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Family
Marriage: Children:
  1. Ann Rebecca Grahame McPHERSON: Birth: 17 MAY 1827 in Frederick, Frederick County, MD. Death: 17 NOV 1896 in Frederick, Frederick County, MD

  2. Alice McPHERSON: Birth: 20 JAN 1830 in Frederick County, MD. Death: 26 SEP 1861 in Frederick County, MD

  3. Mary Elizabeth McPHERSON: Birth: 25 DEC 1832. Death: 21 OCT 1836 in Frederick County, MD

  4. Frances Alice McPHERSON: Birth: 29 MAY 1836 in Frederick, Frederick County, MD (Living With Robert G. McPherson). Death: 31 JAN 1930 in Frederick, Frederick County, MD

  5. Person Not Viewable


Sources
1. Title:   --Year: 1860; Census Place: Frederick, Frederick, Maryland; Roll: M653_475; Page: 742; Family History Library Film: 803475-
2. Title:   Year: 1850; Census Place: New Market, Frederick, Maryland; Roll: M432_293; Page: 277B; Image: 154

Notes
a. Note:   N188 John McPherson Jr. Born 1796 He married, Dec 23rd 1823 Fanny, daughter of Thomas Jennings Johnson, son of Governor Johnson While in Washington, when John Q, Adams was president 1825-1829, (guest of Mrs. Louise Catherine Adams, daughter of Joshua Johnson) Mrs. McPherson was considered one of the most beautiful woman in the United States, and was a great favorite in the White House.
  John McPherson Jr. for a long time managed the Branch Bank, later the Central National Bank.
  In his early life he was connected with the iron Interest of the County, and for a number of years the owner of Catoctin Furnace.
  He was one of the projectors of the National Turnpike from Washington to Wheeling.
  When Lafayette visited Frederick in 1824 he was the guest of John McPherson who was then Captain of the troop of soldiers known as the Light-Horse Calvary.
  ttttttttHe died on March 11, 1874.
  A collection of textile items from the McPherson family was donated to the Museum of the Historical Society of Frederick County, Maryland by Alice Dibble in the Summer of 2002.
  Fitzhugh under financial stress. Sold "Auburn" and 297.5 acres of land to the McPherson family stipulating they could not mine ore or build a furnace on the land.
  MCPHERSON-JOHNSON FAMILY PAPERS, MS. 1714 Papers of the Johnson and McPherson families of Frederick, Maryland: letters of Charles Carroll of Annapolis to Daniel Dulany, Sr., about land, 1729 and 1731; letter of Charles Carroll of Annapolis to Daniel Dulany, Sr., about the death of a Mrs. Bennett, 1740; letter of Thomas Johnson, Jr. (1732-1819) to George Washington about the type of labor to be used on the Potomac Canal, 1785; promissory note of Thomas Johnson, Jr., 1803; drafts of Thomas Johnson, Jr. letters written in 1813 about the proposal to move the state capital from Annapolis to Frederick, reflections on the Revolutionary War and the first three presidents, and opinions on the Federalists and elections; a letter from W. H. Stallings about a trip to Liverpool, England, 182 1; letter to John McPherson about politics, 1815; letter from a W. L. McPherson describing a voyage from Norfolk, Virginia to the West Indies, 1823; volume of Margaret R. Graham describing visits in 1847; two undated recipe books; letters to Dorcas Johnson McPherson describing Frederick, 1830 and 1842.
  Rose Hill, The LAND & OWNERSHIP History:
  1727 Benjamin Tasker gets 7,000 acres from Lord Baltimore which is later sold to Daniel Dulaney
  1745 Daniel Dulaney lays out the plan for Frederick City within the land grant know as "Tasker's Chance"
  1748 Hans Peter Hoffman purchases from Daniel Dulaney land later to be known as Rose Garden along the old Georgetown Pike
  1764 George Hoffman inherits
  1778 Thomas Johnson purchures land and renames it Rose Hill
  1788 Thomas Johnson gives land to his daughter, Anne Jennings, on the eve of her wedding to John Colin Grahame
  1789-1792 John Colin & Ann Jennings (Johnson) Grahame build the manor house
  1793 Grahame purchases "Indian Fields", 202 acres adjacent to Rose Hill
  1800 Thomas Johnson living at Rose Hill
  1833 Colonel John McPherson, nephew-in-law, purchases Rose Hill following John Colin Grahame's death in order to help Ann Jennings (Johnson) Grahame stay on the property until her death in 1837
  1837 William Slater
  1843 George Stater
  1845 John Willson
  1853 David O. Thomas
  1893 Margaret (Thomas) Myer
  1906 Noah Cramer
  1927 James Cramer
  1957 Alice (Cramer) Bowman
  1964 Fifty acre parcel sold to Frederick County for a school site
  Know All men by these presents that we John Brien, John McPherson and Edward B. McPherson all of Frederick County in the State of Maryland are held and firmly bound unto William Gunton and both of the city of Washington in the District of Columbia in the sum of Twelve Thousand eight hundred and twenty five Dollars current money of the United States to be paid to the said William Gunton and or to their certain attorney, Executors & administrators or assigns to which payment well and truly to be made, We bind our heirs, executors and administrators firmly by these presents, sealed with our seals dated Sixth day of May One Thousand eight hundred and thirty one.
  Whereas certain William J. McPherson and Horatio McPherson as trustees for the sale of certain property in George Town in the District aforesaid late of Sarah McPherson their late mother deceased caused the same to be offered for sale by public auction on the fourth day of May instant and at which the above named William Gunton became the bidder for, and purchaser of a dwelling house, store and lot situated at the corner of Bridge and High Streets and nowtin the occupation of Otto M. Louthecum, at the price of Eight Thousand five hundred and fifty Dollars and whereas the said purchase was made by the said William Gunton at the request of the above bounden John Brien, John McPherson and Edward B. McPherson and for andton behalf of the several heirs at law of the said Sarah McPherson, and he hath given to the said trustees in order the more fully to execute their trust his three promissory notes bearing even date with the within obligation each for the sum of two thousand one hundred and thirty seven Dollars and fifty cents payable one of them on the fifth day of May one thousand eight hundred & thirty two, another of them on the fifth day of May one thousand eight hundred thirty three and the other of them on the fifth day of May one Thousand eight hundred and thirty four, being for the last three installments of the purchase money aforesaid, and the before named obligors have undertaken that the first installment thereof shall be discharged forth with agreeably to the conditions of sale, now the above written obligation is such that if the above bounded John Brien, John McPherson and Edward B. McPherson or any of them their or any of their heirs, executors or administrators shall and do well truly satisfy pay or discharge the several installments of the said purchase money for which notes have been given as aforesaid by the said William Gunton and as and when the same shall become due payable and shall and do from time to time and at all times hereafter well and sufficiently save defend keep harmless and indemnify the said William Gunton andt their heirs, executors and Administrators and their lands and tenements goods and chattels of and from all actions suits, costs, charges and damages which be they or any of them shall or may incur or sustain for or by reason of his or their having made the aforesaid purchase and given notes here in before mentioned of any of them. Then the before written obligation shall be void or else be and remain in full force and virtue in law----------- Signed Sealed and Delivered in the presence Of
  R. Roack
  Col. John McPherson Annapolis Marylandtttt from David G. Barnitz tttttttttttttttttYork Jan 3rd 1839Dr. sir,tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt I sent up to Gettysburg immediately upon my return from Frederick for the purpose of obtaining correct representation of the family coat of arms. It was copied from the tombstone and I sent it to you as I received viz. It is not very beautiful dilineated, but I believe that at the time it was made there were very few Sculptors of Eminence in Adams County. You can have it altered to suit yourself on your silver I will not undertake to explain the meaning of the various devices. You may set your ingenuity to work and if you fail. Lett Cousin Libby try it. You can also ask the opinion of Cousin William.
  The weather is damp & disagreeable, Since New Years day and our spirits are all below par. I never think of my visit to Frederick except with pleasure and should every thing go right, I promise to myself another visit next summer. I am also in hopes that you will not forget your promise to visit York Springs in the course of next season.
  Mother and Father and the rest of the family join me in love to you all, and wishing you a happy New Year. ttttttttttttttttttttttttI am ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttYours Respectfully ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttDavid G Barnitz
  Finding information on the internet about people who lived at Prospect Hall from the eighteen to nineteenth century was very difficult, but the binder from the library helped us out a lot. That is where we got nearly all our information. There was not much information on the internet about the history of Prospect Hall. Most of the things that we found online were more recent and had to do with sports. Some people we found had very little information, where as a couple of the families had a lot more information. It was a lot of work looking for the lives of these people. The facts that we did find were very basic and go very deep past the basic information.
  Our sources were very limited which made it very difficult to write a good report. If we had more information about the people that owned Prospect, it would have made it easier to write an actual report, but our report seems more like a list than a research paper. We were not able to get much information either from our interview with Mr. Duggan because we ran out of time, and he didn't know too much about the people from the eighteen century. We think we would have enjoyed doing the arceology project much more than this one.
  Despite a great deal of controversy surrounding Prospect Hall, due to inaccurate records, the history proves to be very interesting. Known as the second owner of Prospect Hall Daniel Dulaney II, who bought the property for 230 pounds from James Dickson and owned it from 1765 to 1772. Daniel Dulaney is the hub of much folklore surrounding the mansion. Dulaney was a respected Annapolis lawyer, referred to as one of the most learned lawyers in the new world, and was a part of the colonial proprietary government of Maryland. He was a big activist for the German settlers in Frederick County. He proposed a Naturalization Bill for the German settlers. He was cer tainly a wealthy and respected man. Collectively, he owned 8,000 acres of land around Frederick, including where Frederick City now lies. He is thought to have been the one who built the mansion. According to Williams?, a historian, he mapped out 1,000 acres on Red Hill, where his intended to make his home and in 1777 the mansion was completed, but Williams went further with an embellished story about as Daniel watched the construction of the mansion, he saw approaching horsemen coming to arrest for him for Tory sentiments. Contrary to the myth, Daniel Dulaney II was a passive loyalist that remained neutral during the revolutionary war. He galloped away and did not turn up for several years after the war. The Dulaney Family was known to be one of the friends of George Washington and gave George Washington his horse, Blueskin to ride during the Revolution. There are stories that Blueskin is buried somewhere on this property. Another myth surrounding the mansion is that it was confiscated in 1781 because of Daniel Dulaney?s loyalist ideals and was later bought by James Smith, whose daughter, Sarah Smith, married Colonel John McPherson. This story explains how Colonel McPherson came to own the hall. According to other sources, Daniel Dulaney had given his son, Benjamin, in 1772 the mansion, consequently making Benjamin the owner during the 1781 confiscatio n. Since Benjamin had supported the patriot cause, his lands had not been taken. Benjamin was the third owner of ?Dickson?s Struggle? or Prospect Hall. Benjamin was a county cle rk, who lived in Frederick with his wife Elizabeth French. Benjamin had a friendly relationship with George Washington and often visited Mount Vernon. In 1778, Benjamin Tasker Dulaney, sold Prospect Hall for 1687 pounds. >From here the mansion trades hands several times before reaching Colonel John McPherson. There is much speculation about when and by whom the mansion was built. The records mostly point to Colonel. McPherson because he was the owner during the suggested construction period. Colonel. McPherson only bought 163 ? acres from the previous owner, Schnertzell, which included parts of Dickson?s Struggle, but also other adjacent lots. Colonel John McPherson continued to increase his estate by buying bits and pieces. He participated in the Revolutionary War and settled in Frederick after the war. He worked as a judge in the orphan?s court and was co-owner of the Antietam Iron Furnace. By this time, Colonel John McPherson was ?the largest owner of real estate in Western Maryland.? Colonel John McPherson, Jr. was Colonel John McPherson grandson, who continued to stay mansion. Both Colonel. McPherson Sr. and McPherson Jr. were influential figures in the development of Maryland. Sadly, Colonel John McPherson passed away in 1829, leaving the expansive lands to his son, William McPherson. William paid $100 to his brother, Horatio McPherson to clear up any discrepancies about the ownership. William McPherson practiced medicine in Frederick County and was the president of Frederick Savings Bank and a board member of Central National Bank. He also served in the army during the Battle of North Point during the war of 1812. He eventually moved in town to provide his sons with a better education. However in 1844, in feeble health, he owned over $10,000 to various people in dept, one of those people being James Dixon Roman. William McPherson sold Prospect Hall and the surrounding lands to cover his dept. Mr. Roman sold some parts to cover his expenses. James Dixon Roman was a prominent Maryland State Senator and United States Congressman. Along with those titles, he also was a delegate to the Peace Convention of 1861 in Washington D.C. James Dixon Roman proceeded to sell Prospect Hall to Jacob Baltzell, which there was no biographical information found. Over a span of eighty years, the mansion and the lands changed hands over a dozen times. There is still disagreement about who the original owner was, who built the building that stands there now, and the many myths and stories surrounding the home.
  In our search for the genealogy of the Dulaney, the McPerson, and the Roman families, we were able to find our information, with some difficulty. When we were working on the internet during school it was somewhat a hit-or-miss type search. All the web sites we tried had a lot on the general history of Maryland, but very little on the early specific families. We went to the Maryland Room at the Frederick County Public Library on Saturday to see if there were any records. The librarian working there was very helpful, and we did find a some information, mostly on jobs, marriages and the deaths of certain individuals, but the information was sparse. Apparently there is a vertical file in the Maryland Room that is all about the history of Prospect Hall, but the librarian never mentioned it. She did help us locate many v aluable resources. Rachel and Aline found the binder from the St. John?s library to be a very valuable source. It contained folklore about Prospect, property dates, and history of the owners and the families. There were other sources that we were trying to contact at the Frederick County Historical Society, but due to long waiting lists, it was not successful. Most of the places we went to required some searching, but it did pay off in the end. All and our entire search for information about the early owners of Prospect Hall was successful. Allie Giordano, Aline Anflor, Rachel Marsteller


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