Heritage Frederick’s archives preserve the papers of hundreds of Frederick County families, businesses, and community organizations. Our own institutional records are a part of this vast archive, documenting our story which began in 1892 with the organization of the Historical Society of Frederick County. This institutional archive includes the lists of members, minutes of board of directors’ meetings, and plans for programs and exhibitions. Also to be found are lectures, research papers, and documents relating to the Historical Society’s efforts to understand and preserve our local heritage.
Some of the earliest manuscripts in this collection are a set of papers that belonged to Ann Rebecca Grahame McPherson Ross, one of the charter members of the Historical Society.
Born in Frederick in 1827, Ann Rebecca was the daughter of Col. John McPherson, Jr., and Frances Russell Johnson McPherson. Her mother was the daughter of Thomas Jennings Johnson and a granddaughter of Maryland’s first Governor Thomas Johnson. Through her parents, Ann was connected to many of the wealthiest families of Frederick County who had made their fortunes through land speculation, investments in local industries (such as the Catoctin Iron Furnace), and political careers. Much of their wealth was derived from the enslavement of peoples of African descent to work in the agricultural and industrial settings that the Johnsons controlled.
Ann married Worthington Ross in 1850, the son of prominent Frederick lawyer William Ross. Worthington passed the bar himself, but his career was cut short by his unexpected death at the age of 35 in 1854. The widowed Ann devoted the remainder of her life to serving various charitable and civic causes in Frederick. Ann was the president of the Orphan House of All Saints Episcopal Church from 1864 until her death, overseeing the organization’s evolution from a day school to a full time home for orphaned girls. She also joined her nephew Charles W. Ross I and his wife Cornelia Potts Ross in founding the Record Street Home for the Aged in 1892. Ann served as the first president of the Home for the Aged Board of Managers.
History seems to have been a great love of Ann Ross. She became a charter member of two important organizations in Frederick that have preserved invaluable stories of our county’s past. Ann was a charter member of the Frederick Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which was founded in September 1892. She served as the Chapter’s second Regent from 1894 until her death two years later. Just a few weeks after the formation of the Frederick Chapter of the DAR, another institution was founded to which Ann became a charter member: The Historical Society of Frederick County (now known as Heritage Frederick).
Ann Ross’ contribution to the historical memory of Frederick is significant. In addition to her role in founding two historical organizations, she herself preserved manuscripts and heirlooms from her ancestors, including items related to her great grandfather: Thomas Johnson. Among these manuscripts which now survive in the collection of the Maryland Room of the C. Burr Artz Library are the letter inviting the Marquis de Lafayette to visit Frederick during his 1824/25 farewell tour, and his response. Ross also ensured that the Charles Wilson Peale portrait of Thomas Johnson and his family was preserved. She left instructions in her will that the painting be deposited with the Maryland Historical Society until the completion of the planned public library in Frederick, whereupon it would be returned and displayed in the new library building. The first C. Burr Artz Library was completed on Record Street in 1938 and the Peale portrait was hung over a fireplace in its reading room where it remained for several decades. Today, the Johnson family portrait is on display at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
The papers of Ann Grahame Ross now preserved in Heritage Frederick’s archive reflect her interest in local history. Two of the documents concern a tour of Carrollton Manor conducted by the members of the Historical Society. The documents contain Ann’s research into the history of the Manor House and Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, as well as the story of the Carroll Family. Another manuscript concerns another trip undertaken by the Historical Society to visit sites in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. This document describes the places in Frederick County that the group visited enroute to and from West Virginia. Ann recorded her memories of Rose Hill, the house built by her great aunt and uncle Col. John Grahame and Ann Jennings Johnson Grahame. The last document in the collection is a lecture given by Ann to the DAR, which discusses historical observances of Independence Day in Frederick County.
Document 1: Description of a Tour of Carrollton Manor by Members of the Historical Society of Frederick County
Document 2: Ann Grahame Ross’ notes on the History of Carrollton Manor
Document 3: Ann Grahame Ross’ Reminiscences of Rose Hill Manor from a Lecture she delivered to the Historical Society of Frederick County
Document 4: Details of a Trip by Members of the Historical Society of Frederick County to West Virginia
Document 5: Ann Grahame Ross’ Lecture on Independence Day Observances given to the DAR
March 6, 2025 by Jody Brumage, Heritage Frederick Archivist