THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Vol. 3, No. 1
3 January 1989
Record Series of the Week Ben Primer
Montgomery County:
(Marriage License Applications) 1886-1962 TRANSER 944
(Marriage License Record) 1939-1970 TRANSER 944 (currently inventoried as Marriage License Applications)
(Marriage Returns) 1865-1930, 1961-1963 TRANSER 943
As many of you know, until recently the Archives had no records relating to Montgomery County marriages except for a single film of transcript marriage licenses (1798-1839). The records above should help those seeking Montgomery marriage information. The (Marriage Returns) are minister's returns of marriage licenses with information recorded on the back as to minister's name, title, church, date and place of marriage, and names of parties. The front of the license records name, place of residence, age, race, marital status, occupation, place of birth and blood relationship (if any) of the two parties. The returns are currently in yearly bundles. 1865-1869 have been arranged by month, usually fewer than ten per month.
The (Marriage License Applications) provide the same information indicated above. They also
include the signature of the applicant and in many cases consent forms signed by parents are tipped into the books (thus providing the only information on parents in state marriage records). These books are individually indexed from 1902-1941.
The (Marriage License Record) uses a copy of the marriage license application with recorded information from the minister's return added below to serve as a marriage record. All of this series is indexed and parental permissions are sometimes attached to this record rather than to the license applications.
What should patrons do? If they are uncertain about dates and names,
they should probably go to the Montgomery County Circuit Court clerk. If
they have a good idea about dates, they should use the (Marriage Returns)
for 1865-1902, the (Marriage License Applications) for 1902-1939, and the
(Marriage License Record) for 1939-1970. If one of the parties is under
age (which varies over time for each sex), both the license applications
and the license record should be checked for parental consent forms between
1939 and 1962. Don't forget about the (Marriage Record, Index, Counties)
for the 1914-1930 period which is a fast way to look for a marriage in
that time period.
Index of the Week Pat Melville
Index to Chancery Depositions
Maryland Historical Magazine, Vol. XXIII, pp. 101-54, 197-242, 293-343, contains an "Index to Chancery Depositions, 1668-1789," by William Francis Cregar and Dr. Christopher Johnston. Another copy of the index is separately bound and appears in the library.
The index provides references to depositions that appear in government records and some manuscripts. The depositions have great potential as a genealogical resource because they give the ages of the deponents. Depositions may also contain information regarding occupation, residence, and familial relationships.
This deposition index is less than self explanatory. To begin with, the title chancery depositions is misleading. In addition to chancery records, the index contains references to civil proceedings, probate records, land records, council proceedings, and private manuscripts. The given date span, 1668-1789, should really be 1640-1796. The index entries resemble Hodges' marriage references in that the information may be erroneous, unclear, or enigmatic. Each entry may contain seven elements. First is the deponent's name; some names were incorrectly transcribed. Next appears, if known, the county of residence and occupation of the deponent and any familial relationships. Fifth, the age of the deponent is given, prefaced by aet., which is an abbreviation of aetatis which means of age. Sixth, the year of the deposition is provided. Seventh, the reference(s) is cited.
These references are often difficult to convert into the Archives' standard citations. References to county records are prefaced by the name of the county, then the volume citation and page number. References to provincial and state records include only a volume citation and page number; no indication of agency is given. Some references cannot be deciphered, at least at the present time. Sometimes the page number is incorrect. When this happens, one should check the page before or after the cited page. Usually the name can be found this way.
Listed below are the citations found in the depositions index, followed by the Archives' standard citation. The word unknown refers to the mysterious entries. The first group of citations is listed alphabetically by the index entry for provincial and state records; the second group alphabetically by county.
PROVINCIAL & STATE
Index Entry Citation [MSA Citation]
1774 - 1783 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 13]
1784 - 1786 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 14]
1787 - 1789 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 17]
MD Archives [Archives of Maryland]BB [Provincial Court (Judgment Record) BB]
BT 1 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 9]
BT 4 [Provincial Court (Land Records) BT 4]
BT I [Unknown]
CD [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 1]
Com. BK. M [Governor & Council (Proceedings) M]
Council Bk. 18 [Governor & Council (Proceedings) CB]
Council Bk. 20 [Governor & Council (Proceedings) CB]
Council Bk. M [Governor & Council (Proceedings) M]
DD 1 [Unknown]
DD 2 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 11]
DD J [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 10]
FF [Provincial Court (Judgment Record) FF]
Gray Papers [Unknown]
HD 2 [Governor & Council (Proceedings) HD 2]
Hill Papers [Unknown]
IR 1 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 4]
IR 2 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 5]
IR 3 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 6]
IR 4 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 7]
IR 5 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 8]
JJ [Provincial Court (Land Records) JJ]
LO ii [Land Office (Patent Record) 2]
MD Archives [Archives of Maryland]
MD Gazette [Maryland Gazette]
OK [Unknown]
Old Kent [Old Kent by George A. Hanson]
Original Papers [Unknown]
Parron Papers [Unknown]
P [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 2]
PCR (1658-1662) [Provincial Court (Judgment Record) S]
PL [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 3]
Rec. Lancr. Co., VA [Unknown]
Rec. Westmd. Co., VA [Unknown]
S [Provincial Court (Judgment Record) S]
SSH C [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 18]
Test. Proc. [Prerogative Court (Testamentary Proceedings)]
TL [Provincial Court (Land Records) TL 2]
VA Magazine [Virginia Magazine - not at MSA]
VA Mag of H & B [VA Mag. of History & Biography - not at MSA]
VD [Provincial Court (Judgment Record) VD 1]
Vestry Bk., PG Par [PG Parish (Vestry Minutes)]
Wills [Prerogative Court (Wills)]
WK 1 [Chancery Court (Chancery Record) 12]
WR [Provincial Court (Land Records) WRC 1]
COUNTY
AA IB 1 [AA Court (Land Commissions) IB 1]
AA IH 3 [AA Court (Land Records) IH 3]
AA IT 5 [AA Court (Land Records) IT 5]
AA RD 2 [AA Court (Land Records) RD 2]
BA AL C [BA Court (Land Records) AL C]
BA AL K [BA Court (Land Records) AL K]BA B L [BA Court (Land Records) B L ]
BA B O [BA Court (Land Records) B O]
BA B P [BA Court (Land Records) B P]
BA Court Record [BA Court (Proceedings) F 1]
BA HW 2 [BA Court (Land Records) HW 2]
BA HWS 2 [BA Court (Land Records) HWS 2]
BA HWS 3 [BA Court (Land Commissions) HWS 3]
BA HWS 4 [BA Court (Land Commissions) HWS 4]
BA IS G [BA Court (Land Records) IS G]
BA IS I [BA Court (Land Records) IS I]
BA Rec. [unknown]
BA Reserv. [unknown]
BA Resurvey [unknown]
BA TR A [BA Court (Land Records) TR A]
BA WG G [BA Court (Land Records) WG G]
BA WG Y [BA Court (Land Records) WG Y]
BA WG NN [BA Court (Land Records) WG NN]
BA WG 51 [BA Court (Land Records) WG 51]
BA Wills i [BA Register of Wills (Wills) 1]
CH i [CH Court (Court Record) A]
CH iv [CH Court (Court Record) E 1]
CH v [CH Court (Court Record) F 1]
CH vii [CH Court (Court Record) H 1]
CH viii [CH Court (Court Record) I 1]
CH ix [CH Court (Court Record) K 1]
CH xxii [CH Court (Court Record) A 2]
CH xxvi [CH Court (Court Record) Q 2]
CH xxxii [CH Court (Land Commissions) M 2]
CH xxxv [CH Court (Court Record) P 2]
CH xxxvi [CH Court (Court Record) Q 2]
CH xxxvii [CH Court (Court Record) R 2]
CH xxxviii [CH Court (Court Record) T 2]
CH xxxix [CH Court (Court Record) 1741-1744]
CH xl [CH Court (Court Record) Y 2]
CH xli [CH Court (Court Record) 1747-1748]
CH xlii [CH Court (Court Record) 1749-1750]
CH xlvii [CH Court (Court Record) B 3]
CH xlviii [CH Court (Court Record) D 3]
CH lix [CH Court (Court Record) P 3]
CH lx [CH Court (Court Record) Q 3]
CH A [CH Court (Court Record) A]
CH Index Book [unknown]
CH R [CH Court (Court Record) R]
DO O 2 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 2]
DO O 4 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 4]
DO O 5 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 5]
DO O 6 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 6]
DO O 8 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 8]
DO O 11 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 11]
DO O 14 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 14]
DO O 18 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 18]
DO O 20 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 20]
DO V 8 [DO Court (Land Records) Old 8]
FR H [FR Court (Land Records) H]KE x [KE Court (Land Records) JS 16]
KE xii [KE Court (Land Records) JS 22]
KE 13 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 23]
KE xiv [KE Court (Land Records) JS 24]
KE xv [KE Court (Land Records) JS 25]
KE xvi [KE Court (Land Records) JS 26]
KE xvii [KE Court (Land Records) JS 27]
KE xviii [KE Court (Land Records) JS 28]
KE xxi [KE Court (Land Records) DD 2]
KE xxii [KE Court (Land Records) DD 3]
KE xxiii [KE Court (Land Records) DD 4]
KE xxiv [KE Court (Land Records) DD5]
KE A [KE Court (Proceedings) A]
KE DD 1 [KE Court (Land Records) DD 1]
KE DD 2 [KE Court (Land Records) DD 2]
KE DD 4 [KE Court (Land Records) DD 4]
KE IS 10 [KE Court (Land Records) JS X]
KE JS 10 [KE Court (Land Records) JS X]
KE JS 16 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 16]
KE JS 18 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 18]
KE JS 22 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 22]
KE JS 23 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 23]
KE JS 25 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 25]
KE JS 26 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 26]
KE JS 28 [KE Court (Land Records) JS 28]
KE JS N [KE Court (Land Records) JS N]
KE JS NW [KE Court (Land Records) JS NW]
KE Lib. B, Court Proc. [KE Court (Proceedings) B]
KE M [KE Court (Land Records) M]
KE NW [KE Court (Land Records) NW]
KE Wills i [KE Register of Wills (Wills) 1]
PG AA [PG Court (Land Records) AA 2]
PG BB 1 [PG Court (Land Records) BB 1]
PG BB 2 [PG Court (Land Records) BB 2]
PG EE [PG Court (Land Records) EE]
PG M [PG Court (Land Records) M]
PG NN [PG Court (Land Records) NN]
PG PP [PG Court (Land Records) PP]
PG pp. [unknown]
PG Q [PG Court (Land Records) Q]
PG RB 2 [PG Court (Land Records) BB]
PG Rec. [unknown]
PG RR [PG Court (Land Records) RR]
PG T [PG Court (Land Records) T]
PG Y [PG Court (Land Records) Y]
QA RT 1 [QA Court (Land Commissions) RT 1]
QA RT 2 [QA Court (Land Commissions) RT 2]
QA RT 3 [QA Court (Land Commissions) RT 3]
SM Wills TA 1 [SM Register of Wills (Wills) TA 1]
TA Land Comms. [TA Court (Land Commissions)]
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Vol. 3, No. 2
9 January 1989
RECORD SERIES Robert A. Oszakiewski
Baltimore County Court (Convict Records) 1770-1774, 1783 COAGSER 309
Anne Arundel County Court (Convict Records) 1771-1775 COAGSER 57
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, British officials faced severe
overcrowding in prisons, particularly after the Jacobite rebellions of
1715 and 1745. Beginning with the reign of James I, the British began to
transport prisoners to colonies in the New World. At first, most went to
Jamaica and the West Indies, but very shortly convicts were sent to the
North American colonies, in particular Maryland and Virginia. While solving,
at least temporarily, the problem of what to do with a growing prison population,
transportation also presented the planter class with a source of fairly
cheap labor.
The exact number of convicts brought into Maryland between 1634 and
1775 is impossible to determine. Peter Wilson Coldham, in Bonded Passengers
to America, gives a figure of 50,000 convicts coming into Maryland. Basil
Sollers, "Transported Convict Laborers in Maryland during the Colonial
Period", (MHM, 2:17-47, 1907), suggests a much lower figure of between
three and twenty thousand. J. Thomas Scharf, in History of Maryland, estimates
"at least twenty thousand". Walsh and Fox indicate 12,600 convicts and
servants arrived between 1766 and 1775. Robert Hughes, in The Fatal Shore,
says 90,000 convict servants reached the American colonies between 1717
and 1776.
Once here, convict servants tended to run off, as evidenced by the numerous
advertisements in the Maryland Gazette for runaway convict servants and
by the frequent extensions of servitude found in various county court minutes.
What became of most of these prisoners once they had served their terms
is uncertain. One former convict, David Benfield, established a fairly
large medical practice; presumably most joined the laboring class or went
elsewhere.
While the large planter class, and after 1760 the owners of early Baltimore
County ironworks, welcomed the continued importation of convict labor,
the general reaction of small planters who could not easily afford convicts,
was strongly negative. As early as 1676, the General Assembly passed "An
Act against the importation of Convicted colonists" requiring ship masters
to give an oath that no servant on board was a convict. If there were a
convict on board, the Master of ship was ordered to transport him out of
the province or face a fine of 2000 pounds of tobacco. This law was overturned
by the British Attorney General and later laws, passed over the protest
of the large planters, seem to have had little or no effect.
These colonial laws became moot with Parliament's passage of 4 George
I C.XI to deal with the hundreds of prisoners already in British jails
and the hundreds more created by the failure of the Jacobite rebellion
of 1715. Noting the "great want of servants" in the colonies, the Act ordered
that anyone convicted in a British court of offenses within the benefit
of clergy (non-capital crimes) be transported for a term of seven years.
Those convicted of capital crimes and granted a commutation of sentence
would serve fourteen years.
This act brought protests by the colonists as reflected in a complaint
recorded in Provincial Court Judgments PL #7, noting that the convicts
already imported into the colony had "debauched a great number of formerly
innocent honest citizens and committed diverse...crimes very rarely known."
The economic and social effects of convicts on the colony, such as the
spread of diseases like typhus, were also enumerated. This protest ordered
the sheriffs of the counties to lock up all convicts in county jails until
their masters were able to give security in the sum of 30 pounds of tobacco.
Chapter 23 of 1728 noted that masters of ships were still neglecting to
bring transcripts of convict trials which were to be deposited with the
county clerks. Without these testimonials, disputes over convict's terms
of servitude frequently arose.
Chapter 22 of 1769 directed that, after 1 October 1770, that masters
of ships that brought convicts into Maryland deliver a certified transcript
of the conviction and related proceedings to the purchaser of the convict
servant, who would in turn deliver it to the clerk of the court of the
county the purchaser lived in. The clerk would then record the transcript
into a separate record kept for that purpose only, with the name of the
felon entered in an index in the volume. The clerk was subject to a ten
pound fine for every name omitted from this index. The Baltimore County
Convict record does not have such an index, either because one was not
created or was lost.
The convict records for Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties are similar
in their content, although with a few stylistic variations. Each gives
a brief transcript of the conviction and the transportation order. In the
transcript the name of the felon, both actual and any aliases, are given,
along with the name of the presiding judge, and the court where the trial
was held. The name of the London merchant who was granted the monopoly
for transporting convicts to America by the British Treasury Office is
also given.
The outbreak of the American Revolution did not bring an end to the
transportation of convicts to America. A final shipload of convicts arrived
in Baltimore in 1783. The convicts sold at that time are recorded in the
Baltimore County Convict Record. A second shipload of British convicts
arrived in Baltimore later that year but this time was turned away. The
transportation of convicts continued to be a concern of the early national
government. A congressional resolution of 16 September 1788 urged the states
to pass laws to prevent the transportation of convicts to the United States.
Chapter 138 of 1809 finally made the importation of convicts into Maryland
illegal, with the captain of the ship bringing a convict subject to a one-
to five-year prison term. By this point, the Australian penal colonies
had been founded, providing a place for British prisons to send their excess
populations.
There are several other records that hold information regarding convicts
in colonial Maryland. Provincial Court (Land Record) PL #5 has a listing
of convicts brought over on the Goodwill, noting that 19 convicts died
in transit. Provincial Court (Land Record) TP #4 contains a similar list,
giving the name of the convict servant, the purchaser, and the date of
the sale. Both of these references may be found in Index 137. References
to convicts being bought and sold may be found in Anne Arundel and Baltimore
county land records, often giving a value for a particular convict. A brief
survey of Queen Anne's, Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Cecil county court
minutes and proceedings found several references to convict servants being
recorded as belonging to a particular owner or having their time of servitude
extended.
There is also a Talbot County (Convict Record) 1727-1733 COAGSER 1855,
but this is actually a criminal record, recording the names of individuals
charged with and paying fines for fornication.
There are several ways for a researcher to gain access to the records
discussed in this article. Index 78, Anne Arundel County Convict Records
Index 1771-1775, indexes the one volume of Anne Arundel Convict Records.
Indexes 70 and 74, to Anne Arundel County Land Records Miscellany, have
several references to convicts and convict servants. A brief survey of
other county land record indexes did not reveal any references to convicts
or convict servants. Index 137, Provincial and General Court Deeds, General
Index 1658-1815, and Index 136, Provincial Court Judgments Index to Plaintiffs,
1658-1778, reference convicts, convict servants, Jacobite rebels, and individual
convicts names. Index 106, Maryland Gazette
Annapolis Items Index 1745-1820 specifies several convict ships, convict
servants, and runaway convict servants, and may be of use as a starting
point. Further lists of convict servants may be found in J. Thomas Scharf
History of Maryland, Vol. I, pages 384-386, listing Scottish rebels brought
over on the ship Friendship, as well as giving the name of the purchasers.
Frank White published a list of convicts in Maryland Historical Magazine,
43: 55-60, 1948. A patron may also be directed to Peter Wilson Coldham's
Bonded Passengers to America, Volume I which discusses the history of transportation
to the American colonies, and the British laws which established it.
These records would be of most use and interest to the genealogists,
but they would also be of use to researchers looking at legal-social history.
Index of the Week Ben Primer
Index 78 - Anne Arundel County (Convict Record-Index) 1771-1775
This is a name index to the convict record described above. The index
is arranged alphabetically by name, and includes not only the names of
convicts, but also of court officials (judges, clerks, justices of the
peace) involved in the transport and of Maryland planters purchasing the
convicts. The index gives the date of the order to transport and the place
the order was issued as well as the page citation in the record book.
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Ben Primer
D103 - Bowie Family Papers (1683-1929) [includes D79]
G1011 - Oden Bowie Papers (1859-1872)
The Bowie Family Papers, the gift of Mrs. W. Booth Bowie in 1938, are
principally the private papers (largely business) of Col. William Duckett
Bowie (1803-1873). The items from 1683-1830 are related to land transactions
(patents, deeds, surveys, leases, mortgages, land commissions, judgments)
or probate (including the Belt, Bowie, Duckett, Duvall, Odell, Tyler and
Waters families). After 1830, the collection consists of correspondence,
mostly regarding business affairs) [2 boxes, 1 oversize box], cancelled
checks (1834-1864) [1 box] and receipts (1796-1874) [2 boxes].
The strength of this collection is its focus on the business management
of an antebellum plantation in Prince George's County. There is information
on tobacco and wheat cultivation and sale, horse training and racing, slavery
(sales, runaways, whippings-including one death) and on the socio-economic
role of landed gentry in that time. There is an account book for 1805-1822
[probably of Bowie's father William Bowie (of Walter)], letters from Bowie's
son, Oden, written from Mexico during the Mexican War, and information
on sales of pews to support a new building for Queen Anne Parish. Also
of interest are a speech on secret societies by Benjamin G. Harris, handbills
on saddlers, magazines and the Union Ticket, an annual report of the House
of Refuge and information on Maryland soils and guano (including tables
of quality issued by the Office of State Inspector of Guano). Financial
records include information on the Patapsco Female Institute and St. Mary's
College of Baltimore.
The Oden Bowie (1826-1894) Papers, given by Secretary of State Oden
Bowie in 1977, relate principally to Bowie's service as director and president
of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. Two volumes of "Executive Proceedings"
from Bowie's term as governor (1869-1872) are volumes missing from the
Governor (Minutes), STAGSER 1074. For more information on Oden Bowie see
Frank. F. White, Jr., The Governors of Maryland 1777-1970.
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Record Series of the Week Ben Primer
ADJUTANT GENERAL (Enrollment Record)
1862-1864 STAGSER 352
This series encompasses two separate enrollments for the draft in 1862
and in 1864. Every able-bodied male citizen between the ages of 18 and
45 was enrolled for the draft. Those 20-45 were liable for the draft, but
one could volunteer between the ages of 18 and 55, and 16-17 year-olds
could volunteer with parental consent.
The records are arranged first by county, then by year of enrollment
and finally by enrollment district. For the 1862 enrollment, the enrollment
district corresponds with the county election district. For Baltimore City
enrollment districts follow Ward and Precinct boundaries, one district
per precinct. For many counties (AL, BA, CA, CH, DO, HA, MO, PG, TA) there
are surgeon's exemptions for the 1862 draft. For other counties (BA, CR,
FR, TA) there are exemption books for foreigners (including country of
origin) and for reasons of age as well as medical causes. For BA there
is a list of draftees for 1862.
For the 1864 enrollment the county divisions are by military districts
which include several election districts, but these reports almost always
distinguish between election districts. For Baltimore City there is generally
an enrollment district return for each precinct which are combined into
a military district return for each ward. There may also be commander's
returns for each ward as well. Again the ward-level returns usually distinguish
between precincts.
The 1862 enrollment, made under order of the War Department, is arranged
for each district by first letter of last name. It includes place of residence,
age, occupation and various remarks regarding current service in the military,
government, or essential occupation (fire, police, ambulance, etc. that
merited exemption), desertion to the Rebel army or fitness for service.
Names exempted for the draft for whatever reason (fathers of motherless
children, sons of aged/destitute parents, those supplying substitutes in
advance of the draft) are marked out. Those drafted generally have a red
D by their names. Some areas may not have been subject to the draft having
fulfilled their quota through volunteers who received bounties ($100 per
year of enlistment, paid in installments). Draftees did not receive bounties
nor did substitutes. In general substitutes could not be eligible for the
draft (i.e. they usually were aliens who had not made declarations of intention,
veterans, turncoat rebels or slaves of rebels). The draft was for one year.
The 1862 enrollment was used for a 100-day draft order issued by the
Governor in 1864. A list of those draftees may be found under (Draft Record).
Those who actually were drafted and subsequently not exempted for some
reason is found in the city and county lists of draftees which follow the
BC enrollments.
The 1864 enrollment, provided for under Chapter 284 of the 1864 Laws
of Maryland, includes the same information as in 1862, but those drafted
are not indicated in the individual enrollments. By this time virtually
all "hardship" exemptions were eliminated. Whether this enrollment was
actually used for the draft is uncertain since none of the draft records
refer to these enrollment books.
The fact that an individual was drafted does not prove service. The
1864 draft list, for instance, indicates many who either did not answer
the call or were found unfit for service for a variety of reasons. For
1862 the actual service of draftees is unclear.
Beyond its obvious usefulness in providing information about adult males
during this time (especially about their military service and loyalty),
the two enrollments would seem an excellent means to find adult males in
the 1860 and 1870 census since the names here are arranged roughly in alphabetical
order. The 1864 enrollments group virtually everyone in a county or ward
into a single book with election districts and precincts indicated which
should take the careful researcher to the right place in the census assuming
the individual did not move.
Index of the Week Ben Primer
Index 59 - Chancery Court (Chancery Records-Index) 1668-1807; 1817-1851
Chancery Court (Chancery Records) were first indexed by the Land Office
(1903-1910). It produced a 14-volume (Chancery Records, Index) which is
in the state agency series. This index covers the first 37 volumes of (Chancery
Records), running to 1797. Vowel indexes were prepared for each volume.
If errors are found in citations for these 37 volumes, a patron could be
referred to these original indexes.
Beginning in about 1936 and running at least through the 1950s, the
Land Office converted these volume indexes to cards and added cards for
volumes 38-69 and 105-180 [except for 127A&B which are (Appeal Bonds)].
Volumes 70-104 (1807-1817) have never been indexed. This is unfortunate
because the records contain cases for which we do not have original papers.
There is an index to case names in each of the unindexed volumes, however.
The index includes names of persons, ships, streets and tracts of land.
For many tracts the acreage is given. Names are somewhat problematic in
that there is no guarantee that all citations for a particular name are
for the same person. Similarly, the location (normally a county but often
city names and places out of state) given on the card may not be to all
citations on the card. Dates are also difficult; they may refer to the
date of the case itself, but they may also refer to the date of the document
which is being presented as an exhibit in the chancery case a number of
years later. Finally the reference itself is troubling. The early cards
indicate chancery volume numbers in parentheses followed by the liber number
(clerk's initials and number). Later references are indicated by the B
(for Book?) citation.
Most citations give some information about the nature of the record
itself: petitioner, complainant; defendant; commissioner; public office
(e.g. sheriff, justice of the peace); witness; creditor; debtor; trustee;
marriages; deaths; guardianships; appraisals, accounts, depositions, subpoenas;
bills; land transactions; sales; contracts; etc.
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Record Series of the Week Ben Primer
Adjutant General (Descriptive Roll) STAGSER 325
The (Descriptive Roll), sometimes referred to as the Company Descriptive
Book, is a bound company level record kept by the company clerk regarding
the roster of the company. The books include lists of officers and non-commissioned
officers including date of appointment, rank and changes in status; lists
of transfers, discharges, deaths and desertions for the unit with detail
about each; and descriptive rolls for all enlistees including age, height,
complexion, color of eves and hair, place of birth (town or county), occupation,
date, place and length of enlistment, enlisting agent and remarks (generally
regarding previous enlistments, desertions, transfers, discharges or deaths).
The Archives has only two of these volumes (most presumably are at the
National Archives) for companies A and F of the Purnell Legion (1861-1864).
Recruited for three years by William H. Purnell, Baltimore City postmaster,
in the fall of 1861 at the Pikesville Arsenal, the legion was a combined
arms force including nine companies of infantry, two companies of cavalry
and two batteries of light artillery. When Purnell resigned in February
1862, the combined arms legion was dissolved and separate infantry, cavalry
and light artillery units resulted. Company A was recruited in Baltimore
City; Company F in Baltimore County.
While these are the only roll books we have, please remember that there
are descriptive rolls and other company level papers providing similar
kinds of information that may be found in (Civil War Muster Rolls and Service
Records).
SERENDIPITOUS NEWS
Susan Cummings reports that there is a List of Taxables for Baltimore
County in the (Proceedings) for 1692 which is arranged by hundred. The
citation is Liber F, folio 225.
Index of the Week Ben Primer
Index 60 - Chancery Court (Chancery Papers - Index to Litigant Names)
1713-1851
Index 60 provides access to names of all litigants (individual and corporate)
in the Chancery Papers. The papers begin as early as 1713 (based on information
in the 4000 papers already entered into dBase for the Chancery Papers Project),
although there are few before the Revolution.
The litigant's surname appears at the top center of each card. Names
are grouped (e.g. Allen, Allan, Allyn will all appear on the same card).
Below the surname are four columns of information. Column 1 sometimes provides
given names for the two parties. It also indicates cases involving estates
and insolvent debtors, usually with the county involved. Column 2 provides
the surname of the second party, except for cases involving estates and
debtors in which case this column provides the first name of the part.
These first names are found among the E's for estates and the P's (petitioner)
for the insolvent debtors. The third column provides the case number. Column
four indicates where the papers are recorded in the (Chancery Record).
Most citations indicate that papers are not recorded, but my random sample
indicates that a number of these are indeed recorded, so patrons should
be advised to consult Index 59 if they are interested in the recorded copy
(which is on film and usually easier to read). I cannot attest to the completeness
of recorded cases.
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Index of the Week Ben Primer
Index 61 - Chancery Court (Chancery Papers-Index to Tracts) 1713-1851.
Includes Tracts in Chancery Records for 1790-1799.
Index 61 is an alphabetical index to tract names found in the Chancery
Papers. The typical citation includes the county and case number(s).
Most tracts found in (Chancery Records) are indexed in Index 59. For
some unknown reason, tracts found in Volumes 19-37 (1790-1799) of the (Chancery
Records) have been filed in this index. There are also a few anomalous
entries outside of the date span.
The general rule for tracts in (Chancery Records) then is that one should
consult both Index 59 [1668-1790; 1799-1807; 1817-1851] and Index 61 [1790-1799].
Library Libations Ben Primer
Richard assigned me a letter which required use of the
Benson tract maps for Somerset (G1427-499) and Worcester (G1427-437) counties
[both available on film M-1018]. After spending a good half hour looking
for tracts on the 40-50 tissue paper maps in the collection, which are
getting torn through regular use, I finally located two of the five tracts.
I mentioned the difficulty of using these to Doug, and
he told me about three new volumes in the library [2/1/1] by Ruth Dryden
on the land records of Somerset, Worcester and Wicomico counties to 1810.
Dryden uses the present location of the land as her county designation.
Using patents, land records, wills, tax lists, rent rolls, the federal
census, atlases and printed sources, Dryden provides for each tract its
original patent information, its citation in Benson's tract maps, its rent
roll information, its transfers by sale, subdivision or will to 1810 (and
often beyond), its resurveys and who was assessed for it in 1783. Unfortunately
she provides only the year of the transaction, not a citation. The value
of land records for family history is readily apparent by looking at almost
any citation in these volumes.
Dryden provides useful hints about information found in
the records in her introduction. The books are arranged alphabetically
by tract name with an index to all individuals found in the back of the
book. The Somerset and Worcester volumes include reduced copies of the
Benson tract maps which some patrons may find difficult to read.
Given the condition of the Benson maps, Doug and Nancy
have decided to restrict their circulation. Patrons should be referred
to the Dryden volumes or the microfilm.
Index of the Week Ben Primer
Index 47 - Oaths of Fidelity Index, 1778
[Available on Microfilm M977-M979]
Oaths of Fidelity were taken before a magistrate in each
county by free males over the age of 18. Returns were made to the Governor
and Council and most returns are arranged by magistrate. In addition, some
returns are recorded in the records of the county courts as provided in
the law. For some unknown reason, the Baltimore County (Minutes) 1772-1781
list of those not signing the oath is included in this index. This single
item is arranged by hundred and includes only those in the Census of 1778
who did not take the oath. For more information on the oaths themselves
see Bulldog, Vol. 1, No. 10.
The index is arranged alphabetically by name. Cards provide
a county and a citation. Many of these records are indexed elsewhere, and
I have indicated those as follows: # - indexed in Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh,
Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and Church (2 vols.);
* - indexed in Margaret Roberts Hodges, Unpublished Revolutionary Records
of Maryland (vols. 3, 5, 6); @ - indexed in Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh and
Margaret Roberts Hodges, Revolutionary Records of Maryland-Part I; &
- indexed in Calendar of the Maryland State Papers: The Red Books; ^ -
indexed in Louise Joyner Hienton and Helen White Brown, 1778 Oaths of Fidelity,
Prince George's County, Maryland. All sources should be checked because
interpretations of names vary.
What Is in Index 47?
Anne Arundel County:
Maryland State Papers (Red Books) 19:83-84; 21:7; 22:1-5,
25-30. Returns for John Dorsey&, Thomas Dorsey&, Samuel Harrison&,
Samuel Harrison, Jr.&, Richard Harwood, Jr.&, Thomas Harwood&,
Samuel Lane&, Reuben Meriweather&|, Elijah Robosson&|, Thomas
Worthington of Nicholas&|
|Original returns for these are also found (but not indexed)
in AA (Oaths of Fidelity)
Baltimore County:
Governor and Council (Oaths of Fidelity). Returns for
James Buchanan*, Jesse Bussey [Dorsey?]*, James Calhoun*, Edward Cockey*,
Hercules Cowetenay [Courtney?]*, John Cradock*, Richard Cromwell*, Frederick
Decker*, John Hall*, John R. Holliday*, John Beale Howard*, Jeremiah Johnson*,
George Lindenberger*, William Lux*, John Merryman*, John Moale*, George
Gouldsmith Presbury*, Charles Ridgeley of William*, Benjamin Rogers*, Peter
Shepperd*, Robert Simmons*, Thomas Sollers*, William Spear*, Isaac Van
Bibber*
Baltimore County Court (Minutes) 1772-1781, Non-jurors
for the following hundreds: Back River Lower, Back River Upper, Baltimore
West, Deptford, Delaware, Gunpowder Upper, Middle River Lower, Middle River
Upper, Middlesix, Mine Run, North, Patapsco Upper, Pipe Creek, Soldiers
Delight, Westminster
Calvert County:
Governor and Council (Oaths of Fidelity). Returns for
William Allnut*, John Bond*, Samuel Chew*, Isaac Clare*, Charles Grahame*@,
William Ireland*, Richard Parran*, Daniel Rawlings*, W. Smith*
Caroline County:
Caroline County Court (Oaths of Fidelity). Indexed as
Land Records A. Returns for Charles Dickinson*, Henry Downes*, Matthew
Driver*, Thomas Hardcastle*, Peter Harrington*, William Harrington*, Thomas
Wynn Lookerman*, Richard Mason*, Nathaniel Potter*, Neal Price*, Peter
Richardson*, Benson Stainton*
Cecil County:
Cecil County Court (Oaths of Fidelity). Returns for Amos
Alexander|, Richard Bond|, Thomas Bouldin|, Joseph Gilpin|, Stephen Hyland|,
John Leach Knight|, Samuel Miller|, Tobias Rudulph|, John Dockery Thompson|,
John Ward Veazey|, John Ward [Veazey?]|
|Original returns for these are also found (but not indexed)
in Maryland State Papers (Series Z-Scharf Papers) available on microfilm
M-3218.
Charles County:
Maryland State Papers (Blue Books) 5:24, 27-38
Charles County Court (Oaths of Fidelity) X#3 [these are
indexed only if not found in (Blue Books)]. Returns for Joseph Anderson*,
Richard Barnes*, George Dent*, John Dent*, William Dent*, Samuel Hanson*,
Walter Hanson*, William Harrison*, Daniel Jennifer*, Walter Hanson Jennifer*,
John Lancaster*, John Parham*
Joshua Sanders*, Robert Young*
Dorchester County:
Governor and Council (Oaths of Fidelity). Returns for
John Dickinson, Thomas F. Eccleston*, William Ennalls*, Robert Harrison*,
Thomas Jones*, Benjamin Keene*, Henry Lake*, James Murray*, James Shaw*,
Frederick County:
Frederick County Court (Minutes) March 1778. Includes
only those signing oath after February 28, 1778 under provisions of revised
law.@
Harford County:
Governor and Council (Oaths of Fidelity). Returns for
Mordecai Amos*#, Robert T. Amoss*#, John Archer*#, William Bond*#, Aquila
Hall*#, Thomas Johnson*#, John Love*#, James McComas*#, Samuel Groome Osborne*#,
Aquila Paca*#, William Smithson*#, Abraham Whitaker*#
Montgomery County:
Governor and Council (Oaths of Fidelity). Returns for
Gerrard Briscoe*@, Edward Burgess*@, Oneas Campbell*@, William Deakins,
Jr.*@, Charles Jones*@, Samuel W. Magruder*@, Joseph Offutt*@, Richard
Thompson*@, Elisha Williams*@, Joseph Wilson*@, Thomas Sprigg Wootton*@
Prince Georges County:
Governor and Council (Oaths of Fidelity). Returns for
Joshua Beall#^, James Beck#^, Willaim Berry#^, Fielder Bowie#^, Thomas
Boyd#^, Thomas Clagett#^, David Craufurd#^, Thomas Gantt, Jr.#^, Benjamin
Hall#^, Richard Henderson#^, George Lee#^, Christopher Lowndes#^, William
Lyle, Jr.#^, Thomas Macgill#^, Alexander Howard Magruder#^, James Mullikin#^,
Truman Skinner#^, Osborn Sprigg#^, William Lock Weeks#^, Thomas Williams#^
Queen Anne's County:
Queen Anne's County Court (Oaths of Fidelity). Indexed
as Bonds, S.T.W.#1 Returns for James Bordley, W. Bruff, Charles Downes,
John Fisher, T. Johnson, James O'Bryon, Samuel Ridgaway, Jacob Ringgold,
Turbutt Wright
Somerset County:
Maryland State Papers (Blue Books) 5:17-23, 25. Returns
for John Span Conway, Gillis Polk, John Stewart, Joseph Venables, Peter
Waters, Levin Wilson, William Winder
Talbot County:
Maryland State Papers (Blue Books) 5:6-13. Returns for
Henry Banning*, John Brano(?)*, Joseph Bewley*, Jonathan Gibson*, Howes
Goldsborough*, Thomas Harrison*,
What's Not in Index 47, but indexed elsewhere and available
at the Maryland State Archives?
Not indexed here but indexed in the Chronicles of St.
Mary's, Volume 4, No. 7, pp. 40-47 are items in the Maryland State Papers
(Series Z-Scharf Papers). I could not locate these items in Scharf, but
they are on film, M-3218.
St. Mary's County:
Maryland State Papers (Series Z-Scharf Papers). Returns
for Robert Armstrong, Richard Barnes, Bennett Biscoe*, Ignatius Fenwick,
Jr., Vernon Hebb, John Ireland, Jeremiah Jordan, Henry Reeder, John Reeder,
John Shanks, Henry G. Sothoron, Jenifer Taylor, Henry Tubman, Robert Watts
The following items are indexed in Brumbaugh and Hodges,
Revolutionary Records of Maryland, Part I and in Hodges, Unpublished Revolutionary
Records. These are also in the Scharf Papers on M-3218.
Frederick County:
Maryland State Papers (Series Z-Scharf Papers). Returns
for John Lawrence@*
Washington County:
Maryland State Papers (Series Z-Scharf Papers). Returns
for John Barnes@*, Samuel Barrits@*, Andrew Bruce@*, Christopher Cross@*,
Joseph Chaplin@*, John Collars@*, Richard Davis@*, Samuel Hughes@*, Andrew
Rentch@*, Henry Schnebely@*, Joseph Sprigg@*, John Stull@*, William Yates@*
What's available, but not indexed?
The following are not indexed anywhere in Archives collections
as far as could be determined:
Cecil County:
Maryland State Papers (Series Z-Scharf Papers). See film
M-3218. Returns for John Cox, Samuel Glenn, Elihu Hall, Timothy Kirk, James
Maxwell, David Smith
Queen Anne's County:
Queen Anne's County Court (Oaths of Fidelity Certificates).
These are oaths taken after February 28, 1778.
Most of the printed sources cite other oaths taken by
public officials that may be found in Test Books, Court Minutes, the Maryland
State Papers and the Charf Papers which should not be overlooked. Remember
that public officials had to take the same oath before taking office.
See also the following:
Dieter Cunz, "The Baltimore Germans and the Oath of Allegiance
in 1778," in 25th Annual Report of the Society of the Germans in Maryland.
Richard A. Overfield, "A Patriot's Dilemma: The Treatment
of Passive Loyalists and Neutrals in Revolutionary Maryland," in Maryland
Historical Magazine, 68:140-159.
Albert Levin Richardson, "The Oath of Fidelity in Talbot
and Dorchester Counties," in Maryland Original Historical Research Society
of Baltimore Bulletin, No. 3, pp. 106-119.
Hester Dorsey Richardson, "The Oath of Allegiance in Maryland,
Compulsory Oath Not an Evidence of Patriotism," in Maryland Original Historical
Research Society of Baltimore Bulletin, No. 3, pp. 78-85.
Frank F. White, Jr., "The Oaths of Allegiance for St.
Mary's County, Maryland," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 41:69-74,
119-124.
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Record Series of the Week Ben Primer
Maryland's Revolutionary Bounty Lands
By Chapter 8 of the Laws of October 1777 the General Assembly
provided that a 50 acre bounty (plus cash, provisions, tax exemption, pardon
for crimes, and public assistance for family) would be given to any soldier
who enlisted and served three years (time of service if injured or killed)
in the Continental Army. Recruiting officers received either 100 or 50
acres if they enlisted 20 men by dates specified in the law.
The Assembly reserved lands for this purpose in Chapter
20 of the Laws of 1781. Not until 1787 did the legislature get around to
having the reserved lands surveyed by Francis Deakins. Deakins surveyed
4155 50 acre lots in Washington County (now Allegany and Garrett counties)
and identified 323 families already living on 636 of these lots.
Chapter 44 of the Laws of 1788 provided for appointment
of Commissioners to see to the distribution of the lots. The families already
settled on lots would be given preference for those if they paid a fair
market price set by the Commissioners. A land patent would issue for those
lands. Next the 2475 soldiers/recruiters or their heirs who had been declared
eligible by the Auditor General would be awarded lots southwest of a northeast
line running from the intersection of the Potomac and Savage Rivers to
the western Maryland border (all now in Garrett County). Lots northeast
of the river intersection to western boundary line would be distributed
to officers who were to receive four lots each to be contiguous if possible.
All other land (including leftover lots) could be patented according to
normal procedure. The plats and records of the Commissioners were to be
transferred to the Land Office. No patent was necessary for bounty lands,
and thus the lot ledgers became the official Land Office records of these
lands.
The Archives has the following records related to bounty
lands:
Governor and Council:
(Military Lots Ledger) A & B
This is Deakins description of the lots. Liber A includes
list of lands patented or warrants issued prior to the passage of the 1781
reservation of lands. Deakins' survey, which accompanied this ledger, is
available as MdHR G1427-793 [original]; MdHR G1427-773 [a photostat]; MdHR
G1427-900 [a modern version of Deakins map, undated]. The Deakins maps
were replaced in the 19th century under Chapter 322 of the Laws of 1874
and Chapter 18 of the Laws of 1896. One of these is available as MdHR G1427-394
and MdHR G1427-431 [both Allegany, the latter with modern tract names added]
which we sell in the lobby. Several 1935 plats based upon Deakins also
exist: MdHR G1427-382 [Garrett, also sold in the lobby and available on
photostat in MdHR G1427-609] and MdHR G1427-608 [mostly Allegany tracts].
(Settlers and Purchasers Lots)
Deakins' list of settlers and lots claimed by them. Together
with the ledgers they provide a reasonably good list of those who had settled
in what is now Allegany and Garrett counties by 1788.
Commissioners for Reserve Land Westward of Fort Cumberland:
(Settlers and Purchasers Lots) pp. 1-86
1789 list of settlers entitled to preemption of lots and
lot value.
(Bounty Land Soldiers)
A rough alphabetical list of officers with their rank
and lots assigned by lottery followed by a rough alphabetical list of soldiers
with their rank, regiment and lot assigned. This is the list most often
sought to prove Revolutionary War service.
Land Office:
(Military Lots Ledger)
Deakins' ledger A with subsequent land transactions related
to the lots (1788-1851) and ledger B with same (1788-1867).
(Settlers and Purchasers Lots)
Pp. 1-86 (1789-1867) has subsequent land transactions
related to lands of settlers entitled to preemptions
Pp. 87-89 (1793) is a list from the Treasurer of the Western
Shore of those entitled to preemptions who actually purchased lots.
Pp. 91-100 (1793-1891) is a list of lots retained and
sold by the state [presumably leftover lots] and subsequent land transactions
on those lots.
(Lots Westward of Fort Cumberland)
1793-1903 ledger arranged by lot number indicating to
whom the lot was originally granted or sold and subsequent information
on escheats and patents. It is similar to the ledgers but without the metes
and bounds description available there.
For more information on these lots see John Kilty, The
Land-Holder's Assistant and Land-Office Guide (1808), pp. 342-350 and John
M. Brewer and Lewis Mayer, The Law and Rules of the Land Office, Chapter
8. The latter includes the bounty land soldiers plus an alphabetical list
of patents created from the military lots (both by those entitled to preemption
and by subsequent purchasers).
SERENDIPITOUS NEWS
A patron recently pointed out that the 1830 United States
Census does not include Montgomery or Prince Georges counties.
Chris Allan reports that the Oaths of Fidelity in the
Scharf Papers are still at the Maryland Historical Society. We borrowed
them to film a few years back which explains our film of these. He says
they are indexed at the Society.
Index of the Week Ben Primer
Index 46 - (Census Index), 1776 and 1778
This is an index to the Censuses of 1776 and 1778 (see
Bulldog, Vol. 1, Nos. 8-9 for details on these series. As far as can be
determined, the only Census of 1776 record not indexed is Middlesex Hundred
for Baltimore County which is in the Scharf Papers. The names of individuals
found in the Baltimore County census who did not take the oath of fidelity
in 1778 may be found in Index 47, not here.
The index is arranged alphabetically by name and includes
race if given, county, hundred and a citation. Hundreds/parishes listed
below are indexed. Those indicated by an asterisk are also indexed in Gaius
Marcus Brumbaugh, Maryland Records: Colonial, Revolutionary, County and
Church (2 vols.)
Council of Safety (Census of 1776):
AA - All Hallows*, St. James*
BA - Deptford
CA - Bridge Town*
DO - Nantacoake*, Straight's*, Transquakin*
FR - Elizabeth*, Georgetown*, Lower Potomack*, Northwest*,
Sugarland*
HA - Broad Creek*, Bush River Lower*, Deer Creek Lower*,
Harford Lower*, Spesutia Lower*, Susquehannah*
PG - Prince George's*, St. John's*
QA - Town*, Upper-Kent Island*, Wye*
TA - Bay*, Mill*, Tuckahoe*
Caroline County (Census of 1778) [indexed as Land Records
A] - Bridgetown, Great Choptank, Tuckahoe
Charles County (Census of 1778) [indexed as X#3] - Benedict*,
Bridgetown*. Bryan Town*, Durham Lower*, Newport Lower*, Newport Upper*,
Pomonkey*, Port Tobacco East*, Port Tobacco Town*, Port Tobacco Upper*,
Port Tobacco West*, William and Mary Lower*, William and Mary Lower*
Queen Anne's County (Census of 1778) [indexed as Bonds
W.S.T.#1] - Chester, Island, Kent Island Lower, Kent Island Upper, Town,
Tuckahoe, Walsey, Worrell, Wye
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Phebe Jacobsen
McParlin Papers - G 595
Given to the Hall of Records in 1963 by Guy Weatherly,
archivist, the McParlin Papers can be roughly categorized into three groups
of records: papers of the Faris family, 1763-1818, papers of the William
McParlin family, 1799-1844 and finally, papers belonging to Dr. Thomas
A. McParlin, surgeon in the United States Army, 1846-1897.
The Faris family papers consist of leases and deeds pertaining
to part of Lot 61 in Annapolis and the folksy diary of the irascible Annapolis
innkeeper, watchmaker, portrait painter and jeweler, William Faris. Excerpts
from the diary, 1792 through much of 1804 are reprinted in the Maryland
Historical Magazine, 28 (1933). A photocopy of the original sheets for
those years and the original manuscript for 1803 is part of the McParlin
Collection. William Faris' Account Book, 1800-1804, and an arithmetic workbook
complete the first category.
William Faris (1728-1804) was born in London and came
to Annapolis about 1757. Within a few years he was running an inn, acting
as jeweler, was married and had sub-leased part of the St. Anne's glebe
land from William Reynold. This was the part of Lot 61 that bordered on
West Street and had been formerly occupied by a silversmith, William Philip
Syng of Philadelphia. By 1798, under Faris' occupation it consisted of
a one story brick house and outbuildings. Faris had four sons, but only
one, Charles, seems to have been interested in following his father's occupation
- the others went to sea. Charles and his father had two shops between
1792 and 1800. An entry in the 1799 diary says that "Charles arrived with
the boy," William McFarland [McParlin] born in County Down, Ireland. At
the instigation of their uncle, William and his two brothers left their
mother and sister in Ireland to find fortune in Philadelphia. It was William
who found his trade as an apprentice jeweler and watchmaker in Maryland's
capital.
Charles Faris died in 1800 and William Faris in 1804.
Before the year was passed William McParlin, with the approbation of the
widow Faris and daughters, succeeded to the Faris business. By 1817 McParlin
owned the house and land stretching over 111 feet on West Street, just
beyond the Circle. His place of business by 1810 was over the Farmers National
Bank where William Faris had formerly plied his trade. It was here that
Cassandra Hilleary Beall Woodward McParlin (1800-1865) of Prince George's
County, niece of William Faris' widow, and her husband William McParlin
raised their six children.
Thomas Andrew McParlin (1827-1897) was the first surviving
son and fourth child. He graduated from St. John's College and was a student
at the medical school of the University of Maryland. In 1847, during the
Mexican War he passed examination by the Medical Examining Board for the
U.S. Army. In the spring of 1848, he was contracted as assistant surgeon
for troops embarked for Vera Cruz. It is impossible to detail McParlin's
military career which spanned the continent before the "War of the Rebellion"
(his words) even began. He went from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, Arkansas,
Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, California, Oregon,
and Washington territory, stopping in almost every fort, camp and barracks
including most of Texas between 1850 and 1861. His services were largely
employed in fighting yellow fever, Asiatic cholera and smallpox among troops
and civilians alike, but he seemed to have time to enjoy the military social
life with those like Col. Robert E. Lee.
Army doctors also took on townspeople as private patients
in the areas where they were stationed. McParlin himself treated Kit Carson's
17 year old daughter and a "colored woman" in the service of Gen. Zackary
Taylor' daughter. While at Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1849-1850, McParlin
was present at an engagement with the Jiccarella-Apaches. (U.S. forces
led by Ambrose Burnside). In 1858 he was sent with New York troops to Walla
Walla in Washington territory where the Nez Perce and Spoken Indians were
creating disturbances and "remained on the Pacific coast" until 1861 when
he returned East. By 1861 he had married Alida Roca of Texas.
During the Civil War he served in Chicago organizing medical
supplies. He was transferred from Chicago to the Army of Virginia where
he served until September 1862. From that time until December 1863 he was
Medical Director of the U.S. General Hospitals in Annapolis at the Naval
Academy, St. John's and Annapolis Junction (Laurel). While there he treated
not only prisoners from Richmond and Andersonville but also the wounded
from Antietam and Gettysburg. It was from his comments on Annapolis that
I recall his description of one of his staff doctors from Germany insisting
on tents being placed on the banks of the Severn River so that convalescent
soldiers could recover more quickly from depression. After Annapolis he
was Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac until the end of the War.
According to McParlin, he was
largely responsible for creating a medical staff and organizing
facilities and supplies that moved quickly when demands of battle made
this a necessity. A letter signed by P.H.
Sheridan states that the system of "Hospitals established
by Dr. McParlin was admirable".
The bulk of the McParlin papers (over 500 folders) consists
of Thomas A. McParlin's letters to his mother and brother, his wife Alida,
and later to his daughters. He wrote as a proper Victorian son, father
and husband from every place his letters could be posted. After 1886, he
wrote to Alida, his eldest daughter who married a son of the de Elguera
family of Lima, Peru. There is no way to know how this large collection,
which also includes McParlin's medical notebook, his 1862 military notes,
his unpublished memoirs (1853-1891), military telegrams, photographs, his
commissions (1863-64), military maps and a U.S. Army Medical Director's
flag came to Mr. Weatherly. Undoubtedly they were saved by McParlin's daughter(s),
most probably Alida de Elguera.
Index of the Week Ben Primer
Index 65 - (Assessment of 1783 - Index to Property Owners),
1782-1783
This is an alphabetical index to names to all property
owners assessed. The index cards include county, hundred, names of tracts
of land and whether individuals were paupers or single males as provided
in the law.
The Archives has assessments for the following counties
and hundreds. Most of the originals are in the Scharf Papers, although
some are in the boxes of assessments at the end of the series.
AA - Annapolis, Broad Neck, Elkridge, Elkridge Landing,
Herring Creek, Huntington, Lyons Creek, Magothy, Middle Neck, Patapsco,
Patuxent, Road River, Severn, South River, Town Neck, Upper Fork and Bear
Ground, West River
BA - Back River Lower, Baltimore East, Delaware Lower
and Upper, Deptford, Gunpowder Upper, Middle River Lower, Middle River
Upper and Back River, Middlesex, Mine Run, North, Pipe Creek
CV - First, Second, Third Districts
CA - Lower Choptank, River, Upper Choptank Districts
CE - First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Districts
CH - First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh
Districts, both General and Land except for Sixth which is Land only
DO - Lower, Middle and Upper Districts, both General and
Land
HA - Broad Creek, Bush River Lower, Bush River Upper and
Eden, Deer Creek Lower, Deer Creek Middle, Deer Creek Upper, Gunpowder
Upper and Lower, Harford Lower, Harford Upper, Spesutia Lower, Spesutia
Upper, Susquehanna
KE - First (Lower Langford Bay and Eastern Neck), Second
(Chestertown and Upper Langford Bay), Third (Chester and Worten), Fourth
(Morgans Creek and Lower South Sassafras), Fifth Districts, both land and
property for each.
MO - Linganore and Sugar Loaf; Lower Newfoundland, Rock
Creek and North West (general and land); Middle Potomac, Lower Potomac
and Georgetown (general and land); Sugarland and Upper Potomac; Upper Newfoundland
and Seneca; Upper Potomac
QA - Corsica, Island, Tuckahoe (Wye and Tuckahoe Hundreds),
Upper (Eton and Chester Hundreds) Districts
SO - Dividing Creek, Great Annamessex, Little Annamessex,
Monokin, Monye, Nanticoke, Pocomoke, Princess Anne, Rewastico, Wicomico
TA - First (Bay and Mill), Second (Island, Tuckahoe and
Kings Creek), Third (Bolingbroke and Third Haven) Districts, both general
and land for each
WA - Cumberland and Upper Town; Fort Frederick, Linton,
Upper Antietam and Jerusalem; Lower Antietam and Sharpsburg; Marsh; Salisbury
and Conocheague; Wills Town, Sand Creek, Skipton, Murleys Run and Elizabeth
WO - Acquango, Boquenorton, Buckingham and Worcester,
Mattapox, Pitts Creek, Pocomoke, Queponco, Snow Hill, Wicomico
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Library Libations Doug McElrath
PRELIMINARY LIST OF PUBLISHED
SOURCES FOR LAND TRACT RESEARCH
The library is often a good place to start when a patron
asks, "How can I find the present location of this tract of land?" Few
published sources fully answer this question, but they can provide some
helpful shortcuts in the quest for Richardsonian perfection in land title
research. The following list is by no means complete; please let me know
when you come across titles that you find useful in this regard.
GENERAL GUIDES
Robert Barnes, "Land Records," Notebook of the Baltimore
County Genealogical Society, 4(June 1988): 1-3. [18-4-5]
Excellent bibliography that covers published sources for
patents, county land records, and assessments.
T.J. Gleason, Tracing the Ownership of Property in Baltimore
City: A Beginners Guide Baltimore: Society for the Preservation of Federal
Hill, 1970. [10-1-2]
Particularly useful for Baltimore City research. Includes
a glossary of frequently-used terms in land records.
Maryland Historical Trust, Researching Maryland Buildings,
(MHT Guides to Historic Preservation Activity, Guide No. 3), Annapolis:
Maryland Historical Trust, n.d. [5-4-3]
Helps the researcher interested in determining the age
of a building. Identifies the different types of records that aid in land
research.
STATEWIDE SOURCES
Jane Baldwin, Calendar of Maryland Colonial Wills, 8 Vols.,
Baltimore: Kohn & Pollock, 1904-1928. [REF A and 3-1-2]
Indexes all tracts named in Prerogative Court wills from
1635 to 1743.
COUNTY SOURCES
ALLEGANY
Margaret Durst Culper, Early Allegany County Records,
1877-1812 Volume II: Abstracts of Land Records-Deed Book A 1788-1795 and
Real Estate Tax Lists 1804-1812, Cumberland: Cresap Chapter NSDAR, 1966.
[3-1-1]
Index by proper names only, tract names mentioned in abstracts
and transcription of tax list.
Mrs. Jesse M. Kave et al., Allegany County, Maryland Records,
1795-1806 Volume V: Abstracts of Land Records, Deed Books B, C, D, Cumberland:
Cresap Chapter NSDAR, 1969. [3-1-1]
Indexed as above.
CALVERT
Ailene W. Hutchins, Calvert County, Maryland: Early Land
Records, Prince Frederick: The Author, 1982. [3-1-1]
Transcriptions of the General Court and Court of Appeals
land abstracts volumes. Indexed by both tract names and proper names.
Charles Francis Stein, A History of Calvert County, Maryland,
Baltimore: The Author, 1960, 1976. [REF D and 9-4-6]
Index includes tract names for land belonging to some
of the county's "great" families. Dust jacket has simple map showing general
location of some.
CAROLINE
Eleanor F. Horsey, Origins of Caroline County, Maryland
From Land Plats, Vols. 1 & 2, Denton: The Author, 1974, 1981. [9-4-6]
Numerous tract maps for specific localities. Volume I
has a chapter entitled, "The Land-Plat Method of Research." Only the index
to Vol. 2 includes tract names.
CECIL
Lorain Alexander et al., Land Patents of Cecil County,
Maryland, Silver Spring: Genealogical Society of Cecil County, 1986. [3-1-1]
In alphabetical order by tract name, provides citations
to patents and certificates of survey. Rumor has it, they are working on
a tract map too!
DORCHESTER
James A. McAllister, Jr., Abstracts from the Land Records
of Dorchester County, Maryland, 33 Vols. Cambridge: The Author, 1960-1975.
[10-4-3]
Indexed by tract names and proper names. Covers the years
1669 through 1860.
Calvin W. Mowbray, The Early Settlers of Dorchester County
and Their Lands, 2 Vols., The Author, 1981. [10-4-4]
Tract names indexed, some plats of individual tracts.
Entries include patent citations and subsequent ownership information from
rent rolls.
GARRETT
"Early Land Surveys and Patents in Garrett County, Maryland,"
Glades Star 1(June 1944) and following issues. [17-3-1]
No index and no apparent order.
PRINCE GEORGE'S
Louise Heinton, Prince George's Heritage, Baltimore: Maryland
Historical Society, 1972. [10-3-2]
Index includes tract names. In back is map showing location
of tracts patented before 1696.
ST. MARY'S
Russell R. Menard, "A Tract Map for St. Mary's County
in 1705," Chronicles of St. Mary's 21(May 1973):261-272 [17-2-5]
Map now in map collection. Article has list of tracts
arranged by hundred.
SOMERSET
Ruth T. Dryden, Land Records of Somerset County, Maryland,
San Diego: The Author, 1985. [3-1-1]
In alphabetical order by tract name, indexed by proper
names, Benson tract maps in appendix. Each entry provides a partial chain
of title showing changes in ownership.
TALBOT
R. Bernice Leonard, Talbot County, Maryland Land Records,
St. Michaels: The Author, 1987. [3-1-1]
Abstracts first two volumes of TA land records. Index
includes tract names.
WICOMICO
Ruth T. Dryden, Land Records of Wicomico County, Maryland
1666-1810, San Diego, The Author, 1988. [3-1-1]
Same as SO volume except there are no tract maps.
WORCESTER
Ruth T. Dryden, Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland
1666-1810, San Diego: The Author, 1987. [3-1-1]
Same format at SO volume.
Record Series of the Week Phebe Jacobsen
(Assessment of 1783)
Chapter 6 of the Laws of Maryland, November Session 1782,
titled an "Act to Raise Supplies for the year Seventeen Eighty Three,"
was only one in a series of supply acts enacted during the Revolution to
pay expenses of the military. The first of these, implemented in 1777,
radically altered the tax structure Maryland had used since its establishment.
Dr. Ronald Hoffman in A Spirit of Dissension explains:
Prior to 1776 two separate tax bases were employed in
Maryland. Land was the basis for Proprietary dues, while provincial and
county taxes were raised by poll tax.
The quitrent system had lined the pockets of the Calverts
and their agents who often charged owners more than four shillings per
hundred pounds. The provincial revenue officers and county officials who
collected sums from property owners sometimes also benefitted.
There was much dissension and debate during the first
year of the new government over taxes and legal tender. Under the proprietor,
all persons were taxed equally. In the Assessment of1783 not only did the
government issue paper money of little value, but persons in the new state
were to be assessed the actual value of their property. Moveover, "property"
by 1783 included not only land but also condition of the land and of "houses,
buildings and other improvements thereon," including "the circumstances
and advantages" of the land. All were to be valued according to rates of
other property within the same county.
Commissioners of the Tax were appointed by the legislature
for each county and they were carefully instructed. Guidelines for property
valuation was spelled out in the eleven printed pages of Kilty's Laws.
This tax extended to personal property such as slaves
according to age, black cattle, horses and even crops. Rates were set at
25 shillings per hundred pounds of property (real and personal) to be paid
in current (meaning Maryland paper) money. All persons who had property
not above 10 pounds in value were declared paupers and not taxed. Special
provision was made for debtors and creditors and close supervision was
required of all commissioners, clerks and collectors charged with management
of the law. All free, able bodied males between 21 and 50 who did not have
sufficient property to be taxed were nonetheless to be subject to a 15
shilling assessment. They were required to give security that they would
pay and hence single males can be identified in the assessment by the security
provided by another individual.
J. Thomas Scharf found these records valuable enough to
add them to his collection. Two decades ago the index to the "Assessment
of 1783" (See Bulldog, Vol. 3, No. 10) was made under the supervision of
a young graduate student, Gregory Stiverson, who had also realized the
continuing value of them.
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Library Libations Shashi Thapar
Periodical Source Index (PERSI) 1987, edited by Michael
B. Clegg and Curt B. Witcher. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Allen Public Library
Genealogy Department, 1988 [404; Loc: Reference before the family histories]
We have just received a copy of the Periodical Source
Index to help patrons find articles concerning family history, biographies,
military records, cemetery records, etc. This will be a helpful reference
tool for genealogists, family history researchers and the staff.
PERSI is a comprehensive index by place, subject and surname
to current genealogical and local history periodicals. It is divided into
five sections under United States places, families, Canadian places, other
foreign places and research methodology. This is an index of articles only.
SERENDIPITOUS NEWS
A few weeks ago the record series focused on (Enrollment
Record) for the civil war draft. Daniel D. Hartzler in Marylanders in the
Confederacy has indexed these for those listed as "gone South," "gone to
Dixie," or "in the rebel army." He does not give a full citation, nor have
all the records been indexed given my sampling of the work. He does provide
county information which should narrow the search through these books which
are arranged alphabetically by first letter of last name.
Bernie is in the process of accessioning the Washington
County birth and death records which recently were transferred to us. He
reports that these records (1898-1925) contain information on births and
deaths of people residing in Washington County as well as those who died
there. Deaths of Washington County residents that occur in Baltimore or
other counties (and even out of state) are recorded. There is also a volume
of disinterments which lists names and death dates back to 1797.
Vol. 3, No. 3
17 January 1989
Vol. 3, No. 4
23 January 1989
Vol. 3, No. 5
6 February 1989
Vol. 3, No. 6
13 February 1989
THE ARCHIVISTS' Bulldog
Vol. 3, No. 8
27 February 1989
Vol. 3, No. 9
6 March 1989
Vol. 3, No. 10
13 March 1989
Vol. 3, No. 11
20 March 1989
Vol. 3, No. 12
3 April 1989
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