Meet the Ancestors … history built on faith, hard work

Randy Brown, age 93 and Naval Academy Class of 1957, can trace his connections to St. Anne’s and Annapolis back to the 1700s. He’s a descendant of Anne Catherine Hoof Green whose portrait by Charles Wilson Peale hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. A copy of the portrait hangs in the Maryland State House. A mural created by local artist Sally Wern Comport graces an outside wall of the Hyatt Commercial Building at Westgate Circle. In the pictures, Anne Catherine holds the deed to her home which housed her print shop.

Like his ancestors, Brown attends St. Anne’s every Sunday. He’s accompanied by his daughter, Tracy, who wheels him into the church. “I’m glad he can still come,” Tracy says. “It does my heart good to see him there. Although he has dementia, he remembers the songs and the prayers. It’s like an anchor.”

As St. Anne’s and Annapolis celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country, Randy and Tracy’s ancestor was recently highlighted in St. Anne’s Meet the Ancestor series. “She did things unheard of for women in her time,” Tracy said. “She and her husband founded the Maryland Gazette. When he died, she ran the newspaper alone. She got the family out of debt and bought the house they were renting.” The house, located on Charles Street near St. Anne’s Parish Hall, was lived in by her descendants, including Randy Brown and his family, until it was sold in 2018.

Anne Catherine became the official printer of documents for the Maryland Assembly and supported the colonists’ protest against British taxation and violence by printing the skull and crossbones symbol. “The University of Maryland found the skull and crossbones printhead during an archeological dig in our yard,” Tracy recalls.

“My dad was in the Navy, so we lived on the coasts all over the United States,” Tracy said. “I was rootless until my dad retired and moved to Annapolis.” As an adult, Tracy has finally realized the depth of her roots at St. Anne’s and Annapolis. She finds her family history fascinating and important to her. “I just wish I had sat down and asked my dad questions about our family earlier. Now it’s too late because he can’t remember.”

Tracy does know that she has a family legacy to be proud of. She’s the granddaughter of two admirals and her dad was a commander. Tracy was named after Randy’s mother, Eleanor Tracy Green Brown, a descendent of Anne Catherine. Randy’s dad was four-star Adm. Charles Randall "Cat" Brown, Naval Academy Class of 1921. Adm. Brown led the U.S. 6th Fleet and served as commander in chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe.

After he retired, Randy decided to renovate his mother’s ancestral home which had stood empty for 30 years. “My dad had it historically restored to its original beauty and design,” Tracy said. “He was very proud of his heritage and gave historical tours to groups from St. Anne’s and area schools, and every few years, the Capital would interview him for a feature on historical homes.”

The Meet the Ancestor series also includes a write-up on Abram Claude, a clockmaker known for the accuracy and design of his clocks. Annapolis residents came to his West Street shop to set their timepieces by one of his clocks called “the Annapolis Regulator.” His descendants -- St. Anne’s parishioner, Anne Dierdorff Thomas, and her sister, Nelda Dierdorff Horwitz, – wrote the piece, which references books that lauded his clocks and his patriotism.

Anne Catherine and Abram represent two of the write-ups in the Meet the Ancestor series. Ginger DeLuca, head of St. Anne’s Cemetery Committee, started writing the series as part of the country’s 250th anniversary celebration and plans to continue to write the articles for the rest of the 250th. “When I hear that people are enjoying them, it inspires me to keep going,” she says.

“The lawyers, the physicians, the Continental and Civil War veterans, all specific in their own endeavors, helped form our city, state and country into what we often take for granted today,” says Dave Fischvogt, St. Anne’s archivist. “Whether it be the lighthouse keeper saving potential lives, or one of the first women publishers in the newly established colonies, all were important in our church’s history. These and others are individuals we are indebted to for who they were and what they did.”

Since Dave became St. Anne’s archivist in 2025, he has become immersed in the “documents, letters, and images stored in our room of history.” Part of his readings included the Meet the Ancestors series.

Dave found that since the Maryland Assembly established St. Anne’s in 1692, many of our church ancestors have played crucial roles in the transformation of our country. Some church ancestors were here when governments were being formed. Others witnessed the conflict between states.

“Time and again, these parishioners stepped up to help,” Dave said. “They helped establish various levels of governments and continued to cultivate those governments into thriving and successful entities for the people.”

The Meet the Ancestor series is about those people who “stepped up.” Eric Fredland, who served as the church’s archivist for 11 years before Dave, has been interested in learning how many of those influential people were also heavily involved in St. Anne’s as members of the vestry.

As St. Anne’s historian, Eric is particularly interested in the series, because he writes monthly “From the Archives” essays emailed to the congregation and others interested in the church’s history. “I often write about the contributions our parishioners have made to St. Anne’s.”

Based on his essays, he has also written a book, “The Church in the Circle: Essays on the History of St. Anne’s Annapolis,” which was printed by the church in 2017. He’s considering writing another book if funding becomes available. He’s also interested in talking about historical topics pertaining to St. Anne’s and is scheduled to talk at St. Anne's Adult Forum on Oct. 4.

As a writer and speaker, Eric is always looking for new topics and new approaches and has found St. Anne’s rich in historical figures. One such person – Alexander Randall – was featured in a story by Eric and also in the Meet the Ancestors series.

Eric has a deep appreciation for St. Anne’s rich history. Reading the Meet the Ancestors pieces contributes to his understanding of the ongoing evolution of the church and the people responsible for its transformation.

Dave agrees. He says that the Meet the Ancestors series makes one realize just how important the church has been in our country’s history.

Although they’re not mentioned in the series, it makes him remember that two signers of the Declaration of Independence, William Paca and Samuel Chase, spent Sundays seated in St. Anne’s pews. Indeed, both served on the Vestry. Francis Scott Key, the author of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” also worshipped and prayed here.

It makes him realize that although surrounded by history, St. Anne’s is also a church where common citizens can enrich their souls with the Word of God.

He says, “We should be proud of these ancestors who had one thing in common ... a faith in God. A faith which helped contribute to the quality of life in our community and beyond.”

Dave believes that we are indebted to the past parishioners who “gave so much of themselves to make our church, Annapolis, the State of Maryland, and our 250-year-old country the great places they are today.”

To read about these ancestors, go to https://www.stannes-annapolis.org/meet-the-ancestors