Date of Service: 1827 – 1838
1768: Born in Ireland on November 23.

1786: Immigrated to America at age 18. Works as a gunsmith.

1794: Served in the militia during Whiskey Rebellion.

1790s: Marries Mary Virginia O’Neill and moves to Havre De Grace. Manages a nail factory and serves as town commissioner. Has five children – Jane, Anne, Matilda, John Jr., and William.

1798: Serves as a lieutenant in the Navy.

1813: Defends Havre de Grace from the British with Potato Battery cannons at Concord Point. O’Neill is injured and captured by the British. Upon intervention by daughter, Matilda, O’Neill is released by Admiral Cockburn.

1827: Concord Point Lighthouse, a thirty-six-foot-tall conical tower of Port Deposit granite is constructed by John Donahoo. On November 3, in recognition of his heroism in 1813, President John Quincy Adams appoints O’Neill as first keeper beating out 7 other applicants, including John Donahoo, for a salary of $350/year.

1838: After serving 11 years as Keeper, “Defender” O’Neill dies on duty January 26 and is buried in Angel Hill Cemetery.

1861: Four generations of the O’Neill’s served as keepers at Concord Point following his death.

Keeper John O’Neill, “The Defender” Anecdotes:

John O’Neill became widely known for his heroic acts on the morning of May 3, 1813, when British forces under Admiral George Cockburn attacked Havre de Grace. The story is told that as a member of the militia, O’Neill was manning the Potato Battery cannons at Concord Point when the British barges appeared. He commenced firing, but his fellow militiamen ran away. Firing the cannon alone, he was injured by the gun recoil and fled into town.

British forces landed at Concord Point and eventually captured O’Neill who had continued to resist with musket fire. Word reached the town that he was to be hung as a traitor the next day. A popular legend tells that his 16-year-old daughter, Matilda, rowed out to Cockburn’s vessel, the Maidstone. She brought evidence of his commission in the militia and pled for his release. Cockburn gave her his gold-lined snuffbox in honor of her bravery and promised to release her father, which he did.

O’Neill became known as the “Hero of Havre de Grace” and received a ceremonial sword from the citizens of Philadelphia in honor of his heroism. The sword carries the following inscription: “Presented to the Gallant John O’Neill for his valor at Havre de Grace, by Philadelphia, 1813”

John O’Neill became the Keeper of Concord Point Lighthouse at the age of 59 and served until his death in 1838.

Source: Friends of Concord Point Lighthouse. Coast Guard Historian’s web site.

To be a preservationist, you need to be an optimist. You need to look at the dilapidated building, see what once was, and have the vision to see what could be.

It’s no secret that non-profits like Preservation Maryland are confronting profound challenges as a result of the global pandemic and its impact on our economy.

We cannot afford to retreat or withdrawal – our communities are depending on us, and we will continue to invest in our work at a time when Maryland needs history more than ever before.

Membership is one of the very few unrestricted sources of funds we can depend on. And, in a year when several of our large events have been canceled, we need this support more than any time in recent history.

– From the Preservation Maryland newsletter

The three found letters were sent to Goldie Smith in 1910. They were posted from North Carolina and Virginia to her home at Stafford Terrace, Havre de Grace, Maryland.

Letter 1 is postmarked from Matthews N. C. on March 2, 1910. The letter was delivered by mistake to another Goldie Smith in Havre de Grace. The letter mentions the Daughters of the Confederacy. The writer mentions Mrs. Burkhussier of Charlotte and asks if she is president of a chapter. Mrs B. at her own expense invited to her home and wrote of entertaining “all of the old soldiers of the state during a reunion. One patriotic old soul drank 11 glasses of punch”. Some other interesting lines in the letter mention coz Pamillia Silver and Mr. Ellicott and “what is Chas J. doing with himself? He has deserted some of his kith and kin has he not?”. Another interesting statement is “what about all that ice? Were things damaged beyond repair? I shall always visit Stafford Terrace in the good old summertime while Deer Creek is in good condition”. The letter ends signed by “coz Fannie, coz Cole and Charlie” Lucille.

Letter 2 is postmarked Pamplin City VA. on June 10, 1910. In the letter Lucy Pugh, the writer, mentions she “will go to Norfolk and take a boat hence to Baltimore. We shall enjoy crabfishing”.

Letter 3 is postmarked University VA. on July 22, 1910. The writer says “I am so fond of my cousin” meaning Goldie. She writes of postponing a Maryland visit because “this schooling of mine is taking all the …….. earnings. This trip is costing us $60 -$70 …. Excursion to Washington. She mentions the “nonsense club” composed chiefly of the faculty. She hopes coz Laurie and Goldie can visit in summer. She writes of miss Mary’s health being better and sisters and family and give my love to everybody in Harford Co. that I know. She ends “with a heart brimming of love for your dear old self and coz Laurie” (signed) Lucille.

Based on the content of the letters and a little research some very historically interesting facts have been discovered. Following is a somewhat rambling account of those facts. Perhaps in the future a more organized and thorough presentation can be compiled.

Miss L. Goldie Smith’s full name was Lydia Goldie Marshall Smith born in Virginia City Virginia in 1889. Her date of death is yet to be found. She was the daughter of Charles Coleman Smith and Fannie H. Smith who purchased Stafford Farm on Deer Creek in 1896. There was another child, Goldie’s brother Charles. J. Smith (the Chas J. in letter 1). There were other related Smiths on Craigs Corner Rd. in the vicinity from the mid nineteenth century onward and one was Lydia A. Smith, perhaps a cousin or aunt, hence Goldie not using her first name to avoid confusion. In 1904 a $100,000 building contract was awarded to her father to build major additions to the Harford County Courthouse in Bel Air.

The Stafford farm house is listed in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Places (MIHP) as HA-200, the John Stump house, 806 Stafford Rd. A stone found near the present house is inscribed “John Stump III 1779” so the large stone (from Port Deposit) house was probably built at that time. By 1782 the property contained 1600 acres. John Stump III built the nearby Rock Run Mill in 1784. The driveway is to the West just over the Stafford Bridge at Deer Creek on the way to Darlington. On the East side of Stafford Rd. is the furnace that was used to render white flint from the nearby mine and mill it into a powder used to produce fine porcelain. The house is high on a wooded terrace above Deer Creek facing Craig’s Corner Rd. and is visible in winter.

Just down from the house at Deer Creek are the remains of the two stone abutments of the original 1867 wooden covered bridge which was destroyed by ice gorges and rebuilt twice. In 1875 the bridge was carried by ice down the creek and was set on fire so that it would not destroy the canal bridge at the Susquehanna River. The last rebuild was an iron truss bridge built in 1904. At this time the town of Stafford was destroyed and never rebuilt. The current concrete bridge bears a plaque showing a 1951 completion date. It is the frequent destruction from ice gorges that is referred to in letter 1. An article in the Aegis from 1961 recounts that Goldie Smith was the last of her family to reside at Stafford. “She held the honored distinction of being the first to officially cross the steel bridge in 1904 and the concrete bridge in 1950”.

Letter 1 refers to the Daughters of the Confederacy. In the minutes of the 1913 Twentieth Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, in New Orleans, Goldie is listed as Historian of the Maryland Division, Harford Chapter 114, Bel Air. Her mother is listed in the 1918 Convention minutes as First Vice President of the Bel Air chapter.

C. Coleman Smith purchased Stafford Farm in 1896. He passed away in 1931 and his widow Fannie and her children Goldie and Charles inherited. Fannie passed away in 1935 and Charles in 1938. Goldie sold the farm to Col. Buckner Miller Creel and Margaret Cameron Creel in 1946. At that time the farm consisted of 130 acres. The deed refers to her as “unmarried” just as the letters are addressed to “Miss Goldie” 36 years earlier. What happened in Goldie’s life after this is hard to pin down and must be a future research project. The house and surrounding lands are now owned by the State of Maryland and are part of the Susquehanna State Park .

Submitted January 15, 2020 by J. Roger Lee