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Editors: JOHN W. McGRAIN and WILLIAM HOLLIFIELD VOL. 20 WINTER 1985-1986 NO. 2 The Cradock Tradition of 3 e ice PART TWO (Continued from Autumn 1985) by Joyce Layman Note: Part One took the story of the Cradock family to the death of Thomas Cradock (1819-1896), ending with the text of the vestry resolution passed in his honor.

As a mark of respect, his son was elected vestryman in his place. There were at least nine obituary articles on Mr. Cradock in Maryland newspapers. They too pointed out his generous and affectionate nature as well as his "devotion to the traditions of the neighborhood and specially to St. Thomas' Church" where he was "most tolerant and Catholic in his churchmanship," and "every interest of the church was sacred to him." Though he loved the —Wilson Herrera Collection church's past history," he never stood in the way of its develop- The celestial and terrestial globes used in the Rev. Thomas Cra- ment and progress, but on the contrary was interested and dock's private school of 1747 were still part of the Trentham cooperative in every plan for its growth and improvement." He Mrnishings in 1966 must have been well liked outside of church as well for "the attendance at his funeral of rich and poor, the colored people as well as the white, and people of every religious faith, was a tribute According to the book's introduction, most of the sketches to his memory which one must deserve in order to have it." Dr. Allen wrote came from Dr. Thomas Cradock Walker who was Two years after his death in 1896, a book was published that 22 years old when the Rev. Thomas Cradock's widow died in 1795. Thomas Cradock, his father Dr. Walker, and his daughter Katherine Therefore, the traditions of the church were felt to be direct and Cradock, had helped to prepare. The title on the cover says simply: reliable. Dr. Walker had a reputation for care and accuracy too. As a The Garrison Church by Allen, but on the title page there is result of this knowledge and his own careful researching of old considerably more detail and the full title becomes: records, Dr. Allen's sketches were very highly prized manuscripts of the history of the church during its first hundred years. He The Garrison Church became an authority on the church's history and was honored as Sketches of the History of St. Thomas' Parish one who "kept from oblivion the names and deeds of early workers Garrison Forest in the church." Baltimore County, Maryland, 1742-1852 The sketches stayed in manuscript form until after Dr. Allen's by the Rev. Ethan Allen, D.D., Baltimore death. In 1884 they were purchased by Mr. Samuel A. Tagart, a Edited by the Rev. Hobart Smith, M.A. vestryman, for $75. Col. William Allen, principal of nearby McDo- Rector, St. Thomas Parish, 1898 nogh School proposed to edit and publish the sketches but he died (with additional sketches). before he was able to do so. 56 Dr. Ethan Allen (1797-1879) was an historiographer of the In 1888, the Rev. Hobart Smith became rector of St. Thomas Diocese of Maryland. Of Puritan ancestry, he was born and raised church and found himself custodian of Dr. Allen's manuscripts as in New England and became a priest in 1821. After service in well as old records and papers and felt some responsibility to do several churches, he came to Maryland and gave 25 years under something about them. He was able to derive considerable aid Bishop Whittingham. from the current generation of Cradocks — Thomas and especially

!), PAGE 6 HISTORY TRAILS WINTER 1985-1986 his enthusiastic daughter Katherine. Mr. Smith corresponded with education. Anna Meehan was concerned about a parent-teacher- the descendants of early rectors and vestrymen, put in some child problem in one letter to him (1912), and she appealed to Mr. additional material, and corrected a few dates, but did not revise Cradock for an adequate water supply for the 125 children of the Dr. Allen's style and content. 5- Green Spring Valley School in another. 61 Like his predecessors, he The handwritten dedication in the front of the copy of the served as warden and vestryman at St. Thomas' church. book in the reference section of the Pikesville Branch of the However, Mr. Cradock's primary occupation was at the Sav- Baltimore County Public Library reads: ings Bank of Baltimore, where he entered service in 1892 and rose To Miss Katherine Cradock of Trentham — my most to chief clerk and treasurer. In 1921 he was a member of the board valued collaborator in this work. From your friend of directors. On his death in 1930 the board adopted a resolution and rector, Hobart Smith, December 16, 1898. stating that "his conscientious devotion to duty, his efficiency, his The book, probably as correct as it could be, became a noble character, and charming personality endeared himself not valuable history of the church and of those in the area who only to members of the Board but to all who knew him." 62 attended it. It told the story of its birth, growing pains, problems, His brother, Arthur, was a purchasing agent for the Merchants and building additions. The many ministers who preached there and Miners Transportation Company, and, when he retired, farm- were described as well as the many years when there were no ing the Trentham estate became his main interest. He probably was ministers available and membership declined. Lists of the wardens best known after his sister Katie's death in 1953 because he was and vestrymen showed who lived in the vicinity, and biographical then the only Cradock left. He was elected as an honorary member sketches recounted the lives of important citizens such as the of the vestry of St. Thomas' for life due to "his long and faithful Howards, Owingses, Moales, Lyons, Worthingtons, and Cockeys. service to the church . . . and the background of his family's An endeavor such as this helps to knit a community together and splendid aid to the church and community for more than 200 makes it proud of its institutions and its past. The story of the years." " This was the only time in the history of the church that a church, the Cradock family, and other prominent families was now member was so honored. At the time of his death seven years later properly recorded and available to all. at the age of 90 even the headlines of the obituary told the Cradock story. A headline in the Baltimore Sunday Sun of December 11, 1960, read, "Old Family Name Dies, Arthur Cradock, Sole Survivor, THE FIFTH GENERATION Dies at 91, Family Prominent in Maryland History for More Than The turn of the 20th century found the fifth generation of 200 Years." Then, as in the other's obituaries, the Cradock history Cradocks grown and, typical of their ancestors, service oriented. was told all the way back to the Rev. Thomas Cradock's induction However, life was much different than it had been in frontier time as first minister of St. Thomas' Parish in 1745. In most newspapers, 150 years ago when religion and medicine and farming were more space was devoted to the family story than to the life of the valuable ways for a man to serve his community. Owings Mills was one who had died! a town of more than 300 people. Railroads, telegraph, and soon At a 1985 meeting of the Owings Mills History Council, telephones and automobiles were bringing the county together. William D. Groff, owner of Owings Upper Mill, told the story that With the industrial revolution in full swing, old local mills closed he had only heard Arthur Cradock swear on one occasion. During down, the victims of more efficient centralized operations. By the 1930s, Mr. Cradock had encountered the driver of a truck of 1850 state-supported schools dotted the country making an edu- "bootleg coal" or nut coal and found that the man intended to cation available to all including girls. Major improvements in peddle it in retail lots in the city. Bootleg coal was usually dug from schooling continued into the 1900s with the full support of the abandoned pits by people who didn't own the deposits. Cradock Cradocks who had sown its early seed. Philanthropists like Hop- asked him how much coal it was, and was told 16 tons. He then kins, Pratt, Sheppard, and McDonogh demonstrated their interest negotiated a price with the driver and had the entire load put into in social problems and education. Dealing with a more sophisti- the coal bin at Trentham. Mr. Cradock painted a white line around cated society opened new avenues of service for the fifth genera- the coal bin at the top of the pile to mark the volume occupied by tion, especially for Katherine the older daughter. Since none of 16 tons. Every winter thereafter, the same trucker would bring Mr. Thomas and Sallie Cradock's children married, this was the last Cradock a load of bootleg coal and fill the bin, Then, during World generation, but it was a long one because four of the five died War II, all the bootleg coal operators vanished, and Cradock was between 75 and 91 years of age. 58 obliged to fall back on a reputable fuel dealer. He ordered 16 tons The sibling who "died young" at age 63 was yet another from Bill Groff and told him that he knew from the painted line in Thomas Cradock! He was the fifth Thomas to live at Trentham and the bin how much space 16 tons would fit into. Bill Groff had his the fourth Thomas to be born there. As a youth of 17, he took a trip truckers load four trucks with four tons each and take them to by ship to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from May through August of Trentham. Later in the day, the third truck driver called up the 1884. 59 He wrote to his family weekly to reassure them that he was office and told Mr. Groff that 12 tons of coal went down the chute doing well and to tell them about the voyage and Rio. This is and the coal bin was full, overflowing, spilling the rest on the cellar probably as far as any Cradock had been from Trentham since the floor. first Thomas Cradock left England. Tom also received a letter Bill Groff thereupon called Mr. Cradock to say that the bin requesting him to report to Camp Wilmer in May, 1898, which may wouldn't hold 12 tons, much less 16. Groff said it was the only time mean that he was involved in the Spanish-American War. 6° Other he had ever heard Mr. Cradock, a vestryman and pilar of the church letters from a school teacher indicate that he was connected with swear—a low muttered, "Well, I'll be etc., etc." WINTER 1985-1986 HISTORY TRAILS PAGE 7 Perhaps in connection with the work she did with Mr. Smith on the book The Garrison Church, Katie became involved to some degree with genealogy. Letters indicated that she was doing re- search for several people, and they were very appreciative of her efforts. 69 Her interest in history, particularly that of her own family, lasted most of her life, and she felt responsible for seeing that it was properly prepared and available. The Maryland Histori- cal Society gratefully accepted the genealogical material that she presented. These included the Walker-Cradock Bible records and the Anna Ella Carroll papers. 70 In 1938 she received a letter from the Federal Writers Project of the Work Projects Administration thanking her for a copy of one of the Rev. Thomas Cradock's sermons and the loan of The Garrison Church book which were valuable in helping complete information on Baltimore County. 7' Miss Cradock also wrote down many of her memories about people and places like the Ten Mile House, Samuel Owings' home, and the church. These are recorded in her notes entitled "A Pilgrimage on Paper" and "Notes on Trentham," part of the private collection of the Lyon Family Papers. —Wilson Herrera Collection Both the Reverend Hobart Smith (1888-1923) and the Re- Miss Katie Cradock's bedroom in 1966 during the ownership of verend Philip Jensen who was rector during the 30 years before Trentham by the Jensen family. she died attested to her invaluable assistance to them at St. Thomas' Church. Mr. Jensen called her his "right hand in all social work, not There were three sisters in the family, but most people only in the parish but the whole community." 72 She gave many remembered only Katie. One hopes that Julia and Agnes did not years of service to the Altar Guild, the Women's Auxiliary, Sunday mind being overshadowed by their more assertive sister. She was a School, Youth organizations, the Church Service League, etc., and humanitarian well ahead of her time, and certainly they too must often headed these organizations. Mr. Jensen described her as "not have admired and supported her work with the rest of the commu- only a loyal church woman, but also an instructed one. She was nity. It was her methods and boundless energy that seemed to well versed in church history and the doctrine and teachings of the amaze everyone. Strong willed, individualistic women were still faith, and her life was enriched by the study of the Bible and the exception during her lifetime, and one suspects that she devotional reading by Saints and scholars of the centuries. She was received a dose of whatever made her aunt, Anna Ella Carroll, tick. keenly aware that St. Thomas was not an end in itself but was part of Neither were about to curtail their convictions because they were the General Church expressing itself through the parish, commu- women. nity, diocese, nation and the world. The missionary call, its respon- Katherine Cradock was born at the ancestral home in 1863. sibility and challenge, was strongly emphasized throughout her She lived there all her life. 6' As the oldest child, she watched over life." 73 her siblings and apparently cared for them very much. Several A long-time resident of Owings Mills recalled that she "didn't letters exist which she wrote to family members when she was take any foolishness off of her Sunday School Class." But "at about nine years old, and they are very warm and affectionate. 66 Christmas when they gave things out, if there were people in need Another, written during the Spanish-American War to "my darling of something, she'd ask the class to find out. She'd give to anyone if boys" at camp, expressed her sisterly concern. 67 they needed this or that. She was very good." " Did she ever have a beau? Her work became her main love, but Another resident remembered her as a "great old lady" even an unsigned poem on a white card inside of an envelope with her though she did not appreciate his fist fights during junior choir. 75 name on it and dated January 31, 1888, makes one wonder: It was in the field of social work that Katie's energy and imagination never seemed to tire. She was particularly cognisant of And then her look how 20th century social problems were affecting those around her Oh where's the heart so wise and attended to people's needs as she thought best. She loved Could unbewildered meet people, especially children, "irrespective of race, color or creed" Those matchless eyes? 68 and was "interested in the alleviation of human misery and distress." 76 Mrs. Margaret Hoff, of Owings Mills, remembers her well. Education was always important to the Cradocks, and it was "She'd get up a bunch of children that needed attention, needed not wasted on Katie, the first female Cradock to have one, as she glasses or something, and line them u.- and take them to Hopkins was something of a scholar. This was an asset that helped in all of Hospital ( on the streetcar) and spend the day. Then she'd bring her many areas of interest. These included genealogist, historian, them home and say, 'Margaret will you take these children home pillar of St. Thomas' Church, and social worker. These fields reflect for me?' She'd see that somebody would pay for it too." ' the new roles that were opening up for women, especially those with an education. (To Be Continued) PAGE 8 HISTORY TRAILS WINTER 1985-1986 From Pig Iron to Cotton Duck by William Hollifield John W. McGrain has completed the third in a series of monographs on the history of Baltimore County being published by the Baltimore County Public Library system. From Pig Iron to Cotton Duck: A History of Manufacturing Villages in Baltimore County is being issued in two volumes. This volume covers the iron and steel industries, copper works, paper mills, powder mills, stockyards, a fertilizer works, a lime kiln, and the Wilkins curled hair factory. What all of these activities had in common was that the works had villages adjacent to them with housing for the workers, a school, one or more churches, and a store. These facilities were built and maintained by the management. The workers were thus Smashing the boilers at Ivy Paper Mill, date unknown. always available when needed. The management could assure a stable and reliable work force by banning liquor and encouraging such people don't do so today could account for the financial church attendance. For the most part, the system helped to dis- difficulty of many of the area's churches. courage labor organizations. It would be interesting to have more information about the The origins and operations—and the demise—of each indus- workers—first-hand accounts of how they did their jobs and how try are discussed. The sites surveyed range from early iron furnaces they and their families lived. However, except for Sparrows Point, and forges in now obscure locations—their remains buried under such information is not readily available. The books does abound ground or submerged under water—to the somewhat better- in accounts or worker deaths or mutilations in an era when known villages such as Ashland, Oregon, Avalon, Franklinville, relatively little regard was given to safety. An appendix details the Reckord, and Hoffmanville. Even Baltimore County's own Hell- many trials of life in the "good old days"—epidemics, polluted town is covered. water, heatstrokes, burnings from exploding lamps, alcoholism, Activities in Canton, Calverton, the Wilkins Avenue and other etc. city locations are included as well. These places were in Baltimore The book is not without its humor, however. The author County before the various annexations, and the factories often describes a company that manufactured dynamite and blasting attracted workers from the farms in outlying areas who wanted to powder as having its "ups and downs" and then discusses several improve their economic prospects. explosions that occurred there. Later he mentions a new paper The largest and most important of the company towns was mill started by two Germans; not even beer could make it success- Sparrows Point, first known as Steelton, and it is given ample coverage: 113 pages and 166 pictures and diagrams Such coverage ful: . . although they held a mill-warming with barrels of is appropriate; Bethlehem Steel—the shipyard and steel plant— beer, the process was a failure. Some years later the mill was the largest employer in the county and in the entire state. Of burned down—a certain judgment about the mususe of the industries dicussed in the book, only Bethlehem Steel remains, beer . . in a dimished capacity. Its company town, however, is all gone This book is the culmination of years of research by John now, the last of it demolished in 1973 to make way for a large, McGrain. In 1964 he began by photographing and collecting data modern steel furnace. on mills. His interest expanded to factories using water power and In contrast there are buildings left from some of the smaller those run by electricity. In his first book, Grist Mills, he features and older company villages—some recently discovered by devel- only selected mills in the county because of constraints on the opers and made into expensive housing and shops. There are even length of the publication. Such constraints were not in effect when a few foundations remaining of the old foundries and factories. the present book was compiled. From Pig Iron to Cotton Duck Photographs of these remains appear in the book along with a large contains virtually all the information that could be located. The number of good-quality reproductions of old pictures of the 343 pages of text are fully indexed and contain 424 illustrations. A industries in operation, their company villages, and photographs glossary helps in understanding technical terms. showing the workers with their tools or at their machines. Many of Richard Parsons of the county library staff deserves credit for the photographs were only recently discovered and have never his assistance and encouragement. It is fortuante that he and the been published before. There are also diagrams showing how the library organization are able to spend time and resources on product was manufactured and several plats of the layout of publishing these books on Baltimore County history. The second various operations. volume of this work, the "cotton duck" part, will deal with the Much information is provided about the owners, their families textile mills and should be published within the next few years. and associates, and their other activities. Quite ofen, a factory This volume can be purchased at the Towson Library or at owner was involved in several money-making enterprises in the seven of the other larger library branches for $25. It can be area. A number of the owners established churches or became the ordered by mail for $27 from Heritage Publications, Baltimore major supporters of existing churches in the city or county. That County Public Library, 320 York Road, Towson, Maryland 21204.