Visit to St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Croom, Maryland

In April we attended worship at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Croom, Maryland.  The Church was built between 1743-1745, constructed by architect Daniel Page in a simple Georgian style and was known as "Pages Chapel" until 1850.  My fourth great-grandfather, Benedict Swingate Calvert (c. 1727-1788) and his wife and cousin Elizabeth (1730-1798) attended the church in its early days.  

I was fortunate to worship near the burial ledger stones of my ancestors, including their daughter Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart (1754-1811), whose first husband, John Parke Custis, son of Martha Washington, died of "camp fever" during the Revolutionary War.

We were fortunate to be guided to the Calvert family plot (which was once at Mt. Airy) by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., esteemed historian and Archives Specialist at the Smithsonian who is also author of Faith and Tobacco, published by Anchovy Hill Press (2015).  The volume examines the history of St. Thomas Parish in Prince George's County, including my Calvert ancestors. ( https://www.anchovyhillpress.com/faith-tobacco).

Edward Henry Calvert (1766-1846) and his wife Elizabeth Biscoe Calvert lived at Mt. Airy after Benedict's death in 1788.   My father, Roy L. Calvert, Jr., (1925-2019) told me several times that Elizabeth had hidden silver plate and other treasures in a vault that was on the property when the plantation was under attack.  I've never had the opportunity to discover if there is any truth to the tale.