a] strange man, rather poorly dressed and with... Continue Reading →
In January 1916, Easton Jail inmate Amos Camper was taken to the Emergency Hospital for an operation. A few days later, Camper decided it was time to make a break for it. But how? The sheriff had taken Camper’s clothes back to the jail. Camper wasn’t going to let a lack of clothes stop him... Continue Reading →
A quarrel over a “bee tree” in Harmony (Frederick County) between two farmers in August 1889 ended with one dead and another on trial for manslaughter. T.W. Show shot and killed John William Hooper after a confrontation regarding a tree on a neighbor’s property. “...Show found a bee tree in the woods on the land... Continue Reading →
In 1904, a police officer investigating a report of an improperly disposed of dead horse at a Frederick County home found just that — and more. According to a news account, Policeman Brengle paid a visit to the home of Charles Burdette after a report was made that he buried a dead horse in a... Continue Reading →
Bygone Maryland 