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ROADS IN QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY, 1709-1765
by Pat Melville
As with previous counties, information about roads in
Queen Anne's County appear as short entries in the court
minutes, recorded in (Judgment Record) in series C1416.
The earliest extant minutes date from 1709, three years
after the county was established. The (Judgment Record)
contains the administrative and judicial minutes and the
recorded criminal and civil proceedings of the county
court. Images of the contents of the first book in the
series, ET B, 1709-1716, are available online as part of
plats.net for Queen Anne's County. That record plus four
others were surveyed for the types of road information
found within the minutes.
In the first entries about roads, the court in November
1709 appointed three overseers of roads, including John
Pemberton for the area from the Talbot County line to
Edward Satterfoot's plantation, Maj. John Hawkins for the
area from Queens Town to Chester Church, and Thomas Fisher
for the area from Elizabeth Town to Tuckaho Bridge. The
earliest records showed the justices appointing overseers
whenever a vacancy occurred or new roads were established.
In 1710, only two new overseers were named, and they were
John Johnson for the road from Collins Mill over the head
of Double Creek Marsh and James Bennett for the rest of
the road to the head of the Chester River. In addition,
Bennett was directed to clear Rawlings Road from his
plantation to Nicholas Massey's.
By 1715, the clerk was recording many appointments of
overseers without a description of the area or road. The
entries for March 1715 listed Edmund Thomas replacing
Robert Walter, William Mounsier in place of Gilbert Tate,
and Thomas Hynson Wright in place of George Jackson. In
one instance a term of office was given. In June 1729, the
court appointed James Earle, Jr. as overseer for two
years.
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Provincial law required an annual compilation of public
roads and the one for Queen Anne's County first appeared
in March 1730. By the next decade, the list was being
recorded on the mandated annual basis. The records also
included the names of the overseers. The 1730 list
contained the following road and overseers:
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From Queens Town to Richard Bennett's plantation to
the wading place of Kent Island and back to Queens
Town. John Smith, overseer.
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From Queens Town to Wye Mill to William Coursey's
plantation back to Queens Town and from Arthur Emory's
to William Merson's plantation. William Dawson,
overseer.
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Lower Kent Island Hundred. James Hutchins,
overseer.
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From Collins Mill to White Marsh Branch. William
Burton, overseer.
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From Thomas Burk's plantation to the branch between
Solomon Yewell's and William Hemsley's plantations.
Thomas Routh, overseer.
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From the widow Mounsieur's plantation into the
Forrest, from Frenches Landing to the rolling road
into the Forrest, and from Coppinge's old field near
Red Lyon Branch to the Chappel in Red Lyon Forrest.
Daniel Newman, overseer.
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From Whittels Branch to the prize house opposite New
Town and to Augustine Thompson's plantation. John
Dempster, overseer.
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From Chester Mill to Wye Mill and from Thomas
Yewell's plantation to William Clayton's bridge.
Arthur Emory, Jr., overseer.
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From the main road at Thomas Punny's to the ferry
over the Chester River at Old Town to the road over
Elliots Branch to the road from Punny's to Collins
Mill and from that last mentioned road back to the
ferry. John Earle, overseer.
By 1741, the list of roads had grown to include
twenty-seven areas and remained at that level through at
least 1765.
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