USA > Maryland > Talbot County > History of Talbot county, Maryland, 1661-1861, Volume II > Part 54
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such impediments to the development and improvement of this part of the county as a toll bridge should be removed and residents of this part of the county should have the same unrestricted facilities of travel to the county seat and elsewhere that other sections of the county enjoy. Of special taxes, Miles River Neck has always paid a fair, and sometimes a larger proportion, even for matters not directly advantageous to that section. Miles River Neck has always paid a large school tax and until within the last five years, there was but one school in the Neck, and that did not cost ever $400 a year. The school tax annually paid by Miles River Neck is sufficient to maintain half a dozen schools, and has maintained them in other parts of the county. The tax-payers of the Neck have never complained of the school-tax, but have always paid it cheerfully. There would, then, seem to be no doubt that it is entirely just and proper for the county to maintain a free bridge across Miles River, as to the purchasing of the old bridge, and the price to be paid for it,-the commissioners, under the authority and discretion allowed them in the enabling act, may safely be trusted with that. It is not likely that they will pay as much for an old bridge as a new one would cost, nor do we intimate that the stockholders will ask any such thing. With a stock that has paid regularly six per cent, and a reserve fund accumulated from the individual profits, the stockholders can afford to deal generously with the county. The maximum sum of $5,000 named in the bill, was the market value of the stock at the time the act was passed.
And the matter should not remain in abeyance. It is not likely that any repairs will be done to the bridge by the bridge company while the matter of purchase is pending. Let the examiners give the bridge a thorough examination, and accurately report its value, and let the commissioners and directors come to a just and fair agreement about the price, so that the people of Miles River Neck may be relieved from the odious and onerous imposition of tolls as soon as possible.
The County Commissioners appointed two civil engineers, Captain William H. Smith and James M. Sharp, to examine and place a valuation on this bridge. These two appraisers having valued the bridge at $3,350, being a little less, than one-half of its original cost twenty years before, the bridge company proceeded to convey the bridge to the County Commissioners of Talbot County by deed bearing date the 10th day of September, 1878, and which may be found recorded among the Land Records of Talbot County, Md. Liber 86, Folio 99.
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THE MILES RIVER BRIDGE
Prior to the building of this wooden-pile bridge, a public ferry had been maintained across Miles River at this point from almost the time of the laying out of Talbot County in 1661, for as early as 1677, Daniel Walker was appointed to keep a ferry over Saint Michaels River at the point where the bridge now stands, and in the levy records of the county it is quaintly stated, "To Daniel Walker, in consideration of his poverty, many children, loss, ferriage over river with a canowe, at least 2,500 lbs," meaning tobacco, which was then the currency of the Province of Maryland. Just at what date a scow, propelled by means of a rope stretched across this ferry for the conveyance of wheeled vehicles and animals superseded the canoe ferry is nowhere disclosed in the Levy Records of Talbot County; as there were no wheeled vehicles in use in this province until more than half a century after Talbot County was laid out, a dugout canoe was doubtless amply necessary to accommodate the few pedestrians who desired to cross this ferry in those early times.
A CARGO OF CONVICTS BROUGHT TO TALBOT IN 1739
[COMMUNICATED]
MR. ROBSON :- Presuming that everything relating to the history of Talbot county is of interest to its citizens, your correspondent asks the privilege of presenting one of the earliest of our memorials, which, though it may be familiar to a few, will be new to the most of your readers. It is an extract from a book entitled An Apology for the life of Mr. Bampfyld Moore Carew, of which several editions have been published, one within the present or the past year. The work is not in the hands of your correspondent, but the extract is from a copy now in the Peabody Library at Baltimore, which extract was obligingly furnished by P. R. Uhler, Esq., the Librarian. Occasion is taken to say that there are known to be two copies of this book in this county, belonging to Dr. Nicholas Pindall, lately removed, who lent them to some persons who failed to return them to their owner. If the present holders of these books will return them to the office of the STAR, they will be forwarded to Dr. Pindall, who is exceedingly anxious to re- possess them, and has given authority to the writer to recover them if possible. This Bampfyld Moore Carew is supposed to have been born about the year 1692. He was an English adventurer, thief and pickpocket, who, by reason of his skill and prominence in his profes- sion came to be called the "King of the Beggars." He ran away from home in boyhood, led the life of a vagrant, was convicted of larceny, sentenced to transportation, sent to America, from which he escaped, joined the Gipsies, by them was elected their King, and died, as nearly as can be ascertained, about the year 1758. Having been convicted of theft, or, as he puts it with euphemistic elegance, worthy of ancient Pistol himself, "of having disobliged some gentlemen," he was placed on ship-board, with no "indentures" truly, but a copy of the Judge's sentence, and sent to the Colonies, for his own and his country's good. Maryland, and Talbot, had the honor of receiving the distinguished stranger, and his arrival, and that of others, it seems, were celebrated by the drinking of a puncheon of rum by the planters of the neighbor- hood. Mr. Carew in his memoirs is singularly oblivious of dates- as indeed he is of facts, for many of his stories are in the Baron Mun- chausen vein, and does not give us the exact time of debarkation in Maryland, but an approximation to it can be made. It was probably in the same year of the declaration of war against Spain by England, namely in 1739, or early in the year following. Parson Nicols was Rector of St. Michaels' Parish from 17311 or before to 1748, when he
1 Nicols became rector of St. Michael's Parish in 1708.
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died, being succeeded by Parson Gordon, in that year, and Parson Nicols was one of those who went on board to receive the distinguished personage and his associates, as appears from the recital. The ship in which Mr. Carew had embarked, came up St. Michaels' or Miles' River. There is a pretty well established tradition that Deep Water Point, that is, the point of land upon the right of the entrance into the arm of St. Michaels' River, which constitutes the harbor of the town of that name, was a place of lading and unlading of ships in early colonial times, and the depth of water near the shore at that point, and the safety of the harbor within, justifies the tradition. It is prob- able therefore that Mr. Bampfyld Moore Carew, "rat catcher," "dog merchant," "prince of beggars," and "king of the gipsies," first touched the soil of the Western Hemisphere at Deep Water Point. And this is rendered more probable by his mention of several gentlemen, who came on board, who were undoubtedly residents of the vicinity or im- mediate neighborhood. Mr. Carew, as he likes to call himself, may be left to himself to tell his own story as far as it relates to Talbot. It must be confessed he was a close observer, if he learned all he tells us in the very short time that he spent upon the Eastern Shore, accord- ing to his own narrative. After his escape he wandered about some time upon this peninsula, gradually working his way towards the North, and finally succeeded in shipping for England. He joined the gipsies, strolled with them about the continent of Europe, was elected a king of one of their tribes, met with many marvelous adventures, accord- ing to his own narrative, and finally died some time anterior to 1748 as mentioned above. As indicative of the interest that is taken in this man's story, it may be mentioned that it has been dramatized, and forms one of the stock plays of the theatre in England and America. Although at present the title of the play cannot be given, there is little doubt respecting this interesting fact, as it has been derived from good authority. The names of several gentlemen are mentioned in this extract, as of those who came on board to purchase servants. Parson Nicols was rector of St. Michaels parish at the time, and has left de- scendants, one of whom died recently at great age in this town. Mr. Hambleton was the ancestor of our respected representative in Congress. Mr. Ashcraft's memory is perpetuated by a point of land in St. Mi- chael's harbor, and his descendants are the prominent ship builders of Baltimore, their forefathers having followed the same calling here in Talbot. Mr. Huxter, or Hoxter, had descendants in this county up to a very recent date, and doubtless are here or in Caroline still. The family of Rolles or Rolle is residing on the homestead that it has held since the very settlement of the county, near St. Michaels. No family in the State can claim and justly claim a better descent. These gentlemen were all residents of the vicinity of the place of landing. It may not be amiss to call attention to one fact which Mr. Carew mentions, that peaches, which are about to become an important hor- ticultural product of our county, nearly one hundred and fifty years ago were raised in such profusion as to allow them to be fed to the
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stock, as they are now, in abundant years. Our forefathers very soon discovered the capacities of our land. It is asserted, upon what is deemed, by some, good authority that the first peaches grown in America were grown in this county, upon the farm "Peach Blossom," near Easton. Sometimes names, however, originate stories, just as stories originate names. The few errors into which Mr. Carew falls, we can readily pardon in consideration of his having given us so interesting, and in general, so accurate an account of what he saw in Talbot.
AN EXTRACT FROM A BOOK ENTITLED "AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MR. BAMPFYLDE MOORE CAREW"
MR. CAREW ARRIVES IN MARYLAND
The first place they touched at was Hampton, between Cape Charles and Cape Henry, where the Captain went ashore and got a Pilot; and after about two days stay here, the Pilot bought the vessel down Miles's river, and cast anchor in Talbot county; when the Captain ordered a gun to be fired as a signal for the planters to come down and then went ashore; he soon after sent on board a hogshead of rum, and ordered all the men prisoners to be close shaved against the next morning, and the women to have their best head dresses put on, which occasioned no little hurry on board; for between the trimming of beards, and putting on of caps, all hands were fully employ'd. In the morning the Captain ordered publick notice to be given of a day of sale, and the prisoners, who were pretty near a hundred, were all order'd upon deck, where a large bowl of punch was made, and the planters flock'd on board; their first enquiry was for letters and news from old England, what passage he had, how their friends did, and the like. The Captain informed them of war being declared against Spain, and that it was expected it would soon be declared against France; that he had been eleven weeks and four days in his passage. Their next enquiry was, if the Captain had brought them good store of Joiners, Carpenters, Blacksmiths, Weavers, and Taylors; upon which the Captain called out one Griffy, a Taylor, who had lived at Chumleigh, in the county of Devon, and was obliged to take a voyage to Maryland, for making too free with his neighbor's sheep; two planters, who were Parson Nicols and Mr. Rolles, ask'd him, if he was sound wind and limb, and told him, it would be worse for him, if he told them an untruth; and at last purchased him of the Captain. The poor Taylor cry'd and bellow'd like a Bell-weather, cursing his wife who had betrayed him: Mr. Carew like a brave man, to whom every soil is his own country, ashamed of his cowardice, gave the Taylor to the Devil; and as he knew he could not do without them sent his shears, pressing-iron, thimble and needle, to bear him com- pany: wherefore all these wailings, says our hero, have we not a fine glorious country before us? pointing to the shore; and indeed in this he was very right, for Maryland not only affords every thing which preserves and confirms health, but also all things that are charming.
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The beauty of the prospect, the fragrancy of the fields and gardens, the brightness of the sky, and serenity of the air, affects the ravish'd senses; the country being a large plain, and the hills in it so easy of ascent, and of such moderate height, that they seem rather an artificial ornament to it, than one of the accidents of Nature. The abundance of rivers and brooks is no little help to the fertility of the soil.
The winter in Maryland does not continue above three or four months, December, January, February and March, of which thirty or forty days only are bad weather. The frosts are severe, but attended with a clear sky, and don't last long. The rains are frequent and refresh- ing: and the heats of the summer, which are most violent in June, July and August, are much mitigrated by them; and the fresh breezes that are common in this country, contribute much to render the heat tolerable to new comers, and hardly sensible to the inhabitants.
Most sorts of fruits here grow wild, and without cultivating; and they have such plenty of peaches that they give them to their hogs; their flowers likewise are as fine as any in the world.
Tobacco is the standing commodity of the country, and is so bene- ficial to the planters, and so natural to the soil, that all other improve- ments give place to that. Indeed they could turn their hands to nothing that would employ so many slaves and servants, and require so little stock to manage it, or take up such a large track of land; for the same ground that is planted every year with Tobacco, would pro- duce, if corn was sown there, more than all the plantations in America could consume.
This plant is so common in England, that we need not describe it: it grows much like a Dock; and whereas in our gardens it must be managed with as much care as the choicest fruit or flower, in Mary- land they leave it exposed to all the injuries of the weather, which is very favorable to it. The Tobacco of this plantation was not at first so good as 'tis now, that of Brazil had once the greatest reputation over all Europe; but now Maryland and Virginia has the best price in all markets. It is not known how the Indians cured theirs; they now have it all from the English: 'tis said they used to let it runto seed, only suckering the leaves, to keep the sprouts from growing up and starving them. When it was ripe, they pulled them off, cured them in the sun, and laid them up for use. The Maryland planters sow the seed in beds, as the gardeners in England do Colwort seeds; they leave them there a month, taking care all that time to have them well weeded. When the plants are about the breadth of one's hands, they are removed in the first rainy weather, and transplanted into what they call Tobacco hills. In a month's time the plants will be a foot high, and they top them, and then prune off all the bottom leaves, leaving only seven or eight on the stalk, that they may be better fed by the top; and these leaves, in six weeks time, will be at their full growth. The planters prune off the suckers, and clear them of the horn-worm twice a week, which is called worming and suckering; and this last work lasts three weeks or a month, by which time the leaf from green begins to turn brown-
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ish, and to spot and thicken, which is a sign of its ripening. As fast as the plants ripen, you must cut them down, leave them in the field for half a day, then heap them up let them lie and sweat a night, and the next day carry them to the Tobacco house, where every plant is hanged one by another (by a peg which is drove into the stalk of each plant) at a convenient distance, for about a month or five weeks; at the end of which time, they strike or take them down in moist weather, when the leaf gives, or else it will crumble to dust; after which, they are laid upon sticks, and covered up close in the Tobacco house for a week or a fortnight to sweat; and then opening the bulk in a wet day, the servants strip them and sort them, the top leaves being the best, and the bottom the worst Tobacco. The last work is to pack it in hogs- heads, or bundle it up, which is also done in a wet season; for in the curing Tobacco, wet seasons are as necessary as dry, to make the leaf pliant, which would otherwise be brittle and break.
Besides lions, leopards, elks, bears and other animals which are met with in Maryland, there are two peculiar to the country which deserve to be described, viz .: the flying squirrel and the opposum.
The flying squirrel has a fleshy substance which extends in its skip- ping from one tree to another, like wings, and by the help of these he will fly or rather skip thirty or forty yards at a time, from tree to tree.
The opossum has a head like a dog, and a tail like a rat; 'tis about the bigness of a cat, and the false belly, in which the female carries her young, is thus described by one that saw it: 'tis like a loose skin quite over the belly, which never sticks to the flesh, but may be looked into at all times, after they have been concerned in procreation. In the hinder part of it is an overture big enough for a small hand to pass; and thither the young ones, after they are full haired, and strong enough to run about, fly when any danger appears, or when they go to rest or suck, and continue to do so till they have learned to live without their dam. The strangest part of this description is, that the young ones are bred in this false belly, without ever having been in the true one. They are formed at the teat, and grow there for several weeks together, till they are in perfect shape, and have strength, sight and hair: they then drop off, and rest in this false belly, going in and out at pleasure. They are to be seen fastened to a teat from the bigness of a fly, till they become as large as a mouse. Neither is it any hurt to the old one to open the bag and look in upon her young.
There were no rats and mice in Maryland when the English first landed; but they soon multiplied so from the English shipping, that once there was like to have been a sort of rat-plague among the planters.
There is no country more remarkable for the variety of birds in it than Maryland; where the woods and groves in the spring, summer, autumn, and almost all the year, are rendered as delightful by the musick of the feathered choirs, as by the coolness of their shades, or the fragrance of their flowers. Among these the mock-birds are the most diverting; they love society so well, that whenever they see mankind, they will perch upon a tree near the person, and sing the
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sweetest airs in the world. The next is the humming bird, who revels among the flowers and licks off the dew and honey from the leaves; 'tis not half so large as an English wren, and its colour is a shining mixture of scarlet, green and gold.
As for fish, there is such a prodigious plenty of them, that it is hardly credible to an European. Many of these fishes will leap into canoes and boats, as the English or Indians cross a river.
The manner of the fishing-hawks here preying upon fish, is very diverting and remarkable. The sport is to be seen every summer in the morning, and some all day long. These hawks are wonderful eager after their game, when the fish first come in the spring. In the dead of the winter they fish further off at sea, or remain among the unin- habited islands upon the sea coast. They have often been seen to catch fish out of the water and as they were flying away with quarry, the bald eagles have taken it from them again. The fishing hawk will hover over the water and rest upon the wing some minutes to- gether, then from a vast height dart down directly into the water, plunge into it for the space of half a minute, and at last bring up a fish with him as big, that he can hardly carry it. When he is on the wing, he shakes himself so strongly, that the water comes off of him like a mist, and then he flies to the woods with his prey, unless the bald eagle intercepts him, and takes it away from him. This bird as soon as he perceives the fishing hawk with the game in his mouth, pursues him, and strives to get above him in the air, which if he can do, the hawk lets his fish drop, and the eagle leaves him to take up his prey, which he shoots after with such surprising swiftness, that he catches it in the air before it falls to the ground. These fishing hawks, when the seasons are extraordinary plentiful, will catch a fish, and loiter about with it in the air, on purpose to have a chace with the eagle for it; and if the eagle does not come, he'll make a daring noise, as if it were to defy him. This sport has been frequently seen, and by the description of it, must certainly be extremely pleasant to the spectators.
But to return: when all the best tradesmen were bought up, a planter came to Mr. Carew, and asked him what trade he was of: Mr. Carew, to satisfy him of his usefulness, told him he was a rat catcher, a mendi- cant, and a dog merchant, what the D-1 trades are those? replies the planter, in astonishment, for I have never before heard of them. Upon which the Captain, thinking he should lose the sale of him, takes the planter a little aside, and tells him, he did but jest, being a man of humour, for that he was a great scholar, and was only sent over on account of having disobliged some gentlemen; that he had no inden- ture with him, but he should have him for seven years, and that he would make an excellent school-master: however, no purchase was made of him. The next day the Captain asked him to go on shore with him to see the country, but indeed with a view of getting a pur- chase for him among the planters. As they were walking, several people came up to Mr. Carew, and asked him what countrymen he was, &c. At length they went to a tavern, where one Mr. David
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Huxter, who was formerly of Lyme in Dorset, and Mr. Hambleton, a Scotchman, seemed to have an inclination to buy him between; soon after came in one Mr. Ashcraft, who put in for him too, and then the bowl of punch went round merrily. In the midst of their mirth, Mr. Carew, who had given no consent to the bargain they were making for him, thought it no breach of honour or good manners, to take an opportunity of slipping away, without taking any leave of them; and taking with him about a pint of brandy, and some biscuit cakes, which, by good luck, he chanced to lay his hands on, he immediately . betook himself to the woods, as the only place of security for him.
THE FRIENDS OR QUAKERS IN TALBOT
"Quakers that like to lanterns, bear Their lights within 'em, never swear."
S. BUTLER HUDIBRAS.
Society of Friends is the proper designation of a Christian sect com- monly called Quakers, which took its rise in England, about the middle of the seventeenth century, through the preaching of George Fox. They agree, doctrinally, with other Christian organizations, but they lay greater stress on the doctrine of the personal presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The name of "Friends" was adopted by this sect from the words of Jesus Christ to his Disciples, "Ye are my Friends if ye do whatso- ever I command you."
They condemn all oath taking and war. The Protestant revolution in England, which began in 1688, had resulted in placing William and Mary on the British throne. They commissioned Sir Lionel Copley the first Royal Governor of the Province of Maryland. He arrived in the spring of 1692 and took the government from the hands of the Committee of Safety.
Upon the meeting of the Assembly at St. Maries the members all took the prescribed oaths, with the exception of John Edmondson of Talbot and Thomas Everdine of Somerset County, being Quakers they asked to be allowed to make the usual declaration by persons so principled, to which the Lower House assented, but the Upper House, consisting of the Governor and his council, refusing to assent thereto, these two Quakers were expelled from the Lower House. It was at this session that an act was passed making the Church of England the established Church of this province, and a tax of 40 pounds, per poll, of tobacco was voted to pay the expenses of the establishment, for the building of churches and the support of the clergy. This act was, of course, very obnoxious to the Quakers who, at that date, num- bered among their adherents many of the largest land owners and the wealthiest ship builders in Talbot.
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