COUNTY COURT PROCEEDINGS
                          SOMERSET COUNTY
    Liber B No. 1 The first book of Somerset court records, originally styled Liber A, is now
               called Liber B No. z. The recorded county court sessions began in December, 1665,
               with George Johnson as first clerk. A few months later, Johnson was superseded
               by the governor's appointee, Edmund Beauchamp. Johnson's court minutes probably
               are non-extant in their original state. The present liber was brought into service
               by Beauchamp, who copied Johnson's minutes into it, preceding his own records.
               Nearly all the contents of the liber are in Beauchamp's writing.
                The liber now embraces 150 pages of court records, pages of index thereto, and
                pages of segregated earmark records. There is no indication of missing folios
               bearing record matter. The court proceedings were entered by Beauchamp up to
               the session of September, 1668. For these he made an index of 390 items, which is
               not here reproduced. Coincident with the recording of the court minutes Beauchamp
               made a separate registry of livestock earmarks and brands, by reversing the liber
               and working forward from the lattermost pages. This registry he continued until
               1683. There still remained some small amount of blank space in the book, however,
               so that Clerk Alexander Hall, in 1717 1719 and again in 1722, was able to add about
               forty items to Beauchamp's earmarks. After that date the only record accretion
               was an entry of 1755 interpolated to supplement a former land transfer.


          [p. 1] 1665 The booke of Records for the County of Sommensett in the
                  Province of Maryland beginning the 1th daye of december
                 in the yeane of our Lord God 1665

                An order of Court the 11th of December 1665 Before mr Stephen
               Horsey Capt William Thorne mr William Stephens mr George
               Johnson mr John Winder mr James Jones mr Henry Boston:

                Thus Concluded tht Susana Brayfeeld is free from mr Randall
               Revell Likewise the said Brayfeeld is to serue the expiration of her
               flue yeares unto John Cooper

                Randall Revell against Susanna Brayfeeld in an action of the
               case the 11th december 1665

                Phillip Barre against William Furnis in an action of the Case
               the 1 1th december 1665 The same day a heareing was granted & the
               Attourney for the plantiff Patrick Fleman prayes a reference to the
               next courte

                John Johnson against Charles Ballard or Sarah Ballard in an ac
               tion of the Case the 11th december 1665 the same day a heareing was
               granted & William Wittfeeld in the behalf e of the aforesaid parties
               as from them prayed a reference