Last week I noted that a jailbreak was thwarted in March 1887 as a result of good investigative work on the part of the then-Carroll County Sheriff John T. Lynch. Well, as you might guess, not all sheriffs have been as lucky and over the years, and there have been successful escapes in Carroll County.

In researching various escape attempts, I came across a reference to what may have been the first escape from the Carroll County jail.

In an article for the Historical Society of Carroll County by Jay Graybeal, he recalls an April 8, 1948, newspaper article about the 111th anniversary of the Carroll County Circuit Court, which was celebrated with a special session of the court on a Saturday evening. The keynote speaker was "Francis Neal Parke, former Chief Judge of the Circuit and member of the Maryland Court of Appeals."

Parke gave a presentation about the history of the court house and the jail, and according to him, it was during the term of the first "Commissioners of the Tax" in the mid-1830s that the building of the court house was begun and the county jail was constructed. Judge Parke recalled: "During the erection of the jail, temporary quarters had to be provided for prisoners.

"Nicholas Kelley had been elected the first sheriff of Carroll County on March, 1837, and had by virtue of his office the custody of the prisoners. ... He obtained temporary quarters for them in the second story of a brick house on East Main Street, near the Washington Road, rented by the commissioners of Joshua Sundergill, and which later became the property of William Reese."

According to Parke's account, one prisoner was confined to this temporary jail and, "this one escaped by climbing down the spouting."

If you know his whereabouts, there may be a reward.

Call waiting

Speaking of escaping, today, many of us would love to escape the electronic monitoring device we call a cell phone. Last week's Carroll Eagle trivia quiz asked: "When in history was the first cell phone call made and what can you tell us about the circumstances?"

RJ Teich, Richard Siehler, Ruth Anderson, Marian Goettee and Glenn Plott all answered correctly.

Siehler, this week's winner of the Carroll Eagle mug, e-mailed that the first public demonstration of a cell phone took place in New York City on April 3, 1973. "Martin Cooper, an employee of Motorola, placed the first cell phone call to rival cellular phone researchers AT&T Bell Labs."

Bet that was a pleasant phone call.

From cell phones to authors, this week's history trivia quiz for the Carroll Eagle mug is easy. What famous black educator, orator and author was born April 5?

Here's a hint: He never owned a cell phone.

Think you know? Drop me an e-mail at kevindayhoff@gmail.com. Be sure to add Carroll Eagle in the subject line. Thanks.

When he's not "climbing down the spouting" to get away from his cell phone, Kevin Dayhoff may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.

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