Our historical findings during our 2022 and 2023 private investigations.
Cherie Breeden and Dr. Donald Molnar.
Rumors have always circulated regarding a ghost named Cecil as mentioned in on my previous post. During this investigation Cecil’s responds twice that he is 13 years old. He also mentioned that he was a servant. We haven’t verified yet if he was a servant during the Civil War when the Jennings lived there, or not. So far, he seems very friendly and active! When we asked what spirit was present during our session with him, we received the response, “a ghost” ! Apparently, Cecil had a sense of humor! He also was trying to divulge the secret regarding a conspiracy that occurred back in the late 1800s. His adamancy was quite clear when we heard his voice and his repetitive responses. He genuinely enjoys interacting with us and has expressed this.
The spirit of Dr Jennings is extremely prominent in Elkton Town Hall! Particularly in the upstairs corner conference room. He also tends to be in the right corner of the room as well. Along with the right corner seat at the end of the conference table. (But not at the head of the table.) He expresses a lot of interest in my ghost hunting partner Dr. Don Molnar/ the Haunted MD. Certain responses throughout our investigation make me suspect that he is literally asking Don for help with wounded Civil War Soldiers. Many times, he manipulates our equipment and is extremely intelligent with his responses. Dr Simon Jennings states his full name when we ask which spirit, we are communicating with. During our first private investigation we experienced quite a bit of unexplained noises and voices out of thin air during our initial communication with Dr. Jennings.
Dr Jennings touched Dr. Molnar more than once when we were in the conference room. We get the impression he is excited to be recognized as an existing ghost of his house. He has also provided some information regarding one of his 6 daughters Malinda, who passed away at age 12. When we inquired about how many children he and his wife had, he responded, “8”. We confirmed with town historian Casey Billhimer that they had 6 girls. Casey obtained the family bible which has written record of all of the family members, slaves, and other life events. We consider the fact that it wasn’t uncommon for women to lose children during or before childbirth back then. It’s possible his wife did have 8 children, just not surviving.
I did pick up the name “Virginia” two or three times during our investigation. Which is the name of one of Jennings 6 daughters. The circuit breaker bedroom that is to the right of the conference room, is claimed by the spirit of a young girl. I didn’t get the feeling it was Malinda and it made me curious if it is Virginia. A good question for next time!
Malinda is their daughter who passed as an adolescent. It appears, being only 12 years old when she passed away, plays a roll regarding her energy level. We were floored by her responses during our first private investigation and not surprisingly during our second! Her initial introduction to us was the classic “boo” response! An amazing capture in the paranormal field.
Historically locals are unaware of the circumstances surrounding Malinda’s premature death at the young age of 12. Part of our mission is to reveal this information. Amazingly we did hear from and her father, Dr. Simon Jennings, regarding her cause of death too. During our video capture she clearly states that she did pass away from a fever. Her young girl voice is very distinct.
We applied some cross-referencing techniques with the spirits and apparently no one knows what caused her fever. Some of the spirits from the Jennings house, including Simon and Malinda, travel back and forth from the Miller-Kite Museum and their house. Not considered impossible due to the historical fact that the families were tied together in the past through marriage. They would frequent each other’s houses on a weekly basis including Malinda going over to the Kite House. I asked the same questions regarding Malinda’s death again when I was at the Museum recently. I received the same answers.
Some of the most profound responses and evidence we received were outside at the historic burr oak tree! There’s a continuous strong presence of Civil War Soldiers around the tree still waiting for the doctor and his staff. Often times they reach out to Don and I for medical help. They have specifically mention details regarding injuries to us Expressively asking Don for his assistance on several occasions. Some of the spirits conceive they are not alive. We’ve had several intelligent discussions with many of them regarding what time period we are in now, and the fact that they did not make it through the war. But several others seem to be stuck in the perpetual cycle of their last moments of life/death. Even to the point of reaching out to us asking if we wanted to serve in the war.
There’s an immense amount of energy and interaction with our equipment around this tree every time we communicate. Spirits truly enjoy our acknowledgment of their existence and circumstances. This is one location that is definitely more active at night, but still equally as interesting to investigate in the daytime. Downstairs, including the parlor and the entryway, harbors a lot of voices and noises out of thin air. We also experienced quite a bit of the same in the upstairs conference room.
There’s so much more to learn! The amount of activity inside of Elkton Town Hall and surrounding the burr oak tree is amazing and astonishing! We feel extremely honored for the opportunity to be able to engage with the spirits and learn more about the history surrounding this beautiful historic landmark!
History of Elkton Town Hall/The Jenning’s House:
This historic building currently houses the municipal offices of the Town of Elkton. The Jennings house was used as a hospital during the Civil War. Wounded Confederate soldiers were treated under an ancient oak tree that still stands in the front yard. (At this time this Oak tree was already 147 years old!) This house is located at 173 West Spotswood Avenue beside the tennis courts and across the street from the McDonalds in Elkton.
1862 & 1864 Valley Campaigns.
This eight-room brick dwelling was built in 1840 for Dr. Simeon B. Jennings, a former resident of Port Republic. At the time of the Civil War, it was one of only half a dozen houses located in the Conrad’s Store (present-day Elkton) community.
On the evening of April 19, 1862, Confederate Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s 6,000-man army marched by here and into a bivouac that stretched to Swift Run. After Jackson’s men departed on April 30, Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s division crossed through Swift Run Gap east of here and occupied the still-burning campsites for the next two weeks. According to Cpl. Randolph H. McKim, Co. H, 1st Maryland Infantry (C.S.A.), the monotony of camp life was “varied for some of us by visits to Doctor Jennings’, whose charming daughters [Ann, Elizabeth, Virginia, Marietta, Mary, and Malinda] greatly attracted us. … There we had music and song and bright and merry converse, which speedily banished the memory of the hardships of the past two months.”
After the Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic (June 8-9, 1862), Jennings and his wife Barbara ministered to dozens of wounded Confederate soldiers in their house. The more severely wounded soldiers are said to have been placed beneath this giant burr oak, where they were treated before being transferred to hospitals.
In October 1864, during Union Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s burning of the Shenandoah Valley, Jennings’ nearby flour mill was destroyed by fire.
This information obtained from the Historical Marker Project website.
We are still reviewing and have more evidence to post soon!!
Answers regarding Dr Jennings daughters death.
Amazing activity at the historic Burr Oak Tree. Many soldiers during the Civil War set around this tree waiting to see the doctor. Some did not get a chance to ever see the doctor
Lunar Paranormal Virginia 
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