The county records at the Archives do not include assessment records or tax lists for Harford County. Records at the state level do include for that jurisdiction (Assessment Record) for 1783 filed with the General Assembly, House of Delegates [MSA S1161 and SM59] and copies of the (Federal Direct Tax) for 1798 found in Maryland State Papers [MSA SM56]. 

Recently discovered was another instance of Harford County tax records appearing among state records, specifically in Chancery Court (Chancery Papers) 2210 [MSA S512-2282, MdHR 17,898-2210-1/5]. The case began in 1801 with the filing of a bill of complaint by James Holmes against Robert Amoss.  In 1783 and 1785 Amoss, tax collector for Harford County, appointed Holmes the deputy collector for Susquehanna and Deer Creek Lower Hundreds. In 1791 Holmes still owed Amoss over £249 and in order to secure payment conveyed land to him. Holmes continued to live on the land, and claimed that he had made periodic payments to fully satisfy the debt. Amoss refused Holmes' request to reconvey the land and had instead filed an ejectment suit in the General Court of the Western Shore. Holmes wanted the Chancery Court to grant an injunction against further proceedings in the General Court and to decree a reconveyance of the land - Out Quarter, Widows Care. The Chancellor did grant the injunction, to remain in effect until further ordered. 

In his answer Robert Amoss presented a slightly different version of the events to secure payment of the tax collections, and unlike Holmes, submitted exhibits to support his arguments. Amoss claimed that the deed gave him absolute title to the land and that Holmes continued to occupy the property on the basis of a signed lease agreement. There was a 

The exhibits filed by Amoss included several pertaining to assessments and taxes in Harford County. A tax list for the entire county for 1785, organized by hundred, showed the names of the individuals alphabetically and for each person the total value of assessable property and the assessed amount. Other documents included accounts of taxes due from the 1783 and 1785 assessments and paid to Holmes and Amoss from individual taxpayers in Susquehanna and Deer Creek Lower Hundreds. 

No actions were taken in the case until early 1804 by which time James Holmes had died and Robert Amoss petitioned the court to have the injunction dissolved.  Holmes' children - William Holmes, Mary Holmes, Jane Bay, and Elizabeth Money - countered by reviving the case. Testimony from several men revealed that the taxes collected by Holmes between 1783 and 1791 had been applied to his own use rather than paid to Amoss. The negotiations to settle this debt extended over three days and resulted in the 1791 deed. By 1798 or 1799 Holmes had become insolvent. 

A decree in this chancery case was finally issued in December 1810. The plaintiffs were ordered to pay over £568 by February 1811. When this did not occur, the Chancellor dismissed the bill of complaint and dissolved the injunction. 

This particular court case highlights the potential significance of exhibits that might be found in the surviving files, especially when the original documents are no longer extant. 

Alevizatos, Alexandra A. "Procured of the Best and Most Fashionable Materials:" The Furniture and 
     Furnishings of the Lloyd Family 1750 - 1850
Ball, Rosalie Noland. Family Tree of Col. Leven Powell's Line of the Powells of Virginia 
Collins, Carolyn Huebner. Wathen Anthology 
Dodd, Rosemary B. and Patricia M. Bausell. Abstracts of Land Records, Anne Arundel County, 
     Maryland, Vol.4, 1719 - 1728 
Doherty, Thomas P., ed. Delaware Genealogical Research Guide 
Failing, Anne. Lonaconing Silk Mill, 1907 - 1957 
Federal Judicial History Office. "Amistad Case and the Federal Courts," Court Historian, No. 9, March 
     1998 
Fischer, Ronald E., compl. Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States: History of the First 
     One Hundred Years, 1894 - 1994 
Fuke, Richard Paul. Imperfect Equality: African-Americans in the Confines of White Racial Attitudes in 
     Post-Emancipation Maryland 
Hakluyt, Richarde. Discourse of Western Planting (Facsimile of 1584 manuscript.) 
Hall, Roy Marland. Hall Family of Kentucky and Texas 
Hayward, Mary Ellen and Charles Belfoure. Baltimore Rowhouse 
Humphery, D. F. Seventh of August: A Memorable Day in Maryland's History 
Hynson, Jerry M. District of Columbia Runaway and Fugitive Slave Cases, 1848 - 1863 
Lioi, Andrew. Rosaria's Family: The Family of Bruno and Rosaria Lioi, An Italian Immigrant Family 
Lounsbury, Carl R. Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape 
Marshalek, Jean Ray et al. Lambdin and Connecting Families 
Miron, Mike. Friends and Neighbors: Annapolis Portraits by Marion E. Warren 
Moore, Dan Ray. Descendants of John Moore of Somerset County, Maryland 
Penn, Harry W., Jr. History of Prince George's General Hospital and Medical Center 
Pugh, R. B. Records of the Colonial and Dominions Offices 
                       (continued on last page)

Robinson, Franklin A., Jr. For the Glory of God: A Brief History of Page's Chapel, Later Known as St. 
     Thomas' Church, Croom, Prince George's County, Maryland, 1732 - 1995 
_____. St. Thomas' Parish Register, Croome, Prince George's County, Maryland, 1849 - 1906 
Schonefeld, Steven A. with Kathryn E. Schinbeckler-Ray. Crowel Family History 
Shivers, George R. Ancestors and Descendants of Johnathan Huffington, Jr. and Henrietta Adams 
     Huffington 
_____. Changing Times: Chronicle of Allen, Maryland, an Eastern Shore Village 
Smith, C. Fraser. William Donald Schaefer 
Smith, Ralph D. Early Ward Families of Southern Maryland, Vol. 2