Family Burying Ground at Pikesville Middle

FAMILY BURYING GROUND AT PIKESVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Ann Royston Blouse and Daniel Dean

Photos by Daniel Dean

What remains of a more than 200-year-old burying ground for the McAllister, Brooks, and Beam families is on the grounds of the Pikesville Middle School on Seven Mile Lane.

 

A local historian, Beryl Franks described five stones set in concrete, four with only dates and letters and the fifth with “words and phrases” in her column “History Hunting” for the Northwest Star in 1984. Photos posted in March 2025 on the HSBC Facebook page show that not much has changed since then. Dan visited and took the photos at the end of this article. He noted subsidence that could indicate graves; and saw additional field stone edges under the grass and what could be the top of a vault.

Originally laid off for one-half an acre, about the size of a standard soccer field, the plot has been identified as the Humphrey Brooks family burying ground (in a 1784 McAllister will); and as the McAllister-Beam cemetery (on a district map in HSBC files). These families were neighbors, intermarried, and each owned parts of the land patent known as Darbyshire (also written as Derbyshire in some deeds).

Darbyshire was a 450-acre tract patented by Capt. Darby Lux, in 1747. He sold the land to James McAllister of Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1764. McAllister bequeathed 100 acres to his daughter Mary, married to Humphrey Books, who was listed in the 1763 tax list for Soldiers Delight. The remainder of the land was equally divided between sons James and Joseph. The burying ground lies within the 100-acre Brooks tract.

Humphrey and Mary died without a will, and the tract was divided into three lots and advertised for sale in 1812 by the trustee for their estate. Jehu McAllister bought the lot with the burying ground, keeping it in the family. When he sold the land in 1820, the burying ground was excluded from the deed and has been through all subsequent deeds, including that to the Baltimore County Board of Education in 1967.

The only stone with clues as to who is buried beneath it has the words “Major” and “patriot.” Only one person in these three families used the honorific Major—George Beam, who married Sarah McAllister (Joseph’s daughter) in 1782. George was an innkeeper; whose tavern was shown on a 1788 road survey and the 1794 Griffith map. After the Baltimore-Reisterstown Turnpike was established, the tavern was known as the Seven Mile House, located near the tollgate on the northeast corner of Reisterstown Road, Milford Mill Road, and Slade Avenue. Interestingly, Lloyd McAllister, Joseph’s brother, held a license for the tavern in 1830 and 1831.

But, back to the headstones.

“Patriot” refers only to soldiers of the U.S. Revolutionary War. George, Humphrey, and Joseph took the Oath of Allegiance in 1778. Research in the databases of hereditary societies did not find George Beam. However, he could well be the “George Beans” who was listed as fit for duty on October 6, 1776, as a member of Col. Owings’ flying camp (a rapid response force comprising militia from Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania). Rather than a military rank, his title of “Major” likely connotes his importance as a tavern owner and community leader. Taverns were the focal points of rural communities, for residents and travelers alike, and the owner would be a man of considerable importance. Indeed, he and John Summers leased a plot to erect a schoolhouse in 1798. His will reflected his wealth, bequeathing his 11 children handsome sums of money, beds, furniture, and a silver teapot and bowl. His death notice listed him as “Mr.,” yet the death notices of two of his children referred to him as “Major.” So, we have no definitive answer—if anyone finds evidence that this is a military rank, please let us know the details.

Subsequent generations of the McAllister and Beam families are buried at the Stone Chapel Methodist Church cemetery.

 

 

Send questions to info@HSBC.org. Teri Rising and Ann Blouse are writing a History Trails about the Seven Mile House