The information for this story is taken from "Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd and His Descendants", 1989 edition, by Richard D. Mudd, M.D. and "The Life of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd" by Nettie Mudd.

Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd was born December 20, 1833, in Charles County, Maryland, the fourth of the ten children of Henry Lowe Mudd and his wife, Sarah Ann Reeves. Young Sam was raised on the family plantation "Oak Hill", approximately 30 miles from downtown Washington D.C., and received his early education at Frederick, Md., where he attended St. John's College for two years. Then on September 16, 1851, he entered Georgetown College, Washington D.C., and three years later enrolled as a student at the Baltimore Medical College (now part of the University of Maryland) from which he graduated.

Returning to Charles County with the ink still damp on his medical diploma, the young doctor married his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Frances Dyer (whom he called "Frank" for the reason that he already had a sister with a similar name), on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1857. They became the parents of 9 children and grandparents of 33 grandchildren.

Sarah Frances Dyer was born March 15, 1835 and died at the home of her daughter, Emie (Mudd) Gardiner, December 29, 1911. She was a daughter of Thomas Benjamin Dyer and Elizabeth Reeder.

Three important events in the married life of Sarah Frances Mudd's were:

1. Visit with her husband at the Arsenal on July 6, 1865.
2. Feb. 1869 a courier from the United States Government knocked on the front door of the Mudd Home. When Mrs. Mudd answered, the man handed her an envelope and said, "From the President of the United States. Please sign this receipt to certify that I have delivered it to you. If you have a reply, I shall return it for you." Mrs. Mudd opened the envelope and found a letter written on White House stationery. The date of the pardon was February 8, 1869.
   It read:
   Dear Mrs. Mudd: As promised, I have drawn up a pardon for your husband, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd. Please come to my office at your earliest convenience. I wish to sign it in your presence and give it to you personally.

   Sincerely,
   ANDREW JOHNSON
   President of the United States of America.

3. The return of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd to the home on March 20, 1869.