The distinguished old gentleman on the front porch of the farm house, looking like he just got up from the rocking chair to have his picture taken, is John Henry Horn (1853-1939).  Written on the back of the photo is “Where I was born, October 28th, 1853. Jarrettsville, Harford County, Maryland. John H. Horn”. The photo is dated October 28, 1927, John’s 74 birthday. His wife, Mary Lisabeth Heyn (1853-1929), was quite possibly the one to photograph this scene.  The family also had a home in Baltimore, at 4304 Grand Avenue, where they were living at the time of Lizzie’s death, but it was the comfortable farm house in Jarrettsville that the family considered their real home.

If anyone reading this knows where exactly the old Horn farmhouse is located in Jarrettsville, and whether it is still in existence, I would appreciate it if you would please let me know. As John was born there in 1853 it would have belonged to his parents, Henry Joseph Horn (1831-1917) and Ellen Gross (1832-1916). Henry was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany emigrating through the port of Baltimore in 1834 and Ellen was born in Jarrettsville, MD. I’ve often wondered if the house had originally been Ellen’s parents’ home. Her parents were Catherine (b. 1793) and Jacob (b. 1776) Gross and they were both born in what is now Alsace-Lorraine, France emigrating in 1830 to Maryland.