PRINCESS ANNE, MD - As America continues its 250th anniversary celebrations, communities across the country are commemorating the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday.
Four Marylanders signed the Declaration of Independence, including Eastern Shore native Samuel Chase.
Historians know Chase was born in Somerset County in 1741, but the exact location of his birthplace remains uncertain.
One home on Market Lane in Princess Anne has long been associated with Chase and was believed to be his birthplace.
The home, now known as the Glebe House, was built in 1784 for St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.
"In 1784, it was built for Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church and the priest lived here," homeowner T.J. Mumford said.
Chase left Somerset County to study before eventually practicing law in Annapolis in the 1760s. He later served in the Maryland General Assembly for 20 years and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The belief that the Glebe House was Chase's birthplace persisted for decades, but Mumford said the story originated during an effort to preserve the property.
"The house was saved in the 1970s by Maude Jeffries," Mumford said.
Jeffries used the story to help secure the home's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, making restoration funding available.
"She basically orchestrated this story that Samuel Chase lived here,” Mumford said.”The reality is, Samuel Chase was 37 years old when this house was built."
Mumford and his wife have spent the past three years restoring the property while emphasizing its documented history as a building established for religious purposes, hence the new title of “Glebe House.”
Although the home is not Chase's birthplace, Mumford said its connection to the nation's earliest years remains significant.
"This house was built in that time frame. When the country was brand new and every time you touch a nail, every time you would touch a board, you have a sense that you were touching the same thing as someone who built this in 1784."
The Glebe House remains listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance.
Chase later served in Maryland's judiciary and the U.S. Senate before joining the U.S. Supreme Court as an associate justice. He is also known for being the only Supreme Court justice to be impeached.
