T-50

Troth's Fortune (Acton, Troth Farm)

Architectural Survey File

This is the architectural survey file for this MIHP record. The survey file is organized reverse-

chronological (that is, with the latest material on top). It contains all MIHP inventory forms, National

Register nomination forms, determinations of eligibility (DOE) forms, and accompanying documentation

such as photographs and maps.

Users should be aware that additional undigitized material about this property may be found in on-site

architectural reports, copies of HABS/HAER or other documentation, drawings, and the “vertical files” at

the MHT Library in Crownsville. The vertical files may include newspaper clippings, field notes, draft

versions of forms and architectural reports, photographs, maps, and drawings. Researchers who need a

thorough understanding of this property should plan to visit the MHT Library as part of their research

project; look at the MHT web site (mht.maryland.gov) for details about how to make an appointment.

All material is property of the Maryland Historical Trust.

Last Updated: 04-05-2004

MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST ADDENDUM SHEET MD 331 - DOVER BRIDGE OVER CHOPTANK RIVER

Property Address 30n4 Dover Road. Easton Vicinity, Talbot County

Property Name: Troth's Fortune Survey No.: T-50 (PACS 11)

Owner Name/Address Charlas Elizabeth Williams Wise. 30774 Dover Road. Easton. MD 21601 Year Built circa 1700

Description:

Troth's Fortune was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The main house at Troth's Fortune, dated between 1686 and 171 o, has remained virtually unchanged since the National Register Nomination Form was prepared. However, at the time the form was written, the twentieth century additions to the house were not described. Also not described were the late-nineteenth century house and outbuildings located on the property.

There are two mid-to-late-twentieth century wood-frame wings extending from the northeast gable of Troth's Fortune. A covered brick walkway connects the additions to a mid-twentieth century reconstruction of a gambrel-roof brick kitchen. The first frame wing, built circa 1945, is directly connected to the main house and is 1 %-stories tall with a side-gable roof covered in wood shingles. The southeast, or front elevation features a door in the third bay and two paired 8/8 double-hung windows in the first and second bays. There is a single gable dormer centered on the roof. It has one 6/6 double-hung window. The northwest elevation has a 1-story shed roof addition with triple 6/6 double-hung windows. There is a single gable dormer with a 6/6 window centered on the roof. There is one 6/6 double-hung window in the northeast gable end.

The second wood-frame wing extends from the northeast gable end of the first addition. Built between 1958 and 1974, it is 1-story tall with a side-gable roof covered in wood shingles. The southeast, or front elevation has a porch across the length of the elevation. The porch floor is paved with brick. The porch has a shed roof and square wood posts. There is a door in the second of the elevation and a 6-light awning window in the first bay. The northwest elevation has a door in the first bay. It is sheltered by a front-gable entry porch. There are two paired 6/6 double-hung windows in the second and third bays. A roof extends from the northeast comer of the second wood-frame addition to the southwest elevation of a brick building, covering brick walkway.

=ie 11/2-story, gambrel-roof brick kitchen was reconstructed circa 1950, by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick C. Thomas, the owners :he time. The walls are laid in 3-to-1 common bond with old bricks which were whitewashed and brushed to resemble the

old building. On the southwest elevation, the one closest to the house and connected to it by a covered walkway, there is a centered door. There are two shed-dormer windows, each with a 6/6 double-hung window. The southeast gable has triple 6/6 double-hung windows on the first floor, and a stairway leading to a doorway on the second floor. The stairway has a wheat design in its stair baluster, copied from the Dover Ferry House which previously existed a half mile away (Easton Star­Democrat, March 28, 1958). The northeast elevation has three small 3/3 double-hung windows. The first is located in the southeast corner, and the other two are paired at the northwest comer. There is a single shed dormer with a 6/6 double-hung window. There is a shed-roofed wood-frame shed extending perpendicular to the northwest corner of the northeast elevation. The northwest gable end has an interior end chimney, which is flanked by two small 3/3 double-hung windows.

In addition to the seventeenth century house and the additions made to it, there are also a late-nineteenth century house and outbuildings located on the property. The late-nineteenth century house is located north of the seventeenth century house. The driveway leading to the house turns to the left, going past the main house and around the late-nineteenth century house. The house is a 2-story, 2-bay wood-frame house with a side-gable roof covered in wood shingles. The house has a parged foundation, and a 1-story side-gable wood-frame addition at the northeast gable end. The windows are double-hung wood sash. The foundation of the addition is poured concrete. The house has a 1-story hipped roof porch on the southwest elevation and an exterior end chimney.

~e 1 . .aparer:

P.A.C. Spero & Company February 1996/Revised May 1998

MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST ADDENDUM SHEET MD 331 • DOVER BRIDGE OVER CHOPTANK RIVER

Property Address 30774 Dover Road, Easton Vicinity, Talbot County

Property Name: Troth's Fortune Survey No.: T-50 (PACS 11)

Owner Name/Address Charlas Elizabeth Williams Wise. 30774 Dover Road. Easton. MD 21601 Year Built circa 1700

Description: (continued)

The southwest, or front elevation of the house has a hipped-roof porch with turned wooden posts, flat-sawn decorative brackets, and a square-baluster railing. There is a shed-roof lean-to addition on the northwest gable end and a 1-story side­gable addition on the southeast gable end. The first story entrance is located in the first bay of the house. The fenestration pattern is symmetrical with one 6/6 double-hung window in the second bay of the main block, one 6/6 double-hung window on the 1-story addition, and one 6/6 double-hung window in the lean-to addition. The second story has two 6/6 double-hung windows.

The southeast elevation consists of the gable ends of the main block and the 1-story addition. There is one 8-light fixed-sash window centered in the addition wall. There are louvered vents in the gable ends of the addition and the main block. A gable-roofed shed extends outward, perpendicular to the rear elevation. The southeast elevation of this shed has one 8-light fixed sash window.

The northeast, or rear elevation of the house has a front-gable shed or garage extending from the northwest comer. The fenestration pattern is symmetrical. There is one 6/6 double-hung window centered in the 1-story addition. There is one 6/6 double-hung window on the first story of the main block. The second bay is covered by the shed. There is a large door opening in the gable end of the shed. The second story of the main block has two 6/6 double-hung windows.

The northwest elevation consists of the northwest side of the shed, the side of the lean-to and the gable end of the main block. The roofs of the shed and lean-to addition are covered in corrugated metal. The chimney extends from the lean-to on the exterior of the gable wall. There is a 12-light door leading into the shed. There is one 1/1 double-hung window on the northwest side of the door. There is a single 6-light fixed-sash window centered in the lean-to wall. There are no window openings in the gable end of the main block.

There are five outbuildings dating from the late-nineteenth or early twentieth centuries, including a barn, a com crib with attached machine shed, a machine shed, a shed, and a round comcrib. The barn is located northeast of the late-nineteenth century house and north of the main house. It is a 2-story, gable-roof frame barn with a 1-story drive-through portion extending perpendicular to the barn forming an L-shape. The barn has a brick foundation, vertical board siding, and a corrugated metal roof. There are 6-light fixed sash windows located irregularly on the first floor of the barn. The main entrance to the barn is located on the northeast elevation, in the courtyard created between the main barn and the drive­through ell.

The comcrib with the attached machine shed is located east of the barn and northeast of the main house. The comcrib portion is at the southeast end, and its roof is perpendicular to the roof of the attached machine shed. Both sections have gable roofs covered with corrugated metal and are of wood-frame construction. The building has a concrete foundation. The corncrib portion has walls of widely spaced vertical slats. The machine shed is open on the northeast elevation with three bays for the storage of large equipment.

The machine shed has an enclosed portion on the southeast end and has three open bays on the northwest end. The structure is of wood-frame construction, with a gable roof covered in corrugated metal. The enclosed portion of the machine shed is covered in vertical board siding. There are two 2-light sliding windows on the southeast gable end of the enclosed portion of the shed. The machine shed is located northeast of the com crib with machine shed and barn.

The shed is a small wood-frame building with a front-gable roof with wood shingles. The walls are covered with board and batten siding and the shed has a concrete foundation. There is a door in the southwest gable end. The shed is located southwest of the barn, between the barn and the main house.

Page 2 Preparer: P.A.C. Spero & Company February 1998/Revised May 1998

. ,....,,., ...... , ......... ··-···-. -··-·· ..... MD 331 - DOVER BRIDGE OVER CHOPTANK RIVER Survey No.: T-50 (PACS 11)

Property Address 30774 Dover Road. Easton Vicinity, Talbot County Owner Name/Address Charlas Elizabeth Williams Wise. 30774 Dover Road. Easton. MD 21601

__ Year Built circa 1700

Description: (continued)

The final outbuilding is a round com crib. It is of wood-frame construction covered in vertical boards, and has a standing seam metal roof. It is located southeast of the late-nineteenth century house, and southwest of the barn and shed. It is located northeast of the main house.

Interior access to the buildings was not available.

The entire Troth's Fortune complex is located at the end of a long, tree-lined gravel drive that branches off a dirt road from Dover Road. The complex is located at the top of a bluff overlooking the Choptank River. There is a white rail fence that connects the shed attached to the kitchen to the round com crib, shed, barn, and late-nineteenth century house. The fence extends along the southeast side of the drive. The property's setting is rural, with no visual intrusion from surrounding properties.

Significance:

Since the National Register Nomination Form was prepared in 1974, the property has changed owners. The current owner is Charlas Elizabeth William Wise. Ms. Wise purchased the property in 1987 from Frederick Chichester Thomas and Katerina Thomas, trustees of the estate of the former owner, Roberta R. Thomas Platt. Frederick C. Thomas and Roberta R. Thomas purchased the property in 1946. Frederick Thomas died in 1967, and Roberta Thomas was remarried to Charles Platt, Jr. Roberta A. Thomas Platt died in 1987, at which time her trustees sold the property with 40.5 hectares (100 acres).

Bibliography

Easton Star-Democrat, Easton, MD. March 28, 1958.

Bourne, Michael. 1974. National Register Inventory/Nomination Form. Troth's Fortune.

Talbot County Clerk of Courts Office, Deed Records.

Talbot County Tax Assessors Office, Tax Records.

MHT co;;x1RRENCE: Eligibility recommended not recommended Criteria A B C -D- Considerations A B C 0 E F G None Comments: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

J:k.ge 3 iparer.

P.A.C. Spero & Company February 1998/Revised May 1998

? Reviewer, NR- program

MARYLAND HISTORICAL TRUST ADDENDUM SHEET MD 331 • DOVER BRIDGE OVER CHOPTANK RIVER

Property Address 30774 Dover Road. Easton Vicinity. Talbot County

Property Name: Troth's Fortune Survey No.: T·SO (PACS 11)

Owner Name/Address Charlas Elizabeth Williams Wise. 30774 Dover Road. Easton. MD 21601 Year Built circa 1700

Resource Sketch Map

Page 4 Preparer: P.A.C. Spero & Company February 1998/Revised May 1998

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OF-SCRl AE T•itr PRESENT ANO O<tlCIN .. L (if known) PHYSICAL AP~C:.P ... -rl-CE-. -

Troth ' s Fortune is one of the notable sr.:.:ill dwellings of Talbot County , Nary land. Like many of Maryland r s early farm houses, it has a gambrel roof, but it differs from others in that it has a stair to .. rer and a richly deLailed interior. It is situated about 1/2 mile north of the location of Dover Ferry, now the Route 331. bridge over the Choptank River.

It is a 3-bay-lo~g brick structure measuring approximately 20 by 32 feet (plus tower) with two frame wings on the north­east . (The latter are 20th century additions and will not be discussed herein) . Its principal facade, facing southeast to the Choptank River, is brightened by the glazed headers used in its Flemish bond brickwork . It is further detailed oy a chdn'.p!'le~cd ,.,atertable ·with English bone be!'!eath and two segmentally arched basement windows. Both windows of the facade have 1 2/12 sash , and the six-panel door has panel ed jambs and trim on the outside of the brick . Three shed-roof dormer windows have 6/6 sash. The chir.mey on the sout...'1.west is contain­ed within the gable \·1hile that on the opposite gable is partly within- - partly without the gable; both chimneys have caps wit...l-i plaster bands .

The southi·;est gable possessed 4 small windows extended to light the closets within. Those on the southeast side retain their original frames and have internal shutters only ; the ot~er two have had their frames removed and ti.i.e gaps filled with brick . English bond is seen both above and below the watertable .

Corunon bond , with 3 rm·lS of str~tchers to 1 row of heud·crs is employed in the northwest facade and n.orth~as t c2b1e, as ·well as in the tmrer - A waterta~le orick is lackins; ;n the northeast gable, c:.t~d in place of the c:.i.a~_;>hzred brick , the other two sides are a sinple stcp~ed brick. A door and windo·,·1 are located west of the stairtower on the north\·1est si<le of the house ; the frame of the window appearing original . One windm·1 is located northeast of the tO'wer and one in the gable :c.oof tm;er i tsclI - One do1-:.1r?r is loc~;_:ed on euc:1. side of the assymetrically-placed tower .

The interior consists of two rooms , generally classified as t.hG> "hall o.nd parlor" plan. ri'~1e stairto~·;er O?ens directly • • .... ·• c:• ,1 :r -=• .:,.. .• J • , .... .: . ~ ; ... _. -.-.::*"'f.;.,.. ! ~ ...... ·~"'"l~ .;= 1·r-> . ..,.1;,--~ .1~:1 1_·,, , L.l~ .!.1..:4 . ...f .. _ .. L-.(' ... 1..,"') ..... ?.....;.1 .. .L. .... ~l::J :..· ·# ·• ·=.,- ·'- _ _.. r... .... - ..... ::'-----·

wall and the ;o;dinscoting o.= i.:i10 rcrr,o.ir.ing ·c._1:c~c Willls. A';Jov.: the 3-centered-arch fireplace are 3 tiers of horizontal panels ; the lor..:er consisting of a pair of p<:?.ncls conforming to the r

curvf' of the arch, a~d t~1e other b10 being single horizontal l-':triu1s. Fla;lking the fir~place arc fluted ?ilast~rs oa

t rece-:;scd panel p-3dest.als :d ti1 6 fJ u t8S in eac:1, ti1e top and bo t".:.om terminating in a th u·ub nai 1 s to2- (Tn is same feature I :i.s em:)loyed in the uin::1o•.; reveals w.i t:i th0 usr.; of seven flutas) -On cc:~h. side of the .Ei replace arc closets with 2-pane:!. doors t:v~r(:!.:o . Series of 5 retiscd oan'?ls :;L1 rt"otmd~; t-he doo·c:::;. The

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ENTRY llU•AOER I o .. TE (Continuation Sheet) #1

Troth's Fortune

7. DESCRIPTION, continued

Georgian style. lt also caps the dado and jogs downward where the window sill is lower and where'it meets the door to the "parlor"--,t· The details of the paneling in the "hall 11 are very similar to those of "Boston Cliff" (1729) ... White Marsh (17'35) and Hampden (c. 1720), all of which are in Talbot County. All evidence points to t.he fact that 'lhe paneling was installed when the house was constructed. It then seems logical that "Troth's Fortune 11 dates from around the same period of the aforementioned dwellings. Stylistically in rural Maryland, this type of woodwork dates between 1720 and 1760. The alterations (mentioned later) which occurred during the life of the house support this supposition.

Raised paneling on the protruding fireplace wall in the "-parlor" boasts a large bolection molding around the fireplace and two panels of cupboard doors above flanked by a single panel and crowned by a single narrow horizontal panel. It lacks a cornice which the "hall" paneling possesses. In the west corner of the room is a tiny two panel door leading to the closet beneath the stair. A simple chair rail and baseboard are the period trim of the "parlor."

In the stair tower is a winder stair, with closet beneath. The closet wall consists of feather edge vertical boards bearing the same profile as the raised paneling in the "hall" and "parlor." A narrow 2-panel door opens into the closet. The stair itself. has two treads leading to the winder treads, which number eight around the newel,, and four leading to the second floor hall. A balustrade is located along the four upper steps, and from these in a right angle to the wall.

Originally, the second floor plan consisted of a hall, with one room on each side and a smaller room between. When the wing was added, the "parlor chamber" was converted into a bath, corridor and dressing room.

The "hall chamber" possesses a small fireplace with walis of raised paneling housing two closets, as below. A plaster wall separates the 11 hall chamber" from t!"le other rooms, but other walls on the second floor are of vertical beaded boards. Flooring on the second story is original.

Changes which have occurred during the life.of Troth's Fortune consist of several minor alterations, both outside and inside. Beginning on the river fac.:ide ( sonthcas t facade) , the arches of the door and two windows were apparently removed. In· addition, the brickwork flanking the windows was altered lo accomodate narrower window frames. The cornice of the southeast fa8adc apparently retains its original box , yet the crown and bed moldings arc replacements.

'----------------------·-------------------------·-

(Sec contimwt-..ion ~h\;!i;l: No. 2)

UWTED STATES l> EPM~.1.t::-~1r OF TH E ltHCHIOR tlAilO:-iAL ?I.FU: !'of P.VICE

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INVENTORY - HOMltlATION FORM

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'l'alboL FOR :1PS USE O:;L Y

(Co:1 tin11alion She:et) # 2

Troth ' s Fortune

7. DESCRIPTIO~, continued

On the southwcs t gable, Sor.le addition rr.us t have been built and later remove'1 since the two small windows on its nOJ::..t..ht.~~t side were lengthened, then entirely filled '.!i th brick.

For apparently little gain, the z1orLhwest entrance door was moved aporoximately 18 inch e s closer to the

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tm·1er as there .is a seam in the brickwork as well as in the paneled dado within. Portions of the cornice on ll1e nort.,­':·est sicle have b e en rej?laced. Its \·1indo•·,· frame, ho:.rever, appears original . Brickwo;:-k on the nort.heast side of the tower was altered during this century after a l eanto h ad been removed which had had doors cut into both t he "parl or11

and the stair closet. Inside , the alterations consist of new flooring on

the first floor , installation of book cases in the "parlor" and the second floor room arrangement, mentioned above. Ninor, and earlier, changes are evidont in the exterior doors and trim in the " hall" and the probable replacement of the stair balustrade , ,,..,:iich occurred around 1800.

Troth ' s Fortune is a very well-prese:::ved house •.-:hich has retained the best features of its early period as well as evidences of change . It is located on a one l'lundred acre farm arid possesses a well planned and maintairied yvrd as well as rniscella:1eou:=: co~1ten;:)Orary ol!t::n.:ilci:1g.::; .

SEE CONTINUA'fION SHEZ'i"" ~H

8. SIGNIFICZ\.:.\!CE, continued

In 16 79 Troth patented two parcels of land , 400 acres of Troth ' s Fortune and 100 acres knmm as Trot:i ' s Addi tio~. s~von ye~rs later ~e purchased 300 acres of a ~ract called Acton from John Acton , son of the origina l patentee . By his death in 17JO, he possessed 1,216 acres in Talbot County , 300 in Dorchester. , and an uncl e terrnined a:::o~mt (bttt c::.c~acE~~; :: .:.) .-.:.:-~··;.;; ) in i);..:!:: .. _n i\nn.:' s , , ~ 'i :ot.~l o f 2,vJ•) c:.~;_-.;.: .:i o.: !::J ;.,_ ...

·,· :-Lis .hug~ cun0un t of la.nd is one indication of the grca t ~·:calth Willi.am 'I'roth accumulated through his business success .

The inventories of his estate furt\1cr illustrate Troth ' s e: ::o!"lo!":'lic success , as well as shm·1ing tl1e reaso:-1 for it. The :...~t~ al value of the goods c v allwtcd in t!lC: 1711 iHvantocy is

·1.929 . 18 . 3 1/2. 'I'hc lurger. purt of this inventory, \-.·nic;1 i n cluded h i.s hou:;e!lo.ld gondti, cons i s L~d of goods li stcd "j n Lhc store." 1\n a<l<litionaJ inve:lto.:.:v rett!rnctl in 1712 is for L2"1G . 6.2 3/4 of which L216 \: els "Cash i n bank in ye ha ads o f

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0 Art

ED Comm~~" 0 Comm..,nicati:.ns

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(Chech Ont• o.• ,\Jore It~ Apprr~11ri.lf<·)

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0 I n~us try '"'";>hy 0 ffl'•'Cn'i01' )c:t'nce

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0 Music 0 Trons;>or t.:iti"n

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Troth ' s Fortune , probably built between the years 1686 c::i:d 1710 (according to the. docur..entary evi:::len;:;e), is a well­?reserved example of late 17th century Maryland vernacular architecture . William (I) Troth bought a tract of 300 acres called Acton in 1686 on which he built the house today knm·;n (erroneously) 1 as Troth ' s Fortune. Its garnbrel roof , 1 1/2-story height, and two-roo~ width make this house typical of the 1680's and 1690 ' s in tidewater Maryland . .;1though it may seem small by today's standards, its two aood-sized rooms on the first floor and three small rooms

• U?Stairs, made it twice the size of the numerous less wealthy · ~lanters ' houses . The unusual feature of the medieval­

style stairtower on the rear facade and the detailed circa 1720 ' s woodwork of the interio:?:" give Troth's Fortune an individuality which adds much to the interest of the house .

In addition to its arc~itec~ural importance , Troth's ?ort·.ine provides a clea . .!' view o~ ~t·:-o aspt.::!cts of th~ econo:"!\ic :!.:::d .:-eligiot1 s life of colo!"!ial ?albot County . Hilliam {I) :::ro·.::.?:t, the builder of the "i:ouse, t·;as a mcrriJ.:,e-c of that small class of colonial planters who co~bincd agriculture with business and trade to make a living considerably above that of the average planter . He was also a raember of the Society of Friends, a religious group which b~came particu­lar:y large and ~ell establis~ed in Talbot CounLy .

lTroth Fatented 400 acres ~s Troth ' s Fortune in 1676. !-:e Dav h;::iv~ bi.~ilt a !tt::ns!?. on thi.,.. t~.?-::::, b::it it i..s r.ot ~~'q

0~1 the tract called Acton . This confusion may be attributed to H. Chandlee Forman ' s record of the house in his book, =.:arlz Manor and Pl antation HC?uses of Narvland (1934). He ;:;.:tJl.; the house 'I'rol:h's l'ort.unE~, al1:hough it is callcci "Acton 0~ lhe Troth Farnt" in tirn property <lecds for bo;:lt 1932 aau 1936 . This error was picked up and repeated by many people ·.·::i':J later wrote about the house cH;d 'l'roth ' s Fortune has no•,,1 b:::co'":'l.e its com.7.on nel.ir.c.

( c · • • .,_...; cor: Li 11• tot i Ga ~:i!(·, ~ L. '.;?I . -,

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. .

--, ---' PP.I:·~'\RY SOURCES, Hall of ?.Bco;:-ds, Annap:::>Li.s

Federal Direct '£ax l>.ssess::-.ent of 1798, Talbot County . j L~n<l hecords , Talbot Cou..~ty . 1 Probnte Records , 'i'albot County.

Tax Assessment of 1783, Talbot County.

S:C:CO~J DARY SOURCES c~rroll, Kenneth. Quake=ism on the Eastern Shore .

•

Baltimore: l·iaryland Historical Society, 1970.

____________________ (see continuation sheel.) 'rn. GEOC~APHICAL o ... TA • •• • .. •

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APPROT.IMATE ACREAGE OJ' N0"4: ...... ;~o PRO'":'.RTY: 33 a9.~§'-----------------------t ljt.IST A\,,I. STATES .. NO COUNTIE~ ~:);;; O~OP1t"t1"1!;5 0'./ERLAPPIN(; Sl'ATE OR COUNTY OOUNCARIES

'STATE: l C::IO£ COUNTY COC>E

ST,.TC: COOE . colJ...,TY1 (;00£

l ST.:.T E: I C=>Oi' CO!..IN1 V• COOE

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H.ichael Bourne ; Pa;:iela J2.:-:-.2s, Res£!arch Assistant ---'---------..----------------l I ~:~~la~a Histo~icaL_Trus~ .

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f i 2525 Riva Road c1--:-v on 10'··'-=

A..'1nanolis f12. HATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTlflC.\l ION ·.- ;

As the d~·si;u1ateJ Stute Liaison O(fic.:r for :he ~:n­

tion:il Histcdc Pre!;o.:~\·ation Act or l<l56 {Publ:c I.aw

89 lo-15). I 11,,rc:11 nomin:1te this p~rlpc:rt}" [~r inclt:si.i11

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Nar.,rland 24 NATIONAi_ P.EGISTEP. '/~P!Fr(:ATIO~

1 hf'rf'by certify th:>t thi; pro~rty i.s i."lcludc:d in th-.

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Form 10°'.lO!lo (July 196?)

(Num/ulf oil .,ntrl<"1t)

UlllTEO STATES DEf'J.JHl.1£1/T or Tff[ INTf R!Of! NA TIO~IAL PARK Sl!RVICC

N AT I 0 NA L R E GIST EI~ 0 F K I ST 0 f~ IC P LACES

INVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM

(Continuation Sheet) #3

Troth's Fortune

8. SIGNIFICANCE, continued

!:TAT t~

Tulbol: FOR NPS USE' ONLY

~--~ l'.llTllY NUMntR ! C:.A TC

I

current . " 2 These two amounts combined give Troth a net wor-:.h in goods of approxi.mately Ll ,206 . This ·was a very large ar.:~unt for the early 18th.century, considering that only 0.7 percent of Haryland's planters werevx:>r.th over -Ll,000 in 1710 . 3

Troth achieved this weal th through bis m~rcantile acti vi tics rather than his agricultural oncG. AlLhough most larger to~acco planters traded directly with England, the smaller ones ust:3.lly sold their crops to other planters in the colonies.4 They received less money this way , but the risk of transportatic,:1 across the· ocean and debt to English merchants was eliminated. As for the larger planters, their advantages in this system are explained by A. P. Middleton in his book Tobacco Coast: ..

[They) competed with the factors [employed by the London merchants) in buying tobacco from the smaller planters, and shipped it along with their own to England on consignment . In order to enter the purchas­ing market they were obliged to import large quantities of European and West India goods and to keep a store .... In return for tobacco sent· to Great Britain on consign­ment , they imported goods for their stores as well as for their own use, and marked them up in price and extended credit , much as factors did , in order to obtain control of the smaller planters. Thus emerged a group of powerful merchant-planters , peculiar to the tobacco cclonies, who engaged in all the mercantile pursuits yet considered themselves primarily planters . 5

Middelton also mentions that this system was more prevalent in the 18th century than in the 17th, 6 which makes William Troth · one of the first to participate in and profit from it .

2Inventory of the estate of William Troth , Probate Records, Talbot County, Maryland. Liber 33B/42 . Hall of Records, A~~apolis.

3Aubrey C. Land , "The Colonial Planters of Maryland," Maryland Historical Magazine, LXVII (Spring, 1972), 116.

4Margaret s . Morris, Colonial Trade of Maryland, 1689-1715 {Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1914) , p . 103 .

5Arthur Pierce Middleton, Tobacco Coast, l\"Maritine Historv of Chesapeake Bav in th~ Colonial Eril (Newport News, Virgi.:.:..a : The MC1riners' t>juseum, 195]) p . 10(> .

6Middleton, p . 107 .

(Sec continu.:"lli.on shC'cl: ~o. •1) >------------------'--· .

•

.. For"' 1(• .JOO., (July l'h;I)

UNI'! C:D s r :. r ES D\:PART/.!cN r Or THE IN TE Ill OR ~:1, 110~:;,t F'/,PK 5f !h'ICE

N ,\ T I 0 NA L R E GI s T E R 0 F r!I s T 0 r~ I c p L Ac Es

ll'IVENTO~Y - NO~llN.t,TION FORU

(Continu!ltion S!iet:t) ~~ 4

Troth's Fortune

8. SIG~IFIC~~CE, continued

:·loiryland 7')u:-;TY ---------1

'fa lbot FOR ttPS USE OXL Y

~----l

ENTffV NVtA!:IER I OAT£

I

'l'o see Troth in conparison to the other planters on the Eastern Shore in the laee 17th century, one need only substitute his nar.:c for l-?illiam ~·;organ ' s in the following paragraph from Aubrey c. Land's article, "The Planters of Colonial .Marylandi" ·

As for. plan ting, ~vi lliam Horgan did little more than his poorer neighbors. He o~ned no slaves; almost no one in Maryland did in 1G77. His total labor force consi~ted of five indentured servants , . ..• Even so he could co•mt himself ~vell off by comparison with planters in his parish or in the county. The over­\·1helrning nuraber of these-if 80 percent is oven1helrning­had neither servants nor slavas, lived in one-room houses , enjoyed net incomes of about £8 to ~15 sterling a yaar fro!i1 two or three hoqsheads of tobacco raised with their 0·1m ha1ds, and counted their entire visible estates at something less that ~100 . These planters Here lvorgan ' s customers , the milieu in which he lived , and his stature as econoreic man was greater tha~ his neighbors by the height of m~rcantile business . tH thout them \·:organ \·10uld not have !:>een possible; without him their lot would have been sorry indeed . In economic terms Worgan must be accounted a success . . And .his fortune-for ·L800 was a fortune in .Nary land of t~~e 1670 's-ded.v.--cl from his mercantile pursuits, n0t fro~ his plantins.7

Althouc:-i Worca:i. lived on the Eastern Shore a q~ncration before ;.I J -

Troth, the latter's fortune of 1.1,200 was enough to make up for any difference in the value of the pound from 1677 until 1710. .

IL:ind, p . 114.

lrt is knmm locally that there was a still kept :i.n the cellar of Troth's Fortune during Prohibition \·;hich blew up.

21\ccordi:-ig to Hrs. Platt, this door we.ts not I:loved, b-.1t its si;:e; \';as alte;re<l. It was orig.inal l\· slx jnches \v.ich:!r and six sh() .r. t. c r. •

3According to Mrs. Platt, these doors were originally winc10·:1s, altho1Jgh one n~~y have bl~r.;n n "dc;il·.h do0r. "

-----·- -----··--- ----- - - - ----·----·---

:

Form \0-300n (Joly 1?69)

(Numbrr all ontrl co)

Ul~ITfD STATES ()(P/,fii/.lfllT OF lllf; 1:1lERtOR NA TION/.L P/,P.Y. ~f,RVICF

NATIOllAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

INVENTORY - NOMIHATION FORM

(Continun!ion Sheet) ~: 5

Troth's Fortune

8. SIGNIFICnNCE, continued

STATE

,_Nacy)....,a.,_._,n.>a,_d _______ ~ covnrv

LI.s.1.Q.Q~t·~~~~~~~~ FOR llPS USE ONLY ____ .....

£t1TRY NV ... 0ER I OAT£

I

William Troth's properties· in Talbot County were ·located on the north side of the Choptank, and the house and store on Acton were only a mile or two•up the river from the small town of Dov~r. The shops carrying his tobacco to and bringing his supplies from England probably came into this port: \·1hich thrived until the late 18th century but has now completely disappeared.a :.

Stores such as Troth's, according to P . A. Bruce in his Economic History of Virginia, were "found in great numbers on every navigable stream" in colonial Virginia, "the store (being} one of the principal institutions ... ·. whether the property of a foreign or a native merchant. 11 9 Margaret Shore Morris suggests that this was also true in' Maryland in her book, Colonial Trade in Maryland, 1689-1715. -

The housing for these stores is also considered by Bruce, who says that they were sometimes kept in a room of the dwelling house, bu~ were more often housed in a separate building. This, he suggests, would_ have been a ''boarded house with a loft and with a shed . 11 .LO That Troth's store was probably in a separate building can be determined by comparing the rooms listed in the 1711 inventory with those in the house today. The hall and parlor of 1711 are the two rooms downstairs and the other chamber and another unname~ room in the inventory are the two larger rooms which were upstairs before the 20th century alterations. This leaves no space in the house its elf for a store and thus it was probably kept in another. building.

A very wide variety of wares was sold in these stores as they were almost the only source of manufactured goods available to the colonists. William Troth stocked every­thing from tin

8Wri ters' Program, Works Progress Admi'nistration, Maryland, A Guide to the Old Line State (Reprint of 1940 ed . ; New York: Oxford University Press, 1973).

9Philip Alexander Drucc, Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century, Vol . II (1\!ew YurR: t•li.icmirran & Co. , 18 9 6 J , p. 3 8 0 .

lOBruce, p. 381.

(See continuation sheet NO. 6)

Form 10·300ol (July 1969)

(Nurnl>•r oll ontrl~:.)

UNITfl> STATES OEPM!Tll.C:tll J>F Hli:; HITfP.IOR tlA TIO~~Al PAru: SERVICE

HATIONAL REGISTCP. OF HISTORIC PLACES

INVENTORY ·NOMINATION FOIVA

(Continuation Sheet) # 6

Troth's Fortune

8. SIGNIFICANCE, continued

-r-su MJ!r. land

C.OllrJ TY

Talb~~o~t~~~~~~~~~· FOR t:PS USE ONLY -.------1

C~lTRY NUMREP 0.1.TC

pans and needles for the housewife to powder and shot for the planters. A large part of his inventory was taken up by many bolts- e-E cloth, including calico, damask , crape, serge, linsey, and lining (linen), some of which was imported from Ireland. Another largely !:;tocked i tern was shoes, fift)~itwo pairs for men and twenty-two for women. LcathC!r, window glass, iron, paper, naiJs, carpenters' tools, hoes, two old guns, and two old chafing dishes are a further sampling of the goods he offered for sale .11 .;

William Troth died in 1710, leaving both the Troth's Fortune and the Acton properties to his son Henry. He also left the prosperous mercantile business outlined above, but When Henry Troth died only nineteen years later in 1729, · there was no trace of this once important business in the record He still had contact with England as sh0\·1n by a payment of -r.14 to John Hanburg, London merchant, included in a 1742 account of his estate, but there is no mention of a store in the inven­tory taken in 1729. The value of his possessions as shown in this inventory came to ~840, still a considerable sum but not as great as that left by his father, perhaps a further indication that the store was no longer operated on the property tod~y known as Troth's Fortune.

Quakerism arrived in Talbot County in the 16SO's spreading there from Annapolis and Kent Island where it first appeared as a strong movement in Maryland. Widespread and violent persecution of members of the Society of Friends was limited to the 1660's. In the follo~ung decade the sect flourished in Talbot County as its religion became more widely accepted in the colony. Visits by three well-known traveling Friends at this time also encouraged men with more education to become leaders in the meetings.12 Thus, by the time William Troth first appears in the records of the county in 1679, Talbot had become a strong center of Quakerism on the Eastern Shore.

The Quakers had always been opposed to the taking of human life whether in war or in peace, and they continued this traditio1 in the colonies. In 1694, William (I) Troth was appointed a press master for Bolingbroke Hundred in Talbo€ County. This position was formed by an Act of Assembly which required that "honest and -substantial men of their counties" be selected for the. duty.13

Inventory of the estate of William '.l'roth, Probate Hccord~ T~lbot County, Maryland. Libcr 33C/G9. Hall of Records, Anna?o- ~

12Kenneth Carroll, Quakerism on the Eastern Shore (Baltimore l-iaryJand Historical Society, 1970)-;-ch.::ipter 2 .

13oswald 'filghman, Hi!~l·.ory of 'l'.1lhot County, MaryJ.:~nc1, 16G1 lDG.1 (l3.:-tlt . .im0rc•: \\'ill.i.nms <.inc.! \-tilk[i)?;" Comp~u1y, 191!.>) p.Jv. -

(Sec continuntion ~:!H!C:t No. 7)

fo ~ )() .:• iJ\!D (July 1969)

Utlll (0 H /,Tr S DC P/\RT/,\!"tJ: · r Tl IL' IM f! fdC: t: NA llCltlAL PARK ~U<VICC

..-----·

!lary land: ----------; COUMTV

TalboL NATI ONAL REGISTl:R OF HISTORIC PL/,CES

ltWENTORY - NOMINATION FORM • FOR NPS USE ONLY

I EllTnY talMl)CR

(Continuation Sh<.:ct) I

# 7 (Numbrr nil ~ntrlc~)

'l'roth's Fortune

8. SIGNIFICANCE, continued

These men were essentially to make sure that goods were not illegally taken f~om the people of the county to support the....J.D.cal and colony troops, making it a post not incon­sistent with Troth's Quaker views.

Troth's grandson Nillj am ( I I} , v:lio inhet"i i cd Acton and its dwelling house from his father Henry when he was only three years old, was apparently an active member of Third Haven Meeting. In 1750 he was one of four men selected to collect contributions for the repairs of the meeting liouse. He was appointed the "keeper of the Register for Births,rrarages, and Buryalls" in 1758, a post he held for five years. In 1763 he is said to have been "removed·. from hence, 11 meaning Third Haven vicinity, but he was apparently back again in 1768 when he freed two slaves. The following year he had a mare forcibly taken from him for his refusal to pay the tithe tQ the Church of England.14

Slavery was not early regarded as inconsistent with the tenets of Quakerism . 15 William (I) Troth owned thirteen slaves when he died in 1710 and Henry Troth had twenty-four at his death in 1729. Occasional denunciations of slave­holding were made before 1750, but it was not until mid­century that concern over this became more widespread, and not until 1777 did the possession of slaves became an offense for which one could be disowned by the meeting.

The records of William (II) Troth ' s manumission of his slaves follows closely the stands taken against slavery by the Eastern Shore Quakers-. He freed two slaves within a decade of their first expression of anti-slavery sentiments in 1759. After the visit of John 'voolman, a well-known Quaker opponent of Negro slavery, to Talbot in 1766, there was a rash of manumissions in the county. It was at this time that Troth freed the rest of his slaves .

The Society of Friends on the Eastern Shore remained strong throughout the 18th century, but suffered a decline during the 19th century due to a number of factors, including migration from the area and a stiffened moral code . 16 ·That this decline extended to the Troth family is ··shown by a

14carroll, pp . 111, 62, 135, 71 . 15carroll, p. 129. 16Carroll, p. 158.

(S"l' C0!1ti11u.:ttion Shl'Ct. No. S) ·------------·-~ ---- - -~ - ------- -

Form 10·3000 (July l?6?)

UlllT[O STATES on•:.rn1.1nn or 11i t' t;11ER10i~ NA rrmtAL PARK SEIWIC.E

NATIOi'lAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

INVENTORY • ~WMINATIOH FORIA

~ 1 ATC

Barv 1 und COUNTY

.~

'falbot · FOR NP~ USE ONLY

~----1 I <>.o.. re (Confinu"?tion Shet:t) #'8 ENTRY NU"t0ER

(Number nit onrt/oa)

Troth's Fortune

8. SIGNIFICANCE, continued

comment from the records of Third Haven Meeting in 1817 that William (IV) Troth had "so far deviated from the principles of Truth, humanity and Justice as to offe~ to sell a Coloured Boy entitled to freedom to residents of the State of Georgia. 11 17 •.-

William (IV) Troth inherited the property from his fa~1er William (III) in 1814 . When he died in 1852, the property passed to his sister, Ann Birchhead (Troth)

I

Brown, who sold it two years later to Daniel Cowgill ··· of Delaware. The present owners, Mr . and Mrs. Frederic c. Thomas, bought the house in 1946 and subsequently built two additions on the northeast gable end.

17 Carroll, p. 160.

9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES, continued

Forman, Henry Chandlee . Early .Manor and Plantation Houses of Maryland. Easton, Maryland: By the Author, 1934 .

Land, Aubrey C. "The Planters of Colonial l1aryland. " Maryland Historical Hagazine, LXVII (Spring, 1972), 109-128.

Tilghman, Oswald. History of Talbot County, Maryland, 1661-1861. Baltimore: Will,iams and Wilkins Company, 1915.

Writers ' Program, Works Progress Administration . Marvland. A Guide to the Old Line State. American Guide Series Reprint of 1940 ed. New York : Oxford University Press< 1973.

___ . _____ _J

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• '14 1 090000 FEET BETHLEHEM I.~ A!/ 57°.:;,;··

2pped b,• the Army ~ap Service u~li!'hed .for c~vil use by the Geological Survey

Fowling Cr~~k Q1.ia<lrangle, with one corner of property·on Eas,ton Quad.

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........... ~::-.. ,· ~":": H'N' "'-""!~ ""~~2"""'t!~ic Ml!'t~~ ,. ~ ;."wJ""<(;,s..,~; ~~~ !~- ~ ~ ~ !£31-1~3

f't\IV':{':'\i~ L">rCl't>~!;or.. 19:>7 Nt'll"tn ~I" cztum l 0,000-100: Fi:1 ba!-£C or. ~ary!;i::d ::otird:::a:c: S\'S!£~ 1000-meler Uni~·er!'2I T r11nsver~e Mercator pri~ til;.,s, zon~ l f.. shov.·r, 111 blul:'

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