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Hancock Family

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Upcoming:

Open for Tours of the House and Gardens

May 5, 2024

MOTHER’S DAY TEA AND INTERPRETING HISTORIC WOMENS’ CLOTHING

May 12, 2024

May Displays

May 19, 2024

MEMORIAL DAY

May 26, 2024

June Displays

June 2, 2024

Hancock Family Timeline

YEAR

WHO?

GENERATION

EVENT
1664 Stephen Hancock 1st

Arrived in Maryland on the ship Supra – Stephen was indentured to John Blomfield, agent for William Calvert, Esq. Governor of Maryland.
1667 Stephen Hancock 1st

Indenture was completed – He was granted Planter status with 50 acres.
1678

Stephen Hancock

Rebecca Crouch

1st

 

 

Married Rebecca Crouch, daughter of Wm. Crouch of Broad Neck.

 

 
1680

William Hancock

 2nd

Born to Stephen and Rebecca.
1701 Stephen Hancock 1st

Died – His estate worth 65L included an indentured servant.
1703

William Hancock

Jane North

2nd

 

William married Jane North.

 

 
1704 Stephen Hancock, Sr.

3rd

 

Stephen Senior was born to William and Jane. He was the oldest of 4 children.
1741
Stephen Hancock, Sr.
 
Helen Leshoday

3rd

 

 

Stephen Senior married Helen Leshoday.

 

 
1747 Stephen Hancock, Jr. 4th

Stephen Junior was born to Stephen Hancock Senior. He was the 3rd child, the first to survive, and the only one of 4 children to survive to adulthood.
1754 William Hancock 2nd

William died. His will referred to the plantation where he lived. It indicated that ½ the land was leased from Worthington (Dividing Point) which later became part of Hancock’s Resolution.
1764

Stephen Hancock, Jr.

Margaret Cromwell

4th

 

 

Stephen Junior married Margaret Cromwell.

 

 

1766

Francis Hancock

 5th

Francis was born to Stephen Junior and Margaret. There is no record of siblings.
1771

Margaret Cromwell

 4th

Margaret died prior to 1771. Her mother’s will lists “Margaret’s children."
1778

Stephen Hancock, Jr.

Belinda Ridgely

4th

 

 

Stephen Junior married Belinda Ridgely, his second wife.

 
1780 Stephen Hancock, Jr.

4th

 

Served in 6th Company, 3rd Regiment of the Continental Army. He served from 1780 to 1783.
1783 Stephen Hancock, Jr.

4th

 

Was discharged from the Army. He was discharged after the British surrendered at Yorktown.
1785 Stephen Hancock, Jr.

4th

 

Stephen Junior built the stone house that is now known as Hancock's Resolution.
1798

Francis Hancock

Jemima Selby

5th

 

Francis married Jemima Selby.

 
1799 John Hancock 6th John was born to Francis and "Mima". There is no record of siblings.
1801

Stephen Hancock, Jr.

Ann Cromwell

4th

 

 

Stephen Junior married Ann Cromwell. Ann was the widow of Margaret's brother and Stephen's 3rd wife.

 
1807 Stephen Hancock, Jr.

4th

 

 Resurveyed and combined his holdings. Stephen's holdings at this time were 409.5 acres which he named "Long Meadows".
1808 Francis Hancock 5th Was appointed Lieutenant in the 22nd Maryland Regiment.
1808

Francis Hancock

Rachel Beal

5th

 

Francis married Rachel Beal, his second wife.

 
1808 Francis Hancock 5th Purchased a portion of Long Meadows on the Patapsco River.
1809

Stephen Hancock, Jr.

Ann Cromwell

4th

 

 

Both Stephen and Ann died in 1809. Their grave stones in 1962 were the oldest legible grave stones.

 

 
1812 Francis Hancock 5th Listed as a Captain in the 22nd Maryland Regiment in military records.
1814 Francis Hancock 5th As a Captain in the 22nd Maryland Regiment, he was active for 17 days "near Bodkin".
1825

John Hancock

Elizabeth Williams

6th

 

John married Elizabeth Williams.

 
1826 Elizabeth Williams   Elizabeth died and had no children.
1827

John Hancock

Rhoda Alwell

6th

 

John married Rhoda Alwell, his second wife.

 
1828

John Hancock

Francis Hancock

6th

5th

John purchased the stone house and 100 acres from Francis.

 
1829 Henry Alfred Hancock 7th Henry was born to John and Rhoda.
1831 Rhoda Alwell   Rhoda died. Henry Alfred was her only child.
1831

Francis Hancock

Caroline Hancock

5th

6th

Francis died. His house and property on the Patapsco passed to his daughter, Caroline.

 
1833

John Hancock

Mary Leeke

6th

 

John married Mary Leeke, his third wife. They had 6 children of which 4 survived to adulthood.

 
1853 John Hancock 6th John died. At his death John's estate was held by his wife and children.
1861

Henry Alfred Hancock

Matilda Wilkinson

7th

 

Henry Alfred married Matilda Wilkinson.

 
1863 Annie Melvina Hancock

8th

 

Annie Melvina was born to Henry Alfred and Matilda.

 
1866 Rhoda Virginia Hancock

8th

 

 Rhoda Virginia (Ginny) was born to Henry Alfred and Matilda.
1869 Mary Adaline Hancock

8th

 

 Mary Adaline (Mamie) was born to Henry Alfred and Matilda.
1872

John Henry Hancock

William Edward Hancock

8th

 

 

The twins, John Henry (Harry) and William Edward were born to Henry Alfred and Matilda. William Edward died the next day.

 
1882 Henry Alfred Hancock

7th

 

Purchased the stone house and 100 acres from his family.

 
1934 Henry Alfred Cook 8th Henry Alfred Cook, the husband of Rhoda Virginia (Ginny) died.
1935 John Henry Hancock 8th John no longer shipped farm produce by boat to the Baltimore market at Long Dock. Harry continued to grow produce and shipped it by truck with the cooks and Calverts.
1954 Mary Adaline Hancock

8th

 

Mary Adaline (Mamie) died. She never married.

 
1958 Rhoda Virginia Hancock

8th

 

 Rhoda Virginia (Ginny) died. She asked her family to preserve the family house and history.
1962 John Henry Hancock 8th John Henry (Harry) died. The contents of the house were left to Rhoda's children (Pansy, Tillie, and Philip Cook). The house and 14 acres were left to "Annapolis Historic Society" to be preserved for historic value.
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Split Rail Fence

The traditional “Snake and Cross” or “Zigzag” fence is based on remnants of the original fence. The 11 foot, hand split rails would have been constructed of chestnut. The chestnut blight killed most of the towering trees in the early 1900’s.

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Entrance

Hancock’s Resolution is now a Historic Park in the Anne Arundel County Park System. While farmsteads like this used to cover this county side (except this one was constructed with stone while the great majority were wood frame) this c. 1785 stone house and milk house are the last surviving authentic, restored but not renovated, farm structures left in the entire region. As such they are of singular importance. (1785 was four years before George Washington became President of the United States.

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Cook House

The owner of this two story farmhouse, Henry Alfred Cook, married Rhoda Virginia Hancock, who was born upstairs at Hancock’s Resolution. Constructed in the mid 1800s with an addition added later in the century, this house was originally located approximately a mile west of its present location. It was moved to the park in 1991 to serve as a care taker’s home.

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Bodkin Creek

In either one or both of June 12 and 14, 1608 (N.S.*) (the first date before going up the Bolus (Patapsco) River and the second date coming back down the river) Capt. John Smith and his crew entered and mapped Bodkin Creek, very probably looking for fresh water. (* “N.S” stands for “New Style”, meaning the Gregorian calendar presently in use and not the earlier “Julian Calendar”, in use at the time of his voyage.”

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Graveyard

The Hancock family graveyard contains at least 125 head and foot stones. The graves are marked with headstones made of the local sandstone, which was readily available. While many of the tombstone’s inscriptions have worn away, several from the 19th and 20th centuries are still readable including one marked “A. H.” and dated 1809, which marks the grave of Anne Hancock, third wife of Stephen. Stephen’s grave is some distance away to the left and the space between the graves may contain the graves of Stephen’s children and earlier wives.

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Farm Field

The farm field is an area where exhibition crops are planted and farming using historical methods is demonstrated.

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Bee Hives

Bee hives in boxes, baskets or even parts of hollow logs were a part of traditional farming practices. Beehives were documented on Francis Hancock’s 1832 probate inventory; honey and beeswax were important to both 17th and 18th century farms. The bees at the farm are tended by the farm’s master gardeners and housed in modern “Langstroth’s Hives.” These movable frame hives, patented in 1852, revolutionized bee keeping and are still preferred today.

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House

Stephen Hancock built the house in 1785 and Hancock descendents continued to live in the house until the 1960s. Lacking electricity, plumbing and central heating the house is largely unchanged since its construction. The house is constructed of native sandstone. Galleting is used on the entire wall surface of both the house and the adjacent milk house. It is the only known rural example of this technique in the Chesapeake region. The first floor contains one large room with plaster over hand-split lath. Original Federal period trim, including baseboards, chair rail, window and door surrounds, decorate the room as does the elaborate mantelpiece.

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Milk House

In the 18th and early 19th century dairy products were stored in the milk house. The Hancock family used the building as a grocery and dry goods store in the early 20th century until the frame building was later constructed. It also has the galleting that is also used on the house.

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Gardens

A “kitchen garden” located just outside the home consisted of both foods and herbs and ornamental plants. Kitchen gardens were common place into the 1900s. The current garden is a historically accurate reconstruction of the Hancock family garden. A grove of ancient Lilacs and a thicket of Chickasaw Plums (known to be utilized by the pre-Colonial Indian populations of Anne Arundel County) are found outside the gardens.

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Well

The well is believed to have dated from the 18th century when the house was constructed. The well remained in use until the 1950’s when the elderly Mamie Hancock could no longer manage the daily chore of hauling water for everyday use and a modern well with hand pump was installed closer to the house. Approximately 14 feet deep, the well is lined with stones “dry laid” and is untouched except for repairs at the frost line.

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Store

The Hancock family ran a dry goods and grocery store in the 20th century. The store served the local farmers, lighthouse keepers, fisherman, and oyster dredgers as well as the seasonal workers who were employed at the farm. This current building is a historically accurate reconstruction of the frame building and houses displays and a small gift shop.

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Barn Site

This is believed to be the site of an early barn. At some future date, we hope to reconstruct the barn and have farm animals.

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Trail

Self-guided Tour (map available at entrance)

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Trail

Self-guided Tour (map available at entrance)

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Bodkin Creek

War of 1812 Burning of Lion picture – wording to use: On August 24, 1814, a British raiding party, patrolling the Patapsco area in advance of their attack on Baltimore, entered Bodkin Creek and burned a “fine” American schooner they identified as being the “Lion of Baltimore”. That is the same name as one of America’s best privateers in the War of 1812 although, it turns out, there may have been more than one vessel of that name.