JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Nestled inside the gates of Joint Base Andrews, Md., lies Belle Chance, the current residence of the of a top Air Force general officer and the site of the Darcey Family cemetery, one of several private cemeteries in Prince George's County.
On June 7, five of the sixth-generation descendants of the Darcey family visited the home of Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, who is the assistant vice chief of staff and director of the air staff at Air Force headquarters, and their ancestral cemetery to share family history and view the grounds of their families' past.
Retired Maj. Gen. Gary Curtin, Karen Curtin, Sandra Curtin, Lee Green, and Shelly Muffley endured the rain to see the family's burial plot that stands less than 300 feet southeast on today's Belle Chance.
"Belle Chance has not been in the Darcey family for more than 150 years, but the Air Force's preservation of two family graves at the site makes it an important benchmark in our family history," said Gary Curtin.
Almost 171 years to the date (June 30, 1842), the last Darcey family member was buried at Belle Chance.
The remains of two of the Darcey family members are interred on the grounds and marked by a white picket fence over three feet high and enclosing an area roughly 15 feet square.
The headstone on Edward Darcey's gravesite is engraved with the date June 30, 1842. The other gravesite holds the remains of Edward Darcey's wife, Hannah, who died Jan. 12, 1807.
"It's interesting to think that Belle Chance property was sold by Edward Darcey's grandson, William Fry, in 1848, and it's likely that no Darcey family members had visited the gravesite in well over a century, until I visited in the 1980s," said Sandra Curtin, family genealogist. "We really appreciate the work done to restore Hannah Darcey's headstone."
During the visit, Sharon Gorenc invited the family inside to the assistant vice chief of staff residence. Gorenc provided details of the property and a brief tour of the home.
The current home wasn't part of the original property, but shares in the history of the property and family lineage. This was the first time that the Darcey family got to walk the same paths their ancestors did.
"Belle Chance is a beautiful home, and we are pleased that the Air Force has preserved it," Gary Curtin said.
Belle Chance's history pre-dates the Civil War and will forever continue to earn its place in history and its connection to the Prince George's County's history and Air Force leaders who have called Belle Chance home.
(Information from
Belle Chance A Commanders Haven was used for this article)