Edward Lusby

My grandfather, James Zebulon Lusby, farmed the farm across the road from Greenfields near Cecilton, MD on Rt. 213. These farms were owned by a Lusby in Baltimore. My father Arthur Morgan Lusby, Sr. worked in a shipyard in Wilmington, DE as a young man. He married my mother, Mary Tucker Sutton on March 6, 1918. She was then attending St. Marys Seminary. After the birth of my sister, Catherine Elizabeth on October 2, 1918, they began working a farm in Grove Neck in Cecil County, MD. My brother, Arthur Morgan, Jr. was born there on August 12, 1920.

My grandfather moved to the Kent County farm that Edward Miller now owns, near Shrewsbury Church. Dad soon followed with a move to Kent County on the Big Farm at Browtown, currently owned by Jack Fernwalt. These were long moves in winter that required driving cattle and hauling belongings in farm wagons pulled by horses. Moving day was always January 1st. Friends, relatives, and neighbors all helped.

My sister Mary Tucker was born January 27, 1922 on the Big Farm. I was also born there on November 10, 1924. Telephones were in use and so were automobiles. Early one morning my Grandmother Lusby received a call from mother that she was in labor and she needed someone to go to Locust Grove to get the nurse. Grandmother called Uncle Edgar out of bed to drive the Model T to Locust Grove for the nurse. He had been rabbit hunting the day before and hated getting out of bed, but he did. When he arrived at our farm, the nurse told him that she had never ridden so fast in a car and she would never ride with him again.

At this writing, April 1, 1997, Uncle Edgar is ninety-five years old and Aunt Elizabeth is ninety-two and they are still living on Angar farm near Kennedyville. Grandfather moved to the large farm at Kennedyville, now owned by Howard Krastel. I remember the old house with many high ceilinged rooms and large marble fireplaces. It had a huge cellar with several chambers. It also had a cupola on the roof. Grandfather died on this farm in 1934 and I was allowed to attend the funeral. His body was laid out in the parlor and I remember Cousin Edith Ottey tucking the blanket around his neck and closing the casket. It was very sad and it made me cry. Uncle James continued working the farm. Krastel later tore down the house and built a new home for himself and his son.

It was about 1927 when we moved to the Comegys farm past Blacks Station. I had to go to the end of the lane to retrieve the mail from the mail box when I was four years. I was afraid to walk through the thicket of trees at the end of the lane.

My sister Margaret Elma (Peggy) was born here May 26, 1928. I was five years old when we moved from this farm to the Harmony Corner Farm, (one mile north of Kennedyville on Rt. 213) that my parents had purchased from Uncle Edmund Burke Pennington, Jr. on January 1, 1930. On moving day I remember riding with my Grandmother Sutton in the back of the carriage driven by my mother. I am certain the horse was Hamey Boy and he was with us for many years. I used to ride him even after he went blind.

My sister Hannah Louise was born August 26, 1930. Mother left us about 1933, however we survived and matured. I finished high school in 1941 and went to work on our farm for a very small salary. About 1943 at a Saturday night dance in Betterton, I recognized one of my old girlfriends from high school who was attending with a couple of her friends. I went over and asked Harriett to dance. She accepted, and my life really improved. We were married November 24, 1945. This day was also the anniversary of Uncle Edgar and Aunt Elizabeth’s wedding.

Harriett and I were 21 years old and we borrowed Dad’s Buick and went to New York City for our honeymoon. Dad turned the farm over to me January 1, 1946 on halves. He was very interested in training and racing harness horses. Running the farm was a lot of hard work for both of us. Harriett helped in the fields when needed. Our first daughter Harriett Rebecca (Becky) arrived February 13, 1947. Our second daughter Linda Ann (Sugar Babe) arrived October 6, 1948. Now we had two babies. Harriett would put Linda in the baby carriage and tell Becky to push her around while she drove the tractor, while I pulled hay bales up in the lift. Harriett noticed Becky walking up the lane alone. She asked her where Linda was and she pointed down the lane. She had left her in the carriage at the end of the lane. The hay was suddenly unimportant. We found Linda sitting in the carriage playing with her fingers and smiling.

We were blessed with another daughter, Sandra May born May 10, 1952. Suzie was a real doll and easy going. I used to sit and hold my girls in my lap and play biting ears and they would laugh and scream. I would always hold them in my lap on the front porch during a thunderstorm and marvel at the lightning and thunder. I did this so they would not be afraid of the storm.

In 1954 it was nearly impossible to find farm help and little profit in farming, so we gave up the farm and on November 30th we moved into Kennedyville to the Jewell house, next to our present home. Six months later we purchased our current home. I had already received training for Southern States Management Service before I left the farm, so I went to work at the Kennedyville Co-op store. In 1956 I was employed by the John W. Eshelman Red Rose Feed Co. on the Delmarva as a feed salesman.

On January 27th, 1958, Harriett gave me the best gift a man can receive. Our son Edmund Pennington Lusby, Jr. was born. Eddie brought a lot of joy and excitement to our lives as have all our children. After nine years representing Eshelman on the Delmarva peninsula, the feed business was declining as farmers began selling their cows and poultry and concentrating more on grain farming. I decided I had better look for a different way to make a living. I went into real estate, while still working for Eshelman. I sold one farm which Eshelman detected and I was released from my position. A few years later Eshelman went out of the feed business after more than 100 years. I did not like the real estate business, so I tried other things. I discovered that the Montgomery Ward Catalog Agency in Kent Plaza Shopping Center in Chestertown was for sale. I inquired about it and we decided to buy out the owner, Bob Rust on October 24, 1968. Harriett and I worked together well our children also helped us in the store as they were growing. It was very good training for them. Montgomery Ward decided to discontinue the catalog business in 1985. We were 61 years old, so we retired the following year and we bought a van and camper and began camping.

My mother died December 6, 1978 at age 79 and my father died March 20, 1985. My sister Louise passed away January 18, 1993.

I began tracing our Lusby family about 1957. Since I worked with Edward Lusby at the Kennedyville Southern States Co-op in 1955 and 1956, we thought that we must be related. Along with his wife, Emily Sutton Lusby and my wife, we began looking for proof of that connection. We were never able to find this proof. Now my daughter, Sandra Hopkins has become interested in genealogy and has traced our Lusby family to Robert Lusby, who immigrated from England 1662.

Back

Comments and Suggestions
E-Mail: Jim Hartung