A Civil War Grave

A Lonely Gravesite -
John Francis Wyman, Civil War Veteran

Thanks to local friends and fellow history explorers, Barb and her son Liam, they brought me to a unique and isolated burial site belonging to civil war veteran named John F. Wyman. This site is located overlooking the Middle Patuxent River downstream of Murray Hill Road and just upstream of Interstate 95.

Mr. Wyman

Mr. Wyman served in Company F, First Regiment, New York Lincoln Cavalry, starting as a Private and mustering out as a Quartermaster Sergeant. In the Cavalry he was also part of the Mounted Rifles unit. Their Company’s notable battles were the skirmish at Upperville, Virginia on February 20th, 1864 (1 wounded, 1 died, 5 imprisoned) and the Battle of New Market, Virginia on May 15th, 1864 (3 wounded, 1 died, 1 imprisoned).

According to the information at the site, Mr. Wyman was born in Syracuse, New York and married Hester Anne Morehead of Fauquier, VA on December 31, 1866 (she later claimed it was on January 1, 1867) . They had one child to our knowledge, William Howard Wyman.  Mr. Wyman died in a train accident on July 7, 1880 and we learned it was at Annapolis Junction (currently called the Savage station). Mr. Wyman, more commonly known as Frank Wyman, was working for the US Census Bureau and living in Washington, DC, having recently been separated from his wife who was still living in Howard County.

The July 8, 1880 Evening Star newspaper wrote about his rather gruesome train accident at Annapolis Junction as he was struck by the cowcatcher on the front of a train that was passing the station while another train was stopped. He was pushed into the air and landed head first on the platform. He was taken to a hospital in Washington DC where he died early the next morning. A year later a law suit was filed by Howard County government against the B&O railroad on behalf of Hester Wyman, his widow, and in 1882 a judgement of $1,500 was granted to Hester Wyman and her son William.

Mrs. Wyman

Mrs. Wyman remarried in 1885 to Mr. Austin C. Sweet, but apparently was in an unhappy marriage and filed for divorce in September of 1892.  But just a few months later on November 29th, Mr. Sweet died and the case was dismissed.  The now Mrs. Sweet petitioned to change her name back to Wyman because “no children were born to her as the wife of Sweet, while as Mrs. Wyman she bore several, all of whom are now grown.  It is mortifying in the extreme to be obliged to use the second husband’s name, says Mrs. Sweet, when the public generally knows her as the mother of the Wyman children.” She also claimed her life with Mr. Wyman was notably happy and contented.  One of the newspaper headlines of her case read “No Longer Wishes to be Sweet”. On September 4, 1900 she was granted he older married name of Hester A. Wyman.

Now that she was Hester A. Wyman, she continued to focus her energies on the Daughters of the American Revolution group she was involved with. But somewhere along the way she learned that her 2nd marriage was illegitimate as Mr. Sweet never was divorced from his first wife.  Mrs. Wyman filed a law suit to “compel the issuance to her of a pension as the widow of J. Frank Wyman, a veteran of the civil war.”  Ironically, at the age of 77, she died as a hit-and-run victim from a car whose driver was never caught.

A Lasting Grave Site

According to the information at the grave site, Mr. Wyman “settled and operated a farm here overlooking the Middle Patuxent River”. It seems as though his wife was still living there when they separated and it was a good as any place for his burial.  With his gravesite located on this beautiful overlook there is no reason to doubt he was living there before he and his wife separated. Unfortunately we have not yet been able to find any census or land records for Mr. Wyman or his wife living in this area.  This site needs to be recognized as a burial site and protected by county government.  If you stumble upon it, be respectful and honor Mr. Wyman's service.