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 29
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* This ferry is on the 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 Fry, at which t.me it was called Bald Fry's Ferry.
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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 Hollingsworth 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 Eik, 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 indieted for murder, and was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to be burnt in the brawn of the left 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
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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 them. The property of the Elk Forge. Company,* on account of the treason of John Roberts, one
* This company was organized in 1761 by John Roberts, David Davis, Thomas May, and David Thomas, of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, who formed a partnership for the purpose of manufacturing bar iron under the name of the Elk Forge Company. For this purpose they agreed to pur- chase a tract of land containing six hundred acres, called " Rumsey's Success," from William Rumsey. This land was on the Big Elk, where Elk Mills cotton factory now stands. They also agreed to contribute
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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, 177S.
£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 Jarge 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 Lancaster County, to their forge on the Elk Creek.
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The property of the Principio Iron Company, excepting the part belonging to Thomas Russell and one of his loyal 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 Mccullough 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., 6d., 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 Holliday 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.
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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 the 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 River, 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, by 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.
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The lots in Charlestown, 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 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-Aet 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,
·
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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
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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 Baruch 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 "Mathews, 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
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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 to 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 cx- 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
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passed an ordinance prohibiting hogs, sheep, and geese run- ning at large upon the streets, which animals, if so found, were to be 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 Charlestown 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 provaded 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
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government to another. As illustrative of the history and jurisprudence of the county, 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 Ewing'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
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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.
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