1631_______Kent Island settled by Virginians under William Claiborne. 
1633/11/22__The Ark and the Dove set sail from Cowes, England, for Maryland. 
1634/03/25__Landing of settlers at St. Clement's Island. 
1637_______St. Mary's County established. Called Potomac County from 1654-1658. 
1638_______Lord Baltimore gained firm control over Kent Island. 
1642/08/2___Kent County established. 
1648_______Kent County originally called Isle of Kent County. 
1650/04/29__Anne Arundel County established from the settlement called Providence. 
1650_______Calvert County established from Old Charles. Called Patuxent County from 1654-1658. 
1652/03/29__Parliamentary commissioners held jurisdiction over the colony. 
1653_______Kent Island population about 250. 
1654/10____ Southern boundary of Anne Arundel County set at Mr. Maishes Creek aka Oyster Creek
                      aka Fishing Creek. 
1657/11/30__Lord Baltimore's claim to Maryland reaffirmed. 
1658_______Settlements began on the Eastern Shore beyond Kent Island. 
1658_______Charles County established. 
1659_______Baltimore County established, with boundaries from Patapsco River to the Chester River. 
1659_______Baltimore County to include the area north and east of the Patapsco River. 
1660_______Kent Island population about 600. 
1662_______Talbot County established. 
1664_______Slavery sanctioned by law; slaves to serve for life. 
1666_______Somerset County established. 
1668_______Dorchester County established from Somerset and Talbot counties. 
1670_______Kent Island population about 650. 
1671_______Kent Island population about 1000. 
1671/06/21__Boundary change between Kent and Talbot counties. 
1674_______Southern boundary of Baltimore County defined as 2 miles south of the highest plantations
                      south side of Patapsco River. 
1674_______Cecil County established from Baltimore and Kent counties. 
1683/05/15__Headright system of land grants ended. 
1692-1715__Crown rule. Maryland governed as a royal colony rather than proprietary province. 
1692_______Church of England made the established church. Royal assent to Establishment Act given
                      in 1702. 
1694_______Capital of Maryland moved from St. Mary's City to Annapolis. 
1695_______Kent Island taken from Kent County and placed in Talbot County. 
1695_______Prince George's County established from Calvert and Charles counties. 
1698_______Boundary between Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties set generally along the divide
                      between the Magothy and Patapsco rivers. 
1706_______Queen Anne's County established from Dorchester, Kent, and Talbot  counties. 
1707_______Boundary between Kent and Cecil counties defined as the Sassafras River. 
1715_______Restoration of proprietary rights to Charles Calvert, 5th Lord Baltimore. 
 
 

1727/05/30__Boundary between Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties moved to south side of
                        Patapsco River. 
1732_______Establishment of Maryland boundary line with three lower counties of Pennsylvania, 
                        which later became Delaware. 
1742_______Worcester County established from Somerset County. 
1744/06/30__Indian Chiefs of the Six Nations relinquished by treaty all claims to land in colony. 
1748_______Frederick County established from Baltimore and Prince George's counties. 
1763-1767__  Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed Maryland-Pennsylvania boundary line. 
1773_______Caroline County established from Dorchester and Queen Anne's counties. 
1773_______Harford County established from Baltimore County. 
1776_______Montgomery County established from Frederick County. 
1776_______Washington County established from Frederick County. 
1776/11/8___First State Constitution adopted by Ninth Convention. 
1781/02/2___Property of Loyalists and British subjects confiscated. 
1789_______Allegany County established from Washington County. 
1791/12/19__ Maryland ceded land for District of Columbia. 
1796_______Baltimore City incorporated. 
1798-1799__  Election districts within the 19 existing counties first established. 
1824/02/24__Reestablishment of the boundary between Anne Arundel and Calvert counties. 
1836_______Carroll County established from Baltimore and Frederick counties. 
1838/10/3___Governor and state senators first elected by voters rather than by legislature. 
1851_______Baltimore City separated from Baltimore County for judicial purposes by the Constitution
                        of 1851. 
1851_______Howard County established from Howard District of Anne Arundel County. 
1864/11/1___Maryland slaves emancipated by Constitution of 1864. 
1867_______Wicomico County established from Somerset and Worcester counties. 
1872_______Garrett County established from Allegany County. 
1877/01/16__Maryland-Virginia boundary demarcated by Jenkins-Black Award. 
1906_______Precincts within election districts first established. 
 

SOURCES: 
Department of Legislative Reference, Library and Information Services Division, (Maryland: An Overview) 1992, MdHR 924115, L3861 
Mathews, Edward B., Counties of Maryland: Their Origin, Boundaries, and Election Districts (Maryland Geological Survey, 1907) 
Wilson, Donald L., Genealogical Research in Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Howard Counties, Maryland (July 1987) 
Maryland County Information
Archives of Maryland, Vol. LIV

WORCESTER COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT 

(Charter Record) 1896-1993 [MSA T3535] 
(Civil Docket) 1947-1964 [MSA T3536] 
(Civil Papers) 1947-1958 [MSA T3579] 
(Court Docket) 1818-1984 [MSA T3538] 
(Court Docket, Index) 1810-1922
   [MSA  T3539] 
(Criminal Docket) 1947-1961 [MSA T3540] 
(Declaration of Intention) 1910-1914 
   [MSA T3591] 
(Equity Docket) 1815-1986 [MSA T3542] 
(Equity Docket, Index) 1908-1945 
   [MSA T3543]