Courtesy of Clear Spring District Historical Association¹

 
Susan Mary Edelen was born on September 28, 1833 in Clear Spring (or Clearspring, as it was known at the time), Washington County, Maryland, a small village 11 miles west of Hagerstown. She was the first child of Charles and Elizabeth (Ridenour) Edelen and was apparently named for her maternal grandmother. Her father was born in Virginia in 1797 and moved to Clear Spring as a young man. Susan's mother, Eliza, as she was known, was born August 30, 1806, the daughter of Samuel and Susan Ridenour.² Charles Edelen was a devout member of the Presbyterian Church and Eliza was a Lutheran.³ They were married on April 9, 1829 by Rev. Kurtz at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hagerstown, Maryland. During the 1840's Charles Edelen became a very successful merchant in Clear Spring and acquired several valuable properties. On February 1, 1840 he bought the property at 137 Cumberland Street from Jacob and Elizabeth Loose for $1000.⁴  Cumberland Street is the main street through Clear Spring and is also part of the Cumberland (or National) pike running from Baltimore to St. Louis. Traffic was heavy with western expansion and the Edelen store was soon doing substantial business at this location. Two years after buying the store he bought a slave, Esther Moody, from George Bragonier.⁵  Esther was twenty-two years of age and came with her two children, Catherine (or Cass) age 4, and Samuel age 2.  Mr. Edelen paid $314.12½ for them, but only kept them for about 2 years. In 1844 he sold them to Green H. Duke for $450.⁶  That same year he bought an eleven-acre farm named "Kindness Enlarged" from Lancelot Jacques,⁷ trustee of Denton Jacques.  Located southwest of town on Cove Road, "Kindness Enlarged" was one of the earliest land patents in the area and the Jacques family was one of the first to settle there. Also in 1844, Mr. Edelen bought 170 acres and 20 perches from the heirs of Thomas Prather⁸, and in return sold 9 and 13/16 acres from "Kindness Enlarged" to Richard Prather. On June 14, 1847, Charles Edelen received the deed to a house on North Mill Street, next to the Methodist Episcopal Church.⁹ Altogether, by 1850 Susan's father owned real estate valued at $16,000, according to the federal census for that year. In addition to Susan, the Edelen family included the following children: Sarah E. Edelen, born March 7, 1836; Charles C. Edelen, born July 27, 1837; John S. Edelen, born in 1840; Amelia E. Edelen and Margaret A. Edelen, apparently twins born about August 20, 1843;¹⁰ and Denton Jacques Edelen, born December 28, 1845. All of the Edelen children were scholars at the Clearspring Academy.

The Clearspring Academy was founded soon after Susan was born and was typical of the private schools that were springing up all over the country. Following the American Revolution the academies combined the classical studies of Greek and Latin with practical mathematics and science based upon a model attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Prior to the emergence of public high schools they brought more advanced education to the middle class than the "common" schools of the day.

Susan probably began her studies at the Academy at about the age of six. The first page of her school manuscript is dated March 4, 1843 when she was nine, by which time she was already highly skilled at penmanship. The Academy is said to have had very high academic standards and encouraged neatness. (At one point, apparently dissatisfied with her penmanship, she places the blame on "a very bad pen".) One historian states that in some of the local schools the students' notebooks were collected and graded, although there is no indication of that in Susan's manuscript. Many of Susan's pages contain highly embellished lettering in the titles, which are often hand-colored. Judging from the clarity and lack of erasures throughout the sometimes tedious page-long mathematical calculations, she had little difficulty with the subject.

So, Susan's childhood was in no way deprived. She lived in a typical middle class environment in rural western Maryland. Her father owned several valuable properties and was very well-established in the community. The family, moderately large by the standards of the day, was well provided for and had the benefits of a quality education. Perhaps the most insight into who Susan was at this time in her life can be found in the poetry that she included with her math assignments, especially the later poems that she wrote just after finishing her studies at the Academy.

Susan's literary interests did not end when she graduated from the Clearspring Academy. She was apparently reading the literary journals of the time, including Graham's Magazine and The Flag of Our Union from which she included poems in her manuscript. Indeed, upon her death nearly sixty years later she would be remembered as "a woman of fine Christian character and literary attainments".¹¹ Unfortunately, aside from this tantalizing comment, no other information on her literary life has survived. One clue, however, is found in a small Victorian scrap album that she gave to her niece, Miss Viola Snyder. It is inscribed in Susan's delicate hand:

Judging from the contents of the album the year was about 1881, when Miss Viola would have been about fourteen years old.¹² The scrap album contains a diverse assortment of poetry and prose, some of which may have been collected by Susan herself. (But, alas, none of them is explicitly ascribed to her.) Susan may have been a member of one of the numerous literary societies that sprang up throughout the county in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. These societies "served the middle and upper class women just beginning to enjoy their first taste of leisure time, but such luxury was available to the women who lived in towns and villages rather than on farms."¹³ Local residents recall that there was at least one such society in Clear Spring.

It is not known what occupied Susan (or "Sue", as she preferred to be called from this time on) during the eight years between her graduation from the Academy and her marriage. One of her fellow Academy scholars, Miss Ann Elizabeth Grosh, who was the same age as Susan and later became her sister-in-law, became a teacher and returned to the Academy in that capacity. Perhaps Susan followed a similar course by attending one of the "female seminaries"¹⁴, or perhaps she remained at home to help care for her younger brothers and sisters.

                      Courtesy of Clear Spring District Historical Association

John T. Snyder

On November 9, 1858 Susan married John Thomas Snyder, a merchant in Clear Spring. John had grown up in Clear Spring and was about three years older than Susan. In 1850, at about the time Susan was writing her later poems, he was a store keeper living with Jonathan Loose, who was also a merchant in Clear Spring. The Loose store, located at 148-150 Cumberland street, was almost directly across the street from Susan's father's store. On April 7, 1855 Otho Nesbitt recorded in his diary: Loose and John Snider [sic] have gone into partnership. Susan probably had known John all her life and they may even have been classmates at Clearspring Academy. It is curious, then, that they did not decide to marry sooner. Perhaps he wasn't her first choice. If the "thee" whom Susan is addressing in her last two poems was anyone other than John T. Snyder, then it may have taken her those intervening eight years to mourn the loss of that first love. The following biographical sketch describes the life and career of John T. Snyder:¹⁵

John T. Snyder was born on Poplar Hall farm, in Clearspring District, August 6, 1830; he died August 23, 1895. He was the son of Leonard Snyder, a farmer of Clearspring District, who lived on the Poplar Hall farm, now the property of his grandsons, Charles L., William F. and J.O. Snyder. Leonard Snyder died young, leaving his son, John T., a small boy and without means. The lad came to the town of Clearspring, and began as a clerk in the store of Jeremiah Mason and Jonathan Loose; he remained in the same employ until he was of age. Meanwhile, by honesty, integrity, and sober and temperate habits, joined with industry, he had accumulated a small capital and on April 1, 1860, he entered into a partnership in the general merchandise business, at Clearspring, under the firm name of Snyder & Bovy. About two years later, the firm name was changed to Snyder & Miller, and so continued until about 1888, when Mr. Snyder bought out the interest of his partner, Mr. Miller, and took in his son, Charles L. Snyder, giving the new firm the name which it still bears. Beginning business life as he did, without a dollar, the uniform success and high reputation of John T. Snyder were due alone to his courage, activity and good management. He was still active and prosperous at the time of his death. Besides the largest general store in Clearspring, he owned several hundred acres of fine arable land in the district; he was a director in the Steam Engine and Machine Company, and a stockholder in the County Agricultural Society, and in the First and Second National Banks of Hagerstown. His politics were always Democratic, but he never aspired to any public office.

Susan recorded in the family Bible "John T. Snyder, my beloved husband died 23d August, 1895, aged 65 years and 17 days". At that time he was described as "one of the wealthiest men in the county. . . . He owned several farms in the Clear Spring district and his judgement and opinion on matters pertaining to agriculture have always been highly regarded and sought after by those who knew him".¹⁶ His death was attributed to diabetes, but was brought on by "malarial chills" suffered in response to the death of their daughter, Eva, the preceding May. During his last illness perhaps Susan recalled the lines of "To the afflicted one", the first poem in her manuscript written over half a century earlier. John T. Snyder is buried in the family plot in Little Rose Hill cemetery, east of Clear Spring.

John T. and Susan Snyder had a total of five children:

Charles Leonard Snyder, August 24, 1859 to July 27, 1927. Upon the death of his father, Mr. Charlie took over the management of family store, John T. Snyder & Son.

Mary Virginia Deaver Snyder, February 14, 1861 to January 24,1863. Mary V.D. Snyder's life was grievously short; she only lived 1 year, 11 months and 10 days, and was probably a victim of small pox.¹⁷ Upon recording the death of her first daughter, Susan wrote a poem in her family Bible:

We miss our little one; - but she's sweetly at rest,
The Good Shepherd has folded our lamb to his breast.
She's gone from our home to a brighter above,
To add one more to His jewels of love.

My Heart is so torn - and, only Thou, Lord!
Canst comfort, and help me, and true grace afford.
Bind me to Thee by this sweet living tie,
And arm me with faith 'till, I, too, die.

Then, Jesus, remember Thy Mother's pure love,
She felt for her babe that was born from above,
And let my child when earth's sorrows are past,
Conduct her "mama" to Heaven at last.

William Fiery Snyder, July 29, 1864 to January 2 1942. Fiery was a partner in the family store and managed the extensive family farms. He married Elva Summers and their son, Charles Harold Snyder, was the only grandchild of John T. and Susan Snyder

Eva E. Snyder, February 19, 1867 to May 16, 1895.¹⁸ She was educated in Staunton, Virginia and married Philip W. Huff. One humorous anecdote is recalled of Eva: It is said that she had accidentaly swallowed her ring. Everyone told her not to worry and just be patient. So she was patient and after a time she got her ring back. But whenever she tried to wear it again, people would ask if it was the ring that she had swallowed. Eventually she just couldn't wear it anymore knowing where it had been. Eva Snyder Huff died at the age of twenty-eight after a short illness. The Hagerstown Mail reported that her brother Charles had gone to visit her about a week before her death and Susan was already in Roanoke at her "precious daughter's" side. Eva's untimely death was a severe blow to the family. Her father took ill himself as a result and lived for only a few more months.

Jesse Orion Snyder, June 23, 1869 to February 11, 1941. He was educated in the public schools of Clear Spring and under a private tutor before attending Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa., from which he graduated in 1891. He then studied law under the preceptorship of Gen. H. Kyd Douglas¹⁹, of Hagerstown and was admitted to the bar of Washington County on December 24, 1892.

As for Susan herself, following the death of her husband in 1895, she continued to live in the house next to the family store on Cumberland street. She had become "The afflicted one" of her first poem, suffering from severe rheumatism and spending the last ten years of her life confined to a wheel chair. Susan spent most of her days in the front room on the second floor of the tall handsome brick house. Due to the prosperity of her family and the store, she was afforded all of the comforts including five or six wheel chairs, all different styles. An elevator was also provided for her in the house. Living with her was her son, Charles L. Snyder who ran the store, and her niece, Miss Lida Elizabeth Hassett, who had moved in to care for her.²⁰

Susan passed away at 1:00 A.M. on Monday, October 7, 1907 at the age of seventy-four. She had been seriously ill for a week or more. Perhaps during that time she was able to recall from so many years earlier the lines of "A dying sister's appeal" for her one remaining sister, Margaret. The funeral service was held at the house on the following Wednesday. It was performed by Rev. E.W. Bald of the Reformed Church, assisted by the venerable Rev. J.M. Graybill of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Pallbearers were several prominent men of the community including Frank W. Mish, Mayor of Hagerstown. Susan is buried in the John T. Snyder family plot in the Little Rose Hill Cemetery of the Reformed Church, east of Clear Spring along Route 40. With her there are her husband, John T. Snyder, her three sons, daughter, Eva Snyder Huff, and grandson Charles Harold Snyder and his wife. Also buried at Little Rose Hill Cemetery are the families of two of Susan's sisters, Sarah Edelen Hassett and Margaret Ann (Edelen) Cowton. The family of John T. and Susan Snyder is remembered as being very private and not particularly out-going, although sons Charlie and Fiery Snyder are both remembered as pleasant people. Local opinions differ on Jess Snyder, due in part to his professional dealings as an attorney in the area. He is credited with acquiring several valuable properties for the Snyder family. Through the estate of Charles Harold Snyder, the only grandson and sole remaining heir of John T. and Susan Snyder, the legacy of this family is an on-going benefit to the community. At his death Harold owned five farms plus one additional lot in Clear Spring District with an aggregate appraised value of over three million dollars. In his will he designated that the estate be distributed among the following charities:

St. John's Evangelical and Reformed Church, Clear Spring, Maryland
St. Paul's Lutheran and Reformed Church, St. Paul's, Maryland
Homewood Church Home of the Evangelical and Reformed Church
Hoffman Orphanage for Children, Littleton, Pennsylvania
St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Clear Spring, Maryland
Washington County Home for Orphans, San-Mar, Maryland
American Cancer Society (Maryland Chapter)
American Heart Association (Maryland Chapter)
American Red Cross (Maryland Chapter)