Historically Speaking: A Murder in St. Mary’s

The next chapter of Historically Speaking, a joint undertaking of the St. Mary’s County Historical Society and the Center for the Study of Democracy, will feature Holly Fabbri’s presentation of “A Murder in St. Mary’s County: Domestic Violence and Male Honor in a Southern Community.”

Holly Fabbri, associate director of alumni relations at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, will address the next Historically Speaking event December 6 in Leonardtown. Her topic: A Murder in St. Mary’s County.

On Sunday, October 13, 1901, Flora Catherine Love Johnson, a young wife and mother, died unexpectedly at her residence in Leonardtown. Some said Flora died of natural causes. Others said she died of hemorrhaging from being struck with an unknown object. Two others accused her husband, Peter Henry Johnson, of her murder.

The investigation into Flora’s death and other domestic violence cases both in the North and the South during the 19th century became a lens for Miss Fabbri to research the idea of male honor in America, especially for Southern men throughout the 19th century, research made all the more important as Flora Catherine Love Johnson was Miss Fabbri’s great-grandmother.

Miss Fabbri tells the story behind Flora Catherine Love’s death and traces the historical and legal underpinnings of the concept of male honor which dominated 19th-century patriarchal American society and law, especially in the agricultural South.

Join the St. Mary’s County Historical Society as Miss Fabbri reveals this little-known aspect of life Southern life and culture. Learn how Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England helped create a certain understanding of marital relations and legal viewpoint of husbands and wives for early American lawmakers.

Space is limited for this event to be held from 7 to 8:30pm December 6. Registration is required.

Historically Speaking is a joint undertaking of the St. Mary’s County Historical Society and the Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

The St. Mary’s County Historical Society is the repository of a unique collection of Maryland memorabilia and museum pieces displayed on the first floor of Tudor Hall and in the Old Jail Museum at 41625 Courthouse Drive in Leonardtown. The 18th-century Tudor Hall also serves as headquarters of the society and houses the Historical Society’s Research Center.

To learn more about the St. Mary’s Historical Society, visit its Leader member page.