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June 24, 2025

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

5 News Notes

New Monument in Denton to Honor Caroline County Revolutionary War Patriot Thomas Carney

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A special installation ceremony will be held at 1pm on Saturday, April 30 at the Caroline County Courthouse to honor Thomas Carney, a free-born black man from Denton who served in Maryland’s Revolutionary militia in several crucial battles and won widespread recognition for saving the life of another Maryland patriot, General Perry Benson.

The General Perry Benson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution has joined with the NAACP Caroline County Branch to host the ceremony, with Thomas Carney descendants and state and local officials invited as special guests. The Caroline County Commissioners and the Office of Tourism proposed the site on the Courthouse Green, as it is a cornerstone of Denton’s historic downtown. A grant from the Maryland Historic Trust, and the State Highway Administration made it possible to find the appropriate site.

Historians claim Thomas Carney, described in the 20th century as an African-American, actually was born free on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with Irish roots, and was described as a “light-skinned colored man” with white brothers. Tom’s life on the family farm ended in 1777 when he enlisted in Maryland’s 5th Regiment in time to take part in the October, 1777 Battle of Germantown. He also fought in the Battle of the Guilford Court House, in which he reportedly boasted of using his bayonet to kill 7 enemy soldiers.

Thomas Carney enlisted as a private, but in short order was promoted to corporal after his transfer to Maryland’s 7th regiment. History claims only four African-American soldiers ever achieved that rank. There is no record of an African-American being promoted to sergeant or beyond until years later. Carney fought in a number of other memorable battles at Camden, Hobkirk’s Hill and The Ninety-Six in South Carolina. During The Ninety-Six, the 7th Regiment’s Captain Perry Benson received a life-threatening wound in his arm, with non-stop bleeding.

Described as a man “above the common size” Carney carried Capt. Benson on his shoulders through the battlefield, keeping hold of his musket, until they reached the company surgeon. Carney asked to return to his company, but the commanding officer ordered him to remain to protect his captain. A grateful Capt. Benson was instrumental in granting Carney 50 acres of land in Caroline County, and always made sure to visit Tom first when he was in the area. Their relationship only strengthened through the years as then Brigadier General Perry Benson had Tom serve with him in the Battle of St. Michaels in the War of 1812. An obituary in 1828 reported the death “of a colored man, at the advanced age of 74”, describing Thomas Carney as courageous, kind, brave and loyal.

The General Perry Benson Chapter of the DAR, founded in Talbot County, actively researches and honors Maryland Revolutionary War patriots, and five years ago longtime member Helen “Betty” Seymour began her research into the man who saved the life of the chapter Patriot. Thanks to her, the Maryland Historic Trust and the NAACP Caroline County Branch, now celebrating its 75th anniversary, and the Caroline County Commissioners agreed that native son Thomas Carney deserved permanent recognition.

The monument will be located on the Courthouse Greens, adjacent to other landmarks celebrating African Americans who served in the Civil War, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, and the Emancipation Proclamation. The marker will be located on the in the front of the courthouse, (east side) in proximity to the miniature information center on the greens.

The installation ceremony will begin at 1pm, Saturday, April 30 at 109 Market St., Denton. Parking is available.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Caroline County Community Resource Fair in Denton

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Mid-Shore Community Mediation Center invites Caroline County residents to an in-person Community Resource Fair on Saturday, June 5, 12 noon – 4 p.m. at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 S. 5th Avenue, Denton, Maryland 21629.  The event is free of charge for all, with snacks and activities provided for children.

Community members can learn get free Covid vaccines (no insurance required!) plus learn about vital low-cost or no-cost individual and family services resources for all ages, and get information on Housing, Health & Wellness, Recovery Support, Legal Assistance, WIC, Behavioral Health.

Among the organizations participating:

  • Caroline County Health Department – Free Covid Vaccines, Feeding Women & Children, Alcohol & Drug Prevention
  • Caroline County Public Library
  • Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence
  • Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Eastern Shore
  • Sober Living/Recovery Housing
  • Mid-Shore Behavioral Health
  • State’s Attorney’s Office
  • Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center
  • Minary’s Dream Alliance
  • Caroline County Medical Adult Day Care Services
  • Mid-Shore Restoring Hope in Women
  • Crossroads Community
  • Chesapeake Voyagers, Inc.

Representatives of these dedicated organizations and more look forward to providing answers and raising awareness to help people find solutions.

For more information about Mid-Shore Community Mediation and to learn how to get involved visit midshoremediation.org/ or call 410-820-5553.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

On Untraditional First Day of School, Hogan Still Hopes For More In-Person Instruction

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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. visited three schools in Caroline County as they opened for limited in-person instruction on Tuesday, marking the start of a less-than-traditional school year for thousands of Maryland students.

Hogan, along with State Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon, visited North Caroline High School, Lockerman Middle School, and Denton Elementary School on Tuesday. Caroline County is one of 16 jurisdictions that plans to slowly phase in limited in-person instruction this fall.

Plans for in-person instruction vary by jurisdiction, with most counties planning a phased return to masked, socially distanced instruction for certain students. Students with special needs, and those who may not have access to the internet at home, are among those being brought back for in-person instruction, Caroline County Public Schools Superintendent Patricia Saelens said.

Hogan said eight jurisdictions declined to open for any in-person instruction for fall semester, but said he hopes those school systems reconsider and offer some in-person instruction to students who need it.

“We asked them to go back and take another look at that by the end of the first quarter to see if there weren’t some special needs kids and some folks that are really going to suffer by not having in person instruction,” Hogan said of the jurisdictions that decided not to reopen. He noted that the decision ultimately rests with local school boards.

Salmon said local boards of education will be tracking COVID-19 cases in their districts throughout the year. She said she’s hopeful that limited in-person instruction won’t pose a huge threat of infection for students, and pointed out that Worcester and Calvert counties held in-person summer school with no reported cases.

Hogan and Salmon’s visits to Caroline County schools came a week after the State Board of Education mandated school systems across the state to have an average of 3.5 hours a day of live virtual learning by the end of 2020.

The 3.5 hours of live learning was criticized by local school boards and teachers’ unions, with some saying schools weren’t given enough time to meet the new standards.

“I’m still really disappointed in the timing and manner at which this has played out,” Lori Morrow of Prince George’s County, the parent member of the state school board, said during a state board meeting last week.

Some, including Democratic Maryland Comptroller and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Peter Franchot, have warned that in-person instruction could lead to the spread of COVID-19. In a Board of Public Works meeting last Wednesday, Franchot called in-person instruction a “huge medical experiment.”

“I want to applaud the majority of county school boards that have chosen to heed the advice of experts and follow science, and not cave in under pressure from folks down the road in Washington who want to downplay the gravity of this disease,” Franchot said.

By Bennett Leckrone

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Maryland 2.0: A Chat with Father-Son Wilson and the Preston Motors Success Story

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Perhaps it is a coincidence that our conversation with David Wilson, and his son, David Jr, will be broadcasted during one of the most significant economic downturns in American history. But the story of Preston Motors, and its unprecedented rise to being one of the top 33 Ford dealerships in the country out of 3,400, it a tale of a father and son team that rose from the ashes of the last great recession we had in 2008.

While David Wilson had started selling cars right after high school, and within four years had purchased his first dealership several decades before, 2008 marked a landmark year when his son joined the family business. After completing Ford’s own four-year college, David Jr. returned full time, and the father-son built their very own internal marketing team. Within a few years, Preston had become so sophisticated in marketing their dealerships through the web that they climbed to the top 50 list using their beloved Frog branding and sticking by their community. They also created a national marketing firm to help other dealers using many of those same techniques under the ifrog banner.

In the Spy’s ongoing series of documenting some of the Eastern Shore’s most entrepreneur businesses and their founders, it was not hard to ignore the Wilson family and their committed associates for building an extraordinary success story from downtown Preston, Maryland with its population of 718 residents. Thus becoming a mouse, or frog if you will, that continues to roar from the middle of Caroline County.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length. For more information about Preston Motors and Ifrog marketing, please go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.