During the Civil War (1861-1865), it was Mary Esther Townsend who suggested that the Clarysville Inn be used as a United States Government Hospital. Her husband, Dr. Morris Miller Townsend, was instrumental in having this accomplished and served as the first hospital superintendent.
Sallie Pollock, 1847-1890
The following information is excerpted from the sources identified in the Notes which appears at the bottom of this page. Both provide more extensive background on the exploits and life of Sallie Pollock.
"Nelly"
From the Cumberland, Maryland Advocate, run-away slave notice, January 11, 1832
Priscilla Ellen (Beall) McKaig, 1809 - 1885
Priscilla was a genteel and aristocratic lady, and with two of her four sons serving as Confederate officers, had strong sympathies with the South during the Civil War (1861-1865). Priscilla was a granddaughter of Thomas Beall of Samuel (1744-1823), the founder of Cumberland.
"Aunt Judy", 1805-1866
Her tombstone reads
"A Faithful Friend and Helper
There is neither bond nor free for all are one in Christ Jesus."
Aunt Judy was a one-time local slave and later servant in the Robert Hall McCleave (1808-1886) household, in whose family plot she is buried. In 1860, Allegany County was identified as having 666 slaves, 467 free "colored", and 27,215 whites.
Mary Calmes Hoye died October 20, 1875 aged 87 years
John and Mary Hoye lived in the Hoye Mansion on Washington Street. This is one of the oldest structures in Cumberland. In recent years it has served as the First Church of Christ Scientist and is now a law office. The 1820 census shows the Hoyes household as consisting of four family members and ten slaves. The slaves included a coachman, cook, maid, and several children of the Dorsey and Robeson families.
Jane Gates
Circa 1819 - 1888
It's a mystery. Jane Gates is the great-great grandmother of Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Born in Piedmont, West Virginia, Gates is the W.E.B. DuBois professor of the Humanities and chair of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. For many years Henry Louis Gates, along with his cousin John Gates of Cumberland, have wondered about their great-great grandmother and their own heritage. Was it true Jane's white owner, one Samuel Brady, had fathered her children? Was it he who later purchased a house for her in Cumberland?
Frederick Dent is considered to be the first white child born in Cumberland after its incorporation. He left Cumberland at the age of 21 and later became the father of Julia Boggs Dent (1826-1902). In 1848 Julia married Hiram Ulysses Grant (a.k.a. General Ulysses S. Grant), later President of the United States.
The City of Cumberland was established by the State Legislature on January 20, 1787. Sources vary between 1786 and 1787 on the year of Frederick Dent's birth. Lowdermilk's "History of Cumberland" states that Dent was born in October or November 1787.
Mary Dailey was born about 50 miles south of Allegany County in Moorefield, Hardy County, Virginia. This is now West Virginia which, during the Civil War, broke off from Virginia and was created as a separate state in 1863.
Mary's father, John Dailey, managed the Revere House in Cumberland during the Civil War. It was here, in February 1865, that Union General George Crook (1830-1890) was kidnapped during a