History of Western Maryland

by J. Thomas Scharf

2020 · Jazzybee Verlag

The preparation of "History of Western Maryland", one of the most voluminous works on the history of that party of the United States, imposed a vast responsibility and an immense amount of labor. In the compilation of this history no authority of importance has been overlooked. The author has carefully examined every source of information open to him, and has availed himself of every fact that could throw new light upon, or impart additional interest to, the subject under consideration. Besides consulting the most reliable records and authorities, over fifteen thousand communications were addressed to persons supposed to be in possession of facts or information calculated to add value to the work. Recourse has not only been had to the valuable libraries of Baltimore, Annapolis, Frederick, and Hagerstown, but the author and his agents have visited personally the entire territory embraced in the six counties of Western Maryland, spending much time in each district, examining ancient newspapers, musty manuscripts, family, church, and society records, conversing with the aged inhabitants, and collecting from them orally many interesting facts never before published, and which otherwise, in all probability, would soon have been lost altogether. In addition to the material partly used in the preparation of his " Chronicles" and " History of Baltimore City and County" and " History of Maryland," the author has consulted an immense number of pamphlets, consisting of county and town documents, reports of societies, associations, corporations, and historical discourses, and, in short, everything of a fugitive character that might in any way illustrate the history of Western Maryland. Sketches of the rise, progress, and present condition of the various religious denominations, professions, political parties, and charitable and benevolent institutions, societies, and orders form a conspicuous feature of the work. Manufacturing, commercial, and agricultural interests have also a prominent place. An account of the county school system is also given, and a history of the various institutions of learning of which Western Maryland has every reason to be proud. Many of the facts recorded, both statistical and historical, may seem trivial or tediously minute to the general reader, and yet such facts have a local interest and sometimes a real importance. Considerable space has also been given to biographies of leading and representative men, living and dead, who have borne an active part in the various enterprises of life, and who have become closely identified with the history of Frederick, Washington, Montgomery, Allegany, Carroll, and Garrett Counties. The achievements of the living must not be forgotten, nor must the memories of those who have passed away be allowed to perish. It is the imperative duty of the historian to chronicle their public and private efforts to advance the great interests of society. Their deeds are to be recorded for the benefit of those who follow them; they, in fact, form part of the history of their communities, and their successful lives add to the glory of the Commonwealth. A distinguishing feature of the work is its statistics of the various districts into which the six counties of Western Maryland are divided. In them the reader is brought into close relation with every part of Western Maryland. This is volume two out of six, covering the Civil War and Frederick County.

Sacred to the Memory of the Blairs

by Thomas William Blair Jr, Thomas William Blair Sr

2008 · Xlibris Corporation

By their very nature, Family History books are filled with names, dates, and place names. Usually they make for very boring reading unless you are looking for some fact that will help to complete your family tree. We have attempted to make SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE BLAIRS more interesting by providing biographies of many of our ancestors. We hope to give future generations of Blairs an insight into their heritage. Through these pages you will be able to follow William Blair and his descendants. We believe that William migrated from Ireland to America (South Carolina) in the late 1700s. He likely was looking freedom and opportunity, the same as many American immigrants. It is doubtful that he envisioned he would have over 1,000 descendants and that their history would be the history of America. We, Thomas William Blair Sr. and Thomas William Blair Jr., have focused on our Blair lineage beginning with William in Newberry, SC and moving into Southeast Alabama. But we did not limit our book to a single family line. SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE BLAIRS covers 11 generations of Blairs. We have included as many branches of the family tree as possible. The idea for this book was born in the 1960s. T.W. Blair Sr. began researching our family tree and found that our Blairs were instrumental in the growth of our nation. Many local history books did not contain references to our ancestors and T.W. could not understand why. When he asked the author of one such book why our relatives were not included, she replied, History is His-Story. Authors include the information they want to include. You should write your own book. Over 40 years later, SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE BLAIRS, has been published. Hundreds of thousands of miles have been driven searching for an elusive bit of information that would help to link one generation to the next. Musty storage rooms in the basements of courthouses have been explored. Dozens of libraries have been inspected. Hundreds of cemeteries have been examined. And our eyesight has diminished staring at faded records prepared by people with questionable handwriting skills. But every step of the way, new insights were gained which helped us to better understand our heritage. SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE BLAIRS is 383 pages long, including the index. There are over 1000 descendants (and spouses) of William Blair listed. There are over 100 photos and images. Three Appendixes are also included. One covers the known Early Blair history. Our line goes back to the Blair of Blair from about 1205 in Scotland. The second appendix covers some information on the Blair DNA project, which is how we know the origination of our Blair line. The third Appendix includes a couple of stories on Blairs that we do not know if or how we are linked, but the stories were so intriguing they had to be included. From the birth of our nation until now, the Blair family history and American history are intertwined. By following one generation to the next, you can also see Americas history. Hopefully the reader will gain a new appreciation of the struggles, heartaches, and successes of the Blairs. None of us should be reduced to a few lines of facts on paper or carved into a headstone. This book was written to keep the memory of our Blairs alive for us and future generations.