November Sotterley Stories

There are important events that happened in November at Sotterley over the centuries.  Some were tragic, some celebratory. They are all connected. 

This advertisement above, dated September 29, 1786 from George Plater III, announces an event happening at Sotterley on November 1, 1786. 

 "On the first day of November next, will be offered for sale, at the subscribers seat in St. Mary's County, on Patuxent river, several young negro women, boys, and girls. Credit will be given, on bond and good security. Those negroes are sold for no fault, but the proprietor is overstocked."

In the letter below, dated November 7, 1861, one of Walter and Emeline Briscoe's sons, Chapman, is requesting an alternate assignment. Chapman had been very ill as a child, and life in the field had proved too much. Three Briscoe sons joined the 1st Maryland, a Confederate unit in Virginia. Chapman remained in Richmond, VA after the war and married there. 

                               

                                                                                             "Richmond Nov 1. 1861
Dear Sir

Ill health has compelled me to give up my position in the 1st Maryland in which I have been since the war commenced, and not being able to sustain myself here without employment, I herewith make application for a clerkship in your detachment. References as to qualifications, ie will be furnished if required.

                     Hoping you will be able to favor me 
                                                                                          I am very respectfully yours

                                                                                Chapman B. Briscoe"

A wealth of information in a small package, this Muster Roll document, (above) dated November 5, 1863, is for George W. Briscoe, who is also on the Slave Statistics of St. Mary's County under Walter Briscoe of Sotterley. Here George is on this roster on Oct 29, and on other documents is listed September 1863 the time he left Sotterley. He is serving at Camp Stanton in Charles County.  Camp Stanton was a training camp for USCT solders, with horrid conditions, many died there. George would survive the camp. In later widow pension documents we find that George had received the name Briscoe from the Army, his name was actually George Washington Barns, as the explanation was "there were too many people named Barns." George served in the USCT 7th Regiment, Company I.

November 1, 1864 is celebrated as Maryland Emancipation Day. Hard won by a very small voting margin, the document stipulating the end of slavery in Maryland took effect on November 1, 1864. Still trying to receive reparations for lost property, former slave holders in Maryland drew up lists of everyone they said they "owned" on November 1, 1864, to include Walter Briscoe and his brother-in-law next door, Chapman Billingsley. They never got reparations, but the document left behind (below) is priceless today.  Thanks to the hard work of Agnes Kane Callum, it was transcribed and is easily accessible online at the Maryland State Archives. 

On November 12, 2012, Sotterley and the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project had a ceremony commemorating those who perished and those that survived the Middle Passage from West Africa to Sotterley. The weather was gorgeous and the ceremony and fellowship was mindful, mournful, and inspiring.  Ann Chinn is seated below.

2012 Audience

Seated Left to Right-Ann Chinn, Agnes Kane Callum, and Martina Callum.

Looking on.

Audience 2012

On November 1, 2014, Sotterley placed its Middle Passage Marker. Same emotion filled event, even if it rained. 

                                                                                      Ann Chinn if front of marker, 2014.

                                                                Audience at marker, 2014.

Many Novembers have passed during Sotterley's history, and with every passing year, new stories of Sotterley's people are discovered and told.  

                                                                                                        J. Pirtle

Community Partner Highlight: Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions (UCAC)

The Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions is a long-standing Sotterley partner with like mission to preserve history and educate the public about African American history and culture in St. Mary’s County. It was founded in 1995 by the late Elmer Jefferson Brown, Sr., born in 1932 in Drayden, Maryland. UCAC also advocates for community health and education and highlights the contributions of African Americans to our county and community.

Trusted advisors, members of this organization help Sotterley to better tell its stories and more effectively interpret the lives of those African Americans that lived and worked at Sotterley both enslaved and free. UCAC and its members work to research and preserve history by collecting oral traditions and histories, and by providing resources to educators and the public to conduct research.

UCAC is also responsible for the conception, design, and funds that created the African American Monument at Freedom Park and the United States Colored Troops (USCT) Civil War Monument at Lancaster Park with interpretive signage.  The last remaining “Flat-top” military housing structure in Lancaster Park is now UCAC’s interpretive center and meeting place. UCAC and St. Mary’s County also have preserved and now interprets Dryden schoolhouse, used as a school for colored children during segregation. UCAC highlights these religious and cultural institutions that still exist and those extinct to remind us that these places and people within them were vital to African American culture and resilience through the decades after slavery, and then during segregation and Jim Crow.

Courtesy Historic Sotterley, photo 2019
St. Mary's County Juneteenth

UCAC has published the book, The Relentless Pursuit of Education, and has contributed to the film, With All Deliberate Speed. The book highlights stories and photographs of community members that experienced segregation and the desire for education. The film tells the story of the desegregation of Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County between 1958 and 1972. This film was written and created by Merideth Taylor, in partnership with UCAC and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

UCAC is also responsible for St. Mary’s County’s annual Juneteenth celebration. In 2020, sadly, the celebration is another casualty of Covid-19, but it will be back stronger than ever in 2021. If you do not know about or have never heard of Juneteenth, please go to this link to find out more. https://www.ucaconline.org/juneteenth.html  

Lincoln emancipated enslaved people in rebellious states with the Proclamation, but it took federal troops to enforce emancipation after the Civil War. On June 19, 1865, Major- General Granger entered Galveston, Texas and announced that slaves were free. This has evolved over the decades and now is celebrated all over the country.

The Galveston Daily News (Galveston, TX) 21 June 1865 p.1,
accessed Jun 18, 2020, Newspapers.com.

To find out more about the Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions (UCAC), please visit their website at https://www.ucaconline.org.  Historic Sotterley is grateful for our partnership with this important and vital community non-profit organization.

                                                                                                                                                                                                     J. Pirtle

The Women Who Owned Sotterley Part II

                      Elizabeth Ann Plater (Plater), Lydia Billingsley (Barber),                       Emeline Briscoe (Wellmore), Elizabeth Cashner (Briscoe)

Elizabeth Ann Plater was the daughter of George Plater and his second wife, Elizabeth Ann Somerville.  Her half-brother was George Plater, born in 1796.  Elizabeth was an infant when both her mother and father died in 1802 of disease, leaving herself and her brother orphaned and in the guardianship of their uncle, John Rousby Plater. Elizabeth inherited Sotterley land from her father. As minor children, all their assets were managed by their guardian.

In November 1818, when Elizabeth Ann was about 16 years-old, she married her cousin, John Rousby Plater, Jr.  Upon her untimely death in 1820, her land was inherited by her brother, George. Elizabeth Ann Plater had a short and seemingly tragic life.  Landed women brought wealth and status to their male relatives. In 1822, her brother, George, sold Sotterley’s remaining 3,500 acres to William C. Somerville, his step-uncle. Somerville quickly divided up the estate and sold off parcels of the land.[1]

Margaret Dallam, born in 1775, was the daughter of John Dallam and Susannah Coale of Harford County, Maryland. Margaret married Peter G. Wellmore of Baltimore on August 30, 1799.[2] Their daughter, Emeline, was born on July 12, 1809.[3] The early Dallam family were of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), as such, by 1781, slavery was prohibited.  Some branches of the Dallam family continued in the Society, some did not.  Margaret also had relatives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Her husband, Peter, owned a dry goods business in Baltimore. He sold his business in 1814 because of “ill health.”[4] He died on April 5, 1815, at 41 years of age. Emeline, their daughter, was 5 years old.   

Thomas Barber also owned a business in Baltimore during the same period as Peter Wellmore. Barber is listed in the city directory at 13 Baltimore St., Baltimore, Maryland.[5] Thomas had lost two wives in death already by 1810 and had three children, Mary, Lydia, and Caesar. Margaret Dallam Wellmore became his third wife on February 20, 1819.[6] Her daughter, Emeline, was nine years old.

In 1823, Thomas Barber bought 1,000 acres of Sotterley land from William C. Somerville.[7] This parcel contained Sotterley’s manor house. Margaret died sometime in 1823. Thomas Barber was married to Ellen MacCubben of Baltimore by that November. Emeline’s family now consisted of Thomas Barber and his children, although she still had many prominent Dallam extended family members in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. By all accounts, Emeline had a good relationship with the Barber children. In fact, Lydia Barber was her life-long, close friend. They were the same age, both born in 1809.

Emeline Dallam Wellmore married Walter Hanson Stone Briscoe in August 1826.[8] Thomas Barber died that December, just months after Emeline’s marriage. In the Will of Thomas Barber, it stipulated that Emeline would split her inheritance from her mother with her stepsister Lydia, or Emeline would get nothing.  He also made mandatory that his grandson, by his daughter, Mary, must change his last name to Barber to inherit. He did leave his 1,000 acres (Sotterley) jointly to Lydia and Emeline.[9] Lydia married Chapman Billingsley and their husbands went to court to legally divide the land between the two families.  Lydia and Chapman received 600 acres. Emeline and Walter received 400 acres that included the manor house, beginning what is called the Briscoe period in Sotterley’s history.[10] But the complex story really began with an orphaned girl named Emeline and her stepsister, Lydia.

Walter Briscoe and Emeline had 13 children together. At the end of their lives, they expected to leave Sotterley to one of their sons. Walter passed, then Emeline. Their first choice for inheritance was their youngest son, Walter, Jr., but he declined and inherited land acquired by his father after 1826.  To save Sotterley from auction, their sons, James and David Briscoe, were named trustees.  At James’ death, James, Jr. and his sister, Elizabeth, inherited Sotterley. Elizabeth Briscoe Cashner bought out her brother’s ownership of the estate and became the last Briscoe owner of Sotterley in 1905.[11]  

When wealthy New Yorker’s, Herbert Satterlee and his wife Louisa, visited Sotterley for the first time in 1906, they wanted to be informed if Elizabeth and her husband ever wanted to sell. Unfortunately, as a few years passed, Sotterley had become run down, and Elizabeth found herself in ill health. She sold Sotterley to Herbert and Louisa Satterlee in 1910 and then died of heart disease that October.[12]

A lesser known theme that runs through Sotterley's long history, is that male owners acquired land, wealth, and status through their marriages.  It is a common theme in American history as a whole. A certain family in Arlington, Virginia quickly comes to mind.  Who interprets the history is important. History seen through the lens of multiple and diverse perspectives, enriches and deepens the story and reminds us of our common reliance on one another.

J. Pirtle

Emeline W. Briscoe
Historic Sotterley Collections

Elizabeth Briscoe Cashner
Historic Sotterley Collections

---

[1] 6 Jul 1822 Deed: George Plater [V] to William C. Somerville “All the track which were willed to him by his father, : also Half Pone, also all those unsold tracts inherited by the death of his sister containing in the whole 3500-acres.” DA:TH29:335

[2] Maryland Marriages, 1666-1970,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4JY-3PL ; 11 February 2018), Peter Wellmore and Margaret Dallam, 30 Aug 1799; citing Baltimore, Maryland, reference; FJL microfilm 13,693.

[3] Note:  The only elusive record of birth discovered so far, comes from Emeline’s tombstone, Emeline W. Briscoe. It also records that she was born in Philadelphia, PA. This is feasible as Margaret Dallam Wellmore, Emeline's mother, had close relatives there. The Briscoe family grave site is located at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

[4] July 12, 1814. American and Commercial Daily Advertiser. Volume XXX, Issue 4711, pg. 3.

[5] The Baltimore Directory. Compiled by Samuel Jackson., 1819, JACKSON, Samuel, Baltimore. Printed by Richard J. Matchett.

[6]U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930. Ancestry.com, 2013.   

[7]Deed William C. Somerville to Thomas Barber. Sotterley, 1000-acres. DA TH39-080 MSA. Sotterley Chronology, Peter Himmelheber, 2011, pg. 13.

[8] Maryland, Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

[9] 12 Oct 1826 Will of Thomas Barber: WB: EJM01:001 MSA. Sotterley Chronology, Peter Himmelheber, 2011. Pg. 14.

[10] 12 Oct 1826 Will of Thomas Barber: EQ:JH01:614 MSA. Sotterley Chronology, Peter Himmelheber, 2011. Pg. 4.

[11] 24 Apr 1905 Deed: Sotterley, 400 acres. James Jr. and his wife to Elizabeth Cashner, wife of J. Douglas Cashner. LR-E04:347 MSA. Sotterley Chronology, Peter Himmelheber, 2011. Pg. 16.

[12] 22 Oct 1910. Baltimore Sun, pg. 7. Newspapers.com. Obituary, Elizabeth Cashner. Accessed Mar 23, 2010.

The Women Who Owned Sotterley: Part I

Rebecca Tasker Addison and Her Daughters

In a letter from Charles Lowe to Benedict Leonard Calvert in November, 1727, Lowe wrote, “Pray when you wait on the Widow Bowles, convince her what a Melancholly thing it is to lie alone; Mr. Crow will take care to provide some Good Wine to push you on." [1] In 1727, a 24-year-old widow, Rebecca Bowles, mother of three daughters, Jane, Eleanor and Mary, owned over 3,418 acres and 41 enslaved people, on what was to become known as Sotterley.  Rebecca remarried in 1729, an ally of the Calverts, a lawyer and secretary to the royal governor, George Plater.[2]

Rebecca was well connected to prominent families in Maryland. Her father was Thomas John Addison of Oxon Hill in Prince Georges, County, Maryland. Her mother, Elizabeth Tasker, was sister to Governor Benjamin Tasker of the Maryland colony. Rebecca Tasker Addison became the second wife of James Bowles c.1719. Rebecca and her three young daughters remained at home when James traveled to England in 1727, not knowing that this would be the last they would see of him. Rebecca’s husband had gone to prove his own father’s Will in England as the only son of Tobias Bowles. James never returned to Maryland, as he succumbed to illness and was dead within a few weeks of his arrival.

By marrying Bowles’ widow, Rebecca, in 1729, George Plater would control the wealth of not only James Bowles with his marriage, but the fortune of Tobias Bowles as well.  Plater, as the secretary to the governor, had signed the proved Will of James Bowles, and was well aware of Rebecca’s wealth and status before the marriage. Mary Underdown, sister of James, worked to ensure that her brother and father’s fortunes would benefit her three nieces. Taking the matter to court, the decision favored the women. The three daughters were wealthy and property owners in their own right. Plater had to buy Sotterley property from his own step-daughters. With this wealth from the Bowles estate and sale of the land, the sisters were able to bring large dowries into marriage.

It is difficult to name too many prominent families in Virginia and Maryland that do not have some connection back to Sotterley through Rebecca’s three daughters by James Bowles. Mary Bowles, her aunt’s namesake, married William Armistead c. 1738. The Bowles, Armistead, and the Carter families of Virginia were already allied by the 17th century. Her “fortune” was reported as upwards of £6,000 sterling.[3] In today’s money, Mary’s dowry would be worth close to a million and a half dollars alone, not to mention all of her family connections that brought value, wealth and power to her husband and his relatives.  Eleanor Bowles, named for Rebecca Addison Bowles’ sister, Eleanor, married first William Gooch, who died within a year. In 1746, Eleanor was married to Warner Lewis, sister-in-law to Betty Lewis (Washington), the sister of President George Washington. Jane Bowles, named for her father’s sister, Jane, married Ralph Randolph Wormeley of Virginia by 1742. Wormeley’s mother was also an Armistead.

Rebecca Bowles Plater (Addison) had two daughters by her second husband. Her daughter, Rebecca Plater, married John Tayloe II of Mt. Airy, Virginia in 1748. Rebecca’s daughter, Elizabeth Plater, was married to Rodham Kenner of Virginia, on August 3, 1763. Some accounts refer to her as a “spinster” at age 20. After she is widowed, Rebecca marries the Rev. Thomas Davis. She died in c. 1800 and was buried at Old Christ’s Church cemetery. Her grave marker reads, “Here lie the remains of Mrs. Elizabeth Davis, the late consort of the Rev. Thomas Davis, Rector of this Parish. She was related to several of the most prominent families in Virginia and Maryland. She lived deservedly esteemed by all the worthy of her acquaintance and died justly lamented on the 9th of May 1800, aged 59."

Click on links below to see their likeness from Virginia Colonial Portraits Database.

Eleanor Bowles Lewis Portrait

  Jane Bowles Wormeley Portrait

 J. Pirtle

                                                                                                                       

---

[1] Yentsch, Anne E. (1994) A Chesapeake family and their slaves; a study in historical archaeology.  New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 80.

[2] Note:  Since Sotterley was owned by four men all named George Plater, the George Plater that married the widow Bowles is sometimes labeled by Sotterley as George Plater II who died in 1755.

[3] The Virginia Gazette. Sunday, 26 Jan 1738, p. 4. Williamsburg, Virginia.

Stuffed Ham - The Great Debate

It’s edible.  It’s mysterious. And it’s controversial.  Stuffed ham, that iconic food, is one of the best representations of St. Mary’s County.  For centuries people have argued over how to properly stuff the ham, what greens are used, and its origins.  There are no less than three stories about how stuffed ham came to be.  One story that I grew up hearing was that the enslaved at a plantation owned by Jesuits in St. Inigoes, in the southern part of the county, were the first to create it.  Enslaved people in the county received rations of food.  The meat in these rations usually consisted of things such as fatty pork or rancid meat. Sometimes during the holiday season, the enslaved would receive the jowl meat from pigs butchered. The meat was then mixed with greens.  Some say that the earliest versions of stuffed ham included dandelions, wild onions, and field cress, or whatever greens the enslaved could harvest from the wild or gardens.  This version of the origin story suggests that the Jesuits and others were intrigued by this boiled concoction of ham and greens and had the meal recreated using a better cut of meat.  The ham used today is called a corned ham.  Similar to corned beef, the less common ham version, was something that the English colonists would have brought over to Maryland. Corned ham is unique and is quite different from the Smithfield style ham one would get if they crossed over into Virginia.  This is no honey glazed, spiral cut piece of meat.  Corned ham is a fresh ham that has been taken a saltwater bath.  Instead of taking months to be ready, it only a matter of days for it to be prepared.  

Stuffed ham’s controversy centers around a few key points. One issue is what kind of opening do you create in the ham for the stuffing? Do you create X-shaped slits in the ham or are you one of those who makes a diagonal line in the meat?  Are you as precise as a surgeon or are you more independent and creative with your cuts?  Some families are very particular with what style of cut they use for the stuffing. The most contentious issue concerning stuffed ham is what mixture of greens are used.  Some parts of the county stuff the ham with a mixture of cabbage and kale that’s pretty even.  Other locations add more kale or use almost entirely cabbage and seasoning. Are you on Team Cabbage or Team Kale? Personally, I like just about any version of stuffed ham as long as its spicy.  There is also a debate over just how spicy the stuffing in the ham should be.  Red pepper flakes can add a bit of a kick to the meal.  Some people prefer to abstain from the red pepper while there are others tend to go overboard with it. 

Part of the appeal of making stuffed ham is that it can serve as a way to connect the past with the present.  Grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles can all come together to lead the process of preparing the ham and greens. Older (and not so old) relatives can share with the younger generations their family’s oral histories.  They can pass down their family recipe for stuffed ham and other stories. 

While there are other stories that dictate how stuffed ham came to be, no one can agree on just one version.  The legend of stuffed ham has been passed down throughout the county, through families each generation adding their own embellishment to the story.  As a result, stuffed ham while delicious and aromatic is clouded in a dense fog of mystery.   One thing many can agree on is that stuffed ham is a holiday food.  I say that stuffed ham should have its own holiday.  Stuffed ham can be found as the centerpiece of tables throughout the county (and parts of Charles County) from Thanksgiving through Easter.  Families start preparing the ham at least a couple of days in advance and the aroma of the ham and greens cooking lingers even after the meal has been eaten.  As we dive into the holiday season there will be a demand for greens and corned ham.  Those that don’t have the ability to commit to making it will gladly wait in line in small stores across the county in order to purchase it pre-made.  

Stuffed ham isn’t just food.  It is more than that; it’s a sharable link to the past.  It’s unique to the history of southern Maryland.  It’s a part of our region’s heritage.  And yes it’s amazing.

Keeping Memory - Thanksgiving in America

As with most traditional holidays and celebrations in the United States, they are a mixture and hodgepodge of stories, culture and commerce, manifested and celebrated today by our present generations.  The Thanksgiving holiday in our country is no different.

Abraham Lincoln set the day in 1863, during the Civil War on the fourth Thursday of November, for giving thanks and prayer.  Various days of harvest feasting throughout our history and official days of prayer had been celebrated in the past.  Thanksgiving was not a recognized “day off work” until 1941, just before the United States entered WWII.   

The events in Massachusetts by the Separatists, (a.k.a.) Pilgrims, is a mixture of myths with some fact.  The Separatists did have a harvest feast that November. People in Massachusetts began relating the story of the Native Americans and Pilgrims by the 1830’s, although by 1640 Native Peoples where either dead or gone from Plymouth.

Many holidays like Thanksgiving and even Christmas were used as psychological weapons of war on the enemy to break their spirits and will to fight.  Later, these days became infused with American marketing and commerce and we end up with our present forms of remembrance and celebration. These also vary across the country and ethnic cultures of our people.

At Sotterley, Thanksgiving was a time chosen by the owners of the 20^th century, Herbert and Louisa Satterlee, to visit from New York.  We know this because there are photographs taken during this time of year, and it became a tradition for their descendants, Mabel Satterlee Ingalls and even her children and grandchildren visited Sotterley in the fall, usually just before or during Thanksgiving. Oysters, both roasted and as the ingredient in stuffing are traditional dishes in the Tidewater region for the holiday.

 No matter how your family chooses to spend this long weekend, remember to share and listen to the stories and history of family around you. Taste, smell and share the culinary traditions of your loved ones.  It is the perfect time to ask questions and write down all of your shared history, stories and culture that you want to remember and pass on to the young. Holidays are about making and keeping memory.  

Veterans of Sotterley

Historic Sotterley’s history includes the people that served in the military. As usual, this is not a simple story.  George Plater III (Shown Right), owner of Sotterley in the years leading up to the American Revolution and contemporary to George Washington, served on the Colonial Governor’s Council. He then joined the Patriot cause and served on the Maryland Council of Safety, procuring supplies for the war effort. Many of his extended family remained Loyalists. Some enslaved people at Sotterley went with the British. 

George Plater’s son, John Rousby Plater, who served as master of Sotterley during the War of 1812, was a Federalist who did not vote for President Madison, and was against going to war with Britain, reasoning that it would disrupt trade and the United States was not prepared militarily to protect the Tidewater region. Even though he was correct on both counts, he did serve the U.S., while at least 48 enslaved persons from Sotterley left seeking freedom on British Ships for places like Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Trinidad. The British did burn tobacco stores and a structure that housed some U.S. militia, but miraculously, Sotterley’s Manor House was not burned during these two wars with the British.  

The Civil War was no less complicated. Maryland, one of the Border States that remained in the Union but still held on to the institution of slavery, had soldiers on both sides of the conflict. Sotterley’s owner, Walter Hanson Stone Briscoe, helped to arm citizens in St. Mary’s County. His sons, Henry, David, Chapman, and Samuel, fought for the Confederacy in Virginia. As known sympathizers, Union troops kept a close watch on travel between Southern Maryland across the Potomac to Virginia, and of course, on Sotterley.  All of Briscoe’s sons survived the War.

One enslaved man from Sotterley, his name listed as George W. Briscoe, was actually named, Barns, but the Army changed his name. The reason given was, “there were too many people named Barns.” Joining the United States Colored Troops at age 26 in 1863, he went to Camp Stanton, near Benedict in Charles County, Maryland. He was assigned to the 7^th Regiment, Company I.  He served at Petersburg, Virginia in the same time period as Henry Briscoe, the son of his former master. At the close of the War, the 7^th Regiment was sent to Indianola, Texas for guard duty. There was an outbreak of cholera, and George died there, just before the 7^th returned to Baltimore.

Sotterley’s owner from 1910-1947, Herbert Livingston Satterlee, had served in the Spanish American War with the New York Naval Militia. Serving as Asst. Secretary of the Navy under Teddy Roosevelt for the last months of his administration, he was a lover of the Navy and helped in the creation of the Naval Reserves.  Satterlee served on the Board of Visitors of the Naval Academy in Annapolis.  He helped to retrieve the body of John Paul Jones from Paris to have it interred at the Academy. On a visit to Sotterley today, one can quickly see through the things Herbert collected, his love of all things Navy.

Pictured Above: Left Col. Herbert Satterlee, Gen Edward Hayes,Col. John Jacob Astor IV, Gen. M.O. Terry.

During World War II, loved ones of the families that lived at Sotterley served our country in the military, listed here are some of those veterans:  Noah W. Callis, Jr., U.S.M.C., James Victor Scriber, Jr., U.S.N., James Franklin Scriber, U.S. A., Francis Ford Barber, Jr. U.S. A.

Sotterley’s descendants continue to serve our nation today.

Pictured Right: Noah W. Callis, Jr. USMC