Re: Pleasant Prospect
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In reply to:
Re: Pleasant Prospect
Kara Cassidy 2/09/05
Hello Ms. Cassidy,
It was nice to hear from you. You are ahead of me as far as Pleasant Prospect is concerned. I got as far as the gate to the 'Woodmore' housing development off Rt. 193, but I did not succeed in locating the house itself. Could you possibly give me directions?
As for 'The Valley' perhaps I can help you. There is a beautiful brick house standing on a rise near the intersection of Rt. 382 and Candy Hill Rd. which is today known as Brookeland. This was apparently the original name for the home of Alexander Contee and Jane Brooke, which she received from her father, perhaps as a dowry.
A couple of years ago I stopped and knocked on the door and a polite, if less than thrilled, austrailian lawyer told me what she knew of the history of the house; she had reason to believe that the house was of more recent construction and that the original Brooke house had been wood and was located elsewhere. She kindly directed me to a neighbor named Duval (another old Southern Maryland name) who was known as a local historian. He was indeed knowledgable and he directed me about a mile down the road and through a corn field where an old grave yard was located on a private farm. It is quite run down but without too much trouble I located Alexander's 1740 gravestone, flanked on both sides by the gravestones of two of his sons, both namesakes who died as youngsters! It was really quite moving. I often think to return and make some charcol rubbings of the markers, but I have never gotten around to it. Maybe this summer.
On a quite different subject, are you aware of the interesting history in which your ancestor Capt. John Contee was involved? If not I can give you some interesting details.
Later.................................john contee
More Replies:
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Re: Pleasant Prospect
Kara Cassidy 2/15/05