Who was Linda Moore?
When driving into our community of Lindamoor it's difficult to imagine how the neighborhood looked more than a hundred years ago. Stone columns near the entrance of Carriage Drive engraved with the year 1899 are a reminder of a bygone era. Back then one would have passed through the entrance on horseback or by horse and carriage. Who were the first residents and what do we know about them?
The Lindamoor home, as it came to be called, was named for its owner Linda Moore Combs. She and her husband WIll A. Combs, a "capable and energetic railroad man" arrived in Annapolis from Chicago in the late 1800s. It has been said that Mrs. Combs was greatly charmed with the attractiveness of the Severn River. She purchased the property from Stephen Dandridge Kennedy, a Navy doctor. The family home was completed in 1899 and Mr and Mrs Combs, along with their three children and Mrs. Combs parents, Charles and Cynthia Moore, moved into their new home which with some modifications still stands at 1841 Cove Point Road.
Nancy (Combs) Rue and Son
In 1908 the Combs' oldest daughter Nancy married Harry O. Rue, a dental surgeon from Baltimore. Their daughter Marian married Fred Wolfering. Both son in laws moved into the Lindamoor estate. The following year Mr and Mrs Combs gave their daughter Nancy and son in law Harry an acre of land to build the house that now stands at 1832 Cove Point Road. In 1918 the Combs family sold the estate in its entirety with both homes and a little more than 40 acres of land. Nancy Rue moved to Los Angeles, California with her parents and two young children, while Dr. Rue returned to Baltimore. The Rues later divorced. Linda Moore Combs passed away in California in 1927.
Lindamoor was sold again in 1924 to Gustave Fast, an inventor from Sweden and his wife Helena. After Mr Fast passed away in 1946 his widow sold Lindamoor and the surrounding 40 acres of land to a group of developers. They began subdividing the property in 1947, and thus began our subdivision of Lindamoor.
This history was written by Pamela Chaconas using:
- 1927 newspaper obituary of Linda Combs
- Photos and additional information from ancestry.com
- Maryland state archives
Daughters and Grandsons
and Grandson
W.A. Combs, seated