WHITE - CAREW FAMILY GRAVEYARD

This cemetery was transcribed on Sunday, September 13, 1998 by Bev and John DuVal. We appreciate their contributions to the Somerset Cemetery Project! The graveyard, which is in extremely overgrown condition, is located on Messick Road in Dames Quarter. Bev and John were in search of the grave of his grandfather, Lester C. WHITE, who died 6 August 1935. The road, marked only with a sign saying "Boat Ramp", is the first right after you cross the bridge over Dames Quarter Creek, headed west away from Princess Anne. About halfway out to the water on the left-hand side of the road is a narrow, unpaved lane which opens up into a small field. The cemetery is in a grove of trees ahead and to the right. It is partially surrounded by a rusted, iron pipe fence which is mostly fallen down, but which supports a wire picket sort of fence in some places.

Bev says, "The following is only a partial list of the graves we found and I make no claim that they were copied correctly. Some we could see but not reach, even after an hour and a half of hacking with long-handled clippers and a machete. On others the inscription was only partially legible. There are undoubtedly other graves there, but because of the fallen trees and many thick vines and weeds, we could not venture further. Maybe if you put this on the List, Shari, some of the living relatives of these folks might be willing to help us mount an all-out assault on the vegetation obscuring this graveyard. It looks to us like an all-day project for a whole gang of people."

Maurice N. CAREW, Feb 8, 1870, Oct 30, 1905
Emily CAREW, d. Aug 30, 1897, aged 51 yrs, 10 months, 10 days
Thomas W. CAREW, d. May 25, 1891, aged 44 yrs, 9 months
Ward ___ CAREW, b. Feb 25, 1835, d. July 21, 1855 (outside fence)
Louis H. FISK, d. Aug 11, 1895

On a 6-foot obelisk:
George E. WALLACE, beloved husband of Beulah WALLACE, b. March 26, 1857, d. March 12, 1911, aged 53 yrs, 11 months, 6 days
Charles Dryden WALLACE, b. March 21, 1902, d. March 16, 1910, aged 7 yrs., 11 months, 25 days
Blanche WALLACE, b. April 16, 1902, d. April 22, 1902, aged 11 days (sic)

Mother, Margaret M. GILES, d. Dec 9, 1923, aged 98 yrs, 1 month, 27 days
Father, John H. GILES, 1830 - 1903
John Rigby GILES, b. July 23, 1867, d. April 23, 1925
Hamilton W. WHITE, d. Sep 10, 1860, aged 59 yrs, 2 months, 17 days
Wilmer WHITE, son of Hamilton W. & M. M. WHITE, d. Aug 17, 1850, aged 2 yrs, 7 months, 19 days

Inside an adjoining fence:
Mary G. WHITE, daughter of Harry P. & Elizabeth H. WHITE, b. Nov 15, 1857, d. Feb 10, 1866

Ada L. (rest illegible)
Hamilton W. MESSICK, son of George & ___________ Messick
John T. MESSICK, son of ______________ & _____________ Messick
William G. son of (rest illegible)

Inside another adjoining fence:
Mary Jane WHITE daughter of William H. & Margaret WHITE, departed this life 23rd of Dec 1868 in the 15th year of her age
John Wm. WHITE, son of William H. & Margaret WHITE, departed this life 12th of Jan 1863 in the 20th year of his age
(these two are in side-by-side brick vaults with a horizontal slab covering; one more similar to these was on the far side of these two)

On a small stone, almost more like a foot marker:
Julia Catharine McGRATH, beloved wife of Wm. A. McGRATH, b. Oct 10, 1835, d. April 19, 1910

In late August, 1999, Bev received a note from Walter E. Webster, Jr., a descendant of some of those buried here, in which he told a bit about these folks and made some corrections. Here is what he had to say:

"Thought you may be interested in some of the history of the cemetery.... I am very familiar with the enclosure with the obelisk. George E. Wallace was my grandfather. He was baptized Elihu George. I believe you erred in transcribing the name of his spouse. The inscription reads beloved husband of Katurah Wallace. Katurah (Kate) Wallace was a Giles. Margaret M. (White) Marshall and John Giles were her parents and thus my great-grandparents. John Rigby Giles was Katurah's brother and he married Emma Carew (she is not buried there). Margaret Marshall was from St. Michaels, Talbot Co., MD. She married first Hamilton White, a mariner, in Talbot Co. - marriage license dated 21 August 1848. Hamilton and Margaret lived in Dames Quarter on land adjacent to the cemetery. Apparently Hamilton and Margaret had one son, Wilmer, who is buried in this particular lot, along with his father, Hamilton. Margaret inherited the land and she married 2nd John Giles in 1863. They lived in the house formerly owned by Hamilton and Margaret. John Giles was originally from near Quantico, MD. He moved to Dames Quarter to apprentice under William White, a carpenter. John Giles is enumerated in the household of William White in both the 1850 and 1860 Censuses, occupation carpenter house joiner."

"Until the 1940's, the plot was cleared yearly at the expense of my maternal aunts and Dad. Dad would arrange for the labor and I would accompany him when he drove up from Deal Island to inspect the work. As I recall, the adjacent plots were overgrown at that time. The homestead of Margaret was still standing, but unoccupied. Dad moved to Balto., about 1941 and that ended the clearing. In the last decade, Claude Giles, Jr., grandson of John Rigby Giles has hired labor to clear that particular partially fenced plot."

This Cemetery Project is associated with Handley's Eastern Shore Genealogy Project, and with the Somerset County, Maryland USGenWeb Project site.

© 1996 - 2007 Shari Handley

Monday, 10-Sep-2018 10:04:31 MDT