On September 12, 1775, the Committee of Observation for the Middle District (including Frederick County) was elected, consisting of 17 men, of which John Hanson was chairman. On September 12, 1803, Thomas H. Elder, son of William Elder, sold two tracts, "Hickory Ridge" and "Stony Meadows." That year, Thomas and his wife Elizabeth would migrate to Nelson County, Kentucky, bringing with them Elizabeth's niece, Catherine Spalding. In 1813, Catherine would be one of the founders of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. On September 12, 1824, the first Apple Dumpling Day was held at The Visitation Academy in Frederick. It celebrates the day the Visitation Sisters arrived to take over the school from The Sisters of Charity. On September 12, 1866, John H. Uhler walked from the Groff Hotel to Edward Koontz house on a wire stretched across Market Street in Frederick. He fell to the pavement, breaking an arm and a leg. On September 12, 1877, Father John McElroy, who was the rector at St. John The Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Frederick for 23 years beginning in 1822, died at the Jesuit Novitiate on East Second Street in Frederick, at age 96. It was during his pastorate that the present church edifice was built and consecrated. More than 1,200 attended his funeral and burial at St. John's Cemetery. On September 12, 1893, Grace Chapel, the predecessor of Grace Episcopal Church in Brunswick, was consecrated. It was razed in 1922. On September 12, 1916, Charles Ernest Keller, who would become known as "King Kong" Keller while playing for the New York Yankees, was born in Middletown. On September 12, 1920, James Madison Smith, president of The Woodsboro Bank and former owner of Smith's Hotel in Woodsboro, died in Baltimore. He was born January 4, 1844. On September 12, 1964, The Provincial House, home of The Southeast Province of The Daughters of Charity, which contains more than 500 rooms, was dedicated in Emmitsburg. On September 12, 1967, Loyola Federal Savings and Loan Company bought The Francis Scott Key Hotel in Frederick for $260,000 at a public auction. If anyone can add information to these History Moments, or would like to suggest an item for another calendar day, please contact me privately. John W. Ashbury Wasps1965@comcast.net <mailto:Wasps1965@comcast.net>