Newsletter of
The Maryland State Archives
Vol. 15, No. 1
January 8, 2001
www.mdsa.net
GRAND JURY RECORDS IN THE 19TH CENTURY:   PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY 
by Pat Melville 

For Prince George's County the Archives has (Grand Jury Reports) for 1803-1887 in series C1218 and C1219. The collection includes both reports from the grand juries and documents filed with them. 

The court clerk prepared lists of licenses for the grand jury to help that body fulfill its role in investigating violations of licensing laws and making recommendations for license denials. The lists show the names of licensees and types of licenses that included liquor, retail, ordinary, ferry, peddler, billiard table, stud horse, race course, oyster house, fish landing, and millinery. These license records span the years 1803 to 1887, with intermittent gaps, the most significant being between 1825 and 1856. The earlier documents expand the known license records of Prince George's County, that date from 1835. 

Liquor licenses seemed to provoke the most interest and activity, an issue still prevalent today. Periodically citizens filed petitions to protest the issuance of such licenses or to support worthy individuals. A grand jury report prepared in 1824 probably summarized the prevailing community sentiments. "[W]e have viewed with deep regret the many evils growing out of the numerous petty establishments throughout the county for selling spirituous liquors, either licensed or carried on in violation of the law, that we consider those places not only calculated to corrupt, demoralize and ruin those who frequent them, but also to annoy and 

injure the better part of the community and the Public at large, by the improper conduct of those notaries to drunkenness and blasphemy, as well as the improper traffic which is generally there carried on with slaves�." The jurors concluded with a list of recommended places for taverns. 

Other documents filed with the grand jury included a list of license fees to be collected by the sheriff for 1850, lists of supervisors of roads for 1804-1805, lists of constables for 1804-1805 and 1860-186l, and list of postmasters for 1843. The grand jury could present road supervisors for neglect of duty and needed the constables to report crimes occurring in their districts. Oftentimes the juries reviewed the operations themselves and alerted officials about their concerns. An 1854 grand jury report criticized the road maintenance system with its reliance on road supervisors as too expensive, but offered no suggestions for improvements.  Highlighted in 1881 was a situation whereby a county commissioners was being paid for the construction of a bridge, despite its incompletion two years later. 

An 1884 report notified the judges and court clerk about a persistent failure of constables to take the oath of office. The reason for finding a list of postmasters in the grand jury records is not readily apparent. 

Most of the routine reports on public facilities in Prince George's County date from 1859 and address conditions in the jail, almshouse, and courthouse. In 1865 the grand jury described the jail as "no security whatever for the safe keeping of any prisoner, and all the principal offenders for the last two or three years have invaribly [sic] escaped. " In 1864 the 
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GRAND JURY RECORDS
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General Assembly had authorized the county commissioners to rebuild the jail, a task apparently completed by 1870 when the jurors praised the conditions, but recommended the use of bedsteads or wooden floors instead of brick for sleeping arrangements. In 1882 the grand jury advocated the appointment of a committee of local citizens to periodically visit the jail and report its findings to the judges so that unsanitary and unsatisfactory conditions could be addressed more expeditiously. The circuit court judges did implement this policy. 

Apparently some parts of the courthouse lacked essential amenities. In 1860 the petit jurors complained about the room assigned to them and described it as lacking a fireplace, seats, and writing materials. 

Intermittently the grand jury reports contain presentments of criminal charges for 1804-1816 and 1831-1833. The documents provide the names of the indicted persons and informants, criminal charges, and dates of the offenses. In 1804 fifty-four charges were presented to the court. Twenty-five involved liquor license violations, mostly selling without a license, and fifteen were assault and battery allegations. In 1816 the number of  presentments remained about the same at fifty-nine, but largest categories were reversed with thirty-one assault and battery charges and thirteen liquor license violations. 

Researchers can endeavor to locate more information about specific presentments by using other Prince George's County records:  (Docket) in series C1203, (Minutes) in series C1265, and (Court Papers) in series T67. For the few cases tracked for this article only the dockets provided docu- mentation about subsequent court actions.  In 1805 John F. Bowie, Jr. was charged with killing Enoch  M. Lyles in a duel, and Michael Taney, Jr. and 


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RECORD TRANSFERS 

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, AA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES 
    (Adoption File) 1970-1994 [MSA T327] Restricted 
    (Foster Care File) 1974-1994 [MSA T328] Restricted 

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, BC DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES 
    (Adoption File) 1977-1992 [MSA T330] Restricted 
    (Child Protective Services File) 1990-1993 [MSA T3147] Restricted 
    (Foster Care File) 1993-1995 [MSA T329] Restricted 

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES DO DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES 
    (Adoption File) 1995 [MSA T2062] Restricted 
    (Foster Care File) 1995 [MSA T2063] Restricted 
    (Minutes of Local Board Conferences) 1930-1980 [MSA T3234] 

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES HA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES 
    (Adoption File) 1986-1994 [MSA T2286] Restricted 
    (Child Protective Services File) 1985-1990 [MSA T2287] Restricted 
    (Foster Care File) 1985-1989 [MSA T1586] Restricted 
    (Foster Home File) 1985-1989 [MSA T3222] Restricted 

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES PG DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES 
    (Foster Care File) 1998-1999 [MSA T332] Restricted 

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES TA DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES 
    (Foster Care File) 1998 [MSA T2135] Restricted 

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SERVICES 
    (Digital Orthophoto Quarter Quads, 3 Bands) 1996-2000 [MSA T2857] 

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