Melford (built 1810)
MSA SC 5496-047795
Property, Prince George's County, Maryland
Biography:
Melford,
a two-and-one-half story brick manor house, sits on a tract of land originally
called Howerton’s Range. John Howerton obtained the 400-acre parcel
in 1670, on land originally in Calvert County.1 In 1810, Dr.
Richard Duckett constructed Melford in the Greek Revival Style, a simple,
bold style without the ornamentations of old European architecture. The
property included terrace gardens, as well as a family cemetery, barn,
pump house, meat house, and slave quarters.2 Melford appeared
on Simon Martenet's 1861
map of Prince George's County, near Governor's Bridge on the Anne Arundel
County border.3
At least eight slaves fled from Melford during Dr. Duckett's ownership. On July 15, 1811, Charles Collins fled his enslavement.2 Sam Joyce, also called Sam Williams, ran sometime before October 14, 1815. In the runaway ad that appeared in the Maryland Republican, Duckett mentioned that Sam's mother lived with Lewis Neth in Annapolis.4 Two more slaves, Charles and Sam, absconded together in March 1816.5 Sam Joyce, whose first escape attempt had failed, fled again on November 11, 1824.6 Sam Dorsey ran on April 18, 1826,7 while the slaves Fielder and Sam escaped on March 7, 1831.8 Finally, Henry Brown ran away in December 1852.9
On February 17, 1869, Richard Hardisty purchased Melford for $10,812.50 from the late Richard Duckett's estate.10 Hardisty lived at Melford with his wife, Margaret, and their children Lena, Florence, Talbot (also called Talbott and Talbert), Richard, and Clifford.11 No servants appeared in the census records until 1880, when a thirty-five-year old African American servant, Samuel Diggs, was working at the house.12
Richard Hardisty died intestate in 1908. In August 1909, the Chancery
Court divided Melford’s land equally among Talbot, Richard, Lena (Mrs.
Franklin Weems), and Florence (Mrs. Trueman C. Slingluff). Margaret, Richard's
widow, received the “Dower Lot,” which included Melford House. Melford
has now remained in the Hardisty family for over a century.13
In 1972, the Historic American Buildings Survey recognized Melford as the
only house in Maryland with a semi-circular bay, which extends two stories
high on the south side.14 In 1988, the National Park Service
added Melford to the National Registry of Historic Places.15
1. Calvert County Circuit
Court, Land Survey, Subdivision, and Condominium Plats, MSA S1583: (Patents,
CV, Tract Index). Howertons Range, 400 Acres, 1670, Certificate. John Howerton,
Patent Record 12, p. 553.
Calvert County
Circuit Court, Land Survey, Subdivision, and Condominium Plats, MSA S1583:
(Patents, CV, Tract Index).owertons Range, 400 Acres, 1670, Patent. John
Howerton, Patent Record 14, p. 86.
"Melford (Howerton's
Range)." PG:71B-16. Maryland Historical Trust, Inventory of Historic Properties.
www.mdihp.net.
2. Jack E. Boucher. Landmarks
of Prince George's County (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1993) 89.
"Melford."
National Register Listings in Maryland. http://mht.maryland.gov/nr/nrdetail.aspx?hdid=1009&from=nrmappr.html.
"Melford (Howerton's
Range)." PG:71B-16. Maryland Historical Trust, Inventory of Historic Properties.
www.mdihp.net.
3. Prince George's County
District 7, Simon J. Martenet, Martenet's Atlas of Maryland, 1861, Library
of Congress, MSA SC 1213-1-118.
"Ran Away."
Maryland Republican 12 August 1811: 1.
4. "Ran Away." Maryland Republican 12 August 1811: 1.
5. "Fifty Dollars Reward." Maryland Republican 14 October 1815: 1.
6. "50 Dollars Reward." Maryland Republican 30 March 1816: 1.
7. "Fifty Dollars Reward." Maryland Republican 25 November 1824: 1.
8. "30 Dollars Reward." Maryland Republican 29 April 1826: 1.
9. "100 Dollars Reward." Maryland Republican 7 June 1831: 1.
10. "Three Hundred Dollars Reward." Baltimore Sun 27 December 1852: 1.
11. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records), Liber HB 4, Foli 655, 1870-1871, [MSA CE 64-16]. Daniel Clarke (estate of Richard Duckett) to Richard Hardesty.
12. U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for R. Hardesty, Queen Anne District, Prince George's County, Page 12, Line 27.
13. U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD) for Richard Hardisty, Queen Anne, District 127, Prince George's County, Page 4, Line 23.
14. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, CIRCUIT COURT, (Equity Record), [T2591-59]. Liber BDS 8, Folio 225, Equity Case 3705.
15. "Historic Buildings in Area Surveyed."
Washington
Post 8 July 1972: D10. Proquest databases.
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