May 8, 2001
Today Harvey and I went to the home of Judy Henry, widow of Walter Henry and present owner of the Hyland Estate just south of Piney Creek, Elk Neck MD. Judy's father in law, Dr. Henry bought the property in the 1930's and built the house that she presently occupies. At one time, they owned 600 acres but have sold some of the land to a horse trainer and others. There is a wonderful stable filled with what she described as "lots of winners."
As we approached the last driveway turn towards her home, there was an object in the middle of a plowed field. I paused and hesitated to see what it was. Harvey scoffed. It was only a broken tree stump, leaning and slightly uprooted. It looked like a large tombstone and I laugh thinking that everything looks like a tombstone to me. It turned out to be a marker after all. More on that later.
Mrs. Henry was very gracious in her welcome and we were given the grand tour of her house. It was filled with ancient antlers and hunting trophies. Apparently, the original Mr Henry bought the place for hunting excursion from his Philadelphia medical practice.
After our tour of her beautiful Hyland Point home, Mrs. Henry drove us to the Dilks farm, located just north of Hyland point, where the tombstones now reside. Apparently in the 1930's the stones were moved to their present location near the present day "Harmony Hall."
The stones are located in a wrought iron fenced area. Each stone has a bronze plaque affixed with a repetition of the inscription on the stone.
On our return trip Mrs. Henry pointed to the tree stump in the field that I had earlier noticed and said that was the original location of the Hyland family burial ground. The Henry's have retrieved several other tombstones from that area. This spot also corresponds to the 1858 map location of the Washington Hyland estate dwelling on Hyland Point. There are no visible stones remaining in this now active farm field. Some of my friends would say my ancestors were crying out from their graves for me to notice this leaning tree stump. This image causing my inner self to mistake it for a tombstone and thus identifying this as the true and last resting-place of their tired bodies. That is a little too psychic for even me to believe.
The location and description of the Hyland estate in the Family files at the Cecil Co Historical Library clearly state that Harmony Hall is the ancestral home of the Hylands. The location of the original Harmony Hall is about 100 feet south of the present home (circa 1930). There is a step like terrace in the area but no visible foundation. The original home was the victim of a fire.
Walter H. Dilks bought the Harmony Hall property located on the 1858 map from Samuel Moffett. This property was deeded, 21 March 1859, by Stephen and Mary Jane Hyland to Samuel Moffett. In 1909, Walter H. Dilks of Philadelphia reacquired the old family seat and brought the family homestead back to the family. He is the grandson of Stephen Hyland.
The original location of the graves may never be known. It is likely that the original graves were near the mark on the map for W. Hyland in 1858. It is possible that this was the site of the oldest graves. It is just wonderful that the stones have been so carefully preserved. We have Mr Dilks interest in the family's genealogy to thank.
It appears that around 1930 was the time that Mr, Dilks was most interested in the lineage of his Hyland family. He seemed instrumental in the genealogical work of T. A. Glenn "The Family of Hyland of Harmony Hall Plantations in the Province of Maryland and Formerly of the counties of Kent and Sussex in Old England".
Mr. Dilks contributed family documents in the research of the Hylands of MD. Wherever the exact location of the old burial site does not really matter, the fact that the stones exist to be photographed was a great gift and greatly appreciated by this researcher.
Our hostess, Judy Henry, was a vibrant and active volunteer in the community, who seemed to know everyone and all the activities of the area. A long time resident of the area with lots of stories to tell. She has volunteered in the White House to hand address the birthday, anniversary, and birth announcements through all the Presidents from Reagan to George W Bush. She and her late husband bought and restored Packard automobiles and traveled throughout the county on the antique car race circuit.
She was an avid field hockey player and a member of the US Team in the early 20's. Her first husband was killed in WWII. When she married Mr. Henry, she became the mother to his four children who descend from Millicent Johnson Hyland. Millicent's tombstone (my seventh great grand mother) resides near the present day Harmony Hall.