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 with care, as the paper 
 is brittle. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028867475 
 
History 
 
 CECIL COUNTY, MARYLAND, 
 
 EARLY SETTLEMENTS AROUND THE HEAD OF 
 
 CHESAPEAKE BAY AND ON THE 
 
 DELAWARE RIVER, 
 
 SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE OLD FAMILIES 
 
 OIP CEGIXi GOTJ3SrT-2". 
 
 BY GEORGE JOHNSTON. 
 
 ELKTON : 
 
 Published by the Author. 
 1881. 
 
A 'Zn^^/ 
 
 
 
 Entered according to Act of (;)ongress in the year ISSl by George Johnston, 
 in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 
 
 DICKSON & GILLING, 
 
 PRINTERS, 
 
 27 AND 29 SOUTH SEVENTH ST., 
 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The author has no apology to offer for writing this book, 
 except this : that though certainly the second, and probably 
 the first settlement made in the State of Maryland, more 
 than two hundred and fifty years ago was within the limits 
 of Cecil County, no other person has seen fit to write its 
 history. For many years, indeed from the time the author 
 was a school-boy, he has wished for information concerning 
 the early history of this county ; and being unable to find it 
 elsewhere, sought for it among the early colonial records of 
 Pennsylvania and New York which have been published, 
 and among the dusty and dilapidated colonial records at 
 Annapolis. After a careful examination of these, and the 
 early land records of Cecil and Baltimore counties, and the 
 records of the Orphans' and Commissioners' court of the 
 former, he was fully convinced that sufficient material could 
 be obtained from which to compile a history of the county. 
 With this object in view the work was commenced. Subse- 
 quent investigation showed that the early history of the 
 settlements along the west bank of the Delaware River was 
 so closely blended with that of those around the head of 
 Chesapeake Bay that it was impossible to separate them 
 without destroying much of the interest of the narrative. 
 
 The author believing that others might wish to profit by 
 his efforts to inform himself, and acting upon the sugges- 
 tions of a few gentlemen whose judgment the public, did it 
 but know their names, would value as highly as the author 
 does their disinterested friendship, concluded after much 
 hesitation to embody the result of his labor in the work 
 which is now offered to the public. 
 
 (iii) 
 
IV 
 
 Of the manner in which the work has been done, the 
 reader must judge for himself. The author is painfully 
 conscious that it is far from being perfect. The loss of many 
 of the early colonial and county records and the miserably 
 dilapidated condition of many of those extant, have added 
 greatly to the difficulty and labor of the work, and made it 
 in some cases impossible to refer the reader to the sources 
 from which important information has been obtained. Not- 
 withstanding which, the author has quoted largely from 
 the archives of the State and county as well as from 
 the writings and correspondence of many persons mentioned 
 in the work, believing it better to do this than to obtrude 
 his own language and opinions upon his readers when it 
 could be avoided. He has aimed to be impartial and truth- 
 ful, and hopes if the following pages do not add much to the 
 general stock of information they may be the means of pre- 
 serving some portions of the history of the county, much 
 of which has been irretrievably lost. 
 
 The author takes this opportunity to thank the members 
 of the Elkton bar and ofBcers of the courts of Cecil and 
 New Castle counties, and the officers of the Historical Socie- 
 ties of Pennsylvania and Maryland, for the courtesy and 
 kindness shown him while engaged in his arduous and pro- 
 tracted labor. He also desires to acknowledge his indebted- 
 ness to the authors of the Historical Sketches of the Draw- 
 yers, "White Clay Creek, Pencader, Head of Christiana, Rock, 
 West Nottingham and Elkton Presbyterian churches, for 
 valuable information derived from them; and the Right 
 Reverend Bishop Lay, of the Diocese of Easton, for the use 
 of Rev. Ethan Allen's Manuscript History of the parishes in 
 this county ; and to Rev. E. K. Miller, rector of North Elk 
 Parish, and Rev. Charles P. Mallery, the author of an inter- 
 esting and valuable series of papers on Bohemia Manor, re- 
 cently published in the Cecil Democrat ; to whose efforts he is 
 indebted for much useful information. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 Captain John Smith, of Virginia, explores the navigable waters of 
 Cecil County— Smith's account of the Snsquehannock Indians — Otlier 
 Indian tribes in the upper part of the Peninsula— Their weapons and cul- 
 inary utensils Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 First English settlement on Watson's Island — Edward Palmer — "Wm. 
 Clayborne establishes a trading post on Watson's Island Page 7 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore — He is a member of the Vir- 
 ginia Company —Plants a colony in Newfoundland — Obtains a charter 
 for a colony in Maryland — Is succeeded by his son Cecil, who obtains 
 another charter — Extracts from the charter — The first colony under 
 Leonard Calvert settles at St. Maries — War with the Susquehannocks — 
 Treaty with them Page 11 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Early settlements on the Delaware — Henry Hudson — Captain Mey and 
 others — Names of the Delaware — Fort Nassau — Swanendale — Peter Min- 
 uit plants a Swedish colony at Wilmington — Port Cassimir — Peter 
 Stuyvesant conquers the Swedes Page 30 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 First permanent settlement in the county— Other settlements — 
 Spesutia Island — Trouble between the Dutch and English — Nathaniel 
 Utie — He is sent to New Amstel — Augustine Hermen and Resolved Wal- 
 dron visit. Maryland — Their meeting with the Governor and Council — 
 Account of the early life of Augnstine Hermen — His Map of Maryland — 
 Extracts from his will — He obtains a grant of Bohemia Manor and Mid- 
 dle Neck — Makes a treaty with the Indians at Spesutia Island — First 
 reference to Cecil County — Thompsontown — Indian forts Page 27 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Council of Maryland meet at Sjiesutia Island — Examination of persons 
 who had suffered from the depredations of Indians along the Delaware 
 River — Interesting correspondence between the Governor of Maryland 
 and Alexander D'Hinoyossa, Governor of New Amstel — The Council de- 
 clare war against the Susquehannocks — Instructions to Captain Odber — 
 
VI 
 
 Letter from D'Hinoyossa— Augustine Hermen tries to make peace be- 
 tween the Dutch and English— Council meets at Susciuehanna Point and 
 are shown the commission of Captain Neals recently arrived from Eng- 
 land —Many of the Swedes from Delaware settle in Sassafras Neck. 
 
 Page 42 
 
 CPIAPTEB VII. 
 
 Treaty with the Passagonke Indians at Appoquinimink — Copy of the 
 treaty — Scarcity of corn —Captain Odber gets into trouble — A cowardly 
 soldier— Trouble with the Senecas — Treaty with the Delaware Bay In- 
 dians — Capture of a Seneca Indian— Letter from the justices of Baltimore 
 County respecting the captive — Francis Wright and Jacob Clawson— Tor- 
 ture of an Indian prisoner —War with the Senecas —Another treaty with 
 the Sasqueliannocks — The Senecas attack the Susquehannock's fort at 
 Turkey Hill, Lancaster County, and are repulsed — End of the Susquu- 
 hannocks Page 55 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 Augustine Hermen and others naturalized — The Hacks — Hermen has 
 a disjjute with Simon Oversee —He tries to establish a village — Trouble 
 amoug the Dutch — Sir Robert Carr conquers them — The name of New 
 Amstel changed to New Castle — Account of D'Hinoyossa — Effort-s of the 
 Marylanders to extend their jurisdiction to the Delaware River — Durham 
 County — Road from Bohemia Manor to New Castle — Grant of St. Augus- 
 tine Manor — Ephraim George, and Casparus Hermen — Original limits of 
 Baltimore County — Erection of Cecil County — The first court-house at 
 Jamestown — Augustine Hermen and Jacob Young appointed commis- 
 sioners to treat wioh the Delaware Indians — Account of Jacob Young. 
 
 Page 71 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Labadists — Sluyter and Danckers — Their journal — They meet with 
 Ephraim George Hermen and wife — Visit New Castle and Bohemia 
 Manor — They go on down the Peninsula— Return and xjurchase the Labadie 
 tract on Bohemia Manor, and establish a community there — Description 
 of the Labadie tract and how they get it— Peter Bayard and others — 
 Description of the community on Bohemia Manor — Augustine Hermen's 
 quarrel with George Holland — Letto]' from Hermen — Hermen's patents 
 of confirmation— He obtains a patent for Jlisfortune, or the three Bohe- 
 mia Sisters -Extent of his possessions— He invests his son Ephraim George 
 with the right and title to Bohemia Manor — A curious deed — Augustine 
 Hermen's last will — His death and monumental stone— His place of 
 burial — Codicil to his last will — His daughters Fan-e 84 
 
vu 
 
 OHAPTER X. 
 
 Belaware granted toWilliam Penn— Death of Cecilius Calvert, who is suc- 
 ceeded by his son Charles— George Talbot— Obtains a patent for Susque- 
 hanna Manor— Its metes and bounds— Courts Baron and Courts Leet— The 
 name of Susquehanna Manor changed to New Connaught — Extent of 
 Connaught Manor— Talbot obtains a patent for Belleconnell - Belle Hill- 
 Talbot lays out New Munster— Makes a demand on William Penn for all 
 the land west of the Schuylkill and south of the fortieth degree of north 
 latitude— Runs a line from the mouth of the Octoraro to the mouth of 
 Naaman's Creek — Lord Baltimore visith England — Titlbot presides over 
 the council during his absence — Presides over the court of Cecil County 
 — Account of the court - Talbot makes a raid ou the settlers east of Iron 
 Hill — Builds and garri.sons a fort near Christiana bridge —Account of tlie 
 fort — Talbot's Rangers — Beacon Hill - Trouble about the collection of 
 the king's revenue— Talbot murders Rousby — Is carried prisoner to Vir- 
 ginia — Makes his escape — Returns to C^ccil County — Takes relugu in a 
 cave near Mount Ararat — Surrenders to the authorities of Maryland— Is 
 taken to Virginia by command of the King - Is tried and convicted of 
 miirder, but pardoned by the King — Returns to Cecil County and executes 
 a deed for Clayfall — Returns to Ireland— Enters the Irish brigade, and is 
 killed in the service of the King of France Page 109 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 New Munster— Its metes and bounds — The Alexanders — Society — Cecil 
 Manor — Charles Carroll — Fair Hill — The Scotch-Irish— Christiana Pres- 
 byterian Church — Rock Church — The English Revolution— Its effect on 
 the Colony of Maryland — Nottingham — The Nottingham Lots — Original 
 grantees — Reasons why the grant was made — The first Friends' meeting- 
 house — The Little Brick or Nottingham Friends' meeting-house— Pop- 
 pemetto — West Nottingham Presbyterian Church — Treaty with the 
 Conestoga Indians— Thomas Chalkley visits them — Account of some of 
 the first settlers of Nottingham — The Welsh tract — Its boundaries— The 
 Baptist church on Iron Hill — The Pencader Presbyterian Church — Rev. 
 David Evans — Rev. Samuel Davies — Iron Hill Page 133 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Characteristics of the early settlers — Augustine Hermen succeeded by liis 
 son Casparus — Account of Casparus Hermen— Farms on Bohemia Manor 
 — Death of Caspams Hermen — Succeeded by his son Ephraim Augustine 
 — Sketch of Ephraim Augustine Hermen — His wives and children— John 
 Lawson marries Mary Hermen — Peter Bouchell marries Cathaiine Her- 
 men — Peter Lawson — Catharine (Herman) Bouchell — Her death — Joseph 
 Plnsor — Quarrel about the possession of Bohemia Manor — Joseph Ensor, 
 Jr. — Division of Bohemia Manor— Death of Peter Lawson Page 169 
 
Vlll 
 
 CHAPTER Xm. 
 
 The Van Bibbers — They settle on Bohemia Manor — Their mill — John 
 Jawert marries Casparus Hermen's wido-w — Keeps Elk Ferry — Wild 
 stock — Rangers — Collection of the King's revenue — Wild animals — 
 Trade with England— Bill of lading— Slave trade— The Jesuit mission 
 at Bohemia — The Cross Paths — James Heath, the founder of Warwick — 
 Bohemia a port of entry — Ancient cross — Father Mansell — Peter Atwood 
 and other Jesuits — The Jesuit school — Efforts to suppress the Jesuit 
 mission — Labors of the Jesuit Fathers Page 18G 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 First Friends' meeting-house — First Episcopal minister — North and 
 South Sassafras parishes — First vestrymen — Population — Curious lot of 
 church property — First Episcopal Church — Chapel of Ease in Elk Neck 
 — Shrewsbury parish — Rev. Hugh Jones — Chapel on Bohemia Manor — 
 Sketch of Rev. Hugh Jones — North Elk parish — First vestrymen — 
 Richard Dobson — John Hamm — Rev. Walter Ross — Chapel near Battle 
 Swamp — Rev. William Wye — St. Mary Ann's Church, North East — Taring 
 the Church — Death of Rev. Mr. Wye — Rev. John Bradford — Rev. John 
 Hamilton — Clayfall Page 205 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 William Dare — Bulls Mountain — "Friendship" — Old Simon — Trans- 
 town — Ye Swedestown — John Hans Stillman — Smith's mill at Head of 
 Elk — The Jacobs family — Henry Hollingsworth — Quarrel about New- 
 Munstor road — Bridges over the head of Elk River — Road from head of 
 Elk to New Castle — Sketch of Hollingsworth family — Noi-th East — First 
 iron w(jrks — Roads leading to North East — Principle Iron Company — 
 Samuel Gilpin settles at Gilpin's Rocks — William Black's account of 
 North East — Immigration — Character of immigrants — Susquehanna ferry 
 — Road from ferry to Philadelphia Page 333 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Hundreds — Hotels — Charles Rumsey — Trials by jury — The Justices' 
 court — Rules of the court — Removal of county seat from Jamestown 
 to ( 'ourt-liouse Point — Court-house and jail — Town at Court-house Point — 
 Elk ferry traditions — Quarrel among the justices of the court — The 
 lawyers Page 240 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Efforts to establish towns — Ceciltown, at mouth of Scotchman's Creek 
 — Fredericktown — Georgetown — The Acadians or French Neutrals — Ac- 
 count of tliera — They are sent to Louisiana and Canada — Reasons for 
 building Charlcstown — Its location — Public wharf and warehouse — Its 
 exports — Fairs — Introduction of tea and coflfee — History of (^harlestown 
 — Population by census of 1880 Page 2.53 
 
IX 
 
 CHAPTER XVni. 
 
 Presbyterian Church at Bethel — Visit of Rev. George Whiteiield — 
 Preaches at Elkton and on Bohemia Manor — Presbyterian Church at Elk- 
 ton — Disruption of Nottingham Presbyterian Church — Rev. Samuel Finley 
 — Nottingham Academy — The Free School on Bohemia River — Rev. John 
 Beard — The present church buildings — Name changed to Ephesus — Rev. 
 James Magraw — Revival of Nottingham Academy — The Rock Presbyte- 
 rian Church — Disruption — Rev. James Finley — Murder of Hugh Mahaflfey 
 — Rev. James Finley goes West — Present church buildings — Rev. John 
 Burton — Rev. Francis Hindman — Lotteries for church purposes — Man- 
 ners, customs and character of the early Presbyterians — The Alexanders, 
 and other emigrants to South Carolina Page 275 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Border vrar — Davy Evans dispossesses Adam Short — Petition of Sam- 
 uel Brice — Arrest of Isaac Taylor and others — Agreement between the 
 heirs of William Penn and Lord Baltimore respecting the settlement of 
 the boundaries — Proceedings in chancery — Renewal of border war — 
 Thomas Cresap — Order of the King in Council — The temporary boundary 
 line — Decree of Chancellor Hardwick — Diary of John Watson — Cape 
 Henlopen — The trans-peninsular line — Death of Charles Calvert — 
 Another agi'eement — Location of due north line — Difficulty of the work 
 — Mason and Dixon — They land in Philadelphia — Latitude of that city — 
 Account of their labors for the next five years — Re-location of the north- 
 east corner of Maryland Page 296 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Revolutionary War — The Quakers — Convention of 1774 — Commit- 
 tee of Safety — Delegates to convention of 1775 — First military organiza- 
 tion in the county — Henry Dobson — Military organizations in the county 
 — Henry HoUingsworth makes musket barrels and bayonets for the army 
 — Edward Parker makes linen and woolen goods for the use of the sol- 
 diers — Invasion of the county by the British — They land at Court-house 
 Point — Sir William Howe's proclamation — Part o'f British army march 
 to Head of Elk — Another part overrun Bohemia Manor — Account of the 
 invasion — Court-house not burned — Doings of the American army — Skir- 
 mishing on Iron Hill — Robert Alexander — Disloyalty of the citizens of 
 Newark — Tories trade with the British — The Quakers refuse to perform 
 military duty, and are court-martialed — Brick Meeting-house used for a 
 hospital — Burglary at Head of Elk — Interesting correspondence — Lafay- 
 ette's expedition to Yorktown passes through Head of Elk — His route 
 through Cecil County — Journal of Claude Blanohard — Porteen Stodder, 
 the negro soldier— Confiscated property— The Elk Forge Company- 
 John Roberts hanged for treason— The Principio Iron Company— Susque- 
 hanna Manor — Lots in Charlestown — Property of Rev. William Edmisson. 
 
 Page 318 
 
CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 Removal of seat of justice to Charlestown — Reasons of the removal — 
 Interesting correspondence — Charlestown Ferry — Condition of society — 
 Stephen Porter kills Thomas Dunn — Escapes from jail, etc. — Is tried at 
 Charlestown and convicted of manslaughter — Unsuccessful efforts to 
 build up Charlestown — Removal of county seat to Head of Elk — Rev. 
 Joseph Coudon's address to citizens of Elk — Opposition of the citizens 
 of Charlestown to the removal of the county seat — Act of Legislature 
 authorizing the erection of public buildings at Elktown — Elkton iacor- 
 porated — Court meets in Elkton — Members of the Elkton bar — Trouble 
 about roads — The first almshouse — Sale of free school farm — Rum- 
 sey's steamboat — The Susquehanna Canal — Rivalry between Havre de 
 Grace and the town of Chesapeake — First arks on the Susquehanna 
 River — Malignant fever in Elkton Page 352 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Octoraro forge — Cecil Manufacturing Company — New Leeds — Chesa- 
 peake and Delaware Canal — Benjamin H. Latrobe — The canal feeder — 
 Riot at Elkton — " Treeket the Loop" — Supplementary Act — Work re- 
 smiied on the canal — .John Randel — He sues the canal company — Com- 
 pletion and cost of the canal — Difficulty of construction — Port Deposit — 
 Philip Thomas — Port Deposit Bridge Company — Bridge burned — Sale of 
 Susquehanna canal — The log pond — Susquehanna and Tide Water canal. 
 
 Page 381 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 County divided into election districts — County commissioners — Loca- 
 tion of boundai'y line between Cecil and Harford — Number of mills in 
 Cecil County — Elkton wheat market — Manufactories — Charlestown — 
 Elkton bank — Line of packets between Baltimore and Philadelphia via 
 Elkton — Frenchtown and New Castle Turnpike Company — Curious pro- 
 vision in the charter Page 401 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 War of 1812 — British fleet in Chesapeake Bay — Camp of observation 
 on Bulls mountain — General Thomas M. Foreman — Forts Hollingsworth 
 and Defiance — Colonel William Garrett — Persons employed in buildino- 
 Fort Defiance— British land on Spesutia Island— Visit Turkey Point- 
 Burn Frenchtown— Zeb. Furgusson— British fail to reach Elkton — Inci- 
 dents and anecdotes — Burning of Havre de Grace — Poetical extract 
 
 Pillaging— British burn Prinoipio Furnace- Destruction of Frederick- 
 town and Georgetown— Brave defense of Colonel Veazey— List of militia 
 under him— Treaty of Ghent— Rejoicing— Accident at Port HoUings- 
 '^^''^'^ Page 408 
 
XI 
 
 CPIAPTER XXV. 
 
 First steamboats on the Elk River — Lines of transportation — French - 
 town and New Castle Railroad Company — Construction of Frenchtown 
 and New Castle Railroad — First locomotives and cars — Telegraphing — 
 The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad — Riot at Charles- 
 town — Sale of Frenchtown and New Castle Railroad Page 424 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Clergy of the Established Church — Their powers and duties — They in- 
 cur the displeasure of the common people — What Rev. William Duke 
 says of them — Presbyterian clergymen — Spiritual condition of the peo - 
 pie — Introduction of jVIethodism — First Methodist society — Character of 
 the early Methodist preachers — Rev. Francis Asbury visits Bohemia 
 Manor — He refuses to take the oath of allegiance — Methodists favor the 
 royal cause — Retrospective glance at the history of the Episcopal 
 Church — North Elk parish — Rev. John Thompson — Rev. Joseph Con- 
 don — St. Augustine parish — Progress of Methodism — Cecil circuit — 
 Hart's mseting-house — First Methodist meeting-house at North East — 
 First parsonage — Bethel meeting-house — Goshen — Revival at Bethel — 
 North Sassafras and St. Augustine parishes — Richard Bassett joins the 
 Methodists — Rev. Henry Lyon Davis — Death of Rev. Joseph Coudon — 
 Rev. William Duke — His life and labors — Methodism supplants Episco- 
 pacy — First Methodist society at Elkton — Methodism and Presbyterian- 
 ism at Charlestown — Hopevi^ell and Asbury — Methodist Protestant 
 churches Page 433 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Miscellaneous information — Newspapers — Fisheries — Chrome — Granite 
 quarries — Iron — Iron Works — Paper mills — Free schools — Population. 
 
 Page 403 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Hall family— The Evans family— Dr. Amos A. Evans— The 
 Mitchell family — Colonel George E. Mitchell — The Rumsey family — The 
 Mauldin family — The Gilpin family — The Rudulph family — The Leslie 
 family — The Hyland family — The Churchman family — The Defoe family 
 — The Hartshorne family — Colonel Nathaniel Ramsay Page 480 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 On page 13, seventh line from bottom, for George read 
 Cedl. On page 142, eleventh line from top, for May read 
 Mary. On page 243, fifth line from bottom, for 1659-60 read 
 1650-60. In foot note on page 344, for chapter XVIII 
 read XXVIII. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Captain John Smith, of Virginia, explores the navigable waters of 
 Cecil County— Smith's account of the Susquehaunock Indians — Other 
 Indian tribes in the upper part of the Peninsula— Their weapons and cul- 
 inary utensils. 
 
 The first white man that visited Cecil County was the 
 illustrious John Smith, of Virginia. In the summer of the 
 year 1608 he fitted out an expedition at Jamestown, and 
 proceeding to the head of Chesapeake Bay partially explored 
 the Susquehanna, North East, Elk and Sassafras rivers. 
 The Indian name of the Sassafras River was Toghwogh. 
 Smith and his companions ascended it for some distance 
 and were received by the native Indians with much kind- 
 ness, he and his companions being the first white men they 
 had ever seen. Smith says, in his account of the expedition, 
 that the white people had much trouble to keep the natives 
 from worshiping them as gods. Smith tried to ascend the 
 Susquehanna River, but could get no further than two miles 
 up on account of the rocks. He states that the Indians 
 could ascend it in their canoes for the distance of about two 
 days' journey. He gives a wonderful account of the size 
 and prowess of the chief of the Susquehannas,* and says 
 
 • * The name of this tribe, like that of many of the others, is spelled in 
 different ways by the early historians and in the colonial records, in quoting 
 from which the original has teen followed. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 that the "calves of his legs were three-quarters of a j'ard 
 about, and all the rest of his limbs so answerable to that 
 proportion, that he seemed the goodliest man he ever saw. 
 The Susquehannas met them with skins, bows, arrows, tar- 
 gets, beads, swords and tobacco pipes, for presents. Ihey 
 seemed like giants, and were the strangest people in all the ;e 
 countries, both in language and attire; their language well 
 becomes their proportions, sounding from tliem as a voice 
 in a vault." " Their attire is the skinnes of beares and wolves, 
 some have cossacks made of beares heads and skinnes, that a 
 man's head goes through the skinnes neck and the ears of 
 the btare fastened to his shoulder, the nose and teeth hanging 
 down his breast, another beares face split behind him, and 
 at the end of the nose hung a pawe, the half sleeves coming 
 to the elbows were the necks of beares, and the armes through 
 the mouth with pawes hanging at their noses. One had the 
 head of a wolf hanging in a chaine lor a Jewell, his tobacco 
 pipe, three-quarters of a yard long,pretti]} carved with a bird, 
 a deare, or some such device at the great end, sufficient to 
 beat out one's braines, with bowes, arrows, and clubs, suitable 
 to their greatness." Smith states that the Susquehannocks 
 numbered about six hundred able men, and that thej' lived in 
 palisaded towns in order to defend themselves against the 
 Massawomekes, who were their mortal enemies, and lived on 
 Bush River, which he named Willowbye's River. To the 
 Susquehannock's River, Smith gave the name of Smith's 
 Falls. The North East River be called Gunter's Harbor, 
 and says that " the highest mountain we saw northward we 
 called Peregrine's Mount." Mr. Bozman expresses the 
 opinion in his History of Maryland that Peregrine's Mount 
 and Gray's Hill, just east of Elkton, are identical. But a 
 careful examination of the map accompanying Smith's 
 history seems to indicate very conclusively that the moun- 
 tain referred to by him as Peregrine's Mount is the highland 
 just east of the town of North East, now called Beacon Hill. 
 Many persons have been disposed to doubt the account 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 which Smith gives of the size and prowess of the Susquehan- 
 nocks, but recent discoveries made by the worl<men while 
 digging the foundations of the bridge of the Columbia and 
 Port Deposit railroad across the Octoraro Creek of a num- 
 ber of human skeletons, which were evidently the remains 
 of persons of extraordinary size, seem in some measure to 
 confirm his account. 
 
 The Susquehannocks belonged to the Iroquois stock, as 
 did the famous confederacy of the Five Nations, which at 
 this time inhabited the country north of them and included 
 the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagos, Cayugas and Senecas, 
 which were afterwards joined by the Tuscaroras, after which 
 the confederacy was called the " Six Nations." The Massa- 
 womekes, who seem to have been' the only other tribe in 
 Maryland that were capable of competing with the Susque- 
 hannocks, probably belonged to the same stock ; while the 
 Tockwoghs, who were of a more gentle disposition probably 
 belonged to the Algonquin or Muscogee stock. The Min- 
 quas inhabited the banks of Christiana and Brandywine, 
 and like many of the smaller tribes, of Avhich there were 
 twelve in the State of Delaware,* belonged to the Leni Le- 
 nape, which in our language means the original people. 
 These tribes seem to have been the principal ones that in- 
 habited the country within the original limits of Cecil County 
 when Smith explored the Chesapeake Bay. Half a century- 
 later the colonial record ; and correspondence between the 
 Dutch settlers along the Delaware River and the authorities 
 of Maryland contain many references to other tribes whose 
 history is unknown, and whose location it is impossible to 
 determine. The Passayontke Indians who are sometimes 
 mentioned among other tribes that inhabited the shores of the 
 Delaware River, there are many reasons to believe, lived 
 near Passyunk Creek, which is in the southern part of the 
 city of Philadelphia. 
 
 •Vincent's History of Delaware, page 66. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 At the beginning of the last century the Chauhannauks 
 lived on the banks of the Susquehanna about fifty miles 
 above its mouth, and numbered about forty men. The Sus- 
 quehannocks once had a fort at the mouth of the Octoraro 
 Creek and are believed to have had at an early day a town 
 near the mouth of the Corestoga Creek, in Lancaster County. 
 Smith, on his map of the bay, locates a fort of the Togh- 
 woghs a few miles above the mouth of the Sassafras River. 
 The Shawanese originally lived in the south, but being 
 threatened with extermination by the surrounding tribes, 
 left their original location, migrated northward, and appear 
 to have been finally absorbed by the more powerful tribes 
 near which they settled. Some of them stopped in Elk 
 Neck, and for a long time after it was settled by the Euro- 
 peans that part of it along the North East River was called 
 "Shawnah." Many of the tribe that settled there are said 
 to have been industrious basket-makers and successful fisher- 
 men. They had a village a short distance south of Arundel 
 Creek, which was the name once applied to tlie run in the 
 southern part of North East. There is a tradition of a bat- 
 tle having been fought between these Indians and another 
 tribe, probably the Susquehannocks, a short distance from 
 the site of their village. Some of them remained in this 
 part of the county for many years after it was settled by the 
 whites, as is shown by the fact that a few of them were bap- 
 tized as members of the Episcopal church at North East. 
 There is also reason to believe that at least one of them was 
 employed by the Principio Iron Company ; the name of 
 Indian James being found upon the books of that company 
 for the year 1726. There was also, as is shown by an old 
 petition on record in the clerk's office at Eikton, an Indian 
 village called Poppemetto, not far from the mouth of Rock 
 Run and probably near the Indian Spring, which is not far 
 from the site of the old chapel east of Port Deposit. But 
 they were a wandering people and frequently migrated from 
 one place to another, and tlieir villages being composed of 
 rude huts and their forts of poles or stockades set in the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ground, soon rotted away and left no trace of their existence. 
 The Susquehannocks retained possession of the country 
 between the North East and Susquehanna for many years 
 after they had ceded the land west and south of those rivers 
 to the English. They probably did this in order to enjoy 
 the privilege of fishing in the head of the bay. That part 
 of the county between the two last-named rivers is very rich 
 in the remains of their weapons and utensils ; many thou- 
 sand of them having been found within the last few years. 
 Their darts and spear-heads vary from less than an inch to 
 five and six inches in length ; some of them are made of 
 flint, others of a finer stone resembling cornelian. They are 
 found to some extent in all parts of the county, but are more 
 plentiful along the branches of the Elk, North East, the 
 Octoraro and its tributaries. In a few cases as many as a 
 hundred of them have been found together, indicating that 
 they had been buried in the ground and remained undis- 
 turbed perhaps for centuries. Occasionally flint implements 
 have also been found of a few inches in length, and not un- 
 like a rude knife-blade, which were probably lashed to a 
 wooden handle and used for cutting. Many implements 
 designed for grinding corn have 1 een found along the head 
 of the bay and in the Eighth Disirict. These are made of a 
 grayish stone which is somewhat harder than soapstone, but 
 easily worked. Some of these implements are about four 
 inches in diameter and in shape similar to an oblate sphe- 
 roid ; that is, a globe much flattened at the poles. Others are 
 from ten to fifteen inches in length, cylindrical in form, and 
 from an inch and a half to two inches in diameter in the 
 middle, and tapering towards the ends. They are not un- 
 like an ordinary rolling-pin, and were probably used for 
 pestles to mash or grind corn. Many stone axes have also 
 been found in the county. They are made of the same kind , 
 of materials as the pestles, and are generally about eight 
 inches in length and not often more than three or three and 
 a half inches in width on the edge, of an oval shape, and 
 grooved near the other end so as to retain the handle, whirh 
 
HISTORY OF CECir. COUNTY. 
 
 was split, and to which the axe was lashed with rawhide 
 thongs or the sinews of animals which they used for that 
 purpose. A few curiously-shaped implements or weapons, 
 for it is hard to tell to which class they belonged, have been 
 found in the northwestern part of the county. Some ot 
 them are made of a whitish stone that is not found in th'it 
 part of the country. They were evidently intended to be 
 used on a handle, for they are perforated in a very skillful 
 manner with a round hole a half or three-quarters of an 
 inch in diameter. They slightly resemble a-double-bitted 
 axe, which has led to the belief that they were used in battle. 
 Though somewhat like the other stone axes, they were not de- 
 signed for cutting, but were admirably adapted for breaking 
 a man's skull. The Eighth District is particularly rich in 
 the remains of their culinary utensils, which consisted of 
 rude pans, cups and dishes, made of the soapstone which 
 abounds in that part of the county. Some of these are well 
 finished and nicely shaped and give evidence of much 
 artistic skill, but many of them are unfinished and others 
 have evidently been broken while in course of construction. 
 Not the least curious of their works are the sculptured 
 rocks, which are to be found in the Susquehanna Eiver a 
 short distance above the mouth of the Conowingo. These 
 rocks contain a large number of hieroglyphics and a few 
 pictures of animals of the cat kind, the signification of 
 which are known only to those who placed them there. 
 Their manner of making darts or arrow heads has been a 
 matter of much inquiry and curiosity. For this purpose they 
 wrapped their left hand with buckskin and used a rib bone 
 of some of the animals they killed, holding it between the 
 thumb and fingers of the left hand — in which they also held 
 the arrow head— and used it as a lever, ai)plying the power 
 to the other end with their right hand. This statement may 
 be controverted ; but such is the method now in use by the 
 Indians on the Western plains who make arrow heads simi- 
 lar in shape to those found in this county from pieces of 
 glass bottles. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 First English settlement on Watson's Island— Edward Palmer— Wm. 
 Clayborue establishes a trading post on Watson's Island. 
 
 Historians are unanimously of the opinion that the first 
 settlement of the English, within the present limits of Cecil 
 County, was upon Palmer's Island (now called Watson's 
 Island), near the mouth of the Susquehanna River, and just 
 above the railroad bridge at that place. There certainly 
 was a trading post on that island before the arrival of the 
 Pilgrims of Maryland under Leonard Calvert, brother of the 
 second Lord Baltimore, in 1634. To William Clayborne, 
 who was a member of the Council of Virginia, and who 
 there is reason to believe had established a trading post on 
 Kent Island as early as 1627, is accorded the credit of estab- 
 lishing this trading post; but investigations recently made 
 by Mr. Neil, and published in liis book entitled "The Found- 
 ers of Maryland," seem to indicate very clearly that there 
 may have been a settlement or trading post on that island 
 before Clayborne established himself upon Kent Island. Mr. 
 Neil says, "the letters of John Pory, secretary of theVirginia 
 (Jompany, which are yet extant in London, and which are 
 dated anterior to the tinie of Clayborne's settlement on Kent 
 Island, inform the Company of a discovery made by him 
 and others into the great Bay northward, where we left set- 
 tled very happily nearly a hundred Englishmen with hope of a 
 good trade injurs." 
 
 The island was called Palmer's Island after Edward Pal- 
 mer,* a nephew of the unfortunate Sir Thomas Overbury, 
 
 * When and by whom it was so named has not been ascertained. But 
 it bore that name as early as 1652. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 who was poisoned by the malicious arrangements of the 
 wanton wife of the Earl of Somerset some time between the 
 years 1612 and 1616. Palmer was a man of learning and 
 culture, and contemplated the establishment of an academy 
 in Virginia. One writer of the time in which he lived, 
 says Mr. Neil, connects the purchase of the island with this 
 enterprise, from which it may be inferred that he engaged 
 in the fur trade, which was very lucrative at that time, with 
 a view of getting the means to carry out his laudable enter- 
 prise. It is said to have failed on account of some of the 
 agents he employed. When Palmer's Island was first taken 
 possession of by Lord Baltimore's agents in 1637 four ser- 
 vants were found there, and some books as follows : a statute 
 book, five or six little books and one great book. The find- 
 ing of these books at a trading post away in the wilderness 
 indicates that Palmer resided there at one time, for only a 
 gentleman and scholar would have been likely to have had 
 them. 
 
 The fact that Clay borne had a trading post on Palmer's 
 Island is established upon a firmer basis. Clayborne was 
 an ambitious man, and some time after the arrival of the 
 Pilgrims in the Ark and Dove, who, soon after their arrival, 
 took pains to dispossess him of Kent Island, presented a 
 petition to the King of England, in which petition he refers 
 to the fact that " he and his partners, while acting under a 
 commission from under his Majesty's hand divers years past 
 (which divers years Bozmau believed were the years 1627, 
 28, and 29), discovered and planted the island of Kent in 
 the Chesapeake, which island they bought of the kings of 
 that country; that great hopes for trade of beavers and other 
 commodities were likely to ensue by the petitioner's dis- 
 coveries," etc. It is further stated in the petition that the 
 petitioners "had discovered and settled a plantation and 
 factory upon a small island in the mouth of a river, at the 
 bottom of the said bay (at the head of the bay was what they 
 meant), in the Susquehannocks' country, at the Indians' de- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 sire, and purchased the same of them; by means whereof 
 they were in great hopes to draw thither the trade of beavers 
 and furs which the French tlien wholly enjoyed 'in the 
 Grand Lake of Canada.' The petitioners then propose to 
 pay to his Majesty the annual sum of £100, viz., £50 for the 
 isle of Kent and £50 for the said plantation in the Susque- 
 hannocks' country; and they further pray to have there 
 twelve leagues of land from tlie mouth of the said river on 
 each side thereof down the said bay southerly to the sea- 
 ward, and so to the head of the said river and to the Grand 
 Lake of Canada."* From these facts it is plain that the set- 
 tlement on Watson's Island was a place of importance before 
 the arrival of Lord Baltimore and his colonists, and that it 
 was made about twenty-five or thirty years after the bay 
 was first explored by the adventurous Smith. It was no 
 doubt the first settlement made within the present limits of 
 Cecil County. Although Cecil County was not erected into 
 a county till 1674, its history commences at the time of the 
 establishment of the "Plantation" on Watson's Island by 
 Clayborne, which is probably about two hundred and forty- 
 four years ago. It is the intention of the writer to trace its 
 history as well as the scanty data the ravages of time have 
 left will afford him the means to do; to tell of the bold and 
 daring men whose courage and enterprise led them to these 
 shores, and whose industry and perseverance have made 
 our county one of the foremost in the State; to recount as 
 well as circumstances will permit their early struggles and 
 the hardships they met with ; to speak of their manners and 
 customs, and note the changes that education and refine- 
 ment from time to time wrought in them. 
 
 The configuration of the country at the time of the first 
 settlement so far as the hills and streams are considered, 
 was much the same as it is at present. But the primeval 
 forests that then covered it have disappeared ; and owing to 
 
 * Bozman's Hist. Md., Vol. II., p. 69. 
 
10 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 this the surface of the country has changed very much — 
 large swamps and morasses have dried up, and the channels 
 of the streams have changed; indeed some of them have 
 entirely disappeared. Deer, bear, wolves, opossums, bares, 
 squirrels, wild turkeys, pheasants, wild pigeons, and many 
 other kinds of animals abounded in the forests, and the 
 creeks and rivers were well stocked with beavers, otters, 
 muskrats, and all kinds of water fowl. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore— He is a member of the Vir- 
 ginia Company -Plants a colony in Newfoundland— Obtains a charter 
 for a colony in Mivryland-Is succeeded by his son Cecil, who obtains 
 another charter — Extracts from the charter — The fii-st colony under 
 Leonard Calvert settles at St. Maries— War with the Susquehannooks — 
 Treaty with them. 
 
 George Calvert, the first Baron of Baltimore, was the 
 founder of Maryland. He was a Catholic and distinguished 
 for piety and learning, and filled many important offices 
 under the government in the reign of James the First. 
 Like many of the public men of that time, he saw the im- 
 portance of the Western continent and the facilities it 
 afforded for the acquisition of wealth. In 1609 he was a 
 member of the Virginia Company of planters.* He after- 
 wards became interested in Newfoundland, and planted a 
 colony there in 1G21. He subsequently obtained a patent 
 from King James I. for a territory in that island which he 
 called Avalon. His reason for calling his grant by that 
 name, as given by Scharf in his History of Maryland, is as 
 follows: "Tradition reports that Joseph of Arimathea, 
 having come to Britain, received from King Arviragus 
 twelve hydes of land at Avalon as a dwelling-place for 
 himself and his companions, and here he preached tlie 
 gospel for the first time to the Britons, and built an abbey, 
 in which he was afterwards buried, and which long re- 
 mained the most renowned and venerated monastic estab- 
 meiit in the island. As Avalon had been the starting point 
 of Christianity for ancient Britain, in pious legend at all 
 
 * Scharf s Hist. Md., Vol I., p. 31. 
 
12 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 events, so Calvert hoped that his own settlement might be 
 a similar starting point, from which the gospel should 
 spread to the heathen of the Western World; and he 
 spared neither labor nor expense in his efforts to carry out 
 this noble and devout purpose." 
 
 The climate of Newfoundland was found to be entirely 
 different from what might have been anticipated ; and after 
 spending some time and much money in the vain effort to 
 sustain his colony by developing the resources of the 
 country, he was forced to abandon the enterprise. He sub- 
 sequently visited Virginia in searcli of some more desirable 
 situation for his colony, and no doubt would have settled 
 there; but upon being required to take the oath of supremacy 
 and allegiance, he, as a conscientious Catholic, refused to do 
 so, and had to look elsewhere for an eligible location for his 
 colony. He therefore returned to England, and applied to 
 his Majesty Charles the First for a grant of land lying to 
 the southward of James River, in Virginia, between that 
 river and the bounds of Carolana,* now called Carolina. 
 A charter for a large territory south of the .James River 
 was actually made out and signed, in February, 1631. But 
 some of the prominent men of Virginia, among whom was 
 William Clayborne, before mentioned, who has very aptly 
 been called the " evil genius of Maryland," were in England 
 in the spring of that year, and so violently opposed the 
 planting of the new colony within the limits of Virginia, 
 that Calvert besought his Majesty to grant him, in lieu of 
 the other, some part of the continent to the northward, 
 which was accordingly done. 
 
 Lord Baltimore, it is said, drew up the charter of Mary- 
 land with his own hand, and left a blank in it for the 
 name, which he designed should be Crescentia, or, the land 
 of Crescence, but leaving it to his Majesty to insert. The 
 King, before he signed the charter, asked his lordship what 
 
 •Schart's Hist. Md., Vol. 1., p. 50. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 13 
 
 he should call it, who replied that he desired to have it 
 called something in honor of his Majesty's name, but that 
 he was deprived of that happiness, there being already a 
 province in those parts called Carolina. "Let us, there- 
 fore," says the King, " give it a name in honor of the 
 Queen ; what think you of Mariana?" To this his lordship 
 expressed his dissent, it being the name of a Jesuit who 
 had written against monarchy. Whereupon the King pro- 
 posed Tera Marias, in English, Maryland ; which was 
 mutually agreed upon and inserted in the charter. And 
 thus the proposed colony, or rather the land it was expected 
 to settle upon, was named in honor of Henrietta Maria, 
 daughter of Henry IV., King of France and Navarre, and 
 sister of Louis XHI., usually called Queen Mary by writers 
 of that day. 
 
 The charter of Maryland was different from any other 
 granted for a similar purpose in this : that it was more 
 liberal than they, as were also the laws made under it, and 
 the policy pursued by the illustrious men who received it. 
 
 Before the charter had been finally adjusted and sealed, 
 Lord Baltimore fell sick and died, in London, in the fifty- 
 third year of his age. His eldest son, Cecil Calvert, succeeded 
 his father, and inherited his titles as well as his fortune and 
 spirit. Another charter, differing in no essential particular 
 from the first one, was made out, published and confirmed, 
 on June 20ih, 1632, investing him with all the rights and 
 privileges which his Majesty had intended to confer upon 
 his father. 
 
 The preambl^Jp the charter of Maryland, after reciting 
 the fact that G«0*ge'Calvert, " treading in the footsteps of his 
 father, being animated with a laudable and pious zeal for 
 extending the Christian religion, and also the territories of 
 our Empire, hath humbly besouglit leave of us, that he may 
 transport by his own industry and expense a numerous 
 colony of the English nation, to a certain region, hereinafter 
 described, in a country hitherto uncultivated in the jMrts of 
 
14 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 America, and partly occupied by savages having no knowledge of 
 the Divine Being, and that all that region, witli some certain 
 privileges and jurisdictions appertaining unto tlie wliole- 
 some government and state of his colony and region afore- 
 said, may by our Royal Highness be given, granted and 
 confirmed unto him and his heirs." The language used 
 in the sentence which we have italicised was most unfortu- 
 nate, and was used many years afterwards with powerful 
 effect in circumscribing the territory of ]\Iaryland. The 
 metes and bounds of the province as set forth in the charter, 
 were as follows: All that part of the Peninsula or Chersonese, 
 lying in the parts of America between the ocean on the east 
 and the bay of Chesapeake on the west ; divided from the 
 residue thereof by a right line drawn from the promontory 
 or headland called Watkin's Point, situated upon the bay 
 aforesaid, near the river Wighco on the west, unto the main 
 ocean on the east; and between that boundary on the south, 
 unto that part of the bay of Delaware on the north, which 
 lyeth under the fortieth degree of north latitude from the 
 equinoctial, where New England is terminated; and all the 
 tract of that land within the metes underwritten (that is to 
 say), passing from the said bay, called Delaware Bay, in a 
 right line by the degree aforesaid, unto the true meridian 
 of the first fountain of the river Pattowmack, thence verging 
 towards the south, unto the further bank of the said river, 
 and following the same on the west and south, unto a 
 certain place called Cinquack, situate near the mouth of the 
 said river, where it disembogues into the aforesaid bay of 
 Chesapeake, and thence by the shortest line unto the afore- 
 said promontory or place called Watkin's Point." 
 
 Cecil or Caecillius Calvert, for he was baptized by the first 
 name and confirmed by the second one, intrusted the com- 
 mand of the first expedition he sent to Maryland to his 
 brothers Leonard and George, constituting the former lieu- 
 tenant-governor or general. This expedition, which con- 
 sisted of two vessels, the Ark and the Dove, and nearly two 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 15 
 
 hundred persons, readied Virginia safel}', and after spend- 
 ing a short time there proceeded to the Chesapeake Bay, and 
 ascending the Potomac River landed at Saint Maries, where 
 tlie first town in the State was founded on the 27th of March, 
 lGo4. It is not within the scope of this work to give the 
 history of that settlement in extenso ; we shall therefore only 
 refer briefly to such parts of it as are calculated to throw 
 some light upon the history of this count3^ 
 
 The Pilgrims found the Indians (Yoacomacoes), from 
 whom they purchased the site of their town, in great dread 
 of the Susquehannocks, who were their mortal enemies and 
 who never ceased to make war upon them and ravage their 
 country. The Yoacomacoes for this reason received and 
 treated the Pilgrims kindly at first, but in a short time be- 
 gan to show symptoms of hostility, being, as is alleged, insti- 
 gated to do so by William Claybornc, who, as before stated, 
 had possession of Kent Island and had established a trading 
 post on Palmer's Island, at the mouth of the Susquehanna 
 River. This hostile act on the part of Clayborne was the 
 commencement of a protracted struggle between him and 
 Lord Baltimore, which lasted till 1G37, when his property 
 was confiscated and he was attainted of high treason. A 
 few years afterwards (in 1642) this man Clayborne and one 
 Richard Ingle, who is called a pirate and rebel, and some 
 others from Virginia and elsewhere, engaged in a conspiracy 
 to overthrow the authority of Lord Baltimore. They seized 
 Kent Island and invaded the western shore and forced the 
 lord proprietary to seek refuge in Virginia. The causes of 
 this rebellion as well as its history, owing to the destruction 
 of the records of the colony during that period, are very 
 imperfectly understood ; but there is no doubt that Clayborne 
 took advantage of the political and religious trouble which 
 then agitated the mother country to avenge himself upon 
 Lord Baltimore for the loss of his possessions and prospec- 
 tive trade in the Chesapeake Bay. Owing to this rebellion 
 and also to the hostile attitude of the natives which was 
 
16 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 occasioned by it, the growth of the colony was slow. The 
 Susquehannocks gave the colonists much trouble in the early 
 days of the settlement at St. Maries, and in May, 1639, the 
 Council resolved to invade their country, and to that end 
 passed the following order, which shows the condition of 
 society and the mode of warfare at that time : " Whereas, it 
 is found necessary forthwith to make an expedition upon 
 the Indians of the Eastern Shore upon the public charge of 
 the province ; it is to that end thought fit that a shallop be 
 sent to Virginia for to provide twenty corslets (steel plates 
 for the covering and protection of the chest), a barrel of 
 powder, four roundlets of shot, a barrel of oat meal, three 
 firkins of butter, and four cases of hot waters ; and that five 
 able persons be pressed to go with the said shallop and 
 necessary provisions of victuals be made for them, and that 
 a pinnace be pressed to go to Kent (Kent Island) sufficiently 
 victualed and manned, and there provide four hogsheads of 
 meal ; and likewise that a pinnace be sent to the Susquehan- 
 nocks sufficiently victualled and manned, and thirty or more 
 good shott, with necessary officers, be pressed out of the 
 province, and that each of the shott be allowed after the 
 rate of 100 pounds of tobacco per month," etc., etc. The 
 colonists appear to have spent the summer in making 
 preparations for this warlike expedition against their foes, 
 but their courage was not equal to the task of invading their 
 country amid the storms and snows of the following winter, 
 and the enterprise was abandoned. There appears to have 
 been many hostile incursions of the Indians into the terri- 
 tory occupied by the early settlers about this time and many 
 rumors of wars that no doubt kept them in a state of almost 
 constant excitement and alarm. 
 
 Some of the writers of that period assert that the Swedes 
 then settled on the Christiana, where Wilmino-ton now 
 stands, sold firearms to the Susquehannocks, and hired 
 some of their soldiers to them to instruct them in the art of 
 war as practiced by the Europeans; but the evidence of this 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 17 
 
 is not conclusive, and it is quite as likeij', if tlie Indians 
 had firearms at all, that they got them from the French in 
 Canada, or the Dutch at Manhattan, or from some of the 
 tribes of the Five Nations, wlio maj' have obtained them 
 from the French or Dutch, with whom they traded. 
 
 But little else worthy of note occurred in connection with 
 the Susquehannocks until 1652. In that year a treaty was 
 made with them, which is the first of which any record has 
 been preserved. This treaty was made " at the River of 
 Severn," where Annapolis now stands. It may be found at 
 length in the appendix to Bozman's History of Maryland, 
 in which it is stated that a blank occurs in the first article. 
 A critical examination of the old Council Book will con- 
 vince any person familiar with the peculiar chirograi^hy of 
 that time that there is no blank in it, and that the M'ord 
 which Mr. Bozman says in another place is illegible, is in 
 reality tlie word trees. The first article of this treaty is as 
 follows : "Articles of peace and friendship treated and agreed 
 upon the fifth day of July, 1G52, between the English 
 nation, in the province of Maryland, on the one pai-ty, and 
 the Indian nation of Susquesalianough on the other partie, 
 as foUoweth : First, that the English iiation shall have, 
 hould and enjoj' to them, their heires and assigns forever, 
 all the land lying from Patuxent River unto Palmer's 
 Island, on tlie westerne side of the baj^e of Chesepiake, and 
 from Choptank River to the n.orthead branch, which lyes to the 
 northward of Elke River, on the easternc side of the said baye, 
 with all the islands, rivers, creeks, trees, fish, fowle, deer, 
 Elke, and whatsoever else to the same belonging, excepting 
 the Isl of Kent and Palmsr's Islend, which belong to Cap- 
 tain Clayborne. But nevertheless it shall be lawful for the 
 aforesaid English or Indians to build a house or forte for 
 trade or any such like use or occasion at any tyme upon 
 Palmer's Island." The treaty further stipulated for the 
 return of fugitives escaping from either of the contracting 
 parties, and jirovided that wlimi the Indians desired to visit 
 
 I! 
 
18 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the English they should come hy water and not by land, 
 and that not more than eight or ten of them at one time, 
 and that each party, when visiting the other, should carry 
 with them and exhibit the token, which they appear to have 
 mutually exchanged with each other, so that they could be 
 recognized and entertained. And, after pledging the con- 
 tracting parties to a perpetual peace, whiclt. ivas to endure 
 forever to the end of the world, provided that if it should so 
 happen that eitlier party shotdd grow weary of the peace, and 
 desire to go to ivar, they should give twenty days' notice by sending 
 in and delivering up this writing. This treaty was signed b}- 
 Richard Bennett, Edward Lloyd, Thomas J\Iarsh, William 
 Fuller and Leonard Strong, commissioners on the part of 
 the English, and on the part of the Indians by "Sawahegeh, 
 Auroglitaregh, Scarhuhadig, Ruthchogah and Nathheldi- 
 anch, warr captaines and councillors of Susquesahanough, 
 commissioners appointed and sent for the purpose by the 
 nation and State of Susquesahanough;" and was witnessed 
 by William Lawson and Jafer or Jasper Peter, the last 
 individual signing it for the Swedes governor. Why it 
 was that Jasper Peter witnessed this treaty on behalf of the 
 Swedes governor, will forever remain a mysterj'-. He most 
 probably was an Indian trader from the Swedish settlement 
 at Christina,* which will be referred to in the next chapter. 
 It will be seen from the first article of this treaty that the 
 Susquehannocks, in the interval since Captain Smith ex- 
 plored the Chesapeake Bay, had extended their territory on 
 the western shore from the west bank of the Susquehanna 
 to the Patuxent River, and on the eastern shore from the 
 northeast to the Choptank River. The probability is that 
 the tribes that Smith found south of the mouth of the Sus- 
 quehanna and northeast were tributary to the Susquehan- 
 nocks, and that the latter had long claimed the country and 
 enjoyed the privilege of hunting and fishing along the 
 
 * Where Willmiiigton now stands, afterwards called Christiana. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 19 
 
 shores of the baj'' in the territor)'- mentioned in the treaty. 
 The great accumulations of oyster shells found near the 
 mouth of Fairlee Creek, in Kent County, and at other places 
 further down the bay, which are believed to have been 
 placed there by migratory Indians, seems to favor this idea. 
 The reader will notice that Kent and Palmer's islands are 
 said to belong to Captain Clayborne. The facts are that at 
 this time the government of Maryland was in the hands of 
 his friends, and that he had re-entered and taken possession 
 of them a short time before the treatj^ was made.* 
 
 * Hanson's Old Kent, page 7. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Early settlements on the Delaware— Henry Hudson— Captain iley and 
 others— Names of the Delaware— Fort Nassau— Swanendale— Peter Min- 
 nit plants a Swedish colony at Wilmington— Fort Cassimir— Peter 
 Stuyvesant conquers the Swedes. 
 
 The reader will bear in niiiDd that it is not the purpose 
 of this work to give a history of Cecil County solely ; the 
 history of the settlements immediately surrounding it, being 
 so closely interwoven witli its own, that its history would be 
 incomplete without a glance at their origin and contempo- 
 raneous doings. Such idea is embodied in the title of this- 
 book; and inasmuch as IMaryland, by the terms of its char- 
 ter, extended to the Delaware Bay and river, and to the 
 fortieth degree of north latitude, which is some distance 
 above the moutli of the .Schuylkill, it is highly important in 
 order that the reader may properly understand the history 
 of the early settlements in Cecil County and elsewhere near 
 the head of the Chesapeake Bay, that he should be informed 
 of the efforts that were made from time to time by other 
 nations to plant colonies along the Delaware. From a period 
 commencing with 10511, and continuing for at least half a 
 century, the history of what transpired along the western 
 shore of the Delaware bay and river as far north as Phila- 
 delphia, is so closely blended with that which transpired 
 within the present limits of Cecil County that it is impossi- 
 ble to give an intelligible account of one, without having a 
 correct knoM'ledge of the other. During this period was 
 laid the foundation of tliat intimacy between the jieople of 
 the upper part of the Eastern 8horo of ^iaryland, and the 
 settlements along the Western Sliore of the Dehnvare. the 
 
IIISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 21 
 
 effect of which maj' yet be seen, in the diversion of much of 
 the trade tliat legitimately belongs to Baltimore City, to 
 Philadelphia and Wilmington. For the reasons already 
 mentioned, and from the fact that many of the early settlers 
 of this county came here from the settlements on the Dela- 
 ware, it will be necessary, from time to time, to refer to the 
 colonies on that river, and trace their history, which will be 
 done as briefly and succinctly as the importance of the sub- 
 ject wall permit. 
 
 The Delaware River was discovered by Henry Hudson, 
 an Englishman in the- employ of the Dutch East India 
 Company, in 1609; but no steps were taken to effect a settle- 
 ment along that river or bay until 1614. In that year the States- 
 General of Holland, the government of which was deeply 
 interested in maritime discoveries, passed an edict granting 
 exclusive privileges to any persons who should make any 
 important discoveries in the New World. Under this edict 
 five vessels, fitted out by merchants of Amsterdam, sailed 
 to the mouth of the Manhattan River, as the Hudson was 
 then called. One of the vessels, the Fortune, commanded 
 by Captain Cornelius Jacobson Me)^, subsequently sailed 
 south and entered the Delaware Bay. It is from him that 
 the eastern cape of the Delaware Bay derives the name of 
 Cape May. 
 
 One of these vessels was burned, and to supply its place a 
 smaller one was built, in which, after the return of the 
 others, Captain Hendrickson who was left in charge of the 
 new ve.ssel, proceeded to explore the Delaware Bay and 
 river. He ascended the latter as far as the mouth of the 
 Schuylkill, and is believed to have been the first white man 
 that ever trod upon the soil of the State of Delaware. While 
 here he purchased three native inhabitants from the Min- 
 quas, who held them in slavery, for whom he gave in ex- 
 change kettles, beads and merchandise.* This happened in 
 
 ■* Vincent's History of Delaware, Vol. I, page 103. 
 
22 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 1616. The Delaware River has been known by many- 
 names. Vincent, in his liistory of the State, informs his 
 readers that the Indians called it by no less than five. The 
 Dutch called it Zuydt, or South River ; by which name it 
 is frequently mentioned in the early records of this county ; 
 they also called it Nassau River, and Prince Hendrick's or 
 Charles River; the Swedes, New Swedeland stream; the 
 English, Delaware, from Lord De-la war, the title of Sir 
 Thomas West, who occupied a prominent position in the 
 early historj^ of Virginia. 
 
 The privileges of the first Company having expired,, 
 another one called the West India Company was chartered 
 for the purpose of effecting settlements and trading with the 
 natives along the shores of the South River. Under the 
 auspices of this Company a settlement was made and a fort 
 called Fort Nassau constructed, a short distance below Phila- 
 delphia on the other side of the river, near where the town 
 of Gloucester, New Jersey, now stands. This was done in 
 1623. The history of this fort is shrouded in obscurity. 
 Some of the early Swedish writers affirm that it was aban- 
 doned by the Dutch after they had conquered the Swedes, 
 and was found in possession of the Indians in 1633. Other 
 writers assert that the Dutch at New Amsterdam maintained 
 a trading post there for many years, and till after the Swedes, 
 had established themselves on the other side of the Dela- 
 ware River. 
 
 The next effort to effect a settlement on the Delaware was 
 probably made in 1631, for the time is not very certain. 
 This settlement, which the Dutch called Swanendale, was at 
 Lewes, and was made by a company of Dutchmen who ex- 
 pected to realize much gain from catching whales in the 
 Delaware Bay. The colony was brought over by David 
 Peiterzen De Vries, a Hollander, who, after leaving it com- 
 fortably located under command of one Gillis Hossett, re- 
 turned to his native country. The next year De Vries re- 
 visited Swanendale and found that some time durino- the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 23 
 
 interval the whole colony had been massacred by the In- 
 dians. De Tries learned from the Indians that the colo- 
 nists had erected a pillar on which they had fastened a piece 
 of tin, vipon which was traced the coat-of-arms of the united 
 provinces. One of the chiefs wanted the tin to make into 
 tobacco pipes and took it away, which gave offence to the 
 officer in command, who complained to the Indians so bit- 
 terly that to appease his wrath they slew the offender. The 
 Dutch regretted the death of the chief, and told the Indians 
 they had done wrong to kill him. Subsequently, some 
 of the friends of the murdered Indian resolved to avenge 
 his death, and taking advantage of a favorable opportunity 
 when all the Dutch, except a sick man, were at work in the 
 field, attacked and slew them all. 
 
 The planting of this colony of unfortunate people at the 
 mouth of the Delaware Bay, had a very important bearing 
 upon the history of Maryland ; and owing to the phrase- 
 ology of the charter of that province had more to do with 
 circumscribing the territory of the State of Maryland than 
 all otlier circumstances combined. 
 
 To Peter Minuit belongs the credit of planting tlie next 
 colony in the State of Delaware. He had been appointed 
 Director-General of New Netherlands, which then included 
 New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and part of Connecticut, 
 in 1624, and had been recalled eight j'ears afterwards, hav- 
 ing quarreled with the company who had employed him. 
 Probably with the view of avenging himself upon them, he 
 offered his services to the crown of Sweden, with the inten- 
 tion of effecting a Swedish settlement on the South River, 
 and offered to conduct the enterprise. His offer was accep- 
 ted, and the expedition sailed from Sweden, as is supposed, 
 in the fall of the year 1637. Tht; expedition, it is supposed, 
 consisted of about fifty persons, many of whom, it is said, 
 were criminals.* Judging from their history as gleaned 
 
 * Vincent's History of Delaware, Vol. I., page 145. 
 
24 IIISTORV OK CKCIL COUXTY. 
 
 from the correspondence between their governors and tlie 
 authorities at New Amsterdam after the Dutch conquered 
 them, morality and religion were at a low ebb among 
 them, though they always seem to have made great preten- 
 sions to the latter. Tlie expedition reached this country in 
 April, 1638, and sailing up the Delaware Bay and river, 
 entered the JMinquas Creek, which tliey called the Christina, 
 and landed at the foot of Sixth street, in what is now the 
 city of Wilmington. They at once commenced the erection 
 of a fort, which, in honor of tlieir young queen, they named 
 Fort Christina. A small town called Christinaliam or 
 Christina Harbor was also erected near the fort. 
 
 About this time (1638) the Dutch, who had established a 
 trading ])Ost at New Amsterdan, which was on Manhattan 
 Island, where New York now stands, in 1610, began to look 
 more diligently to their interest on the Delaware,* and 
 complained loudly to the government of Holland of the 
 injury done to their trade by the Swedes on the Delaware. 
 The history of the quarrels between the Dutch and Swedes, 
 and their efforts to outdo each other and obtain control of 
 the country along the Delaware during the- next seventeen 
 years, is too intricate to be given in this place. But it is 
 important that the reader should he informed that during 
 this time the Swedes had extended their possessions by 
 purchase from the Indians from their first settlement on 
 the Christiana up the Delaware to a point within what is 
 now the city of Philadelphia. During this period they 
 erected forts on Tinicum Island, where the Lazaretto is now 
 located, and at the mouth of Salem Creek, in New Jersey, 
 with the intention of commanding the navigation of the 
 Delaware River and ultimately preventing tlie Dutch from 
 visiting their fort at Gloucester. They also had established 
 a trading i)0st on an island in the Schuylkill River, and 
 were so successful in their trade with the Indians on the 
 
 FenLs's Original hettlemeut^ on tlie Delaware, page o'i. 
 
iri^TOPvY (JF tKi;IL COUXTY. 
 
 west bank of the Delaware as to excite tlie fears of the 
 Dutch that they ■\vould uUimatel y supplant them and force 
 them to abandon their trade altogether. 
 
 Peter Stuyvesant, a man of great energy and decision of 
 character, was made Governor of New Amsterdam in 1647, 
 and soon afterwards set about devising measures to regain 
 some of the lost prestige of his countrymen on the Delaware. 
 To this end he purchased from the Indians all tlie land be- 
 tween the Christiana and Bombaj' Hook, and erected a fort, 
 called Fort Cassimir, on a point of land then called Sand- 
 huken, now New Castle. This fort v\as erected in 1031. It 
 was only about four miles from the Swedish fort at Chris- 
 tina. Shorth' after it was finished an armed vessel arrived 
 from Sweden and summoned the garrison to surrender. 
 Being in no condition to stand a siege, they did so, and the 
 Swedes took possession of the fort and garrisoned it. Thi' 
 capture of this fort no doubt added to the jealousy and 
 rancor of the Dutch ; but Stuyvesant bided his time, and 
 having made ample preparation, sailed from New Amster- 
 dam in August, 1655, in command of a squadron of seven 
 armed ships, eontaining between six and seven hundred 
 men, for the purpose of conquering the Swedes and taking- 
 possession of the country. Fort Cassimir, the name of 
 which the Swedes had changed to Fort Trinity, capitulated 
 without resistance. Kising, the Swedish governor, defended 
 Fort Christina as well as he could, but was soon forced to 
 surrender, and in a short time the whole of New Sweden, 
 as the countr}^ on the west bank of the Delaware was then 
 called, fell into the hands of the Dutch. By the terms of 
 capitulation of Fort Christina, Rising, and all other Swedes 
 who wished to do so, were allowed to return to Gottenberg, 
 a port in the North Sea, in a ship to be furnished by the 
 Dutch. They seem to liave been afraid or ashamed to go 
 back to Sweden. Those who chose to remain were tendered 
 the oath of allegiance, which was taken by most of them. 
 
 After the conquest of New Sweden it was divided into 
 
26 HISTORY OP fECIL COUNTY. 
 
 two colonies, one of which included Fort Christina and the 
 land immediately around it, and extended from Christina 
 River down to Bombay Hook. This was called "The Colony 
 of the Covipany." The other extended from the north boun- 
 dary of the Company's colony up the Delaware to the 
 extent of the settlement, and was called "The Colony of the 
 City." It belonged to the city of Amsterdam, and was 
 governed by the burgomasters and council of that city, 
 through Peter Stuyvesant and his council. 
 
 Before the erection of Fort Cassimir, in 1651, all business 
 was transacted in the name of " The States-General and the 
 AVest India Company," jointly. Now their concerns were 
 divided. Lands lying within the territor}" of the city were 
 conveyed in Amsterdam by the burgomasters and council. 
 Deeds for those within the limits of the Company were ex- 
 ecuted by directors and commissaries.* Xowithstanding 
 this diversity of interest, both colonies were under the 
 jurisdiction of Stuyvesant, who appointed the governors 
 and commissaries, and exercised a general surveillance 
 over the affairs of each of them. New Amstel, now New 
 Castle, which was founded about this time, was the residence 
 of the governor of the colony belojiging to the Company. 
 Altona, now Wilmington, Avas the capital of the other 
 colony. The Swedish families are stated by Ferris as num- 
 bering one hundred and thirty. .Such, briefly stated, was 
 the condition of affairs along the Delaware in 1659, when 
 the authorities of Maryland took the first steps to dispossess 
 the interlopers. 
 
 * Ferris's Hist, of the Original Settlements on the Delaware, page 106. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 First permauent settlement in tlie connty - dtlier settlements — 
 Spesutia Island —Trouble between the Dutch and English — Nathaniel 
 Utie — He is sent to New Amstel — Augustine Hermen and Resolved Wal- 
 dron visit ^[aryland — Their meeting with the (xoveruor and Council — 
 Account of the early life of Augustine Hermen — His Map of ^Maryland — 
 Extracts from his will — He obtains a grant of Bohemia ]Manor and IMid- 
 dle Neck — JIakes a treaty with the Indians at Spesutia Island — First 
 reference to Cecil (.'ounty — Thompsontown — Indian forts. 
 
 The first permanent settlement in Cecil County, so far as 
 the writer has been able to learn from laborious and patient 
 investigation of everything calculated to throw any light on 
 the subject, was made in 1658, upon the farm which for 
 more than a centur)' and a half has been in the possession 
 of the Simcoe family of this county. This farm may be 
 found on the map of the county, and is located a short distance- 
 northwest of Carpenter's Point fisher3', and not very far 
 from the moutii of Principio Creek. It appears from papers 
 in possedsion of Mr. George Simcoe, of Bay View, the present 
 owner of the farm, that it was part of a tract of four hundred 
 acres taken up and patented on the 20th July, 1658, by one- 
 William Carpender, under the name of Anna Catharine 
 Neck. It is described as butting on Bay Head Creek, now 
 called Principio Creek. George Simcoe, who was a felt- 
 maker from Pj'ince George's Countj^, purchased two hundred 
 acres, part of the original tract, from Carpender Littington, 
 in 1720, which is described as adjoining the land of Francis 
 Clay, who, there is little doubt, sought to perpetuate his 
 name by applying it to the historic tract of land called 
 "Clay Fall," which included a large part if not all the land 
 
28 HISTORY OK CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 in Carpenter's Point Neck. It is probable that other settle- 
 ments Avero made about this time, along the Baj' shore west 
 •of Principio (Jreek, and that a few straggling settlers from 
 Kent Island had settled on the main land in the south- 
 western part of Kent County, which, as we shall see, was 
 afterwards for a period of thirty-two years included in this 
 county. There is also reason to believe that a few settle- 
 ments had been made along the Sassafras Piver near its 
 mouth, but no record of any of them has come down to the 
 present time. Judging from the fact that the Susquehan^ 
 nocks reserved the country between the North East and Sus- 
 quehanna rivers, in the treaty of 165:2, and there being no 
 •evidence that they ever ceded it to the English, it is reason- 
 able to conclude that the first settlers at "Clay Fall" were 
 Indian traders, located there for the purpose of trafficing 
 with the Susquehannocks, who continued to frequent this 
 part of the county for many years after this time. 
 
 Spesutia Island had been settled for some time before this, 
 for there is evidence that the Dutch at Altona knew of it 
 the next year and called it Pearson's Island. 
 
 Many of the Swedes and Finns — for many of the latter 
 had settled along the Delaware— not liking the government 
 of the Dutch, took refuge amoiig the English settlements be- 
 fore named, and among them were six soldiers, who had 
 ■deserted from the Dutch service. At a meeting of the Coun- 
 cil of New Amstel, on June 20th, 1659, it was resolved to re- 
 quest the governor of Maryland to return these deserters. The 
 Dutch did not know the governor's name, nor where he lived, 
 but they were acquainted with Nathaniel Utie, who tlien resi- 
 •ded upon Spesutia Island, and who no doubt was in the 
 habit of visiting the Dutch settlements; and so they sent the 
 letter to Utie, who agreed to forward it to the governor, 
 though he informed those who delivered it to him that he 
 had a commission in his house authorizing him to visit the 
 Dutch, and had delayed starting upon his mission because 
 Lord Baltimore had arrived and ordered a survey of the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 29' 
 
 country to be made, Avith a view of convincing the Dutch 
 that they were located within his province. Utie told them 
 if that was the case, that measures would be taken to reduce 
 the Dutch and make them acknowledge the jurisdiction of 
 Maryland, and that Lord Baltimore had no intention of 
 abandoning any part of his territory. The assertion made 
 by Utie that Lord Baltimore had arrived was not true, and 
 he probably made it to intimidate those who composed the 
 embassy. 
 
 Nathaniel Utie was one of the most prominent pioneers 
 of civilization at the head of Chesapeake Bay. The time of 
 his settlement upon Spesutia Island is unknown, but it was 
 probably made soon after the treaty with the Susquehan- 
 nocks, in 1652. The beautiful island opposite Turkey Point 
 derives its name from him. The word mea)is Utie's Plope. 
 He probably came from Virginia, and was, no doubt, a rela- 
 tive of John Utie, wliose name occupies a^ conspicuous position 
 in the history of Virginia from 1623 till 1635. In the 
 former year he and ten others addressed a letter to the king 
 in re.^erence to the affairs of that colony. He was at that 
 time a member of the Council of Virginia. He afterwards 
 got into political trouble and his property was confiscated. 
 
 Nathaniel Utie was appointed councilor. May 6th, 1058. 
 The next daj^ he was licensed to trade with the Indians in 
 the province for beaver and other furs. He seems to have 
 been a member of tlie last Assembly, and to have been made 
 a councilor on account of " the great ability and affectionate 
 service done in that Assembly by him." He was authorized 
 in his license to arrest all persons trading in the upper part 
 of the bay not liaving license. On the 12th of July follow- 
 ing he was commissioned as captain of all the forces be- 
 tween the coves of Patuxent River and the Seven Mountains, 
 and was to command as his own company all the forces 
 from the head of Severn River on the north side thereof to 
 the Sevcji Mountains. Tliis is the only time the Seven Moun- 
 tains are mentioned in the colonial records. It is impossible 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 to ascertain, with certainty, what highlands were thus digni- 
 fied by the name of mountains; }>ut the name was evidently 
 applied to seven of the largest hills near the head of the bay, 
 and there is little doubt that Balls' Mountain and the other 
 eminences in Elk Neck are the mountains referred to. In 
 1661 the council of the colony met at Spesutia ; and Utie, 
 who had been a member of a bogus Assembly that met at 
 St. Clement Manor in 1659, in the time of Fendall's rebellion, 
 and which had indulged in legislation hostile to the Lord 
 Proprietary, petitioned the council " to add a further act of 
 grace, that his former offences may not be prejudicial to 
 him hereafter." It seems from this that he had already 
 been pardoned, but the council very graciously granted his 
 petition. He represented Baltimore County in the House 
 ■of Burgesses in 1665 ; and the next year was one of a num- 
 ber of commissioners appointed to negotiate with the gover- 
 nors of Virginia and North Carolina in reference to the dis- 
 continuance of the planting of tobacco in those provinces 
 and Maryland for one year, in order to enhance the price of 
 that article. He owned a considerable quantity of land 
 near the mouth of the Gunpowder and also owned land 
 along the Sassafras River. 
 
 George Utie and Richard Wells were ordered to be sum- 
 moned before the provincial court in 1661, " for not sending 
 letters down to the Governor according to the acts of Assem- 
 bly, and for contemptuously nailing up a letter of the sheriff 
 directed to the governor." They probably lived on Spesutia 
 Island, and the former was, no doubt, a relative of Nathaniel 
 Utie. It seems from his treatment of the sheriff that he 
 was as stubborn and courageous as Nathaniel. He repre- 
 sented Baltimore County in the House of Burgesses in 1661, 
 and was also comtnissioned sheriff of Baltimore County in 
 1666. 
 
 This meagre sketch contains all the particulars of interest 
 that we have been able to glean from the colonial records of 
 this period of the Utie family. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 31 
 
 The bold stand taken by Utie gave great alarm to the 
 Dutch, and so many of the settlers in consequence removed 
 to Maryland and Virginia that scarcely thirty families re- 
 mained in New Amstel. 
 
 Governor Fendall on the receipt of the letter containing 
 the extraordinary demand for the return of the deserters, 
 laeing anxious to carry out Lord Baltimore's instructions, 
 called a meeting of the council at Anne Arundel (now An- 
 napolis), on the 3d of August, at which meeting it was 
 " Ordered that Colonel Nathaniel Utie do make his repaire 
 to the pretended Governor of the people seated in Delaware 
 Bay, within his Lordship's Province, and that he do give 
 them to understand that they are seated within this, 
 his Lordship's Province, without notice given to his Lord- 
 ship's Lieutenant here, and to require them to depart 
 this Province." ..." That in case he find opportunity, 
 he insinuate unto the people there seated, that in case they 
 make their application to his Lordship's government here, 
 they shall find good conditions, according to the conditions 
 of plantation granted to ail comers into this province, which 
 shall be made good unto them ; and that they shall have 
 protection in their lives, liberty and estates, which they 
 shall bring with them." Whereupon a letter was sent from 
 Governor Fendall to the Dutch on Delaware Bay, in which 
 he acknowledges the receipt of the letter from the Dutch 
 governor there, and recites the fact that the Dutch colony 
 is located south of the fortieth degree of north latitude and 
 within the limits of Lord Baltimore's grant, and requires 
 him (the Dutchman) to depart " or to excuse him (Fendall) 
 if he should use his utmost endeavor to reduce that part of 
 his Lordship's Province unto its due obedience under him." 
 
 This letter was intrusted to Utie, who, accompanied by his 
 brother, his cousin, a Major Jacob de A^rintz, and servant, 
 and four fugitives, arrived at New Amstel on the 6th of 
 September, 1659. 
 
 It seems that the fugitives went voluntarily, for three of 
 
32 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 them were arrested by the authorities at New Amstel. The- 
 accounts of this visit which have come down to us, warrant 
 the belief that Utie was a cunning and skillful dijilomatist,. 
 and that he fully carried out the instructions which had 
 been given to him by the council. His actions during the 
 course of the negotiations with the Dutch are said to have 
 been both boisterous and aggressive ; so much so that Stuy- 
 vesant censured Governor Beekman and Alrichs for not 
 arresting him. But his efforts to induce the Dutch to ac- 
 knowledge the authority of Lord Baltimore were unsuccess- 
 ful ; and this attempt to extend the jurisdiction of the gov- 
 ernment of Maryland to the Delaware River, like many 
 others that were subsequently made, proved to be a failure. 
 The Dutch were very badly frightened by Utie's behavior,, 
 and immediately sent messengers overland to ^Manhattan, 
 to inform Stuyvesant of the demands he had made. Fear- 
 ing that the messengers might meet with some disaster, the- 
 next day they dispatched a vessel for the same purpose. 
 Governor Stuyvesant upon being informed of the condition 
 of affairs on the Delaware, dispatched Augustine Hermen 
 and Resolved (or Rosevelt) Waldron upon a mission to 
 Maryland for tlie purpose of adjusting the difficulty. They 
 came by the way of New Amstel and left there on the 13th 
 of September, 1659. They kept a journal during their 
 journey, in which they state that they were accompanied by 
 some guides, mostl}' Indians, and convoyed by a few sol- 
 diers. They traveled by land, taking the first day a course 
 west northwest from New Castle. They continued this 
 course for four and a half Dutch miles (about thirteen and 
 a c^uarter English miles), when they took a due west course, 
 and after traveling three more Dutch miles, the Indians re- 
 fusing to proceed any furtliei', encamped for the night. On 
 the fir.-t of October they continued tlieir journev, going 
 west by south, and then directly soutli. The country at first 
 was hilly and then low. They soon arrived at a stream, 
 which the Indians informed them flowed into the Bav of 
 
HISTOEY OF C'KCIL COUNTY. 33 
 
 Virginia — tlie Chesapeake Bay. They followed this stream 
 until they found a boat hauled upon the shore and almost 
 dried up. Dismissing four of their guides and retaining 
 •only a man named Sander Boj'er and his Indian, they 
 pushed off, but were soon obliged to land again, as the boat 
 became full of water, whereupon they turned the boat up- 
 side down and caulked the seams with old linen. They thus 
 made it a little tighter, but one was obliged to sit continu- 
 ally and bail out the water. Proceeding down this stream, 
 they soon reached the Elk River. There must have been 
 great changes in the branches of the Elk River since that 
 time, for none of them are now navigable. The probability 
 is that they reached the North East, which they mistook for 
 the Elk. Here they made a fire and remained till evening, 
 when they proceeded, but with great trouble, as the boat had 
 neither rudder nor oars, but only paddles. Going down the 
 bay they arrived at the Sassafras River, where they stopped 
 at the plantation of a man named John Turner. Here they 
 met a man named Abraham, who was a Finn, and had been 
 a soldier at Fort Altona, and who had run away with a 
 Dutch woman from the settlements on the Delaware and 
 taken refuge in Maryland. They proceeded down the bay 
 and soon reached Kent Island, where they were entertained 
 by a Mr. Wicks for a short time, and soon afterwards had 
 their first interview with the governor and council of Mary- 
 land at Patuxent. At this meeting Herman and Waldron 
 presented the governor and council with a letter and their 
 •credentials from Governor Stuyvesant, in Dutch, and which 
 were Englished by Mr. Simon Oversee, by order of the coun- 
 cil. In this letter Stuyvesant speaks of being much aston- 
 ished when he understood that Colonel Utie had served the 
 notice upon the Dutch in Delaware, requiring them to va- 
 ■cate their settlement there, and argues the. case at some 
 length, and takes exception to the instrument, because it 
 was not dated. He calls it " a seditious cartebell, in form of 
 an instruction, without any time or place, or where or from 
 
 c 
 
34 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 whom, or in whose name, order or authority it was written,"' 
 etc. ; and concludes by stating that he sent his agents and 
 ambassadors, Hermen and Waldron, to remonstrate against 
 the proceedings of the governor and council of Maryland. 
 The credentials of the ambassadors were of much greater 
 length and contained a great deal more protestation and 
 argument than the letter. The ambassadors also delivered 
 a paper of considerable length, in which the arguments iu 
 favor of the claim of the Dutch on the Delaware are very 
 succinctly set forth. 
 
 During the progress of their deliberations, which were- 
 protracted for several days, the Dutch ambassadors were 
 shown a copy of Lord Baltimore's charter, whereupon they 
 called the attention of the council to the fact that his lord- 
 ship was invested with a country not before inhabited, only 
 by a certain barbarous people called Indians. And inas- 
 much as the country on the Delaware River was settled be- 
 fore the patent was issued, his Royal Majesty's intention was 
 not to invest him with title to the settlements on the Dela- 
 ware. Upon the ground taken by these ambassadors at this 
 early stage of the dispute between Lord Baltimore and the 
 Dutch, his claims to all the land between the Delaware and 
 Chesapeake bays and as far north as the fortieth degree of 
 north latitude was ultimately defeated. The fact that Her- 
 men and Waldron were the first to call attention to this 
 matter proves them to have been persons of great ability ^ 
 and shrewd and cunning diplomatists. Col. Nathaniel Utie, 
 who was a member of the council at this time, appears to 
 have shown a great deal of temper. He was probably some- 
 what vexed at the want of success that attended his efforts 
 when at New Castle. This attempt to settle this difficulty, 
 like the one that preceded it, proved to be a failure in its 
 main object; but was productive of good in this particular, 
 that it caused the i']nglish and their neighbors along the- 
 Delaware to become better acquainted. It was also the 
 means of bringing Augustine Hermen to settle in this county. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 35 
 
 After the negotiations were over, Waldron returned to New 
 Amsterdam with an account of them, and Hermen went to 
 A^irginia, as he expresses it, "to inquire of the governor 
 what is his opinion on the subject, to create a division be- 
 tween them both, and purge ourselves of the slander of 
 stirring up the Indians to murder English at Accomac." It 
 seems from this, that the Dutch had made themselves 
 obnoxious to the Virginians as well as to the Marylanders ; 
 but as the two latter were upon the best of terms at this 
 time, it may liave been that the Virginians had espoused 
 the cause of the Marylanders and slandered the Dutch, as 
 Hermen asserts. It is probable that Hermen remained in 
 Virginia for some months on business connected with the 
 map whicli he afterwards made of that province and Mary- 
 land ; for the authorities at New Amsterdam, on dispatching 
 Captain Newton and Varlett to that colony " on a mission, 
 in February, 1660, instructed them to inquire in Maryland 
 if danger threatened the South River," and to avail them- 
 selves of the "aid and tongue of Augustine Hermen," at 
 that time in Virginia. 
 
 The history of this distinguished man, and that of his 
 numerous descendants, is so closely interwoven with that of 
 Cecil County for a quarter of a century after this time that 
 some account of his previous life will be interesting. He 
 was a native of Prague, a city of Bohemia ; but at what time 
 he came to New Netherlands is not precisely known. He 
 was in the employ of the West India Company, and was in 
 company with Arent Corssen in 1633, at the time of the 
 Dutch purchase from the Indians of the lands which in- 
 cluded the site of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill, near the 
 mouth of which Fort Beversrede was subsequently erected. 
 He probably returned to Holland and came back again to 
 this country under different auspices than those of his first 
 adventure here. In .June, 1641, he was with Laurens Cor- 
 nelisson, an agent of Peter Gabry & Sons, and Mr. Broad- 
 head says he " came out under the patronage of the Cliamber 
 
oij insTimv ui' ckcii. < dcxty. 
 
 of Eiicklmysen as agent of the mercantile house of Gabry 
 of Amsterdam." The same year he was established in trade 
 of the general character common at the time, and afterwards 
 made several voyages to Holland in the prosecution of his 
 commercial enterprises. Some years later we find him in- 
 terested in privateering, and one of the owners, in 1649, of 
 the frigate La Garce, engaged in depredations on the Spanish 
 commerce. He was unfortunate in his business enterprises, 
 and in September, 1652, " a fugitive" from his creditors, his 
 affairs in the hands of assignees, who were finally discharged 
 as such March 18th, 1653. In May following he was granted 
 "liberty and freedom" by the council, and excused for 
 having broken the company's seal ; " having settled with his 
 creditors," the same month he was bearer of dispatches from 
 Governor Stuyvesant to the New England authorities at 
 Boston, respecting an alleged conspiracy of the Dutch and 
 Indians against the English. In December, 1658, he obtained 
 permission to make a voyage, doubtless for trade to the Dutch 
 and French islands in the West Indies, and arrived at the 
 Island of Curacao, April 18th, 1659. In his public positions 
 he rendered useful and important service to the colonv- He 
 was one of the Board of Nine Men then organized, September 
 25th, 1647, and held the office in 1649 and 1650. One of 
 the ambassadors to Rhode Island in April, 1652." * 
 
 Augustine Hermen married Jannetje (Jane) Varlett, a na- 
 tive of Utrecht, in New Amsterdam, December 10th, 1651. 
 They were the parents of five children : Ephraim George, 
 Casparus or Caspar, Anna Margaretta, Judith and Francina, 
 all of whom were baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church at 
 New Amsterdam, of which their parents are believed to have 
 been members. The map generally called Hermen's map 
 of Maryland, in consideration of the making of which he 
 obtained the grant of Bohemia Manor and Middle Neck, 
 
 * From Ancient Families of Now York, by Edwin R. Purple, in the 
 N. Y. Gen. and Bio. Record, April, 1878, page 54. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 includes all of Delaware and considerable portions of the 
 other States contiguous to Maryland. It was engraved and 
 published by Faithorne, of London, in 1672, and contains 
 a medallion portrait of Hermen, proba|)ly the only one 
 extant. The map is very authentic, so far as it represents 
 the western shore of the Chesapeake and the peninsula be- 
 tween the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. A tradition has 
 long been current among the people of Bohemia Manor that 
 upon a certain occasion after Hermen settled in Maryland 
 he went back to New Amsterdam where, for some reason 
 now unknown, he was arrested and confined by order of the 
 authorities there. In order to escape he feigned insanity 
 and requested to be allowed the company cf his horse, a 
 splendid gray charger. The favor was granted, and Hermen 
 mounting the horse seized a favorable opportunity, and dash- 
 ing through one of the windows of his prison, which were 
 twenty feet from the ground, started for New Castle, which 
 he repched in safety, though closely pursued by his enemies. 
 His horse is said to have swam tlie Delaware River and 
 carried his master safely across, and to have died from over- 
 exertion shortly after reaching the shore. There is probably 
 some truth in this story, for Hermen had a painting com- 
 memorative of some adventure of that kind. Two copies 
 of this painting are yet extant, one of which is in the 
 possession of one of liis descendants, a member of tlie Troth 
 family, of Camden, New Jersey. He made a will which is dated 
 November 8th, 1665, and though never proved, is recorded 
 among the land records of Baltimore County, in Book I. S., 
 number I. K. Among many other interesting things, it 
 contains the following clause : " I do appoint my burial and 
 sepulcher, if I die in this bay or in Delaware, to be in Bohe- 
 mia Manor, in my garden by my wife Johanna Varlett's, 
 and that a great sepulcher stone shall be erected upon our 
 graves three feet above ground, like unto a table, with 
 engraven letters that I am the first seater and beginner of 
 Bohemia Manor, Anno Domini, 1660, and died," etc. This 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 will shows that he had at that time property in New York, 
 which if his children left no heirs he directs shall be applied 
 to the erection of a free school. He directs tliat his sons 
 shall have at ei^iteen years of age, and his daughters at 
 marriage, six milch cows, six breeding sows, and six breed- 
 ing hens, with a male of each one of those species. His son 
 Ephraim George and his friend John Browning, Avith'whom 
 he afterwards had a bitter quarrel, were to be executors of 
 this Avill. 
 
 Augustine Hermen aforesaid seems to have become 
 enamoured of the rich soil and genial climate of this lati- 
 tude during his visit to Maryland and Virginia, in 1659. 
 His mercantile speculations had not i)roved as profitable as 
 he expected, and he resolved to leave the barren shores of 
 Manhattan Island and take up his residence on the fertile 
 plains of what was afterwards called Bohemia Manor. His 
 motive was a laudable one, namelj', to acquire a princely 
 domain for himself and his children, and thereby to per- 
 petutate his name. With these ends in view he jiroposed 
 to Lord Baltimore to make the map before mentioned. 
 This was a work of some magnitude, and cost him "no 
 less than the vaiue of about two hundred pounds ster- 
 ling, beside his own labor." It also required much time, 
 and was not finished until the expiration of some years 
 after he had received his first patent, which was dated June 
 19th, 1 662, which was the year after he moved his family from 
 New Amsterdam to Bohemia Manor in Cecil County. This 
 patent is a legal as well as a literary curiosity. After greeting 
 all persons to whom it should come, in the name of the Lord 
 God Everlasting, and referring to the "conditions of planta- 
 tions,'' which were certain regulations in regard tu the terms 
 upon which titles to plantations could be acquired in the 
 province, it " grants unto Augustine Hermen all that tract of 
 land called Bohemia Manor, lying on the east side of Chesa- 
 peake Bay and on the west side of a river in the said bay, 
 called YAk Paver, on the northernmost side of a creek in 
 
HISTOr.Y OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the said river, called Hermen's C'reek, Beginning at 
 the easternmost bound tree of the land of Philip Calvert, 
 Esq. (who had previously obtained the grant of a thousand 
 acres at Town Point), and running south by east up the 
 said creek of the length of two thousand perches to a marked 
 oak, standing by a cove called Hermen's Cove, and from 
 the said oak running northeast for the length of three hun- 
 dred and twenty perches until it intersects a parallel line 
 running west for the length of two thousand perches, to the 
 said land of Philip Calvert, Esq. On the west with the 
 said land, on the south with the said creek, on the east with 
 the said line, on the north with the said parallel. Contain- 
 ing and now laid out for four thousand acres, more or less, 
 together with all royalties or privileges thereunto belonging 
 (royal mines excepted)." This manor of Bohemia was to 
 be holden of " Cecilius, Lord Baron of Baltimore, and of his 
 heirs, as of his manor of St. Maries, in free and common 
 socage, by fealty only for all manner of service, yielding 
 and paying therefor yearly unto us and our heirs, at our 
 receipt at St. Maries, at the two most usual feasts in the 
 year, viz., at the feast of the annunciation of tlie Blessed 
 Virgin Mary, and at the feast of St. Michael, the Archangel, 
 by even and equal portions, the rent of four pounds sterling, 
 in silver or gold, or the full value thereof, in such commo- 
 dities as we or our heirs shall accept in discharge thereof." 
 By patent bearing the same date, and for the same consider- 
 ation mentioned in the other patent (the making of a map 
 •of the province), Hermen became the owner and proprietor 
 of Little Bohemia, or Bohemia Middle Neck. The fact that 
 Hermen obtained two patents for two distinct tracts of land, 
 that were only separated from each other by a small stream 
 of water, may seem strange and unusual at this day. 
 People now would have made one patent include the whole 
 tract ; but the manners and customs of that day were quite 
 different from those of the present. Hermen intended 
 Bohemia Manor for an inheritance for his eldest son, and 
 
40 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ill view of this fact there is nothing strange in not in- 
 cluding Little Bohemia in the same patent. 
 
 It will be seen, from an inspection of the foregoing quota- 
 tion from the patent for Bohemia Manor, that its boundaries 
 differ very much from what they are at present. 
 
 The probability is that neither of the tracts were ever 
 located according to the metes and bounds set forth in the 
 original patents, for Hermen states in his journal that dan- 
 ger from Indians prevented an accurate inspection and sur- 
 vey of his lands, and that he made a treaty with the Indians 
 at Spesutia Island and purchased this land from them. He 
 states in his journal that " there was an imaginary survey 
 recorded the 13th of September, 1659, for Philip Calvert, 
 Esq., of a one thousand acres on the point between Elk 
 River and Oppoquermine River (now Bohemia River), ad- 
 herent or includent to Bohemia Manor, his Honor did let it 
 fall to the said Augustine Hermen, who, having proposed 
 to his Lordship in England the erecting of a town thereon, 
 his Lordship promised all reasonable privileges to him, the said, 
 Augustine Hermen, and first undertaking, ivilling to have the 
 town called Ceciltown and the county Cecil County, sending {to 
 that purpose) in a charter, as a foundation to all other toivnships 
 in this province, remaining in the office under the great seal 
 dated January 2ith, 1661," which charter above referred to 
 was issued more than a year before Hermen received the 
 first patent for Bohemia Manor. This is the first reference 
 to Cecil County in the early records of the province. It indi- 
 cates that Hermen originated the name. Calvert's land, as 
 the reader will perceive, was located at the junction of the 
 Elk and Bohemia rivers ; and though Ceciltown was not built 
 upon it, it still bears the name of Town Point. 
 
 This year (1659) a tract of land, containing four hundred 
 acres, was taken up and patented at Frenchtown, on the Elk 
 River, under the name of Thompsontown. At this time 
 there was a fort garrisoned by the Eiiglisli on Watson's 
 Island, and probably one on Spesutia Isluiid. A few vears 
 
HISTORY OP CE(.'IL COUNTY. 41 
 
 after this there is reason to believe the English had a fort 
 or block -house in Sassafras Neck, not very far in a south- 
 westerly direction from the junction of tire Great and Little 
 Bohemia River. The Indians also had a fort on Iron Hill 
 and one on the west bank of the Susquehanna River some 
 miles north of the State line, and were in undisputed pos- 
 session of all the country betM'een the head of Chesapeake 
 Bay and the Delaware River, except the places we have 
 named and perhaps a few otliers along the Elk and North 
 East rivers. 
 
CHAPTER \'I. 
 
 Council of Maryland meet at Sjiesutia Island — Examination of persons 
 ■who had suffered from the depredations of Indians along the Delaware 
 River — Interesting correspondence between the Governor of ^laryland 
 and Alexander D'Hinoyossa, Governor of New Amstel — The Council de- 
 clare war against the Susquehannocks — Instructions to Captain Odber — 
 Letter from D'Hinoyossa — Augustine Hermen tries to make peace be- 
 tween the Dutch and English — Council meets at Susquehanna Point and 
 are shown the commission of Captain Neals recently arrived from Eng- 
 land — ]\Iany of the Swedes from Delaware settle in Sassafras Neck. 
 
 On account of the troubles with the Indians and Dutch, 
 the council of jNIarjdand frequently met at and near the head 
 ■of the bay for the purpose of investigating the facts, mak- 
 ing treaties with the Indians, etc. It met at Spesutia for the 
 former purpose on the 13th of May, 1661, when it was or- 
 dered that all persons who have suffered any damage bj' the 
 Indians, or have engaged with them in an hostile manner, 
 ■be summoned to appear at that place on the 15th instant. 
 This summons was directed to be sent from house to house 
 as low as Patapsco River. Then follows the information of 
 Peter Meyer touching the death of four Englishmen in their 
 passage between Delaware Bay and the head of Chesapeake 
 Bay by Indians, upon Wednesday, in Easter week last, to 
 the effect that upon Friday, in Easter week, coming at the 
 ■Sand Hook, there came unto him one Foppo Yanson (called 
 by the Dutch Foppo Jansen Outhout) and told him that he 
 feared some Englishmen were killed by the Indians, because 
 seeking his horse in the woods he saw an Indian pass by 
 with a gray hat with ribbons tied upon a pack at his back ; 
 that a while afterwards the said Foppo Yanson showed him 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 43 
 
 the Indian that had the hat at his back ; that by the assist- 
 ance of Mr. AVilliam Hollingsvvorth, of New England, and 
 some others, he did appreliend the said Indian witli his 
 companion, wliom, npon demand of justice, the governor of 
 the same place committed to prison ; whereupon the rest of 
 the Indians in the town fled and left one pack behind them, 
 in which pack he found an English red war coat, with a 
 hole in the back, wet, and a canvas bag, all bloody, and an 
 English pair of shoes; tbat one of the prisoners was re- 
 leased, that he might go and fetch their king ; and that the 
 next day the others were released, but upon what ground, 
 he knows not. And the said Peter Meyer further informs 
 the council, that, demanding of the said Indian how he 
 -came by that hat, he answered it was given him by another 
 Indian, called Oconittka, who had killed an Englishman ; 
 that he had desired the pack of goods in which the war coat 
 and bloody bag were found to be arrested, which was accord- 
 ingly done ; but that coming the next day to inquire for it, 
 the man of the house where it was deposited answered that 
 it was given to the Indian again, and that he was told by the 
 Dutch that the Indians did threaten him as being an Eng- 
 lishman for to kill him. This man Peter Meyer had a quar- 
 rel about this time with Mr. Lears, a Finnish priest, who lived 
 on the Delaware River not far from where Chester now 
 stands. He had struck the reverend gentleman in the face 
 and mutilated him in a shameful manner. For this offence 
 the authorities at New Amstel had attempted to bring him 
 to trial. It also appears that they had fined liim for selling 
 liquor to the Indians, and no doubt he was glad of the op»- 
 portunity to vent his wrath upon them, bj^ giving the fore- 
 going information to the Marylanders. 
 
 Robert Gorsuch was then examined touching the engage- 
 ment with the Indians at Gunpowder River. He stated tliat 
 the Indians came to his house on the 11th of April, 1661, 
 some dressed in blue and some in red match coats, who 
 killed his wife and plundered his house, and about four or 
 
44 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 five days after came to his house again and killed some five 
 cows and a steer, and some hogs, as he supposeth. 
 
 John Taylor said that upon Easter eve, in the afternoon, 
 there came two Indians to his house, but he not understand- 
 ing their language, pointed at them to be gone ; he not hav- 
 ing heard before of a murder committed upon Robert Gor- 
 such's wife, and they accordingly departed. The next day 
 these same Indians ri:turned with seven more and one 
 woman, who, coming near his landing, shot off a gun to 
 give him notice, as he considered ; whereupon he went to 
 the landing to them, and they asked him for some tobacco, 
 which he did give them, and upon sight of another canoe 
 of Indians, bid them be gone; one of them understanding 
 and speaking a little English, ujwn which thej^ went away, 
 and steered, as he thought, toward a plantation hard by, 
 where two bachelors lived, named Edward Fouster and John 
 Fouster ; that John Fouster coming in a canoe toward the 
 Indians, shot at said Indians and came immediately away 
 to this informant's house ; whereupon the said Indians shot 
 three guns at the said Fouster, and immediately went and 
 plundered his liouse, and came round about two weeks after- 
 wards and plundered his tobacco house, where his goods 
 then lay for want of room in his dwelling-house, to the value 
 of one thousand pounds of tobacco ; that upon notice given 
 of this plunder, William A\'igwell,.Iohn Fouster and Edward 
 Swanson went forth after the said Indians, to know why 
 they plundered the said tobacco house, and coming up to 
 them in the woods, where they were sitting round a fire, 
 they immediately surrounded the said English and dis- 
 charged a volley of ten shots, killing the said John Fouster, 
 and at a seco d volley wounded William Wigwell, notwith- 
 standing which shot, tiiey fought them three liours and 
 made their retreat good, since which time the said Indians 
 have killed eleven liead of cattle and twentv liead of liocrs. 
 Demanding of the Indians who they were, tliey answered 
 they wore all .Susciuelianiiauglis, as all Indians u<ed t.» do 
 that come to liis liouse. 
 
lIISTOItV OF CKCIL COUNTY. 45 
 
 Thomas Overton and William Hallis saith that, about the 
 25th of April last, Thomas Sampson and Richard Hayes, 
 seeing two canoes with nine Delaware Bay Indians coming 
 down Bush River; watching their canoes, did discern that 
 they steered toward their plantation, upon which the said 
 Sampson and Richard Hayes came and brought these infor- 
 mants news of their coming ; so upon that, they took to 
 their boats and arms and met the Indians, and inquired of 
 them whether thej' were Susquehannaughs, yea, or no, and 
 they answered no ; and whilst that these informants were 
 talking with one of the said companies in one of the canoes, 
 the other canoe with Indians went ashore ; and as soon as 
 they were on the shore, one of the informant's dogs bit one 
 of the said Indians, and upon that the Indian turned him 
 about and shot the dog and killed it, and immediately 
 another of the said Indians that was on the shore shot at 
 these informants and their company, and the bullets came 
 through the boat; then the said informants and their com- 
 pany shot at the Indians that were in the other canoe and 
 killed five of them — that is all the Indians that were in that 
 canoe; and further, these informants saith, that the Indians 
 on the shore did kill one of their company, called John 
 Spurne ; and further knoweth not. 
 
 At this meeting a letter was read to the council from 
 William Hollingsworth, directed to his most respected 
 friend Col. Nathaniel Utie, from the Sand Point, in Dela- 
 ware Bay, written some time in April, 1661, about the 
 murder of four men who left the Sand Hook on the seven- 
 teenth of April, and whose names he did not know, but 
 who were murdered by the Indians while on their way from 
 Sand Hook (New Castle) to the head of the bay, and whose 
 bodies, he had been informed by the Indians, lay at a place 
 called Saquosehum. Twenty Indians had come to Sand 
 Hook, and he had caused two of them to be arrested and 
 placed in the guard-house, but afterwards sent one of them 
 to inform their sachem. Both Dutch and Indians, he writes. 
 
46 HISTORY OF CECIL COl'XTY. 
 
 are much displeased at the arrest of the Indians. He there- 
 fore asks the advice of Utie, and prays that some person 
 may be sent to inquire further into the matter. In a post- 
 script he adds that the Indians threatened to kill some 
 Englishmen, then at the Sand Hook, when they started 
 home to their families in Maryland. Philip Calvert there- 
 upon, on the fifteenth of ilay, 1661, addressed a letter tO' 
 Alexander D'PIinoj'ossa, then Governor of New Amstel, as 
 follows : 
 
 " I understand from Mr. Hollingsworth of the murder of 
 four men belonging to this province by the hands of some 
 Indians, your neighbors; and further, upon his accusation,, 
 you had committed them to guard. I send this exjjress to 
 you, to be informed of the true state of the matter. It is 
 not our custom to put up (with) the injuries of Indians, nor 
 to bury the blood of Christians in forgetfulness and oblivion; 
 therefore I request you to deliver me the Indian prisoners,, 
 that I may deal with them according to our justice in like. 
 cases. I am now at Sjjesutia, and there shall remain till I 
 have provided for the safety of the people and the honor of 
 our nation, and shall expect an answer from you to such. 
 
 " Your servant, 
 
 " Phil. Calvert." 
 
 To which DTIinoyossa replied as follows : 
 
 "Right IIoxdrable Yours, 
 
 15th May, Old Stvleward, 
 
 the 26th of New Style. 
 "Out of which we have seen that, upon the advice of 
 Mr. Hollingsworth, you are come to the islands of 
 Nathaniel Utie for to examine the lamentable murder done- 
 by the Sanhican Indians unto four Englishmen. (It is 
 thus): For as much as hath appeared to us that how have 
 been four persons, out of the province of Maryland, which, 
 after two days' stay, departed from hence to their plantation,, 
 as they said, and by the way are met bv the said Indians, 
 by whom they are murdered. And oii Marettico, on the 
 Iron Hill, met them two Indians coming from the Minquas 
 country; to one of them they did give a hat, and nothing 
 else; to the other they gave nothing. The same two In- 
 dians came to tlie town, imagining notliing; but the mur- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 47" 
 
 derers, which killed the man, did very secretly and speedily 
 pass this place up to the river; two or three inhabitants of 
 New Amstel did, in the meanwhile, lay hold of these Indians, 
 and I caused them to be brought to the fort; but after- 
 many examinations, found them not guilty, but that it was 
 done by another nation ; therefore we have released them, 
 because the innocent cannot suffer for the guilty; otherwise 
 it would be a case grounded of no reason, besides there is 
 some time past between, and would have occasioned between 
 us and the Indians a difference which might damage us 
 with them to an open war, whereby the culture of the 
 country and the advancement of the colony would be much 
 hindered, in which, apparently, your Honor would take no- 
 comfort nor content with the two Indians, which have not 
 been actually in the fort; and therefore let your Honor be 
 assured that the releasing of the two Indians hath not been 
 done out of any ill intent, nor to the prejudice of so good 
 Christians, our neighbors, in favor of the heathens, which 
 have committed from time to time divers murders and rob- 
 beries upon our nation, also wishing that we could lay hold 
 of this good opportunity in revenging ourselves upon the- 
 murderers also. To conclude, your Honor may be confident 
 that the shedding of Christian blood is most detestable unto- 
 us, assuring yourself that we shall contribute in all things 
 to the preservation of friendshijj with neighbors of our- 
 belief, for as much as might be done without prejudice to - 
 our own nation. So I commit your Honor to God's keeping,, 
 who will give his blessing to your government, so just. 
 " Your serviceable friend, 
 
 " Prai,se God in all things, 1661, 
 
 "Alexander D'Hinoyossa." 
 
 What the old Hollander meant by " Marettico on the Iron> 
 Hill " has not been ascertained. It was probably an Indiaiii 
 name applied to some part of the country between Iron Hill 
 and Grey's Hill, now called Red Hill. The reader will ob- 
 serve that, like some of his countrymen of the present time,. 
 D'Hinoyossa had a. rather limited command of the English 
 language. 
 
 Following this, on the same page, is to be seen the follow- - 
 ing letter, which was evidently presented to the Council at 
 this meeting at Spesutia, and which speaks for itself: 
 
48 HISTunY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ■" Mr. Wright : 
 
 " Be pleased to do so much as to let me know how it is with 
 you at the west for trade. The Indians threaten to kill me, 
 and that is the reason I cannot come. I must march in my 
 house with seven or eight guns loaden, and I have no 
 comfort from the inhabitants here, Indians and Dutch both 
 saying that I am an Englishman. I wish I could have time 
 to speak half an hour with you. Mr. Hollingsworth is very 
 sorry he hears no answer of his letter. Give everybody 
 notice, and look to yourself night and day. The Indians 
 are very strong and not far from you. I would have written 
 more, but I dare not dare. Warn James at Turkey Point 
 to remove. 
 
 " Your loving servant, 
 
 " Garratt Rutten. 
 
 "May 15th, 1661." 
 
 Then follows the commission of Captain John Odber, 
 authorizing him to take command of fifty soldiers and to 
 march with them to the Susquehannaughs' fort. This fort 
 was probably just above the junction of the Octoraro Greek 
 and Susquehanna River. There is no doubt whatever about 
 the Susquehannaughs having a fort at that place, because 
 John Hans Stillman testified that he had seen it there. 
 Stillman was an Indian trader, and at one time had a trading 
 post at the junction of the Big and Little Elk Creek. He 
 also had a trading post at the mouth of the Susquehanna 
 River, and was well acquainted with the Indians. His evi- 
 dence, taken many years afterwards, when he was a very old 
 man, may be seen in Penn's Breviate, which was submitted 
 to the English Court of Cliancery when Penn and Baltimore 
 were quarreling about their boundary lines. 
 
 Vincent, in his History of Delaware, says this fort was 
 upon Iron Hill ; but had he consulted the colonial records 
 of Maryland he would probably have formed a different 
 opinion. It was the Minquas who lived along the Christiana 
 which flows at the base of Iron Hill, that had the fort on it. 
 There is no evidence now extant tending to prove that the 
 Susquehannocks ever exercised control over that part of the 
 country. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 49 
 
 The instructions to Captain Odber are : " Imprimis : You 
 are to choose some fit place either within or without the fort, 
 which you are to fortify for your own security, and to de- 
 mand the assistance of the Susquehannaughs to fetch tim- 
 ber and other necessaries for the fortification, according to 
 articles now concluded between us ; and further, to cause 
 some spurs or flankers to be laid out for the defence of the 
 Indian fort, whom you are, upon all occasions, to assist against 
 the assaults of their enemies. 
 
 " Second : Upon your arrival at the fort, immediately press 
 them to appoint some one or more of their great men, to 
 whom you shall make your applications on all occasions — 
 that is, either of demanding assistance to help fortify, or of 
 provisions, or upon any orders received from us. 
 
 "Third : Procure that certain persons be appointed, who 
 are to be messengers between you and us, according to 
 articles, and be sure advise us of every accident of import- 
 ance that shall befall you or the Susquehannaughs, and of 
 the proceedings of our affairs. 
 
 " Fourth : You are carefully to inform yourself of the pro- 
 gress of the war between them and the Cinaqoi Indians, 
 and if you find them, start in it, to press them discreetly 
 to a vigorous prosecution of it. 
 
 "Fifth : You are carefully to avoid all quarrels with the 
 Indians ; and therefore, permit not the soldiers (to) sit drink- 
 ing or gaming with them, but keep them to exact military 
 discipline, and, to avoid idleness, often exercise them. 
 
 " Sixth : Make diligent inquiry touching the murderers of 
 the woman in Patapsco River, and of John Norden and his 
 companions on their way from Delaware Baj', &c.; and if 
 you find they have any of the said murderers in the fort, 
 see them shot to death, or send them down to us to be pro- 
 ceeded against according to our laws. 
 
 "Seventh: Lastly, you are to have a very wary eye upon 
 all Dutch that come to the fort, observing their actions and 
 treaties with the Indians, but 'rhow not any animosity against 
 
 D 
 
60 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 them; if you find any close contri nances to our prejudice, 
 give us speedy notice, and oppose, witli discretion, any open 
 actions that may tend to our loss." 
 
 The council met at Spesutia again on ifay 21st, I'^Ol. 
 (Present as before). Then was presented this letter : 
 
 " New xVmstel, 
 
 28th of May, 1661. 
 ♦ Stilo Novo. 
 
 "FiiGHT Honorable: 
 
 " My last, the six and twentieth of May, was in haste, be- 
 cause the Indians would not stay by the same. I did assure 
 your Honor of the upwright affection which we have for 
 the keeping of a good neighborship. I have by this occa- 
 sion, Abraham Van Naas* going that way by instruction, 
 ordered and authorized for to declare by word of mouth, 
 that license to depart to the two Indians that were appre- 
 hended was not in favor of the barbarous heathens, nor to 
 the prejudice of good neighbors, they having not been ac- 
 cessory to the murder; wherefore, I would not keep them, 
 such proceedings not being agreeable with our nation's cus- 
 toms, being a case that will bring us into great danger of 
 a war and a quarrel with the Indians; it being now 16 days 
 past before we had any intelligence from the province of 
 Maryland, in that behalf; we therefore, do assure your 
 Honor that we will be, upon all occasions, willing. We hope 
 that, in time to come, there will be a good traffic between 
 us, though this present difference betwixt you and the 
 Indians of this river are something disfavorable to it. Yet 
 Ave hope that the Almighty God will show an expedient way 
 that these differences might be composed, for wars are pre- 
 judical to commerce and uncertain how they might fall out, 
 nor what time they may take, that the whole nation for five 
 or six evil doers should suffer, is a thing to be lamented, 
 yet needful that the murderers should be punished for an 
 example. I have, in general, understood from the Indians 
 that they (trade) with the English upon veiy advantageous 
 
 * Abraham Van Naas was secretary and notary public at Xcw Ainstcl. 
 D'Hinoyossa afterwards ([uarreled with him because he would not praise 
 him when writing the minutes of the council. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 51 
 
 conditions (and desire) with the English (to) make peace; • 
 that such faults be no more committed. In case I can serve 
 your Honor in the business, I shall be willingly inclined to 
 it; and, so wishing your Honor a happy government and a 
 good end of these troubles, shall rest, 
 
 " Your Honor's affectionate friend and servant, 
 
 " Alexander D'Hinoyossa." 
 
 D'Hinoyossa was induced to write this letter of explana- 
 tion and apology by information received from Augustine 
 Hermen, who, as stated in a previous chapter, that year 
 settled upon Bohemia Manor, and seems to have acted as a 
 peace-maker between the old Hollander and Philip Calvert, 
 the Governor of Maryland. Hermen wrote to D'Hinoyossa 
 that the English foster the opinion that the inhabitants of 
 New Amstel and the Hoernkill secretly instigate their sav- 
 age neighbors along the Delaware to commit murders and 
 robberies upon the Marylanders. The instructions given to 
 Captain Odber prove that in this, as in most other things, 
 Hermen was right. After which was called in Abraham 
 Van Naas, in the said letter mentioned, who, being desired 
 to declare what he had in commission to say from the gov^ 
 ernor, Alexander D'Hinoyossa, declares that thej^ had done 
 their endeavors to detain the Indian murderers ; but could 
 not, for want of power to defend themselves, any longer keep 
 them; that in revenge of what they had done the Indians 
 had burned them a mill, which they were forced to pass by 
 for the present till thej^ should be better able to avenge 
 themselves of the injury ; that the governor of the Sand 
 Hook did send for the king of those Indians that had com- 
 mitted the aforesaid murder, and demanded of them the 
 reason why they did it. Answer was made that it was done 
 by a company of vagabond rangers that delighted in mis- 
 chief, and run from nation to nation, whom, if they could 
 catch, they would deliver them up to justice; but, that 
 since they had done it, they were fled. 
 
 The council met at Susquehanna PoiiU (which was no 
 
52 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 doubt the point just below Perryville), on July 1st, 1661. 
 There is reason to believe that the governor and secretary 
 came to Susquehanna Point to meet Captain James Neals, 
 who came there from England via New Amstel, where he 
 probably landed shortly before. Captain Neals brought a 
 letter from Lord Baltimore, which was read at this meeting 
 of the council. This letter was dated at London, December 
 14th, 1660. 
 
 At this time the New Englanders claimed all the Atlantic 
 coast from New England to Virgiliia; and many years be- 
 fore had actually effected a settlement on the Delaware near 
 the mouth of the Schuylkill, but from which they had been, 
 ousted by the Dutch. Captain Neals, who had been in Hol- 
 land the year before as agent for Lord Baltimore, had been 
 instructed " to inquire of the West India Company if they 
 admitted his (Baltimore's) right on the Delaware; if not, to 
 protest against them, and to demand the surrender of the 
 lands on the Delaware Bay." Neals had an interview with 
 the representatives of the West India Company, who asserted 
 their right by possession under the grant of the States-Gen- 
 eral, for many years, without disturbance from Lord Balti- 
 more or any other person. They resolved to remain in pos- 
 session and defend their rights, and if Lord Baltimore 
 persevered and resorted to violent measures, to use all the 
 means God and nature had given to protect the inhabitants. 
 Lord Baltimore, however, took care to obtain from the king 
 soon after a confirmation of his patent.* Lord Baltimore, 
 in speaking of Captain Neals, uses the following language : 
 
 " I hope when he comes you and he and my other friends 
 will think upon some speedy and effectual way for reducing 
 the Dutch in Delaware Bay. The New England men will 
 be assisting in it, and Secretary Ludwell, of A^irginia, 
 assured me before he went from here that the Virginians 
 will be so, too. But it were well to be done with all celerity 
 
 * Scharf's Hist, of 'Md., Vul. I., page 351. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 53 
 
 convenient, because, perhaps, the New England men, falling 
 upon them at Manhattans, may take it into their head to fall 
 upon them at Delaware, too, and by that means pretend 
 some title to the place," etc. 
 
 AVhereupou the council took a view of his Honor's com- 
 mission to Captain James Neals, which was granted for the 
 levying of men to make war upon " certain enemies, pirates 
 and robbers that had usurped a part of Delaware Bay lying 
 within the fortieth degree of northerly latitude." 
 
 This commission was quite lengthy, and authorized the 
 captain to make war upon the Dutch in Delaware Bay and 
 everywhere else that he could find them, and to capture 
 and destroy them both upon the land and on the sea, and 
 not only them, but their aiders and abettors; in which 
 work all his lordship's officers, both civil and military, were 
 to assist. They were to drive them from the baj' and cap- 
 ture their ships and vessels, and after bringing the vessels 
 and cargoes to the province of Maryland, and having them 
 appraised, were, upon payment of one-twelfth of the ap- 
 praised value to his agents, to be allowed to retain them. 
 
 The council took the commission and the whole subject 
 into consideration, and came lo the conclusion that in- 
 asmuch as it was uncertain whether the town of New 
 Amstel was within the fortieth degree of north latitude, 
 they had better wait until that was ascertained, inasmuch 
 as his lordship had not authorized a war with any but such 
 as had usurped some part of the province. They thought 
 it was not likely that the Virginians and New Englanders 
 would take part in the Avar, because " the Dutch trade was 
 the darling of the people of Virginia, as well as of this 
 province," and indeed all other plantations of the English ; 
 and this province alone not being able to bear the charge 
 of the war that will thence ensue with the West India Com- 
 pany in Holland, upon any attempt upon that place, which, 
 not only from their protestation, lately made at Amsterdam, 
 but also by late letters from Holland, appears to be resolved 
 
54 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 upon by them in case any force shall be used by us against 
 the said colony of New Amstel. They therefore resolved 
 that all attempts be foreborne against the said town of New 
 Amstel until such time as letters from his lordship may 
 again be had in answer to what hath been written to his 
 lordship concerning this affair, and that observation may 
 be taken at the head of the bay of Chesapeake, thereby to 
 find certainly whether the said town of New Amstel do lie 
 within the fortieth degree of northerly latitude or not ; and 
 ■further, that trial be made whether assistance from Virginia 
 and New England may be had for the reducing and main- 
 tenance of that place against the Dutch. 
 
 This year the Dutch authorities on the Delaware at- 
 tempted to force the Swedish part of the population, who 
 seem to have incurred their displeasure by their sociability 
 with the English settlers at the head of Chesapeake Bay, to 
 take up their residence above the mouth of the Schuylkill. 
 This many of them refused to do ; and probably also being 
 afraid of a war between England and Holland, Peter Meyer, 
 Olofif Stille, and fifteen others, applied for and had patents 
 of naturalization issued to them. Many of them settled in 
 Sassafras Neck. The Dutch governor (D'Hinoyossa) and 
 Hermen were now on the best of terms, and the former was 
 accused by his contemporaries of selling the public stores to 
 the latter, and appropriating the money he received for 
 them to his own use. The colonial records for this period 
 show that the Indians of this county and the Dutch settlers 
 were sources of much annoyance to the authorities of Mary- 
 land. Nobody had been punished ior the murder of the 
 four Englishmen upon Iron Hill ; and, as we have seen, a, 
 war with the Dutch was imminent. 
 
CHAPTER YII. 
 
 Treaty with the Passagonke Indians at Appoquiniraink — Copy of tlie 
 treaty — Scarcity of com — Captain Odber gets into trouble — A cowardly 
 soldier — Trouble with the Senecas^Treaty with the Delaware Bay In- 
 dians — Capture of a Seneca Indian— Letter from the justices of Baltiraoi-e 
 County respecting the captive — Francis Wright and Jacob Clawson — Tor- 
 ture of an Indian prisoner — War with the Senecas — Another treaty with 
 the Susquehannocks — The Senecas attack the Susquehannock's fort at 
 Turkey Hill, Lancaster County, and are repulsed — End of the Susque- 
 hannocks. 
 
 Probably with a view of securing the co-operation of the 
 Indians in case of a war with the Dutch, Governor Calvert, 
 accompanied by his secretary (Henry Coursey) and John 
 Bateman, one of tlie councilors, had a meeting with the 
 Passagonke Indians, who, at that time, lived on the Dela- 
 ware River above Chester, probably where Philadelphia 
 now stands. This meeting took place at Appoquinimi 
 (which is now called Appoquinimink), on Thursday, the 
 19th of September, 1661. The minutes in the council book 
 for that year, in reference to what was done at that meeting, 
 are so much more interesting than any abridgment of them 
 that it has been deemed best to insert them here. 
 
 "Then came Pinna, king of Piethanomicta, in Delaware 
 Bay, showing that, whereas there had been divers men slain 
 by the English belonging to the Passagonke Indians, now 
 under his command, and among them his own brother, in 
 revenge of which divers English had been slain by those 
 Indians; yet that he did believe all those outrages were 
 committed by the English M'ithout orders from the governor 
 and council; that those revenges were taken by his Indians 
 without his or any of his great men's knowledge; therefore 
 (he) did desire that all might be forgotten, and that from 
 
56 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 henceforward his Indians might live in peace with the 
 English. 
 
 "To which the governor answered that he did desire 
 peace, so he did desire justice also, and provided that they 
 would deliver up those Indians that killed John Norden 
 and Stephen Hart, with his companions, to be proceeded 
 against, according to our justice, he -would come to articles 
 of peace with him. 
 
 " Whereunto the said Pinna answered that the English 
 had begun the war and first killed one of his men as he was 
 peaceably coming by their plantation, and overset their 
 canoes, out of which they lost three guns ; afterwards pur- 
 sued them into the woods and there shot at them ; that his 
 Indians fled, having lost one man and their goods. In their 
 way home they met the said Norden and Hart and com- 
 panions, and, contrary to the advice of an old man of the 
 company that stood weeping by and persuading them to 
 speak with the great men of the English first, did kill the 
 said Norden and Hart and companions, saying that the 
 English would have war; but since that time the English 
 had set upon two canoes of Indians and killed five of them, 
 and amongst them his own brother, all which, notwith- 
 standing, he was willing and desirous to make a peace be- 
 tween us and his Indians, forgetting the blood of his own 
 brother. 
 
 "Then did the governor demand satisfaction for the cat- 
 tle and hogs of John Taylor. To which he answered that 
 they were not killed by his Indians, for they immediately 
 fled, but by Minquas and Sinigos (Senecas). 
 
 "Whereupon was taken into consideration the informa- 
 tion of John Taylor, Thomas Overton and others, taken at 
 Spesutia the 13th of May last, and considering the relation 
 of Pinna in the main to agree Avith the said information, 
 and the governor and council calling to mind that the said 
 John Taylor, since information in writing taken, had often 
 
HISTOr.Y OF CECIL COUNTY. 57 
 
 said that John Foster,* who shot at the Indian (as per in- 
 formation), affirmed that he had killed him, resolved to 
 come to articles with the said Pinna upon this consideration, 
 that the English had begun the war by the said John Foster 
 killing the said Indian upon Easter daj's. And for as much 
 as it is certain thyt the said Indians, whom Foster shot at, 
 immediately fled after they killed Foster in the woods, and 
 upon the 17th day of April, met Norden and Hart near the 
 Iron Hill, and there murdered them, and that the Minqua 
 or Sinigo Indians were about that time doing mischief and 
 killing cattle about Patapsco River and those quarters, as 
 appears by the information of Robert Gorsuch, taken the 
 13th of May aforesaid, resolved that all further demand of 
 satisfaction for these cattle be waived, and that sufficient 
 provision in the articles be made for the security of our 
 stock of cattle and hogs for the future, and that the treaty 
 be immediately begun, lest General Stuyvesant at the Man- 
 hattans make an advantage of those Indians against us, it 
 being doubted whether there be a war between Holland and 
 England or not." 
 
 The treaty was headed in the council book, from which it 
 was copied as follows: 
 
 " Articles of peace and amity concluded between the Hon. 
 Philip Calvert, Esq., Governor, Henry Coursey, secretary, 
 and John Bateman, councilor, on behalf of the Lord Proprie- 
 tary of this province of Maryland, and Pinna, king of 
 Picthanomicta, on the behalf of the Passagonke Indians 
 on the other part (viz.) : 
 
 " Imprimis: That there shall l)e a perpetual peace betwixt 
 the people of Marj'land and the i'assagonke Indians. 
 
 "Second': It is agreed between the above said parties that, 
 in case any Englishman for the future shall happen to find 
 any Passagonke Indian killing either cattle or hogs, then it 
 shall be lawful for the English to kill the said Indian. 
 
 * Called John Fouster in tlie preceding chapter. 
 
58 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 " Third : It is agreed betwixt the above said parties that, 
 in case any Indian or Indians sliall happen to kill any 
 Englishmen (which God forbid), then the said Indian, with 
 all that company of Indians with him which consented to 
 the said murder, shall be delivered to the English, there to 
 be proceeded against, according to the laws of this province. 
 
 " Fourth : It is further agreed betwixt the above said par- 
 ties that, in case any Englishman shall happen to run 
 amongst the Passagonke Jndians, tlie said Indians bring 
 them to Peter Meyers; and then for every Englishman that 
 they shall deliver, they shall receive one match coat. 
 
 " The mark (M) of Pinna." 
 
 The above said articles were signed interchangeably by 
 the governor and council and the Indian commissioners, 
 and delivered this 19th of September, in thirtieth year of 
 his Lordship's dominion over this province of Maryland, 
 1661. 
 
 The Dutch account of this treaty is to the effect that only 
 one Indian chief " from the east end of tJie river " appeared, 
 and that the English offered to deliver annually two or 
 three thousand hogsheads of tobacco to them at Appoquini- 
 mi or at the head of Bohemia. 
 
 Corn was very scarce in 1661, and it is worthy of remark 
 that William Hollingsworth, who helped arrest the Indians 
 in New Castle, who had murdered the Englishmen on Iron 
 Hill, though licensed by the council of Maryland to trade 
 with the Indians, was prohibited from exporting any corn 
 he might obtain from them. The petition of one Hannah 
 Lee, widdy, states that she had been granted the privilege of 
 keeping ordinary at St. ^Mary's during the session of the 
 General Assembly, but had no corn to maintain her said 
 promise, and craves to be allowed to trade with the Indians. 
 She was licensed to trade with the Indians for corn only. 
 The next meeting of the council was held at St. Mary's on 
 the 12tli of October, 1661. At this meeting the case of Cap- 
 tain Jolm Odber was taken into consideration, and he was 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 59' 
 
 required to give an account of his expedition to the Susque- 
 hannaughs' fort. The council asked him why he came 
 down Avithout orders from the governor. To which he re- 
 plied that the Susquehannauglis came to him and told hitu 
 that they could not compel their mento furnish the soldiers 
 with provisions according to treaty stipulations, and had 
 advised him to transport his troops and ammunition down by 
 water. This seems to be what he meant to say ; but the 
 scribe who made the record used such obscure language, 
 that it is by no means certain what the captain did say, 
 and there is reason to think that the Indians offered to 
 assist him in transporting liis men and arms to the settle- 
 ments some distance down the bay. There is reason to 
 think that the captain may have been troubled witii 
 cowardice or conscientious scruples, and that he purposely 
 mystified his narrative to conceal his cowardice. His story 
 "was by no means satisfactory to the council, and they re- 
 quired him to give a written account of the expedition, at a 
 meeting of the council, on tlie 27th of the ensuing Novem- 
 ber, at which time Jacob Claw :on, Francis Stockett and 
 Samuel Palmer, who lived at the head of the bay, were to 
 be summoned to give information. John Everitt was also 
 before the council at this meeting to answer for his con- 
 tempt in running from his colors. He pleaded that he- 
 could not bear armsagains tthe Indians for conscience' sake_ 
 He was committed to custody till the meeting in November,, 
 at which time he was to be tried by a court-martial. Cap- 
 tain John Collier, who had impressed Everitt, was sum- 
 moned to testify in the case. Captain Odber probably 
 made good his escape from the colony before the meeting in 
 November, for when he was called at that meeting he ai>- 
 peared not. This is the last time his name appears in the 
 record. After the case of Odber was disposed of at tlie 
 November meeting, that of Everitt was taken up, and it was 
 ordered that he be tried " at the next provincial court for 
 running from his colors, and, in the interim, be committed 
 
'€0 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 into the sheriff's hands, and that the sheriff impannel a 
 .jury against that time, and in the meantime the said Everitt 
 was to be kept in chains and bake his own bread." The 
 records of the provincial court are not extant, consequently 
 the result of the trial is unknown. 
 
 Tlie records of the province for the year 1662 show that 
 the Indians still continued to be troublesome. But not- 
 withstanding this the Marylanders seem to have turned 
 their attention to the development of the resources of the 
 ■colony. This year the council passed a law for the eiicour- 
 ■agement of tanners of leather, in which the exportation of 
 hides was prohibited under severe penalties. The Mary- 
 landers and Susquehannaughs were at peace with each other 
 ■at this time, but the former were at war with the Senecas, 
 who now begun to make raids upon the few scattered settle- 
 ments of the English along the western tributaries of the 
 Chesapeake Bay. In the spring of this year they penetra- 
 ted as far south as the head of South River in Anne Arun- 
 ■dle County, which appears to have alarmed the council 
 very much, for they ordered all the. powder and shot in the 
 ■colony to be seized for the use of the countiy, and that 
 scouts be sent to the heads of all the rivers and the head of 
 the bay, with orders to arrest or kill all Indians found 
 there. The governor of New Amstel was informed of what 
 had been done, and was requested to inform the Passagonke 
 and Delaware Bay Indians, with the former of which tribes 
 the reader will recollect the Marylanders had made a treaty 
 of friendship tlie year before. The troubles with the Sene- 
 cas continued to grow worse and worse, and on July 4th, 
 1663, the council were informed by letters from the inhab- 
 itants of Baltimore County, at the head of the bay, that the 
 Indians had recently murdered two of the inhabitants at 
 the head of the bay, and one other in Patapsco River, with 
 two youths also, wliich the Indians had either carried away 
 or killed. 
 
 In the August following, the council met at Goldsmith's 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 61 
 
 Hall, which is believed to have been on Bush River, and' 
 gave instructions to Samuel Goldsmith to notify the Sus- 
 quehannaughs to come down and treat with the commis- 
 sioners of Baltimore County. It is evident from the instruc- 
 tions given to Goldsmith, that the council had framed the 
 articles of the proposed treaty and had authorized the com- 
 missioners to have the treaty executed and signed by the- 
 Indians. At this time the Susquehannaughs, though until 
 recentlj' upon peaceable terms with the English, seem to 
 have been intimidated by the Senecas ; and, from what 
 follows, it seems that no treaty was made at this time with 
 them. But in August, 1663, Governor Charles Calvert,, 
 attended by three of his councilors, made a treaty with 
 three kings of the Delaware Bay Indians at New Amstel. 
 The Indian kings were represented by their ambassadors — 
 Monickle, Chehoock and Tichecoon. The treaty was very 
 similar to that made with the Passagonke Indians at Appo- 
 quinimi (now Appoquinimink) two years before, except that 
 the Indians agreed, when they had occasion to visit any 
 Englishman's house, that they would lay down their arms 
 and cause some white thing to be. held out before they 
 approached the said house. It was also stipulated that the 
 Indians would inviolably observe these same articles toward 
 the Dutch in Delaware Bay; from which it is plain that the 
 English no longer regarded the Dutch and Swedish settlers 
 as a band of '' murderers, pirates and robbers." Probably 
 the hostile incursions of the Senecas had caused them both 
 to forget their own differences and to cultivate feelings of 
 friendship. 
 
 In the early part of June, 1664, a Seneca Indian was taken 
 prisoner at the house of a Mr. Ball, Avhich was somewhere 
 on the Patapsco River, under the following circumstances : 
 Twenty-one of the Senecas came to the house under pretence 
 of a friendly truce ; but the inmates of the house, suspecting 
 a possibility of treachery, began to provide for their defence, 
 which, being perceived by the Indians, they fled, except 
 
<}'2 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 one, who, being more valiant than his comrades, remained 
 behind and was captured. The Indian was taken to Major 
 Goldsmith, who sent him to Francis Wright, who lived on 
 the North East Eiver, near the mouth of Principio Creek, 
 Mr. Wright and three other persons examined the captured 
 Indian, who stated that the Senecas had no hostile feeling 
 against the Christians, but had brought them a present of 
 forty beaver skins and belts of peake for the Susquehan- 
 naughs that desired peace ; that the boys that were taken 
 -and the men that were killed at the mill were captured and 
 killed by the Senecas. He further said, that if he had been 
 taken by the Susquehannaughs, he should not have been 
 put to death by them, and that all the joints of his body — 
 using the figurative language of his own countrymen — 
 were belts of peake that he had laid out for desire of peace 
 and quietness. On being questioned of the strength of the 
 Susquehannaughs, he said there were seven troops of them, 
 and that the party he belonged to numbered two hundred ; 
 and, when asked why so many of them were out on a mission 
 of peace, he answered nothing, but that their fort did not 
 ■desire any war with Christians; that the troops were come 
 out for revenge of the death of his son and two Indians more 
 that had been taken and burnt by the Susquehannaughs. 
 The first part of his story not agreeing with the latter part, 
 those who had him in charge sent a letter to the authorities 
 at St. Mary's, stating that they were unable to understand 
 who or what he was, but that their Honors would be con- 
 vinced that he and his party bore no good will to the 
 English. They stated that he was the first Indian taken, 
 and by God's providence without the shedding of Christian 
 blood. They appear to have been much alarmed, and the 
 next day, the 7th of June, 1664, held a court at ye house of 
 Mr. Francis Wright, as we learn from the following letter, 
 which throws so much light upon the history of these 
 troubleeome times, that we publish it verbatim : 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 63 
 
 "From Clayfall, this 7th of June, 1664. 
 
 "May it Please Your Lordship : 
 
 " Since our first, a court liatli been held for tliis county at 
 ye house of Mr. Francis AVright, wliere ye Indian being 
 again had, and in some measure re-examined, notliing ap- 
 pearing to any purpose but wliat we have in our first given 
 your Honors to understand. Yesterday, when ye prisoner 
 was here, there was several Susquehannaughs to ye number 
 of forty, and two of Civilitye's uncles, who made show of 
 much joy at his being taken, for they very well knew him, 
 and were sensible of his warlike exploits, and would per- 
 suaded us to have burnt him, but we certified them it was not 
 our manner to torture our prisoners, but that happily he 
 might be sent home to his country both tor their good and 
 others. But we cannot find yet what this prisoner did 
 allege in his own behalf (as to matter of beaver and peake 
 which he has said they brought with them to purchase 
 peace) to be true, whether had the}' any good intentions. 
 We have done our utmost endeavors, according to our abili- 
 ties, for ye obtaining a full discovery and perfect relation, 
 that your Honors might have more full intelligence of what 
 did and was very likely to happen. What we have and do 
 understand, herein is inserted, and do conceive that your 
 Lordship should have thoughts for (to send) this prisoner 
 with a present to his own country, in hopes of purchasing 
 thereby a peace, which, by every one we think, is much re- 
 quired and most earnestly desired, Jacob Clawson hath vol- 
 untarily and of his own free will declared to us his readi- 
 ness to go upon your command ; and shall, to ye utmost of 
 his ability (for ye country's sake), aid and assist any one that 
 your Lordship shall think fit to employ in a matter of so 
 great consequence, and further that he is verily persuaded 
 that if such a thing were to be acted, Civilitye, in ye behalf 
 of all ye Susquehannaughs, would also go, and that thereby 
 a peace might be procured. Ye Susquehannaughs, we know, 
 would willingly embrace a peace if obtained, but are un- 
 willing (through height of spirit) to sue for it. We have 
 credible information by a gentleman from Manhattoes, now 
 here present, who is thither with all expedition returning, 
 that many of the Cenacoes will (through a customary trade) 
 from ye last of June until ye middle of July, be at ye fort 
 at Avanis, to whom, once desired, he would give this 
 
64 HISTORY OF CKCir, COUNTY. 
 
 relation, that he saw one of tlieir countrymen (naming his 
 name) that ye English had taken, attempting to do mischief,, 
 and that he was well and fairly by ye English dealt withal, 
 not after ye manner and cruelty that they showed to some 
 of us which they did formerly take, and that there was great 
 hopes that he would, in some time, come amongst them 
 again, for by his kind usage hitherto he conceived no less. 
 If what we have done appears to your Lordship too much or 
 too little, we have nothing to plead but our ignorance, hum- 
 bly craving pardon. 
 
 "Your Lordship's in all due obedience, 
 
 " Thomas Stockett, 
 " SaxMuel Goldsmith, 
 "Francis Wright." 
 
 Francis Wright and Jacob Clawson were formerly from 
 the settlements on the Delaware. They are mentioned in a 
 letter from Beekman to Stuyvesant, dated April, 1660, in 
 which he refers to some property belonging to an orphan 
 child whose mother had died either at Ciolonel Utie's or 
 Jacob Clawson's, and states that he (Clawson) took over to 
 Holland, besides other property, according to the letter of 
 his partner, Francis Wright, " two silver key chains and 
 two or three silver knife handles belonging to the child."' 
 In the letter Beekman calls Clawson his friend. The child 
 was then at New Amstel. Its name was Amstelhoop, or 
 hope of Amstel.* 
 
 This man Francis Wright obtained a patent for a tract of 
 land afterwards called Clayfall, it being part of Avhat is now 
 called Carpenter's Point Neck, on the 19tli of September,, 
 1659, and, as will be seen from the above extract from Beek- 
 man 's letter, was a partner of Jacob Clawson. Like the 
 other settlers on Carpenter's Point Neck, referred to in a 
 preceding chapter, they were no doubt Indian traders. 
 Wright died in 1667, and left no heirs, in consequence of 
 which the land escheated to the lord proprietary, which led 
 
 *See documents relating to the Colonial Ili.story of Kew York, Vol. XII. 
 page ;507. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 65 
 
 to a very interesting lawsuit nearly a century afterwards.* 
 The Senecas, which was probably the name given by the 
 English to all the different tribes of the Five Nations, con- 
 tinued to be troublesome, and Thomas Mathews informed 
 the council, by a letter dated at Patapsco the 7th of June, 
 1664, that he had been seut for to visit the north side of the 
 Potomac River, and that he went there and found the 
 English had taken two Indian prisoners ; " that they put 
 one of them to the torture, and he confessed there were 
 sixty Indians in his company on the north side of the 
 Potomac River, and that they intended to make war and kill 
 the English, and that they had cut off one house, and the 
 English had killed six of them." They stated there were a 
 hundred more who had gone to the head of the bay to kill 
 Englishmen and Susquehannaughs too if they came nigh 
 them. The endorsement upon this letter was as follows. 
 It fully explains the object of Mr. Mathew's visit : " For 
 ye Right Honorable the Lieutenant-General. These from 
 ye Indian interpreter, Mr. Thos. Mathews, for ye safety 
 of this province, from house to house, post-haste." 
 
 On the 27th of June, 1664, Lewis Stockett was com- 
 missioned colonel and commander of all the forces to be 
 raised between the coves of Patuxent River and ye head of 
 ye bay, on both sides of the bay and the Isle of Kent. The 
 council, on the same day, took into consideration the in- 
 cursion of the Cenego (Seneca) Indians, and proclaimed war 
 against them, and offered a reward of a hundred arms' 
 length of Roenoket to any person, whether English or 
 Indian, that should bring in a Cenego prisoner, or both his 
 ears if he be slain ; and that all the kings of the friendly 
 Indians be sent to to order out their people in pursuit of 
 the Cenegos, and that the respective military officers be 
 authorized to press arms, provision and men to go in com- 
 pany with the friendly Indians. "And that the Indian 
 
 * See Harris and McHenry's :\Iaryland Reports, Vol. I., page 190. 
 t Rough bits of shell rudely shaped and pierced for stringing. 
 
66 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 taken at Patapsco be sent down to St. Mary's and kept in 
 irons ; and that a letter be written to General Stuy vesant to 
 request him to give notice to ye Cenegos trading at Fort 
 Range that we have such a person prisoner, whom we shall 
 keep alive till we see whether they desire a peace or not, 
 because no present come. And if they desire not a peace, as 
 he alleges, we shall put him to death ; and that Jacob 
 Clawson do give notice to ye Susquehannaugh Indians of 
 this, our intention, and to require them to declare whether 
 they are willing to join with us in this message ; till which 
 answer come this live shall be deferred." What came of 
 the Seneca we are unable to say. If he was sent back to 
 his countrymen upon a mission of peace, he most certainly 
 failed in it ; for the next year, in June, 1665, we find the 
 English again preparing for war with the Senecas. Captain 
 William Burgess was commissioned colonel and military 
 commander of the forces of the colony, and a long list of 
 instructions were given him, in which he was ordered to 
 " keep several parties ranging the woods as well to the head 
 of Patuxent as Patapsco and Bush rivers, and even up to 
 the utmost bounds of the province upon the Susquehanna 
 River." He was instructed to report to his commander-in- 
 chief once a week, and for this purpose was authorized to 
 press messengers expressly to bring letters to the governor. 
 He was to take special care of the people in Patapsco and 
 Gunpowder rivers, and was to associate with him any 
 friendly Indians, but was to take special care that his troops 
 did not game or wrestle with them, and thus to avoid all 
 cause of quarrel. The sheriffs of the counties were ordered 
 to see that the neighbors of those who were pressed to go 
 upon the expedition attended to the crops of the soldiers. 
 The instructions given to the sheriffs were elaborate and 
 interesting. We make the following extract: "You are 
 straightly charged and commanded to issue your warrants 
 to the several constables in your county to take notice 
 what persons have been pressed for this present expedition, 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 67 
 
 and what crops they have standing of corn and tobacco, 
 and what ground they have prepared for tobacco, and the 
 same to cause to be tended and planted as the seasons do 
 present and need shall require by the people of the neigh- 
 borhood, for and during the term of six weeks next after his 
 departure, if he or they shall be so long absent upon ye 
 service." These orders were addressed to the sheriffs of St. 
 Mary's, Calvert, Anne Arundel, Kent and Charles counties. 
 On July 26th, 1665, the council ordered that the soldiers 
 now ready be sent forthwith to the frontiers; that is to say, 
 that the parties drawn out of St. Mary's, Charles and Kent 
 counties be sent into Baltimore County, there to secure that 
 county as well on the eastern as on the western side of ye 
 bay, and to be commanded by Colonel Lewis Stockett or 
 some other fit person of an abler body to endure the hard- 
 ships of the woods being in that county, and to be ap- 
 pointed by him. Whether the troops were sent upon the 
 contemplated expedition or not is uncertain, for the record 
 for that year contains no further information on the subject. 
 Quiet seems to have prevailed along the frontier till the next 
 June (1666), when three war captains of the Susquehan- 
 naughs met the council at St. John's, in St. Mary's County. 
 The war captains desired the continuance of their league 
 with the English, and stated that they had always been 
 ready to have delivered Wanahedana (which was the name 
 of the Indian that had murdered the men at the mill in 
 Baltimore County) to the English, and desired that the vil- 
 lainy of one man might not be imputed to the whole nation. 
 They also requested the aid of the English, they having lost 
 a considerable number of men while ranging the country 
 around the head of the Patapsco and the other rivers. They 
 further stated that the Senecas intended to storm their fort 
 in August next, and afterwards they intended to fall upon 
 the English and exterminate them. This treaty differed 
 slightly from those previously made, in this respect, that it 
 was stipulated in it that the Susquehannaughs should de- 
 
68 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 liver the Indian accused of murdering the men at the mill, 
 who was then in captivity among the Senecas, if he ever 
 returned, and all other Indians hereafter guilty of murdering 
 any of the English. It was also stipulated " that any Indian 
 hereafter convicted of killing any hog or cattle belonging to 
 the English, should pay for every hog fifty fathoms of peake* 
 and for "every head of any other sort of cattle one hundred 
 fathoms of peake for satisfaction to the owners of every such 
 beast ; " and that the king of Potomac and his two sons 
 were to be delivered up prisoners to Samuel Goldsmith with 
 all convenient speed. 
 
 The Senecas seem to have commenced hostilities a little 
 earlier than usual the next year (1667), for measures were 
 taken at a meeting of the council, on the 8th of February, to 
 raise as many men as possible to march against them with 
 all expedition possible. The quota of troops assigned to 
 Baltimore County indicates the sparseness of its population 
 at this time, its quota being only thirty-six men. George 
 Utie and Major Goldsmith were ordered to procure fifteen 
 barrels of corn and 2,200 weight of meat out of Baltimore 
 County for the use of the troops. This expedition probably 
 never was sent against the Senecas, for we learn from the 
 minutes of a meeting of the council held at St. Mary's on 
 the 24th of the next August that "Mr. Francis Wright of 
 Baltimore County being sent by the Susquehannaughs, was 
 called in, who declared that the said Indians did require 
 assistance and ammunition from the council sufficient to go 
 against any Indians and likewise declared enemies to the 
 inhabitants of this province according to one of the articles 
 of a treaty of peace made- by the English and said Susque- 
 hannaughs." Whereupon it was ordered that so many men 
 be pressed as the Susquehannaughs shall require to their 
 
 * Small cylindrical pieces of clam or mussel shell, like the bugles now 
 used for trimming ladies' dresses. They were strung upon strings, and 
 used by the Indians for money. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 69 
 
 aid and assistance, and that they be sent up forthwith. Also 
 that a quantity of powder be delivered with Mr. Francis 
 Wright, and the said Indians to be supplied out of the same, 
 as the said "Wright shall see requisite and convenient. 
 
 The governor and council further determined to go up 
 into Baltimore County, and there to give the Susquehan- 
 naughs a meeting about the 15th day of September next to 
 treat with the said Indians about the peace and safety of 
 this province and how to proceed (with the Susquehan- 
 naughs' assistance) against any Indians now held and de- 
 clared enemies of this province. 
 
 The volume containing the minutes of the council for the 
 succeeding years is not to be found, and the preceding 
 chapters contain nearly all the authentic history of the 
 troubles between the English and the Susquehannaughs 
 that is now extant ; though tradition tells of a fearful fight 
 between the Susquehannaughs and the Five Nations at a fort 
 belonging to the former. This fort was on the east bank of 
 the Susquehanna River, a short distance above the mouth 
 of the Conestoga Creek, in Lancaster County, near a hill 
 called Turkey Hill. Large quantities of Indian arrow heads 
 and some small cannon balls have from time to time been 
 found in the vicinity. The fight at the fort probably oc- 
 curred in 1682, for the lower branch of the Legislature in 
 that year made provision for the daughter of a Swede who 
 had been killed at the Susquehannaughs' fort. Eight hun- 
 dred warriors of the Five Nations are said to have invested 
 the fort on Turkey Hill and made several assaults upon it, 
 but were repulsed. They finally resorted to a stratagem 
 which also failed. They sent twenty-five of their young 
 men to the fort for provisions, stating that they would return 
 as soon as they were supplied. The Susquehannaughs knew 
 their treachery and seized them in the fort and burnt the 
 whole of them alive. Those on the outside retreated hastily, 
 but were pursued by the Susquehannaughs and nearly all 
 killed. The Five Nations and the Susquehannaughs were 
 
70 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 constantly at war Avith each other for some years afterwards, 
 when the latter, becoming much reduced, were nearly all 
 exterminated in Western Maryland by the English. The 
 few that were left were incorporated with the odds and ends 
 of other tribes, and for some j^ears lived along the Susque- 
 hanna River, near the Conestoga Creek, in Lancaster Coun- 
 ty. They probably were, from the fact that they lived near 
 the creek of that name, called the Conestoga Indians. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Augustine Hermen and others naturalized — The Hacks— Hermen has 
 a dispute with Simon Oversee— He tries to establisli a village — Trouble 
 among the Dutch — Sir Robert Can- conquers them — The name of New 
 Amstel changed to New Castle— Account of D'Hinoyossa — Efforts of the 
 llarylanders to extend their jurisdiction to the Delaware River — Durham 
 County — Road from Bohemia Manor to New Castle — Grant of St. Augus- 
 tine Manor — Ephraim George, and Casparus Hermen — Original limits of 
 Baltimore County — Erection of Cecil County — The first court-house at 
 Jamestown — Augustine Hermen and Jacob Young appointed commis- 
 sioners to treat with the Delaware Indians — Account of Jacob Young. 
 
 Of the history of Augustine Hermen for some years after 
 he came to Bohemia Manor very little is known ; but he 
 was probably engaged in making the map before mentioned, 
 and there is reason to think that he followed his profession 
 of surveyor, and also engaged in trade. In 1660 he applied 
 to the council for a patent of naturalization for himself and 
 his children, which was granted. He and his five children, 
 and John Jarbo, Anna Hack and her sons, George and 
 Peter, were all naturalized the same year, and were the first 
 persons of whose naturalization any account has come down 
 to us. These Hacks were no doubt the Hacks whose name 
 has been perpetuated by being applied to Hack's Point, 
 which is on the south side of Bohemia River, nearly oppo- 
 site w^here the manor house stood. 
 
 The proceedings of council upon this occasion show that 
 " Hermen had of long time used the trade of this province," 
 from which it may be inferred that he continued to trade 
 after he came here to reside permanently. The council book 
 of this year shows that he had had a dispute with Simon 
 Oversee (no doubt the same person who had translated the 
 
72 . HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 credentials of Hermen and Waldron upon the occasion of their 
 embassy to Maryland in 1659), and had entered into bonds 
 for settling it by arbitration. It appears fron; the record, 
 that the bonds had been forfeited for non-performance of 
 the award, and he wishing to bring suit upon them, alleged 
 that the umpire, one Robert Slye, unlawfully detained them. 
 He therefore prayed to have the bonds delivered to him to 
 make good his demand in court. 
 
 The sheriff of St. Mary's County was directed to obtain 
 the bonds and deliver them to the clerk of the jjrovincial 
 court. 
 
 It appears from the records of the council for 1662 that 
 Hermen had surveyed land on Ceciltown River (the Elk 
 River), in Baltimore County, for one Nehemiah Coventon 
 and others, of Accomac Countj^, Virginia ; but they having 
 failed to enter the lands and pay the fees and costs of sur- 
 veying, the council ordered that any other persons might 
 take the lands and pay him his cost and charges. 
 
 In 1661 (as is supposed, for the letter is without date) lie 
 wrote to Beekman, then governor of Altona, as follows : " I 
 visited my colony on the river (the Bohemia), and dis- 
 covered at the same time the most proper place between 
 this situation and South River. I am now engaged in 
 encouraging settlers to unite together in a village, of which 
 I understand that a beginning will be made before next 
 winter. From there we may arrive by land in one day at 
 Sand Hoeck, and may perhaps effect a cart road about the 
 same time. The Maquas Kill (creek) and the Bohemia 
 River are there only one mile distant from each other, by 
 which it is an easy correspondence by water, which must be 
 greatly encouraging to the inhabitants of New Netherlands."* 
 
 There is no reason to believe this village was ever built, 
 the above extract being the only reference to it in any 
 writing of that period. Its proposed location mHI forever 
 
 * Hazard's Aunals of Pennsylvania, page 331. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 73 
 
 remain a matter of doubt ; but it probably was intended to 
 have been built near the head of Bohemia, or on Bohemia 
 Manor near where Hermen erected the manor house. Mr. 
 Vincent in his History of Delaware confounds it with Port 
 Herman, a village on the Elk River, which was founded 
 about thirty years ago. 
 
 The difficulties between the officers of the West India 
 company at Altona and the colony at the city of New 
 Amstel culminated in 1663, in the cession of the territory 
 of the company to the city of Amsterdam, tlie authorities of 
 which continued D'Hinoyossa as governor of the whole of 
 their possessions on the Delaware. The next year D'Hino- 
 yossa resolved to establish himself at Appoquinimink, where 
 Odessa now stands, evidently with the intention of enjoying 
 the advantages to be derived from the trade with the Mary- 
 landers, which at that early day was carried on by means 
 of the facilities afforded by the navigation of the Bohemia 
 E,iver.* 
 
 But in this he was destined to be disappointed, for the 
 next year King Charles II. determined to dispossess the 
 Dutch of the settlements they had made on what the English 
 claimed as their territory. To this end he granted to his 
 brother James, Duke of York, a patent for all the country 
 from the Connecticut to the Delaware Bay. Shortlj'' after 
 this grant was made war was declared between the English 
 and Dutch, and the same year New Amsterdam surrendered 
 to an expedition under command of Colonel Richard 
 Nichols, and the name of that place was changed to New 
 York. 
 
 Shortly after the surrender of New Amsterdam an expe- 
 dition under Sir Robert Carr was sent to Delaware Bay, 
 which without much bloodshed took possession of the 
 country according to Carr's instructions, in the name of his 
 Majesty the King of England. The name of New Amstel 
 
 * Vincent's History of Delaware, page 413. 
 
74 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 was now changed to New Castle, and Altona was called by 
 the name of Christiana. 
 
 New York and the country along the Delaware remained 
 in possession of the English till 1673, when war again 
 breaking out between the Dutch and English, they were 
 conquered by the former. In the interval the government 
 of New York was administered by Richard Nichols and 
 Francis Lovelace, under both of whom Captain John 
 Carr was deputy governor of the settlements along the 
 Delaware. The downfall of the Dutch in 1664 termin- 
 ated the connection of D'Hinoyossa with the settlement 
 at New Castle. He first appears in the history of that 
 place in 1656, at which time he was lieutenant under 
 Captain Martin Krygier, who was commander of the 
 military force of the Dutch. In 1659 he succeeded Jacob 
 Alricks as vice-director of the compan)' in Amsterdam^ 
 under whose auspices the colony at New Castle then was. 
 He appears to have been quite as hard-headed, stubborn and 
 vindictive as Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor of New 
 York, to whom he should have been subordinate, but whose 
 authority he did not hesitate to set at defiance whenever he 
 chose to do so. In 1662, William Beekman, Avho was also 
 vice-director of the company and the peer of D'Hinoyossa, 
 complained to the authorities at New York that D'Hinoj'ossa 
 had suddenly departed to Maryland. This sudden depar- 
 ture of D'Hinoyossa was in answer to a letter which he re- 
 ceived from the governor of Maryland, inviting him to 
 meet him at the house of Her men, on Bohemia Manor. 
 What took place at that meeting, or wh3'it was held, cannot 
 now be ascertained ; but a short time after the meeting was 
 held, Beekman accused him of selling every article for 
 which he could find a purchaser, even powder and musket 
 balls from the magazine. Beekman states that Augustine 
 Hermen was one of the purchasers. 
 
 It seems plain that D'Hinoyossa studied to advance the 
 interests of Maryland more than those of Delaware. He 
 
HISTOUY OF CECIL COUNTY. 75 
 
 probably had reason to apprehend the ultimate extinction 
 of the Dutch authority, and wished to have an asylum in 
 which to take refuge when the time of need arrived. After 
 the conquest by Sir Robert Carr, D'Hinoyossa took refuge 
 in Maryland, and his property, including an island in the 
 DelaAvare River, was confiscated and given to Carr. D'Hin- 
 oyossa received a grant of the whole or part of Foster's 
 Island which is a part of Talbot County, in the Chesapeake 
 Bay, from Lord Baltimore. Xo doubt this was on account of 
 the favor he showed the English in Maryland during the 
 latter part of tlie time he was in authority in Delaware. He 
 was a soldier of fortune, and is said in his early life to have 
 been in Brazil. He returned to Holland and engaged in the 
 war against Louis XIV., and died in Holland. 
 
 Ten years had now elapsed since the iruitless attempt had 
 been made to adjust the dispute about the possession of the 
 west bank of the Delaware. During this time little or no- 
 thing had been done to extend the jurisdiction of Lord Bal- 
 timore to the eastern limit of the territory named in his 
 charter. But the country along the Delaware being now in 
 possession of the English, the council of Maryland took ad- 
 vantage of this and renewed their efforts in behalf of the lord 
 proprietary. At a council held July 28th, 1669, it was " order- 
 ed that the country from the Whorekill (which was the name 
 applied to Lewes Creek, and seems also to have been the name 
 by which the eastern part of Kent County was called), to the 
 degree forty of northerly latitude be erected into a county 
 and called by the name of Durham County, and that the 
 surveyor-general do make out the northerly bounds of this 
 province as near as possible at the degree forty northerly 
 latitude, and return his observations to the deputy-lieuten- 
 ant in council, and that Mr. Brooks, the governor's steward, 
 be desired to provide the governor's sloop with men and 
 victuals for the accommodation of the surveyor-general up 
 the Bay by the 29th instan', October." 
 
 This is the only reference to Durham County that has 
 
76 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 been found i n the records of council, and it is not likely that any 
 effort was made at that time to locate the northern boun dary of 
 the province. But on the 26th of the next November, one 
 Jerome White went to New Castle in the interest of Lord 
 Baltimore, and finding by observations that the town was 
 south of the fortieth degree of north latitude, he thereupon 
 wrote to Governor Lovelace, saying "he could do no less than 
 acquaint him with the fact." He also made demand 
 for the town of New Castle and all the islands and territories 
 thereunto belonging, lying on the west to the main ocean 
 and Delaware Bay, from the bounds of Virginia to the for- 
 tieth degree of north latitude.* But as the disputed terri- 
 tory had been granted to the Duke of York, Lovelace was 
 precluded from acceding to this demand and continued to 
 hold the territory in the name of his Majesty. 
 
 Hermen seems to have always been on the best of terms 
 with his neighbors on the Delaware, and in 1671 the au- 
 thorities at New York ordered those at New Castle to clear 
 one-half of a road from that place to Hermen's plantation, 
 the Marylanders having offered to clear the other half This 
 year Hermen obtained the grant of St. Augustine Manor 
 from Lord Baltimore. It extended from the mouth of St. 
 George's Creek southward along the Delaware River, to the 
 mouth of Appoquinimink Creek, and west from the Dela- 
 ware River to the ancient boundary of Bohemia Manor, and 
 included the country east of Bohemia Manor from the Chesa- 
 peake and Delaware Canal to the head of Appoquinimink 
 Clreek, and from the ancient eastern boundary of Bohemia 
 Manor eastwardly to the Delaware River. 
 
 A canal to connect the waters of the Chesapeake and 
 Delaware bays was already talked of, and Hermen no 
 doubt selected this land because his knowledge of the topo- 
 graphy of the country led him to think the canal would be 
 made through this part of the Peninsula, and he wished to 
 receive the benefit that would follow its construction. 
 
 *See council book of that year, in possession of Md. Hist. Society. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 77 
 
 Though the manor of St. Augustine was within the limits 
 of Lord Baltimore's charter there is reason to believe that 
 Hermen never had possession of any part of it, except a few 
 hundred acres on the river bank opposite Eeedy Island, and 
 probably a small tract lying near the head of the branches 
 of Drawyers Creek. For it appears from an examination 
 of a paper in the volume of Penn manuscripts in possession 
 of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, that Hermen the 
 next year took possession under a license from Governor Carr, 
 of a tract of land on the river side opposite Reedy Island, 
 and that his sons, Ephraim George, and Casparus, settled 
 there. Their object seems to have been by so doing to claim 
 possession of the whole manor, if Lord Baltimore succeeded 
 in making good his claim as far east at the Delaware River. 
 Ephraim George, and Casparus Hermen, sons of Augustine, 
 continued to reside in the territory along the Delaware for 
 some years, probably till after the death of their father. 
 The former was clerk to the court of Upland (now Chester) 
 and New Castle, in 1676 ; ven due-master at New Castle the 
 next year, clerk of customs and collector of quit rents in the 
 jurisdiction of Upland and New Castle courts in 1677. Cas- 
 parus, in connection with Edmund Cantwell (one of the 
 ancestors of the Cantwell family of this county) obtained a 
 grant of two hundred acres lying on each side of Drawyer's 
 Creek, for the use of a water-mill, in 1682. He represented 
 New Castle County in the General Assembly of Pennsylva- 
 nia from 1683 to 1685. 
 
 The authorities of Maryland having failed to extend their 
 jurisdiction over the country claimed by Lord Baltimore by 
 peaceable means, resolved to try the effect of force. Accord- 
 ingly a military expedition was fitted out in the year 1672 
 and placed under the command of one Jones, who proceeded 
 to. the settlement at the Whorekill and laid waste the country 
 and devastated it terribly. The Dutch settlers there were 
 more successful in their agricultural pursuits than the 
 colonists in Maryland. And while the latter devoted all their 
 
78 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 energies to the production of tobacco, the former turned 
 their attention to the cultivation of wlieat, and were in the 
 habit of supplying the Marylanders with it. It is said that 
 this malignant and vindictive expedition led to the punish- 
 ment of those who sent it, and that the colonists of Mary- 
 land suffered much for want of food a few years afterward 
 ■when their crops failed. Indeed a woman is said to have 
 killed and eaten her own child during the time of this 
 severe and terrible famine. She was executed for the crime, 
 and when upon the scaffold declared her belief that the 
 famine was a retributive act of justice sent by infinite wis- 
 dom in punishment of the raid upon the Whorekill. 
 
 A certain Henry Ward, gentleman, as he is called in the 
 act that was passed for his punishment, was a member of 
 this expedition to the Whorekill. He was also a member 
 of the council, and, though he was called a gentleman, he 
 took advantage of his position, and represented to the 
 council that he had lost a valuable horse while upon the 
 expedition in the service of the country. The council 
 allowed him eighteen hundred pounds of tobacco to in- 
 demnify him for the loss he had sustained. But somehow 
 it came to the ears of the council, in 1674, that Mr. Ward 
 had not lost a horse, and had been lying about the matter, 
 in order to get tobacco to which he had no right. 
 
 This is the first instance on record of an official of the 
 province attempting to cheat the public. The council very 
 promptly fined him four thousand pounds of tobacco, which 
 appears to have taught fraudulently-disposed people a 
 wholesome lesson, for no other record is found of occur- 
 rences of this kind among the ancient archives of the 
 province. 
 
 Soon after the settlement of his sons on the Delaware a 
 road was constructed from Hermen's Manor plantation, to 
 their residence. This was probably the first road on the 
 Manor. The west part of this road was on or near the 
 track of the present road leading from St. Augustine to 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 79 
 
 Bohemia' Bridge. For many years after Hermen's death 
 this road was called the old man's path. Its construction 
 ■R'as a work of no small magnitude, for it was said to have 
 been twenty -two miles in length. The ordinary roads in 
 use at this time did not deserve the name of roads, for they 
 were only spaces or paths cleared of trees, and often so nar- 
 row and obscure that it was very difficult to follow them. 
 It was not till 1704 that it was enacted that the public roads 
 should be cleared and grubbed at least twenty feet wide, 
 and that overseers should be appointed to keep them in 
 repair, and erect bridges over heads of rivers, creeks, 
 branches and swamps where they were required. This act 
 also directed that all roads leading to the court-houses in 
 the several counties should be marked " by two notches cut 
 in the trees on both sides of the roads aforesaid, and another 
 notch a distance above the other two. . . Roads leading to 
 a church were to be marked at the entrance into the same ; 
 and at the leaving of any other road with a slip cut down 
 the face of the tree, near the ground." Roads leading to a 
 ferry were to be marked with three notches. "When roads 
 ran through old fields they were to be marked by stakes 
 discernible from each other, and notched like the trees. 
 Even after this great improvement upon roads our fore- 
 fathers must have labored under much difficulty when 
 traveling after nightfall. 
 
 In the year 1678 Hermen and Jacob You^ig were ap- 
 pointed commissioners to treat with the Indians. Their 
 commission is as follows, and may be found in the first 
 book of the land records of Cecil County : 
 
 " BY THE LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 
 
 " Thomas Nottey, Esq., Lieut enant-General and Chief Gov- 
 ernor of the Province of Maryland, under the Right Hon- 
 orable Charles, our Lord and Proprietary of the same, to 
 Augustine Hermen and Jacob Young, gentlemen, greeting: 
 
 " Whereas, Complaint to me hath been made that several 
 
80 HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 injuries and abuses have been frequently offered* to divers 
 the inhabitants of this province as to their stock of hogs, 
 horses and cattle, by the Delaware Indians hunting upon 
 their lands and driving away their stocks, pretending as 
 just, right and title they have to the land, by reason whereof 
 the inhabitants are very much molested and damnified; for 
 prevention whereof for the future I have, by and with the 
 advice and consent of his lordship's council, authorized and 
 appointed you, the said Augustine Hermen and Jacob 
 Young, to treat with the said Indians touching the prem- 
 ises, and to know of them what part and what quantity of 
 the land in Baltimore and Cecil counties they pretend to, 
 and what satisfaction they may demand to quit their claim 
 thereto, to the end that the same may be duly executed and 
 paid, and the inhabitants of this province quietly and 
 peaceably enjoy their possession without any further moles- 
 tation. An account of the proceeding herein you are to 
 transmit unto myself and his lordship's council with all ex- 
 pedition possible. Given under my hand and seal this 
 14th day of June, in the third year of his lordship's 
 dominion over this province. Anno Domini, 1678." 
 
 This Jacob Young, there is reason to believe, was the same 
 man who was charged some years before with seducing the 
 wife of Lears, the Swedish priest at Altona, but it was 
 afterwards proved that, at the time he and Mrs. Lears abscond- 
 ed, the reverend gentleman had broken open Young's trunk 
 with an axe, during the time he was stopping at his house, 
 and most likely he had not used his wife as well as he should 
 have done, and the court fined him heavily for assuming to 
 exercise judicial as well as priestly functions. The court 
 were of the opinion that the fugitives had fled to Maryland, 
 and sent an express there to search for them. The priest 
 did not take the loss of his wife very much to heart, for, a 
 few weeks after she ran away with Young, he married him- 
 self to another woman, which called down upon him the dis- 
 pleasure of the dignitaries of the government, who censured 
 
niSTOr.Y OF CECIL COUNTY. 81 
 
 him severely, not so much for performing his own marriage 
 ceremonj' as for doing so on Sunday. 
 
 At the date of his commission Young Uved somewhere 
 along St. George's Creek, jijrobably on the north side of it, 
 for the Dutch claimed that he was under their jurisdiction. 
 At this time, and for many years afterwards, there was a 
 cart road leading from where Chesapeake City now stands 
 past his house to the Delaware River, near Delaware City or 
 Port Penn. This road was called, in the old writings of that 
 period, Jacob Young's cart road. 
 
 In 1680 the governor of Delaware issued a warrant to 
 sheriff Cantwell of New Castle, " requiring him to summon 
 Jacob Young to appear personally before the governor and 
 council of New York, to answer for presuming to treat with 
 the Indians in this government without any authority." 
 
 This indicates that the treaty was made, and that Jacob 
 Young lived on Plermen's Manor of Augustine. 
 
 The Albany records, from which has been obtained much 
 valuable information respecting the history of this period, 
 contain no evidence to show that the warrant was ever 
 served upon Young. For this and many other reasons it 
 seems probable that he fled to the wilderness between Prin- 
 cipio Creek and the Susquehanna Iiiver and secreted him- 
 self in that part of the county east of where Port Deposit 
 now stands, and where a certain Jacob Young was living 
 nine years afterwards. 
 
 Thirteen j^ears had elapsed since the project of establish- 
 ing a county to be called Cecil County had been proposed 
 by Hermen and assented to by Lord Baltimore, and yet the 
 county had not been erected. For fifteen years before this 
 time, that is to say, from the year 1659 to 1674, the land 
 that had been taken up and patented on the Western Shore 
 from the mouth of the Patapsco River to the head of the 
 bay, and on the Eastern Shore from the head of the bay 
 as far south as Worten Creek, as well as that along the 
 rivers on the Eastern Shore was described as being in Balti- 
 more County. F 
 
82 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The first volume of Land Records of Cecil County con- 
 tains a number of deeds for land along Sa.-safras River and 
 elsewhere on the Eastern Shore,in which the land for which 
 they were given is described as being in Baltimore County. 
 The same may be said of tlie first volume of the land 
 records of Baltimore Count)^, in which it is stated that Bohe- 
 mia Manor is located in East Baltimore Countv. If more 
 evidence is wanting fo convince the most skeptical that 
 Baltimore County at first included the upper part of the 
 Eastern Shore, it may be found in the fact that Augustine 
 Hermen for some years after he came to Bohemia Manor and 
 probably till the erection of Cecil County was one of the 
 justices of Baltimore County. The same may be said of 
 Captain Thomas Plowell, who owned large quantities of land 
 at Howell's Point on the Eastern Shore, M'here there is no 
 doubt he resided. Indeed, there is reason to believe that 
 the court for Baltimore County frequently met on the East- 
 ern Shore, which was certainly the case in 1664, when it was 
 held at the house of Francis Wright, at Clayfall, in refer- 
 ence to the case of the captive Seneca. 
 
 The original botindaries of C'ecil County, as created in 
 1674, by proclamation of Governor Charles Calvert, are de- 
 scribed as follows : " From the mouth of the Susquehanna 
 River down the eastern side of the bay to Swan Point, thence 
 to Hell Point, and so up Chester River to the head thereof."* 
 Nothing appears to have been said about the eastern or 
 northern bounds of the county, because they were in dispute, 
 nevertheless the lord proprietary still claimed to the Dela- 
 ware and to the fortieth degree of north latitude. These 
 bounds were slightly varied by another proclamation issued 
 a few days afterwards, which there is reason to believe threw 
 a small part of what is now the extreme southwestern part 
 of Kent County under the jurisdiction of the authorities of 
 Kent Island. 
 
 *McMahoii's History of Maryland, page 93. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 83 
 
 The first court-house was erected on the north side of Sassa- 
 fras River, a short distance east of Ordinary' Point, at what was 
 afterwards called Jamestown, and is now designated on the 
 map of Cecil County as Oldtown. At this time, probably not 
 a dozen persons inhabited that part of the county north of the 
 Elk River, and they lived along the North East River and so 
 near to other navigable water as to have easy access to the 
 court-house by that means. Aery little is known of the first 
 court-house, except that it was built by Casparus Hermen 
 in 1692. It seems to have been a small structure, from the 
 fact that it is stated in evidence taken before a land com- 
 mission many years afterwards, that the jurors were in the 
 habit of leaving it and holding their deliberations under 
 the shade of an oak tree which stood on the river bank 
 Dear by, and which for this reason was called the Jury Oak. 
 
 Before the court-house was built the court met at public 
 and sometimes at private houses, as is shown by the minutes 
 of the court. Some time in the ye.ir 1690 it met at the house 
 of Thomas Jones, and on the 12th of April, 1692, it met at 
 the house of Shadrack Whitworth. At the next court, 
 whicli was held at Matthias Matthiason's, this same Shad- 
 rack prayed the court to be admitted an attorney to practice 
 in the court. His petition was granted and he was ad- 
 mitted and took the oath. One William Nowell also 
 prayed to be re-admitted, and promised to remove the cau- 
 ses that had led to his suspension, which seemed to be the 
 fact that he had refused to take the oath of alliance and su- 
 premacy. On the 10th of August, 1692, the court met at 
 Matthias Matthiason's. At this court, the same Shadrack 
 was sued by one Robert Davidson, planter of Kent County. 
 From the entries made in the minute book for this session 
 of court, we learn that Shadrack was a churgeon. He was 
 probably one of the first surgeons that practiced his profes- 
 sion in Cecil County. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Labadists — Sluyter and Danckers — Their joui-nal — They meet with 
 Ephraim George Hermen and wife — Visit New Castle and Bohemia 
 Manor — They go on down the Peninsula — Return and purchase the Labadie 
 tract on Bohemia !Manor, and establish a community there — Description 
 of the Labadie tract and how they got it — Peter Bayard and others — 
 Description of the community on Bohemia 3Manor — Augustine Hermen's 
 quarrel with George ITolland — Letter from Hermen — Hermen's patents 
 of confirmation — He obtains a patent for Jlisfortune, or the three Bohe- 
 mia Sisters — Extent of liis possessions — He invests his son Ephraim George 
 with the riglit and title to Bohemia !Manor — \ curious deed — Augustine 
 Hermen's last will — His death and monumental stone — His place of 
 burial — Codicil to his last will — His daughters. 
 
 The Labadists were a sect of Christians that flourished in 
 the latter part of the seventeenth century and took their 
 name from their founder, John Labadie, who was at one 
 time a Jesuit priest, and afterwards embraced the doctrines 
 of Calvin. He seems to have been hard to please in matters 
 of religious faith ; and, probably because he did not find the 
 creed of an}' religious sect adapted to his peculiar views, he 
 originated one himself, which was better adapted to his 
 wishes and wants. One great distinctive feature of the 
 Labadie creed was, that the believers in his doctrine should 
 live in communities by themselves. In accordance with 
 this tenet of their faith, they had established a community 
 at Wiewert, in Denmark, and being full of zeal and mission- 
 ary enterprise, had established, or tried to establish, another 
 community at Surinam ; but the climate and country proving 
 unfavorable, they were soon forced to abandon the enterprise 
 at the latter place. The community at Wiewert sent two of 
 their number, Peter Sluyter, alias Vorsman, and Jasper 
 Danckers, alias Schiklers, to America, in the latter part of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 85 
 
 the year 1679, 'where they spent a part of that and the fol- 
 lowing j^ear in " spj'ing out " a good location for the colony. 
 They traveled together, and kept a journal during this visit, 
 in which they described the country through which they 
 passed and speak of the people with whom they were thrown 
 in contact. Their journal was found in the possession of a 
 bookseller in Amsterdam a few years ago. In what manner 
 it had been preserved could not be ascertained, but it is 
 probable that it passed from the hands of some member of 
 tlie community of Labadists at Wiewert, and after the lapse 
 of many years ceased to be appreciated and fell into the 
 hands of the bookseller, where the secretary of the Long 
 Island Historical Society found it. The Society had it trans- 
 lated and published, and as the Labadists at Bohemia Manor 
 were so intimately connected with the early history of Cecil 
 County, and were the only colony of these strange people 
 that was established in the United States, the reader, it is 
 hoped, will pardon the author for quoting largely from it, 
 and for saying much about the Labadists and their doings 
 upon Bohemia Manor when they lived tliere nearly two 
 hundred years ago. 
 
 Sluyter and Danckers landed in New York, where, they first 
 met Ephraim Hermen, the eldest son of Augustine Hermen, 
 who had recently been married and had not yet taken his 
 wife to New Castle, where he then lived. They state that 
 Ephraim and his wife rode upon the same horse while mak- 
 ing the journey from New York to New Castle. 
 
 Ephraim liermen's wife's maiden name was Elizabeth 
 Van Eodenburgh. She was the daughter of John Van Rod- 
 enburgh, at one time governor of the island of Curacoa, in 
 the Caribbean Sea. Ephraim's father had long sought the 
 hand of her mother in marriage, but was not successful. 
 The two Labadists appear to have been on intimate terms 
 with young Hermen soon after they first met him. They 
 traveled in company with him and his wile, as before stated, 
 from New York to Chester, and afterwards stopped at his 
 
86 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 house during their sojourn in New Castle, he having left 
 them at Chester and arrived at New Castle first. 
 
 During the sojourn of these travelers at New Castle they 
 appear to have ingratiated themselves into the good graces 
 of Ephraim Hermen, who become a convert to their religion. 
 They also speak of his sister Margaretta, who then lived 
 with him, in a way that indicates they hoped to proselyte- 
 her. Whether she became a member of the community on 
 the Manor has not been ascertained, but it is probable she 
 did not, because her father, who at first treated the Labadists 
 with respect, and who, it appears, gave them some encourage- 
 ment, had reason to regret having done so. They speak of 
 Ephraim Hermen's wife as having the quietest disposition 
 of any person they met with in America, and no doubt 
 their efforts to convert her to the Labadie faith and the 
 influence they had over her had much to do with the con- 
 version of her husband. They represent him to have been 
 very godless and wild in his early life, but say he had 
 become reformed at the time of their visit. 
 
 After obtaining a passport or letters of credit and intro- 
 duction from Mons. Moll, Mr. Alricks, and Ephraim Hermen^ 
 who were the dignitaries of the court at New Castle, they 
 left there in company with Mr. Moll to visit his plantation, 
 which was about fifteen miles from New Castle, in the direc- 
 tion of Casparus Hermen's place, which they state was on 
 the Delaware River, near the head of the bay. Speaking of 
 Mr. Moll's plantation, they say : " There was no person 
 there, except some servants and negroes, the commander 
 being a Parisian. The dwellings were very badly appointed, 
 especially for such a man as Mons. Moll. There was no 
 place to retire to, nor a chair to sit on, or a bed to sleep on. 
 For their usual food the servants have nothing but maize 
 bread to eat, and water to drink, which sometimes is not 
 very good, and scarcely enough for life. Yet they are com- 
 pelled to work hard and to spend their lives here in Virginia 
 and elsewhere in planting tliat vile tobacco, which vanishes 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 87 
 
 into smoke, and is, for the most part, miserably abused. It 
 is the chief article of trade in the country. If they only 
 wished it, they could have every thing for the support of 
 life in abundance, for they have land and opportunity 
 sufBcient for that end, but this insatiate avarice must be 
 fed and sustained by the bloody sweat of these slaves. After 
 we had supped, Mr. Moll, who would be civil, wished us to 
 lie upon a bed that was there, which we declined ; and as 
 this continued some length of time, I lay down on a heap of 
 maize, and he and my comrade afterwards did the same."* 
 
 After leaving Mr. Moll's place they went to Casparus Her- 
 men's place, which was then called Augustine, and was on the 
 Delaware River just south of the mouth of Appoquinimink 
 Creek, where they spent the night. The next day they pro- 
 ceeded on towards Maryland, which they soon reached, and 
 " speakof it as being the most fertile part of North America," 
 and say it " is to be also wished that it was the most healthy." 
 No doubt the fever and ague prevailed in Cecil County at that 
 itme, and that there was much of tlie country in a swampy 
 condition and covered with water. Augustine Hermen's map, 
 made a few years previous to this time, has a note upon it, 
 stating that the solid land between the head waters of Back 
 Creek and Bohemia River and the streams that flow into 
 the Delaware Bay is but a few miles wide. This accounts 
 for the commissioners, Waldron and Hermen, taking a 
 northwest course from New Castle when going to the Chesa- 
 peake Bay some years before. They undoubtedly took this 
 course to avoid the swamps and stagnant water they would 
 have had to cross if they had gone directly from New Castle 
 to the head of Elk. Danckers remarks that "there are few 
 Indians in comparison with the extent of the country," 
 and that they " lived in the uppermost part of Maryland 
 — that is, as high up as it is yet inhabited by Christians." 
 
 * The journal, though culled by both their names, seems to have been 
 written by Danckeis. 
 
88 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 When they reached Augustine Herman's, they presented 
 to him the letter from his son Casparus, and he received them 
 with much kindness. " His plantation was going into de- 
 cay as well as his body for want of attention. There was 
 ,not a Christian man, as they term it, to serve him; nobody 
 but negroes. All this was increased by a miserably, doubly 
 miserable, wife, but so miserable that I will not relate it 
 here. All his children have been compelled, on her account, 
 to leave their father's house." This is the only evidence 
 extant tending to show that Augustine Hermen married a 
 second wife. He makes no reference to one in his will and 
 it is probable the Labadists were mistaken in regard to this 
 matter, or they may have willfully misstated it. Their jour- 
 nal is one of the most bilious and splenetic works ever pub- 
 lished. But though they seem to have been depraved 
 enough to have lied when it suited their purpose, thej^ 
 probably told the truth about the appearance of the country 
 through which they passed. The genealogical record in 
 Hanson's "Old Kent" in regard to Hermen 's second wife is 
 proved to be incorrect by the records of the Reformed Church 
 in New York, where his children were baptized. 
 
 The two travelers relate tiiat theyM'ere directed to a place 
 to sleep, but the screeching of the wild geese and other wild 
 fowl in the creek (the Boliemia Eiver) before the door pre- 
 vented them from having a good sleej). The next morning 
 after Hermen had signed the passport* which Mr. Moll, 
 Alricks and Ephraim Plermen had given them, they pro- 
 ceeded on down the peninsula and crossed the Sassafras 
 River at a place where there was an ordinary. Their pas- 
 sage over the river cost them each an English shilling. This 
 ferry was either at Ordinary Point or at Oldtown iust 
 above it. 
 
 These disciples of Labadie went on down the peninsula, 
 and spent a week in looking for a favorable location. They 
 appear to have intended to visit the eastern shore of Vir- 
 
 * Augustine Hermen was a justice of tlie court at this time. 
 
HISTOl^Y OF (■liCIL COUNTY. 89 
 
 ginia ; but the settlers in the lower part of Maryland 
 advised them not to proceed further in that direction, and 
 told them there were so many creeks and marshes there 
 that they would find it difficult to travel. On their way 
 back Danckers speaks as follows of the multitudes of wild 
 fowl they found in a creek, which, as near as we are able to 
 judge, was a tributary of the Sassafras : " I have nowhere 
 seen so many clucks togetlier as were seen in this creek. 
 The water was so black with them that it seemed, when 
 you looked from the land upon the water, as if it were a 
 mass of filth or turf; and when they flew up there was 
 a rusliing and vibration of the air like a great storm coming 
 through the trees, and even like the rumbling of distant 
 thunder, while the sky over the whole creek was filled with 
 them like a cloud, or like the starlings fly at harvest time 
 in fatherland." A little further on he speaks of the wild 
 geese they saw in the Sassafras on their return: "They rose 
 not in flocks of ten or twelve, or twenty or thirty, but con- 
 tinuously, wherever we pushed our way ; and as they made 
 room for us there was such an incessant clattering made 
 with their wings upon the water wliere they rose, and such 
 a noise of those flying higher up, that it was as if we were 
 all the time surrounded ])y a whirlwind or storm. This 
 proceeded not only from geese, but from ducks and other 
 water fowl ; and it is not peculiar to this place alone, but it 
 occurred on all the creeks and rivers we crossed, though 
 they were the most numerous in the morning and evening, 
 when they are most easily shot." They were greatly im- 
 pressed by the majestic appearance of the noble forest trees 
 they saw in this part of Maryland. These were no doubt 
 fine specimens of trees, and perhaps many of them were 
 many centuries old when they gazed upon them. The 
 location of an ancient tree that stood at or near the north- 
 west corner of the Labadie tract is marked upon Grifiith's 
 Map of Maryland, which was published in Philadelphia in 
 1793. It was called the "Labadie Poplar," and was noted 
 
90 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 for its great age and size, and must have been of much 
 notoriety, as it is the only tree located on that map. They 
 also spoke of the abundance of wild grapevines they saw 
 while upon this journey. There was a considerable number 
 of Quakers in this part of Maryland at this time, and 
 a little further on in the journal it is stated that they 
 visited the place of Casparus Hermen with a view of pur- 
 chasing it for the use of their community, and say that " it 
 was objectionable only because it lay on the road, and was 
 therefore resorted to by every one, and especially by these 
 miserable Quakers." They had met a Quakeress at Upland 
 (Chester) some time before, who, they state, was the "great 
 prophetess from Maryland." She was traveling in company 
 with two other women, also Quakers, who had " forsaken 
 husband, children, plantation and all, and were going 
 through the country in order to quake." They came to the 
 house where Danckers and Sluyter were stopping, and drank 
 a dram of rum with each other, after which they began to 
 shake and groan, so that the Labadists wondered much 
 what it all meant and what was about to come of it. She 
 did not quake much at that time, however; but the next 
 day she sat next Danckers at dinner and quaked very hard, 
 so hard that she shook the bench upon which they and a 
 number of others were sitting. 
 
 William Edmunson, a traveling preacher from England, 
 also visited the Quakers on the Sassafras River a few years 
 after«this time, and speaks of stopping at the house of one 
 William Southerly, a Quaker, who lived there. These 
 thrifty people were no doubt attracted there by the fertility 
 of the soil and the easy terms upon which they could 
 acquire titles to plantations, and the freedom to hold any 
 religious opinions they pleased. The great thoroughfare 
 between the Delaware and Chesapeake at that time was 
 along the Bohemia and Sassafras rivers and Appoquinimink 
 Creek, and this no doubt led to the early settlement of that 
 part of the county ; and the Quakers were the first to see 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 91 
 
 the advantages to be derived from being located upon the 
 route or in close proximity to it. These two Labadists 
 found a Quaker near the Bohemia River and alongside of 
 the road leading from Augustine Hermen's to his son's 
 place on the Delaware, who was living in a little shed not 
 much bigger than a " dog's kennel," but who was engaged 
 in building a house, which he intended to use as an ale- 
 house. It is plain from these facts that these Quakers were 
 among the earliest settlers of our county, but they do not 
 appear to have remained here long or to have been numer- 
 ous enough to have left any enduring marks or monuments 
 of their sojourn. 
 
 There is a remarkable difference between the journal of 
 William Edmunson and that of Danckers ; the former says 
 but little about the country and was wholly engrossed in the 
 work in which he was engaged — the spread of the Gospel ; 
 while the latter rarely refers to this matter, but speaks of 
 everything else. The journals are evidences of the truth 
 of the Scriptural maxim, that " out of the fullness of the 
 heart the mouth speaketh." 
 
 The Labadists gave the planters of Maryland and Virginia 
 a very bad character. How the)^ were able to speak of the 
 planters of the latter State does not appear, for the^' did not 
 visit it. Their austere and rigid doctrines had biased or 
 prejudiced their minds, and most likely the description 
 is a great deal too highly colored. If the truth were 
 known, the men they speak so disparagingly of were prob- 
 ably as good, if not much better, than themselves. Their 
 conduct afterwards proves them to have been men of poor 
 character and of little or no piety. They speak of the 
 planter as "godless and profane, and say they listen neither 
 to God nor his commandments, and have neither church 
 nor cloister. Sometimes there is son:e one who is called a 
 minister, who does not, as elsewhere, serve in one place — for 
 in all Virginia and Maryland there is not a city or villago 
 — but travels for j)rofit (precisely what they were doing 
 
■92 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 themselves, as their subsequent actions and conduct abund- 
 antly shows), and for that purpose visits the plantations 
 through the country and addresses the people ; but I know 
 -of no public assemblage being held in these places." "When 
 the ships arrive with goods, and especially with liquors, 
 such as wine and brandy, they attract everybody (that is, 
 masters) to them, who indulge so abominably together, that 
 they keep nothing for the rest of the year, yea, do not go 
 away as long as there is any left, or bring anything home 
 with them which might be useful to them in their subse- 
 quent necessities." 
 
 After their return from their journey down the peninsula, 
 the two Labadists visited Xew Castle again, and probably 
 induced Ephraim Hermen to persuade his father to sell them 
 part of Bohemia Manor, for about this time they speak of 
 Ephraim Hermen and Mr. IMolI visiting Augustine Hermen, 
 who had made his will and left Ephraim, his eldest son, heir of 
 his rank and title, in other words "Lord of the Manor," and 
 they thought that "Augustine wished to make some change 
 in his will, because he had offered some of his land which 
 he had entailed upon Ephraim to them." 
 
 The Labadists were miserably mistaken in the supposition 
 they made ; for if the old man, then tottering upon the verge 
 ■of the grave, wished to see his son and confer with him in 
 regard to his lands, or his will disposing of them, it was 
 that he might remonstrate with him about his connection 
 Avith the Labadists, for a year or two afterwards he made a 
 codicil to his will, in which he appointed three of his neigh- 
 bors his executors, assigning as the reason for their appoint- 
 ment in place of his son Ephraim, that he adhered to the 
 Labadie faction and was using his best endeavors to 
 proselyte his brother and sisters, and he feared the Labadists 
 would become, through Ephraim's eflbrts, tlie owners of all 
 his lands. 
 
 Having concluded the business for which the\' came to 
 America, the two pioneer Labadists returned to "Wiewert. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 9S 
 
 They revisited this county in 1683, bringing with them 
 from Wiewert a few of the sect to which they belonged, for 
 the purpose of organizing the community on the Manor, 
 Hermen refused to consummate the sale to them, and only 
 did so when compelled by the court. The deed for the 
 Labadie tract was executed by Hermen on the 11th of Au- 
 gust, 1684, to Peter Sluyter {alias Vorsman), Jasper Danckers 
 {alias Schilders, of Friesland), Petrus Bayard, of New York^ 
 and John Moll and Arnoldus de la Grange, of Delaware, in 
 company. The land conveyed embraced the four necks 
 eastwardly from the first creek that empties into the Bohe- 
 mia Eiver from the north, east of the Bohemia bridge, and 
 extended north or northeast to near the old St. Augustine 
 or Manor church. It contained thirty-seven hundred and 
 fifty acres. The land is of good quality and jvill compare- 
 favorably with the best land on the peninsula. The selec- 
 tion of this tract of land did credit to the judgment of the 
 two Labadists who selected it for the establishment of their 
 community. They appear to have been better judges of 
 land than they were of matters pertaining to religion and 
 piety. It adds nothing to the credit of a disreputable per- 
 son to assume a name to which he has no right ; what then 
 must be thought of these men who set themselves up as re- 
 ligious teachers and expounders of the Word of God, and 
 who were so zealous in the cause they had espoused as tO' 
 cross the ocean in order to promulgate their religious faith 
 and establish a new community of their proselytes, when 
 they start with a lie upon their lips and travel under 
 assumed names. There may have been some reason un- 
 known that satisfied their consciences for acting in this man- 
 ner ; but the means they used to obtain the title to their land 
 and their subsequent doings while upon the Manor, indi- 
 cate that they were men that made a cloak of their religion,, 
 and who were governed by sinister and mercenary rather 
 than by philanthropic and Christian principles. 
 
 John Moll was a Dutchman and chief judge of the court 
 
94 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 at New Castle. He was in business in Bristol, in England, 
 at one time, but failed and migrated to Virginia, and traded 
 there and in Maryland for a time. La Grange was probably 
 a Frenchman. He lived in New York at one time, and the 
 two Labadists appear to have had letters of introduction to 
 him. Danckers, in his journal, speaks of him as a great fop, 
 and when he first met him had a very mean opinion of 
 him. He was in the habit of trading to New Castle, and 
 professed to be a convert to the Labadie religion. Bayard 
 is said to have been a hatter, and probably was the most, if 
 not the only, sincere and honest man among the original 
 grantees of the " Labadie Tract." 
 
 These three men, who no doubt were friends and associ- 
 ates of Ephraim Hermen, who seems to have been a man of 
 not very supQrior mental ability, appear to have let them- 
 selves be used as willing tools in the hands of these Laba- 
 dists to aid them in the consummation of the conspiracy to 
 obtain part of the Manor, of which the weak-minded Eph- 
 raim was cognizant. No doubt they expected to reap much 
 benefit from the establishment of the Labadie community 
 so near them, which was probably therea-son why they pro- 
 fessed to believe in the new religion, for immediately after 
 the company received the deed from Augustine Hermen, 
 Moll and La Grange conveyed their interest to Sluyter and 
 Danckers, who appear to liave been at that time, and for 
 some time afterwards, the leading spirits in the community. 
 
 Bayard retained his interest in the land till 1688, when 
 he probably became disgusted with the doings of the Laba- 
 dists and quit the community. Both he and Ephraim Her- 
 men were at one time very strong in the Labadie faith. 
 They both deserted their wives in order to follow the teach- 
 ings of these strange fanatics, who entertained strange views 
 in regard to marriage, of which more will be said hereafter. 
 The misguided and undutiful Ephraim is said to have re- 
 pented of his folly and returned to his wife, but in less than 
 two years was taken sick, became crazy, and died, fulfilling 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 95 
 
 by his untimely end the malediction of his father, who, as 
 it was said, pronounced the curse upon him that he might 
 not live two years after uniting himself with the sect. 
 
 The community was composed of a few emigrants from 
 the community at Wiewert and a few persons from New 
 York, together with a few more converts and probationers 
 from the vicinity of the community in Maryland. 
 
 Sluyter sent to Friesland for his wife, who came over and 
 was installed as a kind of abbess or Mother Sui:)erior over 
 the female part of the establishment. In 1693 Sluyter be- 
 came the head of the communitj^, Danckers, then in Hol- 
 land, having in that year conveyed his interest in the land 
 to him. Sluyter and his wife seem to have been rigid discip- 
 linarians as well as mercenary and grasping people. Thej^ 
 had many slaves, and did a thriving business in the culti- 
 vation of tobacco, notwithstanding Danckers spoke so con- 
 temptuously about it in his journal a few years before. 
 Slavery was against the doctrines of the Labadists; but 
 Sluyter found it profitable, and introduced it into the com- 
 munity on the Manor, where it prevailed while the commu- 
 nity lasted. Probably there was no one who had the cour- 
 age to report his bad practices to his superiors at Wiewert. 
 
 The community on the Manor was under the surveillance 
 of the mother church at Wiewert, and before a person could 
 become a full member of the former community their case 
 had to be referred to the mother church. Sluyter acted his 
 part so well that he was requested to go to Wiewert, in order 
 that he might take an important place made vacant by the 
 death of an eminent brother, but he preferred to remain on 
 the Manor and traffic in slaves and tobacco, and lord it over 
 the poor dupes he had under his control. This suited him 
 better than a subordinate position at Wiewert, for he was a 
 man better fitted to rule than to be under the control of 
 others. A few years after he became proprietor of the 
 Labadie tract, he sold the uppermost of the four necks to 
 John Moll, Jr., who was no doubt a son of John Moll, who 
 
96 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 had helped him and Danckers in their efforts to obtain the 
 land from Augustine Hermen. The conduct of these men in 
 this transaction about this land looks bad, after the lapse of 
 nearly two hundred years, and indicates that if they 
 were not positively dishonest, they wore very far from 
 being good Christians. The consideration named in the 
 deed from Sluyter to Moll is £112 10s. sterling money of 
 old England ; but the great probability is that he got the 
 land for nothing, and that it was the price of the duplicity 
 of his father, the elder Moll. If the Dutch judges and 
 officials, at New Castle a few years before were no better 
 than Moll, it is no wonder that the Swedes and Finns about 
 Xew Castle were driven to take refuge in the wilderness in 
 ^laryland ; indeed the wonder is that any of the inhabitants 
 remained under the control of the Dutch, and that their 
 province along the Delaware was not depopulated. 
 
 Two accounts of the Labadie community upon the Manor 
 have come down to modern times. Samuel Bowens, a 
 Quaker preacher who visited them in 1702, thus describes 
 their curious ways: " After we had dined, we took our leave, 
 and a friend, my guide, went with me and brought me to a 
 people called Labadists, ivhere ive were civilly entertained in 
 their wiy. When supper came in it was placed upon a long 
 table in a large room, where, when all things were ready, 
 came in at a call twenty men or upwards, but no women. 
 "We all sat down, they placing me and my companion near 
 the head of the table, and having passed a short space, one 
 pulled off his hat, but not so the rest till a short space after, 
 and then they, one after another, pulled all their hats off, 
 and in that uncovered posture sat silent, uttering no words 
 that we could hear for nearly half a quarter of an hour ; 
 and as they did not uncover at once, so neither did they 
 cover themselves again at once, but as they put on their 
 hats, fell to eating, not regarding those who were still un- 
 covered, so that it might be ten minutes' time or more 
 between the first and last putting on of their hats. I after- 
 wards queried with my comi)anion concerning the reason of 
 
niSTURY OF CECIL COUNTY. 97 
 
 their conduct, and he gave for an answer, that they Iicld it 
 nnhawful to pray till they felt some inward motion for the 
 same, and that secret prayer was more acceptable than to 
 utter words, and that it was most proper for every one to 
 pray as moved thereto by the Spirit in their own minds. I 
 likewise Cjueried if they had no women amongst them. He 
 told me they had, but the women ate by themselves and the 
 men by themselves, having all things in common respecting 
 their household affairs, so that none could claim any more 
 right than another to any part of their stock, whether in 
 trade or hu.sbandry ; and if any had a mind to join with 
 them, whether rich or poor they must put what they had in 
 the common stock, and afterwards if they had a mind to 
 leave the society, they must likewise leave what they brought 
 and go out empty handed. They frequently expounded the 
 Scriptures among themselves, and being a very large family, 
 in all upwards of an hundred men, women and children, 
 carried on something of the manufacture of linen, and had 
 a large plantation of corn, tobacco, flax and hemp, together 
 with cattle of several kinds." 
 
 The colonists conformed in most respects to the mode of 
 living adopted at Wiewert. Tliey slept in the same or ad- 
 joining buildings, but in different rooms, which were not 
 accessible to each other, but were ever open to the father or 
 such as he appointed for the purpose of instruction or exam- 
 ination. Their meals were eaten in silence, and it is related 
 that persons often ate together at the same table for months 
 without knowing each other's names. They worked at 
 different employments in the houses, or on the land, or at 
 trades, and were distributed for that purpose by the head of 
 the establishment. Their dress was plain and simple, 
 eschewing all fashions of the world. Gold and silver orna- 
 ments, jewelry, pictures, hangings, lace and other fancy work, 
 were prohibited, and if any of the members had previously 
 worked at such trades, they had to abandon them. They 
 worked for the Lord and not for themselves. The product of 
 
 G 
 
98 HISTORY OF CECIL COIXTY. 
 
 their labor was not to satisfy their lusts and desires, but like 
 the air, simply for theirphysical existence, and hence all their 
 goods and productions should be as free and common as the 
 air they breathed. They were to live concealed in Clirist. 
 All the desires or aversions of the flesh were, therefore, to 
 be mortified or conquered. These mortifications were to be 
 undergone willingly. A former minister might be seen 
 standing at the washtub, or a young man of good extrac- 
 tion might be drawing stone or tending cattle. If any one 
 had a repugnance to particular food, he must eat it never- 
 theless. They must make confession of their sinful thoughts 
 in open meeting. Those who were disobedient were pun- 
 ished by a reduction of clothing, or being ]ilaced lower 
 down the table, or final exclusion from the society. There 
 were different classes among the members, which were to be 
 successively attained by probation, in conforming to the 
 rules of the establishment, and the final position of brother 
 obtained by entire severance from the world. Tlieir peculiar 
 belief about marriage was, that a member of their com- 
 munity could not live in the marriage relation with a per- 
 son who was not a member of it. While it was all right in 
 their opinion for Labadists and unbelievers to marry, it was 
 very wrong and sinful for a Labadist to marry an un- 
 believer. It was owing to their efforts to enforce this 
 peculiar doctrine that Ephraim Hermen deserted his young 
 and amiable wife and called down upon himself the dis- 
 pleasure and maledictions of his aged and infirm father, 
 who no doubt was shocked and mortified by his conduct. 
 
 One of their converts, who lived in the vicinity of the 
 community, met with a tragic death. It happened in this 
 wise: He had been induced to leave his Avife, and had lived 
 with the community for a time; when they supposed him to 
 be sufficiently confirmed in their doctrine to remain stead- 
 fast in the faith, permitted him to reside with his wife again; 
 he was still in the habit of attending their meetings, and 
 oiie day, whether Sunday or not is not stated, while going 
 
HISTORY OK CECIL COUNTY. 99 
 
 to attend the Labadie meeting, he met wdth a stray horse, 
 which he toolc with him for tlie purpose of delivering it to 
 its owner. The horse pleased Sluyter so well that he im- 
 mediately began to covet it, and after service was over he 
 placed the man upon it, in order to try its speed, intending, 
 if that pleased him as weW as its appearance did, to try and 
 effect a trade with the owner. The horse ran away with 
 the man, and, making a short turn in the road, he struck 
 his head against a tree and was killed. 
 
 The colonj', in a few years after it was established, appears 
 to have been both detested and despised by the people in 
 the vicinity. 
 
 In 1698 there appears to have been a division of the land 
 of the Labadists among the principal members of the com- 
 munity, for Sluyter in that year conveyed, for a merely 
 nominal rent, the greater portion of the land which, as 
 before stated, he then held, to Hermen Van Barkelo, Nicho- 
 las de la Montaigne, Peter de Koning, Derick Kolchman, 
 Henry Sluyter, and Samuel Bayard, and, as before stated, 
 sold another portion to John Moll, Jr. Sluyter retained one, 
 of the necks himself and became very wealthy. He died in 
 1722, and though there seems to have been some kind of an 
 organization of his followers kept up while he lived, it is 
 said that the Labadists were all scattered and gone five years 
 after his death. 
 
 The Labadists gave Augustine Hermen a great deal of 
 trouble, of which no account has come down to us, but there 
 is abundant evidence extant to show that he bitterly re- 
 gretted having given them any countenance. Nor was this 
 the only trouble he met with. In his case the accumu- 
 lation of wealth brought an accumulation of care and 
 trouble with it. Though he had been successful in acquir- 
 ing a very large estate, and held it by an indisputable title 
 from the lord proprietary of the province, yet, notwith- 
 standing this, he was put to much trouble to keep covetous 
 people from encroaching upon his dominion and depriving 
 
100 HISTClKY OF CECIL COUKTY. 
 
 him of part of it. 0)i tlie second day of November, 1680, 
 he presented a petition to the governor and council of the 
 province, in which he recites that one "George Plolland, 
 witli other envious persons, had coveted, and were ';one 
 about privately to take away part of his children's land in 
 Bohemia upon false allegations an^l untrue bounds." These 
 false allegations appear to have been, that the metes and 
 bounds of Bohemia Manor and Bohemia Middle Neck in- 
 closed a great many more acres of land than the patents 
 called for. The petition recites that he had obtained a 
 warrant for a re-survey, and that the deputy-surveyor, one 
 Joseph Chew, after he had surveyed the land and made a 
 plot of it, for which Hermen paid him nineteen pounds of 
 tobacco, had run away ; that he had kept a plot himself, 
 which he had returned to the office of Mr. Painter, who, it 
 would seem, was at that time in charge of the surveyor-gen- 
 eral's office, and who had promised to send him a new 
 patent in consideration of six hundred acres of land which 
 he had relinquished to him for it. The petition refers to 
 several other persons, and closes by stating that the peti- 
 tioner " had no other refuge left than his Lordship's favor, 
 and that he therefore prayed his Lordship's goodness would 
 be pleased to grant, and command that his patent might be 
 issued forthwith without any longer delay," and that he 
 had been at " great charges and trouble about it already, 
 and hoped his Lordship would not suffer his estate to be 
 consumed by unjust officers that luork by the rule of right and 
 wrong for private gain." It was thereupon "ordered by the 
 council that their clerk notify Mr. Painter to produce the 
 papers in his office, and that a letter be sent to the petitioner, 
 acquainting him therewith, and desiring him to transmit 
 the certificate and plots, which he had by him, to ye clerk 
 of ye council at ye city of St. Maries, with all expedition, 
 who is to present the same to this board for perusal, when 
 his Lordship M'ill give further answer to the prayer of the 
 petitioner." 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 101 
 
 These proceedings of the council did not produce the 
 effect that Hermen desired. Probably the council, like many 
 that have succeeded it, was trammeled hj red tape, and 
 was more concerned about "how not to do it" than it was 
 about how to settle the dispute and end the difficulty between 
 Hermen and his grasping and covetous neighbors, for he 
 sent the following letter, among several other letters and 
 papers, to some one, probably the clerk of the council, who 
 read it at a meeting of the council held at St. Mary's, on the 
 16th day of August, 1681, nine months after the writer had 
 presented the petition before referred to. This letter is valu- 
 able, as showing the peculiar style of phraseology that pre- 
 vailed at the time it was written. 
 
 "Rt. Hon'ble — 3Iij Lord: — My weakness and hindrance in 
 my domestic affairs, having no overseer, makes me defer 
 my coming down to your Lordship's until some time in 
 September next. Meanwhile, John Browning and George 
 Holland, having surveyed privately fourteen hundred acres 
 of land out of my Middle Neck, which I have appointed a 
 portion for my son Casparus Hermen, I have sent an exact 
 journal to Mr. Lewellin, in your Lordship's land office, of 
 my first foundation and seating of Bohemia Manor, to 
 maintain my right and claim against those deluding alle- 
 gations which false intruders ma}^ fill your Lordship's ears 
 withal. If your Lordship would be pleased to peruse, at 
 some leisure time, it will perhaps put your Lordship in mind 
 of things your Lordship now not thinks on. I have also 
 entered a caveat against John Browning and George Holland, 
 desiring Mr. Lewellin to pass nothing in my predjudice. 
 I humbly pray your Lordship be pleased to second it by 
 3'our Lordship's commands. I have not, at present, troubled 
 your Lordship with any other of my grievances, having 
 given your Lordship too great a trouble with the above, 
 which I hope your Lordship will excuse, 
 " Rt. Hon'ble, your Lordship's most 
 
 faithful and obedient servant, 
 
 "Augustine Hermen. 
 
 "Jane, ye nth, IQ^l." 
 
102 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The caveat referred to in the above letter is as curious 
 and unique in its phraseology and style as is the letter, and 
 concludes as follows, written in a bold, large hand across 
 the page: "Every One Beware of A cheate." Immedi- 
 ately following this letter, and running through a period of 
 several months, several other letters appear upon the records 
 of the council, in which he speaks of his journal, a copy of 
 which he submitted to their inspection and guidance, and 
 which was entered upon their journal. 
 
 After much tribulation, the governor and council ordered 
 a resurvey to be made, which most likely was done, and 
 the patents of confirmation were made to Hermen. These 
 patents were dated the 14th of August, 1682. In them is 
 recited the fact of the quarrel betM'een Hermen and Hol- 
 land; and it is stated that within the original bounds, as 
 recited in the first patents, there were contained 2,000 acres 
 of swamps, barrens and pocosons* from which it may be in- 
 ferred that, as the forests were removed, the water in the 
 swamps dried up and the appearance of the surface of the 
 country changed. The tract called "Misfortune" (probably 
 so called on account of the trouble he had about his other 
 land) was granted to Hermen the same year and da}^ This 
 is the tract that he afterwards called the "Three Bohemia 
 Sisters " (it included the land upon which the northern part 
 of Chesapeake City stands), and contained by estimation 
 1,339 acres and rented for 27s. Qd. It was north of Bohemia 
 Back Creek and bounded on the west by Long Creek. It 
 would seem that Hermen was successful in establishing his 
 title to Little Bohemia, and that right and justice were upon 
 his side, and that the old gentleman had reason to congrat- 
 ulate himself upon the successful vindication of his title. 
 Probably he died in the belief that his son Casparus was le- 
 gally invested with a good title to Little Bohemia; but such 
 
 *An Indian word, meaniiij; low wooded grounds or swamps, mostly 
 dry in summer, and covered witli water in winter ; usually covered with 
 
 white- nak or otlicr timber. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 103 
 
 was not the fact, for it will be seen by reference to the land 
 records of the county, that in 1715, thirty -three years after 
 Hermen obtained his patent of confirmation for Little 
 Bohemia, his grandson, Ephraim Augustine (son of Cas- 
 parus), and his wife, Isabella, conveyed 883 acres of the 
 same Little Bohemia or IMiddle Xeck to Thomas Larkin, of 
 Anne Arundel County. The deed recites the fact that John 
 Larkin, the father of the said Thomas, had patented the 
 land before Augustine llermen had obtained his patent for 
 it, " and that the said Thomas Larkin had made his right to the 
 said land appear to be prior to the right of the Hermens ; for 
 these reasons, as stated in the deed, and for divers other 
 good and valuable considerations, E. A. Hermen, who was 
 then lord of Bohemia Manor, and his wife, conveyed their 
 interest in the land to Larkin. This appears to have been 
 the end of the quarrel, and proves conclusively that at least 
 one grant was made inside the lines of Little Bohemia pre- 
 vious to 1662, which is the date of Hermen's original patent 
 for the land called by that name. The boundaries of the 
 land, which Hermen at this time held by patents from Lord 
 Baltimore, were, as well as can now be ascertained, as fol- 
 lows: Starting from Town Point, at the junction of the Elk 
 and Bohemia rivers, and following the Elk River and Back 
 Creek to the mouth of Long Creek; up Long Creek to some- 
 where near the Delaware line ; thence south along an old 
 road, the location of which is now unknown, to near the 
 Chesapeake and Delaware Canal ; thence eastwardly along 
 the course of the canal to the mouth of St. George's Creek, 
 near where Delaware City now stands; thence down the 
 Delaware Eiver to the mouth of Appoquinimink Creek; 
 thence up that creek and across the intervening land to the 
 head waters of Little Bohemia River, and down it to the 
 place of beginning. The reader will observe that this tract 
 contained many thousand acres. The land is probably the 
 best on the peninsula. 
 
 The eventful life of the founder of Bohemia Manor was 
 
104 HISTORY OF CECIL CCJfNTY. 
 
 now near its close, and on the Otli day of August, 16S4, 
 he invested his son, Ephraim George, with the right and 
 title to the manor aforesaid by a deed of feoffment, which 
 Avas executed upon that day. This deed, like many legal 
 papers of that time, contains many curious provisions. The 
 consideration mentioned in it is as follows : " Five thousand 
 pounds of good, sound and merchantable tobacco and casks, 
 and also six barrels of good beer or strong beers, one anchor 
 of rum or brandy, one anchor of spirits, two anchors or 
 twenty gallons of good wine, and one hogshead of the best 
 cider out of the orchard, and one cwt. of good Muscavado 
 sugar for my particular private spending; and lastly, if I 
 should resolve to remove ivith my abode to any other 
 place in the country from off the Manor, then he, my said 
 son, is obliged to pay towards my said board the sum of 
 2,000 pounds of tobacco and casks; and if I should happen 
 to go to New York, then my son is to furnish me M'ith £25 
 in money." 
 
 The quantity of liquors mentioned in tlie aforesaid con- 
 sideration appears to be very large at the present da}', but it 
 must not be forgotten that at the time this instrument was 
 executed the manners and customs tliat jirevailed in Eng- 
 land in feudal times, when the lords and nobility kept open 
 house and dispensed alms and charity with a munificence 
 that would put to shame the generosity of modern civiliza- 
 tion, prevailed to some extent in ?ilary]and; and it was only 
 titting and proper that tlie founder of tlie manor should 
 have the means to entertain his friends in a manner suited 
 to the dignity of the position he formerly occupied. At that 
 time, and for a century afterwards, liquor was considex'ed as 
 one of the necessaries of life. 
 
 On the 27th of September, 1084, Hermen made his will. 
 This will, as stated in it, "was written with his own hand 
 signed with his own hand, and sealed witli his own seal," 
 and proves him to have been a man of much learning and 
 great ability. The ruling passion of his life, the great object 
 
JIISTOItY OF CECIL COUNTY. 105 
 
 for which he toiled and strove, appears to liave been to found 
 a family and, by doing this, to perpetuate his name. When 
 he obtained his patent, more than twenty years before, for 
 his beautiful and magnificent manor of Bohemia, he no 
 ■doubt intended it for the possession of his eldest son, and 
 expected and hoped that in the ages to come his descend- 
 ants would trace their descent from hini with satisfaction 
 and pride. "He directs, in his will, that his monument 
 stone, with engraved letters of him, the first seaier and 
 rnithor of Bohemia Manor, anno 1660,* shall be placed over 
 his sepulcher, which v,as to be in his vineyard, upon his 
 manor plantation upon Bohemia Manor, in Maryland." The 
 plantation is situated a few miles above the mouth of the 
 beautiful Boliemia, where the old ferry was once kept, and 
 w^here the bridge of more modern times is now located. On 
 this farm, though in a dilai)idated condition, may be seen his 
 "Monumental Stone." It contains the following inscription : 
 
 AA'GA\STIXE HERMEN, 
 
 BOHEMIAN, 
 
 THE FIRST F A' N D E R . 
 
 SEATER OF BOHEMEA MANNER, 
 ANNO 1661. 
 
 His monume]]t stone is a slab of oolite, the kind of stone 
 from which the line stones along Mason and Dixon's line were 
 wrought. This kind of stone is very durable, and is proba- 
 bly better able to resist the action of the elements than any 
 other kind of stone. The slab is about three feet wide and 
 seven feet long. No doubt the provision of Hermen's will 
 in reference to this stone was carried into effect, and that it 
 once covered the place of his sepulcher ; but many years 
 
 * The reader will notice the discrepancy between this date and that on 
 the tombstone. Tljis one was taken from a copy of the will, the other 
 from the stone itself. 
 
106 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ago Richard Bassett, who was a relative of Hermen and who 
 was once governor of Delaware, erected a vault on the manor 
 plantation for the safe keeping of the remains of his family, 
 and removed this ancient historic slab from Hermen's grave 
 and converted it into a door for the vault. This vault was 
 erected some distance from the original burying-place upon 
 the manor plantation, and in it were deposited the remains 
 of the members of the families of the Bassetts and Bayards. 
 The remains of James A. Bayard, one of the commissioners 
 that negotiated the treaty of Ghent, were deposited in this 
 vault, where they remained till a few years ago, when Rich- 
 ard H. Bayard had them all removed to another vault in the 
 cemetery on thebank of the Brandywine. The slab in memory 
 of Augustine Hermen was then suffered to lie neglected near 
 the siteof the vault, and by some means was broken into three 
 pieces; which were gathered up and placed in the yard of 
 the house on the farm near the bridge. The bank or ditch 
 around an inclosure, which is said to have been his deer- 
 park, is quite plain and is about three feet high. The view 
 down the Bohemia from where the manor house stood, the 
 site of which is yet quite plain, is magnificent and delight- 
 ful. Bulls' Mountain and the hills of Elk Neck loom up 
 many miles distant, while at the base of the eminence, upon 
 which the manor house stood, the waters of the beautiful 
 Bohemia sparkle in the sunlight as they flow onward to 
 mingle with the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Owing to 
 the removal of the slab, the exact place of Hermen's sepul- 
 cher, like the place of the sepulcher of Moses, is unknown. 
 
 The will directs that all and every one of the inheritors 
 or possessors, lords of Bohemia Manor, shall add to their 
 Christian name and subscribe themselves by their ancestor's 
 name "Augustine," or forfeit their inheritance to the next 
 heir. He devised his Bohemia ^Middle Neck to his second 
 son, Casparus, and his tract called "Misfortune," or the 
 "Three Bohemia Sisters," he divided among his three 
 daughters; and, lest the great object which appeared to 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 107 
 
 have been the ruling passion of his life should be defeated 
 for want of heirs male to perpetuate his name, he orders in 
 his will that, in that case, the custody of his estate shall be 
 committed " to the Rt. Honorable Lord and Proprietary and 
 most Honorable General Assembl)^, from time to time sitting 
 in this province of ilaryland, for the use, propagation and 
 propriety of a free denature school and college of the English 
 Protestant Church, with divine Protestant Minister, in free 
 alms and divine service, hospitality and relief of poor and 
 distressed travelers, etc., under the perpetual name of the 
 Augustine Bohemia, to God's praise and glory forever." 
 
 Reference has been made to a codicil to Plermen's will, 
 which was made, as before stated, on account of the adherence 
 of his son Ephraim to the Labadie faction. This curious 
 document, a copy of which is in the possession of the Plis- 
 torical Society of Maryland, was evidently written by 
 Hermen or at his dictation. No new bequests are made in 
 it; but "Edward Jones, William Dare and Mr. George Old- 
 field, his loving friends and neighbors, were jointly and 
 severally appointed overseers and trustees" to see his said 
 will executed ; for the trouble of which execution he allows 
 them the use of 100 acres of his land, then not cultivated, 
 for twenty-one years, for the sum of 10s. sterling per an- 
 num. This codicil was signed by John Cann, James Wil- 
 liams, John White, Samuel Land and William Hamilton, 
 neither of which names occur in any of the old documents 
 or public records of this county at that period ; neither was 
 the codicil ever admitted to probate; for which reasons and 
 some others it is probable that the document was executed 
 at New Castle, Delaware. 
 
 The time of Hermen's death is uncertain, but it probably 
 took place in 1686, as his will was admitted to probate in 
 that year. Though the place of Hermen's sepulcher is un- 
 known, and the memorial stone that once marked his last 
 resting-place lies broken in the dooryard of his descend- 
 ants ; though perhaps few of tliem know aught of the last 
 
108 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 provision of his -svill, the one in reference to the charity- 
 school and house of entertainment, still his name and 
 nationality have been perpetuated by being applied to 
 Bohemia River, Bohemia Manor, St. Augustine Church, St. 
 Augustine Manor, and the pretty little town of Port Hermen. 
 Anna Margaretta, the oldest daughter of Augustine Her- 
 men, married Matthias A'anderhuyden. His name indicates 
 that he was a native of Holland, and the old colonial laws 
 show that he was naturalized in 1G92. He was a prominent 
 man, and for a long time was one of the justices of the 
 quorum. He probably died in 1729, for his will was proved 
 in that year. He left three daughters, the eldest of whom 
 married Edward Shippen, of Philadelphia, of whom the 
 wife of Benedict Arnold, tlie traitor, was a descendant. 
 Augustine Hermen's second daughter, .Judith, married John 
 Thompson, a descendant of whom, Samuel Thompson, now 
 lives upon part ot the land devised to her by her father, 
 the founder of the manor. Francina married a Mr. Wood. 
 She left children ; but the family is believed to be long 
 since extinct. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Delaware granted toWilliam Penu — Death of Ceoilius Calvert, who is suc- 
 ceeded by his son Charles— George Talbot — Obtains a patent for Susqiie- 
 hanna jManor — Its metes and bounds — Courts Baron and Courts Leet — The 
 name of Susquehanna JIanor changed to New Connaught — Extent of 
 Connaught 3Ianor — Talbot obtains a patent for Belleconnell— Bellehill — 
 Talbot lays out Xew ilunster — IMakes a demand on William Penn for all 
 the land west of the Schuylkill and south of the fortieth degree of north 
 latitude — Runs a line from the mouth of the Ootoraro to the mouth of 
 Naaman's Creek — Lord Baltimore visits England — Talbot presides over 
 the council during his absence — Presides over the court of Cecil County 
 — Account of the court— Talbot makes a raid ou the settlers east of Iron 
 Hill — Builds and garrisons a fort near Christiana bridge —Account of the 
 fort — Talbot's Hangers — Beacon Hill — Trouble about the collection of 
 the king's revenue — Talbot murders Rousby — Is carj-ied prisoner to Vir- 
 ginia — ilakes his escape — Returns to Cecil County — Takes reiuge in a 
 cave near Jlount Ararat — Surrenders to the authorities of Maryland— Is 
 taken to Virginia by command of the King— Is tried and convicted of 
 murder, but pardoned by the King — Returns to Cecil County and executes- 
 a deed for Clayfall — Returns to Ireland — Enters the Irish brigade, and is 
 killed in the service of the King of France. 
 
 In 1672 war was again being waged between the Englisli 
 and Dutch, and New York and its dependencies along the 
 Delaware came under the jurisdiction of the latter, and Gov- 
 ernor Lovelace was succeeded by Anthony Clove, who re- 
 mained in office until 1674, when he was succeeded by Sir 
 Edmund Andross, who was commissioned hy the Duke of 
 York ; the country from the Connecticut Eiver to the Dela- 
 ware Bay having in the meantime fallen into the hands of the 
 English, where it remained until 1681, when William Penn 
 received his charter of Pennsylvania from King Charles 
 II. In 1682 Penn received a grant from James II., then 
 Duke of York, of the land on the west bank of the Delaware- 
 
110 HlhTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 River and Bay, now included in the State of Delaware, and 
 took possession of it the same year, having in the meantime 
 appointed his cousin, AVilliam Markham, governor of Penn- 
 sylvania, and instructed three commissioners who he ap- 
 pointed for that and other purposes, to lay out the city of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, the founder of 
 Maryland, died on the 30th of November, 1G75. He was 
 succeeded by his son, Charles Calvert, who had been gover- ■ 
 nor of the province since ItiGl. Pie returned to England in 
 1676, where he remained four yenrs, and came back to 
 Maryland in February, 1680, to resume the management of 
 his government,* probably bringing with him his kinsman 
 George Talbot, who for a few years was destined to plaj^ a 
 conspicuous part in the history of this county. 
 
 This warm-hearted, courageous and impetuous Irishman, 
 about whom so much has been written and of whom so little 
 is known, was the cousin of the second Lord Baltimore, and 
 is supposed to have been a relative of that infamous Dick 
 Talbot who was his contemporary, and of whom Lord 
 jNIacaulay draws such a revolting picture in his History of 
 England. It is probable they were both from the same part 
 of Ireland, and so far as bluster and devil-may-care courage 
 was concerned, they appear to have been much alike. How- 
 ever, no skillful limner like Macaulay has drawn the por- 
 trait of George, and probably there are not sufficient data 
 extant to enable any one to accomplish it successfullj'' if 
 they had the ability to execute or disposition to attempt the 
 task. While there appear to have been many traits in the 
 characters of .these two men that were common to each of 
 them, the preponderance of virtue appears to have been in 
 favor of George; for, while Dick was contented to remain in 
 England and play the sycophant to a corrupt and imbecile 
 monarch, whose want of manhood alone prevented him 
 
 * Scharf s History of Md., Vol. I., pages 283-84. 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COIINTV. Ill 
 
 from being the tynmt that his imperious disposition and 
 superstitious education led him to thinlc his duty and eter- 
 nal happiness demanded he should he, George cliose the 
 more manly occupation of planting a colony in the wilder- 
 ness that then skirted the wild and romantic Susquehanna. 
 
 George Talbot is first mentioned in the records of the 
 council for the year 1680, in which year he obtained his 
 first patent for Susquehanna Manor. The unsettled bound- 
 ary of Maryland had been a source of vexation and annoy- 
 ance to the Lords Baltimore, and no doubt Charles Talbot 
 flattered himself that his cousin was just the man to extend 
 his dominion and sustain his authority in the territory in 
 dispute. Had Talbot been less fiery and impetuous, he 
 would probably have been more successful ; as it was, his 
 zeal in behalf of his illustrious cousin defeated the object he 
 had in view; indeed, it is thought that an unfortunate effort 
 he made to vindicate Lord Baltimore's authority — the mur- 
 der of Eousby — was the principal cause that led to his loss 
 of influence at the court of the English monarch and his 
 ultimate loss of the territory along the Delaware. 
 
 Talbot, during the few years he was in authority in Cecil 
 County, acted a more conspicuous part in its history than 
 any of his contemporaries or any one of those who had pre- 
 ceded him, except perhaps its illustrious founder, Augustine 
 Hermen. 
 
 The reasons that induced Lord Baltimore to grant unto 
 Talbot the extensive manor of Susquehanna are stated in 
 the patent as follows : After the greeting of all persons to 
 whom it should come in the name of the "Lord God ever- 
 lasting," which was the form in wdiich such instruments 
 were written at that time, it proceeds as follows: "Know ye 
 that for and in consideration that our right trusty and right 
 well-beloved cousin and councilor George Talbot, of Castle 
 Rooney, in the county of Rosscommon, in the kingdom of 
 Ireland, Esq., hath undertaken, at his own proper cost and 
 charges, to transport, or cau>e to be transported into this 
 
112 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 province within twelve years from the date hereof, six liun- 
 dred and forty persons of British or Irish descent here to in- 
 habit; and Vi-e not only having a great love, respect and 
 esteem for our said cousin and councilor, but willing also to 
 give him all due and lawful encouragement in so good a 
 design of peopling and increasing the inhabitants of this 
 our province of Maryland, well considering how much the 
 same will contribute and conduce to the strength and de- 
 fence thereof, and that he may receive some recompense for 
 the great charge and expense he must necessarily be at in 
 importing so great a number of persons into this, our pro- 
 vince, as aforesaid, and the better to enable him to do us, 
 our heirs and our said province further good service anl for 
 divers other good causes and considerations, etc., etc. . . . 
 we have thought fit to grant unto our dear cousin and 
 councilor all that tract or dividend of land called Susque- 
 hanna, lying in Cecil County, in our said province of Mary- 
 land, butting and bounding as follows, viz. : Beginning at the 
 furthest northeast head of North East River, by a line drawn 
 northwest till it intersects the Octoraro River, then by the 
 said river till it falls into Susquehanna River, and bj^ the 
 said river to the mouth therof, from thence by the head of 
 the bay of Chesapeake to the mouth of North East River, 
 and by the said river to the head thereof, containing, by 
 estimation, 32,000 acres, be the same more or less.'' By this 
 patent, which was dated at St. Maries, June 11th, 1680, Tal- 
 bot was also authorized and empowered to hold courts baron 
 and courts leet. 
 
 A few words descriptive of the character and power of 
 these courts may be interesting and instructive. The king, 
 by a legal fiction which the peculiarity of the case required, 
 could do no wrong, and justice was supposed to flow in 
 copious streams from him to his superior courts, and being 
 subdivided into smaller channels, says Sir William Black- 
 stone, the whole and every part of the kingdom was plenti- 
 fully watered and refreshed. Hence that justice might be 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 113 
 
 brought even to each man's door, every manor created by 
 the crown had, as incident thereto, courts for the trial of 
 causes therein arising. The manorial court, having civil 
 jurisdiction, was known as the court baron, the principal 
 business of which was to settle controversies relating to the 
 right to land within the manor. In it also were tried causes 
 where the matter in controversy was less than forty shil- 
 lings. The coux't was so called because every three weeks 
 the barons or freeholders met at the castle or manor house 
 to assist the lord of the manor in dispensing justice. The 
 court leet was a court of record held once a year within a 
 manor. The term leet comes from the Latin word lis, a law- 
 suit, and leet court is the court at which the suit of the king 
 was instituted, it being a court having jurisdiction over 
 criminals or breakers of the crown law. The business 
 transacted in it was very similar to that which is daily 
 transacted before the courts of quarter sessions and police 
 courts in our larger cities, the design being to convict therein 
 every variety of offenders and criminals, as well those of 
 the highest grade known to the law, and also eaves-droppers 
 and tattlers. We have not found anything in the records 
 of Maryland that leads us to believe that any other person 
 was ever authorized to hold courts of this kind in Cecil 
 County. Hermen, though he was here twenty years before 
 this time and fourteen years before the organization or 
 erection of the county, was not empowered to do so by his 
 patent. Indeed, it is not probable that courts baron or 
 courts leet were ever held in the province, though many of 
 the early proprietors of manors in other parts of the province 
 were invested with the authority necessary for holding 
 them. 
 
 Nothing more is said of Talbot in the journal of the 
 council of Maryland during the three following years, and 
 it is probable that he spent a part of that time in visiting 
 his native country upon business connected with the settle- 
 ment of his manor. On the 4th of April, 1G84, he presented 
 
 H 
 
114 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 a petition to the council, which was then sitting at St. 
 Mary's, in which he stated that he had brought into the 
 province since 1682 about sixty persons, which leaves 580 
 yet to be made good, or in lieu thereof £58 sterling; and 
 offers to his lordship 13,920 pounds of tobacco, being the 
 value of £58 sterling at one penny per pound of tobacco. 
 It is plain from this statement in Talbot's petition that he 
 was to pay twenty- four pounds of tobacco yearly per capita 
 for the number of emigrants not yet imported into the 
 province. There is no mention of this matter in the original 
 patent, but it is probable that there was an agreement or 
 understanding to this effect. He also states in his petition 
 that the bounds of his manor of Susquehanna are suscep- 
 tible of a doubtful construction, and prays for a confirmation 
 of said patent, in which the bounds may be specified as fol- 
 lows : Beginning at the furthest and uppermost source and 
 fountain head of North East River (henceforth to be called 
 Shannon River), and all the lines to be as they are in the 
 first patent, with mention of satisfaction received for the 
 rights wanting (which refers to the payment of the tobacco 
 for the persons not yet brought into the province), whereby 
 your petitioner may be encouraged to build, improve and 
 inhabit that desert and frontier corner of your lordship's province. 
 This petition was granted, and Talbot was invested with 
 authority over one of the largest grants of land ever made 
 to an individual in the province of Maryland. 
 
 Although Talbot characterizes his manor as a desert and 
 frontier corner of the province, and although the patent is 
 silent on the subject, yet it appears that there were a few 
 settlers on it as before stated, prior to 1680, who had ob- 
 tained grants from the lord proprietary, whose rights were 
 duly respected by Talbot. Though Talbot's manor is called 
 Susquehanna in the patent, for some reason the name was 
 changed to New Connaught. For what reason or at what 
 time it was changed, has not been ascertained ; but for some 
 time about this period Susquehanna Manor and the country 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 115 
 
 lying east of it was called New Ireland, no doubt because 
 other large grants of land were made to Irishmen there ; 
 and it is probable that when this section of country was 
 first called New Ireland, the name of Susquehanna Manor 
 was changed. Talbot, as the reader will recollect, tried to 
 change the name of North East River, and prayed that it 
 might thereafter be called Shannon River, but in this he 
 was unsuccessful, and the wildly rushing creek and quiet, 
 placid river now bear, and for more than a century past 
 have borne, the original name (North East) that was given 
 them, in all probability, by the esLily settlers very soon after 
 the adventurous Smith had explored the bay, more than two 
 hundred and fifty years ago. Talbot, like many of the other 
 •early settlers in Maryland, had a desire for the acquisition 
 of land that was hard to satisfy ; nor is this to be wondered 
 at, for in Ireland he had seen the advantage that the pos- 
 session of land gave to the aristocracy and was familiar with 
 the prestige and power of the nobility, hence it was quite 
 natural that he should wish to possess a large rather than a 
 small manor. In the only deed from Talbot now on record 
 in Cecil County, dated the 10th of June, 1687, the imagi- 
 nary northeast line for the northeastern boundary of his 
 manor is described as beginning at the farthest northeast 
 fountain head of Shannon River. This is the second, and 
 probably the last time that that boundary was changed. 
 By what authority the change was made can only be con- 
 jectured, but it was probably done while Talbot was one of 
 the' deputy-governors of the province, which will be noticed 
 further on. By changing the starting point of the imagi- 
 nary northwest line "from the furthest and uppermost source 
 and fountain head of North East or Shannon River" to the "fur- 
 thest northeast fountain head of that stream," Talbot suc- 
 ceeded in adding many thousands of acres to his manor and 
 extended its limits about three-fourths of a mile further up 
 the Octoraro, or to about five and one-quarter miles above 
 the line as now established between Maryland and Pennsyl- 
 
116 IIISTURY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 vania. Susquehanna or New Connaught Manor now in- 
 cluded about one-half of the Fifth, all of the Sixth and 
 Seventh, and nearh' all of the Ninth districts of Cecil 
 County, and all of West Nottingham, about one-half of East 
 Nottingham, and one-third of LoAver Oxford township, in 
 Chester County. 
 
 Talbot, who was now located somewhere west of head of 
 Elk River, probably near the head of North East or the 
 mouth of Principio Creek, seems to have been very active 
 in trying to extend the authority of Lord Baltimore as far 
 eastwardly as possible during the year 1683, for on the 16th 
 of April of that year he obtained a patent in his own name 
 for two thousand acres at the head of Elk, under the name 
 of Belleconnell. This tract was situated just east of the 
 Big Elk, and extended forty perches in an easterly direction 
 from the bend in the creek, called the "Half Moon," to near 
 the top of Grey's Hill ; thence two hundred perches north 
 by a line parallel with the creek ; thence west to the Big- 
 Elk Creek, which was its western boundary. Belle Hill is 
 on. the northern part of this tract, and no doubt was so 
 named for that reason. On the 29th of August of the same 
 year he, then being surveyor-general of the province, loca- 
 ted the tract called New Munster, which was further up the 
 Big Elk and extended a short distance beyond the bounds 
 of Maryland as determined many years afterwards by 
 Mason and Dixon, and which will be more fully described 
 hereafter. On the 17th of September he was commissioned 
 to make a formal demand on William Penn for the land 
 west of the Schuylkill liiver and south of the fortieth de- 
 gree of north latitude, and seven days afterwards appeared 
 at Philadelphia for that purpose. 
 
 Shortly after Penn's arrival in America he dispatched two 
 messengers from New Castle to Lord Baltimore, " to ask of 
 his health, offer kind neighborhood, and agree upon a time 
 the better to establish it."* No record of the reception these 
 
 & 
 
 * Hazard's Annals of Pa., page 605. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 117 
 
 messengers met with exists, but judging by the subsequent 
 action of the authorities of Maryland, it was not a very 
 cordial one. Talbot's mission in Philadelphia was attended 
 with no success. Having failed to induce the authorites of 
 Pennsylvania to comply with his demands, he ran a line 
 from the mouth of the Octoraro to the mouth of Naaman's 
 Creek,* in the latter part of this year, which he marked by 
 notching the trees in the woods through which it passed. 
 This line, which was intended to mark the northern limit 
 "of. the province, deprived him of about one-half of his 
 manor of Susquehanna ; and it is hard to understand why 
 he should apparently relinquish his claim to the northern 
 part of it. But he probably doubted his ability to main- 
 tain his right to the whole of it, and resolved to defend his 
 claims to the southern part by force of arms. 
 
 In 1684 Lord Baltimore went to England upon urgent 
 business connected with his colony in Maryland. His son, 
 Benedict Leonard Calvert, a minor, was appointed governor, 
 but in the same commission nine persons were appointed 
 deputy -governors under him. George Talbot is the first one 
 of the deputies named in the commission, and it is probable 
 that he presided at the meetings of these deputy-governors. 
 He had previously been a member of the privy council of 
 the governor, and was at this time surveyor-general of the 
 province. In addition to his other duties, Talbot at this 
 time presided over the court of this county. Inasmuch as 
 the method of transacting legal business at that early day 
 is interesting, a brief account of the transactions of the court 
 during his administration is inserted here. 
 
 " Att a court held for Cecil County ye 8th day of January 
 in the 9th year of the dominion of ye right hon'ble Charles 
 &c., Annoq Dominic 1683. Present George Talbot, Esq., 
 
 * This creek, so called from an Indian oliief of tliat name, empties 
 into tlie Delaware River a short distance above where the northern 
 boiindarv of that State strikes the Delaware River. 
 
118 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 one of his lordships councellrs, & Nathaniel Garrett, gent. 
 The said Geo. Talbot & Nathaniel Garrett appear in court 
 & adjourn the same for want of commissioners to make a 
 full court till the 12th day of March next ensueing." 
 
 " Three accounts," in the language of the record, " were 
 agreed at this court & 12 accounts were continued till next 
 court." 
 
 The next entry in the old record book is as follows : 
 " March ye 11th, 1683. All actions dye and abate upon the 
 Doquett for want of an adjournment. Wm. Pearce, Nathan- 
 iel Garrett, Wm. Dare, Geo. Wardner, gents, only being 
 present, and they not of the quorum." 
 
 The meaning of the latter part of the last sentence is 
 rather ambiguous, but the writer probably meant that there 
 was not a quorum present, though he does not say so. 
 
 " Wm. Dare, of Cecil County, gent, appointed and put in 
 to be high-sheriff of the said county by the Rt. Hon. Charles 
 Absolute, lord and proprietor of the province of Maryland 
 and Avelon lord baron of Baltimore, May ye 23d, 1684. 
 Then came William Nowell and took the oath of an under- 
 sheriff in usual form before Nathaniel Garrett, of Cecil 
 Co. gent." 
 
 At the next court, which was held on the 10th day of 
 June, 1684, George Talbot and seven justices were present. 
 Talbot presided over the court, and the justices, who are also- 
 called commissioners, took the oath of office; their commis- 
 sions were issued in the name of the lord proprietarj^ on the 
 26th day of the April previous. The commission of George 
 Oldfield, as county attorney for the lord proprietary, is re- 
 corded immediately after the record of the administration 
 of the oath of office to the justices. It is the first commission 
 of a State's attorney that we have been able to find upon 
 record in this county. As such it is invested with much 
 interest that it would not otherwise have, and for this reason 
 we copy it: 
 
 " Charles Absolute, lord, &c., Ac. To Geo. Oldfield, gent. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 119 
 
 greeting: Out of the trust and confidence we have in your 
 integrity and honesty and in your skill & insight in the 
 laws and in the practice of courts, we have thought fit to 
 constitvite and appoint you the said Geo. Oldfield to be 
 our Attorney in all causes civil and criminal wherein we 
 shall be concerned & which shall fall within the cognizance 
 of a county court, and courts which shall be held for our 
 county of Cecil hereby Impowering and streightly enjoining 
 you to appear & prosecute for us in all civil causes and ac- 
 tions in the said court wherein we shall be plaintiff & to 
 appear and defend us in all civil causes and actions in the 
 county aforesaid wherein we shall be defendant, as also to 
 present, indict, and prosecute in the said county all break- 
 ers of the peace & transgressors of the laws and acts of As- 
 sembly within the county aforesaid; you are also to observe 
 all such orders as you shall from time to time receive from 
 us or our leftenent-General in our abscence & from our At- 
 torney-General for the time being, to have hold and enjoy 
 the said office of our county Attorney for Cecil County with 
 all fees, benefits and perquisites thereunto belonging for 
 and during our will and pleasure & no longer. Given 
 under our hand and lesser seal at arms this 19th day of 
 March, 1683." 
 
 George Oldfield was one of the "loveing friends and 
 neighbors" that Augustine Hermen appointed in the codicil 
 to his will as a trustee or overseer, to see his will " duly exe- 
 cuted." He lived in Elk Neck, and a point of land, a short 
 distance below Welch Point, is yet called by his name. He 
 is believed to have been a Catholic, and was suspended from 
 practicing his profession in the court of Cecil County because 
 he refused to take the oath of supremacy and allegiance in 
 1690, which was just after the revolution in England, which 
 ended in the flight of James II., and also firmly established 
 the Protestant religion in England. 
 
 Just after the record of Oldfield's commission the follow- 
 ing petition appears upon the record: "To the worshipful. 
 
120 HISTORY OF CECIL ('OUNTY. 
 
 the commissioners of Cecil Co. The humble Petition of 
 Thomas Joce humbly sheweth that your Petitioner humbly 
 prays and craves the favor of this worshipful court that you 
 would be pleased to admit your petitioner to practice as an 
 Attorney of this court and your petitioner shall ever pray." 
 " Admitted and sworn this 10th of June, 1684." 
 
 Then follows this order of the court : " Whereas there is 
 not as yet anj^ seal for this county for writs & processes 
 which do issue out of this court we do therefore for the ease 
 of the inhabitants of the same order John Thompson, clerk, 
 for the time being to sign all processes and writs which do 
 issue from this court with his own hand." 
 
 After noting that seven accounts upon the docket were 
 agreed the court adjourned till ye 12th day of August, 1684, 
 on which day it again met, George Talbot and the seven 
 justices before named being present. This court, after being 
 in session two days, during which time fifteen civil cases of 
 no interest to the general reader were disposed of, adjourned 
 till the 9th day of September, 1684. 
 
 These brief extracts from the dilapitated old book contain 
 all the record of the civil administration of George Talbot 
 in Cecil County. 
 
 After the departure of Charles Calvert for England, Tal- 
 bot seems to have assumed almost dictatorial powers in the 
 northeastern part of the province. In tlic early part of 
 April, 1684, he made a raid upon the plantation of one 
 Joseph Bowie, who lived somewhere east of Iron Hill, about 
 eight miles from New Castle. Bowie's testimony may be 
 found in the proceedings of the council of Pennsylvania ; 
 it was taken on the r2th of the 4th month, 1684, and is as 
 follows : " About ten days since. Colonel Talbot ridd up to 
 my house and was ready to ride over me and said d — n 
 you, you dog whom do you seat under here, you dog? You 
 seat under nobod}' ; you have no warrant from Penn no my 
 lord ; therefore get you gone or else I'll send you to Saint 
 Marie's; and I being frightend, says he vou brazen-faced, 
 
HISTORY OF CE(;iL COUNTY. 121 
 
 impudent, confident, dog, I'll shorten Penn's territories bj^e- 
 and-bj'e." It is added in the record, that, " the neighbors 
 said they saw Bowie's land surveyed away." 
 
 About this time Talbot built a fort, which is described as 
 being near Christiana bridge, on a spot of land belonging 
 to the widow Ogle, which indicates that it may have been 
 near Ogletown, which he garrisoned with a few of his re- 
 tainers, not so much for any warlike purpose, as to establish 
 and maintain possession of the country west of it. This 
 fort was built of logs, and -was described by those who had 
 seen it, as " about thirteen or fourteen feet long, ten feet wide, 
 and covered with slijy wood." The garrison consisted "of 
 six or seven men," (Irishmen no doubt) "who were esteemed 
 Catholics, and behaved peaceably towards the inhabitants, 
 among whom they frequently w^ent." The garrison was 
 commanded by one Murray, and was supplied with provis- 
 ions pressed from the people living on Bohemia Manor, by 
 one Thomas Mansfield, who at that time was press master, 
 an officer whose duties seem to have been similiar to those 
 of the captains of press-gangs of England in more modern 
 times. The garrison continued to hold, this fort for about 
 two years, and- till after Talbot went out of power, when they 
 got drunk and layed out in the cold, from the effect of 
 which they were so badly frost-bitten that some of them 
 died, and others lost their limbs.* Shortly after the occu- 
 pation of this fort the sheriff of New Castle Count}' sum- 
 moned a posse of the citizens, and accompanied by divers 
 magistrates and other dignitaries, repaired to the fort and 
 demanded of Talbot, who seems to have been in command 
 at that time, by what authority he appeared in that posture? 
 Whereupon "Talbot, with divers of his companj', bid them 
 stand off, presenting their guns and muskets against their 
 breasts, and he, pulling a paper, commander-like, out of his 
 bosom, said, ' here is my Lord Baltimore's commission for 
 
 ''^ec te.stiraonv in Pcnii's ]>re\ i;it. 
 
122 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 what I do.' " Proclamation was then made in the king's 
 name for them to depart according to law, "but in the same 
 war like posture they stood, and in the Lord Baltimore's 
 name refused to obey in the king's name."* 
 
 During the palmy days of Talbot's administration in this 
 county he had a company of mounted rangers whose duty 
 it was to scour the country and repel the attacks of hostile 
 Indians, a few of whom still lingered in the country north 
 of New Ireland. A line of block -houses at convenient dis- 
 tances extended from one end of it to the other, and signals 
 were established for the purpose of calling his clan together. 
 Beacon fires on the hills, the blowing of horns, and the 
 firing of three musket shots in succession, either in the day- 
 time or at night, gave notice of approaching danger and 
 called this border chieftain's followers around him, who, 
 with strong arms and stronger hearts, were ready to do his 
 bidding. There is no doubt that Bacon Hill, which was 
 originally called Beacon Hill, was so called, from being the 
 site of one of these signal fires. Talbot had much trouble 
 with the affairs appertaining to the extreme northeastern 
 part of the province in the years 1683 and 1684; but there 
 were other troubles that grew out of the unfortunate con- 
 dition of affairs in England. The weak and vacillating 
 Charles the Second, then king of England, was near the end 
 of his inglorious reign, and for a long time had viewed 
 with jealous eyes the powers and franchises with which the 
 charter of Maryland invested the lord proprietary. So 
 jealous indeed was Charles, that, in the last year of his 
 reign, he threatened to institute proceedings in the court of 
 chancery, with a view of wresting the charter from Balti- 
 more. No doubt his cupidity was increased and his jeal- 
 ousy aggravated by the fact that that instrument shielded 
 the people of Maryland to some extent from his raj^acity. 
 Parliament, which for a long time was excessively loyal to 
 
 * Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. I., page 88. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 123 
 
 the House of Stewart, had passed an act in his reign for the 
 collection of a tax or duty upon the products that were ex- 
 ported from the southern colonies; and Maryland being 
 much interested in the culture of tobacco at this time, this 
 tax was considered by the inhabitants as being onerous and 
 oppressive. 
 
 The collectors of this tax were appointed by the king, and 
 were in no wise amenable to the government of the colo- 
 nies. The office of tax collector has always been a thank- 
 less one, and these collectors, representing as they did the 
 royal authority, were no doubt as tyrannous and arbitrary as 
 they dared to be. Years after this time the records of this 
 county show that they were in the habit of farming out the 
 offices they held. They were each supplied with a. vessel, 
 in which they cruised upon the navigable waters in their 
 districts while in the prosecution of the business apper- 
 taining to their offices. At this time, and for some time 
 before, one Christopher Rousby was one of the collectors of 
 the king's customs in Maryland, and there is the record of 
 a letter sent by Lord Baltimore to the president of the king's 
 council, in which he speaks of Rousby as " having been a 
 great knave and a disturber of the trade and peace of the 
 province." 
 
 In 1684, a few months after the departure of Lord Balti- 
 more for England, an armed ketch or brig, commanded by 
 Captain Thomas Allen, of his Majesty's royal navy, arrived 
 from England and cruised for some time in the lower parts 
 of the Chesapeake Bay contiguous to St. Mary's, which, at 
 that time, was the capital of the province. This Captain 
 Allen, while he was upon good terms with the collectors of 
 the king's revenue and quite willing to carouse and riot 
 with them, treated the representatives of tlae proprietary 
 with a haughtiness and contempt that soon produced a dis- 
 astrous result. lie went on shore and visited Mr. Blackiston, 
 who at that time appears to have been chief collector of 
 Maryland, and who resided at St. Mary's. His marines also 
 
124 HISTORY OF CJiCIL COUNTY. 
 
 went ashore and probably got drunk ; at all events they 
 acted in a boisterous and swaggering manner, and did not 
 hesitate to appropriate some of the property of the citizens 
 of the town, which they carried away with fheni. 
 
 After spending a few days in this manner the swaggering 
 captain went on board of his ketch, weighed anchor and set 
 sail towards the Potomac, and thence sailed down the 
 bay along the coast of A'irginia. Not content witli the mani- 
 festation of his authority upon land " he annoyed the cap- 
 tains of many of the bay craft and other peaceful traders 
 that he met M'ith, by compelling them to heave to and submit 
 to be searched. He also overhauled their papers and 
 offended them with coarse vitupei'ation of themselves and 
 ■of the lord proprietary and his council." Virginia was at 
 this time governed by a royal favorite, Lord Howard of 
 Efhngham, who no doubt was ready upon ever}' occasion to 
 play the sycophant to his royal master, or to entertain any of 
 his underlings who, no matter how remotely, represented 
 his authority. There is no doubt, judging from what sub- 
 sequently happened, that Allen went to A^irginia and spent 
 the intervening time between his first and second visit with 
 Lord Howard, the governor, and that they discussed the 
 governmental affairs of Maryland and the prospects of the 
 "ultimate success or failure of Baltimore's efforts to sustain his 
 authority and maintain his rights. 
 
 In about a month after his first visit Allen returned to 
 Maryland. This time he anchored near Rousby's house, 
 which was on or near to Drum Point. As yet Captain 
 Allen had not condescended to make any report of his 
 arrival in the province to any ofhcer of the proprietary, or 
 in any way to recognize or acknowledge his authority. 
 Upon the occasion of this second visit of Allen, Talbot it 
 seems was at St. Mary's, or in tlie vicinity, whether by acci- 
 dent or design has not been ascertained. He doubtless 
 heard of the contemptuous conduct of Allen and Rousby. 
 No doubt the knowledge of their conduct, aggravated by 
 
HI.VroKY OP CECIL COUNTY. 125 
 
 the treatment that his iUustrious kinsman had received 
 from his royal master, caused his indignation to overcome 
 his judgment, and he went on board the ketch, which was 
 called the Quaker, for the purpose of enforcing some little 
 show of respect to, or obtaining some acknowledgment of, 
 his own authority. Be this as it may, he and the two 
 royal officers pretty soon got into a quarrel, wliich waxed 
 hot and continued for some time; and when he wished to 
 go on shore he was prevented from doing so, whereupon he 
 drew his dagger and stabbed Rousby to the heart. This 
 sad and unfortunate event took place on the 31st of October, 
 1684, less than three months after the last time that Talbot 
 presided over the court of Cecil County, and fully accounts 
 for the absence of his name from the records of our court 
 subsequent to that date. Talbot's fellow-members of the 
 council made a fruitless effort to get Allen to surrender him 
 to the authorities of Maryland, ostensibly that he might be 
 punished for murdering Rousby, but really no doubt in 
 order to shield him from the vengeance of Allen and his 
 crony, the sycophantic Ploward. 
 
 After parleying for a short time Allen set sail for Virginia, 
 and carried Talbot, whom he detained in irons on board 
 his warlike vessel with the peaceful name, with him and 
 handed him over to the governor of that province, who 
 incarcerated him in Gloucester prison. Then began a cor- 
 respondence between the remaining members of the council 
 of Maryland and the governor of Virginia, in which the 
 weakncP!^ and humiliation of the former and the strength 
 and vindictiveness of the latter- are strikingly exemplified. 
 Considering the treatment that the lord proprietary had re- 
 ceived from the crown of Great Britain, and the fact that 
 the prestige and power of the House of Baltimore had for 
 some time before this been M-aning, it is much to the credit 
 of the council that they made the feeble efforts they did to 
 effect the release of their fellow-member. Having no means 
 by which to enforce their legitimate demands, they were 
 
126 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 disregarded, and Talbot remained a prisoner in Virginia, 
 whose arrogant governor treated the demands of the Mary- 
 landers with contempt and set their authority at defiance. 
 But Talbot had a wife, who all this time was at home, 
 where good wives and mothers are always found, in the 
 house of her lord, on Susquehanna Manor, which there is 
 every reason to believe was at the falls of Back Creek, now 
 Principio Creek, just above where the railroad crosses that 
 stream. She, good woman, no doubt was sadly grieved by 
 the unfortunate occurrence that deprived her of the com- 
 panionship and protection of her husband. Talbot also 
 had a few faithful friends, who did not desert his cause in 
 this time of extremity, as the sequel will show. Among 
 these faithful retainers of Talbot were Phelim Murray, a 
 cornet of cavalry under the command of Talbot, and Hugh 
 Riley. The latter has descendants that bear his name 
 living in the Eighth district of this county ; and the 
 McVeys and others in the Ninth district are also remotely 
 connected with him. These men and Mrs. Talbot now 
 planned and put in execution a scheme for the rescue of 
 this brother chieftain, in which English arrogance and vin- 
 dictiven ess were defeated by Irish friendship and ingenuity. 
 To Murray has generally been accorded the credit of this 
 scheme, but there is little doubt that it was suggested by 
 the love and affection of the wife of the prisoner. Mrs. 
 Talbot, accompanied by her youngest child, a boy of two or 
 three years of age, and attended by two Irish men servants, 
 repaired to St. Mary's, while Murray and Riley followed her 
 in the shallop of Talbot, which was navigated by one Roger 
 Skreen, a celebrated seafaring man of that day, who took 
 the shallop to the Patuxent River and anchored it at a 
 point about fifteen miles from St. Mary's, whither Mrs. 
 Talbot repaired, and the party set sail for the Rappahan- 
 nock River and landed at a place about twenty miles dis- 
 tant from Gloucester prison, in which Talbot was confined. 
 This was about the last of January, 1685. If the winters 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 127 
 
 at that time were as severe as they generally are now, it 
 must have required an amount of courage and fortitude 
 which few of the women living at this time possess to have 
 enabled this woman to endure the cold, anxiety and priva- 
 tion incident to this perilous expedition. Immediately after 
 the arrival of the shallop, Murray and Eiley each mounted 
 a swift horse that was furnished them by a confederate in 
 Virginia, and started for the prison at Gloucester, where, by 
 some means, of which Irish wit and suavity doubtless com- 
 posed a part, they effected the release of the captive Talbot, 
 and returned with him safe and sound to the shallop early 
 the next morning. It is to be presumed that with as little 
 delaj' as possible they sailed toward the eastern shore of the 
 bay and continued to hug it closely, while, like many other 
 fugitives of a later period, they made the best speed they 
 could toward the north. 
 
 Without any mishap Talbot and his friends reached Sus- 
 quehanna Manor in safety. This happened in the early, 
 part of February, 1685, and a few days afterwards Lord 
 Howard made a demand upon the authorities of Maryland 
 for the surrender of the fugitive, and the council of Mary- 
 land made a great show of trying to arrest him ; and as 
 stated in the chronicles of the times, the air resounded from 
 one side of New Ireland to the other with the " hue and cry" 
 that was raised. Proclamations were made and every means 
 were exhausted to effect the arrest of the fugitive, but with- 
 out success. Why the council were now so anxious to se- 
 cure the arrest of their former president, when they a few 
 months before had protested so energetically against his re- 
 tention in Virginia, is one of the many strange things met 
 with in history ; but no doubt they acted wisely and as cir- 
 cumspectly as circumstances permitted them, and under all 
 this show of obedience and submission to the representative 
 of royalty in Virginia, there was probably concealed a de- 
 termination to shield rather than capture the fugitive. Tal- 
 bot was provided with a flaxen wig and other means of dis- 
 
128 HISTOKY UK CKCIL roi"NTY. 
 
 guise and kept himself well informed of the whereabouts 
 of the officers of the law, any one of whom would probably 
 have given him timely warning of their approach and aided 
 him in effecting his escape, if they could have done so with- 
 out jeopardizing themselves. 
 
 It was at this critical time in his life that Talbot took 
 refuge in the cave that, while it was in existence, was called 
 by his name. This cave was a short distance below Port 
 Deposit, on the east side of the Susquehanna River, close by 
 the water's edge and immediateh' above the mouth of Her- 
 ring Run. One hundred and ninety-two years ago the place 
 and its surroundings were quite different from what they 
 are to-daj^ ; then the waters of the river were ssldom dis- 
 turbed save by the fragile canoes of the savages as they came 
 from the regions of the great lakes and pine-covered moun- 
 tains of the far nortli to exchange their peltries for the trink- 
 ets that the white man kept for that purpose at Palmer's 
 Island, a few miles further down the river. 
 
 Mount Ararat, whose base on the northern side is washed 
 by the limpid waters of the boisterous little stream, then, as 
 now, stood silent and alone in the magnificence of its gran- 
 deur and beauty ; but the busy, bustling town, whose com- 
 merce and industry now wakes the echoes among its granite 
 hills, was not dreamed of by the anxious fugitive as he 
 stretched his weary body on his lonely couch to seek in the 
 sweet oblivion of sleep the rest that a troubled mind pre- 
 vented him from obtaining while awake. Talbot's cave was 
 a natural formation in the granite bluff, nnd wn=; about 
 twelve feet wide and extended back from the river into the 
 rock about eighteen feet ; it was about ten feet high, and 
 was in a good state of preservation sixty years ago, and 
 traces of it remained distinctly visible till a much later 
 period; but about thirty years ago the modern march of 
 improvement in this utilitarian age destroyed all trace of it, 
 and the granite rocks that sheltered the lord of Susque- 
 hanna Manor now lie submerged in Chesapeake Bay, where 
 
HISTOKY OK CECIL COUNTY. 129 
 
 they Avere placed to effect an improvement upon its naviga- 
 tion in the vicinity of tlie " Rip Eaps " many years ago. 
 
 Tradition, M'ith its usual inaccuracy, sa^'s that Talbot 
 dwelt in this cave for a long time, and that he had a pair 
 of falcons or hawk^ vith him, by means of which he ob- 
 tained his subsistence, his falcons catching the wild fowl on 
 the river. This is not at all probable, for there is evidence 
 extant to prove that he was seen and recognized by Robert 
 Kemble while at the house of George Oldfield, in Elk Neck, 
 whither he had gone in his shallop, which was beating about 
 in Elk River during the brief period he was sojourning at 
 the house of his friend. This Robert Kemble is one of the 
 witnesses of Augustine Hermen's will ; he probably resided 
 in Elk Neck or on Bohemia Manor. We know but little 
 more of him ; but he probably was a man of some distinc- 
 tion, though nearly every trace of him has been lost and 
 the tide of oblivion has nearly covered and concealed his 
 memory. 
 
 After fleeing from place to place, now hiding for a while 
 in the cave, and anon lying concealed in the houses of his 
 friends, the courageous Irishman, probably to save his 
 friends further trouble and anxiety on his behalf, voluntarily 
 surrendered himself to the authorities of Maryland and was 
 committed for trial in the provincial court ; whereupon the 
 arrogant Howard renewed his demand that the culprit be 
 sent to Virginia in order to be tried there. The council of 
 Maryland were in no haste to reply to this demand, and it 
 was not fill affor the lapse of several weeks that they made 
 any reply to it. The news of the accession of James the 
 Second had reached their ears a short time before, and he 
 being of the same faith as Lord Baltimore, they had reason 
 to hope that his influence with the king might mitigate or 
 neutralize the displeasure of their new sovereign, which 
 they feared he might otherwise visit upon them. They 
 probably never would have surrendered Talbot had not the 
 lord proprietary written fo them, under date of July 30, 
 
 I 
 
130 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 1685, "that it formerlj' was, and still is, the king's pleasure 
 that Talbot shall be brought over in the Quaker ketch to 
 England to receive his trial there; and that, in order there- 
 to, his Majesty had sent his comnaands to the governor of 
 Virginia to deliver him to Captain Allen, commander of 
 said ketch, who is to bring him over." 
 
 This letter was received on the 7th of October, 1685, 
 nearly a year after the unfortunate occurence upon the 
 Quaker ketch. Talbot was thereupon sent under guard to 
 the governor of ^^iriginia, where he was tried for the mur- 
 der of Rousby on the 22d of April, 1686. He was con- 
 victed, but his kinsman, the lord proprietary, no doubt 
 seconded in his efforts to that end by Dick Talbot, who 
 probably was a still nearer kinsman of the culprit than he, 
 was prepared for the emergency and had obtained a pardon 
 for him, which he had transmitted to Virginia before the 
 conclusion of the trial. 
 
 Of Talbot's history subsequent to his trial very little is 
 known, but he is believed to have returned to this county, 
 for in June, J 687, he executed the only deed given by him 
 for land in this county, that is upon record. 
 
 The deeds that were written two hundred years ago are 
 very curious documents. The conveyancers of that time 
 never left any thing out of a deed that there was any prac- 
 tical method of putting in it, hence they contain many 
 strange covenants and provisions. This deed from George 
 Talbot to Jacob Young, for the tract of land called Clayfall, 
 contains much valuable historical information in regard to 
 the manners and customs of the early settlers upon Susque- 
 hanna Manor. The consideration named in it is the " Iron 
 work of a Swedes mill, 200 young apple trees now growing 
 near the present dwelling house of the said Young & lastly 
 for and in consideration of a bargain and sale which the 
 said Young promiced to make to me and my heirs forever 
 for 5s. sterling of ye seat of a mill that he formerly caused 
 to be built at the head of Piny creek vulgarily called Mill 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 131 
 
 creek in ye county & manor aforesaid & fifteen acres of land 
 contiguous to ye said mill seat, &c." This mill was on the 
 creek that is yet called Mill Creek and probably Jacob 
 Young had settled at the head of that creek before Talbot 
 obtained his grant. However this may have been, this is 
 the first mill we find mentioned in the early history of the 
 county. No doubt it was a water-mill. The Swede's mill, 
 the iron work of which is mentioned in the deed as part of 
 the consideration, was probably a hand mill. 
 
 In the grant of Clayfall, " all mines of metals, waifs, 
 €strays, wild unmarked horses, mares, colts, neat cattle & 
 hogs of all sorts are excepted, and a yearly rent of 10s. ster- 
 ling was to be paid by Young and his heirs at ye Rock of 
 Essenewee alias Kannegrenda at ye falls of Back creek (now 
 Principio creek) in ye manor aforesaid, on 1st day of Octo- 
 ber yearly & every year forever." Then came the proviso, 
 that " Jacob Young & all his heirs and assigns living upon 
 ■Clayfall shall send from time to time forever to ye mill or 
 mills of me ye said George Talbot my heirs & assigns upon 
 or near adjacent to ye said manor to be there ground all ye 
 malt & bread, corn that shall be spent by the families in- 
 habiting or resident upon any part of Clayfall aforesaid, ex- 
 cept such times as they shall not be in good running condi- 
 tion." Young also covenants not to erect any mill upon 
 Clayfall, and Talbot reserves the right to demolish any mill 
 that Young might erect there. And Young agrees to attend 
 court whan required and to do such "suit & service to and 
 at ye said court as is costomary & usual on manors in Eng- 
 land." 
 
 This instrument of writing is of great length and 
 covers six pages of the book in which it is recorded, and 
 concludes with a proviso which indicates, as do several 
 other things mentioned in it, that the parties had but little 
 faith in each other's honesty, for the whole thing was to be 
 void if Young dug up and carried away the two hundred 
 young apple trees. It is very hard to conceive how any- 
 
132 HISTORY OK CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 thing else could have been incorporated in this deed, or how 
 a stronger or better one could have been made, but Talbot 
 covenants to make Young another one, such as his counsel, 
 learned in the law, might suggest, but he was not to be com- 
 pelled to go more than twenty miles from the manor to exe- 
 cute it. This curious document is dated June 10th, 1687, 
 and is signed by George Talbot and witnessed hy Henrj' 
 Brent, James Lynch and Thomas Grunwin. The rock of 
 Essenewee or Kannegrenda, there is no doubt, was at or 
 near where the iron works of George P. Whitaker are now 
 located, and no doubt that is where Talbot's house or castle 
 then stood. 
 
 After laborious and patient investigation it has been ascer- 
 tained that Talbot returned to Ireland and took part in tha 
 struggle between James the Second and the Prince of 
 Orange. 
 
 After the downfall of the house of Stewart he joined the 
 Irish Brigade, in which he was commissioned as an officer, 
 and with it entered the service of the King of France, 
 where he was afterwards killed. 
 
 Castle Rooney for many years has been in ruins. There 
 is some reason to believe that a relative of George Talbot 
 owned land and resided for a time at Perry Point,* below 
 Perryville ; for in 1710 James Talbot, of Castle Pooney, in 
 the kingdom of Ireland, sold a tract of land which is de- 
 scribed as being upon that point. 
 
 * So called from having been owned by Captain Richard Perry, of 
 London, in the early part of the last century. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 New ]Muustei' — Its metes aud bounds — The Alexanders — Society — Cecil 
 >tanor — Charles Carroll — Fair Hill — The Scotch-Irisli — Christiana Pres- 
 byterian Church — Kock Church — The English Ttevolution — Its effect on 
 the Colony of ^Maryland — Nottingham — The Nottingham Lots — Original 
 grantees — Reasons why the grant was made — The first Friends' meeting- 
 house — The fLittle Brick or Nottingham Friends' meeting-house — Pop- 
 pemetto — West Nottingham Presbyterian Church — Treaty with the 
 Conestoga Indians— Thomas Chalkley visits them — Account of some of 
 the first settlers of Nottingham — The AVelsh ti'act — Its boundaries — The 
 Baptist church on Iron Hill — The Penoader Presbyterian Church — Rev. 
 David Evans — Rev. Samuel Davies — Iron Hill. 
 
 The certificate of survey of the New Munster tract, which 
 may be found in the old colonial records at Annapolis, is as 
 follows: "Surveyed for Edwin O'Dwire and fifteen other 
 Irishmen by virtue of a warrant from his Lordship, dated 
 7th of August, 1683. Laid out for him and them a certain 
 tract of land, called New Munster, lying and being in Cecil 
 County, on the main fresh of Elk River, on both sides of the 
 said fresh, beginning at a marked poplar on a high bank 
 over the west side of the said main fresh, and about a pistole 
 shott to the mouth of a rivelett, called the Shure, and run- 
 ning west, . . . containing and now laid out for six thou- 
 sand acres more or less, to be held of the manor of Coecill, 
 which is hereby humbly certified to your Lordship, this 29th 
 day of August, 1683, by George Talbot, 
 
 " Surveyor-General." 
 
 The poplar tree mentioned in the aforesaid certificate 
 stood upon the west bank of Big Elk Creek, a short distance 
 above where the stream originally called the Shure, but now 
 called Fulling Mill Run, empties into that stream. The 
 iShiiie was no doubt called by tliat name because it was 
 
134 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 not easily aifected by drouth. It is a pretty little stream 
 that rises near Fair Hill, and flows in a southeast direction 
 thorugh a section of country most of which, until quite 
 recently, was thickly covered with forest trees, which pre- 
 vented the evaporation of the water from the earth, so that 
 the springs that fed it flowed nearly as strongly in the sum- 
 mer months as in any other season. It still sustains its 
 ancient reputation as a Shure and reliable stream, and once 
 supplied enough water to turn two mills that stood upon its 
 banks. Thepoplar tree that marked the place of the beginning 
 of the survey has long since disappeared, but the place where 
 it stood is marked by a rough, undressed stone, with the 
 letters W. S. on its south, the letter B. on its east and the 
 letters N. M., and underneath them the letters N. I. on the 
 north side, rudely chiseled on comparativelj'' smooth places 
 on its otherwise rough surface. What these initials mean 
 we are unable to say. Their meaning, as well as the history 
 of those who placed them there, is lost. But the water of 
 the babbling stream still dances down its rocky channel, as 
 if it was impatient to join the larger and quieter stream 
 that flows so placidly at the base of the rugged declivity, 
 midway up which this stone was planted in the long ago. 
 There can be no doubt that the stone is near the place where 
 the poplar stood, because the configuration of the country is 
 is such that the course of the streams must necessarily be 
 nearly the same now as they were two hundred years ago. 
 
 Without attempting to give the accurate courses and dis- 
 tances of the boundary lines of New Munster, it is sufiicient 
 to state that the southern line, which started from the poplar 
 tree, ran about a mile west until it reached the southwest 
 corner of the tract, and then ran northwardly for about five 
 miles until it reached the northwest corner, which was 
 about a mile north of Mason and Dixon's line, where the 
 northern line commenced and ran in an easterly course, 
 and crossed the Elk a short distance above Mackey's (now 
 Tweed's) mill, which is the first mill on that stream in 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 135 
 
 Pennsylvania above the State line. The northeast corner 
 was nearly two miles east of Big Elk and a little south of a 
 direct line joining the aforesaid mill and the village of 
 Strickersville, in Pennsylvania. The east line ran south 
 from the last-named corner until it reached the southeast 
 corner of the tract, which was about a mile east of the place 
 of beginning, from which the southern line ran west to the 
 poplar tree that marked the beginning of the survey. The 
 tract was about five miles long and two miles wide, and 
 consequently contained about ten square miles. The Big 
 Elk divided it into two nearly equal parts. Within the 
 limits of the tract are some of the best water-powers in the 
 county, no less than five of them being on the Big Elk. 
 
 Edwin O.'Dwire, to whom the patent for New Munster 
 was granted, sold it to one Daniel Toas, of Chester Puver, in 
 Maryland, when, we have no means of ascertaining, for the 
 deed is not on record, who died and left a son (John Toas), 
 who inherited it as his heir and devisee. This John Toas, 
 it would seein, was not a very thrifty nor a very well-to-do 
 man, for he induced one " Robert Roberts, of Queen Anne's 
 County (glover), to become bound for ye sd. Toas for ye 
 sum of £200 and upwards, which the said Robert Roberts 
 was obliged to pay and did pay, the said Jolm Toas ab- 
 sconding himself from justice, for which there did an act of 
 Assembly pass and was confirmed, thereby empowering the 
 said Robert Roberts, by virtue of the same, to make good 
 and valuable sale and absolute title of inheritance in fee 
 simple of, to, and in four thousand five hundred acres of the 
 New Munster tract." By virtue of this act of Assembly the 
 said Robert Roberts sold to Daniel Pearce, of Kent County, 
 407 acres of the said tract for 6,000 pounds of tobacco, the 
 deed for which is dated the 4th of September, 1713. This 
 407 acres was located in the southwest corner of New Mun- 
 ster, and contained the site of the mill near the mouth of 
 the Shure, now owned by Howard Scott. Roberts also sold 
 to Thomas Stephenson, of Bucks County, Pa., nearly three 
 
136 HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 thousand acres of the same tract, a large part of which was 
 east of the Big Elk, for the sum of £300 current money of 
 Maryland. The deed from Roberts to Stephenson is dated 
 April 1st, 1714. 
 
 On the 18th of May following, Stephenson sold the tract 
 on the east side of the Big Elk, containing upwards of 1100 
 acres, to Mathias Wallace, James Alexander, farmer, Arthur 
 Alexander, farmer, David Alexander, weaver, and Joseph 
 Alexander, tanner. The deed recites the fact that the tract 
 of land then conveyed to Wallace, and the Alexanders "had 
 for some years last past been improved and possessed by 
 them, and had been by them divided among themselves, 
 each man according to his holden, and that he, the said 
 Stephenson, being minded to sell the said tract of land, 
 thought it most equitable, honest and right, that the}', the 
 said possessors thereof, should have the first offer to buy or 
 purchase each man his holden or division of ye same." 
 There is no doubt, judging from the facts recited in the deed 
 from Stephenson to Wallace and the Alexanders that they 
 were part of the " !'> other Irishmen" mentioned in the cer- 
 tificate of survey, and that thej' located upon New Munster 
 many years prior to the time at which thej^ obtained the 
 deed to their farms. The first deed from Stevenson to the 
 Alexanders contained a covenant that the grantor, Stephen- 
 son, would make them another and better oiie if they de- 
 manded it any time during the next seven years ensuing 
 after the date of the first deed. In accordance with this 
 covenant, Stevenson, by eight deeds, each of which is dated 
 August 15th, 1718, reconveyed his interest in nine hundred 
 and three acres of the New Munster tract to -Joseph, James, 
 David, Arthur, Elijah and Mary Alexander. This woman, 
 Mary, was the widow of James Alexander, deceased, who 
 probably was the son of one of the other Alexanders before 
 mentioned. By two other deeds of the same date he also 
 conveyed certain parts of the said tract to John Gillespie 
 and Mathias Wallace, Jr. The land conveyed to the colony 
 
>{IST01!V OF CECIL COUXTV. 137 
 
 of Alexanders embraced the northeast part of the New Mun- 
 ster tract and extended from a short distance north of Cow- 
 antown to the extreme nortliern boundary of New Munster, 
 which, us before stated, was about a mile north of the State 
 line, as it was located by IMasou and Dixon fifty years after- 
 wards. It was bounded on the west by the Big Elk and 
 the west branch of Christiana flowed through it for about a 
 mile, near the northeast corner of that part of it that is now 
 in Maryland. 
 
 In 1701 James Carroll took up a survey of 2,104 acres of 
 land west of New Munster,andinl7f 3 conveyed his interest 
 in it to C^harles Carroll. The tract was called " Society," 
 and the deeds given shortly afterwards for certain parts of 
 it, recite the fact that the survey, which was unfinished 
 before, was completed in the latter year by Henry Hollings- 
 wortli, who was then dej;)uty-surveyor. Morgan Patten, 
 John Bristow, Joseph Steel, and lioger Lawson were among 
 the first purchasers, and there is every reason to believe 
 they were the first settlers upon this tract of land, which 
 then, 1718 and '19, no doubt was covered by the prime- 
 val forest. " Society," like New Munster, was to be held of 
 the manor of Cecil. This manor was just west of Little Elk, 
 and extended from near the head of Elk River some miles 
 norttiAvard. It was probably several miles wide, and like 
 some of the other manors is believed never to have been 
 surveyed or bounded. The southeast corner of " Society" 
 was about a mile north of the southwest corner of New 
 Munster, and the western boundary of the latter formed the 
 eastern boundary of the former. The tract probably ex- 
 tended as far north as New Munster did. The deed from 
 Carroll to Lawson warranted to defend his title " against all 
 persons claiming title, or pretended title, under ye govern- 
 ment of Pennsylvania or ye territories thereunto belong- 
 ing." This was because the long and bitter controversy 
 between the Penns and Baltimore about the boundaries of 
 their i-cspective provinces w:is then raging. 
 
138 HISTORY OP CECIL COUXTY. 
 
 The Charles Carroll who owned Society was judge and 
 register of the land office, and also agent and receiver of 
 rents for Lord Baltimore. A part of this tract remained in 
 possession of the Carroll family till 1805. In that year 
 Charles Carroll, of CarroUton, sold 184 acres of it to Alex- 
 ander Jackson for £183. 
 
 Fair Hill, which originally extended to the east side of 
 Little Elk Creek, was taken up about the same time that 
 Society was settled. New Castle at this time was a town of 
 considerable size and much importance; then and for many 
 years afterwards, it was probable that more Irish emigrants 
 landed there than any other port on the eastern seaboard 
 of the colonies. These people found their way to New Ire- 
 land and the southern parts of Chester and Lancaster 
 counties. 
 
 The Alexanders, and probably most of the other original 
 settlers on New Munster and the parts of Pennsylvania and 
 Delaware contiguous to it, were Scotch-Irish ; and as this 
 class of settlers acted a conspicuous part in the early as well 
 as in the subsequent history of the county, a short account 
 of them may be interesting and profitable. 
 
 During the reign of Elizabeth, the people of Ulster, a 
 province in the north of Ireland, rebelled against the gov- 
 erment of England; and, as was always the case with the 
 people of that country, they were subjugated and subjected 
 to a vigorous and severe regime. Though they were obliged 
 to submit to the English government, they did so with 
 reluctance, and were ever ready for revolt. Though the 
 fire of their patriotism was apparently extinguished, it was 
 not wholly quenched, and soon after the accession of James 
 I. another conspiracy was entered into between the Earl of 
 Tyrone and the Earl of Tyrconnel against the English gov- 
 erment. It was soon suppressed, and the two earls were 
 forced to fly. Their estates, containing about 500,000 
 acres, were confiscated. A second insurrection soon after- 
 wards gave occasion for another large forfeiture, and nearly 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 13!> 
 
 six entire counties in the province of Ulster were confiscated. 
 This large territory of confiscated land was nearly depopu- 
 lated by the efforts of the English in deducing its inhabit- 
 ants to obedience. It soon became a favorite project of the 
 English sovereign to repeople this depopulated territory 
 with a Protestant population, hoping they would be more 
 peaceable, and consequently less likely to rebel. Many in- 
 ducements were held out to the people of England and Scot- 
 land to settle in this vacant territory in Ireland. The 
 principal emigration, however, was from Scotland. Its coast 
 is near the coast of Ireland, and the emigrants had only a 
 short distance to travel to reach their new homes. The 
 Scotch emigrants brought with them their habits of industry, 
 and their strong Calvinistic faith and rigid adherence to 
 the Presbyterian religion. This was tlie first Protestant 
 population that settled in Ireland. The first Irish Presby- 
 terian church was established by the Scotch-Irish in 1613. 
 But owing to the unstable character of the House of Stewart, 
 these emigrants were destined soon to undergo a fiercer and 
 more cruel persecution than the Catholics whom they had 
 succeeded. The persecution of the Scotch Presbyterians 
 which soon afterwards took place, in which Claverhouse 
 and his dragoons won for themselves an eternal infamy, 
 drove many of the persecuted Scotch to take refuge in the 
 secure retreats of Ulster. 
 
 This is the origin of the Scotch- Irish, a race that has been 
 noted in the history of the United States for their love of 
 religious and civil liberty ; a race to whose exertions, sacri- 
 fices and valor we are much indebted for the successful issue 
 of the Revolutionary war and the establishment of our 
 present system of government. Their forefathers had been 
 taught in the school of adversity and many of them had 
 sealed their faith with their blood. When the long course 
 of oppression and cruelty practiced by the arbitrary govern- 
 ment of Great Britain upon the people of the colonies had 
 culminated in the war of the Revolution, these Scotch-Irish 
 
140 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Presbyterians, whose forefatliers had long before proved the 
 truth of the adage that " the blood of the martyrs is the 
 seed of the church," so in like manner did their sons attest 
 their faith in the justice of the cause that they almost uni- 
 versally espoused, and hesitated not to shed their blood in 
 maintaining it with the sword upon many a sanguinary 
 field. Emulating in civil affairs the example their fore- 
 fathers had set them in ecclesiastical matters, many of them 
 became martyrs in the cause of liberty. 
 
 This race did not intermarry with the native Celtic popu- 
 lation, and to this daj^, after the lapse of two centuries and 
 a half, is as distinct as when the pioneer settlers first immi- 
 grated to Ireland. They were called Scotch-Irish simply 
 because thej' were the descendants of Scots who had taken 
 up their residence in the north of Ireland. The wretched 
 policy of the House of Stewart, which had an unlimited 
 ■capacity for tyranny and oppression, soon drove these peo- 
 }ile to seek an asjdum in the wilderness of America. Here 
 the ancestors of many of the members of the Presbyterian 
 •churches in the northern part of Cecil County settled in the 
 ■early days of the history of our county. They brought with 
 them their habits of industrj', self-denial, frugality and 
 econom}^ that are yet retained anil practiced by their de- 
 scendants. 
 
 The Alexanders and the other Scotch-Irish settlers upon 
 New Munster and the surrounding country were the 
 founders of the old Presbyterian churches at " Head of 
 €hristiana " and " The Rock." 
 
 It is a singular fact that the first meeting-houses in which 
 these congregations Avorshiped were outside of the boun- 
 daries of Marvland ; the former being on the triangular 
 part of Pennsylvania that extends south of Mason and 
 Dixon's line, and only about two hundred yards east of the 
 ■duenorth line which, ior all practical purposes, is considered 
 i\s, forming the boundary between Maryland and Delaware. 
 The latter was located in tlio "old stone gravoyard " in 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 141 
 
 Lewisville, Chester County, and is about the same distance 
 north of Mason and Dixon's line. Whether this was the 
 result of accident or design is not known, but inasmuch as 
 Maryland was a Catholic colony, and the interests of the 
 first settlers in New ]\Iunster were identified with those of 
 the people at New Castle, it was probably the result of the 
 latter. The Presbyterian church at the head of Christiana 
 was organized some time previous to 1708, by a few persons 
 who had previously worshiped in New Castle. The first 
 house of worship, which stood in the graveyard north of 
 the present house, was probably built about the time of the 
 organization of the church. 
 
 The first pastor of this church was Rev. George Gillespie. 
 He was born in Scotland, in 1683, and was a son of the Rev. 
 George Gillespie, a prominent member of the Westminster 
 Assembly of divines. Among the names of the first elders 
 of this church, which were equally divided among the three 
 States, are those of David Alexander and Andrew Wallace, 
 of Cecil County. David Alexander was no doubt one of 
 the original settlers of New Munster, and there is little 
 doubt that Andrew Wallace was a relative of Alathias Wal- 
 lace, another of the original settlers upon the same tract. 
 His grave is marked by a headstone, which shows that he 
 died on ye third of March, 1751, aged 79 years. Many of 
 the graves of the Alexanders are marked by headstones in 
 a good state of preservation, which show that the)' generally 
 lived to a good old age. 
 
 The Rock Church was founded in 1720, by members of 
 the Head of Christiana living in the northern part of New 
 Munster, and in Society, who wished a church nearer to 
 their homes. For a short time this congregation was sup- 
 plied by Rev. George Gillespie and other ministers of New 
 Castle Presbytery, until in 1724 the congregation secured 
 the services of their first pastor. Rev. Joseph Houston. He, 
 like most of the early Presbyterian ministers, was a native 
 of Ireland. The original name of the congregation was the 
 
142 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Church Upon Elk River. Theophilus and his brother, Amos 
 Alexander, both elders of the Rock Church, are buried at 
 Head of Christiana. They lived in the northeastern part of 
 New Munster and were much nearer the churches at Lewis- 
 ville and Sharp's gravej'ard, which is a short distance north 
 of Fair Hill and near the site of the second church build- 
 ing, than they were to the old church at Head of Chris- 
 tiana, where they at first worshiped. 
 
 It is not within the scope of this work to give an extended 
 account of the Revolution in England that resulted in 
 placing William and May on the throne of that kingdom but 
 inasmuch as it had a great effect upon the history of Mary- 
 land, and particularly on the history of Cecil County, it has 
 been deemed important, in order to properly understand 
 the latter, to call the reader's attention to it. 
 
 The liberality of the charter of Maryland had excited the 
 cupidity of James II., who contemplated instituting pro- 
 ceedings to wrest it from Lord Baltimore, and who, had he 
 continued to wield the sceptre of England, would most likely 
 have found means to have wrested the rights and franchises 
 which it conferred upon Lord Baltimore from him, and 
 appropriate them to his own use. But it was not so ordered 
 by Providence, and the Proprietary of Maryland escaped 
 this ignominous treatment from the tyrant James, only 
 to be made to endure it from his successor. He was in Eng- 
 land when William and Mary were proclaimed, and at once 
 gave in his adherence to them and sent orders to Mr. 
 Joseph, who had succeeded George Talbot as President of 
 the Council and chief Deputy Governor, to proclaim the 
 new sovereigns in Maryland ; but unfortunately the messen- 
 ger died on the way and the council hesitated to act on 
 their own responsibility till the new sovereigns had been 
 proclaimed in most if not all the other colonies. 
 
 The Protestants of Maryland thereupon inaugurated a 
 revolution on their own account, and in April, 1689, formed 
 " an association in arms for the defence of the Protestant 
 
HISTORY OF CECir. COUNTY. ] 43 
 
 religion, and for asserting the rights of King AVilliam and 
 Queen Mary to the province of Marjdand and all the English 
 dominions." John Coode was placed at the head of this 
 association. But little more was done till the following- 
 July, when the revolutiitnists marched upon the city of St. 
 Mary's, which was then held by the council which remained 
 loyal to the Lord Proprietary. The revolutionists were the 
 stonger party, and the others evacuated the city without 
 firing a gun. Whereupon Coode issued a declaration of the 
 reasons which had actuated him and his party to usurp the 
 government. In this declaration they speak of tlie tyranny 
 and injustice of Lord Baltimore, and refer to the obstacles 
 thrown in the way of the collection of the king's tax and the 
 murder of Rousby " by one that was an Irish papist and our 
 chief governor," etc., at great length. 
 
 The authorities of Calvert County alone made some op- 
 position to the revolutionists ; but they soon surrendered 
 without bloodshed, and the others became masters of the 
 province. They celebrated their triumph by sending an ad- 
 dress to their Majesties in England, in which ihey reiterate 
 the charges against Lord Baltimore in a more covert way 
 than in the declaration, and seek to justify, or at least to 
 palliate, the course they had pursued. The revolutionists, 
 feeling secure, issued writs in their Majesties' names for an 
 election of delegates to a convention to be held at St. Mary's 
 in August, to which the people of Calvert County objected, 
 and issued a declaration of their objections to choosing del- 
 egates. They also met with opposition in other parts of the 
 province; notwithstanding which the convention met, and 
 on the 4th of September drew up an address to their Majes- 
 ties, which is remarkable only for the cunning method in 
 which they seek to justify their own revolutionary proceed- 
 ings by the laudatory way in which they speak of their 
 Majesties' achievemeuts of the same kind. This address was 
 accompanied by others from Kent, Somerset, Talbot, St. 
 Mary's, Chai'les, Calvert, Cecil, and Baltimore counties, some 
 
144 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 of which were numerously signed, and a few of which speak 
 well of Lord Baltimore and his illustrious father. The citi- 
 zens of Cecil County sent a petition which was signed by 
 nineteen of the inhabitants, of none of whom anything 
 is known at this time, except George Oldfield, Casparus 
 Hermen, William Nowell, and York Yorkson. George 
 Oldfield has already been referred to; he was an attorney, 
 and a few years later refused to take the oath of allegiance 
 and supremacy, from which it is inferred that he was a 
 Catholic and still adhered to the House of Stewart. He re- 
 moved to Pennsjdvania, as it was then called, where he 
 probably still owned land, he being one of the landholders 
 in St. Augustine's Manor as early as 1682, in which year 
 William Penn addressed him and some others upon the sub- 
 ject of the dispute between himself and Lord Baltimore. Cas- 
 parus Hermen was at that time lord of Bohemia Manor, 
 having succeeded his brother Ephraim George, and in ac- 
 cordance with the provision of his father's will had assumed , 
 the name of Augustine. 
 
 William Nowell was a law>'er. He refused to take the 
 oath of allegiance and supremacy, for which the courts 
 stopped him from practicing ; but probably readmitted him 
 for the minutes of the court show, as before stated, that he 
 promised to remove the cause of disability. York Yorkson, 
 there is reason to believe, came to this county from the 
 Swedish settlements on the Delaware. He was probably a 
 Swede or Finn. Some years after this time he leased a few 
 acres of land on the north side of Bohemia River just east 
 of the ferry. He is designated in the lease as iiniholder, and 
 was probably the first person who kept an inn at Bohemia, 
 ferr}^ The addresses of the Protestants of England were 
 not without effect upon King William, and he thought 
 seriously of depriving Lord Baltimore of his charter. Legal 
 proceedings were instituted for that purpose; but the facts 
 upon Avhich his advisers relied were not susceptible of 
 proof, and Lord Baltimore was allowed to retain the charter 
 
HISTORY 0¥ CKCIL COUNTY. 145 
 
 upon consenting to allow the province to be governed by 
 Protestant governors, appointed by the king. This con- 
 tinued to be the case till 1715, when his son Benedict 
 Leonard Calvert embraced the Protestant religion, and the 
 rights and h-anchises conferred by the charter were restored 
 to him. 
 
 During the interval from 1689 to 1715 the members of 
 the House of Baltimore were under a cloud, so to speak, 
 and in no condition to defend the province from the en- 
 croachments which the proprietor of Pennsylvania made 
 upon it. This brief reference to the English Revolution it 
 is hoped will enable the reader to better understand the 
 reason whj^ the Nottingham lots and the Welsh Tract, 
 large portions of which are in Maryland, were granted by 
 William Penn and his agents, and why no efforts were made 
 to repel their encroachments. 
 
 Nottingham was the outgrowth of the settlements on the 
 Delaware around New Castle, M'hich, at the time of the 
 settlement of the former place, was second only to New 
 York in commerce and population. The jiioneer settlers of 
 Nottiiigham were two brothers, James and William Brown, 
 who, on pack-horses, boldl};' started out from New Castle in 
 the summer or fall of 1701 into the wilderness to make for 
 themselves a home. Thej^ were said to have been in- 
 fluenced in their opinion of the fertility of the soil by the 
 great size of the forest trees with which it was covered. 
 They stopped near a large spring, which is yet to be seen 
 on the north side of the road leading from the Brick Meeting- 
 house to the Itising 6un, and a short distance east of the 
 road which forms the boundary between the Sixth and 
 Ninth election districts. It is on the farm now owned by 
 William Cameron. Near this spring was a favorite camping- 
 ground of the Indians. Their trail from the great valley of 
 Chester County to the head of the bay, whither they were 
 accustomed to resort for fish and also to trade at the post 
 on Palmer's Island, led directly past it. Here the brothers 
 
 ,T 
 
146 HISTORY OF CECIL COUXTY. 
 
 Brown unloaded their weary horses and went to work fell- 
 ing the forest trees and clearing the land for the purpose of 
 making room for dwelling-houses und engaging in agricul- 
 tural pursuits. The small amount of provisions brought 
 with them were soon exhausted, and they were obliged to 
 return to New Castle for a fresh supply. Other Friends 
 accompanied them on their return to Nottingham, and by 
 the next spring they had accommodations for several fami- 
 lies. The first house, erected by William Brown, is said to 
 have been built On the site now occupied by the house of 
 William Cameron. This is the traditional story of the first 
 ; settlement in Nottingham that has been handed down from 
 generation to generation of their descendants, some of whom 
 yet occupy part of the land upon which their forefathers 
 settled. 
 
 It is very probable that the brothers Brown preceded the 
 bther settlers a short time, and that the others were ac- 
 quainted with them and admired the fertility of their land 
 and the beauty of the location, and were for these reasons 
 induced to ask for the privilege of taking up the Notting- 
 ham lots. This name was applied to Nottingham Township 
 after the Revolutionary war by the Legislature of Maryland, 
 in an act for the relief of the owners of the land, which, 
 though granted by Penn, was found to be in Maryland 
 when the dispute between him and Baltimore was adjusted 
 in 1768. It was called Nottingham Township by the au- 
 thorities of Pennsylvania, and was divided into thirty-seven 
 parts; hence the name, "Nottingham lots." 
 
 In compliance with the provisions of this act of Mary- 
 land, which was passed in 1788, the then proprietors of 
 Nottingham, in order to show the validity of their title, 
 procured copies of the minute of their application to the 
 commissioners of property of Pennsylvania, and also their 
 warrant for the survey of Nottingham, which they caused 
 to be recorded among the land records of Cecil County. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 147 
 
 The minutes of the commissioners, like all the writings of 
 the Friends, is laconic and concise. It is as follows : 
 
 "At a session of the Commissioners at Philadelphia, 14th 
 of the 11th mo., 1701. Present — Edward Shippen, Griffith 
 Owen, Thomas Story, James Logan, Sec. Cornelius Empson, 
 for himself and several others, to the number of twenty fam- 
 ilies, chiefly of the county of Chester, propose to make a 
 Settlmt. on a tract of land about half-way between Delaware 
 and Susquehannough, or near the latter, being about twenty 
 miles distant from New Castle, on Otteraroe river, in case 
 they may have a grant of twentj^ thousand acres in said 
 place, at a bushel of wheat per 100 (acres), or five pounds pur- 
 chase, to be after at a shilling sterling per annum, which 
 being duly considered and the advantages that might arise 
 thereby, by rendering the adjacent lands more valuable and 
 encouraging ye settlement of Susquehannough river, 'tis 
 proposed that they shall have 15 or 20,000 acres at £8 
 pounds per 100 acres, or at 2 bushels of wheat rent per an- 
 num, the first year for their encouragement to be free of rent, 
 or one year credit to pay the purchase money. He agrees 
 to the price of purchase or to a bushel and a half per an- 
 num. But it is referred to thee in further consideration." 
 
 The application of Empson, as set forth in the preceding 
 minute of the commissioners who were appointed by Penn 
 and authorized to have charge of his land and to look after 
 his interests in the province, met with the favorable consid- 
 eration of the proprietary, or the commissioners concluded 
 to act on their own responsibility, for on "ye 7th of ye 1st 
 mo., 1701," they issued the warrant of survey to Henry Hol- 
 lingsworth, at that time a citizen of Pennsylvania. This 
 warrant contains the names of the original settlers for which 
 the survey was made. They are as follows : Henry Reynolds, 
 Cornelius Empson, John Empson, John Richardson, James 
 Brown, William Brown, Henry Bates, Edward Beson, Jas. 
 Cooper, (of Darby), Randal Janney, Andrew Job, John 
 
148 HISTORY OF <:'7':CIL COUNTY. 
 
 Churchman, Ebenezer Empson, John Guest, of Philadelphia.* 
 These were to have one thousand acres each. Joel Bayley, 
 Robert Dutton, Samuel Littler, and Messer Brown were to 
 have five hundred acres each. The whole township was to 
 be divided into eighteen several divisions of one thousand 
 acres each, three of which the proprietor reserved for his 
 own proper use. The choice of the several divisions was to 
 be disposed of by lot. The warrant directed the surveyor to 
 begin at the northern barrens, between the main branch of 
 North East and Otter aroe Creek, and further specified that 
 the southern boundary was to be an east and west line pa- 
 rallel with the southern line of the province, and that the 
 £8 were to be paid Avithin one year after the date thereof. 
 It also provided for the payment of an annual quit rent of 
 one shilling sterling for every one hundred acres, or, in 
 case of failure to pay the first sum, thej^ Avere to pay two 
 bushels of good winter wheat for every one hundred acres, 
 to he delivered at some navigable water or landing place on the 
 Delaware River. Following the record of the certificate of 
 survey is a plat of the township, accompanied by a certifi- 
 cate certifying that it is compiled from data in the office of 
 the surveyor-general of Pennsylvania. The plat shows the 
 tract to have extended two and a half miles east of the com- 
 mon on part of which the Brick Meeting-house now stands, 
 from which it ran due west nearlj' nine miles. West of the 
 common, for a distance of three miles, it was three and a 
 quarter miles wide; for three miles further west it was three 
 miles wide, while from the southwest corner there extended 
 
 * Cornelius Empson, .John Richardson, Henry Reynolds, Ebenezer 
 Empson, and John Guest, each of whom are mentioned in the warrant of 
 survey, and all of whom were among the original grantees, never resided 
 in Nottingham. The reader will notice a slight discrepancy between the 
 names in the warrant and those on the plat. The original record has been 
 followed in each case. The Reynolds and .Janney families of this county are 
 the descendants of the above mentioned Henry Reynolds and Randal 
 Janney. 
 
A Draught of the Town.ship of Nottingham 
 according to the survey made thereof in tlie 
 3d month, A. D. 1702. Copied from tlie original 
 on page 55, Book No. 16, one of the land record 
 books of Cecil County. 
 
 Edward Beson. 
 
 Henry Reynolds. 
 
 John Richardson. 
 
 20. 
 
 Proprietor. 
 
 21. 
 
 Eb. Empson. 
 
 22. 
 23. 
 
 Wm. Brown. 
 
 Cor. Empson. 
 
 24. 
 
 Proprietor. 
 
 2- J. 
 
 Jas. Cooper. 
 
 26. 
 
 Jas. Brown. 
 
 27. 
 
 Wm. Brown. 
 
 28. 
 
 Robt. Button. 
 Sam'l Littler. 
 
 29. 
 
 Common. 
 Meeting-Honse. 
 
 30. 
 
 Robt. Button. 
 Sam'l Littler. 
 
 31. 
 
 Andrew Job. 
 
 32. 
 
 Wm. Brown. 
 
 33. 
 
 Randal Janney. 
 
 31. 
 
 Andrew Job. 
 
 3.3. 
 
 1 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 12. 
 13. 
 
 Henry Reynolds. 
 
 John Richardson. 
 
 Proprietary. 
 
 Cor. Empson. 
 
 Proprietary. 
 Eb. En^pson. 
 
 Joel Bayley. 
 
 James Cooper. 
 
 Proprietary. 
 
 James Brown. 
 
 1.5. Randal Janney. 
 
 John Churchman. 
 
 17. 
 
 John Bates. 
 
 3(1. 
 
150 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 a parallelogram a mile a quarter long and a half mile wide, 
 which included what is now known as Vinegar Hill. The 
 whole township contained thirty lots, the most of which 
 were a mile and a half long and half a mile wide, which 
 shows that the instruction in the warrant, authorizing the 
 surveyor to lay out the tract into eighteen several divisions 
 of one thousand acres each, had been disregarded. The 
 names of Robert Dutton and Samuel Littler appear upon 
 each of the lots immediately east and west of the meeting- 
 house, while the names of John Churchman and Randal 
 Janney are found upon the lots immediately north and 
 northwest of it. Andrew Job's name appears on the lot at 
 the southeast corner of the tract, which was a short distance 
 southeast of the Blue Ball tavern ; and those of Edward Bo- 
 son and Henry Reynolds upon the two most westerly lots, 
 as will be seen by reference to the map. The lots are sepa- 
 rated by what seems to be intended to represent a road, but 
 which, by the scale accompanying the plat is an eighth of 
 a mile wide. The lots, as before stated, were to coptain 
 a thousand acres each ; including the road, they did actualy 
 contain, as shown by the plat, about five hundred acres. It 
 was intimated in the warrant that the four persons that were 
 to have five hundred acres each were to divide a thousand 
 acres between them; this accounts for the township being 
 divided into thirty-seven instead of eighteen lots, as directed 
 in the warrant. The plat also shows that several of the per- 
 sons who were to have a thousand acres each took up two 
 of these five hundred acre lots, and that in some cases they 
 were several miles apart. 
 
 The reader will recollect that Talbot's grant of Susque- 
 hanna Manor, which was made twenty years before by Lord 
 Baltimore, included the whole of Nottingham and extended 
 some miles north of it into Pennsylvania. Talbot was 
 charged with the maintenance and extension of the au- 
 thority of Baltimore as far north and east as circumstances 
 warranted him in believing it was possible to extend it. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 151 
 
 Although his manor extended many miles above the mouth 
 of the Octoraro, he probablj^ had little hope of maintaining 
 his title to all of it, and probably extended it northward 
 simply to acquire a claim and to hold it in behalf of Lord 
 Baltimore. He saw with what tenacity the settlers along 
 the Delaware maintained possession of the land there, 
 though it was covered by Baltimore's patent, and he re- 
 solved to profit by their example. Talbot's line, from the 
 mouth of Octoraro to the mouth of Naaman's Creek, is the 
 line referred to by the commissioners of Penn in their war- 
 rant of survey as the southern line of the province. 
 
 The religious and political difficulties that prevailed in 
 England in the reign of James the Second, as before inti- 
 mated, had a disastrous effect upon the prosperity of Lord 
 Baltimore. His misfortunes were increased by the efforts 
 his kindness prompted him to make in behalf of his kinsman 
 Talbot, in order to shield him from the consequences of the 
 murder of the unfortunate Rousb}'. He was a Catholic, 
 and the Puritanical spirit that raged in the time of Crom- 
 well was not yet extinct. "William of Orange and Anne 
 owed too much to the Protestants of England to be disposed 
 to look with much favor upon the claims of Baltimore, 
 created as they were by a prince of an exiled famil}^ and a 
 member of the church which they despised. Talbot, the 
 courageous and irrepressible Talbot, whose brilliant career 
 in Cecil County atones for its shortness, had long since dis- 
 appeared, and the proprietor of Maryland, shorn of every- 
 thing but the nominal possession of his right in the soil of 
 his splendid domain, languished in neglect and obscurity. 
 These were the reasons why the princely domain of Susque- 
 hanna Manor was cut in twain by the commissioners of 
 Penn. Plad George Talbot been alive and at the head of 
 his rangers, the quiet Quakers would never have thought 
 of asking the commissioners of the courtly Penn for the 
 Nottingham grant, nor is it probable he would have granted 
 their request. It was a masterly stroke of policy on the 
 
152 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 part of Penn to cut Susquehanna Manor in twain, and plant 
 a settlement of his followers in the midst of it. This was 
 the surest way of thwarting the efforts of Lord Baltimore 
 and his agents to extend his jurisdiction to the 40° of north 
 latitude should that experiment be tried in the future. 
 This view of the case is strengthened by a tradition among 
 the Friends that the original settlers of Nottingham had at 
 first intended to settle in the rich valleys of Pequea or Con- 
 estoga, but were influenced by the earnest solicitation of 
 Penn to settle in Nottingham in order to strengthen his 
 claim, and that in the spring of 1701 he rode over the 
 ground in company with the leaders of the party to view 
 the " lay of the laud." During this visit he is said to have 
 marked with his own hand a spot he selected, from which 
 the water descended in all directions, as the site of the 
 present brick meeting-house, which was built upon part of 
 the forty acres he donated to them for that purpose, and 
 which is yet in their possession. 
 
 When Mason and Dixon's line was located, it cut upwards 
 of 1,300 acres off those lots that extended farthest north, and 
 in 17S7 their owners presented a petition to the government 
 of Pennsylvania, stating that owing to the unsettled condi- 
 tion of the boundary between that State and Maryland, the 
 original grantees had not complied with the terms of sale, 
 and praying that those parts of the lots in Pennsylvania 
 might be surveyed tind their titles be confirmed. Their 
 request was granted and a warrant was issued to George 
 Churchman, who the same year surveyed them. 
 
 The Friends that settled upon Nottin jham were frugal 
 and industrious, and soon the forest disappeared beneath 
 their sturdy strokes, and grass and the waving grain suc- 
 ceeded it. The brothers Brown, like their father, were min- 
 isters of the gospel, and in 1704 a meeting was organized at 
 the house of James, which was the origin of the Quaker 
 congregation that now worships in the Brick Meeting-house. 
 The first meeting-house was erected in 1700 or 1710. It 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 153 
 
 was built of liowii chestnut and yellow poplar logs, which 
 were ver}' durable; some of them are to be found at the 
 present time in an old building on the place where Susannah 
 Reisler now lives. Authorities differ about the time of the 
 erection of the brick house; some of them place it in 1724, 
 others in 1735. There is also a difference of opinion as to 
 whether the brick used in its construction were imported 
 from England or made in the neighborhood. Elisha Rowls, 
 who died some fort}^ years ago, at the age of eighty, said his 
 father did the carpenter work of the building in 1750, after 
 the first fire when the addition was built. From informa- 
 tion obtained from him some of the old residents are of 
 opinion that the bricks were made near the house ; others 
 think they were imported from England. It is a curious 
 but well authenticated fact that the first building was roofed 
 with slate obtained somewhere along the Octoraro Creek, 
 but where, no person now living knows. In 1751 the wood- 
 work of this house was burned, and in the following year a 
 stone addition of equal size with the original structure was 
 erected — thus its capacity was doubled. In 1810 the wood- 
 work was again burned, and in the following year it was 
 replaced. Strange to say, though half of the walls of this 
 old house are stone, it still bears its original name of " the 
 Brick Meeting-house," and though the bricks have stood the 
 test of two fires in addition to their original burning, and 
 though the frosts and snows of one hundred and fifty-four 
 winters have spent their fury upon them, they appear to be 
 none the worse and look as though they might last for 
 many centuries longer. 
 
 The meeting-house called the Little Brick, standing on 
 the north side of the P. & B. Central Railroad and about 
 one mile and a quarter southwest of Ri.sing Sun, was built 
 on a lot embracing five acres and a few perches, granted on 
 the 11th day of first month, 1727, by James King and 
 William Harris, " To the people of God, called Quakers, 
 members of tlie monthly meeting of Nottingham and New 
 
154 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 (jrarden," and the money paid therefor Avas declared to be 
 the money of that people. This lot was a part of Penn's 
 lot No. 20. 
 
 The present brick building was erected in 1811. The 
 frame building previously occupied was removed to the 
 eastern side of the Rising Sun, and was there used by Ben- 
 jamin Reynolds for a carpenter shop and afterwards for a 
 stable. 
 
 In 1730 the monthly meeting of Nottingham and New 
 Garden, mentioned above, was divided into two, viz., Not- 
 tingham, held at the Brick Meeting-house; East Notting- 
 ham, and New Garden, held at New Garden, Chester County, 
 Pennsylvania, and at the same time a preparative meeting 
 was established at Little Brick. In 1732 Edward Churchman 
 was buried in the burying-ground at that place, showing that it 
 was then occupied for that purpose. He died of smallpox, 
 at the mill of Henry Reynolds, on Stone Run. 
 
 It is probable that upon the erection of this last meeting- 
 house, the names of East and West Nottingham were first 
 applied to the respective parts of the original Nottingham 
 Township. In 1729 many of the inhabitants of Susque- 
 hanna Hundred petitioned the court for a road to be laid 
 out " from the church road by the Indian town, called Pop- 
 pemetto, until it joins unto the road leading unto the 
 Quaker meeting-house at the west end of Nottingham." 
 They give as a reason why they wanted the road, that the 
 country was settling so fast that the old road was about to 
 be closed up. The church road referred to in the petition 
 was a road leading from some point near the mouth of the 
 Octoraro to the Episcopal church at the head of North 
 East, or to the chapel connected with it, that stood a short 
 distance east of Port Deposit. Nothing is known at 
 this time about the location or history of the Indian town. 
 
 The people who were settling the country so fast as to ex- 
 cite the apprehension of the inhabitants of Susquehanna 
 Hundred that their road would be closed, were the Scotch- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 155' 
 
 Irish Presbyterians who settled contiguous to Nottingham 
 and who were the founders of the Nottingham Presbyterian 
 church. The road they speak of was the one they traveled 
 from the vipper ferry (now Port Deposit) to Philadelphia, 
 and was a continuation of the old Philadelphia and Not- 
 tingham road which ran from the former place to Darby, 
 thence to Chester, thence past Concord meeting-house to 
 Kennett and New London X roads and reached Nottingham 
 at the Brick Meeting-house. Manj'' of these Scotch-Irish 
 settled on the romantic hills among which the beautiful 
 Octoraro rushes so impetuously to meet and mingle with the 
 more stately Susquehanna. Others of them settled imme- 
 diately south of the western part of Nottingham. In the 
 course of time, and as opportunity offered, many of them 
 became residents of the original Nottingham grant. The 
 Ewings, Moores, Evanses, Pattons, Maxwells and many others 
 whose descendants are now members of the West Nottingham 
 Presbyterian church, settled on or near the west part of Not- 
 tingham about this time. As early as 1724 they had organ- 
 ized a church, and it is probable, judging from the fact that 
 in 1720 their meeting-house is called the old meeting-house, 
 they were numerous enough to have organized a church 
 and erected a house of worship several years prior to the 
 year 1720. It is a matter of doubt where the first house of 
 worship stood. Even tradition, with its contradictory 
 stories, is silent upon this subject. The name of the con- 
 gregation, as it first appears on the records of the Presbyter}', 
 is the Mouth of Octoraro. Afterwards it was called Lower 
 Octoraro. In 1730 it received the name of Nottingham, by 
 which it has been known ever since, notwithstanding there 
 was an efi^ort made in 1803 to change the name to Ephesus, 
 and in 1844 to change it to Kirkwood, both of which efforts 
 failed. The history of this church and the distinguished 
 divines that have been connected with it, as well as the his- 
 tory of the Nottingham academy, will be given more at 
 length in a subsequent cha2:iter. 
 
156 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The Quaker settlement of Nottingham was frequently 
 Tisited by itinerant Friends when the}' were journeying 
 from place to place to proclaim the gospel. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that at this time the Indians still 
 lived in Lancaster County, and that a few traders were 
 stationed at- or near the mouth of the Conestoga. These 
 Indians were the remnant of the Susquehannocks that had 
 taken refuge there with theSenecas and Shawnees, from the 
 •encroachments of the settlers along the head of the bay. 
 In 1705 they were visited by the dignitaries from Penn's 
 plantations along the Delaware, who made a treaty with 
 them. The same year Thomas Chalkley visited Notting- 
 ham and as he expresses it, " had a concern upon his mind 
 to visit the Indians living near Susquehanna, at Conestoga. 
 He laid it before the elders of Nottingham meeting, with 
 which they expressed their amity and promoted my visiting 
 them." Accordingly, having secured the services of an in- 
 terpreter he, accompanied by about a dozen of the citizens, 
 set out through the forest to visit the Indians. The party 
 traveled on horseback and carried their provisions with them. 
 They spread their food upon the grass and dined under the 
 shade of the trees in the primeval forest refreshing them- 
 selves and horses with water from the river, upon whose 
 banks they had stopped to enjoy the midday meal. The 
 Indians received them kindly, and some of them gave evi- 
 dence that the preaching of this humble Quaker, whose zeal 
 was only equaled by his meekness, had touched their hearts 
 and prepared them for the reception of the divine grace and 
 light, an abundant measure of which appears to have been 
 vouchsafed to him. There were two tribes of these Indians. 
 Senecas and Shawansee. One of the tribes was governed 
 by an empress, so Chalkley calls her, whose advice the 
 Indians sought before thej^ consented to hold the meeting. 
 She appears to have been a woman of age and experience, 
 and had had a remarkable dream a short time before the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 15 T 
 
 visit of the Quakers, which seems to have left a deep im- 
 pression upon her mind. Though the Friends sanctioned 
 the preaching of women, they were surprised to find tliis 
 tribe under the government of a woman, and inquired wliy 
 it was so. The Indians replied that some women were wiser 
 than some men." 
 
 Inasmuch as many of the descendants of the first settlers 
 in Nottingham are yet living in this county, and this ac- 
 count of it would otherwise be incomplete, we append a few 
 brief sketches of some of the most prominent of them. 
 
 Benjamin Chandlee, the emigrant who planted the family 
 name at Nottingham, was the son of William Chandlee, of 
 Kilmore, in the county of Kildare, Ireland, probablj- born 
 about 1685. The next notice we find of him is on the 25th 
 of the 3d month, 1710. On that day he was married at 
 Friends' meeting, in Philadelphia, to Sarah, daughter of 
 Able Cottey, "watch maker of Philadelphia." It appears 
 that Benjamin at the time was engaged with Able Cottey in 
 business, probably as an apprentice or journeyman. 
 
 In 1706 Able Cottej^ had purchased one of the Notting- 
 ham lots from Randal Janney, some four hundred acres. 
 This lot Able conveyed to his son-in-law upon his marriage 
 to his daughter. This fortunate event induced Benjamin to 
 remove to the property soon after his marriage. Pie estab- 
 lished his trade in a small way, doing also iron work for the 
 neighbors. 
 
 It seems that Able Cottey had also became possessed of a 
 small farm adjoining the Brick Meeting-house lot. This 
 property his widow, Mary Cottey, left by will (" being aged 
 and infirm ") to her daughter, Sarah Chandlee, dated 6th 
 mo. 18th, 1712, and proven and registered at Chester, 3d 
 month 3d, 1714. She also mentions grandsons Able Cottey 
 and Cottey Chandlee, and leaves £10 to John Cottey, "if he 
 comes into these parts again." Benjamin Chandlee, the first, 
 seems to have been a man who, had opportunities offered, 
 would have risen to distinction in his profession. As it was. 
 
158 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 located in a new country where the iiidispen sable necessities 
 ■of life claim the most prompt attention, and the demand 
 for the exercise of his skill limited to the most simple pro- 
 -ducts of domestic use, he could do little more than act as a 
 pioneer for succeeding artisans. In 1741 he removed with 
 his younger children to Wilmington, Delaware, where he 
 became the ancestor of the respectable citizens of the name 
 in that vicinity. 
 
 Benjamin Chandlee, founder of the celebrated firm of 
 Chandlee & Sons, of Nottingham, manufacturers of clocks, 
 surveyors' compasses, and mathematical instruments of all 
 kinds, was the son of Benjamin Chandlee, the emigrant, born 
 at Nottingham about 1728, and resided on his father's farm 
 till it was sold on his removal, to Joseph Trimble, in 1741, 
 when he took up his residence on the lot left by Mary Cottey 
 to his mother, adjoining the meeting-house land. Here he 
 lived, and died 9th month, 18th, 1794, in the 69th 
 year of his age. In 1749 he " proceeded in mar- 
 riage with Mary Fallwell, daughter of Goldsmith Ed- 
 ward Fallwell, of Wilmington, according to the good order 
 established among Friends." Mary survived him, and after 
 a life spent in the fulfillment of Christian duty, died 10th 
 month 6th, 1806, in the 78th year of her age, both being 
 interred in East Nottingham Friends' graveyard. The em- 
 inence attained by Benjamin Chandlee in the manufacture 
 of scientific, mathematical, and chemical instruments, was 
 probably not surpassed during his time by any other firm 
 in America. After his decease the business was continued 
 with credit and success by his sons, Isaac and Ellis, -who 
 inherited their father's taste and zeal, applying their inge- 
 nuity to the production of most of the then known instru- 
 ments used in the various measurements of time, the prop- 
 erties of the magnet, electric currents, engraving, etc. 
 
 Isaac Chandlee was a member of the Society of Friends, 
 taking part in its deliberations and laboring quietly in the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. • 159 
 
 moral and religious duties assigned him. He lived unmar- 
 ried, but having secured the services of Susanna Fallwell, 
 his mother's sister, as housekeeper, his domestic comforts 
 were such as to occasion few regrets on that score. This 
 excellent lady survived him, and died in the 2d month, 1816. 
 Isaac departed this life, much regretted by his neighbors, 
 the 10th of the 12th month, 1813, aged 62 years. 
 
 Ellis discontinued the business after the loss of his bi'o- 
 ther. He had lived to see it rise, flourish and expire, and 
 to note the departure of many of his generation. He died 
 about the year 1820, leaving a family. 
 
 Cottey Chandlee, son of Benjamin, the emigrant, born at 
 Nottingham about 1713, and died there in 1807, aged about 
 94 years, was a quiet, unobtrusive Quaker, and lived 
 unmarried. 
 
 Joseph England was an approved minister in the Friends' 
 Society; son of " John England and Loue his wife ;" born 
 in 1680 at Burton, on the river Trent, in Staffordshire. In 
 1710 he married Margaret, daughter of Samuel and Joanna 
 Orbel, born at Deal in Kent, in 1685. They settled first 
 at Deal, but removed to Burton, whence, in 1752, they 
 came to America, bringing their children, John, Samuel and 
 Joanna, with them ; Joseph and Lydia were born after their 
 arrival. Joseph and Margaret departed this life, the latter 
 in 1741 and the former in 1748. The fine tract of land on 
 North East Creek that they called "Springfield" is still oc- 
 cupied in part by their descendants, and by Joseph Hamilton, 
 whose residence is on the site of the original homestead. 
 
 Among the early Friends who settled at Nottingham was 
 Jehu Kay. He purchased a tract of land called "Hind- 
 man's Legacy," which corners at Colora. The residence of 
 the late John Tosh is upon it ; also the depot and railroad 
 buildings at Colora. The Friends have a tradition that 
 this Kay was a descendant of the first male child born of 
 English parents on the site of Philadelphia after it was laid 
 out for a cit3^ In consequence, Penn jiresented him with a 
 
IGO • HISTORY OF I'JiCTL r'OUNTY. 
 
 square in the new town. His appreciation of this present 
 was r;uch that when he arrived at manhood he exchanged 
 it for a horse, saddle and bridle. 
 
 The Browns, before spoken of, were noted as well for their 
 zeal as ministers as for their enterprise and industry. The 
 mill on North East Creek, known as Hurford's mill, was 
 built by them ; and one of the sons of James Brown, who 
 married and lived near Principio iron works, had an inter- 
 est in them as early as 1718, in which year he died. In 
 1751 six of the Brown family, four men and two women, 
 were ministers of Nottingham monthly meeting. A siib- 
 stantial stone house built by Messer Brown is now (1881) 
 standing about a mile southwest of the Brick Meeting- 
 house, and is occupied by the descendants of John Church- 
 man, one of whom intermarried with a descendant of Messer 
 Brown. 
 
 Andrew Job established the first tavern in Nottingham on 
 lot number 35, about 1710, in a small brick house which is 
 believed to be yet standing a few rods north of the house 
 formerly called the Blue Ball inn, of which it was doubtless 
 the forerunner. The Blue Ball tavern being at the junction 
 of the Lancaster County and Nottingham roads, which were 
 the great thoroughfares between those places and New Cas- 
 tle a centurj' ago, was well patronized, and for a long time 
 was one of the most celebrated hotels in the countj^ The 
 Henry Reynolds who settled in Nottingham, is the reputed 
 founder of the village of Rising Sun, the original name of 
 which was Sumner Hill, by opening a public house near the 
 X Roads in the village. If tradition is to be relied upon, 
 John AVhite, who purchased lot number 29 from Robert 
 Dutton about 1717, established at that time the X Keys 
 tavern, near the Brick Meeting-house, on the spot where his 
 grandson, Abner White, many years after erected the present 
 brick edifice. 
 
 Although but a part of Welsh Tract is in Cecil County, it 
 seems proper to give a sliort sketch of its early history, 
 
niST(.)llY 01' CFX'IL COUNTY. 161 
 
 because of its close proximity to our county and intimate 
 connection Avitli and influence upon it. It was granted to a 
 colony of Welsh Baptists in 1701. Talbot had disappeared 
 some fifteen years before that time, and Penn was no doubt 
 quite as anxious to interpose a barrier on the east of New 
 Ireland by granting the Welsh their tract as he was to cut 
 Susquehanna Manor in two by his grant of Nottingham to 
 the Friends, which he did about three months afterwards. 
 The three agents who, for themselves and the company for 
 which they acted, obtained the grant of the Welsh Tract 
 from William Penn were at that time residents of Radnor 
 Township, then in Chester Countj^, Pennsylvania., where for a 
 short time most of the original Welsh settlers on the Welsh 
 Tract lived. The agreement between Penn and the agents of 
 the Welsh stated that they we-re to have " thirty thousand 
 acres, if there be so much vacant in the place hereafter ex- 
 pressed. That is to say, behind the town of New Castle 
 westward, extending northward and southward ; beginning 
 to the westward, seven miles from the said town of New 
 Castle, and extending upward and downward, as there shall 
 be found room by regular, straight lines, as near as may be." 
 The purchasers were to pay £l2 10s. for every hundred 
 acres, and were to pay for 7,000 acres at the expiration of 
 the two years next after the purchase, and for the remainder 
 of the tract at the end of the three following 3^ears ; and if 
 they failed to make the payments at the time specified, they 
 were to pay one English pound for every one hundred 
 acres as a yearly rent till such time as the other payments 
 were made. They were also to pay one English silver 
 shilling for every hundred acres as a yearly rent forever. 
 The northeast corner of the Welsh Tract is a few hundred 
 yards northeast of the depot of the Philadelphia, Wilmington 
 and Baltimore Railroad at Newark, Delaware, from which 
 the north line extended 1,446 perches, or about four and a 
 half miles, west to the northwest corner; from which the 
 western line ran due south upwards of a mile, and then by 
 a number of angles continued south, gradually bearing east, 
 
162 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 to some distance south of the Chesapeake and Delaware 
 Canah The southern and eastern boundaries were quite as 
 irregular as the western, the only straight line being the 
 northern one. The northwest corner of the tract was not 
 very far from the Big Elk Creek, and there is some evidence 
 in the land records of New Castle County of that period 
 that the land west of the upper part of the tract, and be- 
 tween it and Big Elk Creek, was granted by I'enn's agents, 
 and for a time was considered as being part of New Castle 
 County. The northwest corner of the tract is mentioned in 
 the report of a commission which marked and bounded the 
 lands of Samuel Wilson, who was the proprietor of the cele- 
 brated place called Wild Cat Swamp in 1784, but owing to 
 the division of the lands then marked and bounded, and 
 the length of time since it was done, it is not easy to ascer- 
 tain the location of the said corner at this time, ^\'ild Cat 
 Swamp has been known in modern times by the name of 
 "Cat Swamp." It is located a short distance west of where 
 the road from Elkton to Newark crosses Persimmon Run. 
 Some of the residents of that locality had rather an unenvi- 
 able reputation in former times, and at least two murders 
 were committed on or near it. Owing to the bad reputation 
 of the place it was hard to locate, and in time the name was 
 applied to a large section of country extending some miles 
 in every direction from the original Wild Cat Swamp. 
 This section of country now contains some of the best farms 
 and the most industrious, enterprising and moral people in 
 the county. 
 
 Certainly one-eighth, possibly one-fourth, of the original 
 Welsh Tract is now in Cecil County, a part of it being west 
 of the boundary line located by MasOn and Dixon more 
 than half a century after it was granted by Penn to the 
 Welsh. The object of Penn in granting this tract to the 
 Welsh was the same he had in view when he oTant(Hl Not- 
 tingham to the Friends, viz., to extend his domain as near 
 the navigable water of the Chesapeake Bay as he possiblv 
 could, and at the same time to circumscribe the limits of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 163 
 
 Maryland as defined in its charter, or ratlier to counteract 
 and destroy anj^ right that Lord Baltimore might have 
 acquired by virtue of the erection and occupation of the 
 fort before spoken of, which Talbot had erected on the 
 Christiana Creek. 
 
 The Welsh found a few settlers on their tract when they 
 took possession of it. These persons claimed under titles 
 from Lord Baltimore, and the Welsh had some trouble in 
 dispossessing them. One of them had planted a peach or- 
 chard upon Iron Hill, and, as was very natural, he was loth 
 to leave his horns. The Welsh threatened to put some of 
 these people in New Castle jail, and owing to causes hereto- 
 fore mentioned. Lord Baltimore was unable to aid them in 
 maintaining their rights, and the Welsh appear to have had 
 an easy victory. 
 
 Why the Welsh located where they did has long been a 
 mystery, for much of the land is too swampy now to be of 
 any use for any purpose, and it must have been much worse 
 a hundred and ten years ago. But probably the land in 
 Welsh tract was better than the land in Wales, and very 
 likely some inducements were offered the Welsh of which 
 we are ignorant. 
 
 Prominent among the original settlers upon the Welsh 
 Tract were the founders of the old Baptist Church upon Iron 
 Hill, which was founded one hundred and seventy-seven 
 years ago by residents of Pembroke and Carmarthenshire, 
 South Wales. 
 
 The original entry in the church record is as follows : " In 
 the year 1701 some of us who were members of the churches 
 of Jesus Christ in the counties of Pembroke and Carmar- 
 thenshire, South Wales, in Great Britain, professing believers 
 baptism, lajdng on of hands, election, and final perseverance 
 in grace, were moved and encouraged to come to these parts, 
 A'iz., Pennsylvania, and after obtaining leave of the church, 
 it seemed good to the Lord and to us, that we should be 
 formed into church order, as we were a sufficient number 
 and as one of us, Thomas Griffith, was a minister;" which 
 
164 HISTORY OF CKCIL COUNTY. 
 
 was accomplished, and they brought letters commendatory 
 with them, so that if they met with any others of like faith, 
 they might be received by them as brethren in Christ. 
 
 Among the names of this pioneer band of Baptists are 
 those of Thomas Griffith, Enoch Morgan, Mary Johns, Mar- 
 garet Matthias, and James David. In June, 1701, this little 
 band of Christians sailed from Milford Haven in the ship 
 James and Mary, and landed in Philadelphia the September 
 following. After their arrival the old church record states 
 they lived much scattered for about a year, but like good 
 Christians they were not forgetful of the apostolic injunc- 
 tion, but kept up their weekly and monthly meetings. 
 During this time their number was increased by the arrival 
 of twenty-two other members, among whom are the names 
 of Reese and Catharine Ryddarcks, Peter Chamberline, and 
 Thomas Jones, all of whom, except the first, have left de- 
 scendants who yet reside within the bounds of this ancient 
 congregation. 
 
 Reese Ryddarcks lies buried in the old church-yard be- 
 longing to the church on Iron Hill. Tradition saith he was 
 an officer and served in Cromwell's army during the trouble- 
 some times that preceded the trial and execution of Charles 
 I. A modest and unassuming tombstone marks the last 
 resting-place of the hero of many battles, who sleeps his 
 last sleep on the northern slope of the Iron Hill, near which 
 the murmuring waters of the Christiana have sung his re- 
 quiem for more than a century and three quarters. He 
 seems to have been a man of distinction, for his tombstone 
 has on it a Latin inscription, the oi^ly Latin one in the 
 graveyard. It is as follows: 
 
 RICEUS RYTHROUGH 
 
 NATUS, APUD. FFANWENOG 
 
 IN. COMITATU CARDIGAN 
 
 ET lilC SEPULKUS FUIT 
 
 AN. DOM. 1707 
 
 yETATIS fuse 87. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 165 
 
 of ■which the following is a translation : " Reese Ryddarcks, 
 born at Hanwenog, in the countj' of Cardigan, and was 
 buried in the year A. D. 1707, being 87 years of age." 
 
 This church was the third Baptist church founded in 
 America. The present meeting-house was built in 1747, 
 and is yet in a good state of preservation. It is said that 
 the floor and ceiling joists of this building were taken from 
 the first house, which was a log structure and stood near 
 the site of the present house. The bricks used in the con- 
 struction of this old house were imported from England, 
 and transported from New Castle, where they were landed, 
 in panniers upon mules. The difficulty of obtaining bricks 
 probably caused the adoption of the peculiar style of archi- 
 tecture that prevailed at this time in this country. The 
 gables of this and some other old churches stop short of the 
 height of the apex of the roof, a small part of which is 
 pitched so as to throw the water falling upon it towards the 
 end instead of the side of the building. This peculiarity 
 gives the buildings a curious and unique appearance. Many 
 of the original settlers on the southern part of Welsh Tract 
 were Presbyterians, whose religious opinions and doctrine 
 differed but little, except in the ordinance of baptism, from 
 that of their countrymen who settled on the northern part 
 of it. These Presbyterians were the founders of the Penca- 
 der Presbyterian (Jhurch at Glasgow, which in organization 
 is probably nearly as old as the Baptist church at Iron Hill. 
 
 David Evans and William Davis, two of the persons who 
 acted as agents in procuring the grant of the Welsh Tract 
 from Penn, are believed to have been Presbyterians. At 
 what time they erected their first house of worship is not 
 known. The AVelsh did not remain long at Radnor, where 
 they first stopped, but some of them soon afterwards located 
 at Trediffrein, in the great valley of Chester County, about 
 the same time that others of them settled upon the Welsh 
 Tract. 
 
 The Rev. David Evans was the first pastor of the Pen- 
 
166 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 cader Presbyterian Church. He was a native of Wales, and 
 a son of the David Evans before referred to. He com- 
 menced preaching without license or authority, but was 
 promptly stopped by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, in 
 whose jurisdiction the Pencader Church then was, which 
 ordered him to cease preaching for one year and devote 
 himself to study under the direction of one of the ministers 
 of that body. He obeyed their order and went to Yale Col- 
 lege, where he was graduated in 1713. He was licensed the 
 next year, and had charge of the united congregations of 
 Pencader and Trediffrein until 1720. It seems strange, now 
 when churches are so near together, that two churches so 
 far apart should be in the charge of the same pastor. But 
 the pioneers of Presbyterianism were men that delighted in 
 missionary labor, and were prepared to make any sacrifice 
 or undergo any hardship in order to preach the gospel to 
 those who then resided in the wilderness. It is said of some 
 of them that thej' spent one-fourth of their time in work of 
 this kind. They were eminently devoted and pious men, 
 who, with a zeal and energy not unlike his who heralded 
 the coming of our Saviour in the wilderness of Judea, 
 were ever ready to spend their strength in their Master's 
 service. To have offered them a vacation would have been 
 to have offered them an insult. They fully recognized the 
 fact that the warfare in which they were engaged would ad- 
 mit of no truce and would only end when their Captain 
 called them to go up higher ; hence it was not strange that 
 this Welsh preacher, who probably was the only Presby- 
 terian preacher in the colonies that spoke the Welsh lan- 
 guage, should have charge of two churches fifty miles apart, 
 and that he endured the hardships and labor incident to the 
 faithful performance of his duty. David Evans was a man 
 of much learning and ability, though eccentric and high- 
 spirited. He was the first stated clerk of the Presb}'tery of 
 New Castle, and was pastor of the Pencader and Trediffrein 
 churches for about six years. His successor was the Rev. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 167 
 
 Thomas Evans, who was a native of Wales and a relative 
 of the first pastor. His pastorate extended over a period of 
 about twenty years, until his death, which occurred in 1742. 
 He was an excellent scholar and had an academy at Pen- 
 cader. Near the close of his pastorate the Pencader Church 
 was rent in twain by the controversy that grew out of the 
 preaching of Whitefield. This division in the church led 
 to the organization of the Presbyterian church at the Head 
 of Elk, now Elkton. The gospel was preached in the Welsh 
 language to the Pencader congregation till 1776. The same 
 language is said to have been used for nearly a quarter of 
 a century later in the Baptist church. 
 
 This brief sketch of Welsh Tract would be incomplete 
 without a short reference to Rev. Samuel Davies, who was 
 born there on November 3d, 1723. He received his classical 
 education under the tuition of Rev. Able Morgan, a Welsh 
 Baptist minister, who had received his education from Rev. 
 Thomas Evans, at the academy at Pencader. He was of 
 Welsh extraction, became President of Princeton College, 
 and was one of the most learned and eloquent divines of the 
 times in which he lived. He was the pioneer who planted 
 Presbyterianism in A^irginia, and was sent, at the request 
 of the Synod of New York, to Europe to solicit contributions 
 in aid of Princeton College. He was a true patriot, and like 
 all the early Presbyterian divines, he was always found on 
 the side of civil and religious liberty. 
 
 Pencader, which name is now applied to one of the Hun- 
 dreds in New Castle County, is a Welsh name, and is said 
 to mean "the highest seat." If that is the meaning of the 
 word, it was probably applied to the Hundred because Iron 
 Hill, which is so high as to have been called by the early 
 Sweedish settlers " a great and high mountain" is in the north- 
 ern part of it. 
 
 Iron Hill is so called from the large quantities of iron ore 
 which it contains; and it is not improbable that the first 
 settlers were induced to locate on the Welsh Tract that tho}' 
 
168 
 
 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 might be near this deposit of useful metal. They had a 
 furnace and forge in operation on the Christiana Creek, near 
 the mine, about 1725. Abundant evidence is yet extant to 
 show that their method of mining differed from that now 
 in vogue, in this, that they sunk a shaft till they struck a 
 vein of the ore, and then followed it for long distances, many 
 feet under the earth's surface. 
 
 A few years ago the miners emploj^ed in the ore pit on 
 Iron Hill, came upon one of the galleries made by the 
 Welsh miners, and discovered a rude shovel and pick and 
 a small tallow candle, the wick of which was made of 
 flaxen yarn. The candle, though probably a century old, 
 was in a good state of preservation, but the shovel and pick 
 were so badlj' rusted that the former could be readily picked 
 to pieces with the thumb and finger. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 C'haiacte>-istiosofthe early settlers — Augustine Hermen succeeded by liis 
 son Casparus — Account of Casj auis Heimen — Faims on Bohemia Manor 
 — Death of Casparus Hermen — Succeeded by his sou Ephraim Augustine 
 — Sketch of Ephriam Augusliue Hermen — His wives aud children — John 
 Lawson marries Mary Hermen — Peter Bouchell marries Catharine Her- 
 men — I'eter Lawson — C'atharine (Hermen) Bouchell — ffer death — Joseph 
 Ensor — Quarrel about the possession of Bohemia JIauor — Joseph Ensor, 
 Jr. — Division of Bohemia JIanor — Death of Peter Lawson. 
 
 It is Avorthy of note that, although several of the centres 
 of civilization in Cecil (Jouuty were settled two centuries 
 ago, the manners, customs and religion of the original set- 
 tlers have been transmitted from generation to generation 
 of their descendants ; and although not as distinctly marked 
 now as they were at first, still the}' are j'et easily distin- 
 guished and readily noticed by the close observer. 
 
 Augustine Hermen and George Talbot differed in many 
 respects from each other, but the}' were not more different 
 than those who now live upon their respective manors. The 
 Bohemian and the Hollander; the Irish Catholic; the En- 
 glish Episcopalian ; the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian ; and the 
 meek and unassuming Quaker, have each left the well-de- 
 fined impression of their nationality and religion upon that 
 part of the county where they settled. With few exceptions, 
 wherever a churcli was planted by the early settlers, one of 
 the same denomination yet exists. The old Catholic Church 
 in Sassafras Neck, which is called Bohemia, though it is 
 some miles south of Bohemia River, the Episcopal churches 
 of St. Stephen and St. Wary Ann, and the Nottingham 
 and Rock Presbyterian churches, are notable examples 
 in proof of the truth of this assertion. The early extinction 
 
170 HISTORY OP CKCIL COUNTY. 
 
 of the Labadists is an exception ; but they were more mer- 
 cenary than religious, and their community, like most sys- 
 tems of religion which have been founded upon a false basis, 
 having had nothing but the cupidity of its devotees to hold 
 it together, soon disintegrated and iell to pieces. It is also 
 worthy of note that many of the leading families of the 
 county at the present time can trace their connection back 
 to the leading families ot two hundred years ago. This is 
 especially the case with the descendants of Hermen, many 
 of whom have occupied positions of honor and responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 It would be neither interesting nor profitable to give the 
 exact date of the smaller grants of land in the county. It 
 suffices to state that with the exception of a faw tracts along 
 the Sassafras River and the Elk Neck, which were taken up 
 about the time that Augustine Hermen settled upon Bohe- 
 mia Manor, the other portions of the county were not exten- 
 sively settled until after the beginning of the seveiiteenth 
 century. Probably nearly all of the land in the county had 
 been patented previous to 1750, though much of it still re- 
 mained uncultivated. 
 
 The reader's attention is now directed to the conclusion 
 of the history of Bohemia Manor. The time of the death 
 of Augustine Hermen, as before stated, is unknown, but it 
 probably occurred in 1686. His oldest son, Ephraim George, 
 survived him only a short time, when the vast estate which 
 his father had been at such pains to acquire passed into the 
 possession of his second son Casparus, who, in accordance 
 with the will of his father, assumed the name of Augustine. 
 He took possession of the Manor house on the 3d day of 
 June, 1690, but did not long enjoy the honor of being Lord 
 of Bohemia Manor. A law enacted in 1697 by the colonial 
 legislature, empowering his widow Catharine to dispose of 
 some of his real estate, shows that he died about that time. 
 It is probable that there was some contention about the 
 occupation of the Manor house, for there may be seen among 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 171 
 
 the papers in the Hermen portfolio in possession of the 
 Historical Society of Maryland, a sheet of paper with this 
 certificate upon it : 
 
 "Possession of the Manor house of Bohemia Manor de- 
 livered by Daniel O'Howry, the tenant in possession, to 
 Casparus Hermen, the lawful and undoubted heir of Augus- 
 tine Hermen, lately deceased, before us, this third day of 
 June, 1690. 
 
 " William Dare, 
 " Edward Jones, 
 " John Thompson." 
 
 Immediately after this is the following entry on the same 
 sheet : 
 
 " Quiet possession of the Manor house of Bohemia Manor 
 accepted and received, this 3rd day of June, 1690. 
 
 " Casparus Augustine Hermen. 
 
 "In presence of us — Wm. Dare, Edward Jones, John 
 Thompson, clerk to the Commissioners of Cecil county." 
 
 The two first-named gentlemen were no doubt justices of 
 the quorum, wiio with the clerk had been authorized to 
 invest the new lord of the manor with the rights and fran- 
 chises belonging to him. He represented this couiity in the 
 legislature in 1694, and in the same year entered into aeon- 
 tract with the General Assembly for the erection of the parish 
 church, school-house and State-house at Annapolis ; the 
 seat of government having been removed from St. Mary's to 
 that place a short time before. He was thrice married ; 
 first to Susannah Huyberts, secondly in New York, August 
 23d, 1682, to Anna Eeyniors, and thirdly in Cecil County, 
 August 31st, 1G9G, to Catharine AVilliams. He left three 
 daughters, Susaniifi, Augnstina,and Catharine, and one son, 
 
172 HISTORY OF CECIL COUXTY. 
 
 Ephraim Augustine, to whom the manor descended by the 
 terms of the deed of enfeoffment given to Ephraim George 
 by his father shortly before his death, and which has been 
 referred to before ; and also by virtue of his grandfather's 
 will, which entailed the Manor upon his descendants. 
 
 The land records of the county warrant us in believing 
 that, at the time of Casparus' death, the Manor was but 
 very sparsely settled, for up to 1733 seventy-five plantations 
 had been sold or leased by the Hermens, most of which 
 were disposed of by Ephraim Augustine, the grandson of 
 the founder of the Manor. A few of these plantations were 
 in Elk Neck and elsewhere, for Casparus was not exempt 
 from the mania for the acquisition of land that almost 
 always attacked the leading men of that time, and had ac- 
 quired a thousand acres — part of St. John's Manor, which 
 was located in the above named place, and another large 
 tract between the Conowingo and Octoraro creeks, in the 
 Eighth district. This tract was called the " Levies." It con- 
 tained upwards of a thousand acres and included the farm 
 of William Preston, which for that reason he calls " Her- 
 mendale." The legal papers of this period contain many 
 allusions to hawking and hunting, fishing and fowling, 
 wild cattle, etc. And the considerations in many of them 
 refer to the customs of manors in England. These leases 
 were made for three lives or during the lives of three per- 
 sons then living, and the tenants were to demean them- 
 selves according to the manners and customs of tenants of 
 manors in old England. 
 
 In 1715 one of these farms on the Manor was leased for 
 £1 15s. current money of Maryland, or value thereof in 
 good, sound, bright tobacco, winter wheat, barley or Indian 
 corn, at the current merchant price in Maryland. The rent 
 was generally made payable at the Manor house in the 
 month of November. In many cases a good fat capon or 
 two dung-hill fowls were exacted of the tenant as part of 
 the annual rent. One of the most curious and suggestive 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 173 
 
 considerations mentioned in these leases, is that in the lease 
 for the tract on which Port Hermen stands. It was executed 
 in 1713, and the consideration was one ear of Indian corn, 
 payable annually, if demanded in the month of November, 
 and the further consideration that the lessee was to " keep 
 two hunting hounds, that were to be part of the cry of 
 hounds that the lord of the manor then kept." This was a 
 low rent for 160 acres of land, but probably the tenant was 
 expected to devote some of his time to the entertainment of 
 his lordship, and it might have cost him more in time and 
 trotible than at first sight is apparent. 
 
 Casparus Hermen died in 1797, and, as before stated, was 
 succeeded by his son Ephraim Augustine, who was a minor 
 at the time of his father's death, and who arrived at matu- 
 rity about the year 1713. He seems to have been a man of 
 business, and represented the county in the legislature in 
 1715, 1716, 1728 and 1731. He died in 1735. His personal 
 property was appraised at £875, and consisted of a large 
 amount of household goods and eighteen negro slaves. His 
 manor plantation, consisting of 350 acres of land, is repre- 
 sented as being in a very bad condition. The house and 
 out-buildings were in a dilapidated condition, the fences 
 were down, and judging from the return of the appraisers, 
 which is recorded among the land records of the county, it 
 must have presented a forlorn and doleful appearance. 
 The land was divided into four fields, and there was on it 
 an orchard of about 450 old apple trees. The rental value 
 placed upon it was only £10, Maryland currency, after the 
 quit rent was paid. The disparity between the value of 
 the personal and real estate is very notable, and it is more 
 than likely that the proprietor of the Manor had neglected 
 his estate while attending to the public business, and sacri- 
 ficed his individual interest to the public good. The miser- 
 able condition of his plantation was probably owing to the 
 existence of slavery and the baneful effect which invariably 
 followed its introduction. He was twice married and left 
 
174 IILSTOllY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ■ two daughters, Mary and Catharine, by his first wife. The 
 name of liis first wife, and also the family name of his 
 second wife, are unknown. The given name of his second 
 wife was Araminta. The records of the county show that 
 she was married at least four times ; first to Hermen, 
 secondly to Joseph Young, thirdly to William Alexander, 
 and fourthly to George Catto. She is said to have been very 
 aristocratic and haughty. She lived to a good old age and 
 was buried in the lot a short distance southeast of the 
 dwelling-house, near Elkton, now occupied by Daniel Brat- 
 ton. By his second wife he had one son, who survived his 
 father, but died before reaching maturitj'. 
 
 A paper in the possession of the Maryland Historical 
 Society, but which has no date upon it, shows that E. A. 
 Hermen sought to obtain the king's dissent to ttie act of the 
 legislature of the colony confirming his grandfather's will. 
 This will, to which reference has been made before, was 
 properly proved and recorded, but some malicious person 
 tore out the leaves of the book upon which it was written. 
 A copy of the will being afterwards produced, it was legal- 
 ized by an act of the colonial legislature and admitted to 
 record. Ephraim's object probably was to acquire a fee 
 simple title to the Manor, as he did to Little Bohemia, as 
 ^Middle Xeck was then called, in 1724, by an act of the 
 legislature passed at his solicitation, and which broke the 
 entail of that part of his grandfather's estate. There is 
 reason to think that his motive was a mercenary one, but it 
 probably would have saved his family much trouble had he 
 succeeded in accomplishing his purpose, as the history of 
 the disputed succession to the Manor will show. Mary, or 
 Mary Augustine Hermen, as she is sometimes called, because 
 she assumed the Christian name of her great-grandfather, 
 was of very weak mind ; indeed, if tradition is true, she was 
 almost, if not altogether, an idiot. Now it so liappened that 
 a cunning and designing lawyer, one John Lawson, made 
 the acquaintance of this idiotic girl and fell in love, not 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 175 
 
 with her, but with her fortune, and resolved to marry lier 
 that lie might obtain it. In order to accomplish his pur- 
 pose he sought every opportunity to be thrown in contact 
 with the young lady, and was in the habit of taking her 
 carriage-riding with him for long distances. Nor was this 
 all, for upon these occasions, in order to secure the success 
 of his well-laid scheme, he taught her to repeat, much like 
 a parrot would have done, the proper answers to such ques- 
 tions as he believed a jury would ask her when empaneled 
 to ascertain whether or not she was compos mentis. It is 
 highly probable, indeed it is almost certain, that during 
 this time she was under the care of her stepmother, Mrs. 
 Alexander, who probably Avas not cognizant of Lawson s 
 nefarious scheme to entrap her, and who, if she was, may 
 have been gratified with the prospect of being relieved of 
 the responsibility of taking care of her. Owing to the 
 strenuous and persistent efforts of the designing Lawson, 
 the young lady was so well instructed when the proper time 
 arrived, which was probably when she reached maturity 
 and was about to take possession of her share of the Manor, 
 that she answered the questions propounded by the jury so 
 intelligently that they pronounced her to be of sound mind, 
 and she was legally invested with one-half of the rents and 
 profits of the Manor. Lawson soon afterward sought another 
 opportunity to take her out carriage-riding. During this 
 ride he and the heiress were married, and the deep-laid 
 scheme that put him in possession of one-half of the princely 
 domain that Augustine Hermen obtained in order to per- 
 petuate his name was successfully accomplished. This hap- 
 pened some time previous to the year 1751, for the records 
 of the county show that in that year Peter Augustine 
 Bouchell, who was of an ancient family that came to tlie 
 Manor while the Labadists were in the heyday of their 
 power and prosperity, and who had married Catharine 
 Hermen, the sister of the simple-minded woman, and John 
 Augustine Lawson, jointly leased several plantations on the 
 Manor. 
 
176 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 These two persons, the reader will observe, both assumed 
 the name of " Augustine," in accordance with the will of 
 their wives' great-grandfather. Young Hermen, the half- 
 brother of these ladies, being dead, they were, or were sup- 
 posed to be, the sole and rightful heirs of the Manor, which 
 then was divided into upwards of fifty plantations, most of 
 which had been leased by former proprietors for long terms 
 of years, for what now would be considered very low rents. 
 These rents were generally made payable at the Manor 
 house, semi-annually, at Christmas and Whitsuntide. All, 
 or a large number of them, were payable in grain or tobacco, 
 and frequently a pair of good fat capons or dung-hill fowls 
 were added as part of the rent, so that the table of the lord 
 of the Manor might be well supplied with poultry. 
 
 The widow of Ephraim A. Hermen (then Mrs. Catto) was 
 living at this time and was in the enjoyment of her share 
 of the income derived from the Manor. During the life of 
 Catharine, her husband, Peter Bouchell, (as appears from a 
 bill filed in the court of chancery, by Joseph Ensor, in 1760, 
 a copy of which is in possession of the Maryland Historical 
 Society), received the rents from the lessees of the Manor 
 plantations, and kept the accounts incident to the business 
 transactions between himself and the other heirs, whose 
 agent he seems to have been, and the tenants. 
 
 John Lawson and Peter Bouchell and their wives were in 
 the enjoyment of the Manor as joint tenants for several 
 years, and no doubt had a fine time; but the designing 
 Lawson was at length brought face to face with an enemy, 
 in combating wiiom his legal knowledge and cunning 
 availed him nothing. He seems to have done the best he 
 could to secure the property he so meanly acquired to his 
 brother Peter Lawson. This Peter Lawson had received a 
 power of attorney from his brother John and wife in 1751, 
 which empowered him to transact all business appertaining 
 to their share of the Manor, and it is probable that he con- 
 tinued to be their attorney until the time of his brother's 
 
1IISTU1;Y <1F CECIL COUNTY. 177 
 
 death. John Lav.'son's will is dated September 3d, 1755. 
 It was admitted to probate on the 13th of the following 
 October. He devised all his property, real and personal, to 
 his brother Peter, and the records of the Orphan's Court show 
 show that his wife gave notice on the day his will was proved, 
 that she would not abide by it, and that she demanded 
 her third of the property, agreeable with the act of Assembly, 
 from which it is inferred that her husband had presumed 
 to dispose of her sh^re of the Manor in his will. On the 4th 
 of December, 1755, this simple-minded Mary Lawson leased 
 her share of the Manor to the aforesaid Peter Lawson* " for 
 21 years, or during the lives of Judith Bassett and Michael 
 and Richard Bassett, her sons." This is the first reference 
 in the records of the countj' to Richard Bassett, who became 
 a distiijguished lawyer, and was a member of the conven- 
 tion that framed the Constitution of the United States ; after- 
 wards a member of Congress and Governor of the State of 
 Delaware. He was also a warm friend of Francis Asbury, 
 and a leading and influential member of the Methodist 
 church. 
 
 On the da}' following the date of this lease, the widow of 
 John Lawson gave her brother-in-law, Peter Lawson, a spe- 
 cial power of attorney to act for her in all business matters 
 pertaining to the management of her share of the Manor. 
 In this instrument she convenanted not to interfere with 
 him in the management of her estate; from which it seems 
 plain that she had unlimited confidence in him, or that she 
 was certainly the simple-minded mortal that tradition states 
 her to have been. At all events, Peter Lawson seems to have 
 been as securely invested with one undivided half of the 
 
 "" Peter Lawson was never married ; about fifty years previous to 1787 
 he went to live witli the Bassetts, who were his relatives and who kept 
 a tavern a* Bohemia Ferry, and continued to reside with them for many 
 years, until the time of Mrs. Bassett's death. For some reason Mr. Bas-' 
 sett deserted his wife, and Lawson seems to have acted as clerk in the 
 tavern. See Cecil Co., Land Records, book 17, page 37?.. 
 
 L 
 
178 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Manor as circumstances permitted him to be. He is de- 
 scribed as "inn-holder" in the lease from Mary Lawson, 
 which indicates that he had succeeded the Bassetts as pro- 
 prietor of the tavern at Bohemia Ferry, which still continued 
 to be a place of much importance. A short time after this, 
 in 1760, Peter Bayard, who was probably inspector of tobac- 
 co, refused to repair the inspection house at the ferry, that 
 place being one of the places designated for the inspection 
 of that staple, which was then cultivated to a considerable 
 extent upon the Manor and in that part of the county south 
 of the Bohemia River. 
 
 Catharine Hermen, the reader will recollect, married Peter 
 Bouchell. She died about the year 1752, leaving two daugh- 
 ters, Mary and Ann. Mary married Joseph Ensorin 1757 ; 
 and Ann, being quite young, was raised by her grand- 
 mother, Maiy Holland. This is so stated in a bill filed in 
 chancer}' to compel Joseph Ensor (who had been appointed 
 her guardian in 1757) to pay her her share of the rents. This 
 Mary Holland must have been the mother of Peter Bou- 
 chell, who had married a gentleman by the name of Hol- 
 land. 
 
 Joseph Ensor was a member of the Ensor family who set- 
 tled in Baltimore County very early in the histor}' of the col- 
 ony. At this time he was called Joseph Ensor, merchant, of 
 Baltimore County. The family at one time owned a large tract 
 of land just east of Jones' Falls, upon which part of the city 
 of Baltimore has been built. Joseph Ensor is believed to 
 have resided in North Elk Parish in 1760, for the birth of 
 his eldest son, Augustine Hermen Ensor, may yet be seen 
 upon the register of that parish, and was recorded in that 
 year. In 1760 " he and his wife and Ann Bouchell, an in- 
 fant by the said Joseph Ensor, her next friend," instituted a 
 suit in chancery against Peter Lawson and Mary Lawson, 
 alleging that they and John Lawson, for a long time had 
 collected the rents of the Manor, as had also Peter Bouchell, 
 and that Peter Bouchell had kept a book of memorandums 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 179 
 
 of the rents received from the said Manor and leased lands, 
 and " which rents amounted to the sum of £1,000 or some 
 other large sum of money, besides a very great number of 
 dung-hill fowls received as rent on the said leases," and that 
 the said Ma.Ty Lawson had actually felled, cut down, and 
 carried away, off and from the Manor plantation sundry 
 and great quantities of wood and timber, insomuch that 
 there is not left on that plantation any quantity of timber 
 to support the same, nor fire-wood sufficient therefor for any 
 number of years, etc.; praying that they might be compelled 
 to make discovery of the book kept by Bouchell and of the 
 rents since received, and be enjoined to desist from the 
 waste of the timber, etc.; to which the defendant replied at 
 the April term of court, 1761, that on tlie death of Ephraim, 
 their half brother, Catharine and Mary had possession of 
 the said Manor, claiming and taking the same in right and 
 quality of joint tenants in tail in remainder, according to 
 express words and stipulations of Augustine Hermen's will ; 
 that the two sisters continued to hold the Manor till the 
 death of Catharine, when her husband Peter Bouchell, took 
 his wife's part as tenant by courtes}', and continued to re- 
 ceive one half the rent during his life, and that no parti- 
 tion of the Manor had ever been made ; that the joint ten- 
 ancy continued to exist till the time of the death of Catlia- 
 rine, and that Mary was entitled to hold by right of sur- 
 vivorship, and that they were not obliged to make any dis- 
 covery, etc. In other words, that Mary Lawson was the 
 heir of her sister, Catharine Bouchell's part of the Manor. 
 As for the rents, arrearages and profits, the dung-hill 
 fowls, etc., and the book of memorandums, they, the said 
 defendants, demurred thereto, alleging that, inasmuch as 
 the plaintiffs had no title to the Manor they were not re- 
 sponsible ior those things, and furthermore that the plain- 
 tiffs had instituted three several suits at common law for 
 the recovery of the rents, etc. The demurrer Avas not sus- 
 tained, and the cause remained in court till tlie September 
 term, 1763, when it was stricken off tlie docket. 
 
180 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 In 1762 Elisor and wife suffered a recovery of all the 
 Manor, the effect of which was to break the entail and give 
 them a fee-simple title to the half of the Manor claimed by 
 Mrs. Ensor under the will of her great-great-grandfather. 
 Mrs. Lawson, who was no doubt instigated by her brother- 
 in-law, Peter Lawson, some time afterwards, probably in 
 1765, resorted to the same legal proceeding, with a like re- 
 sult as to her share of the Manor. It is worthy of remark 
 that Samuel Paca, one of the signers of the Declaration of In- 
 dependence, once resorted to this legal fiction or process in 
 order to effect a recovery, and by that means became in- 
 vested with a fee-simple in that part of the Manor known 
 as Town Point. Mary Lawson had resorted to the same 
 proceeding in 1760, but Ensor resisted her in the provin- 
 cial court, where the proceedings were had, and the 
 court, after a full hearing of the witnesses on both sides, 
 was unanimously of the opinion that she was not capa- 
 ble of "suffering a recovery, by reason of her insanity 
 of mind." However, in 1766 she gave Michael and Richard 
 Bassett a deed for a thousand acres of land each for the 
 small consideration of " five shillings, and on account of the 
 love and natural affection she bore toward the said Michael 
 and Richard Bassett, the sons of her loving cousin, Judith 
 Bassett." This fact indicates that Judith Bassett was a descen- 
 dant of Judith Hermen, the second daughter of the founder 
 of the Manor. On the 9th of December, 1766, she executed 
 a deed in favor of Peter Lawson for her undivided half of 
 the Manor, excepting the 2,000 acres which she had con- 
 veyed to her cousins the Bassetts. The consideration named 
 in this deed is five shillings and an annuity of £100 Maryland 
 currency. ■ One of the witnesses to this deed was George Catto, 
 her stepmother's husband. This deed effectually accom- 
 plished what John Lawson's will had failed to do, and per- 
 fected that which the Lawsons had vainly tried for many 
 years to accomplish, namely, the acquisition of i\Iary Law- 
 son's share of Bohemia Manor. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 181 
 
 The before-mentioned recoveries were made without any 
 reference to the deed of enfeoffment given to Ephraim George 
 Hermen, by the founder of the Manor, on the 9th of August, 
 1684 ; indeed it is stated in a legal opinion by Thomas 
 Johnson, Jr., a distinguished lawyer of that day, which may 
 be seen among the Hermen papers now in the possession of 
 the Historical Society, that the said deed was not known to 
 be in existence when the aforesaid transactions took place. 
 The discovery of this deed put a new phase upon the mat- 
 ter ; and Ensor, following the advice of Daniel Delaney, 
 another eminent counselor, who was of the opinion that the 
 descendants of Casparus Hermen's daughters were legally 
 entitled to the Manor b}' virtue of the jDro vision of this deed 
 of enfeoffment, set to work to hunt them up and purchase 
 their rights. 
 
 This view of the case makes it necessary to refer to the 
 daughters of Casparus Hermen, who the reader will recol- 
 lect was the grandfather of Ann Bouchell and Mary Law- 
 son. This gentleman, as before stated, left three daughters, 
 Susanna, Augustina and Catharine. The first named mar- 
 ried James Creagear, the second Roger Larramore, the third 
 Abel A^an Burkelow. Each of them was dead at this time, 
 but two of them had left heirs. The heirs of Susanna Gra- 
 venrod* lived in New Castle, those of Catharine Van Burke- 
 low in Virginia. But Joseph Ensor seems to have been a 
 man of determination and he sought them out, and in 
 order to make his claim to the Manor doubly sure, he pur- 
 chased any right they had or were supposed to have in it. 
 It is curious to observe the old English custom that still 
 prevailed when these purchases were consummated. A 
 large number of these heirs constituted Samuel Beedle, 
 (Biddle) their attorney, to invest Ensor with possession of 
 
 * The genealogy of the Graveniods has not been ascertained, but they 
 were evidently the descendants of one of the daugliters of Casparus Her- 
 men. 
 
182 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the Manor. And it is shown by papers in the possession of 
 the Maryland Historical Society, that "Samuel Beedle 
 attorney for Catharine Gravenrod, having taken possession 
 and livery of all Bohemia Manor, or of some part thereof 
 in the name of the whole, for Catharine Gravenrod, did 
 deliver the same to Joseph Ensor, on the 27th day of Feb- 
 ruary, 1767." 
 
 The Van Burkelows have been mentioned before, and it 
 may be interesting to our readers to know that they were 
 the descendants of Herman Van Burkelow, who lived with 
 the Labadists in 1683, at which time he was twenty-one years of 
 age. He was probably one of the original colony. The name 
 has been applied to a small stream on the Manor now called 
 Burkalow Creek. After Ensor purchased the rights of the 
 heirs of Casparus Hermen, he, as was very natural, wished 
 to get possession of all his lands. To this end he consulted 
 his attorney, Daniel Delaney, and made the following state- 
 ment : " Col. Peter Bayard and Dr. Bouchell were guardians 
 to my wife and Ann Bouchell, her sister. After their father's 
 decease, they kept the Manor plantation one year, and then 
 divided it with Mrs. Lawson and Mrs. Catto, who had her 
 dower in it." " Catto rented his wife's part to Lawson and 
 kept it till Mrs. Catto's death, and now refuses to give up 
 the half of her part to me, and has, ever since he had her 
 part, stopped up the road to the Manor house. I want to 
 know how I shall get possession of that part that falls to us 
 at Mrs. Catto's death and get the road opened," etc. 
 
 This was in 1766, and it seems to indicate that Mrs. 
 Catto was dead at the time. Delaney recommended a re- 
 sort to legal proceedings, in the prosecution of which Ensor 
 was probably successful. In 1768 Joseph Ensor seems, after 
 long continued litigation and much expense, to have been 
 in the undisturbed possession of one undivided half of the 
 Manor, for in that year he mortgaged it and some other 
 land in Baltimore County, a part of which was called by the 
 curious name of "Seed Ticks Plenty," to Charles Carroll, of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 183 
 
 Carrollton, for the sum of £3,191. In 1774 he became 
 afflicted with the mania that often prevailed in the early 
 history of the county of building a town at Court House 
 Point. But the land was heavily mortgaged, and no person 
 would invest in town lots so encumbered. Ensor accord- 
 ingly induced Carroll to release twentj^-five acres at the 
 aforesaid point for this purpose, and gave him his bond con- 
 ditioned for the execution of a mortgage on the ground 
 rents of the town lots, which were to be leased for ninety- 
 nine years, renewable forever for a yearlj^ rent of not less 
 than forty shillings per acre. 
 
 This brings us to the troublesome time of the Revolution, 
 when the people of this country were no doubt thinking 
 more about defending the towns they already had than the}'' 
 were of building others, and Ensor met with no better suc- 
 cess than his predecessors. Joseph Ensor and wife were the 
 parents of at least three children, the oldest of whom bore the 
 Christian name of Augustine Hermen, and was accidentally 
 killed, while celebrating his twenty -first birthday, by being 
 thrown from his horse while fox hunting, on Januarj^ 28th, 
 1781. His other son, whose name was Joseph, was an idiot, 
 with probably still less sense than his grand-aunt, Mary 
 Hermen. He is said, by old residents of the Manor, whose 
 parents were well acquainted with him, to have been very 
 fond of dogs, and to have always been accompanied by 
 several of them. He had a habit peculiar to many simple- 
 minded persons of wandering about in an almost nude con- 
 dition, without any definite object in view, and frequently 
 slept in fodder houses, which were rude structures much in 
 vogue in those days, built of poles and covered with corn 
 fodder. Frequently in the mornings, after spending a 
 night in one of these houses, he would awake, and finding 
 the dogs had left him, in search of food, he would call them 
 in stentorian tones and a curious nasal twang that could be 
 heard for a long distance. Simple though he was, he knew 
 that he was lord of the Manor, or at least the heir of ono- 
 
184 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 fourth of it, and it is said ho would often draw a circle 
 i-ound him on the ground with his cane, and defy any per- 
 son who disputed his right to the title to cross it. Joseph 
 Ensor's other child, Mary, married Colonel Edward Oldham, 
 who was an officer of great bravery and much distinction, 
 and who served in the Continental army under General 
 Greene, in the campaign in the Carolinas. 
 
 The time of Ensor's death is uncertain, but it occurred 
 about the close of the Revolutionary war. He lived on the 
 Manor for some years previous to his death, and was prob- 
 ably buried tliere. Peter Lawson is believed to have oc- 
 cupied the Manor house near Bohemia Ferry, as before 
 stated, at the time of his death. In 1791 he sold one un- 
 divided third part of his share of the Manor to Richard 
 Bassett and Dr. Joshua Clayton for £2,300. He had 
 previously sold to Bassett a plantation on the Manor, con- 
 taining 450 acres, for the small sum of twent}' shillings. A slip 
 of paper to be seen among the Hermen papers, in possession 
 of the Mai'yland Plistorical Society, contains several mem- 
 orandums, among which it is stated that he was at that 
 time " deranged in his understandings," which is not 
 strange, considering that the greater part of his life seems 
 to have been spent in litigation. 
 
 Richard Bassett, the reader will recollect, had received a 
 gift of one thousand acres of the Manor Irom Mary Law- 
 son, which in addition to the portions purchased from 
 Lawson, probably was equivalent in extent to the share of 
 Mary Lawson. 
 
 About the close of the Revolutionary war Charles Car- 
 toll instituted legal pi'oceedings to foreclose his mortgage 
 upon Joseph Ensor's share of the Manor. But the Manor 
 had never been divided, and Ensor, who was then dead, had 
 during his lifetime continually resisted a jiartition of it. 
 Part of it being in Delaware, it is easy to comprehend the 
 difficulty of foreclosing a niortgage under such circumstances, 
 but the legal talent of that day was equal to the emergency, 
 and accordingly, in ] 780, the legislature of Maryland passed 
 
HISTORY OL' CECIL COUNTY. 185 
 
 an act empowering the Court of Chancery to appoint two 
 commissioners to act in conjunction with two others to be 
 appointed by the Court of Chancery of Delaware (the legis- 
 lature of which State passed a like act in 1790) to divide 
 the Manor between Peter Lawson, Charles Carroll, Joseph 
 Ensor, Esq., his guardian, and Edward Oldham, and Mary, 
 his wife, whose approbation and consent to this method of 
 settling the dispute had been obtained. Stephen Hyland 
 and Tobias Rudolph were appointed by the court of Mary- 
 land and Isaac Grantham and Robert Armstrong by the 
 court of Delaware. These gentlemen caused the Manor to 
 be accurately surveyed, and found that it contained about 
 20,000 acres. They divided it into four parts, two of which 
 they assigned to Peter Lawson. One-fourth part they gave 
 to Charles Carroll, and the other to Joseph Ensor and Ed- 
 ward and Mary Oldham, to be held by them in severalty, 
 except the share of the Oldhams. These proceedings were 
 ratified and confirmed by the courts of the respective States, 
 and the litigation that had lasted for more than half a cen- 
 tury was ended, as was also the legal existence of Bohemia 
 Manor, that had continued for a period of one hundred and 
 twenty-eight years. Charles Carroll sold his shai'e in 1793, 
 for £9,827 JOs., to Joshua Clayton, Richard Bassett and Ed- 
 ward Oldham, who were then in possession. It contained 
 3,931 acres, and was bounded on the north bj' Back Creek 
 and embraced a portion or all of that part of the Manor that 
 was in Delaware. 
 
 James A. Bayard afterwards married the only daughter 
 of Ricliard Bassett, and in this way came into possession of 
 that part of the Manor that his descendants still own. 
 
 Peter Lawson's will was proved in 1792. Tie claimed one- 
 half of the Manor and devised the bulk of his estate to Rich- 
 ard Bassett, who was the executor of his will, and directed 
 that he should "support and maintain Mrs. Mary A. Lawson 
 with everything that is necessary during her natural life, or 
 pay her or the person who may take and provide for her as 
 above, the sum of £100 annuallv in gold or silver." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Van Bibbers— They settle on Bohemia Manor— Their mill— John 
 Jawert marries Casparns Hermen's widow— Keeps Elk Ferry— Wild 
 stock— Rangers— Collection of the King's revenue— Wild animals- 
 Trade with England— Bill of lading— Slave trade— The Jesuit mission 
 at Bohemia— The Cross Paths— James Heath, the founder of Warwick — 
 Bohemia a port of entry — Ancient cross — Father Mansell — Peter Atwood 
 and other Jesuits — The Jesuit school— Efforts to suppress the Jesuit 
 mission — Labors of the Jesuit Fathers. 
 
 Prominent among the early settlers of Bohemia Manor 
 were two brothers, Isaac and Matthias Van Bibber. Their 
 father, Jacob Isaacs Van Bibber, Avas a Hollander, and was 
 one of the first settlers of Germantown. His sons, the two 
 brothers before mentioned, were natives of Holland, and 
 were naturalized in Maryland in 1702. Previous to coming 
 to Maryland they had been engaged in merchandizing at 
 Philadelphia. In 1702 Mathias ^'^an Bibber bought part of 
 John Moll, Jr.'s land, which the reader will recollect was the 
 easternmost of the four necks which comprised the Labadie 
 Tract. Two years afterwards he bought another portion of 
 the same tract, and in 1708 his brother Isaac bought 130 
 acres of it, which he and his wife Fronica sold to Matthias, 
 in 1711, for £150, which, it is stated in the deed, had been 
 expended in the erection of a mill then occupied by the said 
 Isaac. This mill was located upon a branch of the Bohemia, 
 called Mill Creek, on the site of what was formerly known 
 as Sluyter's mill, every vestige of which has long since dis- 
 appeared, even the land once covered by the dam now being 
 cultivated. This is the first mill mentioned in the history 
 of that part of the county. It was built a short time before 
 the date of the deed. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 187 
 
 Matthias Van Bibber appears to have been fond of the 
 acquisition of land, for in 1714 he purchased St. Augustine 
 Manor of Ephraim Augustine Hermen for £300. This Manor 
 was directly east of Bohemia Manor and was separated from it 
 by an old cart-road, which was known then and for many years 
 afterwards as the " Old Choptank Road." It was originally 
 an Indian path that led from the Choptank River along 
 the dividing ridge between the two bays, probably far up 
 into Pennsylvania, but was laid out and cleared from the 
 head of St. George's Creek to the Chester River, twelve feet 
 wide, for a cart-road, in 1682, by Casparus Hermen and 
 Hugh McGregory, who were appointed for the purpose by 
 the court. The road had been used so little that it was 
 then overgrown with young timber and its location was 
 doubtful, consequently the boundaries of the Manor were 
 unknown. A'^an Bibber claimed that the road from the 
 head of Elk to the head of Bohemia, which ran near the 
 head of Back Creek, was the boundary between the two 
 Manors. Whereupon Hermen obtained a commission from 
 the court to ascertain the eastern boundary of Bohemia 
 Manor, and in this Vay to settle the dispute. The commis- 
 sioners, who were John Dowdall, Captain Benjamin Pearce, 
 Francis Mauldin and William Dare, met in September, 1721, 
 and after taking the testimony of several witnesses, fixed 
 the location of the Choptank Road, and thus ended the dis- 
 pute. The alienation fee claimed by the Proprietary of 
 Maryland was paid when the sale of St. Augustine Manor 
 was consummated, showing that it was then claimed as part 
 of Maryland. Matthias Van Bibber also became the proprie- 
 tor of Van Bibber's Forest, which was patented to him in 1720. 
 This was a large tract of land in the Third district, near 
 Mechanics' Valley, containing 850 acres. In addition to 
 this he owned another tract, which is described in his will 
 as his plantation at the head of Elk. It was located a short 
 distance southeast of the mansion of Hon. J. A. J. Creswell. 
 Matthias Van Bibber was for a long time chief justice ot the 
 
188 IIISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 county and occupied that responsible position when the 
 court-house was built at C'ourt House Point. 
 
 Isaac ^"an Bibber's will was proved in 1723. He left 
 three sons, .Jacob, Peter and Isaac, and three daughters, 
 Hester, Christiana and A^eronica. Matthias Van Bibber's 
 will was proved in 1739. He left four sons, Jacob, Adam, 
 Mattliias and Henry, and four daughters, Sarah, Ptebecca, 
 Christiana and Hester. He bequeathed his land at Plead of 
 Elk to his son Jacob ; his dwelling plantation, which was 
 part of the Labadie Tract, to his son Adam ; Clifton, in 
 Middle Neck, he devised to his sons Matthias and Henry, 
 and his part of .St. Augustine Manor to his daughters, Sarah 
 and Rebecca. 
 
 Henr}' Van Bibber, brother of Isaac and Matthias, came 
 to Cecil County about 1720. His will, which was written in 
 Utrecht, is to be found among the records of the Orphans' 
 Court, and lieing a literal translation from the original Dutch 
 is probably the most curious document in the archives of 
 the county. 
 
 These members of the A'^an Bibber family were contem- 
 poraries of the grandson of Augustine Hermen, and proba- 
 bly occupied a more conspicuous place in this part of the 
 history of the county than any other family then residing 
 in it. The descendants of these Van Bibbers intermarried 
 with the Petersons and acted a conspicuous part in the his- 
 tory of St. Augustine Manor. They continued to hold some 
 of the land there as late as 1840, when Henry Van Bibber, 
 of Virginia, sold it to Robert Cochran, father of J. P. Coch- 
 ran, late governor of Delaware, who yet owns it. 
 
 Dr.W. C.Van Bibber,of Baltimore,and his brother, Thomas 
 E. Van Bibber, the distinguished author of the "Flight into 
 Egypt," are descendants of the Van Bibbers of Bohemia 
 Manor, many members of which were noted for their pat- 
 riotism in the Revolutionary war. Their grandfather, Isaac 
 Van Bibber, was commercial agent of the colonial govern- 
 ment in tlic West Indies at that time. He was a son of one 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 189 
 
 of the three Van Bibbers who have been referred to as 
 being among the early settlers on the Manor. 
 
 John Jawert, who was surveyor of the county in 1707, 
 married the widow of Casparus Plermen. He is believed to 
 have lived at Germantown before he came to Bohemia 
 Manor. He was one of the justices of the quorum, that is to 
 say, he was one of the number of justices specially commis- 
 sioned to hold courts, which at that early day appear to 
 have been somewhat like the ancient English courts leet. 
 These justices were frequently called commissioners. In 
 1714 Jawert and his wife relinquished their right to the 
 Manor brick house, which they occupied in common at that 
 time with Ephraim Augustine Hermen.the son of Casparus, 
 in consideration of which he was to build them a house 
 "five and thirty feet long and 20 feet wide, with two chim- 
 neys and two windows." The house was to be plastered), 
 and in addition to it they were to have the use of one hun- 
 dred and fifty acres of land. The Manor brick house re- 
 ferred to is the old brick house which was built by the foun- 
 der of the Manor, on the bank of the Bohemia River, and 
 which, with its contents, including many valuable paintings, 
 were afterwards destroyed by fire. 
 
 Jawert's will was proved in 1726. No real estate is men- 
 tioned in it, and he is believed to have left no children. He 
 was keeper of Elk Ferrj^, between Elk Neck and Court House 
 Point, in 1720, and was accused of leaving it to the manage* 
 ment of negro slaves, who neglected it. The citizens of the 
 county, after much trouble, had him removed, and Herman 
 Kinkcy, who kept a tavern and had a plantation on the Elk 
 Neck side of the river, was appointed in his place. In 1713, 
 Jawert purchased a large tract of land from his stepson 
 Herman, called Town Point Neck or " Jawert's Delight," for 
 ■£33. This land was adjoining the tract upon which Port 
 Herman now stands. 
 
 At this time the stock of the early settlers was allowed to 
 run wild in the forests, and after the lapse of. years became 
 
190 HISTOKY OF CECIL COUXTY. 
 
 very plentiful. The county was very sparsely settled and 
 but little of it was under cultivation, and much of it being 
 covered with the oric;inal growth of timber, which afforded 
 shelter for these animals, they increased very fast. It was 
 customary for the owTiers of this stock to mark it in some way, 
 commonly by making a number of slits, notches or holes in 
 one or both the animals' ears. This custom was recognized by 
 an act of the legislature, which provided for the registration of 
 these marks among the records of the county. Some pages 
 of the record books are yet extant in which are to be found the 
 names of the marks used by our forefathers. A swallow tail, 
 which appears to have been made by shaping the end of 
 the ear like the forked tail of that bird, was one of the 
 favorite marks. The under-keel which was made by cut- 
 ting a long oval strip from the ear, was another ; a number 
 of notches, slits or holes, and every conceivable combination 
 of under-keels and swallow tails are among the number of 
 recorded marks. As early as 1687 George Talbot, it will be 
 remembered, speaks of the wild horses and neat cattle upon 
 Susquehanna Manor, and in 1705 the Quaker preacher, 
 John Churchman, speaks of the trouble he experienced from 
 wild horses enticing away the colt which accompanied the 
 mare upon which he rode while upon an errand for his 
 father. Many of these cattle and horses were unmarked 
 and ran wild in the forests, and owing to the fact that some 
 of the land was yet in the possession of the lord proprietary, 
 he claimed them as his own. 
 
 In 1715 an act was passed by the legislature in reference 
 to these animals, which provided for the appointment of an 
 officer in each county where they prevailed, whose duty it 
 was to capture this wild stock. He was called the ranger, 
 and was appointed by the governor and council upon the 
 recommendation of the justices of the quorum in the county 
 where he resided. His compensation was one-half of the 
 stock he captured. John Ryland is the first person men- 
 tioned in the records of the county as ranger. In 1722 he 
 
HISTORY OF CECIT. (Dr/XTY. 191 
 
 petitioned the court to be discharged from the office; but 
 the court not having appointed him, rejected tlie petition. 
 In 1724 Tliomas Johnson presented a petition to the court, 
 stating tliat he was a jierson of "good name, fame and re- 
 pute," and prayed the court to recommend him for ranger 
 of the county, which they did. 
 
 A fragment of book two of the original land records of the 
 county, containing forty-seven leaves, is yet extant, in which 
 is to be found the copy of a power of attorney from "Peter 
 Coode, commander of his majesties' advice boat, the J/c-s- 
 senger, attending the province of Maryland," to John Fowke, 
 then belonging to the said advice boat, authorizing him to 
 "collect from all persons in Maryland or any of the terri- 
 tories thereunto belonging, be ye same in any manner of ye 
 production of the growth of ye said province, as tobacco, 
 Indian corn, peas, beans, and all manner of cattle whatso- 
 ever for and in my name but to his own proper use." This 
 document Avas given in 1701, and bears upon its face evi- 
 dence that the collector of the king's revenue was farming 
 out the emoluments of his office. A detached leaf of another 
 book contains an account of the receipts of taxes for part of 
 the year 1696. Among the items in it are the following: 
 
 " Received of Mr. James Gouts, for importing seven hun- 
 dred and fifty-two gallons of rum, £28 lis. 6d. 
 
 "Received of John Smith, for 124 gallons of rum, £4 13s. 
 
 " Received of Capt. Deane Cook, for exporting of 30 cubbs, 
 30 bears, 100 deer skins, 100 racoon, 30 fox and cat, and 10 
 fishers, £.1, 18s. 9rf. 
 
 " Received of Matthias Clements, for import of two negro 
 boys and one woman, £3. 
 
 " Received of Col. Wm. Pearce, for import of two negro 
 men, £2. 
 
 " Received of Capt. Wm. Surfing, for export of 12 racoon, 
 14 fox, 2 otter, and 2 muskrat skins, 2s. 31<i." 
 
 The tax levied upon the skins exported from the province 
 was for the support of free schools, the act for the establish- 
 ment of whicli was passed in IGDo. 
 
192 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The foregoing is only a small part of the account, but it 
 serves to show the character of the exports and imports of 
 the count)' at that time. The great staples of importation 
 were rum and negroes; the staple articles of export were 
 skins of animals, which were still abundant, and tobacco. 
 "What kind of a " varmint" the fisher was has not been as- 
 certained. His hide, however, appears to have been valuable, 
 else it would not have been exported. As late as 1724 Ben- 
 jamin Allen praj's the court for an allowance due him for 
 one wolf's head and thirty-eight squirrels' heads which had 
 been omitted in the lev}' for that year. The same year Cor- 
 nelius McCormack prays to be allowed for eighty-six squir- 
 rels' heads and a large number of crows' heads. These ani- 
 mals were so numerous and destructive for a long period, 
 that the legislators of the colony set a price upon their heads 
 for the purpose of keeping them in subordination. This 
 served a good purpose, for money was scarce and squirrels 
 and crows were plenty, and the taxpayers were allowed to 
 pay their taxes in squirrels and crows' heads, which was a 
 great advantage to them, as well as to the commonwealth. 
 In 1680 wolves seem to have been very plenty in the adjoin- 
 ing county of New Castle, for the court ordered "fifty wolf 
 pits or houses to be made," and enjoined the constables to 
 see that they were Avell baited and tended. 
 
 From 1700 to 1720 Bohemia Manor and the country as 
 far south of it as the Sassafras River, far exceeded the other 
 portions of the county in wealth and importance. Tobacco, 
 the great staple of the colony, was extensively cultivated 
 there, and yielded a large return to the planters. The laud, 
 but little of which had been cultivated long enough to become 
 impoverished, was well adapted to the production of wheat, 
 some of which was raised, though probably not in very large 
 quantities. The tobacco was packed in hogsheads for ship- 
 ment to England, and the inspectors were obliged to see that 
 each hogshead contained a specified amount. If a hogshead 
 fell short they were enjoined to " prise " it — that is, to pack 
 
HISTORY OF CKCIL COUNTY. 193 
 
 or press it by means of a " prise " or lever — till it would con- 
 tain the maximum quantity. From this custom the in- 
 spection houses came to be called prise houses. The name 
 is yet applied to a few old buildings on the Sassafras River. 
 
 The planters in the southern part of the county at this 
 time shipped their tobacco directly to England, and were 
 supplied with slaves (many of whom they owned) by slave 
 traders, who carried cargoes of tobacco from the Chester and 
 Sassafras rivers and the upper part of the Chesapeake Bay 
 to London and Liverpool, and then visited the coast of 
 Guinea and procured cargoes of slaves, which they disposed 
 of to the planters when they returned for another cargo of 
 tobacco. 
 
 The old record books of the county, a few of which are yet 
 extant, contain many allusions to the commercial transac- 
 tions of this period. Bills of lading, notices of freight, and 
 bills of exchange, for some reason, were recorded, and are 
 to be found in the old books, sandwiched between indentures 
 of servants and deeds for land. 
 
 The planters in the southern part of the county not only 
 shipped their tobacco from the wharves of the count}', but 
 they also shipped some of it from the South River, which 
 name was still applied to the Delaware, as the following bill 
 of lading will show, which is inserted in this connection to 
 indicate the changes that time has wrought in instruments 
 of this kind : 
 
 " BILL OF LADING. 
 
 " Shipped in good order & well conditioned by Mr. 
 George Huddleston on his proper accompt & Resque in & 
 upon ye good ship Vesilla, whereof is master under God for 
 this present voyage .James Bradly & now riding at anchor 
 in South river, and by God's Grace bound for London, to 
 say 3 Hhds of Md. Tobacco, being marked & numbered as 
 in ye margin & are to be delvrd in ye like goo.d order and 
 well conditioned at ye afd. port of London, danger of ye sea 
 
 M 
 
194 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 only excepted. Mr. Micajah Perry & Co. Merchts in Lon- 
 don or the assigns, he or they paying freight for ye said 
 goods after ye rate of £15 per ton, & Maryland duties, with 
 primage & average accustomed. In witness whereof the 
 master or purser of ye said ship hath affirmed to two Bills 
 of Lading all of this tenor and date ye one of which two 
 bills being accomplished ye other to stand void & so God 
 send ye good ship to her destined port in safety. Dated 
 in Md. Nov. 20th, 1705. 
 
 " Quantity recorded but quality unknown. Marked (C. 
 H. Nos. 1, 2, 3.) 
 
 " James Bradly." 
 
 At this time and for years afterwards a law was in force 
 obliging the masters of all vessels carrying goods from 
 Maryland to ports in England to publish their freight ; that 
 is, to give notice of the rate they charged per ton, and to 
 record it in the records of the county. This law existed, or 
 at least this custom was observed, as late as 1744, for in 
 that year Captain Henry Elves published his freight £9 
 sterling per ton. His ship was in Sassafras River, which 
 indicates that the direct trade with England existed at that 
 time. The following notice of freight is from among several 
 others of like tenor. It shows that the direct slave trade 
 between the Sassafras River and coast of Guinea existed at 
 the time it was written : 
 
 "For London Directly, July ye 8th, 1705. This is to 
 give notice to all gentlemen, merchants & others, that ye 
 Dorsett, barkentine, John Hayes Commander, mounted 
 with Tenn guns, navigated with Twenty men, Burmudas 
 bilt, prime Saylor, Lately arrived from giny, now Riding att 
 Worton Creek, will be Reddi to take in goods by ye 12th of 
 this Instant for Sixteen pounds per Tunn, and will depart 
 in sixteen days If convoy is gon without Compinni. 
 
 "John Hayes." 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 195 
 
 England and France were at war at this time, and the 
 owners of merchant vessels were in the habit of arming 
 them in order that their crews might be able to defend 
 themselves against the attacks of the French cruisers. 
 Sometimes a fleet of merchant ships would be accompanied 
 by an armed vessel for their protection, but the Dorsett no 
 doubt was engaged in the slave trade, and had brought a 
 cargo of slaves to this county and disposed of them to the 
 planters near where she then rode at anchor. 
 
 The archives of the Order of the Society of Jesus, now in 
 possession of the faculty of Loyola College, in Baltimore, 
 show that the Jesuit mission near the head of Bohemia 
 River, was founded by the Rev. Thomas Mansell, 
 and that he lived there in 1704. Two years afterwards, 
 July 10th, 1706, he obtained a patent for a tract of land 
 containing 458 acres. This land had never been patented 
 and was granted to him upon the usual terms, under the 
 name of Saint Xaverus. It is worthy of note that the 
 records of the Society call him Mr. Mansell only, and do 
 not mention his Christian name or title. No doubt this 
 omission was caused by a desire to conceal the character of 
 the enterprise in which he was engaged, owing to the oppo- 
 sition and persecution that the Jesuits then met with, not 
 only in Maryland but in the mother country also. 
 
 James III. (so called by the House of Stewart), the 
 son of James II., there is reason to believe, was recog- 
 nized by the Jesuits at this time as the rightful sovereign of 
 England. Certain it is, that a rebellion was inaugurated in 
 Ireland a few years after this time (in 1715) for the purpose 
 of placing him upon the British throne. 
 
 The effects of this rebellion were felt to a certain extent 
 in the colony of Maryland, and the property in Maryland of 
 the Irish subjects of the British crown, who participated in 
 it was coiifiscated, and the sheriff of Cecil County was en- 
 joined to seize it for the use of the crown. So it was no 
 wonder that Father Mansell made no reference to the fact 
 that he was a member of the Society of Jesus. 
 
196 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Part of the said tract of St. Xaverus had been formerly 
 surve,yed by virtue of the power contained in a warrant 
 granted for Mary Ann O'Daniel-; and Margaret, her sister, 
 March 18th, 1680, by the name of Morris O'Daniel's Rest, 
 containing three hundred acres, as by the original survey 
 appears. 
 
 This survey 'was never recorded, nor any grant isisued 
 thereon to the said sisters. Of the two sisters Margaret died 
 first, and the whole right to the said land was vested in 
 Mary Ann, -who dying, bequeathed the same to Messrs. 
 Thomas Mansell and William Douglass, which said William 
 having made over all his right and title thereunto to said 
 Thomas Mansell, he, the said Thomas, petitioned for and 
 obtained a special warrant to resurvey the said tract and 
 take up the same as vacant land, together with what sur- 
 plus or vacant land was thereunto contiguous; which was 
 done accordingly, and patent granted, as before stated. 
 
 The Jesuit mission of Bohemia is a few miles southeast of 
 the junction of the Great and Little Bohemia rivers, and is- 
 probably about half a mile Avest from the State of Delaware 
 and about the same distance from the village of Warwick. 
 At the time, and for a long time subsequent to the founda- 
 tion oi the mission, the Head of Bohemia was one of the 
 most important places in the colon3^ Bohemia Landing, 
 which was at or near the junction of the two branches of 
 that river, was only a few miles from the navigable waters 
 of Appoquinimink Creek, and owing to the short distance 
 between these points, nearly all the trade between the 
 people living along the shores of the two bays was carried 
 on by this route. There were probabh' at the time several 
 landing places upon each of the branches of the Bohemia 
 River, and probably quite as many upon the Delaware 
 and its tributaries. 
 
 The streams at that time were navigable for much greater 
 distances than they are at present, and there is reason to 
 believe that there was once a landing upon one of the tribu- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUXTY. 197 
 
 taries of the Little Bohemia, not very far from where the 
 mission chapel now stands. The roads between the differ- 
 ent landings, on the tributaries of the Chesapeake and Del- 
 aware bays, were known by the expressive name of "cross 
 paths" and many references are made to them in the land 
 records of Cecil County a century ago, but it is impossible 
 at this time to describe their exact location. The feasibility 
 of connecting the waters of the Chesapeake and Delaware 
 bays by a canal between the Bohemia and Appoquinimink, 
 had been apparent to Augustine Hermen a quarter of a 
 ■century before the mission was founded. No doubt most if 
 not all the merchandize passing between the settlers on the 
 west side of Delaware River and those living near the 
 shores of Chesapeake Baj'' was transported along the "cross 
 paths," at the time that Thomas Mansell founded the mis- 
 sion. A few years afterwards, namely, 1715, it was enacted 
 by the colonial legislature, that "all Importersof Rum, Spirits, 
 Wine, and Brandy" (which seem to have been the principal, 
 if not the onl}', articles of trafSc) "from Pennsylvania and 
 the territories thereunto belonging by land, should pay a 
 duty of 9 pence per gallon, and should bring the said li- 
 quors into this province to the place commonly called Bohe- 
 mia Landing, and to no other place or landing, till the 
 duties thereof be paid, under pain of forfeiture to the King's 
 majesty."* The duty was afterwards fixed at three pence per 
 gallon, and continued to be collected for many years at 
 Bohemia Landing. The northern part of Cecil County being 
 at this time a wilderness, with only a few settlers scattered 
 here and there along the Elk River and other streams, it is 
 easy to see the prospective advantages that induced Mansell 
 to locate where he did. 
 
 Father Mansell appears to have remained in charge of the 
 mission till 1721, for in that year the records of the Society 
 
 * See Bacon's Laws of ^iMaryland, Session 17iri, chapter 30. 
 
198 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 show that he purchased of Mr. James Heath* a parcel of 
 land hounding upon St. Xaverus and containing three hun- 
 dred and thirty-five acres. This purchase comprised the 
 whole of a tract called St. Inigo, which had been taken up 
 and patented by James Heath, under the name of St. Igna- 
 tius, in 1711. How or why the name had been changed 
 does not appear. The aforesaid additional purchase of 335 
 acres embraced a part of Worsell Manor, which had been 
 taken up and patented by one Colonel Saver (when, we have 
 no means of ascertaining) and also a part of a tract called 
 Woodbridge, which was originally taken up by David Mac- 
 Kenzie, by him sold to Darby Nowland, and by his son 
 Dennis sold to James Heath, (that is to say) his part thereof, 
 containing 75 acres, adjoining St. Inigo, and by Mr. Heath 
 sold, as above stated, to Mr. Mansell. Some of the names 
 of these tracts of land, as well as the names of the persons who 
 owned them, indicate the nationality as well as the religion of 
 the proprietors, and warrant the conclusion that the first Jesuit 
 Father that settled at Bohemia was induced to do so from 
 
 *James Heath was the father of John Paul Heath, the founder of 
 W^arwick. He was a member of the old Catholic family of that name, 
 and the owner of " Heath's Range," and other large tracts of land near 
 V\farwick. His grave is about two miles from Warwick, in Appoquini- 
 mink Hundred, New Castle County, and is covered by a stone slab con- 
 taining the following inscription : "Here lyes the body of James Heath, 
 who was born att Warwick, on the 37th day of July, 1658, and died the 
 10th day of November, 1731, in the seventy-fourth year of His age." 
 The Warwick mentioned in his epitaph is no doubt the name of his native 
 town in England. 
 
 His son, John Paul Heath, probably died in 1746. His will was 
 proved in that year, and shows that Warwick had been laid out by him 
 some time before. He refers to a brew-house and tavern which vi^ere in 
 the town. He was a large landowner, and was engaged in merchandis- 
 ing at Warwick ; and at the time of his death owned one-half of a vessel, 
 engaged in trading between the Sassafras River and the West Indies. 
 Daniel Delaney and Charles Carroll were two of the executors of his will. 
 He was a zealous Catholic, and directed that his sons, James and Daniel, 
 should be educated at St. Omers, and that his children should be brought 
 up in the " Roman Catholic religion." 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 199 
 
 the fact that it was a settlement of Irish Catholics who were 
 no doubt zealous members of that church. The Jesuits at 
 this time, and for many years previous had a mission in St. 
 Marj^'s County, on the Western Shore, and as the mission at 
 Bohemia was the first one established on the Eastern Shore, 
 there can be little doubt that Father Mansell came there 
 from the former place. It is highly probable that he 
 brought with him the ancient cross, which has been at Bo- 
 hemia ever since. This cross is about five feet high and is 
 said to have been brought to St. Mary's by the first settlers 
 who came there from England. It is made of wrought iron 
 and certainly looks ancient enough to have been brought 
 over by the Pilgrims who came in the Ark and Dove. It 
 has been at Bohemia from time immemorial, and save this 
 tradition, nothing more is known of its history. 
 
 Little if anything is known of the history of Rev. 
 Thomas Mansell. The rules, or, at least the customs of the 
 Society prohibited the erection of any monuments over the 
 graves of its members and if he died and was buried at 
 Bohemia, this custom precluded the erection of anything to 
 distinguish the place of his sepulcher. A few of the early 
 fathers that labored there, were buried in the garden, but not 
 even a grassy mound has been raised over their moldering 
 remains, and their last resting-place would no doubt long 
 since have been forgotten, had not some pious person en- 
 closed it, many years ago, with an edging of boxwood that 
 has now attained the height of five or six feet. Father 
 Thomas Hudson lived at the mission in 1713. Whether he 
 had charge of it during the temporary absence of Father 
 Mansell or sojourned with him for a time doth not appear. 
 The records of the Society only show that he was at Bohe- 
 mia in that year. He seems to have been succeeded by 
 Father Peter Atwood, for the records of the Society show 
 that in 1731 he (Atwood) was involved in a dispute with 
 Joseph George, who was then the proprietor of Middle Neck, 
 which he had purchased from Ephraim Augustine Hermen, 
 the grandson of the founder of Bohemia Manor. 
 
200 HISTORY OF CKCIL COUKTY. 
 
 After Joseph George purchased Middle Neck be obtained 
 an order from the provincial court to have it surveyed. This 
 survey took in all of St. Xaverus and part of several other 
 tracts adjacent to it, and George had already ejected one 
 Reynolds from the land by him claimed, it being included 
 inside the limits of the new survey, when Atwood and 
 George compromised the matter by the former paying him 
 " 35 pounds for a deed of release to all the right or claim he 
 might have to any or all the lands I hold between the two 
 branches of the St. Augustine's crpek." Thisquotation is taken 
 from an old memorandum book in the possession of the 
 Society and was kindly copied for the author by Father 
 Lancaster, the Proctor of the Society in Maryland. This 
 dispute grew out of the fact that Augustine Hermen had 
 taken up a tract of land including the site of ■what was 
 afterwards called "The Priests' Mill," the site of which may 
 yet be seen in the meadow in front of the chapel. In all 
 the broad domain of Augustine Hermen there were very 
 few locations where it Avas practical tu obtain sufficient fall 
 for the purpose of erecting water-mills. So he very wisely 
 • took up this tract for the purpose of erecting a water-mill 
 thereon, as he states in his first will, though there is no reason 
 to believe he ever obtained a patent for it. 
 
 In 1732 Peter Atwood, who is then said to be of St. Mary's 
 County, purchased another tract of land called " Askmore," 
 from Vachel Denton. This tract was supposed to contain 
 550 acres, and had been granted to John Browning and 
 Henry Denton in 1688. Denton claimed it by right of sur- 
 vivorship, and from him it descended to his son Vachel 
 Denton, who, as before stated, sold it to Atwood. The Jesuit 
 Fathers now had quite an extensive tract of land, comprising 
 nearly thirteen hundred and fifty acres. 
 
 Father Thomas Pulton was at Bohemia in 1742. He 
 probably remained there most of the time till 1748. Rev. 
 John Kingdom was also there in 1748. From a few de- 
 tached entries in the old memorandum book before men- 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COUXTV. 201 
 
 tioned, there is reason to believe the school, which was kept 
 at the mission for some years, was started in 1745 or 1746. 
 John Carroll, a distinguished member of the Societ}-, after- 
 wards Archbishop of Baltimore, and founder of Georgetown 
 College, attended this school in 1745-6, and also in 1748. 
 There is some reason to believe that his cousin, Charles Car- 
 roll, of CarroUton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration 
 of Independence, was a pupil there at tlie same time; but 
 the records now in the possession of the Society contain no 
 proof of it. This school was the only one in the colony 
 under the control of the Jesuits or any other order of the 
 Catholic Church, consequently it was patronized bj' many 
 of the leading Catholic families in the colony, who sent their 
 so)3S there to receive the rudiments of their education, after 
 which they were sent to St. Omers, in French Flanders, to 
 finish it. This was the case with John and Charles Carroll, 
 both of whom afterwards took such a prominent part in the 
 history of the State. 
 
 It is impossible, owing to the loss of a portion of the records 
 of the mission, lo ascertain how long the school continued to 
 exist. Though it is considered to have been the germ from 
 which Georgetown College grew, it seems })robable that it 
 was discontinued before the college was organized. Every 
 vestige of the school-house has long since disappeared, l)ut 
 it is well known that it stood in the lawn, a few feet south 
 of the manse, and that the bricks of which its walls were 
 composed were used in the walls of the dwelling-house, 
 which was built about 1825. The chapel, which is in a 
 good state of preservation, was partly finished in 1795. 
 Tradition says that Rev. Ambrose Marechal, third Arch- 
 bishop of Baltimore, then resident at Bohemia, during his 
 hours of recreation turned the banisters used in inclosing 
 the sanctuary in the chapel. 
 
 It is probable that the school was in a flourishing condi- 
 tion in 1754; so much so, indeed, as to have excited the 
 cupidity of the members of the Established Church. Rev. 
 
202 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Hugh Jones, who was a zealous churchman, was then rector 
 of St. Stephen's Parish, and his correspondence as early as 
 1739 shows that he was bitterly hostile to the Jesuit Fathers. 
 The records of the colonial legislature for the year 1754 
 show that a bill passed the lower house in that year creat- 
 ing a commission to inquire into the affairs of the Jesuits in 
 the colony, and also to ascertain by what tenure they held 
 their land. Nicholas Hyland, a zealous churchman and 
 resident of North Elk Parish, and six other delegates, were 
 designated as members of the commission. They were also 
 enjoined to tender the oaths of " allegiance, abhorrence and 
 abjuration " to the members of the Society. The bill did 
 not pass the upper house. A bill was introduced in the 
 lower house at the session of 1755 intended to prevent the 
 " importation of German and French papists and Popish 
 priests and Jesuits and Irish papists via Pennsylvania or 
 the government of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, on the 
 Delaware." The bill did not become a law. 
 
 There is reason to believe that the Protestants of Sassafras 
 Neck, Middle Neck and Bohemia Manor petitioned the 
 legislature at the session of 1756, praying that stringent 
 measures might be taken against the Jesuits. At all events 
 the lower house at this session was about to pass a very 
 stringent bill prohibiting the importation of Irish Papists 
 via Delaware, under a penalty of £20 each, and denouncing 
 any Jesuit or Popish priest as a traitor who tampered with 
 any of his Majesty's subjects in the colony; but the bill did 
 not pass, the governor having prorogued the legislature 
 shortly after it was introduced. 
 
 These measures may now seem harsh and unjust, but it 
 must not be forgotten that at the time of which we write 
 the excitement produced by the French and Indian war 
 was at its height, and the Jesuits of INIaryland, probably 
 very unjustly, were accused of being in league with the 
 French and of inciting the Indians to massacre the Protes- 
 tants. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 203 
 
 The few meagre records of the mission for the period be- 
 tween 1756 and 1764 contain little of interest to the general 
 reader. They show, however, that Eev. Joseph Greaton 
 died there in 1749. He was probably succeeded by Rev. 
 John Lewis, who is known to have been there in 1753. 
 
 Rev. John Lewis was probably succeeded by Rev. Joseph 
 Mosley, who came there in 1760, and probably remained 
 continuously till 1787. Rev. Mathias Manners was also 
 there in 1771, and died and was buried there in 1775. 
 During the long period that Mr. Mosley was in charge of 
 the mission he traveled all over the eastern and southern 
 part of the Western Shore, and baptized about six hundred 
 persons, many of whom were negro slaves. His journal 
 contains some entries which warrant the opinion that some 
 of the old Quaker families of the Eastern Shore embraced 
 the Catholic religion, as he speaks of baptizing Thomas 
 Browning, who was probably a descendant of John Brow- 
 ning, whom Augustine Hermen accused of trying to fraud- 
 ulently obtain part of Middle Neck after he (Hermen) had 
 obtained a patent for it.* The Hollands, one of whom was 
 accused by Hermen of aiding Browning in his design on 
 Middle Neck, seem also to have embraced Catholicism, for 
 the successor of Mosley speaks of baptizing one of them. 
 During the period between the years 1766 and 1787 the 
 journal kept by Rev. Mr. Mosley shows that the accessions 
 to the Catholic churches to which he ministered numbered 
 one hundred and eighty-five. During this period he per- 
 formed the marriage ceremony for members of the ssveral 
 congregations in his charge one hundred and seventy times 
 and officiated at about one hundred and seventy-five 
 funerals. In 1764 he organized a church at St. Joseph's, in 
 Talbot County, and probably with a view of founding 
 another mission similar to the one at Bohemia, purchased 
 about three hundred and fifty acres of land in that county. 
 
 * See page 101, ante. 
 
204 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The next year he placed eight negroes, which he brought 
 from Prince George's County at a cost of £10, on the farm. 
 These negroes are supposed to have been in charge of an 
 overseer. 
 
 Mr. Mosley's journal contains many curious entries illus- 
 trative of the manners and customs of society at the time 
 they were made. Among them are the following: "4th 
 November, 1770, 1 married Jerry, a negro of ours, to Jenney, 
 a negro belonging to Mr. Charles Blake, but afterwards 
 bought by us. Test, — many negroes, both ours and others, 
 at St. Joseph's, Talbot. 23d July, 1777, I married Davy, a 
 negro of ours, to Hannah, a negro of John Lockerman, by 
 his consent; manynegroes ofhisand our family being present. 
 September, 1795, married at home a wench of John Connell 
 (Senior) named Hannah, to a fellow of Tullies Neck, by 
 note." 
 
 There are many entries in Mr. Mosley's journal of mar- 
 riages of negroes by note, which meant that the sable 
 couples had notes from their owners requesting or author- 
 izing him to perform the marriage ceremony. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 First Friends' meeting-house — First Episcopal minister — North and 
 South Sassafras parishes — First vestrymen — Population — Curious lot of 
 church property — First Episcopal Church — Chapel of Ease in Elk Neck 
 — Shrewsbury parish — Rev. Hugh Jones — Chapel on Bohemia Manor — 
 Sketch of Rev. Hugh Jones — North Elk parish — F.irst vestrymen — • 
 Richard Dobson — John Hamm — Rev. Walter Ross — Chapel near Battle 
 Swamp — Rev. William Wye — St. Mary Ann's Church, North East — Taring 
 the Church — Death of Rev. Mr. Wye — Rev. John Bradford — Rev. John 
 Hamilton — Clayfall. 
 
 Augustine Hermen, and probably many of his cotempo- 
 raries who settled on Bohemia Manor, were members of the 
 Reformed Dutch Church. George Talbot, George Oldfield, 
 and many of the first settlers along the Elk and Susque- 
 hanna rivers were Catholics ; and the Labadists, as we have 
 seen, had a faith peculiar to themselves. These various sects 
 lived in harmony and peace together, under the mild gov- 
 ernment of the province as administered by the first pro- 
 prietor and his successors. Even the then persecuted and 
 despised Quakers found an asylum in the province, and were 
 permitted to enjoy their peculiar belief in peace and quiet- 
 ness. They are believed to have been the first denomination 
 that erected a house of worship in the county. As early as 
 1698 George Warner and seven other Quakers prayed the 
 court that their meeting-house at the head of a branch of 
 Still Pond Creek might be registered according to the act of 
 Parliament, and promised " ever to pray for the eternal hap- 
 piness of the court." This is the first reference to a meeting- 
 house that has been found in the records of the county. 
 
 The first clergyman of the Church of England, of whom 
 there is any account in the history of the early settlements 
 
206 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 in our county, is the Rev. John Yeo. He came from Mary- 
 land to New Castle in 1677, and exhibited his credentials as 
 a licensed minister of the Church of England, and was well 
 received by the court.* In 1676 he had written a letter to 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, from Pautuxent, Maryland, 
 in which he gives a sad account of the religious condition of 
 the province. At this time there were only three ministers 
 of the Established Church of England in the province of 
 Maryland. Mr. Yeo seems to have exercised the duties of 
 his calling at New Castle for a year or two, for in 1679 he 
 presented a petition to the court, in which he prayed to be 
 remunerated for preaching the gospel and for baptizing 
 children, marrying people, and burying the dead. The 
 court refused his request, and nothing more is heard of him 
 till 1681, when he was tried at New Castle " for mutinous 
 expressions against the Duke of York, the town, the court," 
 etc., for which he was tried before a jury and acquitted. 
 He had, no doubt, been attracted to Bohemia Manor by the 
 prosperous condition of the people residing thereon, and by 
 its close proximity to New Gastle, near which he afterwards 
 settled, which was at that early day a town of much im- 
 portance. He was the first clergyman of the Established 
 Church that visited Cecil County. 
 
 In 1692 the legislature of the province, which was 
 thoroughly Protestant, passed "an act for the Service of 
 Almighty God and the establishment of the Protestant 
 religion in the Province." This act was passed previous to 
 the 9th of June, 1692, and on the 22d of the November fol- 
 lowing the commissioners of this county, who were Captain 
 Charles James, Colonel Casparus Hermen, Mr. Humphrey 
 Tilton, Mr. William Ward, Mr. Henry Eigg, Mr. John 
 James and Mr. William Elms, with some of the principal 
 freeholders of the county, in pursuance and compliance with 
 the act of Assembly, laid out and divided the county into 
 
 *See Hazard's Annals of Pennsylvania, page 448. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 207 
 
 two districts or parishes, that is to say, one parish for Wor- 
 ton and South Satssafrax Hundred and the other for North 
 Sassafrax, Bohemia and Elk Hundreds. These parishes 
 were called North and South Sassafrax. The Rev. Lawrence 
 Vanderbush was then officiating in North Sassafras, and 
 had probably been there for some time, for it is a matter of 
 record ihat he administered a baptism on the 2d of July 
 previous, and during the j^ear he baptized eighteen others. 
 But little more is known of his history, only that he died in 
 3696, at which time he was also in charge of South Sassa- 
 fras parish. 
 
 About this time Peter Sluyter seemed to think that the 
 scepter he wielded as " Grand Mogul" of the Labadists was 
 about to depart from his hand, and so he petitioned the 
 governor for license or authority to perform the rite of mar- 
 riage. No doubt he feared that the organization of these 
 parishes and the settlement of other ministers near him 
 would lessen his authoritj^, which was already beginning to 
 wane, and deprive him of influence over his followers. 
 His petition was granted with the proviso that he was only 
 to marry people of his own denomination. 
 
 The first vestrymen of North Sassafras parish were Cas- 
 parus Hermen, William Ward, John Thompson, Edward 
 Jones, Henry Rigg and Matthias Vanderhuyden. The tax- 
 ables in 1693 were 321, which was the number of persons 
 then assessed within the present limits of the county, and are 
 supposed to have been equal to one-fourth of all the inhabi- 
 tants in the county, which, by this estimate then contained 
 a population of 1284. At a meeting of the vestry, the next year, 
 it was ordered that the 12,440pounds of tobacco collected that 
 year should be disposed of as follows : To the minister, 
 8000 pounds; to the sheriff for receiving it, 620 pounds; to 
 Thomas Pearce, clerk, 800 pounds ; the residue, 3018 
 pounds, to be lodged in the hands of Edward Jones for the 
 defraying of some necessary charges in fitting and repairing 
 the present meeting-house "which we have procured for the 
 present till God shall enable us to build a church." 
 
208 HISTORY OF CJCCIL (,'OUNTY. 
 
 In 1094 the Bishop of London sent over some books by 
 Governor Nicholson for distribution in the colony, and the 
 records of this parish contained a list of things which Cas- 
 parus Hermen then had, a part or all of which aresuj)posed 
 to have been the distributive share assigned to this parish. 
 The list was as follows : Two Bibles, two books called the 
 Duties of Man, two books of Common Prayer, two books of 
 Church Catechism, two books of Christian religion; also, two 
 books of martial discipline, two books of the articles of war; 
 one dark lantern, one prospective glass and one pocket com- 
 pass. The five last-mentioned articles in the list were 
 curious articles to be mixed up with the former; but the 
 warlike Susquehannocks still infested the northwestern part 
 of the county and the dark lantern and spy-glass were no 
 doubt intended to be used in repelling their attacks. 
 
 The next minister mentioned in the records of the parish 
 was the Rev. James Crawford, of whose history but little is 
 known, only that he stopped for six weeks with Edward 
 Larramore and that the vestry allowed Larramore 400 
 pounds of tobacco for boarding him. In 1712 he was in- 
 cumbent of South Sassafras Parish, where he died in 1713. 
 
 In 1694 the number of taxables in the parish was 337, 
 and the amount of tobacco raised for ecclesiastical purposes 
 was 13,480 pounds. 
 
 Previous to this time the congregation worshiped in an old 
 meeting house, the location and history of which is entirely 
 lost; but in 1696 the vestry concluded that it was absolutely 
 necessary to purchase some land in a more convenient loca- 
 tion and build a church thereon. They accordingly pur- 
 chased 100 acres of William Ward for 5,000 pounds of to- 
 bacco and agreed witli Cnsparus Hermen to build a church 
 of brick or stone 25x35 feet, the walls of which were to be 
 two feet thick at the foundation and eighteen inches above; 
 walls to be twelve feet high ; to have four Avindows, a fold- 
 ing door, six feet wide, etc., for 18,000 pounds of tobacco. 
 Still there was no minister in the i)arisli, but in 1097 tlie 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 209 
 
 vestry ordered that Eobert Cook be allowed 800 pounds of 
 tobacco for the accommodation and funeral charges of one 
 Mr. William Davis, a certain minister of the gospel, who, 
 having newly come to tender his services to them, was taken 
 sick and died. 
 
 In 1697 the taxables had increased to 346. A year had 
 now passed away and still the church was not built, and the 
 vestry questioned Casparus Hermen why he had not ful- 
 filled his contract, to which he replied : First, that the 
 building of the State-house took longer than he expected; 
 secondly, that he was prevented by unseasonable weather 
 and losing a sloop load of material; and thirdly, being a 
 delegate to the General Assembly he had to attend to public 
 concerns, by order of his Excellency the Governor. This 
 year the vestry purchased two hundred acres of land as a 
 glebe, for 7,000 pounds of tobacco, so that it now had three 
 hundred acres of glebe land. 
 
 This year the Rev. Richard Sewell, who had been sent, 
 to Maryland by the Right Rev. Henry Compton, Lord 
 Bishop of London, was appointed or presented to the two 
 parishes of North and South Sassafras by Thomas Nichol- 
 son, governor of the province. The last General Assembly 
 had provided for paying the expenses of clergymen coming 
 over to the province, and the treasurer of the Eastern Shore 
 was ordered to pay Mr. Sewell £20 for that purpose. 
 
 In 1698 the taxables numbered 329, yielding 13,160 
 pounds of tobacco. At the March session of the General 
 Assembly Mr. Sewell had preached before it, and it was cus- 
 tomary for the General Assembly to make an appropriation 
 to pay for such service, but on this occasion the lower house 
 refused to do this, and when asked by the other house the 
 cause of this refusal, they replied that Mr. Sewell did not 
 give that satisfaction to the country that was expected of 
 him. The other house, and his Excellency, the Governor, 
 thought they were as good judges of the merits of the case as 
 the lower house, and said that he ought to be paid. 
 
 N 
 
210 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 There had been some talk of building a chapel of Ease a 
 year or two before this time (KiOS), and the vestry this year 
 agreed for the building of one by the Elk River, to be of 
 wood, twenty feet scjuare and ten feet in lieight, to liave two 
 windows, a pulpit and reading-desk, large door, etc., and 
 were to pay for the building of it 2,G00 pounds of tobacco. 
 They purchased an acre of land on which to build it from 
 Peter Clawson, for 400 pounds of tobacco. There is no doubt 
 that this chapel, if it was ever built, was upon St. .John's 
 Manor, in Elk Neck, for the records of the county show that 
 the next year Peter Clawson sold a hundred acres of land 
 which is described as being part of St. John's ]\Ianor, on the 
 west side of Elk River. The land is described as lying upon 
 Church Creek, which no doubt was so called because the 
 chapel was near to it. If the land that was bought upon 
 which to build the chapel had been on the other side of the 
 Elk River, the vestry must necessarily have bought it from 
 Casparus Hermen; for no other person owned any land there. 
 In 1698 Hermen having died without building the church, 
 the vestry agreed with Matthias Hendrickson and James 
 Smithson for the building of a church (about tlie same size 
 of the ©ne Hermen was to have built) for 18,000 pounds of 
 tobacco. In 1699 the taxables of the parish amounted to 352. 
 
 In L701 the inhabitants of Xorth Elk and Bohemia Hun- 
 dreds presented a petition to the upper house of Assembly, 
 complaining that Mr. Sewell had neglected them, and the 
 matter was referred to Col. John Thompson, but there is no 
 record of his report. The parish at this time Avas quite large, 
 embracing the territory included by the present boundaries 
 of the county. The reverend gentleman had married the 
 preceding year, so it is no wonder that he failed to visit the 
 northern part of the county, which George Talbot twenty 
 years before had called " that desert and frontier corner of 
 the province," and which was probably but little improved 
 at the time of which we write. In 1703 the church floor, 
 gallery, etc., were agreed to be made for =£20 sterling and 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 211 
 
 5,000 pounds of tobacco, being equal to about $225. In 1704 
 it was ordered that eight gallons of rum be paid for, it hav- 
 ing been used for drams in the morning while the workmen 
 were building the church. The people of that day used 
 rum, and for many years afterwards it was customary to 
 allow in the levy for a gallon or two of rum and some sugar 
 to sweeten it upon the occasion of a pauper's funeral, the 
 expense of which was borne by the county. 
 
 On March 8th of this year Matthias Van Bibber was made 
 a vestryman. The church was not dedicated until 1705. It 
 was called St. Stephen's, which name it still bears, and 
 which has also long been applied to the parish, the legal 
 name of which is North Sassafras. In 1706 North Elk Par- 
 ish was constituted. It embraced all that part of the county 
 north of the Elk River, and lessened to that extent the size 
 of North Sassafras Parish. 
 
 Shrewsbury, or South Sassafras Parish, which now is in 
 Kent County, was erected, as before stated, in 1692. The 
 names of the vestrymen in 1695 were William Pearce, 
 William Harris, Edward Blay, AVilliam Elms, Edward 
 Skiddimor, and George Shirton. The records of Cecil 
 County show that this vestry obtained a deed from Charles 
 James, in 1700, for 181 acres of land, for which they had 
 paid 7,000 pounds of tobacco to Charles James, the father of 
 the grantor, then deceased. This land is described as being 
 near a valley at the head of a branch of Churn Creek. 
 
 In 1702 one Richard Lugg M'as indicted for disturbing- 
 public worship at Shrewsbury Parish Church, and found 
 guilty and fined one hundred pounds of tobacco. In 1695 
 the taxables in Shrewsbury were' 850, thirteen more than 
 were assessed in all the other parts of the county. The total 
 population of the county at this time was 2,852, that is, on 
 the theory that the taxables were equal to one-fourth of the 
 people. During the few 3^ears that this parish was under 
 the jurisdiction of this county, it was under the care of the 
 rectors of North Sassafras, except for a short time in 1702, 
 
212 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 when the Rev. Stephen Boardley, the rector of St. Paul's 
 Parish, adjoining it on the south, served it one-third of his 
 time. 
 
 In 1714 the taxables in North Sassafras, which now em- 
 braced the country between the Elk and Sassafras rivers, 
 had increased to 520 ; and in 1721 they numbered 726. In 
 1723 Dr. Sewell resigned the charge of North Sassafras, 
 having had charge of it more than twenty-six years. In 1724 
 the parish was vacant, and Thomas Parsley was appointed 
 reader by the vestry, and was to put up the greens in the 
 church at the usual time. He was to have 2,000 pounds of 
 tobacco for his compensation. 
 
 In 1723 the governor of the province inquired of the com- 
 missioners of the county how many parishes there were in 
 it and the number of taxables in them, and they replied 
 that there were two parishes, and that St. Stephen's (North 
 Sassafras) was thirty miles long and sixteen miles in breadth, 
 and contained 1,011 taxables ; that North Elk was about 
 twenty miles long and was about the same width, and con- 
 tained 569 taxables ; and that St. Stephen's Parish had a 
 glebe of 810 acres. 
 
 In 1724 the Rev. John Urmston was inducted into the 
 parish. He was an intemperate man, and the records of 
 the parish show that, upon one occasion, he was " so over- 
 taken with liquor in the church that he could not read the 
 service, so that the people went out." So they complained 
 of his bad conduct, and some of the neighboring rectors and 
 other officials of the adjoining parishes tried him on a libel 
 exhibited against him by the church wardens for many 
 wicked and immoral actions, which were proved before the 
 said commission. The crimes for which he was deposed 
 were so glaring that the reverend gentlemen did not think 
 fit to appeal from the decision of the commission that tried 
 him, but being instigated by the Papists, as was alleged by 
 the presiding officer, he sought legal advice, and was about 
 to bring suit for the recovery of his salary and also to pros- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 213 
 
 ecute the president of the commission that tried and deposed 
 him for acting without a commission from his Majesty, the 
 king, when he, in a drmilven fit, as was supposed, fell into 
 the fire and was burned to death. A sad but fitting end for 
 one who had disgraced the holy office, and had probably as- 
 sumed its duties in order to prostitute it to his own aggrand- 
 izement. The vestry considered the parish vacant and 
 petitioned the governor to appoint another rector, and in 
 response he sent them the Rev. Hugh Jones, who took 
 charge of the parish in 1731. He was a graduate of the 
 University of Oxford, and came to Maryland in 1696. He 
 was then in the twenty-sixth year of his age. He had been 
 engaged in the ministr}- in Calvert County, Maryland, and 
 also in Virginia. He was a zealous churchman and was 
 much annoyed by the Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Jesuits 
 and Quakers who were residents of the parish. In 1733, 
 an act having been passed by the General Assembly for the 
 purpose of raising the requisite funds, the vestry agreed 
 ^iih John Babenhime and James Bayard for the building 
 ci a new church at or near the place where the old church 
 stood for 75,000 pounds of tobacco. The vestry also bought 
 from Benjamin Sluyter two acres of land on the Manor upon 
 which to build a chapel, and agreed with him for the build- 
 ing of one 30x50 feet, with a semi-circular chancel with a 
 radius of ten feet. This was the old St. Augustine Church 
 which was standing at St. Augustine when the Hessians, 
 under Knyphausen, visited the Manor in 1777. It is worthy 
 of remark that when the building of the church was con- 
 templated four of the vestrymen voted for it to be built at 
 Newtown, which probably was the name then given to Cecil- 
 town, at the mouth of Scotchman's Creek, which had been 
 laid out in 1730. 
 
 The following extract from a letter from Hugh Jones to 
 the secretary of the Society for the propagation of the Gospel, 
 shows the character and zeal of the man in an admirable 
 manner, and for that reason is inserted her^: 
 
214 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 "St. Stephen's Parish, ) 
 
 in Cecil county, Md., V 
 
 July 30th, 1739. j 
 
 " 3Iay it Please Your Reverence:— To excuse the presumption 
 of me and my vestry in making application to you for the 
 donation of a library to this parish; for though this place 
 belongs not to any of your missions, yet it may have as just 
 a claim to partake of your pious favors as any, being the 
 chief mark at which the virulent darts of the Pennsylvania 
 deists, Quakers, Presbyterians, &c., are aimed, we being al- 
 most surrounded by them and having continual trade and 
 intercourse with them. You are no stranger to the cunning 
 and diligence of these people in perverting their neighbors, 
 especially the licentious and the ignorant. So that I need 
 only to mention that I am obliged to be continually on my 
 guard to defend my weak but large flocks against their 
 attacks in one quarter or other, in which, with God's help, I 
 have hitherto well succeeded. But this being a populous 
 and very growing place, 'tis feared that, without the aidof a 
 competent number of books to be letit out on all occasions, 
 their insinuating wiles will seduce many in a small time. 
 Since the Jesuits in my parish with them they favored and 
 settled in Philadelphia seem to combine our ruin by propa- 
 gation of schism, popery and apostacy in this neighborhood, 
 to prevent the danger of which impending tempest 'tis hoped 
 you will be so good as to contribute your extensive charit- 
 able benevolence, by a set of such books of practical and 
 polemical divinity and church history as you shall judge 
 most suitable for the purpose, but especially the best answer 
 to Barclay's apology, the independent Whig, and all the 
 other favorite books of the Quakers, Deists, Presbyterians, 
 Anabaptists and Papists, with books of piety and devotion 
 and vindication of the doctrines and discipline of our Es- 
 tablished Church against all sorts of adversaries." 
 
 -'&'" 
 
 In this letter Mr. Jones speaks of his ministrations at 
 Appoquinimy, and states that many of the people there 
 were his auditors when he was officiating in his other church. 
 
 The petition book for the year 1731, which is yet extant 
 among the records of the count}'', contains a petition from 
 Hugh Jones to the court, which is also characteristic of the- 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 215 
 
 man, and shows the state of society at that time. " The 
 petition of Hugh Jones, clerk, humbly sheweth that, Where- 
 as, the road now running by your petitioner's door was for- 
 merly moved that way, before the minister's house was 
 built, for the convenience of the marsh plantation (the 
 marsh plantation was probably the free school land on the 
 Bohemia, east of Scotchman's Creek), which very much in- 
 commodes the settlement at the glebe by rendering the habi- 
 tation of the incumbent public, which ought to be private 
 and retired, and turns the pasture into common, and ex- 
 poses your petitioner and his family to the troublesome com- 
 pany and insults of many drunken, swearing fellows, and 
 makes us unsafe in our beds, and gives opportunity for 
 thievish negroes and ordinarj"- people, who continually pass 
 that way, to corrupt and hinder our servants, and to pilfer 
 anything that is left out at night — nay even to break open 
 doors that are locked, as I have already found by experience." 
 Therefore he prayed that the road might be moved to its for- 
 mer track, at some distance from the house, which was 
 granted. 
 
 In 1743 the taxables in this parish had increased to 1,443. 
 The next year the northern part of the parish, including all 
 of it between Elk River and Little Bohemia, was erected 
 into a new parish, under the name of St. Augustine. In 1755 
 there was much fear of a Popish plot, as before intimated, 
 and the manuscript history of Mr. Allen contains a letter 
 from David Wetherspoon* to Major John Veazey, then com- 
 manding officer of the county, calling his attention to the 
 French and Irish Papists, and begging him to bestir him- 
 self in behalf of the rights and liberties of the people and 
 the interests of the Protestant religion. Mr. Jones this 
 year preached a sermon called a protest against Popery, 
 which was published in the Maryland Gazette at Annapolis. 
 
 *■ David 'Wetherspoon was a native of Londonderry County, Ireland. He 
 was probably the founder of lliddletown, and died April 7th, 1763, 
 aged fifty-eight years. Ilis grave may be seen at Middletown. 
 
216 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Jones was a firm friend of Lord Baltimore, and was 
 accused by William Penn's lawyers of inducing him to re- 
 fuse to carry out the agreement for the settlement of the 
 boundary, for the reason, as they alleged, that he feared it 
 would lessen the extent of his parish. Under his rector- 
 ship the parish reached the highest degree of prosperity 
 that it ever attained as an Episcopal parish. 
 
 In 1757 Mr. Jones bought 480 acres of land in Middle 
 ]S[eck from Matthias and Henry A^an Bibber, for which he 
 paid £882, from which it is plain that he had found time to 
 acquire some of this world's goods. The record of his deed 
 shows that it was written upon stamped paper the duty 
 upon which had been paid. He died September 8th, 1760, 
 at the great age of ninety years. His will is recorded in this 
 county. He left his beloved godson, Edward Pryce AVilmer, 
 his lot in Charlestown, one silver half pint can, one silver 
 soup spoon, and four hunting pictures then hanging in his 
 parlor. The residue of his estate he left to his nephew, 
 Rev. William Barroll. His remains are interred at St. 
 Stephen's, and a marble slab erected to his memory by his 
 nephew, William Barroll, marks the site of his grave. 
 
 Mr. Jones had resigned the rectorship of St. Stephen's be- 
 fore his death ; at least it is stated in his will that his 
 nephew, William Barroll, was then rector of that parish. 
 William Barroll was a native of AVales, or of Hereford, on 
 its borders. He was ordained by the Bishop of London for 
 Maryland, March 4th, 1760, and came to AJaryland shortly 
 afterwards. This year the sinall-pox prevailed in the vicinity 
 of the church to such an extent that the vestry feared to 
 meet on Easter Monday to transact the usual business of 
 filling vacancies, choosing church wardens, etc. This dis- 
 ease appears to have been very prevalent about this time, 
 and the records of the county show that in many cases al- 
 lowances were made to people who had nursed poor per- 
 sons who were afflicted with it. The rector and vestrymen 
 of North Sassafras therefore petitioned the General Assemblv 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 217 
 
 to confirm the action they took at a subsequent meeting. 
 Owing to the increase of population in the countj' tlie 
 General Assembly at the session of 1706 passed an act 
 erecting the parish of North Elk, which embraced all that 
 part of the county north of the Elk and east of Susquehanna 
 River. Though the legal name of this parish is North Elk, 
 it has been called St. Mary Ann's Parish since the erection 
 of the church at Norrti East, which is called by that name. 
 The early history of this parish is involved in obscurity, 
 from the fact that all the records previous to 1743 were 
 many years ago destroyed by fire. It is stated, however, in 
 Dr. Ethan Allen's manuscript history of this parish that 
 some time during the first nine years after it was erected 
 the vestry sent a petition to the Bishop of London, under 
 whose care the Established Church in Maryland had been 
 placed, praying for the services of a minister and a donation 
 of books for the use of the parish. They state in the peti- 
 tion that they had erected a church and that the revenue of 
 the parish was about £40 per annum ; that the population 
 was a mixed one, and all sorts of religion prevailed among 
 the people. The petition was signed by Nicholas Hyland, 
 Joseph Young, Samuel ^'"ans, Samson, CTCorge, Francis 
 Mauldin and John Curer. It was probabh' in response to 
 this petition that Queen Anne presented the vestry with a 
 large Bible, which is used in the church at this time (1881). 
 The good bishop was unable to comply with their request, 
 and it was not till 1722 that they obtained the regular 
 service of a minister. In this year the vestry presented a 
 petition to the court praying for a levy of tobacco "to finish 
 the church and repair sundry things relating to it." This 
 petition was signed on behalf of the vestry by William 
 Howell, who was the first clerk of this parish that is alluded 
 to in the records of the county. In 1724 the vestry, by 
 Richard Dobson, Avho was register of the parish, petitioned 
 the court for a levy of five pounds of tobacco per poll to 
 enable them to finish an addition to the parish church. 
 
218 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 There being no rector for a number of years after the 
 organization of the parish, there was no legal method of 
 obtaining the much-sought-for tobacco, only to levy it for 
 the repair of the church ; and year after year the same old 
 petition appears upon the records, and the same old story 
 of needed repairs is rehearsed, and never rehearsed in vain, 
 for the tobacco was always granted. 
 
 The churchmen of that time seem to have been very 
 zealous, for we find a petition of John Hamm to the court 
 in 1721 stating that he had stood godfather to a child whose 
 father had since died, and the child was then kept among 
 Roman Catholics, "contrary to the Intention of his Baptism;" 
 he therefore prayed that he might be removed to where he 
 might be brought up in the " Church of England religion." 
 The court ordered the child's mother to bring it into court, 
 but the record tells nothing more of the case. 
 
 The Rev. Walter Ross appears to have been the first 
 Episcopal minister that regularly labored in this parish. 
 He was a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of 
 the Gospel,* and had been at New Castle some time pre- 
 vious to the year 1722, when he commenced his labors here, 
 still continuing his work at New Castle. The Rev. Walter 
 Hackett was inducted into this parish in 1733, though Mr. 
 Ross still continued to serve it. It is probable that this 
 anomalous condition was caused by the efforts of the pro- 
 prietors of the respective provinces to extend their juris- 
 diction. 
 
 The controversy between the heirs of Penn and the pro- 
 prietary of Marjdand was raging at this time, and no doubt 
 Lord Baltimore thought it both wise and politic to give the 
 parishioners of North Elk a rector. A.t this time Rev. Hugh 
 Jones was in charge of North Sassafras Parish, and ]\Ir. 
 Hackett was probably Cjuite as strong a partisan as he. It 
 
 * Tliis Society was organized in London, and -was under tlie control of 
 tlie bisliop of that city. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 219 
 
 was probably owing to the efforts of Mr. Ross that the 
 chapel near Port Deposit was erected. This chapel was east of 
 that town and not far from Battle Swamp. It was built upon 
 part of nine acres of land (which was no doubt a gift of the 
 lord proprietary), near a fine spring of water, which was 
 known as the Indian Spring. Every vestige of this chapel 
 has long since disappeared, but the land is still in the pos- 
 session of the vestry of the parish, and is now overgrown 
 with briars and bushes. A very fcAV ancient tombstones 
 mark the site of the graveyard. One of them bears the 
 date of 1742, which indicates that the chapel had not then 
 fallen into the neglect that has since overtaken it. It is 
 worthy of remark that Mr. Hackett stated in his first report 
 to the Society " that his baptisms were numerous, one of 
 which was an Indian and four others colored persons." 
 
 Mr. Hackett, who died in 1735, was succeeded by the Rev. 
 William Wye, who took charge of the parish in 1736, and 
 under whose administration the venerable old church now 
 standing was built. The parish now seems to have been in 
 a prosperous condition and contained 928 taxables. 
 
 The reader must remember that the eastern and northern 
 boundaries of the county were still in dispute, and that Not- 
 tingham was claimed by Penn and the inhabitants of that 
 township, and those of AVelsh Tract were not included in the 
 above number. 
 
 In 1742 an act was passed authorizing a levy of £800 to 
 be made to enable the vestry to erect a church and vestry- 
 house, and in 1743 they entered into articles of agreement 
 with Henry Baker for that purpose. The names of the 
 vestrymen were Captain Nicholas Hyland, Captain Zebulon 
 Holhngsworth, Plenry Baker, Edward Johnson, Thomas 
 Ricketts, and John Currer. 
 
 The church stands on or near the site of the first one and 
 is a well-constructed brick building, of the same style as the 
 old Baptist church on. Iron Hill, which was built four 
 years afterwards. A^ery probably the brick used in its con- 
 struction were brought from England. 
 
■220 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The following inscription is distinctly legible on tlie cor- 
 ner-stone of the church : 
 
 Rd WYE: HB: NH: DEI: ZH: TR: IC: 1743. 
 
 This inscription, as the reader will see, begins with the 
 name of the rector. The initials, except the letters DEI, 
 are those of the vestrymen of 1742. 
 
 There is reason to believe that Henry Baker employed 
 Samuel Gilpin to do the carpenter work of the church and 
 vestry-house; for the vestry-book shows that in 1751 Gilpin 
 was ordered to have the vestry-house finished as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 The church seems not to have been quite finished in that 
 year, for Baker was ordered to deliver to the sexton a dozen 
 bolts for the church windows. 
 
 In 1752 one Dominie Fanning was allowed to keep school 
 in the vestry-house, Robert Cummings becoming surety that 
 he would not injure it. 
 
 It was customary for many years after this church was 
 built to tar it, that is, to apply tar to that portion of the 
 wood-work and roof that was exposed to the weather. This 
 custom WPS in vogue in 1763. In that year John Neal con- 
 tracted with the vestry to make a ladder thirty feet long, 
 and to tar the church and vestry-house. 
 
 In 1743 the vestry agreed to purchase a tract of land con- 
 taining two hundred and fifty acres from Robert Cummings, 
 then in possession of it, for £250. He to have the use of the 
 Pot House and wood for the same for two years. This land 
 was intended for a glebe; it was near the church. 
 
 It is supposed that the old church that stood in the grave- 
 yard, in the Ninth district, on the road from Kirk's Mills to 
 Bay View, was built about this time. Tradition indicates 
 that it was built by the Episcopalians, but its history is still 
 more obscure than that of the old chapel near Battle Swamp. 
 ]\Ir. Wye died November 16th, 1744, and was buried, it is 
 
HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 221 
 
 said, at the Wye Chapel, in Queen Anne's County. TheWye 
 River was most likely so called because his family resided 
 near it. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. 
 Hugh Jones, then rector of North Sassafras Parish, who 
 charged his estate two pounds and ten shillings for doing it. 
 The following petition will speak for itself: 
 
 " The petition of the vestry, church-wardens and parish- 
 ioners of St. Mary Ann's Parish, in Cecil County, most hum- 
 bly sheweth. That whereas the Rev. Wm. Wye departed this 
 life about thirty-six hours i^st, which makes a vacancy for a 
 minister in said parish of which your petitioners are inhabi- 
 tants, who humbly pray your excellency would please to 
 allow us the liberty of choosing or making tryal of a minis- 
 ter to supply his place, that may be most agreeable to our 
 inclination, before your excellency suffers one to come in, 
 as on the death of Mr. George Hacket, formerly minister of 
 the said parish, such a petition was referred to the Hon. 
 Samuel Ogle, Esq., then governor of this province, who 
 thought proper to grant it, we hope your excellency will 
 show us the same indulgence and your petitioners as in duty 
 bound shall ever pray, &c. The foregoing petition was sent 
 to Thomas Bladen, Esq., His Excellency, Governor and 
 Commander-in-chief in and over the province of Mar^dand." 
 
 On the 4th of December following, the Rev. John Brad- 
 ford appeared before the vestry and read his induction for 
 this parish, dated the 20th of November, from which it is 
 plain that notwithstanding the very humble petition which 
 had been sent to the governor with such unseemly haste, 
 he had appointed the reverend gentleman only four days- 
 after the death of his predecessor. At this meeting two of 
 the residents of Charlestown were summoned to appear 
 before the vestry to answer the charge of unlawfully cohab- 
 iting together. At a subsequent meeting of the vestry on 
 the 7th of the following January, "the said Elizabeth ap- 
 peared and declared that she and the aforesaid John will 
 part and live assunder between this and next vestry day,"' 
 
222 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 which promise, though exceedingly vague and indefinite, 
 seems to have been satisfactory to the vestrj^, for no further 
 reference is made to the case. The records in the old vol- 
 ume from which these extracts are taken contain many 
 references to cases of this kind, and disclose a remarkable 
 degree of laxity in the morals of the people. Xot only the 
 lower classes of society, but in some cases those high in au- 
 thority, were charged with this or similar offences. Gen- 
 erally the culprits made the amende honorable, and produced 
 certificates of marriage given by clergymen of other denomi- 
 nations who resided out of the parish. Mr. Bradford died 
 in 1746. His successor was the Rev. John Hamilton, who 
 bad charge of the parish from 1746 to 1773. Nothing re- 
 markable occurred during his rectorship; but it maybe 
 mentioned as a matter of interest, that in 1754 the taxables 
 had increased to 1,030, and the return for 1755 shows an 
 increase of 97 during that year. For the ensuing five years 
 the taxables in tliis parish varied, and in 1762 only 
 amounted to 1113. It is worthy of note that during INIr. 
 Hamilton's incumbency the church was robbed of the 
 communion service, and that a destructive fire occurred in 
 Boston, to the sufferers from which, at the request of the 
 governor, the charitably disposed persons in the county con- 
 tributed £79, of which the people of this parish contributed 
 £37. It was also during the rectorship of Mr. Hamilton 
 (1748) that the vestry purchased one hundred acres of land 
 (part of "Clayfall") from John Curer, for £180, for a glebe. 
 They continued to hold this land till 1784, when they sold 
 it to Jeremiah Baker for £605. 
 
CHAPTER XA^ 
 
 William Dare — Bulls' Mountain — "Friendship" — Old Simon — Trans- 
 town — Ye S-wedestown — John Hans Stillman — Smith's mill at Head of 
 Elk — The Jacobs family — Henry Hollingsworth — Quarrel about New- 
 Munster road — Bridges over the head of Elk Kiver — Koad from head of 
 Elk to New Castle — Sketch of Hollingsworth family — North East — First 
 iron works — Roads leading to North East — Priucipio Iron Company — 
 Samuel Gilpin settles at Gilpin's Rocks — William Black's account of 
 North East — Immigration — Character of immigrants — Susquelianna ferry 
 — Road from ferry to Philadelphia. 
 
 William Daee, who the reader will recollect was one of 
 the cotemporaries of George Talbot, was one of those who 
 very early in the history of the county took up land at the 
 head of Elk River. As early as 1681 he became the propri- 
 etor of a tract called the Grange, which extended for some 
 distance in a southeast direction from that part of the Big- 
 Elk called the Half Moon, and contained about one hun- 
 dred and fifty acres. He was also the proprietor of seven 
 hundred acres in Elk Keck, called Rich Mountain, which 
 he sold in 1702 to Francis Mauldin, the founder of the 
 Mauldin family of this county. This land was adjoining 
 the land of Thomas Bull. There can be no doubt that these 
 tracts of land were afterwards called by their owners' names, 
 and thus originated the names of Bull's and Mauldin's 
 Mountain. Shortly after this time (1681) most of the land 
 on the east and south side of the Big Elk between the 
 Grange and Frenchtown was taken up and patented, as was 
 also much of the land in Elk Neck and along the east side 
 of the Susquehanna River for some distance north of thei 
 mouth of the Octoraro Creek. But many of the original 
 grants, probably owing to the inability of the grantees to 
 
224 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 comply with the condition under wliich they were made, 
 reverted to the lord proprietary, and their bounds and the 
 date of the patent were lost. 
 
 The land upon which Elkton was built is part of the tract 
 of fourteen hundred acres which was patented to Nicholas 
 Painter in 1681, under the name of Friendship. The south- 
 east corner of the tract is marked by a stone which may be 
 seen close by the roadside, between Mitchell's mill race and 
 the Far Creek; it extended down the Big Elk to a point some 
 distance below the bridge at the causeway, and north for the 
 distance of a mile or more. This tract came into the posses- 
 sion of Philip Lynes, as did the large tract of Belleconnell, 
 which, as before stated, was patented to George Talbot two 
 years later. Philip Lynes devised these tracts to his wife 
 Anne Lynes, his cousin Mary Contee, and his friend William 
 Bladen, by his last will dated 1709, and they by a deed ex- 
 ecuted in 1711 conveyed it to John Smith, the son and heir 
 of William Smith, to satisfy a claim which his father had 
 against Philip Lynes for money loaned him by said William 
 Smith in his lifetime. This deed is for three parcels of 
 land, comprising about one thousand acres, parts of Friend- 
 ship and Belleconnell. Reference is made in it to the " man's 
 tenement, known and called by ye name of old Simon." 
 This Simon was surnamed Johnson. He owned a tract of 
 land that extended from what is now known as the "Hollow" 
 (but was formerly called " Simon's Gut ") as far down the 
 river as the bridge at the causeway, and far enough north 
 to include fifty acres of land. " Old Simon " is evidently 
 the man whose name has been given to Simon's Tussock, 
 which is a massive tussock situated on the north side of the 
 river a short distance from where Ben's Gut empties into 
 the river. " Ye tenement " in which he lived probably 
 stood on or near the east end of the depot lot. The records 
 j^of the court show that old Simon lived to be eighty years of 
 age, and that this plantation was in the possession of his 
 son Simon in 1742. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 225 
 
 Friendship and Belleconnell are described in the deed 
 from Lynes and others to Smith as "lying at ye Swedes- 
 town ;" but inasmuch as those tracts contained three thous- 
 and four hundred acres, it is hard to fix the location of the 
 town. In 1697 two Swedish missionaries on their way to 
 the settlements on the Delaware, sailed up the Chesapeake 
 Bay and Elk River and landed at a village which they said 
 had been founded by their countrymen. It was called Trans- 
 town, and was probably located at Elk Landing. In 1698, 
 a certain John Hans Stillman loaned the Rev. Ericus Biork, 
 one of the missionaries before referred to, £100 of silver 
 money for the use of the congregation in building the old 
 Swedes church yet standing in Wilmington. Eight years 
 afterwards he released Biork from the payment of the 
 bond, and is described as John Hans Stillman, merchant of 
 Elk River in Cecil County.* He is known to have owned 
 land on Big Elk Creek just above Elk Landing, from which it 
 seems almost certain that Transtown was at or very near 
 the junction of the Big and Little Elk. Mr. Ferris, in 
 his History of the Original Settlements on the Delaware, 
 locates Transtown on the site of Frenchtowu, which has been 
 done on the map accompanying this volume. Stillman was 
 naturalized in 1695. In 1697 and probably for many years 
 afterwards he was engaged in trading with the Indians at 
 the mouth of the Susquehanna River. He is no doubt the 
 person referred to in the colonial records of a subsequent 
 period as Captain Hans, and appears to have had much in- 
 fluence with the Indians. 
 
 John Smith was the son of William Smith, who is sup- 
 posed to have been the person who erected the first mill at 
 the Head of Elk. This mill is known to have been there 
 as early as 1706, and the next year one William Anderson 
 petitioned the court for leave to retail strong liquors at the 
 
 * For an account of Transtown and Stillman, see Fei-ris's History of 
 the Original Settlements on the Delaware, pages 156 and 177. 
 
 
 
226 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Head of Elk, "he being a poor man and much incumbered 
 with people passing and repassing to the said mill along the 
 Queen's road," which then ran from the lower ferry at 
 Perryville via North East and crossed the Big Elk Creek at 
 or near where the bridge now stands at Mitchell's mill, and 
 ran down the peninsula east of the heads of Back Creek, 
 Bohemia and Sassafras rivers. 
 
 Three months after John Smith received the deed fortheone 
 thousand acres before referred to, he and his wife and father- 
 in-law sold the mill and eight acres, on part of Avhich it 
 stood, to Thomas Jacobs, bolter, who is described as being 
 of Middletown, Chester County, Pa. This land is that south 
 of Main street and west of the road by the mill. Jacobs 
 also bought another tract containing twenty-one acres on 
 the west side of the creek and running a considerable dis- 
 tance up the stream above the breast of the dam. It was 
 stipulated in the deed that Jacobs was to have the right to 
 cut as much timber as would be required to build a dwell- 
 ing-house and also to rebuild the said mill and no more 
 upon the other land of Smith free of charge. It is worthy 
 of remark, as showing the condition of the country and the 
 customs of the people, that "the fishings, fishing places and 
 fowling ways" are specified as being conveyed to Jacobs. 
 This mill continued in possession of the Jacobs family till 
 1784, at which time it vras in a very bad condition, and 
 Thomas Jacobs, the grandson of the person who purchased 
 it from Smith, entered into a copartnership with Zebulon 
 and Levi lioUingsworth for the purpose of carrying on the 
 milling business. It was at this time that the old mill now 
 standing was built by the Messrs. Hollingsworth, who built 
 the mill and furnished it with a pair of French burr mill- 
 stones and put £700 into the business. The third story of 
 the mill, which is frame, was subsequently added to it. 
 
 This man John Smith did business in a curious manner. 
 His deed to Jacobs shows that he had previously bargained 
 to sell the mill to Allen Robinet, for he mentions an aoree- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 227 
 
 ment between that person and liimsolf in the deed, and 
 Jacobs covenants to indemnify him for any breach of the 
 said agreement. Reese Hinton lived at that time on the 
 Orange. In 1711 Smith sold seventy acres north of the 
 Grange and adjoining the land of Jacobs to Hinton, and the 
 next year he sold ten acres of marsh (which is the marsh 
 west of the gas works) to Henry Hollingsworth, who, in 
 1711, had bought fifty acres of land from William Slaby, of 
 New Castle, for £28. This last tract is described in the deed 
 as being south of and adjoining the land of Simon Johnson. 
 
 Hollingsworth also purchased some acres of marsh which 
 was between Hollingsworth's Point and the mouth of Mill 
 Creek. It is described as being near Glover's Hill, which is 
 the hill near the west end of the causeway, across Little Elk, 
 just above Elk Landing. In 1713 Smith, who had been 
 absent from the county for some years, returned and took 
 up one hundred and seventy-one acres of land, called Elk 
 Plains, near the head of Elk River, on the south side of a 
 path leading from head of Elk River to the town of New 
 Castle. 
 
 In 1720 the inhabitants of New Munster and one Lewis 
 Jones had a quarrel about a road from New Munster to the 
 head of Elk. This road seems to have run some distance 
 east of where the road is now located, and the quarrel ap- 
 pears to have been long and bitter. The petitions presented 
 to the court in reference to it are interesting and curious. 
 Jones owned a large quantity of land extending from Gil- 
 pin's bridge north of Elkton, to some distance north of Belle- 
 hill. The quarrel seems to have been caused by the desire 
 ■of the people of New Munster to obtain a better fording of 
 Big Elk Creek. 
 
 In 1721 many of the inhabitants of the upper part of the 
 county presented a petition to the court, in which they state 
 that " Whereas, the great and main King's road, leading 
 through his lordship's province of Maryland, passing over 
 the dangerous & swelling falls of the tM^o heads of Elk River, 
 
228 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 whereby many good people both inhabitants of this county 
 & strangers are not only stopt & often disappointed in their 
 journeys to their loss & damage, but likewise often in dan- 
 ger and perill of their lives, wherefore they pray that the 
 court would order good & sufficient horse & foot bridges to 
 be built over the said two falls of the two heads of Elk River 
 at the public charge of the said county ;" which petition was 
 granted, and John Thomas was given the contract for build- 
 ing the bridges which he constructed some time during that 
 or the following year, for he presented a petition to the court 
 at its session just a year afterwards, in which he states that 
 " not well considering the value of building the said bridges 
 at the time of agreeing for the building of the same, he finds 
 a great deal more work than he expected, & humbly prays 
 that the court would order two discreet persons to view the 
 said bridges & make report of the same to the worshipful 
 court of the value of building them," with which report he 
 promised to be contented. The court, after " maturely con- 
 sidering " the petition, ordered that he be paid 7,000 pounds 
 of tobacco, in accordance with his agreement. These were 
 the first bridges built at the expense of the county that are 
 referred to in the records of the court. 
 
 It is a singular coincidence that forty-two years after this 
 time George Catto, Tobias Rudolph and Joseph Gilpin, who 
 were appointed by the court to rebuild the bridge over the 
 Great Elk at the same place got into a similar difficult}^ The 
 court levied the sum of £125 for the building of this bridge, 
 and the commissioners state in their petition that they had 
 thought it most advantageous to the public to have the 
 greater part of it built of stone, and had contracted for the 
 building of it for £250, and pray for an additional allowance 
 of £125. 
 
 In 1723 some of the influential citizens of the county peti- 
 tioned for a road " from the head of Elk to New Castle and 
 Christine Bridge," and state in their petition that " the road 
 to those places not having been laid out by order of court 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 229 
 
 was so stopped up and turned that carts were forced to go 
 by the New Munster Road (which then ran near where 
 Newark now stands), and that strange travelers often went 
 by Frenchtown instead of the head of Elk River, the Welsh 
 having cleared and marked a road as far as their supposed 
 bounds." The petition, which was signed by Stephen 
 Onion, Richard Dobson, and eighteen other citizens of the 
 countj'^, was granted, and William Bristow, overseer of 
 Bohemia Hundred, and Thomas Jacobs, the proprietor of 
 the mill, were ordered to make the road. 
 
 The Henry Hollingsworth who bought the land from 
 John Smith came to Pennsylvania, as did also his brothers 
 Valentine and Thomas, in the ship Welcome, with William 
 Penn, in 1682. Their father, Valentine Hollingsworth, 
 married the daughter of Henry Cornish, who was one of 
 the sheriffs of London (London then had two sheriffs with 
 co-equal power) in the troublesome times of James II., and 
 who was executed in 1685 for alleged complicity with Mon- 
 mouth in his efforts to usurp the royal authority. Cornish 
 was believed to have been entirely innocent of the charges 
 against him, and although he was executed with all the 
 barbarity of the times. Parliament, a few years afterwards, 
 in the reign of William and Mary, reversed the act of 
 attainder, and did all in its power to atone for the wrong that 
 it had brought upon an innocent family. A'alentine Hol- 
 lingsworth represented New Castle County in the legislature 
 of Pennsylvania for several years. He was the cotemporary 
 of George Talbot. 
 
 Henry, who was named after his maternal grandfather, 
 was a man of much distinction, and assisted Thomas 
 Holmes in laying out the city of Philadelphia, being at that 
 time about eighteen years of age. After the death of Cor- 
 nish his son-in-law, Valentine Hollingsworth, removed to 
 Ireland, where his son Henry made the acquaintance of 
 Lydia Atkinson, whom he married in 1688, having in that 
 year returned to Ireland for that purpose. He represented 
 
230 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 New Castle County in the Assembly in 1695, and was also 
 sheriff of Chester County the same year ; was deputy mas- 
 ter of the rolls in 1700, and coroner of the last-named 
 courity in 1706. He removed to Elkton about 1712, in 
 which year he was appointed surveyor of Cecil County. 
 He was the founder of the Hollingsworth family in this 
 county, and the grandfather of Colonel Henry Hollings- 
 worth, who was so intimately identified with the cause of 
 the colonies during their struggle for independence. He 
 died in Elkton in 1721. Valentine Hollingsworth was a 
 Quaker, and his son Henry is believed to have been brought 
 up in that faith, but afterwards joined the Episcopal church. 
 His life gave evidence that he never forgot the pacific prin- 
 ciples of the faith in which he had been educated, for he 
 would not suffer the life of any animal to be sacrificed for 
 food, and lived for some years wholly upon a vegetable 
 diet. Once, when returning from a fair at New Castle, he 
 saw a rattlesnake coiled up by a log not far from his house, 
 but passed on without killing it. Next day a peddler was 
 found near the same spot stiff and dead from the bite of a 
 snake. This gave Henry great pain, and he afterwards 
 thought it right to kill snakes. 
 
 The Hollingsworth family were noted for their enterprise 
 and industry and many of them were largely engaged in 
 the manufacture of flour, they being the owners of a number 
 of mills on both branches of the Elk. Zebulon Hollings- 
 worth, the father of Henry, of Revolutionary fame, was pre- 
 siding justice of the court of this county, and one of the 
 commissioners appointed to lay out Charlestown, in 1742. 
 He was a prominent member of St. ]\lary Ann's church, at 
 North East, and was one of the vestrymen in 1743, when 
 the present church was built. He died in 1763, aged 67 
 years, and is buried in the old graveyard, on the bank of 
 the Elk, southwest of the Episcopal church in Elkton, and 
 near the house in which he lived, a part of which is yet 
 standing. Pie was the great-grandfather of Mrs. Dr. Mack- 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 231 
 
 all, Mrs. Dr. Jamar, Mr. John Partridge and his sisters, 
 and Mrs. Pinknej^ Whyte, the wife of ex-Governor Whyte, 
 of Baltimore. His son Jacob kept a hotel in the house now 
 occupied by Col. George R. Howard, when the British were 
 here in 1777. And very early in life his son lienry built 
 the venerable old mansion now occupied by the Partridge 
 family, and in which.he resided at the time of the Revolution- 
 ary war. It is worthy of remark in this connection that 
 the British carried away the theodolite which Henry Hol- 
 lingsworth used for surveying when they left here previous 
 to the battle of Brandywine. The earliest landholder in 
 the immediate vicinity of North East of whom any infor- 
 mation has been obtained from the records of the county, 
 was a millwright, named Robert Jones, who had twenty 
 acres of land condemned for a mill site at the junction of the 
 east and main branches of North East Creek in 1711. This 
 was probably the site of the Shannon mill, but may have 
 been further down the stream, where the other iron works 
 are located. 
 
 The next mill at North East of which we find any record, 
 was owned by Robert Button, who is believed to have been 
 the person referred to in the chapter upon Nottingham. 
 Some time previous to 1716 he had a mill on or near the 
 site of the iron works, which he sold, together with fifty 
 acres of land upon part of which it stood, to Richard Ben- 
 nett, of Queen Anne's County, in that year, for £100 silver 
 money. This mill was near the "bottom of the main falls 
 of North East," and there seems to have been a forge or fur- 
 nace upon it, for iron works are among the many things 
 mentioned as being conveyed by the deed. It is very likely 
 that Button had the land upon which this mill was built 
 condemned by a writ of ad quod damnum, as the legal pro- 
 cess was called, for the early legislators of the colony were 
 so sensible of the use of mills that they very soon passed an 
 act providing for the condemnation and valuation of land 
 for the use of those who were disposed to build them. This 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 process was much the same as that now in use for obtaining 
 private property for public use. The party obtaining the 
 site for a mill in this manner hail the use of it for the term 
 of eighty years at a given annual rent. ^lany of the mills 
 in the county, in its early days, were built upon land obtained 
 in this way. 
 
 Among the petitions presented to the court in 1719 was 
 one from some of the citizens of Susquehanna Hundred, in 
 which they state that they had "settled in a remote part of 
 this county and were destitute of convenient roads both to 
 church and court and also for rolling tobacco to any con- 
 venient landing;" they therefore prayed for a road to be 
 laid out from the head of North East River to the plantation 
 of Roger Kirk.* The petition was signed by Robert Button, 
 the proprietor of the mill, and about twenty others. 
 
 In 1721 John Cousine, an orphan, thirteen years of age, 
 was bound to John Pennington, of North East. Mr. Pen- 
 nington was a cordwainer (which was the name given to 
 shoemakers at that time), and he obligated himself to teach 
 the orphan " to read, write and ca.st accounts and to get his 
 catechism by heart, and to teach him the cordwainer's trade, 
 and to give him, at the expiration of his time of service, a 
 set of shoemakers' tools, two new suits of clothes and a 
 young breeding mare." 
 
 In 1723 many of the inhabitants of Milford Hundred, 
 which then embraced the northeastern part of the countv, 
 petitioned the court for a road from the New ^Munster Road, 
 at David Alexander's, across the main fresh of Elk River at 
 Stephen HoUingsworth's mill, (which was the mill on Big 
 Elk, west of Cowantown) to the church at North East. A 
 few months afterwards they presented another petition. 
 
 * Roger Kirk was the founder of the Kirk family, which is one of the 
 most numerous in this county. Ilis plantation was on the great Xoith 
 East, in Nottingham, and included the site of the mill on that stream, 
 next above the road leading from the Brick Meeting-house to the Rising 
 Sun. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 233 
 
 stating that this "road was difficult, dangerous and trouble- 
 some to maintain by reason of crossing the east branch of 
 North East twice, and that it was only intended for a bridle 
 path, and that a cart road was much needed and might be 
 made by a much nearer route," &c. This petition was granted 
 and Stephen Hollingsworth was ordeied to see the road 
 laid out, so that it would not damnify any of the inhabitants 
 of said Hundred. 
 
 In 1724 Daniel Davis presented a petition to the court, 
 stating that he had settled on the main road, near the iron 
 works at North East, and was often oppressed with strangers 
 and travelers, and humbly prayed for a license to keep a 
 public house of entertainment, which was granted. 
 
 These few references in the records of the county to North 
 East show that it was a place of some importance as early as 
 1720, and most likely it was of much greater importance 
 then than it was half a century afterwards. Charlestown 
 was not then built ; perhaps it was not even thought of, and 
 the iron works which, as we have seen, were located here as 
 early as 1716, added much to the importance of the place. 
 
 In 1722 Stephen Onion & Co. leased from Ebenezer Cook, 
 (the agent of the lord proprietary) two tracts of land, called 
 Vulcan's Rest and Vulcan's Trial. The former tract joined 
 Dutton's mill-dam on the south, and probably extended 
 down the river some distance below the present limits of 
 the town. The annual rent for tliis tract, which contained 
 one hundred and fifty acres, was 15s. 6d, sterling and two 
 fat capons. The rent for Vulcan's Trial, which was still 
 further down the river, was 4s. and two capons. The lease for 
 this tract, which contained thirty-seven acres, contained a 
 covenant obliging the company (which at that time con- 
 sisted of Stephen Onion and Thomas and William Russell) 
 to plant an orchard of forty apple trees. Two days after 
 this, on the 31st of May, 1722, they leased a tract of two 
 hundred acres in Susquehanna Manor, called " Diffidence." 
 It was on the north side of tlie main branch of the North 
 
234 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 East. On this tract they were to plant an orchard of two 
 hundred apple trees. The annual rent was 20s. and two 
 capons. This seems to indicate that the proprietors of the 
 North East iron works were not a part of the Principio 
 Company at this time, though Onion is mentioned as one of 
 the latter company in the purchase of a mill on Back Creek 
 (now Principio Creek) the same year, and Joshua Gee, 
 Joseph Farmer, William Russell, and John Ruston are 
 mentioned as the other members of the Principio Company. 
 The large tract of Geoffarison, which was no doubt so called 
 in honor of Mr. Gee, was purchased in 1722 by Onion & Co., 
 it having been patented in 1721. The probability is that 
 Onion was a member of each company, and that they were 
 afterwards united. The Principio Company was one of the 
 first companies organized in the county for the manufacture 
 of iron. The father and brother of General Washington 
 had an interest in this company, M-hich some of the family 
 retained till after the close of the Revolutionary war. At 
 what time the Washingtons first became connected with the 
 company is uncertain, but it was probably after the settle- 
 ment of Samuel Gilpin at Gilpin's Rocks, which was in 
 1733. The Gilpin and Washington families had inter- 
 married in England and were intimate at this time, which 
 may serve to explain why the Washingtons became inter- 
 ested in an enterprise of this kind in Cecil County. For a 
 long time after the erection of these works they were sup- 
 plied with iron ore obtained in the neighborhood. 
 
 The forges used at that time, and till a comparatively 
 recent period, were very rude affairs. The blast was made 
 by means of a curious circular bellows, which was operated 
 by means of a water-wheel, very little machinery or gearing 
 being used. So rude were tliese forges that there was a 
 Avater-wheel for each bellows and hammer, consequently one 
 forge building often contained several water-wheels. 
 
 In 1744 William Black, who was secretary of the commis- 
 sioners appointed by the Governor of Virginia to unite with 
 ^hose of Pennsylvania and Maryland in treating with the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 235 
 
 Six Nations of Indians at Lancaster, visited this place in 
 company with the commissioners of Virginia and Maryland. 
 While on their way to Philadelphia to join the commission- 
 ers of that province, he says : " We sailed up the bay and 
 landed at Turkey Point, and I never saw a country so over- 
 grown with woods. About sundown we came to anchor 
 before North East town, which is composed of two ordi- 
 naries, a grist mill, baker house & two or three dwellings. 
 Notwithstanding we were lying before a town, the commis- 
 sioners and all the rest of the company chose to be on board, 
 as the place by its appearance did not promise the best of 
 entertainment. The next morning we went on shore and 
 breakfasted at the public house, where I drank the best cask 
 cider for the season that ever I did in America." After 
 visiting the Principio Company's iron works, which were 
 then in charge of Mr. Baxter, which he says were thought 
 to be as complete works of the kind as any on the continent, 
 they started on horseback towards Philadelphia, and were 
 met at the State line by the high sheriff, coroner, and under- 
 sheriff of New Castle County, with their white wands, who 
 accompanied them to Chester, where they were met by the 
 officials of Chester County. He does not mention Elkton, 
 but speaks of dining at Ogletown, and says he drank some 
 more good cider there. 
 
 So great was the desire of many persons in England and 
 Ireland to emigrate to Maryland, that in the early days of 
 the colony many of them entered into contracts with people 
 in England, who owned plantations in Maryland, to serve 
 them as servants or laborers in the new country for a term 
 of years, in consideration of their transportation and main- 
 tenance. Many of the early settlers who afterwards became 
 distinguished in the history of the State, reached the colony 
 in its early days in this manner. Some time later in the his- 
 tory of the colony, the captains of vessels engaged in the 
 transportation of passengers, would effect arrangements to 
 transport them to America, for which service they would 
 bind themselves to serve any person who would pay the 
 
236 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 captain the price of their passage, until such time as the 
 debt was liquidated. This custom prevailed until the time 
 of the Revolutionary war. The emigrants imported in this 
 way were called " Redemptioners." For some time before 
 this system of emigration was discontinued, it was customary 
 for the captains of the passenger vessels to dispose of large 
 lots of the Redemptioners to a class of persons called " Soul- 
 drivers," who marched them through the country and dis- 
 posed of them to the farmers. As late as 1795 this practice 
 prevailed in Chester County, and it no doubt prevailed in 
 Cecil quite as long. An amusing story is recorded in the 
 history of Chester County of a shrewd Irishman, who, by a 
 little good management, contrived to be the last of the gang. 
 His master, the Soul-driver, and he stopped all night at a 
 tavern, and the next morning he arose early and sold his 
 master to the landlord, pocketed the money and made his 
 escape, telling the landlord that though clever in other 
 respects, he was rather saucy and a little given to lying. 
 That he had been presumptuous enough at times to endeavor 
 to pass for master, and that he might possibly represent 
 himself as such to him ! Like most persons held in bond- 
 age, either voluntary or enforced, these servants, in many 
 cases, gave their masters much trouble. 
 
 The minutes and records of the court that are yet extant 
 ■show that much of its time was spent in hearing and set- 
 tling disputes between masters and servants. The servants 
 would run off and give their masters trouble in other ways; 
 and the records of the court show that many of them were 
 not as virtuous as they should have been, and that the 
 morals of the people of the county were by no means well- 
 developed. Matthias Van Bibber, who was at one time chief 
 justice of the count}'-, complained to the court in 1724 of his 
 servant Garrett Bonn ; that he was unruly; that he set him 
 at defiance, and would do nothing but what he pleased. It 
 appeared that Bonn came to the colony in 1722 without 
 being indentured, and the cause of the quarrel appeared to 
 be in regard to the time he should serve. The court sent 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 237 
 
 the constable, Daniel Huckle, after Bonn, and ordered that 
 he should serve his master five years from the time the ship 
 w-hich brought him over landed in A'irginia, and that the- 
 sherifl' take him to the whipping-post and give him twenty- 
 five lashes well laid on upon the bare back. In 1729 Nathan 
 Phillips presented an account and petition to the court 
 about his servant George Williams, who had ran away and 
 was absent four times. His master had found him at Welsh 
 Tract once, twice at New Castle, and once at Chester. He 
 had absented himself twenty-nine days from his master's 
 service and put him to an expense of £3 8s. M. The court 
 ordered Williams to serve six months additional to re- 
 imburse his master. These servants were bought and sold 
 somewhat after the manner of slaves, as shown by the j^eti- 
 tion of Ephraim Thompson, presented to the court as late 
 as 1784. Ephraim had purchased one Timothy Eouck, a 
 ' four years servant." Timothy proved to be a bad invest- 
 ment, and he shipped him on board of a sloop, the property 
 of Thomas Wirt, to be sent to Virginia and sold. Upon the- 
 return of the sloop he learned that he had not been sold, 
 and he waited upon the skipper Isaac A^anlaman for the 
 indentures of the said servant; when it appeared that some 
 time during the voyage to Virginia, Rouck had stolen the 
 indentures, and the skipper, for want of them, was' unable 
 to dispose of him. Mr. Thompson prays the court to take 
 the premises into consideration and grant him such relief 
 as it thought right. 
 
 As early as 1695 there was a public ferry across the Sus- 
 quehanna at or near Watson's Island. The great thorough- 
 fare between the north and south then as now crossed the 
 Susquehanna River at that place. 
 
 In 1715 the legislature of the colony took the matter of 
 absconding debtors and runaway servants into consider- 
 ation, and enacted a law obliging all persons who intended 
 to leave the province to give three months' notice of their 
 intention to do so by affixing a notice to that effect upon 
 the door ot the court-house in the county wliere tliey lived 
 
'238 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 after which, if no persons objected, they were to be furnished 
 with passes. The act recites the fact that " Whereas several 
 ill- minded people, inhabiting and residing at the head of 
 the bay, have commonly set persons over the head of the 
 bay and Susquehanna River, being either felons, debtors or 
 runaway servants from the more remote parts of this prov- 
 ince, for some small advantage they have in buying or get- 
 ting such money, goods or apparel, as such persons so 
 absenting or flying from justice aforesaid have with them 
 generally money, goods or apparel, by them feloniously 
 purloined from their masters and other owners," therefore it 
 is enacted "that no person shall be allowed to transport any 
 -one not having a pass over the said Susquehanna River or 
 head of the bay north of the Sassafras River unless they 
 have a certificate from two of the justices of the county 
 where they formerly resided certifying that they were free- 
 men." This is the first enactment in reference to the under- 
 ground railroad that was made in the legislation of the 
 colonies. The servants referred to were generally white 
 servants, and it was not till many years after this, when 
 slavery was abolished in the Northern States, that the 
 slaves of Maryland and the Southern States availed them- 
 selves of its use. 
 
 It is probable that the ferry at the mouth of the Sus- 
 quehanna was the only one on that stream at this time. A 
 few years afterwards Thomas Cresap was proprietor of a 
 ferry near where Port Deposit now stands ; this for a long 
 time afterwards, in contradistinction to the one at the 
 mouth of the river, was called the Upper Ferry. In 1727 
 Richard Touchstone was proprietor of Mount Ararat; he 
 states in a petition, presented to the court in that year, that 
 he was then seventy years of age and had served the coun- 
 try forty-three years. He no doubt is the man whose wife, 
 tradition says, supplied George Talbot with food when he 
 took refuge in the cave, which was at the base of Mount 
 Ararat. Pie certainly was in the county at the time that 
 Talbot was in the cave, and the tradition is not improbable. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 239 
 
 In 1731 the inhabitants of Susquehanna upper ferry 
 petitioned for a road from the ferry toward Philadelphia. 
 They say the ferry was much used by the lower inhabitants 
 of this province, and there was nothing but small paths by 
 which to reach it. They, therefore, prayed for this road to 
 " extend towards Philadelphia as far as the jurisdiction of 
 this court doth extend.'' The inhabitants of the county 
 about this period became much interested in the subject of 
 roads, and many of the most important ones in the county 
 were laid out. This was especially the case with.the people 
 along the Susquehanna. 
 
 The same year some of the uppermost inhabitants of 
 Cecil County on Susquehanna Eiver presented a petition, 
 which sheweth "that a ferry is kept at a place called the 
 Upper Ferry and merchants' mill near by, at a place called 
 Rock Run, which place being the nearest navigable water 
 that any vessel of any considerable burden can come up to, 
 to which place they were obliged to roll their tobacco, in 
 order to be shipped off;" they therefore prayed for a road 
 from Peach Bottom to the said Rock Run mill, and from 
 there to the said ferry place. The petition was granted and 
 Randall Death was appointed overseer of the road. Many 
 of these people resided several miles north of where Mason 
 and Dixon's line was afterwards located. Wagons and 
 other wheeled conveyances were scarce in the early days of 
 the colony ; indeed, ox carts, which were quite common a 
 few years ago, were very rare and scarce at the time of the 
 Revolutionary war. For want of a better method the early 
 settlers were in the habit of rigging their hogsheads in such 
 a manner that they could hitch a horse to them and roll 
 them to the landings on the navigable streams, from which 
 they were transported to Europe. Many references are 
 made to this custom in the petitions for roads whi'ch were 
 presented about this time. In many cases they are called 
 rolling roads. This method of transportation prevailed to 
 some extent in North Carolina and Virginia until quite 
 recently. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HuDdreds — Hotels — Charles Rumsey — Trials by jury — The Justices' 
 court — Rules of the court — Removal of county seat from Jamestown 
 to Court-house Point — Court-house and jail — Town at Court-house Point — 
 Elk ferry traditions — Quarrel among the justices of the oourt^The 
 lawyers. 
 
 Cecil County was at first divided into five hundreds ; of 
 these, South Sassafras, as its name implies, and Worten Creek 
 were south of the Sassafras River. Nortli Sassafras Hun- 
 dred included that part of the county between tlie Sassafras 
 and Bohemia rivers. Bohemia Hundred included the ter- 
 ritory between the Elk and Bohemia rivers, while that part 
 of the county north of the Elk River was called Elk Hun- 
 dred. In the course of time, when most of the land in the 
 county was taken up and the population had -increased, it 
 became necessary to divide these hundreds for the conven- 
 ience of the inhabitants, for each hundred had its constable, 
 who in addition to the business now done by officers of that 
 name, had to make an annual return of the taxables in his 
 hundred and to collect the tax. The constable also had to 
 look after the negro slaves, and suppress any riotous or 
 tumultuous assemblages of them that came under his 
 notice. There is reason to believe that each constable re- 
 ceived an annual allowance of tobacco in consideration of 
 the services of this kind he might be called upon to per- 
 form, for there are several certificates to be found among 
 the papers appertaining to the levy of 1763 and other 
 years, certifying that certain gentlemen who held the 
 ofiice, "to the certain knowledge of the writers, had gone 
 out of nights several times to negro quarters and other 
 places, in order to hinder and suppress their tumultuous 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 241 
 
 meetings." The constables were appointed by the justices' 
 court, and were commissioned by the county clerk for one 
 year. The justices' court (or the court of many duties, as 
 it might have been properly called) also appointed one or 
 more overseers of roads in each hundred, whose duty it was, 
 under an act of Assembly heretofore mentioned, to "make 
 the heads of rivers, creeks, branches and swamps passable 
 for horse and foot." The overseers were commissioned for 
 one year; and their commissions, like those of the con- 
 stables, contained a clause requiring the holder to return it 
 to the justices at the next annual meeting, and stating that 
 if they failed to do so, they would suffer the penalty of 
 being continued in office another year. To the credit of 
 most of the constables and overseers, their commissions 
 show that they returned them with the names of some of 
 their neighbors indorsed on them, with a recommendation 
 that they be appointed as their successors. It has been aptly 
 remarked by a modern statesman, when speaking of a cer- 
 tain class of officials, that none of them resigned and very 
 few of them died, and probably nothing so well illustrates 
 the difference between the officers of the present day and 
 those of a c6ntury ago than the curious clause that we have 
 just mentioned as being in their warrants. That which was 
 a penalty then would now be considered by most office- 
 holders as a fee simple deed or patent, and probably not one 
 of ten thousand commissions like those issued a century 
 ago would now be returned. iNo record of the bounds of 
 the other hundreds in the county, or the time of their 
 erection, has been found and probably none was ever kept, 
 except in the minute books of the commissioners' court, 
 very few of which are now to be found, and these are so 
 dimmed by age that the -writing in them is not legible. But 
 it has been ascertained from papers in the county commis- 
 sioners' office, that in 1770 the county was divided into 
 thirteen hundreds, as follows : North Sassafras, West Sas- 
 safras, Bohemia Middle Neck, Boliemia Manor, Back Creek, 
 
242 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 North Milford, Soutii Milford, North Susquehanna, South 
 Susquehanna, Elk, Charlestown and Octoraro. 
 
 The keeping of ordinaries, or hotels, as they are now- 
 called, was a business that seems to have possessed much 
 attraction for many of the people of the county in the last 
 century, and many of the most respectable families were en- 
 gaged in it. The reasons given by many of them are curi- 
 ous and laughable. In 1710 Charles Rumsey* presented a 
 petition to the court, " shewing that he was a liver at the 
 head of Bohemia River and that he had a wife and several 
 small children to maintain, which to him were very charge- 
 able, and continual passengers coming to his house, travel- 
 lers from this province for Pennsylvania and from Pennsyl- 
 vania to this province, and to whom he in modesty gives 
 entertainment and lodgings, victuals, &c., without pay, 
 which in time may amount to considerable sums of money," 
 therefore he prayed to be licensed to keep an ordinary. 
 Howell James lived, a few years later, at Back Creek mill, 
 and stated in his petition that "he was much oppressed by 
 travellers and others, he being located on the road from 
 Head of Elk to Bohemia Ferry." He, therefore, applied for 
 license to keep an ordinary. The court in those days, and 
 for a long time afterwards, not only licensed ordinary-keep- 
 ers, but the law obliged them to require the persons so 
 licensed to give bonds that they would keep well regulated 
 houses. The law also obliged the court to fix annually the 
 price of meals, lodging and liquors, a list of which was to be 
 exposed to view in the public part of the licensed premises. 
 The rates for liquor fixed by the court in 1717 are as follows: 
 "Rum, per gallon, 10 shillings, or 120 lbs. of tobacco; punch, 
 per gill, with three parts rum, 4 shillings, or 48 lbs. of to- 
 bacco ; flipe, per gill, with three parts rum, 4 shillings, or 48 
 lbs. of tobacco; cider, per gallon, 1 shilling, or 12 lbs. of to- 
 bacco; quince drink, per gallon, 1 shilling, or 12 lbs. of 
 tobacco; beer, per gallon. Is. 4d, or 16 lbs. oHobacco." 
 
 * See sketch of Rum&ey family in last cliaptei- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 243 
 
 It was also the duty of the justices' court to appoint a 
 proper person for ferryman at each of the public ferries in 
 the county and to fix the rates to be charged for the passen- 
 gers and stock and vehicles of all kinds. In addition to 
 these regular rates, the county gave the keepers of the ferry 
 a subsidy of tobacco, probably because the amount of busi- 
 ness was not sufficiently large to properly remunerate the 
 proprietors. 
 
 Parties who thought themselves aggrieved by the decisions 
 of the justices' court had the right of appeal to the provincial 
 court, which M^as held at the capital of the colony. One 
 Thomas Hitchcock, who was convicted of stealing a horse 
 from Owen Hughes in 1700, and was sentenced to pay him . 
 fourfold and stand two hours in the pillory, appealed to the 
 higher court, which affirmed the judgment. The following 
 order may be found among the minutes of the court for the 
 year 1689 : " Ordered by the court that all accounts arising 
 upon issue be henceforward in this court tried by a jury, 
 and that the attornies of this court are enjoined to take 
 notice thereof." This is the first reference to trial by jury 
 that has been found in the records of the court. It is prob- 
 able that prior to that time all causes were tried before the 
 court. A few of the old minutes of the court are yet extant, 
 and contain much information in reference to the doings of 
 the gentlemen who composed the courts. In 1688 two of 
 the justices refused to sit with the others unless they would 
 send for Matthew Pope, to answer the charge that James 
 Wroth, who was one of the justices, had prepared against 
 him. This the justices refused to do, and for want of a 
 quorum the court was forced to adjourn. 
 
 The Wroths are one of the oldest families in the county. 
 They came to Maryland somewhere between 1659-60. They 
 were a distinguished family in England, John Wroth being 
 high sheriff of London in 1351, and lord mayor of that city 
 in 1361. Sir Thomas Wroth, another one of the same 
 family, was "groome of the stole " to Edward VI. Elizabeth 
 
244 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Wroth was a woman of martial spirit and attended her 
 husband in King WilUam's campaign. She died in 1718. 
 The Cecil branch of the family intermarried with the 
 "Walmsleys, Penningtons, Rothwells and Morgans of Sas- 
 safras Neck. 
 
 In 1720 the General Assembly passed an act empowering 
 the county courts to make such rules and regulations for 
 the government of the officers of the court and those having 
 business to transact before it as they should think requisite, 
 and under such sums as they should think fit, not exceeding 
 one hundred pounds of tobacco. By virtue of the authority 
 contained in this act the court, on the 7th day of September, 
 1701, promulgated the following " Rules of Court, made to he 
 observed by all suitors and others that shall have any business 
 at court : " 
 
 "Firstly. When the justices meet together at the court- 
 house to hold a court one of them shall order the crier to 
 stand at the court-house door and make three '0 yeses' and 
 say all manner of persons that have any business this day 
 at His Majesty's court draw near & give your attendance, 
 for the court is now going to sit ; God save the King, &c. 
 
 "Secondly. That the Sheriff and Clarke meet the court 
 day in the morning, or sooner, before the sitting of the 
 Court, and the Clark make out his Dockett, that the court 
 may not be delayed, on the penalty of 100 lbs. of Tobacco- 
 for every default therein adjudged by the court.* 
 
 "Fourthly. That all declarations be filed with the Clark of 
 the Court within twenty days after the return of the writ, 
 and that all pleas be filed with the Clark within fifteen 
 days after the days as aforesaid, and all Demurrers, Ilcplica- 
 tions, Rejoinders & all other answers and issues made up to 
 come to trial, the morning before the trial at farthest, except 
 otherwise ordered by the court, on the penalty of 100 lbs. of 
 Tobacco. 
 
 * Thirdly does not appear in the original. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 245 
 
 "Fifthly. All actions to come to trial the second Court of 
 (after) the return of the writ except the laws direct other- 
 wise and the Court order. 
 
 "Sixthly. That the Clarke call the actions in course, as 
 they are on the Docket entered, except the Court order it 
 other ivays, on the penalty of ] 00 lbs. of Tobacco. 
 
 " Seventhly. That the plaintiff's Attorney standing up and 
 Direct himself to the court & then to the jury if any, and 
 open his client's case, after the Clark's reading the Declara- 
 tion & other papers in course relating to it, & pleading to 
 it, and when done he to sitt down and then the Defendent's 
 Attorney to stand up and answer him as aforesaid & not to 
 speak both together, in a confused manner or undecently, nor 
 to interrupt one another in their pleadings, in the penalty 
 of 100 lbs. of Tobacco, to be adjudged by the court then 
 sitting. 
 
 " Eighthly. That no man do presume to speak in court to 
 another man's business, except leave of the Court first had, 
 on the penalty of 100 lbs. of Tobacco adjudged by the court. 
 
 " Ninthly. That no man presume to come into court with 
 their hats on when the court is sitting, except any of the 
 Gentlemen of his Majesty's Honerable Councell, on the pen- 
 alty of one shilling, his hat being taken off by the crier or 
 under-sheriff and the said fine to be paid before the delivery 
 of the hat, except the court order to the contrary. 
 
 " Tenthly. That no one presume to smoke Tobacco in the 
 Court House while the Court is sitting, without leave of the 
 Court, on the penalty of one shilling to the crier for taking 
 away his pipe from him, the penalty to be paid before he 
 departs the court. 
 
 " Eleventhly. That no man presume to use 111 "Words or 
 Indecent Language, or misbehaving words or discourse, in 
 •court sitting, on the penalty of 100 lbs. of Tobacco, and to be 
 bound to the good behavior at the discretion of the court. 
 
 " Twelfthly. These rules to be hanged up & affixed at the 
 Court House as the law directs for the public view of all 
 
246 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 persons — according to the law, and not to be taken down 
 by any person without order of the court first had, on the 
 penalty of 100 lbs of Tobacco. 
 
 " William Wivel, Clerk." 
 
 In a petition presented to the court in 1721, it is stated that 
 these rules were transcribed and probably somewhat modi- 
 fied in that year. William Rumsey states in his petition 
 " that whereas he had by their worships' orders transcribed 
 certain rules of court, and had further by their orders at- 
 tended at court this five days, on expense & charges in order 
 to have the same rules settled and agreed on, which now are- 
 concluded on, and only remain again to be fairly tran- 
 scribed in order to be afiixed at the court house door, which 
 your petitioner is ready to do, therefore desires your wor- 
 ships to allow him the sum of six hundred pounds of tobacco 
 for his trouble aforesaid, which petition being read and 
 heard and duly considered, ordered it was by the court that 
 the same be presented & and he be allowed 300 lbs. of 
 tobacco." It may be inferred from this that the court did 
 not act hastily and that those employed to serve the public, 
 then as now, expected to be liberally paid. 
 
 The most remarkable part of these rules is the statement 
 in the heading of them, that they were " made to be ob- 
 served ! " For what other purpose they should have been 
 made is beyond comprehension. The reference to the gentle- 
 men of his Majesty's Council shows the deference and re- 
 spect that was accorded to royalty. At this time the gov- 
 ernor and council were commissioned in the name of her 
 Majesty Queen Anne, and represented the royal authority; 
 hence the exception in their favor. 
 
 The critical reader will observe the negative proof con- 
 tained in them of the existence of a turbulent spirit, and 
 the practice of much bad conduct, which they were intended 
 to curb and reform. 
 
 On account of the organization of Kent County, which 
 included that part of Cecil lying between tlie Sassafras and 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 247 
 
 Chester rivers, which was effected in 1706, it became neces- 
 sary for the convenience of the inhabitants having business 
 before the court to remove the seat of justice to a more cen- 
 tral location. In order to accomplish this, at the August 
 term of court, in 1717, Col. Ephraim Augustine Hermen was 
 " allowed 300 pounds of tobacco for and in consideration of 
 two acres of land lying and being on Long Point (now 
 Court House Point), on Elk River, upon Bohemia Manor, for 
 ye building of a court-house in said county." 
 
 Shortly afterwards, in the same year, he was ordered to 
 lay out a road from Bohemia Ferry to the site of the new 
 court-house, and to clear all convenient roads leading to the 
 same. M. Van Bibber and John Jawert were appointed to 
 see the road laid out. Of the size or character of this court- 
 house but little is known, for the records of the county con- 
 taining the contract cannot be found. There are many 
 reasons, however, for believing that it was built of brick 
 and floored with mortar. Tradition saith that it was torn 
 down, and the brick of which its walls were constructed used 
 in building the court-house in Elkton. The author, after 
 much inquiry, has been unable to find any person who ever 
 saw it. E. A. Hermen obtained the contract for building it, 
 for which he was allowed 35,000 pounds of tobacco. The 
 order for this allowance was passed at the November court, 
 1717. He was allowed 3,000 pounds more after the house 
 was finished " for his extraordinary expenses defrayed about 
 building it." 
 
 The court met in the new building for the first time on 
 the 8th day of March, 1719. At this court it was ordered 
 that " a clause be put into the warrant of the overseer of 
 North Elk Hundred for clearing the pct^/i that leads out of 
 Turkey Point main road to the directest and best way that 
 goes to Elk River Ferry." Abel Van Burkaloo was allowed 
 300 pounds of tobacco for bringing the records and stocks 
 from the old court-house on Sassafras River. He was then 
 sheriff, and was probably the sgn of the Van Burkaloo 
 whose name is now applied to a creek on Bohemia Manor. 
 
248 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The following order in reference to the jail at Court House 
 Point is extant: "Ordered, that Col. E. A. Hermen be 
 allowed 1,000 lbs. tobacco for building a 15-feet prison and 
 ten feet wide at ye court-house, on Elk River, with hewed 
 logs, and a substantial pillory and stocks near ye same. It 
 is further agreed between ye said county and ye said Her- 
 men, that if ye said Hermen should make it fully appear, 
 by a just account, that he should be at more charge in ye 
 building and finishing of ye said works than what he is out 
 more than is already allowed him, he be allowed ye next 
 year at ye laying the then levy — the said prison to be floored 
 with good substantial hewed logs, lofted with ye same at 
 least seven feet high between flore and flore." Old people 
 who were familiar with the buildings on Court House Point 
 in their childhood, state that the jail was standing there fifty 
 or seventy-five years ago, and that it was about twenty feet 
 square, one story high, and very strongly built of j'ellow 
 pine logs. 
 
 The same year M. Van Bibber, Col. John Ward and John 
 Jawert, were appointed by the court to sell the old court- 
 house at Jamestown, on Sassafras River, wiiicli tliey did by 
 public auction, on the 9th day of February, 1719, to Col. 
 John Ward, for 5,700 pounds of tobacco, he being the highest 
 and best bidder. There "was some land belonging to the 
 county sold at the same time, the quantity and location of 
 which are not stated, nor is there any deed on record con- 
 veying the same to Ward. 
 
 Court House Point would now be considered a bad loca- 
 tion for the seat of justice; but the reader must not forget 
 that when it was selected for that purpose many of the res- 
 idents of the county were in the habit of going to court by 
 water. The first settlers located along the navigable streams, 
 and when they wished to go to court, they got aboard their 
 shallop or smack, hoisted sail, and if the wind was favorable 
 soon reached their destination. There were few roads and still 
 fewer vehicles in the county at this time, and the custom of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 249 
 
 going to court by water had been common while it was held 
 on the Sassafras, and the people were loth to abandon it. 
 Considering the customs which prevailed and the geography 
 of the county, Court House Point was admirabl}^ adapted 
 for the purpose for which it was chosen, and was the best 
 selection that could have been made. New Munster and 
 the country along the Susquehanna and North East was 
 rapidly being settled at this time, and no doubt the wishes 
 and convenience of the people living in those parts of the 
 •county were consulted and respected. 
 
 In 1721 John Jawert was authorized by the court to lay 
 out the court-house land at his discretion in lots, and 
 ^' agree with those persons who were inclinable to build on 
 the same for such lots as they shall take up not exceeding 
 100 lbs. of tobacco for each lot beside surveyor's fees." 
 Shortly alter this time Aaron Latham purchased two of 
 these lots, upon one of which he erected a small wooden 
 house. Subsequently he wished to exchange thfem for 
 another lot near the river, upon which he proposed to erect 
 a larger house. The reason he gave for wishing to be nearer 
 the river was that he was afraid of a conflagration that 
 might consume his house. The house, which now stands 
 upon this point, is ver}' old and was no doubt considered a 
 fine specimen of architecture when it was built. The cor- 
 nice is very elaborate and probably is entirely different from 
 any other now extant in this county. The house is said to 
 have been occupied by the sheriff of the county during the 
 time that the court met there, and its appearance and arch- 
 itecture indicate that such may have been the fact. 
 
 After the removal of the court to Court House Point the 
 ferry across the Elk River became one of the most import- 
 ant ones in the county. A brick house was erected on the 
 north side of the river, which was used for a tavern for 
 many years. Every trace of it has long since disappeared, 
 but a part of the wall of the ferry house still remains. It is 
 close by the river and partially covered by the vines of 
 
250 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 several trumpet flowers which cling to the ruined old walls 
 as if anxious to conceal the ravages which time has made 
 upon them. 
 
 There are many traditions concerning the execution of 
 criminals at Court House Point ; how they were drawn and 
 quartered, as was the custom at that time, and how their 
 ghastly remains were exposed to public view, different 
 parts being placed upon different sides of the river. There 
 is also a legend current among the old citizens of Elk Neck, 
 which may properly be called the legend of the "Bloody 
 Holly Bush," which originated from a murder committed 
 on the ferry farm while it was occupied by Hans Ru- 
 dolph, the proprietor of the ferry. Rudolph had a 
 negro slave who, for some reason, was confined in the jail at 
 the Point, and who made his escape and swam across the 
 river and procured a gun and hid himself beside a log about 
 a mile from the old ferry-house. His master, while hunt- 
 ing for him, approached his place of concealment and he 
 shot him, his blood bespattering the green leaves of a holly 
 bush near which he stood. The leaves of a holly bush still 
 growing there are flecked with crimson spots, as is alleged, 
 from some supernatural cause. There is no doubt of the 
 truth of the red spots being on the leaves of the holly bush, 
 but they are caused by some peculiarity of the soil in which 
 it grows. 
 
 The legal machinery of the county seems to have been in 
 a very bad condition for several years subsequent to 1719. 
 At this time Matthias Van Bibber was presiding justice of 
 the court, and his nephew, James Van Bibber, was sheriff of 
 the county. For some reason they seem not to have been 
 on good terms with each other, for in 1720 James presented 
 a petition to the court alleging that he had bought a large 
 tract of land from his uncle, who had caused the trees that 
 marked the boundary lines of it to be cut down, and he 
 prayed the court for a commission to re-establish the 
 boundaries. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 251 
 
 This was certainly bad conduct, and a very bad example 
 to have been shown by the highest officer of the court; but 
 shortly afterwards his nephew, the sheriff, was accused of a 
 still worse crime, in a petition signed by fifty-three of the 
 freeholders of the county, in which they allege that he "did 
 exact levy and unlawfully take from the inhabitants of the 
 county the sum of 8,601 lbs. of tobacco," for which he was 
 indicted, but under color of friendship, relationship or 
 otherwise, the said indictment was stifled and the culprit was 
 not punished. They therefore prayed the court to bring the 
 said Van Bibber before it and take measures to restore the 
 said tobacco to those from whom it had been wrongfully 
 taken. The petition was favorably received and James came 
 into court and promised to refund the money to the county, 
 whereupon the court ordered the same to be inserted in the 
 levy for the current year. 
 
 On the 14th of June, 1720, John Jawert and Col. John 
 "VA'ard met at the court-house, but there not being a quorum 
 present, they ordered that Gavin Hutchinson, one of the 
 under-sheriffs, "go to the house of Matthias A'anderhuyden 
 and desire him to give his attendance." The sheriff returned 
 and stated that Vanderhuyden would not come. They then 
 sent Hugh Watson for Francis Mauldin, who returned and 
 reported that Mr. Mauldin was away from home. James 
 Wood, one of the constables of the court, was then sent for 
 Matthias Van Bibber, who was presiding justice of the court. 
 Wood returned and said Van Bibber " wanted sooner notice 
 in the day," besides he was indisposed and could not come. 
 So the two justices, after waiting until 12 o'clock at night, 
 departed to their homes, first causing this mournfully curi- 
 ous record to be made : "That the said court with all actions, 
 pleas & causes depending in the same was miscQntinued & 
 dropt, and the court fallen." 
 
 The trouble, whatever it may have been, seems to have 
 continued until 3 723, for on the 12th of April of that year 
 Matthias Van Bibber, presiding justice, and Benjamin Pearce 
 
■252 ■ HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 and William Alexander, complained to the council at An- 
 napolis "that they had been insulted and vilified in the exe- 
 cution of their office by one John Ward, and others, his as- 
 sociates, both by words in open court and libels dispersed 
 all over the county ; in so much as the county by their 
 means is in danger of running into riots and unlawful 
 tumults." They therefore asked the opinion of the council 
 as to how they should act in the matter. The council re- 
 ferred the subject to the attorney-general and desired him to 
 investigate it, and if necessary prosecute the offenders. 
 
 The lawyers of that period were probably as ignorant of 
 "the law and as unskillful in the practice of it as the courts 
 "were in the dispensation of justice. In 1717 the court 
 passed an order in reference to John Sloaii, who was one of 
 the attorneys, in which it is stated that he had misbehaved 
 bimself in his office, "and finding him altogether unskilled 
 in the law they discarded the said John Sloan from ever 
 jiracticing in this court anymore." 
 
 Tlie reasons given by some of the applicants for admis- 
 sion to the bar are quaint and curious. One of them states 
 in his petition to the court that he had procured several law 
 books and spent much time during the last year in studying 
 them. Another aspirant for admission to the bar bases his 
 ■claim upon the importunities of his friends,who had besought 
 him to take charge of their cases. And Abel Van Burkaloo, 
 who was ex-sheriff at the time, bases his claim upon his in- 
 .ability to secure the services of a competent attorney to at- 
 tend to the business he had before the court, and thought if 
 he was admitted he might transact his own business and in 
 time be employed by others. The court admitted him, with 
 the understanding that he would qualify himself. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Efforts to establish towns — Ceciltown, at mouth of Scotchman's Creelt 
 — Fredericktown — Georgetown — The Acadians or French Neutrals — Ac- 
 count of them — They are sent to Louisiana and Canada — Reasons for 
 building Charlestown — Its location — Public wharf and warehouse — Its 
 exports — Fairs — Introduction of tea and coffee — History of ("harlestown 
 — Population by census of 1880. 
 
 Though the early settlers along the James and Delaware- 
 rivers turned their attention to the erection of towns, and 
 Jamestown and Newcastle early sprung into existence as the- 
 result of their efforts, the other early colonists appear tO' 
 have been wholly absorbed in the culture of tobacco, and 
 had no time to devote to the erection of towns. Except in 
 the single case of St. Maries, there appears to have been no- 
 effort made, previous to the year 1683, to erect a town in the 
 province. The necessity of having some protection against 
 the Indians led the colonists at St. Maries to erect a town, or 
 at least to place their dwelling-houses in close proximity to 
 each other ; but as the oth er colonists became better acquaint- 
 ed with the Indians, they had less cause to apprehend dan- 
 ger from them, and do not appear to have thought of build- 
 ing towns. But in 1683 the legislature appears to have 
 become aware of the fact that there were no towns in the 
 province, and they set themselves to work with much energy 
 to suppl}' a want the existence of which seems suddenly to 
 have obtruded itself upon their attention. But their zeal 
 defeated the object they had in view, and they made so many 
 imaginary towns that not one of the number attained any 
 magnitude or distinction as a town or city. Indeed, but few 
 people, at present residing in the immediate neighborliood 
 of some of the sites of these imaginary towns, ever heard of 
 
254 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 their existence, though it is quite probable that each and 
 every one of tliem were used for a time as a port of entry, 
 the erection of which ports was probably the great object the 
 legislators had in view when the law was passed that called 
 them into existence. The act of 1682 provided for the erec- 
 tion of thirty-three towns or ports of entry in the province. 
 At that time there were ten counties in the province, and the 
 act provided for the erection of at least two towns or ports in 
 each county, though some of the counties had as many as 
 five of these imaginary towns erected within their limits. 
 The places named in Cecil County were as follows: "At 
 Captain John's Creek, William Price's plantation in Elk 
 River; in Sassafras River; at William Frisby's plantation in 
 Worten Creek; and by two supplementary acts passed in 
 1684 and 1686, at the plantation of John West, in Sassafras 
 River, and in Elk River, at a place called Ceciltown, at the 
 mouth of Bohemia River." 
 
 Commissioners in each county were named in tlie act to 
 <;arry out the many curious provisions it contained, but 
 their names do not appear in the abstract given in the 
 ancient laws of that day. One hundred acres of land were 
 to be purchased by the commissioners at each of the loca- 
 tions mentioned in the act, provided the owner was legally 
 able and willing to dispose of it. Jn case he was legally 
 incapacitated or unwilling to do so the commissioners were 
 empowered to summons a jury and have the land con- 
 demned and valued. The commissioners were to cause 
 these tracts "to be surveyed and staked out and divided 
 into convenient streets, lanes and alleys, with open places to 
 be left for erecting church, chapel, market-house or other 
 public buildings, and the remaining part of the said one 
 hundred acres to divide into one hundred equal lots, the 
 owner of- the land to have his first choice for one lot; no 
 person to purchase more than one lot during four months 
 after the 25th of March, 1684, and the lots to be purchased 
 by inhabitants of the county only. But if not taken up by 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 255 
 
 them within the said four months, then to be free to any 
 person whatsoever to take up the same, paying the owner 
 proportionately." Although tlie commissioners appointed by 
 the act were enjoined to purchase the land from the owners, 
 such does not seem to have been the practice of the times 
 nor the meaning of the legislators ; on the contrary, those 
 who wished town lots were to pay the owner of the land for 
 them, and they were to be holden of the lord proprietary 
 and his heirs forever, under the yearly rent of one penny 
 current money for each respective lot. Each person who 
 became proprietor of a lot was to erect a "twenty foot 
 square house on it before the last day of August, 1685;" 
 and in case he did not erect the house he forfeited his right 
 to the lot, and any other person might enter the same in 
 the clerk's book upon the payment of eighty pounds of 
 tobacco, which was the clerk's fee in cases of that kind. 
 
 The act provided " that the owner of any store-house 
 within such towns, his said store-house not being full, and 
 having no occasion thereof for his own proper tobacco, 
 shall, on request, suffer the owner of smy tobacco brought 
 there in hogsheads to put in and secure it as if it were his 
 own in such store-house, the owner of the tobacco paying 
 the owner of the store-house ten pounds of tobacco per 
 hogshead, which the store-house keeper shall secure for 
 twelve months or less, casualties by fire only excepted." 
 
 The legislators were fearful that they had taken pains 
 to erect too many towns, and in order to neutralize or 
 remedy the bad effect which they apprehended might fol- 
 low, they close the act with a proviso as follows : " Lest the 
 great number of towns may in time become burdensome to 
 the public by increasing the number of burgesses, no town 
 shall hereafter be capable of sending a citizen or citizens to 
 any Assemby till such time as the said town shall be actually 
 inhabited by so many families as shall be sufficiently able 
 to defray the expenses of such delegate without being 
 chargeable to their respective county by reason thereof; but 
 
256 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the said charges to be defrayed by the respective inhabit- 
 ants of the towns sending such delegates." The act. 
 provided "that from and after the 8th of August, 1685, the- 
 towns, ports and places therein mentioned shall be the- 
 ports and places where all ships and vessels trading inta 
 this province shall unload and put on shore, and sell, bar- 
 ter, and traffic away all goods, etc., imported into this- 
 province, and all tobacco, goods, etc., of the growth, produc- 
 tion, or manufacture of this province intended to be sold 
 here or exported, shall be for that intent brought to the said 
 ports and places." Planters were, however, allowed to pur- 
 chase provisions for themselves and workmen at their own 
 plantations, and the citizens of the towns were allowed to 
 traffic in goods in their respective towns if they purchased 
 them from vessels arriving there. These towns, notwith- 
 standing the pains taken to bring them into existence, did not 
 flourish. The legislators appear to have had a mania for 
 making and unmaking towns about this period in the his- 
 tory of the province, for in the year 1684 they made twelve 
 more towns. The same act contained many other curious 
 enactments to remedy supposed or imaginary defects and 
 omissions in the original act. In 1G86 they made thirteen 
 more, and enacted that four of those that were then in exist- 
 ence should cease to be towns or be untoivned, as they express 
 it. Those places that were untowned Avere no doubt badly 
 located and probably were unsuitable for the purpose for 
 which they were designed, and probably the legislators of 
 that day thought if they thinned them out, those that 
 were left would flourish with more vigor. It appears to 
 have been a favorite proJL'ct of the earh' settlers of Cecil 
 County to found a town to be called (Jeciltown. 
 
 The following extract from the laud records of the county 
 of that date -will show the method tlicy pursued in those- 
 days, when they wished to try the experiment of building a 
 town : 
 
 " At a session of Assembly began and held at Aiuiapolis, on 
 Thursday, the 21st day of .Alay, 1730, among other laws, was- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 257 
 
 enacted, viz. : An act for the laying out of land and erect- 
 ing a town at a place called Broxen's Point,* in Cecil County. 
 
 " August 6th, 1730. At a meeting of the commissioners 
 empowered by the said act for laying out a town on Broxen's 
 Point, in Cecil County, and on the south side of Bohemia 
 River, were present. Col. Eph. Aug. Hermen, Col. Benjamin 
 Pearce, Mr. Thos. Colvill, Mr. Stephen Knight, Mr. Nicholas 
 Ridgely, Mr. Joshua George, Mr. Alphonso Cosden, Com- 
 missioners. 
 
 "And the Commissioners do order that the Clerk of the 
 said county set up notes at the said Broxen's Point, John 
 yegars, at the Church of this Parish and at Col. Benja- 
 min Pearce's Mill, signifying to all persons whom it may 
 relate to, that the said Commissioners will proceed according 
 to the direction of an act of assembly for laying out the said 
 town. Notes set up according to said direction. Then the 
 said Commissioners adjourn until the 7th of September, 
 1730, at which time they met again and the Sheriff of said 
 county being present makes return of a warrant directed to 
 him to summon a jury." 
 
 The warrant recites the fact that the commissioners were 
 unable to agree upon the price of the land, and that agree- 
 able to the provision of the act in that case a jury was to be 
 summoned for the purpose of valuing the land. A majority 
 of the commissioners were of the number of those who after- 
 wards took up lots in the town, but whether this had any- 
 thing to do with their inability to agree upon the price of 
 the land does not appear; at this age of the world it 
 would probably have much to do with the matter. 
 
 The sheriff's name was John Baldwin, and the warrant 
 for the summoning of the jury is dated the 24th of August. 
 From this it would seem that they had a meeting upon that 
 
 * Broxen's Point was at the junction of Scotcliman's Creek and the 
 Bohemia River. Scotchman's Creek was then called Omealy Creek. The 
 town was called Ceciltown. 
 
 Q 
 
258 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 day, but there is no record made of it. The following were 
 the names of the jurors: Nathan Hynson, John Coppen, 
 John Veasey, John Price, Philip Barret, Isaac Caulk, John 
 Pennington, George Childs, Daniel Benson, John Roberts 
 and John Bateman, who were said in the warrant " to be of 
 the most substantial freeholders of the county." This jury 
 assessed the value of the twenty acres of land at £47 10s. 
 current money of Maryland, which was £2 7s. 6d. per acre. 
 
 The commissioners met again on the 16th and 17th days 
 of September and they and William Rumsey, the deputy- 
 surveyor of the county, completed the laying out of the 
 town. Then follows the surveyor's certificate, which shows 
 that the streets were sixty feet wide and that the principal 
 one of them was called Baltimore street. 
 
 Following the surveyor's certificate in the ancient book 
 is a record of the numbers of the lots and by whom they 
 were taken up, from which it appears that seventeen of the 
 twenty lots were taken up before the 26th day of September, 
 which was only a week after the date of the certificate of 
 survey; which shows that an enthusiasm then prevaded the 
 projectors of the town that does not seem to have lasted 
 long. 
 
 The record shows that two of these lots were retaken in 
 1731, five in 1732, and four in 1733. Those who had taken 
 them at first had failed to comply with some of the provis- 
 ions of the act of Assembly and had forfeited their right to 
 them. 
 
 The name of John Ryland, Jr., stands at the head of the 
 list of names of lotholders, which indicates that he was the 
 owner of the land. The names of William and Edward 
 Rumsey, Benjamin and Sarah Pearce, John and William 
 Knight, Walter Scott, and Rev. Hugh Jones, who at that 
 time was rector of St. Stephen's Parish, appear upon the list 
 of lotholders. 
 
 In 1733, Edward Rumsey, carpenter, who had taken up 
 lot No. 20 on the 19th day of September, 1730, sold it to 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 259 
 
 Robert Pennington, inn-holder, for £36, current money of 
 Maryland, wliich was a reasonably good speculation, con- 
 sidering that it cost him, three years before, only £2 7s. 6d. 
 ■and the clerk's fees for recording his title to the lot, what- 
 ever they may have been. 
 
 It is very likely that a desire to speculate in town lots had 
 much to do with this effort to erect Ceciltown. However 
 that may have been, the effort was as fruitless as the one to 
 establish it at Town Point. The enterprise was probably a 
 total failure, and it is not likely that a half-dozen houses 
 were erected on the site of the town. Provision is made in 
 an act passed in 1763 for the inspection of tobacco at Bo- 
 hemia Ferry, and it is not probable that the ferry would 
 have been named as the place at which the inspection was 
 to be made if the town was at that time in existence. 
 
 On the 11th of December, 1736, Fredericktown, on the 
 Sassafras River, was laid out. Previous to this time the 
 place was called Pennington's Point, or Happy Harbor. 
 Though this town still exists, the records relating to 
 it are lost; all the information obtained concerning it is 
 derived from a plat taken from a copy of the original one 
 made by William Rumsej^, the surveyor who laid it out 
 many years ago, by Edward W. Lockwood. This plat shows 
 that it contained about thirty acres, which was divided into 
 sixty lots of about three-fifths of an acre each by six streets, 
 which with a few small allej's contained six and a half acres. 
 The river a t Fredericktown runs in a southwest direction, 
 and the streets run east and west, and north and south, 
 crossing each other at right angles, which causes the town 
 to be very irregular and ill-shaped. Ogle street, as did 
 Frederick and Orange streets, which were next below it, ex- 
 tended north from the river. Baltimore, Prince William, 
 and George streets extended west from the river. 
 
 Georgetown, which is opposite Fredericktown, on the other 
 side of the Sassafras River, was laid out the same year. 
 These towns were of very slow growth. In the early years 
 
260 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 of their existence they seem to have derived some little ad- 
 vantage from travelers who were passing between the 
 northern and southern parts of the country. 
 
 In 1759 the Rev. Andrew Barnaby, while traveling from- 
 Annapolis to Philadelphia, passed through Fredericktown,. 
 and in a journal which he soon afterwards published, 
 speaks of them as follows : " Fredericktown is a small village- 
 on the M'estern side of the Sassafras River, built for the ac- 
 commodation of strangers and travellers; on the eastern side, 
 exactly opposite to it, is another small village (Georgetown), 
 erected for the same purpose." 
 
 Fredericktown was the residence of part of the Acadians 
 or French Neutrals who were exiled from Acadia in 1755. 
 Inasmuch as some thirty or forty of these unfortunate people 
 resided in this county for several years, it is proper that some 
 reference should be made to their history. In the ever 
 changing fortunes of the several nations that contended with 
 each other for the possession of different portions of the 
 eastern seaboard of North America, Nova Scotia, originally 
 settled by the French, had been transferred or ceded to Eng- 
 land by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, and the inhabitants 
 took the oath of allegiance to the British government, with 
 immunity of not bearing arms against their countrymen. 
 They were a frugal, industrious and persevering people and, 
 consequently, were prosperous and happy. But the French 
 and Indian war broke out in 1754, and the Acadians were 
 accused of furnishing arms and provisions to the French 
 cruisers, in violation of their oaths of allegiance to Great 
 Britain. Just previous to the departure of the unfortunate 
 General Braddock upon his ill fated expedition to Fort Du 
 Quesne, he and the colonial governors held a consultation 
 a,t Alexandria, Va. The result of the conference was that a 
 warlike expedition was sent against the Acadians, and, as is- 
 always the case when individuals or nations resolve to per- 
 petrate an outrage, the commanders of this expedition readily 
 found an excuse with which to palliate the infamous deeds- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 261 
 
 "they had resolved to accomplish. It is worthy of remark 
 that the disastrous and overwhelming defeat that Braddock 
 shortlj^ afterwards sustained seems like an act of retributive 
 justice inflicted by Infinite Wisdom, in punishment of the 
 cruelly unjust treatment of the innocent Acadians. The 
 British fleet left Boston on the 20th of May, 1755, and on the 
 3d of the next month the British army landed upon the 
 shores of Nova Scotia. Their advent was as startling to the 
 Acadians as a clap of thunder from a clear sky. 
 
 The Acadians made comparatively no resistance at all, 
 for the great mass of them were quite as loyal to the British 
 _government as the army that was sent against them. A 
 few of them had been guilty of giving aid and comfort to 
 the French cruisers, who, much against the wishes of the 
 Acadians, occasionally visited them, and for this offence the 
 "whole of them were made to suffer. After their surrender 
 "their captors offered to condone their offence if they would 
 take the oath of allegiance ; but they were Catholics, and 
 the oath was so framed that the}'^, as consistent Catholics, 
 ■could not take it. Indeed, the New Englanders, many of 
 whom were probably the immediate descendants of the 
 Puritans of Cromwell's army, and who composed in great 
 part the army of the invaders, very probably were glad of 
 the opportunity to do this, in order that they might have a 
 pretext for the infliction of wrongs that they would not 
 Jaave dared to inflict without it. Yankee shrewdness was 
 pretty much the same one hundred and ten years ago as 
 now. After the Acadians were conquered, or rather after 
 they were disarmed, for they never made any resistance 
 that amounted to anything, their conquerors were for a 
 little while perplexed to know what to do with them. 
 However, English vindictivenesss and Yankee ingenuity 
 were equal to the emergency and it was resolved that they 
 should be carried into exile, and this barbarous and infernal 
 resolution was immediately carried into effect. 
 
 It is upon an incident connected with the banishment of 
 the Acadians — the burning of the village of Grand Pre, a 
 
262 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 peaceful hamlet on the shore of Acadia, the home of Gabriel 
 and his bretrothed — that Longfellow has founded the beau- 
 tiful and touching story of " Evangeline." Before recount- 
 ing the story of Evangeline's wanderings he speaks of the- 
 total destruction of the settlement and banishment of the 
 Acadians_^as an 
 
 " Exile without an end, and without an example in story. 
 
 Far asunder, on separate coasts the Acadians landed ; 
 
 Scattered were they, like flakes of snow, when the wind from the- 
 northwest 
 
 Strikes aslant through the fogs that darken the banks of Newfound- 
 land. 
 
 Fr:eiidless, homeless, hopeless, they wandered from city to city, 
 
 From the cold lakes of the North to sultry Southern savannas, — 
 
 From the bleak shores of the sea to the lands where thejFather of 
 Waters 
 
 Seizes the hills in his hands and drags them down to the ocean." 
 
 Three thousand of these inoffensive farmers and artisans- 
 were scattered throughout the then thirteen colonies of 
 Great Britain. To some extent, probably to a very great 
 extent, this despotic exercise of power, this transcendent 
 consummation of vindictiveness and cruelty, brought its 
 own punishment with it. The unfortunate Acadians were 
 reduced at once from a state of affluence to a state of beg- 
 gary. Families were separated and friends forever parted. 
 The climate of their place of exile was different from that of 
 their native country, and being beggared, dispirited, and 
 many of them heart-broken, they became a burden upon 
 the people among whom they were forced to reside. Many 
 of these poor people were brought to Maryland, and so 
 miserable was their condition as to excite the pity of the 
 legislature, which in 1756 passed an act authorizing the 
 justices' courts in the counties where they were quartered 
 " to take care and provide for such of them as should be 
 real objects of charity, and to bind out such of their chil- 
 dren as they were unable to support; provided, the king 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 263 
 
 did not order their removal to some other colony." The 
 constables of the hundreds where they resided were enjoined 
 to return to the court an exact list of all of them annually, 
 and they were not allowed to travel more than ten miles 
 from their residences without a pass from a magistrate. 
 
 The following petition found among some old papers in 
 possession of the county commissioners, in connection with 
 seA'eral other papers, throw some light upon the history of 
 those of them who lived in Cecil and Kent counties: "To 
 the Worshipful, the Justices of the Peace for Cecil county: 
 The humble Petition of the French Neutrals in Frederick- 
 town sheweth that, Whereas, your Petitioners have now an 
 opportunity of removing to the French Settlements on the 
 River Mississippi, at their own expense & charge, which they, 
 on account of their large number of small children and long 
 captivity here, find themselves entirely unable to pay. They, 
 therefore, Humbly request your worships to grant such 
 timely assistance and Relief as may enable them to execute 
 their purpose of removing. And your petitioners shall ever 
 pray. 
 
 "Issabel Brassey, 8 in family; Eneas Auber, alias Huber, 6 
 in do.; Eneas Granger, 9 orphans, Joseph Auber. 
 
 "2Athof March, 1767." 
 
 Other papers show that there were other families of the 
 French Neutrals then living in Kent County; that one of 
 these families consisted of the husband (Joseph Barban), his 
 wife and eight children, and that they had originally been 
 residents of Cecil County. The Barban family wished to 
 migrate to Quebec, in Canada, and like the others, they 
 wanted the wherewithal to defray their expenses. 
 
 The petition of the orphan children of John Baptist Gran- 
 ger, which was one of the papers before referred to, contained 
 a touching narrative of their misfortunes and sufferings. 
 This petition showed that other French Neutrals, living at 
 Newtown, Kent County (Newtown was the name then ap- 
 plied to Chestertown), had received aid from the court of that 
 
264 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 county, and expected to start for Canada in about a month; 
 and that thej^ (the Grangers) had been in captivitj' for twelve 
 years, and were desirous to remove to Canada; and that sev- 
 eral of them had had the small-pox. They also speak in 
 terms of admiration of the government of his Gracious 
 Majesty, George III., King of Great Britain, France and Ire- 
 land. There is great room to doubt the sincerity of their 
 professions of loyalty; but they, no doubt, thought this was 
 the readiest way to obtain the relief they needed, and prob- 
 ably they were not to blame for the falsity of their profes- 
 sions, if false they were. The}^ conclude their petition by 
 asserting that they are the most necessitous of the French 
 people in the county, and beseech the worshipful council for 
 the love of God Almighty to hear their petition and promise 
 ever to pray for the conservation of the worshipful council. 
 
 But little more is known of these unfortunate people, ex- 
 cept that they received the relief they sought and were sent 
 to their friends in Lousiana and Canada at the public 
 expense. 
 
 The first settlers in the northeast part of the county, as 
 well as those in Nottingham, Avere in the habit of disposing 
 of their surplus produce at Christiana Bridge and New 
 Castle, both of which were then places of commercial im- 
 portance. Ceciltown, on the Bohemia, had been a failure, 
 for the land upon the Manor and in Sassafras Neck, though 
 naturally the best in the county, had been impoverished by 
 the continual cultivation of tobacco, which at the time it 
 was laid out was beginning to decline, and there was not 
 commerce enough to give tlie new town vitality. The cultiva- 
 tion of tobacco, was now confined to that part of the county 
 south of the Elk River and Back Creek, and Bohemia Ferry 
 and Fredericktown were the only places provided for its in- 
 spection at this time. The Quakers at Nottingham no 
 doubt were as industrious and thrifty then as they are now, 
 and the HoUingsworths and others were largely inter- 
 ested in the milling business on the Elks, and shipped their 
 flour to Philadelphia via Cln-istiana Brid-c, 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 265 
 
 At this time Annapolis was the centre of refinement and 
 fashion, the Paris of America. Baltimore had only been 
 founded thirteen years, and was in its infancy ; and beside 
 this, the Principio Company's forges and furnaces at Prin- 
 cipio and North East were in the full tide of successful opera- 
 tion, and the company was shipping the iron it manufac- 
 tured to England. No doubt the enterprising citizens of 
 the county felt the want of a town, and thought they 
 might as well have one of their own. So the)' obtained the 
 necessary legislation in 1742 and founded Charlestown. The 
 enterprise was rather more plausible than the erection of 
 Ceciltown, but the hopes of those who inaugurated it were 
 never realized. But it was owing to no fault of its founders 
 that it failed, for they used every exertion to make it a suc- 
 ■cess, and only succumbed to the force of circumstances 
 ■when convinced that it was impossible to divert the trade of 
 the northern part of the county from the towns along the 
 Delaware. 
 
 The act of incorporation of Charlestown was passed in 
 Tthe fall of 1742, and Thomas Colvill, Nicholas Hyland, 
 JBenjamin Pearce, William Alexander, Henry Baker, Zebulon 
 HoUingsworth and John Reed were appointed commissioners 
 to carry out its provisions. The town was to be laid out at 
 & place called Long Point, on the west side of North East 
 Hiver. Twenty-five years before, the county seat had been 
 moved from the Sassafras River to " Long Point," on the 
 Elk River, and the people of the county had made some 
 ■effort to have a town built there, but the enterprise did not 
 succeed. No doubt those who obtained the passage of the 
 act for the erection of Charlestown hoped and expected to 
 derive much benefit from the town. The reasons for build- 
 ing the town are set forth in the preamble to the act as 
 follows : 
 
 "Whereas, The Encouragement of trade & navigation is 
 the surest means of promoting the happiness & increasing 
 
266 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the riches of every country, and tliat such trade is with the 
 greatest ease and advantage carried on, when the same is 
 drawn into & fixed in one or more convenient places; 'T'here- 
 by it appears that erecting towns, & granting Immunities & 
 Privileges for the encouragement of people to inhabit there- 
 in, most greatly contributes to so desirable an end, & there 
 being as yet no such place settled at or near the Head of 
 Chesapeake Bay, although from the great extent of the 
 country round, & the want of navigable water above it, the 
 same seems altogether necessary." 
 
 These were certainly good and sufficient reasons for build- 
 ing a town, and the aforesaid commissioners met on the site 
 of Charlestown on the 10th of February, 1742, accompanied 
 by John Vesey, who was county surveyor, and William 
 Knight, who was at that time county clerk. At this meet- 
 ing, Mr. Colvill produced a letter from Benjamin Tasker, 
 the agent of the lord proprietary, in which he expressed the 
 opinion that the five hundred acres which they were autho- 
 rized to include in the said town were very well worth £250, 
 in which opinion the commissioners acquiesced. The com- 
 missioners, after a few meetings for consultation, left the 
 matter in charge of the surveyor, and adjcurned to meet on 
 the 13th of April, 1743, at which time the surveyor had 
 completed a plat of the town. This plat has long since dis- 
 appeared, but the proceedings of the commissioners, a part 
 of which are recorded in the county clerk's office, show that 
 they laid out two hundred of the five hundred acres which 
 they had condemned for the purpose, into two hundred lots, 
 and that the town contained seven streets that ran at right 
 angles with the river and were crossed at right angles by 
 five other streets. Tasker's lane, which was the name 
 given to the most westerly street, was no doubt so called in 
 honor of the lord proprietary's agent, Benjamin Tasker, 
 while his lordship was trebly honored by the name of Cecil, 
 Calvert, and Baltimore being applied to three of the princi- 
 pal streets. The fact that one of the streets was called Cones- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 26T 
 
 toga is indicative of a desire to cultivate the best of feeling 
 with the people of Lancaster County, some of whom after- 
 ward became the owners of lots in the new town. The re- 
 maining three hundred acres were reserved, agreeably tO' 
 the provisions of the act, for the common use of the citizens 
 of the town, for the purpose of furnishing them with fire- 
 wood and pasture for their cattle. Some part of this com- 
 mon is yet held by the town, but it is doubtful if its posses- 
 sion was ever of any material advantage to the citizens. 
 Certain parts of the town were reserved for the purpose of 
 erecting a public wharf and warehouse "for the more commo- 
 dious carrying on of trade," and for the erection of a market 
 house, court-house, and other public buildings. 
 
 The 10th of May, 1743, was the day designated for ballot- 
 ing for the town lots, no record of which is now extant, con- 
 sequently the names of the original proprietors are unknown. 
 But the deeds for lots which were sold a few years after- 
 wards show that some persons from Lancaster, Chester, 
 Anne Arundel, Kent, and Baltimore counties, and Pliila- 
 adelphia city, were among the original proprietors. The Rev. 
 William Wye, who was rector of North Elk Parish at that 
 time, was one of the original proprietors of lots; and it is 
 worthy of remark, as showing the power of the clergy at 
 that time, that he waived his right to collect the forty 
 pounds per poll of tobacco (which was assessed upon each, 
 taxable in the parish) from the citizens of Charlestown. His- 
 object in doing this was to encourage the enterprise by les- 
 sening taxation, and to induce immigration. Rev. Hugh 
 Jones, who was then rector of North Sassafras Parish, is be- 
 lieved to have been one of the original lotholders. He cer- 
 tainly owned one of the town lots at the time of his death. 
 and devised it in his will. 
 
 The new town throve well at first and the lots were all: 
 taken up during the first year of its existence, and such was 
 the popularity of the enterprise and the desire to acquire 
 building lots in it, that many of the original lots were 
 
268 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 divided and subdivided in order to bupply the demand. 
 The lots commanded a good price. In 1745 one of them, 
 22 by 45 feet, sold for £21. At the session of the General 
 Assembly in 1744 the original acr of incorporation, which 
 •was as long as Lord Baltimore's charter for the province, 
 was supplemented the first time by an additional one, which 
 ■empowered the commissioners to take charge of and dis- 
 burse £200, which the lotholders had raised by voluntary 
 •contributions for the purpose of building a wharf and ware- 
 house. 
 
 The principal articles of exportation from the new town 
 in the first years of its existence seem to have been grain 
 of all kinds and flour and flaxseed. Tobacco is not men- 
 tioned in the act nor in the records of the town, a few of 
 which are j'et extant. The commissioners were also author- 
 ized to appoint a wharfinger and warehouse-keeper and an 
 inspector of flour ; and the act specified that after the 
 appointment of an inspector no flour was to be shipped 
 from North East River from any other place than Charles- 
 town. Flour that was not merchantable was branded with 
 .a broad arrow, and its shipment was forbidden under a 
 penalty of 5s. per barrel. The act contained manj^ provi- 
 sions in reference to the exportation of bread, which was no 
 doubt similar to what is now used on ship-board, and is 
 known as " hard-tack." The commissioners were also em- 
 powered to purchase or have condemned two acres of land 
 at Seneca Point, which is a short distance further down the 
 river, for a ship-yard, and to lay out a cart-road from the 
 town to that place. 
 
 The supplementary act shows that the inhabitants of the 
 town "had already, of their own accoT:([, published a fair, 
 which was held at the said town on the 10th of May, 1744, 
 whereat great numbers of people did meet ;" therefore the 
 ■General Assembly authorized them to hold two fairs there- 
 after, to begin on the 23d day of April and the 18th day of 
 October annually, provided these dnys were not Sundays; 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 269 
 
 if SO, the fairs were to commence the next day and to con- 
 tinue not more than three days. These fairs soon became 
 very popular, and were attended by people from the large 
 cities as far east, it is said, as Boston. They continued to 
 be held till a time within the memory of persons now living, 
 and probably added much to the prosperity of the town ; 
 they certainly added much to its notoriety. Tea and coffee 
 are said to have been first introduced into this county by 
 means of the facilities afforded by these fairs. The mer- 
 chants from the cities brought those commodities there and 
 disposed of them to the country people, at the same time 
 furnishing them with printed directions showing how to 
 manufacture the new beverages. It is said that tea was not 
 generally liked, and many of the first purchasers gave it 
 to their negroes. The Rev. John McCrery, who was pastor 
 of Head of Christiana Church, it is said carried a supply of 
 tea with him when he was away from home engaged in 
 missionary labor, and upon one occasion gave some of it to 
 the lady of the house where he was stopping and requested 
 her to prepare it for his supper. She boiled it and served 
 him the boiled leaver on a plate, when he quietly remarked 
 that he would much rather have had the broth. 
 
 Besides the merchants and milliners from Baltimore, 
 Philadelphia and other large cities, who came to Charles- 
 town in vessels and bought large cargoes of goods, the fairs 
 were attended by many who came from distant parts of 
 Chester and Lancaster counties on horseback to see the sights 
 and have a frolic, and sometimes to settle the feuds and 
 quarrels that had existed in the neighborhood where they 
 lived. Many of the citizens of the town, as well as many of 
 those who attended the fair, were natives of the Emerald 
 Isle, who thought it incumbent ui^on them to sustain the 
 reputation of an institution that for centuries had been, and 
 yet is, exceedingly popular in their native country. The 
 state of society and the morals of the people were not as good 
 then as they are now, and the archives of the county show 
 
270 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 that, during one of the fairs, the body of a murdered man 
 Tvas found near where the road crosses a creek east of the 
 town. He was a peddler and liad been at the fair, and his 
 body was found by some persons who stopped to water their 
 horses at the creek. While they were drinking, the water 
 became crimsoned by the blood of the murdered man. They 
 at once instituted a search for the cause, and found the mur- 
 •derer, who had taken refuge in a tree near which his victim 
 lay, in the stream. The records of the trial cannot be found, 
 but the stream is yet known by the name of Peddler's Run. 
 Many of those who attended the fair indulged in fiddling 
 and dancing, as well as in frolicking and fighting, and rude 
 and temporary buildings were put up, which were rented for 
 the former purpose, and in which the sturdj' Irishman and 
 his sweetheart, upon the paj^ment of a small fee, could enjoy 
 •the pleasure that they had walked barefooted many weary 
 miles to obtain. For it was customary for the females who 
 traveled to the fair on foot to carry their shoes and stockings 
 in their hands, and when they arrived at the outskirts of 
 the town to wash their feet in a convenient stream, after 
 which they put on their shoes and stockings and entered the 
 town. 
 
 The spring fair was afterwards held some time in May, at 
 the close of the fishing season, and the fishermen resorted to 
 it to have a general jollification, during which many of them 
 were in the habit of spending the hard earnings of manj'- 
 weary weeks of toil. They were also the resort of the fair 
 ■sex, who frequented them in order to obtain the finery that 
 could be purchased nowhere else except in the large cities. 
 The fairs were held on the public square of the town, which 
 it was customary to rent to the highest bidder for a term of 
 years. The proprietor erected drinking booths and stalls 
 XL-pon the fair ground, which he rented to those who wished 
 to occupy them. These booths were rude structures made 
 of bushes, and would be great curiosities now. In 1795 the 
 ■commissioners ordered that the booths should be ten feet 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 271 
 
 square, and the stalls for selling goods should be seven feet 
 wide and eight feet long, all to be made of good, sufficient 
 forks and poles, with plank seats around each side and back 
 of the booths, and shelving in the stalls. They were to be 
 rented for not more than seven shillings and six pence each 
 for each fair. 
 
 The legislators of the province had had so little experience 
 in municipal legislation, and the habits of the citizens of the 
 new town appear to have been so slovenly, that in 1750 they 
 added another supplement to the act of incorporation, in 
 which they state that, " Whereas, many persons have built, 
 and are now building, in said town, and clear no more ground 
 than where their houses stand, whereby the rest of their lot 
 becomes a thicket, unserviceable for pasturage, also inconve- 
 nient and unwholesome to all the inhabitants," etc. There- 
 fore, they enacted that the owners or inhabitants of the town 
 should grub and clear their respective lots from all under- 
 wood grubs and bushes, under a penalty of thirty shillings. 
 It was further enacted that an}' inhabitant permitting his 
 chimney to take fire so as to blaze out at the top, or who 
 should fail to keep a ladder long enough to reach the top of 
 the roof of his house, should be fined ten shillings. Another 
 strange enactment, that seems to indicate a want of faith in 
 the success of the enterprise, enjoined the commissioners to 
 meet upon the site of the town on the 20th of May, annually, 
 in order to perpetuate its boundaries. 
 
 The records of Charlestown, which are yet extant, com- 
 mence with the year 1755, but they are very incomplete, 
 and afford but little information. The rates for storage in 
 the public warehouse for that year were as follows : for 
 €very bushel of grain, ^d. , for every bushel of salt, Id.; for 
 every hogshead of cyder, 9d. ; for every hogshead of flax- 
 seed, 2d. ; for every barrel of flaxseed. Id. ; for every 100 
 pounds of iron, 3s. Ad. ; for every ton of hemp, 2s. 6d. This 
 year the wharfinger and storehouse keeper agreed to pay 
 £18 currency for the privilege, which indicates that the 
 
272 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 business of the town must have been quite considerable. 
 The rates of wharfage this j-ear were as follows : For every 
 sea vessel of 100 tons and upwards lying at the wharf, per 
 day, 6d. ; for every sea vessel of less tonnage, per day M. ; all 
 other boats 2d. 
 
 At a meeting of the commissioners in 1757, it was ordered 
 that a number of chests, then in the warehouse (supposed 
 to be the property of some officers killed at the defeat of 
 General Braddock), be broken open and an inventory of 
 their contents be sent to the governor, in order to ascertain 
 what disposition should be made of them. Two years after- 
 wards the contents of these chests were sold at public sale. 
 This is all the records contain about the chests or their 
 owners. Whether they were young men in the strength 
 and prime of manhood, or of more mature years, is not 
 known, for, like a vessel that was built at or near the town 
 and sailed out from it some years afterwards upon the broad 
 bosom of the ocean, they never returned. What bitter- 
 tears were shed for the adventurous mariners, and what 
 homes made desolate by the absence of the warriors, we- 
 shall never know, for their names and their sorrows are- 
 alike forgotten. Save this slight allusion to the soldiers and 
 a tradition about the vessel, nothing mqre is known of either. 
 
 In 1758 a vacancy occurred in the board of commission- 
 ers, which was filled by the election of Rev. John Hamilton, 
 who was at that time rector of North Elk Parish. There is 
 reason to believe that many of the early commissioners of 
 the town did not reside in it, though they were probably 
 the owners of town lots. This year John Smith was sued 
 for rent of the fair ground, which he rented two years be- 
 fore. In 1760 the commissioners contracted with Philip 
 Neilson to repair the public wharf They were to pay him 
 10 shillings currency per day, he finding two good workmen 
 beside himself and to vicinal them (which Hans Rudalph 
 engaged to do at Is. per day each), and allow them a half 
 pint of rum a day. A return made by the constable this 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 273 
 
 year, -n'hich is to be found among the papers in possession 
 of the county commissioners, shows that there were three 
 two-wheeled carriages in Charlestown at this time, one of 
 which belonged to Rev. John Hamilton. These old-fash- 
 ioned two-wheeled carriages were sometimes called " chairs." 
 The whole number of these carriages returned in the county 
 in 1757 was thirty-four. Five years afterwards they had 
 increased to forty-five. In 1761 the commissioners ordered 
 that the rent of each peddler's stall and drinking booth, 
 when rented by citizens of the town should not exceed 5s. 
 The records of the commissioners show that the keeper of 
 the storehouse, during the years from 1749 to 1754, had 
 jailed to account for two hundred and fifty hogsheads that 
 had been stored in it. In other words, he was a defaulter 
 to the extent of £12|. 
 
 The levy list for 1768 shows that the taxables, as returned 
 by the constable for that year, numbered eighty-nine, of 
 whom twelve were negro slaves. The whole population of 
 the town at this time was probably about three hundred and 
 fifty. In 1771 the taxables numbered one hundred and 
 two, of whom seventeen were slaves. In 1774 they num- 
 bered ninety-two, of whom eleven were slaves. In each of 
 these years, the Rev. John Hamilton is returned as one of 
 the taxables and the owner of one of the slaves. 
 
 Charlestown and Baltimore are nearly of the same age, 
 and for a long time after the former was laid out they were 
 rivals, and continued to be such until about the time of the 
 Revolutionary war, when the latter, owing to the trade with 
 the western part of the State and the superior facilities for 
 foreign commerce, outstripped the former, and it gradually 
 sank into obscurity and neglect. Many of the inhabitants 
 who had •"rected substantia] houses in Charlestown tore them 
 down and shipped the material to Baltimore, where it was 
 used in the construction of other buildings; thus the suc- 
 cessful rival gained what the unsuccessful one lost, and as 
 the one diminished, the other increased in size. 
 
 R 
 
274 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 It seems proper in this connection to notice an error or 
 two into which Mr. tScharf has inadvertently fallen in his 
 History of Maryland, when writing of Charlestown, '' of 
 which," he says, " no vestige now remains, unless possibly a 
 chimney or two, but of which the story is told that about 
 1750 a British merchant having some money to invest and 
 full of faith in the Maryland province, came over in person 
 to select the place to put his money where it would turn over 
 most rapidly. He examined Annapolis, Baltimore, Chester- 
 town, Elkridge and Oxford, and after mature deliberation, 
 put his money in town lots in Charlestown, as the most 
 promising site of all the great cities of the future."* Un- 
 fortunately for the truth of this scrap of history Charlestown, 
 by the census of 1881, contains 235 inhabitants, 48 dwelling- 
 houses, a church and school-house, and a number of shops. 
 
 A diligent search among the records of the town, which 
 have always been kept in books separate from the other land 
 records of the county, reveals no evidence that the English 
 merchant, nor any other person, ever held more than two or 
 three town lots at one and the same time. 
 
 *Scliarf s History of Maryland, Vol. II., page 63. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Presbyterian C'lmrcb at Bethel — Visit of Rev. George Whitefield — 
 Preaches at Elkfcon and on Bohemia Manor — Presbyterian Church at Elk- 
 ton — Disruption of Nottingham Presbyterian Church — Rev. Samuel Pinley 
 ^Nottingham Academy — The Pree School on Bohemia River — Rev. John 
 Beard — The present church buildings — Name changed to Ephesus — Rev. 
 James Magraw — Revival of Nottingham Academy — The Rock Presbyte- 
 rian Church — Disruption — Rev. James Finley — Murder of Hugh Mahatfey 
 — Rev. .James Pinley goes West — Present church buildings — Rev. ,Iohn 
 Burton — Rev. Francis Hindman — Lotteries for church purposes — Man- 
 ners, customs and character of the early Presbyterians — The Alexanders, 
 and other emigrants to ■Sduth Carolina. 
 /■•' 
 
 The Presbyterian church at the head of Broad Creek, 
 near Bethel, there is reason to believe, was founded by the 
 Lawsons and Alexanders from Society and New Munster, a 
 few of whom had settled in that neighborhood. The meet- 
 ing-house stood near the old graveyard, the site of which is 
 marked by some old tombstones which stand in the field a 
 few yards from the State Line and a short distance east of 
 Bethel church, at what is known as the Pivot Bridge. The 
 creek, the name of which was applied to this church, has 
 been nearly obliterated by the construction of the Chesa- 
 peake and Delaware Canal, the channel of which is identical 
 with the channel of the creek. 
 
 This church is notable on account of its failure. Of its 
 early history but very little is known, except that in 1723 
 Richard Thompson leased an acre of land to Samuel Alex- 
 ander and Peter Bouchell for twenty-one years, for the use 
 of the Presbyterian congregation at that place, for an an- 
 nual rent of one ear of Indian corn. The first pastor was the 
 Rev. Alexander Hutchinson, a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, 
 who was installed in 1723. It appears to have always 
 
276 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 been feeble, for during the most of his pastorate he 
 was directed by the Pj'esbytery to supply the Presby- 
 terian church on Elk River, as the PbOck congregation 
 was then called. Peter Bouchell was one of the first 
 elders, as was probably Samuel Alexander, and cer- 
 tainly also John Brevard. This church seems to have been 
 almost, if not quite, extinct in 1740, when Rev. George 
 Whitefield visited Bohemia Manor. Most of its members, 
 probably joined the Forest Church in Delaware, when that 
 church was organized in 1750. Whitefield first visited this- 
 section of country in 1739, as is stated in his journal, a copy 
 of which, containing liis autograph, may be seen in the 
 library of Pennsylvania Historical Society. On the 3d of 
 December of that year he preached at North East ; but little 
 notice having been given, there were only about 1,500 per- 
 sons present. On the 14th of May, 1740, he addressed a 
 large meeting at Nottingham, after which he went south, 
 visiting Georgia and the Carolinas, and returned the follow- 
 ing autumn and preached at Nottingham again to an 
 audience of 8,000 persons. After this he visited Bohemia 
 Manor, and on the 24th of November preached at the 
 house of Mrs. Bayard to an audience of 2,000 persons. He 
 does not mention the Broad Creek church in his journal, 
 from which it is inferred that the church had ceased to 
 exist at that time, or was so very feeble that it did not 
 exist much longer. 
 
 It was no doubt during this interval, when journeying 
 from Nottingham to Bohemia, that Whitefield stopped at 
 Elkton, or the Head of Elk, as the place was then called ; 
 for the town, if there was one then, was so small that it had 
 no name. Tradition says that he preached to a large audi- 
 ence at this place, which was assembled under the shade of 
 an oak tree that stood a short distance west of Bow street, 
 and probably about a hundred yards north from the river. 
 While he was preaching here, some of his audience for some 
 reason are said to have started away from the crowd he was 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 277 
 
 :addressing, and he is said to have cried out, in stentorian 
 tones, "The devil's at your heels!" It was owing to the 
 preaching of this great evangelist that the first Presbyter- 
 ian church was organized in Elkton, for the next year (1741) 
 William Alexander and Araminta, his wife, deeded an acre 
 of land, the same whereon Whitefield had preached the 
 year before, to " Robert Lucas, Zebulon Hollingsworth, 
 Thomas Eicketts and Robert Evans, of Cecil County, and 
 David Barr, of New Castle County, upon which to build a 
 meeting-house convenient for people assembling to worship 
 God and hear His Word preached, and for the use of such 
 ministers of the Protestant persuasion or religion, and par- 
 ticularly the Presbyterian ministers, as shall from time to 
 time attend there to preach and officiate in the service and 
 worship of Almighty God." This deed contained a stipula- 
 tion that if the meeting-house ceased to be occupied as a 
 place of worship for three consecutive years, the land was 
 to revert to the grantor. It was owing to this stipulation, 
 and the fact that the Presbyterian congregation at Elkton 
 afterward became quite small and feeble, so much so that 
 most of the members joined the church at Glasgow, that 
 this land reverted to the heirs of the persons who gave it to 
 the congregation. 
 
 The preaching of Whitefield was productive of much good 
 to many individuals, inasmuch as many were converted by 
 it ; but it certainly did more harm than good to the Pres- 
 byterian congregations in this and the adjoining counties, 
 many of which were rent in twain by the dissensions that it 
 engendered. This was the case with Nottingham and Rock 
 churches. But little of interest to the general reader oc- 
 curred in the history of the Nottingham church till the 
 arrival of Whitefield, at which time the meeting-house stood 
 on the brow of the hill a short distance northwest of the 
 village of Rising Sun. After this disruption of the church 
 {1741), the new side (as those who adhered to the doctrine 
 •of Whitefield were called) erected another meeting-house in 
 
278 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the meadow across the brook, a short distance west of the 
 other one, and in 1744, presented a call to the Rev. Samuel 
 Finley,* who, in that year, became their pastor. Such was 
 the bitterness of feeling engendered by the schism that rent 
 this church in twain that each party kept its church orga- 
 nization intact till about 1792, when most of those who had 
 taken an active part in the controversy having died and 
 time having somewhat mellowed the feelings of their de- 
 scendants, the two congregations were reunited. Mr. Fin- 
 ley was a native of the county Armaugh, in Ireland, and 
 one of the most distinguished scholars and divines of the 
 eighteenth century. He was pastor of the New Side Xot- 
 tingham Church for seventeen years and founder of Not- 
 tingham Academy, at which some of the most eminent 
 physicians, statesmen and divines of the eighteenth century 
 received their early education. jNIr. Finley remained in 
 charge of this church, till 1761, when he was chosen Presi- 
 dent of the College of New Jersey, now called Princeton 
 College, and shortly afterwards removed there. 
 
 Among the many distinguished men that received their 
 early education at Mr. Finley's Nottingham school, the 
 names of Dr. Benjamin Rush, so well known by his connec- 
 tion with the University of Pennsylvania, and the Rev. 
 John Ewing, who was one of the commissioners that assisted 
 in adjusting the boundary lines between Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania, and who was born in the Eighth district of 
 this county, not far from Porter's Bridge, are the most emi- 
 nent. 
 
 The location of the site of the building in which Mr. 
 Finley taught school is involved in obscurity, but there are 
 some reasons that indicate that it may have been a short 
 
 * Rev. Samuel Finley was a brother of Rev. James Finley, wlio was 
 pastor of the churches of the Rock and Head of Elk. C. B. Finley, one 
 of the elders of the Elkton Presbyterian church, is a great-grand nephew, 
 and Miss Martha. Finley, the distinguished authoress, is a gieat-grand 
 niece of these distingu'shed men. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 279 
 
 distance southwest of the centre of the village of Rising 
 Sun, and near the brook west of which the New Side Church 
 was built. It was no doubt a log building, for there were 
 few of any other kind at that time. Though the place 
 where it stood is forgotten, it matters little, for the reputa- 
 tion of the master and many of his pupils is so illustrious 
 that it will endure while sound theology, brilliant scientific 
 acquirements and pure statesmanship are respected and 
 appreciated. This academy was one of the most celebrated 
 of its time, and its history is in striking contrast with that 
 of the free school of this county, that probably was cotem- 
 porary with it, and proves the superiority of the voluntary 
 over the involuntary system of education quite as well as 
 the success of the Presbyterian church proves its superiority 
 over the Established one. 
 
 As early as 1723 the colonial legislature passed an act to 
 encourage education and also named a board of visitors in 
 each county, who were to hold office during life, and who 
 Avere authorized to perpetuate the board by filling vacancies 
 as they might occur, bj' death or otherwise, from the "prin- 
 cipal and better sort of inhabitants." The board of visitors 
 for this county were Colonel John Ward, Major John Dow- 
 dall, Colonel Benjamin Pearce, Mr. Stephen Knight, Mr. 
 Edward Jackson, Mr. Richard Thompson, and Mr. Thomas 
 Johnson, Jr. These gentlemen were authorized to purchase 
 one hundred acres of land for school purposes, and were 
 invested with full power and authority to employ teachers 
 and attend to all things that in their judgment were neces- 
 sary and proper to successfully inaugurate and carry on the 
 enterprise. They accordingly purchased a hundred acres 
 of land on the south side of the Bohemia River, in Sassafras 
 Neck, which included the point next above the Bohemia 
 Bridge, which was long known as Free School Point. It is 
 believed that they started a school there; how long it lasted, 
 who taught it, and who were taught in it, after diligent 
 investigation has not been ascertained. So little attention 
 
280 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 was paid to the land that a commission was appointed by 
 the court in 1784 to ascertain and mark its boundaries, 
 which at that time had become so obscure that they were 
 found with mucli difficulty. The school visitors at this 
 time were Peter Lawson, John D. Thompson, Rev. William 
 Thompson, John Ward, Sidney George, and William 
 Mathews. Rev. William Thompson was at that time rector 
 of St. Stephen's Parish, and Sidne}' George was a lawyer 
 who resided in Middle Neck. John Dockery Thompson 
 was one of the justices of the court, and was no doubt a 
 descendant of the Thompson who married the daughter of 
 Augustine Hermen, from which it would seem that the 
 vacancies in the board of visitors had been filled from time 
 to time as they occurred by selections from the "principal 
 and better sort of inhabitants." 
 
 After Mr. Finley's removal to Princeton the new church 
 rapidly declined and never had another settled pastor, 
 though it existed for many years as a separate church 
 organization. 
 
 In 1745 Rev. James Steel became pastor of the Old Side 
 Church. The length of his pastorate cannot now be ascer- 
 tained with certainty, but he probably remained in charge 
 of the church till 1753, when he emigrated to the Cum- 
 berland Valley, which was then the western frontier of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 In 1762 the congregation called the Rev. John Beard. He 
 is believed to have been a native of Ireland. His relations 
 with the congregation Avere not harmonious, notwithstand- 
 ing which he ministered to them till 1771, when he was 
 deposed from the ministry. His will was proved in 1802. 
 He resided at " College Green," which he devised to his sons, 
 James, Hugh and (Jeorge. 
 
 In 1786 the two congregations, both of which had for some 
 years been depending upon supplies, united in a call to Rev. 
 James Munro, which he accepted, and was installed in 
 August of that year. His pastorate, like that of his prede- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 281 
 
 lessor, was inharmonious, and in June, 1789, some of his 
 congregation preferred charges against him for "irregular, 
 imprudent and indecent conduct," and after a trial which 
 occupied the presbytery three days, he was found guilty and 
 suspended till the next October. Having in the meantime 
 •expressed much sorrow and penitence he was restored, and 
 ■subsequently dismissed from the care of the presbytery. 
 During this time the congregations maintained their sepa- 
 rate organizations: the First, or Old Side, worshiping in the 
 •church near the road northwest of the village of Rising Sun, 
 and the New Side, in the meeting-house which stood in the 
 graveyard on the north side of the road west of the creek 
 In 1796 the congregations having been reunited resolved 
 to build a new meeting-house, but they disagreed about its 
 location, and it was not until 1800 — presbytery, at their re- 
 quest, having in the meantime sent a committee there to 
 •endeavor to unite the congregations upon the choice of a 
 site — that the location of the present house, which some 
 years ago was enlarged and improved, was begun. The 
 work of erecting the new church on account of the poverty 
 of the congregation was an herculean task, and in 1803 they 
 obtained an act of the legislature authorizing them to insti- 
 tute a lottery for the purpose of obtaining the requisite funds 
 to complete it. Samuel Miller, Robert Evans, Thomas Wil- 
 liams, David Patton, James Cummings, James Sims, John 
 Porter and Jonathan Hartshorn are the names of the com- 
 missioners designated in the act for the purpose of putting 
 the lottery in operation. Their bond for $3,000, conditioned 
 for the faithful performance of their duties, may be seen 
 among the land records of the county. On the 26th of Sep- 
 tember, 1801, Andrew Ramsay conveyed two acres of laud 
 to James Evans, Robert Evans, David Edmiston and James 
 Cummings, who were then trustees, and who purchased it 
 from him for the use of the church for £15. On the same 
 day Captain William Johnson also conveyed two acres to 
 the same persons, which liad l>een purcliiised for tlic same 
 
282 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 purpose for the same price. Each of these tracts are de- 
 scribed as being part of a larger tract called Ephesus, and 
 the church is designated in the act authorizing the lottery 
 as the Presbyterian Church at Ephesus, though it was 
 known upon the records of presbytery at that time as West 
 Nottingham. 
 
 Rev. James Magraw was installed pastor of this church 
 April 3d, 1804, and continued to minister to the congregation 
 until the time of his death, which occured in 1835. With the 
 exception of Rev. Hugh Jones, who ministered so long to 
 North Sassafras Parish, Dr. Magraw was probably the most 
 influential and successful minister that ever exercised the 
 pastoral office in this county. 
 
 The Upper West Nottingham church wasorganized in 1810, 
 out of a part of this congregation that was too far distant to 
 attend after the removal of the church from Rising Sun. 
 Mr. Magraw became pastor of the new organization, and 
 gave it one-third of his time until 1821, when he resigned. In 
 1S22 he became pastor of the Presbyterian church in Charles- 
 town, which had recently been organized mainly through 
 his efforts and those of Rev. Mr. Graham then pastor of the 
 Rock church. Mr. Magraw also preached sometimes during 
 the summer season to the raftsmen at Port Deposit, who at 
 that time were probably as much in need of the gospel as 
 any other class of people in the world. 
 
 He Avas a fine looking, athletic man, and had a stentorian 
 voice; and is said by those who have heard him, to have 
 been an eloquent and powerful preacher. He cared so 
 little for the conventionalities of society that if the weather 
 was very warm he would take off his coat and preach in his 
 shirt-sleeves ; or if the church was not properly M'armed, 
 as was too often the case in winter time, he would preach with 
 his cloak on. He took an active part in the erection of the 
 fort at Port Deposit just previous to the burning of Havre 
 de Grace ; and was at the fort and harangued the soldiers 
 when the British were burning and pillaging the village of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 283 
 
 Lapidum. It was during his pastorate, and mainly by his 
 exertions, that the Nottingham Academy, which had become 
 extinct after the departure of Mr. Finley, was revived. 
 
 In 1812 the legislature of the State made an appropriation 
 for an academy in each county. Through the agency of 
 Dr. Magraw, the people of West Nottingham and vicinity 
 had a board of trustees elected and a building, which was 
 intended to be part of a larger edifice, erected, and secured 
 the- State appropriation of eight hundred dollars. Dr. Ma- 
 graw was the first president of the board of trustees. 
 
 Reuben H. Davis was the first principal. He had charge 
 of the academy for two or three years, and was succeeded 
 by William McCrimmen. He was principal one j'ear, and 
 was succeeded by Mr. Isaac Bird, and he by Samuel Turney, 
 each of whom acted as principal for one year. 
 
 In 1820 Dr. Magraw was chosen principal, and remained 
 in charge until the time of his death. Dr. Magraw was suc- 
 ceeded by his son, Samuel M. Magraw, who continued in 
 charge until 1840. He was followed by Rev. George Bur- 
 rows, who had charge of the institution for ten years. 
 George K. Bechtel, A. M., the present (1881) principal, was 
 elected in 1862. This academy has sustained quite as good 
 a reputation as its predecessor, which was established by 
 Rev. Samuel Finley. At least twenty-four ministers of the 
 gospel, and a large number of other distinguished men who 
 have added lustre to the bench and the bar, and many others 
 who have graced the medical profession, have also received 
 a part or all of their education at this institution. 
 
 The Rock congregation, like that at Nottingham, was 
 divided by the controversy that arose from Whitefield's 
 preaching. The new church was organized in 1741, and 
 this led to the erection of the meeting-house at Sharp's grave- 
 yard, which is about a mile north of Fair Hill. A''ery 
 little is known of this church, except that it was a frame 
 building covered with clapboards. Tradition says that it 
 was removed to a farm in the neighborhood, and converted 
 
284 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 into a barn. When the Old and New Sides united, in 1761, 
 they worshiped in this house for a short time. 
 
 The New Side congregation was without a pastor for ele- 
 Ten years, when they obtained the services of Rev. James 
 J'inley, who was a younger brother of the Rev. Samuel Fin- 
 ley, and who was installed pastor of this church in 1752. 
 Mr. Finley also had charge of the Presbyterian church in 
 Elkton for a few years after he became pastor of the Rock 
 ■Church, but in 1760 the pastoral relation was dissolved, 
 probably on account of the reunion nf the old and new sides 
 •of the original Rock congregation, which took place the 
 following year. During part of the time of the division of 
 this church the Rev. James McDowell had chai'ge of the Old 
 Side branch, which continued to worship in the old church 
 at the stone graveyard* near Lewisville, Pa. During his 
 
 * A tombstone in this graveyard contains tliis inscription : "In memory 
 of Hugli Maliaffey, who was murdered November 18tli, 1747." He lived 
 in New Munster, on the west side of Big Elk Creek, about a mile south 
 of where the road from Pair Hill to Newark crosses that stream, and was 
 ji blacksmith. Tradition saith that a person who lived with him became 
 enamored of his wife, and that he and she entered into a plot to kill him, 
 which they executed in this wise : While Mahatfey and wife were seated 
 near the fire, early in the evening, the cowardly murderer, who had been 
 momentarily absent from the room, stealthily entered it and struck Ma- 
 haflfey with an axe. The blow knocked him senseless to the floor, but did 
 not kill him. An apprentice boy, who was in bed in the loft of the house, 
 heard the noise, and coming down stairs, the guilty pair compelled him 
 to dispatch his master, threatening, if he refused, to do it themselves and 
 charge him with it and have him hanged. The body was then buried in 
 the smith sliop, where, after the lapse of some weeks, it was found, in 
 this way: Some of the friends of the murdered man, who resided at some 
 distance, hearing of his disappearance, came to assist his neighbors in re- 
 moving the mystery that enshrouded it, Hnd hitched one of their horses 
 in the shop near where the corpse of the murdered man was buried. The 
 horse, knowing by instinct that something was buried there, or being im- 
 patient of restraint and wishing to get loose, pawed the earth away from 
 the corpse, which of course was discovered. No record of the trial is now 
 extant, but traditi m says that the guilty man escaped, that the eqiially 
 guilty woman and boy were tried for the murder, and that the boy was 
 hanged. Another one of the tombstones in this gi aveyard contains au 
 image of a panther chiseled upon it in ba-^s-relief. Another one contains 
 the figure of a man's hand, the thumb and forefinger of which are repre- 
 sented as holding, in order to exhibit to view, the four of diamonds. 
 Why these curious devices were placed on tombstones is a mystery that 
 will probably never be unraveled, for the inscriptions on them shed 
 no light upon it. 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 285 
 
 pastorate he taught the classical school which had been 
 founded at New London some years before by the Synod of 
 Philadelphia, but which was removed to his residence, about 
 a mile southwest of Lewisville, in 1752. This school was 
 removed to Newark, Delaware, in 1767, and was chartered 
 by the Penns two years afterwards. It was the germ from 
 which Delaware College sprang. Mr. Finley's pastoral con- 
 nection with this congregation extended over a period of 
 thirty years, and so much was he endeared to his congrega- 
 tion, that it successfully resisted his efforts to obtain a disso- 
 lution of the pastoral relation and his dismissal from the- 
 Presbytery of New Castle for some years. He finally ap- 
 pealed to the synod, which set aside the action of the pres- 
 bytery, and he removed to western Pennsylvania, in 1783.. 
 Eighteen years before that time he had visited the western 
 frontier, accompanied by Philip Tanner, one of the elders of 
 his church,who lived in Nottingham, near Mount Rocky. Mr. 
 Finley is said to have been the first preacher (except those 
 who had been there as chaplains of the army) that preached 
 west of the Alleghany Mountains. Some years after this the- 
 synod of Philadelphia sent him to western Pennsylvania as 
 a missionary. While there upon one of these visits, he pur- 
 chased a farm in Fayette County, Pa., and in 1772, placed his 
 son Ebenezer, then a youth of fourteen years of age, in charge- 
 of it. Mr. Finley was twice married. His second wife was- 
 a daughter of Robert Evans, a sister of Captain John Evans, 
 who owned the rolling-mill west of Cowantown. He resided,, 
 during part of his pastorate, on the White Hall Farm near 
 Andora, or Poplar Hill, as it was formerly called. 
 
 It was during Mr. Finley's pastorate that the present 
 church, which a few years ago was remodeled, was erected, 
 as is shown by the petition of Robert Macky and George 
 Lawson, which they presented to the court in 1766, stating 
 that the congregation had purchased a piece of land in 1762: 
 from Michael Wallace and David Elder, near where the 
 westernmost branch of Elk River crossed the road leading. 
 
286 HISTORY OF CKCIL COUNTY. 
 
 from Nottingham to Christiana Bridge, and had erected a 
 meeting-house thereon for public worship, and praying 
 that the said house might be registered. This was in 
 accordance with the act of Parliament requiring all places 
 of public worship to be registered by the civil authorities. 
 
 Though the first meeting-house at Louisville had been 
 erected previous to 1725, it was not till fifty-one years after- 
 wards that they obtained a deed for the land upon which it 
 stood. This land was donated to the congregation, which, 
 was then called " Upper Elk Erection," by David Wallace, 
 but for some reason it was not deeded to them. Wallace 
 disposed of his property in 1736, but reserved two acres 
 which he had given to the church, and subsequently re- 
 moved to Kent County, Delaware, where he died. On the 
 21st of May, 1776, Solomon Wallace, his son and heir, " in 
 order to make good and confirm the generous and pious in- 
 tentions of his father," deeded the land to the trustees of the 
 church, who were as follows : Philip Tanner, of Chsster 
 County ; David Macky, John Lawson and Thomas Maffit of 
 Cecil County. 
 
 After Mr. Finley removed to the West, the congregation 
 was without a stated pastor for twenty-six years, during 
 which they depended upon supplies ; often they had no 
 preaching for months at a time. Mr. Finley was succeeded 
 by Rev. John Burton. He was a Scotchman and joined the 
 Presbytery of New Castle in 1775, and in the fall of that 
 year was called as pastor of the Rock Church, being at 
 that time serving it, as stated supply by the appoint- 
 ment of presbytery. He remained about a year, when 
 he declined the call they had given him, and accepted 
 one from the congregation of St. George's, Delaware. Rev. 
 Mr. Johns states in his history of this church that he 
 had a little farm advertised for sale, and when a cer- 
 tain party went to buy it he told them it was a wet, sorry 
 soil and they would starve on it. He is said to have been 
 so absent-minded as often to drive home from church in 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 287 
 
 other peoples conveyances, and that his paiishoners had to 
 see him safely away from church. 
 
 Mr. Burton was succeeded by Rev. Francis Hindman. 
 He was a native of this county and spent his boyhood a 
 mile or so southwest of Cecil Paper Mill. He was a cooper 
 in early life, but subsequently studied for the ministry, and 
 was called by this church and the church at New London 
 in 1790. Owing to the fact that he was accused of conduct 
 unbecoming a minister of the gospel he was never installed. 
 He resided for some time in a large, old-fashioned stone 
 house that stood until recently about three-fourths of a mile 
 northwest of Centre school-house. While there he taught 
 a classical school, which he subsequently removed to 
 Newark, Delaware, where he continued to teach for many 
 years. 
 
 Rev. John E. Latta, who is remarkable for being one of 
 four brothers all of whom were ministers of the gospel, 
 succeeded Mr. Hindman and remained till 1800, when he 
 accepted a call from the congregation at New Castle. He 
 was never installed as pastor of the Rock Clmrch. 
 
 Mr. Latta was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Leacock, 
 who ministered to the congregation as stated supply from 
 1800 to 1804. He was followed by Rev. John Waugh, who 
 at that time was principal of Newark Academy, and who 
 officiated as stated supply from 1804 to 1806. 
 
 After being without a pastor for twentj^-six years the 
 congregation, in connection with New London, gave a call 
 to Rev. Robert Graham, on the 12th of September, 1808. 
 He was to give the Rock congregation one-third of his time. 
 He was installed pastor December 13th, 1809. He resided 
 at New London and had charge of the united congregations 
 until the time of his death, on the 5th of November^ 1835. 
 During his long pastorate he frequently preached at Charles- 
 town and was instrumental in starting the first Sunday- 
 school at that place. In 1803 the church needed a new 
 roof and other repairs, and such was the poverty of the con- 
 gregation that they obtained an act of the legislature 
 
288 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 authorizing them to raise the money for those purposes by- 
 means of a lottery. No persons are named in the act to- 
 carry it into effect, and no bond for the performance of that 
 duty can be found among the records of the county. It 
 therefore seems probable that the scheme was never put 
 into operation. 
 
 This method of raising money for church purposes may 
 seem highly reprehensible at this time, but it was not con- 
 sidered to be so then. As early as 1791 the vestrj' of North 
 Sassafras Parish had resorted to the same method, and for a 
 long time subsequently whenever money was needed for any 
 purpose of public utility, such as the digging of a public 
 well, or the founding of a village library, this method of 
 raising money was resorted to. Those who are disposed to 
 find fault with our forefathers for indulging in this practice, 
 should remember that they acted under the sanction of law,. 
 and that many professing Christians of the present time 
 find means to evade it, by resorting to cunningly devised 
 schemes which are quite as demoralizing and uncertain as 
 lotteries. 
 
 The church at the head of Christiana was not divided by 
 the schism that resulted from Whitefield's preaching, but its- 
 pastor, the Rev. George Gillespie, for a short time favored 
 the New Side, for the reason that he thought those who ad- 
 hered to it had been treated with too much severity by the 
 other side. Mr. Gillespie died in 1760. He was pastor of 
 Head of Christiana church for forty-seven years, and was 
 succeeded by Eev. John McCrery, who, in 1769, was installed 
 pastor of the united churches of Head of Christiana and 
 White Clay creek. Mr. McCreary was a zealous and popu- 
 lar preacher, and well worthy to be the successor of Charles 
 Tennent, who preceded him as pastor of White Clay Creek 
 church. 
 
 Having thus briefly glanced at the ecclesiastical history 
 of these ancient churches, a few words respecting the man- 
 ners and customs of those who worshiped in them will not 
 be inappropriate. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 289 
 
 The first Presbyterian meeting-houses were generally- 
 built of logs and had no fire-places in them. The churches 
 were far apart, and the congregations that worshiped in 
 them were scattered over large districts of country ; some of 
 these people probably traveled a distance of twelve or fifteen 
 miles in order to attend meeting. Many of the original 
 members of the Head of Christiana Church were members 
 of the church at New Castle, and no doubt worshiped there 
 before the organization of the former church. It is said that 
 some pious young men who lived near Deer Creek, in Har- 
 ford County, were in the habit of crossing the Susquehanna 
 River in a boat which they used for that purpose and kept 
 moored to the river bank, near the mouth of that stream, 
 and then walking the remainder of the way in order to 
 attend the Nottingham Church. As the first meeting- 
 houses had no fire-places in them they must have been cold, 
 and being poorly lighted by windows must have necessarily 
 been somewhat cheerless and gloomy. But the ancestors of 
 many of the people who worshiped in them had been hunted 
 like wild beasts by Claverhouse and his dragoons among 
 the highlands of Scotland, and many of them were afterward 
 judicially murdered by the infamous Jeffries. They had 
 worshiped upon their native heaths and in the seclusion of 
 their native glens at the silent hour of midnight, with sen- 
 tries posted to give notice of the approach of the hired sol- 
 diery, who, if they had found them, would, with merciless 
 fury, have shot them down like dogs, or consigned them to 
 the keeping of the gibbet or the prison. It meant some- 
 thing to be a Christian then, and the stories of these wrongs 
 and persecutions were yet fresh in the minds of the founders 
 of these old churches. No wonder they made no provision 
 for warming tlie interior of the houses in whicli tliey wor- 
 shiped. The ardor and zeal of their religious convictions 
 made it unnecessary, and had this not been the case, they 
 were a stern, uncompromising sect that were ever ready to 
 endure any hardsliip or submit to any sacrifice in order to 
 
 s 
 
290 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 enjoy the privilege of worshiping God as they pleased. So 
 it was only after the erection of the meeting-houses that 
 superseded the original ones, that any pjrovision was made 
 for the comfort of the congregations in the winter time. 
 Then a small house in which the session met, which was 
 called the session-house, was usually erected near the 
 churches. A rousing fire would be made in it on Sabbath 
 morning, and those who wished to do so had an opportunity 
 of warming themselves before they entered the meeting- 
 house. Foot-stoves were introduced in the latter part of the 
 last century. They were simply tin boxes with lids, and 
 were filled with live coals from the session-house fire, and 
 placed on the floor underneath the feet of the worshipers. 
 The pastors of these churches in the early days preached 
 twice every Sabbath to the same congregation, there being 
 an interval of an hour or so between the morning and after- 
 noon services, during which the congregation partook of a 
 slight repast, which they generally carried with them to 
 church to satisfy their hunger. The members of these 
 churches nearly all lived in rude log- cabins, which were 
 generally built in a valley near a spring. They were a fru- 
 gal, industrious and pious people, different in many respects 
 from those who had settled in the southern part of the 
 county and in Elk Neck. They raised their own wool and 
 flax, from which they manufactured their wearing apparel. 
 They planted large apple and peach orchards, from the fruit 
 of which they distilled their own liquor. Those of them 
 who lived in Nottingham and New Munster disposed of their 
 surplus wheat at Christiana Bridge, which was then a place 
 of much importance, and contained a population of prob- 
 ably about four hundred. Their method of transporting 
 their wheat to this place may seem odd to those who live in 
 this age of railroads and steamboats. When they wished to 
 send their wheat to market they put it into bags or sacks, 
 which were large enough to hold two or three bushels each. 
 These sacks were placed upon pack-saddles on the backs of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 291 
 
 horses, upon one of which a lad was mounted, who led two 
 or three of the animals beside the one on which he rode, and 
 thus the curious cavalcade journeyed to the place of its 
 destination. 
 
 Another custom that has long since fallen into disuse was 
 much in vogue among these people, namely, the irrigation 
 of the meadows along the streams, which were so fertilized 
 by this means that they produced a reasonably good crop 
 of natural grasses, which were cut for hay, where otherwise 
 not a blade would have grown. Timothy and clover were 
 not introduced at this time, and it was very desirable to 
 have as much natural meadow as possible upon each plan- 
 tation ; this no doubt led to the ill-shape of some of the 
 early grants of land. The method of irrigating a piece of 
 land was to construct a dam across a stream and turn the 
 water into an artificial channel, constructed in such a loca- 
 tion that by letting the water out of it, through openings a 
 short distance apart, the land between the original and arti- 
 ficial channels could readily be covered with it. This was 
 practiced for many years by the first settlers in the upper 
 part of the county wherever there was a stream large enough 
 to admit of it. Many of the races that were constructed for 
 this purpose are yet to be seen. Lime was hard to obtain, 
 and liming was not resorted to as a means of enriching the 
 soil ; indeed, it is probable that its use as a fertilizer was 
 unknown to many of the people of that day. Owing to 
 what would now be considered a very bad system of farm- 
 ing, but which was the best their circumstances allowed 
 them to pursue, the soil on their farms became impover- 
 ished and many of them emigrated to the fertile valleys of 
 the Carolinas and Virginia. 
 
 This was the case with many of the Alexanders and 
 others of New Munster, who, about the year 1746, emigrated 
 to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Those of them 
 who first settled there were joined from time to time by 
 others of the same family until, it is said, they were at the 
 
292 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 time of the commencement of the Revolutionary war the 
 most numerous people of one name in that county. Among 
 the other families that emigrated from this county to North 
 Carolina, where many of them and their descendants after- 
 wards distinguislied themselves by the active part they took 
 in the affairs of the Presbyterian Church and the Revolu- 
 tionary struggle, were the Polks, Brevards, and very proba- 
 bly the Pattons and others, members of whose families were 
 active participants in the convention that promulgated the 
 Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, in 1775. Abra- 
 ham Alexander was president of that convention, and John 
 McKnitt Alexander was its secretary. Doctor Ephraim 
 Brevard was chairman of the committee which drafted the 
 Declaration. He was probably a son of the John Brevard 
 who was one of the elders of the Broad Creek Church in this 
 county. John McKnitt Alexander was b.orn in Cecil County, 
 and went to North Carolina in 1754, when he was 21 years 
 of age. He was a tailor by trade, but became a surveyor, 
 and was one of the leading patriots in his adopted State in 
 the trying times of the Revolutionary war, when it was 
 overrun by the British Army and many professed patriots 
 became traitors. Three others of the Alexander family 
 were signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration, as was also 
 Col. Thomas Polk, a granduncle of ex-President James K. 
 Polk, whose father is believed to have emigrated from this 
 county and settled in North Carolina. 
 
 There is some reason to believe that the father of 
 ex-President Andrew Jackson was among the number of 
 those who emigrated to North Carolina. Tradition says 
 that he lived in an old log-house that stood near the head 
 of Persimmon Run, just east of Cowantown, in the 
 fourth district, and that he went with a large number of 
 other emigrants from this county a few years anterior to the 
 Revolutionary war. The old house in which he lived, 
 owing to the fact that its walls were not perpendicular, M^as 
 called the "Bendy House." The place where it stood was 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 293 
 
 long remembered and venerated by the old residents of the 
 neighborhood, on account of tradition connecting it with 
 the parents of the hero of New Orleans. 
 
 The emigrants from this county were the founders of the 
 seven Presbyterian churches that existed in Mecklenburg 
 County, in 1755, and so great was the interest taken by the 
 Presbytery of New Castle in the spiritual welfare of these 
 chtirches and others in that part of the State, that they fre- 
 quently sent their ministers there to preach the gospel to 
 them, the other members of the Presbytery supplying the 
 pulpits of the missionaries during their absence. Rev. John 
 McCrery, during the latter part of his pastorate at Head 
 of Christiana, is said to have been absent from his charge, 
 in the latter part of his life, engaged in missionary labor of 
 this kind one-fourth of his time. Once, when on a visit to 
 his old parishioners in North Carolina, he was taken sick 
 and remained there nine months. 
 
 It is worthy of mention in this connection as an interest- 
 ing historical fact, that Doctor David Ramsay, the author 
 of a history of the American Revolution, though not a 
 native of this county, at one time practiced medicine at the 
 head of Bohemia River, and was one of the large number of 
 eminent men who emigrated from Cecil County to South 
 Carolina. 
 
 A few years after the emigration to North Carolina began, 
 a similar one commenced from this region to the country 
 west of the Alleghany mountains. Many of the emigrants 
 settled along the Ohio River and its tributaries in south- 
 western Pennsylvania and northwestern Virginia. The exist- 
 ence of the strong Presbyterian element that has always 
 pervaded soicety in that section of country, is readily 
 traceable to the early Presbyterian churches, whose history 
 is so closely blended with the early history of this county. 
 These emigrants and others of the same class from the 
 southern parts of Chester, Lancaster, and York counties, 
 were the Grst permanent settlers west of the Alleghany moun- 
 tains. 
 
294 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The emigration from these districts continued for many- 
 years. During a period of twenty years, which probably 
 commenced about the time of Hev. James Finley's first visit 
 to the West, it is said that as many as thirty-four families,, 
 members of the Rock congregation, chiefly young married 
 persons, emigrated to the valley of the Youghiogheny, and 
 settled along that stream and in the valleys along the other 
 tributaries of the Ohio River. These families all settled 
 within the bounds of the old Redstone Presbytery, and 
 twenty-two of the heads of them became ruling elders in 
 the churches of which it was composed. These Presbyterians 
 made an indelible impression upon society in the region 
 where they settled, which is yet plainly discernible there, and 
 which while society lasts will remain as a witness of the 
 untiring energy and unflagging zeal of those who planted 
 the standard of Presbyterianism in the Western wilderness.. 
 
 But the emigration from this county to western Pennsyl- 
 vania was not confined to New Munster, and many of the 
 inhabitants, generally Presbyterians, emigrated there from 
 Nottingham. Among the latter were members of another 
 family of Alexanders, whose ancestors settled in Nottingham 
 in the early part of the last century, and who is supposed 
 to have belonged to the same clan in Scotland to which the 
 ancestors of the Alexanders of New Munster belonged. 
 Hugh Alexander, a member of this family, married Mar- 
 garet Edmisson, and migrated to western Pennsylvania as 
 early as 1740. The Edmisson family owned a tract of 
 land, containing 980 acres, at the mouth of Stony Run at 
 this time. This land included the site of the mill near the 
 junction of that stream with the Octoraro Creek. 
 
 These emigrants, having descended from a hardy and 
 restless race, transmitted their peculiar characteristics to 
 their ofi'spring, who, when civilization encroached upon 
 them and was about to circumscribe their accustomed liber- 
 ties and subject them somewhat to the conventionalities and 
 restraints of refined society, emigrated to Kentucky, as did 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 295 
 
 the same class that had emigrated to Virginia and the Car- 
 olinas. In this way Kentucky and Tennessee received the 
 influence of Presbyterianism that has made an indelible 
 impression upon the character of their citizens. 
 
 During this period of the history of the county, the state 
 of society was not very good, and a few of the old records of 
 the court that are now extant show that licentiousness and 
 drunkenness prevailed to a considerable extent among the 
 lower classes, most of whom were indentured servants or 
 redemptioners. The records of New Castle Presbytery con- 
 tain but very few references to matters of this kind, which, 
 inasmuch as the Presbyterians were very austere and also 
 rigid disciplinarians, leads us to believe that few breaches 
 of decorum were committed by their membership. 
 
 Slavery prevailed to some extent throughout the county, 
 but the slaves were not numerous in that part of it north of 
 the Elk Piver. Rev. James Finley had a few of them, in 
 whose religious welfare he is said to have been much inter- 
 ested, always having them present at family worship and 
 catechising them with his own children. This was probaljly 
 the case with the members of his and the other Presbyterian 
 churches. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Border war — Davy Evans disx^ossesses Adam Short — Petition of Sam- 
 uel Brice — Arrest of Isaac Taylor and others — Agreement between the 
 heirs of William Penn and Lord Baltimore respecting the settlement of 
 the boundaries — Proceedings in chancery — Renewal of border war — 
 Thomas Cresaj) — Order of the King in Council — The temporary boundary 
 line — Decree of Chancellor Hardwich — Diary of John Watson — Cape 
 Henlopen — The trans-peninsular line — Death of Charles Calvert — 
 Another agreement — Location of due north line — Difficulty of the work 
 — Mason and Dixon — They land in Philadelphia — Latitude of that city — 
 Account of their lajbors for the next five years — Re-location of the north- 
 east corner of Maryland. 
 
 After William Penn took possession of his territories on 
 ■the Delaware several interviews took place between him 
 and the lord proprietary of Marj-land in reference to the 
 adjustment of the boundaries of their respective provinces, 
 but inasmuch as they had no particular bearing on the 
 history of this county and were as futile as the efforts that 
 had preceded them, it is not important that they should be 
 noticed here. 
 
 From about . the time of the disappearance of George 
 Talbot in 1687, to the time of the death of William Penn, 
 which took place in 1718, the good understanding between 
 the two provinces had been maintained by a variety of 
 temporary expedients, which were every now and then 
 frustrated by some act of border aggression. 
 
 This was notably the case with the people living on the 
 borders of this county. At this time there were very few 
 settlements in Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna 
 River, and the people living in the lower part of the penin- 
 sula seem to have been more peacefully disposed than 
 those on the borders of this county. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 297 
 
 In 1721 Adam Short, who lived upon a tract of land 
 called Green Meadows, which was somewhere on the borders 
 of Welsh Tract, complained to the council of Maiyland 
 that shortly before he had been waited on by Davy Evans 
 of the Welsh Tract, who was accompanied by eight or ten 
 men, and had two horses harnessed to a log sledge, who 
 demanded possession of his premises, which he refused to 
 give them. Apprehending trouble he went to see a Mary- 
 land magistrate, and found when he returned that his 
 visitors had been so expeditious in building a log-house 
 that they had raised it all round three logs high during his 
 absence. He protested against their action, but they finished 
 the house and gave possession to one Rice Jenkins. To 
 avoid trouble Short removed to another plantation which 
 he had on Christiana Creek, where he then resided, first 
 securely fastening the doors of his dwelling and out-house. 
 Returning some time afterwards to the house in which he 
 formerly resided he found the dwelling occupied and the 
 •out-house used for a tailor shop. 
 
 On the 2d of June, 1722, Samuel Brice presented a 
 petition to the court of this county, stating that he "had been 
 .an inhabitant of this county, on New Connaught Manor, for 
 about nine years past, and had always quietly and peaceably 
 paid all taxes and dutys to this county, since an inhabitant 
 "within the jurisdiction of this court. But go it is, may it 
 please your worships, that on the 11th of this instant (May) 
 Isaac Taylor the surveyor for the county of Chester of the 
 Province of Pennsylvania, with others* assisting him came 
 and surveyed close to your petitioner's fence, so as to render 
 your petitioner's settlement altogether unconvenient for the 
 xise of your petitioner and greatly to his prejudice,and further 
 that your petitioner is very credibly informed that Daniel 
 Smith, George Sleyter, James Bond, John Bond, Edward 
 
 *The other persons were Elish Gatcliell, "William Bi-own, John Churcli- 
 man, Richard Brown, Roger Kirk, and Isaac Taylor's son, as stated in 
 the records of the council. 
 
298 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Long, John Allen, Charles Allen, and several others, a7'e upon 
 complying with a Pennsylvania survey and title, although they 
 have considerable time since complied with and allowed 
 themselves inhabitants of this county, all which your peti- 
 tioner conceives is not only an agrievance to your petitioner 
 but to the public interest of this government, and his Lord- 
 ships good rule, and loudly calls for redress." 
 
 This petition was favorably received, and the court 
 ordered that a precept be made out and directed to the 
 sheriff ordering him to arrest Taylor and the others for 
 committing a breach of the peace ; whereupon, William 
 Howell, the sheriff, called out the posse comitatus and arrested 
 Taylor, who, it is stated in Penn's breviat, was imprisoned 
 probably in the jail at Court-House Point, but possibly at 
 Annapolis. While he was confined in prison, Gatchell 
 visited him, whereupon the authorities of Maryland also 
 arrested and imprisoned him. 
 
 This outrageous conduct of Evans and Taylor and their 
 friends was the more reprehensible from the fact that it was 
 in violation of a compact or agreement between the governors 
 of the two provinces made in 1718, at a meeting held at the 
 house of Colonel Hinson. At this meeting Governor Hart 
 of Maryland, alleged that Nottingham was in that province, 
 and that the people thereof had often petitioned to be taken 
 under the government of Maryland. Governor Keith re- 
 plied, that New Munster belonged to Pennsylvania, and the 
 people living there had asked to be taken under the protec- 
 tion of that province. It was thereupon agreed that the 
 inhabitants of these tracts, and all others, should be left in 
 possession of their land, and all other grants should be re- 
 spected until the dispute was settled. 
 
 The arrest of Taylor and Gatchell coming to the 
 knowledge of the Governor of Pennsylvania, he at the 
 instance of the council, remonstrated with the authorities of 
 Maryland, who referred the matter to Daniel Delaney, then 
 attorney-general, who gave an elaborate opinion on the sub- 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 299' 
 
 ject, in which he took the ground that the offenders were 
 amenable to the provincial court for conspiracy to commit 
 a riot, they having dispossessed Edward Long, before-men- 
 tioned, of his house and taken possession of it and part of 
 his wheat field. The council thereupon ordered the court 
 of this county to bind them, and all witnesses against them, 
 to appear at the provincial court, where they were subse- 
 quently tried and acquitted. 
 
 This energetic action on the part of the authorities of 
 Maryland seems to have had a good effect, and to have 
 overawed the people on the Pennsylvania border, who re- 
 frained from making any more surveys in the disputed 
 territory for some years afterwards. 
 
 Although more than half a century had elapsed since Cecil 
 County had been invested with a legal existence, its bound- 
 aries, owing to the dispute between the proprietaries of Mary- 
 land and Pennsylvania, were still undetermined. And inas- 
 much as the settlement of the boundaries of the county was 
 dependent upon the settlement of those of the pi'ovince of 
 which it formed a part, it is important that the reader's 
 attention should now be directed to the efforts which at this 
 time were made to adjust the long pending controversj', and 
 which resulted many years afterwards in the establishment 
 of Mason and Dixons line. Although this line occupied a 
 very important position in the politics of the United States- 
 for many years, its history is very imperfectly understood,, 
 except by statesmen and politicians. Should the reader 
 belong to that large class of citizens who have not made 
 politics the object of special consideration, he will be more- 
 ready than otherwise to pardon this unavoidable digression. 
 
 In 1732 John, Richard, and Thomas Penn, who by the 
 will of their father had become joint proprietors of Penn- 
 sylvania, entered into a written agreement with Charles 
 Calvert, the fifth Lord Baltimore, for the adjustment of tlie 
 boundaries of the two provinces. It was stipulated by the- 
 parties to this agreement that the boundnries should be as- 
 
300 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 follows : First, a circle of twelve miles radius should be de- 
 scribed around the town of New Castle. Second, a due east 
 and west line was then to be drawn across the peninsula 
 from the easternmost part of Cape Henlopen to the Chesa- 
 peake Bay, from the middle of which a straight line was to 
 be run in a northerly direction so as to form a tangent to 
 the circular line. Third, that from the tangent point a due 
 north line should be run until a point, fifteen English statute 
 miles south of the mostsoutherlypartof Philadelphia, should 
 be reached. Fourth, that a due east and west line should 
 be run from the last-named point as far west as the two 
 provinces extended.* It was also stipulated that, if the due 
 north line, beginning at the tangent point, should cut a seg- 
 ment from the twelve-mile circle, that the said segment 
 should belong to New Castle County. It was also agreed 
 that each of the contracting parties should appoint within 
 two months thereafter, not less than seven commissioners, 
 under whose supervision the lines were to be located. Com- 
 missioners were accordiugly appointed, who met for the pur- 
 pose designated, but owing to the indefiniteness of the agree- 
 ment, the conference soon terminated, and with it ended 
 all practical efforts to settle the dispute at that time. Shortly 
 after this abortive attempt by the commissioners. Lord 
 Baltimore applied to King George II. for a confirmation of 
 his charter ; but it was too late, and by an order of the king 
 in council, in 1735, the Penns were directed to institute pro- 
 ceedings in chancery for the purpose of testing the validity 
 of the agreement, and if it was found valid, of enforcing its 
 provisions. 
 
 Previous to this time the partisans of the proprietors of 
 ihe two provinces seem to have made use of the legal ma- 
 chinery of the counties along the borders in their efforts to 
 
 * The west line was to begin at the tangent point, if tliat point was 
 found to be fifteen statute miles south of Philadelphia ; otherwise the 
 •due north line was to be continued until a point fifteen miles south of 
 Philadelphia was reached. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 301 
 
 further their own interest and that of t?jeir superiors. But 
 when the matter in dispute was referred to the Court of 
 Chancery, they having had little hope of a speedy settle- 
 ment, inaugurated a border warfare in real earnest, which 
 prevailed for a few years on the borders of what are now 
 Harford and York counties. 
 
 Thomas Cresap, who has been mentioned as the proprietor 
 of a ferry from Port Deposit to Lapidum, and who had 
 moved further up and settled on the west side of the Sus- 
 quehanna River, acted a very conspicuous part in this war- 
 fare. Many Germans had settled on the disputed territory 
 in what is now York County, under Pennsylvania titles ; 
 but in order to avoid the payment of taxes in that province, 
 they accepted titles from Maryland and acknowledged the 
 authority of Lord Baltimore. But becoming apprehensive 
 that adhesion to him might ultimately prejudice their 
 interest, they formally renounced their allegiance and sought 
 protection from Pennsylvania. This irritated the authorities 
 of Maryland, and the sheriff of Baltimore County with three 
 hundred men marched to eject them. The sheriff of Lan- 
 caster County, with a large posse, came to their assistance, 
 and induced the jNIarylanders to return Avithout molesting 
 the Germans, on a pledge that they would consult together 
 and give an answer to Lord Baltimore's requisition to 
 acknowledge his authorit}^ 
 
 Shortly after this an association consisting of three hun- 
 dred and fifty men, headed by Cresap, was formed for the 
 purpose of driving out the Germans and dividing their lands 
 among the associators, two hundred acres being promised to 
 each of them. 
 
 During one of the many raids that were made at this 
 period, an attack was made in the night time upon Cresap's 
 house, and he shot and wounded one of the assailants, 
 from the effect of which he died. Sometime after this hap- 
 pened the sheriff of Lancaster County, accompanied by 
 twenty-four armed men, crossed over the Susquehanna River 
 
302 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 in the night, with the intention of taking Cresap by sur- 
 prise and capturing him the next morning. But they were 
 discovered, and Cresap, after making a spirited resistance 
 and defending himself, until his house which had been set on 
 fire by his assailants, was nearly burned down, was captured 
 and taken in triumph to Philadelphia, where he taunted 
 the crowd that assembled to see the " Maryland Monster," 
 by exclaiming half in earnest half in derision, "Why, this 
 is the finest city in the province of Maryland." The Gov- 
 ernor of Maryland immediately ordered reprisals to be 
 made, and four German settlers were seized and carried to 
 Baltimore County. 
 
 During this period of the border war, hostilities prevailed 
 to some though not to so great an extent on the eastern 
 border of the county, and two persons named Roth well were 
 arrested at the instigation of James Heath, some distance 
 east of where Warwick now stands. These persons were 
 confined for some days in a jail* which stood upon Ward's 
 Hill, a short distance southeast of Ceciiton, on the farm of 
 John W. Davis, Esq., one of Ward's descendants. 
 
 In 3736 the authorities of Maryland presented an address 
 to the king in council, in which they gave a comprehensive 
 account of the troubles on the border, and prayed him to 
 grant them such relief as to his royal wisdom should seem 
 meet. This address had a good effect, and on the 18th of 
 August, 1737, the king in council issued an ord-er command- 
 ing the governors of the two provinces to prevent the re- 
 currence of all riotous proceedings in the future, and en- 
 joined them to make no more grants of land in the disputed 
 territory, nor even permit any person to settle thereon, 
 until his majesty's pleasure should be further signified. 
 "This order had the happy effect of ending the border trou- 
 
 * Very little is known of this jail, but it was probably used iu connection 
 with the slave trade. John V\^arcl, who owned it, was one of the first sett- 
 lers in Sassafras Neck, where he patented a large tract of land as early 
 as 1665. 
 
HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 303 
 
 bles, and in Maj', 1738, the governors of tlie two provinces 
 entered into an agreement for running a temporary line, 
 which his majesty allowed them to carry into effect. This 
 line was not to interfere with the actual possession of the 
 settlers, but merely to suspend all grants on the disputed 
 territory until the final adjustment of the boundaries. This 
 line was run in the spring of 1739 by Colonel Levin Gale and 
 Samuel Chamberlaine, commissioners on the part of Mary- 
 land, and Richard Peters and Lawrence Growden on the 
 part of Pennsylvania. It commenced at or near the eastern 
 boundary of the county as determined by Messrs. Mason 
 and Dixon. East of the Susquehanna River it was about a 
 quarter of a mile south of the present state line, and the 
 same distance north of that line on the west side of that 
 river. 
 
 The chancery suit, before referred to, was not decided 
 until 1750, when the decree was promulgated by Chancellor 
 Hardwick, who reserved the power to adjust any difficulties 
 that might arise in its execution. In conformit}- with the 
 decree, commissioners were ai:)pointed by the respective par- 
 ties to the suit, who met at New Castle in November, 1750, 
 for the purpose of carrying it into effect. 
 
 The diary of John Watson, one of the surveyors appointed 
 by the commissioners of Pennsylvania to assist in making 
 the survey in 1750, is yet extant and in a good state of pre- 
 servation in the possession of the Historical Society of Penn- 
 sylvania, to which it was presented by the late William D. 
 Gilpin, of Philadelphia, who found it among some old 
 papers at his paper-mill. This diary shows that the com- 
 missioners had a long controversy about the manner in 
 which the twelve-mile radius should be measured. The 
 commissioners of Maryland contended that it shoidd be 
 measured upon the surface of the earth, and those from 
 Pennsylvania that it should be made by horizontal measure- 
 ment, and not by following the inequalities of the earth's 
 surface. The latter method was the one enforced by the 
 
304 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 court when the matter was referred to it. They also had 
 trouble iii fixing the point from which to begin the meas- 
 urement of the radius, and Watson states in his diary that 
 he noticed a puncture in the paper on Avhich a map in the 
 possession of the Maryland commissioners was made, which 
 they stated was intended to represent the beginning of the 
 radius at New Castle. Its location, he afterwards learned, 
 had been determined on in this wise: "The commissioners 
 of Maryland had constructed an exact plan of the town of 
 New Castle upon a piece of paper, and then carefuUj' pared 
 away the edges of the draught until no more than the 
 draught was left, when, sticking a pin through it, they sus- 
 pended it thereby in different places until they found a 
 place whereby it might be suspended horizontallj^, which 
 point or place the}' accepted as the centre of gravity," 
 which they alleged was the centre of the town, and main- 
 tained that that was the right and proper place from which 
 to commence the measurement of the radius. The commis- 
 sioners of Pennsylvania objected to this curious method of 
 determining the centre of the town; and the court, when 
 the matter was referred to it, decided that the radius should 
 be measured from the Court House. The commissioners, 
 after spending some time in New Castle, adjourned to meet 
 in the April following, having first agreed that the survey- 
 ors should meet on the 20th of December, at Cape Henlopen, 
 and proceed to run the line across the peninsula. 
 
 Bythe terms of the agreement of 1732,the trans-peninsular 
 line was to begin at Cape Heulopen, and a controversy now 
 arose about the true location of that place. This controversy 
 originated in the different methods of spelling the name of 
 the cape. The early Swedish settlers called the present 
 Cape lienlopen. Cape Inlopen, and the exterior or false cape 
 at Fenwick's Island, ('ape Henlopen or Hinlopen, the latter 
 of which is said to be a Swedish word signifying entering 
 in; from which it appears that the aspirate letter H, in the 
 Swedish language prefixed to the word Inlopen altered the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 305 
 
 sense of it from the interior to the exterior cape. The 
 matter in dispute 'was referred to the lord chancellor, who 
 decided that the respective parties should abide by the 
 agreement •\vhioh fixed the beginning of the line at the ex-. 
 terior cape on Fenwick's Island. 
 
 Watson soon after the meeting at New Castle, started for 
 Cape Henlopen on horseback. He had occasion to spend a 
 night at a hotel in St. George's, and notes in his diary that 
 the mill-dam at that place, was the resort of large flocks of 
 water fowl. Watson gives an account of the difficulties and 
 inccnviences the surveyors experienced in the prosecution 
 of their work, from which it appears that they were in im- 
 minent danger of being drowned by the tide overflowing 
 Phenix Island* upon one occasion, when they were stopping 
 upon it. The cabin in which they were lodging, upon an- 
 other occasion, took fire and they had a narrow escape from 
 death, one of them losing his shoes, which were burned to a 
 crisp, from which it may be inferred that their loss was a more 
 serious affair than it would be at the present time. However, 
 after much discussion and wrangling, they commenced the 
 survey of the line, which they traced for a few miles, but on 
 the 8th of January, 1750, were obliged to quit on account 
 of the swamps and low lands being covered with ice, which 
 made it impracticable to continue the work. Watson states 
 that their horses were continually getting mired in the 
 swamps, into which they sank up to the middle of their 
 legs, and that it was in his opinion only practicable to com- 
 plete the work in the summer months when the swamps 
 were drier than at other times. 
 
 The work of locating the trans-peninsular line was re- 
 sumed the next Spring, under the auspices of Edward Jen- 
 nings, Robert Jenkins Henry, George Plater, John Ross, 
 William Allen, Richard Peters, and Robert Holt, commis- 
 sioners appointed to superintend the work. The names of 
 
 * Now called Fenwick's Island. 
 
306 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the surve3^ors emploj'ed by them were as follows: John 
 Emor}', Thomas Jones, William Parsons, William Shank- 
 land, and William Killen. The surveyors commenced work 
 near Fenwick's Island, on the 29th of April, 1751, and met 
 with nothing unusual until they had completed the thir- 
 teenth mile of the line, when they enter in their journal on 
 the Stli of May, that the men who were assisting them, 
 had struck foi' higher wages. This caused some delay, but 
 the surveyors heing unable to procure any other assistance, 
 were obliged to make the best terms they could with their 
 men, all of whom agreed to contiirue to serve them. They 
 lived in tents, and were often at a loss to find a suitable 
 IDlace to locate them, on account of the swamj^y condition of 
 the country. They completed the line on the 15th of June, 
 1751, having traced it to the Chesapeake Bay, a distance of 
 sixty-nine miles and tM'o hundred and ninety-eight perches 
 from the place of beginning on Fenwick's Island. 
 
 The commissioners would probabl}' have completed the 
 other portions of the work had their labors not been sud- 
 denly brought to an end b}^ the death of Charles Calvert, 
 the proprietor of Maryland, between whom and the heirs of 
 Penn the agreement of 1732 had been made. Frederick, 
 Lord Baltimore, the heir and successor of Charles, was a 
 minor, and his guardians resisted the execution of the 
 decree ; but in 1754 the Penns took measures to revive the 
 Chancery suit, with a view of carrying out and enforcing 
 the original agreement. But probably owing to the pro- 
 verbial delay that always prevails in that court, the parties, 
 after waiting until 1760, entered into another agreement, 
 which, so far as it related to the boundary lines, was a re- 
 affirmation of the former one, from which it only differed 
 by containing certain stipulations in reference to the grants 
 of land already made by the proprietors of the two provinces. 
 This agreement provided for the aiipointment of not less 
 than three, nor more than seven commissioners by the 
 respective parties who were to carry its provisions into 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 307 
 
 effect. These commissioners met at New Castle on the 19th 
 of November, 1760, and on the 10th of the December fol- 
 lowing delivered their instructions to the surveyors, Messrs. 
 John Frederick, Augustus Briggs, Thomas Garnett, Arthur 
 Emory, John AVatson, John Stapler, and William Shank- 
 land, who were employed by them to locate and measure 
 the radius of the twelve mile circle and a due north line 
 from the middle point in the line across the peninsula until 
 it reached the outer end of the radius. The commissioners 
 seem to have had some doubt of their ability to run all the 
 lines, for they only instructed the surveyors to run the two 
 before named. 
 
 The minute book of the surveyors, which contains their 
 instructions and an account of each day's work, may be 
 seen in the land office at Annapolis. They were directed 
 to measure the lines with the greatest accuracy with a two, 
 or if more convenient, a four-perch chain, the length 
 of which they were frequently to verify hj a two-foot brass 
 sector, furnished them for the purpose ; and were frequently 
 to verify the direction of the line by the transit of the pole 
 star. They were to keep two minute books, in which each 
 day's work was to be entered ; and in case of failure to trace 
 a true meridian they were to return these books to the gov- 
 ernors of the two provinces, who were then to call the com- 
 missioners together in order to give the surveyors further 
 instructions. They were also to note the most remarkable 
 buildings, waters, bridges and roads near the line or through 
 which it might pass. 
 
 The surveyors began to run the due north line from the 
 middle point on the 12th of December, 1760, but after 
 tracing it a few miles were obliged to quit on account of 
 the severity of the weather. They resumed work on the 
 6th of May, 1761, and continued the line northward, but 
 found by observations made on the 12th of June that the 
 line was one minute and sixteen seconds east of the true 
 meridian. They then returned their minute books to the 
 
308 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 governors, as they had been directed to do, and received 
 from the commissioners instructions to go back to the 
 nintli mile post and begin again to retrace the line. The 
 instructions of the commissioners are both instructive and 
 curious, but are too long to be inserted here. 
 
 On the 17th of July, Jonathan Hall ^vas appointed a sur- 
 veyor on the part of Maryland and John Lukens and Archi- 
 bald McClean on the part of Pennsylvania. One of the two 
 last-named was appointed to fill the place of John Watson, who 
 died about this time. The surveyors met with many difficul- 
 ties and their minute book is full of entries about the swamps 
 and mill-dams that obstructed their operations. However, 
 they completed the due north line on the 24th of October. 
 It terminated near the road leading from Head of Elk tcv 
 New Castle. The commissioners soon afterwards met at 
 New Castle and gave them instructions about running the ra- 
 dius from that place toward the terminus of the due north line, 
 which they proceeded to locate and measure immediately 
 afterwards and finished in the early part of the winter of 
 1761. At this time the connection of Messrs. John Lukens, 
 Archibald McClean, Thomas Garnett, and Jonathan Hall, 
 appears to have terminated with this line and nothing more 
 of a practical nature was done toward settling the dispute un- 
 til the 15th of November, 1763, at which time Messrs. Charles 
 Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, having been employed by the 
 commissioners at the instance of the proprietors of the re- 
 spective provinces, landed at Philadelphia and immediately 
 commenced work. 
 
 Messrs. Mason and Dixon were eminent mathematicians 
 and astronomers. The former had been sent to India by 
 the British Government to observe the transit of Venus, 
 which occurred in 1763, but the vessel in which he sailed 
 having been captured by a French cruiser, he was put on 
 shore at the Cape of Good Hope, at which place he performed 
 the work he otherwise would have done in India. These 
 men appear to have been eminently qualified for the work 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 309 
 
 thej^ were employed to perform, the best evidence of which 
 is the accurate manner in which it was done. 
 
 They landed at Philadelphia on November 15th, 1763, 
 •and at once went to work to ascertain the latitude of the 
 southern part of that city, in order to determine the location 
 of the due east and west line, which was to divide the two 
 provinces, and which by the terms of the agreement, was to 
 be run at the distance of fifteen English statute miles south 
 •of the southern part of that city. Thej' followed the instruc- 
 tions which the commissioners had given to their predeces- 
 sors, and kept two copies of a daily journal, one of which is 
 in the Land Office at Annapolis, the other is in possession 
 •of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The copy be- 
 longing to the Historical Society was found some years ago 
 in Nova Scotia, and was purchased for the sum of five hun- 
 dred dollars. 
 
 These journals were kept upon the ordinarj' foolscap 
 paper in use at that time. Each page has a column upon 
 the left hand side of it, in which is entered the date of each 
 ■day of the years they were at work running the lines. Op- 
 posite the date is entered a short account of each day's 
 work, which was signed by each of them. The first entries 
 in their journal are as follows: "1763, November 15th, 
 arrived in Philadelphia ; 16th, attended a meeting of the 
 •commissioners appointed to settle the bounds of Penn- 
 sylvania; 17th, wrote to his Excellency Horatio Sharp, Esq., 
 ■Governor of Maryland, signifying our arrival at Phila- 
 delphia." 
 
 The two astronomers had a building erected in Phila- 
 delphia which they used as an observatory. It was no doubt 
 a rude and temporary structure, for it cost but little, and 
 was completed and in use in nine days after they landed. 
 But rude and fragile as it was, it was probably the first 
 structure of the kind erected in the United States. In this 
 building they set up their sector on the 25th, and their 
 transit instrument on the 28th, and found that they had 
 
310 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 received no damage while being transported across the At- 
 lantic Ocean. 
 
 The point determined upon as the most southern part of 
 Philadelphia was an old house on the north side of South 
 street, then called Cedar street. They were engaged in de- 
 termining the latitude of this point until the early part of 
 January, 1764, and ascertained it to be 39° 56' 29.1" north, 
 which varies but little from the latitude of the same place 
 as determined by modern astronomers. Having completed 
 their work in Philadelphia, they took down the observatory 
 and placed it and some of their equipments in three wagons, 
 and having packed the telescope and some other fragile 
 articles in their beds and placed them on the springs of an 
 old fashioned two-wheeled chair, they started westward to 
 the forks of Brandywine, for the purpose of ascertaining by 
 means of astronomical observations, a point in the same 
 parallel of latitude as the old house on South street. They 
 reached their destination in due time, and having re-erected 
 their observatory, proceeded to ascertain the location of the 
 required point, which occupied them until the 1st of the en- 
 suing March.* They then employed ax-men and proceeded 
 to clear a vista, in order to trace and measure the line fifteen 
 miles south, which they completed on the 12th of the follow- 
 ing April. This line terminated in Mill Creek Hundred, 
 near Muddy Run, in what is now New Castle County, Dela- 
 ware. After verifying their work and making the necessary 
 preparations they repaired to New Castle, from which place 
 they set out on the 18th of June, 1764, for the middle point 
 in the line across the peninsula. They traveled in wagons, 
 and were four days in reaching their destination. 
 
 The middle point in the peninsular line, as well as the 
 northwest end of the radius having been already located 
 
 * A stone -which they placed in this parallel to mark the beginuiuo- of 
 the fifteen-mile line is now standing in the forks of Brandywine, and is 
 known by the peoj-le of the neitjhborhood as the " Star-gazers' Stone." 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 811 
 
 by their predecessors, they at once proceeded to run an ex- 
 perimental line, with a view of ultimately locating the 
 tangent line. This occupied them until the 25th of August, 
 when they had produced the line eighty-one miles, which 
 they supposed reached north of the tangent point. This 
 line was afterwards proved to be too far west to strike the 
 twelve-mile circle, and they at once proceeded to make the 
 calculation preparatory to measuring the ofFsetts and re- 
 tracing the line, which thej' did with such accuracy, that 
 when they reached the trans-peninsular line, they were only 
 two feet two inches west of the middle point. This was 
 their second effort to locate the tangent line, and though it 
 was a failure, the two astronomers, without manifesting any 
 symptoms of discouragement, at once proceeded to trace an- 
 other line. This line ran sixteen feet and nine inches too far 
 east of the tangent point, which they reached on the 10th of 
 November, 1764. They at once computed the difference 
 between the two lines they had run, so that when the stones, 
 which were to mark the line, were set, they could be 
 accurately placed in it. 
 
 The boundary stones in this line were afterward set under 
 the supervision of the Rev. John Ewing, one of the com- 
 missioners of Pennsylvania, and a relative of the Ewings, 
 who were formerly so numerous in the northwestern part of 
 this county. These stones, except a few of them on thedue 
 north and circular line, were set at the distance of one mile 
 from each other. They have on them, in accordance with 
 the agreement, the letter "M" on the side facing Maryland, 
 and the letter " P " on the side facing Pennsylvania, except 
 those at the end of every fifth mile, which were marked 
 with the arms of the respective proprietors. These stones 
 were procured in England, and are of the formation known 
 as oolite, which probably has a greater capacity to resist the 
 action of the weather than any other stone that it would have 
 been practicable to have obtained. Though they have been 
 exposed to the action of the elements for more than a cen- 
 tury, they have not been injured in the least. 
 
312 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 On the 21st of November, 1764, the commissioners met at 
 Christiana Bridge, and a few days afterwards the surveyors 
 discharged their assistants and left off work for the winter 
 season. Early in March, 1765, they repaired to the south 
 end of the fifteen mile line, near Muddy Run, and attempted 
 to ascertain the direction of the parallel of north latitude 
 west from that point, but were prevented by cloudy weather 
 from doing so for seven days, when, on the 21st of that 
 month, a snow storm began which lasted three days ; and 
 they note in their journal that at nine o'clock on the morn- 
 ing of the 24th of March the snow was three feet deep. 
 However, the snow did not remain long, and they com- 
 menced on the 5tli of April to run the due west line that 
 still bears their names, and continued it until, at the distance 
 of about twelve miles, they crossed the road leading from 
 Octoraro to Christiana Bridge; they then returned to 
 Newark for their instruments, in order to verify the accu- 
 racy of their work, and found that they were one hundred and 
 twenty-nine feet north of the true parallel. They, however, 
 produced the line to the Susquehanna River, and found by 
 observation that they were more than five chains north of 
 the true parallel. The distance from the nortlieast corner 
 of the county to the east side of the Susquehanna, as deter- 
 mined by them, is about twenty-three and one-quarter 
 miles ; and the width of the river, which they obtained by 
 triangulation at that time, where the line crossed it, was 
 sixty-seven chains, four perches, and sixt3'-eight links. 
 
 The surveyors then proceeded to retrace and correct the 
 line, and having finished that part of the work went to the 
 tangent point, and on June the 1st, 1765, "found a direction 
 for running a north line per lime of the pole >|< transiting 
 the meridian; also proved the same by the passage of four 
 other >Ks, and found it good." They then produced the 
 north line until it intersected the west one, and thus deter- 
 mined the location of the northeast corner of the State. 
 But the boundaries of Cecil County were not yet fully deter- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 mined, for it was stipulated in the agreement, as before 
 mentioned, that if the due north line from the tangent 
 point should cut a segment off the twelve-mile circle it 
 should belong to New Castle County. That line having 
 done this it became necessary, by the terms of the agree- 
 ment, to locate that part of the arc between the tangent 
 point and the northern extremity of the segment. The 
 surveyors then proceeded to locate this part of the circular 
 line, and found that it intersected the north line at the dis- 
 tance of one mile, thirty-six chains, and five links from the 
 tangent point, Avhich is the place where the three States 
 join each other. 
 
 The surveyors, on the 18th of June, 1765, in the presence 
 of the commissioners of the two provinces, set up and erected 
 the stones to perpetuate this part of the boundary. These 
 stones were quite different from those used to mark the 
 other lines, being a kind of bastard marble or limestone. 
 One of them was placed at the tangent point, where it yet 
 remains. The arms of the Penns are legible on the east 
 side of it, but the action of the elements has entirel)^ oblit- 
 erated the arms of Lord Baltimore from the other side. 
 Four other stones were set in the periphery of the circle, 
 and one at the point where the north line intersected it. 
 One of the oolite stones was also set in the due west line at 
 the northeast corner of the count3^ This last stone, which 
 was lettered differently from the others, was prepared in 
 England especially for this place. It had been accidentally 
 broken in two and was mended by drilling holes in it, and 
 inserting iron clamps into them and then filling the holes 
 with molten lead. Thus, afcer the lapse of one hundred and 
 thirty-three years after Cecilius Calvert received the charter 
 of Maryland and ninety-one years after Cecil County had 
 been organized, was the question of its boundaries deter- 
 mined. During nearly all this long period the controversy 
 between the different proprietors of the two provinces had 
 been handed down from generation to generation, and sev- 
 
314 
 
 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 eral times had the otherwise peaceable settlers, owing to the 
 ill feeling engendered by this controversy, imbued their 
 hands in each other's blood. These troubles had not 
 afHicted the settlers to any great extent in any other part of 
 the province, and although quarreling and bloodshed are 
 always to be deprecated and avoided, they, or the causes 
 that produced them, were not in this case devoid of good 
 results. 
 
 To the efibrts of the respective proprietaries to extend 
 their jurisdiction and the extraordinary inducements they 
 offered to the settlers for this purpose, we are indebted for 
 the early settlement of the county, and the sterling qualities 
 of its citizens which, in many cases, have been transmitted 
 from their ancestors, who were induced to settle here when 
 the country was a wilderness. The vistas that the surveyors 
 were obliged to have made through the woods for the pur- 
 pose of tracing the lines were about eight yards wide and 
 were distinctly visible in the growth of the timber until quite 
 recently. The surveyors and those in their employ are said 
 to have been a jolly set, and to have lingered long at the 
 northeast corner of the county, near which may yet be found 
 some fine springs of cool water, to enjoy the pleasure of 
 drinking the apple-jack and peach brandy for which that 
 part of the county was famous. Tradition says they had a 
 pet bear which they always took with them, and that the 
 curiosity and apprehension of the simple countrj^ people, 
 who called them " the star gazers," were much excited by 
 the habit they had of viewing the heavenly bodies at all 
 hours of the night. Many of the country people viewed 
 them with holy horror as necromancers or soothsayers whom 
 it was not safe to meddle with. 
 
 After finishing the part of the work already described, the 
 surveyors commenced operations on the line west of the 
 Susquehanna Eiver, and were employed in producing that 
 line westward until the 4tli of January, 1766, when they left 
 off work for the winter, but resumed work again on the 1st 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 315 
 
 of April of the same year, and on the 9th of June had 
 reached a distance of about a hundred and sixty-two miles 
 from the northeast corner of Maryland, where they learned 
 from the Indians, whom the authorities of the two provinces 
 had previously been at much trouble to conciliate, that it 
 was their pleasure that they should not continue the line 
 any further. So the surveyors set up their astronomical in- 
 struments and ascertained that the line at this point was 
 north of the true parallel, and after making the necessary 
 calculation, they began to retrace and correct it and finished 
 their work on the boundary lines of the respective provinces- 
 on the 25th of September, 1766. The commissioners of the- 
 two provinces held a meeting shortly after this at Christiana 
 Bridge, at which it was determined that the line running 
 due west from the northeast corner of Maryland should be 
 continued eastward from the point at the south end of the 
 fifteen-mile line until it reached the Delaware River. The 
 surveyors accordingly located and measured this line, and 
 marked its termination at that river, the distance from 
 which to the stone at the northeast corner of Cecil County, 
 as determined by them, was fourteen miles, twenty chains- 
 and fifteen links. The line that forms the boundary between 
 the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and that which 
 was continued, as we have described, to the Delaware River,, 
 is the line known in the history and politics of the United 
 States as Mason and Dixons line. 
 
 A few years after the stone at the northeast corner of the 
 county had been set, the Revolutionary war commenced,, 
 and the lead used in mending it, as stated by old residents 
 in that vicinity to the author in his boyhood, was picked 
 out and used for making bullets by the patriots of the Con- 
 tinental army. This stone stood in a small ravine in a 
 meadow, and when the lead was taken away from around 
 the clamps, they fell oat and the upper part of the stone fell 
 off, and in a few years the lower part became covered with 
 the earth, which the rains washed into the ravine. Thus 
 
;316 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the location of the northeast corner of the State of Maryland 
 was involved in obscurity, and the theory that the three 
 ■States joined each other there, instead of at the northern ex- 
 tremity of the segment which was cut off by the due north 
 line as before stated, was adopted and generally believed 
 by the residents in those parts of the three States contiguous 
 to the missing corner-stone. This being the case, in 1849, 
 H. G. S. Key, of Marjdand, Joshua P. Eyre, of Pennsylvania, 
 and George P. Riddle, of Delaware, were appointed by the 
 governors of the respective States, in accordance with acts of 
 the legislatures of those States, to determine the place of the 
 missing corner-stone. These commissioners obtained the 
 assistance of lieutenant-colonel, J. D. Graham, of the U. S. 
 Topographical engineers, and by his aid soon succeeded in 
 finding the site of the missing corner-stone. And, notwith- 
 standing the great improvement in scientific and astrono- 
 mical instruments that had been made during the eighty- 
 four years since the missing stone had beeen placed in posi- 
 tion, the loAver portion of it was found by the commissioners 
 when digging the hole in which to set the new stone the}' 
 planted in its stead. These commissioners found a few slight 
 inaccuracies in the location of the tangent point and the 
 point of intersection of the due north and circular lines, 
 which, owing to the want of care on the part of Messrs. 
 Mason and Dixon in measuring the angle formed by the 
 radius and tangent lines, had caused them to set the tan- 
 gent stone 157.6 feet too far to the north, and the stone at 
 the point of intersection of the three States, 143.7 feet too far 
 south, in consequence of which the curved line between 
 these two points was incorrect. The commissioners, how- 
 ever, concluded that inasmuch as the stones that marked 
 the circular part of the boundary between Maryland and 
 Delaware had never been moved, and both States had ac- 
 knowledged them as boundary stones for more than three- 
 fourths of a century, to let them remain in the places where 
 "they found them ; and lest tliey in time should be destroyed 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 317 
 
 by the action of the elements, they erected a substantial 
 granite monument alongside of the original stone at the- 
 tangent point and replaced the stone at the point of inter- 
 section of the three States with a triangular monument of 
 the same material and buried the original stone near it. 
 They also marked the middle of the arc by erecting a gran- 
 ite monument at the perpendicular distance of 118.4 feet 
 west from the middle of the chord as determined by them- 
 selves, and erected a substantial granite monument at the 
 northeast corner of the State in the place of the missing 
 corner-stone. The circular line, as traced by the commis- 
 sioners in 1849, would, had it been adopted, have added 
 a trifle less than two acres to the area of Cecil County. It 
 may not be improper to remark that that part of Pennsyl- 
 vania lying south of the prolongation of Mason and Dixons- 
 line eastward toward the Delaware River and between it 
 and the point of intersection of the three States has always 
 been under the jurisdiction of New Castle County, and the 
 inhabitants living upon it have always paid taxes to the 
 authorities of Delaware and exercised all the rights of citi- 
 zens of that State. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 The Revolutionary War— The Quakers— Convention of 1774— Commit- 
 tee of Safety— Delegates to convention of 1775— First military organiza- 
 tion in the comity— Henry Dobson— Military organizations in the county 
 —Henry Holhngswoith makes musket barrels and bayonets for the army 
 — Edward Parker makes linen and -woolen goods for the use of the sol- 
 diers—Invasion of the county by the British— They land at Court-house 
 Point— Sir William Howe's proclamation— Part of British army march 
 to Head of Elk— Another part overrun Bohemia Manor— Account of the 
 invasion — Court-house not burned — Doings of the American army — Skir- 
 mishing on Iron Hill — Robert Alexander— Disloyalty of the citizens of 
 Newark— Tories trade with the British— The Quakers refuse to perform 
 military duty, and are court-martialed— Brick Meeting-house used for a 
 hospital— Burglary at Head of Elk— Interesting correspondence— Lafay- 
 ette's expedition to Yorktown passes through Head of Elk — His route 
 through Cecil County — Journal of Claude Blanchard — Forteen Stodder, 
 the negro soldier— Confiscated property— The Elk Forge Company- 
 John Roberts hanged for treason — The Principio Iron Company — Susque- 
 hanna Manor — Lots in Charlestown — Property of Rev. William Edmisson. 
 
 The people of Cecil County were among the most patriotic 
 in the State, and the heroic part they took in the long and 
 bloody struggle of the Revolutionary war fully attests their 
 bravery. They shunned no danger, and shrank from no 
 duty, however unpleasant it may have been, that the 
 exigencies of the times imposed upon them. There were a 
 few tories* in the county, but they were very few, and such 
 was the alacrity with which the others embraced the cause 
 of their country that the tories found it best to seek safety 
 by joining the royal army upon the first favorable oppor- 
 tunity. The Quakers of Nottingham, refused to perform mili- 
 tary duty ; but there were many reasons that impelled them 
 
 * A term of opprobrium applied to those who adhered to the royal cause. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 319 
 
 to do SO. Their ancestors had obtained that township from 
 William Penn, and had considered themselves as being 
 residents of Pennsylvania until the location of Mason and 
 Dixons line had demonstrated that the Nottingham lots 
 were in the province of Maryland. The colonial legisla- 
 ture of Maryland seems to have been so much occupied 
 with the consideration of the hostile legislation of the 
 British parliament and the other causes that 'led to the war, 
 that it had neglected to take any steps towards conciliating 
 these people by providing the means for them to obtain titles 
 to their land from the lord proprietary of Maryland. In 
 consequence of this neglect, the land owners of Nottingham 
 presented the singular anomaly of being citizens of Mary- 
 land and holding their farms by virtue of the patents their 
 ancestors had obtained three-quarters of a century before, 
 from the proprietor of Pennsylvania. Probably the ques- 
 tion of allegiance had little to do with their refusal to join 
 the army, for most of them were too rigid adherents to the 
 pacific principles and tenets of their society to have taken 
 any part in the war. 
 
 It is not within the scope of this work to recount the 
 history of the various battles in which the gallant soldiers 
 from this county participated, nor is it necessary to do so. 
 Their history may be found in that of the old Maryland 
 line, of which it forms a conspicuous part. It suffices to 
 say, that they won imperishable fame and have left a record 
 of noble achievements, the lustre of which the lapise of a 
 century has not dimmed, and that as the circling ages pass 
 away is only made brighter by their flight. 
 
 The aggressions of the mother country had aroused the 
 spirit of opposition in the breasts ot the people of Maryland 
 long before the promulgation of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, and the freemen of the State met in the counties 
 and appointed committees to represent them in a convention 
 that met in Annapolis, on the 22d of June, 1774. Cecil 
 County was represented in this convention by John Veazey, 
 
320 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Jr., AVilliam Ward, and Stephen Hyland, all of whom were 
 members of families which both prior and subsequent to 
 this time took an active part in public affairs. At this time 
 very few of the Americans had conceived the idea of armed 
 resistance against the enforcement of the obnoxious mea- 
 sures the mother country was trying to impose upon them ;, 
 hence this convention did nothing more than pass a series 
 of resolutions denouncing the Boston Port Bill, and protest- 
 ing against the passage of certain other obnoxious laws then 
 pending before the British Parliament. The next conven- 
 tion that the exigencies of the times called forth, the mem- 
 bers of which were called Deputies, met in the December 
 following, and went much further in their opposition to the- 
 encroachments of the mother countr}^ This convention 
 recommended to the farmers to increase the number of 
 sheep in the province, and to engage more extensively in 
 the cultivation of flax and hemp, and recommended to the 
 people of the province to organize themselves into military 
 companies and provide themselves with arms and equip- 
 ments and to learn how to use them. They also recom- 
 mended that the committees of observation in the several 
 counties should raise by voluntary subscription or in other 
 ways more agreeable to them, the sum of £10,000 for the- 
 purchase of arms and ammunition. Of this sum Cecil County 
 Avas to raise £400. 1 his convention held two other sessions in 
 Annapolis in the months of May and July, 1775, but owing to 
 th'3 mutilation of the manuscript copy of their proceedings,, 
 the names of the members from this county cainiot be ascer- 
 tained. It is probable that the manuscript book was mutilated 
 in order to conceal their names, owing to the peril in which 
 the members were placed. A diligent search among the 
 newspapers published at that time has added nothing ta 
 the scanty stock of information upon this subject. 
 
 The committees that represented the counties in the first 
 conventions, also took charge of the affairs of the colony in 
 the respective counties, and looked after the interests of the 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 321 
 
 inchoate State, and kept an eye upon those who were in any 
 wise opposed to their revolutionary principles. It is stated 
 in the American Archives for 1775, that the case of Charles 
 Gordon, an attorney, who resided in the loAver part of the 
 count}', was brought belore the committee on the 17th of 
 May. Gordon was charged with treating the Continental 
 Congress with great disrespect, and with maliciously aspers- 
 ing it and the provincial convention and the committee of 
 the county itself, and at divers times and in sundry ways 
 vilifying their proceedings. 
 
 The committee, which was then in session at Elk Ferry, 
 had sent William Savin, sheriff of the coui:ity, with a sum- 
 mons to Gordon, to appear before the committee to answer 
 the charges. Savin had served the summons upon him, as 
 appears from his affidavit taken before David Smith, at that 
 time a justice of the peace, and afterwards for a long time 
 register of wills : but Gordon refused to attend, and sent 
 word to the committee that if thej' wished to see hina they 
 could come to his place; that it was large enough to hold 
 them, and that they had better not come inside his yard 
 gate or there would be lives lost ; all of which message, and 
 much more was couched in strong language intermixed with 
 profanity. Whereupon the committee resolved that he 
 should be under the imputation of being an enemy to this 
 country, and as such they would have no dealings or com- 
 munications with him or suffer him to transact any business 
 with them until he should satisfy them respecting the truth 
 of the charges preferred against him. 
 
 The counties were represented in the first convention by 
 committees, and each county had one vote only, and all 
 questions were determined by a majority of counties. In 
 the conventions subsequently called together previous to 
 December, 1775, the members were styled deputies. John 
 Veazey, Jr., Joseph Gilpin, .John D. Thompson, Nathaniel 
 Ramsay,and Patrick Ewing,represented the county in the con- 
 vention of 1775. Of this number, Messrs. Veazey, Thompson, 
 
 u 
 
322 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 and Ramsay, were signers of the Declaration of the Free- 
 men of Maryland, a document somewhat similar in char- 
 acter to the Declaration of Independence. It seems proper 
 to state in this connection that Peter Lawson, William Cur- 
 rer, and Charles Rumsey, of this county, also signed the 
 Declaration. 
 
 In the convention that met August 14th, 1776, this county 
 was represented by Joseph Gilpin, Patrick Ewing, David 
 Smith, and Benjamin Brevard. 
 
 The first military organization in the county at this time 
 of which any account has come down to us was an inde- 
 pendent company, of which Samuel Evans was commis- 
 sioned captain September 28th, 1776. Of this company 
 Henry Dobson was first lieutenant, Thomas Rumsey was 
 second lieutenant, and William Stewart was ensign. They 
 were all commissioned on the same day. There is reason 
 to believe that Dobson took a very active part in the organ- 
 ization of this company. On the day he received his com- 
 mission he seems to have been in Annapolis, for the council 
 ordered the treasurer of the Western Shore to pay him £500 
 for the use of Charles Rumsey, Henry Hollingsworth, and 
 Edward Parker, on account of the flying camp. The council 
 the same day ordered that Parker furnish sufficient linen 
 to supply the company with tents, and that the commissary 
 furnish Dobson twelve camp kettles, seventy-six cartouch 
 boxes, and also a like number of priming wires and brushes, 
 etc., which he probably brought home with him. Henry 
 Dobson was captain of this or another company at the time 
 of his death, as shown by a part of the pay-roll, now in pos- 
 session of his relatives. We learn from this scrap of paper, 
 which only contains eight names, that Robert Allan was 
 seargent of the company, William Phillips, corporal, Andrew 
 Hegarty, fifer, and that John Jackson had been drummer, 
 but was reduced to the ranks. From a list of articles 
 belonging to Henry Dobson at the time of his death it may 
 be inferred that the uniform of his company was very bril- 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 323 
 
 liant. A scarlet coat, gold-laced, with epaulets, and four 
 black feathers, are mentioned as being part of his effects, as 
 were also a testament and prayer-book. 
 
 Henry Dobson was the grandson of Richard Dobson, who 
 for many years was register of North Elk Parish, and 
 Abigail, the daughter of Henry Hollingsworth, the first of 
 that name who settled at the Head of Elk, in 1710. The 
 Dobson family owned and lived on the plantation bordering 
 on the west side of Little Elk Creek, and on the road leading 
 from Elkton to North East. Cecil County produced no 
 braver man or better soldier than Henry Dobson. At the 
 time he was commissioned he was not yet twenty-two years 
 of age. He was the maternal uncle of the late Henry 
 Dobson Miller, who was register of wills of this county for 
 twenty-eight years. He was wounded at the battle of 
 Brandywine and killed at the battle of Eutaw Springs, in 
 1781, in the twenty-sixth year of his age. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1776, the convention balloted for 
 officers of the militia with the following result : Bohemia 
 Battalion — John Veazey, Jr., colonel ; John D. Thompson, 
 lieutenant-colonel ; William Rumsey, first major ; Dr. 
 Joshua Clayton, second ; Samuel Young, quarter-master. 
 Elk Battalion — Charles Rumsey, colonel ; Henry Hollings- 
 worth, lieutenant-colonel ; Edward Parker, first major ; John 
 Strawbridge, second ; Thomas Huggins, quarter-master. 
 Susquehanna Battalion — George Johnson, colonel; Thomas 
 Hughs, lieutenant-colonel ; John Hartshorn,* first major ; 
 Elihu Hall, second ; John Hambleton, quarter-master. 
 There is reason to believe that these battalions were 
 intended for home protection and defence, and existed as 
 distinct organizations but a short time, when those of whom 
 they were composed entered the Continental army. 
 
 At this time Colonel Henry Hollingsworth was in the prime 
 of life, and resided in the old brick mansion in Elkton, now 
 
 * See sketch of Hartshorn and Hall families, in Chapter XXVHI. 
 
324 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 occupied by his grandchildren, the Partridges. Hs was an 
 eminently patriotic man, and judging from the letters he 
 received and the important positions he filled, did more than 
 any other citizen of the county for the advancement of the 
 interest of the colonists. The Head of Elk being directly 
 upon the route between the northern and southern colonies,, 
 he was often called upon, in discharge of his duty as com- 
 missary, to furnish supplies for the troops when their line of 
 march lead through that village, which then was a place of 
 so much importance that the Legislature passed an act in 
 the spring of 1777, authorizing the governor to purchase 
 land and contract for the erection of a good, substantial 
 stone or brick building to be used for the accommodation of 
 new recruits or soldiers passing through it. The governor 
 was also requested to solicit the aid of Congress in prosecu- 
 ting the work. Probably for the want of means, the build- 
 ing was not erected. Mr. Hollingsworth was as enterprising 
 as he was patriotic ; and with a view of aiding the cause of 
 his country, he made a proposition to the convention to 
 manufacture gun-barrels and bayonets for the use of the 
 troops. The convention took action upon this proposition 
 on the 22d of May, 1776, and resolved that the sum of £500 
 should be advanced to him. " He was to give bond for the 
 payment of that sum in good substantial gun barrels, well 
 bored and ground, f of an inch in the bore and 3i feet in 
 the barrel, at twenty shillings per barrel, and good substan- 
 tial steel bayonets, at eight shillings per bayonet." These 
 barrels were stocked by Mr. William "Winters, who had a 
 manufactory for that purpose at Chestertown. Mr. Hol- 
 lingsworth was the first person that engaged in the manu- 
 facture of warlike munitions in this State for the use of its 
 soldiers. 
 
 The January before this took place, Edward Parker, who 
 then resided near the Brick Meeting-house, had memorialized 
 the convention in regard to the manufacture of linen and 
 woolen goods, and had received a subsidy of £300 to enable 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 325 
 
 him to start business. He stated that he had erected a 
 house,* provided himself with all manner of implements, 
 and had five looms constantly employed in manufacturing. 
 In this connection the following letter, copied from the 
 original, now in possession of Mr. Hollingsworth's grand- 
 children, will be interesting. It was written only eight days 
 after the promulgation of the Declaration of Independence, 
 and shows the promptness with which the people of that 
 time acted : 
 
 " In Council of Safety, 
 
 " 12th July, 1776. 
 "Sir : — We are in immediate want of about 400 bayonets of 
 different sized sockets for the army of the Eastern Shore 
 militia, who are to compose part of the flying camp, and 
 have sent an order on you to Mr. Wintersf for them, and 
 we request you will supply him with that number as soon 
 as possible. The greatest exertions are necessary upon this 
 occasion, and we doubt not your warmest efforts to enable 
 us to carry into execution the resolves of convention with 
 that dispatch the exigency of the times require. 
 
 " For and on behalf of the Council, 
 " I am sir, your obedient servant, 
 " Charles Carroll, V. P. 
 " Col. Henry Hollingsworth." 
 
 The iron used in the construction of these munitions of 
 war was purchased in Philadelphia. 
 
 *This house is believed to be now standing. It is on the south side of the 
 road leading from the Brick Meeting-house to Port Deposit, and a short die- 
 tanoe -west of where that road crosses the North East Creek. Mr. Parker 
 at one time owned a fulling-mill, which was on or near the site of the 
 grist-mill on the other side of the creek, at which no doubt the woolen 
 cloth was finished. 
 
 f Mr. Winters had a shop in Charlestown, and was employed by the 
 State to stock the gun-barrels, which were probably made at the gun 
 factory on a branch of Little North East creek, which rises near the 
 Brick Meeting house. The factory was in the midst of a dense forest, 
 a short distance north of the road leading from Kirk's mill to Bay View 
 
326 HISTOEY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The correspondence between Colonel Hollingsworth and 
 the colonial and continental authorities is interesting and 
 instructive; and shows the diflSculties under which the 
 patriotic people of that time labored. Skillful laborers were 
 hard to procure, and many of the bayonets made by Colonel 
 Hollingsworth were useless, either because they w^ere not 
 properly tempered, or because the steel of which they were 
 made was worthless. They were easily bent, and conse- 
 quently were good for nothing ; so the colonial authorities 
 censured him and threw them on his hands, which was a 
 source of quite as much annoyance to him as the want of 
 the weapons was to them. In addition to ordinary 
 muskets barrels and bayonets he also manufactured a few 
 barrels for larger pieces, which are mentioned in his corres- 
 pondence under the name of wall pieces. 
 
 Little is known of the other officers of the battalions 
 before-mentioned. Colonel John Veazey descended from an 
 old Norman family, one of whom settled on A^eazey Neck 
 previous to 1670. As before stated, he represented the 
 county in the convention of 1774-5. He was a nephew of 
 Captain Edward Veazey, who was killed at the battle of 
 Long Island in 1776. Charles and William Rumsey were 
 descendants of Charles Rumsey, who lived at the head of 
 Bohemia River in 1710. Dr. Joshua Clayton participated 
 in the battle of Brandywine, at which time he was aid to 
 General Washington, who had it is said, commissioned him 
 Colonel and placed him on his staff, in order to make a 
 good appearance when receiving the sword of General 
 Howe, whom he expected to capture at that place. Colonel 
 Clayton was afterwards Governor of Delaware and United 
 State Senator from that State. George Johnson is believed 
 to have been aid to General Washington during the cam- 
 paign in New Jersey in 1777-8. Elihu Hall was of the Hall 
 family, one of whom many years before, settled near the 
 mouth of the Octoraro. This family for a long time, was 
 one of the most numerous and distinguished in the county. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 327 
 
 The campaign of 1776 was disastrous to the Continental 
 army, no portion of which had acted with greater bravery 
 and distinction than the Maryland line. Washington had 
 done what he could to retrieve the fortunes of the Con- 
 tinental cause at Princeton and Trenton, and in the Spring 
 of 1777, his army occupied northern New Jersey, and hav- 
 ing been largely reinforced was so formidable that General 
 Howe resolved to accomplish by stratagem what he had 
 failed to do by force, namely, the capture of Philadelphia, 
 then the capitol of the infant Republic. To this end he 
 embarked his army on board his brother's fleet, intending 
 to reach Philadelphia by sailing up the Delaware. But 
 learning that this was impracticable on account of the ob- 
 structions in that river, he abandoned his original plan and 
 entered the Chesapeake Bay. 
 
 On the way up the Chesapeake, the British fleet, consisting 
 of three hundred sail of men-of-war, stopped at the mouth of 
 the Patapsco river and threatened to destroy Baltimore. 
 
 It is stated in the Maryland Gazette, a newspaper pub- 
 lished in Baltimore, that the British fleet left Bodkin Point, 
 at the mouth of the Patapsco, on the 24th of August, and 
 sailed to the mouth of Elk River and came to, off Turkey 
 Point. The writer then proceeds as follows : " It has been 
 reported they landed some of their troops, but it proceeded 
 from their sending a number of boats to Pursusa (Spesutia) 
 Island, lying between Harford and Kent county, on 
 which was a large stock of cattle and sheep, some of which 
 they have taken off." This erroneous account of the landing 
 of the British troops at Turkey Point was adopted by Rum- 
 say and published in his history of the Revolutionary war, 
 and his account has been generally followed by all subse- 
 quent American writers. The fact is correctly stated by 
 British historians, who say that Howe's army landed some 
 distance above the mouth of the Elk River. From Turkey 
 Point the British sailed on up the Elk River and landed on 
 
328 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Elk Neck, nearly opposite Court-house Point, at which 
 place they were encamped on the 27th. The weather at this 
 time was very rainy, which may have prevented them from 
 landing sooner. 
 
 On the 27th the Bristish General issued the following 
 proclamation : 
 
 " By His Excellency Sir William Howe, &c, &c. A decla- 
 ration to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, the lower counties 
 on Delaware and the counties on the Eastern Shore of 
 Maryland : Sir William Howe, regretting the calamities to 
 which many of His Majesty's faithful subjects are still ex- 
 posed by the continuance of the rebellion ; and no less 
 desirous of protecting the innocent than determining to 
 pursue with the rigors of war all those whom His Majesty's 
 forces in the course of their progress may find in arms 
 against the King, doth hereby assure the peaceable inhabi- 
 tants of the province of Pennsylvania, the lower counties on 
 Delaware and the counties of Maryland on the eastern shore 
 of Chesapeake bay that in order to remove any groundless 
 apprehensions which may have been raised of their suffer- 
 ing by depredations of the army under his command: He 
 hath issued the strictest orders to the troops for the preser- 
 vation of regularity and good discipline ; and has signified 
 that the most exemplary punishment shall be inflicted upon 
 those who shall dare to plunder their property or molest the 
 persons of any of His Majesty's well disposed subjects. 
 
 "Security and protection are likewise extended to all per- 
 sons, inhabitants of the province and counties aforesaid, 
 who (not guilty of having assumed legislative or judicial au- 
 thority) may have acted illegally in subordinate stations and 
 conscious of their misconduct been induced to leave their 
 dwellings ; Provided such persons do forthwith return and 
 remain peaceably in their usual places of abode. Consider- 
 ing, moreover, that many officers and private men, now 
 actually in arms against His Majesty, may be willing to re- 
 linquish the part they have taken in this rebellion and 
 return to their due allegiance. Sir William Howe doth 
 therefore jiromise a free and general pardon to all such of- 
 ficers and private men as shall voluntarily come and sur- 
 render themselvss to any detachment of his Majesty's forces 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 329 
 
 before the day on which it shall be notified, that the said 
 indulgence shall be discontinued. 
 
 " Given under my hand at Head Quarters of the Army,the 
 27tli of August, 1777, by His Excellency's command. 
 
 " Robert McKenzie, 
 
 " Secretary." 
 
 In a letter dated at Mr. Russle's, at the head of North East, 
 on the 27th of August, and addressed to Governor Johnson, 
 by Benjamin Rumsey, he states that there were about one 
 hundred men under arms, of which number about sixty -two 
 were at North East and Charlestown. He complains of the 
 want of arms, and speaks of two Hessian deserters, who 
 had come to North East that morning. 
 
 The two days after the British landed were stormy, which 
 probably prevented th-em from advancing sooner ; but on 
 the morning of the 27th of August, two brigades of light 
 infantry under Howe marched by the old road, traces of 
 which may be seen at this time, that led from Elk Ferry to 
 the Head of Elk, leaving a large division of the heavier 
 troops, under command of Generah Knj^phausen and 
 Agnew, at Elk Ferr}^, with instructions to cross the Elk 
 River to Bohemia Manor. The British did not confine 
 themselves to the road after crossing Little Elk Creek, but 
 spread over the fields on each side of it, their pioneers or 
 vanguard tearing down the fences and other obstructions to 
 make way for the others. It was said to have been a beautiful 
 sight to see them as they came in sight on the level slope 
 west of the town, their scarlet coats and bright guns and 
 bayonets gleaming in the rays of an early August sun. 
 After reaching the Head of Elk (now Elkton) the British 
 encamped on the plain, northwest of the town, where they 
 remained for several days. 
 
 While the British were at Elkton they destroyed a large 
 quantity of grain that was stored in a warehouse that stood 
 in the hollow near where Prices hotel now stands. The 
 wareliouse was a frame building, and stood on the east side 
 
330 HISTORY OF CECIL COUKTY. 
 
 of a canal or ditch that had been dug for the purpose of 
 bringing vessels close to it, to facilitate the loading of grain. 
 The British tore the weather-boarding off this warehouse 
 and filled the ditch full of grain. The British General ap- 
 pears to have left a part of his force here for some time, probably 
 a small garrison, to hold the town and keep open his line 
 of communication with the fleet in the river. 
 
 The Americans had a small body of troops at Elk Forge, 
 which was a place of much importance at that time, and 
 had been in operation for about sixteen years. They also 
 had a line of posts or stations by way of Kennet Square 
 to Philadelphia, and kept up communication by means of 
 couriers on horseback, who changed horses at each station. 
 
 While the British held the town they were in the habit of 
 sending out foraging parties, and ih'e Americans at the forge 
 had their scouts on the alert, in order to be informed of their 
 operations. It was while doing duty as a scout that a grand- 
 uncle of the author fell in with a squad of these British officers 
 near the site of the bridge across Big Elk, north of the town, 
 known as Gilpin's bridge. He was on the north side of the 
 creek and they were on the opposite bank, near where the 
 house now stands. The creek was skirted on each side with 
 bushes and trees, and the old gentleman fired at them before 
 they saw him, and to use his own words, " One of them set- 
 tled down on his horse's neck." The old soldier did not 
 think it safe to stay longer at that time, but returned a short 
 time after the evacuation of Elkton by the British and found 
 a fresh grave in the flat between the bluff and the creek. 
 The grave is in the garden belonging to the house that 
 stands near the south end of the bridge. The place was 
 pointed out to the author many years ago by his uncle, to 
 whom it had been shown by the person who fired the shot.* 
 
 * This'man's name was Samuel Johnston. He served in the army un- 
 der Washington, in New Jersey, and was in the battle of Monmouth. His 
 brother, Thomas Johnston, was killed on board of an American pi-ivateer, 
 near one of the British West India Islands during the war of the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 331 
 
 He had no doubt that the grave was that of the man at whom 
 he fired. There may be those who will be disposed to think 
 harshly of this action of an American soldier, but they 
 should remember that the provocation of the Americans had 
 been great and their sufferings severe ; that they had borne 
 them long and patiently when they had a reasonable right 
 to have expected better treatment. 
 
 During the time that the British were in Elkton and vici- 
 nity they sent a detachment of troops to Elk Forge, who- 
 committed many depredations there and destroyed much 
 of the property that they found. Most of the stock had 
 been removed and concealed in anticpation of the raid. The 
 people, for a distance of twelve or fifteen miles around 
 Elkton, in Delaware, and Pennsylvania, took pains to con- 
 ceal their horses and cattle by driving them to secluded 
 places in the woods. Many of them had taken the more 
 valuable portions of their portable property and fled to 
 places of safety, where they remained until the danger was 
 past. It was at the time of the raid upon 'Elk Forge that 
 they took James Ramage prisoner and carried him to Phila- 
 delphia, where they detained him on board a prison ship for 
 some months. His wife went with him, and probably 
 owing to her solicitations and exertions, he was released. 
 This man Ramage was the maternal grandfather of Mrs. 
 Agatha Scott, the wife of David Scott, Esq., of the fourth 
 district. He was a Scotchman and had not been long in 
 America. 
 
 At this time there lived somewhere in the vicinity of 
 Chestnut Hill a gentleman and his wife, who had the honor 
 of lodging Gen. Washington. This man's name was Seth 
 James. He lived to be quite old and taught school in the 
 latter part of his life. The general was accompanied by his 
 servant and asked the favor of lodging with them. The old 
 lady fixed up the best feather bed she had in the best style. 
 The servant, however, was of the opinion that something 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 might be concealed in the bed and he subjected it to a min- 
 ute inspection, after which he rearranged it and the General 
 then retired. They arose early the next morning and de- 
 parted. 
 
 That part of the British army, under Gen. Knyphausen 
 •and Agnew, probably crossed the Elk River shortly after the 
 ■departure of the light troops under Gen. Howe, for they were 
 encamped near Court-house Point on the 31st of August. 
 This division was composed of Hessians and Scotch High- 
 landers. They appear to have spread over the greater part 
 ■of Sodom,* and were encamped for a short time near St. 
 Augustine Church, the windows of which they destroyed. 
 
 One of the British generals is said to have occupied the 
 house on the Wirt farm, near St. Augustine Church, and 
 some one drew a picture of soldiers drawn up in military 
 ■order, on one of the wooden partitions of that house. This 
 picture is said by those who saw it to have been executed in 
 A beautiful and artistic manner. The house is now standing, 
 but the picture has been obliterated by the partition being 
 white-washed. 
 
 There is a tradition that nineteen of the Hessians 
 ■deserted, but were captured and shot at Welsh ■ Point, and 
 buried there in one common grave. Some indications of a 
 grave of that kind are to be seen at the Point at this time. 
 The depression in the earth that is said to be their grave is 
 called " The Hessian's Hole." 
 
 A detachment of the British army also crossed the Elk 
 River, and landed at Welsh Point. It is probable that it 
 was this detachment that afterwards joined that part of the 
 army that was commanded by General Howe, at Grays 
 Hill. For it is not probable, as stated bj' several writers of 
 
 * Sodom -was bounded by Back Creek on the north, and included all 
 the country bet-ween that creek and the road leadiiii; from Court-house Point 
 to Cayotts Corner, and the road leading from the lutter place ma St. 
 Aug-astine to Back Creek ]\IiUs. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 that period, that the division under Knyphausen and 
 Agnew, that is known to have been at St. Augustine 
 church, and to have been encamped near the Summit 
 Bridge, on the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, took a rc-tro- 
 grade course and came back to Grays Hill. 
 
 It is generally believed that the British burned the court- 
 house on Court-house Point, when they were there this 
 year, but such was not the case. Nor is there any reason to 
 believe that they injured it in the least. At the August 
 term of court, 1776, one Joseph Watson (hatter), was pre- 
 sented by the grand jury for " entering the court-house of 
 Cecil County with force and arms, on Tuesday, the twenty- 
 third of July last, and then and there with force and arms, 
 breaking and pulling down the window-sashes, glass, and 
 window-shutters of said court-house." The records of the 
 court show that some time after the British were at Court- 
 house Point, the damages referred to in this presentment 
 were repaired. The presentment was found among the 
 court papers of that year, but the records of the count}^ 
 contain no reference to the trial. 
 
 Watson was a Tory and may have been one of the few in 
 this county that joined the British army. The fact that the 
 British carried away with them all the public records ex- 
 cept a few that had been removed to the Head of Elk for 
 safety, probably gave rise to the erroneous story that they 
 burned the court-house. Some of the records were found 
 in New York and brought back to the county after the close 
 of the war. These were transcribed, but many of the origi- 
 nal records were never recovered, which accounts for the 
 imperfect condition of the land records previous to the 
 beginning of this century. 
 
 The Americans, as before intimated, had large quantities 
 of grain, salt, and other stores at the Head of Elk, and 
 owing to the fact that salt was scarce and difficult to obtain, 
 they were very anxious to remove it to a place of safet3^ 
 In order to do this, as well as to be in a position to watch 
 
334 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the movements of the British, Washington left Philadelphia 
 on the 24th of August, and on the 25th, encamped on Red 
 Clay Creek, with his headquarters at Wilmington. His 
 army consisted of about 1 1 ,000 men. The Pennsylvania and 
 Delaware militia, under Generals Armstrong and Rodney, 
 were ordered to press forward to Head of Elk, and secure 
 the stores deposited there ; but they failed to do so, and 
 most of the stores fell into the hands of the enemy. Gen- 
 erals Green and Weeden reconnoitered the country between 
 Wilmington and Head of Elk, and Washington himself 
 rode through heavy rains to the latter place on the 25th, 
 to make a personal reconnoissance. It was upon this occa- 
 sion that Washington passed the night in the old brick 
 house just west of the Episcopal church, then occupied by 
 Jacob Hollingsworth as a hotel. General Howe occupied 
 the same room on the night of the 27th of August, and was 
 waited upon by the same negro servant that had served 
 Washington the night before.* The British seem to have 
 proceeded slowly and cautiously. For a time they were 
 encamped on the plain north of the town. Afterwards they 
 occupied a strong position on the summit of Grays Hill. 
 On the third of September their lines extended from 
 Glasgow, then called Aikens or Aikentown,t to a point some 
 distance northwest of the Baptist church on Iron Hill. On 
 that day severe skirmishing took place between them and 
 the Maryland and Delaware militia, near Coochs Bridge 
 and the Baptist church on Iron Hill. In these skirmishes the 
 Americans lost about forty men, the British somewhat less. 
 Just after this fight the British burned Coochs mill, and 
 indulged in many other acts of wanton destruction of prop- 
 
 * This servant's name was Richard Mills. He lived to be quite old. 
 and was so large and powerful that Colonel George R. Howard, who 
 knew him well, told the author he had no doubt that his arms above the 
 elbow were as large as the thigh of an ordinary man. 
 
 t So called from the fact that a man called Aiken kept a hotel there. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 335 
 
 erty. The shutters on the old Baptist church showed that 
 a ball had been fired through one of them and passed 
 diagonally across the building and out through another 
 one. 
 
 There was an old and eccentric surveyor, called by the 
 name of Humphries, who was a fifer in the American 
 army at the battle of Coochs Bridge. He was accused 
 of cowardice, inasmuch as he hid his fife just before the 
 fight at the bridge, in order to keep out of danger. This 
 man Humphries left a son Edward Humphries, better 
 known in the northeast part of the county as " Old Neddy." 
 He was well educated, but very eccentric ; rather too fond 
 of whisky, and had a habit of muttering and talking to 
 himself. A friend of the author once asked him about the 
 accusation against his father. " Oh, yes," replied Neddy, 
 " he hid the fife and hid the fifer too." 
 
 The people of Cecil County, as before remarked, were gen- 
 erally loyal to the cause of their country. There were, how- 
 ever, a few exceptions; but no person of good standing 
 in society, except Robert Alexander, is believed to have 
 joined the enemy. He belonged to an aristocratic family 
 that formerly owned a large tract of land at Elkton, lying 
 between the hollow and the Far Creek, which he inherited 
 from William Alexander, the third husband of Ariminta 
 Alexander, who afterwards married George Catto, and who 
 was one of the most aristocratic ladies that ever lived in the 
 county. This man Alexander joined the British fleet when 
 it was in Elk River, and went away with it and never returned. 
 He left a wife and several children, who then and for many 
 years afterwards resided in Elkton. His son, William Alex- 
 ander, studied law, and was for some time State's attorney. He 
 is spoken of by those who knew him as being both amiable 
 and eloquent. Robert Alexander, who lived in the house 
 now occupied by Daniel Bratton, is said to have prepared 
 a fine entertainment for the British officers, and to have 
 gone down the river to welcome them to the town, but 
 
336 HISTORY 0¥ CKCIL COUNTY. 
 
 while lie was away upon that errand the Americana came 
 to Elkton and the feast fell into their hands.* 
 
 With the exception of the removal of the records of the 
 county and the capture of the public stores at the Head of 
 Elk, the British did little damage in this county. They 
 seem to have taken pains to conci-liate those who were op- 
 posed to them, and not to have hesitated to plunder their 
 friends. jMany of the people of the neighboring village of 
 Newark and vicinity, as well as some of the people of Ches- 
 ter County, were tainted with treason. A writer of the 
 period says that the British captured all the records and 
 public papers of New Castle County and every shilling of 
 the public money, together with the fund belonging to the 
 trustees of Newark Academy. In consequence of the re- 
 verses sustained by the Americans at the battle of Brandy- 
 wine, says a writer of that period, the people of New Castle 
 County were dispirited and dispersed, and the less virtuous 
 part that remained were daily employed in supplying the 
 British troops in Wilmington and at New Castle with all 
 kinds of provisions. Thomas McKean, a distinguished citi- 
 zen of Pennsylvania, in a letter written to Gen. Washington 
 from Newark, Delaware, on the 8th of the following October, 
 says the only remedy he can suggest for this lamentable 
 state of affairs is to have a regiment of continental troops 
 stationed at Newark. At the time this letter was written, 
 he had just heard of the battle of Germantown from some 
 Quakers who were returning to Nottingham from their 
 yearly meeting in Philadelphia. They at first refused to 
 
 * Robert Alexander resided in Baltimore for some time before the Rev- 
 olutionary war, and repre.sented Baltimore County in the provincial con- 
 vention, from June, 1774, to .Tune, 1776, and was chosen to represent the 
 State in the Continental Congress, in 1776, but never took his seat in that 
 body, for this reason, that, though he opposed the aggressions of the 
 mother country, he was not in favor of independence. He acted as agent 
 for the Tories from the State of Maryland, who, in 1788, claimed com- 
 pensation from the British Government for their confiscated property. 
 See Sharf 's History of Maryland, Vol. H., page 397. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 337 
 
 tell him anything of the battle; but he compelled them to 
 stop, and says he was of the opinion that their account was 
 derived from the Tories and English in Philadelphia. The 
 pacific principles of the Friends prevented them from taking 
 an active part in military operations in the field, but most 
 of them were loyal to the cause of their country, and did all 
 they were able without sacrificing their religious conviction 
 to aid its cause. 
 
 The winter after the battle of Brandy wine, the British oc- 
 cupied Philadelphia, and it is a well-established fact that 
 some of the disaffected and mercenary citizens of the county, 
 some of whom were indicted for the offense, were in the 
 habit of smuggling provisions to them. Notable among 
 these was one Michael Trump, who resided near Colora. 
 This man Trump lived to a great age. He trapped several 
 wagon loads of wild pigeons, which were very numerous 
 that winter, and sold them to the British army in Philadel- 
 phia. They were very glad to get them, and paid him for 
 them in gold coin. The invasion of the county greatly de- 
 moralized the people. The new government was, at this 
 time, only an experiment, and its ultimate success was 
 doubtful; consequently the ill-disposed and lawless part of 
 the citizens took advantage of the weakness of the civil au- 
 thorities and did pretty much as they pleased. Thirty per- 
 sons were indicted for selling liquor without license, at the 
 November term of court, in 1777. At this term of court the 
 sheriff was ordered to deliver the prisoners then in his cus- 
 tody,charged with being traitors, to Colonel John D. Thomp- 
 son,who was requested to send them under guard of his batta- 
 lion to the lieutenant of Kent County,with directions to him 
 to have them put in the State prison. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the Friends in Not- 
 tingham did not consider themselves as being under the 
 jurisdiction of the State of Maryland. For this reason, and 
 also because they were opposed to fighting, many of them 
 refused to enter the service of the State when called upon to 
 
 V 
 
338 
 
 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 do SO. In order that they might be tried and punished for 
 this, a court-martial was convened at the Head of Elk, on 
 the 7th of December, 1778, at which were present, Colonel 
 Stephen Hyland, lieutenant-colonel Elihu Hall (of Elisha), 
 and Major Baruch Williams, the latter gentleman being at 
 that time clerk of the county court. The records of this 
 court-martial show that fifty-five persons were convicted of 
 refusing to attend at the Head of Elk on the 23d of the 
 preceding May, at which time they had been called into 
 actual service by Charles Eumsey, the lieutenant of the 
 county, at the request of the governor. The court imposed 
 fines upon them, ranging from £20 to £35 each, and sentenced 
 each of them to two months' imprisonment. Five persons 
 were also found guilty of desertion. They were sentenced 
 to fine and imprisonment. Baruch Williams was ordered 
 to issue writs against the parties, most of whom contested 
 the matter in the county court, with what success is not 
 known, the records of the court not being extant. 
 
 Though the pacific principles of the Friends forbade them 
 to engage in hostilities, they had no objections to taking 
 care of the sick and wounded soldiers, and with the view of 
 affording them an opportunity of doing so, a detachment of 
 General Smallroad's division of the American army took 
 possession of the Brick Meeting-house, in April, 1778, and 
 converted it into a hospital for the use of the sick and 
 wounded soldiers who were disabled in the campaign of 
 that year in northern New Jersey. The meeting-house was 
 used for a hospital for about three months, the Friends 
 meanwhile worshiping in a Friend's barn. The Friends 
 treated the soldiers in the hospital with much kindness, and 
 furnished them with blankets and other things that con- 
 tributed to their comfort, and washed and mended their 
 clothes. During the time the meeting-house was used for 
 a hospital, many of the inmates died and were buried in 
 the graveyard that surrounds it. A well-defined depression 
 in the earth's surface is all that marks the site of their 
 sepulcher. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 339 
 
 Except the hardships incident to a state of war, which 
 were greatly aggravated by the depreciation of the currency, 
 which had become of such little value, that, in 1780, the 
 price fixed by the county commissioners for a good hot din- 
 ner, was six pounds fifteen shillings, there is little of interest 
 to record in the history of the county in the interval be- 
 tween the years 1777 and 1781. During this period the 
 inhabitants were often put to great inconvenience for want 
 of salt and sugar, but were able to supply themselves with 
 the fabrics used for clothing from their own manufactories, 
 the old-fashioned spinning wheels and hand looms that 
 were to be found in every thrifty farm-house, and had a 
 surplus left to dispose of outside of the county. In July, 
 1780, the captain of a small bay craft came to Head of Elk 
 and lay in the river for several days till a favorable oppor- 
 tunity occurred, one night during a heavy thunder storm, 
 when he entered the warehouse of Zebulon HoUingsworth, 
 which stood on the wharf in the " Hollow," and stole there- 
 from about forty pieces of check, which he took to Baltimore 
 and sold, except three pieces which he gave to one of his 
 crew, who sold them for five hundred dollars each. This 
 person, whose name was Green Jimmet, became dissatisfied 
 with his share of the plunder and informed the officers of 
 the law, who arrested him and sent a copy of his confession 
 to the authorities of this county. Nothing more is known 
 of the case, but it serves to show that there were some 
 thieves in those days and that checks were very high- 
 priced. 
 
 Colonel HoUingsworth, who took an active part in the 
 campaign under Washington, previous to and after the 
 'battle of Brandywine, thinking he could serve his country 
 better by doing so, returned home some time previous to 
 March, 1778, and from that time to the close of the war 
 acted as general agent for the authorities of Maryland and 
 the Continental Congress. He not only purchased supplies 
 of all kinds for the use of the army when in the field, but 
 
340 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 was frequently called upon to provide suj^plies for large de- 
 tachments of troops that passed through the county. The 
 great thoroughfare between the North and South at that 
 time led from Christiana Bridge to Elkton, and when it was 
 practicable, this route was followed. At other times the 
 armies were obliged to march, in which case they crossed 
 the Susquehanna River, and upon one occasion at least, a 
 requisition was made upon him for all the boats he could 
 procure, in order to ferry a large detachment over that river 
 from Perryville to Havre de Grace. Such was the exigency 
 of the case, and the scarcity of boats, that he was instructed 
 to procure boards with which rafts were to be constructed and 
 attached to the gunwales of the boats he was able to pro- 
 cure, in order that a speedy passage of the river might be 
 safely effected. Owing to the scarcity of money, the Legis- 
 lature enacted that taxes might be paid in wheat, beef, 
 cattle, and other things needed by the army. Colonel 
 Hollingsworth had charge of the manufacture of much of 
 this wheat, and supervised a large extent of country, in- 
 cluding much of the northern part of the Peninsula and 
 Harford County. The bran and other offal derived from 
 the wheat was fed to the beef cattle. Patrick Ewine was 
 one of the receivers of public wheat in the county, and 
 much of it was ground at his mill, on Conowingo Creek, in 
 the northwestern part of the county. The following letters 
 illustrate the multiform duties imposed upon the gentleman 
 to whom they were addressed : 
 
 " Williamsburg, April 15th, 1779. 
 "Sir:— I send fifteen highlanders, prisoners of war, taken 
 here three years ago, to your care, requesting you to forward- 
 them on to Congress, whom I have apprised of it. 
 
 "I am, sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 "P. Henry. 
 " Colonel Hollingsivorth." 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 341 
 
 " Philadelphia, Nov. 16th, 1779. 
 " jMr. Henry' Hollingsworth — Sir : — I am much obliged 
 by your expedition in sending forward my letter from Mr. 
 Smith, of Portsmouth, and by the return of the express I 
 transmit herewith simdry dispatches from His Excellency, 
 the Chevr. De la Luzerne, and Mons. Holker, Adjutant- 
 ■General of the Royal Marine of France, which I beg the 
 favor of you to send forward by a fast sailing boat, which, 
 if possible, you will hire for the purpose of carrying them 
 on board the fleet at Portsmouth, or any other part of the 
 bay, wherever the said French fleet may be. I think it 
 probable that there may be Virginia or Maryland boats at 
 your place that will undertake this business for a moderate 
 compensation, as they may probably be on the point of re- 
 turning. I must pray of you to procure the best boat you 
 can for this service on the most reasonable terms in your 
 power, taking care that the skipper is a man of confidence, 
 well attached to the American cause, and whom you are as- 
 sured will faithfully deliver the dispatches. I will pay your 
 •order for the amount of all expenses arising on this occa- 
 sion, and as there will be occasion for constant communica- 
 tion with the fleet whilst they remain in Chesapeake, meas- 
 ures will be immediately taken for that purpose, in which I 
 •conceive your assistance will be necessar3^ Should Mons. 
 Holker add any thing to this letter, I beg it may have your 
 full attention, and you will much oblige, sir 
 " Your obed., humble servant, 
 
 "Robert Morris." 
 
 The expedition of General Lafayette, which Washington 
 ■detached from his army, then in the vicinity of New York, 
 which was designed to co-operate with a force already there 
 against the traitor, Benedict Arnold, who at that time was 
 ravaging the country along the James River and the lower 
 part of Chesapeake Bay, passed through this county in 1781. 
 The troops which composed this expedition numbered 1 ,200. 
 They came from Trenton down the Delaware River and up 
 the Christiana Creek to Christiana Bridge, from whence they 
 marched to the Head of Elk, where they arrived on or about 
 the 6th of March. The following letter, which has never 
 
342 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 before been published, was copied from the original, now in 
 the possession of the Misses Partridge, of Elkton : 
 
 " Elkton, 7th March, 1781. 
 
 " Sir : — I return the authority of Governor, inclosed in 
 yours of this date, I do not think you will be able to col- 
 lect the quantity of meat specified in it by to-morrow. You 
 may, however, use your utmost endeavors with the civil 
 power with which you are vested, to collect as much as pos- 
 sible to-day, which we shall take with us. The rest 3'ou will 
 form into a magazine, and wait my orders for its following 
 us. I do not suppose, on such an occasion as the present, a 
 military guard necessary for enforcing the Governor's war- 
 rant ; but, should you find that it is, you must have one. 
 
 " I am, sir, your obt. and h'ble serv't., 
 
 " Lafayette. 
 " Mr. Henry Hollingstvorth." 
 
 After the expedition arrived at Head of Elk, a little fleet 
 was soon gathered together in the Elk River, to relieve him- 
 self of the command of which Lafayette sent for Commodore 
 Nicholson, of Baltimore, and on the 9th of March the expe- 
 dition set sail and reached Annapolis in safety the next 
 evening. Lafayette expected to receive aid from the French 
 fleet, which had sailed from the north a short time before, 
 and was supposed to be in the lower part of the Chesapeake, 
 and which, had all gone well, would have co-operated with 
 him in the attempt to capture Arnold. But, unfortunately 
 for the success of the enthusiastic young Frenchman, the 
 British had dispatched a large squadron to reinforce the 
 one already co-operating with Arnold, which overtook the 
 French fleet near the mouth of the Chesapeake. A severe 
 action took place, and , although the French had the best of 
 the fight, they concluded, inasmuch as some of their vessels 
 were badly crippled, and the English had succeeded in get- 
 ting into the mouth of the Chesapeake during the heavy 
 fog, to abandon the enterprise. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 343 
 
 Lafayette had preceded his expedition to Annapolis and 
 hastened on down the bay to look after the French fleet, but 
 found, much to his surprise, that the fleet had not made its ap- 
 pearance. After spending some time near Portsmouth and 
 consulting with Baron Steuben, under whose command the 
 other forces were, Lafayette learned of the arrival of the 
 English fleet and was forced to come to the unwelcome con- 
 clusion that his expedition was a failure. He thereupon 
 sent orders to the troops which were still at Annapolis to be 
 ready to move at a moment's notice. At this juncture, 
 Washington, who had been apprised of the state of affairs, 
 recalled the expedition, which at this time was blockaded 
 in the harbor of Annapolis by two vessels detached from 
 the British fleet for that purpose. Lafayette found means 
 to rejoin his little fleet at Annapolis and for a while thought 
 seriously of returning by land, but that plan was abandoned 
 as impracticable on account of the want of horses to trans- 
 port the artillery and stores. After much delay, it was re- 
 solved to run the blockade, if possible, and return to the 
 Head of Elk by water. The following plan was adopted : 
 Two sloops of about sixty tons' burden were fitted up with 
 two eighteen pounders each in their bows and a traveling 
 forge in their holds. At 10 o'clock on the morning of the 
 6th of April, these vessels, each manned by two hundred 
 volunteers, sailed boldly out of Annapolis Roads to attack 
 the British vessels, which, on their approach, not relishing 
 the hot shot of the Americans, left their moorings and 
 dropped down the bay, thus opening a passage for the 
 American fleet, which followed the two gun-boats, and 
 reached the Head of Elk the same night. At that place 
 Lafayette found letters from Washington countermanding 
 the order of recall and ordering him southward again to 
 assist General Greene. 
 
 It is stated in a letter which Lafayette addressed from 
 Head of Elk to Governor Thomas Sim Lee, upon the 10th, that 
 he intended to march the next day, and that it would be 
 
344 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 necessary to have horses and wagons at Baltimore to relieve 
 those which would accompany him from that place. He 
 also informed the Governor that two men came on board 
 his vessel while coming up the baj^, and, mistaking it for a 
 British vessel, had offered to show them the country about 
 the mouth of the Gunpowder River, and accompanied by a 
 small detachment which he had sent for that purpose, had 
 gone there. He also informed the Governor that he intended 
 to execute them as spies. 
 
 The army under Lafayette left the Head of Elk on the 
 morning of the 11th of April, and marched to the Brick 
 Meeting-house, which they reached about an hour before 
 sunset, and encamped in the meeting-house woods. The 
 author is indebted to James Trimble* for the following de- 
 scription of the interesting scene, he having derived his 
 information from those who witnessed it: "The leading 
 divisions were rapidly followed by others until the whole 
 woods, then containing about thirty acres, seemed filled 
 with horses, wagons and men, but the villagers were sur- 
 prised to see so many people settle down so quickly in exact 
 order, the men cooking their suppers, and sentinels walking 
 around the entire body. None of the inhabitants were 
 molested except to replenish their empty canteens at the 
 old-fashioi'ed draw wells in the vicinity. William Kirk, 
 then in about his twelfth year, informed me that in com- 
 pany with others he went the next morning at the first 
 appearance of daylight to see the Frenchmen before they 
 left, but found the road already filled with the army in 
 motion, in compact order." Upon this occasion Lafayette 
 spent the night in the old stone house upon the plantation 
 of the late Marshall J. Hunt, a short distance northeast of 
 the village of Rising Sun, then occupied by Job Haines. 
 On taking his leave the next morning, the general pre- 
 
 * For short account of James Trimble see sketch of the Defoe family 
 in Chapter XVIir. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 345 
 
 sented each of Mr. Haines' sons with a piece of money, 
 giving his son Lewis a gold coin, his name being the same 
 as that of the general's sovereign. 
 
 Some of the army are said to have encamped near Harris- 
 ville the same night, which seems quite probable, from the 
 fact that Lafaj^ette spent the night about midway between 
 that place and the Brick Meeting-house. The next day the 
 army crossed the Susquehanna in scows at Bald Friar* 
 Ferry, and proceeded to Baltimore. The troops under 
 General Lafayette were all from Northern States, and 
 though they had willingly engaged in the expedition down 
 the bay, they became dissatisfied when ordered to engage 
 in a summer campaign in the South. They were poorly 
 •clad and without shoes, and showed so much discontent 
 that it was predicted when they left Bald Friar Ferry, that 
 not one-half of them would reach Baltimore. But by 
 hanging one deserter and severely reprimanding some other 
 •delinquents, Lafaj'ette preserved his little army intact and 
 safely reached Baltimore, where the wants of his army were 
 supplied. 
 
 In the September following, the American army under 
 command of General Washington, passed through the Head 
 of Elk, en route to the siege of Yorktown. Claude Blanch- 
 ard, who accompanied the French troops, 1,200 of whom 
 were in Washington's army, published a journal kept by 
 him during his service in the army in this country as com- 
 roissary, in which he states that the troops embarked at 
 Plum Point, where a number of transports from the French 
 fleet were waiting to receive them. Blanchard, on his route 
 northward, passed through Havre de Grace, in company 
 with the army, in August, 1782. He states in his journal 
 that the army was nearly two days in crossing the Susque- 
 hanna, there being but one ferry-boat at the lower ferry ; 
 
 * This ferry is on tlie Susquehanna River, a short distance below Mason 
 and Dixons line. It is said to have been kept at one time by a bald- 
 headed man, called Fiy, ;it whicli time it was called Biild Fry's Ferry. 
 
346 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 and remarks that the " Head of Elk is in a very dry soil, 
 and one is drowned with dust there. Fever is very prevalent 
 there, doubtless caused by the swamps in the vicinity." 
 
 After the capture of Yorktown, a part of the American 
 army, under General Lincoln, passed through the Head of 
 Elk on their way northward. It is stated, in a requisition 
 made upon Colonel HoUingsworth by Henry Dearbourn, 
 then Lieutenant-Colonel and Deputy Quarter-master, after- 
 wards Major General in the war of 1812, that he was in 
 want of one hundred and fifty beef cattle to drive on with 
 the army for its subsistence. He also wanted at least thirty- 
 four horse teams, and intimated that if they were not forth- 
 coming " he would be under the disagreeable necessity of 
 making use of the authority of the army for procuring 
 them," which he seemed to regret lest it might distress 
 those who had already contributed their full share. He 
 adds, in a postscrip, that " 20 wagon-loads of straw will be 
 absolutely necessary for the troops in this cold season." 
 
 Shortly after this, in December, 1781, some of the Rhode 
 Island troops, who were quartered in the house of one Jane 
 Clark, at the Head of Elk, got into a quarrel with a gang of 
 watermen, who attacked them in their quarters in the 
 night, and being driven away, returned and renewed the 
 fight the next morning. Jane Clark kept a hotel, or at 
 least sold liquor, and it was in evidence that the watermen 
 were drunk, and probably the soldiers were in the same 
 condition. The fight was ended by one Forteen Stodder, a 
 negro soldier from Rhode Island, shooting James Cunning- 
 ham, the leader of the sailors, from the effect of which he 
 died shortly afterwards. Stodder was indicted for murder, 
 and was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to be 
 burnt in the braivn of the lelt thumb with a hot iron. The 
 record of the court shows that the sentence was executed. 
 He was probably the last person that was obliged to submit 
 to this barbarous and inhuman punishment in this county. 
 
 The Legislature, by the act of 1780, confiscated the prop- 
 erty of all disloyal persons, and by subsequent acts sought 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 347 
 
 to make it available for the redemption of bills of credit or- 
 paper money, which it was found necessary to issue to defray 
 the expense of carrying on the war. Commissioners were 
 appointed to take charge of this property and dispose of it 
 for the purpose before-named. The first emission of these 
 bills of credit, which were somewhat in the nature of a 
 forced loan, and similar in character to modern shinplasters,. 
 was authorized by the act of May, 1781, and John Dockery 
 Thompson, Henry Hollingsworth, Thomas Hughes, Benja- 
 min Brevard, and John Leach Knight, were appointed tO' 
 superintend the issuing of the bills in this county. Several 
 subsequent issues of paper money were made, and the 
 enactments in reference to them contain many allusions to- 
 red money and black money, which can only be explained, 
 and properly understood, in connection with the fact that 
 some of these issues of paper money were printed partly with 
 red ink, while others were printed wholly with black. A 
 large quantity of this confiscated property was in this- 
 county. Robert Alexander, before-mentioned, who took 
 refuge on board one of the vessels of the British fleet when 
 it was in Elk River in 1777, was the owner of nine hundred 
 acres of land, upwards of one hundred acres of which was 
 that part of the tract called Friendship, extending from the 
 Hollow, in the town of Elkton, eastward to the Big Elk 
 Creek. He also owned a part of "Belleconnell," and some- 
 other land on the Glasgow road. Two-thirds of his land 
 was confiscated and sold, as were also one-half his slaves, he 
 having twenty-two of thenn. The property of the Elk Forge ■ 
 Company,* on account of the treason of John Roberts, one- 
 
 * This company -was organized in 1761 by John Koberts, David Davis, 
 Thomas May, and David Thomas, of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania,, 
 ■who formed a partnership for the jiurpose of manufacturing bar iron under 
 the name of the Elk Forge Company. For this purpose the y agreed to pur- - 
 chase a tract of land containing six hundred acres, called "Eumsey's 
 Success," from William Rumsey. This land -was on the Big Elk, -where 
 Elk Mills cotton factory no-w stands. They also agreed to contribute- 
 
■348 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ■of the principal members, was also taken possession of by 
 the commissioners, but owing to the fact that the company 
 had not obtained a deed for the land, the State never 
 realized anything from it. This property consisted of up- 
 wards of thirteen hundred acres of land, upon which were 
 two forges and a " valuable grist-mill," which is the old mill 
 at this time standing near Elk Mills cotton factory, on the 
 Big Elk, and sixteen negro slaves. This man Roberts re- 
 ■ sided before the war in Lower Merion Township, Philadelphia 
 County. 
 
 He was a member of the Society of Friends, and like some 
 of his brethren in Pennsylvania, adhered to the royalists. 
 He was accused of persuading people to enlist in the royal 
 army,»and was captured while on his way to the Head of 
 Elk to " communicate information to a certain Mr. Galloway 
 who had gone over to the enemy." During a part or all of 
 the time that the British army occupied the city of Phila- 
 delphia, he resided there and showed much kindness to 
 many of those who were politically opposed to him. He was 
 'the father of nine children and of a highly respectable family 
 who made every exertion to save him,notwithstanding which 
 he was hanged at Philadelphia, November 4th, 1778. 
 
 £300 for the erection of a forge and the prosecution of the business. 
 David Thomas did not sign the articles of agreement, but, nevertheless, had 
 an interest in the business, which he transferred three years afterward to 
 David Davis. For some reason this company did not obtain a deed for 
 their land at the forge until after the Revolutionary war, when William 
 Rumsey, the grandson of the William Rumsey before referred to, con- 
 veyed it to the heirs of the original purchasers. The original articles of 
 agreement are in the possession of one of the descendants of the imme- 
 diate successors of the original company. The document is well written, 
 and must have been the work of a person of much learning and great 
 ability. It contains stipulations to meet every imaginable contingency 
 that might arise in carrying on a large and intricate manufacturing busi- 
 ness. This company was very successful in business, and soon acquired 
 large tracts of wood-land, and employed a large number of teams in trans- 
 porting their charcoal from the forests, where it was burned, to their forge, 
 and in hauling the pig iron they used, from the furnaces where it was 
 made in Lanu.istei- County, to tiieiv I'.i.m' on tli.- Elk Creek. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 349' 
 
 The projierty of the Principio Iron Company, excepting 
 the part belonging to Thomas Russell and one of his loj^al 
 brothers, and one-twelfth part belonging to the heirs of 
 Augustine Washington, of Virginia, brother of General 
 Washington, was also confiscated. This company owned 
 the Principio Furnace and North East Forge, together with 
 upwards of seven thousand six hundred acres of land 
 in this county much of which is owned at this time- 
 by George P. Whitaker and the McCuUough Iron Company,, 
 together with forty-two negro slaves. Thomas Russell 
 was the only member of the company who resided in this 
 county at this time. He being in charge of the iron works 
 at the time of the passage of the act of confiscation, asked 
 that enough of the negroes, utensils and stock be set apart 
 to enable him to carry on the business. His request was 
 granted. In 1782 the property was appraised by Archibald 
 Job, Thomas May, and Stephen Hyland, who valued it at 
 £5,550, 7s., Qd., and the next year the commissioners con- 
 veyed it to Thomas Russell, he obligating himself to pay 
 the State the difference between that sum and the value 
 of his own share of the property, which was to be subse- 
 quently ascertained. Clement HoUiday and Nathaniel 
 Ramsay, commissioners appointed to take charge and dis- 
 pose of confiscated property, laid out that part of the town 
 of Elkton east of the Hollow, upon land before described as 
 belonging to Robert Alexander, and in October, 1782, sold 
 the building lots at public sale. Although the village of the- 
 Head of Elk had been in existence for many years before 
 this time, it was quite small and consisted of only a few 
 straggling houses. Henry Hollingsworth became the pur- 
 chaser of a considerable quantity of this land adjacent to the 
 town. Joseph Gilpin bought that part of Belleconnell con- 
 tigious to his mill property. Tobias Rudulph bought the 
 land on the Glasgow Road, which at this time is in the'pos- 
 session of his grandson of the same name. Joseph Gilpin^ 
 Tobias Rudulph, Henry Hollingsworth, and Thomas Hug- 
 
350 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ,gins purchased the lot upon which the Court-house stands 
 for the use of the town, being authorized by the inhabitants, 
 -who had invested them with power to do so, and also to 
 hold the lot in trust for the purpose of erecting on it a mar- 
 ket-house or court-house, the town commissioners agreeing 
 to build the former within three years after the sale. 
 
 About £6,000 were realized from th^ sale of Alexander's 
 property. The title to much of Susquehanna Manor, which 
 had reverted to the lord proprietary, was now in Henry Har- 
 ford, the legal heir and representative of the last Lord Balti- 
 more. All that part of this Manor included between the 
 Susquehanna River and Principio Creek, and the Notting- 
 ham lots and the head of the bay and North East E.iver,was 
 surveyed and platted by Samuel Maffit, probably about 
 1722, for there is no date upon the plat. From this plat it 
 appears that about three-fourths of this part of the Manor 
 had been patented. The other part was held by virtue of 
 unexpired leases, all of which were for long terms, many of 
 them for three lives. Basin Run is called Beasons Run or 
 Bastard Creek, upon Maffit's plat. The principal part of this 
 Manor land was sold to the lessees at low prices, hj the in- 
 tendant of the revenue, an officer whose duties were much 
 like those of the comptroller of the treasury, and whose ap- 
 pointment seems to have been called for by the exigencies 
 of the times. Some of the land in North East and Elk 
 Manors, which were small undefined tracts in Elk Neck, 
 bordering on the North East River, was also held by the 
 same tenure as the land before-mentioned as being in Sus- 
 quehanna Manor and was disposed of in the same way. The 
 Nottingham lots, which as before stated, were held by pat- 
 ents from William Penn and his successors and also the 
 Welsh tract lands, were taken possession of by the intendant 
 of the revenue; but their owners were, by subsequent enact- 
 ments, allowed, upon showing an equitable title from Penn, 
 to hold them under patents from the State of Maryland upon 
 payment of £15 per hundred acres. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 351 
 
 The lots in Charlestowu, which had been reserved for the 
 use of the lord proprietary, and also the lot belonging to the 
 heirs of the Rev. William Wye, were also confiscated, and 
 sold in August, 1782. The town commissioners bought the 
 former for the use of the town. One hundred and thirteen 
 pounds were realized from the property in Charlestown. 
 The commissioners also took possession of the plantation of 
 the Rev. William Edmisson, who they stated was in Great 
 Britain, and who they believed to be a tory. This plan- 
 tation contained three hundred acres of land situated near 
 the mouth of Stony Run, on the east side of the Octoraro. 
 The commissioners left it in charge of William Ewing, who 
 alleged that Edmisson was indebted to him about as much 
 as the land was worth. This man Edmisson was inducted 
 into St. George's Parish, at the old Spesutia Church near 
 Havre de Grace, in 1770, and remained there about two 
 years when he is believed to have gone to England on ac- 
 count of his sympathy with the British government. But 
 very little is known of the history of Mr. Edmisson, except 
 that he also owned several tracts of land in Harford County, 
 one of which was called by a singular name for a clergy- 
 man's homestead, namely, "Drunkard's Hall." The Legisla- 
 ture, in 1782, passed an act for the relief of his family, con- 
 sisting of his wife, two sons and a daughter, who are be- 
 lieved to have been loyal to the cause of their country, divi- 
 ding among them his land and negroes upon condition that 
 they should pay his debt. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 Removal of seat of justice to Charlestown — Reasons of the removal — 
 Interesting correspondence — Charlestown Ferry — Condition of society — 
 Stephen Porter kills Thomas Dunn — Escapes from jail, etc. — Is tried at 
 Charlestovpn and convicted of manslaughter — Unsuccessful efforts to 
 build up Charlestown — Removal of county seat to Head of Elk — Rev. 
 Joseph CoUdon's address to citizens of Elk — Opposition of the citizens 
 of Charlestown to the removal of the county seat — Act of Legislature 
 authorizing the erection of public buildings at Elktown — Elkton incor- 
 porated — Court meets in Elkton — Members of the Elkton bar — Trouble 
 about roads — The first almshouse — Sale of free school farm — Rum- 
 sey's steamboat — The Susquehanna Canal — Rivalry between Havre de 
 Grace and the town of Chesapeake — First arks on the Susquehanna 
 River — Malignant fever in Elkton. 
 
 The war being over, the people of the county begun to 
 turn their attention to matters of public importance. The 
 first matter of this kind that claimed their attention, was a 
 more convenient location for the county seat. In accor- 
 dance with the wishes of the people an act was passed at the 
 November session, 1781, authorizing Thomas May, John 
 Stockton, and David Smith to act as judges of an election to 
 be held during the last week in the ensuing February at the 
 court-house on Monday and Tuesday, at Head of Elk on 
 Wednesday and Thursday, and at Charlestown on Friday 
 and Saturday ; these three places being the ones talked of 
 as most suitable for the seat of justice. The certificate of 
 David Smith is still extant and shows that due notice having 
 been given, he attended at the court-house on Monday, the 
 25th of February, as also did the other two gentlemen, who 
 had been induced to decline acting as judges ; and after their 
 refusal had been made known to him, he appointed John 
 Ward Veasey, James Creswell, and Edward Mitchell clerks, 
 
HISTORY OP CKCIL COUNTY. 353 
 
 and proceeded to take the votes of the freemen of the county. 
 " At the election held at the court house there were given 
 and published forty-three votes for Charlestown, one vote for 
 the Head of Elk, and two votes for no removal. At the Head 
 of Elk there were given thirty-four votes for Charlestown 
 and two votes for the Head of Elk ; and at the election 
 held at Charlestown there were given four hundred and fifty 
 votes for Charlestown." The great want which the people 
 of the county experienced for a town somewhere within its 
 limits, no doubt influenced them to remove the seat of jus- 
 tice to Charlestown, with the hope of building it up and 
 adding to its prosperity. More than two hundred years had 
 elapsed since the first settlements had been made in the 
 county, and many unsuccessful efforts had been made to 
 build a town some where within its limits. The projected 
 town on Town Point, and Ceciltown on the Bohemia, had 
 been total failures, as had also been the effort to build a town 
 at Court-house Point. Charlestown, with all its advantages 
 for shipping, had found a successful rival in Baltimore, and 
 those who lived there never having been able to divert the 
 trade of Nottingham from the accustomed channels, through 
 which it reached the towns along the Delaware, was in great 
 need of something to stimulate its growth. But notwith- 
 standing all this, and the apparent unanimity of the peo- 
 ple, some of the justices of the court at first refused to assent 
 to the removal of the seat of justice to that place. It is 
 highly probable that they were influenced in some way by 
 a desire and belief that the Head of Elk would ultimately 
 be selected for the county seat. The justices seem to have 
 been equally divided upon the subject of the removal of the 
 county seat, for, on the 11th of March following, half of them 
 met at the court-house at Court-house Point and the others 
 at Charlestown, and the court seemed to be in a likely way 
 to reach the same condition that it had been in many years 
 before, when the justices present ordered the clerk to record 
 the mournful fact that it was "miscontinued and drop'd and 
 
 w 
 
354 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 fallen." The following correspondence will explain itself 
 and throw some light upon a subject that agitated the peo- 
 ple of the county very much when it took place : 
 
 " Gentlemen : — We have, under advisement, met and called 
 court at the usual place of holding courts for Cecil county, 
 and have adjourned until to-morrow 9 o'clock. We there- 
 fore, as the Court, order and require you to attend at this 
 place to-morrow at the time of the said adjournment ; and 
 that you have your records and other public papers with 
 you. Given under our hands this 11th March, 1782. 
 
 " Samuel Glenn, 
 " William Mathews, 
 " Thomas Savin. 
 "To Patrick Hamilton, Esq., Sheriff; 
 
 " and Barucli Williams, Esq., Clerk; 
 " Officers of Cecil County Court." 
 
 To which the other justices, who had met at Charlestown 
 on the same day, returned the following answer : 
 
 "Gentlemen: — We have received yours of yesterday, by 
 which you are pleased ' to order and require us to attend ' 
 at the place where courts were formerly held. As civil 
 officers, we are ready to obey the orders" of Cecil County 
 Court ; and in obedience thereto, we attended yesterday at 
 Charlestown, where the Court was, we apprehend, legally 
 held, Messrs. Kirk, Bond, Maxwell, Miller, and Hall being 
 present, and the Court in Charlestown stands adjourned to 
 this day at 9 o'clock, where and when we propose to attend. 
 
 " We remain, gentlemen, your most 
 
 " obedient and humble servants. 
 ■"Charlestown, March 12th, 1782. 
 
 "Messrs. Samuel Glenn, William- 
 
 "Matheivs, Thomas Savin." 
 
 The minute book for that term shows that the five gen- 
 tlemen referred to in the preceding note met at Charles- 
 town, as stated, on the 12th of March, and proceeded with 
 the business that was brought before them from day to day 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 855 
 
 until the 15th, when they adjourned until the 26th. On 
 that day the presiding justice, Mr. Bond, produced a certifi- 
 cate that he had administered the oath of office to Messrs. 
 Nathan Norton and Jeremiah Baker, and they took their 
 seats accordingly. John W. Veasey also sat as one of the 
 justices on that day, from which it may be inferred that 
 he was neutral in the fight. Several brief sessions of the 
 ■court, at which very little business was transacted, were 
 held in the interval between the 26th of March and the 
 10th of June, when a new commission of the peace was re- 
 ceived, which had the effect of restoring quiet. During the 
 first term of the court, held at Charlestown, the justices 
 viewed four lots of ground, which were formerly condemned 
 for the use of the county to build a court-house and gaol 
 thereon, and were of opinion that the same were sufficient 
 and would answer every end and purpose specified in the 
 act authorizing the removal of the county-seat. The first 
 session of the court was held at one of the public houses at 
 ■Charlestown, as had been the custom for some years after 
 the organization of the county, before the first court-house 
 was built at Jamestown. But at the March term, 1781, the 
 ■court appointed Justices Baker and Norton, the latter of 
 whom lived in Charlestown, to provide " this court with a 
 house to hold courts in for the future, and to get workmen 
 io do what repairs they thought necessary and contract for 
 the same." They accordingly, on the 7th of May, 1783, 
 leased two rooms from Alexander Hasson, on the second 
 floor of his house, for three years, at an annual rent of £20. 
 These rooms were in a brick building on Market street, 
 which continued to stand until a comparatively recent date, 
 when it was destroyed by fire. The court this year author- 
 ized Patrick Hamilton to build a small stone jail for the 
 use of the county, and there is reason to believe that some 
 improvements were made upon the public wharf at the ex- 
 pense of the county. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that the commissioners of Charles- 
 town this year rented the Seneca Point Fishery for £7, and 
 
856 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 passed an ordinance prohibiting hogs, sheep, and geese run- 
 ning at large upon the streets, which animals, if so found, 
 were to he killed for the use of the prisoners in the jail. 
 The Dutch inhabitants were presented with a lot whereon 
 to build a school-house or church, provided they built it 
 within the next three years. This indicates that they were 
 somewhat numerous, but there is no reason to believe the 
 house was built. 
 
 During the year 1783, three persons were convicted of 
 felony, each of whom was sentenced to receive thirty-nine 
 lashes on the bare back, well laid on by the sheriff at the public 
 market-house. The next year one James Campbell, alias 
 Williams, was convicted of robbery and sentenced to be 
 hanged. During part of the time that Gharlestown was the 
 seat of justice, a public ferry was maintained between that 
 place and Elk Neck, in order to accommodate persons from 
 the lower part of the county having business at Charles- 
 town. The Elk ferry at Court-house Point and the Bohemia 
 ferry being in operation, it was much easier for persons in 
 the lower part of the county to reach Charlestown by land 
 than it is at this time. The great highway between the 
 North and South then, as now, led through this county, and 
 the stage coaches, which carried the first mails of the youth- 
 ful Republic, then loosely held together by the articles of 
 confederation, for some time crossed over this ferry, the 
 main road at that time leading from near the landing place 
 in Elk Neck through the southern part of the village of 
 North East, and thence, a considerable distance south of 
 where the road is at present located, until it intersected the 
 Elk Neck road near Mill Creek. 
 
 During the five years that Charlestown was the seat of 
 justice, and for some years afterwards, society was in a bad 
 condition. A spirit of lawlessness and insubordination seems 
 to have prevaded it. This was produced by the demoraliza- 
 tion incident to the Revolutionary war and the disorganiza- 
 tion consequent upon the transition from one form of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 357 
 
 government to another. As illustrative of the history and 
 jurisprudence of the count}'', during this period, the reader's 
 attention is directed to a homicide which is notable because 
 the perpetrator of it was tried at Charlestown, and also on 
 account of several other circumstances connected with it. 
 
 Stephen Porter, a lawyer of some distinction, and the 
 father of Margaret Aurelia Porter, a maiden lady that 
 many persons of middle age will recollect as a per- 
 son of extraordinarily strong intellectual ability, lived 
 at Porter's Bridge, on the Octoraro Creek, in 1784, and 
 sometime previous to the harvest of that year employed 
 one Thomas Dunn, who seems to have been a large 
 and powerful man, but a person of bad repute and some- 
 what of a bully withal. The depositions of several wit- 
 nesses, taken before the jury of inquest, show that Dunn, 
 who had left the employ of Porter sometime before, returned 
 to the neighborhood, on the 6th of July, ostensibly to 
 settle with Porter, who owed him a trifling balance, but 
 really it would seem for the purpose and with the intention 
 of provoking a quarrel with him. Dunn met one Stephen 
 Herd, who lived in Lancaster County, and was an entire 
 stranger to him, on the road, near Captain William Swing's, 
 a neighbor of Porter's, and asked him to accompany him to 
 Ewing's, for the purpose of acting as an arbitrator in adjust- 
 ing the dispute between Porter and himself The parties 
 pledged themselves to abide by the award which was made 
 by the arbitrators, but soon after it was disclosed, Dunn flew 
 into a passion and began to abuse Porter and malign his wife, 
 and finally spit in Porter's face. Those present used their 
 best endeavors to quiet the enraged bully, but without avail. 
 After enduring Dunn's abuse for some time. Porter, accom- 
 panied by Benjamin Brearley, a miller, who occupied a house 
 not far from Porter's mill, started to go to their homes. 
 Dunn followed them, notwithstanding they besought him 
 to desist and take another road. Brearley and Dunn stopped 
 at the house of the former, where Dunn had some clothes 
 
358 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 which Brearley was desirous he should take away with him,, 
 while Porter continued on to his own dwelling, and pro- 
 cured an old bayonet, and hastening back towards Brearley's- 
 house, encountered Dunn, who stooped down, as the witness 
 who saw him testified, to pick up a stone, whereupon Porter 
 stabbed him, from the effect of which he almost instantly- 
 expired. 
 
 The next day, Samuel Maffit, who was then one of the 
 coroners of the county, empanneled a jury of inquest, con- 
 sisting of eighteen of the good and lawful men of the county, 
 who, after hearing the testimony, rendered a verdict that 
 the said Porter " then & there feloniously killed & murdered 
 the said Dunn," and Porter was straightway incarcerated in. 
 the little stone jail in Charlestown. By common law the 
 property of those convicted of capital offences was forfeited 
 to the State. The coroner therefore returned an inventory- 
 of all and singular the lands and tenements, rights, and 
 chatties of Stephen Porter, as appraised by Patrick Ewing, 
 Samuel Scott, John Crawford, and James Egan. The in- 
 ventory is as follows : One plantation of two hundred acres 
 of land together with one merchant mill, £700 ; one mare,, 
 one horse and two colts, £20; three cows, £9; two small, 
 hogs, £1 5s, ; six or eight sheep, £2 5s. ; sundries, house- 
 hold furniture, £50; total, £782 10s.; whereupon Porter, 
 who was a lawyer, conveyed his property to his wife and 
 one of his friends, in order, if possible, to secure it for the 
 benefit of the former. 
 
 Some time after Porter was imprisoned, some of his 
 friends provided themselves with a fleet-footed horse and 
 visited the jail, taking with them a supply of whiskey, with 
 which they succeeded in making the jailer drunk, and get- 
 ting up a sham-fight, kicked Porter, who had been informed 
 of the effort they intended to make in his behalf, out of the 
 door. Porter lost no time in mounting the horse, and made 
 good his escape to the Octoraro hills, and bidding good-bye 
 to his friends, proceeded across the Alleghany Mountains to. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 359 
 
 Washington County, Pennsylvania, then a frontier settle- 
 ment, where he is said to have betrayed himself by the 
 knowledge he exhibited of the law, during a discussion he 
 engaged in with some others in a public house. 
 
 The papers in the case show that Porter had a hearing 
 before two of the justices of the Court of Common Pleas of 
 Washington County, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of October, 
 he having been arrested on suspicion of having murdered a 
 man in Cecil County, and that he confessed the murder and 
 narrated the attending circumstances and manner of his 
 escape, all of which are briefly set forth in one of the papers. 
 This paper is a most extraordinary legal document, and 
 seems to have been given to the persons in whose custody 
 Porter was, to enable them to conduct him safely on his way 
 towards this county ; for on the 13th of October, he had 
 another hearing before Robert Galbraith, a justice of the 
 peace of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, who gave the posse 
 in whose custody he was, a somewhat similar; though more 
 sensible document, in which the facts of the murder and 
 escape are set forth, and they are commanded to deliver the 
 prisoner to the sheriff of Franklin County, in order that he 
 might be safely conveyed to the sheriff of Cecil County, 
 which was done in due time, and early in the next Decem- 
 ber a commission was issued by the governor to five of the 
 justices of the county, authorizing and commanding them 
 to hold a special term of court for his trial. It is worthy of 
 remark, that this special commission was sent to Joseph- 
 Gilpin, who was designated as presiding justice, and that he 
 notified the others and designated Baruch Williams as a 
 suitable person to act as clerk. The court met at Charles- 
 town on the 7th of December, 1784, and Timothy Kirk being 
 unable to attend, the other justices, John Leach Knight, 
 Stephen Hyland, and John Dockery Thompson, opened the 
 court and proceeded to business. The next day the grand 
 jury returned a true bill agaiust Porter for murder, and on 
 the following day he was arraigned and the same day con- 
 victed of manslaughter, the verdict of the jury being "not' 
 
360 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 guilty of murder, as specified in the indictment, but guilty 
 of manslaughter." The court thereupon ordered that the 
 prisoner enter security for his appearance on Friday, the 
 16th, to hear their judgment, and he was recognized in the 
 sum of £500 for his appearance from day to day until the 
 court would pass judgment, Patrick Ewing becoming his 
 surety in that sum. The tardiness of the court in passing 
 judgment probably gave offence to some of the friends of 
 Dunn. At all events, George Gather and John Robinson 
 were tried and convicted of insulting the court and jury 
 sometime during the trial. The nature of the insult is not 
 stated, but inasmuch as several witnesses were examined, it 
 is probable that it consisted in using disrespectful language 
 in reference to the manner of conducting the trial. They 
 were each sentenced to pay a trifling fine and the costs, in 
 default of the payment of which they were sent to jail. The 
 record does not state whether the court met and adjourned 
 from day to day until the 16th, but upon that day it ren- 
 dered judgment " that the prisoner be discharged, the statute 
 not being extended." 
 
 The indictment under which Porter was convicted con- 
 tained two counts, one of which was for murder, under the 
 common law ; the other one was for manslaughter, under 
 the statute of James I., chapter I., section 8 ; which was made 
 on account of the frequent quarrels and stabbings with dag- 
 gers between the Scotch and English, and which was of a 
 temporary nature, and was not in force in Maryland at that 
 time, it not having been extended thereto, as stated in the 
 judgment of the court, by the action of the State convention 
 which, in 1776, had adopted the common law of England, 
 and extended certain parts of the statute law of that country 
 to the State of Marjdand. 
 
 During a period often or twelve years, just after the close 
 of the Revolutionary war, three other persons met with vio- 
 lent deaths at Porter's Bridge and in that immediate 
 vicinity. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 361 
 
 During the time that Charlestown was the seat of justice, 
 every effort was made to increase its prosperity and make it 
 a city of importance. Seneca Point, which then belonged 
 to the town, was rented for a ship-yard, and several small 
 vessels were built there by John Cooper, some of whose de- 
 scendants yet reside near the town, on a plantation which 
 he purchased in 1754. Some of the citizens are said ,to 
 have been engaged in trading at this time to the West In- 
 dia Islands ; but the efforts of the people of the county 
 to encourage the growth of Charlestown, which had been 
 incorporated nearly half a century before, were unavailing, 
 and they gave up the undertaking, probably because they 
 believed it to be impossible to build a city at that place. Up 
 to this time public opinion had always demanded that the 
 county seat should be located upon navigable water, but the 
 manners and customs of the people had changed very much 
 since the first court-house had been erected at Jamestown 
 and a greater change had taken place since the county seat 
 had been fixed at Court-house Point. When the court- 
 house was at the former place, and during most of the time 
 it was at the latter, many of those who wished to attend 
 court were in the habit of going there in boats. Few settle- 
 ments had been made at that time, except those along the 
 navigable streams. Now the whole county was settled, and 
 public opinion demanded a more central location for the 
 seat of justice, one that could be reached without crossing 
 ferries, which were expensive to maintain and which it 
 seemed impossible to discontinue while they were needed in 
 order to afford the people the proper facilities for attending 
 court. 
 
 Owing to the difficulty of obtaining the means, on ac- 
 count of the scarcity of money caused by the depression of 
 business during the Revolutionary war, and probably because 
 there were many persons favorable to the removal of the 
 :seat of justice to the Head of Elk, no public buildings ex- 
 .cept the jail had been erected at Charlestown. The Head 
 
362 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 of Elk at this time, was a place of some importance, and 
 had considerable trade in flour with Philadelphia. In 1785 
 a line of " stage boats," as they were then called, had been 
 established between that city and Christiana Bridge. Levi 
 Hollingsworth, the son of Zebulon HoUingsworth, and 
 brother of Henry and Jacob Hollingsworth, both of whom 
 took an active interest in the affairs of the town, was largely 
 interested in this enterprise. He had been engaged in the 
 flour trade, from Christiana to Philadelphia, when he was 
 only eighteen years of age, and had served his country with 
 much distinction in the Revolutionary war as captain of 
 " The First City Troop" of Philadelphia, in the battles of 
 Trenton and Princeton. The Hollingsworth brothers were 
 very influential, and there is no doubt that it was mainly 
 through their instrumentality that the removal of the seat 
 of justice from Charlestown to Elkton, which now began to 
 be agitated, was eff'ected. 
 
 The growth and prosperity of the town at the Head of 
 Elk is set forth in the following paper which was Avritten by 
 the Rev. Joseph Coudon, at that time curate of Isorth Elk 
 Parish, and who resided on the plantation near Elkton, 
 now owned by Rev. James Mclntire. " A short address to the 
 inhabitants of the village and neighborhood of Elk, on the 
 subject of erecting a house of worship in said village, to- 
 gether with a preamble to a subscription humbly proposed. 
 
 " It has been too long remarked b}' the numerous travelers 
 that pass through our village, as well as regretted by the 
 friends of it, that notwithstanding the rapidly growing im- 
 portance of the place — the various scenes of industry and 
 exertions it is noted for- — amidst the many buildings that 
 are daily saluting our eyes, and rising and about to rise to 
 view — there is no appearance of even an humble building 
 dedicated to the worship and service of the supreme ruler of 
 the universe, on wliom we depend for all we have or can 
 hope to enjoy. In this we do not imitate our pious ances- 
 tors of old who no sooner erected a tent to dwell in, but 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 36S 
 
 they raised an altar also ; and shall I mention the uninlight- 
 ened nations who made it their first care to erect a noble 
 edifice for the reception and worship of their deties ? 
 
 " Your friends, however, are happy in thinking that the 
 neglect hitherto is by no means chargeable to a want of re- 
 spect or veneration of the Supreme, nor yet to a want of pub- 
 lic spirit (for liberality of mind and purse is rather thought 
 to be characteristic of the place) but that somehow or other 
 your attempts in this way have proved abortive as if un- 
 til now the period for affecting it had not revolved round. 
 Now then ye friends of public religion and public spirit, 'tis 
 humbly hoped you will step forth and no longer suffer this 
 odium to lie against us, by putting forth a liberal hand 
 towards erecting as soon as may be, a decent and respecta- 
 ble house of prayer, in some degree expressive of our ven- 
 eration of the Deity, and which will reflect a lasting credit 
 to the place and the founders thereof, even after this, and 
 pei'haps a succeeding generation, may have passed away." 
 
 " Know all men by these presents that we, the hereafter 
 subscribed, being moved by motioves of Piety and Christian 
 Benevolence to erect a house for Public worship in the vil- 
 lage of Elk, do hereby bind and oblige ourselves to pay, or 
 cause to paid, into the hands of JMessrs Joseph Gilpin, To- 
 bias Rudulph, Zebulon Hollingsworth, Henry HoUings- 
 worth, Daniel Robinson, Jonathan Booth, Thomas Huggins, 
 John Barnaby, George "Wallace, John Thomas Ricketts, 
 Jacob Hollingsworth, Henry Robinson and Empson Bird, 
 or their order, the several sums of money (in specie) to our 
 names respectively annexed, in the following manner ; that 
 is to say, one-third part thereof on the first day of October 
 next, one-third thereof when the walls of the proposed 
 building are ready for the roof, and the remaining one-third 
 thereof when the said building is finished, and on the fol- 
 lowing conditions, viz. : That each of us the subscribers, for 
 every three pounds by each of us respectively subscribed 
 and duly paid, shall at the completion of the said building,. 
 
364 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 if we require it, be entitled to a vote (upon due notice given) 
 in declaring and ascertaining to what society of professing 
 Christians it shall principally be appropriated ; as also, in 
 appointing a number of wise discrete men, not less than 
 three, (of which the minister or officiating person for the 
 time being shall always be one) and not more than nine, 
 who shall determine every matter or thing that may arise, 
 in doubt, or dispute amongst us ; or that may require par- 
 ticular regulation, in any of which elections or determina- 
 tions a majority of votes and council as usual is to be deci- 
 sive and binding ; and said number of trustees or commis- 
 sioners, or by whatever name they may hereafter be called, 
 shall be annually elected by the friends of said house of 
 worship and adherents of the society to which it shall prin- 
 cipally belong hereafter, if it should be thought necessary. 
 And to the afore-mentioned payments, truly and punctually 
 to be made, and done in manner and form aforesaid, accord- 
 ing to the true intent and meaning thereof, we do bind our- 
 selves respectively and each of us, our respective heirs, 
 executors, and administrators. In full testimony whereof 
 we do severally subscribe our names and sums annexed, 
 this 26th February, in the year of our Lord, 1785." This 
 paper was signed as follows : " John Gilpin £30, Tobias 
 Rudulph £30, Zebn. HoUingsworth £30, H. HoUingsworth 
 £30, Jonathan Booth £20, Jacob HoUingsworth £21, Jno. 
 Thos. Ricketts £12, Daniel Robinson £9, Tobias Rudulph, 
 Jr. £6, George Wallace £6, Levi HoUingsworth £6, Empson 
 Bird £10." Owing to the unpopularity of most of the 
 clergy of the Episcopal church, and the fact that Metho- 
 dism prevailed to some extent in the surrounding country, 
 which will be fully set forth in a succeeding chapter, 
 the enterprise proved to be a failure, and the contemplated 
 house of worship was never built. 
 
 The removal of the seat of justice from Gharlestown was 
 violently opposed by its citizens who did all in their 
 power to prevent it, and the records of the proceedings of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 365 
 
 the town commissioners, a few of which are yet extant, 
 show that Baruch Williams and Joseph Baxter were sent to 
 Annapolis (the town commissioners hiring a stage coach 
 for the purpose of taking them there), in order that they 
 might employ counsel and protest against the removal of 
 the seat of justice, and if possible, prevent it. The finances 
 of the town must have been in a low state, for the hire of 
 the stage, and the counsel fees, which were only £6 in all, 
 were not paid till 1791. But the efforts of the citizens of 
 Charlestown were unavailing. A large majority of the 
 people having expressed their desire for the removal of the 
 county seat to the Head of Elk, the Legislature at the No- 
 vember session, 1786, passed an act authorizing and appoint- 
 ing Messrs. Joseph Gilpin, Tobias Eudulph, St., Zebulon 
 HoUingsworth, Joseph Baxter and Edward Oldham, to act 
 as commissioners to erect a court-house and jail at that 
 place, on the lot mentioned in a previous chapter as having 
 been purchased by certain persons for the use and benefit of 
 the inhabitants of Elkton and Cecil County. The act also 
 required the justice to levy a tax not exceeding £1,200 for 
 the erection of a court-house and jail, and specified that 
 one-fourth of the aforesaid sum should be levied annually 
 for the four years next ensuing. 
 
 The reader will recollect that one of the conditions upon 
 which the public lot was purchased, required the inhabit- 
 ants of the town to erect a public market-house on it. This 
 condition had been complied with and the market-house 
 had been erected. This caused trouble, the lot being two 
 small for the proper accommodation, of both buildings. 
 But the difficulty was removed by Jacob HoUingsworth, 
 who donated another lot in May, 1787, for the use of the town 
 and the erection of another market-house. This lot was the 
 one at the southwest corner of Main and Bridge streets, 
 directly opposite the Episcopal church. There seems to have 
 been some doubt about the right of the commissioners to 
 remove the market-house, and at the April session, 1787, 
 
366 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the Legislature passed an act incorporating the town under 
 the name of Elkton,* and making provision for the removal 
 of the market-house to its new location. It is stated in this 
 act that Henry HoUings worth, in 1787, donated an acre of 
 land to the commissioners of the town for the erection there- 
 on of a school-house or house of worship for the promotion 
 of literature and the Christian religion. This was the origin of 
 Elkton Academy, and part of this land is included in the 
 lot on which the academy now stands. The good people of 
 the town seemed to have been much perplexed about the 
 market, and the act of incorporation contains many curi- 
 ous provisions upon that subject. Tuesdays and Saturdays 
 were designated as market daj's, and the sale of all victuals 
 and provisions before ten o'clock on those days within 
 one mile of the market-house was prohibited under penalty 
 of fifteen shillings. The slaughtering of all animals on the 
 public lot, and the hitching of horses or other beasts of 
 burden inside the market-house were prohibited, under a 
 penalty of ten shillings. The clerk of the town, whose 
 salary was not to exceed thirty pounds, current monej', was 
 to have surpervision over the market, and was to inspect the 
 weights and measures used by the market people, and when 
 found defective to sell them for the use of the owner. 
 
 The town election was to be held on Easter-Monday, and 
 each of the seven town commissioners, who were also to be 
 trustees of the " Town School," were to own real estate to 
 the value of at least £300. The people of that time seem to 
 have had unbounded faith in the efficiency of fairs to pro- 
 mote the prosperity of towns, and notwithstanding they had 
 failed to benefit Charlestown to any very great extent, pro- 
 vision was made in the act of incorporation for holding four 
 of them annually in Elkton, upon the first Tuesday in 
 January, April, October, and December. At the time of the 
 passage of this act the constitution of the United States had 
 
 ^ For a few years subsequent to this time it had been called Elktown. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 367 
 
 not been adopted, and the sale of all foreign goods, wares, 
 and merchandise was prohibited. 
 
 The commissioners were engaged for several yeai's in 
 building the court-house and jail, but they caused the work 
 to be well done, as the good state of preservation in which 
 the court-house now is, abundantly attests. The workmen 
 employed upon the public buildings were hired by the day, 
 and in many instances their board was paid by the com- 
 missioners, and several gallons of rum, which was purchased 
 for their use, is included in their accounts. Much of the 
 stone used was purchased by the ton. The nails were also 
 made from nail rods purchased for that purpose, by persons 
 employed by the commissioners. Some of the hardware 
 and paint was purchased at New Castle, which was then a 
 place of much more importance than it is at present. The 
 commissioners were allowed a commission of four per cent, 
 upon the money expended, as compensation for their ser- 
 vices. The £1,200 authorized to be levied for the con- 
 struction of the public buildings was inadequate for the 
 purpose, and in 1789 an additional levy, not exceeding 
 £800, was ordered to be made for the purpose of completing 
 them.* 
 
 The court met for the first time at Elkton, on the 11th of 
 June, 1787, at the public house of John Barnaby. It is the 
 brick building now standing on the bluff west of Bridge 
 street, near the Bridge. The growth of the town seems to 
 have been slow for many years after its incorporation, which 
 was owing to the fact that most of its influential citizens 
 were engaged in the practice of the law, which was not so 
 lucrative then as it is at present, consequently few of them 
 were able to amass sufficient wealth to erect large resi- 
 dences. Most of the old, substantial brick buildings had 
 been erected before the Revolution, and it is probable they 
 
 * The fire-proof building, used for the clerk's and register's olSces, was 
 iuilt in 1832. 
 
368 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 were the only buildings of any importance in the place 
 until long after it became the seat of justice. Isaac Weld, 
 an English traveler, passed through the town in 1795, and 
 after his return home published a journal, in which may be 
 found this description of the place : 
 
 " Twenty-one miles from Wilmington is a dirty, stragling 
 place called Elkton, consisting of ninety indifferent habita- 
 tions, erected without any regard to uniformity. In this 
 neighborhood are some log-houses, answering the following 
 description : The sides are composed of rough logs of trees, 
 placed horizontally upon each other in such a manner that 
 the ends of the logs rest alternately in notches on those of 
 the adjoining side. The interstices are filled up with clay 
 and the roof is formed of boards or small pieces of wood 
 called shingles." 
 
 There is reason to believe that the members of the bar 
 were at this time a jolly set of fellows, that were disposed 
 to have as good a time as circumstances would permit. 
 The records of the county contain the following extraordi- 
 nary document, which favors this view of the case : 
 
 "For the encouragement and promotion of convivality 
 and good fellowship, on this 19t]i day of September, 1787, 
 upon motion, it was unanimously determined that for every 
 birth that hath been since the first day of September, in- 
 stant, or that shall be hereafter, the parent shall give a 
 general punch-drinking within one month from the time 
 of said birth. By a most respectable society of the gentle- 
 men of Elkton. 
 
 " John Murray, President. 
 
 "Attest, " John Partridge, Sec." 
 
 The removal of the seat of justice from Charlestown de- 
 stroyed the hopes its citizens had long cherished of making 
 it a city of importance, and soon afterwards many of the 
 more enterprising of them removed to Baltimore. In 1787 
 the old warehouse was sold at public sale to Archibald Job 
 for forty pounds, and in 1791 the commissioners passed an 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 369 
 
 order allowing the jail, which had somehow fallen into 
 their hands, to be used as a school-house and for public 
 worship of religious societies. 
 
 In 1790 a law was passed to straighten and amend the 
 several roads therein mentioned, and " Richard Snowdon 
 Thomas, Thomas Maffit & Jacob HoUingsworth were ap- 
 pointed commissioners to lay out and survey, mark and 
 bound, a road from Susquehanna lower ferry to the ford at 
 the Furnace, from thence to Charlestown, from thence to 
 the bridge at the head of North East, and from thence 
 through Elkton towards Christiana, to the Delaware 
 line."* 
 
 This caused trouble. The people of Charlestown were 
 apprehensive that when the road was straightened, travel 
 would be diverted from that town and they no doubt 
 thought they had been ill-used when the seat of justice was 
 removed to Elkton. For these reasons and because they 
 thought the projected improvement was made in the in- 
 terest of their successful rival, they opposed the change. The 
 controversy about this matter began in 1792, and probably 
 entered into the canvass for the election of members of the 
 Legislature, for at a special meeting of the commissioners of 
 Charlestown, on October 3d, it was ordered that the register, 
 Nathan Norton, deliver eight dollars to William Graham to 
 pay for a wagon and other necessary expenses for the purpose 
 of taking the voters to the election. 
 
 At the session of 1792, William Linton was sent to the 
 Legislature and authorized to employ counsel in order to re- 
 tain the post route where it then was. The matter seems to 
 have been before the Legislature at the next session, for the 
 town commissioners sent an express to Major Thomas M. 
 Foreman, who was a member of the Legislature in 1792, for 
 
 * Previous to this time the road from Elkton to Christiana Bridge was 
 very crooked, and passed around the northern part of Grays Hill and 
 near the Baptist church on Iron Hill. 
 
 X 
 
370 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 a petition that was given to him by Mr. Linton, of Anna- 
 polis, the winter before. The expressman returned and re- 
 ported that Major Foreman was away from home, but there 
 is reason to believe that the commissioners thought he was 
 lying and had not been at Foreman's residence. They after- 
 ward got a sketch of the petition from Patrick Hamilton, 
 who was a man of some note, and had been sheriff of the 
 county, but he thought it was very imperfect, notwithstand- 
 ing which they appointed Alexander Hasson and Samuel 
 Hogg to lay it before Colonel Nathaniel Ramsay,who at that 
 time was a member of the Legislature. 
 
 The efforts of the villagers were successful and no further 
 reference to the new road is made until 1795, when a peti- 
 tion, signed by many of the citizens of South Susquehanna 
 Hundred, was presented to the levy court, expressing their 
 satisfaction with the condition of the old road which was 
 then in good repair, and protesting against the construction 
 of another one. Isaac Weld, the English traveler before re- 
 ferred to, speaks of Charlestown, in 1795, as follows: "A few 
 miles distant from Elkton is Charlestown, containing about 
 twenty fishermen's houses. The adjoining country is rather 
 mountainous and in some parts the traveler proceeds for 
 five miles together through an uninterrupted succession 
 of woods." 
 
 The roads in this county seem, at this time, to have been 
 a fertile source of annoyance and vexation. This was in a 
 great measure owing to their crookedness which is shown 
 by certain plats of them to be seen among the records in the 
 commissioners' office. This crookedness was caused by the 
 desire of the land owners to have the roads, if possible, 
 located on the division lines of their farms, which were often 
 very ill-shaped. The subject of straightening the public 
 highways was of so much importance that it entered into 
 the politics of the county soon after the organization of the 
 State government; and the people, if the traditions that have 
 been handed down to the present time are true were divided 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 371 
 
 into two parties, as in the case of the road near Charles- 
 town, one of which advocated, while the other opposed, the 
 measure. By the act of 1790 the commissioners therein 
 named were directed to straighten the road leading from 
 the Head of Elk to Back Creek, thence to the head of Bohe- 
 mia, thence to AVarwick, and from that place to the Head of 
 Sassafras. It was not until 1794 that the justices of the levy 
 court were authorized to appoint three freeholders upon the 
 petition of two-thirds of the taxables of the hundred, pray- 
 ing for the widening and straightening of a crooked road, to 
 view the same, and make the improvement prayed for. The 
 undulating character of that part of the county north of the 
 Elk River rendered the construction and maintainance of 
 the roads there more expensive than in the other part of it, 
 and the citizens of the southern part of the county thought 
 themselves aggrieved when compelled to pay an equal share 
 of the road-tax, a large part of which was spent upon roads 
 they seldom or never used. 
 
 The Legislature sought to remedy this cause of complaint 
 by the act of 1794, which required the levy court to assess a 
 tax of not more than three shillings in the hundred pounds 
 to be applied to the construction and repair of the roads in 
 the county, and providing that " one-third of the tax levied 
 ■on the inhabitants on the east and south sides of Elk Elver 
 should be expended on the roads on the east and south 
 sides of said river." This tax was found insufficient, and 
 in 1795, the levy court was authorized to increase the sum 
 levied for the roads, so as not to exceed five shillings in the 
 hundred pounds. Inasmuch as nothing is said in this act 
 about where the money was to be expended, the provision in 
 regard to that matter in the former act is believed to have 
 been repealed, though it is not so stated in the law. 
 
 Previous to the revolution there had been no provision 
 made by law for the maintenance and support of the poor, 
 except such relief as was given to them by the levy court in 
 the matter of outpensions. This method of relieving the 
 
372 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 wants of those persons who, from the effects of old age or 
 from any other cause, were in necessitous circumstances, 
 had been practiced almost from the earliest settlement of 
 the county, and the records of the court contain many 
 curious petitions for relief and bills rendered for services 
 done in behalf of paupers. These bills strikingly illustrate 
 the customs that prevailed, and the ignorance of the people 
 who made them, of this class is the following specimen : 
 
 " Samuel Brown, deceased, Dr. s. d. 
 
 To making your grave 5 
 
 To maMng the cofing 15 
 
 To nine quarts rum 13 6 
 
 Tolsheate 9 
 
 To 4J lbs. sugar 3 
 
 £3 5s. 6rf. 
 " 17 May, 1763. Errors excepted. 
 
 his 
 Per Samuel x Philips. 
 mark. ' ' 
 
 This is probably the first instance in which a dead man 
 was ever charged with making his coffin and digging his 
 own grave. The reader will observe that much of the bill 
 is for rum, most of which, no doubt, was used at the funeral. 
 The use of liquor at funerals at that time, and for many 
 years afterwards, was so common that a decent funeral could 
 not take place without it; but there is reason to think that 
 some of that charged in this bill was used by the under- 
 taker while making the coffin, it also being customary to 
 furnish liquor for the use of those who were employed in 
 the service of the public. 
 
 The Legislature, in 1787, passed an act making provision 
 for the maintenance of the poor and providing for the erec- 
 tion of an alms and work-house for their benefit. Nine 
 persons were named as trustees of the institution, who were 
 authorized to take possession of the free-school property in 
 Sassafras Neck, and with the consent of the county court 
 
HISTORY OP CKCIL COUNTY. 373 
 
 were authorized to sell and convert it into money for the 
 purpose specified. The justices were also authorized to levy 
 a sum not exceeding £400 for the use and benefit of the 
 almshouse. This act, like many others of that period, was 
 not well adapted to the purpose intended, and by a supple- 
 mentary act passed in 1788, it was enacted that the trustees 
 should have power to purchase land not exceeding two hun- 
 dred acres. They were also authorized to take possession of 
 a bequest to the poor of St. Stephen's parish, and all the 
 estates of all persons dying intestate and leaving no legal 
 representatives, and apply them to the use and benefits of 
 the poor of the county. The bequest referred to in the act 
 of 1788, was made by a certain Joseph Phelps to the poor 
 of St. Stephen's parish by his will dated November 1st, 
 1783. The return of the appraisers of his personal estate 
 shows that it consisted of his wearing apparel, a chest, 
 prayer-book, pocket-book, brush, about two pounds of to- 
 bacco, and a pair of spectacles, valued at £3 lis. 8d., and 
 cash in the chest, consisting of English, French and Spanish 
 gold and silver coins, to the amount of £84 13s. Ad., making 
 £88j, which was decreased by the deduction of two other 
 bequests to £58J. He also had about £58 in continental 
 money, which was worthless. But little more is known of 
 this charitable man, except that he had no " kin," as is 
 stated upon the appraisement list. 
 
 On the 11th of June, 1788, the trustees of the poor met in 
 Elkton, and received £48 16s., partly in Spanish milled dol- 
 lars, and partly in corn, from James Hughes, whose step- 
 father, John Price, had rented the free school farm and had 
 the use of the negroes then on it, who seem to have been 
 rented with the land the year before. The free school land 
 has been described in a preceding chapter. There is 
 reason to believe that there was six or eight negroes on the 
 farm, but the number is not stated in the records. It is 
 probable that the negroes had been purchased for the use of 
 the master of the free school, and had been employed by him 
 
374 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 in cultivating the farm, but this is only a matter of 
 conjeeture. 
 
 On the 13th of June, 1788, the trustees of the poor pur- 
 chased one hundred and eighteen acres of land from Henry 
 HoUingsworth, which is described under the name of St. 
 John's Town and addition, for £295. This purchase was 
 subsequently increased in 1791 by the addition of fifty-seven 
 acres, purchased from the same person for £142 10s., all of 
 which now constitutes the present Almshouse farm. 
 
 The trustees authorized Colonel HoUingsworth to erect a 
 house on the farm purchased from him as' soon as practi- 
 cable, he agreeing to rent them a house for the use of the 
 poor, lately built by him at the Head of Elk, until the new 
 house was ready for use. This house is the old log building 
 now standing in Little Elk, on the north side of the street, 
 west of the Marley road. 
 
 The construction of the new house was delayed by freshets- 
 in the Little Elk, which prevented the workmen from get- 
 ting stone from the bed of the creek and hauling timber- 
 across it, and was not ready for occupation until June 2d,. 
 1789, at which time it was formally accepted by the trustees, 
 who, on the 3d of the previous March, had chosen George 
 Harris and his wife Ann, as overseer and matron of the in- 
 stitution, at a salary of £40 a year. 
 
 In 1791 the trustees sold the free school land to Robert 
 Milligan for £1,200. What became of the negroes is not 
 stated, but there is reason to believe they were sold to 
 Milligan. 
 
 By the' act for the establishment of Washington College 
 in 1782, the visitors of the free schools on the Eastern Shore 
 were authorized, if they thought proper, to incorporate the 
 bonds and estate in their hands with the funds and estate 
 of that institution. This measure was strongly opposed by 
 the vestry of North Elk parish, who appointed a committee- 
 to consult with the vestry of St. Augustine's parish, and 
 with the visitors of the free schools, and to protest against. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 375 
 
 diverting the school property from the use originally 
 intended. 
 
 The number of inmates of the Almshouse at first was 
 not large, but in 1802 they had increased to forty, and the 
 trustees were obliged to erect an addition of twenty-five feet 
 in length to the original house, which cost £250. This year 
 a contest took place between several of the physicians of the 
 northeastern part of the county, about which of them should 
 have the job of attending the paupers. One of them in 
 addition to his regular services, ofi'ered to keep a statistical 
 record of the various diseases of the inmates, etc., for £40 a 
 year. Another one in addition to all that, offered the use 
 of an electrical machine and attendance once a week in 
 order to use it upon the paupers that might need it, and the 
 trustees, no doubt thinking the paupers would be benefited 
 by the use of electricity, gave the contract to him. 
 
 The successful termination of the Revolutionary war 
 seems to have given a great impetus to the inventive powers 
 of the people. Among those who distinguished themselves 
 in this way was James Rumsey, then of Virginia, but a 
 member of the Rumsey family which once resided at the 
 head of Bohemia River, who was the inventor of a steam 
 boat constructed upon a novel plan. He applied to the 
 Legislature for a patent for his invention, in 1784. The con- 
 stitution of the United States, not then having been adopted, 
 and the articles of confederation containing no provision in 
 regard to this matter, inventors were obliged to apply for 
 patents to the Legislatures of the States. Rumsey's inven- 
 tions is described as a method of propelling vessels by 
 means of the reaction of a stream of water forced by the 
 agency of steam through a trunk or cylinder parallel to the 
 keel, out at the stern. The action of this stream upon the 
 water in which the vessel floated, it was believed would 
 cause the vessel to move forward. The legislature gave him 
 the exclusive right to the use of his invention for ten years. 
 He afterwards formed a society in Philadelphia called the 
 
376 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Rumseian Society, of which Dr. Franklin and Levi Hol- 
 
 lingsworth were members, for tlie purpose of introducing 
 
 his boat and other inventions to the public, but like most 
 
 geniuses he met with little success. John Fitch claimed 
 
 priority for his steamboat, which led to a contest between 
 
 them, and neither profited by their efforts to introduce 
 
 steamboats. In 1783, the Legislature passed an act entitled, 
 
 " an act for making the river Susquehanna navigable from 
 
 the line of this state to tide water," in which it is stated that 
 
 a company, of which William Augustine Washington, 
 
 Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Russell, Aquilla Hall, 
 
 John Churchman, and forty others, mostly of Baltimore 
 
 city, had subscribed the sum of £18,500, and had obligated 
 
 themselves to raise the further sum of £1,500 for the purpose 
 
 named in the title of the act. The Legislature considering 
 
 the enterprise a laudable one, incorporated the company 
 
 under the name of "The Proprietors of the Susquehanna 
 
 Canal," and enacted that they should meet at Havre de 
 
 Grace in February, 1784, and elect a governor and three 
 
 directors. This was the origin of the old Maryland Canal 
 
 which was one of the first works of the kind chartered in 
 
 the United States. It extended from Love Island, near the 
 
 State line, nearly to Port Deposit. No doubt the Maryland 
 
 Canal Company was formed with a view of securing the 
 
 prospective trade from the upper waters of the Susquehanna 
 
 to Baltimore city, most of which at this time found its way 
 
 to the towns on the Delaware. This view of the case is 
 
 strengthened by the fact that provision was made in the act 
 
 of incorporation for condemning a quantity of land not 
 
 exceeding two hundred acres for the purpose of erecting 
 
 grist-mills and other water- works along the line of the canal 
 
 for the purpose of grinding the wheat, the product of which 
 
 it was expected would find a market in Baltimore. By the 
 
 first act the company was authorized to charge a toll of one 
 
 shilling per ton, carpenter's measure, on all boats and rafts 
 
 that passed through the canal. The act also directed that 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 377 
 
 the work Avas to be commenced on or before the first of Oc- 
 tober, 1783, at Love Island near the State line and to be 
 prosecuted with diligence till tide water was reached, and 
 fully completed within seven years. The work seems to 
 have been commenced by the time specified, for in a supple- 
 ment to the act of incorporation passed at the session of 
 1784, it is stated that considerable progress had been made. 
 This supplemental act exempted the property of the com- 
 pany from taxation and legalized a long list of tolls for all 
 sorts of merchandise, except dry goods, that might pass 
 through the canal, and specified the value at which foreign 
 coins were to be estimated, when taken in payment of tolls. 
 
 Probably for the want of means the canal was not finished 
 in the time specified, and an extension of one year was 
 granted in 1790, by another supplementary act, which au- 
 thorized the company to increase the number of shares to 
 thirty, and provided that foreigners might become share- 
 holders. The work of constructing the canal was of greater 
 magnitiide than was at first apprehended, but there is reason 
 to believe that it was so near completion in 1795, as to indi- 
 cate that it would never be very successful. Twelve years 
 had elapsed since the work was commenced, and it is proba- 
 ble that a change had taken place in public opinion in 
 reference to its utility. 
 
 About this time the people living in those counties of 
 Pennsylvania that bordered upon the Susquehanna River, 
 began to agitate the subject of improving its navigation, and 
 at a meeting held at Harrisburg, in August, 1795, took that 
 matter into consideration. Some of the consequences of this 
 meeting are manifest in the action of the Legislature of 
 Maryland, at its session in the December following, from 
 which it is very plain that the citizens of Havre de Grace, 
 which had been laid out about twenty years before, were 
 jealous of the advantages that would naturally accrue from, 
 the canal to those who resided upon the Cecil side of the 
 river. 
 
378 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 George Gale, a prominent citizen of this county, had pur- 
 chased a hundred and ten acres of land on the east side of 
 the river, near Watson's Island, in July, and on the 1st of 
 December following, purchased eighty-eight acres adjoining 
 it from John Creswell, and proceeded to lay out a town,, 
 which he called Chesapeake. This town, which was a short 
 distance above Perryville, was incorporated by an act of the 
 Legislature on the 24th of December, 1795. On the same day 
 an act was passed making an addition to the town of Havre 
 de Grace, and authorizing a lottery for the improvement of 
 the navigation of the Susquehanna River. This was the 
 beginning of a contest between the proprietors of the Sus- 
 quehanna Canal and certain persons in Pennsylvania, who 
 were jealous of the privileges that had been conferred upon 
 the proprietors of the canal, that was settled many years 
 afterwards by the organization of the Tide- Water Canal 
 Company, which purchased and now own the rights and 
 franchises of the other company. Probably the real object 
 of those who sought to effect the enlargement of Havre de 
 Grace, was the same as that of the founder of the rival town 
 on the other side of the river, namely, a desire to speculate 
 in town lots ; and very likely they concealed their real de- 
 sign under the plausible pretext of improving the naviga- 
 tion of the river. But civil engineering was not as well un- 
 derstood then as it is now, and they may have honestly 
 thought that $50,000, which was the sum authorized to be 
 raised by lottery, was sufficient for the purpose designated. 
 It was specified in the act for the improvement of the river, 
 that none of the money raised by the lottery was to be ap- 
 plied to opening or improving the Susquehanna Canal, 
 which seems to indicate that the Legislature might have lost 
 faith in its utility. 
 
 Nothing ever came of the effort to build the town of 
 Chesapeake, and it must be added to the long list of abortive 
 efforts to build towns where they were not needed. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 379' 
 
 The next year, 1796, a German named Breider, who 
 owned a flour-mill on the Juniata River, near Huntington, 
 Pennsylvania, is said to have built an ark and loaded it 
 with flour and ran it down the Susquehanna, and thence to 
 Baltimore. This is believed to have been the first venture 
 of the kind, and Breider having demonstrated the practic- 
 ability of navigating the perilous river as well as the profit- 
 ableness of the Baltimore market, his example was followed 
 the next year by several others. By a supplementary act, 
 passed January 20th, 1797, the time for the completion of the 
 canal was extended to the 1st of December, 1805, and the 
 bed of the Susquehanna River was declared to be " a public 
 highway, free for any person or persons whatever to work 
 thereon in clearing the obstructions to its navigation," 
 which warrants the inference that something was about to 
 be done for its improvement at this time by those in charge 
 of th6 lottery. The early history of this canal is involved 
 in great obscurity, occasioned hy the loss of the records of 
 the proceedings of the directors previous to 1817. Land 
 was condemned for the use of the proprietors, in 1800, at 
 which time Robert Gilmer was governor of the canal. The 
 work is believed to have been completed in 1805. It was 
 too narrow at first to be of much use, and the proprietors 
 had it widened, about 1810. During the time of the con- 
 struction and enlargement of the canal, many of the laborers 
 employed upon it were afflicted with a malignant fever, 
 from the efi'ects of which many of them died. 
 
 In 1805, the inhabitants of Elkton also suffered from a 
 malignant fever that baffled the skill of the most eminent 
 physcians. There is some evidence tending to show that it 
 was caused by the miasma from the marsh on the north 
 side of the river, which at that time was embanked so as to- 
 exclude the tide. The following extracts from a diary kept 
 by the late Dr. Amos A. Evans, who at that time was a 
 student of medicine under the late Dr. George E. Mitchell^ 
 show the malignant character of the epidemic. It is stated 
 
380 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 in Morse's Gazzetteer of the Western continent, that Elkton 
 five years after this time, contained ninety houses, which, at 
 five persons to each house, would give a population of four 
 hundred and fifty. In 1805, the town probably contained 
 less than four hundred inhabitants. 
 
 Under the date of September 26th, 1805, Dr. Evans says : 
 " Cloudy morning, wind from S. E. About 60 persons 
 now sick in Elkton. Every person afflicted with languor and 
 lassitude. Want of appetite and dreadful sickness of stomach 
 are the general precursors of the reigning epidemic, which 
 is attended with tormenting and excruciating pains of the 
 extremities. This sudden change of the weather has in a 
 number of cases occasioned this epidemic to take on the 
 form of dysentary and diarrhoea. The chills which pre- 
 cede are of long continuance, the fever succeeding, very in- 
 flammatory, demanding remedies powerful and energetic. 
 28th September ; good fires are very necessary and quite 
 agreeable, cases of bilious fever still increase. The symptoms 
 of this fever are anomolous, the pains in the extremities 
 and lumbar regions are violent, the eyes are painful and 
 often much inflamed. October 3d and 4th ; more than 
 SO persons sick in Elkton. October 14th; sicknesss con- 
 tinues to increase in the countrj'. November 4th ; several 
 cases of bilious and intermittent fevers still continue, 
 which are remarkably stubborn this fall. Diseases in 
 general, this season have been much more stubborn 
 then they have been known for some time, and the 
 people of Elkton and its vicinity have been more generally 
 aflJicted. Cathartics and emetics though given in double 
 doses, in some cases produce little or no effect." 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Octoraro forge — Cecil Manufacturing Company — New Leeds — Chesa- 
 peake and Delaware Canal — Benjamin H. Latrobe — The canal feeder — 
 KiotatElkton — " Treeket the Loop" — Supplementary Act — Work re- 
 sumed on the canal— John Randel — He sues the canal company — Com- 
 pletion and cost of the canal — Difficulty of construction — Port Deposit — 
 Philip Thomas — Port Deposit Bridge Company — Bridge burned — Sale of 
 Susquehanna canal — The log pond — Susquehanna and Tide Water canal. 
 
 In 1788, John Churchman, the distinguished scientist and 
 mathematician of Nottingham, who was the owner of large 
 quantities of barren land, which he, no doubt, had purchased 
 because he thought it contained valuable deposits of mineral, 
 formed a partnership with Samael Hughes, of Harford 
 County, for the purpose of erecting a furnace and such other 
 works as they might think necessary for the manufacture 
 of iron, upon a tract of land containing 3,000 acres, which 
 was two-thirds of all the land owned by Churchman in 
 Cecil, Chester, and Lancaster counties, and which seems to 
 have been embraced in one tract. The tract to be selected 
 by Hughes for the iron works, it was stipulated in the arti- 
 cle of agreement, which may be seen among the land records 
 of the county, was to embrace the Horse Shoe Bend, in the 
 Octoraro Creek, near the junction of the three counties be- 
 fore named. Hughes was to furnish the capital for the en- 
 terprise, and Churchman was to be resident manager, the 
 profits being equally divided between them. Nothing is 
 known of the history of this enterprise, but the land records 
 of the county show that the forge which was just below the 
 Horse Shoe Bend, where the Cecil paper-mill now stands, was 
 built sometime previous to 1795, at which time it was in the 
 
382 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 possession of a certain John Jones and Thomas Rogers. It 
 was subsequently purchased in 1801 by John Frey and 
 Mathew Irwip,and was known for some time as Frey's Forge. 
 The Cecil Manufp-cturing Company, whose mill for the 
 manufacture of linen, woolen, and cotton goods, was on the 
 Little Elk Creek, just above Marley, was organized in 1794. 
 This company is believed to have been organized by the 
 efforts of Colonel Henry Hollingsworth, of Elkton, who was 
 at this time, the owner of the site of Marley Mill. This 
 gentleman purchased ten acres of land, on both sides of the 
 Little Elk, from John Anderson, on the 31st of July, 1794, 
 for £100. The companj^, which consisted of the following 
 members, viz. : Colonel Henry Hollingsworth, of Elkton ; 
 Levi Hollingsworth and Paschall Hollingsworth, of Phila- 
 delphia; Francis Partridge, John Gilpin, Levi Hollings- 
 worth, Jr., and James Mackey, of Cecil County ; and Solo- 
 man Maxwell and William Cooch, of New Castle County, 
 Delaware, are believed to have organized on the 1st of the 
 following November, for on that day Colonel Hollingsworth 
 executed a deed to the others for eight-tenths of the ten 
 acres he had purchased from Anderson, retaining the other 
 two-tenths for his own share. The company proceeded to 
 build a stone factory, the walls of which were quite thick 
 and are now standing, though the wood-work of the build- 
 ing was consumed by fire many years ago. The durability 
 of the stone-work of this mill seems to have warranted the 
 assertion of an historian, who, in speaking of it in 1807, 
 said it was the best mill of the kind in the United States. 
 Some of the machinery used in this factory was imported 
 from Europe. In 1796 the company purchased upwards of 
 five hundred acres of land adjoining the site of the mill, in 
 order to obtain pasturage for the sheep they intended to 
 keep for the purpose of obtaining wool to supply their mill. 
 In 1805 the company obtained the services of John Wilson, 
 a native of Yorkshire, England, who had learned the art 
 of manufacturing broadcloth in his native country, and who 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 had one-tenth interest in the business. This company 
 manufactured a considerable amount of goods, and it is said 
 presented ex-President Jefferson with clotli sufficient to make 
 him a suit of clothes, which he wore when being inaugurated 
 President of the United States. 
 
 Owing to the custom which then prevailed, of nearly 
 every family manufacturing their cloth by means of the 
 old-fashioned spinning-wheels and hand-looms, the com- 
 pany did not succeed in finding a remunerative market for 
 their goods, and in 1811 Mr. Wilson severed his connection 
 with it and purchased the mill property next above, on the 
 same stream, where he erected a woolen factory. Mr. Wilson 
 was a preacher of the society called Independents, and it 
 was through his exertions that the New Leeds church was 
 built. He also had the honor of naming that village after 
 the manufacturing city of Leeds, in England. Mr. Wilson's 
 daughter, Hannah, organized the first Sunday-school in 
 this county, probably the first in the State, at New Leeds, 
 in 1816. 
 
 The next matter that claims our attention is the project 
 of connecting the waters of the Chesapeake and Delaware 
 bays by means of a canal. 
 
 As long ago as 1680, when Augustine Hermen was lord 
 of Bohemia Manor, the construction of a canal to connect 
 the waters of the two bays was contemplated. The earliest 
 settlers along the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays felt the 
 want of a better method of transportation than they then had, 
 and no doubt the far-seeing and clear-minded Hermen was 
 quite as much influenced by the prospecti've canal and the 
 advantages to be derived from it as he was by the superior 
 quality of the soil when he made choice of Bohemia Manor 
 and settled upon it. 
 
 In 1769 some of the enterprising citizens of Philadelphia 
 induced the American Philosophical Society to order a sur- 
 vey to be made with a view of constructing a canal across 
 the peninsula, but the Revolutionary war began before any 
 
384 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 active steps were taken towards the construction of the 
 work, and it was not chartered by the State of Maryland 
 until 1799. It appears from the charter that Maryland was 
 the first State to move in the matter, for the charter con- 
 tains a proviso that it is to be of no force until a law is 
 passed by the State of Delaware authorizing the cutting of 
 the canal through that State, and until a law is passed by 
 the State of Pennsylvania declaring the river Susquehanna 
 to be a highway, etc. The company was authorized to 
 raise $500,000, in shares of $200 each, for the construction 
 of the canal, and Tobias Rudulph and William Alexander, 
 in Cecil County, in connection with two other persons in 
 each of the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland, and other 
 persons in Baltimore, Wilmington, and Philadelphia were 
 authorized to open the subscription books and inaugurate 
 the enterprise. 
 
 About the year 1801 Benjamin H. Latrobe,* Cornelius 
 Howard, and John Thompson surveyed various routes 
 across the peninsula for the proposed canal, and the direc- 
 tors of the company decided to adopt the one between 
 Welsh Point, at the junction of Back Creek and Elk River, 
 and running in a northeast direction from there to a place 
 on Christiana Creek, then called Mendenhall's Landing, 
 about four miles west of Wilmington. It was the intention 
 of the engineers that located the canal in this place to 
 supply the water necessary for the purpose of navigating it 
 
 * B. H. Latrobe was of Frenoli Hiiguenot extraction, but born in Eng- 
 land. He came to .Philadelphia in 1800, and soon afterwards married 
 the daughter of Isaac Hazlehurst, the law-partner of Robert Morris, the 
 financier. While engaged in constructing the feeder, he resided in a 
 house which stood north of the Elkton and Christiana Turnpike and east 
 of the State line. He was one of the most eminent architects and civil 
 engineers of his time, and was employed in supervising the old Capitol 
 building at Washington, and also the Exchange, which is now used for 
 the Custom House, in Baltimore. He was the father of J. H. B. Latrobe, 
 Esq., a distinguished member of the Baltimore bar, and the gi-andfather 
 of F. C. Latrobe, the present mayor of that city. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 385 
 
 from the Big Elk Creek, by means of a feeder constructed 
 for the purpose of carrying the water of that creek into a 
 vast reservoir,* covering a hundred acres of land, from 
 which the water could be taken when needed for the pur- 
 pose of locking the various crafts through the canal. About 
 a hundred thousand dollars was expended upon the con- 
 struction of the feeder, which was intended to carry the 
 waters of Big Elk into the proposed reservoir, which was to 
 be located about a mile west of Glasgow, in Delaware. The 
 work was constructed under the supervision of Benjamin 
 H. Latrobe, who was chief engineer. 
 
 The canal company was obliged to purchase the right to 
 use the water of Big Elk from the Elk Forge Company, 
 whose forge was then located where Elk Mills factory now 
 stands, near which the feeder was to start, and also the water 
 rights of all the mills between the forge and the mouth of 
 the creek. Due bills or promisary notes, similar to bank 
 notes, were issued for the purchase of the water rights, and 
 work was commenced on the feeder in 1802. Some of the 
 plans of the engineers of that time seem quite curious and 
 strange when viewed through the light of the experience 
 since acquired. The canal company only purchased the 
 right from the forge company to use the water of the creek, 
 when needed, for the purpose of supplying the canal, the 
 forge company reserving the right to use the water of the 
 creek during the winter months, when it would be imprac- 
 ticable to navigate it. The water of the creek was taken out 
 of the head-race of the forge and taken across the channel 
 of the creek in an aqueduct constructed for the purpose. It 
 would seem to have been a great deal more practicable to 
 have taken the water directly from the east side of the dam 
 and to have dispensed with the aqueduct, but probably there 
 
 * Owing to a misunderstanding of his instructions, the engraver of the 
 map accompanying this book located this reservoir too far south. It 
 should have been at the junction of the feeder and the canal, which is 
 some distance west of Glasgow, which is called Aikentown on the map. 
 
 Y 
 
386 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 ■were reasons that do not now appear, that caused the engi- 
 neer to adopt the plan he did. 
 
 The work upon tlie feeder was done in a superior manner. 
 Several of the arches, through which the water of small 
 streams was to pass underneath it, are still standing, and 
 quite a large one intended for a roadway across it is yet ex- 
 tant. It is said that when the late Daniel Lord was con- 
 structing the factory which is near the arch, being in want 
 of stone, he ordered his workmen to take the arch down, and 
 that after many fruitless efforts to do so, they concluded it 
 would be easier and cheaper to quarry the stone they wanted. 
 This old arch is now standing, and looks strong and durable 
 enough to stand at least a century longer. 
 
 For a short time the water of the Big Elk was admitted 
 into the feeder, and the stone used in the construction of 
 the arches, some distance from the upper end of it, were 
 transported to the places where they were used upon scows 
 from the quarry near the forge. Many stones M'ere quarried 
 and nicely dressed for the arches, which, after the work was 
 abandoned, remained near the forge and were used in the 
 construction of the railroad bridge across the Big Elk, near 
 Elkton, which was recently covered by the embankment, 
 after the construction of the new iron bridge in 1876. 
 
 There was much diversity of opinion in regard to the 
 proper place for the location of the canal. This was the 
 reason that the company after finishing the feeder to the 
 site of the proposed reservoir, near Glasgow, were forced to 
 discontinue the work, which they did, for want of means, 
 in 1803. The feeder passed within about two miles of Elk- 
 ton, and it is stated in a history of Maryland and Delaware, 
 published in Philadelphia in 1807, that barges were then 
 used upon it. This is untrue ; though the people of that 
 day entertained the opinion that it was practicable to use 
 the feeder as a canal, and the canal company at that time 
 intended to establish slack-water navigation upon the Big 
 Elk, north of the forge, by erecting a system of dams and 
 locks for that purpose. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 387 
 
 The laborers employed in the construction of the feeder, 
 who were principallj' Irishmen, became involved in a riot 
 ■while the work was in course of construction. There was a 
 race-course at that time in the field near Gilpins Bridge, on 
 the southwest side of Big Elk. Many of the Irishmen 
 from the feeder were at a horse race on this course, which 
 was no uncommon thing, for horse racing was quite com- 
 mon in Cecil County at that time, and the races were recog- 
 nized by the law of the State. It was customary for those 
 who wished to do so, to obtain license to sell liquor at the races, 
 and no doubt it was sold at this one, and that the too free 
 use of whisky led to the riot, which began in this wise : A 
 negro was on the ground, who was proprietor of a gambling 
 arrangement, called " Treeket the Loop." It consisted of a 
 stake driven into the ground in the centre of a circular ex- 
 cavation of probably a foot or eighteen inches in diameter ; 
 a cent was placed on the top of the stake by the proprietor, 
 and those who wished to participate in the game were fur- 
 nished with a club or shillalah and rec^uired to stand some 
 yards from the stake, and if they could throw the club and 
 knock the cent off the stake, so that it would fall outside of 
 the pit in which the stake stood, they won the money ; if 
 the coin fell inside of the pit, which it probably did in nine 
 cases out of ten, the player forfeited a cent to the proprietor 
 of the pit. A dispute occurred between the negro who was 
 the proprietor of the pit and an Irishman who was playing, 
 which came from words to blows, and the negro is said to 
 haye fractured the skull of one of the Irishmen who soon 
 afterwards died. This riot, like all others, was easier started 
 than stopped, and from the accounts which have come down 
 to us, was quite a serious affair. Many other negroes on the 
 race ground became involved in the fight before it was 
 over. The Irishmen pursued them to Elkton, and a reign 
 of terror was inaugurated which lasted for a considerable 
 time, during which several lives were lost. The late Dr. 
 Evans, who was then a student of mediciire with Dr. 
 
388 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 George E. Mitchell, is said to have been instrumental in 
 pacif3'ing the infuriated Irishmen and saving the lives of 
 some of the negroes. 
 
 In 1803 work was discontinued upon the feeder, and 
 the enterprise was allowed to slumber until 1812. The 
 probability of a war with England appears to have been the 
 great incentive that impelled the Legislature of Maryland to 
 pass a supplementary act to the original charter of the 
 canal, for at the session of the General Assembly in the 
 winter of 1812-13, the following supplement to the act of in- 
 corporation of 1799 was passed : 
 
 "Whereas, During the time of war against the United 
 States of America, the completion of the work of the Chesa- 
 peake & Delaware Canal would be beneficial to the United 
 States, by forming the great link of an inland navigation of 
 six or seven hundred miles, and thereby establish a per- 
 fectly safe, easy and rapid transportation of our armies and 
 the munitions of war through the interior of the country, 
 and which would ever tend to operate as a cement to the 
 union between the States : And, whereas, the prosperity and 
 the agricultural interest of the State of Maryland, the Com- 
 monwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Delaware State, are 
 more deeply interested than their sister States in the useful 
 work of opening a communication between the Chesapeake 
 Bay and river Delaware, by means of the said Chesapeake 
 & Delaware Canal ; therefore, in order to enable the presi- 
 dent and directors of the said canal to prosecute and finish 
 the important work of the said Chesapeake & Delaware 
 Canal, Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, 
 That if the United States shall subscribe 750 shares, the 
 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 375 shares, the State of 
 Delaware 100 shares, in the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal 
 Co., in such case the treasurer of the western shore be and 
 he is hereby authorized and directed to subscribe in behalf 
 of this State 250 shares in said company, and the money 
 necessary to be paid in consequence of such subscription 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 389 
 
 shall be paid by this State, and the treasurer of the western 
 shore, for the time being, shall have the right to vote for 
 president and directors of said company, according to such 
 number of shares in person or by proxy appointed by him, 
 and the said treasurer shall receive upon the said stock the 
 proportion of the tolls which shall from time to time be due 
 to the State for the shares aforesaid. 
 
 " And be it enacted, that this act shall not take effect, 
 ■unless the Legislature of Pennsylvania shall pass or shall 
 have passed a law declaring that in consideration of the act 
 of the Legislature of Maryland incorporating said canal 
 company, the river Susquehanna from Columbia to the 
 Maryland line shall forever hereafter be a highway, and 
 that individuals or bodies corporate may at all times remove 
 obstructions therein." 
 
 The war that the Legislature apprehended took place, and 
 nothing more was done toward the completion of the work 
 -until about 1822 or 1823, when the project was again revived. 
 There appears to have been much diversity of opinion in 
 regard to the supply of water to be obtained from the Big 
 Elk Creek, and various estimates were made of it. 
 In 1804 Mr. Latrobe estimated it as equal to one hundred 
 and ninety locks full per day. In 1823 John Randel, Jr., 
 civil engineer of Albany, New York, then in the employ of 
 the company and under whose superintendence the route 
 for the canal had been surveyed, estimated it as equal to 
 seventy-nine locks full per day on an average of a whole 
 year, but as only equal to thirty locks full per day in the 
 months of July, August, September, and October, which 
 only allowed the passage of six vessels per day through the 
 canal. Mr. Randel was accused of under-estimating the 
 quantity of water in the Elk Creek, with a view of having 
 the canal located further down the peninsula, where it now 
 is, so that he could have an opportunity of obtaining a 
 lucrative contract for its construction. The people of Wil- 
 mington M'ere apprehensive that if the canal was located so 
 
390 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 as to reach the Delaware Eiver, without using the Christiana 
 Creek for that purpose, it would injure the tiade of their 
 city, and as was very natural, they looked upon the diffi- 
 culty of constructing it, very complacently, and the news- 
 paper press of that city continually prophesied its ultimate 
 failure. 
 
 Mr. Eandel, the engineer, upon whose surveys and esti- 
 mates the work was undertaken, recommended the cutting 
 of the canal so deep that the supply of water could be ob- 
 tained for its use from the Delaware River at high tide, by 
 means of tide-locks at either end of the canal, so constructed 
 as to prevent a current in it, and also to admit the water of 
 the Delaware River to enter it at high tide. This was a 
 grand scheme and worthy of the ingenious and scientific 
 man that originated it. He contemplated using tlie Atlantic 
 Ocean as the reservoir from which the canal was to be sup- 
 plied with water. This plan, had it been adhered to, would 
 have saved the expense of the steam-pump which now has 
 to be used to supply the canal with water; but probably 
 owing to the great cost of excavating so deep a channel it 
 was abandoned and the present system of locks adopted in 
 its stead. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that the canal company resumed 
 work, which had been suspended for twenty-one years, under 
 the presidency of the same person who presided over it 
 when work was suspended, and that the due bills for a large- 
 amount of the indebtedness of the company,which was con- 
 tracted in its early efforts, were paid at their par value. 
 
 The canal company employed j\Ir. Randel to excavate the 
 greater part of the canal and executed articles of agreement 
 with him for the construction of the work on the 26th day 
 of March, 1824. The work was commenced on the 15th of 
 April following upon the deep cut near where the Summit 
 Bridge formerly stood. Randel was allowed until the 1st of 
 May, 1828, to finish his contract, but for some reason the 
 company took the work out of his hands, and in the fall of 
 
HISTORY or CECIL COUNTY. 391 
 
 1825, contracted ^vith other persons for the completion of 
 the unfinished part of it. This action of the company 
 caused Handel to sue it for damages, and after years of litiga- 
 tion he recovered damages in January, 1834, to the amount 
 of more than two hundred and twenty-six thousand dollars. 
 The suit between Randel and the canal company, which 
 was tried in the Superior Court at Xew Castle, is one of the 
 most notable cases ever tried in the State of Delaware, being 
 celebrated as well on account of the amount of money in- 
 volved, as on account of the eminent counsel employed 
 by the parties concerned in it. John Eandel, Jr., by which 
 cognomen he was known until the day of his death, was pos- 
 sessed of much skill as a civil engineer, though strange and 
 eccentric, and full of Utopian schemes and projects. He 
 afterwards became the proprietor of " Randalia," which was 
 a large tract of land on Bohemia Manor, near the mouth of 
 Back Creek. His success in prosecuting his suit against the 
 canal company appears to have made him fond of litiga- 
 tion, and for many years after he became proprietor of 
 " Randalia" he was seldom without a law suit on hand. 
 Owing to his success in this suit with the canal company, 
 he was placed in possession of a competency, most of which 
 he squandered in the prosecution of wild, chimerical 
 schemes for self-aggrandizement, which it would have taken 
 many hundreds of thousands of dollars to have brought to 
 a successful conclusion. He was also the originator of 
 elevated railroads, which have recently been erected in some 
 of our large cities. At one time, while Mr. Randel was 
 proprietor of Randalia, he had a steam saw-mill in opera- 
 tion there, and somehow he unfortunately lost a breast-pin 
 which he valued very highly. Work was immediately 
 stopped at Randalia, and everybody in his emploj'- was set 
 to work hunting for the lost breast-pin. The hands at the 
 saw-mill were set to work sifting an immense pile of saw 
 dust, the accumulation of years, in order to find the lost jewel. 
 After much tribulation the long-lost and much-esteemed 
 
392 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 bauble was found in the possession of some person, who 
 said he found it along the road some distance from Randa- 
 lia, where no doubt its owner had dropped it. The chance 
 for a law suit was not to be lost, however, and the conten- 
 tious Randel laid his case before the next grand jury with 
 the intention of having the person who found the breast-pin 
 indicted for theft, but the grand jury very wisely dismissed 
 the case. 
 
 Though Randel was the engineer who surveyed the route 
 for the canal and made the plans and estimates for its con- 
 struction when he became contractor for the performance of 
 the work, the company employed Benjamin Wright to act 
 as engineer, under wliose superintendence the work was 
 completed on the 17th of October, 1829. This important 
 work is thirteen and five-eighths of a mile long, and was 
 made at the cost of §2,250,000. Its construction was a work 
 of great difficulty, owing to the peculiarities of the land 
 through which the eastern part of it is made. Large sec- 
 tions of the embankments along the sides of it are said to 
 have sunk as much as a hundred feet below the adjoining 
 surface, which caused the bottom of the canal to rise as 
 much as forty feet above its natural position. This led to 
 much trouble and delay in the completion of the work ; nor 
 was this the only trouble, for the earth taken out of the 
 deep cut, which at the summit is seventy-six and a half feet 
 deep, was deposited too near the channel of the canal, and 
 it is estimated that during the construction of the work 
 three hundred and seventy-five thousand cubic yards of it 
 slid back into the canal and had to be again removed. For 
 many years after the completion of the work, these immense 
 mountain-like piles of earth had an ugly habit of sliding 
 into the canal, and at one time the company had many 
 acres of them thatched with straw, like an Irish cabin, to 
 keep them dry and render them tenacious enough to main- 
 tain the position in which they were originally placed. 
 Much stone was required for walling parts of the canal, a 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 393 
 
 great deal of which was obtained in the vicinity of Marley 
 Mill and Cherry Hill, and which was hauled to the western 
 part of the canal in four-horse wagons. This stone was 
 purchased by weight and weighed upon immense scales con- 
 structed for the purpose. The scales were large enough to 
 hold a wagon loaded with stone, and were constructed with 
 a wooden beam similar to a steelyard ; the loaded wagon 
 was driven upon the platform and weighed, and after being 
 unloaded weighed again, the difference in weight showing 
 the weight of the load of stone. The Summit or Buck* 
 bridge, across the canal at the deep cut, was nearly ninety 
 feet above the bottom of the canal and two hundred and 
 forty-seven feet long. It was considered a stupendous 
 structure fifty years ago, when the Pacific Railroad had not 
 been thought of and our vast system of public improvements 
 were in their infancy. People that were school children 
 forty years ago will recollect the picture of this bridge that 
 was in a popular geography which was much used at that 
 time. 
 
 The enlargement of the Susquehanna Canal seems to have 
 given a great impetus to the growth of the town (now Port 
 Deposit) just below its southern terminus, or probably it 
 would be more correct to say, that the success of that enter- 
 prise led to the building of the town. As early as 1729, 
 Thomas Cresap, who took such an active part in the border 
 war a few years afterwards, had a ferry there, which is be- 
 lieved to have been called Smith's Ferry, probably because 
 it was near the uppermost point on the river which was 
 reached by the adventurous Captain John Smith, who 
 ascended it when engaged in exploring the Chesapeake Bay 
 and its tributaries. It was afterwards called Creswell's 
 Ferry, because it was owned by Colonel John Creswell, the 
 grandfather of the Hon. J. A. J. Creswell, who owned two 
 
 * This bridge was often called the Buck bridge, because there was a 
 tavern near it with the sign of a Buck. 
 
394 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 large tracts of land contiguous to it, much of which is yet in 
 possession of the Creswell family. The town, if there was 
 any town there, must have been quite small in 1813 when 
 the British visited Lapidum, for thej^ made but little exer- 
 tion to enter it, though it was a place of some importance, 
 and the citizens and the people of the vicinity had erected a 
 fort for its defense, and probably would have given them a 
 warm reception. 
 
 Philip Thomas then owned large quantities of land ex- 
 tending from near the ferry, which was about midway of 
 the town, a considerable distance down the river, embracing 
 the tracts called Mount Ararat, and Yorkshire, which was 
 immediately below the former and some others. He died 
 in 1811, and his property not being susceptible of division,, 
 was purchased by his son Philip the next year, he agreeing 
 to pay the other heirs their shares of the value placed upon 
 it by the commissioners ajjpointed by the court for that pur- 
 pose. Mr. Thomas caused the lower half of the town to be 
 laid out into streets and building-lots by Plugh Beard, an 
 eminent surveyor of that time, who made a plat of it, which 
 may be seen among the land records of the county. This 
 plat is dated October 21st, 1S12, and purports to be the plat 
 of a town at Creswell 's Ferry. But at the session of the 
 Legislature held the next winter, the name of the place was 
 changed to Port Deposit. This change was made, as stated 
 in the preamble to the act, to prevent the inconvenience 
 ■ arising from the dilferent names by which the place was 
 then called. There is reason to believe that the town had, 
 previous to this time, been also called Ptock Run. 
 
 The next year Edward Wilson, of Philadelphia, purchased 
 for six thousand dollars the site of the mill at the lower or 
 tide locks, of the canal, which included an insignificant 
 amount of land and the right to water sufficient to run six 
 pairs of mill-stones of six feet diameter, to be driven by 
 water-wheels of not less than fifteen feet diameter. The 
 quantity of water was to be ascertained by actual expert- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 395 
 
 ment after the mill was erected. This mill subsequently 
 came into the possession of James Bosley, of Baltimore, who, 
 in 1831, became involved in a quarrel with the proprietors 
 of the canal in reference to the quantity of water he used. 
 Bosley used more water than was agreeable to the proprie- 
 tors of the canal, who advertised in the Baltimore papers 
 that they would permit the use of the water of the canal 
 only in accordance with the agreement in the deed given to 
 Wilson. Bosley set the proprietors of the canal at defiance, 
 and one day started the machinery at its utmost speed, in 
 consequence of which the mill caught fire and was entirely 
 consumed. This ended the quarrel. 
 
 Previous to the construction of the canal, most of the 
 lumber and produce which came down the river stopped at 
 Lapidum. This was because the water was deeper on that 
 side of the river. After the construction of the canal, the 
 business was diverted to the other side of the river, and the 
 want of some better means of crossing than that afforded by 
 a ferry became necessary. This led to the first eff'orts to 
 erect the Susquehanna bridge, and resulted in the formation 
 of the first Port Deposit bridge company, which was incor- 
 porated in 1808. Of the incorporators, five were from Bal- 
 timore City and County, six from Harford County, and six 
 were from Cecil, as follows : James Sewell, Adam AVhann, 
 Henry W. Physic, William Hollingsworth, Thomas W. 
 Veazey, and Thomas AVilliams. The commissioners were 
 authorized to raise $250,000 by subscription, in shares of 
 fifty dollars each, for the purpose of building a bridge over 
 the Susquehanna River at the most suitable place in their 
 judgment between Havre de Grace and Bald Friar Ferry. 
 
 This effort failed owing to the inaljility of the commis- 
 sioners to obtain the requisite amount of subscriptions to the 
 stock, and at the session of 1812, an act was passed author- 
 izing and requiring John Creswell, Samuel C. Hall, and 
 Lawrence McComb, of Cecil County, and John Stump, John 
 Archer, and James Stevenson, of Harford County, who 
 
■396 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 were appointed commissioners for tlie purpose, to fix upon a 
 site for a bridge at such point on the Susquehanna River, at 
 or near the head of tide water at Kerr's Island, near 
 Rock Run, as to tliem should appear most proper. This act 
 also designated twenty of the most influential citizens of 
 Baltimore, Harford, and Cecil counties, to solicit subscrip- 
 tions. The commissioners employed Hugh Beard, alluded 
 to in connection with the town at Creswell's Ferry, to lay 
 out a site for the bridge. His certificate of survey is dated 
 ihe 16th of August, 1813. It shows that the bridge, or 
 bridges, were to extend from the Harford shore to Wood's 
 Island, thence to Kerr's Island, thence to Steel's Island, and 
 from there to the Cecil shore. By this route the bridges be- 
 tween the Harford shore and Kerr's Island were placed fur- 
 ther up the river than the others, and the turnpike connect- 
 ing them crossed Kerr's Island at a considerable angle. 
 This route required three thousand three hundred feet of 
 bridging and two hundred perches of turnpike across the 
 islands. This site was not satisfactory, probably for the rea- 
 son that the route was longer than was necessary, and by a 
 supplementary act passed in 1815, the company was author- 
 ized to change it. 
 
 Eight years had elapsed since the first effort to erect the 
 bridge had been made and still it had not been commenced. 
 This long delay was caused by the scarcity of money and 
 the reluctance of capitalists to invest in an enterprise that 
 seemed hazardous and uncertain. Probably they had 
 doubts about the practicability of maintaining the bridge, 
 after it was erected, on account of the tremendous ice floods 
 in the river. But financial ability seems never to have been 
 wanting among the citizens of Port Deposit, and they 
 tried perhaps the only plan that could have resulted suc- 
 cessfully, that was, to have the charter amended so as to 
 allow the company to carry on the banking business. This 
 change was effected in 1816, and was eminently successful. 
 The site selected at this time, which was the one upon 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 397 
 
 which the bridge was built, crossed the river, which at that 
 place was only twenty feet less than a mile wide, nearly at 
 right angles.- This route was upwards of a thousand feet 
 shorter than the other one. At the same time, about four 
 acres of the river bank on the Cecil side, contiguous to the 
 abutment, was condemned for the use of the company, for 
 the purpose of obtaining stone for the construction of the 
 abutments and piers. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, as showing the changes that have 
 taken place since that time, that the owners of this land, in 
 most cases, received but one cent damages each, which was 
 equivalent to about one cent an acre. The bridge was in 
 course of construction in 1817 and was finished the next 
 year. Kerr's Island was then owned by Robert Kerr, whose 
 large family of seven daughters and four sons were born 
 on it. 
 
 At this time. Dr. John Archer was president and Thomas L. 
 Savin, cashier of the company. The company was author- 
 ized to discount notes and issue bank bills, and though it is 
 probable that the bridge could not have been built without 
 a resort to this or some similar means, it is doubtful if it 
 finally was not productive of more harm than good, for the 
 company ultimately failed, and the stockholders and holders 
 of the notes in circulation lost heavily. This bridge was 
 built by contract by a Mr. Burr, and was consumed by fire, 
 on the 1st of January, 1823. The fire is said to have orig- 
 inated from friction caused by an iron shod sleigh, which 
 was driven rapidly over it. The bridge was rebuilt in 
 1829-30, by a Mr. Wormwag, who was the contractor; it 
 remained standing until 1854, when one span of it was 
 broken by a drove of cattle which were crossing. It was 
 never repaired, and the remainder was carried away by a 
 freshet in 1857. 
 
 The Susquehanna Canal never paid the proprietors much 
 interest on the capital invested, and they were always in 
 debt. In 1817 they owed the Bank of Maryland upwards 
 
398 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 of 130,000, for which a judgment was ob'tained, to satisfy 
 which the canal was sold by Robert C. Lusby, who was ihen 
 sheriff of this county. It was purchased by Samuel Sterritt, 
 of Baltimore, who was treasurer of the canal company, for 
 $40,000. There being doubts of the validity of this sale, 
 Sterritt conveyed the canal back to the company in Febru- 
 ary, 1819, in order that it might be resold for the benefit of 
 the creditors. An examination of the minute book of the 
 company, from 1821 to 1835, which is all that is now ex- 
 tant, throws some little light upon the history of the com- 
 pany during that time. 
 
 During that period there were saw-mills in operation at 
 Conowingo and Octoraro, and the company were quarreling 
 a great deal with the proprietors of the mills about the 
 quantity of water they used. The managers were also an- ■ 
 noyed by persons who used the tow-path for a highway, 
 and in 1829 they passed a resolution requiring their agents 
 to place such obstructions on it as would prevent it from 
 being injured by wheeled carriages. This year the com- 
 pany opened a quarry, near the east end of the bridge, 
 ■which was the beginning of the trade in granite that has 
 added so much to the prosperity of Port Deposit. The 
 same year the managers fixed the rates of toll for coal 
 barges or arks, which indicates that but few of them had 
 come down the river before this time. A motion was made 
 this year by one of the managers that a model of the boats 
 used for the transportation of heavy goods and merchandise 
 on the river Mersey, near Liverpool, be obtained for the 
 purpose of ascertaining whether such boats were suitable 
 for use on the canal and for the passage to Baltimore. This 
 was only about a half a century ago, and it is hard to realize 
 that the people of that time were so little acquainted with 
 the means and appliances for canal and inland navigation. 
 But the reader must not forget that this canal was among 
 the first constructed in this country, and that steam naviga- 
 tion was then in its infancy. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 399 
 
 In 1S32 the company memorialized the Legislature in 
 reference to two dams erected across the river, one at Nanti- 
 coke and the other at Shamokin. These dams prevented 
 the free navigation of the river, and were in violation of 
 the compact between Maryland and Pennsylvania, in con- 
 sequence of which Maryland had consented to charter the 
 Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and the other company 
 asked the Legislature to use such means as would cause the 
 dams to be removed. In 1832 the company purchased 
 thirty acres of land for a log-pond. Previous to this time 
 it had a small pond, but the increased amount of lumber 
 that passed through the canal made it necessary to enlarge 
 it. In 1835 the canal from Columbia to the State line was 
 projected, and the proprietors of the Sus<|uehanna Canal 
 seem at first to have been very favorably impressed with it; 
 so much so as to send a considerable sum of money to Har- 
 risburg to be used in helping to obtain the charter. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Company was incorporated in 1835, 
 and the proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal immediately 
 offered to sell out to it, or to continue their canal to tide 
 water with locks of a capacity ecjual to those of the other canal, 
 and to charge no more toll per mile than it did, M'hich fully 
 explains why they had spent their money to aid the other 
 company in obtaining its charter. Shortly after this ar- 
 rangement was sought to be effected, it was ascertained that 
 the proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal had no legal au- 
 thority to sell the franchise conferred upon them by their 
 charter. This led to a long and angry newspaper contro- 
 versy between the friends of the respective companies. The 
 Pennsylvania Company threatened to cross the river above 
 the State line and continue their canal to tide water, thus 
 effectually destroying the business of the other one. The 
 Maryland Company charged the other one with trying to 
 depreciate the value of their stock and trying to make the 
 impression on the public that instead of being valuable as 
 so mucli of the work already completed it was a hindrance 
 
400 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 to the new enterprise. The matter was finally adjusted by 
 an act of the Legislature of Maryland, passed in 1836, in 
 compliance with which the two companies were subsequently 
 consolidated. This was effected by the new company pur- 
 chasing a large preponderance of the stock and assuming 
 all the incumberances and responsibilities of the old one. 
 Thus ended a controversy between the people of the two 
 States about the navigation of this turbulent river that had 
 continued for forty years and at times was as turbulent as 
 the river itself. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Coiinty divided into election districts — County commissioners — Loca- 
 tion of boundary line between Cecil and Harford — Number of mills in 
 Cecil County — Elkton wheat market — Manufactories — Charlestown — 
 Elkton bank — Line of packets between Baltimore and Philadelphia via 
 ELkton — Frenchtown and New Castle Turnpike Company — Curious pro- 
 vision in the charter. 
 
 Previous to the Pevolutionary war, the elections for dele- 
 gates to the Legislature were held at the county seat, and the 
 people voted vive voce. From the close of that war until 1800, 
 elections were still held at the seat of justice, and continued 
 for 'three days ; but in that year, Henry Pearce, Colonel 
 John Creswell, William Alexander, Jacob Reynolds, and 
 Samuel Hogg, who had been designated by the Legislature 
 as commissioners, laid off the county into four election dis- 
 tricts. The first district included all that jriart of the county 
 south of Back Creek and the Elk River ; elections were 
 held at Warwick, in the house of Isaac Woodland. The 
 second district included all that part of the county north of 
 Back Creek, and east of a northerly line running from Elk 
 ferry, along certain old roads long since closed, until it struck 
 the North East Creek, and continued up the creek to the 
 fork thereof, thence up the eastern branch until it forked, 
 thence by a northerly course until it reached the State line ; 
 elections were held in Elkton in the court-house. The 
 third district included that part of Elk Neck, west of Elk 
 ferry and that part of the county between the western boun- 
 dary line of the second district and Principio Creek, and a 
 northerly line from near the head of that creek to the State 
 line ; elections were held at Charlestown, in the house of 
 Samuel Hogg. The fourth district included all that part of the 
 
402 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 county west of the third district ; elections were held at 
 Battle Swamp, in the house of Greenbury Rawlings. Jacob 
 Reynolds did not sign the return made by the other com- 
 missioners, probably for the reason that he did not agree 
 with them about the place of holding the election in the 
 fourth district, which soon after was changed to the village 
 of Rising Sun. These districts remained intact until 1835, 
 when Joseph Bryan, Edward Wilson, William Macky, Henry 
 C. Chamberlaine, Thomas S. Thomas, George Kidd and 
 Patrick Ewing were appointed by an act of the Legislature to 
 lay off the county into seven districts. This change was 
 made in deference to the wishes of the people in regard to 
 the selection of county commissioners. 
 
 By the act of 1797 five persons were to be appointed by 
 the executive, styled " Commissioners of the tax," who were 
 to levy the tax and do such other business generally as had 
 previously been transacted by the justices' court, when sit- 
 ting as a levy court; but in 1827 this law was repealed, and 
 it was enacted that five commissioners should be elected by 
 the people. One of these commissioners was to be chosen 
 from each district by the voters of the district, except the 
 second, from which two were to be chosen. This law did 
 not work satisfactorily for obvious reasons, and the Legisla- 
 ture sought to abridge the power of the second district by 
 the act of 1829, which provided that the commissioners 
 should be elected by the people of the whole county, but 
 made no change in the number, and still required two of 
 them to be taken from the second district. 
 
 The commissioners appointed by the act of 1835 met at 
 the court-house early in April, 1836, and appointed Thomas 
 Richards in place of Patrick Ewing, who refused to serve, 
 and on the 21st of June, 1837, completed their work, having 
 laid off the county into districts, nearly as they are at pre- 
 sent, except that the eighth district was formed out of parts 
 of the sixth and seventh by an act of the Legislature in 
 1852, and the ninth in the same manner in 1856, out of 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 403 
 
 parts of the fourth, fifth, and sixth districts. It is worthy 
 of remark that only four of the commissioners signed the 
 report, which indicates tliat the others did not agree with 
 them. 
 
 In 1829 the Legislature appointed James Steel, Stephen 
 Boyd, Washington Hall, Levi H. Evans, and Samuel Irwin, 
 commissioners to locate the boundary line between Cecil 
 and Harford counties. They finished their work in 1832. 
 Their report shows that they began at the State line, at a 
 rock called Long Rock, in the middle of the Susquehanna 
 River, in which they inserted an iron bolt, marking the 
 rock with the initials of the two counties, and continued 
 the line southwardly by various islands and rocks in the 
 river until they reached a large, flat rock, at the lower part 
 of Watson's Island, which they marked with a ring and bolt 
 and the letters H and C. 
 
 It is stated in a history of Maryland and Delaware, pub- 
 lished in Philadelphia, by Joseph Scott, in 1807, that at that 
 time there were fifty-three grist and merchant-mills in this 
 county, and that Cecil Furnace, on Principio Creek, was in 
 successful operation, and cannon, equal to any manufactured 
 in the United States, were made there. There were, in ad- 
 dition to these, a forge at North East, one on the Octoraro, 
 and one on the Big Elk; several rolling and slitting- mills* 
 on the Elk Creeks, and a nail factory at Marley. There 
 were also fifty saw-mills, four fulling-mills, and two oil-mills 
 in the county. Elkton was described as " one of the greatest 
 wheat markets in America, 250,000 bushels being sold in a 
 year." This quantity may now seem too small to have war- 
 ranted this assertion, but at this time the fertile fields of the 
 Western States were an unexplored wilderness, and a great 
 deal of the wheat produced in Lancaster County was sold in 
 Elkton, and to the millers along the Elk Creeks, who found 
 a market for their flour in Philadelphia. Strange as it may 
 
 * Mills for separating bars of iron lengthwise by water-power. 
 
404 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 now seem, the assertion was probably quite true. It is stated 
 in Scott's History that Elkton contained one hundred and 
 twenty dwellings, and that about a thousand castor and 
 and wool hats were made there annually. And that Charles- 
 town contained forty-five dwellings and two hundred and 
 fifty inhabitants, and the two stores there sold annually 
 £7,000. worth of goods, and that there was a market house 
 in Charlestown, in which markets were held twice a week, 
 and that six vessels sailed from that town weekly. The 
 cabinet making and Windsor chair making were also carried 
 on extensively in Charlestown, and the author mentions as 
 a notable fact that fifty pairs of boots and two thousand 
 pairs of shoes were made there annually. The fact is that 
 boots were very little used in this country at that time, only 
 a few of the wealthy people being able to afibrd so expensive 
 a luxury. Charlestown at this time was the most impor- 
 tant town in the county and had reached the height of its 
 prosperity. The people of the county were generally a free 
 and easy set of " hale fellows well met," and were given to 
 fun and frolic. On Saturday afternoons it was customary 
 for the people of many neighborhoods to assemble at the 
 country stores and taverns and indulge in playing at ball 
 and " long bullets." Long bullets, though a very popular 
 game at that time, has long since fallen into disuse, and 
 very few persons now living know how it was played. It 
 appears, however, to have consisted in throwing cannon- 
 balls of several pounds weight, as far as possible, by two sets 
 of players, those who scored the greatest distance being the 
 winners of the game. The citizens of Charlestown indulged 
 in this game to such an extent as to endanger the lives and 
 limbs of pedestrians, and in 1802, the town commissioners 
 passed the following ordinance : 
 
 " Whereas, the inhabitants of Charlestown have suffered, 
 and have been likely to suffer, by playing long bullets on 
 the streets of the aforesaid town. In consequence whereof 
 the commissioners of Charlestown have agreed and passed 
 into a law, that any person or persons who will be found 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 405 
 
 playing long bullets on the streets before mentioned shall 
 pay a fine of five dollars with costs of suit if any for every 
 such offense." 
 
 The village of Brick Meeting-house, then called Notting- 
 ham, contained eleven dwellings and ninety -two inhabitants, 
 and the writer before referred to informs his readers that 
 clocks and mathematical instruments were made there. He 
 also states that the flour trade of Elkton had declined since 
 the establishment of banks in Baltimore, and it was no doubt 
 with a view of restoring it that the Elkton Bank was chartered. 
 This bank was the first in the county, and was chartered in 
 1810. The business of the bank was transacted for a time 
 in the old brick building two doors east of the Court-house. 
 Twenty-one of the most influential citizens of the county 
 were named in the act of incorporation, any five of whom 
 were empowered to act as commissioners to put the bank in 
 operation. The capital stock was to consist of $300,000 
 money of the United States, divided into 6,000 shares of $50 
 each, 2,000 shares being reserved to the State. The act of 
 incorporation provided that all notes offered for discount 
 should be made negotiable at the banking house, and when 
 the drawer did not reside in Elkton, the notes were to be 
 made payable at the house of some person in the town and 
 notice given at said house that the note had become due 
 was to be held and considered as binding on the drawer and 
 endorsers as if it had been personally served upon each of 
 them. This bank continued in operation until 1822, when 
 it failed, owing to the fact that the millers for whose con- 
 venience it had been chartered, sold their flour on credit to 
 certain merchants in Philadelphia, who unfortunately failed 
 and the millers, being largely indebted to the bank, were 
 unable to meet their engagements. 
 
 In 1806-7 the first line of packets between Baltimore and 
 Philadelphia was established by William McDonald and 
 Andrew Henderson. It consisted of four sloops which ran 
 to Frenchtown,whence freight was carried by wagons to New 
 Castle and thence to Philadelphia by water. Shortly after 
 
406 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 this time another line was started between the two cities via 
 Court-house Point and a point on the Delaware near Port 
 Penn. Tlie two lines were soon consolidated under the name 
 of the Union Line, after which the line via Court-house 
 Point was discontinued. 
 
 The large amount of business done by this line and the 
 difficulty of transporting passengers and freight across the 
 peninsula on the roads then in use, led to the organization 
 of the Frenchtown and New Castle Turnpike Company, 
 which was chartered in 1809. The act of incorporation con- 
 tains many curious provisions, but is too long to be inserted 
 here. It required the turnpike to be laid out one hundred 
 feet wide, and furtljcr required that an artificial road, at 
 least twenty feet wide, be constructed and well bedded with 
 ivood, stone, gravel, day, or other proper and convenient ma- 
 terials, well compacted together a sufficient depth to secure 
 a solid foundation for the same. By the terms of the char- 
 ter, the turnpike was to be finished in three years,which was 
 not done, and in 1813, the Legislature extended the time, 
 having in the meantime made the important discovery that 
 day was not a proper and convenient material for bedding 
 the road. 
 
 The schedule of tolls, which is lengthy, but moderate, con- 
 tains many curious provisions, one of which is as follows : 
 " For every cart or wagon, the breadth of the wheels of which 
 shall be more than seven inches, and not more than ten inches, or 
 being of the breadth of seven inches, and shall roll more than ten 
 inches, two cents for each horse drawing the same ; for every 
 cart or wagon, the breadth of the wheels of which shall be 
 more than ten inches, and not exceeding twelve inches or being ten 
 inches shall roll* more than fifteen, one cent and a half for 
 each horse drawing the same; and for any such carriage 
 
 * This seems to indicate tliat tlie fore and hind wheels were not inten- 
 ded to rvm in the same traclj, but were purposely made to run in different 
 ones, for the purpose of smoothing and compacting the road, which had 
 it been made of clay as at first contemplated, it frequently would 
 have badly needed. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 407 
 
 the breadth of the wheels of which shall be more than twelve 
 inches, one cent for each horse drawing the same." 
 
 Whether wagons were made in those days with wheels, 
 the rims of which were of the width of ten and twelve inches, 
 has not been ascertained, but the Legislators of the State in 
 1 809 seemed to be of the opinion that they might be made, 
 and graduated the toll according to the width of the rim of 
 the wheels that might be used on the turnpike. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 War of 1812 — British fleet in Chesapeake Bay— Camp of observation 
 on Bull's mountain— General Thomas M. Foreman— Forts HoUint'Sworth 
 and Defiance — Colonel William Garrett — Persons employed in building 
 Fort Defiance — British land on Spesutia Island — Visit Turkey Point — 
 Burn Prenohtown — Zeb. Furgusson — British fail to reach Elkton — Inci- 
 dents and anecdotes — Burning of Havre de Grace — Poetical extract — 
 Pillaging — British burn Principio Furnace — Destruction of Frederick- 
 town and Georgetown — Brave defence of Colonel Veazey — List of militia 
 under him — Treaty of Ghent — Rejoicing — Accident at Fort PloUings- 
 worth. 
 
 It is not within the scope of this work to discuss the 
 causes that led to the war of 1812, for that reason it suffices 
 to say that the people of this country were divided in their 
 opinions respecting the justice of it; and, while the Demo- 
 cratic party, then in power, was in favor of the war, the 
 Federalists opposed it. Owing to this, party spirit was very 
 bitter in Baltimore at that time, and manifested itself in 
 riotous and disorderly conduct ; but to the credit of the 
 people of this county, though probably a majority of them 
 belonged to the Federal party, no riotous demonstrations 
 occurred within its limits. 
 
 At that time this country had not completed the first 
 third of a century of its existence as an independent nation, 
 and was but illy prepared to cope successfully with Eng- 
 land, which then was probably the strongest nation on 
 earth. In December, 1812, England declared the posts on 
 the Chesapeake and Delaware bay under blockade ; and in 
 the February following, a large squadron under Admiral 
 Cookburn entered the former and commenced prej'ing upon 
 our commerce, and plundering and pillaging the inhabi- 
 tants along its shores. Their primary object was the capture 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 409 
 
 of Baltimore City, which was then, as now, the commercial 
 emporium of the State. At this time many of the militia 
 of the county were in that city, having been summoned 
 there to aid in its defense. This left the county in great 
 measure unprepared to repel the attacks of the British ; but 
 what few militia remained at home did the best they knew. 
 
 Early in the spring of that year they established a camp 
 of observation on the summit of Bulls Mountain, and 
 stationed a company of cavalry there to watch the enemy 
 and give notice of their approach, by means of aline of mili- 
 tary posts, extending from that place to Elkton. They also 
 prepared to defend the county seat and the other towns 
 along the navigable waters of the county, but owing to 
 their want of experience and the scarcity of artillery, their 
 efforts were of little avail when the threatened invasion 
 took place. 
 
 General Thomas M. Foreman* was in command of this 
 
 * General Thomas Marsh Foreman was a native of Kent Island and a, 
 grandson of Thomas Marsh, who bequeathed him the plantation called 
 " Rose Hill," in Sassafras Neck, upon which most of his life was spent. 
 When the Revolutionary war commenced he was living on this plantation 
 in chai-ge of a tutor, and though only fifteen years of age, ran off and 
 joined the American army. His friends being unable to induce him to 
 return home, procured for him the position of aid-de-camp to General 
 Sterling. During the occupation of Philadelphia by the British he was 
 stationed at the Green Tree Tavern to prevent the Tory market people 
 from communicating with the enemy. He was one of the representatives 
 of Cecil County in the General Assembly in 1790 and 1800, and served 
 under General Armstrong during the bombardment of Fort McHenry, in 
 1813. His remains are interred in the family burying ground at Rose 
 Hill, and are covered with a marble slab, on which is the following epi- 
 taph : " To the memory of a gallant soldier of the Revolution, Major 
 Thomas Marsh Foreman, eldest son of Ezekiel Augustine Foreman, 
 who was born August 20th, 1758. At the age of fifteen he joined the 
 army, and at Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, Brandy wine, and Valley 
 Forge bravely fought and endured. He died after a short illness, in a 
 firm but humble hope of mercy through his Lord and Savior, on the 8th 
 of Jan., 1845." There is evidently an error in the above epitaph. Gen- 
 eral Foreman was probably eighteen years of age when he joined the 
 army. 
 
410 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 district, but he seems to have been engaged elsewhere, and 
 not to have directly taken part in the defense of this county, 
 consequently the local leaders acted as they thought best, 
 and without that concentrated effort best calculated to in- 
 sure success. Instead of attempting to defend the mouths 
 of the rivers, they erected forts at Fredericktown, French- 
 town, Charlestown, Elk Landing, and on the Elk River, 
 about a mile below the latter place. The fort at Elk Land- 
 ing was called " Fort HoUingsworth," in honor of the Hol- 
 lingsworths, who owned the land on which it stood, and 
 whose ancestors had taken such an active part in the Revo- 
 lutionary war. It was a small earth-work or redoubt, 
 mounted with a few pieces of small cannon, and stood a 
 few yards southeast of the old stone house now standing 
 near the wharf, and which at that time, and long afterwards, 
 was used for a tavern to accommodate the passengers travel- 
 ing between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Fort Defiance 
 was about a mile further down, on the bluff on the north- 
 west side of the river, at what is now called Fowlers Shore. 
 It was a work of considerable size, and situated so as to 
 command the channel of the river on two sides of it, the 
 channel at that time being near the bluff west of the fort. 
 Part of the east embankment may be seen at this time. In 
 addition to the redoubt on the bluff, a smaller earth-work 
 was erected about three hundred yards up the river, on the 
 same side, and strong chains were fastened to posts firmly 
 fixed on the opposite shores, to which chains extending to 
 windlasses in the forts were fastened and submerged in the 
 water, so that if the enemy's barges passed the lower fort 
 the chains could be drawn taut at the top of the water, 
 thus making the capture or destruction of the barges almost 
 certain. 
 
 These works are believed to have been planned by Col- 
 onel William Garrett, who was in command of the force 
 that erected them, as appears from the following list copied 
 from the original : 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 411 
 
 " Returns of the Officers & Privates attending at Fort De- 
 fiance from the 29th* unto the 24th May, 1813. 
 
 John Davidson, Captain, 
 Saml. Cowden, Leftent., of 
 
 Cap. Davidson's Co., 
 John Garrett, Left., 
 .Joseph Steel, Ensign., 
 Saml. Williamson, Cap., 
 John Short, Left., 
 Saml. Thompson, Sargt. Maj., 
 Weston George, Sargt. & Gunr., 
 John E. Jones, Seargnt, 
 John Scott, (Blacksmith) Sergt., 
 William Mackey, Serg't., 
 Jas. Philips, Commisary, 
 James Clifton, Gunner, 
 Aron Stout, Gunner, 
 Saml. Drennen, Artilerist, 
 Saml. Work, do 
 
 Saml. Lowery, do 
 
 Robert Hemphill, do 
 James Perry, do 
 
 Hugh McNelly, do 
 Hugh Rogers, do 
 
 James Ditovcay, do 
 John Foster, do 
 
 Thomas Bayland, do 
 Zebulin McDonald, do 
 George McDonald, do 
 John Maloney, do 
 
 John Lowery, do 
 
 Thomas Garrett, Sr., 
 John Hays, 
 Thomas Furguson, 
 Nicholas Price, 
 Simon Hutton, 
 Thomas Davis, 
 John Maxfield, 
 Michael MoNaniee, 
 WiUiam Thornton, 
 
 ys. 
 
 
 Days. 
 
 8 
 
 Jacob Tyson, Jr., 
 
 18 
 
 
 John Wirt, 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 Benjamin Bov\ren, 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 James Scott, 
 
 18 
 
 14 
 
 Christopher MoAlister, 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 Saml. Short, 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 Saml. Smith, 
 
 14 
 
 36 
 
 Abraham Boreland, 
 
 10 
 
 26 
 
 Blaney Edmunson, 
 
 16 
 
 36 
 
 Edward Graves, 
 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 Constant Trivit, 
 
 16 
 
 26 
 
 Geo. Enos, 
 
 4 
 
 22 
 
 John Payne, 
 
 3 
 
 26 
 
 Barney Graves, 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 George Holmes, 
 
 10 
 
 26 
 
 Peter Fouuce, 
 
 10 
 
 33 
 
 John Ginn, 
 
 3 
 
 25 
 
 Ephriam Morrison, 
 
 2 
 
 26 
 
 Moses Scott, 
 
 11 
 
 26 
 
 Andrew P. Armstrong, 
 
 13 
 
 36 
 
 Saml. Taylor, 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 Saml. Hayes, 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 James Worth, 
 
 35 
 
 31 
 
 Charles Conley, 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 James McGregor, 
 
 18 
 
 2.5 
 
 Robert Orr, 
 
 34 
 
 26 
 
 William Manfleld, 
 
 3 
 
 26 
 
 Thos. Whitesides, 
 
 5 
 
 13 
 
 James Crawford, 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 John Ricketts, 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 Jacob Pluck, 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 Thomas Wilson, 
 
 34 
 
 13 
 
 Elijah Davis, 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 Saml. Wilson, 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 Archibald Wood, 
 
 10 
 
 14 
 
 Saml. Francis, 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 Miles Standish,f 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 John Stephens, 
 
 17 
 
 * The 39th of April is probably meant. 
 
 t A lineal descendant of Captain Miles Staudish of New England. 
 
412 
 
 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 
 Days. 
 
 
 Days. 
 
 James Hutcheson, 
 
 3 
 
 Bailey Boiles, 
 
 4 
 
 Thomas ]\lclntire, 
 
 12 
 
 Geo. Jameson, 
 
 3 
 
 William ])ysart, 
 
 15 
 
 John Clark, 
 
 4 
 
 James MoDonald, 
 
 7 
 
 William Johnston, 
 
 12 
 
 William Wilson, 
 
 26 
 
 Campbell Burk, 
 
 15 
 
 James Walker, 
 
 4 
 
 Robert McCrey, 
 
 20 
 
 James Smitli, 
 
 4 
 
 William Shields, 
 
 18 
 
 David JIackey, 
 
 8 
 
 Edmund Burk, 
 
 4 
 
 Tkomas Conn, 
 
 3 
 
 Augustine Stoops, 
 
 5 
 
 James CUimmiiiyH, 
 
 20 
 
 David Short, 
 
 24 
 
 Alexander Alexander, 
 
 6 
 
 William Pennington, 
 
 5 
 
 Joseph WoUeston, 
 
 B 
 
 George Foster, 
 
 1 
 
 Sainl. Jolmstou,* 
 
 5 
 
 Thomas Bryson, 
 
 1 
 
 Thomas Kussel, 
 
 19 
 
 Frederick Slagle, 
 
 30 
 
 James Patton, 
 
 10 
 
 Joseph Lorrett, 
 
 4 
 
 William Kerr, 
 
 16 
 
 William Maiuley, 
 
 6 
 
 John Borelin, 
 
 7 
 
 James C!urrier, 
 
 5 
 
 William Lowery, 
 
 >■) 
 
 John Williamson, 
 
 3 
 
 Thomas Wallace, 
 
 19 
 
 Elijah Janney, 
 
 31 
 
 Elijah Hill, 
 
 13 
 
 Daniel McAuley, 
 
 31 
 
 Joseph Alexander, 
 
 30 
 
 Nathan Owens, 
 
 9 
 
 Kohert Christy, 
 
 1.5 
 
 Sampson Lumb, 
 
 6 
 
 William Osmond, 
 
 i;; 
 
 Jonathan Short, 
 
 5 
 
 Hugh (4ay, 
 
 11 
 
 Thomas Wingate, 
 
 13 
 
 Robert ^^'atson, 
 
 10 
 
 Joseph Holt, 
 
 1 
 
 Thos. Garrett, Jr., 
 
 20 
 
 Jesse Foster, 
 
 8 
 
 William Crosson, 
 
 15 
 
 Nathan Foster, 
 
 1 
 
 John Scott, (Shoemaker), 
 
 5 
 
 James Porter, 
 
 3 
 
 Samuel Shaw, 
 
 7 
 
 John Sijnpers, 
 
 13 
 
 Charles Pierson, 
 
 5 
 
 John McAuley, 
 
 3 
 
 Arthur Morrison, 
 
 5 
 
 Andrew Riggs, 
 
 5 
 
 James McAuley, 
 
 13 
 
 John Johnston. 
 
 o 
 
 Joseph Robeson, 
 
 3 
 
 Nicholas Hyland, 
 
 4 
 
 Jonathan Osmond, 
 
 6 
 
 James Young, 
 
 10 
 
 Archibald Dysart, 
 
 2 
 
 Gilbert Smith, 
 
 7 
 
 Levi Dysart, 
 
 4 
 
 Ebenezer Alden, (Cook),f 
 
 36 
 
 John Dysart, 
 
 3 
 
 Isaac Philips. 
 
 34 
 
 Eli Derixou, 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 * Grandunole of the author rel'crred to on page 330, in connection with 
 death of British ofiBcer at Gilpins Bridge. 
 
 f A lineal descendant of John Alden, who came over with the Pil- 
 grims in the Mayflower. 
 
HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 413 
 
 Agreeable to the direction of Major Armstrong, I have 
 made out as correct a return as I am possessed of, of the 
 officers, artilerists, and private's time up to the present day. 
 
 William Gareett, Capt. 
 
 Fort Defiance, May 24, 1813. 
 
 James Sewell, Major 2d Batt. 49 R. M. M." 
 
 It is stated in a note appended to this list, that many of 
 the men deserted after serving a few days. There is reason, 
 however, to believe that this is not strictly true; and that 
 those who left the fort were volunteers, as some of them are 
 known to have been from Pennsylvania. 
 
 On the 28th of April 1813, a squadron of twelve barges, 
 manned with about four hundred volunteers, picked seamen, 
 three hundred marines, commanded by Admiral Cockburn, 
 landed upon Spesutia Island, where they secured some sup- 
 lies of vegetables, poultry, etc., for which they paid the 
 owners. On the same day, or the following one, they visited 
 Turkey Point, where they endeavored to make friends with 
 the people, and offered to pay for some provisions they ob- 
 tained. The officer in command tried to make up with the 
 daughter of the lady who lived in the farm house on the 
 Turkey Point farm. She was a bright little girl of ten or 
 twelve years of age, and spurned his offers of friendship 
 with scorn and contempt. The ofhcer remarked to her 
 mother that the child knew he was her enemy. 
 
 Proceeding up the Elk River, the British met with no re- 
 sistance until they reached Welsh Point, where Major Wil- 
 liam Boulden was stationed with a small squad of militia. 
 He made a brave but ineffectual effort to intercept their 
 advance, but having no artillery, it was useless, and they 
 went on up the river and reached Frenchtown on the 29th 
 of April. The militia in the fort at that place, which was 
 a small log structure mounted with three four-pounders, 
 thinking their number too small to successfully resist the 
 
414 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 enemy, retired to Elkton ; but a few stage drivers and 
 others, manned the guns and made a spirited resistance 
 while their amunition lasted, which was not long, when the 
 fort was captured, and the town, which consisted of two 
 warehouses, a tavern, two or three dwelling-houses, a few 
 stables and outhouses, were burned, as were also two vessels 
 that were moored in the river, involving a loss of tweiity 
 or thirty thousand dollars.* 
 
 Having completed the destruction of Frenchtown, the 
 British tried to ascend the river to Elkton, but were fired 
 upon by the garrison in Fort Defiance, and driven back; 
 whereupon they landed at White Hall, then owned and oc- 
 cupied by Frisby Henderson, Esq., who they tried to induce 
 to show them the road to Elkton, but failing in this, they 
 took one of his female slaves with them, and tried to bribe 
 her to act as their guide. She took them to Cedar Point, 
 opposite Fort HoUingsworth, then in command of Captain 
 Henry Bennett, who opened fire upon them and they made 
 a hasty retreat, and soon afterwards embarked on their 
 barges. Except a few of the British, who are said to have 
 been killed at Frenchtown, no others were injured during 
 this raid. 
 
 The barges used by the British are described by those 
 who saw them, as about thirty feet long, with decks extend- 
 ing only a short distance from either side, leaving an open- 
 ing in the middle which extended nearly from bow to stern, 
 so that the oarsmen could stand on the bottom of the boat 
 when rowing. The most of them had a small cannon or 
 two on board of them, which were called swivel guns. 
 
 * A singularly ill-natured and quarrelsome man, called Zeb. Fnrgusson, 
 is said to have piloted the British from Turkey Point to Frenchtown. He 
 certainly was with the British, who he said captured him at Turkey 
 Point, but those who knew him best believed he had joined them volun- 
 tarily, in order to gratify his hatred towards all mankind. He was im- 
 prisoned for a while, but nothing could be proved agamst him, and he 
 was discharged. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 415 
 
 These guns were mounted in such a manner that they could 
 be turned around and fired in any direction. 
 
 Captain Isaac Lort of Elk Neck, at this time, was the 
 owner and commander of a schooner called the Annon Ruth, 
 and just previous to the entrance of the British into Elk 
 River, had returned from Baltimore in his schooner. He 
 found a vessel loaded with flour, aground near the mouth of 
 Back Creek, the captain of which besought him to load his 
 schooner with the flour and take it up the river, he being 
 apprehensive that the British would destroy it. Captain 
 Lort did so, and on his return, found the British in posses- 
 sion of the vessel. In order to save his schooner he ran 
 her aground, and would have scuttled and sunk her, but he 
 had lost his axe. He took off her sails and carried them to 
 a place of safety and repaired to his home. The British on 
 their return fromFrenchtown,burnedboththe vessel and the 
 Annon Ruth. The latter was burned at Cazier's shore, which 
 is nearly opposite Welsh Point. The British also captured 
 the sloop Morning Star of North East, and took her away 
 with them. The Morning Star was built at North East a 
 few years before, and some years after the war was seen in 
 Baltimore. She had been converted into a schooner, and 
 then hailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia. 
 
 On their return, after burning Frenchtown, the enemy 
 stopped at the fishery of Jacob Hyland on Elk River, and 
 carried away about a hundred barrels of shad and herring 
 that were stored in the fish house. They also went up the 
 Bohemia River and plundered the fish houses along its 
 banks. 
 
 Just before the burning of Frenchtown, the citizens of 
 Elkton and the surrounding country were much frightened 
 by a false alarm. Somehow the story got in circulation 
 that the British had taken Frenchtown and the people as 
 far north as the State of Pennsylvania were very much ex- 
 cited and alarmed. The story originated from the fact that 
 the father of Francis A. Ellis, of Elkton, who, at that time, 
 
416 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 lived on Turner's creek, which is the outlet for the country 
 lying between Still Pond and Galena, and who had two 
 vessels engaged in carrying wheat from there to Elkton, be- 
 came anxious to know where his vessels were, and, thinking 
 they might be found in Elk River, came up in a large row- 
 boat after night to look for them. Some persons at French- 
 town heard the noise of the oars in the stillness of the night 
 and thinking it was the noise of the British barges raised 
 the alarm. An Irishman, who lived at Turkeytown,* 
 heard the story which had not lost anything when it 
 reached that place, and started out to give the alarm, or as 
 the old lady who told the author of the occurrence, said, 
 " to alarm the women and children." He came to the 
 old lady's house (her -husband was absent on military duty) 
 and told her " there were fifteen hundred British and In- 
 dians at Frenchtown and they spared neither women nor 
 children." He appeared to be frightened nearly to death, 
 andasked her if she had "the color of whisky about her 
 house." Whisky was considered one of the necessaries of 
 life in those days and the old lady gave him some, wliich 
 revived his drooping spirits, and he rode away to spread 
 the alarm and terrify others. This man was in partnership 
 with an Englishman in a woolen factory at Dublin, now 
 Strahorn's mill, on Big Elk Creek, near the State line, and in 
 order to save the machinery in the factory from destruction, 
 they hid it in the laural bank along the creek. They hid 
 some of it so well that they did not find it until the war was 
 over, when it was rotten and worthless. 
 
 Both prior and subsequent to this time, much wheat was 
 hauled from Lancaster and made into flour at the mills in 
 the vicinity of Elkton. Owing to this traffic the people of 
 Lancaster took great interest in the welfare of their friends 
 in Elkton, and some time in the spring of 1813 sent two 
 companies of soldiers to aid in its defense. Ex-President 
 
 * Now called Cowantown. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 417 
 
 James Buchannan, then a young man, was an officer in one 
 of these companies, which for a time were quartered in a 
 house that stood in the eastern part of the new cemetery. 
 
 The Directors of the Elkton Bank tliought it best, in view 
 of the raid, to remove the specie from the bank to a place 
 of safety, and so they ostensibly loaded a wagon with it, 
 and put the wagon, which was drawn by six or eight horses, 
 in charge of a military escort composed of a number of sol- 
 diers, mounted and on foot, and made believe they were 
 transporting the specie to Lancaster. This procession made 
 quite an excitement in the country through which it passed, 
 but was only a ruse on the part of the officers of the bank, de- 
 signed to mislead the British and divert them from the real 
 place of concealment. Some time before the wagon and its 
 escort went from Elkton to Lancaster, Levi Tyson, a director 
 of the bank and the owner of a grist-mill on the Big Elk, 
 quietly went down to Ellton one evening with his team 
 and two negro men, and brought the specie home with him 
 that night and placed the chest which contained it under 
 his bed, where it remained until the danger was over. The 
 colored men were told that the chest contained bullets to be 
 used if the British made a raid on Mr. Tyson's mill. 
 
 Mr. Tyson often related the story of this removal with 
 much satisfaction, and thought it a good joke. The osten- 
 sible removal of the specie to Lancaster was probably made 
 with the view of adding to the reputation of the bank by 
 making the impression upon the minds of the community 
 of its sound financial condition and ability to redeem its 
 notes, many of which were in circulation. And probably 
 the cream of the joke was to be found in the fact that the 
 creditors of the bank were quite as much fooled as the British 
 would have been had they attempted to pillage the bank. 
 
 On the 3d of May, which was three days after the burn- 
 ing of Frenchtown, the British, who were about ten miles 
 distant, were discovered by the garrison of the fort at Havre 
 de Grace, who fired one of the guns of their battery. This 
 
 AA 
 
418 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 the British afterwards said they regarded as a challenge. 
 They answered it by firing a gun on one of their vessels 
 and set sail for the town. Those in charge of the fort (ex- 
 cept an Irishman called John O'Neil, who made a brave 
 resistance and fired one of the cannons at the enemy until 
 he was wounded by the recoil of the gun), made an inglori- 
 ous retreat as soon as the enemy landed, and they at once 
 commenced to plunder the town and then burned it. Havre 
 de Grace was a town of considerable size and some import- 
 ance, and its wanton destruction caused great excitement 
 and alarm among the inhabitants of this county, which is 
 set forth in the following extract from " The Lay op the 
 Scottish Fiddle, A Tale op Havre de Grace," a curious 
 poem purporting to have been written by Walter Scott, but 
 which bears evidence of having been written by a student of 
 Princeton College, whose name has not been ascertained. 
 
 " The distant peasant hears the sound, 
 And starting with elastic bound, 
 Hies to the mountain's brightening head, 
 And sees the fiery ruin spread, 
 And marks the red and angry glare 
 Of water, sky, and earth, and air, 
 Seem'd Susquehanna's wave on fire, 
 And red with coniiagration dire. 
 The spreading bays ensanguined flood, 
 Seem'd stained with tint of human blood, 
 O'er Cecil County, far and wide. 
 Each tree, and rock, and stream was spied; 
 And distant windows brightly gleam'd. 
 As if the setting sun had beam'd. 
 The Elkton burgher raised his head 
 To see what made the sky so red. 
 From Ararat the Falcon* sail'd, 
 The owl at lonely distance wail'd." 
 
 " After the deeds of destruction were over," says an eye- 
 witness of the burning of Havre de Grace, " and the enemy 
 
 * The writer alludes to George Talbot's falcons, a pair of which, tra- 
 dition saith, remained at Mount Ararat many years after he left' this 
 county. See page 129, ante. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 419 
 
 had rendered himself conspicuous on the rolls of infamy, he 
 proceeded up the river and within one mile of Stafford Mills 
 burned a warehouse belonging to Mr. John Stump." This 
 warehouse was located where the village of Lapidum now 
 stands. While there the}' contemplated crossing the river 
 to Port Deposit. But the citizens of that town had erected 
 a small fortification not far from where the Odd Fellow's 
 Hall is now located, and they were deterred from crossing 
 by a prisoner they had captured, who told them there was 
 a company of riflemen in the fort, "each of whom could put 
 a bullet in their eye at the distance of a hundred yards." 
 
 On returning to Havre de Grace, the British made a raid 
 upon Charlestown, many of the inhabitants of which, antici- 
 pating their arrival, had removed to temporary habitations 
 in the barrens, near Foys Hill, and taken their goods with 
 them. Owing to this, and to the fact that the rain had 
 washed down the earthworks that had been erected in the 
 town, the enemy met with no opposition, and committed no 
 depredations there. They also visited Principio Furnace, 
 which at that time was one of the most important manu- 
 factories of cannon in this country, and burned it, and 
 spiked the cannon they found there, and burned a mill in 
 the neighborhood, and the bridge over the Principio Creek. 
 Having completed their work of destruction in the upper 
 part of the county, they re- visited Spesutia Island, where 
 they had collected a quantity of cattle, sheep, and calves, 
 during their first visit; for which they paid the owners, and 
 took on board their vessels. 
 
 On the 5th of May, their squadron was concentrated off 
 the mouth of Sassafras Eiver, and the next day a detach- 
 ment of about five hundred of them in fifteen large barges, 
 and three smaller boats, ascended that river, and burned 
 Fredericktown and Georgetown. 
 
 The ascent of the Sassafras Paver by the British barges is 
 said by those who witnessed it, among whom was the late 
 John E. Thomas of Elkton, to have been the most beautiful 
 sight they ever saw. 
 
420 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The soldiers were clad in scarlet uniforms, which added 
 much to the beautiful appearance of the squadron. There 
 were a large number of barges, which formed a line four 
 abreast, and several hundred yards long. A barge con- 
 taining the admiral, then passed along one side of the line, 
 and crossed ahead of the front tier of boats, and waited until 
 the rear came up, thus bringing all the squadron under re- 
 view. 
 
 Having been informed of the concentration of the fleet 
 at the mouth of the river, Colonel T. W. Veasey, who was 
 in command of the militia at Fredericktown, had them un- 
 der arms by four o'clock on the morning of the 4th of May, 
 and shortly after a signal was made by his scouts, four miles 
 down the river, that the British were approaching. By six 
 o'clock they were in sight of the town. About this time 
 they halted and the admiral sent two colored men to the 
 fort with a verbal message that if the militia would not fire 
 on him he would not burn anything but the storehouses 
 and vessels. To this Colonel Veazey paid no attention, and 
 the British continuing to advance soon came in range of the 
 cannon, when the skirmish began by the Americans open- 
 ing fire with it, but having only two rounds of cartridge, 
 were obliged to desist when they were expended. The bat- 
 tle from this point is well described by an anonymous writer 
 of that time a part of whose narrative is as follows : 
 
 " The enemy still approaching gave three cheers, which was 
 returned by the militia, and directly after, a volley from 
 their small arms. The fire was immediately returned by 
 the enemy, by a general discharge of grape, cannister, 
 slugs, rockets, and musketry, which made such a terrible 
 noise that one-half of the men shamefully ran, and could 
 not be rallied again. Whether it was from their political 
 aversion to the present war, their dislike of shedding blood, 
 or actually thro' fear, I cannot determine ; but so it was that 
 not more than one-half of the original number remained 
 to contend against the whole force of the enemy. This gal- 
 lant little band resisted for near half an hour, in spite of the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUKTY. 42 L 
 
 incessant fire of the enemy, until they were in danger of 
 being surrounded, when they retreated in safety with the 
 loss of but one man wounded. The enemy threw several 
 rockets in the village, and reduced the whole place to ashes, 
 except two or three houses, saved by the entreaties of the 
 women. Not satisfied with this destruction, they extended 
 their ravages to the neighboring farm-houses, several of 
 which were burned quite down." 
 
 The loss of the British in this skirmish was not ascer- 
 tained, but was supposed to have amounted to ten or fifteen 
 killed and wounded. After the destruction of Frederick- 
 town, the enemy went over to Georgetown, nearly all of 
 which they destroyed. The conduct of the British soldiers 
 engaged in this raid, both before and after the destruction 
 of the villages, was denounced in very severe terms by the 
 writer before quoted from, who states "that they so far de- 
 scended in petty pilfering as to rob the black ferry-man, 
 FRIDAY, of his all and his pig, which lived with him in his 
 hut." They even went so far as to take the ear-rings from the 
 ears of one of the ladies in Georgetown, and to rob others 
 of their clothing. 
 
 Colonel Veazey was much praised for his gallant defense 
 of Fredericktown. The names of the militia who remained 
 in the fort with him are as follows : 
 
 Samuel Wrotli, James Barley, 
 
 D. F. Heath, James Clayton, 
 
 Moses Cannon, R. C. Lusby (seargt.), 
 
 Nicholas Franks, John Henderson (lieut.), 
 
 John W. Etherington, James Allen (capt.), 
 
 Joshua Ward, John Duffy, 
 
 Dormer Oaks, Samuel P. Pennington, 
 
 John Etherington, H. E. Coalman (seargt. mate), 
 
 John V. Price, Samuel Dixon, 
 
 Elias See, Willliam Roberts, 
 
 .John T. Veazey, Francis Roch, 
 
 David Paget, William MaoKey, 
 
 Tylus Robinson, George Stanly, 
 
 P. Biddle, William Ford, 
 
422 HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 James Council, Joseph Etherington, 
 
 Joseph Greenwood, Edward Lister, 
 
 Joshua Hovingtou, Reynolds. 
 
 Joseph Davis (of Morris), 
 
 Having accomplished the destruction of these villages, the 
 enemy returned to their fleet in the Chesapeake, and being 
 apprehensive of the arrival of a French fleet, soon afterwards 
 made their waj' to the southern part of the bay. From this 
 time until after the battle at North Point, in September, 
 1814, the British infested the waters of the bay, and the 
 people of this county were continually in dread of another 
 raid. Consequently when the news of the conclusion of the 
 treaty of peace at Ghent, reached here in February, 1815, it 
 was received with great joy, and every manifestation of de- 
 light. 
 
 The court was in session at Elkton when the news 
 reached that place, and so great was the joy of the people, 
 that it immediately adjourned, and every one that was able 
 repaired to Fort HoUingsworth to celebrate the auspicious 
 event. The river was frozen over at the time, and those 
 who took charge of the guns placed a barrel on the 
 ice some distance down the river, and commenced firing 
 at it with shot. The late judge, Ezekiel F. Cham- 
 bers, then a young man and State's Attorney for this 
 county, had charge of one of the guns. After a few shots 
 had been fired, some one placed a frozen clod in the muzzle 
 of his gun which caused it to explode, by which the judge 
 was quite seriously hurt. A little girl is said to have been 
 looking out of one of the windows of the old stone house, 
 before referred to, who narrowly escaped being struck by 
 a piece of the bursted gun, which passed through the win- 
 dow alongside of her. This accident terminated the re- 
 joicings for that day, but they were renewed a few days 
 afterwards, by the patriotic people of the town, wlio had a 
 grand feast, at which they roasted an ox which they had 
 decorated and driven through the streets with a board 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 423 
 
 placed on his horns, containing the following verse, said to 
 have been composed by George Rickett's of Elkton : 
 
 ' ' My horns, my hide, I freely give. 
 
 My tallow and my lights, 
 
 And all that is within me too, 
 
 For free trade and sailors' rights." 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 First steamboats on the Elk River — Lines of transportation — French- 
 town and New Castle Railroad Company — Construction of Fienchtown 
 and New Castle liailroad — First locomotives and cars — Telegraphing — 
 The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad — Riot at Charles- 
 town — Sale of Frenchtown and New Castle Railroad. 
 
 Inasmuch as the introduction of steamboats upon the 
 Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries effected a great revolu- 
 tion in the method of transportation of passengers and 
 freight, and a corresponding change in the prosperity of the 
 people in that part of this county through which passed 
 the lines of transit between the cities of the North and 
 South, the history of the county would be incomplete 
 without some reference to that subject. On the 21st of 
 June, 1813, less than two months after the British had 
 burned Frenchtown, the first steamboat that had ever 
 floated on the Chesapeake Bay, or its tributaries made her 
 first trip from Baltimore to that place. This boat was called 
 the Chesapeake. She was built in Baltimore, by William 
 Flanigan, under the supervision of Edward Trippe, for the 
 Union Line which has been mentioned in a previous chapter. 
 She is thus described in a paper in possession of the Maryland 
 Historical Society. When completed her length was one 
 hundred and thirty feet, width twenty feet, and depth of 
 hold seven feet. Her wheels ten feet in diameter, and five 
 in depth. Her engine was a cross-head, which revolved a 
 cogwheel that worked in teeth upon the shaft, which was of 
 cast-iron. To the engine a flywheel was connected to enable 
 it to pass its centre. The smoke-stack was amidships, be- 
 hind the engine. Extending about twenty feet, and raised 
 two feet above the deck, was the boiler. She had a mast 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 425 
 
 forward, with a spar and sail, which was spread whenever 
 the wind was fair. She made her first trip from Baltimore 
 to Frenchtown and back, one hundred and forty miles, in 
 twenty-four hours. The appliances for her navigation were 
 simple and crude. A pilot stood at the bow who called out 
 the course to a man amidships, and he to the helmsman. 
 There were no bells to signal the engine, but the captain 
 conveyed Liis commands by word of mouth or by stamping 
 his heels on the woodwork over the engine. The boat had 
 been running six months when the engineer accidentally 
 found out he could reverse the engine and back her. 
 
 In Julj^ 1815, the steamboat Eagle, came to Baltimore 
 from the Delaware, and was secured by a rival line owned 
 by Messrs. Briscoe and Partridge, for the run to Elk Landing. 
 This line from Baltimore to Philadelphia being via Elkton 
 and Wilmington. 
 
 In 1816, two new steamboats, the George Washington and 
 Charles Carroll were built by the Union Line. 
 
 These lines continued in operation for some years, except 
 when navigation was closed by the ice. Then the passen- 
 gers and mail were carried in stages via Perryville and 
 Elkton. During this time Elkton and Frenchtown were 
 places of much more importance, in a business point of view, 
 than they are now, and the farmers in their vicinity derived 
 much benefit from the sale of their surplus horses and grain 
 to the pro2:>rietors of the stage lines and the sale of marketing 
 to the hotel keepers for the use of passengers. 
 
 The increase of travel on these lines and the want of better 
 facilities for transportation across the peninsula, led to the or- 
 ganization of the Frenchtown and New Castle Railroad Com- 
 pany. This railroad was about seventeen miles long, and as 
 its name indicates, was located between Frenchtown, on Elk 
 River, and New Castle, on the Delaware. It was among the 
 first railroads built in this country, and was the very first upon 
 which steam power was applied to the transportation of pas- 
 sengers, though it was built and used for horse-power for 
 
426 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 two years after it was finished. The company was chartered 
 by the Legislature of Maryland at the session of 1827-8, 
 with a capital stock of $200,000. There seems to have been 
 some doubts of the success of the new enterprise, for the 
 charter of the railroad company contained a provision in- 
 tended to compel the company to keep open a turnpike, 
 twenty feet wide, alongside of the railroad. Notwithstanding 
 this, the railroad was built a considerable distance south of 
 the turnpike, on a more practicable route. The tolls on the 
 railroad were not to exceed three cents per ton per mile on 
 freight, and the fare for the transportation of passengers was 
 not to exceed twenty-five cents per passenger for the whole 
 distance, and twelve and a half cents for baggage not ex- 
 ceeding one hundred pounds. 
 
 The railroad was not finished until 1831. It was of very 
 peculiar construction, and were it now extant, would be a 
 great curiosity. The rails were placed about the same dis- 
 tance apart as in modern roads, but instead of being laid 
 upon wooden sleepers, as the rails of modern roads are, they 
 were placed upon blocks of stone ten or twelve inches square. 
 These stones had holes drilled in them, in which a wooden 
 plug was inserted, and upon them were laid wooden rails 
 about six inches square and ten or twelve feet long, which 
 were fastened to the stones by means of a piece of flat iron 
 shaped like the letter L, which was fastened to the stone by 
 means of a spike driven into the wooden plug through a 
 hole in one extremity of the iron, and another spike driven 
 into a wooden rail through another hole at the other ex- 
 tremity. The stones were placed about three feet apart, and 
 each stone had two of these iron attachments, one on each 
 side of the rail. Bars of flat iron, like tire, were spiked on 
 top of the wooden rails, and this, such as it was, completed 
 the structure. The great defect in the road was the want of 
 something to keep the rails from spreading apart, and it was 
 soon discovered that the only way to remedy this was to re- 
 sort to the use of ties extending from one rail to the other, 
 and to which both rails were fastened, as in modern roads. 
 
HISTORY or CECIL COUNTY. 427 
 
 After the introduction of steam-power upon the road in 
 1833, it had to be rebuilt , the iron rails then used were 
 hollow and shaped like two capital L's, with the horizontal 
 part of one of them reversed and the upper parts of the two 
 letters joined together ( J-l). These rails were fastened to 
 the wooden sleepers by spikes driven through holes in the 
 flange of the rail. Horse-power was used on this road for 
 about two years after it was completed. One horse was at- 
 tached to each car and the horses were changed at Glasgow 
 and the Bear, which were the names of the two stations on 
 the road. The first locomotive steam-engine used on the 
 road was made in England. It was called the " Delaware," 
 and was put on the road about 1833. After running about 
 a year it was rebuilt and called the "Phoenix." 
 
 The person employed to put this engine together, after it 
 arrived at New Castle, had a building erected for the pur- 
 pose, and after spending some weeks in it, the agents of the 
 company learned that he was making a model of each part 
 of the locomotive. Whether they let him complete the work 
 of making an exact model of each separate piece, has not 
 been ascertained ; but in the fullness of time he got it put 
 together and started for Frenchtown. How anxious those 
 interested in the success of the experiment must have been. 
 They had procured this locomotive at great expense, and 
 had been at much trouble in getting it put together ; but 
 their trouble was only just begun — they had made no pro- 
 vision to supply the screeching and panting monster with 
 water, and had to serve it with this indispensable fluid, much 
 after the manner of watering a horse, from the springs and 
 wells along the road. It was several days making the first 
 trip. 
 
 Some of the locomotives afterwards used on this road were 
 built in New Castle. They were poorly constructed and 
 would be considered of but little use at the present time ; 
 but poor as they were, they were an improvement upon 
 horse-power. There were no heavy grades on the road, and 
 
428 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 they made the trip from river to river in about an hour, 
 and could have made it much quicker, but were limited to 
 that time for fear of accidents if they went faster. The cars 
 first used on this road were quite as different from those in 
 use at present as the locomotives. The doors were at the 
 sides of the cars, and each car had several of them. They 
 would hold ten or twelve persons, and were not in the early 
 days of the road accompanied by a conductor, the captains 
 and clerks of the sieaniboats at either end taking the tickets 
 and attending to this part of the business of the road. 
 
 The business of the road began to decline rapidly after 
 the construction of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Bal- 
 timore Railroad, and the two companies, by mutual consent, 
 were united, the business on both lines being transacted 
 under the name of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Bal- 
 timore Railroad Company. This company continued a line 
 of steamboats from Baltimore to Frenchtown, and also ran 
 the cars from the latter place to New Castle, as late as 1853. 
 
 The railroad from Wilmington to New Castle was com- 
 pleted in 1854, and during that season the company con- 
 tinned to operate the old road and carried i)assengers to 
 Wilmington. But only a few passengers going to Cape 
 Way patronized the road, and the company discontinued its 
 use after that time. Much of the bed of the Frenchtown and 
 New Castle Railroad is now under cultivation. When the 
 company discontinued its use and took up the rails, the 
 farmers resumed the use of their land, and grass and the 
 waving grain took the place of the iron track of the iron- 
 horse, and the quiet of agricultural pursuits and occupations 
 succeeded the noisy activity and bustle incident to the 
 operation of this great national thoroughtare. Strange and 
 crude as this first attempt at locomotion by the use of steam- 
 power was, as compared with the roads and locomotives now 
 in use, the efforts of this company to transmit intelligence 
 by means of signals along the line of the road, were stranger 
 still. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 429 
 
 The first rude attempts at telegraphing were by means of 
 black and white flags, which the operators raised upon 
 poles twenty-five or thirty feet high. There were six of 
 these poles or stations along the road, and when the train 
 started from either end of it the operator or flagman at the 
 station next to and in sight of the moving train hoisted a 
 white flag, and so did all the others along the road. The 
 white flags indicated that the train had started, and might 
 be expected to arrive in due time. If the locomotive failed 
 to move, which it sometimes did, the operator hoisted a 
 black flag. Other positions and combinations of the flags 
 indicated other things, and as it was only the work of a 
 moment to raise the flags, intelligence could be transmitted 
 from one end of the road to the other in the space of two 
 minutes. At New Castle, instead of flags, frames about the 
 size of peach baskets, covered with white and black mushn, 
 were hoisted on the court-house steeple, and could be seen 
 for a long distance. It was the duty of the telegraphic 
 operators to pass along the track after each train and fasten 
 down the tire that was used on the top of the wooden-sills 
 that were at first used in the construction of the road. The 
 spikes nearest the ends of these bars would get loose some- 
 times, and the iron bars had an ugly fashion of elevating 
 themselves and causing trouble to the train. These erec- 
 tions of the ends of the bars were called snake's heads, 
 which, at a distance, they verj^ strongly resembled. 
 
 The company, In its palmy and prosperous days, ran two 
 trains each way daily. Pine wood was used exclusively on 
 the steamboats and locomotives. This wood was obtained 
 from the lower counties of the Eastern Shore, and many 
 small vessels were employed in transporting it to French- 
 town. As many as twenty-five or thirty of these vessels 
 were often there at the same time ; this, with the arrival 
 and departure of two steamboats daily, made the town a 
 place of business and importance. 
 
 The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad 
 Company is the outgrowth of several local companies. The 
 
430 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad Company was char- 
 tered by the Legislature of Maryland, March 5th, 1832, and 
 organized the next year, for the purpose of building a rail- 
 road from Baltimore to Port Deposit. The Delaware and 
 Maryland Railroad Company was chartered by the same 
 body, on the 14th of March of the same year, for the 
 purpose of building a railroad from some point on the Dela- 
 ware and Maryland State line to Port Deposit, or some other 
 point on the Susquehanna River. The latter company was 
 not organized until April 18th, 1835, soon after which work 
 was commenced upon this road and continued until April, 
 1836, at which time this companj^ united with the Wil- 
 mington and Susquehanna Railroad Company, which had 
 been chartered by the Legislature of Delaware, in 1832, for 
 the purpose of making a railroad from the Pennsylvania State 
 line, through Wilmington towards the Susquehanna River 
 to the Maryland line. It was the original intention of the 
 Wilmington and Susquehanna Company to terminate their 
 road at Charlestown, but the Baltimore and Port Deposit 
 Company having changed the eastern terminus of their 
 road to Havre de Grace, the other company continued their 
 road to Perry ville. The Legislature of Pennsylvania having 
 chartered the Philadelphia and Delaware County Railroad 
 Company in 1831, that company organized in 1835, and 
 surveyed a route for a road from Philadelphia to the State 
 line. In January, 1836, this company having occasion to 
 apply to the Legislature of Pennsylvania for power to in- 
 crease their capital, the title of the corporation was changed 
 to the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad 
 Company. This company soon afterwards obtained the 
 right of way from the State line to Wilmington from the 
 Delaware and Maryland Company, and the road from Phil- 
 adelphia to Wilmington was opened on the 15th of January, 
 1838. In the meantime, the road from Wilmington to 
 Perryville had been opened on the 4th of July, 1837, and 
 the road from Baltimore to Havre de Grace two days after- 
 wards. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 431 
 
 Although there was now but one line of road, it was the 
 property of three companies : The Philadelphia, Wilming- 
 ton and Baltimore Railroad, from Philadelphia to Wilming- 
 ton ; the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad, from 
 Wilmington to Susquehanna River ; and the Baltimore and 
 Port Deposit Railroad, from that river to Baltimore. These 
 companies were consolidated in February, 1838, under the 
 name of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Rail- 
 road Company. 
 
 Although the road was now in a condition for use, it was, 
 as compared with modern roads, very incomplete. The 
 track was constructed of iron bars nailed upon wooden 
 string pieces called mud sills* which rested on the ground, 
 and consequently were continually getting out of position. 
 It was not until after the lapse of some years that this defect 
 was remedied by the introduction of wooden ties. 
 
 In May, 1836, a large number of Irish laborers who were 
 employed in grading the roadbed near Charlestown, at- 
 tended the fair at that place, and having imbibed freely of 
 whisky, engaged in an old-fashioned Irish riot, which from 
 the accounts given of it was the most bloody that ever oc- 
 curred in this county. During the progress of the riot, the 
 infuriated and drunken Irishmen made an attack upon a 
 dwelling-house, in which some of the citizens had taken 
 refuge, whereupon, the inmates baracaded the doors and 
 having some firearms, made a brave defense. It is said that 
 after their shot was exhausted, the women cut their pewter 
 spoons into slugs which were used with terrible effect. The 
 rioters were finally driven away from the town, and the 
 next day the sheriff summoned a military company called 
 the Cecil Guards, composed of the citizens of Elkton, to his 
 aid, and arrested some twenty -five or thirty of the rioters. 
 Seven of them were indicted for riot, and tried at the Octo- 
 ber term of court, in 1836. Two of them were convicted 
 
 * This name was afterwards used by certain southern politicians to 
 designate the lowest stratum of northern society. 
 
432 HISTORY 01-' CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 and sentenced to pa}' a fine of one dollar each, and be im- 
 prisoned in the county jail for two years. Being unable to 
 pay the fine, and having no friends, they were detained in 
 jail until the sheriff's charges for boarding them became so 
 large that the county commissioners, in order to get rid of 
 them, paid the fine from their private purses, and the pris- 
 oners were discharged. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Clergy of the Established Church — Their powers and duties — They in- 
 cur the displeasure of the common people — What Rev. William Duke 
 says of them— ^Presbyterian clergymen — Spiritual condition of the peo- 
 ple — Introduction of ^Methodism — First Metho-iist society — Character of 
 the early Methodist preachers — Rev. Francis Asbury visits Bohemia 
 Manor — He refuses to take the oath of allegiance — Methodists favor the 
 royal cause — Retrospective glance at the history of the Episcopal 
 Church — North Elk parish — Rev. .John Thompson — Rev, Joseph Cou- 
 don — St. Augustine parish — Progress of Methodism — Cecil circuit — 
 Hart's meeting house — First Methodist meeting-house at North East — 
 First parsonage — Bethel meeting house — Goshen — Revival at Bethel — 
 North Sassafras and St. Augustine parishes — Richard Bassett joins the 
 Methodists — Rev. Henry Lyon Davis — Death of Rev. Joseph Coudon — 
 Rev. William Duke — His life and labors — Methodism supplants Episco- 
 pacy — First Methodist society at Elkton — Methodism and Presbyterian- 
 ism at Charlestown — Hopewell and Asbury — Methodist Protestant 
 churches. 
 
 The clergy of the established church with very few excep- 
 tions, adhered to the Royal cause during the long contro- 
 versy between the mother country and the colonies, which 
 preceded the Revolutionary war. This was natural, because 
 their livings depended upon their loyalty. With the excep- 
 tion of a few self-denying and godly missionaries who 
 labored under the auspices of the Society for the Propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel, they had always been the pampered 
 favorites of the executive, who had foisted them, in many 
 cases, upon an unwilling people. For nearly a century be- 
 fore the commencement of the Revolutionary war, an indis- 
 criminate poll-tax had been levied for their support. Nor 
 was this all that tended to make them unpopular and les- 
 sened their influence among their parishioners. By the act 
 of 1763, the vestries, of which the clergymen were ex officio 
 
 BB 
 
434 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 members, were enjoined to nominate, annually, four suitable 
 persons, in each of the large parishes, for inspectors of 
 tobacco. Of this number, two were to be selected by the 
 executive, and, when once commissioned, could be retained 
 in office as long as was mutually agreeable to themselves 
 and the vestry. 
 
 The reason for vesting this power in the vestries may be 
 found in the fact that the clergy were to be paid by means 
 of promissary notes, issued by the inspectors for the value 
 of the tobacco in their charge, and payable by them upon 
 demand. By this act, the inspectors became, to some ex- 
 tent, the bankers of the province ; and as their continuance 
 in office depended upon the vestries, the lay members of 
 which were generally the intimate friends and companions 
 of the clergymen, it is easy to see that the latter were in- 
 vested with a power and influence in secular affairs which 
 was incompatible with the proper discharge of the duties of 
 the clerical office. 
 
 In 1756 when it was thought necessary to levy a per capita 
 tax on the bachelors in the province, in order to defray the 
 expense incurred in prosecuting the French and Indian 
 war, the vestries had been made the agents to effect its as- 
 sessment. This mixing up of spiritual and temporal things 
 was not calculated to increase the godliness of the clergy, or 
 to strengthen their allegiance to the Prince of Peace, under 
 whose banner they were ostensibly enlisted, but whose 
 teaching, there is reason to believe, many of them disre- 
 garded, choosing rather to be votaries of the race-course or 
 to follow a pack of hounds than to perform the irksome duties 
 of the closet and the chancel. The clergy, until after the 
 Revolutionary war, had never been amenable to any epis- 
 copal authority on this side of the Atlantic ocean ; and it is 
 more than could have been reasonably expected, under all 
 the circumstances, that they should have developed a high 
 degree of piety or experimental religion. Anderson, in his 
 history of the Church of England, says that the acts of the 
 
HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 435 
 
 Colonial Legislature had provoked the opposition of all op- 
 posed to a religious establishment in Maryland, as early as 
 the beginning of the eighteenth century, and that one of the 
 crying evils, und'er which the church labored, was the ap- 
 pointment of unworthy clergymen. Previous to 1720 (when 
 the clergy were laboring under the auspices of the Society 
 for the Propagation of the Gospel, and were subject to the 
 Bishop of London) the better part of them wished a bishop 
 for the colony, but failed to get one appointed, after many 
 trials. 
 
 From a very early period in the history of the colony un- 
 til the beginning of the Revolutionary war, the testamen- 
 tary law of the province was similar, if not identical, with 
 that of the mother country, which gave the ecclesiastical 
 courts the sole authority to settle the estates of deceased per- 
 sons. The chief officers of this court in Maryland, were 
 called commissaries. From the nature of the case, they 
 of necessity were always clergymen ; and being in no way 
 amenable to the people, as most of the other clergy 
 were, they almost invariably incurred their displeasure and 
 opposition by the zeal they manifested in behalf of the 
 church and the aristocracy. 
 
 In 1737, which was the time of the Border war, a petition 
 from the commissary and clergy of the province was pre- 
 sented to the King in council, stating among other things 
 that the Quakers and other sectaries were dissatisfied with 
 the established church, and that they had induced some of 
 the inhabitants of Maryland to transfer the acknowledge- 
 ment of the right of their lands from Maryland to Penn- 
 sylvania. They therefore prayed that a regular clergy 
 might be encouraged to reside on the borders and in the 
 province of Pennsylvania, in order to overawe the sectaries 
 and prevent a recurrence of this trouble. Nothing came of 
 the petition, and the Quakers and Presbyterians of Notting- 
 ham and elsewhere on the borders were not troubled with 
 ministers of the establishment to awe them into subjection. 
 
.436 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Henderson was the first signer of the petition. 
 He is believed to have been commissary at this time. 
 
 The act of 1763, which fixed the compensation of the 
 civil officers, and the poll-tax for the support of the clergy 
 expired by limitation in 1766, and the feeling between the 
 people and the proprietary government not being good, a 
 controversy arose about how certain of the civil officers and 
 the clergy were to be paid. The clergy in this case, as in 
 every other, took the side of the government; and inas- 
 much as a large majority of the people, composed of that 
 part of them who belonged to other denominations and 
 those who belonged to no religious society at all, were op- 
 posed to the payment of a tax for the maintenance of a hie- 
 archy that many of them despised, the clergy incurred the 
 displeasure of the classes before referred to, and no doubt 
 increased their desire for the severance of the ties that bound 
 them to the mother country. In this case, as in many 
 others, the zeal of the clergy injured the cause they espoused. 
 Another cause of the unpopularity of the clergy of the es- 
 tablished church may be found in the manner of their ap- 
 pointment, which, however nicely it may have been used, 
 savored too much of despotism, to have been satisfactory to 
 the people, thirsting, as they then were, for the full fruition 
 of the liberty they were destined a few years later to enjoy. 
 
 The " patronage and advowson," which means the right 
 to appoint the ministers for the various parishes in the 
 state, was vested in the governor, who was generally ap- 
 pointed by the lord proprietary, and being in no wise 
 amenable to the people, too often set their wishes at defiance. 
 I'he Rev. William Duke, published a pamphlet in 1795, on 
 the state of religion in Maryland. Speaking of the condi- 
 tion of society and the clergy of the Episcopal church at the 
 time of the introduction of Methodism, he says : 
 
 "They did not, generally, discover any religious zeal, or 
 concern themselves either with the principles or morals of 
 the people ; they were regarded very little in these respects 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 437 
 
 even by their own hearers ; and what influence they pre- 
 tended to, they maintained rather as scholars, gentlemen 
 and men of affluence, than as Christian divines. When any 
 of their hearers became seriously thoughtful about religion, 
 one would suppose it natural for them to consult their stated 
 pastors; but when thej"^ remembered that these pastors in the 
 course of so many years had not administered them any 
 sufficient instruction, they resented the imposition, and ne- 
 glected them in turn. They found the way they were in 
 was not likelj' to issue in anything like the design of the 
 gospel, and therefore did not hesitate to take the chance of 
 a chang'3. One circumstance that argues this defect in the 
 Episcopalian clergy, even to this day (1795), is the disrespect 
 that they are treated with in many parishes, even by their 
 own people. Ministers of other denominations are suffi- 
 ciently censured or ridiculed by people of a different pro- 
 fession; ours are chiefly calumniated and harassed by their 
 own. Churchmen not only exclaim against the impositions 
 of the late establishment, whereby parsons were erected into 
 little popes about the country, but they still see nothing 
 sacred in the clerical character, and pass sentence upon the 
 religious and moral principles of their own pastors with as 
 much petulance as they would upon those of an infidel." 
 
 In a sermon preached at the ordination of Mr. Asbury, at 
 Baltimore, in 1784, by Thomas Coke, then superintendent 
 of the Methodist Church, he uses this language : 
 
 " The churches (Episcopal) had, in general, been filled by 
 parasites and bottle companions of the rich and great. The 
 humble and importunate entreaties of the oppressed flocks 
 were contemned and despised. The drunkard, the forni- 
 cator, and the extortioner, triumphed over bleeding Zion, 
 because they were faithful abettors of the ruling powers." 
 
 Rev. Hugh Jones, who was rector of North Sassafras 
 Parish for many years, there is reason to believe, was both 
 aristocratic and haughty. He was a strong partisan of the 
 lord proprietary, and died possessed of so much of this 
 
438 HISTOBY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 world's goods that, to put it as charitably as possible, he 
 must have occupied much of his time in accumulating them. 
 The records of North Sassafras parish disclose a lamentable 
 want of virtue and morality among the people. Of the 
 condition of St. Augustine parish at that time very little 
 is known ; but it certainly adds nothing to its credit that so 
 much of it was characterized by the name of Sodom ! This 
 name may have been misapplied, or it may not have been 
 deserved ; so let the veil of obscurity that has hidden the 
 moral deformity that the name implies, remain and cover 
 it from sight. 
 
 The spiritual condition of the people of North Elk parish 
 is better known, and has been sufficiently noticed in a pre- 
 ceding chapter.* 
 
 The Presbyterian churches, as before intimated, were in a 
 weak condition at this time, caused by the emigration of 
 many of their members to the South and West. Their in- 
 fluence had also been lessened by the unhappy dissensions 
 that arose among them from the preaching of Whitetield 
 and his adherents. Another cause that lessened the religious 
 influence of the clergy of this denomination was the part 
 that many of them felt constrained to take in the contro- 
 versy between the colonies and the mother country. Their 
 form of church government was eminently democratic, and 
 most, if not all of them, were the descendants of those who, 
 in some form, had suffered for conscience sake on the other 
 side of the Atlantic. Hence, it was not strange that they 
 joined the crusade for liberty, and denounced the encroach- 
 ments of the British Parliament with an eloquence and 
 vehemence that would have done credit to their founder. 
 
 By this it is not to be understood that either the Presby- 
 terian ministers or their congregations sacrificed their god- 
 liness upon the altar of their patriotism, but that the 
 commotion and turmoil which at this time shook society to 
 
 * See pages 331 and 383, ante. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 439 
 
 its very foundation, was not conducive to a high develop- 
 ment of religion or morality. Their fault, if fault it can be 
 called, was not that they loved the gospel less, but that they 
 loved their country more ; and it is some consolation to 
 know that if society lost a little in morality, it gained much 
 in patriotism. 
 
 From what has been said, it is apparent that the spiritual 
 condition of the people was quite as deplorable as had been 
 that of the people of the mother country when Wesley and 
 Whitefield commenced their crusade against the formality 
 and wickedness of the Established Church, and there was 
 quite as much need of a revolution in church affairs as 
 there was in the administration of the government. Much 
 of the credit of effecting a reformation in the spiritual con- 
 dition of the people belongs to the early Methodist mission- 
 aries, though it must not be forgotten that Whitefield, whose 
 doctrine differed but little from that proclaimed by Wesley, 
 had in some measure prepared the way. Richard Wright 
 was the name of the first Methodist missionary who preached 
 the gospel in this county. He had been received as a travel- 
 ing preacher by John Wesley in 1770, and the next year 
 came to Philadelphia, and shortly afterwards found his 
 way to Bohemia Manor, where he was kindly received. 
 Whitefield had been there a quarter of a century before, 
 and there is no doubt that the impression he made by the 
 fervent manner in which he proclaimed the gospel had 
 much to do with the success of Methodism. Mr. Asbury, 
 long after this time, spoke of his followers on Bohemia 
 Manor as Whitefield Methodists, and remarked that " the 
 Wesleyan Methodists were heirs to them according to the 
 gospel." 
 
 Mr. Wright organized the first Methodist society in this 
 county at the house of Solomon Hersey, in 1771, and it is a 
 singular coincidence that its place of meeting was within 
 the bounds of the Labadie tract, Mr. Hersey's house being 
 near the mill that was then called Sluyter's and had 
 
440 HISTORY OF CECIL COUMTY. 
 
 formerly been called Van Bibber's mill, on a branch of the 
 Bohemia River, called Mill Creek, a short distance south- 
 west of St. Augustine. This society was the first organized 
 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Its members afterwards 
 worshiped at Bethesda chapel, which stood some distance 
 west of where the present Manor church stands. The 
 Methodists at this time, or very shortly afterwards, had an- 
 other appointment at Thompson's school-house, which was 
 quite near where Bethel church now stands. This latter 
 society was the germ that produced the Bethel church. 
 
 The first Methodist preachers were rigid disciplinarians, 
 and very austere in their manners. They denounced 
 slavery as being contrary to the law of God and an infrac- 
 tion of the golden rule. They considered it their duty to 
 " rise at four in the morning, and if not then, yet at five, 
 and that it was a shame for a preacher to be in bed till 
 six in the morning." They required their followers to observe 
 the Friday preceding every quarterly meeting as a day of 
 fasting. They discountenanced the manufacture of distilled 
 liquors and threatened to disown their friends who persisted 
 in making them. They were enjoined to avoid superfluity 
 in dress themselves, and to speak frequently and faithfully 
 against it in all the societies. Until 1785, the Methodists were 
 under the spiritual guidance and direction of John Wesley, 
 who lived and died in full communion with the Church 
 of England, and whose original intention was only to effect 
 a reformation by infusing more godliness and piety into the 
 daily lives and conduct of the members of that church. Ac- 
 cordingly, at the meeting of the first conference, which was 
 held in Philadelphia, in June, 1773, it was agreed by the 
 ministers that they would strictly avoid administering the 
 ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and would 
 earnestly exhort all those among whom they labored, par- 
 ticularly those in Maryland and Virginia, to attend the 
 church and receive the ordinances there. Seven years after- 
 wards the conference, which met in Baltimore, granted the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 441 
 
 privilege to all the friendly clergy of the Church of Eng- 
 land, at the request or desire of the people, to preach or ad- 
 minister the ordinances in their " preaching houses or 
 chapels." This was four years alter the connection of the 
 church and state had been severed and it shows that the 
 Methodists at that time, if they acted in good faith, which 
 there is no reason to doubt, desired to live in amity and 
 friendship with their brethren of the late establishment. 
 This good feeling was largely reciprocated by the better and 
 more pious part of the members of the established church. 
 Owing to this the new sect for some years after its first in- 
 troduction flourished best in the strongholds of the episco- 
 pacy, while it made little or no progress among the Presby- 
 terians until many years afterwards, when the first ex- 
 pounders of its doctrine had been succeeded by others, 
 whose zeal was more according to knowledge, and whose 
 motives were better understood. For the reasons before 
 alluded to, the growth of Methodism was slow, and it is 
 manifest that those who joined the new sect were actuated 
 by pure motives and a sincere desire to improve their 
 spiritual condition. 
 
 Eev. Francis Asbury arrived in Philadelphia in October, 
 1771, and the next April visited Bohemia Manor to look 
 after Mr. Wright, but met him near Wilmington on his way 
 northward, and proceeded on to the Manor alone. Under 
 the date of April 10th, Mr. Asbury states that some mis- 
 chievous opposers had thrown the people on the Manor 
 into confusion. The next day he notes in his journal that 
 he had visited and conversed with an old man who was 
 sick, but was prevented from praying with him, by the fact 
 that two men came in, whose countenances he did not like. 
 He probably met with two of the residents of that part of 
 the Manor called Sodom. The next fall Mr. Asbury visited 
 the Manor again on his way to Western Maryland. He 
 speaks of preaching at Hersey's and at the school-house on 
 the Manor, and probably in going west crossed the Elk 
 Elver at the ferry at Court-house Point. 
 
442 HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 The next society organized in the county was the one at 
 Johntown, in Sassafras Neck, which, as stated by Mr. Led- 
 num in his history of Methodism, was in 1773. This was 
 seven years after the first society of Methodists had been 
 organized in New York, and the whole number of Metho- 
 dists in the several conferences of New York, Philadelphia, 
 New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, is put down in the 
 minutes of the conference for this year at one thousand one 
 hundred and sixty, five hundred of whom were said to be- 
 long to the Maryland Conference. At this time there was 
 only ten Methodist preachers belonging to these conferences. 
 Pi-cvious to this time the new sect had made considerable 
 progress upon the Peninsula, and had several appointments 
 in Kent and New Castle, as well as in Harford County. 
 
 The people of this county, as before stated, were much 
 more loyal than their neighbors in Delaware, and the course 
 pursued by Mr. Wesley, who strongly favored the royal 
 cause, was not calculated to add anything to the popularity 
 of the ministers who then labored in this country under his 
 direction, and all of whom, except Mr. Asbury, went back 
 to England in 1777. Mr. Asbury was fined £5 for preach- 
 ing in a private house in Anne Arundel County, in the 
 autumn of that year, and the next spring took refuge in the 
 house of Judge White, in Kent County, Delaware, where he 
 remained in seclusion for nearly a year. He states in his 
 journal that he left Maryland because he could not con- 
 scientiously take the oath of allegiance to the State. This 
 oath was as follows : " I do swear that I do not hold myself 
 bound to yield any allegiance or obedience to the King of 
 Great Britain, his heirs or successors, and that I will be true 
 and faithful to the State of Maryland, and to the utmost of 
 my power support, maintain, and defend the freedom and 
 independence thereof, and the government as now estab- 
 lished, against all open enemies and traitorous conspira- 
 cies, and will use my utmost endeavors to disclose and 
 make known to the Governor, or some one of the judges or 
 
HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 443 
 
 justices thereof, all treasons or traitorous conspiracies, 
 attempts, or combinations against this State or the gov- 
 ernment thereof, which may come to my knowledge." This 
 oath, much to the credit of the vestry of North Elk parish, 
 was taken and subscribed to by them. 
 
 Mr. Wesley, in a letter dated January 11th, 1777 (quoted 
 in Tyreman's Life of Wesley), says: "I have just received 
 two letters from New York. They inform me that all the 
 Methodists there are firm for the government, and on that 
 account persecuted by the rebels, only not to the death; 
 that the preachers are still threatened, but not stopped; and 
 that the work of God increases much in Maryland and A^ir- 
 ginia." Some of the native preachers on the peninsula 
 were not as prudent as Mr. Asbury and his coadjutors. One 
 of them, Chauncey Clowe by name, in August, 1777, which 
 the reader will recollect was the time when the British fleet 
 sailed up the Elk River, raised a company of three hundred 
 tories in Kent County, Delaware, for the purpose of making 
 their way to the Chesapeake Bay and joining the British 
 fleet. But they were all captured, and Clowe was hanged. 
 Others of the native ministers on the peninsula were ac- 
 cused of circulating the king's proclamation, which, no 
 doubt was the proclamation issued in the king's name by 
 Lord Howe in Elk Neck. 
 
 Another cause that retarded the growth of the new sect, 
 was the violent opposition it met with from the ungodly 
 and wicked part of the population, who were, in many 
 cases, encouraged by those whose rank in society should 
 have induced them to have used their influence in favor of 
 peace and good order, rather than to have encouraged the 
 spirit of lawless persecution that prevailed. Mr. Duke states 
 in his pamphlet, before quoted from, that at one time a tra- 
 veling Methodist preacher could hardly show his face in a 
 little tobacco port or court-house village, without running 
 the risk of being ducked or mobbed or ludicrously set at 
 nought. For this treatment, he says there could be no 
 
444 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 actual reason given, but his being a stranger or his re- 
 proving them for swearing. Another difficuhy under which 
 the new sect labored, was that of unworthy traveling preach- 
 ers, who probably were led astray in many cases through 
 ignorance. A few years after this time (in 1782) the con- 
 ference took action in regard to disorderly preachers, and, in 
 order to keep them in subjection, resolved to write at the 
 bottom of each certificate thereafter issued : " This conveys 
 authority no longer than you walk uprightly and submit to 
 the direction of the assistant preacher." 
 
 Now let us take a retrospective glance at the history of 
 the Episcopal churches. In 1771 the vestrymen of North 
 Elk parish gave notice that they intended to petition the 
 Legislature for a sum not exceeding £900, to be levied in 
 three years for building a chapel of ease near where the old 
 chapel stood, and for making some alterations in the church. 
 Ten years before this time Rev. John Hamilton and two of 
 the vestrymen had reported that the chapel was not worth 
 repairing. The next year notice was given of the intention 
 of raising £500 for the chapel ; but owing to the unpopularity 
 of the church and the other causes that have been already 
 fully set forth elsewhere, the money was not levied. Rev. 
 John Hamilton, who had been connected with the parish 
 since 1746, died in April, 1773, and was succeeded by the 
 Rev.William Thompson, who was appointed curate by Gov- 
 ernor Eden on the first of the following May. Mr. Thomp- 
 son was to receive the whole amount of the poll-tax levied 
 for the support of the rector, and was to continue until 
 his successor was appointed. He appears to have been popu- 
 lar, and the vestry soon afterwards sent an address to the 
 governor, "thanking him for his kind, fatherly, and tender 
 care of them, and entreating him to perfect his pious and 
 fatherly intentions towards them, by inducting Mr. Thomp- 
 son into the parish," which was accordingly done on the 
 23d of June, 1773. Mr. Thompson seems to have been an 
 eminently pious and practicable preacher, and disposed to 
 
aiSTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 445 
 
 do all in his power for the spread of the gospel among his 
 parishioners, for the next year he was ordered to pay An- 
 drew Barrett fifty-nine shillings for building a tent at the 
 place where the chapel stood. This is the chapel not far 
 from Battle Swamp. Tradition says that he preached there 
 in a tent with some success for several days. He was pro- 
 bably incited to make this extraordinary effort by the ac- 
 tivity of the Methodists, but the war came on, and the con- 
 nection of the church and State being severed, the vestry, in 
 1777, were obliged to raise his salary by subscription, and 
 the same year gave him permission to preach at the Manor 
 Church or somewhere in St. Augustine parish, every third 
 Sunday. This subscription list is yet extant, and contains 
 the names of Jacob and Zebulon Hollingsworth ; Benjamin 
 and William Mauldin ; Jacob and Michael Lumm ; Phredus 
 Aldridge ; William, James, and John Crouch ; Abraham 
 Mitchell ; Stephen, Isaac and Nicholas Hyland ; Thomas 
 Russell ; John Eicketts; Samuel and Joseph Gilpin ; James 
 Pritchard ; Nathaniel Ramsay, and many others, some of 
 whom, a few years later, became identified with the Metho- 
 dists. The amount of the subscription was £202 18s., 6d. 
 
 Mr. Thompson removed to North Sassafras parish in 1779, 
 but the vestry of North Elk seem to have been loath to give 
 him up, and wrote to him, proposing to raise £100 by sub- 
 scription in silver, or its equivalent in continental money, 
 if he would preach for them one Sunday in each month, 
 and find a lay reader to officiate one Sunday in each month. 
 But nothing came of the offer, and the next year they em- 
 ployed one Collin Furguson as a lay reader in the parish, 
 every Sunday, and agreed to pay him £120 specie per an- 
 num during the time he acted as such, Mr. Thompson 
 agreeing to officiate once a quarter during said time. It is 
 worthy of remark that twelve years afterwards Collin Fur- 
 guson claimed that £40 of his salary as lay reader for the 
 years 1780-81, was in arrears, and placed his claim in the 
 hands of William BarroU, an attorney, for collection ; and 
 
446 HISTORY or CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 that an order was given on Mrs. Condon, the widow of the 
 Rev. Joseph Condon, for that amonnt. 
 
 On Easter Monday, 1781, Mr. Joseph Condon was ap- 
 pointed lay reader, and continned to serve in that capacity 
 with so much acceptabilit)'- that he was chosen as their rec- 
 tor in September, 1785. Meanwhile, in 1784, Mr. Condon 
 and Henry Hollingsworth had been chosen to represent the 
 parish in a convention held at Annapolis that year, to take 
 into consideration the distressed condition of the church. 
 
 It is apparent from what has been written, that North Elk 
 parish was not in a prosperous condition during this time. 
 The condition of St. Augustine parish was no better. The 
 Rev. Joseph Mather, who had succeeded Rev. Hugh Jones, 
 was rector of that parish at the time the Methodists came to 
 the Manor, and remained there until 1774, when he resigned. 
 He was succeeded by the Rev. Philip Reading, who was 
 presented to the parish by Governor Eden, in 1774. He was 
 an Englishman, and had been a missionary at Appoquin- 
 imink (now St. Anne's, near Middletown), and is said to have 
 been very successful there. He remained in charge of this 
 parish, in connection with Appoquinimink, until 1776, when 
 his churches were closed, and he is said to have died of 
 grief. The parish was vacant for three years previous to 
 1781, when it was taken in charge by Rev. William Thomp- 
 son, who had charge of it in connection with North Sassa- 
 fras, until the time of his death, which occurred in 1786. 
 Mr. Thompson, unlike nearly all his brother ministers, was 
 loyal to the cause of the colonies. This added to his popu- 
 larity, and enabled him to maintain the supremacy of the 
 Episcopal church during his life, in those parts of the 
 county where the church people were most numerous, in 
 consequence of which Methodism made little progress in 
 this county until some years after his death. 
 
 From the time of its introduction up to the year 1785, 
 Methodism made great progress in Virginia and North 
 Carolina, and in the lower part of the Peninsula as well as 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 447 
 
 in Eastern Pennsylvania and Western Maryland, but seems 
 to have made comparatively none in this county. Mr. 
 Asbury, who was constantly employed in traveling from 
 place to place, supervising the work of those under him, 
 speaks of visiting Robert Thompson's, near Bethel, in the 
 spring of 1780, and says he " spoke close to him, who had 
 fainted in his mind, being now left alone." Mr. Asbury 
 visited Mr. Thompson again in October of the same year, 
 and remarks in his journal that " the old man is stirred up." 
 From which it may be infercd that Methodism had proba- 
 bly retrograded, rather than advanced, in the southern part 
 of the county, which was the only part of it into which it 
 had, at that time, been introduced. 
 
 The conference of 1785, agreeable to the wishes of Mr. 
 Wesley, formed themselves into an independent church ; 
 but this event, whatever may have been its effect upon 
 Methodism elsewhere, seems to have had no perceptable ef- 
 fect upon the few detached appointments in this county. 
 
 In May, 1787, Mr. Asbury visited Elkton, upon which oc- 
 casion he preached to a large congregation. He states that 
 he was received by the Rudulph family with great respect. 
 This family were probably at this time members of the 
 Episcopal church, for the next year Tobias Rudulph was 
 appointed delegate to represent North Elk parish in a con- 
 vention in Baltimore Town. They lived in the old Vjrick 
 house now standing on Main street three doors east of the 
 court-house, which was built by Tobias Rudulph, in 1768. 
 
 The name of the Cecil Circuit appears for the first time 
 upon the minutes of the conference in 1788, but it? exact 
 bounds are unknown. There is reason, however, to believe 
 that, in connection with the appointments in this county, it 
 embraced much of the territory of New Castle County, and 
 probably some of the northern part of Kent, in Maryland. 
 John Smith and George Wells were the first preachers in 
 charge. They were succeeded the next year by George 
 Moore and Benjamin Roberts. That year the number of 
 
448 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 members in all the societies in the circuit is put down in 
 the minutes of the conference as follows : Two hundred 
 and fifty -seven white and two hundred and fifty-two colored. 
 
 Seventeen years had now elapsed since the introduction 
 of Methodism on Bohemia Manor, and it is probable that 
 there was preaching regularly in Elk Neck and at North 
 East ; for Mr. Asbury states, under date of October 15th, 
 1794, that he preached at Hart's Meeting-house on that 
 day, and the fact of a house being there at that time seems 
 to indicate that there had been preaching in that neighbor- 
 hood sometime before. This is the first reference that has 
 been found to this meeting-house, though there is a tradi- 
 tion that the early superintendent preachers, when passing 
 back and forth from the southern part of the county to their 
 appointments west of the Susquehanna, preached to the 
 people in that neighborhood under the shade of some large 
 walnut trees that stood abouttwo miles southwest of where the 
 meeting-house now stands. Many of the first settlers in Elk 
 Neck had been zealous churchmen, and an effort had been 
 made to erect a chapel of ease in that part of the county 
 while it was a part of North Sassafras parish. 
 
 The descendants of the first settlers still adhered to the re- 
 ligion of their fathers, which accounts for the alacrity with 
 which they embraced the new faith. Owing, no doubt, to 
 their strong predilections for the manners and customs of 
 the Episcopalians, the Methodists of Elk Neck, until a com- 
 paratively recent period, observed the Whitsuntide holidays, 
 and every year had services upcm Whit-Sunday and Mon- 
 day, which were largely attended by their brethren from 
 Delaware and other places many miles distant. 
 
 Hart's meeting-house was the first one erected in the 
 county north of the Elk River; and though it was in exist- 
 ence as early as 1794, the society, there is reason to think, 
 did not have a deed for the land on which it stood until 
 seven years afterwards ; for the land records of the county 
 show that, on the 21st of August, 1801, Samuel Aldridge and 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 449 
 
 Milicent, his wife, in consideration of the great desire they 
 had to encourage and promote the religious worship of God, 
 and in consideration of the nominal sum of five shillings, 
 sold half an acre of ground, which is described as being on 
 the great road leading from Turkey Point to Elkton, to 
 Robert Hart, Thomas Hart, Charles Ford, Fredus Aldridge, 
 and Zebulon Kankey, trustees of the Methodist society in 
 Elk River Neck and their successors. It is generally be- 
 lieved that Piobert Hart gave this society the land upon 
 which the first meeting-house stood, but this record seems to 
 indicate very clearlj^ that such was not the fact; and there 
 seems to be no doubt that the meeting-house mentioned by 
 Mr. Asbury, was built upon land donated by Mr. Aldridge 
 and his wife. It was a small frame house, ceiled with boards 
 and weather-boarded on the outside, and contained a quaint 
 and curious old-fashioned pulpit. 
 
 The next Methodist meeting-house erected in the county 
 was at North East. It appears from the land records of tlie 
 county, that on the 25th of October, 1794, Jacob Jones con- 
 veyed an acre of land, which is described in the deed as lying 
 to the northward of the road leading from North East Church 
 toward Beacon Hill, to William Howell, John George, David 
 iSweazey, Jacob Jones, John Ford, Robert Hart, and Samuel 
 Aldridge, for the sum of £10, " in trust for the society of re- 
 ligious people called Methodists, and their successors lorever 
 thereafter, who were to have full power and authority to 
 erect on the said land a house for the public worship of 
 God." This was the first land owned by the society at 
 North East, and is the same now used for the cemetery. It 
 is worthy of remark that Robert Hart was also a trustee of 
 the church called by his name in Elk Neck. 
 
 Mr. Asbury, under date of the 5th of June, 1795, says he 
 " preached in North East within the frame of a church that 
 was just begun." He no doubt referred to the first church, 
 which stood near the centre of the cemetery. It was about 
 thirty by forty feet, weather-boarded without and ceiled 
 
 CO 
 
450 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 with boards within, and was removed bodily in the early 
 part of the present century to the lower patt of the village, 
 where it remained until 1837, when the house now in use 
 was built, and it was sold to Hugh Brown. On the 12th of 
 April, 1804, William Hunter sold a lot containing about 
 half an acre, which is described as being a few perches to 
 the eastward of the church and to the northward of the Metho- 
 dist meeting-house near the head of North East River, being 
 on the east side of the great road leading from the head of 
 North East River to Turkey Point, together with the house and 
 fencing thereon, to William Howell, Robert Hall, Nicholas 
 Chambers, Sr., Abraham Keagy, and William Williams, the 
 three former being citizens of Cecil County, and the two latter 
 residents of New Castle County, to have, hold, occupy, and pos- 
 sess forever for the use and convenience of a traveling preacher 
 of the gospel, in or belonging to the Methodist church, in 
 charge of Cecil Circuit. This deed was witnessed by Tobias 
 and Martha Rudulph, the former being at that time one of the 
 associate justices of the county court. The latter was after- 
 wards the wife of the Rev. William Torbert. This is the first 
 parsonage in the county, of which there is any trace in the 
 records of the court or the history of the church ; but there is 
 no evidence that it was ever used as such, and in 1809 those 
 of the trustees who resided in this county sold it to Thomas 
 Cazier for $250. The trustees are called in the deed to Ca- 
 zier the " trustees of Ebenezer Chapel," which seems to indi- 
 cate very unmistakably that the meeting-house at North 
 East was then called by that name. This chapel and par- 
 sonage, though described as being east of the road to Turkey 
 Point, stood west of where the main street of the village is 
 now located, the road at that time being some distance west 
 of where the street is at present. 
 
 The congregation which worshiped in Thompson's school- 
 house, which stood very near where Bethel Church now 
 stands, erected their first meeting-house sometime previous 
 to 1790 ; but like the congregation at Hart's, they did not 
 
HISTORY OS- CECIL COUNTY. 451 
 
 obtain a deed for the land upon which it stood until 1805. 
 In that year, Richard Thompson, then of Philadelphia, 
 formerly of this county, conveyed the lot upon which the 
 church stood, to John Curnan, Nicholas Chambers Sr., James 
 Ratcliff, Robert Guttery, and Tobias Biddle, " for the use of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, according to the rules and 
 discipline which from time to time may be agreed upon or 
 adopted by the ministers and preachers of said church at 
 their general conferences, and in future trust and confidence 
 that they shall at all times permit such ministers or 
 preachers as shall be duly authorized by the rules and dis- 
 cipline of said church, and none otherw, to preach or expound 
 God's holy word there, and on the further condition that the 
 church organization should not be suffered to die by the 
 failure of the congregation to elect trustees." In 1802 the 
 Legislature passed an act in relation to the incorporation of 
 Christian churches or religious societies, authorizing the 
 male members of twenty-one years of age and upwards to 
 draw up and have recorded a constitution or plan of gov- 
 ernment; but the congregation at Bethel, it would seem 
 from the foregoing extract, had not availed themselves of 
 it. It is worthy of remark that Nicholas Chambers was also 
 one of the trustees of the parsonage at North East. The 
 first Methodist society that organized agreeable to the act of 
 1802 was called Goshen, now Ebenezer. The organization 
 was effected on the 15th of January, 1806. The title then 
 assumed was the Goshen congregation or society belonging 
 to the Methodist church in South Susquehanna Hundred. 
 The first trustees were Caleb Edmundson, William Tyson, 
 James Thompson, Thomas Sproston, Thomas Janney, and 
 Edward McVey. The rules and regulations were signed by 
 the above-named trustees, and acknowledged before Samuel 
 Miller and Jeremiah Baker, justices of the peace. Though 
 this congregation is the first one of this denomination that 
 effected an organization according to law in this county, 
 there is reason to believe that it had no meeting-house until 
 
452 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 1827, for on the 18th of Februarj^ 1826, Thomas White sold 
 an acre and nine perches of land to Thomas Janney, Caleb 
 Edmundson, John Williamson, Elijah Reynolds, William 
 Edmundson, Michael Trump, John Cameron, trusteees, in 
 trust, that they should erect, or cause to be erected, thereon 
 a house or place of worship for the use of the members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church in the United States. And 
 on the 5th of November, 1827, Dr. James Beard sold to the 
 same trustees a lot containing about an acre, adjoining the 
 other one, on which a church had been built in the mean- 
 time, " in trust that the said lot should be for the use of the 
 members of the M. E. Church in the United States, to build 
 thereon any house for the convenience and use of said 
 church." 
 
 Under date of May 27th, 1800, Mr. Asbury, writing of 
 Bethel, says : " The people sung and leaped for joy of 
 heart ; they have beaten down strong drink, and the power 
 of God is come." The next day he says, " at the Manor 
 chapel we had a great time; my soul was divinely re- 
 freshed." This brief entry in Mr. Asbury's journal, throws 
 some glimmering light on the previous condition of the 
 people on the Manor, and leads us to infer that they had 
 formerly been addicted to the immoderate use of strong 
 drink. 
 
 It seems proper at this point to refer briefly to the con- 
 dition of North Sassafras and St. Augustine parishes. 
 Rev. Mr. Thompson, who the reader will recollect was rector 
 of these parishes previous to the time of his death, had 
 been succeeded by the Rev. James Jones Wilmer in 1787. 
 He was a grandson of Hugh Jones, and had been educated 
 in England, but returned to America in 1773, and became 
 chaplain of the First Maryland Regiment in 1777. Mr. 
 Wilmer left these parishes in 1788, and was succeeded by 
 Rev. John Bisset, who had charge of North Sassafras from 
 1790 to 1792. He was succeeded by Rev. George Ralph, 
 who was in charge of that parish for nine months in 1793. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 453 
 
 He also had charge of Shrewsbury parish, in connection 
 with North Sassafras, and taught a school at Georgetown. 
 He was succeeded in 1794 by Rev. Jeremiah Cosden, who 
 was a native of the parish, and had been a Methodist 
 preacher, on account of which he had much difficulty in 
 being admitted to orders in the Episcopal church. He 
 lived upon the glebe, which he cultivated, his parishioners 
 keeping the buildings in repair, but contributing nothing 
 to his support. Mr. Allen, in his manuscript history, re- 
 marks that " he seems not to have been a very zealous 
 churchman, and probably regretted leaving the Methodist 
 church." Mr. Asbury, speaking of him in his journal, in 
 1796, says : " He was always very generous, and did not 
 serve us for money," and adds, " he did certainly run well." 
 Mr. Cosden was succeeded by Rev. Joshua Reese, in 1801. 
 Mr. Reese had been a physician, but had exchanged the 
 practice of curing the body for that of curing the soul. He 
 left this parish in 1802, having been in charge of it and 
 St. Augustine for about a year. He was succeeded in the 
 rectorship of North Sassafras parish in 1803, by the Rev. 
 Henry Lyon Davis, the father of the late Henry Winter 
 Davis, who the next year also took charge of St. Augustine 
 parish. During part of this time, that is to say, from 1789 
 to 1792, the Rev. Joseph Coudon had charge of St. Augus- 
 tine, in connection with North Elk and St. Ann's, near 
 Middletown. He died in 1792, and this parish was vacant 
 for two years, when Rev. Mr. Cosden took charge of it in 
 connection with North Sassafras. The Rev. Mr. Davis 
 seems to have had a nominal connection with St. Augustine 
 during the time of his rectorship at North Sassafras. During 
 the period between the years 1787 and 1808, there is reason 
 to believe that Methodism increased quite as rapidly on the 
 Manor and in Sassafras Neck as it did in that part of the 
 county north of the Elk River. Its membership were no 
 longer confined to the poor and the lowly, but some of the 
 most eminent persons of that part of the county were found 
 
454 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 among them. Prominent among these was Richard Bassett, 
 before referred to in connection with Bohemia Manor, who 
 came to reside upon his plantation at Bohemia Ferry, about 
 1795. He was one of the most influential Methodists of 
 that period. His house was the home of the poor, weary 
 itinerants, who always found an open door and a hearty 
 welcome. Mr. Asbury was in the kabit of stopping at his 
 house frecjuently, and there is no doubt that it was owing 
 to his instrumentality that the first camp-meetings in the 
 county were held in a grove on his estate, about a mile 
 north of Bohemia Bridge, in 1808 and the next year. 
 
 These camp-meetings were a source of vexation and an- 
 noyance to the Rev. Mr, Davis, who viewed the success of 
 the Methodists with jealous eyes. Mr. Davis was a learned 
 man and had been elected professor of the Greek and Latin 
 languages in Dickinson College, when he was only nineteen 
 years of age. Being a learned man and zealous minister, he 
 had no sympathy with the Methodists who had preached the 
 gospel at Hersey's mill, Thompson's school-house, and Beth- 
 esda Chapel, and had been so successful in making prose- 
 lytes that there were none left to attend upon his own minis- 
 trations in St. Augustine parish, the church atthattimebeing 
 closed for want of a congregation. In 1809, Mr. Davis, in a 
 letter to the Bishop, says : " Alread}' there have been several 
 camp-meetings in the peninsula this summer. At this time 
 there is one near Smyrna, Del. Next week one will be 
 formed in this neighborhood, and another in Wye River in 
 Talbot County. I am horribly afraid of the effort. Within 
 the last two years the church has evidently declined in al- 
 most every part of the Eastern Shore." This is rather a 
 gloomy picture to be drawn by a zealous churchman, but 
 no doubt it was a true one, and very probablj' Mr. Davis 
 feared that owing to the zeal and success of the Methodists, 
 the parish of North Sassafras would also fall into their pos- 
 session. The history of that parish for the next fifteen years, 
 and all the subsequent history of St. Augustine, show that 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 455 
 
 the fears of Mr. Davis were well grounded, for so few were 
 the church people and so little respect had the others for the 
 old St. Augustine church that they not only suffered it to 
 go to ruin, but actu illy pulled it down and used the bricks 
 of which it was constructed in building chimneys in tlieir 
 houses and for other purposes, so that a quarter of a century 
 later but very little if any part of the walls were standing. 
 The chapel which stands near the site 6f the church was 
 erected in 1841, mainly by the instrumentality of a few pious 
 ladies of the neighborhood ; but so effectually had Metho- 
 dism supplanted Episcopacy in the affections of the people 
 of the Manor, that when the Bishop attended there on St. 
 Patrick's day of that year in order to consecrate it — it being 
 a stormy day — he was obliged, for want of an audience, to 
 postpone the ceremony until the next autumn. 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Coudon, who, the reader will recollect, 
 had been chosen curate of North Elk parish in 1785, was 
 ordained two years afterwards, and the same year was in- 
 stalled rector of that parish. The minutes of the vestry for 
 1788, show that he had then been laboring faithfully in the 
 parish for six years, and had received on an average only 
 about £37 a year, though the subscription list for his sup- 
 port amounted to upwards of £178. Probably part of what 
 he did receive was the interest on the money obtained by 
 the sale of the glebe which was disposed of in 1875, and the 
 money placed in his hands, he being allowed to use the in- 
 terest upon giving bond for the payment of the principal. 
 In 1788 he was allowed to labor part of the time in St. Au- 
 gustine parish and Appoquinimink, Delaware, which he 
 continued to do until the time of his death, which occurred 
 April 13th, 1792, on his farm, now owned by Rev. James 
 Mclntire, near Elkton. Mr. Coudon was succeeded by Rev. 
 William Duke, who took charge of North Elk parish, in 
 1793, and the same year married Hettie Coudon, the 
 daughter of the former rector. Mr. Duke was a native of 
 Baltimore County, and was licensed to preach by Rev. 
 
456 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Francis Asbury, when he was only sixteen or seventeen 
 years of age. His name appears upon the minutes of the 
 first conference, held at Philadelphia, 1774, as one of the 
 seven ministers who were that year taken on trial. The 
 next year he was admitted to full membership, and re- 
 mained in connection with the conference as a traveling 
 preacher until 1779, when he ceased to travel, and subse- 
 quently took orders in the Episcopal church, being impelled 
 to do so by his opposition to the erection of the Methodist 
 society into an independent church. 
 
 Mr. Duke was a learned man, and was more of the stud- 
 ent than the preacher. He was the author of several reli- 
 gious and poetical works, the principal one of which was 
 published wliile he resided in Elkton, in 1795. It was en- 
 titled " Observations on the present state of religion in Mary- 
 land," and was a valuable contribution to the religious liter- 
 ature of that period. No person would imagine, however, 
 after reading it, that the author had ever been a Methodist 
 preacher, for he severely censures those who were instru- 
 mental in obtaining the independence of the Methodist 
 church, and intimates that the means used to effect that 
 end were not ver}^ creditable. He also criticises the religious 
 peculiarities and manners of the Methodists of that period, 
 and, while admitting that in general they seemed to 
 to seek an experimental knowledge of God, "appeals 
 to themselves whether they do not, both by exam- 
 ple and express direction, excite the people to noise and 
 uproar; and whether they do not avail themselves, not only 
 of that noise but also of a confined air, violent gesticulations, 
 and other circumstances calculated rather to surprise than 
 inform the human mind; and whether they do not estimate 
 their success in proportion to the disorder and tumult of 
 their audience ?" Strange language this, to be used by one 
 who, a few years before, had been a zealous Methodist him- 
 self, and yet there is no reason to think that he was not en- 
 tirely sincere when he used it, for in this pamphlet he is 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 457 
 
 more severe, if possible, in his animadversions upon tlie 
 Episcopal church than he is upon the Methodists. 
 
 The fact seems to be, that the early Methodists were both 
 noisy and demonstrative, and Mr. Duke probably left them 
 and joined the Episcopal church because it was quieter and 
 better suited his temperament. 
 
 .Vfter being rector of North Elk parish for three years, 
 Mr. Duke, in 1796, resigned and went to Anne Arundel 
 County, but returned to Elkton the next year, and soon 
 afterwards removed to Kent County, where he taught a pa- 
 rochial school, but again returned to Elkton in 1799, and 
 opened a school in Bow street, and during the next three 
 years occasionally preached at North East, in his school- 
 room at Elkton, and in the Episcopal church near the vil- 
 lage of New London in Pennsylvania, and at the almshouse, 
 baptizing and burying many. It was during this interval 
 that he wrote to Bishop Claggett, May 3d, 1801, that he 
 preached sometimes by special appointment at home, but 
 never dreamed of doing anything more, "for," said he, "I 
 have made my last efltbrt with these people." In 1803 Mr. 
 Duke was appointed professor of languages in St. John's 
 College, Annapolis, and had charge of St. Ann's Church, in 
 that city, until 1806, when, the college having been de- 
 prived of its funds, he returned to Elkton, and the next 
 year took charge of the academy there. In 1798 Mr. Duke 
 purchased the Belle Hill farm, which he owned for a num- 
 ber of years. The acquisition of this property no doubt 
 caused him to desire to be near to it, hence his oft-repeated 
 and fruitless efforts to effect a permanent location in Elkton. 
 This time he remained there until 1812, when he took 
 charge of Charlotte Hall, in St. Mary's County, and became 
 principal of the school there, but in 18] 4 returned to Elkton 
 and continued to officiate as aforetime until the spring of 
 1818, when he was appointed principal of the Elkton 
 Academy. He died at Elkton in 1840, aged eighty-three 
 years. 
 
458 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 So effectually had Methodism supplanted Episcopacy in 
 North Elk parish that during the interval from 1801, when 
 Mr. Duke ceased to minister there, until 1835, it was without 
 a rector. Part of this time the vestry-house was used as a 
 school-house, and in the war of 1812, the church upon one 
 occasion was used bj' a company of soldiers which occupied 
 it as a barrack while awaiting transportation to Baltimore. 
 
 Trinity church in Elkton was organized in 1832 by the 
 efforts of James Sewell, Henry Hollingsworth and a few 
 others, and the same year Rev. William Henry Reese was 
 installed as the first rector. The first church building was 
 consecrated the same year. Mr. Reese was succeeded by 
 Rev. Henry Lyon Davis, formerly of North Sassafras par- 
 ish, who returned to this county in 1834. Mr. Davis re- 
 mained in charge of Trinity church but a short time, when 
 a vacancy of two years occurred, at the end of which Rev. 
 Henry Williams took charge of Trinity in connection with 
 St. Mary Ann's. Mr. Williams was succeeded by Rev. 
 Robert Lloyd Goldsborough in 1841. Mr. Goldsborough 
 was a very zealous churchman and under his rectorship the 
 religious affairs of the parish assumed a much better con- 
 dition than they had been in for many years. 
 
 In 1835 a church was organized near Port Deposit, 
 the members of which were allowed the use of the chapel 
 lands near that place probably for the purpose or with the 
 intention of erecting a church building. In 1839 the ves- 
 try laid out the church land in North East, into building 
 lots, and sold it at public sale, from which they realized up- 
 wards of twenty-five hundred dollars. 
 
 Though St. Mary Ann's church had been built nearly a 
 century it had never been consecrated, and that service was 
 performed by the Right Reverend Bishop Whittingham, 
 on the 3d of September, 1844. In August, 1845, St. 
 Mark's chapel near Perryville, which was built on land 
 donated by the Misses Gale, was consecrated, and the next 
 year Rev. Richard Whittingham, Jr., was chosen by the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 459 
 
 rector as deacon and assistant minister there. Mr. /: lolds- 
 borough occasionally held service in tlie neighborhood of 
 Lord's Factory and in 1849, the subject of erecting a church 
 near that place was contemplated. 
 
 The first society of Methodists in the vicinity of Elkton 
 worshiped at tlie house of Eichard Updegrove, which was a 
 short distance east of the town and near the State line, in 
 1799. The names of the members were John Pennington, 
 Elizabeth Pennington, John Crouch, Cornelia Crouch, 
 Richard Updegrove, Hannah Updegrove, Thomas Phillips, 
 and Sarah Land. The names of the probationers were 
 Sarah Updegrove, John Hitchcock, and Rachel Condon. 
 This society probably removed to Elkton in 1801, for in that 
 year it is called in the records of the quarterly conference 
 the society at Elkton, Md. 
 
 On the 20th of July, 1813, Levi Tyson, Richard Upde- 
 grove, Benjamin Pearce, Robert Taylor, and William Kil- 
 gore, trustees of the Elkton M. E. church, purchased half 
 an acre of ground on High street, from Thomas Howard, for 
 the sum of one hundred dollars for the use of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church in Elkton. 
 
 Bishop Asbury states in his journal that he preached in 
 Elk chapel, in 1815, and remarks that "this place, Elkton, 
 has been founded about fifty years," and adds, "it may be 
 visited by the Lord in the fourth or fifth generation; " from 
 which it is plain that his opinion coincided with that ex- 
 pressed by Mr. Duke some years before, and that the resi- 
 dents of the town were no more inclined to profit by the 
 preaching of the Methodists then than they were to profit 
 from the preaching of Mr. Duke. 
 
 From these facts, it seems plain that the chapel mentioned 
 by Bishop Asbury, which is the old brick church on High 
 street, now occupied by the Free Methodists, was erected 
 about the year 1814. This chapel was subsequently en- 
 larged, in 1842, by an addition to the north end of it, and in 
 1827 George Jones, John H. Ford, Jesse Updegrove, Henry 
 
460 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Jamar, Robert Johnston, Levi Tysoii, and Samuel Wilson, 
 who, at that time were trustees of the church, purchased 
 from Levi Tyson the lot adjoining the church lot on the east, 
 for an addition to the gravej'ard. In 1820 Martha Rudulph 
 presented this congregation with a house and lot on North 
 street, a short distance above tlic railroad, for the use of the 
 minister in charge of Cecil circuit and his successors, reserv- 
 ing cei'tain rights and privileges in the house and garden 
 for the use and convenience of Mrs. Elizabeth Sullivan, 
 widow, and Miss Mary Sullivan, spinstress, who were then 
 tenants in possession, the trustees agreeing to keep the pre- 
 mises in " good order and neat and comely repair." This 
 jiarsonage seems not to have been a convenient residence 
 for the rginister in charge of the circuit, and in 1824 Martha 
 Rudulph, who was then the wife of the Rev.William Torbert, 
 then stationed at Cambridge, reconveyed the property to 
 the trustees, and so changed the covenants in the original 
 deed as to allow them to rent the property, and apply the 
 proceeds for the purpose of paying the rent of a house for 
 the minister of Cecil circuit in the town of Elkton or else- 
 where. The congregation continued to enjoy the use of 
 tliis property until 1853, when they sold it to Stephen John- 
 son, the heirs at law of William Torbert and wife, who were 
 then deceased, joining with them in the deed. 
 
 Rev Mr. Asbury frequently slopped at Charlestown, and 
 sometimes preached there while upon his annual rounds 
 visiting the churches, and it is pretty certain that the 
 Methodists had preaching there at regular intervals in the 
 early part of the present century. As early as 1792, the Pres- 
 bytery of New Castle had sent supplies there to preach the 
 gospel, and they had been so well received that the town 
 commissioners, in 1801, appropriated one thousand dollars, 
 which had been derived from the rents of the town i)roperty, 
 and part of which was then in their hands, for the purpose 
 of building a church for them, and actually had purchased 
 a quantity of lime and other material to be used in its con- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 461 
 
 struction, when it was discovered that they had no legal au- 
 thority to apply the revenue of the town for that purpose. 
 They subsequently obtained the requisite authority from 
 the Legislature and purchased a house and lot from Colonel 
 Nathaniel Ramsay, primarily for the use of the Presbyterian 
 congregation, but with the understanding that, if the house 
 was not used by them, it might be usi d by other denomina- 
 tions. 
 
 The Methodists worshiped in this house in common with 
 the Presbyterians, until 1822, when the Presbyterians 
 organized a congregation in Charlestown, and the subject of 
 building a meeting-house of their own, began to be agitated 
 by the Methodists, and the town commissioners having ex- 
 pressed a willingnesss to appropriate two hundred dollars 
 for that purpose, an act of the Legislature authorizing them 
 to do so was obtained. But for some reason, probably the 
 want of means, the enterprise lagged until 1825, when the 
 trustees, who were Joseph Benjamin, Thomas Richardson, 
 Joshua Bennett, Robert Thompson, John Turner, John 
 Wilson, and John Tomlinson, purchased a lot from John 
 White, upon which the first meeting-house was erected the 
 same year. 
 
 The Hopewell M. E. church came into existence about 
 the time of the organization of the Goshen society. The 
 first house of worship, which was a log building, was prob- 
 ably built in 1810, upon a half acre of land which Davis 
 Reed donated to the trustees in that year. The trustees 
 were James Thompson, George Nelson, Richard Rutter, 
 Joseph Coulson and John Brooks, all of West Nottingham 
 Hundred. 
 
 The Asbury church was the outgrowth of tlie churches 
 that surrounded it. The Methodists of the neighborhood 
 in which it is located, worshiped for some years previous to 
 the erection of the first church of that name, in Jackson's 
 school-house, which stood not far from where the church 
 was built. In 1825, James Jackson, Robert Jackson, Rachel 
 
462 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Jackson, Nancy Bell, Mary Armstrong, William Davidson, 
 John N. Y. Ryan and Elizabeth Ryan, the heirs at law of 
 Mary Carnahan, conveyed, for the nominal sum of five dol- 
 lars, a lot containing half an acre of land to James Gal- 
 braith, in trust for the use, interest and purpose of build- 
 ing a church or house of worship, for the accommodation 
 of the Methodist societ}^ These facts seem to indicate very 
 plainly that the Methodists of that neighborhood had not 
 organized as a church at that time. Mr. Galbraith held 
 this land until 1829, when he deeded it to John Jackson, 
 William Patterson, Amos Eaton, William Dennison, Francis 
 Segar, William Dennison (of William,) and Edward Jackson, 
 in trust for the original purpose, from which it seems prob- 
 able that the first meeting-house was built about that Hme. 
 
 The other Methodist Episcopal churches in this county 
 are the outgrowth of those, the early history of which has 
 just been given, and however interesting it might be to trace 
 their history, it is not within the scope of this work, and 
 for that reason will be left for an historian of the future. 
 
 The Methodist Protestant church was introduced into 
 this county shortly after the organization of the first con- 
 ference of that denomination in Baltimore, in 1829. The 
 first church in this county, called " Shelemiah," was built at 
 Bayview, about 1830. The first church building was used 
 nearly fifty years and until 1879, when a spacious and 
 handsome structure was erected in its stead. 
 
 Meetings were held in the New Leeds church, which was 
 afterwards purchased by this denomination, about the time 
 that the church at Bayview was founded. 
 
 The Methodist Protestants, now have a number of chui'ches 
 in the county, one of which is at Rowlandville, another be- 
 tween Bayview and Charlestown, one in the eighth district, 
 Moores chapel in the fourth district, and also a church at 
 Warwick. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Miscellaneous information — Newspapers — Fisheries — Chrome — Granite 
 quarries — Iron — Iron Works — Paper mills — Free schools — Population. 
 
 Having traced the history of the county in the j^receding 
 chapters as well as the limited data extent would permit, to 
 a period within the recollection of persons of middle age, 
 this chapter will be devoted to a few miscellaneous subjects, 
 which are of so much importance that they cannot be passed 
 by unnoticed. 
 
 Prominent amongst these matters are the newspapers, 
 fisheries, manufactures, mineral productions, free schools, 
 etc., the history of all of which can be impartially written 
 at this time. This cannot be said of some other subjects 
 quite as closely connected with the history of the county as 
 those just mentioned. Amongst the latter are to be found 
 the history of the various political parties that have claimed 
 the allegiance of the people during the last half century, 
 and the action of the people during the late civil war. For 
 the reason before intimated, the task of writing that part of 
 the history of the county embraced in the subjects last 
 before enumerated, will be left for another pei'son, or at 
 least deferred until a period in the future, when the lapse 
 of time will have rendered the task less onerous, and more 
 likely to be impartially performed. 
 
 Though the people of this county were the equals in in- 
 telligence and education of those of any other part of the 
 State, and gave a generous support to institutions of learn- 
 ing, as has already been shown, and though the people of 
 the State, from a very early period in its history, had enjoyed 
 the advantages to be derived from the printing-press, it was 
 
464 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 not until after the lapse of nearly a century and a-half after 
 the erection of tlie county that they could enjoy the privi- 
 lege of reading a newspaper published within its limits. 
 
 The first newspaper published in this county appeared in 
 June, 1823. It was called The Elkton F ess, and was pub- 
 lished weekly by Andrews & McCord, at two dollars a year. 
 It was twenty-one by twenty-seven inches, and had for its 
 motto, " Obedience to the people's choice," which indicated 
 in some degree its character, for it was neutral in politics at 
 first, and seems to have been devoted to the interests of the 
 people so far as its limited size and circulation permitted. 
 John McCord, the founder of this paper, came to Elkton 
 from Lancaster City. He was a printer by trade, and was 
 assisted in the editorial department of the paper by Samuel 
 Stanbaugh, who afterwards became a prominent politician, 
 and received the appointment of Indian agent or trader 
 under ex-President Andrew Jackson. Some time prior to 
 October, 1828, this paper passed into the possession of J. S. 
 Green and Eobert Carter. Mr. Carter had established the 
 manufacture of paper in this county in 1816, on the site of the 
 Cecil paper-mill, now owned and operated by his son, I. D. 
 Carter, Esq., and the first proprietors of The Press having 
 become indebted to him for paper, he took an interest 
 in T/ie Press to secure the debt. During the existence of 
 this firm Mr. Green edited The Press. 
 
 On the 18th of October, 1828, the firm of Green & Carter 
 dissolved, Mr. Green retiring, and Mr. Carter forming a 
 business connection with Charles F. Cloud. The duration 
 of this firm is not known, but the paper had changed hands 
 prior to March 7th, 1829, it being published at that time 
 opposite the Court-house, on Gay street, by C. F. Cloud and 
 J. W. Conkey, who subsequently removed the office to the 
 old brick building, two doors east of the court-house. The 
 continuance of the existence of this firm, like some of those 
 which preceded it, cannot now be definitely ascertained ; 
 but the paper was published by George W. Veazey in 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 465 
 
 September, 1832. During the latter part of the time this paper 
 was in charge of Messrs. Andrews & McCord, it was run in 
 the interest of the Democratic party, and in 1824, judging 
 from certain communications and extracts from other 
 papers, which are found in its columns, seems to have 
 favored the election of General Jackson to the Presidency. 
 In 1832, when it was published by George W. Veazey, it 
 hoisted the name of Henry Clay for that position. 
 
 The Elhton Press seems to have had a sickly existence from 
 the time of its birth, and never to have improved. Its death 
 was probably hastened by the birtli of Tlie Cecil Republican 
 and Farmers' and Mechanics' Advertiser, a weekly journal 
 which was started in Elkton on May 12th, 1832, by Ricliard 
 P. Bayly. The size of this paper was twenty-one by thirty 
 inches. It was published for a while "in the brick building 
 nearly opposite to the court-house, lately occupied by W. H. 
 Calvert as a hat manufactory " at two dollars per year. Mr. 
 Bayly, the proprietor of this paper, continued to publish it 
 as late as February, 1834, but it ceased to exist prior to 
 August, of that year, at which time The Central Courant was 
 the only paper published in the county. This paper was 
 started in Port Deposit by L. A. Wilmer in March, 1833 ; 
 it was twenty-one by twenty-eight and one-half inches in 
 size at first, but was subsequently reduced to fifteen and 
 one-half by twenty-one and one-half inches, affording a 
 very limited amount of space for the elucidation of the 
 multifarious subjects to which it was devoted. The sub- 
 scription was two dollars at first, but was reduced one-half 
 when the size of the paper was changed. 
 
 Mr. Wilmer came froin Baltimore to Elkton previous to 
 the founding of The Courant and worked as a printer on 
 T}ie Elldon Press. After the death of Tlie Courant, he re- 
 moved from Port Deposit to Philadelphia and connected 
 himself with The Saturday Evening Post, a literary paper of 
 much celebrity at that time. Mr. Wilmer was an anti-Jack- 
 son man, but his paper, which was neutral, seems to have 
 
 DD 
 
466 HiSTOEY Ot CECIL COtJNTY. 
 
 been too diminutive to have produced much effect upon the 
 politics of the county, even if he had tried to do so. It was 
 published as late as November, 1834; how much longer has 
 not been ascertained. Mr. Wilmer was a very eccentric man 
 and would sometimes dress himself in winter clothing 
 in the warmest summer weather, when he wished to take a 
 walk to the Far Creek of an evening. 
 
 The Cecil Gazette and Farmers' and Mechanics' Advertiser 
 was started in September, 1834, by a Democratic Convention 
 which raised the money by subscription to purchase the 
 press and type for the new journal. It was published and 
 edited by Henry Bosee, though the press and type were held 
 in trust for those who had contributed to their purchase, by 
 a number of trustees of whom Colonel William Mackey 
 and Henry D. Miller, both of the fourth district, were a 
 part. The paper was twenty-four by thirty-two inches in 
 size and was published weekly in Elkton, at two dollars per 
 year. In the issue of August 20th, 1836, it is stated that 
 the paper had been purchased by Amor T. Forwood, who 
 upon that day assumed its editorship. It continued to be 
 published in his name for a few months, when it again fell 
 into the hands of Mr. Bosee, in whose name it was published 
 until February, 1841. 
 
 The next journal that claims our attention was called the 
 Cecil Whig and Port Deposit Weekly Courier. It was founded 
 by Lynde Elliott at Port Deposit in July, 1835 ; was twenty- 
 one by thirty-two inches, and was published every Saturday, 
 at two dollars per year, or three dollars if not paid in ad- 
 vance. It was devoted to the interest of the Whig party, 
 but did not prove to be a success, and consequently did not 
 live a great while ; how long has not been ascertained, but 
 it probably gave place to the Elkton Courier, a strong Whig 
 paper, which was founded by Charles F. Cloud, in August, 
 1836. It was a weekly journal, twenty-two by thirty-one 
 inches, subscription, two dollars per year. It was devoted to 
 politics, literature, agriculture, the mechanics arts and gen- 
 
HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 467 
 
 eral intelligence. Its office was on Gay street, in the Hol- 
 low, opposite Bow street ; subsequently it was opposite the 
 residence of Hon. Alexander Evans, and for awhile on the 
 northeast corner of Nortli and High streets. In a literary 
 point of view it was far in advance of many of its prede- 
 cessors, and for a time was edited by George R. Howard and 
 also by Francis A. Ellis. During the time of the existence 
 of The Courier, party spirit was both high and bitter, and 
 sometimes culminated in personal rencounters in the streets, 
 which were often productive of black eyes and bloody noses. 
 At this time and for some years before, the Whig party was 
 in a minority in the county, and receiving no share of the 
 official patronage either from the national or local govern- 
 ment, had hard work to sustain a county organ. In conse- 
 quence of this The Whig party was without one for some 
 time after the demise of the ElJdon Courier, and on the 6th 
 of August, 1839, George Keating commenced in Port Deposit 
 the publication of The Port Deposit Rock and Cecil Count y Cor)i- 
 mercial Advertiser. The size of this paper was twenty-six by 
 thirty inches ; it was pviblished every Tuesday morning at 
 two dollars per year, and was strongly Whig in politics. 
 This paper, like most of its predecessors, had but a brief ex- 
 istence. It was published as late as January, 1840; how 
 much longer has not been ascertained. 
 
 Mr. Keating was a strong " anti-Jackson" man, and being 
 very pugnacious, was always ready for a fight. After the 
 failure of The Rock, he removed to Baltimore, but subse- 
 quently came to Havre-de Grace, where he published sev- 
 eral papers, none of which were successful, in consequence 
 of which he is said to have died in the Harford County 
 almshouse in the early part of the war of the rebellion. • 
 
 The brief existence of most of the early journals of the 
 county may be accounted for by the unsettled condition of 
 its politics, which were in a chaotic or transition state for 
 some years subsequent to 1824 ; from that time until 1836 the 
 Whig and Democratic parties were in course of formation, 
 
468 HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 aud, as has sometimes since been the case, many of the 
 people knew not to which party they belonged. Hence, the 
 support accorded to the journals of that day was small, as 
 well as precarious. 
 
 The Whig party being without an organ after the demise 
 of the Port Deposit Rock, some of its leading members, pro- 
 fiting by the example of their opponents seven years before, 
 concluded to start a new paper, and the wherewithal to pur- 
 chase the press and type was raised by subscription among 
 the members of the party, and those at the head of the new 
 enterprise purchased the press and the type of the PortDeposit 
 Rock, which they shipped on board of a small sailing vessel 
 and brought to Elkton. The name of the new paper, the first 
 number of which appeared on the 7th of August, 1841, was 
 The Cecil Whig. Its first editor was the late Palmer C. Ricketts, 
 under whose management it continued until the time of his 
 death,* which occurred on the 8th of March, 1860. The old 
 log-cabin which was erected in the Hollow during the cam- 
 paign of 1840 was used as the first office of The Whig. In 
 1855, the paper having been enlarged the year before, its 
 ofiice was moved to the building on North street, now used 
 by George W. Cruikshank, for a law office. It is not within 
 the scope of this work to give an extended account of the 
 early history of The Whig, nor to discuss the condition of 
 the political parties that were contemporaneous with it, 
 while it was under the management of its founder. It suf- 
 fices to say that Mr. Ricketts was but twenty-three years of 
 age when he assumed the responsible position of editor. 
 The state of society and politics was somewhat difi"erent 
 then from what it is now, but party spirit was none the less 
 vindictive. In consequence of this, the bickerings and 
 feuds which had existed among the local politicians of the 
 Whig and Democratic parties culminated in the death of 
 
 * Except from April to August, 1802, during whicli time he edited tlie 
 Baltimore Daily Mews, aud Ihe Whig was edited byWilllam J. Jones,Esq. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 469 
 
 A.mor T. Forwood, a prominent democrat, in the fall of 1843. 
 Mr. Forwood's death was the result of a long and bitter per- 
 sonal controversy between him and Mr. Ricketts, which led 
 him to make an assault upon that gentleman, who, in self- 
 defense, shot him with a pistol. Mr. Ricketts was tried at 
 the October term of court in 1843, and acquitted. It being 
 proved to the satisfaction of the jury that he acted in self- 
 defense. 
 
 Mr. Ricketts belonged to one of the oldest families in the 
 county, the founder of which it is believed resided in Sassa- 
 fras Neck, and was a Quaker; he was much censured by his 
 political opponents for the death of Mr. Forwood, but he lived 
 long enough to win the respect and esteem of many of those 
 who were once his bitterest enemies. He died respected by 
 all, and deeply regretted by a very large portion of the com- 
 munity in which he lived. 
 
 The Cecil Gazette was neither popular nor prosperous 
 under the management of Mr. Bosee, and in February, 1840, 
 it was purchased by Thomas M. Coleman, who changed its 
 name to The Cecil Democrat and Farmers' Journal and 
 continued to publish it until the spring of 1848. When Mr. 
 Bosee sold the Gazette he retained the press and type which, 
 as before stated, were held in trust for those who furnished 
 the money to purchase them. This led to a replevin suit, 
 instituted by William Mackey and Henry D. Miller, who 
 appear to have been the only surviving trustees. On the 
 9th of May, 1842, the sheriff served the writ and delivered 
 the property, consisting of the press and type, to the plain- 
 tiffs, they giving bond for the value of the property if the 
 suit went against them. In consequence of the death of Mr. 
 Forwood and the failure of the defendant to employ other 
 counsel, this cause resulted in a non-suit in the April term, 
 1844. Subsequently, at the October term of court, 1845, 
 Mr. Bosee brought suits against the representatives of Messrs. 
 Mackey and Miller, who had died in the meantime, and 
 also against their sureties on the bond. These suits were 
 
470 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 continued until April term, 1847, when one of them at the 
 instance of Bosee was removed to Kent County, the parties 
 agreeing to settle the others in accordance with the judg- 
 ment in the removed case. The cases that were not re- 
 moved are at this time upon the docket of Cecil County 
 court, the other one never having been tried in Kent. 
 
 In 1848 Thomas M. Coleman started a paper in Elkton, 
 called the Temperance Banner, which he continued to publish 
 for two years, when he removed it to Baltimore, where he 
 published it two years longer, and discontinued it probably 
 for the want of patronage. Mr. Coleman then removed to 
 Philadelphia and became reporter for the Daily Register, but 
 subsequently connected himself with the Public Ledger, of 
 which he has been city editor for a number of yeais. 
 
 Henry Vanderford purchased The Cecil Democrat and 
 Farmers' Journal from Mr. Coleman in 1848, and published 
 it under that name until June 1st, 1850, when the Farmers 
 Journal was dropped from the title, and the paper has ever 
 since been published under the name of The Cecil Democrat. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Vanderford disposed of the paper to Messrs. 
 Constable & Stump. 
 
 Mr. Vanderford, who is a practical printer and a man of 
 fine literarj' ability, had been connected with several jour- 
 nals before he came to Elkton ; he afterwards established the 
 Middletown Transcript, and subsequently purchased the 
 Democratic Advocate at Westminster, Maryland, now owned 
 and edited by his sons. 
 
 Messrs. Constable & Stump continued to publish The 
 Democrat until September, 1865, when Mr. Constable sold 
 his interest to George W. Cruikshank, the present proprietor, 
 and the paper was published by Cruikshank & Co., until 
 October of that year, when Mr. Stump sold his interest to 
 John T. McCrery, and the name of the firm was changed to 
 Cruikshank & McCrery. Mr. Cruikshank purchased Mr. 
 McCrery's interest in June, 1866, and continued to publish 
 the paper until February, 1873, when Dr. R. C. Mackall 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 471 
 
 purchased a half interest in it, which he retained until Jan- 
 uary 1st, 1876, since which it has been published by its 
 present proprietor. 
 
 During the campaign of 1855, when Know-nothingism 
 was rampant in the State of Maryland, the late Charles H. 
 Haines and William J. Jones published a small campaign 
 paper, called the Union Reformer, which was printed at the 
 office of The Whig. It was devoted to the interest of the 
 Know-nothing party, and was published anonymously for a 
 time, owing to which the postmaster refused to transmit it 
 through the mails ; but this difficulty was soon obviated by 
 placing the name of the imaginary firm of Smith & Co. at the 
 head of its columns. After The Whig became fully committed 
 to the Know-nothing party, the Union Reformer was discon- 
 tinued. 
 
 Early in the fall of 1856 John B. Rowan commenced the 
 publication of a small weekly campaign paper, called the 
 Jackson Picket Guard. It was devoted to the interest of the 
 Democratic party, and advocated the election of James 
 Buchanan to the presidency. It was edited with consider- 
 able ability, and was printed at the office of The Cecil 
 Democrat. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Eicketts, the Cecil Whig ipassed into 
 the editorial management of James S. Crawford, who edited 
 it for a period of eleven months, prior to April, 1861, when 
 it was purchased by Edwin E. Ewing, who in 1876 disposed 
 of it to its present owner, Henry R. Torbert, Esq. The 
 Chesapeake Chesapike, or the fighting fish of the Chesapeake 
 Bay, was founded in Chesapeake city, in 1876, by Harry 
 Moss who came to the Centennial International Exhibition as 
 correspondent of the Vicksbury Herald. It was purchased 
 by Dr. D. H. B. Brower, in the winter of 1878. Dr. Brower 
 changed its name to the Chesapeake Record and continued 
 to publish it until December, 1879, when he removed to 
 North East and started the North East Record, which is now 
 published in that town by liis son William G. Brower. The 
 
472 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Rising Sun Journal was founded by W. H. Pennington 
 & Brc, in 1879. It is a lively little sheet and gives 
 evidence of attaining a good old age. 
 
 The latest journalistic venture in this county, is the Cecil 
 County News, which was started in Elkton in September, 
 1880, by Dr. James H. Frazer, and which though yet in its 
 infancy gives promise of a vigorous manhood. 
 
 The fisheries of this county have long been one of its 
 most important sources of wealth. There can be no doubt 
 that the Indian tribes that Captain Smith found residing at 
 the head of the bay, when he explored it, were attracted there, 
 as their ancestors had no doubt been, from time immemo- 
 rial, by the large quantities of fish they found in the waters 
 of the bay and its tributaries, and the facilities that the 
 numerous branches of the streams emptying into it afforded 
 for the easy capture of the members of the finny tribe. 
 
 The reader will recollect that when the warlike Susque- 
 hannocks made the treaty with the English on Severn River, 
 in 1652, they reserved the country between the North East 
 and Susquehanna rivers. Their reason for doing so, was no 
 doubt, to secure the right of way to the rich fishing grounds 
 at the head of the bay, and along the northern side of the 
 Nort East River. In those days and until their passage was 
 prevented by the erection of mill-dams, the migratory fish 
 were accustomed to ascend the streams as far as they 
 found a sufficient depth of water to enable them to swim. 
 
 The seines used a century ago were made of hemp or flax 
 twine, which was spun on the old-fashioned spinning wheels 
 then in use. They were generally not more than twenty or 
 thirty yards long. Owing to the abundance of shad and 
 herring a century ago, the demand for them could easily be 
 supplied by seines of moderate length. Longer seines were 
 not used until early in the present centurj', when the in- 
 creased population and facilities for transportation produced 
 a greater demand for fish than could be supplied by the 
 short seines formerly in use. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 473 
 
 During the Revolutionary war efforts were made by the 
 provincial government, with what success has not been as- 
 certained, to suppl}^ the troops of the Maryland line with 
 smoked shad and herring, as part of their rations, which in- 
 dicates that the fishing business was one of importance at 
 that time. 
 
 The invention of the cotton-gin and the introduction of 
 improved machinery for spinning cotton in the early part of 
 the present century, gave a great impetus to the fishing 
 business, which reached the highest degree of success dur- 
 ing the decade between the years 1820 and 1830. During 
 this period, as well as before and afterwards, many of the 
 residents of Lancaster and Chester counties were in the 
 habit of annually visiting the fisheries along the Susque- 
 hanna and North East rivers, during the fishing season, 
 to obtain their supply of fish which they took home and 
 salted away for use during the intervening time between one 
 fishing season and the next. The Dutch farmers of Lan- 
 caster County came in their large Conestoga wagons, many 
 of them for long distances, along miserable roads, through a 
 rough and hilly country. They brought their own provisions 
 and food for their teams with them and frequently would be 
 absent from home for a week. Most of them, and indeed 
 nearly everybody else who went to the "Jishen," were in 
 the habit of imbibing more freely of ardent spirits than 
 was consistent with perfect sobriety. People who would 
 have scorned the thought of being drunk at any other time 
 or place, were in the habit of having a spree when they 
 went to the "Jishen." The well-to-do Dutchmen were by 
 no means the only class that visited the fisheries. They 
 were also visited by the poorer classes, who hailed the 
 first run of herring with delight, and who, if they had no 
 better or swifter means of conveyance, would go in ox-carts 
 for long distances to share in the annual piscatory harvest. 
 
 The Charlestown fair, that was originally intended for a 
 more legitimate use, during the latter part of its existence, 
 
474 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 was held about the close of the fishing season. Many of the 
 hands employed at the fisheries were hard cases, and they 
 resorted to this fair to have a spree and spend the money 
 they had earned during the fishing season. These annual 
 drunken routs probably did more than anything else to in- 
 jure the reputation of that long- established and historic 
 village, which was benefited, rather than injured, when the 
 annual fair was discontinued. In 1807, it was estimated 
 that sixteen thousand barrels of shad and herring were an- 
 nually cured and packed in the county, and that $18,000 
 worth were sold fresh. In 1819, two thousand seven hun- 
 dred barrels of herring were caught at a shore on North 
 East River in twenty-six days, by making one haul a day. 
 The proprietor of this shore then stopped fishing, having 
 filled all his barrels. A few years later, thirty-three thou- 
 sand shad were caught at one haul, at Bulls Mountain. 
 About 1820, three hundred hogsheads of herring were 
 caught at one haul at Spesutia Island. The sein used upon 
 that occasion was of great length, and about one hundred 
 men were employed at the fisherJ^ So great was the quan- 
 tity of fish caught at that haul that it was impossible to land 
 them in the ordinary manner, and the fishermen were 
 obliged to buoy the cork-line of the sein by fastening it to 
 boats placed at a convenient distance from each other, and 
 land a part of the immense haul with scoop nets. Herring 
 sold that year as low as ten cents a hundred. As early as 
 1810, the supply of fish so far exceeded the demand for them 
 that many thousands of them annually went to loss, and 
 were left upon the shores of the Susquehanna River and the 
 head of the bay, where they became such an intolerable nui- 
 sance that the Legislature, in 1810, passed a law compelling 
 the proprietors of fisheries in the afore-named places to re- 
 move the fish and offal from the shores, within ten days 
 after the end of the season, under a penalty of a fine of five 
 dollars; in cmsetyf failure to remove them, within five days 
 after being notified, a fine of twenty dollars was inflicted. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 475 
 
 Large quantities of fish were used in the early part of this 
 century for manuring the farms of those wlio lived near 
 enough to fisheries to apply them profitably, for, owing to 
 the expense of hauling them they could only be used with 
 profit near where they were caught. 
 
 The next most important source of wealth in the county 
 are its mineral productions, which consist of chrome and 
 granite. The former is found in great abundance, in the 
 form of what is technically called sand chrome, along the 
 streams and low lands in that part of the county extend- 
 ing about a mile south of Mason and Dixons Line, and 
 from the Little Elk to the Octoraro. At what time this 
 valuable mineral was first discovered is not known, but it is 
 highly probable that its existence was known to John 
 Churchman, who owned much of the barren land upon 
 which it is found, near the Octoraro. Its value first began 
 to be developed about 1830, in which year, and subsequently, 
 Isaac Tyson, of Baltimore, leased many hundreds of acres 
 of the chrome lands and began to mine sand chrome exten- 
 sively. During the succeeding twenty years, many hun- 
 dred tons of chrome, most of which was obtained in this 
 county, were annually shipped from Port Deposit to Balti- 
 more. Owing to the insignificant royalty, per ton, paid by 
 Tyson and his successor, the Tyson Mining Company, the 
 mines, though a source of inexhaustible wealth to the 
 lessees, were of but trifling value to the owners. 
 
 Magnesia also abounds in the barrens along the Octoraro, 
 and in the eighth district, but it is not of sufficient impor- 
 tance to be mined successfully. 
 
 Large quantities of iron ore, as before stated, were for- 
 merly obtained near the iron works at Principio and North 
 East, and there is reason to believe, from examinations re- 
 cently made, that Red Hill, near Elkton, contains inex- 
 haustible deposits of ore of a superior quality, as do also 
 some of the hills in the upper part of Elk Neck. By the 
 census of 1880, the amount of capital invested in iron manu- 
 factories in this county, consisting of the blast furnace of 
 
476 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 George P. Whitaker, on the Principio Creek, and the rolling- 
 mills and forges of the McCullough Iron Company at Row- 
 landville, North East, and Westamerell, was $550,000. 
 
 Next to iron, the manufacture of paper is the most impor- 
 tant industry in this county. The brothers, Samuel and 
 William Meeteer, were the first to introduce the manufac- 
 ture of paper into this county. They were the proprietors 
 of the Providence Paper-mill, on the Little Elk, in the early 
 part of the present century. 
 
 In 1816, the late Robert Carter purchased the site of the 
 Cecil Paper-mill, on the Little Elk, now owned by his son, 
 I. Day Carter, and soon after erected a paper-mill there. He 
 subsequently purchased the mill formerly owned by the 
 Cecil Manufacturing Company, and also carried on the 
 Marley or Ledger mill, at which the paper now used in the 
 office of the Philadelphia Ledger is made. Mr. Carter was 
 the first to introduce the improved method of manufactur- 
 ing paper by machinery, and did more than any other per- 
 son to develop this important branch of business in this 
 county. 
 
 By the census of 1880, the total amount of capital in- 
 vested in the manufacture of paper in this county is $200,- 
 000, which is divided among Charles H. Wells & Co., the 
 proprietors of the Cecil mill on the Octoraro ; the Ledger 
 mill ; the Providence mill, owned by William M. Singerly, 
 proprietor of the Philadelphia Record, and I. Day Carter, 
 proprietor of the Cecil paper-mill, on the Little Elk. 
 
 Granite of superior quality abounds in the north-western 
 part of the county, particularly along the Susquehanna and, 
 Octoraro. The granite quarries of Port Deposit were opened 
 in 1829 by the proprietors of the Maryland Canal, and have 
 been worked ever since, except during a few years of great 
 financial depression. In prosperous times they afford em- 
 ployment to several hundred persons, and have added much 
 to the prosperity and wealth of the town. 
 
 In the winter of 1850 an effort was made by a few of the 
 leading citizens of the county, amongst whom were Francis 
 
HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 477 
 
 A. Ellis, Hon. James McCauley, and the late Samuel S. 
 Maffit, afterwards comptroller of the State treasury, to in- 
 duce the legislature to establish a free-school system for the 
 county. With this end in view, a convention was called, 
 which met in Elkton in the winter of that year, and at an 
 adjourned meeting emdodied the views of the members in 
 a bill which was sent to the representatives of the county in 
 the Legislature then in session, with a request that the bill 
 should be enacted into a law. This request was granted, 
 and the bill passed, with this proviso : that the law should 
 be submitted to a vote of the people of the county in the 
 following May ; and if not sanctioned by a majority of them, 
 it was to be inoperative. A majority of the people voted 
 against the law, and the old system of private or subscrip- 
 tion schools, which had been in use from time immemorial, 
 continued until 1859, when the first free-school system for 
 the county was put in operation. This system was subse- 
 quently modified, and finally superseded by the free-school 
 system of the State, in 1872. 
 
 Inasmuch as many of the younger part of the commu- 
 nity know nothing of the system of education that pre- 
 vailed when their grandparents were school children, it is 
 proper to state, that in those days, when the ])eople of a 
 neighborhood needed a school-house, they held a meeting 
 and raised the means to build it by voluntary contributions, 
 many of which consisted of building materials and labor. 
 The house was placed under the control of trustees, elected 
 by the contributors, who were invested with power to em- 
 ploy teachers ; prescribe the studies to be persued by the 
 pupils ; and to supervise the teachers and schools. Many 
 of the teachers were Irishmen, and though generally well 
 educated and fully competent, not a few of them were ad- 
 dicted to periodical sprees, during the continuance of which, 
 for days at a time, the pupils enjoyed a holiday. The 
 school-houses were generally small and uncomfortable, be- 
 ing poorly ventilated in summer, and more poorly warmed 
 
478 HISTORY OF CECIL COUKTY. 
 
 in winter. Provision wa? made by the State for the educa- 
 tion of children whose parents were too poor to pay the 
 teachers for their tuition, the charges for which, varied from 
 one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars and fifty cents per 
 scholar, per quarter of seventy-two days. Sometimes the 
 patrons of the schools agreed to board the teacher, in such 
 cases he moved around among them, from house to house, 
 spending a few days with each family. The text books in 
 use, during most of the time the subscription schools were 
 in existence, were very different from those now used in the 
 public schools, and required much hard study in order to 
 be understood, but owing to this when their contents were 
 once mastered they were never forgotten. Notwithstanding 
 all these disadvantages, it is questionable whether the old 
 system was not productive of more good than the one now 
 in use. The teachers of the olden times were rigid disci- 
 plinarians, and enforced their commands with commenda- 
 ble promptness, and infiexible justice; hesitating not in 
 some few cases to chastise the parents as well as the child- 
 ren, when the former dared to infringe upon their preroga- 
 tives. The branches usually taught under the old system 
 were few, notwithstanding which their paucity of number, 
 was fully compensated by the thoroughness with which they 
 were required to be mastered. 
 
 The strictest attention was given to the morals and de- 
 meanor of the pui)ils, in consequence of which, the virtues 
 of patience, perseverance, and obedience, were highly de- 
 veloped. The word " teacher " was not used in connection 
 with schools ; and " school-master " had a meaning that the 
 Young America of the present has never realized. 
 
 At this time there are seventy-six white and thirteen 
 colored schools in the county. The value of school property, 
 including school-houses and furniture owned by the school 
 commisioners, is $63,000, about $50,000 of which has been 
 accumulated since 1868, besides which several houses used 
 for school purposes are rented by the school commissioners. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COtTNTY. 479 
 
 Owing to the fact that no pains were taken to preserve 
 the returns of the assessors previous to the Revolutionary 
 war, it is impossible even to approximate the number of in- 
 habitants in the county for many years previous to that 
 time; but by a census taken in 1712, it was as follows: 
 
 Masters and taxable men 504 
 
 White women 435 
 
 Children 873 
 
 Negroes 285 
 
 Total 3,097 
 
 The following abstract of a return made (probably to the 
 intendant of the revenue) agreeably to au Act of Assembly, 
 passed in 1785, in reference to the valuation of personal 
 property, is valuable as showing the number and valuation 
 of slaves in the county in that year : 
 
 Number. Value. 
 
 Male and female slaves from 8 to 14 518 £10,300 00 00 
 
 Males from 14 to 45 618 37,080 00 00 
 
 Females from 14 to 36 490 23,050 00 00 
 
 Males and females under 8 years 907 6,490 00 00 
 
 Males above 45 ; females above 36 458 6,796 00 00 
 
 Number of ounces of silver plate 4,15U 1,739 15 10 
 
 Value of other property 66,301 9 5 
 
 £150,707 5 3 
 It will be seen from the above statement that the value of 
 the slaves exceeded the value of all the other personal prop- 
 erty in the county by upwards of £14,000. 
 
 The following table shows the population at each decade 
 from 1790 to 1880. 
 
 Year. White. 
 
 1790 10,055 
 
 1800 6,542 
 
 1810 9,653 
 
 1820 11,933 
 
 1830 11,478 
 
 1840 13,339 
 
 1850 15,472 
 
 1860 19,994 
 
 1870 31,800 
 
 1880 33,642 
 
 P'ree Colored. 
 
 Slave. 
 
 Total. 
 
 163 
 
 3,407 
 
 13,635 
 
 373 
 
 3,103 
 
 9,018 
 
 947 
 
 2,467 
 
 13,056 
 
 1,783 
 
 3,343 
 
 16,048 
 
 2,249 
 
 1,705 
 
 15,433 
 
 2,551 
 
 1,353 
 
 17,332 
 
 2,63.S 
 
 844 
 
 18,939 
 
 3,918 
 
 950 
 
 23,863 
 
 4,014 
 
 
 25,874 
 
 4,466 
 
 
 27,108 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The Hall family — The Evans family — Dr. Amos A. Evans — The 
 Mitchell family — Colonel George E. Mitchell— The Rumsey family— The 
 Mauldin family — The Gilpin family — The Rndulph family — The Leslie 
 family — The Hyland family — The Churchman family — The Defoe family 
 — The Hartshorne family — Colonel Nathaniel Ramsay 
 
 THE HALL FAMILY. 
 
 The early history of this family, like that of many others, 
 is involved in obscurity. There is reason, however, to be- 
 lieve that Richard Hall, from whom the distinguished 
 family of thatname in this county have descended, patented 
 a large tract of land called " Mount Welcome," on the east 
 side of the Susquehanna River, about a mile above the 
 mouth of the Octoraro, in 1640. He is believed to have 
 been a son of Bishop Joseph Hall, of England. The earliest 
 authentic record extant shows that Elisha Hall and Sarah 
 Winfell (or Wingfield) were married September 16th, 1688. 
 This Elisha Hall was the son of the Richard before men- 
 tioned. Sarah Wingfield is believed to have been a grand- 
 daughter or niece of the Mr. Wingfield who was President 
 of the Council of Virginia very early in the history of that 
 colony. 
 
 The tract of land called " Mount Welcome " probably ex- 
 tended from the Susquehanna to the Octoraro ; for at the 
 time of the Revolutionary war the plantation now owned 
 by P. S. P. Conner, Esq., was in possession of Colonel Elihu 
 Hall, who entertained General Lafayette at his mansion, 
 which then occupied the site of the one now used by Mr. 
 Conner. Part of the original dwelling-house, which was 
 built of brick brought from England and landed from scows 
 at the mouth of Octoraro, is now (1881) standing. It is on 
 
aiSTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 481 
 
 an elevation near the Susquehanna, and was a famous man- 
 sion in the palmy days of the family, and was of such im- 
 portance as to be located on a map of Pennsylvania, made a 
 few years after the location of Mason and Dixons line, 
 though it is more than three miles south of it. 
 
 But little is known of the history of Richard Hall and 
 Elizabeth (Wingfield) Hall, except that they were the par- 
 ents of one son, Elisha, who was born in 1663. He married 
 and was the father of three children, as follows : Richard, 
 born 1690 ; Elihew, born 1692 ; and Sarah, born 1694. No 
 information concerning Richard and Sarah has been obr 
 tained. Elihew was the father of four children: Elihu, 
 Elisha, Sarah, and Elizabeth. He probably died in 1753, 
 at least his will was proved in that year. He devised his 
 mill, which he built on twenty acres of land condemned 
 for that purpose at the mouth of Beason's Run or Bastard 
 Creek (now called Basin Run) in Rowlandville, to his son 
 Elihu ; his lands on the Susquehanna River to his son 
 Elisha ; and to his daughter Sarah, who had married a Mr. 
 Bay, and then resided in South Carolina, a lot of negroe 
 slaves and other personal property. 
 
 His son Elisha was a doctor of medicine. He subse- 
 quently removed to Virginia and married a daughter of 
 Charles Carter, of that State. 
 
 Elihu Hall Bay, a descendant of Sarah Bay, became a 
 judge of some distinction in South Carolina. Nothing is 
 known of his daughter Elizabeth, but inasmuch as her 
 name is not mentioned in her father's will, it is probable 
 that she died before it was made. 
 
 Elihu, the second person of that name, and the great- 
 grandson of Richard, the founder of the family, married 
 Catharine Orrick, of Baltimore County, June 16th, 1757. 
 They were the parents of thirteen children as follows : 
 Elihu, John, James, Elisha, Susanna, Charles, Samuel Chew, 
 George Whitefield, Elizabeth, Henry, Catharine Orrick, 
 Washington, and Julia Reed, all of whom were born between 
 
 EE 
 
482 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 1758 and 1778. Elihu Hall, the father of this numer- 
 ous family, was one of the most conspicuous patriots of this 
 country during the Revolutionary war, and was appointed 
 second major of the Susquehanna Battalion of Maryland 
 militia, by the provincial government of his native State, on 
 the 6th of June, 1776. The same year he named his son in 
 honor of General "Washington. Such was the prominence and 
 popularity of the man, that this bold and patriotic action, 
 was highly commended by the editor of one of the leading 
 Philadelphia newspapers of that time. He probably died 
 in 1791, as his will was proved in that year. 
 
 It is not within the scope of this work to give the history 
 of all the descendants of this illustrious man ; but the 
 family of his son John has occupied such a prominent place 
 in the politics and literature of the country, that it demands 
 something more than a passing notice. In 1782, John Hall 
 married Sarah Ewing, a daughter of Rev. John Ewing, a 
 member of the Ewing family of this country, which settled 
 on the banks of the romantic Octoraro, early in the last 
 century. Mr. Ewing was a native of this county, and re- 
 ceived his education at New London Academy, then in 
 charge of Rev. Francis Allison, and became one of the most 
 eminent scholars and Presbyterian divines of his time. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hall spent many years 
 at the family homestead, which he inherited from his father, 
 on the banks of the Octoraro. While residing there in 1806, 
 she wrote a "Sketch of a Landscape," which so well describes 
 the beauties of that romantic section of country, that we 
 make the following extract: 
 
 " The wide extended landscape glows with more 
 Than common beauty. Hills rise on hills — 
 An amphitheatre, whose lofty top, 
 The spreading oak, or stately poplar crowns — 
 Whose ever-varying sides present such scenes 
 Smooth or precipitous — harmonious still — 
 Mild or sublime, — as wake the poet's lay ; 
 Nor aught is wanting to delight the sense ; 
 
HISTORT OF CECIL COUNTT. 483 
 
 The gifts of Ceres, or Diana's shades. 
 
 The eye eni-aptur'd roves o'er woods and dells, 
 
 Or dwells complacent on the numerous signs 
 
 Of cultivated life. The laborer's decent cot, 
 
 Marks the clear spring, or bubbling rill. 
 
 The lowlier hut hard by the river's edge, 
 
 The boat, the seine suspended, tell the place 
 
 Where in his season hardy fishers toil. 
 
 More elevated on the grassy slope. 
 
 The farmer's mansion rises mid his trees ; 
 
 Thence, o'er his fields the master's watchful eye 
 
 Surveys the whole. He sees his flocks, his herds 
 
 Excluded from the grain-built cone ; all else. 
 
 While rigid winter reigns, their free domain ! 
 
 Range through the pastures, crop the tender root. 
 
 Or climbing heights abrupt, search careful out, 
 
 The welcome herb, now prematurely sprung 
 
 Through half-thawed earth. Beside him spreading elms 
 
 His friendly barrier from th' invading north, 
 
 Contrast their shields defensive with the willow 
 
 Whose flexile drapery sweeps his rustic lawn. 
 
 Before him lie his vegetable stores, 
 
 His garden, orchards, meadows — all his hopes — 
 
 Now bound in icy chains : but ripening suns 
 
 Shall bring their treasures to his plenteous board. 
 
 Soon too, the hum of busy man shall wake 
 
 Th' adjacent shores. The baited hook, the net 
 
 Drawn skilful round the wat'ry cove, shall bring 
 
 Their prize delicious to the rural feast.'' 
 
 Mrs. Hall was one of the most gifted, accomplished, and 
 versatile writers of her day, and seems to have inherited 
 and transmitted to her children much of the genius and 
 intellectuality of her distinguished father. Her book, enti- 
 tled "Conversations on the Bible," was so popular as to 
 astonish the author by the rapidity of its sale. 
 
 John and Sarah (Ewing) Hall were the parents of eleven 
 children, four of whom were distinguished for great literary 
 ability. Their son, Harrison Hall, was the author of a work 
 on distillation, and for many years the proprietor and pub- 
 lisher of the Portfolio, a periodical of much celebrity in 
 Philadelphia, where it was published, and elsewhere. 
 
484 HISTORY OS' CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Another son, James Hall, studied law early in life, and 
 afterwards distinguished himself in the battle of Lundy's 
 Lane and other battles on the Canadian frontier, in the war 
 of 1812. He subsequently removed to Illinois, and settled 
 at Shawanese town, became judge of the circuit court, and 
 was State treasurer lor four years. He was a voluminous 
 writer, and the author of eleven works on the western 
 country. 
 
 John E. Hall was admitted to the bar in Baltimore in 
 1805. He was a distinguished author, and for a time was 
 editor of the Portfolio. 
 
 Still another son, Thomas Mifflin Hall, was an author of 
 no mean ability, and published a number of poetical and 
 scientific contributions in the Portfolio. He studied medi- 
 cine, and while on his way to embark in the service of one 
 of the South American States, was lost at sea. 
 
 Henry Hall, the tenth child of Elihu Hall and Catharine 
 Orrick Hall, was a physician, and married Hester Maclay, 
 daughter of Hon. William Maclay, of ITarrisburg, Penn- 
 sylvania. Mr. Maclay and Robert Morris were the first 
 United States Senators from Pennsylvania. William Maclay 
 Hall, son of Henry just mentioned, was a Presbyterian min- 
 ister. He died at Bedford, Pennsylvania, in 1851. Hon. 
 William M. Hall, son of William Maclay Hall, is president 
 judge of the sixteenth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, 
 composed of the counties of Bedford and Somerset, and re- 
 sides at Bedford, Pennsylvania. His brother, Hon. Lewis 
 W. Hall, resided at Altoona, Pensylvania, and represented 
 that district for two terms in the Pennsylvania State Senate, 
 during and after the war. He was twice elected speaker. 
 He now resides at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 
 
 A portion of the family homestead is now in the posses- 
 sion of Richard Hall, the son of Washington Hall, and the 
 great-great-great-grandson of the Richard Hall who settled 
 on Mount Welcome in 1640. His brother Charles resides 
 in Harford County, Maryland. Another branch of the 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 485 
 
 family, which are the descendants of Charles, the son of the 
 second Elihu, reside in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. 
 
 THE EVANS FAMILY. 
 
 This family is one of the most numerous in the county 
 and for more than a century has been one of the most dis- 
 tinguished; many of its members having filled important 
 public positions, while others have been successful manu- 
 facturers and farmers. 
 
 There is reason to believe that most of the name in this 
 county are the descendants of three brothers, John, James, 
 and Robert Evans, who settled here about a century and a 
 half ago, and are believed to have been the sons of John 
 Evans, who was probably born about the year 1680. 
 
 In 1739, James Evans bought four hundred acres of land 
 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which he continued to 
 hold, and probably resided on it until 1752, when he sold it 
 to his brother, John Evans, the great-grandfather of Wil- 
 liam James, and John P. Evans, and Catharine P., wife of 
 W. W. Black. 
 
 James and Robert Evans married sisters, Isabella and 
 Margaret, daughters of John Kilpatriek of West Notting- 
 ham, who made them the executors of his will, and as such 
 they, in 1773, sold his plantation, about two miles west of 
 the Rising Sun, on the road leading to Porter's Bridge, to 
 their brother John Evans, who had settled many years be- 
 fore at Drumore Centre, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 
 and whose son James, before-mentioned, settled on the afore- 
 said farm. 
 
 John Evans, the eldest of the three brothers, served in the 
 French and Indian war as a volunteer from Lancaster 
 County. He married a Miss Denny and was the father of 
 eight children. His eldest child, James, who was born in 
 1749, married (first) Susan Allison. They were the parents 
 of three children, John, Robert, and Martha. John emi- 
 grated to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he raised a large fam' 
 ily. He served as a volunteer in the war of 1812. 
 
486 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Robert, the father of Judge James M. Evans, spent his 
 life in this county and was for many years a justice of the 
 peace. Martha died young. James, above-mentioned, 
 married (secondly) Catharine Porter. They were the par- 
 ents of four children, Andrew, James, Sarah, and William.. 
 William died young ; Andrew was drowned in the Susque- 
 hanna at the Conowingo bridge, when it was building, in 
 1817 ; Sarah married the late William Patten, and is now 
 living in the ninety-third year of her age. James Evans 
 married (thirdly) Martha Gillespie, by whom he had no^ 
 children. He died in 1817. 
 
 James, the second of the three brothers, shortly after the 
 sale of his property in Lancaster County, in 1752, purchased 
 " Evans' Choice," situate about two miles southwest of 
 West Nottingham Presbyterian church, and came there to 
 reside. He was the father of Robert Evans, who resided 
 near Port Deposit. 
 
 Robert Evans married, first, his cousin Margaret Evans. 
 They were the parents of Margaret, who never married, and 
 Ellen Oldham, the wife of Cyrus Oldham. He married, 
 secondly, Mrs. Isabella Alexander, whose maiden name was 
 Creigh, by whom he had James, who never married ; Jane, 
 who married Abraham D. Mitchell, of Fair Hill ; Mary, who 
 married William Hollingsworth, of Elkton ; Sophia, who 
 married Dr. Henry B. Broughton, who practiced medicine 
 near Port Deposit for many years ; and Robert and John, 
 twin brothers, the latter of whom practiced medicine many 
 years in Havre de Grace, and in the latter part of his life, 
 near Port Deposit. 
 
 Robert Evans, the youngest of the three brothers before- 
 mentioned, settled on the Big Elk, west of Cowantown, 
 where Parke, Smith & Co.'s rolling-mill formerly stood, - 
 upon three hundred acres of land, which he purchased in 
 1730. He was a tanner, and had a tan-yard on the west 
 side of the creek, the site of which was covered by the water 
 of the rolling-mill dam. He seems to have been very sue- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 487 
 
 cessful in business, for he became the owner of large quan- 
 tities of landfat the Head of Elk, in New Munster and else- 
 where. He married Margaret, a daughter of John Kilpat- 
 rick, as has been stated, and died in 1775, leaving two sons, 
 Robert and John Evans, and six daughters, Jean Evans, 
 who afterwards married Henry HoUingsworth, of Elkton ; 
 Hannah, who married Rev. James Finley, pastor of the Rock 
 church ; Maiy, who married Zebulon HoUingsworth, of Elk 
 Landing ; Isabella, who married William Montgomery ; Mar- 
 garet, who married James Black, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 John C. Groome; and Elanor, who married Amos Alexan- 
 der, of the Alexander family of New Munster. 
 
 John and Robert Evans inherited the tan-yard on the 
 Big Elk. Robert was commissioned lieutenant in a military 
 company early in the Revolutionary war, but was thrown 
 from his horse and killed while riding home from Cowan- 
 town before he entered the army. John, the surviving 
 brother, continued to reside upon the family homestead on 
 the banks of the Big Elk, where he engaged in the manu- 
 facture of bar iron and nails, and subsequently in rolling 
 copper. He and the celebrated Paul Revere, the hero of 
 Longfellow's " Midnight Ride," are believed to have been 
 the only rollers of copper in the United States at that time, 
 and all the vessels of the American navy are said to have 
 been coppered with material of their manufacture. Revere's 
 mills were about seventeen miles from Boston, and it may 
 be mentioned as an interesting historical fact, that Dr. 
 Amos A. Evans, the son of the proprietor of the copper-mill 
 on the Elk, with the consent of the firm of Revere & Co. 
 and at the instance of his father visited the works of Revere 
 for the purpose of observing his method of working copper, 
 and while there made sketches of the works. 
 
 John Evans married Mary Alexander, one of the Alex- 
 ander family of New Munster. They were the parents of 
 Amos Alexander Evans, who will shortly be noticed at 
 length ; Sarah, who married Robert Gallaher ; Robert, who 
 
488 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 married, and with his family removed to Iowa; John, who 
 was one of the " glorious nineteen ;"* Jane, who never mar- 
 ried, and died early in life; Levi Hollingsworth, who was 
 State Senator and Judge of the Orphan's Court of this 
 county; George, who went to Mexico and died in the city of 
 Matamoras ; and William and Mark, both of whom died 
 young. 
 
 AMOS ALEXANDER EVANS, 
 the oldest son of John Evans and Mary Alexander, was 
 born November 26th, 1785, at the residence of his parents 
 on the banks of the Big Elk, about five miles north of 
 Elkton. When a boy he was sent to the Academy at Newark, 
 Delaware, then a very noted school, where his dilligence 
 and good conduct enabled him to acquire as good an educa- 
 tion both in the English branches and in the classics as 
 that school was capable of giving. In March, 1804, when 
 in the nineteenth year of his age, he commenced the study 
 of medicine with Dr. George E. Mitchell, who was then 
 practicing his profession in Elkton, with whom he continued 
 to study for three years ; he also attended the lectures of the 
 celebrated Dr. Rush (a signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence), and the lectures of the other professors at the 
 University of Pennsylvania, where his attention to study 
 and his dilligence were such, that he took, in manuscript, 
 three considerable volumes of notes of Dr. Rush's lectures 
 which are still preserved. He showed the like zeal, industry 
 
 * Previous to 1836, the senators of Maryland were elected by an elec- 
 toral college, composed of forty electors ; each county electing two and 
 Baltimore City and the city of Annapolis, one each. The constitution 
 provided that not less than twenty-four members of the college should 
 constitute a quorum. At the election in 1836, the Whigs elected twenty- 
 one and the Democrats nineteen members of the college. The latter re- 
 fused to go into an election until they had a guarantee from the Whigs, 
 that certain amendments to the constitution should be made, allowing the 
 peeple to elect the governor and senators by a direct vote. The Demo- 
 cratic members have since been known as the " glorious nineteen." 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 489 
 
 and dilligence, in taking a volume of manuscript notes of the 
 lectures of the learned Dr. Jackson, of Boston, which have 
 likewise been preserved. 
 
 Having been fully endorsed by his learned preceptors 
 whom he had assisted in his practice for some time, and 
 having been licensed to practice his profession by the medi- 
 cal and chirurgical faculty of his native State, and having 
 also passed a creditable and satisfactory examination by the 
 board of medical officers, and having been appointed sur- 
 geon's mate to the 49th Regimentof Maryland militia in 1807, 
 he was appointed, by President Jefferson, an assistant sur- 
 geon in the U. S. Navy, on the 1st of September, 1808. On 
 the 25th of the following October, he sailed from Baltimore 
 for New Orleans, in the brig Adherbal. He remained in 
 Louisiana at Bay St. Louis and New Orleans ; Natchetz, Miss.; 
 St. Maries, in Georgia, and other places where duty called 
 him until some time in the year 1811, having in the mean- 
 time, on the 20th of April, 1810, been commissioned as sur- 
 geon, when he retm-ned home but was unfortunately ship- 
 wrecked during the voyage upon the coast of North Carolina. 
 
 During all the time of his sojourn in the southern coun- 
 try, though the yellow fever was raging, he entirely escaped 
 any attack, which he principally attributed to going into 
 the sunshine only when covered by an umbrella, avoiding 
 the night air as much as duty would permit, and to tem- 
 perate habits. 
 
 After Dr. Evans returned from Louisiana, he was ordered 
 to, and joined the frigate Constitution, then at Washington 
 city, and sailed from that place on a cruise, on the 11th of 
 June, 1812. From the 16th to the 19th the famous chase of 
 the Constitution by the British fleet took place, of which the 
 journal kept by Dr. Evans gives a graphic account. He 
 concludes in the following manner: "thus terminates a dis- 
 agreeable chase of nearly three days attended with inexpres- 
 sible anxiety, and alternate elevation and depression of 
 spirits, as the winds were propitious or otherwise; we had 
 
490 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 many times given over all expectation of making our escape, 
 and had it not been for uncommon exertion we must inevi- 
 tal)ly liave fallen a prey to the superiority of our enemy." 
 
 The Constitution after the chase stood into Boston harbor, 
 and again went to sea, and on Wednesday the 19th of Au- 
 gust, 1812, came into action with His Britannic Majesty's ship, 
 the Guerriere. The Constitution fired her first gUD at fifteen 
 minutes past five, P. M., and came into close action at six 
 o'clock, and the Guerriere struck her colors twenty-five minutes 
 afterwards. From the firing of the first gun to the termi- 
 nation of the action was an hour and ten minutes. The 
 Constitution had been on fire a few days before and in ex- 
 tinguishing the flames. Dr. Evans had badly injured his 
 right hand ; notwithstanding this he was assiduous in atten- 
 tion to the wounded of the enemy as well as our own men, and 
 kept his daily journal as usual, writing with his left hand. 
 Owing to the fact that the Guerriere was so badly injured 
 that it was with difficulty she could be kept afloat, and 
 because the ocean was then swarming with British cruisers, 
 it was determined to destroy her, and about three or four 
 o'clock on the morning after the action, she was set on flre. 
 Dr. Evans gives the following account of the matter: 
 " Having got all the men from the Guerriere, we set her on 
 fire and before the officer had time to get on board our ship 
 with tlie boat, she blew up, presenting a sight, the most in- 
 comparably grand and magnificient I have ever experienced. 
 No painter, no poet or historian, could give on canvass or 
 paper, any description that could do justice to the scene." 
 
 Captain Hull resigned the command of the Constitution 
 to Captain Bainbridge, not without trouble on the part of 
 the crew, who were strongly attached to him, and on Tues- 
 day, the 27th of October, 1812, the ship stood to sea. Dr. 
 Evans being her surgeon, and on December 29tli, on the 
 coast of Brazil captured His BritannicMajesty's ship, the Jaw, 
 Captain Lambert, who was killed in action. In this action 
 Commodore Bainbridge was wounded by a piece of copper 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 491 
 
 from the copper railing around the after hatchway, which 
 lacerated the muscles of his thigh in a terrible manner, not- 
 withstanding which he refused to leave the deck or have 
 his wounds dressed until long after the close of the action. 
 Dr. Evans was assiduous in his attention to him, and thus 
 began an intimacy between these distinguished men that 
 only terminated with the life of the Commodore, as is shown 
 by the following letter selected from many similar ones in 
 the possession of the family of Dr. Evans: 
 
 " My Dear Sir : 
 
 " Enclosed are several letters from me which I hope 
 will procure you the station you desire, and also pleasure 
 from my friends. I beg of you to deliver the letters. Al- 
 though we part at present I still hope we shall meet on ser- 
 vice at some future day; at all events, I pray you to be as- 
 sured of one truth — that in me you have a warm and affec- 
 tionate friend, and at all times I sincerely hope you will 
 consider me as such ; recollect the promise I made to you. 
 At any time when you require the fulfilment of it, com- 
 mand it without reserve. May you be as happy as I sin- 
 cerely wish you. In great haste but sincerely yours, 
 
 " William Bainbridge. 
 " Dr. Evans, 
 
 " Surgeon U. S. Navy, 25th March, 1813." 
 
 For his services Dr. Evans was by vote of Congress pre- 
 sented with two valuable silver medals, one for the Guer- 
 riere and the other for the Java. Only twenty-six medals 
 have ever been given by vote of Congress, and they have 
 attained at this day a high value as works of art. The 
 medals presented to Dr. Evans are about two and a half 
 inches in diameter, and contain on the obverse, the one a 
 handsome bust of Commodore Hull ; the other a bust of 
 Commodore Bainbridge. And on the reverse, highly artistic 
 representations of the vessels engaged in action. The one 
 in commemoration of the capture of the Guerriere was ac- 
 companied by a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, of 
 which the following is a copy : 
 
492 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 " Navy Department, February 10th, 1820. 
 " Sir : — In compliance with a resolution of the Congress 
 of the United States, the President directs me to present to 
 you a silver medal in testimony of the high sense enter- 
 tained by Congress of your gallantry, good conduct, and ser- 
 vices in the conflict with the British Frigate Guerriere. I 
 have the 
 
 " Honor to be very 
 respectfully your 
 obt. servt, 
 
 "Smith Thompson. 
 " Dr. Amos A. Evans, 
 
 " Surgeon U. States Navy, Elkton, Md." 
 
 The following is a copy of the inscription on the reverse 
 of this Medal : 
 
 HORAE MOMENTO 
 
 VICTORIA 
 
 INTER CONST. NAV. AMER. ET GUER. ANGL. 
 
 The obverse contains the following inscription : 
 
 PERITOS. ARTE. SUPERAT JUL. MDCCCXII AUG. 
 CERTAMINE FORTES ISSC U. S. HULL. 
 
 The inscription on the obverse of the other medal is as 
 follows : 
 
 GULIELMUS BAINBRIDGE PATRIA 
 VICTISQUE LAUDATUS. 
 
 On the reverse, 
 
 PUGNANDO INTER CONST. NAV. AMERI. 
 
 ET JAV. NAV. ANGL. 
 
 DIE XXIX DECEM. MDCCCXII. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 493 
 
 In May, 1813, while on a visit to his relatives in the 
 vicinity of Elkton, Dr. Evans served as a volunteer for a 
 short time in the fort at Frencutown. For some reason the 
 militia that were stationed at that place were removed the 
 evening before the arrival of the British to Fort Hollings- 
 worth, at Elk Landing; whereupon the doctor repaired to 
 the residence of his father, on the Big Elk, where he spent 
 the night ; hearing the firing the next morning, he mounted 
 his horse and rode to Fort Hollingsworth, and in company 
 with the late H. D. Miller, and two or three others procured 
 a boat and rowed down the river to Frenchtown, being the 
 first to arrive there after the British had embarked on their 
 barges, which were still lying in the river not far from the 
 ruins of the town. It was upon this occasion that the Brit- 
 ish fired one of their swivel guns at them while they were 
 standing in the road near the ruins of the town. The ball 
 struck the ground near them and scattered the gravel all 
 over their persons. 
 
 After the close of the war. Dr. Evans was stationed at 
 Charlestown Navy Yard, and having ample leisure availed 
 himself of the opportunity to attend the medical lectures at 
 Harvard University, where he graduated with much dis- 
 tinction, on the 30th of August, 1814. 
 
 But war having been declared against the Barbary States 
 on the northern coast of Africa on account of their un- 
 provoked and piratical attacks upon our commerce. Dr. 
 Evans, on the 2d of July, 1815, sailed with commodore 
 Bainbridge in the Independence, seventy-four, as fleet sur- 
 geon in the war against the Algerines. He was the first of 
 this rank in the navy, and the Independence, seventy-four, 
 the first ship of the line. 
 
 While erasing in the Mediterranean during the war with 
 the Barbarj' States, Dr. Evans had an opportunity of visiting 
 many of the old historic cities along the shores of that sea, 
 and his journal is replete with beautiful and classic descrip- 
 tions of many of the places he visited, which shows that he 
 
494 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 was not insensible to the charms of nature nor forg-etful of 
 the heroes of antiquity. 
 
 On his return fro.n the war with the Barbary States, Dr. 
 Evans was again stationed at the Charlestown Navy Yard, 
 and while there made the acquaintance of Miss Mary Oliver, 
 of Boston, a beautiful and highly cultivated and educated 
 lady, whom he married on the 28th of March, 1816. Some- 
 time after his marriage he applied to be relieved from duty 
 at the Charlestown Navy Yard and proceeded to Elkton, on 
 leave, where he entered upon the practice of his profession, 
 in which he continued until the time of his death. 
 
 Though asked to accept the position of Governor of the 
 State and frequently pressed to accept other honorable po- 
 sitions, he firmly declined all political preferment and honor, 
 choosing rather to minister to the wants and alleviate the 
 sufferings of his numerous patients, who loved and revered 
 him both as a physician and a friend. 
 
 About the year 1823, he was ordered to the charge of the 
 Philadelphia Navy Yard, which he declined, unless the 
 Navy Department would promise a permanent position at 
 that place. This not being in its power, Dr. Harris was 
 appointed, and from his private practice accumulated an 
 ample fortune. In 1824, he resigned his position in the 
 navy, against the earnest remonstrance of the secretary and 
 the department. 
 
 During nis term of service the pay of a surgeon was trivial 
 in comparison with what it has since become, being (as is 
 thought) only about nine hundred dollars a year when he 
 was fleet surgeon. 
 
 He died on the 15th of January, 1848, beloved and re- 
 gretted by the whole community, which showed their sorrow 
 for his loss and their respect for his memory by voluntarily 
 closing every place of business in the town upon the occa- 
 sion of his funeral. 
 
 Mrs. Evans survived her husband many years, and died 
 in Baltimore, on the 4th of January, 1881. Their children 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 495 
 
 were Alexander Evans, Andrew W. Evans, (now of the 
 United States Army), and Mary Evans, who was married to 
 the late James W. Clayton, all three of whom are still living. 
 
 THE MITCHELL FAMILY. 
 
 The Mitchells, of Cecil County, are of Scotch-Irish extrac- 
 tion, and are the descendants of Dr. Abraham Mitchell, a cele- 
 brated physician and native of Lancaster County, Pennsylva- 
 nia, who settled at or near ike Head of Elk,asElkton was then 
 called, some time previous to 1767, at which time he was 
 practicing his profession near that place. But little is known 
 of his early history, except that he was a cousin of the Rev. 
 Alexander Mitchell, a distinguished Presbyterian minister 
 who for many years near the close of the last and in the early 
 part of the present century, was pastor of the Doe Run and 
 Upper Octoraro churches, in Chester County. 
 
 Dr. Mitchell was about twenty-five years of age when he 
 came to this county ; and there is a tradition in the family, 
 that having completed his medical studies, his father pre- 
 sented him with a horse, saddle and saddle-bags, and five 
 hundred dollars in cash, when he started out to seek a favor- 
 able location to practice his profession. He soon lost the 
 money in his possession by going security for a friend, but 
 being of robust constitution and possessed of great energy, 
 nothing daunted, set himself to work manfully to repair the 
 loss. 
 
 In 1769 he leased a lot in Elkton, and subsequently 
 erected thereon the dwelling-house on Main street, now 
 owned and occupied by James T. McCuUough, Esq., who, 
 in 1845, married his granddaughter, Catharine W. Mitchell. 
 Elkton was an insignificant village at that time, and prob- 
 ably did not contain more than five or six good houses, 
 among which were those now occupied by Dr. R. H. Tull ; 
 the old post-office building, which was built in 1768 ; and 
 the houses now occupied by John Partridge, Esq., Hon. 
 Alexander Evans, and Colonel George R. Howard. It is 
 
496 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 worthy of remark in this connection, as showing the insig- 
 nificance of the place, that the lot before-mentioned is 
 described as being near Glover's Hill, which is the hill west 
 of Little Elk Creek, now owned by Alfred Wetherell. 
 
 Dr. Abraham Mitchell seems to have been fond of agri- 
 cultural pursuits, a trait that has been inherited by most 
 of his descendants, for he subsequently leased a large quan- 
 tity of land near the mouth of Mill Creek, which empties 
 into the Little Elk near Glover's Hill, and in 1779 pur- 
 chased a hundred acres, part of New Castle back landing, 
 which was situate on the Elk River, next above French- 
 town. 
 
 Dr. Mitchell was one of the most distinguished physicians 
 of his time, which is shown by the fact that his practice ex 
 tended over the greater part of Cecil and embraced part of 
 Harford and New Castle counties. He was a true patriot, 
 and showed his devotion to the cause of his country during 
 the Revolutionary war by converting his house into a hos- 
 pital for the use of the wounded soldiers of the Continentkl 
 army, many of whom availed themselves of his kindness 
 aud professional skill. 
 
 On the 19th of November, 1772, he married Mary Thomp- 
 son, daughter of Dr. Ephraim Thompson, who was the son 
 of Richard, who was the son of Richard, who was the son 
 of the John Thompson who married Judith Hermen, the 
 second daughter of Augustine Hermen, the founder of Bo- 
 hemia Manor. 
 
 In 1781 he purchased two hundred acres of land at Fair Hill, 
 and some time afterwards removed there, but subsequently re- 
 turned to Elkton, and for a time resided in the Mansion house, 
 on Main street, now occupied by Dr. R. F. Tull. He sub- 
 sequently returned to Fair Hill, and in the latter part of his 
 life became a member of the Rock church. He had previ- 
 ously, in 1777, been a liberal subscriber to the salary of the 
 Rev. Mr. Thompson, rector of North Elk parish. 
 
 He died at Fair Hill, September 30th, 1817, in the 
 eighty-fourth year of his age. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 497 
 
 Dr. Abraham Mitchell and wife were the parents of eight 
 children, two of whom died in infancy. Of his sons, George 
 Edward was born March 3d, 1781, and will be noticed at 
 length hereafter. Ephraim Thompson, born March 17th,1783, 
 was endowed by nature with considerably more talent than 
 generally falls to the lot of man. He studied law with 
 William Pincney,and practiced his profession in this countj^, 
 and died in the service of his country in the last war with 
 Great Britain, on Lake Erie, on board the transport Lady 
 Provost, en route from Detroit to Fort George. Abraham 
 David Mitchell, their third son, was born on the 1st of Decem- 
 ber, 1786. He married Jane Evans, daughter of Robert and 
 Margaret Evans.* They were the parents of nine children 
 as follows : Ephraim Thompson ; Robert : Abraham David ; 
 Alexander ; John Jay ; James Evans ; and Mary, the wife of 
 Judge James M. Evans; Jane Evans, wife of William T. 
 West, and Margaret, wife of Richard D. Hall. Abraham D. 
 Mitchell was a member of the company of light horsemen, 
 commanded by John R. Evans,t of this county, in the war of 
 1812, and participated in the defense of Baltimore. He was 
 one of the delegates that represented this county in the 
 Legislature in 1814 and the two following j'ears, and was 
 for many years a leading member of the Rock church and 
 one of the elders of that church at the time of his death 
 which occurred in 1841. 
 
 COLONEL GEORGE EDWARD MITCHELL. 
 
 George Edward Mitchell studied medicine under the 
 tuition of his father, and also attended the lectures at the 
 
 * See sketch of the Evans family. 
 
 f John R. Evans, was a son of Samuel Evans, who for many years re- 
 sided at Prospect Hill, now owned by H. D. Miller. He is believed to 
 have been related to the other Evans of this county, but the degree of 
 relationship between the families, if any exists, is not certainly known. 
 He was a man of some distinction, and assumed the name of Ricketts to 
 distinguish him from another John Evans. He was the father of John 
 W. Evans, of Newark, Delaware. 
 
 FF 
 
498 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 medical department of the Pennsylvania University, by 
 which he was licensed to practice his profession, on the 5th 
 of June, 1805. For some years prior and subsequent to this 
 time he practiced his profession in partnership with his 
 father in Elkton, but in 1808 was elected one of the repre- 
 sentatives of this county in the General Assembly of the 
 State, and served iii that capacity during the session of 
 1808-9, being a zealous supporter of President Jefferson's 
 administration. Having declined a re-election to the General 
 Assembly, he was elected a member of the Executive 
 Council, and took his seat in that body on the 27th of No- 
 vember, 1809 ; Edward Lloyd being at that time Governor 
 of the State. Mr. Mitchell's colleagues were Thomas W. Hall, 
 Levin Duvall, Reverdy Ghiselin and James Butcher. 
 
 In January, 1809, he was offered the position of captain 
 of light dragoons in the regular army, which he declined, 
 and continued to serve in the council, of which he had been 
 made president, until the spring of 1812, when it became 
 apparent that war would soon be declared against Great 
 Britain, he resigned, and on May 1st was appointed major 
 of the third artillery, in the regular army. Soon after his 
 resignation, he raised a company of volunteers in this 
 county and entered into active service. 
 
 The summer and fall of 1812 he spent in camp at Albany, 
 New York, assisting Colonel Macomb in disciplining his 
 regiment, and marched with it, in November, to Sackett's 
 Harbor, on Lake Ontario. He had command of the regi- 
 ment after reaching Sackett's Harbor, and spent several 
 weeks of an intensely cold winter encamped amid the frost 
 and snow of the Canadian frontier. Huts were subsequently 
 erected, and the remainder of the winter was spent in 
 guarding the fleet on the lake and in making preparations 
 for the approaching campaign. 
 
 For his valuable services during the winter. General 
 Armstrong, Secretary of War, promoted him to the rank of 
 lieutenant-colonel on the 3d of March, 1813. In the spring 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 499 
 
 of that year the campaign on the northern frontier was 
 opened by the capture of York, an important post in Upper 
 Canada. Colonel Mitchell was a volunteer in that brilliant 
 but unfortunate affair. After the British troops had been 
 beaten and completely routed, the diabolical plan of de- 
 stroying the American troops, which were advancing in 
 columns, by exploding their magazine, containing five 
 hundred barrels of gunpowder, was carried into effect, and 
 General Pike and three hundred gallant soldiers were killed 
 or badly wounded by the explosion. Colonel Mitchell, who 
 was much injured, assisted in reforming the shattered col- 
 umns. He was the first to raise and revive for the moment 
 the gallant and lamented Pike. J3is aides-de-camp being 
 killed or badly wounded, he gave Colonel Mitchell his last 
 orders for Colonel Pierce, the second in command of the 
 land forces, who immediately ordered Colonel Mitchell on 
 dutj' under him, and afterwards spoke in the warmest terms 
 of commendation of his conduct upon this occasion. Colonel 
 Mitchell was with General Dearborn at the capture of Fort 
 George, a strong fortification on the Canadian side of the 
 Niagara River, and aided much in the achievement of that 
 brilliant victory. A few days after the capture of Fort 
 George he was ordered to the command of Fort Niagara, 
 which important post he commanded during the summer 
 and fall of 1813. And on account of his bravery and good 
 generalship, was placed in command of the rear guard of 
 the second division of the Northern army while on its march, 
 under command of General Brown, from French Mills to 
 Sackett's Harbor, in February, 1814. His command con- 
 sisted of one thousand men, and was one of the most im- 
 portant in the army, on account of the pursuit and attacks 
 that were expected from the enemy. This duty, like all 
 others assigned him, was discharged in a manner highly 
 creditable to him and satisfactory to his countrymen. 
 
 In the April following while e7i route with his command 
 from Sackett's Harbor to Buffalo, having arrived at Batavia 
 
500 HISTOKY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 he was ordered by General Brown, who had rode forty miles 
 during the night to meet him there, to take command at 
 Oswego, and important post at the mouth of Oswego River 
 and the key to a very important depot of naval stores, 
 twelve miles further up the river at Great Falls, which were 
 intended for the use of vessels recently launched, but not 
 yet finished at Sackett's Harbor. 
 
 When Colonel Mitchell had received his orders and with 
 his officers was taking leave of General Brown, the General 
 said to him, " Colonel, if you cannot save this property, our 
 fleet on Ontario will be rendered useless. It very probably 
 will be destroyed, and the whole force of the enemy will be 
 brought against us on the Niagara. But if you save this 
 property we will have a splendid campaign, and you will 
 deserve from me the thanks of your General and the army 
 and your country cannot sufficiently reward you." The 
 alacrity with which the gallant colonel and his no less gal- 
 lant soldiers engaged in this hazardous expedition is fully 
 attested by the fact that they marched at the rate of fiftj' 
 miles a day in order to reach Oswego before it should fall 
 into the hands of the enemy. Colonel Mitchell and his 
 command reached Oswego on the 30th of April, 1814. The 
 place was in a bad condition. There were but five cannons 
 in the fortifications, three of which having lost their trun- 
 nions were useless. The stockade around the ancient fort 
 which was composed of pickets set in the ground was en- 
 tirely decayed and useless. Notwithstanding these diffi- 
 culties. Colonel Mitchell with his accustomed alacrity and 
 promptness set about repairing the works and sent messen- 
 gers into the surrounding country to arouse the militia, a 
 few of whom afterwards responded to his call. At daylight 
 on the morning of the 5th of May, a British naval force of 
 seven vessels and a number of gunboats was discovered ap- 
 proaching the fort. The village and the fort being some 
 distance apart and on opposite sides of the river, and Col- 
 onel Mitchell having too few troops for the defense of both, 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 501 
 
 ordered all the tents in store to be pitched near the town, 
 while with his whole force, consisting of less than three 
 hundred men, he took position in the fort. This deception 
 had the desired effect, and the enemy believing the town to 
 be full of troops proceeded to bombard the fort leaving the 
 defenseless village unmolested. Early in the afternoon the 
 enemj' in fifteen large boats covered by the gunboats and 
 small armed vessels attempted to effect a landing, but were 
 repulsed by a small detachment of the Americans stationed 
 near the shore, who used an old twelve pounder upon them 
 with terrible effect until it bursted. At this juncture a 
 heavy breeze sprang up and the entire squadron put to sea. 
 
 The next morning the British fleet again appeared off 
 Oswego, and the large vessels soon afterwards opened a 
 heavy fire on the fort. In the afternoon the enemy, about 
 twelve hiindred in number, effected a landing, and Colonel 
 Mitcliell finding it impossible to defend the fort with so few 
 men, boldly sallied out and met the invaders under cover of 
 a woods. He divided his small detachment into two parts, 
 and placing himself at the head of one of them, attacked 
 the British column in front, while the other assailed it on 
 the flank. By desperate fighting the enemy was kept in 
 check for a long time, but overwhelming numbers finally 
 compelled the Americans to fall back, and the British took 
 possession of the fort and what few stores were in the vicin- 
 ity. Colonel Mitchell retreated up the river in good order 
 and took a position where he might protect the naval stores 
 at the Falls, should the enemy attempt to capture them. 
 
 This gallant defense of Oswego was one of the most bril- 
 liant affairs on the Canadian frontier, and was in striking 
 contrast with the mishaps and failures in the previous cam- 
 paign which were owing in great measure to the incom- 
 petency or cowardice of those in command. An American 
 historian, in writing of the defense of Oswego two years 
 afterwards, uses this language : " On no occasion did the 
 Americans deserve better of their country ; at no time be- 
 fore did the enemy buy victory with less advantage to 
 
502 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 himself, or at a dearer price. Twice they repulsed and for 
 nearly two days maintained a contest against seven times 
 their number, and finally succeeded in preserving the stores 
 at the Falls, the loss of which would have materially im- 
 peded the operations of the army and navy." 
 
 For the gallantry displayed at Oswego, Colonel Mitchell 
 received the thanks of his superior ofScers, and on the 14th 
 of the following August, was breveted Colonel in the regular 
 army. 
 
 After the memorable battles on the Niagara, in which 
 Generals Brown, Scott and Ripley, were disabled by their 
 wounds. General Gaines was ordered to take command of the 
 army of the Niagara, he left Colonel Mitchell in command 
 of thearmy of the centre, which command he held during the 
 continuance of the war, performing with the approbation 
 of the commanding generals and the Secretary of War the 
 many important and difficult duties which devolved upon 
 him. He was the first to announce the news of peace to the 
 British authorities in Canada. 
 
 Shortly after the conclusion of peace, the Legislature of 
 Maryland passed a series of resolutio;is highly complimen- 
 tary of his bravery and good conduct, and ordered the Gov- 
 ernor to present him with an elegant sword. 
 
 Peace being proclaimed, and after having satisfactorily 
 performed all the various and confidential duties imposed 
 upon him preparatory to the reduction of the army, Colonel 
 Mitchell expressed a wish not to be retained in the Peace 
 establishment, notwithstanding which he was retained and 
 by a highly complimentary general order, placed in com- 
 mand of the fourth military department as the successor of 
 Major-general Scott. This command Colonel Mitchell held 
 several years, deserving and receiving the thanks of his 
 superior officers for the ability with which he discharged 
 his duties. 
 
 Owing to the partiality and favoritism shown in the re- 
 duction of the army in 1821, Colonel Mitchell on the 1st of 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 503 
 
 June, of that year, resigned his commission and returned to 
 his native county, and engaged in agricultural pursuits, of 
 which he was very fond, upon part of the family homestead 
 at Fair Hill, which he had inherited from his father. 
 
 On the 28th of May, 1816, Colonel Mitchell married Mary 
 Hooper, daughter of Samuel Hooper and Ann (Conway) 
 Hooper, of Dorchester County, Maryland. Mrs. Mitchell 
 was a beautiful and highly cultivated and accomplished lady, 
 and no doubt her husband after his long and arduous ser- 
 vice in the army hoped to enjoy a long season of repose in 
 the bosom of his family; but he was not allowed to do so. 
 For his countrymen being fully sensible of his eminent fit- 
 ness for the position, and being desirous to reward him in 
 some measure for his gallant service in the army in the fall 
 of 1822, elected him a member of the Eighteenth Congress 
 from the congressional district composed of Cecil, Kent, and 
 Harford counties, without opposition. 
 
 Colonel Mitchell's career as a statesman was no less bril- 
 liant than his record as a soldier. In both positions he was 
 distinguished by actions rather than by words. On the 12th 
 of January, 1824, he offered the following preamble and re- 
 solutions, of which he was the author, and which will fully 
 explain themselves: 
 
 " Whereas, That distinguished champion of freedom, and 
 hero of our revolution, the friend and associate of Washing- 
 ton, the Marquis de Lafayette, a volunteer general officer in 
 our Revolutionary war, has expressed an anxious desire to 
 visit this country, the independence of which his valor, 
 blood, and treasures, were so instrumental in achieving; 
 Therefore, be it resolved by the Senate and House of Repre- 
 sentatives of the United States of America, in Congress as- 
 sembled that the President of the United States be requested 
 to communicate to the Marquis de Lafayette the expression 
 of those sentiments of profound respect, gratitude and affec- 
 tionate attachment which are cherished towards him by the 
 
504 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 • 
 
 government and people of this country, and to assure him 
 that the execution of his wish and intention to visit this 
 country will be hailed by the people and government with 
 patriotic pride and joy ; and be it further resolved that the 
 President of the United States be requested to ascertain from 
 the Marquis de Lafaj^ette, the time when it may be most 
 agreeable for him to perform his visit, and that he offer to 
 the Marquis a conveyance to this country in one of our 
 national ships." 
 
 These resolutions were referred to a oommittee, which 
 changed but did not improve their phraseology, and they 
 were subsequently passed by both Houses of Congress. 
 
 On the 6th of the following December, Lafayette, 
 having in the meantime reached this country and being at 
 that time in Washington, Colonel Mitchell offered the fol- 
 lowing resolution : 
 
 "Resolved, That the Honorable, the Speaker (Hon. Henry 
 Clay), invite our distinguished guest and benefactor, General 
 Lafayette, to a seat within the hall of this House, and that 
 he direct the manner of his reception." 
 
 Colonel Mitchell was subsequently made chairman of a 
 committee of twenty-four members of the lower House, and 
 had the honor of introducing the nation's guest to the rep- 
 resentatives of the people. 
 
 This action of Colonel Mitchell, which is characteristic of 
 the manliness and generosity of his heart, led to the forma- 
 tion of a friendship between him and the distinguished for- 
 eigner, which was co-extensive with their lives, as witness the 
 following extract from a letter from Lafayette, dated at La- 
 grange, France, the 26th November, 1826, and addressed to 
 Colonel Mitchell : " You are again by this time on th.e floor 
 where your kind voice was heard to invite an American 
 veteran to the most honorable and delightful welcome that 
 ever blessed the heart of man ; the sense of that obligation 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 505 
 
 to you, my dear friend, cannot but mingle with every one of 
 the enjo3'ments of the recollections relative to a period of 
 my life, the happiness of which to express I could never find 
 adequate words. I beg you, my dear sir, to accept the best 
 wishes and highest regards of your affectionate and grateful 
 friend, Lafaj^ette." 
 
 After Lafayette returned to France he sent Colonel Mitchell 
 a number of choice cherry trees and a quantity of sweet or 
 sugar corn, now extensivelj' cultivated for table use, but at 
 that time very rare in this country. The cherry trees which 
 were planted on Colonel Mitchell's farm, at Fair Hill, flour- 
 ished well and attained a large size, but his estate having 
 passed into the possession of persons unacquainted with their 
 history, were cut down some years ago. A few trees which 
 were grafted from them, may now be seen on the farm of 
 Joshua Green, near Fair Hill. 
 
 The following' interesting letter refers to this subject. 
 
 " Lagrangk, May 29th, 1827. 
 " 3Iy Dear Sir : — The several kinds of corn from Fair Hill 
 Farm through the good care of our friend Mr. 8kiner are 
 arrived just in time to be carefully planted. It is not the 
 first nor greatest obligation I am under to you, but I do as- 
 sure you the previous invoice is very welcome, the more so 
 when it has been gathered on your farm, and kindly sent by 
 you. I hope this letter will find you in good health and re- 
 questing you to remcmbor me most respectfully to family 
 and friends, I am with all my heart, your aff'ectionate grate- 
 ful friend, 
 
 " Lafayette." 
 
 Colonel Mitchell was re-elected to Congress in the fall of 
 1824, carrying his native county against Mr. Reed, his op- 
 ponent by a majority of five hundred and sixty five in a 
 vote of a little upwards of two thousand. At this time 
 politics were in a chaotic condition, no less than four can- 
 didates, Adams, Jackson, Clay, and Crawford being before 
 the people for the high position of chief Magistrate. The 
 
506 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 political sentiment of the district was divided between 
 Messrs. Jackson, Adams, and Crawford, and Colonel 
 Mitchell, though a friend and follower of the illustrious 
 Jackson, promised his constituents that in the event of 
 the election of President being thrown into the House 
 of Representatives, he would vote for the candidate 
 favored by a majority of them. The result of the election 
 having shown that li majority of his constituents w*ere favor- 
 able to the election of Mr. Adams, Colonel Mitchell in ac- 
 cordance with the promise made cast his vote for that gen- 
 tleman who was elected. But notwithstanding this he was 
 a firm supporter of General Jackson, in 1828 and subse- 
 quently, and so great was his popularity and influence 
 among his immediate friends and neighbors that the people 
 of the northeastern part of the county almost universally 
 followed his leadership and from that time to this the fourth 
 district has been known as the Gibraltar of Democracy. 
 
 For some reason not ascertained. Colonel Mitchell was 
 not a candidate for election to the twentieth Congress, during 
 which this congressional district was represented by Levin 
 Gale. He was, however, again elected to Congress as the 
 Jackson candidate in the fall of 1829, after an active and 
 spirited campaign, against his opponent James W. Williams, 
 of Harford County, carrying the district by a majority of 
 two hundred and eight votes. 
 
 In April, 1829, he was called upon to mourn the loss of 
 his estimable companion, who for nearly thirteen years had 
 shared his joys and sorrows, and been hishel})mate in every 
 emergency, leaving him with a family of seven helpless 
 children. 
 
 Colonel Mitchell felt the loss of his wife keenly, but not- 
 withstanding he was nearly overwhelmed with grief, he con- 
 tinued to serve his country in Congress with credit to him- 
 self and acceptability to his constituents. 
 
 In October, 1831, he was stricken with paralysis, in his 
 office, at Fair Hill, one morning while prep aring to visit his 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 507 
 
 patients. He partially recovered from this attack and with 
 great difficulty reached Washington, at the opening of the 
 session of Congress, in December, 1831, and continued to 
 perform his duties as a member of Congress until the time of 
 his death, which occurred on the 28th of June, 1832. 
 
 His death was brought to the notice of the House of 
 Representatives by Mr. Howard, of Maryland, in a brief and 
 eloquent speech which was alike creditable to himself, and 
 eulogistic of the patriotism, bravery, and good judgment 
 of the deceased. The late Ezekiel F. Chambers, then a sena- 
 tor from Maryland, offered an appropriate resolution in the 
 Senate. 
 
 The high estimation in which Colonel Mitchell was held 
 by his fellow-soldiers was shown by the spontaneous offer of 
 the military authorities to take charge of his funeral. His 
 remains were interred in the congressional burying ground, 
 at Washington, under the supervision of a committee of the 
 lower House of Congress, the funeral being attended by the 
 members of both Houses, the president and heads of de- 
 partments and all the military in the city. Colonel George 
 E. Mitchell and Mary Hooper Mitchell were the parents of 
 seven children, as follows : Mary A., wife of John Stump, 
 Esq., and mother of Judge Frederick Stump ; George W., 
 who served in the Mexican war and died in this county, in 
 1850, in the thirtieth year of his age ; Dr. Henry Hooper, 
 of Elkton, formerly clerk of the circuit court for this county, 
 and well-known in this county as a physician ; Cath- 
 arine W., wife of James T. McCullough, Esq., of Elkton ; 
 Elizabeth H., wife of Russel Thomas; Arther W., formerly 
 clerk of the circuit court for this county ; and Samuel 
 Hooper, who served in the Mexican war and died at his 
 residence near Elkton on the 21st of March, 1869, in the 
 fortieth year of his age. 
 
508 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 THE KUMSEY FAMILY. 
 
 The Rumseys, many of whom filled important offices and 
 occupied responsible positions in this county during the 
 last century, were the descendants of Charles Rumsey, who 
 emigrated from Wales to America, about 1665. He landed 
 at Charleston, South Carolina, where he resided for some 
 years. He subsequently removed to New York, afterwards 
 to Philadelphia, and sometime prior to 1678, settled at the 
 head of Bohemia River, in this county, where he married 
 and became the father of eight children ; three sons and five 
 daughters. His name is first mentioned in the records of 
 this county, in 1610, at which time he petitioned the court 
 for liberty to keep an Ordinary at the Head of Bohemia. 
 He probably died in 1717, for his will was admitted to pro- 
 bate in that year. He left his home plantation, containing 
 about three hundred acres, to his sons, Charles and William, 
 and a farm called " Adventure," containing about one hun- 
 dred acres, to his son Edward. Charles and Edward were 
 less fortunate than their brother William. The former died, 
 probably, in 1761, as his will was proved in that year. He 
 devised all his estate to his wife, from which it may be in- 
 fered that he left no children. Edward died in 1770, and 
 left one son, Edward, and three daughters, Susanna, Mary, 
 and Terissa. 
 
 James Rumsey, the inventor of the steamboat, of which 
 an account is given elsewhere, was the son of the Edward 
 last before-mentioned. He was born at the Head of Bohemia, 
 in 1743, and died in London, December 23d, 1792, of appc- 
 plexy, at a public lecture, where he was explaining tha 
 method of using the steamboat he had invented. 
 
 William, the second son of Charles, was a distiliguishcd 
 surveyor. He laid out Fredericktown, and is said to have 
 assisted in locating the temporary line between Maryland 
 and Pennsylvania, in 1739. He was one of the largest land- 
 holders in the county, and was collector of customs at th;^ 
 Head of Bohemia, during much of the time that place wns 
 
HISTOEY OF CECIL COUNTY. 509 
 
 the only recognized port of entry for the rum, imported from 
 Pennsylvania. His will Wiis proved in ]742. He left three 
 sons and two daughters. To his son William, he devised 
 his home place, containing about six hundred acres, on 
 which there was a mill, and certain lots and wharves in 
 Fredericktown. To his son Benjamin, he devised three 
 tracts of land called " Round Stone," " Wither's " and 
 " Baily," lying adjacent to each other, on the head of the 
 Bay near North East River, containing eight hundred acres 
 and other lands in Elk Neck, near Bulls Mountain, and a 
 lot in Ceciltown. To his son Charles, he devised three 
 tracts of land, two of which, " New Hall " and " Concord,'' 
 were near the head of Elk River; also a tract called " Mill 
 Pond" together with the mill thereon, containing about 
 eight hundred acres, and a lot in Ceciltown. '' Rumsey's 
 Success," afterwards purchased by the Elk Forge company, 
 and " David's Sheepfold," adjacent to it, which together con- 
 tained seven hundred acres, and " Rumsey's Range," con- 
 taining three hundred acres, lying on Elk River, he de- 
 vised to his daughter, Mary. To his daughter Henrietta, he 
 devised the tract called " Stony Chase," lying in the forks 
 of North East River, containing one hundred acres, also a 
 lot in Ceciltown. To his wife, Sabina, he devised two tracts 
 called " Happy Harbor " and " Silvania," containing about 
 one hundred and twenty acres, on Hacks Creek, in Sassafras 
 Neck, on which there was a new mill ; and a house and two 
 lots in Fredericktown. 
 
 The old Rumsey mansion was in Middle Neck, on an 
 eminence about half a mile west of the road leading from 
 Murphy's mill to Warwick. It is described by old residents 
 of the neighborhood, who were familiar with it in child- 
 hood, as a magnificent brick building, containing thirty 
 rooms, with a massive stairway and a large hall with a 
 handsome cornice around it. It is said to have been 
 deserted by its owners in the early part of the present cen- 
 tury, on account of the prevalence of fever and ague in that 
 
510 HISTORY Of CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 locality, and to have become the abode of those, who, having 
 no houses of their own, were allowed to occupy it free of 
 rent, owing to which it fell into decay and went to ruin. 
 
 The name of Rumsey has long been extinct in this county, 
 but some of the descendants of its founder are living in 
 Salem, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Chicago. 
 
 THE MAULDIN FAMILY. 
 
 The Mauldins of Cecil County are the descendants of 
 Francis Mauldin and Mary, his wife, who were natives of 
 Wales and settled in Elk Neck, in 1684, on a tract of land, 
 containing upwards of fifteen hundred acres, which extended 
 from the head of Chesapeake Bay across the Neck to Elk 
 River, and included Mauldin's Mountain and the valley be- 
 tween it and Bulls Mountain. This laud is described in 
 the original patent as being very fertile and heavily tim- 
 bered. Portions of this tract remained in possession of the 
 family through seven generations, or until about twenty- 
 five years ago. Though the members of this family are 
 said to have been unambitious and never to have taken an 
 active part in public affairs, except those of the established 
 church, of which they were members, the records of the 
 county show that Francis, the founder of the family, was a 
 justice of the county court in 1721, and filled several other 
 positions of trust and responsibility. 
 
 But little more is known about the early history of this 
 family, except that they were owners of large numbers of 
 slaves and much given to hospitality. The will of Benja- 
 min Mauldin was proved in 1760. It contains some evi- 
 dence tending to show that he resided in Sassafras Neck. 
 Captain Francis Mauldin's will was proved in 1762. He 
 left four sons : Francis, Benjamin, William, and Henry ; 
 and three daughters, Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Mary, among 
 whom he devised the family homestead in Elk Neck. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 511 
 
 Francis and Benjamin were undoubtedly the sons of the 
 founder of the family. The former was one of the represen- 
 tatives of this county in the General Assembly in 1758 and 
 1761. Henry, the son of Captain Francis Mauldin, migrated 
 to South Carolina many years ago. His grandson, Benja- 
 Francis Mauldin was a member of the convention of South 
 Carolina, which passed the ordinance of secession, in 1860. 
 
 THE GILPIN FAMILY. 
 
 The Gilpin family of Cecil County are the descendants, in 
 about the twentieth generation, of Richard de Guylpin, of 
 England, to whom the baron of Kendal gave the Manor of 
 Kentmere, in consideration of his having slain a wild boar 
 that infested the forests of Westmoreland and Cumberland, 
 in 1206. 
 
 Joseph Gilpin the founder of the Gilpin family in the 
 United States, was a Quaker, and settled in Birmingham, 
 Delaware Count}', Pennsylvania, in 1695. The country was 
 at that time a wilderness, and he constructed a cave by the 
 side of a large rock, in which he resided for many years, 
 and in which thirteen of his family of fifteen children were 
 born. 
 
 The Cecil branch of the Gilpin family are the descend- 
 ants of Samuel Gilpin, the eldest son of Joseph, who settled 
 in Birmingham. He was born in England, in 1694, and 
 emigrated from Birmingham to Concord, and subsequently, 
 in 1733 removed to Cecil County, and settled at Gilpin's 
 Rocks, on the Great North East on a tract of seven hundred 
 acres that he and Edward Taylor bought of Joseph Carter, 
 for £450. This land is erroneously stated as being in Not- 
 tingham, but the records of this county show that it had 
 been patented to Joseph Carter, under the name of Kings- 
 by, by Lord Baltimore, in 1726. It was south of Notting- 
 ham, and, no doubt, Gilpin purchased it on account of its 
 
512 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 proximity to that township and hoped that ultimately the 
 then disputed boundary would be adjusted so as to leave it 
 under the jurisdiction of Penn. 
 
 In 1735 (jilpin and Taylor conveyed a considerable part 
 of their property at Gilpin's Falls to John Copson. The 
 consideration mentioned in the deed is only £400, though 
 they had, in the meantime, built a saw-mill on the property. 
 On the same day that the before-named deed was executed 
 Copson conveyed three hundred and sixty-nine acres, called 
 Cox's Park, situated in the forks of North East Creek, to 
 Gilpin. From these facts it seems plain that Gilpin and 
 Copson exchanged lands. The same year Gilpin purchased 
 of Edward Rumsey three hundred and fifty acres, adjoining 
 Cox's Park, in the forks of North East. This tract was part 
 of Stony Chase, now in the possession of the McCullough 
 Iron Company, and part of Rumsey's Ramble, which had 
 been taken up and patented by William Rumsey. At this 
 time New Connaught Manor was in the possession of the 
 lord proprietary, and Gilpin had a small part of it, contain- 
 ing nine acres, adjoining his other land at the forks of the 
 North East, patented to him. Samuel Gilpin married Jane 
 Parker, of Philadelphia. They were the parents of seven 
 children, as follows : Mary, Joseph, Thomas, Hannah, 
 Samuel, Rachel, and George. Their son Thomas, a Quaker, 
 resided in Philadelphia, and declining to do military ser- 
 vice during the Revolutionary war, was with about twenty 
 others, similarly circumstanced, exiled from the city, in 1777, 
 and taken to Winchester, Virginia, where he died in 1778. 
 His brother George was at the same time colonel of the Fair- 
 fax militia, and endeavored to effect his liberation. George 
 was an intimate friend of General Washington, and is said 
 to have been one of his pall-bearers. This intimacy was 
 owing to the fact that the Washingtons and Gilpins had 
 intermarried in England. 
 
 Joseph, the eldest son, removed from Gilpin's Falls pre- 
 vious to 1761, and settled on what is now known as the 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 513 
 
 "Gilpin Home Farm," on the Big Elk, north of Elkton. 
 He erected the mill which formerly stood a short distance 
 south of the dwelling-house, the land for the use of which 
 he caused to be condemned for that purpose, according to 
 the custom of the times. Pie also built the old mansion 
 house, which is now standing. His father having disposed 
 of his lands on North East Creek to his sons, Joseph and 
 Samuel, resided with the latter previous to 1767, in which 
 year he died, aged seventy-four years. He was buried in 
 the family burying-ground on the bank of the Big Elk, a 
 short distance above the bridge across that stream, where 
 his tombstone may be seen. 
 
 Joseph Gilpin married Eliza Reed. They were the 
 parents of six children : John, Hannah, Elizabeth, Joseph, 
 Mary, and Rachel. He was a patriotic and public-spirited 
 citizen, and represented this county in the Provincial Con- 
 ventions of 1776-7, and was also a member of the House of 
 Delegates in the latter year ; and for many years filled the 
 position of presiding justice of the county court. He died 
 in 1790, aged sixty-three years, leaving a large landed 
 estate in this county and also in Western Pennsylvania and 
 Virginia. His eldest son, John, to whom he willed the 
 Home Farm on the Big Elk, married Mary Hollingsworth 
 in 1797. He was one ol the members of the House of Dele- 
 gates from this county in 1800, and died in 180S. He was 
 the father of Miss Mary, Joseph, Henry, Dr. John, and Wil- 
 liam H. Gilpin, many of whose descendants reside in this 
 county. 
 
 THE RUDULPH FAMILY. 
 
 Away back in the early part of the last century, so far 
 back, indeed, that the time is very uncertain, a distinguished 
 family appeared in Cecil County, and for many years acted 
 a conspicuous part in its history, being prominent as mer- 
 chants, soldiers, and jurists. 
 
 GG 
 
514 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Bartholomew, Hanse, Jacob, and Tobias Rudulph were 
 probably brothers. The names Jacob and Hanse indicate 
 that they were of Teutonic origin, as do also the traditions 
 concerning them. Little is known of Bartholnmew, except 
 that he seems, from certain papers on record in the clerk's 
 office in Elkton, to have been a well-to-do planter, though 
 the records of the county contain no evidence that he owned 
 any real estate. 
 
 Hanse was the owner of much live-stock and many ne- 
 groes, which he mortgaged to John Hyland and William 
 Bristow, to secure them as sureties on his bond as adminis- 
 trator of one John Kankey, who owned the ferry farm in 
 Elk Neck, whose widow he (Hanse) had married. He was 
 afterwards wharfinger at Charlestown when the people of 
 this county were trying to persuade themselves that it was 
 the site of what would eventually be a famous city. The 
 widow Kankey had a negro slave who had been owned by 
 her husband (Kankey), and had been greatly attached to 
 him. After the birth of a child, the fruit of her marriage 
 with Hanse Rudulph, this negro (Joe) conceived a violent 
 hatred for him, and finally shot him. The murder of 
 Hanse Rudulph gave rise to the legend of the bloody 
 Holly bush, which has been mentioned in a previous chap- 
 ter in connection with Elk Ferry. But little more is known 
 of Bartholomew and Hanse; but Tobias, in 1745, leased a 
 few acres of land in Elkton, and was engaged in mercantile 
 business for some time at or near Elk Landing. He sub- 
 sequently kept store in Elkton, where, in 1768, he built the 
 brick house, now standing, two doors east of the court- 
 house. He also became the proprietor of much real estate 
 near the town, part of which is still in possession of his de- 
 scendants. 
 
 Jacob purchased the Belle Hill property, north of Elkton, 
 where he contentedly pursued the uneventful life of a far- 
 mer. 
 
 Jacob and Tobias were men of families. The former had 
 two sons; Michael, and Zebulon, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 516 
 
 Garfield, wife of President Garfield ; and one daughter, the 
 grandmother of the late William Hewitt. 
 
 Tobias was the father of four children : John, Tobias, and 
 two daughters, each of whom married gentlemen named 
 Irving. His son Tobias (the second of that name) was the 
 father of Tobias, the lawyer, who was a poet of considerable 
 ability, and Zebulon, also a writer of poetry, and Mrs. 
 Anna Maria Sewell, wife of the late James Sewell and 
 Martha, who became the wife of the Rev. William Torbert. 
 
 Very soon after the commencement of the Revolutionary 
 war the cousins, John and Michael Rudulph, entered the 
 American army, the former as major, the latter as captain 
 of a light horse company in Lee's Legion, in which they 
 served with great bravery in the Southern campaigns, in 
 which " Light Horse Harry Lee," the commander of the 
 Legion, won imperishable renown. Their courage and 
 bravery soon w;on for them the proud distinction of the 
 "Lions of the Legion," and John is still known among the 
 members of the family as "Fighting Jack." Michael was, 
 if possible, more daring and impetuous than John. Upon 
 one occasion he is said to have led a squad of soldiers who 
 surprised and captured a British man-of-war which was 
 blockading Charlestown harbor. Selecting a dark night 
 and a fearless crew, the dare-devil fellow approached the 
 vessel, and when hailed and halted by the sentinel, asked if 
 those on board wished to buy some chickens. Just at this 
 critical moment one of his men pinched a chicken that had 
 been provided for the emergency, and which began to 
 screech as only frightened chickens can. This threw the 
 sentry off his guard, and a few strokes from the oarsmen 
 brought the boat alongside of the enemy's ship, the officers 
 and crew of which were taken by surprise and carried in 
 triumph into Charlestown. 
 
 Very little is known of the history of the light horse com- 
 pany in which the Rudulphs served, but it is believed to 
 have been formed of recruits from this county. The father 
 
516 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 of Thomas C. Crouch, of Elkton, who served as bugler in this 
 company, joined it under the following circumstances : He 
 was learning his trade at the Red Mill, on the Little Elk, 
 near Elkton, when the company came marching along the 
 road and stopped near the creek to refresh themselves and 
 their horses. Being pleased with the splendid appearance 
 it made, he exchanged the racket of the rickety old mill and 
 the dusty coat of the dusty miller for the noise and smoke 
 of battle, and at once became a soldier. Joseph Benjamin, 
 the ancestor of the Benjamins of North East and vicinity, 
 also belonged to this company, and served his adopted 
 country, for he was an Englishman and had ran away 
 from his native land in the capacity of bugler. 
 
 Elk Neck also had the honor of furnishing one recruit 
 for this Company in the person of Noble Hamm, a member 
 of one of the oldest families in that part of the county, who, 
 though a good Christian and brave soldier, met with a sad 
 inglorious death in a brawl, the particulars of which cannot 
 now be ascertained, at the hands of Michael Rudulph who 
 shot him. 
 
 The following letter, copied from the original in posses- 
 sion of Tobias Rudulph, a grandnephew of Major "Fighting 
 Jack," is believed to refer to the death of Noble Hamm. 
 
 " Dear Sir: — I am this moment advised by Captain McLane 
 of his arrival at Philadelphia, an event that affords me no 
 small satisfaction on numberless accounts, praticularly as it 
 will furnish me with an opportunity of conclusively de- 
 termining the unfortunate dispute which is the cause of so 
 much uneasiness to the gentlemen of the corps and unhappi- 
 ness to myself. They will, I have no doubt, make known 
 very speedily their intention and give ample testimony of 
 the party injured, but I am fully convinced that no proof 
 respecting themselves can possibly expose me the aggressor 
 unless they choose, from motives unknown, to interest them- 
 selves in a private controversial affair totally confined to 
 Captain Armstrong and myself, to which gentleman my 
 conscience told me I had made every reparation that words 
 were capable of. His replication, which is to the following 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 517 
 
 effect, could not from any deducible reason, engage their en- 
 deavors to effectuate my ruin. Captain Armstrong inti- 
 mated that the peculiarity of our situation rendered a separa- 
 tion necessary and made, in some measure, a joint service 
 impracticable. I have readily acquiesced in his determina- 
 tion, being convinced of the flagitiousness of my crime. 
 Had I not exerted every endeavor to palliate it, which drew 
 from Mr. Armstrong a declaration of unwillingness to in- 
 jure me, I beg leave to suggest your previously consulting 
 this gentleman as a necessary step to your appearance in the 
 matter, for nothing but the unbiased advice of a person 
 from whom I must acknowledge the experience of every 
 species of friendship could in any wise obviate the dictates 
 of my opinion which stimulates me to address personally a 
 grievance of so gross a nature. 
 
 Mr. Handy's combination singularly aflfected me. A gen- 
 tleman with whom I have lived for a series of time in the 
 closest friendship, to discover at such a juncture, his ignor- 
 ance of my real principle and disposition, independent of 
 passion and to build his prosecution on a single fault and 
 without any "other assistance to support his conduct, betrays 
 such a degree of flexibility and unfriendliness that I 
 thought him entirely divested of 
 
 I am, sir, with great respect, your obdt., hbl. servt. 
 
 "Mich. Rudulph. 
 " Middle Bush, 29th July, 1780. 
 "Major Lee." 
 
 But little more is known of any one who served in this 
 company except its captain, the chivalrous Mike, who, like 
 the Wandering Jew, continued to put in an appearance for 
 some years after the end of the war, and who married a 
 lady of Savannah, Georgia, whose acquaintance he is be- 
 lieved to have made while in that city sometime during the 
 war. Her name has not been ascertained. For some rea- 
 son their union was not felicitous and they lived so unhap- 
 pily together that Michael concluded to adopt a sea-faring 
 life. He is only known to have visited this county once 
 after the conclusion of the war, when he came to see his 
 children, who are said to have been living at that time with 
 
618 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 their relatives at Elkton. Upon this occasion he " tarried 
 but a night," being detered, as it is alleged, from remaining 
 longer by the threats of certain members of the Hyland 
 family who had intermarried with the relatives of Noble 
 Hamm and who had threatened to shoot him if they met 
 him in this county. 
 
 A few years subsequent to the close of the Revolutionary 
 war, the people of this county paid some attention to ship 
 building, and some of them were engaged in trading to the 
 West Indies. With this end in view, the hull of a vessel 
 was constructed at Frenchtown by Robert Hart of Elk Neck, 
 from whence it was floated to Baltimore, where it was rigged 
 and freighted with a cargo of tobacco consigned to Hart's 
 uncle, then resident in one of the West India Islands for 
 the benefit of his health. 
 
 Joseph Lort, who (like Michael Rudulph and the captain's 
 mate) is said to have lived unhappily with his wife, was 
 captain of this vessel, and Michael Rudulph was its super- 
 cargo. One bright morning the ill-fated ship sailed down 
 the Patapsco River accompanied by another craft in charge 
 of' Robert Hart. The two vessels parted company opposite 
 North Point, those on the outward-bound giving a parting 
 salute to the others and also three cheers for " glorious revo- 
 lutionary France," and sailed on down the Chesapeake, 
 never to return again. Since she disappeared from the 
 vision of Robert Hart, nothing has ever been heard of this 
 vessel, and for a long time the friends of her officers and 
 crew believed that she foundered at sea and all on board 
 perished. But many years after this happened, the late 
 General Thomas M. Foreman was traveling from Baltimore 
 to Frenchtown in company with General Lallemand, a dis- 
 tinguished Frenchman, who when informed by General 
 Foreman that Frenchtown was in Cecil County, seemed to 
 be somewhat astonished, and informed him that this county 
 was probably the birthplace of Michael Ney, better known 
 iu history as Marshal Ney, who played such a conspicuous 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 519 
 
 part in the wars of the Empire under the First Napoleon, 
 and that evidence had been found among Marshal Ney's 
 papers that he had relatives living in Cecil County, and that 
 his real name was Michael Rudulph. 
 
 This disclosure was as unexpected as a clap of thunder 
 from a clear sky. Investigation followed, and it was found 
 that the two men possessed many traits in common, and 
 that the time of the appearance of the great marshal in 
 France coincided with the time of the disappearance of the 
 American soldier. Inasmuch as very little is known, or at 
 least very little has been written by historians of the early 
 life of the great marshal, the theory was advanced by many 
 persons who knew of the characteristics of Michael Rudulph, 
 that he and Ney were one and the same person, and that 
 the vessel and crew which liad sailed away from North 
 Point many years ago, cheering for "glorious revolutionary 
 France," had been carried by their officers to that country, 
 and thatMicliael Rudulph had changed his surname to Ney, 
 and entered the French army. In confirmation of this 
 theorj^, it was asserted by those who were acquainted with 
 Nej'', that he spoke the English language quite as well as 
 he did the French when he chose to do so, but always re- 
 frained from displaying his fluency in the former, for 
 obvious reasons, when in the presence of Americans or 
 Englishmen. It has also been asserted by those who have 
 investigated the subject, that Ney was called " the American 
 tobacco merchant " by his brother ofiicers, and that about 
 the time of the disclosure made on the Elk River by Lalle- 
 mand to Foreman, two of Ney's sons by his last wife, had 
 visited Savannah as was supposed to obtain information 
 concerning Rudulph's wife. 
 
 For these reasons, and many others quite as cogent, not a 
 few people believed in the truth of this theory, but it was 
 never adopted by the relatives of the missing man, who had 
 such implicit confidence in his integrity that they scorned 
 the imputation that he could have betrayed his trust as 
 
520 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 supercargo, and sacrificed tlie interest of the owners and 
 consignees of the missing vessel. 
 
 Such, briefly told, is the story of the disappearance of 
 Michael Rudulph. His history, after parting company with 
 Eobert Hart, is involved in so much obscurity that it is 
 unsafe to hazard an opinion as to whether he and Marshal 
 Ney were identical. 
 
 THE LESLIE FAMILY. 
 
 Among the many old families of Cecil County, the names 
 of which are almost forgotten, none attained greater cele- 
 brity as authors and artists than the Leslies. 
 
 Robert Leslie, of whom the Leslies of this county are the 
 decendants, emigrated to this country from Scotland (as 
 stated by Eliza Leslie, the authoress in an article published 
 in Godey's Lady's Book in 1858) about 1645. The original 
 family name, there is reason to believe from information 
 derived from the land records of this county was Lasley. 
 At what time the family located in Cecil County is unknown, 
 but in 1758 Robert Lasley purchased a farm of about a 
 hundred acres, a mile or two north of the town of North 
 East, from which it seems probable that the family were in 
 the county at that time. This Robert was probably the 
 grandfather of Eliza and Charles Robert Leslie, who were 
 the children of Robert Leslie and Catharine Baker, who 
 were natives of this county. The Leslie homestead was 
 about a mile north of the village of North East, and is de- 
 scribed by Eliza as being "over against Bulls Mountain." 
 
 Sometime previous to 1786, Robert Leslie and family re- 
 moved to Elkton, where he was engaged in clock and watch 
 making for a year or two. The family subsequently re- 
 moved to Philadelphia, where Eliza was born November 
 16th, 1787. She was the author of a number of books on 
 cooking ; a novel called " Amelia, or a young lady's vicis- 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 521 
 
 situdes," and several volumes of fugitive stories, and also 
 edited several annuals. She died in Gloucester, New Jer- 
 sey, in 1858. 
 
 Charles Robert Leslie, the artist, was born in London, 
 October 19th, 1794. The family subsequently returned to 
 Philadelphia, where young Leslie, who was learning the 
 mercantile business, showed such remarkable talent for 
 drawing that some of his friends sent him to London, that 
 he might have the benefit of the tuition of the great masters 
 of the English metropolis. He became a member of the 
 Royal Academy and one of the most famous historical 
 painters of his times. His autobiography, which is inter- 
 spersed with many anecdotes of Sir Walter Scott, S. C. Cole- 
 ridge, and Washington Irving, with each of whom he was 
 on intimate terms, and many of the nobility, and most of 
 the artists of the period in which he lived, is one of the 
 most charming books of modern times. 
 
 Robert and Catharine Leslie were also the parents of 
 Thomas Jefferson Leslie, who served as paymaster in the 
 United States Army for about half a centur}^, and recently 
 died in New York City. 
 
 Jeremiah Larkins Leslie was a son of Thomas Leslie, the 
 brother of Robert, the father of the artist. He was a mill- 
 wright by trade, and in the early part of the present century 
 carried on a nail factory at Marley. He subsequently became 
 a Methodist Protestant preacher and removed to the State 
 of Ohio. He was the father of Mary Leslie who married 
 Charles Johnson, from whom the Johnsons of North East 
 and vicinity have descended. 
 
 His daughter Elizabeth, married John Sumption, the 
 father of the late Rev. Thomas Sumption, a distinguished 
 Methodist preacher. 
 
 The Benjamins of North East and vicinity, are the de- 
 cendants of Deborah Leslie, the daughter of John Leslie. 
 
522 HISTORY or cecil county. 
 
 THE HYLAND FAMILY. 
 
 The Hylands of Elk Neck who were at one time one of 
 the most numerous families in this county, are the descend- 
 ants of two brothers, John and Nicholas Hyland, natives of 
 Labadeen, England. John was a colonel in the English 
 army, but, it is said, resigned his commission owing to some 
 difficulty about his coat-of-arm's. He emigrated to Mary- 
 land some time during the period when the province \vas 
 under the royal government, owing to which he could not 
 obtain a valid grant of land. On account of this difficulty 
 he settled in Pennsylvania, where he obtained a grant of a 
 thousand acres. He subsequently acquired additional 
 j)ropertj' in the State of New York, but returned to 
 Maryland in the early part of the last century, after the re- 
 storation of that province to Lord Baltimore, from whom he 
 obtained the grant of a large tract, part of St. John's Manor, 
 iu Elk Neck, which on account of the great elevation of part 
 of it, and also in honor of his wife, was called " John's and 
 Mary's Highland." 
 
 Stephen Hyland, the eldest son of John and Mary Hyland, 
 was born in Elk Neck, February 23d, 1743, and died JMarch 
 19th, 1806. He filled many important positions of trust 
 and responsibility, and took an active part in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. Early in that struggle he raised a com})anyof 
 soldiers for the protection of private property in this county, 
 and subsequently received a commission from the national • 
 government as colonel of a regiment. He was stationed on 
 the east shore of the Susquehanna River, at the time, and 
 prior to the invasion of this county by the British, in 1777. 
 When the British fleet entered the Elk River he is said to 
 have marched his command via Charlestown to Elk Neck, 
 and to have fired at the British squadron while it was as- 
 cending the Elk River. He was subsequently stationed at 
 Annapolis, and in 1781, entertained General Lafayette and 
 the officers of the French fleet at the old family mansion, 
 which was called "Harmony Hall," a part of which is now 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 523 
 
 (1881) standing on the farm of Daniel Bratton, Esq. Thg 
 French fleet at the time, it is said, was frozen up in the Elk 
 River, and Colonel Hyland spread a carpet of cloth, large 
 quantities of which he had on hand for the use of the army, 
 all the way from the vessel to his house, as the author has 
 been assured by one of the Colonel's grandchildren, an old 
 lady of seventy-seven years. 
 
 On the 1st of December, 1774, he married Rebecca Tilden, 
 of Kent County, Maryland, by whom he had one son, John 
 Hyland. Mrs. Hyland died on the same day that her first 
 child was born, October 10th, 1775. 
 
 On the 20th of March, 1777, he married Miss Araminta 
 Hamm, daughter of Dr. Thomas Hamm, of Bohemia Manor. 
 By his second wife he had six children, four sons and two 
 daughters. His son Stephen Hyland, Jr., was a colonel in 
 the war of 1812. 
 
 Jacob Hyland, the third son of Stephen Plyland and Ara- 
 minta Hamm, not being of robust constitution did not enter 
 the army, but contented himself with entertaining and 
 caring for the soldiers who were stationed on Bulls Moun- 
 tains, to observe the operations of the enemy during the 
 summer of 1813. 
 
 During that summer one of the soldiers, in company with 
 a trusty negro slave and a watchful dog, slept in his fish 
 house on the Elk River, for the purpose of giving alarm if 
 the British barges attempted to ascend the river during the 
 night. 
 
 Jacob Hyland was the father of Mrs. Jacob Howard, and 
 Stephen, James, Jacob, Washington, and Wilmer Hyland. 
 Mary, the eldest daughter of Stephen and Araminta Hyland, 
 married William Craig, Jr., of Bohemia Manor, who was 
 twice elected a representative of this county in the General 
 Assembly of Maryland, and who died in discharge of his 
 duties, at Annapolis, in 1822. The late James L. Craig, at 
 one time editor of the Baltimore Pilot, and subsequently 
 one of the county commissioners of this county, was a son 
 of William Craig. 
 
524 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Martha, the youngest daughter of Stephen and Araminta 
 Hyland married William A. Schaeffer, a prominent Balti- 
 morean. Mrs. Schaeffer was the mother of General Francis 
 B. Schaeffer, late of the United States Army. He served with 
 distinction in the Mexican war, and was honored by President 
 Lincoln with the captaincy of the Select National Riflemen, 
 stationed in Washington at the commencement of the late 
 Civil war, but subsequently joined the Confederate army. 
 
 Nicholas Hyland, the first of that name, and the brother 
 of the John before mentioned, also settled in Elk Neck, on 
 a tract of land further down the river and adjoining that of 
 liis brother, probably about the same time that his brother 
 John located there. He subsequently acquired a ' large 
 quantity of land on the Susquehanna River, where Port 
 Deposit now stands. He probably died in 1719, for his will 
 was proved in that year. He left his land on Elk River to 
 his son Nicholas ; and to his son John, all his land on the 
 Susquehanna, and directed that his sons should be brought 
 up by the rules of the church of England, which injunction 
 seems to have been rigidly adhered to by his wife Millicent, 
 who he made executrix of his will, for his son Nicholas 
 was a member of the House of Delegates from this county 
 almost continuously, from 1751 to 1766, during which time, 
 whenever opportunity offered, he manifested his zeal for the 
 established church, by favoring legislation against the 
 " Popish Priests and Jesuits." 
 
 But little is known of John Hyland, except that he lived 
 and died upon his estate near Port Deposit. 
 
 Nicholas Hyland,, the third of that name, married Mar- 
 gary Kankey, of Elk Neck, by whom he had one daughter 
 Ann, who married Robert Hart, the grandson of the Robert 
 Hart, who settled many years before in Elk Neck, and some 
 of whose descendants now reside in that part of the county. 
 
HISTOKY OP CECIL COUNTY. 525 
 
 THE CHURCHMAN FAMILY. 
 
 The residence of this family in England was at Saffron 
 Waldron, in Essex County, whence John Churchman, the 
 founder of the family in this county, in the seventeenth 
 year of his age emigrated to Darby, Pennsylvania, in 1682, 
 under the care of Thomas Cerie, in whose family was a 
 daughter Hannah, at that time six years old. The perils of 
 the voyage seem to have drawn John to the child, and like 
 a faithful lover he waited for her until 1696, when she be- 
 came his wife. They settled at Chester, but in 1704 re- 
 moved to the woods of Nottingham and settled on lot num- 
 ber sixteen. 
 
 John died in 1724 ; his wife survived him until 1759. 
 Among their children was John, born in 1705, who became 
 a famous Quaker preacher, and self-taught surveyor, never 
 having gone to school but three months " to a man who sat 
 in his loom and heard his scholars read." His autobi- 
 ography, published by the society to which he belonged, is 
 a very interesting and instructive book. In it he tells of a 
 narrow escape he had from death when a lad of some ten or 
 twelve years of age, and which made a deep and lasting im- 
 pression on his mind. He had been sent on an errand and 
 encountered a drove of wild horses, which enticed away the 
 colt belonging to the mare upon which he rode, and caused 
 her to run away ; becoming unmanageable, she ran through 
 a field which had been partially cleared, and upon which 
 the trees that had been girdled and deadened, were still 
 thickly standing ; this made the adventure extremely per- 
 ilous, he being in danger of injury from coming in contact 
 with the dead trees. His autobiography shows that he was 
 in the habit of visiting " the Friends in Cecil," who as late as 
 1767 seem to have had a meeting somewhere in Sassafras 
 Neck. In this connection he speaks of the conversion of 
 John Browning, who then lived in Sassafras Neck and who 
 was, no doubt, a son of the John Browning who quarreled 
 with Augustine Herman about his land nearly a century 
 
526 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 before. Browning had prepared tomb-stones for his parents' 
 graves, but when near his death he requested his wife to 
 have tlie people that attended his funeral place them for 
 hearth-stones in a new brick house which was not quite fin- 
 ished. A small unpretending brick house which John 
 Churchman built in 1745, is now standing about a mile 
 north of the Brick Meeting-house. He died in 1775 and 
 left but one child, George, born in 1730, a dignified elder of 
 the Society of Friends, and probably the most popular and 
 extensive surveyor of the county in his day. George mar- 
 ried Hannah, daughter of Mordecai and Gainor James, in 
 1752, and died in 1814, leaving a numerous family. His 
 son John, the philosopher, born 1753, lived unmarried, 
 " was an eminent surveyor and geometrician ; he executed 
 a map of the peninsula between the bays of Delaware and 
 Chesapeake, in 1778 ; was the author of a magnetic atlas in 
 1790, and other works of a similar character, which brought 
 him into prominent notice among learned men in Europe 
 and this country, with whom he maintained an extensive 
 correspondence on scientific subjects. He twice visited Eu- 
 rope, where he received much attention and was honored 
 with an election as a member of several learned societies. 
 He died at sea, in 1805, on his last return voyage from St. 
 Petersburg." 
 
 The Churchmans might be termed a family of surveyors, 
 as the calling was exercised by the two Johns, father and 
 son ; by George, son of the second John ; and by John, Mica- 
 jah and Joseph, sons of George. 
 
 THE DEFOE FAMILY. 
 
 Written expressly for the History of Gecil Gounty by Mrs. Mary E. Irelnnd. 
 
 While many perhaps can boast of celebrated ancestors, 
 
 few can trace back to a more distinguished source than the 
 
 Trimble's; they being lineal descendants of Elizabeth, neice 
 
 of Daniel Defoe. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 527 
 
 From Elizabeth, who came from England in 1718, down 
 to her relatives of the present day, all the family with a few 
 exceptions have lived within two miles of Brick Meeting- 
 house, Cecil County, Maryland ; all worshiped in the meet- 
 ing-house which gave the village its original name, and all, 
 when called upon to pay the debt of nature, have been 
 brought for interment to the burial-ground attached to 
 this meeting-house. 
 
 In order to explain how it was that Elizabeth, neice of 
 Daniel Defoe, and ancestor of the Trimble family, happened 
 to settle in this part of the New World, it will be necessary 
 to go back to the year 1705, when Daniel Defoe, on account 
 of his persistent writing upon the exciting subjects of the 
 times, was compelled to seek an asylum under the roof of 
 his widowed sister, Elizabeth Maxwell, in the city of 
 London. 
 
 Three years before, he had sent forth his, " Shortest Way 
 with Dissenters," for which he had suffered the pillorj^ fine, 
 and imprisonment. It was on account of this article that 
 the government offered £50 for the discovery of his hiding 
 place. The proclamation as tradition informs us, was 
 worded very nearly thus : 
 
 "Whereas Daniel Defoe, ah'as De Fooe, is charged with 
 writing a scandalous and seditious pamphlet, entitled the 
 'Shortest Way with Dissenters.' (He is a middled-sized, 
 spare man, about forty years old, of brown complexion 
 and dark brown colored hair, but wears a wig; a hook 
 nose, sharp chin, gray eyes, and a large mole near his 
 mouth; was born in London, and for many years was 
 a hose-factor in Freeman's yard, Cornhill, and now is 
 owner of the brick and pantile works near Tilbury Fort 
 in Essex;) whoever shall discover the said Daniel Defoe 
 to one of Her Majesty's Secretaries of State, or any of 
 Her Majesty's justices' of the peace, so he may be appre- 
 hended, shall have a reward of £50, which Her Majesty has 
 ordered immediately to be paid upon such discovery." 
 
528 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 On his release he was again imprisoned for his political 
 pamphlets, and through the influence of Lord Oxford, was 
 again liberated ; but in his sister's house, secure from his 
 political and pecuniary assailants, he continued to send 
 forth his barbed arrows with impunity. A small room in 
 the rear of the building was fitted up for his private study, 
 and it was there that his sister's only daughter (named for 
 herself, Elizabeth), who was five years of age when her uncle 
 came to live with them, received her education under his 
 teaching; and it was there that "Robinson Crusoe" was 
 written, one year after his niece had left her home and him. 
 Perhaps the comparative isolation he endured suggested 
 the wonderful narrative to his mind. 
 
 The Defoe's were all members of the Society of Friends, 
 and attended a meeting designated by the odd name of 
 " Bull and Mouth," which was often mentioned in the early 
 annals of the society. 
 
 At eighteen, Elizabeth contracted a matrimonial engage- 
 ment, which was peremptorily broken off by her mother. 
 This caused an alienation from all her friends, and she 
 privately left her home and embarked for America. Being 
 without funds, she bargained with the captain to be sold on 
 her arrival, to reimburse him for her passage. Accordingly, 
 in the autumn of that year she, with a number of others, 
 was offered for sale in Philadelphia, and Andrew Job, a 
 resident of Nottingham, now in Cecil County, Maryland, 
 happening to be in the city at the time, bought her for a 
 term of years, and brought her to his home. 
 
 In 1725 Elizabeth Maxwell became the wife of Thomas 
 Job, son of Andrew, and now being happily settled, she 
 wrote to her mother and uncle, giving them the first infor- 
 mation of her whereabouts. As soon as possible a letter 
 came from her uncle, stating that her mother was dead, and 
 that a large property, in addition to her mother's furniture, 
 had been left to her by will, in case she should ever be 
 found alive. An inventory of the goods sent accompanied 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 529 
 
 the letter, and especial attention was solicited for the pre- 
 servation of such articles as he had used in his private 
 study, " as they had descended to the family from their 
 Flemish ancestors, who sought refuge under the banner of 
 Queen Elizabeth from the tyranny of Phillipe." He also 
 apologized for the condition of two chairs, the wicker-seats 
 of which he had worn out and replaced by wooden ones. 
 One of these chairs is in the possession of James Trimble, 
 and the other, which belonged to his brother Joseph, was, 
 after his death, presented by James to the Historical Society 
 of Delaware, in Wilmington, because it was in that city 
 that the last thirty years of the business part of Joseph 
 Trimble's life was spent. 
 
 All the letters received from her uncle were carefully pre- 
 served by Elizabeth until her death which occurred on the 
 7th of September, 1782, at the age of eighty-two. One of 
 her grandsons, Daniel Defoe Job, living near her, was al- 
 most constantly in her society. She took delight in relating 
 recollections of her early da3'S ; of how she used to bother 
 her uncle, meddling with his papers, until he would expel 
 her from his study. 
 
 Daniel spoke of his grandmother as a little, old, yellow 
 looking woman, passionately fond of flowers, and retaining 
 her activity of mind and body until the close of her life. 
 Another of her grandsons, also named Daniel Job, died at 
 a very advanced age, within my remembrance, and his 
 funeral was the first I ever attended. 
 
 There was an Andrew Job, brother of this Daniel, a 
 bachelor, who beeanje a hermit, and for more than fifty 
 years lived entirely alone. The greater part of that time 
 his home was in a forest belonging to his estate, about two 
 miles from Brick Meeting-house. His little habitation 
 consisted of two rooms, one above and one below, and I do 
 not know that he ever left it during that time. He is said 
 to have been very tall in youth, but when I saw him he was 
 upward of eighty, and stooped much. His hair and beard 
 
 HH 
 
630 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 were long, and of a reddish hue, and though he was so old, 
 but slightly gray. He scorned the style of clothing worn 
 by men, and winter and summer was robed in a blanket, 
 liis only covering. Although a man of abundant means, 
 he would not leave his retreat to provide the neces- 
 saries of life, and since he would have but little to do with 
 his relatives, they engaged some one in whom he had con- 
 fidence to take his groceries to him. His wheat and corn 
 he ground himself, by pounding for a long time, my father, 
 whom he had known for many 3'ears, went twice a year to 
 take him such things as he required. I accompanied him 
 once when a child, and was kindly treated by the recluse. 
 I remember that he gave me a drink of cider manufactured 
 by himself, by pounding the apples, and squeezing the juice 
 through his hands. The goblet in which he presented it 
 was a huge gourd, and he stirred the sugar in with his fin- 
 gers. Children, as a general thing, are not very fastidious, 
 and I am glad to remember that I did not slight the old 
 man's hospitality. 
 
 After we had left him and gone through the woods to the 
 road I found I had forgotten my sun-shade, which was 
 about the dimensions of a good- sized saucer. I was loth to 
 leave it behind me, and at the same time a little afraid to 
 return for it ; but my father re-assured me, and very gin- 
 gerly I wound my way back to the door, where Andy stood, 
 holding it with a helpless expression of having something 
 left upon his hands that bid fair to prove a burden. He 
 handed it to me in perfect silence, and 1 received it at arm's 
 length, in the same lugubrious manner. He did not as a 
 general thing take kindly to visitors ; they bothered him 
 coming to see him out of curiosity, and when he caught 
 sight or sound of them he hastened in doors and refused 
 them entrance. He evinced but little curiosity as to the do- 
 ings of the great world around him, from which he had 
 withdrawn ; though intelligent, he conversed but little, and 
 that in a subdued tone, scarcely intelligible to me unaccus- 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 531 
 
 tomed to it. He was upright and honorable in his dealings 
 with my father, and seemed desirous of giving as little 
 trouble as possible. 
 
 He kept no money about him, but gave orders upon those 
 who had his property in trust. He, himself, kept control of 
 his forest, and not a stick did he allow any one to cut from 
 it. He lived in this way until a log, tailing out of his fire- 
 place, set his house on fire, and burned it down, when he 
 was compelled to live with his two nieces, and his nephew, 
 children of his brother Daniel, who were of middle age and 
 unmarried. Here he remained eleven years until his death, 
 which occurred on the first day of April, 1863, in theninety- 
 second year of his age. In him were conspicuous the 
 characteristics of the Defoe familj', from Daniel dowu to the 
 relatives of the present daj', remarkable longevity, a dispo- 
 sition to remain unmarried, or to marry late in life, and the 
 indomitable independence of spirit which was so prominent 
 in the character of Daniel Defoe, and his niece Elizabeth. 
 
 He was very discontented for several years after he left his 
 solitude ; however, as years and infirmities wore upon him, 
 he became more reconciled ; but until the time of his death 
 he occasionally spoke of going off again to live by himself. 
 
 It is a subject of regret that no likeness of him is in ex- 
 istence. A traveling photograph gallery once stopped for 
 a short time in the road opposite his nephew's house. Andy 
 took great pleasure in looking at it, and remarked that "it 
 would be a nice little house for a man to live alone in, if it 
 was off the wheels;" but no persuasion could induce him to 
 enter it. 
 
 Joseph and James Trimble, whose mother was a great- 
 great-neice of -Daniel Defoe, lived at that time in a beautiful 
 romantic place, half a mile from the village. Joseph was a 
 bachelor ; he was very eccentric, and made his home with 
 his brother James, who was married, but childless. 
 
 Joseph Trimble's career was rather unusual, and a short 
 account of it might be of interest and advantage to young 
 
532 HISTORY OK CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 men starting out in life. "Without any external influence 
 respecting economy, he commenced at an early age to put 
 his little earnings out at interest, taking good care to secure 
 ample endorsements, mostly three freeholders. He never 
 made a dollar by speculation, worked at moderate wages, 
 farming, etc., never bought any land, and was not remark- 
 able for constitutional strength, and at the age of eighty- 
 two left an estate of over fifty-two thousand dollars, princi- 
 pally among his neices and nephews, and there was every 
 evidence that he enjoyed life as fully as others. Like his 
 maternal ancestor, James Trimble, was passionately fond of 
 flowers, and his beautiful garden and green-house of choice 
 plants were a great attraction to the rural neighborhood. 
 When a boy on his father's farm, he was often detected scru- 
 tinizing the curious formations of " weeds " and their flowers, 
 instead of attending to his duty, having (as lie told me once) 
 " some reason to remember it." 
 
 At the age of about twenty, the novelty of his tastes had 
 reached Dr. Darlington, of West Chester, who sent him a 
 copy of his " Florula Cestrica," then just out. This was the 
 first intimation he had ever received that there was such a 
 study as systematic botany, and it is needless to dwell on 
 the enthusiasm with which he entered into what was to him 
 a new world. From this time until near the death of Dr. 
 Darlington in 1863, a correspondence was maintained be- 
 tween them. The Dr. wished specimens of the natural 
 growth of everything in Chester County for subsequent edi- 
 tions of his work, in which he noticed some of James Trim- 
 ble's contributions, a number of them being new to him. 
 
 Packages of these dried specimens are most likely yet in 
 public collections in Philadelphia and West Chester, and at 
 one time James prided himself on being able to designate 
 by its botanical name each " wild " plant he met with in 
 Cecil and Chester counties. 
 
 James Trimble gave the land, laid out the lots, and 
 planted the shrubbery for the cemetery at the Brick Meeting- 
 house, to which he gave the name of his farm, and "Rose 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 533 
 
 Bank Cemetery " is at this time one of the most beautiful 
 places of burial to be found in the country. 
 
 He was also a warm advocate for temperance, and the 
 eloquent address which he delivered upon that subject at a 
 meeting near the Brick Meeting-house, will long be 
 remembered. 
 
 In my childhood the walk to his place of a pleasant sum- 
 mer evening was too lovely to be forgotten. On passing up 
 the one street of our village, and leaving the houses behind 
 us, we ascended a gentle slope crowned by the Friends' meet- 
 ing-house, looking in the evening light, surrounded by its 
 willow and poplar sentinals, solemn and majestic, the very 
 embodiment of peace and repose. 
 
 Six roads meet near the meeting-house, and taking the 
 left "hand one we turned abruptly round past the old oak 
 tree; and ancient log school-house, then through the woods 
 belonging to the meeting-house, following a narrow brown 
 path, fringed on each side by wiry grass, and leading 
 across a stile into the most fragrant of pine woods. Here 
 the evening breeze whispered and sighed, and the soft turf 
 was carpeted with wild strawberries, and tiny wild flowers; 
 then we climbed over another stile into another woods 
 which gently descended to a " run," crossed by the most 
 rustic of little bridges, the air redolent with the perfume of 
 wild-flowers, and echoing with songs of the oriole and lark. 
 Their large old-time stone house, faultlessly clean inside 
 and out, surrounded by lovely grounds, had an ancient, 
 stately grandeur seldom seen in this changeful country. 
 Their home was a sweet, quiet, restful place, and they were 
 never too busy to entertain even children with the names 
 and properties of their floral treasures. 
 
 Kind and indulgent as was Mrs. James" Trimble, whose 
 maiden name was Hannah Mendenhall, I remember that 
 we children always stood a little in awe of her, and our 
 very best company manners, were put on when in her pres- 
 ence, but with James and his flowers, we were perfectly at 
 
534 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 home, 9,nd free as air to roam where we pleased, and we 
 never left his lovely gardens without a fragrant memento 
 presented by his kind hand. 
 
 One great curiosity to the little folks, was three distinct 
 foot-prints on one of the rafters in the garret of his house. 
 Whose were they, and how they came there, was the m3'stery. 
 His idea was, and no doubt he was correct, that while the 
 house was in progress of building, over one hundred years 
 before, and while the smooth rafters were lying on the 
 ground, some one, perhaps an Indian, stepping in some in- 
 dellible fluid had walked on the rafter. They are the prints 
 of a large fiat foot, bare, each toe showing separately and 
 distinctly, and each print as far apart as a tall man would 
 naturally step. 
 
 But, time has changed much that was so pleasant ,- the 
 march of improvement has levelled the pine woods. I doubt 
 if the orioles, feeling the change, make the woods as in 
 days gone by, melodious with their ringing notes. James 
 Trimble and his family years ago removed to Pennsjdvania, 
 where Joseph died and was brought for interment to the 
 burial-ground attached to the meeting-house, where my 
 ancestors worshiped with Elizabeth Maxwell and her family. 
 
 Owing to many of the Jobs living unmarried, and others 
 moving to the southern and western States, the race is well* 
 nigh extinct at Nottingham. The family of Jacob Job a 
 reputable citizen and farmer and great-grandson of Elizabeth 
 Maxwell, are all of that name, now residing in Cecil County. 
 The wife of Nathan Griffith of Brick Meeting-house, was a 
 grandniece of Andrew Job the ITermit who was a grandson 
 of Elizabeth Maxwell, consequently their descendants are 
 distantly related to the Defoe family. 
 
 THE HARTSHORNE FAMILY. 
 
 The founders of the Hartshorne family, of Cecil County, 
 the members of which took an active part in public affaira 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 535 
 
 a century ago, settled in this county in the early part of the 
 last century. The father of Jonathan Hartshorne purchased 
 two tracts or messuages of land, one called Cornucopia, and 
 the other Spotswood, of Thomas Hampton, containing 
 together about four hundred acres, and, which, after the 
 close of the Revolutionary war, were patented by the State 
 to the family as situated in New Connaught Manor. This 
 property is now owned in part by W. E. Gillespie, and lies 
 a mile or two east of West Nottingham Presbyterian church, 
 of which the Hartshorn es were members. They were an 
 athletic and hardy race of people. Some of them are known 
 to have emigrated to Ohio in the early part of the present 
 century. Jonathan Hartshorne, who married Ann Glasgow, 
 is the first of the name of whom any reliable information 
 has been obtained, and who besides being an agriculturalist, 
 had a tannery to which he gave his attention. He died in 
 1785, leaving five sons: John, .Joshua, Jonathan, Benjamin, 
 and Samuel; and three daughters, Elizabeth Patterson, 
 Rebecca McCullough, and Mary Hartshorne, who married a 
 Mr. Cresswell. 
 
 John Hartshorne married Miss Agnes Miller, but died, 
 leaving no children. He espoused the cause of his country 
 in the war of the Revolution, and on the 6th of January, 
 • 1776, was elected major of the Siisquehanna Battalion of 
 Maryland militia, of this county, by the provincial conven- 
 tion. There is reason to believe that neither the Susque- 
 hanna, nor any other of the battalions of militia of this 
 county, were ever called into active service, and in 1777, or 
 the next year, he joined the 4th Regiment of Maryland 
 volunteers. He was commissioned adjutant of that regi- 
 ment January 25th, 1778. He was also commissioned lieu- 
 tenant in'the same regiment, to rank from May 21st, 1779. 
 In the summer of 1782 he was engaged in recruiting, but in 
 the fall of that year joined the army and served until the 
 close of the war. Joshua died a bachelor, as did also Samuel. 
 Benjamin removed to Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, 
 
536 HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 where he left numerous descendants. Jonathan, as well as 
 John, was a surveyor and in the latter part of the last cen- 
 tury assisted in laying out the public road from Eowland- 
 ville to the State line. A copy of the plat of that road which 
 he made, may be seen among the records of the commis- 
 sioners' court at Elkton. It is well executed and indicates 
 that he was master of his profession. He married Mary 
 Gillespie, of Cecil County, and left three sons, John, James 
 Gillespie, and Joshua; and two daughters, Mary Ann, and 
 Margaret Eliza, who, some years after their father's death, 
 removed with their mother to Pennsylvania and settled on 
 a farm, near Cochranville, where Eliza now resides, who 
 with her brother Jonathan alone survives. 
 
 James married Harriet Henickson, of Chester County, 
 and left three children, Charles, Augustus, and Elizabeth 
 Walton. 
 
 Joshua, the second of that name, was educated at West 
 Nottingham Academy, then under the care of the Rev. Dr. 
 James Magraw. On removing with his family to Chester 
 County he engaged in merchandize. In 1839 he was elected 
 to the lower House of the Pennsylvania Legislature, and 
 served one term. In 1844 he was elected a member of the 
 Board of Public works and served three years, during the 
 last of which he was president of the board. He subse-- 
 quently engaged in the iron business at Baltimore, where 
 he resided many years, and at this time having retired from 
 business, resides at West Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1846 
 he married Martha K. Rogers, daughter of Isaac Rogers, of 
 Harfoid County, Maryland, and has five children, Mary R., 
 Caroline F., Ann H., Alan S., and Walter R. Adam R. 
 Magraw, a grandson of Rev. Dr. James Magraw, married his 
 second daughter (Ann Hartshorne), and they now reside on 
 the old Magraw homestead, adjoining West Nottingham 
 Presbyterian church. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 537 
 
 COLONEL NATHANIEL RAMSAY. 
 
 Wntten for the History of Cecil Gounty hy Inaac B. rcnnypacker. 
 
 Jamks Ramsay emigrated from Ireland* and settled upon 
 a farm in Drumore Township, Lancaster County, Pennsyl- 
 vania, at an early age, and by the cultivation of his farm 
 with his own hands, he provided the means of subsistence 
 and education for a numerous family. He was a man of 
 intelligence and piety, and early sowed the seeds of knowledge 
 and religion in the minds of his children. His wife was 
 Jane Montgomery, said to be a descendant of Roger de 
 Montgomery, the Norman who went with William the Con- 
 queror into England. 
 
 William, the eldest of their three sons, was graduated at 
 Princeton College, in the class of 1754, licensed by the As- 
 sociation of Fairfield East, Connecticut, November 25th, 
 1755, and was received into the Abingdon Presbytery, and 
 ordained and settled as pastor of the Faii'fleld church. May 
 11th, 1756. He died November 5th, 1771, and the tomb- 
 stone erected to his memory testifies to his genius and elo- 
 quence, his faithfulness as a pastor, and the esteem in which 
 he was held by the members of his church. f 
 
 David, the youngest son, born April 2d, 1749, was gradu- 
 ated at Princeton College in the class of 1765. Many stories 
 are told of his remarkable intelligence when a mere boy. 
 He early attracted the attention of the celebrated Dr. Rush, 
 of Philadelphia, where he studied medicine, and delivered 
 an address in Latin at the time of his graduation by the 
 medical college. He settled in Cecil County, Maryland, but 
 in a little while removed to Charleston, South Carolina, 
 where for many years he practiced medicine, and where he 
 wrote the numerous histories and biographies which are 
 still regarded as reliable authorities. He was an ardent 
 advocate of the cause of the colonies in their contest with 
 
 * Rupp's Lancaster Co., page 295. 
 
 f "Princeton College, Eighteenth Century." 
 
538 ■ HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY.' 
 
 the mother country; was a member of Congress, and at one 
 time, in the absence of the president, presided over its delib- 
 erations. Numerous sketches of his life have been printed, 
 and his published works speak for themselves. 
 
 Nathaniel Eamsay, the second son, was born May 1st, 
 1741. He was graduated at Princeton College with the 
 class of 1767. On Thursday, March 14th, 1771, on repeat- 
 ing and signing the test oath and the oath of abjuration, he 
 was admittted to the bar of Cecil County. In 1771 he mar- 
 ried Margaret Jane Peale, a sister of Charles Wilson Peale, 
 the portrait painter. He signed the Declaration of the 
 Freemen of Maryland ; was a delegate from Cecil County 
 to the Maryland Coiiventlon of 1775, held at Annapolis. 
 He was, with Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, and others, one 
 of the committee to devise the best ways and means to pro- 
 mote the manufacture of saltpetre; and was also one of the 
 committee appointed to receive all proposals relating to the 
 establishment of manufactures of any kind within the 
 province, and report their opinion thereon. 
 
 On Monda}', January 1st, 1776, the convention reported 
 resolutions that 1,444 men with ofHcers be raised in the pay 
 and for the defense of the province, and that eight com- 
 panies of the troops, consisting of sixty-eight privates each, 
 under proper officers, be formed into a battalion; and on the 
 next day AVilliam Smallwood was elected colonel ; Francis 
 Ware, lieutenant-colonel; Thomas Price, major; Mordecai 
 Gist, second major; and Ramsay was elected captain of one 
 of the companies of the battalion. A few days afterwards 
 (on Sunday, January 14th) he was assigned to the captaincy 
 of the fifth company, of which Levin Wunder became first 
 lieutenant; Alexander Murray,second lieutenant; and Walker 
 Muse, ensign. At the same time the pay of a captain was 
 fixed at |26 per month ; a major, |33^ ; lieutenant-colonel, 
 $40, with $20 for expenses; and colonel, $50, with $30 for 
 expenses. It was ordered that commissions issue to the 
 officei's, and recruiting orders, as to the character of the re- 
 cruits, to the captains. The uniforms decided on were 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 539 
 
 hunting-shirts of various colors. Five companies of the 
 battalion were ordered to be stationed at Annapolis. 
 
 On January 17th, a new election was ordered for a repre- 
 sentative from Cecil County in Ramsay's place, whose seat 
 would become vacant on his acceptance of a commission in 
 the regular forces of the province. February 10th, 1776, the 
 Maryland Council of Safety wrote to Ramsay requesting 
 him to purchase one hundred and forty yards of country 
 cloth at about 8s. per yard and linen from 2s. id. to 2s. 8d. fit 
 for hunting shirts for his company. 
 
 On Saturday, July 6th, 1776, the convention ordered Col- 
 onel Smallwood to take his battalion atonce to Philadelphia 
 and put himself under the Continental officer then com- 
 manding to be subject to the further orders of Congress. 
 On July 10th, the troops at Annapolis embarked in high 
 spirits to the Head of Elk and thence marched to Phila- 
 delphia, where they arrived on the afternoon of July 16th. 
 
 One who saw the regiment march down Market street, 
 wrote : " They turned up Front street until they reached the 
 Quak'r meeting-house called the Bank Meeting, where they 
 halted for some time, which I presumed, was owing to a 
 delicacy on the part of the officers, seeing they were about 
 to be quartered in a place of worship. After a time they 
 moved forward to the door where the officers halted and 
 their platoons came up and with their hats off, while the 
 soldiers with recovered arms marched into the meeting- 
 house. The officers then retired and sought quarters else- 
 where. The regiment was then said to be eleven hundred 
 strong and never did a finer, more dignified, and braver 
 body of men face an enemy. They were composed of the 
 flower of Maryland, being young gentlemen, the sons of 
 opulent planters, farmers, and mechanics. From the Col- 
 onel to the privates all were attired in hunting shirts."* 
 Abraham Clark, writing to Colonel Dayton from Philadel- 
 
 * Scliai-fTs Chronicles of Baltimoie, page 366. 
 
540 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 phia, August 6tli, 1776, said that the Maryland regiment 
 was the finest he ever saw. 
 
 The battalion left Philadelphia, Sunday, July 21st, in 
 twelve shallops for the .Jerseys.* It was still at Elizabeth- 
 town August 4th, and complaint was made of the provisions 
 issued at Philadelphia. From New York, Washington 
 wrote August 12th, that " Colonel Smallwood's battalion got 
 in on Friday." There it was incorporated in Stirling's bri- 
 gade. AVork for the Maryland soldiers was at hand. The 
 battle of Long Island occurred on August 27th, 1776. The 
 raw American soldiers might well have been excused had 
 they all fled in dismay as the Connecticut troops did. But 
 in their first battle the Maiylauders were to show that their 
 martial appearance did not belie their soldierly qualities. 
 This was the first fight in which the Americans met the 
 British in the open field and Stirling's brigade, in which 
 were the Marylanders, opposing Grant's advance, formed the 
 only line of battle preserved by the Americans on that day. 
 A letter dated New York, September lst,t says: "The com- 
 l)anies commanded by Captains Ramsay and Scott were in 
 the front and sustained the first fire of the enemy when 
 hardly a man fell. The Major, Captain Ramsay, and Lieu- 
 tenant PJunket were foremost and within forty yards of the 
 enemy's muzzels when they were fired upon by the enemy 
 who were cliiefly under the cover of an orcliard save a few 
 that showed themselves and pretended to give up, clubbing 
 their fire arms until we came within that distance when 
 they immediately presented and blazed in our faces; they 
 entirely overshot us, and killed some men away behind in 
 tlie rear." For four hours Sterling's brigade withstood the 
 fire of the enemy's musketry and artillery. By that time 
 Miles and Sullivan had been surrounded and the British 
 
 * Pennsylvania Packet, July '^2d. Diary of C'luistoiilicr ^larshall, 
 page 85. 
 f Memoirs Long Island Historical Society, Vol. II., page 489. 
 
HISTORY OP CECIL COUNTY. 541 
 
 troops were in Stirling's rear. He heard the ominous firing 
 behind him and fell back to find himself surrounded. 
 There was but one thing to do, to cross theGowanus marsh 
 and creek where both were at their broadest, to the Ameri- 
 can lines on the other side. Tradition says that Captain 
 Ramsay could not swim and that he owed his life on this 
 day to his unusual height, which was six feet three inches. 
 By throwing his head back he kept the water from entering 
 his nostrils and thus crossed the Gowanus Crock in safety. 
 
 Perhaps a ray of light may be thrown upon Ramsay's 
 character by an extract from his testimon}', given Septem- 
 ber 21st, 1776, before a General Court-martial of the line on 
 the Heights of Harlem, before which Ensign Macumber was 
 tried for plundering and mutiny. Captain Ramsay deposed : 
 
 " I saw a number of men loaded with plunder. I went 
 up to them, and told them they had been acting exceedingly 
 wrong. * * * Ensign Macumber had at this time a 
 knapsack full on his shoulder, out of which stuck two waxen 
 toys, which I took old of, and jested with him on his having 
 such a pretty sort of plunder."* Ramsay's company, on 
 September 27th, 1776, consisted of one captain; one sec- 
 ond-lieutenant; twosergeants; one drum and fife; twenty-one 
 rank and file, present, fit for duty ; four sick, present ; twenty- 
 four sick, absent ; seven on com, nand ; total fiftj^-six. Want- 
 ing to complete ; one drum and fife ; eight privates. Novem- 
 ber 21st, Samuel Chase wrote to the Maryland Council of 
 Safety, that Ramsay was in Philadelphia, and in December 
 he was absent from his command on leave of absence. 
 
 A portion of that winter seems to have been spent by him 
 in Baltimore. He belonged to the Whig club of that city, 
 the members of which took an oath "to detect all traitors." 
 William Goddard published, on February 25th, an article 
 in the Maryland Journal, congratulating the Americans on 
 the terms of peace offered by General Howe. Goddard 
 
 * Force's Archives, Fifth Series, Vol. II., page 500. 
 
542 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 says that on March 3d, Colonel Ramsay and Mr. George 
 Trumbull called at his house, and on behalf of the Whig 
 club, demanded the name of the author of the offensive 
 article. On the next evening Ramsay, in company with 
 other members of the club, some of them bearing side arms, 
 called on Goddard and demanded that he should attend the 
 meeting of the club, and compelled him by force to do so. 
 The club ordered Goddard to leave the town the next morn- 
 ing by twelve o'clock. Goddard disobeyed the order and 
 says, that on March 25th, Commodore Nicholson, Mr. David 
 Poe, Colonel Nathaniel Ramsaj'' and others, took possession 
 of his printing office, abused his workmen, seized upon him, 
 dragged him down stairs and carried him to the tavern 
 where the Whig club usually met,' and he was given until 
 night to leave the town and county, and informed that 
 his person was unsafe. From other testimony it seems that 
 some preparation had been made to tar and feather Goddard. 
 At all events, the Legislature declared the action of the 
 Whig club to be an infringement of tlie Declaration of 
 Rights, and called upon the Governor to issue a proclama- 
 tion, calling upon all persons usurping the powers of gov- 
 ernment to disperse, and on April 17th, Governor Thomas 
 issued such a proclamation.* 
 
 According to the arrangement of the seven battalions of 
 Maryland Regulars on Marcli 27th, 1777, which were under 
 Brigadier-General Smallwood, Mordecai Gist was Colonel of 
 the Third Battalion, and Nathaniel Ramsay, Leiutenant- 
 colonel. 
 
 General Samuel Smith says in his autobiography ,t tliat 
 at the battle of Chad's Ford, September 11th, " General Kny- 
 phausen had been detached and displayed a force of about 
 five hundred men opposite to Chad's Ford. Colonel Ramsay 
 
 * Sohaiil 's Chronicles of Baltimore, page 157. 
 
 t Dawson's Historical Magazine for February, 1870. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 543 
 
 of the Maryland line crossed the river and" skirmished with 
 and drove the Yagers.* 
 
 Ramsay was with the army at Valley Forge during a por- 
 tion of the memorable winter of 1777-78, where Colonel 
 Ramsay and Mrs. Ramsay occupied a log hut facing to the 
 south in which the officers of the army and especially those 
 of the Maryland line were accustomed to congregate. A 
 portion of the line being ordered to Wilmington, Colonel 
 Ramsay and his wife found agreeable quarters at the resi- 
 dence of their friend Mr. Lee. On June 9th, 1778,Ramsay 
 was Lieutenant- colonel of the day at Valley Forge. On 
 June 17th and 18th, 1778, the British army evacuated 
 Philadelphia, and marched across New Jersey toward New 
 York. On the 18th a portion of the American army set out 
 in pursuit from A'alley Forge. On the 19tli, Washington 
 followed with the whole army. On Sunday, the 28th, was 
 fought the battle of Monmouth. The advance of the Ameri- 
 cans under command of General Charles Lee had met the 
 British, but without cause began to retreat, " fleeing from a 
 shadow." For twenty minutes General Lee sat upon a fence 
 without giving an order or making an attempt to stop what at 
 every moment came nearer to being a disastrous rout. At 
 this moment Washington arrived upon the field. The 
 enemy must be checked or all is lost. Colonel Ramsay is 
 coming out of a ravine. Washington hastened to him, and' 
 Colonel Walter Stewart, and taking Ramsay by the hand, said 
 
 * Some time before this a battalion from Harford County marched to 
 Baltimore, whose servicesit became unnecessary to accept, ColonelRamsay 
 to whose ]-egiment the battalion belonged, in acknowledging the receipt 
 of the communication made to them by the Baltimore committee expres- 
 sive of their sense of the patriotism of the battalion, says : "That bat- 
 tabon, sir, esteem it but their duty to iraroh to the assistance of any part 
 of the province when attacked or in danger of it. But they march with 
 greater alacrity to your assistance from the pleasing memory of former 
 connections and a sense of the value and importance of Baltimore Town 
 to the province in general." ScharfPs Chronicles of Baltimore, page 143. 
 
544 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 that he should depend upon them with their two regi- 
 ments to check the enemy until the army could be reformed. 
 Ramsay replied, "We shall check them." 
 
 " The British were in the wood in front of Stewart and 
 Ramsay, whom Washington had directed to incline to the 
 left so that they might be under cover of a corner of woods, 
 and not exposed to the enemy's cannon in their Jront.* 
 The British guns opened fire. Fighting every inch of 
 ground Stewart and Ramsay's men came out of the woods, 
 the Americans and British mixed up together. Ramsay 
 himself maintained his ground until left without troops, 
 and was cut down in a hand-to-hand encounter with some 
 British dragoons, wounded, and taken prisoner." 
 
 General Knox wrote to Mi's Knox, June 29th, that 
 Colonel Ramsay was released in parole that morning. He 
 remained at Princeton at the house of Mrs. Sargent until he 
 had recovered from his wounds.f October 31st, 1778, an 
 order was issued by the British Commissary General of 
 prisoners, requiring all American prisoners at home on 
 parole to repair immediately to New York. Colonel Ram- 
 say's name being upon a return of officers at home on parole, 
 October 12th, he was probably among those called to New 
 York by the order-. In the fall of 1779, with General Irvine, 
 Colonel Magaw, and other prisoners at Flat Bush, he sent 
 a number of letters to the American Commissary General of 
 prisoners urging that money be sent them with which to 
 buy the necessaries of life. The same officers also sent com- 
 plaints to General Clinton of the insults offered them by 
 some British troops under Captain Depeyster, and that on 
 one occasion they had been charged upon with fixed bay- 
 onets and taken prisoners for no offense wdiatever. An ex- 
 amination having been made, the Americans were declared 
 to have been "much in the wrong in their controversy with 
 
 * Lieutenant-colonel Fitzger.ald's testimony. Court-martial of General 
 Lee. 
 
 f Boyle's distinguished Marylanders, page 143. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 545 
 
 the sergeant of the guard." To this the American officers 
 replied that their treatment had been " very scandalous and 
 that if permitted to do so, they could have established their 
 charges in the clearest manner by the testimony of officers, 
 and respectable inhabitants." In May 1780, the prisoners 
 issued a memorial saying that the public supplies had been 
 stopped for twelve months and asking the respective States 
 to which they belonged for relief 
 
 Several times while a prisoner, Ramsay, in company with 
 other officers, came into the American lines on parole with 
 propositions of exchange. The Americans and British could 
 not agree upon the terms of exchange, but an agreement 
 was at last happily effected in the fall of 1780, in pursuance 
 of which Ramsay and others were released from confine- 
 ment. On October 30th, 1780, a letter was addressed by 
 General Irvine, Colonels Matthews, Ely Marbury and other 
 officers, still in confinment on Long Island, to Ramsay, Ma- 
 gaw, and others, congratulating them upon their release 
 from the miseries of captivity; saying that "their hearts 
 bleed for the unjustifiable neglect of our country to you, 
 eighteen months without a shilling of supplies," and asking 
 them to remonstrate to Congress, and, if that failed to the 
 country against the injustice of exchanging officers cap- 
 tured at Gliarlestown, a few months before, in preference to 
 those who had been prisoners three and four years.* Gen- 
 eral Irvine wrote from Flatbush, October 31st, 1780, to the 
 president of Congress, that those officers who that day left 
 the island, on their way home, had been compelled to leave 
 their unfortunate friends as security for payment of their 
 private debts, the Comissary General of prisoners not being 
 able to discharge them. Ramsay was exchanged for Lieu- 
 tenant-colonel Connelly, the British spy.f 
 
 Tradition says that the officers confined on Long Island 
 made their life as pleasant as possible, paying frequent 
 
 * Irvine papers in Pennsylvania Historical Society. 
 
 f ScharfPs History of Maryland, page 337. ii 
 
546 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 visits to one another, and doing all that could be done to 
 relieve the tedium of confinement. The regulations for the 
 prisoners permitted all field officers to visit any quarters 
 where prisoners were cantoned. No prisoners were per- 
 mitted to go to the northward hills, or to use firearms, or go 
 into any craft, and all were compelled to be in their respec- 
 tive quarters by ten o'clock at night in summer and by nine 
 in winter. The injustice to the American officers who were 
 in the hands of the British so long, did not end with their 
 imprisonment. They were set free to find their positions in 
 the army occupied by other men. Their places were filled 
 and there was no room for the bravest of them elsewhere in 
 the army. Colonels Eamsay and Tillard, the latter ex- 
 changed at the same time with Ramsay, became supernu- 
 mery on July 1st, 1781.* 
 
 By the acts of Congress, Colonel Ramsay became entitled 
 to half pay, commutation, and bounty land. In 1783 he 
 settled in Baltimore. The Maryland Society of the ' Cin- 
 cinnati was organized at Annapolis, November 21st, 1783. 
 The next day General Smallwood was elected president ; 
 Brigadier General Gist, vice-president ; Brigadier General 
 Williams, secretary ; and Colonel Ramsay, treasurer ; and 
 the latter .was also chosen with General Williams, Governor 
 Paca, and General Smallwood to represent the State Society 
 in the General Society. 
 
 At the first general meeting of the society after the dis- 
 bandment of the army, held in the State House, Philadel- 
 phia, May 4th, 1784, General Washington was requested to 
 preside, and Colonel Ramsay was appointed one of the com- 
 mittee to wait on General Washington and inform him of 
 the request of the meeting. On the next day, when the 
 meeting resolved itself into a committee of the whole. 
 Colonel Ramsay was called to the chair. On Thursday^ 
 May 6th, the chairman reported that the committee of the 
 
 * Saffell Records, page 237. 
 
HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 547 
 
 whole were of opinion that the institution of the Society 
 of the Cincinnati should be revised and anaended. 
 
 In 1785 Colonel Ramsay was chosen to represent Mary- 
 land in the old Congress for one year from the second Mon- 
 day in December, 1785. He took his seat on Monday, June 
 26th, 1786. While in Congress, in opposition to the votes 
 of the two other Maryland representatives present, Colonel 
 Ramsay voted in favor of a resolution to pay Major General 
 John Sullivan $4,300, as compensation for the great expense 
 he had been put to while in separate command on expedi- 
 tions; and he served on the committee to which was referred 
 questions of payments to soldiers. He was sent to Congress 
 for another year, and took his seat May 3d, 1787. 
 
 In Baltimore, Colonel Ramsay lived in the handsome 
 home which has since been purchased by Thomas Winans. 
 March llth,1786,hebought for £1,750 part of Anna Catharine 
 Neck and Carpenter's Point, Cecil County, Maryland, a few 
 miles below the mouth of the Susquehanna, on the eastern 
 side of the Chesapeake Bay, and on October 6th, 1790, he 
 bought Clayfall, four hundred acres for £580. The Car- 
 penter's Point farm at that time was famous for its shad 
 fishing and ducking shore, and in a less degree is still so. 
 
 Colonel and Mrs. Ramsay in winter made their home in 
 Baltimore; in summer at Carpenter's Point; and according 
 to Mrs. Titian R. Peale, exercised a more generous hospi- 
 tality than was then known in rural Maryland. The climate 
 here, however, did not agree with Mrs. Ramsay, and she 
 died in 1788, leaving no children. Colonel Ramsay then 
 married Charlotte Hall, by whom he had five children. 
 
 In 1790 he was appointed by President Washington, United 
 States Marshal for Maryland, and in 1794 he became naval 
 officer of the port of Baltimore. He died Friday morning, 
 October 24th, at two o'clock, in his seventy-first year, and 
 was buried at Westminster church, corner of Green and Fay- 
 ette streets, Baltimore.* 
 
 * A painting of Colonel Ramsay and one of his brother, the historian, 
 Dr. David Ramsay, hang in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. A painting 
 
548 HISTORY OF CECIL COUNTY. 
 
 Colonel Ramsay was a gentleman of great benevolence 
 and integrity of character. He had the early advantages 
 of the best education that the country could then give. It 
 has been said of him that in his law practice he would rather 
 bring the plaintiff and defendant to a peaceful adjustment 
 of their differences than try a case. His brilliant military 
 record shows him to have been the " brave Ramsay " which 
 the great orator, Henry Armitt Brown, called him. Socially 
 his position was of the best. He enjoyed the personal acquain- 
 tance and confidence of General Washington, and when he 
 died his obituaries in the United States Gazette,'\ Baltimore 
 Fed. jRep.,the London Gentleman's l/a^ozme,J and the Annual 
 of Biography and Obituary,^ which spoke of his valor and 
 value, came nearer the truth than is sometimes the case in 
 similar notices. 
 
 of him when a young man, together with one of his father, James, and 
 brother, David, were until recently in the possession of his grandson, Mr. 
 William White Ramsay, of Harford County. These portraits were painted 
 by Colonel Ramsay's brother-in-law, Charles Wilson Peale. 
 
 Mrs. Titian K. ir*eale, in w^hose husband's possession is a manuscript 
 diary, kept by his father, Charles Wilson Peale, and which contains 
 several references to Colonel Ramsay, says, "that Ramsay and Washing- 
 ton were of nearly the same height, and that when the officers ef the 
 American army would gather, as was their custom, at the residence of 
 Charles Wilson Peale (now occupied by the New York Historical Society) 
 in New York, they would frequently take turns in trying to lift the 
 artist's baby sister to the ceiling. Of all who tried the playful feat, 
 Washington and Ramsay were the only two who succeeded. It is to be 
 regretted that Mrs. Peale' s consent to an examination of this manuscript 
 diary, could not be obtained. 
 
 The portrait of Colonel Ramsay, in Independence Hall, was photo 
 graphed with difficulty, the surface being much cracked. A few litho- 
 graphic copies were struck off, and the stone was destroyed. Through 
 the kindness of Mr. Stone, librarian of the Pennsylvania Historical 
 Society, one of these copies is now in the possession of Colonel Ramsay's 
 great-granddaughter, Mrs. Isaac R. Pennypacker, nee Charlotte Whita- 
 ker. Colonel Ramsay's sword is now owned by his granddaughter, Mrs. 
 Mary Ramsay Whitaker, of Harford County. Bearing this sword in his 
 band Colonel Ramsay once quelled a serious disturbance among the 
 fishermen at Carpenter's Point. Colonel Ramsay's camp candlesticks are 
 in the possession of his grandson, Mr. William White Ramsay. 
 
 t October 29th, 1817. t January, 1818, page 87. § 1819, page 218. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Acadians or French Neutrals, accouut of. 360, 264 
 
 Advice Boat 191 
 
 Aikentown 334 
 
 Alexander, Robert 335, 336, 347 
 
 Alexanders of New Munster 136, 391 
 
 Alexanders of Nottingham , 294 
 
 Allegiance, oath of 443 
 
 Almshouse, History of 372, 375 
 
 Altoona, 26; Altoona, Fort, 33; Changed to Christiana 74 
 
 Amsterdam, New .• 34 
 
 Anna Catharine Neck 37 
 
 Appoquinimink Creek 76, 196 
 
 Ararat, Mount 128, 418 
 
 Ark and Dove 8, 14 
 
 Asbury M. E. church 461 
 
 Asbury, Rev. Francis 177,441, 447, 448, 449, 452, 459 
 
 Atwood, Father Peter 199, 200 
 
 Avalon 11 
 
 Bachelors, tax on 434 
 
 Bainbridge, Commodore William 491 
 
 Baltimore County, original limits of 81 
 
 BarroU, Rev. William 316 
 
 Bassett, Richard 106, 177, 180, 184, 185 
 
 Bayard, Colonel Peter 178, 183 
 
 Bayard, James A 106, 185 
 
 Bayard, James 313 
 
 Bayard, Petrus 93 
 
 Beacon Hill 122 
 
 Beard, Hugh 394 
 
 Beard, Rev. John 280 
 
 Bechtel, George K 283 
 
 Belleconnell 116, 234 
 
 Belle Hill 116 
 
 Bequest to poor of St. Stephen's parish 373 
 
 Bethel church 450 
 
 Bill of lading lOS 
 
11 
 
 Biork, Rev. Ericus 225 
 
 Bloody Holly Bush, legend of 250 
 
 Blue Ball Tavern 150, 160 
 
 Bohemia Ferry 178 
 
 Bohemia, Jesuit Mission at 196 
 
 Bohemia Landing 197 
 
 Bohemia Manor, 38 ; original metes and bounds, 39 ; plantations on, 172 ; 
 
 division of 185 
 
 Bosley, James 395 
 
 Bouohell, Peter 175, 176, 178, 179 
 
 Boulden, Major William 413 
 
 Boundary line between Cecil and Harford 403 
 
 Bradford, Rev. John 321 
 
 Brevard, John 276, 292 
 
 Brice, Samuel, petition of 397 
 
 British army in Elk Neck, 329 ; at Elk Forge, 331 ; at Turkey Point, 
 413 ; at Frenchtown, 414 ; at Havre de Grace, 418 ; at Frederick- 
 town 420 
 
 Bi'ond Creek Presbyterian church 375 
 
 Brown family... 160 
 
 Brown, James 145, 160 
 
 Brown, William 145 
 
 Buohannan, ex-President James 417 
 
 Bulls Mountain 333 
 
 Burton, Rev. John 386 
 
 Calvert, Benedict Leonard 117 
 
 Calvert, Cecil or Ceoilius 13, 14, 110, 313 
 
 Calvert, Charles 110, 120, 299, 806 
 
 Calvert, George 11, 14 
 
 Calvert, Leonard 14 
 
 Calvert, Philip 39, 46, 57 
 
 Camp-meetings 454 
 
 Cantwell family 77 
 
 Carolina 13 
 
 Carroll, Charles 137 
 
 Carroll, Charles, of CarroUton, 138, 182, 184, 301, 376; his letter to 
 
 Henry Hollingsworth 325 
 
 Carroll, John 201 
 
 Catto, Mrs 176, 182 
 
 Cape Henlopen 304 
 
 Cecil County first mentioned, 40; original boundaries of 82 
 
 Cecil Manufacturing Company 382 
 
 Ceciltown, 40; account of. 356,359, 264 
 
 Ohalkley, Thomas, visits Conestoga Indians 156 
 
 Ohandlee, Benjamin 157^ 158 
 
Ill 
 
 Chaudlee, Isaac 158 
 
 Cliarlestowu, reasons for building, 265 ; act of incorporation of, 365 ; 
 
 names of streets in, 266 ; names of first lot owners, 267 ; expovts 
 
 from, a68 ; Fairs in, 369-70 ; taxables in, 273 ; population of, 274 ; 
 
 ferry at, 356; preaching in 460 
 
 Chauhannauks 4 
 
 Chesapeake, town of. 378 
 
 Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, 383 to 390 ; feeder of, 385 ; cost of... 892 
 
 Churchman family 525 
 
 Churchman, John .■ 190, 881 
 
 Chrome 475 
 
 Clayborne, William 7, 15, 17, 19 
 
 Clayfall 27, 63, 64, 130, 181, 222 
 
 Clayton, Dr. Joshua 184, 828, 326 
 
 Commissioners of the tax 402 
 
 Conestoga Indians 70 
 
 Confiscated property 346, 351 
 
 Connaught Manor (see Susquehanna Manor) 114 
 
 Convention 319, 330, 331 
 
 Cooper, John 361 
 
 Corn, scarcity of, 58; Carroll Charles 137, 138 
 
 Cosden, Rev. Jeremiah 453 
 
 Cottey, Able 157 
 
 Coudon, Rev. Joseph -. 362, 446, 453, 455 
 
 Council, order of 16, meets at Spesutia, 42 ; at Susquehanna Point, 
 
 53 ; makes a treaty with the Indians at New Amstel 61 
 
 Court, first rules of 244 
 
 Courts Baron and Leet, 113; of Cecil County 117 
 
 Court-house at Jamestown, 83 ; at Court-house Point, 247 ; at Elkton..367 
 
 Crawford, Rev. James 208 
 
 Cresap, Thomas 238, 301, 893 
 
 Creswell, Colonel John 393 
 
 Dare, William 118, 233 
 
 Davies, Rev. Samuel .% 167 
 
 Davis, Rev. Henry Lyon 458, 454, 458 
 
 Dearbourn, General 846 
 
 Death, Randall 389 
 
 Defoe family 526 
 
 Delaware College ^ 285 
 
 Delaware River, names of 22 
 
 Dobson, Richard 217, 339, 333 
 
 Dobson, Henry 833 
 
 Duke, Rev. William 436, 443, 455, 457, 459 
 
 Durham County 75 
 
 Dutton, Robert 148, 150, 331 
 
IV 
 
 Ease, Chapel of. 210 
 
 Ebenezer chapel 450 
 
 Edmvinson, William 90 
 
 Election to determine Seat of Justice .- 352 
 
 Election Districts, County divided into 401, 403 
 
 ElkEerry 249, 329 
 
 Elk Forge 330, 331 
 
 Elk Forge Company 347 
 
 Elkton, Presbyterian church in, 377; County Sr:ii lemoved to, 365; 
 Elkton incorporated, 866 ; provisions of tlit; Aui of Incorporation, 
 366, 367 ; old buildings in, 367 ; description of, 368 ; members of 
 the bar of, 368 ; bank of, 405 ; first Methodist Society at, 459 ; 
 
 iirst Methodist church in 459 
 
 England, Joseph 159 
 
 Ensor, Augustine Hermen 178, 183 
 
 Ensor, Joseph 178, 181, 183, 183, 184 
 
 Evans, David 165 
 
 Evans, Dr. Amos Alexander, 488 to 495 ; his medals 493 
 
 Evans, Dr. Amos A., extracts from diary of 379, 387 
 
 Evans Family 485 to 488 
 
 Ewing, Rev. John 378, 311 
 
 Expedition against Whorekill .' 77 
 
 Fair Hill 138 
 
 Fairlee Creek 19 
 
 Fendall's Rebellion 30 
 
 Finley, Rev. James, 384; visits western Pennsylvania 385, 295 
 
 Finley, Rev. Samuel 378 
 
 Fisheries 473 to 475 
 
 Five Nations 3 
 
 Foreman, General Thomas M 369, 409 
 
 Forges 234 
 
 Fort Cassimir 35 
 
 Fort Christiana 34 
 
 Fort Defiance, 410; list of officers and men attending at 411 
 
 Fort Hollingsworth, 410; accident at 482 
 
 Fort Nassau 22 
 
 Fredericktown ..259 
 
 Free Schools 379, 477 
 
 French and Indian War 203 
 
 Frenchtown and New Castle Turnpike Company 406 
 
 Frenchtown and New Castle Railroad, 435 to 437 ; first locomotive 
 
 on 427 
 
 Frey's Forge , 382 
 
 Friendship 224 
 
 Furgusson, Zeb 414 
 
Garrett, Colonel William 410 
 
 Geoffax-ison 234 
 
 Georgetown 359 
 
 Georgetown College 201 
 
 Gillespie, Rev. George 141, 288 
 
 Gilpin family 511 
 
 Gilpin, Joseph 328, 331, 363 
 
 Gilpin's Rocks 334 
 
 Gilpin, Samuel 334 
 
 Goldsmith's Hall 61 
 
 Goshen 451 
 
 Gorsuch, Robert 43 
 
 Graham, Rev. Robert 387 
 
 Grange, the '. 225 
 
 Granite 476 
 
 Gravenrod, Susanna 181 
 
 Greaton, Rev. Joseph 203 
 
 Hack, Anna, and others natviralized 71 
 
 Hackett, Rev. Walter 218, 219 
 
 Hall family 480 to 485 
 
 Hamilton, Patrick 355, 370 
 
 Hamilton, Rev. John 373, 444 
 
 Happy Harbor 259 
 
 Hartshorne family 534 
 
 Hartshorne, Major John 333 
 
 Harts' Meeting-house 448 
 
 Hassan, Alexander 370 
 
 Head of Christiana church 140, 388 
 
 Heath, James 198, 303 
 
 Heath, John Paul 198 
 
 Henry, Patrick, letter from '. 340 
 
 Hermen, Anna Margaretta 36, 108 
 
 Hermen, Augustine, 32 ; he and Waldron visit Maryland, 33 ; visits Vir- 
 ginia, 35 ; his early life, 35 ; his family, 36 ; his map, 37 ; escapes 
 from New Amsterdam, 37; first will, 37; obtains patent for Bohe- 
 mia Manor, 38 ; acts as peacemaker, 51 ; is naturalized, 71 ; his let- 
 ter to Governor Beekman, 73 ; road from his plantation to New 
 Castle, 76; obtains grant of St. Auguftine Manor, 76; he and 
 Jacob Young authorized to treat with the Indians, 79 ; quarrel 
 about his land, 100 ; letter to the council, 101 ; files a caveat, 102 ; 
 extent of his possessions, 103 ; invests his son, Ephraim George, 
 with the title of Bohemia Manor, 104; his last will, 104; inscrip- 
 tion on his monumental stone, 105 ; place of his sepulcher, 106 ; 
 codicil to his will 107 
 
VI 
 
 Hermen, Casparus, settles on St. Augustine Manor, 77 ; represents 
 New Castle County in Legislature of Pennsylvania, 77 ; suceeds 
 his brother Ephraim George as lord of Bohemia Manor, 170 ; takes 
 possession of the Manor-house, 171; his wives, 171, 174; his 
 land in Elk Neck and elsewhere, 172; his death, 173; his 
 
 children, 171, 181; commissioner of county 206 
 
 Hermendale '■'" 
 
 Hermen, Ephraim Augustine, 173 ; valuation of his personal estate, 
 173 ; his daughters, Mary and Catharine, 174, 189 ; builds Court- 
 house 247 
 
 Hermen, Ephraim George, settles on St. Augustine manor, 77; offices 
 filled by him, 77 ; his wife, 85 ; joins the labadists, 86 ; deserts his 
 
 wife, 94 ; his sad death 94, 181 
 
 Hermen, Fi-ancina 36, 108 
 
 Hermen, Judith 36, 108 
 
 Hessians' Hole, the ■ 382 
 
 Hindman, Rev. Francis 287 
 
 Hinoyossa, Alexander D\ 46; letters from to Philip Calvert, 46, 50; 
 is made governor of all the Dutch possessions on the Delaware, 
 
 73; sketch of his life 74 
 
 Hollingsworth, Henry, 227; sketch of 329, 323, 333, 363 
 
 HoUingsworth, Jacob 231, 362, 368, 869 
 
 Hollingsworth, Stephen 232 
 
 Hollingsworth, Zebulon 219, 230, 377, 339, 363, 363 
 
 Hopewell M. E. church 461 
 
 Howell, WiUiam 317 
 
 Howe, Sir William, Proclamation of 328 
 
 Hudson, Father Thomas 199 
 
 Hudson, Henry 21 
 
 Hundreds 341, 243 
 
 Hyland family 533 
 
 Indian Spring , .' 219 
 
 Indian James 4 
 
 Indian Weapons and Utensils 5 
 
 Ireland, New 115 
 
 Iron Hill, Baptist church on, 163, 165, 219 ; why so called, 167 ; dis- 
 coveries in ore pit on 168 
 
 Iron ore 475 
 
 Irrigation 391 
 
 Jacksou, President Andrew 292 
 
 Jacobs, Thomas 336 
 
 Jail, at Court-house Point, 348; at Charlestown 361 
 
 Jamestown 83 
 
 Jawert, John 189, 347 
 
 Job Andrew 160, 539 
 
Vll 
 
 Johntown 442 
 
 Jones, Lewis 327 
 
 Jones, Rev. Hugh, 303, 313 ; extract of letter from, 314 ; petition of, 
 
 315 ; his land in Middle Neck 316, 318, 321, 367, 437 
 
 Jury Oak 83 
 
 Jury, trial by 343 
 
 Justices, quarrel of the, 351 ; controversy between 354 
 
 Kay, Jehu ., 159 
 
 Kent County, organization of 246 
 
 Kingdom, Rev. John 300 
 
 Kings road 337 
 
 Kiik, Roger 233 
 
 Knyphausen, General 339, 333 
 
 Labadists, the, establish a community at Wiewerts, 84 ; account of 
 
 the community on Bohemia Manor 96 to 99 
 
 Lafayette, General, 341 ; letters from, 342, 505; expedition to Chesa- 
 peake Bay, 341 ; at Head of Elk, 343; at Brick Meeting-house... 344 
 
 Latrobe, Benjamin H 384 
 
 Latta, Rev. John E 287 
 
 Lawson, John, courts and marries Mary Ilermen, 174, 176 ; his 
 
 will 177, 180 
 
 Lawson, Peter 176, 177, 178, 180, 185 
 
 Lawyers 253 
 
 Xeslie family 520 
 
 Lewis, Rev. John 303 
 
 Line stones, 311, 313 
 
 Lockwood, Edward W 359 
 
 Long bullets ^. 404 
 
 Lottery, ! 381, 288 
 
 Magraw, Rev. James 3S2 
 
 Magraw, Samuel M 283 
 
 Mahaffey, Hugh 284 
 
 Manhattan River 21 
 
 Manners, Rev. Matthias 203 
 
 Mansell, Rev. Thomas '. 195, 197,199 
 
 Marechal, Rev. Ambrose 301 
 
 Maryland Canal (see Susquehanna Canal) 376 
 
 Maryland, Charter of, 13; preamble to 13 and 14 
 
 Mason and Dixons line 140, 152 
 
 Mason and Dixon, 308 ; land at Philadelphia, 309 ; first entries in their 
 journal, 309 ; run the tangent line, 311 ; run the due north line, 
 
 313 ; finish the west line 314 
 
 Massawomekes 3 
 
Vlll 
 
 Mauldin family 510 
 
 Mauldin's Mountain 233 
 
 McDowell, Rev. James 284 
 
 McCrery, Rev. John 388, 293 
 
 Methodist Protestant churches 462 
 
 Method of making Darts 6 
 
 Mey, Cornelius Jacohson 31 
 
 Meyer, Peter, 42; is naturalized 54 
 
 Mills, number of /. 403 
 
 Minquas 3, 48 
 
 Minuit, Peter 23 
 
 Mitchell family, 495 ; Colonel Geo. Edward Mitchell 497 
 
 Moll, John, sketch of 94 
 
 Morris, Robert, letter from 341 
 
 Mosley, Rev. Joseph, 208; his Journal 204 
 
 Mount "Welcome 480 
 
 Mudsills 431 
 
 Neals, Captain James, 52; his commission 53 
 
 New Amstel, 26; changed to New Castle 74 
 
 New Munster, certificate of survey of, 133; extent of. 184, 298 
 
 Newspapers in County, history of 464 to 472 
 
 North East River 2 
 
 North Elk Parish, 317; taxables in 219, 222 
 
 North Sassafras Parish, 207 ; articles belonging to vestry of, 208 ; first 
 
 church in, 208; taxables in 209, 3ia 
 
 Nottingham Academy 278, 283 
 
 Nottingham, 1|5 ; warrant of survey of, 147; draught of 149 
 
 Nottingham Meeting-house 1 52 
 
 Nottingham Monthly Meeting 154 
 
 Nottingham Presbyterian church, 155 ; name changed to Ephesus, 
 155 ; changed to Kirkwood, 155 ; disruption of, 277 ; church 
 
 building 281 
 
 Nottingham Township 146 
 
 Nowell, William : 144 
 
 Odber, Captain John, 48 ; instructions to, 49 ; is charged with cowar- 
 dice 59 
 
 Oldfield, George 119, 139, 144 
 
 Oldham, Colonel Edward 184 
 
 Old Man's Path 79 
 
 Old Neddy 835 
 
 Old Simon 234 
 
 Onion, Stephen 233 
 
 Oppoquermine River 40 
 
 Ordinaries 242 
 
IX 
 
 Packets, line of, between Baltimore and Philadelphia 405 
 
 Palmer's Island (now Watson's) 7, 15, 145 
 
 Paper mills 476 
 
 Parker, Edward , 323, 324 
 
 Passayontke Indians 3 
 
 Pauper, bill for burying 372 
 
 Peddler's Run 370 
 
 Pencader Presbyterian church 165 
 
 Pennington' s Point 359 
 
 Peregrine's Mount 2 
 
 Perry Point 132 
 
 Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad 438, 439 
 
 Pilgrims of Maryland 7 
 
 Pinna, King of Picthanomicta, 55 ; makes treaty with Council of 
 
 Maryland at Appoquinimink 57 
 
 Poppemetto 4, 154 
 
 Port Deposit, first so called, 394 ; bridge company, 895 ; first bridge. ..397 
 
 Port Hermen 173 
 
 Porter, Stephen, 357 ; stabs Thomas Dunn, 358 ; valuatiim of his 
 
 property, 358; his trial 359 
 
 Pot House 330 
 
 Presbyterians, manners and customs of, 290; emigration of 391 
 
 Priest's mill 200 
 
 Principio Iron Company 4, 334, 335 
 
 Prise Houses 193 
 
 Prison, order respecting 248 
 
 Protestant Revolution 142 
 
 Publication of freight 194 
 
 Pulton, Father Thomas 200 
 
 Quakers of Nottingham 318 
 
 Quakers on the Sassafras River 90 
 
 Ramsay, Colonel Nathaniel, 331, 370; sketch of 537 
 
 Ramsay, Dr. David 293 
 
 Randel, John, Jr., 389; sketch of. 391 
 
 Rangers 190 
 
 Redemptioners 236, 295 
 
 Reese, Rev. Joshua 453 
 
 Reservoir 385 
 
 Ricketts, Palmer C 469 
 
 Riots 387,431 
 
 Roads 79 
 
 Roberts, John 347 
 
 Rock church, 141, 383; petition of trustees of. 385 
 
 Rock Run 339 
 
 Ross, Rev. Walter 318 
 
X 
 
 Rousby, Christopher l^^ 
 
 Rudulph family 513 
 
 Rudulph, Michael, letter of. 516 
 
 Rurasey, Charles ■. 2*2 
 
 Rumsey family ^^° 
 
 Rumsey's (James) steamboat 375 
 
 Rutten, Garrett, letter to Mr. Wright 48 
 
 Ryddarks, Reese 164 
 
 Sand Hook 45, 51 
 
 Sassafras Hundred - 207 
 
 Scotch Irish, origin of 138, 154 
 
 Sculptured Rocks 6 
 
 Seneca Point 268, 35.5, 361 
 
 Seven Mountains 29 
 
 Sewell, Rev. Richard 209 
 
 Shannon River 115 
 
 Shawuah 4 
 
 Simcoe, George i 27 
 
 Slaves 193 
 
 Sluyter and Danckers, their Journal, 85; they visit New Cattle, 86 ; 
 
 visit Augustine Hermen, 88 ; their account of the Watei-fowl, 89 ; 
 
 purchase the Labidie Track 93 
 
 Smith, John 1,224, 225 
 
 Smith's mill 225 
 
 Society 137 
 
 Society of Jesus 195, 196 
 
 Soul-drivers 236 
 
 South River 22, 193 
 
 South Sassafras Parish 2()7,' 208, 211 
 
 Spesutia Island 28, 40, 42, 327 
 
 St. Augustine church 213, 332 
 
 St. Augustine creek 200 
 
 St. Augustine Manor 76, 77, 108, 187 
 
 Star-gazers' Stone '. 310 
 
 Statistical tables 479 
 
 Steamboat, first, on Elk River 424 
 
 Steel, Rev. James 280 
 
 St. John's Manor 210 
 
 Stillman, John Hans 48, 225 
 
 St. Mark's chapel 458 
 
 Stockett, Lewis, commissioned Colonel 65 
 
 Stuyvesant, Peter 25, 32 
 
 Susquehannocks, 3, 5, 16 ; treaty with, 17, 28, 45, 48, 61, 62, 66, 67 ; fort 
 
 at Turkey Hill 69 
 
 Susquesahanough, state of 18 
 
XI 
 
 Susquehanna Canal, early history of, 376 to 378 ; 393, 397 ; later his- 
 tory of. 397 to 400 
 
 Susquehanna Ferry 338 
 
 Susquehanna Manor, boundaries of, 112; change in boundary of 115 
 
 Susquehanna Point 51 
 
 Susquehanna Upper Ferry 339 
 
 Swanendale 33 
 
 Swedestown 335 
 
 Talbot, Dick 110 
 
 Talbot, George, 110 ; obtains a grant of Susquehanna Manor, 111; ob- 
 tains a patent for Belleconnell, 116 ; visits Philadelphia, 116; runs 
 boundary line, 117; presides over l^ecil County Court, 117 ; makes 
 a raid on settlers East of Iron Hill, 130 ; builds a fort near Chris- 
 tiana Bridge, 121 ; murders Rousby, 125 ; is imprisoned in Vir- 
 ginia, 125; escapes and returns to Susquehanna Manor, 127 : his 
 cave, 128 ; surrenders and is taken to Virginia and tried, 130 ; his 
 
 deed to Jacob Young, 130; his death, 132; his falcon-i 418 
 
 Taylor, Isaac 297 
 
 Tea and Coffee, introduction of 369 
 
 Telegraphing, first attempts at 429 
 
 "The Lay of the Scottish Fiddle," extract from 418 
 
 Thomas, Philip 394 
 
 Thompsontown 4i) 
 
 Three Bohemia Sisters, The I(i2, IOC 
 
 Trans-peninsular Line 305 
 
 Transtown v 235 
 
 " Treeket the Loop " 387 
 
 Trimble, Joseph 158, 531 
 
 Trinity church 458 
 
 Trump, Michael 337 
 
 Tockwoghs, 3 ; their Fort 4 
 
 Towns, first efforts to build 253 to 256 
 
 Tyson, Levi 417 
 
 Underground Railroad , 238 
 
 Union Line 406, 425 
 
 Upper West Nottingham church 282 
 
 Urmston, Rev. John 213 
 
 Utie, George 30, 68 
 
 Utie, Nathaniel, 28; sketch of 29, ;)l, 34, 45, 64 
 
 Van Bibber, Dr. W. C 188 
 
 Van Bibber's Forest 187 
 
 Van Bibber, Henry 188 
 
 Van Bibber, Isaac 188 
 
Xll 
 
 Van Bibber, James 250 
 
 Van Bibber, Matthias 186, 311, 316, 336, 347, 348, 350 
 
 Van Bibber, Tliomas B 188 
 
 Van Burkelow, Abel 181, 353 
 
 Van Burkelow creek 183 
 
 Van Burkelow, Hermen ..182 
 
 Van Naas, Abraham 51 
 
 Veazey, Colonel T. W., defense of Frederioktown 431 
 
 Veazey, Major John 315 
 
 Veazey, John, Jr 319, 331, 333, 326 
 
 Wallace, David 386 
 
 Ward, Henry, obtains tobacco fraudently 78 
 
 Ward's Hill 303 
 
 Warwick 196, 198 
 
 Watson, John 303, 308 
 
 Watson, Joseph 333 
 
 Welsh Tract, 160 ; reasons for granting it, 161 ; metos and bounds of ..161 
 
 Wetherspoon, David 315 
 
 Whitefield, Rev. George, visits Bohemia Manor, 376; preaches at North 
 
 East and Nottingham 276 
 
 "Wildcat Swamp 163 
 
 Wild Stock 189 
 
 Willowbyes River 3 
 
 Wilmer, Edward Pryce 316 
 
 Wilson, Rev. John 382 
 
 Wolves 192 
 
 Wright, Francis, 63; letter from him and otheis respecting captive 
 
 Indian 63 
 
 Wright, Rev. Richard 439 
 
 Wroth Family 343 
 
 Wye, Rev. William 319, 220 
 
 Yeo, Rev. John 306 
 
 Yorkson, York 144 
 
 Young, Jacob, account of him 80, 130 
 
 Xaverus, Saint 195, 198, 300 
 
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