480                           THE COUNTIES OF MARYLAND

versie or dispute, It is by this board considered and Ordered that the Comrs
formerly appointed to lay out for the Indians seated upon the said River of
Nantecoke their Land assigned them by his Lsp: (viz:) Coll William Stevens,
Capt Henry Smith, Mr ffrancis Jenckins, and Capt David Browne of Sommer-
sett County, Majr Thomas Taylor; Mr Bartholomew Ennalls, and Mr Charles
Hutchins of Dorchester County, or any four or more of them (whereof the
said Coll William Stevens, and Majr Thomas Taylor to be alwaies One) be
and they are hereby authorised appointed and Empowered to consider and
enquire into the prmisses; soe as to ascertaine the said maine branch of
Nantecoke River and bounds between the sd Two Counties, which they are
required to certifie unto this board by the first day of the next Provinciall
Court for further approbation and confirmation thereof, to be recorded for the
true bounds aforesaid, and as such to continue and remaine to posterity.

This order, which established the southern boundary of the county as
it is, was reaffirmed by the Act of 1742, Chapter 19, when the line
between Somerset and Dorchester counties was said to be down the
river from Broad Creek to its mouth.

The creation of Queen Anne's County by the Acts of 1706, Chapter
3, which was passed on the 19th of April, 1706, modified the northern
boundary of Dorchester County after May 1, 1707 when the Act went
into effect. According to this Act it was definitely stated that Sharp's
Island belonged to Talbot and not to Dorchester County. The southern
boundary of Queen Anne's County was defined as follows:

" Bounded on the South with Talbot county, to Tuckahoe Bridge and from
thence with Tuckahoe Creek and Choptank River to the mouth of a branch
falling into the said river, called or known by the name of White Marble
branch and from thence in a northeast line to the extent of this province."

According to the phrasing of this Act Dorchester would lose all that
territory lying between White Marble branch and an easterly line drawn
from the head of Choptank River. Since most if not all of this little
strip was at this time actually in the possession of the Penns and since
the famous Chancery case between the proprietaries of Maryland and
Pennsylvania was at that time in Court in England the loss was more
apparent than real. A real curtailment of territory did, however, take
place in 1773.

A minor change in the Dorchester-Worcester line was made by the
General Assembly in 1750.³⁰

³⁰ Acts of 1750, Ch. 15.