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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02228 8218
REYNOLDS HIST FICAC GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Maryland's Colonial Eastern Shore
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/marylandscolonia00earl
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SHOWING THE COUNTIES OF
DELAWARE BAY
THE EASTERN SHORE
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ANTAPOLIS
AR UN DE
10
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BY
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PERCY G. SKIRVEN
1916
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TALBOT, - PURPLE
WORCESTER, - BROWN
SOMERSET, . UNION JACK
CAROLINE, - . DARK GREEN
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WICOMICO, - LIGHT GREEN
CECIL, - -
. CRIMSON
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*Arch. Md., Vol. 20, p. 154. Council Proceedings. October 17th, 1694.
PRINCE GEORGE'S
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COLORED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MILITARY FLAGS OF 1694 .*
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WASHINGTON
Carton
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LEGEND
By order of the Council. 1694, the military organiza- tions, "Horse," "Foot" and "Dragoon." of each county carried flags as shown below: KENT. . BLUE . -
For the purpose of distinction,
colors have been arbitrarily assigned to the following coun -. ties erected after 1694 :
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ORCHESTER
EAR
QUEEN ANNE'S, ORANGE
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EDERICK,
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WEST
MAP OF MARYLAND
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MONTGOMERY
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ANNE
SQUEEN
Conbridg
A HOCHA CO BALTIMORE
SHI
VIRGINIA
Maryland's Colonial Eastern Shore
Historical Sketches of Counties and of Some Notable Structures
Illustrated
AEVINE
PAROLE!
ASCHH
SWEPSON EARLE, Editor PERCY G. SKIRVEN, Asst. Editor
Baltimore, Maryland 1916
Copyright, 1910, by Swepson Earle and Percy G. Skirven All Rights Reserved
MUNDER-THOMSEN PRESS BALTIMORE : : NEW YORK
1128710
DEDICATION
I fondly dedicate this book to the memory of my grandfather, SAMUEL THOMAS EARLE, of "Melfield," Queen Anne's County. A progressive agricul- turist until his death, (1904), in the 87th year of his age; a man who loved his family and home, and one ever ready to extend a helping hand to his friends and neighbors; an Eastern Shore- man of the Old School.
SwEpson Earle.
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CONTENTS
PAGE
FRONTISPIECE
Map of Maryland
PREFACE
xiii
INTRODUCTION
James A. Pearce . Xvii
KENT COUNTY
Percy G. Skirven . I
HUBBARD PLACE
7
CAMELL'S WORTHMORE
IO
COMEGYS HOUSE
12
CAULK'S FIELD
14
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH .
15
HINCHINGHAM
17
SUFFOLK. LAMB'S MEADOWS
19, 20
TRUMPINGTON
2I
WICKCLIFFE
22
TALBOT COUNTY
WYE HOUSE
20
THE RICH NECK
3I
PERRY CABIN
33
THE ANCHORAGE
35
LONG POINT
37
THE WILDERNESS
39
OTWELL
41
WYE HEIGHTS
42
RATCLIFFE MANOR
43
HAMPDEN
44
SOMERSET COUNTY
H. Fillmore Lankford 46
WORKINGTON
51
REHOBOTH CHURCH
53
MAKEPEACE. OLD LANKFORD HOME
55.56
KINGSTON HALL
57
WASHINGTON HOTEL
59
TEACKLE MANSION
61
BEECHWOOD 62
64
CLIFTON
66
DORCHESTER COUNTY
W. Laird Henry 68
WARWICK FORT MANOR HOUSE
74
THE OLD DORCHESTER HOUSE
76
THE POINT
77
HAMBROOK
79
CASTLE HAVEN
81
ELDON
83
GLASGOW
85
OLD TRINITY CHURCH
87
REHOBOTH
89
CECIL COUNTY
Henry L. Constable 91
96
FRENCHTOWN HOUSE
98
BOHEMIA MANOR
[ xi ]
BECKFORD
John H. K. Shannahan . 24
CONTENTS
PAGE
HOLLY HALL
100
PARTRIDGE HILL. GILPIN MANOR
IOI, IO2
TOBIAS RUDULPH HOUSE
. 103
CHARLESTOWN
. IO5
ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH
106
PERRY POINT 108
SUCCESS
IIO
QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY
DeCourcy W. Thom II2
THE HERMITAGE .
117
READBOURNE
OLD POINT
121
BLAKEFORD
123
WALNUT GROVE
125
REED'S CREEK
1 26
BLOOMINGDALE
127
OLD PRATT HOUSE
120
POPLAR GROVE. BLOOMFIELD
131, 132
MELFIELD
. 133
WORCESTER COUNTY
Samuel K. Dennis 135
BEVERLY
140
TIMMONS MANSION
142
INGLESIDE
143
ALL HALLOW'S CHURCH
145
OLD FURNACE
147
ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH
148
BURLEY COTTAGE
150
DECATUR BIRTHPLACE
152
SINEPUXENT INLET
154
CAROLINE COUNTY
Edward T. Tubbs 156
FRAZIER'S FLATS HOUSE
161
MURRAY'S MILL .
164
POTTER MANSION
166
NECK MEETING HOUSE
169
OAK LAWN
171
CEDARHURST. THAWLEY HOUSE
173,174
CASTLE HALL
175
PLAINDEALING
177
WICOMICO COUNTY
L. Irving Pollitt 179
OLD GREEN HILL CHURCH
183
PEMBERTON HALL
185
POPLAR HILL MANSION
187
"ROKAWAKIN" CHURCH
189
BEN DAVIS HOUSE
191
BIRTHPLACE OF SAMUEL CHASE
192
SPRING HILL CHURCH
194
BISHOP STONE HOUSE
195
CHERRY HILL
197
WASHINGTON COLLEGE
James W. Cain . 200
SIMPLE LIFE ON THE EASTERN SHORE
203
[ xii ]
-
PREFACE
THE reader will observe that this book is the result of true Eastern Shore cooperation. Historical facts, as well as traditions, could only be procured from those familiar with their own particular sections of our Peninsula.
Judge James Alfred Pearce in his splendid tribute to the Eastern Shore tells of the land of our forefathers. He calls attention to the productiveness of our Penin- sula. He speaks of men of distinction who were born on the land lying on the easterly side of the Chesapeake. Every citizen of the Eastern Shore knows, either personally or by reputation, this distinguished jurist of Kent and for his contribu- tion alone this book will be valued by many.
The principal reasons for my determination to publish this book are as follows: First: There seems to be a demand for a publication of this character, because the average Marylander is unfamiliar with the geography and history of this part of his State. This applies to residents of the tidewater as well as of the interior sections of Maryland. While residents of each county are more or less familiar with the geography and history of their particular county, their knowledge of other counties is often very limited, and it is hoped that this book will be of use and permanent value to those who are interested in these subjects.
Second: To interest all Eastern Shoremen and the general public in old land- marks of the State that are fast disappearing with the march of time. The early settlers received grants to tracts of land from the proprietary government of the Calverts and built their homes along the banks of the Chesapeake and its tribu- taries. Their descendants inherited these properties, usually subdivided among large families, and built other houses. A chain of these colonial homes is found in
[ xiii ]
all the counties and they form connecting links in the family histories. With their passing and the loss of family records future genealogical research will be made dif- ficult, and in some cases impossible.
Third: The interest in the affairs of the Eastern Shore manifested by the members of the Eastern Shore Society of Baltimore City was an additional incen- tive to produce this compilation and I hope the work will prove a further stimulant to their interest in the delightful land of their birth. This society is composed of natives of the Eastern Shore who are residents of the City of Baltimore. They are formed into chapters-one for each of the nine counties. The compilation includes a historical sketch of each county and short sketches describing nine places of his- torical interest in that county. The sketch for each county has been contributed by a well-known county man familiar with its history. Indeed, the love for and interest in their native land shown by all Marylanders now living where'er it has pleased God to call them has been sufficient inspiration to undertake this publica- tion.
To do credit to all of the important historical places on the Eastern Shore of Maryland worthy to be included in this publication would require a volume of several times this size. It is with regret that I am obliged to leave out such well- known places as "Gilpin Manor" and "The Washington House," of Cecil; "Broad- nox," "Janvier Homestead," "Worton Manor." "Stoneton," and the homes of the Wickes, Perkins and Beck families, of Kent; "Cloverfields," "Conquest." "Sunnyside," "Wye." "Cheston-on-Wye," "Bolingly" and the Wilmer and Embert homesteads, of Queen Anne's: "Hope," "Perry Hall," "The Rest," "Myrtle Grove," "Plimhimmon," "Beechwood," "Fairview," "Bolton" and other places, of Talbot ; "Arlington," "Westover," "The Cedars," and "Almodington," of Somerset; "The Hill," and the homes of the Stewart, Bayly, and Simmons families, in Cambridge, the Hooper and Edmondson homes in East New Market, and "John's Point," the colonial home of Col. Roger Woolford, of Dorchester; and other homesteads scat- tered throughout our Peninsula; but in order to cover each county geographically the selection had to be made without any discrimination on my part.
The shores of the nine counties known as "The Eastern Shore of Maryland" bear the distinction of being washed by the Chesapeake Bay or one or more of its tributaries. During the days of the Colony there was an unlimited supply of game and wild water-fowl and the game pegs are still found in the cellars of old houses, then seldom relieved of their burdens, and on the cellar floors beneath the "canvas- backs" and "red-heads" crawled the diamond-back terrapin-no luxury in those days-"just food for all white folks," the poor and rich had a bountiful supply of them and fared alike. In fact, at one time there was a law on the statute books of Maryland limiting the number of times slaves were to be fed on terrapin each week. While these resources have been very much depleted, oysters, fish and crabs are still plentiful and with the enforcement of conservation laws and broader education on the subject the supply of these water-riches should remain with us for many years to come.
[xiv ]
The compilation of the data contained in this book represents considerable time and research. To Mr. Percy G. Skirven, a member of the Eastern Shore Society and a native of Kent County, author of the historical sketch for that county, my thanks are gratefully extended. He has worked continuously with me in the com- pilation and arrangement of the data. He has also vised much of the matter in the book, in which work his knowledge of Maryland's history and land grants has made his aid invaluable. The majority of the illustrations appearing herein are from a large collection of photographs of Maryland scenes taken by me while engaged in surveying the waters of the Chesapeake and its tributaries. The publi- cation of this book required the outlay of considerable money and two public- spirited members of the Eastern Shore Society, Mr. B. Howard Haman and Mr. Wilbur W. Hubbard, of Kent County, came forward and made it financially pos- sible. My sincere appreciation and thanks are extended to these two gentlemen.
Many members of the Eastern Shore Society and residents of the State have aided in this work in other ways and to these I feel under many obligations for their assistance. The President, Judge W. Laird Henry: Past Presidents Dr. J. Clement Clark and Dr. James Bordley, Jr., and the Vice-Presidents of the Society have helped greatly. The Secretary, Mr. J. H. K. Shannahan, has been untiring in his efforts. In addition to these, my thanks are extended to Judge Pearce and Mrs. Wilbur W. Hubbard, of Kent; Mr. Milton Campbell, Gen. Joseph B. Seth, Mr. Frank W. Seth, Mr. W. Thomas Kemp, Col. Richard H. Spencer, Mr. Francis B. Culver and Mr. Wilson M. Tylor, of Talbot: Mr. H. Fillmore Lankford, Mrs. Elizabeth H. Gale, Mr. Henry J. Waters, Mrs. J. Douglas Wallop, Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Collins, Mr. J. Weldon Green and Mr. Joseph Y. Brattan, of Somerset; Miss Nellie Calvert Carroll, of Dorchester, to whom I feel deeply indebted for her suc- cessful efforts in securing pictures and data for the Dorchester sketches, also to Mr. James S. Shepherd, Land Commissioner of Maryland; Mr. Henry L. Constable, of Cecil: Mr. DeCourcy W. Thom, Mr. A. S. Goldsborough, Mr. Madison Brown, Mr. F. Julien Bailey, Miss Susan Williams, Mr. Edward B. Emory, of Queen Anne's; Mr. Samuel K. Dennis, Mr. John W. Staton and Mr. William R. Bishop, of Wor- cester; Mr. J. Dukes Downes, Mr. Howard Melvin, Capt. Charles W. Wright, Col. Albert W. Sisk, Mr. J. Kemp Stevens, Mr. Charles B. Harrison and Mr. Edward T. Tubbs, of Caroline-Mr. Tubbs, in addition to writing the history of his county, has aided with the sketches and the arrangement of the work; Mr. L. Irving Pollitt and Judge E. Stanley Toadvine, of Wicomico. I am indebted to these and many others who have cooperated with me in the publication of these stories of Mary- land's Colonial Eastern Shore, thereby placing in the hands of the reader original data and authentic information of that favored part of Maryland that lies east of the Chesapeake Bay.
SwEpson Garle,
[xv ]
٦
INTRODUCTION
Know ye the land of the cedar and vine,
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine.
Where the light winds of zephyr, oppressed with perfume,
Wax faint o'er the gardens of rose in their bloom;
Where the peach and the melon are ehoieest of fruit, And the voice of the mocking bird never is mute;
Where the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky,
In color though varied, in beauty may vie?
'Tis the land of the favored Eastern Shore,
Where nature has lavished its marvelous store.
Local adaptation of The Bride of Abydos.
F ROM the rock-ribbed hills of Cecil, where the vocal waters of the Octoraro and the Elk are lost in the Susquehanna and the Chesa- peake, to the cypress swamps and green lagoons of the Pocomoke, whose silent current seeks the sea, there is a succession of noble streams as fair "as e'er the sun shone on." The Shannon, the Chester, the Wye, the Miles, the Tred Avon and the Warwick are redolent of our English ancestry. The Bohemia recalls Augustine Herman and the Dutch settlers in Delaware. The Corsica, which joins the Chester at Spaniard's Point, hints at the French and Spanish element attracted by the promise of civil and religious liberty for all; while the Chop- tank, the Nanticoke, the Wicomico, the Manokin and the Pocomoke tell of the Indians who were once the undisputed lords of the soil.
Strung upon these beautiful rivers, like jewels upon silver threads, were the old manor houses-some costly and stately, others plain and unpretentious-and the substantial homes of the pioneers of civiliza- tion whose only early paths of travel were waterways, and whose vehicles of business and pleasure were barges and canoes. Now that so many denizens of our great cities and busy towns having the wealth or the competence which invites retirement from the toil and hazards of active business are seeking for rural homes; now that the automobile, with the finest system of macadam roads, has solved the question of mileage, the attractions of the Eastern Shore to home- seekers ought to be made known to the public beyond its limits. While this volume originated in Mr. Earle's wish to stimulate the interest of Maryland men and women in the history of this part of the State, the careful text and beautiful photographic illustrations of the old historic homes cannot fail to give it wider publicity, and there are few regions which combine greater natural attractions and finer asso-
[xvii ]
ciations with moderate land values and better prospect of substantial and steady increase. Here is a fertile soil; a mild and equable climate, with absolute immunity from the storms and floods so destructive in some other highly favored regions; numerous navigable streams of rare beauty, teeming with fish and oysters, and providing short and easy access to Baltimore, and proximity to the three largest cities of the Atlantic Coast, with every rail facility to their markets as well as to those of central and more western States.
Many families are the lineal descendants of some of the best blood of Old England and the great majority are of the lineage of those sturdy lovers of civil and religious liberty in equal combination, which in spite of Magna Charta they did not enjoy at home. Our people are more homogeneous in origin and character than those of any other region except the mountain ranges which stretch from the Potomac to the Great Bend of the Tennessee River. Here was bred and born Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution-Samuel Chase, the Carnot of that period-Tench Tilghman, the trusted staff officer of General Washington throughout the weary years of the struggle for independence-and John Dickinson, the statesman to whose wisdom and patriotism the Earl of Chatham bore witness in Parliament in speaking of the petition to the King written by him, and declaring "that all attempts to impose servitude on such men must be in vain." From that source, too, were recruited in part the command of General Smallwood, which at Long Island Heights saved Washington's army from destruction, and that of Colonel Howard, which at Cowpens humiliated the British regulars and gained one of the most important victories of the war in its results.
One who in his splendid young manhood fought with Forrest throughout the war between the States, now in his splendid old age a distinguished surgeon in New York City and a patriotic lover of the reunited country, has happily described his people and comrades of North Alabama as "then and still clean-cut Americans, uncon- taminated by contact or association with the restless, poverty-stricken and discontented hordes of immigrants who are crowding our shores in these latter days, either as anarchists who, like shedding snakes, strike blindly and viciously at everything which moves, or like the Socialists, whose aim is seemingly to bring all human endeavor to the
[ xviii ]
7
common level of mediocrity. Should the safety of our institutions ever be endangered, I prophesy that these men of the foothills and mountains of the South will be the strongest guarantee of law and order." These words may be fitly and without immodesty claimed to be applicable to the people of the Eastern Shore. The Appalachians long isolated, and still in large degree isolate, the people of whom he spoke; and until in recent years the network of railways on the Eastern Shore was developed, the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays isolated the Peninsula which they form. In both regions the pure blood of our English ancestry has remained almost unmixed. In the plain and simple homes, such as Elihu Root referred to in his eloquent address to the 1915 Constitutional Convention of New York, "truth and honor dwelt," and from these homes, North and South. have come some of the ablest men and purest patriots who in civil or military life have devoted themselves to the service of their country.
Chestertown, Md., November 1, 1916
Ames R. Parce
WYE RIVER
[ xix ]
٦
KENT COUNTY
1642
K ING CHARLES I of England gave explicit instructions to the Governor of Virginia in 1627 to procure for him exact informa- tion concerning the bays and rivers of the country adjacent to the settlement on the James River. William Claiborne, then Secretary of the Virginia Colony, was commissioned by the governor to explore the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. While thus engaged, Clai- borne traded with the Indians for furs on what is now called Kent Island. Later a settlement was made there and a regular trading port established. The name "Kentish Isle" being given by Claiborne to that island led the Calverts when they came into possession of the Province of Maryland in 1634 to name the whole of the upper Eastern Shore, lying north of the Choptank River, the "Isle of Kent."
Eight years later, August 2, 1642, mention is made in the colonial records of the Province of the "Sheriff of Kent County." This record indicates the creation of the county, it being the second civil division of the Province of Maryland. The members of the Colonial Assembly represented at that time, at St. Mary's City, only two civil divisions of the Province, St. Mary's and Isle of Kent County. By colonial records showing the appointment in 1661 of commissioners "for that part of the Province lying south of the Choptank River newly seated called the Eastern Shore," which territory was later divided into the Counties of Somerset and Dorchester, it is shown conclusively that all of that part of the Province on the south side of the Choptank was the "Eastern Shore" and all on the north side was then known as the "Isle of Kent." From this part of Maryland, known as the "Isle of Kent," the following counties were created : Kent County, in 1642; part of Baltimore County, seventeen years later, in 1659; Talbot County, twenty years later, in 1662; Cecil County, thirty-two years later, in 1674, (Cecil was made of that part of Baltimore County
[I]
MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
officially designated as "East Baltimore County" that lay on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay): Queen Anne's County, sixty- four years later. in 1706. (it being created from the upper part of Talbot County): and Caroline County, 131 years later, in 1773, (it being formed of parts of Dorchester and Queen Anne's Counties).
Through lack of accurate knowledge of the geography of the Prov- ince when the proclamation erecting Cecil County was issued, in 1674, Kent County was limited to about half its present area. This arrangement proved so inconvenient for the administration of its judicial affairs that upon petition to the Assembly the Sassafras River was in 1706 made the boundary between Kent and Cecil Counties.
Six years after Claiborne first traded with the Indians on the "Kentish Isle" the colonists led by Leonard Calvert landed, on March 25, 1634, at St. Mary's and took possession of the land in accordance with the provisions laid down in the charter which King Charles gave to Cecilius Calvert. This charter made Cecilius Calvert the absolute owner of all the land lying within the bounds of the Province of Maryland, and to encourage people to come to the Province to settle the land was "granted" or given to them subject to a small rent payable in two equal instalments at the Feast of the Annuncia- tion and at Michaelmas each year to Lord Baltimore's representative in the Province. The conditions under which these grants were made changed from time to time, but the first grants were based on one hundred acres of land for each and every person brought into the colony by the person applying for land. Each bore the name selected by the colonist and very often was that of the locality in England from which he came; thus, for instance, we find large tracts granted in Kent County under the following names: "Arcadia," "Bucking- ham," "Drayton," "Denbeigh," "Essex," "Fairlee," "The Grange," "Hinchingham," "Kimbolton," "Lynn," "Pentridge," "Ratcliffe," "Suffolk," "Stepney," "Thornton," "Tolchester," "Wickcliffe" and "Worton."
Following long-established custom in England, the Proprietary created in the counties of the Province courts baron and courts leet. To Col. Edward Carter, then of Nansemond County, Virginia, Lord Baltimore granted "Worton," a tract of land containing 2, 300 acres, lying between Still Pond Creek and Worton Creek and bounded on
[ 2]
7
MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
the west by the Chesapeake Bay. Incident to this tract was the first court baron in Kent, and the following clause is from the original record :
And we do hereby erect the said Two Thousand Three hundred Acres into a Mannor by the name of Worton Mannor together with a Court- Baron and all things belonging thereunto by the law of the Custom of England.
"Worton Manor" was early acquired by John Gale, whose descen- dants lived there for over a century.
It was on "Huntingfield," a grant of 1, 200 acres, owned by Major James Ringgold, that the first county court house was built at "New Yarmouth," in Kent County. Through the influence of this early colonist the town was laid out on the Gray's Inn Creek side of "Hunt- ingfield" prior to 1680, and true to his ancestral home he named the place "New Yarmouth." This original county-seat of Kent took on great activities and vessels traded regularly with the English ports. From its shipyards large vessels for ocean traffic were launched.
Along the Chester River and its tributaries the land became thickly settled all the way up to Crumpton at "Collister's Ferry." On both sides of the river large estates were granted and the production of tobacco increased to such an extent that it was found necessary to establish a port of entry farther up the river in addition to "New Yarmouth"; this was done at the present site of Chestertown. In 1696 the Assembly authorized the Commissioners of Kent County to purchase three acres of land "whereon to build a court house." It was on the grant called "Stepney" that the court house was built, for in 1708 the Assembly authorized the purchase of "fifty acres of land at Chester Ferry near the place where the old court house stood," which was to be "laid out and divided into one hundred lots" and to be called Chestertown. The commissioners entrusted to lay out the town were John Carvill, Daniel Pearce, Thomas Covington, Edward Bathurst, Arthur Miller, William Bateman, Philip Hoskins and Capts. William Potts and Edward Plastoe. "Stepney," a grant of 500 acres, was first surveyed for Thomas Bovery, who died without heirs, and upon the escheating of the land to the Proprietary it was surveyed again for Mary Bateman. In an old deed to Thomas
[3]
MARYLAND'S COLONIAL EASTERN SHORE
Joyce, innholder, from Benjamin Blackleach, cordwainer, 100 acres of "Stepney" is described as being on the west side of Chester River at "Thomas Seward's Landing." Thomas Joyce paid 7,000 pounds of tobacco for the 100 acres-a pound being worth about eight cents.
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