USA > Maryland > The Day-star of American freedom, or, The birth and early growth of toleration, in the province of Maryland : with a sketch of the colonization upon the Chesapeake and its trobutaries, preceding the removal of the government from St. Mary's to Annapolis > Part 6
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ERECTION OF COUNTIES.
lution, the population of the province, we may suppose, was not less than twenty-five thousand ;
if they were I would read them myself, if not, they should not be read. But be still bid ye clerk read them. Whereupon I said to him and the rest of ye company, " Gentlemen, if the lord pro- prietary have any authority here, I command you, speaking to ye clerk, in ye name of ye lord proprietary, to read no papers here. Whereupon Col. Jowles went away in great rage, saying he would choose none, yet, afterwards, having got some of his soldiers to drink, he and they did somewhat which they called a free choice, and I and many more of the better sort of ye people set our hands to a paper, writing that expressed modestly and loyally some reasons why we were not willing to choose any representatives to sit in that intended assembly. For which doing I was fetched from my house on Sunday ye 25th of August, 1680, by James Bigger and six other armed men, by order of the persons assem- bled at ye command of Coad and his accomplices, and kept close prisoner ut ye house of Philip Lynes, under a guard of armed men, and upon ye 3ª day of September carried by a company of soldiers before ye said Assembly, where Coad accused me of rebel- lion against their majesties King William and Queen Mary, for acting as above written, and withal told me if I would submit to a trial they would assign me counsel. Whereto I answered them that I was a freeborn d loyal subject to their majesties of England, and therefore expected the benefit of all those laws of England that were made for the preservation of ye lives and estates of all such persons, and therefore should not submit myself to any such unlawful authority as I take yours to be. Whereupon they demanded of me who was their majesties' lawful authority here. I answered, I was, as being an officer under ye Lord Ballta- more, until their majesties' pleasure should be otherwise lawfully made known. Then they ordered the soldiers to take me away
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THE DAY-STAR.
most of the earliest settlements having been founded upon the islands of the Chesapeake, near the banks of its tributaries, or within the immedi- ate vicinity of its shores. In 1654, the order erect- ing Charles upon the Patuxent, was rescinded ; and Calvert established in place of it. . A few years later, the county of the former name was erected upon the Potomac, and upon the Wico-
awhile, and soon after ordered my bringing in again before them, with Mr. Smith and Mr. Botler, telling us it was ye order of ye House that we must find good and sufficient security to be bound for us to answer before their majesties' commissioners and lawful authority what should be objected against us, and in the mean time be of good behavior. To which we answered, their authori- ties we looked upon not lawful to force us to give any bonds, and that we had estates in this country sufficient to oblige our staying to answer what any lawful authority could object against us. Then we were again ordered away to Mr. Lynes's, with a guard to keep us prisoners still, and afterwards having considered with ourselves, we informed them by Mr. Johns and several of them themselves speaking with us, that we would give them what bonds they pleased for our answering wu. should be objected against us by any lawful authority, leaving out the clause of good behavior, for that we knew they would make any thing they pleased breach of good behavior, and under presence of that, trouble us again at their pleasure. But that would not do, so at ye adjourning of ye Assembly we were all ordered by them to be kept in safe custody of Mr. Gillbert Clarke whom they made sheriff of Charles County, until we should give. bond as above
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ERECTION OF COUNTIES. 105
mico ; and about 1659, the extensive, now popu- lous, rapidly-growing county of Baltimore. There is no trace of Talbot anterior to 1660. Somerset was erected in 1666; Dorchester, about 1669 ; and Cecil (which had mainly grown out of Herman's settlement) in the year 1674. Great doubt exists
required. Which is ye whole substance hitherto proceeded on, that is known to your humble servant to command.
MICH. TANEY.
September y: 14th, 1689. Charlestown, in Charles County, where we are, and are like to remain still.
(Addressed) To Madame Barbara Smith. These.
E
Mem .- Y. 14th Sept. 1689, Capt. Coode mustered all ye men of_ St. Mary's County at Chopticoe, and did then and there order y' all Protestants servants and freemen should apear there at Chopticoe yt day fortnight, with provision for a march into Anne Arundel County, and those y' ere provided arms, to bring them with them, and those yt were not should there be furnished with y. country armes.
(Indorsed)
" Maryland, 1689. Letter to Mrs. Smith about Capt. Smith. · Recd 16 Dec., 1689." 5*
.
·
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THE DAY-STAR.
respecting the original boundaries of most of these counties. Anne Arundel, for instance, extended to Fishing Creek, some distance below its present limit ; but the fact was not known to the legisla- ture subsequently to the American Revolution ; and a long, tedious, and very expensive contro- versy was the result. The boundary of Cecil reached to the southern extremity of Kent, in 1674. And at an earlier period, Baltimore embraced a large portion of the eastern shore, including Bohemia manor. The first courts of this county, there is strong reason to believe, were held upon the same side of the Chesapeake; and its ancient limits included the island, which received the first foot-prints of civilization upon the western shore of Maryland. Before the year 1689, many tracts were taken up in Prince George's ; but that extensive county, out of which Frederick was carved as late as 1748, was tot itself erected out of portions of Calvert and Charles till the year 1695. The names of our carly counties are not unworthy of a notice. They suggest or comme- morate interesting facts, in the history of our colonization.
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SPESUTIA ISLAND.
Spesutia Island, originally within the limits of Baltimore, perpetuates the name of Col. Nathaniel Utye, one of the most sanguine and adventurous pioneers in the colonization of the country, upon the head-waters of the Chesapeake. There, also, did Augustine Herman make his treaty with the Indian chiefs, for his title to the land upon the Bohemia River. Spesutia has sometimes been confounded with the island, upon which Clayborne established his trading-post with the Susquehan- nocks, as early as 1630. But Watson's is the one which corresponds with Palmer's in size, and in every other particular. -
In duration as well as the difficulty of arriving at a satisfactory result, the contest between Anne Arundel and Calvert was not unlike that between- Lord Baltimore and the Penns. But the identity of Marsh's (the admitted boundary) with Fishing Creek, is clearly proved by the records in the Land Office. And the history of the title to " Major's Choice " taken up by the Honorable Thomas Marsh, near the cliffs of Calvert, will rea- dily develop all the evidence upon this knotty question.
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THE DAY-STAR.
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CHAPTER IX.
The State of Society, from 1634 to 1689.
THE overthrow of the proprietary's authority was the knell to the hopes of St. Mary's; and, be- fore the lapse of many more years, Annapolis became the seat of government.
During the era of Roman Catholic toleration, the original tenant of the forest lived almost side by side, and generally upon terms of the best amity, with our early colonial forefathers. Half-breeds, or their near descendants, probably still exist, both in the neighborhood of the Piscataway, and upon one or more rivers of the Eastern Shore. It has also been a thousand times asserted, that the blood of aboriginal chiefs is now represented by the Brents, by the Goldsboroughs, and by many of our other most distinguished families.
Of the Chesapeakes (the nation who had given a name to our "Great Bay ") no vestige in Maryland
109
THE YOACOMICOS.
appeared, at the arrival of Governor Calvert. Long before the settlement at St. Mary's, they were a small tribe, with not more than a hundred warriors, living upon a branch of the Elizabeth river, and under the dominion of the Powhatans, a powerful confederacy embracing more than thirty different nations, and which had extended its sway to the very banks of the Patuxent.1
The Yoacomicos lived upon the St. Mary's. They were there at the arrival of the Pilgrims. The scene between Governor Calvert and the chiefs of this tribe, has been described, not only by eye- witnesses, but also by a host of later writers. It is not more honorable to the religion of the Roman Catholic, than to the instinct of the savage. A cup of cold water, we are taught, is not without its reward; and the welcome given by these simple children of the wilderness, deserves to be held by the succeeding generations of Maryland, in the most grateful and enduring remembrance.'
1 See Smith's History of Virginia ; Bozman's History of Mary- land.
2 See ante, pp. 46-47. For further particulars see " A Relation of Maryland," and also Father White's Journal.
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THE DAY-STAR.
At an early period, the Matapeaks lived upon Kent Island. Their name is still perpetuated by a small stream. And upon the farm held by the late General Emory, is " The Indian Spring." There also was a large number of arrow-heads, and other relics. And in the same part of the island, is a neck of land, which for a long time, bore the name of Matapax.1
The Susquehannocks, who gave their name to a large tributary of the Chesapeake, were the most powerful confederacy within the limits of Mary- land. Their chief dwelling-place was upon the head waters of the Chesapeake; but they overran a large portion of the Eastern and of the Western shore ; and even invaded the Yoacomicos. They were also distinguished for their noble, gigantic size ; and received with great kindness, Capt. Smith and his companions, during his exploration of the Chesapeake, long before the settlement upon Kent Island. Many also were the treaties, which they
" For several facts relating to the Indians upon this Island, see my paper presented about three years since to the Md. Historical Society.
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THE PATUXENTS.
signed with Maryland ; including the one' for a large portion of our territory.2 .
1 This was signed (see Bozman, vol. 2. p. 683), in 1652, at the river Severn, by Richard Bennett, Edward Lloyd, William Fuller, Thom- as Marsh, and Leonard Strong, the commissioners on the part of Maryland ; und by_ Sawahegeh, Auroghtaregh, Scarhuhadigh, Ruthchogah, and Natheldianeh, the chiefs on behalf of the Sus- quehannocks. The treaty ceded to Maryland all the land from the Patuxent to Palmer's Island, and from the Choptank to the Elk ; but did not embrace Kent Island, nor Palmer's (now Wat- son's) Island. See also their treaty with Augustine Herman, Ap- pendix. No. 2.
" The Patuxents, whose principal seat was upon the river which perpetuates their name, included a large number of little nations and tribes, remarkable for the friendliness of their feelings. The territory of the Piscataways, whose prominent chief bore the title of Emperor, was bounded, in one direction, by the country of the Susquehannoks ; in another, by the region of the Paturents. It also embraced a part of the country bordering upon the Patapsco, and upon the Potomac ; including Piscataway creek, and probably the sites both of Washington and of Baltimore." Upon the Sassa- fras lived the Tockwhoghs, quite a considerable tribe, and more ferocious than many of the other Indians. Near the mouth of the Chester was a very small ne, which bore the name of Ozenics. Both these tribes disappeared at a very early period. The former was probably absorbed by the Susquehannoks.
Further towards the South, on the same shore of the Chesapeake, dwelt also, at a very early period, the Kuskarawoaks, the great makers of peake and roanoke (the money of the Indians), and the chief " merchants " of aboriginal Maryland-subsequently repre- sented by two considerable confederacies, under the names of Choptank and Nanticoke, which are still borne by the large and
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THE DAY-STAR.
The Accomacs, and some other tribes further South than the Kuskarawoaks, fell within the wide domain of the Powhatans.
But North of the Province, was the still more warlike and powerful confederacy, consisting of the
beautiful rivera, upon which they lived. The peake was more valuable than the roanoke. But they both consisted of shell-the former of the conch, the latter of the cockle-wrought into the shape of beads.
With the Indians upon the Delaware, also, we entered into trea- ties. To this race belonged, it is supposed, the Ozenies, with some other tribes of Maryland. And a chief was held, for his virtues, in such profound veneration, not only by the Red man, but also by the White ; and his memory is so closely interwoven with the traditions and recollections of our ancestry ; that I cannot close this sketch, without the mention of his name. To the Aborigines upon the Delaware, he appeared, indeed, in the same light as did Alfred to the English, or St. Louis to the French. Rising above the level of his own kindred, he became also the representative of a sympathy (how hard was it to realize a union !) between the dis- ciples of civilization and the children of barbarism. And, in token of the companionship, & "eties were formed, both in Maryland and elsewhere, some time before the American Revolution ; and, in May, celebrated their anniversaries, with the Indian war-dance, and other ceremonies. At a little later period, a larger one was organized, representing the thirteen original States of the North American confederacy. And the Hall of St. Tammany, in the City of New York, now devoted to the purposes of a mere political . party, is still, in its highest and most historical sense, a monument to the memory of the illustrious chief of the Delawares.
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113
HENRY DE COURCY.
Mohawks, and of four other nations ;' whose chiet dwelling place was upon the rivers of New York ; but who not unfrequently descended the Susquehan- nah, and spread the greatest alarm among the colo- nists .? The relations, both at peace and at war, with this formidable confederacy, constitute (if we ex- cept the labors of the missionaries) the most interest- ing and important portion of the Aboriginal History of Maryland. The highest diplomatic skill was also exerted. And to the services of the Honorable Philemon Lloyd, but especially of the Honorable Henry De Courcy, both at Albany and elsewhere, was the proprietary, so many years, indebted, not only for the peace of his province, but also for the lives of many of his subjects. The treaties of these faithful and estimable commissioners with the chiefs of the Five Nations (who were called Iroquois by the French), elicited the strongest and most signifi- cant testimonials bo '. from the Governor and from the Assembly of Maryland. And, in the Documen-
' Called sometimes " The Northern Indians." See ante, e. g., p. 89.
' Witness, also, the ill-founded panic of 1089, ante, pp. 87- 103.
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THE DAY-STAR.
tary Histories of New York, some of them have been lately printed, at the expense, and through the noble energy (I blush to add) of the New Yorkers.1 They are written in the rich, metaphor- ical style of the Indian.
" The De Courcys of My-Lord's-Gift (including Mrs. Mitchell of the Western shore), and the De Courcys of Cheston (see ante, p. 83), are representatives of the family of the Hon. Henry De Courcy. Mrs. May, the wife of the Hon. Henry May, is also a descendant of this family.
The claim of the De Courcys of Cheston (ante, p. 95) to the titles and estates of the old Anglo-Norman barony of Courcy and King- sale, has never been tested by a judicial or by a parliamentary investigation. But the daughters of Gerald (the baron, who died about the middle of the last century) expressed the opinion, that a member of the family at Cheston was clearly entitled ; and said, their impression had been derived (they spoke upon the point very positively) from their own father, before the period of his alleged insanity, or the date of the will, in which he selected Myles, of Rhode Island, as the successor. These, and many other interesting facts, upon the subject, may be found in The De Courcy Papers now held by Doct. William Henry De Courcy, of Cheston, the brother of the Hon. Mrs. May. Of the high social rank of this family, at the very period of their arrival, the letter of Mr. Secretary Hatton is sufficient evidence. See note to the sketch of Mr. Ilatton's life.
It is generally supposed, the Hon. Henry De Courcy was a Ro- man Catholic. The inference has been drawn, I presume, from the fact of bis extreme intimacy with Lord Baltimore, and from his uniform support of the principles, upon which the proprietary's
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. 115
FRAME-WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT.
Under that mild form of the feudal polity, which from the first prevailed in Maryland, our ancestors held their lands as a gift from the proprietary, bore a willing allegiance, and paid a very small rent. Their title, indeed, for all practical purposes, was equivalent to a fee-simple. A little tract was given to each emigrant ; and an additional quantity for every person he had brought, or subsequently transported. Tracts of a thousand acres and up- wards were erected into manors, under the propri- etary, with the right given to the lords of these limited territories, to hold courts-baron and courts- leet. And we have the recorded evidence of the fact, that upon St. Gabriel's, and St. Clement's, it was exercised. The lord proprietary also, who held the whole province, by fealty, of the English crown, pledged himself to deliver, every year, " on Tuesday, in Easter week," at the royal castle of Windsor, " two Indian arrows," and a fifth of " all the gold and silver," which might be "found."
government was conducted. It can easily be proved, however, that he was a Protestant. Nor was he the only Protestant cavalier, whose magnanimity and high sense of justice had induced him, with so much zeal, to sustain the proprietary's cause.
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THE DAY-STAR.
The government, in every essential particular, was a monarchy. Of this, the charter is sufficient evidence. It is true, the proprietary was a subject of the English crown. But, under the feudal state of society, it was not unusual for one prince to hold his territory of another. Scotland was once a fief of England; and King John a vassal of the Pope of Rome. But no powers were ever exercised with a more substantial regard for the welfare of the colonists. And practical liberty did exist, at the very foundation of the colony.
The privy councillors, and the lords of manors formed the class,' in which we find the germ of a nobility. Below them, was a considerable number of planters, who bore the title of gentlemen-as large a class in Maryland, as in any other Anglo- American colony-and the greater part of them,
1 The high Provincial Court was analogous to that of the King's Bench ; and constituted the original of our present Court of Ap- peals. For many years, the governor or lord proprietary, and the privy councillors, sat upon its bench.
? From them, also, were taken the early county court judges, originally styled justices and commissioners. They had, also, much of the jurisdiction subsequently given to the levy courts, and to the orphans' courts; and personally were held in the very highest esteem.
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117
ANNAPOLIS.
during the first twenty years, probably Roman Catholics. Upon the small manors (those held by the colonists) were the tenants, usually styled free- holders and suitors ; and who, unlike the gentle- men, rarely had the prefix of Mr.
Three kinds of servitude prevailed-but, all of them, mild in their character ; and honorable, in a high degree, to the master. Many emigrants, who had come under an indenture, performed a faith- ful service ; and then received their discharge, with a comfortable outfit. A few Indians, also, were held in a state of slavery. And negro slaves, although not many of them, were introduced, dur- ing the earliest period of our history. Subsequently to the Protestant Revolution, convicts from Eng- land, it is certain, were imported.
No towns of any commercial importance arose, during the first sixty years. St. Mary's was never large. And the only edifice of any pretension was the State House. The foundation of Annapolis was laid. That city (then called a landing), and the one projected upon South River, were erected into ports of entry, in 1683. And, on the Eastern shore, were the little towns of New-Yarmouth and York ; the
السكر ى
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THE DAY-STAR.
former upon a branch of the Chester ; the latter, it is supposed, upon some part of the Wye.1 But the necessity for many towns did not then exist. The most striking feature upon the face of society was the plantations. Upon them, were held some of our earliest courts and councils. Hardly a home, or a tenement was not approached by water. And our governors, privy councillors, and county court judges were, all of them, planters. The principal planters were also the merchants, who traded with London, and the other great ports of England. And the large plantations, with their group of store- houses and other buildings, assumed the appear- ance, and performed the office of little towns.
The currency of the province presents a good key to the state of society. In some contracts, none was required. There was simply a barter, or an exchange of one commodity for another. In commercial transactions, a little English or Euro- pean coin was occasionally used. In the trade with the Indians, for beaver-skins and other valuable
' Charleston, the original county seat of Prince George's, but founded long before the erection of that county, stood at the fork of the Patuxent, either near or upon the site of Mount Calvert.
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1
PROVINCIAL CURRENCY.
articles, the peake and the roanoke obtained a free circulation ; and a good deal of this kind of cur- rency was held by the colonists. There was also a provincial coin, consisting of silver, and issued by the proprietary, of various denominations (as groats, sixpences, and shillings), having upon one side his lordship's arms, with the motto Crescite et Multi- plicamini, upon the other his image, with the cir- cumscription Cecilius Dominus Terræ-Maria, de .; being equal, in fineness, to English sterling,- and of the same standard, though somewhat less in weight. Specimens of this curious money are pre- served ;' very little of which, there is reason to be- lieve, was ever coined-tobacco being the most common currency of the province; and one pound of it, in 1650, worth about three-pence of English money.
Our ancestors generally sat upon stools' and '
' I have seen one or two in the possession of the Maryland His- torical Society, presented, I am informed, by our generous coun- tryman, Mr. Peabody, of London.
3 I have seen several chairs. But stools and forms were chiefly used. The form was a sort of bench ; and sometimes, if not always, attached to the wall. The few chairs were, most of them, made of iron, and covered with leather. They were considered the best.
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THE DAY-STAR.
forms ; dined without forks ;1 but made a free use of the napkin ; and paid especial attention to the furniture of their bed-chambers. The walls also of their principal rooms were wainscoted .? And they kept a great deal of rich and massive silver plate, upon which were carved the arms of their own ancestry. Tea and coffee they rarely, if ever, tasted. Sugar they sometimes had. But freely did they drink both cider, and sack. And there is fre- quent mention of the silver sack-cup. Strong punch and sack, it would seem, were their favorite drinks.'
' Their tables were oval. I was upon the eve of adding, our forefathers usually cut their meat with their rapiers, or other wea- pons ; for I have rarely met with dinner-knives. And I have examined a hundred inventories, without finding a single fork. I doubt, if there was one, in the whole province, the first thirty years. Nor should the fact surprise us. If we look at Beckmann's History of Inventions (I am obliged to an old schoolmate, for so good an authority), we will see, that this article was introduced into society at a late period.
" Specimens of the wainscoted wall are still preserved at some of the old family seats in Maryland. They have been much ad- mired ; and, in England, are again becoming fashionable.
" Sack was the special favorite. A case, e. g., is referred for an arbitration to the Hon. Thomas Marsh, who, in giving his award, added " a hogshead of sack " to be drunk between the parties. Take another :- Gov. Calvert ordered Col. Price to bring various articles to Fort St. Inigo's, for the use of the soldiers. " And
121
LIFE OF THE PLANTERS.
They had also every variety of fruit, both for the winter, as well as for the summer. They delighted in pears and apricots, in figs and pomegranates,1 in peaches and apples, and the most luscious melons. The wild strawberry and the grape-vine grew also, in the richest profusion. Many of the hills were covered with vines ; and we have the proof, that vineyards also were cultivated. The air and the forest abounded in game; the rivers and bays in fish. Our ancestors feasted upon the best oysters of America ; and dined, we may suppose, upon the Canvass-back, the most delicious duck in the world.
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