Archaelogists Say 15 Buried in Hilleary Cemetery

Archaelogists have discovered that more than a dozen members of the Hilleary family were buried in a cemetery off Leeland Road in Upper Marlboro, as they continue to work on an excavation this week to make way for a shopping center in Upper Marlboro.

Jennifer Stabler, an archeology planner coordinator with Prince George’s County’s Historic Preservation staff, said that a phsyical anthropologist from the Smithsonian noted that the grave shafts host the remains of 15 people from the Hilleary family. Initial reports had counted nine graves.

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Although some family members are upset about the excavation, the Ryko Development was granted permission from the state's attorney's office to remove the cemetery in 2009, after initially receiving project approval in 1989 from the county's planning board. The shopping center will be built on 28-acre lot next to the 1,200-acre Beechtree neighborhood off Crain Highway, which will contain at its completion about 1,700 single-family homes, 500 townhouses and 240 multi-family units.

Although initially some descendants thought that slaves also were buried in the unmarked graves found in the cemetery, Stabler said analysis shows that all of the people buried in the Hilleary cemetery were caucasian.

The oldest of the graves belongs to the George W. Hilleary who built the Beechwood Mansion in the early 1800s, she said.

Two other cemeteries— The Hodges and Smith families graves— will remain on the property, Stabler said. Sarah Smith was married to George W. Hilleary, she added.

After the remains are studied, they'll be taken to their final resting place at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Upper Marlboro, where Stabler noted other family descendants are buried.

The archaelogists have removed all but three of the remains found in the Hilleary family cemetery, Stabler added, and they hope to complete the work this week.

Related Coverage:

• Historical Graves Moved to Build Shopping Center