USA > Maryland > Cecil County > History of Cecil County, Maryland, and the early settlements around the head of Chesapeake Bay and on the Delaware River, with sketches of some of the old families of Cecil County > Part 10
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Reference has been made to a codicil to Hermen'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 His- 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 them know aught of the last
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provision of his will, 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 Vanderhuyden. His name indicates that he was a native of Holland, and the old colonial laws show that he was naturalized in 1692. 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, the traitor, was a descendant. Augustine Hermen's second daughter, Judith, married John Thompson, a descendant of whom, Samuel Thompson, now lives upon part of 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 extinet.
CHAPTER X.
Delaware granted to William 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 Lcet-The name of Susquehanna Manor changed to New Connaught-Extent of Connaught Manor-Talbot obtains a patent for Belleconnell-Bellehill- 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 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 on the settlers east of Iron Hill-Builds and garrisons a fort near Christiana bridge -Account of the 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 Cecil County-Takes refuge 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 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 English 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 by the Duke of York; the country from the Connecticut River 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
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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, William 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, 1675. He was succeeded by his son, Charles Calvert, who had been gover- nor of the province since 1661. He returned to England in 1676, where he remained four years, 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 play 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 Macaulay 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 limmer like Macaulay has drawn the por- trait of George, and probably there are not sufficient data extant to enable any one to accomplish it successfully 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 MId., Vol. I., pages 283-84.
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from being the tyrant that his imperious disposition and superstitious education led him to think his duty and eter- nal happiness demanded he should be, George chose 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 Rousby-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 which 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 cause to be transported into this
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province within twelve years from the date hereof, six hun- dred and forty persons of British or Irish descent here to in- habit; and we 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 and 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 by 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
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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 court 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, 1684, he presented
H
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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
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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 early 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-
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-
vania. Susquehanna or New Connaught Manor now in- cluded about one-half of the Fifth, all of the Sixth and Seventh, and nearly all of the Ninth districts of Cecil County, and all of West Nottingham, about one-half of East Nottingham, and one-third of Lower 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 River 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.
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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 Sth day of January in the 9th year of the dominion of ye right hon'ble Charles &e., Annoq Dominic 1683. Present George Talbot, Esq.,
* This creek, so called from an Indian chief of that name, empties into the Delaware River a short distance above where the northern boundary of that State strikes the Delaware River.
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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, Wmn. 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 proprietary, 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., &e. To Geo. Oldfield, gent,
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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 constitute 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 exc- 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.
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