xxii                 Introduction.

             son or sons. He left no will, for his widow was appointed administratrix of
             his property and guardian of his heir. Part of the land he left was two thou
             sand or more acres on Patuxent River, known as Brooke Court Manor or
             Aquasco, and it was this Brooke Court Manor that caused Mrs. Letchworth so
             much delay and trouble. When, after her husband's death, she went up river
             to it, she found it occupied by Bernard Johnson, a Dutch or German cooper.
             She warned Johnson off the land, which he claimed to have bought from John
             Abington. He did not leave, so she went there again, about 1673 (post,
             p. 423), and took witnesses with her. She summoned Johnson to the house of
             William Mills, and there, before two witnesses, forwarned him off the land on
             which he lived, “that you may goe now prsently off from itt.” According to the
             testimony of one witness, Johnson delivered possession to Mrs. Letchworth,
             became her tenant for it, and agreed to pay her rent and to plant some trees on
             on it. This may or may not be the fact, but Johnson continued to trouble her
             about the land (for more light on Johnson's tenacity, see Johnson v. Abing
             ton, Archives LI, 521-526; ibid. LXVI, 389, 452). For that reason, she de
             cided to get a settlement of the matter by the Provincial Court. October 6, 1677,
             she leased the land of which she had title but no possession, to Edward Ball,
             Calvert County planter. By virtue of the lease “the said Edward unto the said
             Mannor Messuage & prmisses aforesaid entred & was in possession thereof”,
             when, on November 1, 1677, Bernard Johnson “into the said Mannor Messuage
             & prmisses... . . . entred, & him from his possessions thereof did eject & other
             harmes to him did”. For that damage to him and to the peace of the Proprie
             tary, Ball sued Johnson for 20,000 pounds of tobacco. Johnson appeared by
             his attorney Christopher Rousby, and asked for and got a continuance until
             next court. When, on June 18, 1678, the Court met again, Ball appeared by
             his attorney, Robert Carvile, “& offered himself agt the said Bernard Johnson
             in the plea aforesaid but the said Bernard although solemnly called came not but
             made default. . . .“ Then the Court restored to Ball the manor, messuage
             and land for the term of his demise. It awarded him damages also, but be
             cause it did not know the amount of the damage done, it gave him a writ of
             enquiry of damages, returnable next court. A look ahead into the proceedings
             of the next court shows (liber NN, ff. 727-728) that the sheriff of Calvert
             County reported on October 8, 1678, that he had given to Mrs. Letchworth
             quiet and lawful possession of the disputed land. However, her attorney,
             Robert Carvile, reported to the Court that same day that Johnson had forcibly
             reentered the land and had kept possession of the messuage and of the dwelling
             house. The Court ordered, October 14, 1678, that “any two of the Commis
             sionrs of the said County who live neer unto the said land by force compell &
             turn the said Bernard Johnson from off the said land, & repossess the said
             Elizabeth of the said land & Messuages according to law.” Later, on March
             12, 1678/9 the jury summoned to enquire into the damages due to Edward
             Ball, Mrs. Letchworth's lessee, because of the acts of Johnson, met according
             to summons, and set the amount at 2500 pounds of tobacco, with costs of 1942
             pounds (liber NN, if. 812-813). In June 1679, Johnson appeared in court and
             when Col. Henry Darnall consented that the judgment for 2500 pounds of