In Search of Family Landmarks - A
report on my findings when I went to DC in 2002 to look for old homesites,
the Stewart Holland memorial, and grave stones.
In putting together this "notebook" of family memorabilia, I realized again how blessed my family has been to have so much history from our ancestors to share with the next generations. These articles, letters, and pictures help us understand who we are, and give us much of which to be proud. We are the offspring of poets, photographers, artists, musicians, scientists, humanitarians, war heroes, writers, folklore preservers, and historians. But even more impressive than the fact that one of our relatives may have been a martyr in religious persecution in Scotland, or won the Medal of Honor in the Civil War, or went down as a hero on board a steamship, or spent their best years marching around the hills of West Virginia on a quest to preserve oral traditions, was the spirit in which these tasks were accomplished, without thought of their own gain or recognition.
By putting the safety of others ahead of their own, Benjamin McAlwee and Stewart Holland will always be recognized for their chivalric efforts. By giving up warm cozy nights by his own fireside, Patrick W. Gainer died knowing that he did everything he could to preserve the joy brought by the stories and songs of his upbringing. Lloyd Gainer died young, leaving an impressive array of photographs from the early 1900s, which not only give us a glimpse of his time, but are fine works of art which his offspring will always cherish. Robert Henry Harkness, who is quoted throughout these documents, committed his memories and research to paper just a couple years before his untimely death. His loving words and dedication to preserving the family history provide us with more information on at least four surnames than most middle class families boast of for just one line of their family tree. He not only recorded names and dates, but stories, anecdotes, and the personalities as best he could. Examples of perseverance and determination are also exhibited in all generations, from Samuel Harkness refusing to sell slaves he reluctantly acquired, to my mother Rosemary Layman Gainer refusing to take “no” for an answer as she sent forth story after story for publication, and fought the bravest battle of all – against cancer. My father Patrick A. Gainer continues to delve into the science and art of photography, music and computer programming at all hours of the day and night, not letting a mere bout with encephalitis and meningitis slow him down! And from all these endeavors, we have precious keepsakes to remind us of our blessings, and to help us persevere in our own tasks.
As my family members go through this notebook, I hope they will write down other stories and anecdotes about family members, to share with the rest of us (and correct things I may have wrong). I also hope they will add to the notebook things about themselves which they want their children, nieces and nephews, and siblings to remember about them! In our own generation, we have poets, songwriters, singers and musicians, dancers, scientists and artists. In these days of multi-media, we can store copies of artifacts in video, audio, or text all on one computer disk. We should share something of ourselves so that future generations will not just know our names, but something special about us!
I dedicate this compilation in loving memory to my mother, Rosemary Layman Gainer, who always wanted to continue researching her family history. She wanted to visit the Anne Arundel County Historical Society and learn more about the Hollands and Barretts, and I hope to go for her some day. In the meantime, I have been searching the Internet, making valuable contacts, and finding interesting articles. For example, I know she was interested in finding out where the Half Way House was, and I found some interesting clues on the Internet, and a visit to the Maryland Hall of Records ought to pinpoint the location for me. I also made a pilgrimage to DC to see some sites, as recorded in the document entitled “In Search Of Family Landmarks”. Since I live in the heart of so many of her family home sites, I hope to add a little more to this compilation every year.
I need to extend my gratitude to my sister Frances for typing in the long history by Robert Henry Harkness. It was her perseverance in this daunting task that got me interested in renewing the research our mother always wanted to do. Our father, Patrick A. Gainer, also played a major role by digitizing his grandfather Lloyd’s photographs, which were on ancient glass plate negatives. He spent a great deal of time removing scratches and blotches to produce beautifully clear digital images of photos from the early 1900’s. In so doing, he has been able to create and distribute CDs holding these incredible images, which we can now view or print any time we want. My sister Alice made significant contributions by supplying many pictures of the Kisinskis, Harknesses and McAlwees. She also shared memories of stories about the McAlwees, which have helped to round out that thin section. I am also indebted to Ann Jensen and Bill Holland, my newfound cousins, for sending copies of documents and articles about our Hollands ancestors.